TravelStream™ news feed for member sistersontour on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/sistersontour en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:16:02 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1246191234/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1246191234/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1246191234/tpod.html Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:16:02 -0400 Sisters on Tour - Lois and Sophie's Big Adventure

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Siem Reap, Cambodia

Hi everyone, sorry this entry has taken so long to get to you.

We left Cambodia about 6 weeks ago and became rather lackadaisical during a month in Indonesia. We are now back in Thailand and will be home in 3 weeks … here's the Cambodia story anyway. We’ll get Indonesia to you as soon as we possibly can …

We left Saigon on what seemed to be a pretty luxurious coach (not by home standards but a big step up from most over here) and the ride to the Cambodian border was pretty smooth. Obtaining our visas at the immigration checkpoint was quick and painless except for our driver pushing and shoving Lois through the various security controls … I thought she was going to flip out at one point … I’m glad she restrained as the guards had some scary-looking automatic weapons.

We traveled through Cambodia’s countryside and although it was very beautiful with stilted houses and fields rolling out like patchwork quilts across the landscape, we noticed that the earth was yearning for the coming monsoon.

After being on the road for 7 hours we arrived in Phnom Penh where the majority of passengers were disembarking. We had about a 30 minute wait before continuing our journey to Siem Reap … hungry … we were directed to the bakery down the street where the staff spoke no English and all the labels were in Cambodian. It was like a lucky dip … we chose a few familiar-looking items and returned to the bus. We were a little surprised to find Dairylea cheese inside our sugar-coated doughnuts … not so much of a surprise was that Lois ate hers and finished mine.

Back on the road, there were only half a dozen passengers left so we got chatting to a couple of girls from Ripon, one of which turned out to be a journalist for Tyne Tees Television.

At the toilet stop Lois jumped off to stretch her legs and was mobbed by a group of Cambodian kids. They were selling fruit and had the patter of 40 year old salesmen … one sweet-faced little girl brought out her pet tarantula and tried to scare Lois into buying something … thankfully Lois isn’t scared of spiders … me on the other hand would have freaked out big style!

As dusk fell we realized that our luxurious coach was actually infested with cockroaches and we spent the next 2 hours fighting them off.

We arrived in Siem Reap around 8pm and surprise surprise we were dropped 2 miles out of town at the bus company’s head office where they tried to sell us their rooms and taxis. After the cockroach invasion we were in no mood to be touted so flagged a tuk-tuk … the driver of which tried to help us find a room but after being bumped around on dusty, pot-holed roads for half an hour we asked to be dropped in the centre so we could go it alone.

Soon after, we bedded down in a slightly damp-smelling room in the Heart of Angkor hotel. We were just happy the journey was over.

The next morning we went for a walk around the small city and the dusty streets made it feel as if we were on the set of an old western movie (sorry the photos don’t show what we mean).

As we sat outside the Red Piano bar having breakfast we realized that Cambodia would be very emotionally challenging as every few minutes people with missing limbs or severe disfigurements came begging at our table. We felt bad that we had no money to spare and still with over 2 months left of our trip we had to let our heads overrule our hearts.

Later that afternoon we were sat outside a supermarket down near the river having a much-needed caffeine hit (diet coke) when a rather grand tuk-tuk pulled up. We were admiring the black and silver chariot when its driver came over for a chat. His name was Soeung Bun Long (Long for short) and he was an English and Chinese speaking driver who we decided to hire for the following day to take us around the Temples of Angkor.

He seemed like such a sweet man … he told us about his family … his wife was deaf so nobody wanted to marry her, but Long went to her village and chose her to be his wife and in turn he believed he had been blessed with two beautiful children.

In the evening we went in search of some traditional Khmer food … Lois had Fish Amok and I had the Fish Curry … both of which were said to be spicy but in all honesty they were completely bland.

We tried to get an early night as Long was due to pick us up at 4am the following morning. He was bang on time and we set off in the dark towards the Temples of Angkor. After purchasing our day passes we drove on to Angkor Wat where we witnessed the most magnificent sunrise.

One of the most inspired and spectacular monuments ever conceived by the human mind, Angkor Wat was built by Suryavarman II (r 1112-52) to honour Vishnu, his patron deity and to be his funerary temple.

After watching the skies come alive with hundreds of different shades of pink we met Long for breakfast before heading back inside Angkor Wat to explore the vast corridors and view the remarkably well-preserved carvings on every wall.

The central temple complex is surrounded by an 800m long series of exquisite bas-reliefs. The Churning of the Sea of Milk depicts 88 asura (demons) on the left and 92 deva (gods) with crested helmets on the right, churning up the sea to extract the elixir of immortality … it was truly beautiful.

Next on our list of must-sees was Ta Prohm … this 12th century Mahayana Buddhist temple, which unlike the other major monuments at Angkor, has been abandoned to riotous nature. The temple of Ta Prohm was used as the set for shooting Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie and many other blockbusters, which is not surprising as the tentacle-like roots of mature trees which strangle the stonework give the place an eerie lost city feel.

There was a small building within the complex containing a statue of Buddha, where if you stood inside against the walls and banged your hand on your chest, you would hear an echo … clapping your hands didn’t work in the same way as you would imagine … only the chest cavity would produce the echo.

We then visited Ta Keo which was built by Jayavarman V (r 968-1001). A massive pyramid which rises more than 50m, but it was never completed so is lacking the elaborate carvings seen on the other temples. Lois had her trusty walking sandals on so she tackled the steep steps on Ta Keo, leaving me on the first level in my flip-flops.

On our way to have lunch we stopped off at Thommanom and Chau Say Thevoda which was less well-known temples en-route to Angkor Thom.

We entered the fortified city of Angkor Thom through the Victory Gate and Long took us to a restaurant where he gets fed for free right in the centre of the complex. We were being bothered by kids trying to sell us things so after lunch we left Long and went to explore the many wonders of Angkor Thom.

The city was built by Angkor’s greatest king, Jayavarman VII (r 1181-1219) who came to power after the disastrous sacking of the previous Khmer capital by the Chams.

The walls surrounding this magical city stretch more than 12km and are 6m high and 8m wide every step of the way.

The main attractions that we explored within the city were the Terrace of the Leper King, the Terrace of Elephants, Baphuon which was taken apart piece by piece by a team of archaeologists before the civil war and their records were destroyed during the madness of the Khmer Rouge, so is now one of the most ambitious restoration projects at Angkor.

Last but not least was Bayon which we both felt was one of Angkor’s most stunning temples. There are 216 gargantuan faces of Avalokiteshvara (Buddha of compassion) watching over visitors in this memorable temple. Built around 1200 by Jayavarman VII in the exact centre of the city, some people believe that the faces bear more than a passing resemblance to the king himself. Elaborate bas-reliefs on the outer walls depict vivid scenes of 12th century Cambodia, including cockfighting and kick boxing.

The temperature was soaring towards 50 degrees centigrade and by 1pm (after being there for 9 hours) we decided to call it a day and head back to Siem Reap.

We went to find Long who was fast asleep in his chariot. On the way back he asked us if we would like to see his home and meet his family; a lovely gesture so we agreed.

We pulled up outside and were welcomed by Long’s wife. His two beautiful children were very shy and the little boy in particular seemed to be scared of our western looks.

The home itself was actually only one small room with a double bed, a tiny sink and kitchen area where damp and mould covered the wall and what we can only imagine was a grotty outdoor bathroom. The four of them shared than tiny space but seemed happy nonetheless.

We had agreed a daily rate of $12 with Long but after seeing the way his family live we had no hesitation giving him $20.

Later in the afternoon we were for an Indian meal which was nice apart from Lois’ portion was a tad on the small side and we shared a bottle of the local Angkor beer. We again tried to get an early night as we were due to leave on a 5 hour bus ride to Battambang the next morning.

Battambang was written up in the Lonely Planet as an elegant riverside town, home to the best-preserved French-period architecture in the country … what a load of bollocks!!!

I’d been battling with a stomach bug since Nha Trang in Vietnam which came out in full force when we got to Battambang. Thankfully Lois found us a really nice cheap room with satellite TV, etc as I spent the next 3 days in either the bedroom or bathroom.

Lois on the other hand went out in search of the architecture and came back severely disappointed, so she spent the next 3 days taking care of me. She can be really sweet when she wants to be!

The only good things were the intense thunder and lightening storms every night which we watched from our large window and sometimes from the covered rooftop terrace.

We booked our bus to leave Battambang and were sat in the hotel lobby waiting to be picked up when another guest (a Cambodian man) who had heard I was unwell sent his friend to the pharmacy to get me his favoured remedy. The guest disappeared to his room and the friend returned with sachets of Phosphalugel … when I tried to pay him for them he simply said his friend had taken care of it … a very sweet gesture and it actually worked for the 6 hour journey to Phnom Penh. No roadside toilet stops for me!!!

We’d opted for the cheap local bus to Phnom Penh … these are always good for comedy value as the locals generally can’t take their eyes off Lois which amuses me no end. This time however it was me who would be examined … a family got on part way through the journey and pretty much stared at me the rest of the way … the husband even took a photo of me on his phone.

We arrived in Phnom Penh around 4pm and as always they dropped us in the middle of nowhere. The touts were particularly aggressive, one of which I got quite short with. We told them all to leave us be, got our packs on and made our way back to the main road where we hailed a tuk-tuk to take us around some hotels.

The first one he took us to was a bit of a dump, the second was well out of our price range, so in the end we got him to drop us off on the Tonle Sap riverside and went in search ourselves.

Soon after we found a seemingly nice room above a bar / restaurant which overlooked the river and we had views of the palace and national museum. It was the cheapest room on the riverside and we soon found out why … it was infested with a wide variety of bugs, the electricity rarely worked and a resident gecko left Lois a present each night in the form of a turd on her pillow.

The next day we were told that it was a public holiday for the King’s birthday so most sites would be closed for the next few days … darn public holidays! Thankfully this information was wrong which we found out when we questioned one of the palace guards.

We waited until the air had cooled somewhat, donned our long pants and sleeves out of respect and returned to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda.

Hidden behind it’s protective walls the palace is very beautiful with an air of peace and tranquility as you stroll around the lush gardens. The ceremonial halls exhibit classic Khmer architecture. Photography was not permitted in many of the buildings much to Lois’ disappointment.

Later that evening we took a stroll along the riverside and decided to have a bottle of wine at one of the many stylish-looking restaurants. It just so happened that they stocked the exact same bottle of Montepulciano that we drink at home … so we had 3 ha ha!!!

I had spoken to a particular amputee a few times who was selling books as he didn’t want to beg. After a couple of glasses of wine I couldn’t resist buying a book and some postcards off him as he was so utterly charming whenever I had spoken to him.

While Lois tried to liven things up by plugging in my mp3 and swinging the bar staff around, I induged in an intellectual conversation with a controversial French reporter. Lois later slurred that she’d been having her own intellectual conversation with the bar manager … yeah right … sure she did!!!

The next day we were still a bit merry from the wine so spent most of our time in various restaurants feeding our faces.

On our last full day in Phnom Penh we had arranged to go to the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek.

We started out at the Tuol Sleng Museum which was formerly a high school, but in 1975 Pol Pot’s security forces turned it into Security Prison 21 (S-21). It was the largest centre of detention and torture in the country and almost everyone held there was later executed at the Killing Fields.

Walking around the grounds and into the school buildings you could feel only sorrow. As we entered some of the classrooms which contained only a rusty single bed, a torture device and a gruesome black and white photo of a poor soul who had been tortured to death we both felt physically sick.

We continued to walk quietly through the buildings and could only imagine the horror that these innocent men, women and children had faced only 35 years ago.

One of the buildings displayed thousands of black and white photos of the prison’s detainees. Both of us struggled to hold back our tears as we looked into the eyes of these people who had been massacred by their own kind.

Detainees who died during torture were buried in mass graves inside the prison grounds. During 1977, S-21 claimed a terrifying average of 100 victims per day.

The tour of the Tuol Sleng Museum was a gut-wrenching experience and we will never forget the faces of the people whose lives were destroyed within those buildings, especially the beautiful Cambodian children.

As we left the museum grounds and headed towards the car a man began to chase us down the street begging for money. I turned round to say sorry and was horrified by what I saw. The man looked like he had had acid poured on his face. His looks actually scared me and I feel so guilty that I couldn’t bring myself to stop. I still see his face clearly in my mind even now.

Back in the car we headed to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek where there are 129 mass graves. There is a blinding white stupa that serves as a memorial to the approximately 17000 men, women and children who were executed there by the Khmer Rouge between mid-1975 and December 1978. Encased inside the stupa are almost 9000 human skulls found during excavations in 1980. Many of these skulls still bear witness to the fact that they were bludgeoned to death to save precious bullets.

Lois and I didn’t feel it was appropriate to take photos at either Tuol Sleng Museum or the Killing Fields out of respect for the victims and their families.

That night we were in desperate need of a drink after an emotionally exhausting day so we went back to the bar from the previous night. We had a delicious meal, 3 bottles of white, topped up by some vodka 'Flirtinis’. Needless to say I was hammered … not going to incriminate myself any further! Thankfully Lois was just about in a fit state to get us home.

The next day we checked out, ate loads and then got a tuk-tuk to the airport where we would begin our mammoth journey to Indonesia.

Photos will follow tomorrow and Indonesia entry will be with you when we get chance.

Lots of love to you all

Sophie and Lois x x x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1243433460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1243433460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1243433460/tpod.html Wed, 27 May 2009 10:16:01 -0400 Sisters on Tour - Lois and Sophie's Big Adventure

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Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Hi everyone,
Sorry this chapter has taken so long to get to you ... with doing so much travelling we've fallen a bit behind but here goes ...

