TravelStream™ news feed for member vicki on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/vicki en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 13 Sep 2006 11:43:58 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/beijing_2006/1147372980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/beijing_2006/1147372980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/beijing_2006/1147372980/tpod.html Wed, 13 Sep 2006 11:43:58 -0400 A quick trip to the mystical East

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Jinshanling, China

This will make you laugh!

We finally got over our jetlag sufficiently to be able to wake up at the necessary 6.30am in order to get a taxi to take us to the Great Wall for the day. I'd wanted to visit for as long as I can remember, so I was really excited. The Lonely Planet suggests a section of the wall that you can walk - from Jinshanling to Simatai. I hoped this would get us away from all the other "turn up, take a photo and leave" tourists, and so persuaded Nick to do this. Plus, it was a nice day, and it would be good to get some exercise.

We got to Jinshanling, made arrangements with the taxi driver for our pick up in Simatai, and headed off towards the wall. Within seconds we were surrounded by the usual group of hawkers, trying to sell us everything from water to hardback books (like I'm going to walk for 4 hours carrying a bloomin' coffee table book??). We shook most of them off, but one of them was really persistant. Despite the fact that we told him we didn't want anything, he kept walking a few paces behind us. I was worried that we'd get to Simatai, with him having followed us, and he'd expect paying for his trouble. So we made it very clear that we weren't going to be doing anything of the sort and we didn't need his help. Eventually he headed off.

Having survived the first wave, we braced ourselves for more when we climbed to the top of the hill and got onto the Wall properly. So, we moved away as quickly as possible in the direction we thought was right for Simatai. Note my use of the word thought! We stopped to take some pictures, and almost straight away met a group of Brits doing a sponsored walk for the RNIB - which gave us confidence we were heading in the right direction - after all, they had to be coming from somewhere, right?

After about 30 minutes of walking (with no-one else around us - but I thought that was just because we were being SO original by walking this section) we came to a sign which warned about a military zone ahead. But obviously we ignored that and kept going - after all, we were sure we were going the right way...

The path started to get harder to follow, and we had to leave the wall at one point to walk around the base (but this was fine - the guidebooks all said that there are some parts where you have to walk around...) Although maybe the barbed wire should have been a bit of a clue ;-)

Anyway, to cut a long story short, after about 1.5 hours, the path we were following disappeared, and it became quite obvious that we'd gone the wrong way!! Oops! Feeling pretty sheepish, we headed back, and had to walk back down into Jinshanling to find someone who would take us to Simatai to pick up a taxi. A local woman was practically rubbing her hands with glee as she called her son to pick us up in his clapped out van and drive us over there...

After a while we were able to laugh about it - the fact that we'd ignored all those military zone signs, the fact that China probably isn't the best place to be wandering around in a forbidden zone, and my brilliant idea of getting the zoom lens out for the camera to see if we could see any other walkers further along the wall (no honestly officer, I wasn't taking photographs of secure locations...eek!).

The bonus was, we really did have the place to ourselves to enjoy the spectacular scenery and admire the incredible feat of building to have created the wall. Deciding to walk it just a couple of days before our 10 hour flight home wasn't totally ideal though - very sore and stiff muscles!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/beijing_2006/1147286520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/beijing_2006/1147286520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/beijing_2006/1147286520/tpod.html Wed, 13 Sep 2006 11:24:25 -0400 A quick trip to the mystical East

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Beijing, China

Afterexhausting the shopping (and with finally a distinct improvement in the weather), it was time for a bit of "culture" and visits to some of the sights of Beijing. One of the most striking things was the contrasts between old/traditional and new. OK, yes, in some ways this is "development", and the "sights" have been preserved beautifully - but you couldn't help think that some of the ripping down of traditional neighbourhoods in order to make the central areas more attractive to Olympic tourists isn't exactly helping the locals...


We headed first to Tianenmen Square and the Forbidden City. Both were heaving with people, nearly all Chinese tourists, for whom we were clearly the main attraction. I lost count of the number of times we posed for photos with people - China may be opening up to tourism, but Westerners are obviously still pretty rare in most places!

We finally managed to get away from the photos, negotiate the complicated queuing procedure (this booth for the entry ticket, this booth for the audio guide, this booth to pick up your audio guide, this queue to enter etc etc. The audio guide was interesting, but as it only worked for about 10% of the total tour, not entirely useful! The buildings are all being restored in time for the Olympics in 2008 (a familiar story) and so unfortunately one of the main halls was covered in scaffolding - but the restoration work is very good and the detail on the buildings is incredible.