So we left Laos with a hop, skip and a jump and 7 banana cakes ... the 'only' thing to spend our last few kips on in the airport and I mean the only thing! On our little plane the smiley air hostess served us up some Laos-style space food which Soph turned her mose up at in her usual fashion ... I ate hers!
An hour later after a rather sketchy landing ... yes we thought we were gonna die ... we arrived safely (just) in Hanoi.
At the airport the taxi touts were out in force but thankfully for once the Lonely Planet was right and we found the public bus to the city ... a quid each for a 45 minute journey ... winner!
Ordinarily we like to scout round ourselves to find the best / cheapest room but by the time we were dropped off in the Old Quarter it was quite late and we were both pretty jaded so we took a free taxi with one of the touts to view a room. Thankfully this paid off as we bagged a nice big room with 2 double beds, ensuite, satelite TV, minibar, air-con and a PC with internet for 8 quid ... happy days!
That night we went in search of food and got amidst the insane Hanoi traffic ... there appear to be no rules, not even at crossroads, roundabouts or traffic lights and many people drive on the wrong side of the road. Our observations led us to believe that the only rule is to yield to things bigger than yourself i.e.. everyone yields to buses and lorries, bikes and motorbikes yield to cars and pedestrians are pretty much screwed and you play chicken every time you cross the road.
Motorbike riders are particularly unruly and they are in their thousands ... one girl came flying round a corner too fast, mounted the kerb and nearly took me out as I tried to catch her. I received no thanks and she drove off along the pavement. Later on we were using one of the few pedestrian crossings when a guy on a motorbike nearly ran Sophie over ... clearly green men mean nothing here either.
That said it's an enjoyable kind of madness and if you're not dodging the moving traffic you're weaving your way through the masses of parked motorbikes along every pavement.
Our food finding mission failed so we shared a 'Bia Hanoi' instead which thankfully we didn't enjoy and it put us off drinking in Vietnam ... good news for our fat butts!!!
The next day we woke full of determination to get healthy. It was easy to get started as there were many ladies walking the streets with baskets full of fruit and vegetables. It was such a treat for us eating pineapple all the time ... we rarely buy it at home as it's a chew on to cut up but these ladies are pros and they peel and dice them in a matter of seconds.
Our nice room had been double booked so we found another nice room round the corner which was usually $20 per night ... we haggled them down to $10 so we were pleased. We spent the rest of the day writing our Laos blog as we had fallen a bit behind.
That evening I went to check on Soph who was on the computer downstairs and when I went back up the door would not open. I struggled for a while and eventually went for help. The nice guy on reception came to my aid and after trying to get in using several tools and failing to kick the door down he eventually bashed the handle off with a hammer and changed the locks.
The next day we took a long walk through the city. Along with way to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex we admired the architecture of many embassies and government buildings.
At the complex the tomb itself was unfortunately closed but we took time to explore the grounds. Outside the Presidential Palace there was some kind of ceremony taking place with the current president, hundreds of uniformed officers and a marching band ... we couldn't establish what was going on as an angry guard moved us along swiftly. When I stopped to try and take photos he blew his whistle and I think he told me off.
We looked around the house of 1954 where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked from 1954 to 1958, followed by the house on stilts where he lived and worked from May 1958 to August 1969 which symbolises his living way of simplicity, modesty, gentleness and dedication for the nation and the people.
Walking around the fishpond and gardens which are full of wind, light and fragrant flowers it was very peaceful and we could understand why Ho Chi Minh enjoyed his time there.
We enjoyed what we saw but were a little disappointed that we didn't get to see inside the tomb or the palace which are the main attractions.
On our way back through the market Soph was horrified to see the back end of a dog (tail and all) on one of the meat stalls. I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to food but I'm not sure that even I could eat Fido ... saying that I haven't actually had the opportunity as not seen it on any menus ... must be just in local places for local people.
In the afternoon we made our way through the crazy Hanoi streets to the Hoan Kiem Lake. Legend has it that in the mid 15th century, Heaven sent Emperor Ly Thai To a magical sword which he used to drive the Chinese out of Vietnam. One day after the war he happened upon a giant golden tortoise swimming on the surface of the water; the creature grabbed the sword and disappeared into the depths of the lake. Since that time, the lake has been known as Ho Hoan Kiem (Lake of the Restored Sword) because the tortoise restored the sword to its divine owners. A respected Vietnamese scientist has been crusading for the protection of the very few real giant turtles that live in the lake since 1991. We didn't spot any turtles but we did see lots of locals working out along the edge of the lake and others relaxing in the late afternoon breeze.
We strolled around and on the other side we crossed the 6 lane main street ... Soph was bricking it as we slowly shuffled across the road ... the logic is that if you move slowly the oncoming vehicles will go around you, but if you move too fast you are likely to get flattened. We did move slowly but even with baby steps we nearly got squashed by a motorbike whizzing across lanes from behind a bus ... it missed us by an inch!!!
Safely back on the pavement we viewed the Ly Thai To monument which was guarded by colourful dragons.
Back at the hotel the staff were very sweet and helpful and they booked us a trip to Halong Bay the next day.
Stupidly we stayed up watching Star Movies until 2am so when we rose at 6 we were like zombies; on the up-side though the hotel gave us free breakfast. Yay!!
Our little bus was in pretty good shape compared to most; we were glad about this as it was a 3.5 hr stint to Halong Bay. As we were leaving the Old Quarter down a typically narrow road the bus took down an overhanging power cable ... I guess some poor sod had no electric that day.
This was our first overland journey in Vietnam and although the landscape is not as picturesque as Laos we were glad to be on a flat, straight road ... there are some hills but its predominantly very green and flat ... perfect for the rice paddies and many fruit farms ... on this leg we passed through pineapple country ... there were literally hundreds of roadside stalls selling just pineapples.
On the way we killed time chatting to an English couple from Hong Kong and a nice old couple from Australia. Throughout the journey we saw several methods of pig transportation including one on a skateboard, a huge one tied over a motorbike seat; it was still alive and clearly in distress as its snout practically skimmed the road and dozens more piled on top of each other in the back of a truck ... I guess those little piggies were going to market.
We were also shocked to see dozens of live chickens strapped together, hanging upside down by their feet and tied onto a motorbike.
When we arrived in the bay it was very misty and we couldn't see any of the islands rising from the sea which is what it's famous for.
This is what it should look like:
http://www.friendsofworldheritage.org/assets/wallpapers/halongbay_vietnam_wallpaper.jpg
As we were only on a 1 day tour, we were split from our bus buddies and shown to another boat. There were hundreds of boats in the harbour and although it was very misty it was a great site (photos don't do it justice).
We made our way to the top deck as we set sail ... it was very quiet and the mist gave it an eerie feel. We couldn't see what we were heading into but when we looked around there were many other boats heading in the same direction which was nice to watch.
The mist lifted a little and we stopped for lunch alongside a floating fishing village. We shared our table with a charming Columbian guy, a friendly and well-travelled Malaysian girl and a very abrupt old French lady with unusual dress sense. It was an enjoyable lunch and we all talked about our travel tales. The sun came out and as we returned to our top deck position hawks circled above us.
Next stop was to view one of the many caves in the area and the ride there was very relaxing. Climbing up the many steps to the cave entrance Soph was very excited as she doesn't remember being in a big cave before.
The size alone was spectacular and the clever lighting really brought the formations to life ... I tried to take photos but it was too dark so you'll just have to believe us when we say it was brilliant.
On our way back to the harbour we chatted to a nice Thai lady and her family and they invited us to stay when we return to Thailand in June. Another 3.5 hours later we were back in Hanoi and the friendly staff at our hotel arranged our open tour bus ticket to head south the next day. We both slept well that night.
The next morning we checked out and went to find an internet shop to upload our Laos photos. There were over 400 and on the dinosaur machine it took forever to get them on. Hours later we'd finally titled them all and we could almost touch the finish line, when Soph being a total numb-nut somehow managed to delete everything ... photos, titles ... the lot! Subsequently she chucked a mental, started screaming at the computer and then turned on me. I was in a state of shock and could not defend myself which annoyed her even more as I sat staring at her with my jaw-dropped expression. It is unusual for me not to have anything to say but I really was in shock and could not believe what had just happened. Soph was determined to at least upload the photos and although I tried to help I was clearly getting on her nerves.
It was almost 5pm and our bus was due at half past so I went back to the hotel to stall them. Hanoi is a difficult place to navigate when you're in a rush and I nearly got ran over several times. At the hotel the smiley staff informed me that the actual pick-up time was 6 o'clock. I had no way of communicating this extra time to Soph so I went to wait out front for her. At 29 minutes past she came steaming round the corner flustered and angry-looking having successfully uploaded the photos and pretty much sprinted back fearing the bus would leave without her. She was hot and hungry so we got her some scran from the stall on the corner and got on the bus.
As usual it looked nothing like the brochure ... we were expecting comfy bunk beds, but there was still a lot more leg room than the usual sleepers (kinda like sitting upright on a sun lounger) so it wasn't all that bad, except they were only about a foot wide ... clearly a local bus not built for western tourists.
Squashed together I thought we could be in for a reasonable nights sleep until a young man sitting in front of us who looked like one of the evil ghosts off 'The Grudge' started glaring at me through the gap in the seats. Not wanting to appear uneasy I ignored him for a while but after about 10 minutes he was still there with his devilish glare so I cracked him my cheesiest grin hoping to soften his hard exterior. This was completely ineffective and his icy stare intensified.
When we stopped for a break and passed down the aisle we noticed that the old lady beside him was restraining him. Obviously we can't say what was going on there but we assumed he had some mental issues. Unfortunately for me these insane stare episodes continued throughout the night so I didn't sleep a wink.
At 6am we arrived at a very grey Hue and being exhausted we were vulnerable prey for the vulture touts ... subsequently we ended up in a room infested with ants but as we were only staying one night we 'sucked it up' like an anteater!
We lounged around for a while, had a naff fruit salad and even though the sky looked threatening we were determined to see Hue's best bits. We took a long walk through town and crossed the Huong River to the Citadel which was constructed in 1804 by Emperor Gia Long. Inside the 6m high, 2.5km long wall is a surreal world of deserted gardens and ceremonial halls. Although we were impressed with the scale of the complex, considering it was only 200 years old it was pretty run down and we wondered where the entrance fees of the hundreds of daily visitors went ... clearly not on maintenance.
As we walked the grounds a French lady was crouched down on the floor ... we went to investigate and she showed us an open-leaved plant that when touched shrivelled up and played dead but if you watched it for long enough it sprung back to life.
Central Hue has little charm so after the Citadel we returned to the hotel for some much-needed rest in our ant-infested beds.
The next morning we were up bright and early and as our southbound bus wasn't due till lunch we took a morning tour of the tombs of the Nguyen Dynasty. First of all we visited a local village that specialised in making conical hats and incense sticks. It was interesting to see how much work and detail goes into the hats and we were surprised to learn that one lady can make over 1000 incense sticks by hand each day. Looking around we noticed 2 familiar faces ... the old Australian couple from our bus to Halong Bay.
Next stop was the tomb of Tu Duc which is laced with frangipani and pine trees and set alongside a small lake. Again it was quite run down and the tomb itself was closed for maintenance so we were a little disappointed.
The next destination was the tomb of Khai Dinh ... as there was an entrance fee for each tomb the Lonely Planet guide recommended to skip this one so we stayed on board the bus. We were a little frustrated to learn when our fellow passengers returned that it was actually better than the first one ... BUMMER!!!
Last stop was the tomb of Minh Mang who ruled from 1820 to 1840. Our tour guide painted a picture of the 'sexy king' who had 500 or more concubines (wives / lovers) and over 170 children ... horny old goat!!!
The guide also told us about the eunuchs who worked for the king ... Minh Mang must have been either seriously insecure or just plain greedy as all the men who worked close to his concubines had to be castrated. There were 3 kinds of eunuchs ... the physical eunuchs who actually had their genitals cut off ... the chemical eunuchs who since birth had been intended to work for the king so were given medicine to shrink their genitals down to nothing ... and last but not least, the financial eunuchs who paid someone in authority to say that they had been castrated and secure them a position within the concubines quarters. By day they would work as a eunuch and by night they would have their wicked way with the king's women ... crafty hey!
We were dropped back at the hotel and went to catch our bus to Hoi An. Thankfully it was only a 5 hour ride and having seen a predominantly flat Vietnam so far it was nice to see some of its mountains and coastline.
We arrived in Hoi An just before sundown and as usual we were dropped at the bus company's hotel. We looked at a few rooms but it was a bit skanky so we decided to get back-packed up and hit the streets. We had no idea where we were going so we followed our noses down the main street. Many of the hotels in the town centre were out of our price range so we continued on with our search. Further on we viewed several grimy rooms in hotels which were pristinely polished on the exterior ... we wondered why they didn't save some of the money for the inside.
By this point Soph was getting rather cheesed off and when it started to pour down she was ready to go back to the skanky room at the drop-off point. Just as well I persevered as eventually I bagged us a nice room with satellite TV, air-con and an indoor swimming pool for $10 (7 quid) a night.
The next day Soph was a bit worn out and as it was raining she wanted to chill in the room so I went for a little wander down to the market. I returned with bagfuls of fruit which put a smile on Soph's face. In the afternoon we went down to the pool for a swim ... a group of 4 English guys from London joined us soon after and one of them remarked that I had in fact taken their photograph in Hanoi a few days earlier. I didn't remember their faces as it was such a brief encounter and I was surprised that he'd recognised me especially as I'd been wearing a bandana and sunglasses at the time. They were nice guys and we enjoyed swapping travel tales.
The following morning Soph was feeling a bit brighter and for once the sun was out so we took a nice long walk around Hoi An. The Old Town is utterly charming and with its narrow streets and rustic buildings has a very European feel. Hoi An is famous for high quality tailoring at extremely affordable prices ... many people go there to have suits, wedding dresses and pretty much everything else custom-made. Often customers present a tear-out from Vogue magazine or similar and the tailor will make a perfect copy. There are also many quirky craft shops and galleries which we happily mooched around.
Later that night after we'd been for a swim we learned that our new baby niece Mia had arrived which made us feel really homesick and needless to say we didn't sleep much that night.
The next morning we received much-awaited news from home that both Lyns (our sister-in-law) and baby Mia were well which put our minds at rest but didn't cure our homesickness.
We were leaving for Nha Trang at 6pm so we had all afternoon to kill. We'd been at each other's throats all morning ... I think that missing home and the arrival of our first niece teamed with the fact that we'd eaten just fruit for the last week had finally taken its toll.
I suggested we went for a bevy to wet the baby's head. In our usual fashion this turned into 2 bottles of wine and a 3 course meal ... sod the budget, we were celebrating! We sampled the local delicacy of 'Cha Ca' which is fish slices cooked over charcoal with a touch of spice ... most delicious ... and the wine was good too. The fruit diet was now out of the window!
On the way back to the hotel we left our brother Sam a merry voicemail to congratulate him on becoming a dad.
On the bus we enjoyed the first few hours, laughing and joking and singing songs until the booze wore off and the remaining 9 were long and sleepless.
We arrived in Nha Trang at 6am and yet again it was raining. It was a public holiday and we'd been warned that the hotel rates would be steep. The drop-off hotel wanted $50 so we went in search of something cheaper. All of the budget hotels were full so we went back to the first one to negotiate ... ended up paying $30 which was well over our budget but the room had a huge balcony / terrace with views of the city so for one night we made an exception.
Walking around it was like a ghost town and as the beach was pretty grotty we booked a bus to get out of there the next day. We struggled to find something to eat as most places were closed and ended up in a 'local' restaurant where the menu was filled with strange dishes such as snakes head, salamander and bloodworms ... even I felt a bit nauseous at the thought. Maybe we just caught Nha Trang on a bad day?!
The journey to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) would be a gruelling 12 hours and annoyingly the overnight sleeper bus was fully booked so we rose at 6am and spent the whole next day travelling.
The day was pretty uneventful but we did meet an interesting American Vietnamese guy from LA at one of the food stops. He was there on business ... looking for products to take back and sell in America. He said we should get into imports / exports and build our own little empire ... maybe that's how we'll make our millions ha ha!!
We passed through mango and dragon fruit countries and we also bumped into the London lads from Hoi An.
As we arrived in Saigon around 7pm we were dazzled by the bright city lights. We drove past many luxurious hotels, fantasised about a night in one of them and wished we had a bigger budget.
We were dropped in a bustling part of town right in the heart of backpacker central and we began our hotel hunt. The first thing we noticed was that all the rooms were very small and we realised we wouldn't get much for our money. We finally settled on a little room in the Phong guesthouse down a quiet side street. We got it for $12 which was much cheaper than all the other rooms, plus we had air-con, TV and fridge ... happy days!
The next day it was raining as usual so we stayed in our room, tried to write some blog and had the ladies downstairs wash all of our clothes ... yay, gone were the smelly farangs!
We wanted to get out and see the city so although it was hot and humid the following morning I got my sexy walking sandals on and dragged Soph out of bed. Just around the corner there was a small inner-city park where many locals were playing badminton and volleyball (a regular sight in Vietnam). We sat down on one of its shaded benches and agreed our plan of action.
First we went to get our bus tickets to Cambodia and we also bought a map of the city. Further down the road when we removed the map from its packaging we realised we'd been sold a dud as it looked like it had been printed when the toner cartridge was on the way out. We binned the map and decided to go it alone.
We headed for the riverside as it had looked so pretty the night we'd arrived. As we walked we passed many designer stores and expensive boutiques. We made it down to the water and much to our disappointment, in the daylight, the area was quite unattractive and the river dirty.
We looked again at the posh hotels and in this setting they were far less inviting and we were now not so jealous of their guests.
We are not sure if it was the heat, the effects of the toxic car fumes, the disappointing river views or just homesickness but all hell broke loose and we had a massive barney in the middle of the street ... our mother would have been proud ... NOT!!!
The screaming match continued down a few blocks and as we were on the verge of a bare-knuckle fight we went our separate ways in tears.
I walked back to the park where we'd people-watched earlier and took my place on a bench to think it over. While I was pondering a little Vietnamese lady approached and wanted to do my nails ... I wasn't interested but she tried to make small-talk anyway. She asked if I was alone and I said I was with my sister. She could surely see I had things on my mind and left me alone.
Around a half hour later Soph appeared, put down a half empty bottle of water on the bench (perhaps a peace offering) and walked away. I was a little confused as to how she'd found me there but I went after her to make friends. It turned out Soph had been sitting close by in the park and when the little old lady had sat down with her and asked if she was alone and she'd given the same answer, the lady pointed me out and asked "Is that your sister?". Maybe she was sent to make peace between us?!
After cuddles and apologies we agreed to put it behind us and went for a beer. Later on we explored some more of the city (although nowhere near as much as we'd hoped) and then being our last night in Vietnam we treated ourselves to a nice Italian meal and a bottle of wine where the waitresses were very friendly and interested in our travels. It was a nice end to our Vietnamese adventure.

We're currently in Indonesia ... have been here a couple of weeks and a couple more to go but we can't tell you about it yet as we've got our Cambodia episode to write first ... stay tuned.

Lots of love
Lois & Sophie x x x

P.S. This PC won't load our Vietnam photos but we'll get them on ASAP.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1240353540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1240353540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1240353540/tpod.html Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:05:39 -0400 Sisters on Tour - Lois and Sophie's Big Adventure

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Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Sabaidee (hello) from an even smilier Land of Smiles ... Laos.
We left Chiang Mai on 5th April on an overnight VIP coach to Udon Thani. The bus was comfortable enough but the driver was completely useless. He kept grinding his gears, stalling and struggled to get up the slightest of inclines even though it looked like a relatively new bus.
As usual I managed to get some kip but Lois struggled to drop off. I was rudely awoken by freezing cold water dripping on my face from the air-con unit above ... no wonder I've been suffering with a cold ... 50 people's bacteria dripping on my face ... NICE!!!
We arrived in Udon Thani around half 8 in the morning and jumped onto the next bus to Nong Khai which was a 70's style bus with pink frilly curtains. While we were waiting for the bus to depart a monk got on and sat at the back. As we were about to set off one of the shopkeepers from the bus station jumped frantically onto the bus and ran to the back with a bag full of provisions for the monk.
The bus wasn't at all full when we left but at the next stop it became packed. Women from roadside food stalls boarded the bus to sell fruit and snacks for the journey ... this is a regular occurrence on buses and trains over here. Once we were back on the road we were subjected to Thailand's version of MTV ... all of the songs sound the same and every video depicts a love triangle or a story of unrequited love ... come on Thailand ... have an original idea will you!!!
We came to a sudden standstill and the doors opened ... a Thai policeman came along the aisle and wanted to see everybody's ID ... our passports were fine of course but 2 young men were escorted off the bus ... we left them at the roadside and drove on ... scenes like this must be normal here ... we never found out what they had done wrong if anything.
On arrival at the bus station in Nong Khai we were surrounded by tuk-tuk touts claiming we couldn't get a bus over the Friendship Bridge if we didn't have a pre-arranged visa ... for once they were telling the truth so we haggled until we could get a reasonable price. We didn't have the right change so when we arrived at Thai immigration on the Friendship Bridge our driver ushered us through the exit gate to a counter where we were expecting to get change, but were given 2 bus tickets and the difference for 500 baht. They didn't say what the bus ticket was for and were trying to force us onto a bus there and then when we hadn't even been stamped out of Thailand ... we requested our money back and went back through the exit gate to get the formalities sorted. Once we had been stamped out we went back to the counter and bought 2 tickets to get over the Friendship Bridge to Laos immigration. When a bus arrived all of the locals piled on and it looked unlikely we would get on, when a young Thai man called us over who had saved us a space ... well somewhere to stand actually but it was nice of him to help us out.
One thing that does get a bit annoying over here is that they don't queue for anything so being British you continuously find yourself being barged past and pushed in front of because you are too polite to do the same.
We arrived at the Laos border and made our way to the visa on arrival desk ... $35 and a few minutes later we were on our way into Laos.
As soon as we cleared customs a young Lao man offered us a tuk-tuk ... 200 baht (4 quid) for the 22km drive into Vientiane. He pointed out the Beer Lao factory ... he obviously took one look at us and knew we would be drinkers ha ha!!!
Along the way he picked up 3 Lao ladies who were really smiley. They studied us carefully ... one stroked Lois' arm and we think she meant white and hairy and another lady put her hand around the top of my arm ... I can only assume she thought I was chunky!!! The tuk-tuk dropped the ladies at the bus station and we continued on to Central Vientiane. All the way Laos people were smiling and waving from cars and motorbikes. First impression was that the people are more friendly in general that the Thais.
The tuk-tuk dropped us on a main road which ran along the bank of the Mekong River. Both in need of food after another overnight journey we sought breakfast at a sweet little coffee shop.
New country ... new start ... we were planning to get back into a healthy regime so ordered fruit salad with yoghurt and a sprinkle of muesli. We were a little shocked at how much more expensive the food was ... thankfully it was massive when it came out. Lois was delighted ... no more tiny Thai portions, however she was a little confused as to why there were black sesame seeds all over our breakfast ... must be a French thing (Laos is French colonial).
After breakfast I left Lois sat with the backpacks while I went to find a guesthouse. I viewed a few dumps, a couple that were well out of our price range and finally settled on Mixay Guest House. A decent room for 90,000 kip a night (7.50GBP), the only problem was the 3 flights of spiral staircases with backpacks on ... we made it to the top and were in desperate need of a rest with the fan on full blast.
Later that day we went for a wander and it was so peaceful ... considering it was rush hour there were very few cars around ... people rode past on bicycles ... it felt so relaxed.
We had been advised that the cheap meals were to be found at the food stalls along the Mekong River, but after a walk by and seeing flies all over the meat we decided we were in need of eating elsewhere, plus the stalls were no cheaper than the restaurants.
On my guesthouse hunt earlier that day I had come across a lovely courtyard with a water fountain which was surrounded by fancy French restaurants and the famous Scandinavian Bakery. We settled on a restaurant not on the square itself but we still had a great view of the fountain.
Lois being Lois wanted to sample typical Laos food and drink so we ordered a jug of Beer Lao, she ordered 'Lab' (also called Lap, Larb, Larp, Laph - depends on the restaurant) which is minced beef (can have other meats) with local herbs and sticky rice (it's not like sticky rice in Thailand with coconut milk ... this is plain rice steamed in a bamboo pot ... it basically comes out as a big ball of glued-together rice ... the Laos people tell us that with steamed rice you eat 3 times a day, but you only eat sticky rice twice a day as it is much more filling). She asked the waiter if it was spicy and he said not ... it didn't blow her head off quite as much as the green curry in Chiang Mai the previous night but it came in a close 2nd and was a different kind of hot.
We later learned that Laos food can be extremely hot and spicy and you need a strong stomach to handle it.
I went for vegetable spring rolls with spicy dip and Pad Thai. The service was slower than erosion but we didn't mind as they were very smiley and apologetic. We both enjoyed our first meal in Laos, but we were in need of something sweet. The Lonely Planet had recommended the Scandinavian Bakery and as we sat in the courtyard digesting our meal it called out to us and we couldn't resist. OMG!!! The cakes in the window were amazing ... we went inside and went a little mad ... 4 different slices of cake ... 2 forks ... yummy!!! By the end I felt pretty sick but Lois again being Lois cleaned the plates and then got a takeout ... fat greedy pig ha ha!!!
Day 2 in Vientiane we arranged our Vietnamese visa with our guesthouse, then went for Paris breakfast at a French café and mosied around the many craft shops and galleries. In the afternoon we took a tuk-tuk to the bus station in an attempt to buy a ticket to Phonsavan of the next evening. We were told we couldn't buy one until the day of departure but were re-assured we'd be able to get onto the VIP overnight coach.
Back in the city we found ourselves at our favourite resting spot ... the fountain ... where a young Lao man came over, sat down next to Lois and posed the question "What is the role of English in globalisation?" Not using your brain for 3 months takes its toll so we weren't much help to the poor guy's college assignment ... nevertheless he was grateful for our input.
That evening we grazed at a restaurant on the banks of the Mekong River. This time the service was great and the smartly dressed waitresses kept out glasses topped up.
Our final day in Vientiane we once again went to the Scandinavian Bakery ... this time for croissants for breakfast, before taking a long and sticky walk to Patuxai (Vientiane's Arc de Triumphe replica) for views of the city. Back at the guesthouse we collected our Vietnam visas and off we went to the bus station.
On arrival we were told that the bus to Phonsavan was full ... we were not impressed as we'd been told to go back at that time and we would get a ticket. A friendly guy in the ticket office told us that if enough people turned up he would arrange another bus. Thankfully others were going the same way so an old banger bus was brought out of retirement ... hardly the VIP we'd paid for!
I sat on the bus and got chatting to some Kiwi girls while we waited for it to fill up ... Lois paced around the station, tried to blag us onto the VIP coach next door and watched people hoist motorbikes and other unusual items onto the buses roof-rack ... it literally looked like it would topple over. Just when we thought the bus was full ... they brought out the 'extra seating' which was plastic stools for local people to sit on in the aisle ... hard to believe that's where they would sit for the next 12 hours overnight, but in typical Laos style they were all smiling and laughing.
As we pulled off the driver cranked up the volume on his sub-woofer and blasted out Laos traditional music and sang to his passengers at the top of his lungs.
Good job it was night time because the so-called air-con we paid for turned out to be open windows - lots of sweaty sardines ... it would have been unbearable in the midday heat.
This was to be the most testing journey so far on our trip ... not only were the seats rock hard but being sat on the front seats opposite the driver we could anticipate every approaching bend of the foggy mountainous terrain ... it literally was bend after bend and although the driver took them a little too quickly for our liking, the journey was still painfully slow.
There are no such thing as service stations in Laos so the toilet stops were at the side of the road where everyone piled off and ran into the bushes ... due to the millions of unexploded bombs dropped over Laos during the Vietnam war and the fact that many unsuspecting Laos locals have stumbled upon them and lost their limbs or even lives we thought it best to hold it.
About an hour into the journey the antique bus came to a standstill and when a few guys got off carrying unusual looking tools we thought we might be camping roadside for the night, but thankfully they wound it back up like a car in the old black and white movies and we were back on our way.
A little further along we passed another over-laden bus that had seemingly taken a bed a bit too fast and had lost some of the motorbikes off it's roof ... they were all smashed up on the road ... wonder if their insurance will cover that??!
Somehow the other passengers seemed to be sleeping but as we had a drunken old lady sat on a plastic stool next to us ranting away to herself in a hysterical high-pitched squeal, whilst the driver slapped himself around the face continuously and yodeled until 7am we didn't catch a wink.
As it got light the thick mist made the landscape resemble that on Memoirs of a Geisha ... it was a little eerie but as the sun continued to rise, the little villages we'd been passing through the night came to life ... ladies getting washed outside their bamboo huts, kids walking to school along the roadside and various farmyard animals wandering into the road.
After 12 hours of darkness this was our first glimpse of rural Laos and even with the thick mist it appeared very beautiful.
On our final toilet stop we witnessed the drunken old lady taking a pee Laos-style ... she was wearing a long straight skirt ... at first it looked like she was pulling a wedgee out, but in fact she must have been pulling her pants to one side ... without hoisting her skirt she stood with straight legs about a foot apart, leant forward from the waist and did the deed ... she walked back to the bus shaking her legs and flicking her feet to dry off URGH!!
On arrival at Phonsavan bus station the first thing we noticed was that it felt very cold ... we were in shorts and t-shirts ... it probably wasn't that cold but compared to what we've become used to it felt really chilly. We looked around and we were in the middle of nowhere ... thankfully the bus station was 4km out of town so we took a tuk-tuk. Phonsavan is a very strange place, with a wide and dusty main street ... it feels like something out of an American western movie. There isn't much there so it was a good job we were only there for a couple of days.
Lois found us a room at the White Orchid Guesthouse where they kindly let us check in straight away. My cold had started taking its toll so I curled up in bed and watched TV while Lois went missioning around the town in search of paracetamol and the best priced tour to the Plain of Jars for the next day. Thankfully it had warmed up by that time and she actually returned with a sweat on.
Later that afternoon I was feeling a little better so we took a stroll along the main street ... there were plenty of people around but it still felt like a ghost town. We found a restaurant called Craters which was recommended in the Lonely Planet so we decided to get some dinner. I went for a spicy vegetable dish and Lois tried Phat Pet for size (this made us laugh as we thought of Poppy our fat pet at home - although she may be thin when we get back with all those runs on Tynemouth beach).
A familiar accent piped up and the voice asked us where we were from ... it turned out the middle-aged couple sat behind us were from Darlington ... as they had no kids they decided to retire early, sell up and travel. On this trip they had already covered many places we plan to visit so they offered us some good advice.
The next morning we were up bright and early for our trip to see the Plain of Jars which is a large area to the west of Phonsavan where huge jars of unknown origin are scattered around in dozens of groupings. There are 3 main sites which have been largely cleared of unexploded ordnance (UXO).
At Site 1 the jars were spread out over 3 main areas. There were 250 jars in total, including the largest jar found so far. There are numerous bomb craters and you can only walk within the white markers which show that the path has been cleared of UXO by the British Mines Advisory Group (MAG). Our guide also took us to see a cave where the Vietnamese stored petrol during the war, which was targeted and blown up by the Americans.
On our way to Site 2 we had a brief tour of the whisky village ... it's actually quite nice but we couldn't drink a full bottle ha ha!
They sell the whisky with a scorpion, a snake or what our guide called a medicine tree inside the bottle. He reckoned if you are going to work tired you should drink the medicine tree whisky and you will be wide awake. We aren't convinced as we continue to find Laos people asleep at their desks.
Site 2 was much smaller with only 90 jars spread across two adjacent hillsides. At this site there is a lid which is engraved with what the guide said is the shape of a man. We were more impressed by the scenery and moved away from the group to take it in and breathe in the fresh air. As we looked out over hills and rice paddies and a gently breeze brushed past our ears we thought of our Dad ... he was a sucker for fresh air and a great view.
Before going on to Site 3 we stopped for lunch at a village called Ban Sieng Di. The ladies served us noodle soup ... I went for no meat of course and Lois wished she had when she pulled out the dodgy looking dog meat (well it could have been) from her bowl. We ate as much as we could and then off we went to Site 3.
Getting to Site 3 was a bit of an obstacle course ... first a bamboo bridge over the river which I was convinced would collapse but I crossed it anyway ... then through 2km of rice paddies ... over a couple of fences and then up a hill to Site 3 itself.
Feeling a little mischievous we waited for our guide to look the other way, then Lois climbed inside one of the jars for a photo ... naughty naughty!!!
The purpose of these possibly 200 year old jars remains a mystery and without any organic material such as bones or food remains, there is no reliable way to date them.
Archaeological theories and local myth suggest the enigmatic jars were used for burial purposes as stone coffins or urns ; or maybe for storing Lao-Lao (rice whisky) or rice.
Lois has devised her own theory ... as the entrances to the jars and the hollow spaces inside most of them are shaped like the bombs dropped during the war ... she reckons that some ancient Nostre D'Ames type dude predicted that dangerous cylindrical objects would fall from the sky and damage the crops so they built the jars to catch them and contain the blasts ... strangely enough this kinda makes sense as the Xieng Khuang Province (where the Jars are) was the most heavily bombed area during the war between 1964 and 1973.
On our way back to Phonsavan we stopped off to see a Russian tank used by the Vietnamese during the war, before dropping off an annoying Czech-Canadian woman who loved the sound of her own voice at the war memorials.
Back in town we were starving and went in search of Nisha Indian Restaurant ... it was really hard to find but after a couple of trips up and down the main street we found it. It was well worth the mission ... best Indian this side of Bombay!
The next morning we went to catch our minibus to Luang Prabang ... we'd expected to be sharing with at least another 4 people but as there were 2 vans we had one to ourselves. At first our driver was going really slow but as soon as we got outside the town he put his foot down. I had wished we were back on the overnight bus where I couldn't see the sheer drops as our driver swung us around bends in the mountains.
For much of the journey we were on cliff edges with drops of a couple of hundred feet or more. Even Lois looked a bit nervous. Drivers here take over on bends and they wonder why there are often head-on collisions ... one of which we saw the aftermath ... a pick-up looked like it had taken over on a bend and had crashed into a lorry coming the other way ... it was not pretty!!!
Our driver didn't speak English so even when we asked him to slow down he didn't understand and continued to throw the minivan around as if her was playing whacky racers.
The other van in our convoy was enjoying a cautious journey through the mountains whereas we were being put through a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride ... well that's what it felt like.
Both vans pulled up on the roadside and our drivers decided to show us the wreckage of a logging truck that had gone over the edge of a cliff and exploded because the driver had fallen asleep. You would think this would encourage our driver to slow down but no such luck.
As we passed through the small villages on our way to Luang Prabang it was evident that the Laos New Year water fights had already started as children lined the roadside with water guns and buckets to soak passing vehicles with. The first time in happened we got soaked as all the windows were wide open.
Eventually the 6 hour journey that turned out to be 8 hours (even though the driver was a maniac) was over and we arrived at Luang Prabang bus station. A short tuk-tuk ride into the centre and after dumping Lois at Joma Bakery with the backpacks I went in search of a guesthouse.
The only one that I could find was a dark 1st floor room with shared bathroom where the price would increase considerably during the 4 day New Year festival. The other guesthouses in that area were either full or out of our price range so I went back to the bakery a little disheartened.
Lois not being willing to settle for a crappy deal went off to the other end of town to look for something better.
While I sat outside the bakery enjoying a diet coke and reading the Lonely Planet I looked over at a temple on the opposite side of the road and to my horror a Laos man was in the gardens doing what I can only imagine was brought on by a dodgy curry the night before against a tree ... I think I have been mentally scarred ha ha ... hadn't been expecting full-frontal made nudity but I guess when you've gotta go ... you've gotta go!!!
About an hour later Lois returned having found a nice room at Levady Guesthouse just off the main street ... although more expensive than we'd hoped it wasn't a bad deal as even the cheap rooms had almost doubled in price for the New Year period.
By this time the night market along the main street was in full swing so it was a bit of an obstacle course ducking and diving under canopies with our snail shells on.
That night we were pretty knackered so after popping out to get some snacks we hit the sack. I think the run yourself ragged journey earlier in the day had taken it out of us.
The next day I was still down with a bad cold so didn't feel like doing much but as it was Easter Sunday back home (they don't celebrate it here) we treated ourselves to some chocolate ... Lois had spotted some full-size Snickers for the first time since Oz so we had to have one ... In Thailand they are tiny so Lois was chuffed with her find.
The next day on top of my cold I had killer period pains so didn't make it out of the room all day. Lois was determined to burn a few calories after all the French fancies we'd consumed so once more donned her unconventional jogging gear ... hiking boots and all and hit the streets of Luang Prabang. She returned wringing wet about 30 minutes later having jogged / walked along the Mekong. Although she was exhausted she was glad to have started a healthy regime again. Unfortunately she had to eat alone that night, but she kindly brought me some veggie rice back to the room.
Thankfully on Tuesday I awoke feeling much better which was great timing as the New Year festivities were due to start. In line with our new healthy regime I popped out to get us a fruit salad for breakfast and picked up 2 Super Soakers.
Armed with our water guns we went to get amongst the mayhem. First we went onto the main street for battles with groups of Laos kids and business owners who had huge water drums on the pavements and were throwing buckets over passersby. There were pick-up trucks full to the brim with people who were driving up and down soaking everyone as they went past. We were drenched ... it was so funny!!!
A procession came along the main street and ducked down one of the side roads which lead to the Mekong. We decided to join them and ended up down by the river where thousands of people were taking boats over to a mud bank in the middle of the Mekong (as it's half empty before the monsoon comes) to watch the building of the 'Stupa'.
We managed to get onto one of the boats and were soon on the other side of the river where food stalls were set up and Laos people were all drinking and dancing. We were very lucky to be part of the celebrations.
Traditionally the Laos people throw white flour over each other and then get something that resembles mud or tar and cover each other in that too along with the water fights of course.
To get to where the majority of people were partying we had to wade through the Mekong's murky water and then through thick sludgy mud in our bare feet ... NICE!!!
We somehow made it without falling in unlike a few others I witnessed take a dive. Once we were in the thick of it we were almost instantly covered in flour and mud by the young Laos boys.
Once again I got injured ... this time we were walking through some thick mud when something sharp went into my foot ... thankfully it wasn't too serious so I just did a DIY bandage job.
On the other side of the river we could see there was a lot of commotion going on so we hopped on a boat back so we could join in. After numerous water battles along the road that runs alongside the Mekong we found shelter in a riverside bar as we were in need of a beer (we were probably the only sober people in town at that point).
All of the guesthouses along the Mekong were hosting big street parties, each blaring out different music and keeping everyone's water ammo topped up.
From our safe haven behind a few bushes we had a great view of some entertaining Laos youngsters ... ladyboys dancing on tables ... halting cars, pick-ups, motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians to give them a good soaking.
The atmosphere was highly energised and couldn't help feeling excited. Everybody was getting involved ... even pensioners as you couldn't escape the mayhem ... it was everywhere!!!
Rested and refreshed we were keen to get back into the chaos so off we went. Considering we were only a 2 woman team we did pretty well soaking some of the big groups, although literally every 5 metres we'd get a bucket of water thrown over us and get covered in mud and flour.
This may sound harsh but it's actually a tradition to wish you well for the coming year and most pour the water over you gently and it's often warm-ish, although you do get some crafty youngsters with icy buckets.
The Super Soakers are a relatively new addition to make is more fun for kids, teenagers and of course us tourists.
As we made our way back up to the main street we passed a temple and I noticed some young monks in the gardens. I was just saying to Lois how I felt sorry for them not being able to get involved when a bucket of cold water came flying over the wall and we could hear the chuckling from the orange-robed assailants. Lois retaliated and soaked them all which I watched in horror saying "You can't soak the monks!" and Lois shouted back "I bloody well can!" The monks soon retreated back to the temple.
On the main street we roamed until sundown and as the final buckets of water were thrown and darkness drew in we went for some dinner. The restaurant owners took one look at us and offered us soap and towels so we could wash the mud and flour off our faces before we sat down to eat.
That night Lois didn't get much sleep as half the Mekong she'd swallowed during water fights that day troubled her tummy.
The next day the Prime Minister was in town for the Pii Mai (Laos New Year) procession ... he started the festivities by banging a huge drum in the middle of the main street.
The procession was very colourful and the hundreds of participants put on a good show. The Prime Minister and other officials were given silver pots full of water and flowers to sprinkle over the performers and each other.
Afterwards the water fights commenced so we sought refuge upstairs in the Joma Bakery where we enjoyed a nice cup of tea, some naughty cake (yes, the healthy regime had again gone down the toilet) and we watched the madness with a birds eye view from the window.
That night we went to Pizza Luang Prabang as it was recommended in the Lonely Planet ... the food and service were rubbish but we got chatting to a nice old couple (Ron & Myra) from Australia. He was originally from Lancashire but moved to Oz when he was a boy. They were sorry to hear we'd had a disappointing time in Australia, mainly due to weather and said we could stay with them anytime at their house near Melbourne so they could try to change our minds. They also gave us some great advice about Vietnam.
The next day we sat at the bakery whose carrot cake Lois became addicted to and strangely enough watched the same procession as the day before except they were traveling in the opposite direction. Perhaps in the absence of the Prime Minister and the fact that the locals had been drinking Beer Lao for the last 3 days it wasn't taken as seriously and the locals soaked the performers ... it was still great fun to watch!
It was the last official day of the New Year festival so wanting to make the most of it we for our Super Soakers on and hit the streets once more. This time the majority of the action was on the main street. It seemed like lots of backpackers had just arrived and along with the young locals had made teams on both sides of the road and were having water battles and charging across to soak one another ... we joined one of the teams for a little while but decided that our 2 woman tag team was better so we took off.
During a beer break we got chatting to a guy called Tom from Brighton who was traveling with 2 Danish guys ... they had just returned from Vang Vieng where they had been Tubing (you go down rapids on a rubber ring and stop at lots of bars along the way). Unfortunately they had witnessed a girl die ... they aren't sure what happened but she was under the water for a long time and one of the Danish guys dragged her out ... she was blue and they took her away in a wheelbarrow.
Lois had wanted to visit Vang Vieng to do Tubing without the drinking, but due to a lack of time we'd bypassed it which we are now grateful for although Lois was gutted at the time.
When you hear about tragedies like this it really hits home that you really are on the other side of the world and safety is not taken as seriously. Don't worry Mum we are being careful!
The last few hours before darkness the water fights grew more intense ... last chance for a whole year ... we soaked it up literally!
Our description and the photos of Laos New Year don't anywhere near express how much fun the experience was. We would definitely recommend visiting Laos especially at this time of year as long as you have a sense of humour and don't mind getting completely soaked.
Friday was the first day since we arrived in Luang Prabang where you could actually walk around without getting soaked so we visited the Royal Palace Museum.
The palace was originally constructed in 1904 as a residence for King Sisavangvong and his family. When the king died in 1959 his son Savang Vattana inherited the throne, but shortly after the 1975 revolution he and his family were exiled to northern Laos and imprisoned in the caves of Vieng Xai, following which the palace was converted into a museum.
Cameras were not permitted inside the palace but there were impressive murals depicting traditional Laos life on the walls, lots of artifacts from Laos history and many gifts to the King and his family from different countries ... the one which sticks out in my mind is a tacky plastic space station given to the King by America.
After a stroll along the Mekong I was feeling a little unwell so went back to the room while Lois went to visit the temples on the slopes of Phu Si where she hiked up 350 steps for fantastic views of the city.
The next morning at 8am we caught our lift to the bus station where we got on a minibus to Nong Khiaw.
I had been dreading the journey after the terrifying trip from Phonsavan but I was pleasantly surprised ... the driver was not a mentalist and the scenery was wonderful as we drove alongside the river.
After only 2.5 hours we came to a small village and stopped at the end of a gravel track. We were a little confused as were expecting the journey to take 4 hours, which usually means 6 in Laos, but were told we had arrived in Nong Khiaw.
We were expecting a small town but were shocked to have ended up in a riverside village with very few amenities. We were planning to catch the bus to Sam Neau the next day and on to the Vietnamese border but needed a bed for the night so I went off to find a room.
After viewing several rooms I finally settled on Sunset Guesthouse on the other side of the river. I collected Lois and our packs and we made the sweaty midday walk back over the bridge.
We have stayed in some pretty basic rooms but this was basic with a capital 'B'!
Our room was actually a bamboo hut on stilts nestled into the bank of the Nam Ou river.
This was to be my biggest test so far being petrified of spiders as there were gaps in the bamboo walls and a 6 inch gap under the front door so anything could have got in.
On the up side we had a mozzie net albeit with lots of holes, a fan, a terrace with a hammock that Lois curled up in and a magical view of the sunset between the jagged limestone karsts. It really was the definition of peace and tranquility.
There was no ATM or bank and we didn't have much cash so we went to investigate how much our bus ticket to Sam Neau would be before going for dinner. Most of the locals didn't speak English and there was no tourist information so we found it difficult to get any answers. Eventually a guy at the tiny post office told us it would be 70,000 kip each which is what we'd expected and also told us it wasn't a fixed schedule so to get to the bus stop (side of the road) early.
Having only 200,000 kip we thought it best to go hungry just incase the price had gone up as it tends to do here.
Back at our little hut we sat on the terrace until dark ... lots of bugs ... my mosquito coils came in handy!
We were conscious that having the big light on would attract more bugs so we got ready for bed using torch light and quickly climbed into bed under the mozzie net.
I felt quite stressed being in a bamboo hut in the dark with who knows what about to crawl on me but eventually managed to settle. Lois was absolutely fine as usual ... in fact she felt quite at home!
Being only 7pm and us tucked up in bed we were hoping for a mammoth sleep of 12 hours ... turns out a birthday party had made its way to right outside our hut and the thumping music and loud voices didn't cease until after midnight. On top of all that I had a migraine and at one point the door blew open and I jumped out of my skin ... so not quite the peace and tranquility we'd hoped for after all.
Next morning we woke tired and hungry but didn't want to get breakfast until we'd bought our ticket. We checked out and made our way to the bus ticket office which was now open and to our dismay the tickets to Sam Neau were double what we'd been told. We explained that we'd been ill-advised and asked if we could pay what we had now and then pay the rest when we got to the ATM in Sam Neau but they were having none of it so our only option was to buy a cheaper ticket and return to Luang Prabang.
In hindsight we should have had more cash for the trip but with planning to leave the country that day we didn't want to have lots of Kip to exchange in Vietnam as you get a rubbish exchange rate. Lesson learned!!!
We had a 3 hour wait but now had a bit of money left over for breakfast so we found a restaurant and had a Laos Farmers breakfast (omelet, chilli dip, sticky rice and broccoli) which was thankfully really filling as we hadn't eaten since the previous morning.
Eventually we were on our way in an extremely overcrowded minivan with 6 monks, a Lao-Lao cowboy, 2 drunken lushes and a guy who tweezed his beard hair all the way right next to me, plus a few more non-descript locals.
I had one of the drunken lushes plonk herself between me and tweezer guy and she insisted on singing along with her iPhone and then kept falling asleep on me. I wasn't in the mood so nudged her over onto tweezer guy.
It was a very uncomfortable ride and we were glad to get back to Luang Prabang although it took longer than expected because the monks wanted a door-to-door service. In the end we got sick of all the ferrying around of monks so got out and walked back to Levady Guesthouse where they were pleased to see us and we got a cheaper room.
Our Vietnam visa was starting the next day and we were concerned that with the setback in Nong Khiaw it would now take us a long time to go overland to Hanoi and would be eating into our short time in Vietnam so we decided to look at flights. We felt a bit like we were cheating but we for booked up for the earliest available flight 2 days later.
We spent the next day soaking up the Luang Prabang charm that had been lost within the craziness of the festival. It really is a quirky little place where you can kick back and relax.
We have really enjoyed Laos ... not just the New Year water festival but also the way of life. The people are so friendly and are that chilled out they are often found sleeping during the day.
To say we have overindulged would be an understatement but the French bakeries are so good they are impossible to resist. Living on croissants and cakes for 2 weeks has made us rather porky so back to fruit in Vietnam ha ha!!!