We spent at least 4-5 hours in the Forbidden City, with each courtyard and building revealing something new. However, we didn't come close to seeing everything - it's huge! The garden at the furthest point from the Gate of Heavenly Peace was really tranquil - I could have sat there for hours...

On the way back from the Forbidden City, we wandered along Donghuamen Dajie, where the evening food market was being set up, and later Wangfujing snack street. We managed to resist the temptation to tuck into cockroach or scorpion kebabs - and were quite relieved to see that we weren't the only ones - there were groups of chinese teenagers daring each other to try as well.

The following day we hired bikes from the hotel and did the Lonely Planet bike tour. It was a great way to get ourselves away from the centre of the city and to some places we probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. And to see first hand the contrast between the busy, wide boulevards and the hutongs where the majority of people live. Cycling down these narrow alleyways, it felt like being in a different city. Actually, it didn't feel like a city at all - but rather like somewhere fairly rural.

Another highlight of the tour was Beihai Park, which we were going to skip (figured we'd seen enough parks by then) but I'm really glad we went in. Even with the thousands of tourists in the first section, the bridges and galleries set around ponds were very peaceful and very pretty. On the edge of the lake there were people playing music and dancing - as far as I could tell this wasn't a tourist thing - just people enjoying themselves on a sunny day. It was fun to watch.

The only downside was the fact that we got out to find that my bike had gone... I'd been distracted as we arrived, and stupidly forgot to lock the bike (not something I'd ever do at home - and we'd been expressly warned to lock our bikes carefully as theft is a big problem)... Doh! So our bike tour ended rather abruptly - and at the furthest point from home! Luckily we were able to walk some parts (along the edge of Qianhai lake, watching a couple having wedding photographs taken, and some old men using the free gym equipment at the side of the road. There was some distinctly unpleasant wrinkly skin being exposed in nothing but speedos!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/beijing_2006/1147266960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/beijing_2006/1147266960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/beijing_2006/1147266960/tpod.html Wed, 13 Sep 2006 09:48:04 -0400 A quick trip to the mystical East

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Beijing, China

Somewhat dazed from the 10 hour flight, with no idea what time it was supposed to be, we made our way through customs and after a fairly hairy taxi drive, found our hotel. Given that I'd booked it off the internet based on the totally scientific method of roughly middling price and roughly middling star rating, it was actually fine. It took about 10 minutes to realise that it was the start point for the overland tour groups, meaning the hotel safe was totally monopolised - we got inventive with our hiding places in the room instead ;-)

We had planned to just totally chill out on the first afternoon - giving ourselves a chance to recover slightly from the jetlag. However, Nick's shopping urge just got the best of him, and so we headed to the Pearl Market. And there was no hanging about... At first glance, the market seemed a bit of a disappointment - full of tourist tat or incredibly poor quality goods. As a pro from the markets of Bangkok and Shenzhen however, Nick quickly realised this was just a result of the government clamp down on counterfeit goods in order to clean up before the 2008 Olympics. So he got straight to the point heading to the watch stalls and requesting exactly what he wanted.

Before we knew it, we were being led out of the market, through some distinctly dodgy backstreets and being locked inside little more than a corrugated iron hut. Where all the fakes came out, including a catalogue - just point to what you want, and they'll find it for you....! After striking a deal to come back a few days later, we were led back to the market empty handed.

One useful piece of information had been shared though - the address of a good DVD shop just around the corner. After a quick 15 minutes, we left the shop, armed with handfuls of box sets and happy we'd just struck a great bargain... Just so long as we'd get through customs ok. Little did I know this was just the start!!

That night we had unbelievable jetlag (Nick always suffers, but I've never had anything like that) so celebrated my 30th on the dot of midnight. As we eventually got to sleep around 4, the entire day was thrown off by the fact we didn't get up until 11!

Nick decided the only choice was a bit more shopping! This time we headed to the Silk Market (the only Chinese word I managed to successfully pronouce every time by the end of the week). This was much more what we were expecting and had loads of stuff to buy. It didn't take me long to get fully into the swing of bartering - and the first few times, it was good fun - after 6 hours in the market though, we were starting to get very bored of the fact that each transaction would take at least 45 minutes. It's the way it has to be done, but it can still get tedious.

We left pretty pleased with ourselves - we had bags of stuff (including a new suitcase as there was no way we would get it all in) and having overheard conversations with other westerners mid-barter, we knew we'd got some great deals. I still feel slightly bad about the 2 girls who clearly got more than they bargained for with us when we stripped their price back - but we did buy them an ice cream at the end!!