(Pictures to follow)

We are now in Vietnam for 2 weeks ... travelling from Hanoi down to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) before going to Cambodia so we will hopefully update you with our travel tales again before we leave.
Lots of love to everyone back home
Sophie & Lois
P.S. Mum we still have no signal so please email us when our niece is born ... we will be checking for news every day!!!! x x x


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1238965200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1238965200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1238965200/tpod.html Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:11:07 -0400 Sisters on Tour - Lois and Sophie's Big Adventure

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Chiang Mai, Thailand

Hello again from the Land of Smiles!
We left you at sunset on our first night in Koh Lanta with high hopes of exercising and sunbathing the following day ... no such luck ... we woke to grey skies and heavy rain so we pretty much hibernated all day, enduring the one English-speaking D-rate movie channel for most of it. In the evening there was a break in the rain so we chanced it and took a stroll down to the nearest small bunch of shops (about 2kn away) to upload the 280 photos to the last blog entry, which took us 3 different computers and 5 hours so hope you enjoyed them ... darn island Internet!
The next day was much brighter so we got some sun, Soph had a swim and I thought about going for a jog ... I'd come down with a touch of cold so decided against it ... this decision troubled me as I thought about the La Cucina yummies that have taken up residence on my ass!
It was the bar manager's birthday and we were invited down to the party that evening with the promise of live music and free cake.
Later on when we heard the sound of fireworks we realised the celebrations had begun so we made our way down to the Sound Shack bar, which is pretty much a wooden hut on stilts right on the beach. We were shown to a little wooden table and sat on cushions on the floor. It didn't take long for the bar to fill up once the band struck their first chord. We hadn't planned on drinking but as the band was good and the mood was chilled we went with it and got the cheapo cocktail in a bucket ... classy hey!
The first band were a brother and sister duo from America who were also just visiting Koh Lanta until she fell off a motorbike and hurt her leg and a Thai guy (who was wasted on the night) had offered to manage them and get them gigs while she recovered.
The second band were Thai and the lead singer wore a leather cowboy hat and jacket and sang the Thai classic of doo doo doo dimble dum ... well that's how it sounds to us ... they play it everywhere and it's very catchy!
A group of English travelers had come along with the Americans ... we were all chatting, had a good sing song and we actually got our free cake ... happy days!
The next day was again pretty chilled ... we relaxed in the sun and took a walk along the beach ... well I did ... Soph only lasted a few minutes as she'd earlier grazed her foot in the pool and complained about sand getting in it ... always a drama ha ha!!!
Sunday was a bit overcast so we took a walk back down to the little shops to book our onward journey. I wanted to hire a motorbike for the afternoon but Soph was having none of it ... can't blame her I suppose considering her recent string of minor accidents. Instead we agreed to source a willing local to give us an island tour. A young Thai guy called Dan took is on a 4hr sightseeing trip in his motorbike tuk-tuk. Koh Lanta is pretty much made up of small clusters on beach resorts and bars and lots of hills and as his brakes barely worked we ended up walking much of the terrain which Soph grumbled about as she was too hot and bothered. Afterwards Dan kindly took us to see Lanta Town on the other side of the island in his pick-up for no extra cost. Oddly enough it was whilst bumping around in the back of the truck that I looked around at the beautiful scenery and fell in love with Thailand. It's no wonder Leonardo Di Caprio has a house on Koh Lanta as it's very relaxed and beautiful.
That evening we watched our final sunset over Phi Phi Islands and reminisced about our journey so far.
The next day we were expecting our direct minibus to Surat Thani (where we would catch the train to Bangkok) to arrive around 1pm ... when the driver arrived he was adamant that he would only take us to Krabi and when we spoke to his manager we discovered that the direct service does not in fact exist and we would have to make a change along the way. We were suitably unimpressed as after the Penang to Phuket experience which due to several changes took 6 hours longer than expected, we'd this time gone with the direct service to avoid such delays as we had a train to catch. The manager advised that the driver would take us to their office so we jumped in the van.
We pulled up at the small group of shops and it turned out they had no intention of discussing our grievance in the office, they were just picking up some other passengers. The tour operator where we actually booked the tickets was just a few doors down so I tried to get off the bus as we wanted a refund for the difference between the direct and indirect services ... the company owner pretty much barricaded the door and refused to let me get off, stating that other people had paid more than we had and we would not get a refund ... I refused to accept this and 'politely' asked him to move aside.
I went along to the tour operator and they were shocked to learn that it wasn't a direct service as they use that company specifically for that reason. Meanwhile back at the minibus the Rottweiller owner had turned on Soph demanding that she took our bags and got off the bus ... thankfully she stood her ground but when I came bounding back with my cash refund in hand the angry man turned in my direction and looked like he was going to thump me so I calmly walked past, thanked him for waiting and slammed the door in his face.
We celebrated our 4 quid victory ... it's the principal don't you know ... plus that's our daily food budget.
Two ferries and two hours later we arrived at the company's office in Krabi where we were told our connecting bus would be there in 30 minutes ... an hour and a half later it arrived and took us 10 minutes down the road to Krabi Bus Station where we waited another hour and a half for our ride to Surat Thani. We waited patiently but when our bus arrived we were told there was no room for us so we ended up on the coach to Bangkok. As we were headed that way we were hoping that they would overlook the fact that we hadn't paid but some 2 hours later we were booted off at Surat Thani train station and thankfully there were 2 tickets left for the last sleeper train to Bangkok.
After a quick dodgy looking food stall fix we boarded carriage 11 and found our opposite top bunks. It was pretty much what we expected, however we didn't realise we would be sharing a cabin with 30 odd other people. Considering a private cabin was 3 times the price though it wasn't all that bad. It was fairly noisy, there was a lot of bumping around and every time we stopped we nearly got thrown out of bed, but we still managed to get a few hours shut-eye and we were ready to take on the hostel hunt in Bangkok.
After phoning all of the recommended guest houses from the Lonely Planet guide and finding they were all full we decided to take a taxi to the Khao San area where there are many supposedly cheap guest houses and backpacker places. So the pink taxi dropped us at Soi Rambutri (not far from Khao San Road) and we began our search. We'd expected Bangkok to be cheaper than the islands but everywhere we went they wanted 800 baht (16 quid) a night.
We were starting to think we would never find a cheap room so decided to look for breakfast instead and re-think our strategy. As we stood outside Merry V's and thumbed the pages of the menu, familiar voices called our names from inside ... we looked round and there were Ashling and Paula (the Irish sisters) waving us in. For a moment we were a little stunned as it was a shock to see them ... we'd thought they would be in Chiang Mai by that point ... it turns out they'd been to the east coast islands and Chiang Mai already and had arrived in Bangkok the day before. They had already endured the dreaded hostel hunt and found that Merry V's was the cheapest and cleanest place going ... thankfully they had a room free so we checked in and at only 400 baht (8 quid) a night we were pleased.
We were just sat having breakfast when another familiar face walked in ... it was Dave; one of the English travelers we had met at the birthday party in Koh Lanta. He'd left the others in Koh Lanta as they were taking a different route.
The afternoon was pretty much written off as the rain started and the roads flooded but we planned to go to the Thai boxing on the other side of town that evening. Dave was up for it so we met him later on and got a tuk-tuk. We'd underestimated the Bangkok traffic and although our driver made every effort to get us there on time by weaving in and out of the gridlocked cars, we came to a standstill and after 2 hours breathing in exhaust fumes we got out and walked. A friendly local saw we were lost so walked us to the underground where we could catch a train all the way to the Lumphini Stadium ... if only the rail system covered the entire city we'd have got on at Khao San but that's about 5 years off.
We arrived at the stadium and discovered the prices in the Lonely Planet were a little out of date ... we'd been expecting to pay 500 baht (10 quid) each but it turned out this was only for Thai people and the cheapest ticket for foreigners was 1000 baht (20 quid) for standing at the back.
We ummed and arghed and tried to haggle with them but the prices were fixed. One of the stewards offered to show us the viewing deck and as there was a good view of the ring even from the back, we decided that the epic journey we'd encountered warranted the reward so we all blew our daily budgets and went in.
With the traffic we'd missed the first couple of fights, but there were still 7 to go and we found a good place to stand. The atmosphere was electric ... the Thais get very passionate about the boxing and the rear deck where we were resembled the Wall Street Stock Exchange with hundreds of men shouting, waving their hands around and placing bets.
We got to see some killer moves, a few knockouts and we joined in with the chanting crowd.
Afterwards Dave took us to a good food stand he'd found and I had my first Thai Green Curry for 60 pence ... it was delicious and we continued to graze there whilst in Bangkok. Having hardly eaten meat in the best part of 3 months I am loving it here as I alternate between chicken, beef, pork and seafood each day and rarely pay more than a pound for a good meal. Sophie's staple diet in vegetable Pad Thai (noodles) and occasionally a shrimp or two ... adventurous hey!
Later on we had a wander along Khao San Road and played 'Spot the Ladyboy' over a nice cold Chang Beer. Dave left the next day and we met with the girls to go and visit the palace. We were almost there when we learned it was closed for the day so we went to see a couple of temples instead. That night we tended to some business in the form of currency exchange for visas, getting passport photos and stocking up on products from Boots.
The next morning we'd intended visiting the palace but we both felt a bit ropey having just started the malaria tablets so we chilled with the girls and went for a look around the markets.
We were both in need of some cheap shorts and a t-shirt. Soph opted for the travelers trend of Chang Beer vest and Thai-style baggy shorts. The only stall I liked, I wasn't allowed to try anything on and when I asked if I could buy something the lady yelled 'NO' at me, put her head down and walked off. We can only assume it was a Thai only stall?! I ended up getting a pair of fake O'Neill boardies from a deaf lady ...'EXTRA LARGE' OMG!!! ... I know I overate in Karon Beach but come off it I'm a SMALL at home!!!
We said our second goodbye to the girls and off to the train station we went. The only sleeper tickets left to Chiang Mai were on the 10pm so we had a long wait being only 7 o'clock. It wasn't long before a Thai man came and sat next to me. He was interested to know where we'd been and where we were heading. When I asked where he was heading it turned out he wasn't going anywhere, he was just there to enjoy the air-con and watch the big screen TV ... it seems the train station is a social gathering place for locals who can't afford TV or air-con in their homes. A Thai pensioner chatted away to Sophie ... she had no idea what he was talking about so she just kept smiling and nodding.
Aboard the train we settled into our bunks and were amused by a group of young Thai men who were sozzled on rice whiskey.
We arrived in Chiang Mai around lunchtime and luckily we knew where we were going as the girls had recommended the guest house they stayed in. We didn't even have to make our own way as a guy from the guest house was there to pick someone up so we snagged a free lift.
Chiang Mai is a lovely little town ... much slower-paced than Bangkok with lots of sleepy side streets and waterways although it still has it's fair share of hustle and bustle at the weekend markets; we enjoyed walking around that evening.
Yesterday we were up bright and early for our jungle trekking trip. First on the agenda was elephant riding. Having ridden a huge male camel in Egypt I had a good idea what to expect but I don't think Soph was prepared for the experience. From a hut in a tree I hopped on to our elephant ... Soph was actually shaking as she didn't realise how high up we would be but after some persuasion I took her hand and she nervously stepped on. To be fair it was much more comfortable than a camel but an hour was well enough.
At the end we got to feed our elephant bananas and she at last looked happy having been hit on the head with a stick for the last hour!
The next stop was down by the river where we boarded a bamboo raft and a young boy navigated us through the rapids ... It's a good job we had our swimmers on as we got rather wet. For the most it was very relaxing and the visions we'd had in our minds of Northern Thailand came to life. There were swarms of beautiful green butterflies dancing on the water and they circled around our heads as we passed by (unfortunately we couldn't take the camera so no photos).
Being the weekend many locals had gathered in small wooden huts along the riverbank. They spend the day eating and often drinking lots of alcohol and they splashed us as we went by. What a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
We were taken for lunch where we had 4 courses of Thai food ... it was delicious and we were the fullest we've been in ages. We visited a Karon hilltribe village where we were shown how they live and as expected the children tried to sell their wares.
Afterwards we took a walk through the jungle to a beautiful waterfall where we relaxed for a while.
A grand day out!!!
We are leaving Chiang Mai this evening on a night bus to Udon Thani where we will continue on to Nong Khai and cross the Friendship Bridge into Laos.
We are looking forward to some hardcore traveling and the New Year celebrations in Luang Prabang where they have a huge water fight.
We will report back with our Laos Adventure before we leave for Vietnam.
Lots of love to you all
Lois & Sophie x x x
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Phuket, Thailand

Sa wat dii (hello) from The Land of Smiles!
Our journey from Penang to Phuket started well as we were picked up from our guesthouse by a guy in a Mercedes ... unfortunately this wasn't the mode of transport for the whole trip. He dropped us at Komtar where we were squashed into a small cramped minibus. Thankfully the bus wasn't completely filled to capacity.
It wasn't long before we hit a toll road (there are lots in Malaysia). We were just waiting to get through when a bus went crashing through one of the turnstiles taking most of the roof with it ... we had to drive on and didn't have chance to get a picture ... but it was so funny I have to mention it.
A short while after that the driver pulled into a petrol station and the engine cut out. Much to the efforts of the staff to revive the bus, there was no joy and we watched it get towed away. The driver assured us that his mate would be along shortly to take us the rest of the way.
So we stood there waiting in the blistering heat with a variety of bugs trying to bite us, including my own personal favourite the red ant! After a good hour and a half or more the replacement vehicle arrived to rescue us from our predicament. This minibus was even more cramped and the air-con didn't work ... GRRR!!!
We eventually reached the Malaysia / Thai border and got stamped out no problem, but as we got stamped into Thailand, our visa on arrival was only granted for 15 days ... OMG!
Apparently the rules recently changed so that you only get 30 days visa on arrival if you fly into the Kingdom ... overland you only get 15 days. We had planned to stay for a month but the border control guy said he couldn't do anything and we would have to contact immigration in Phuket ... As you can imagine we were pretty hacked off but back on the bus a few Malaysians reassured us that we would be able to get an extension, though at a cost!!!
Driving through the Thai countryside we admired the mountains covered with lush greenery, the colourfully painted houses and the hundreds of religious statues and temples which are decorated with golden Buddhas and other interesting artwork.
We arrived in Hat Yai at around 2pm (only 3 hours late) and had to change minibus. We were then told it was another 5 hours to Krabi and Phuket was another 2 and a half hours from there ... slightly longer than the 8 hour total journey sold to us by the travel agent in Penang. The people on this minibus were not in the best of moods as they had been waiting 3 hours for us to arrive ... a French lady heading for Krabi and a German guy who boarded the bus with us had what you might call a personality clash and bickered at each other all the way, much to our amusement. The French lady must have been in her 70's and had been travelling non-stop for the last 30 years ... although she was a bit worn we imagined she may have been a French supermodel or actress in her day ... very va va voom!!!
We stopped at a service station on our way to Krabi where Lois encountered her first Asian toilet ... she wasn't sure how to tackle it ... it is kind of like a hole in the floor with a panel on either side and as this one was very dirty she opted for hovering over it and holding onto the wall for balance. Afterwards she asked the well-travelled French lady how to use it and she advised that you sit on it. We later learned that you actually take your pants off, put your feet on the side panels, squat over it and then hose yourself down as there is never any toilet paper ... subsequently we have started carrying it with us wherever we go!
We arrived in Krabi as it started to rain and we were ushered onto another minibus for the final leg. As we embarked on our journey to Phuket a thunder and lightening storm lit up the skies and the rain continued to come down hard. It was unusual because in the distance we could see the sun setting over limestone cliffs yet we were in the middle of a storm.
Thankfully our minibus had seat belts unlike the ones earlier in the day as the driver was nuts and driving far too fast for the conditions ... but gladly we made it to Phuket Town in one piece around 9.30pm. As usual we were confronted by the hotel and taxi touts which we were in no mood for so we got our backpack raincovers on and made a dash out of the bus station in no particular direction looking for an ATM as we hadn't any Thai currency at that point.
2 Good Samaritans (from Austria we think) approached us and told us of a cheap guesthouse and where to find the ATM ... we felt like someone was watching over us as we had no idea where we were heading and it turned out we were going in the wrong direction.
As we hiked with our backpacks to the On On Hotel the roads were closed around a fancy hotel so we asked one of the police officers what was going on and he told us the King was inside. The rain was picking up so we decided to make it to the hotel and then go back to see if we could see the precession.
We checked in to the On On Hotel for 250 baht per night (5GBP) for a basic fan room with a double bed and own bathroom ... can't complain ... plus this is where parts of the film "The Beach" with Leonardo Di Caprio were filmed ... this guesthouse was the Khao San flophouse in the film (room 38 to be exact) ... unfortunately that room was fully booked ... surprise surprise!!!
We took a walk back to try to spot the King, but we were too late as the roads had re-opened. After travelling for over 14 hours we decided we deserved a couple of beers so we went to Roxy Bar near to our guesthouse. We got chatting to the owner's girlfriend Meemee who gave us loads of helpful information about Thailand.
Next morning we were keen to get our visa issues sorted so called immigration but they could barely speak English and said only 7 day extension for 1900 baht (38GBP). One of Meemee's friends the night before had mentioned a visa run service where you go back to the border on the day your visa runs out and get another 15 days. Not sure what to do we went for breakfast to think it over where another 2 Good Samaritans (a couple from Torquay) offered us advice about the visa run and lift to the immigration office so we could speak to them in person. We jumped into the back of their truck ... it was quite a long way and boiling hot so we were glad we hadn't tried to walk it. The lady took us into the immigration office and told us what to do ... unfortunately we got the same answer so we decided the visa run was the best option as it is cheaper and you get more time. We tried to put it to the back of our minds so we could enjoy the next 2 weeks.
I've not seen the film "The Beach" but that night as we laid in our room in the On On Hotel we could hear every footstep along the corridor and up and down the stairs; there were door slamming and Lois said it really felt like we were in the film ... will definitely be renting the DVD when I get home so I will know what she was on about.
Next day we got a bus to Karon Beach which is about 30 minuted from Phuket Town. It was a scorcher so Lois parked me and the backpacks at a restaurant with a diet coke and went off to search for somewhere to stay. While she was gone an old Irish couple started chatting to me ... they were really sweet and gave me some advice about where to eat, etc. Lois arrived back after about 2 hours having been to pretty much every guesthouse in Karon Beach. She had found us a lovely room above an Italian restaurant for 500 baht (10GBP) a night which was a steal as most of the 'basic' fan rooms she had viewed wanted 700+ baht a night. We had hoped there would be cheaper rooms like in Phuket Town but as it is still high season and Karon Beach is a popular beach resort, Lois did really well to get us our room at La Cucina Italiana, especially when we had a huge bed, TV with film channels, fridge, wardrobes, own bathroom, daily cleaning service, balcony, air-con and one of the owners was a hottie so we had some eye candy ha ha!!!
Ashling and Paula (Irish sisters we met in Australia) had decided to fly directly to Phuket from Singapore so they could celebrate my birthday with us and they were not due to arrive until the Saturday, so for the next few days we walked around Karon Beach, did some exercise, swam in the sea, sunbathed, I haggled with salesmen to get us some cheap cheap sun dresses / party night dresses, went to the night market opposite our accommodation, etc.
We had booked the girls a room at the Italian restaurant too and they were actually in the room next door so we could sit out together on our balconies. We were expecting the girls to arrive around 7pm so we sat in the restaurant having a beer waiting for them. We were starting to think they weren't going to turn up and this looked even more likely when the heavens opened for the first time in days. It was about half 10 when I noticed two very wet girls approaching ... hurray they have made it!!!
We ordered them a beer and the lovely Thai waiters helped them with their bags. After a quick bite to eat and a catch up we retired for the night knowing we would have a late night for my birthday the next day. Lois had been naughty and bought me some little presents and as it was after midnight I opened them all ... lots of sweets and chocolate (that she helped me eat)!
My 26th birthday had arrived ... our plan was to treat ourselves to a sun lounger at the beach and relax all day, before having a meal at the Italian and then heading out around Karon Beach for drinks.
It was so nice to have a sun lounger as we had been getting covered in sand all week laying on the beach trying to save money. There was this adorable little puppy at the beach who I got to cuddle ... he was so cute but not quite as cute as my Poppy & Oliver back home.
We went for lunch at a Thai restaurant near the beach which was yummy. Back at our rooms we all got dolled up and went down for dinner around half 7. The food was delicious and Lois ordered me my favourite ... Tiramisu ... Andrea (the hot Italian) and the girls all sang Happy Birthday ... I was so embarrassed!!!
We went down to a few of the bars and I got tortured by an Austrian sex tourist urgh!!! We ended up in a bar full of Thai girls and sex tourists ... the girls were really sweet and wanted to chat to us, especially Lois who ended up sampling some of their deep fried delicacies, including frog and locust ... that's coz my sister is a minger!!!
Karon Beach pretty much dies down at midnight so we went back to the restaurant for a night cap. The girls cried off and went to bed so Lois and I ended up drinking lots of Tequila with the owners (Andrea, Nico and his Thai wife) which was a really good laugh.
The next day was written off as you can imagine and we only left our room to try to call our Gran as it was her birthday ... but she wasn't even in!
Tuesday came ... St. Patrick's Day ... a big day for Ashling and Paula. They were planning an all day drinking session, but as we were still feeling a little ropey and had some business to attend to we said we would join them later. We went to the beach for a much-needed serotonin boost and then organised our dive course, ferry to Phi Phi and visa run to Burma.
In the evening we met the girls at the Irish bar for a couple before heading to Phuket's party capital ... Patong.
It was mad, really busy with loads of bars and clubs with music blaring out into the streets; ladyboys and offers of ping pong shows everywhere ... we couldn't be further away from quiet Karon Beach. We checked out a few places and then ended up at a cocktail bar where it was BOGOF and the waiter dazzled us by juggling bottles and glasses ... he was fantastic and the cocktails were huge with no spirit measure in sight!!!
The clock struck 12 and the girls' carriage turned into a pumpkin so they got a tuk-tuk back to Karon. We'd only just got started so chose to stay and see what Patong clubbing was like. Most people had recommended Hollywood Discotheque ... free to get in ... even better!!! Much to our delight as we walked up the stairs into the air-conditioned nightclub we could hear the beats of some filthy banging house tunes. Needless to say we danced all night and Lois spent most of her time on the stage until she was asked to get down. We were wondering what she had done wrong when what we can only assume was a Thai celebrity came out onto the stage wearing a crash helmet, luminous goggles and an inflatable pool ring. The crowd went bonkers and he started throwing more inflatables ... the Thai girls were diving forwards and one of them scratched my hand by accident ... we had no idea what was going on and to be honest didn't get it at all!
Once all the commotion was over Lois reclaimed her position on the stage and I went back to dancing with Sean (the Swede) ... thankfully he was just looking for a dancing buddy like me ... plus I think he was gay going by the silver t-shirt ha ha so he didn't try to snog me ha ha!!!
It got to about 4am when the music turned naff so we decided to leave on a high and went and took our first ride in a tuk-tuk back to Karon Beach.
Wednesday we were surprisingly chirpy and got ourselves organised ready for our trip to Ko Phi Phi. We had dinner at the Italian with the girls, then had a walk around the night market as there was a religious festival going on all week ... there were kids singing and dancing and monks around the temples collecting donations. We had hoped for lots of sleep but the music from the festival went on late into the night.
Thursday lunchtime the minibus picked us up and took us to Phuket Town where we were getting the ferry to Ko Phi Phi. We were due to leave at 1.30pm but didn't leave until 2.50pm ... no air-con so we all nearly died of heat exhaustion while we waited for them to pack on as many people as they could before the boat was allowed to set sail. We were not impressed!!!
The ride over to the island made up for it though as the scenery was astounding and Lois spent the majority of the time on the deck as she had thought ahead and applied her sun cream. I went inside after half an hour as it was too hot to stay out longer without any lotion on.
So we arrived at the pier in Phi Phi about 2 hours later than expected and absolute mayhem broke loose with people trying to find their luggage amidst a huge pile at the back of the boat. It was really badly organised so we tried to hang back until the crowd had cleared but we were conscious we were really late for our dive course introduction. Ashling and Paula managed to find my bag but somehow Lois' had ended up out on the deck. I guess someone realised it wasn't theirs and dumped it.
Eventually we made it off the boat and began our hike to the dive centre on the other side of the island. It was scorching hot and we were literally dripping wet when we arrived at Blue View Divers. It turned out they were expecting us the day before ... they'd obviously misread the email so we were thrown straight into 3 hours of theory DVD's and tests while the girls went and looked for a room.
After being at La Cucina for the last week for 500 baht a night, we knew we would not get quite as much for our money on Phi Phi but we were shocked how little we got. All 4 of us ended up being squashed into a room with one double and one single bed ... there was no room to swing a hamster ... never mind a cat ... no bathroom and it was so noisy as it was right behind Ibiza Bar (beach party bar) which plays banging music until 6am every morning ... we wouldn't have minded if we didn't have to be up at 7am to do our dive course.
After a terrible nights sleep at Seasons Guesthouse we rolled up half dead to meet our dive instructor Kim at 8am for our confined water dive. We got kitted out with shorties, snorkels and fins and then jumped in the pool which overlooked the beach and limestone cliffs ... it was very beautiful.
We got our scuba gear on and started working through some skills. I was shocked that Lois was whizzing through the skills and I was struggling to get my breathing under control. I had been feeling really stressed about it for a few days and also had a bit of a cold. For some reason I just could not get my head into it for ages. After giving myself a talking to I managed to get through a few skills but then I cam up against the same skill I couldn't master in Australia and pretty much was defeated from then on. I got so stressed and even after some extra time with John (our theory tutor) in the pool I was still struggling. We cracked on with the theory that afternoon. We went for dinner with the girls and even then I couldn't relax. Lois and I went up to the dive centre to get our schedule for the next day and Kim tried to reassure me I could do it if I just tried to chill out. Easier said than done ... I had been waiting for this for 6 months but for some reason I had put a mental block in place and could not chill out no matter how hard I tried. Lois tried to talk me round but I had pretty much talked myself out of it.
I had expected to be good at it with being a strong swimmer but swimming has very little to do with it. Lois said she would not do it without me as it was supposed to be something we could share.
Saturday morning came and I was still in turmoil about whether to continue. We said our goodbyes to Ashling and Paula as they were leaving for Krabi (they only have a short time in Thailand before going on to China and then home). At the dive centre Kim could see we were both stressed and I explained what was going on in my head. I ended up in tears ... maybe when you want something so much you end up doing your own head in!
Lois was really disappointed but I couldn't bring myself to continue the course there as I was too stressed to enjoy it. We decided to sit the theory exam so we could at least get that part of the course signed off and then Lois suggested we go and take a boat trip that afternoon to help me relax.
Kim gave us some info about dive centres on Koh Lanta so who knows we may try again there?!!!
We'd had to check out that morning so Kim introduced us to a tour lady who found us somewhere to stay and also booked us a longtail boat trip. We checked into our room and then went to the beach to board the boat.
It took us around Phi Phi Don, Monkey Beach and we swam and snorkeled in some beautiful lagoons. We then went to Phi Phi Lah and saw Viking Cave and Maya Bay (where "The Beach" was filmed). It as jaw-droppingly beautiful and Lois having seen the film went off on a photo expedition while I swam in the warm water and lazed on the beach taking in the beauty around me.
Back on the boat we made our way back to Phi Phi Don ... unfortunately the sky was too cloudy for a beautiful sunset but the ride back was still really pretty.
Having done a fair bit of partying earlier in the week we hadn't intended drinking on Phi Phi as we were going to be diving but as me being a stress-headed freak had scuppered that we decided we needed to let our hair down, have some fun and put that last couple of days behind us ... and we did ha ha!!!
We went for a meal at Cosmic Restaurant where I had my usual rice with fish and vege and Lois treated herself to some real meat in the form of New Zealand beef ... it was only a fiver and so delicious that even I had a mouthful.
The tour lady had recommended a fire show at Carlitos Bar so we made our way there for the 10.30pm start. We got a seat on the beach and ordered a cocktail. The fire show began with a child who to us looked about 5 but you never can tell with the Thais. A few minutes into the older performers going on the heavens opened so we all dashed for shelter. Thankfully the show continued and we had a good view from where we were standing out of the rain. They were fantastic ... so much so that I couldn't take my eyes off them.
After the show we made our way back to the centre of the island. By this time it had started lashing it down again so we found shelter in Tiger Bar.
What do you mean you only serve vodka in buckets? ... When in Rome I guess ... or Phi Phi to be precise!
So armed with our buckets we danced, chatted, danced some more and then OMG ... I spot someone sitting nearby ... who you may ask? Only Seth Green (yeah I know Mum you will have no idea who he is ... but he is a Hollywood actor and I think he's one of the producers of Family Guy ... you know that adult cartoon you think is dreadful) ha ha!!!
Before I knew it Lois was over at his table chatting away and then photos of course ... for evidence!!! We had been soaked and he was dripping wet too ... no entourage for him on Phi Phi.
We also encountered our first Thai hottie who looked like an older version of Rufio off Peter Pan with Robin Williams. The Thais are generally attractive people but most of them at half pint sized so we were surprised when we caught sight of Rufio. He kept trying to get us to dance with him all night and in the end he literally dragged us outside dancing in the monsoon rain ... it was so funny!!!
Lois was also propositioned by a guy who owned many of the bars and hotels on Phi Phi ... he was a nice guy but she wasn't interested ... typically hard to impress ... that's Lois ha ha!!!
Everyone was having a great time, the atmosphere was really lively and all of the people were sound. We ended up dancing the night away until 5am at the beach party that had kept us awake the previous 2 nights. Lots of fun had by all. Sunday morning we were feeling ok until after we had showered I returned to the wetroom / bathroom and slipped on the wet tiles, cutting my arm, bruising my bum and hurting my neck. It appears that I have become the clumsy one since we came away ... it used to be Lois falling down stairs and hurting herself ... not happy with the switch I can tell you ... don't worry Mum I'm not that badly injured!!!
To make us feel better we went for the most amazing breakfast we have had since leaving the UK. Little Britain imports sausages, bacon. black pudding and hash browns ... Lois had the Gut Buster of course with all the trimmings and I typically had the Veggie. Both were huge and a perfect cure for any hangover!!!
We were due to get the ferry back to Phuket at 2.30pm so we went back to get our bags from the guesthouse. Thankfully there was a guy with a trolley who we paid a quid to carry our bags all the way to the pier in the sweltering heat ... winner!!!
After a few pictures on the pier we boarded the ferry ... managing to secure our bags where we could find them. Apart from the air-con being on too cold the journey back was pretty comfortable and we sat outside until a storm began.
We arrived back at La Cucina in Karon Beach, sorted our laundry and retired to our wonderful room ... it was so good to be back in comfortable clean surroundings.
We thought Phi Phi was a beautiful island which is so relaxed as there are no cars ... only walking and bicycles to get around. It has it's own magical charm that captures your imagination. We would like to go back on a proper holiday and stay in a nice hotel instead of a dive and have the funds to enjoy more of the cuisine and nightlife ... plus some Thai pampering would be nice as we have not had any yet. Might treat ourselves to a cheap cheap Thai massage in Bangkok.
We had hoped for an early night as we were getting up at 5am to do our visa run, but we were kept awake by the local dogs having a turf war outside ... we've noticed throughout Thailand so far that there are many stray dogs but they all seem to be in good shape and lots of them are really cute. I think the Thai people are generally dog lovers as you see food stall workers throwing them scraps. The dogs here also appear to know the green cross code which is funny to watch them putting into practice.
So we had a very early start on Monday and it was still dark as we waited outside for the minibus to take us on our visa run to Burma (Myanmar). Typically I slept the whole way as the minibus was silent. Lois woke me when we arrived in Ranong around lunchtime.
We were ushered through immigration to stamp us out of Thailand and then put on a boat along the river to Myanmar with shelter from the sun and bottles of water. It was rather surreal as we were just one of what seemed like hundreds of longtail boats making the same trip across the river. We had to stop at a couple of checkpoints along the way which were on little islands in the middle of the river with unusual temples and statues all over them.
We reached Burma (Myanmar) and were ushered off the boat to immigration where we were stamped in and stamped out at the same time. Lois went through before me and when I came out she was being touted by a man with brown teeth and another young man without brown teeth was taking photos of her on his phone and claiming his undying love for her ... she always seems to attract the young ones!!!
After a smooth transaction we were back on the boat. We had a brief stop at a checkpoint where an army officer came aboard to search everyone's bags and many other boats pulled in carrying lots of umbrella holding passengers ... they all do that here to protect them from the sun ... a useful multipurpose accessory for when the weather turns ... we need to get one as Lois dumped hers in Noosa, Australia and it has rained loads ever since.
Back in Ranong we were stamped back into Thailand for a further 15 days and given a free lunch and water before we were bundled back into the minibus.
We arrived back at La Cucina at around 6pm. It was a very long day but all-in-all a very efficient service ... although next time we come to Thailand in June (if we have any money left by then) we will definitely fly in and get our 30 day stamp at the airport.
Tuesday we stayed on another day hoping to chill out and catch some rays but when we woke up it poured down and continued to do so all day. We had also hoped to watch the sunset but no such luck. So we watched movies, blogged and then had our final meal in the restaurant.
This morning we decided it was time to move on and booked our ferry to Koh Lanta.
We really enjoyed our time in Karon Beach and we would definitely recommend it for a couple of weeks holiday as it's a good base for island hopping and visiting other areas within Phuket.
We arrived in Koh Lanta this afternoon and it is much quieter here in relation to Phi Phi and Phuket. It is really a place to come and relax. We are staying at a quiet resort right on the beach and we are paying 500 baht a night for a decent room which is good for island prices.
This evening we sat and watched the sunset over Phi Phi which was stunning and we realised that the next 5 days are going to be really chilled.
Spending the best part of 2 weeks living above an Italian restaurant and friends coming to visit has really taken it's toll on our waistlines so we are glad to be away from temptation to some degree. We are planning to restart our exercise regime with a 7am jog / swim in the morning, followed by a dose of healthy eating and sweating off some beef in the sun.
We are staying in Koh Lanta until Monday when we will head back to the mainland (Krabi) and make our way up to Bangkok, then up to Chiang Mai / Chiang Rai before we go to Laos on 6th April. We will try to update you again before we leave Thailand.
Hope you are all well ... please feel free to leave comments for us bearing in mind our Mum reads this blog ha ha!!!
Lots of love from
Sophie and Lois x x x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1236532200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1236532200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1236532200/tpod.html Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:53:33 -0500 Sisters on Tour - Lois and Sophie's Big Adventure

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Malaysia story continued ...
After catching up on some much-needed sleep on Saturday we headed out to explore Kuala Lumpur. We were staying in the Bukit Bintang area which as well as having many hostels and large hotels also houses a huge number of local restaurants and markets which create a real bustling feel.
We'd slept through breakfast at the hostel so first thing on our agenda was food. We nipped into the Tourist Information Centre to ask for directions to the nearest supermarket and there was a crew filming what looked like a Malaysian soap opera in the gardens and we continued to see these cheesy scenes as we walked through the city. We arrived at the Petronas Twin Towers and as we sat at the base and marvelled at their grandeur we devoured our fruit and vege (first food in 36 hours ... good job we had plenty of fat reserves from Oz to keep us going). We didn't know what to expect inside and were surprised to find a very exclusive shopping mall. It was a shoppers paradise with designer clobber spanning ten floors. Although donning our scruffy shorts and walking sandals we held our heads high as we nosied around Gucci and Prada, much to the dismay of the yuppie shop assistants. Definitely a place to revisit once we've made our millions ha ha!!!
Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia as a whole is culturally diverse in the fact that it is populated not only by Malaysians, but equally Chinese and Indians. To the unsuspecting tourist eye it would appear that this is a harmoneous religious mix, however, speaking to local people we have learned that there are problems with racism and there are significant cultural divides. One example we have witnessed was on public transport ... where an Indian woman refused to sit next to a Malaysian lady even though this meant she would stand in the aisle for the 30 minute journey.
That night we had planned to go to Little India for the weekly Pasar Malam (night market) but our plan was foiled by a torrential downpour lasting most of the evening. During a brief rain recess we wandered around the local food market but were too tired to tackle the vast unfamiliar menus so we returned to our humble quarters at Pujannga Homestay.
Sunday morning our batteries were half-way charged and we were ready for a full day of sightseeing. First stop was the KL Tower. As we approached it became clear that some kind of marathon had taken place as hundreds of sweaty locals wearing numbers across their chests were scattered around huffing and panting in the heat. A free shuttle bus took us up the hill to the entrance and on arrival we were given a free bottle of water shaped like the KL Tower. We were ushered into the lift fot the 1 minute ascent ... we were pleased there was no stair climbing involved.
At the top it was a very clear day and we were lucky to see 360 degree views of Kuala Lumpur. We took the audio tour which pointed out local landmarks and some amazing architecture. We reluctantly left the air-conditioned viewing deck and made our way back down. We had been given complimentary tickets for the animal park at the bottom of the tower. We were surprised with it being a freebee how many exotic animals were on show including a HUGE reticulated python and many other deadly snakes and spiders. As you can imagine, Soph didn't like the spiders so much! We were treated to see an albino monkey with it's newborn baby which was oddly dark.
We needed to buy our bus ticket up to Penang so armed with our 'basic' map from the Tourist Information and a backpack full of fruit we embarked on what would turn out to be a complete mission to Puduraya Bus Station. We walked and walked and wondered if we had taken a wrong turn but eventually we came across a chaotic area called Pudu and although the bus station was full of mayhem we managed to buy our tickets without too much trouble and we were back on our way.
Next on Soph's itinerary were the Lake Gardens but her map reading skills weren't up to scratch that day and we ended up at Times Square on the other side of town. It all got too much for Soph so we retreated to the shade for a diet coke where we got chatting to a nice Malaysian girl called Nora. She gave us a run down on Kuala Lumpur and its different cultures and helped us get back on the right path.
The first leg was a ride on the Monorial (a train track on stilts) which Sophie really enjoyed. After managing to lose a Syrian guy who seemed to have fallen in love with Sophie on the five minute journey we made it to the underground for the second leg. As you'd expect it was packed with locals and they studied me as if I were a being from outer space much to Sophie's amusement ... she kinda blends in apart from being a lot taller than most of them. Nora had told us to get off at Sentral Market which Soph assumed was Sentral Station but when our ticket wasn't accepted at the turnstile we spoke to a ticket officer and discovered we had come to far ... back on the tube we went DOH!!!
A short walk at the other end and we arrived at the Lake Gardens ... the clouds were looking threatening. We joined a small crowd that had gathered to watch the wild monkeys taking over the rooftops and generally getting up to no good. There are several areas in the Lake Gardens including KL Bird Park, Butterfly Park, Deer Park etc but as it was late in the day and these charge an entry fee we settled on a quick zip around the Orchid & Hibiscus Gardens before heading to the National Monument.
I'd read in our Lonely Planet guide that if you turn up there at 5.30pm on a Sunday evening there will be a group of people playing the drums and you may be able to get involved so I was keen to get there on time. We arrived at the monument and before we even had time to get round the front to take a picture the rain came so we sheltered under the temple dome ... locals told us that in Kuala Lumpur it rains every day of the year at 6am and 6pm for about an hour. We were just in summer clothes with no raincoat or umbrella so that was us stuck and to our disappointment there were no drummers.
We got chatting to the armed guard and although he spoke little English we established that the drummers don't come when its raining. I was rather unhappy about this as I had been looking forward to it all weekend.
In the storm the KL skyline had vanished and it was only an hour later when the thunder and lightening subsided and the rain eased that it reappeared.
We were about to make a dash for it when we heard the sound of bongos in the distance. We went to investigate and found that the Tugu Drum Circle was actually being held in the nearby ASEAN Sculpture Gardens. We went down to watch and it wasn't long before someone invited me into the circle by handing me a tamberine. At first there were maybe only 30 people but as the rhythmic sound filled the air and the darkness set in, more and more people turned up, some with their own instruments and some just like us. The rain picked up again and seemed to fall harder and faster with every beat of the drum. By this time there must have been 60 people or more all banging or shaking something in rhythme ... Soph was stomping around with a fruit shaker ... under the canopy mind you ... she wasn't getting soaked like me!
I shook my tamberine so hard that blisters appeared on my fingers but that didn't stop me!!!
Although the majority of us were strangers we were all welcomed into the group and it didn't matter what colour or religion we were ... it was just about coming together and making music ... great music, great people, great feeling!!! I'd come back to Kuala Lumpur for this alone!!!
It just so happened it was the Tugu Drum Circle's 7th anniversary and at the end I was interviewed by Bernama TV for their news report the following morning. I guess I must have stuck out like a sore thumb and they were curious to find out how I'd got there.
It was already about 8.30pm and we still had Chinatown to see. It was a long walk and although my walking sandals are the least sexy shoes ever I was glad of them as Soph slipped and slid all over the tiled pavements in her flip-flops. We made it to Chinatown and just sat down at a covered food stall when the sky unleashed all its fury on KL ... so much for it only raining for an hour each evening.
This was our first meal out and we were confused by the menu (Malaysian although in Chinatown). A friendly girl asked if she could join us and we were quick to ask her for advice. As we'd put on a bit of pork in Oz we wanted something healthy and trusted her to order for us. What we were served was enjoyable but definitely not healthy. When we quizzed her a bit more about Malaysian cooking she expressed that most of the food is fattening ... so that's us on fruit and cereal then!!!
Monday morning we made our way back to Puduraya Station for our coach to Penang. Sophie's excessive contingency time planning meant we were over an hour early. She parked me on a bench with the backpacks and went off to source some fruit for the trip.
The drum 'n' bass pumping out of the speakers overhead and the many people rushing past in different directions gave the place a real buzz.
I was just sat minding my own business when a strange man stopped about a metre directly in front of me. He stod staring at me and at first I thought he was just another curious local studying my blonde hair and white skin but then he started looking around and I noticed he was cradling a small shoulder bag. I told myself not to be paranoid but when he carefully lifted the shoulder bag over his head, slowly leaned forwards, gently placed the bag beside me and then slowly walked off rummaging in his pocket an alarm bell rang in my head.
Somehow I picked up both of our backpacks, daypacks and a big bag of food and pegged it. I could see Sophie at the fruit stand on the other side of the station and as she turned to walk back to where she left me sitting, I yelled her name and luckily she spotted me.
Once we got a safe distance away I was explaning to Sophie what had happened when our bus arrived (and they don't wait around). I looked round and the man had gone back for the bag. As our bus was ready to depart all I could do was alert an official and point the man out, so from there we don't know what happened. Maybe he was harmless but his actions led me to think otherwise so I went with my gutt and got out of there ... guess I'll never know but it's better to be safe than sorry hey!!!
So all in all the 5 hour coach trip was relatively comfortable apart from the fact that we were sat under the air-conditioning unit and were shivering most of the way because the driver reckoned it was automatic so he couldn't change the temperature. The other passengers had clearly done this journey before as they were all wearing coats and trousers unlike us in shorts and vests.
We arrived at a bus station and we assumed it was a scheduled stop so we stayed in our seats until the bus driver got back on and started shouting "Penang Penang Hurry Up" at us. We thought we must have to change coach but when we asked the driver he yelled at us "You're in Penang, You're in Penang!"
Being an island we thought that our journey would include a ferry crossing. We'd obviously not realised we had crossed the Penang Bridge over to the island ... maybe our brains were frozen by the air-con!!!
It was like trying to get blood from a stone trying to get advice from the information desk but eventually we established that we were in Georgetown as we had expected, but on the outskirts and we needed to take a couple more buses to get to our destination.
So off we went, backpacked up to find the first bus. This proved to be a challenge as there were no marked bus stops. Eventually we found the right stop and the smell of raw sewage from the underlying drain nearly made Sophie sick.
On the bus, the driver had his foot down but it still took around 30 minutes to get to the jetty so for RM1.50 (30p) each we did alright. At the jetty a nice Malaysian retired army officer helped us find the right bus to our beach destination Batu Ferringhi ... a further hours journey for RM2 (40p) each ... sweet as!!!
A short while after we set off we were reminded that we were still in Malaysia as the rain beat hard against the windows. It was still the same when we arrived at Batu Ferringhi ... thankfully we had put our backpack raincovers on on the bus but we had forgotten to get our own rain jackets out so we got soaked.
A young Malay boy met us from the bus and took us down the lane to the guesthouses. We looked at a couple of rooms to suss out price and standards etc but as the thunder and lightening started we settled in Ismail Guest House right on the beach for RM80 (16 quid) for the night. On closer inspection the toilet was leaking so we were moved to a bigger room.
The rain eased off so we went to some other guesthouses to see if we could get a better deal for the forthcoming nights. On our return to Ismail's, Jessy the Malaysian housekeeper had upgraded us to an even bigger more luxurious room as the TV wasn't working in the last one and she said she would worry about us ... not sure why?
We were over the moon as we now had a double bed each, a fridge, air-con, a TV that worked, a kettle and hanging space plus a much bigger bathroom. Not bad for 16 quid especially as this room normally goes for 30 a night.
We had a comfortable night and the next morning we were umming and arghing about whether to move to a different guesthouse or try to strike a deal with Ismail. At first they wanted us to either move back to the small room now that the toilet was fixed or pay more for the big room ... we were having none of it and decided to play hardball. After some hard bartering from Soph and a bit of help from the English pensioner next door we managed to bag it for RM85 (17 quid) per night.
We could have got a basic room (2 single beds and that's it) around the corner for much less but as we'd been travelling non-stop since we left the UK we both were in need of a bit of luxury and somewhere nice to relax. So for the nexst 3 days we pretty much did just that ... lazy mornings on the beach interrupted only by the sound of the mosque leaders prayers blasting through the tanoys several times a day ... just as well we have our mp3's!!!
Strolling, chatting to other guests, eating fruit ... on a daily basis Sophie eats half a piece of fruit and I finish it ... she's so finnicky with food but I don't mind as I get more vitamins. We have managed to do a bit of reading and watched a little TV ... Under Siege being one of the highlights .. they love Stephen Seagal here. Aside from that I've done a bit of jogging a few mornings ... I seem to be the talk of the town running up and down the main street in my trek shorts and hiking boots. I think they think I'm a crazy person but they still wave and say good morning to me as I pass. Soph has also been attempting some aerobics sessions in the air-conditioned room but she takes a bit of motivating on a morning unless she's had her 12 hours sleep.
On Tuesday we took a bus back into Georgetown to get some provisions from the supermarket where in the cosmetics department a Chinese lady tried to sell me 'whitening' facial wash ... you what? They don't call me Michael Jackson!!! These whitening skin products are really big over here ... all the girls want to be white and all we wanna do is get a tan ... I guess you always want what you haven't got!
It was dark when we left but we managed to find our bus surprisingly easily at the depot as the driver was stood with a megaphone bellowing "Batu Ferringhi" until he'd crammed so many people on we could barely move. We didn't even get a seat and stood in the aisle with our shopping bags trying not to fall over as the driver swung the veteran vehicle around corners. You certainly wouldn't get buses like that back home and if you did someone would get locked up for it.
Soph had a filling fall out in New Zealand which we tried to get fixed in Australia, but when the dentist in Airlie Beach reckoned he wanted 120 quid for a temporary filling we decided to wait until Asia and we're glad we did as our neighbour Brian (the English pensioner) recommended a dentist he has used here. So on Thursday we went down and Soph got a permanent white filling for 12 quid ... happy days! Soph said they were very professional and squeeky clean so its no wonder people come out here to get their teeth fixed, especially at those prices.
The end of our stay was approaching and we felt unready to leave. We decided to stay for another 3 nights but Ismail could only accommodate us for one so we stayed there on Friday night and then moved to Ah Beng's around the corner for the weekend which is run by an old Chinese couple.
What we have liked about Batu Ferringhi is the fact that there's not much to do so it's easy to unwind and recharge the batteries.
Along the main street there are plenty of restaurants and a handful of bars, but here by the beach you can just switch off and forget that they are there.
I have surprised myself here as I actually feel content just doing simple things ... usually I'd have itchy feet and be bored out of my brain. It's a nice change to feel relaxed.
As the weekend has arrived however, it has become much busier here ... locals fill up the guesthouses for beach breaks and to some extent this has disturbed our peace.
It's a long way from the beaches of Europe as we watch Muslim women fully covered apart from their faces accompanying their husbands whizzing up and down on quadbikes and jetskis. The illegal paragliding and jetski operators etc have certainly been raking it in this weekend.
We are taking a minibus to Phuket in Thailand tomorrow morning (Monday) which we think is about 10 hours ... oh joy ... where we are hoping to meet up with Ashling and Paula who we met in Oz for Soph's birthday on Sunday.
I'm sure we will have quite a bit to report from there so stay tuned ...
Hope you are all well and lots of love to you all x x x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1235864100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1235864100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1235864100/tpod.html Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:01:43 -0500 Sisters on Tour - Lois and Sophie's Big Adventure

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Cairns, Australia

Ok so we left you in the rain in 1770 ... low and behold the sun came out and as we only had a few hours left in 1770 before our night bus and we hadn't seen much of the town a local eco-tour guide called John offered to take us on a free whistle-stop tour of the area ... it was really pretty but not much there so we were glad we hadn't paid the $55 each for the Scooteroo trip. We got the impression from John that 1770 is more than a town, it's a way of life. There are 132 housing plots and there will never be any more as it is surrounded by national parks. Very different from places like Ingleby Barwick back home where it just keeps growing. He also likes the fact that sometimes the local store runs out of things ... I think we take 24 hour Tesco for granted!
Lois was disappointed that we didn't have time to do a surf lesson as 1770 is the last place you can go in the sea without a stinger suit nd the possibility of being snaffled by a saltwater croc. She was really looking forward to it but there was just no time. After saying goodbye to the friendliest and cleanest hostel we have encountered so far 'Cool Bananas' we caught the night bus to Airlie Beach ready for our sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands.
Arrived in Airlie Beach at 6am on Thursday and it was boiling hot already and we had to wait until 10am to check in to our dorm. We decided to get some washing done in preparation for our sailing trip. Lois went to investigate the laundry equipment and had a run in with a bulldog of a cleaner lady who said she couldn't use the dryers until after 2pm ...she was not impressed as you can imagine after a 10 hour night bus and no sleep. Eventually we got into our room which was less than clean, especially for a girls dorm!
After a short rest that afternoon we took a walk around Airlie Beach. To be honest there is not much there and it is very touristy. There is a man-made lagoon where people swim and sunbathe ... just like an outdoor swimming pool so not our cup of tea. Knowing we had to check out of the hostel and go to the Anaconda 3 tour operator office the next day we opted for an early night in our skanky 8 girl dorm.
Friday morning we woke early as we were excited about our sailing trip. We arrived at the tour operators' office around lunchtime and were informed we couldn't take bags with zips as the crew on the boat think the zips carry bed bugs. We also discovered we would not board the boat until 7pm so we returned to the scruffy hostel and hung out there all day in the Internet room ... the only room with air-con!
After dumping our backpacks in storage we took a walk to the marina where we were due to board the boat. At first glance it appeared that our fellow passengers were going to be a good group as not too many youngsters which was a nice change. Eventually the crew ushered us towards the boat after being given our stinger suits (to protect us from the deadly jellies) and considering we were sold 'luxury' by the travel agent it wasn't quite what we were expecting. Nonetheless we took our free glass of bubbly and hopped aboard.
After a lengthy briefing about the do's and don'ts on the Anaconda 3 we set sail into the darkness. As we mingled with the other passengers and crew we admired the millions of stars above us. When we booked the trip we had requested a girls dorm however we were put in with 2 guys (1 Indian and 1 French) but as far as guys go they were pretty clean and not too much trouble. We were a little surprised to see the size of our room but I guess with 32 passengers everything has to be compact.
Saturday morning the breakfast bell rang at 7am so we all gathered in the saloon hoping for bacon and eggs ... no such luck! Cereal and toast and full fat milk URGH!!! Not a piece of fruit in sight ... so much for luxury!
It was a lovely sunny morning so we were all keen to get to Whitehaven Beach. We had taken a selection of fruit with us for the trip as we weren't sure how often we would get fed so we packed a couple of bananas to take over to the beach. As we were about to get into the 'tender' (small speed boat) one of the crew noticed the bananas and had a fit ... apparently it's bad luck to take bananas on boats. They wanted us to get rid of them but we refused as we had paid $8 for them. After a bit of an argument they agreed to let us take them on the small boat over to the beach as long as we got rid of the skins before we returned. When asked if we had any more in our cabin I looked at Lois and chuckled as I heard the porky roll off her tongue ... we had 4 more in our cabin ha ha! We spent the rest of the weekend dodging the 'Banana Police' and we felt happily naughty while we savored our forbidden fruit in secret. To be fair to them ... their superstition does make some sense ... apparently it dates back to when there was scurvy on ships and they used fruit to treat it but the bananas made all the other fruit go bad ... but move with the times you pirates there's no scurvy in 2009!!!
Over at the beach the sand was like walking on flour ... it kinda squelched beneath our feet ... very unusual and it was cool to walk on as it reflects the sun. The sun was in the mood for burning white skin so we donned our 'sexy' stinger suits (Lois put hers on back to front DOH!!) and we hit the water. Although we weren't intending diving in Australia (as it's cheaper in Asia) we agreed to do the free scuba experience. We got all of the kit on and the dive instructor started quickly running through some skills (as he had 20 people to get through) and to be honest he didn't fill us with confidence. We both felt rushed and didn't grasp the skills as easily as we had imagined. We both found breathing under water ok but Lois struggled when trying to take out and recover her regulator (thing you breathe through) and kept getting lung fulls of water and I couldn't empty my mask of water by breathing out through my nose at the same time as having the regulator in my mouth. The likelihood of actually using these skills on a dive is minimal but we both felt we would have liked more time (thankfully we will get this on a proper dive course in Asia).
Back on the boat it became apparent that what we thought was a sailing trip (with some snorkeling) was actually a dive boat and the main objective of the crew was to get everyone to pay for dives. They tried to persuade us to do an 8m dive later that afternoon even though we told them we were not confident using the equipment. $65 each per dive ... no thanks!!! Especially with instructors like them. Nonetheless we grabbed our snorkels and flippers and jumped in to see what the Great Barrier Reef is all about. We saw lots of pretty fish and lots of not so colourful coral at Luncheon Bay ... at this point we both thought the Red Sea, Egypt was better for snorkeling.
It was Saturday night on Anaconda 3 and at 5pm Lois was looking at her watch wondering if it was too early for a beer. N.B. Mum, we hadn't had a drink for a full week since Fraser Island plus we waited until 6pm so no grief ha ha!!!
Others followed suit and we got chatting to some other passengers. It started to rain heavily so we all left the deck but it was very cramped and hot with everyone in the saloon so we went to our air-conditioned cabin for a breather. As we sat on our top bunk nattering, water started pouring in from the ceiling over Lois' bed. I dashed out to find one of the deckhands who was busy playing games in the saloon. Eventually I attracted his attention and he came to our cabin to have a look. He left us with a bowl to catch the water and said he would fix it. An hour or so passed and nobody had been in to check if it had stopped. We were not impressed and no longer felt in the party mood. After having to go out and ask one of the girls for some dry linen we called it a night.
Sunday morning we were awoken by nearly being tossed from our beds as it was very choppy and raining heavily. We made it to the saloon and somehow managed to make breakfast even though we were being flung from one side to the other and banging into each other. There were bowls and cups flying all over. Even with Stano's sea legs we felt a bit queasy so headed for the rear deck for some air and found some unfortunate fellow passengers hurling over the side. Thankfully the 4m swell didn't claim our breakfast that day.
A couple of hours later we made it to Bait Reef (outer reef) which was where we would stay until the following morning. This day was really for the divers and as it poured with rain all day we took advantage of some relaxation time in our snug cabin until the leak started again. Most of the crew were busy with the divers so I went to get a couple of bowls to catch the water. Even though the water was still dripping that evening the crew were less than helpful and advised us they were too busy with the night divers so again we were not too impressed ... and this was meant to be a luxury boat!!!
Monday morning the weather was even worse, but after breakfast we went snorkeling in the pouring rain and the guy in the 'tender' was feeding bread to the fish so they would come up near us. We met 'Elvis' a huge Maori Wrasse and he happily let us pat him and swam around with us.
We got back to Airlie Beach at around 2pm and were quite pleased to get off the boat. Although we enjoyed the snorkeling we could have seen and done what we did on a day trip. We were sold a 'sailing' trip and we were expecting to get involved and hoist the sails etc and see a lot more in 3 days. This boat is great if you are a certified diver and get to choose the dives you do but if you are a beginner it can work out very expensive for dives. Non divers are found sitting around a lot of the time. If the weather had been better it would have been more pleasant to sit on the deck but even then 3 days was too much. Lesson learned!!
Back on dry land we got chatting to a guy who works on the Anaconda 3 (but wasn't on our trip) and he advised us that the leak in cabin 5 was an ongoing problem which fueled our complaint.
Back in town Lois phoned Tribal Travel to confront our agent on mis-selling the trip and also the leak. He wasn't there so we sent a strongly worded email. Over the next couple of days Lois had a few heated conversations with them and thankfully they have agreed to refund us $600 (300 quid) which we are more than pleased with ... we paid for the trip as part of a package deal with Fraser Island and hostels etc so with this refund it works out we only paid about 60 quid for the 3 day 3 night trip and they sell it individually for 300 quid each. Happy days!!!
I knew Lois' sharp tongue would come in handy!!!
That night we endured our final Greyhound bus overnight to Cairns. I was exhausted and fell pretty much straight to sleep but Lois (the insomniac) struggled to get any rest and woke me in the early hours as it was torrential rain and the bus was aquaplaning all over the road and she wanted to check I had my seat belt fastened. Thankfully we made it to Cairns in one piece and the rain had stopped.
Annoyingly we couldn't check into our hostel until 12 noon so we dumped our bags and encountered our first Aboriginals on a stroll around the city centerer. Cairns has a relaxed cafe culture feel and it was the best place we have visited in our eyes.
Eventually we checked in and had a little snooze. Later that evening we went for a stroll down by the water looking out for crocodiles ... we didn't see any ... BOO!!! We were asked out for drinks by a couple of Canadian guys but as we looked terrible and we were knacker ed we gracefully declined!!
Next morning we checked into a nicer hostel for our last night in Australia ... we got a private room for the same price as the dorm the previous night. It was so nice to have a bit of privacy after 3 weeks of dorms so we took advantage and chilled out. After a bit of backpack reorganisation we decided to treat ourselves to a meal out being our last night.
Lois had been dying to try some Aussie animals!!!
We arrived at the Raw Prawn on the waterfront and were given the best table in the house ... great spot for people watching. I ordered a seafood dish as usual (Pacific Fusion) which consisted of fish, prawns, calamari, mussels and crab served on a bed of rice with coconut milk and bok choy ... yummy!!!
Lois being a carnivore went for the Game Duo ... Kangaroo and Crocodile!
She enjoyed the experience but said next time she would just have a whole kangaroo.
I even tried the crocodile and actually enjoyed it ... who'd have thought. Not sure if I could stomach a full one though!
We were both pretty knackered but Lois being Lois reminded me that it was our last night in Australia and suggested we had a beer ... I didn't take much persuading!
After being tortured by a couple of divvy guys we managed to shake them off and got chatting to a couple of engineers who were also leaving the next morning to go back to work on ships up North.
John was the hippest 66 year old we have ever come across ... he is still a party animal so him and Lois were partners in crime mixing it up on the dance floor!
Scott was much younger and had just won $20k at the casino so after buying in rounds and some reluctance on our part (we like to buy our own drinks) we let him buy us a few as he had his winnings in his pocket. They were both perfect gentlemen and we had a fantastic time partying with them.
Thursday morning was an early rise and we kinda wished we hadn't stayed out drinking vodka until 5am but hey ho it was a great night. After a fry up we headed for the airport to get our domestic flight to Brisbane. We then had over 9 hours to kill in the airport before our flight to Singapore ... a further 8 hours ... then 3 hours to wait in Singapore Airport before our flight to Kuala Lumpur. Needless to say we arrived in Kuala Lumpur completely exhausted and were irritated by the hotel and taxi touts. Thankfully we had purchased a Lonely Planet - South East Asia on a Shoestring guide in Brisbane Airport so we called a recommended hostel and got a taxi. We didn't realise it was an hours taxi ride into Kuala Lumpur so for the RM70 (14 quid) we paid we got a good deal.
We pretty much slept all afternoon and night so nothing to report about Malaysia as yet apart from the fact that we have a private room in Central Kuala Lumpur for 14 quid per night and a bottle of water cost us 20p ... hooray!!!
We are in Kuala Lumpur until Monday and then heading North to Penang Island for a few days of relaxation before reaching Thailand.
We will update you when we have more to report.
Lots of love to you all x x x
P.S. Photos to follow as we can't upload them from this computer for some reason. Hope the suspense doesn't kill you all!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1234962000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1234962000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1234962000/tpod.html Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:55:39 -0500 Sisters on Tour - Lois and Sophie's Big Adventure

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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

G'day mates, how you going? Hope you're all good!
So I guess you're all wondering how we've been getting on ... so here goes ...
So we left New Zealand with little mayhen aside from Soph seemingly falling over her own feet in the petrol station just before we handed the camper back. As if we managed to tour the whole country in a campervan on dodgy roads and doing extreme sports no problem and she somehow knacks herself 2 hours before we leave for Australia. It makes a change from me being the accident-prone one. Thankfully there were just a few grazes, but nonetheless she broke into a hysterical fit of laughter and tears and milked it big style on the plane ... the air stewards were all male and they fussed over her all the way to Sydney and gave me plenty of free plonk (to numb the earache of Soph's whinging).
We arrived in Sydney and chatting to the Passport Control guy we discovered that our plans to travel all the way up North to Cairns may be scuppered as they are right in the middle of the monsoon season ... what monsoon season? Is it just is that thought Australia is always hot and sunny?
Thankfully the South is usually dry and although it was 6.30pm, Sydney was still very hot and humid. The first job was to find a bed for the night and still being a little tiddlie from the booze on the plane I delegated the task of phoning round the hostels to Soph who had temporarily stopped complaining about her knee.
A long and stuffy shuttle bus ride later and we arrived at Boomerang Backpackers. This was to be our first real experience of hostels (as the 2 in America we opted for private rooms). After checking in we were directed to the 3rd Floor ... NO LIFT!!! For the first time we felt the harsh reality of carrying our lives around on our backs.
1st Floor - yeah not so bad
2nd Floor - sweat and swear words
3rd Floor - can't breathe ... can't speak
Only to find an extremely cramped 6 bunk dorn with no air-con ... Oh joy! So this was why it was only $22 per night! We dumped our bags and went for a mooch around Kings Cross which is the central party district and did well not to spend any money.
After a sticky night we awoke to a scorching hot day. We walked to Sydney Harbour and looked around the Opera House and Botanical Gardens. It must have been at least 35 degrees and still the fitness freaks were jogging along the waters edge on their lunch breaks - we wished we had their energy but were sweating enough walking. Needing to get our of the sun we went to the Youth Hostel Association for advice on our forthcoming trip up the coast (as the so-called information centre on George Street was about as useful as a chocolate teapot!). We were assured that our plan to head up North was not impossible as the rain is on and off and most people manage to do the trip with no problems. We signed up for our YHA cards and purchased our Greyhound bus tickets.
Our 2nd day in Sydney we took a train / bus out to Bondi Beach; it was really busy as it was another scorcher. We stayed out of the sun as it loves to burn people. Back in the city centre we went to Tribal Travel (as recommended by our hostel) and booked all of our tours, accommodation and buses for the trip up North. Little Miss Organised (Soph) was pleased to have an itinerary as we only have a short time here and she didn't want to miss anything major.
That night we embarked on a 13hr overnight bus ride to our next stop Byron Bay. Arrived at our destination at 8.30am with broken necks, sore bums and having had very little sleep we were not in the best of moods. A girl collected us from the bus stop and took us to Aquarius Backpackers & Motel just near the beach. We couldn't check in until 1pm which was frustrating because all we wanted to do was curl up on a bed and die somewhere. What would be do for the next 4 hours? ... Weetabix on a bench ... Soph had a radge ... posted our warm clothes home - they will be on a ship for the next 3 months ... back to hostel. Finally checked in and it was actually quite luxurious ... wants to be for $36 per night ... was the only place free in Byron over the weekend.
It was so hot outside and I really wanted to do some exercise so we did a mini workout in the dorm and tried to figure out the pilates bands much to the amusement of our roommates.
The hostel had a fairly lively bar so that evening we had a few drinks with our roommates before heading into town. We had heard big reviews about the nightlife in Byron and were expecting a real party town. I think our expectations were a little high as there were a few lively bars but nothing that exciting, especially for a Saturday night. After a few more drinks and tolerating some cheesy music we went for some Tapas on a balcony bar and watched all the youngsters staggering by. We had been invited to a party in a campground outside of town and of course I wanted to go but the prospect of a 20 minute walk in the dark with spiders and snakes beneath our feet meant Soph was having none of it and we retired for the evening.
Sunday was a beautiful day so we went to the beach to catch some rays. We laid for a while but it got too hot so we jumped in the sea to cool off. There were some big waves and it was fun being tossed around by them. Later on we walked to 'The Pass' at the end of the beach which is a famous surf spot. We watched hundreds of surfers waiting to catch their perfect wave as the sun set.
The next morning we caught an early bus to Noosa. We arrived midday and boy was it hot (it gets hotter and hotter the further North you go). At the hostel we booked our trip to Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin Zoo) for the next day and went for a mooch around the town. Later on we did a jog / speedwalk (about time) followed by a much-needed early night.
Another early start and we were off to the zoo. On the way we were treated to some of the funniest clips from the Crocodile Hunter series. Highlights of the day were; watching the crocodiles being fed, Soph patting a Koala's bum, feeding the elephants and kangaroos and a tropical bird crapping on my head ... I'm still waiting for some good luck! Soph really enjoyed the day but as I've been to some big zoos before and I'm not that easily impressed I think Soph got more out of it than I did ... I was hoping for more croc action and it was a shame Steve Irwin wasn't there anymore and it felt a little sombre.
That night the words of the Passport Control guy rang around our heads as the heavens opened ... we took a refreshing stroll in the rain nonetheless. The next morning was much brighter so I went for a jog along the river then went back to wake Soph to go for a swim in Noosa River before it got too hot. At first the dip was refreshing but then we started to feel stinging sensations all over. We thought it was jellies so we jumped out to ask a local who advised us it was just sea mites which are harmless although a little annoying.
It was a sunny evening in Noosa and lots of families were making use of the public BBQ and picnic areas down by the river so we decided to buy some 'Coopers' (real Aussie beer) and join them for the sunset. Later on we had a good time back at the hostel drinking with our room buddy Onnie and some fellow travellers. Soph got the spins and crashed out but I stayed to finish the 'Goon' (cheap wine) with the others. My 6 monthly extreme case of hiccups hit me hard. I didn't want to wake up the girls back in the dorm with my chirps so I resorted to sitting in front of the candy machine stuffing my face until they had gone. It was pitch black in the dorm and I was unable to locate the ladder up to my top bunk. After trying to climb in the bottom bunk with Soph and receiving a sharp response, I laid on the floor and passed out.
I awoke to Sophie prodding and taunting me and asking me why I was on the floor ... she obviously didn't remember my troubles during the night. Darn that Goon!!!
After a bacon and egg muffin we were on the bus again to Rainbow Beach where we would leave for our Fraser Island adventure. Still hungover at the briefing at 2pm we were not the most enthusiastic of campers. There were 22 people in our group and we were separated into 2 teams. In our group there were 2 Irish sisters (Paula and Ashling), 2 Canadians (Tyson and Erin) who are experienced campers and 4x4 drivers ... woo hoo! 1 Swedish girl (Maria), 2 Germans (Yvonne and Evelyn AKA Cookie Monster), a gobby Welsh lass called Grace and an American girl who is clearly nuts (Christina).
We were subjected to a couple of DVD's about the island and then sent to the supermarket to get the provisions for our 3 day camping trip. Trying to figure out what 11 people need for 3 days was quite a task but we managed - no thanks to the crazy American and Cookie Monster!
Next morning we packed our little pac-a-sac with necessities only and met our group to check over all of our camping equipment and load up our land cruiser. This was not much fun as it was pouring with rain ... the words of the Passport Controller again ringing in our heads! GRRR!!!
We made our way to the ferry on the beach ... and still it rained! On the island we were not allowed to drive on the beach until the tide went out at 1pm so we sat in the rain. We were then subjected to a 35km gravel road which was very bumpy ... and still it rained. Nonetheless Paula, Ashling, Soph and I kept the spirits high by singing along with the iPod and passing lots of sweets around.
Eventually we arrived at Lake Birrabeen and went for a paddle in the rain (apologies there are not many photos on Fraser Island as it didn't stop raining). We arrived at our basic campground and put up our 4 x 3-man tents in the pouring rain with redback spiders running over our feet (why did they tell us to just take flip-flops?). At this point we didn't realise the American was crazy so we agreed she could sleep in with us. We were yet to make dinner and the cooking area was 800m from the campground so we filled up with truck with all the food and cooking stuff. The rest of the group set off walking while Tyson, Soph and I finished loading the truck. We were about to set off when the crazy American reappeared to get her purse out of the tent. As we had been advised not to go anywhere alone due to the dingoes I told her to get in with us. She refused and said she would rather walk. We could still see the others up ahead so I told her to hurry up and catch them as she was insistent on walking. Down at the picnic area there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing as to where to settle which was very frustrating as it was still pouring with rain. It was a good half hour before we were unloaded and settled when Soph and I noticed Christina was missing. We asked the other guys if they had seen her down at the picnic area ... some thought they had and others hadn't. It was still light so Soph and the Irish sisters walked back up with trail to the campground shouting her name and checked the tents and toilets but she was not there. It was dark by the time they arrived back down at the picnic area with no Christina. Most people didn't seem bothered and got on with the BBQ but the Canadians, Irish sisters, Soph and I were all really concerned as it was thick forest, raining and lots of dingoes were around. Tyson and Erin being used to driving in bad weather in Canada offered to go and look for her in the truck. After about an hour of driving around a 5km radius they returned unsuccessful so we decided it was time to make the emergency call. Ashling called the hostel first who did very little to help and told us to call the police on the island. The police were really thick and Ashling kept having to repeat what had happened ... it was as if they weren't taking us seriously ... they were like joke police!
Tyson and Erin headed back out in the truck and we were going out of our minds with worry waiting for the police to arrive (the police were about an hour away and we were worried Christina would stray further during this time). About another hour passed and thankfully this time the Canadians arrived back with Christina. It turned out she had been having dinner with another group of campers in a neighbouring campsite and was actually annoyed that we hadn't found her sooner ... we just didn't get it! We were so relieved that she was back but also very angry that she was so inconsiderate. The police didn't even show up so it was a good job she hadn't been eaten by dingoes!!!
It really ruined the night and the worst thing was we had to share a tent with her. It was torrential rain all through the night and we didn't sleep a wink. In the middle of the night Christina wanted to go outside in the rain; by this point we had had it with her and told her to shut up and go to sleep.
It was still raining when we got up so it was pretty miserable dismantling the tents and eating our cornflakes. The mood in our camp was not great!
We went to Lake Mackenzie and the rain subsided for a couple of hours so we had a swim and relaxed a little although we were bothered by the huge marsh flies that give a nasty bite. While we were having lunch a Guana came along and pinched one of the other groups' bags of meat ... it was funny watching the big lizard scoffing while the group ate empty sarnies!
The rain started up so we got back in the truck and headed along the beach to the Moheno Shipwreck follwed by Indian Head at the top of the island where on a clear day you can see masses of sharks, rays and turtles in the sea ... we saw nothing except some crazy people swimming in the shark infested waters you are not supposed to enter!
That night we stayed at K'Gari (an Aboriginal campsite). We managed to make dinner and just about get the fire going before a storm began. This was supposed to be our party night and thankfully another group of campers nearby invited us to their lit shelter where the owner played his digeridoo and another guy played his guitar. There were about 50 people and we all had a merry sing-song and forgot about the pouring rain, the snakes and the spiders for a little while. Everyone was in a good mood and we had a right laugh with Paula and Ashling who we plan to meet up with in Thailand.
On Sunday ... hooray it wasn't raining ... we packed up the camp pretty quickly considering we were all really hungover. We made our way to Lake Wobby as we were unable to drive on the beach until 2pm. It was already boiling hot at 9.30am so the 2.5km walk through the bush to the lake was pretty rough. We had been wishing for sun all weekend but now that we had it we all sat in the shade of a tree complaining about our many marsh fly bites and how hot it was ... typical hey!!!
The experience on Fraser Island had many ups and downs. All in all we enjoyed most of it although it would have been better if it wasn't so wet and the American hadn't done a number on us ... we have since found out that she is hitchhiking around Oz on her own .... crazy hey!!!
Once we were back on the mainland we emptied and cleaned the truck ... they really make you work even though you've paid for the trip. We got our first shower in 3 days ... it was so good!!! Went for a bite with Ashling and Paula and then flaked out.
Monday lunchtime we got back on the bus to 1770 (where we are now). We arrived in the evening and pretty much went to bed as still not caught up on sleep. 1770 is supposed to be a chilled out little hippie town that hasn't changed since Captain Cook landed here in 1770 but as it poured with rain all day yesterday and is still pouring with rain today we haven't seen much of it although I did go for a sopping wet jog yesterday morning to burn off some of the junk from Fraser.
I was really hoping to do a surf lesson here in 1770 as it's cheaper than the South but it's not looking promising with the rain (they don't do the lessons when it's bad like this). We leave here on a night bus to Airlie Beach at 8pm today ... if the weather fairs up by 3pm we hope to do a Scooteroo trip around the area.
From Airlie Beach we have a 3 day 3 night sailing trip booked around the Whitsunday Islands and Outer Great Barrier Reef ... hopefully the weather will fair up for us. From there we are hoping to head up to Cairns for the last few days if it's not flooded!!!
We will update you again before we leave Australia.
Hope it has warmed up a bit at home for you all ... although it's not that great here at the minute anyway BOO!!!
We are really enjoying our time here but we are looking forward to better weather in Asia YAY!!!
Love to you all x x x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1233620160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1233620160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sistersontour/1/1233620160/tpod.html Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:40:52 -0500 Sisters on Tour - Lois and Sophie's Big Adventure

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Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

So our second night in Wellington we freedom camped in the ferry terminal ready for our 8am ferry over to the South Island. Decided not to have breakfast as we thought it would only take an hour but once we had parked up and gone onto the deck we were advised it was 3.5hrs and we couldn't go back to the camper to get our Weetabix ... drat and double drat!!!
Most people stayed inside watching a movie but the Thwaites blood in us forced us out onto the starboard deck to endure the lashing of the cold wind and sea spray. As we entered the Queen Charlotte Sounds the sea settled, the sun started beating down and we got chatting to a nice guy from Leicester. A hippy family I had chatted to in Wellington were also on the same ferry - they had this old fashioned American truck with a house on the back ... completely off it!!!
We arrived in Picton around half 11 ... first stop ... Weetabix!! We gathered some info from ISite and then headed for Nelson.
Driving along through the vineyards I was just taking in the scenery when I noticed something strange in the sky. We pulled over at the side of the road and both sat gazing at what looked like a flash of rainbow bolting through the sky. Another marvel we have never seen before; New Zealand seems to be full of these!
We arrived in Nelson and after doing some food shopping and stocking up on bug spray as we were warned about the sandflies throughout the South Island, we opted for another night of freedom camping. Lois sourced a cold shower so we could get relatively clean, then we played the game of 'where shall we sleep tonight?' which involves chasing other campervans around in an attempt to find the hot spots.
We eventually settled at the beachfront car park as most campers were there but lived to regret it because loads of young campers were playing loud music until 4am and we were not in the party mood after very little sleep in the ferry terminal. Needless to say we got up a little grouchy!!!
After breakfast by the roadside in a small town called Richmond we were heading for the Abel Tasman National Park and Lois was driving. She wanted to give me a break as I had driven the whole of the North Island but on these roads and being the control freak that I am, we only made it to Ngarua Caves before Lois insisted that I drive as I had hardly spoken in over an hour and couldn't bare to look down as we made our way up the mountains. Even though she had been enjoying the drive and doing a good job she sensed I was feeling stressed and knew I would be happier if I was driving. Back behind the wheel after a small argument and we soon arrived in the Abel Tasman National Park.
After discovering that the water taxi and kayaking were a little bit out of our budget we opted for a walk along the pretty beach on the edge of the park, followed by a short hike through the forest to Porters Beach. There was a lot more to see in the park but as we only have a short amount of time in New Zealand we headed to Takaka in the Golden Bay.
Takaka is a nice little town (well more of a village by British standards) with lots of boutiques and galleries; there is a hippy feel to the place which makes it pretty quirky. We wanted to investigate the coastline so hopped back in our spaceship to Pohara, Tata Beach and Wainui Bay which were all very beautiful. Back at our chosen spot for freedom camping (Takaka ISite carpark) we were cooking our usual meal when the hippy from the ferry rolled up in his house truck ... it turns out he has a house (without wheels) not far from Takaka.
Both feeling a bit like we needed to spend some time outside the campervan we decided to get some beers from the supermarket as the cheaper option and then go to a local DJ set at 10pm after having a shower at a 1920's hotel. Surprising how a bit of mascara makes us instantly feel more human!
We walked down to the bar expecting it to be bouncing (well we can hope can't we) but the DJ wasn't even on. We chatted to the barmaid who arranged for us to get a courtesy shuttle to the River Inn - 5 mins out of town where there were 3 bands playing. Cover charge of $20 each ... no way!!! We stood outside discussing if to blag it or go back to the camper. Thankfully we managed to blag it down to $10 each (4 quid) and drinks were really cheap ... not that we overdid it of course!!!
Next morning we decided to blast back across the Northland; on the way we discovered Ruby Beach where every stone was perfect for skimming ... Dad would have loved it! We stopped at Blenheim on the East Coast but it was pretty much a small shopping town with no soul, so we carried on to Kaikoura.
Although the camper can be a real pain in the butt at times, the beauty of it is that if we arrive somewhere and think it's naff, we can hop back in and move on swiftly.
On the way to Kaikoura we enjoyed a drive along the coast, passing black sand beaches and the bluest sea we have ever seen. We stopped off at Ohau Point Seal Colony and watched the young pups flopping around on the rocks and learning to swim ... they were so cute!!! Lois was being chased by bees so we made it a short stop. We reached Kaikoura and mooched about and did the usual scouting for suitable camping spots. I had been really looking forward to Kaikoura because of the marine life so we booked onto a whale watching expedition - leaving 7.45 the next morning.
As we were sitting eating our budget baked beans for tea a familiar face approached ... it was the guy from Leicester we met on the ferry and his mates he had picked up in Christchurch. It's funny how you seem to bump into people even though it's a big country.
Next morning (Sunday) it was nice and sunny when we woke up in the whale watching office car park, so we only had a short walk to our departure point. A coach took us to our catamaran and we were given a sea sickness warning. We set off in search of a sperm whale ...
It was a very choppy ride; a bit like being on a speed boat. People were throwing up around us but thankfully we seem to have Grandad's sea-legs and really enjoyed the ride. After about half an hour we were ushered onto the deck as we were told there were whales close by. We stood at the front where it was really choppy and not long after that a sperm whale appeared, blowing spray high into the sky. It was difficult to see exactly how big the whale was, but after about 15 minutes of getting air and feeding on the surface we were treated to a flash of its enormous tail as it embarked on its journey back to the deep (sorry camera too slow to capture).
On our way back towards the shore we were again ushered outside where we were greeted by several pods of dusky dolphins ... how cute ... they were so playful jumping up alongside the boat ... can't wait to swim with them in Asia.
We had planned to have a chill out day and in an attempt to get some colour we sunbathed by the sea but we only lasted an hour as it was so hot ... bloomin hole in the ozone layer ... STILL WHITE!!!
With not much else to do without spending money we decided to make a start on our journey to the West coast. A few hours of sketchy roads later we arrived in Hanmer Springs ... not much there other than wasps and overpriced man-made thermal pools, but as the sun was setting we decided to kip there for free of course.
We woke up and headed for Greymouth on the West coast which wasn't great ... kinda like Blyth ... pretty unattractive and not much there. We continued on to Hokitika for a quick fruit snack stop and then made our way down to Franz Josef where there is a huge glacier.
We regretted cooking our tea in a car park by the river as swarms of sandflies got into the van (we have to have the door open to use the stove) so Lois was on a killing mission while I tried to boil the pasta ... somehow Lois didn't get eaten but I wasn't that lucky ... you can actually feel the little bloodsuckers biting you even though they are so small.
There wasn't much to occupy us in Franz Josef at night which didn't involve drinking so we opted for a relatively early night. Next morning we took a walk up to the glacier face ... it was very beautiful. We rang the skydiving company in Fox Glacier and booked in for 12 noon the next day. We set off to Fox Glacier early afternoon and took a walk to the Fox Glacier terminal face which involved crossing streams and rivers which ran down from the glacier. There were these pools of aquamarine water which were so inviting, but the 'no swimming' and 'rockfall area' signs put us off jumping in.
We decided to book into a motor camp because we hadn't showered in 4 days and we wanted to be clean for our skydive; plus we needed to do laundry.
I got talking to a guy from Hungary in the laundry room called Endie (Andy) who is traveling around New Zealand with his brother and actually hoping to settle here.
D-Day ... the day the girls flew!!!
We pottered around all morning killing time and not saying much (due at airfield at 12 noon). A gravel path and passed some dodgy looking caravans and we arrived at the office to sign our lives away. Within minutes we were in the most unattractive babygrows ... mine made me look like a tellietubby and after some brief instructions (and I mean brief) we were bundled into a tiny plane strapped to our dive masters CJ and Laslow.
Lois was first jumper so she was positioned next to a transparent plastic door which was only secured by a thin metal rod OMG!!! It provided her with a great view of the world below so she was pretty chuffed.
The ascent was magnificent - 12000ft. We got to see the glaciers, Mt. Cook, Tasman Sea and several lakes. I was at the back of the plane but still had a great view.
As we got close to the drop zone our nerves had settled and we felt surprisingly calm. The door was flipped open and Lois was suspended outside the plane while they did final checks ... and after a few snapshots ... they disappeared (on the ground I found out that CJ had back flipped her out for an extra rush). My turn ... so there I was perched on the edge ... a few awful photos later and me and Laslow were also back flipping into our 45 second freefall ... he flipped us back over and I could see for miles around. I could see Lois and CJ's parachute open below (Lois also looked up and saw me bombing through the sky on my freefall). Laslow released our parachute and as we floated through the sky he pointed out what we could see. CJ and Laslow then brought us close together (Lois got some photos of me in the air). I was first to land and saw Lois flying towards the ground. We were both totally buzzing and cracked open a cold beer.
We took our chilly-bin (containing beers) and had a long walk to Gillespies Beach where you can see the Fox Glacier from the shore. The beach was pretty much deserted ... we decided some beach graffiti was in order (see pics). Later in the afternoon we chilled on a bench in Fox Glacier and after a party in the campervan we went to the pub and hooked up with the skydive crew who bought our beers hurray!!!
The next day we headed for Wanaka (we didn't stop much as the sandflies are a nightmare in those parts). As we approached, the scenery around Lake Wanaka was spectacular. We arrived in Wanaka mid afternoon and as we were both still feeling a little ropey we just pulled up on the lakeside and watched the boats, windsurfers, etc until the sun set.
On Friday we went to Queenstown ... Lois was excited ... extreme sports and nightlife available!!!!
With budget in mind we opted for a quiet evening down by the water and treated ourselves to an ice cream (served by a hottie) and sat people watching. Lois tried to convince me that the Canyon Swing the next day was a good idea. $169 to throw myself off a cliff!!?? I think NOT!!! Give me a plane and a parachute any day!
Saturday morning came and Lois was chanting 'canyon swing ... canyon swing .... goooooo Sophie' and my response was a dismissive eye roll. Eventually she gave in and we went to book her in with me as a spectator at half 5. As I opted out of jumping we had a little budget free so I said I would treat us to our first (and last) meal out in New Zealand after she had completed the jump. Knowing we would have to be in the company of others later on we headed to a backpackers hostel for a shower. It felt so good .... first shower in 4 days!!!
So the time came and we were in the Canyon Swing office ... the staff are really torturous ... they play videos of people bottling it and screaming their heads off and generally wind up the jumpers. A short ride out of town along a gravel path and up a huge mountain we arrived at the Canyon Swing ... I was so glad it wasn't me who was about to jump off it!
A brief ground rules talk and everyone was harnessed up ... Lois went first ... there are about 10 styles of jumps you can do which range between 1 and 5 pairs of underpants on the scary scale. She was planning to go off forwards (2 pairs of pants) like you do with a bungee but knowing she could only afford one jump (some people paid for 2 or 3 jumps) she asked which one was the best ... answer: PIN DROP (5 pairs of pants OMG!!!). I ran up to the spectator deck and saw Lois on the edge and within seconds she jumped and disappeared ... I could hear a few blasphemies and then she reappeared as a dot swinging over the river below. Her screams sounded like her thrill seeking mission had been successful. If you want to watch the DVD of Lois throwing herself into a canyon go to: http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=ILKZB4qP1R4 but just incase this link doesn't work go to www.Youtube.com and search for Lois Thwaites Canyon Swing - Queenstown (New Zealand). We are new to youtube so please can someone try it and let us know if you can't view it. Thanks!
When we were reunited at the top she looked completely wired ... obviously all of the adrenaline had rushed to her head. She wanted to do more jumps but with the promise of MEAT for tea instead (for the first time in 3 weeks) I managed to persuade her otherwise.
Back in central Queenstown we were starving and it didn't take us long to decide on a restaurant. I went for the seafood platter and Lois went for the mixed grill ... maximum meat!!!
Both happily satisfied we went for a scout around town and went for the cheap option of drinking on the streets as it's legal in Queenstown. Later on we were given some vouchers for cheap drinks at a bar where a funky band were playing ... female lead was awesome!
Lois flung herself around the dance floor as usual and tried to get me up but as I am not yet feeling that confident I chose to guard our drinks instead.
Next morning we left Queenstown with the feeling that we would both like to go back with lots of dosh and stay in one of the posh hotels and try all of the extreme sports on offer. We would definitely recommend it even for a holiday.
Our drive to the East coast was pretty dull as a rainstorm had kept us awake for most of the night ... we had been expecting great views on the coast but Oamaru, Timaru and Temuka much resembled Redcar, Seaton and Hartlepool (prior to redevelopment) so we were a little naffed off and decided to bomb it directly to Christchurch (where we fly out from on Wednesday). As it was late when we arrived it was too dark to cook tea so we opted for a MacDonalds and regretted it!
Today we somehow slept until 11am ... must have needed it. Drove out to the coast not far from here; Governors Bay and Cass Bay are pretty but would look better if it wasn't so overcast. We sat in Hagley Park this afternoon, lots of people jogging past ... makes us feel we need to get on it too. The campervan has been great but has also made us a bit lazy ... think we will burn some serious calories just by heaving our backpacks around in the heat when we leave here.
Tomorrow is our last full day here so we are going to explore the city a bit more before checking into a campsite to do all of the thrilling tasks like laundry and backpack reorganisation in preparation for our flight to Australia on Wednesday.
All in all we have enjoyed New Zealand ... the beaches and scenery in the North Island are beautiful. The South Island also has some wonderful aspects including the glaciers and lots of activities (not just extreme ones). Really need a bigger budget and a lot more time to see and do everything New Zealand has to offer.

We would just like to say a huge thank you to New Zealand for having an abundance of public toilets (all with toilet roll) where we have brushed our teeth and washed our sweaty armpits and dirty feet on many occasions.
x x x
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Auckland, North Island, New Zealand

After enduring a 13hr flight surrounded by screaming kids, we finally landed in Auckland, having completely lost 13th January (crossed the international date line). It was 7.30am and already the sun was hot. After a little confusion we found the shuttle bus and were dropped off at the space station. A few formalities later and we were ready for take off in our Spaceship EROS - first stop SUN CREAM!!!
We stopped off at the supermarket and feeling a little disorientated having not slept much on the plane, we were lured to the junk section. Armed with crisps and candy we set off on our journey up the 1 North (Eastern Coast).
The lady at the space station had recommended that we stay at Waiwera (only 30 mins from Auckland) so we stopped off to check it out. We had a walk along the beach but not yet ready to give in to tiredness we pressed on via Snells Beach and then on to Mangawhai Heads. It was around 5pm and as the beach and surrounding area were beautiful we decided that this would be our nesting ground.
After a walk along the beach and a much-needed shower (to get the flight slime off) we began preparing our sleeping quarters. The demonstration at the space station that morning had clearly not sunk in as we had a few attempts at transforming the vehicle before we cracked it.
The spaceship is cleverly designed however very compact and although we are now used to it, that first night felt a little like we were laid to rest in a coffin. Thus said, we slid back the huge rear sunroof cover and were dazzled by a million bright stars and a few forks of lightening for effect.
Having had a surprisingly good nights sleep we awoke to a beautiful sunny morning. Back home I do my best to lead a healthy lifestyle and having done little exercise in the last 3 weeks, the fine food and beverages we had been consuming over the holidays were playing on my conscience. With no gym membership available we had to find an alternative, so we began our uphill jog much to Sophie's bemusement.
With the temperature soaring we didn't last long so we grabbed a quick shower and after some advice from fellow campers we were back on the road. Heading further North we stopped at Waipu Cove; after a stroll along the beach we shared a tin of budget baked beans for lunch. Whangarei was the next big town and we had been advised to buy petrol there because it would be cheaper. We also stocked up on some proper food.
We headed for Paihia in the Bay of Islands. The winding roads lined with lilac and white flowers led us through forests and mountains. It reminded us very much of the Lake District.
New Zealand in general is serviced with many public toilets, however this particular stretch of the journey was not. I had been suffering intermittent stomach cramps for the last 2 hours and in desperation I yelled at Sophie to stop the car - this roadside toilet stop was a hard-hitting reality check of touring in a campervan ... darn baked beans!!!
We arrived in Paihia in the late afternoon and wandered along the beach front chatting to fellow campers. We discovered that many of them were planning to freedom camp there that night, so we decided that this would be a safe place to rest with the added bonus of being free. We were covered in Factor 30 and needed to get the gunk off so donned our swimsuits (bearing our white flesh) and hit the cold shower on the beach. It was time for tea so we unveiled our mini stove which flips outside the camper and prepared the meal of wholewheat pasta, 5 bean mix and passata which has been our main meal every day in line with my budget attempt at healthy eating ... unfortunately no meat on the menu!!!
We brushed our teeth in the public loo and bedded down for the night.
The next morning we headed to another bigger town called Kaitaia for some beach towels and more provisions. Our goal was to reach the Northern tip of New Zealand (Cape Reinga) the following morning, so we set off to find a midway place to stay. We briefly stopped at Houhora Heads which was very beautiful but with budget in mind we thought we would try further up for a cheaper option. We traveled on through the greenery for some time and there seemed to be nowhere to stop until we came across a signpost for Rarawa Beach 4km; we decided to investigate.
No more than 10m in the road turned to gravel and the camper began to shake. Sophie's face was of sheer horror as the steering wheel shook aggressively in her hands. I knew EROS could handle it so I reassured Soph that the noise of the camper bumping around sounded worse than it was. The longest and slowest 4km ever we made it to the beach and my goodness was it worth it. It was clear that not many venture this far up as this fantastic, unspoilt wonder was practically deserted. Vast stretch of white sand with clear blue crashing waves, surrounded by thick forest and sand dunes (our photos don't do it justice). We considered freedom camping there but as it was so remote we opted for the 'BASIC' campground nearby.
It was late afternoon so we decided our white skin could handle the sun at this hour so took the forest trail back down to the beach.
Note to Boys: It is hot and sunny here and there is a constant wind and some big surf - you would both love it!!
We strolled the length of the beach and back and realised how lucky we are to be here. This is what memories are made of.
Back in the campground we had our staple meal and struggled to hoist our solar shower up on to a suitable branch. A nice German guy came to our aid. Although the water was nice and hot (having been sat in the sun for 3 hours) the pressure was very weak and we found it difficult to remove the caked on sand and sun cream - exfoliating puff to the rescue, we scrubbed ourselves clean.
As we were preparing our bed 3 seemingly rich young American guys rolled up next to us with their Jeep, boat and all the hi-tech camp gear you could imagine; we salivated as they drank beers and ate steak.
Throughout the night we could hear the calls of various animals which reminded us how remote this location was.
The next morning we woke at 6am to a cold and wet start (the weather can be very changeable ... you can get 4 seasons in 1 day). Wanting to miss the crowds we stayed in our pyjamas and headed off to the Northern tip. We were the only car on the road and the only people we saw on the way were some suspect looking Maori kids on motorbikes parked at the local store in Te Kao; needless to say we passed quickly.
The final 20km ascent to Cape Reinga was again a gravel track but Soph had grown in confidence by now and tackled it with ease. We pulled into the car park; it was very cold and quiet and the only sound was of a fly buzzing around. We made our way up the path to the lighthouse where the Pacific Ocean collides with the Tasman Sea. According to Maori legend it is the departing place of spirits on their journey to the homeland, Hawaiki. Starving, we had our Weetabix at the top of New Zealand.
Back in the camper we headed South with stops on the West coast including Ahipara, Northland Forest Park and at Kohukohu we caught the ferry to Rawene, with views of Hokianga Harbour.
We traveled on to Opononi and we were overwhelmed by the breathtaking scenery. As we were driving along the beach front a kamikaze bird flew into our windscreen, creating a chip and an inconvenience for us as we would need to get it fixed.
We found a campground right on the beach and performed our usual nightly routine before heading to the pub for a pint (being Saturday night). Got chatting to a 70 year old Maori tour guide who gave us some good advice and told us some great stories about 'Poms' (English) he had encountered.
It rained all through the night and even the next morning there were heavy downpours. We had planned to catch some rays on the beach (as we are in the van a lot we are still white) but this was foiled by the looming black clouds ... another driving day ahead.
Traveled South through the Waipoua Forest where there are giant Kauri trees. Quick stops in Dargaville and Wellsford, we arrived in Helensville to go to the Parakai thermal springs. To our disappointment it looked much like a water park full of kids and teamed with the fact that the only radio station transmitting was 'Helensville Home for the Elderly' we moved along swiftly.
Headed South on the 1 through Auckland and arrived in Hamilton (a big city) around 7pm. I was keen to save money and freedom camp but Soph was unsure about safety so we found a campground, which turned out to be productive as we did our laundry ... yey clean clothes!!!
As we were eating our tea in the kitchen a strange guy who looked like Psycho Bob (off The Simpsons) came and sat next to us. We avoided eye contact and much to our dismay his tent was pitched in the plot next door. I teased Soph that he was going to murder us in our sleep. I'm sure he was harmless ... just unfortunate looking!!!
It was a wet start in Hamilton the next morning, nonetheless we visited the Hamilton Gardens as we'd discovered earlier it was free. Lovely; would have been nice if the sun had come out.
Blasted on to Rotorua; at Kuirau Park we saw bubbling mud pools and thermal springs. The sulphur in the water smells like rotten eggs. It was a bit of a tourist trap so we headed South via Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland where we saw a huge exploding mud pool but the $40 entry fee put us off seeing the rest. We also saw part of Waimangu Volcanic Valley and Huka Falls. We reached Taupo and again it was pouring with rain. We had to pay 40 cents to have a wee ... GRRRR!!!
We drove along the edge of Lake Taupo and as the clouds cleared it resembled parts of Pacific Coast Highway. In Turangi, we had planned to walk up Mt. Ruapenu but it was still pouring down so we decided to make our way back to the West coast.
The next big town was Taumarunui; it was late in the afternoon and we could have stopped there but the Dad in us took along 'The Forgotten World Highway'. And the story begins ...
Shortly into the 150km journey we realised there was no turning back. We ascended into the volcanic sculptured mountains with steam bursting from vents in the rocks. It was as if we were entering a prehistoric land. The roads were rugged and winding with a sheer drop down the mountain on one side. The uphill climb took us beyond the clouds and the mist created and eerie feel. Cows, sheep and horses were perched on these steep hills like we have never seen before; this gave us a little comfort knowing that we were not the only life up there.
Rarely a car squeezed passed in the opposite direction and we wondered if they were running from something. We continued on ...
We descended back down through the mountains and as we entered what appeared to be a rain forest, the heavens opened and the road narrowed to one lane. The only sign we had seen for miles warned that we were about to enter a 16km gorge. The narrow road turned to gravel, the rain intensified and the darkness drew in. Cliff walls surrounded us and overhanging trees blocked out the daylight. The feeling was of fear and excitement at once and we wondered what was round each corner.
We broke through the darkness for just a moment to be confronted by an opening. What laid ahead resembled a coal mining tunnel ... very dark, very narrow, very long. We hesitated for a moment but our curiosity led us on. It seemed to go on forever and as we emerged back into daylight a waterfall ran down the rock onto the road and a rainbow appeared over the volcanic hills ahead. We stopped for a moment to take in the view and I reminded Soph that this was a sign of hope ... we would make it to the end safely.
We turned a corner and a big black cat crossed our path ... we looked at each other as if to say "is our luck running out?" Round the next corner there was an eagle in the road and as we approached it took off grasping it's prey in it's claws; we felt privileged to be experiencing this adventure.
Little penguin-like birds circled above us and mountain goats ran along the roadside. I only wish I could have caught these peak experiences on camera but they will remain in our memory forever.
The sun was setting and we finally arrived in Stratford, which looked like the town off Edward Scissorhands. We found a campsite just before dark and chatted to a nice couple from the Netherlands who gave us advice about the South Island.
Yesterday we headed down the West coast via Hawera, Wanganui, Foxton, Waikanae Beach and had a stroll on Raumati Beach on the way down to Wellington.
Just outside we stopped at Whitby and then found a campsite in the Porirua district. Both feeling a bit jaded, we watched Coach Carter on DVD in our spaceship - a nifty little piece of kit.
Today we are in Wellington. We have had a wander around the city and for the first time in days the sun is blazing ... the sun is very different here ... although it's only mid 20's the humidity makes it much hotter ... evident in the fact that Soph is sitting here looking a little pink and it takes a lot for her to burn usually. Wellington is not a huge place but it has the hustle and bustle of any city. Sitting here overlooking the marina while we write this blog there are many joggers and skateboarders whizzing by.
Off back out now to explore a bit more before it gets dark and then we have an early ferry over to Picton in the South Island tomorrow ... another 6am start.
We will blog again before we leave the South Island on 4th February.
Much love x x x

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