The next day we intended to start getting cultural - but we woke to see that the George curse had visited as usual and it was throwing it down with rain. As we had bags of time in Beijing to do everything we wanted, it was back to the Silk Market. Nick had made an arrangement with the watch people and just wanted to check how it was going...

The highlight of the trip back was that we found a tailor's - I had suggested to Nick before we left that we should find one and he should get some suits made, but there wasn't much mention in the guidebooks, and we hadn't seen anywhere in the area around our hotel. The place in the Silk Market was fantastic though (obviously once we'd spent 45 minutes debating the price of the suit). It then took at least another 30 minutes to decide on the wool for the suits, and a while longer for measuring, discussions about cut, style etc. But it was worth it.

And while he was doing all the boring stuff, I wandered off - and found the most beautiful silk dress - perfect for Black Tie dos. Next thing I know I'm being measured up for that - and we'd driven them hard on the price, securing Nick 3 tailor made shirts in the process.

This meant that we weren't yet finished with the Silk Market for our trip - we had to go back the next day for a fitting, and the following day to pick up the finished items... But at least by then we knew our way around, and we were getting very adept at sidestepping the stalls!!

Of the various markets, street stalls, shopping malls we visited, the Silk Market was defniitely the best - we strongly recommend it...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1083776880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1083776880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1083776880/tpod.html Tue, 03 Aug 2004 08:06:35 -0400 Round the world - a voyage of discovery

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Puerto Inca, Peru

Before leaving Nasca, we went to visit a few of the local industries - a real eye-opener.

The first was a visit to "Fat Tobi", who recreates pre-Inca pottery - to an amazing standard. He has to write "copy" on all of his pieces so that his customers can actually get them out of the country!

Tobi's grandfather was a grave robber, stealing the artefacts and selling them on to tourists... but his father decided a better idea would be to start copying them - and taught everything to Tobi as well.

Our visit started with a demonstration of how the pots are made (obviously all using old techniques, natural dyes etc etc). The commentary from Tobi was hilarious as his English was limited, but he was quite happy throwing in Spanish, French, German or Hebrew if he couldn't think of the word. Totally comprehensible though, which was great. And he certainly loved having his photo taken, posing for plenty of cheesy shots while whipping up a pot or two for us.

After the demonstration, most of us bought pots - but there wasn't any feeling of pressure to buy - they were just all so exceptionally well made, and the "show" we'd had all made us want to make sure we had a souvenir. Obviously we now have to carry them around for another 2 weeks bumping along Peru's roads, but hopefully they'll make it home in one piece!

From Tobi's, we headed just a bit further up the road to Luis' gold processing "factory". This was a weird experience, and very different to the lightheartedness at Tobi's. Weird because Luis started by welcoming us with a song, before explaining to us in fairly stilted english the process of extracting the gold from the rock found in the area. Which is when it all became quite worrying. The extraction process is incredibly hard, and dangerous, as it uses mercury (a substance pretty much banned in developed countries because it is so poisonous) to pull the gold away from the rock. The workers are up to their elbows in mercury water all day, and then at the end of the day they wash the dust of their bodies in the same water. And of course the waste is drained out into the local rivers, which then feed into the water systems for the whole town. Quite an eye opener...

We left Nasca and continued driving along the coast, stopping at the Chauchilla cemetary. 12 tombs have been uncovered at this popular place for grave diggers, and fortunately some of them even had some of the original artefacts. Each of the tombs was open, with the mummies and artefacts found with them on display. It was quite creepy at first, but it's amazing how quickly you desensitise to the fact that you're looking at dead people, and start to just be amazed by the fact that they're 500 years old!

They were so unbelievable well preserved that it was actually quite spooky - in fact they've become more damaged in the last few years of being exposed than in 500 years of being buried under the dust of the desert. Most of them still had hair, a number still even had skin covering their bones. Eeeuuww... But one of the really incredible things was the way the fabrics etc buried with them had been preserved. One of them was wrapped in a really vibrant red, blue and green blanket - and the colours were still perfect!

None of us really wanted to stay to long in what was a really creepy place, and there was a fair amount of relief as we drove away from the cemetary and headed to Puerto Inca on the coast. This is widely believed to have been the port for Cusco (200+ miles away - the deliveries of course made on foot!!) although as always with archaeology there are a number of other theories.

Unfortunately the site wasn't very tourist friendly, with a few signposts, but without very useful information, so it was difficult to get an idea of what we might have been looking at. We did follow a sign to a ceremonial site which did have a very flat stone which could have quite conceivably been an altar - and in a perfect place for the vultures....

Although the site itself was slightly confusing, the views from the cliffs were stunning in all directions, and I sat and watched some turkey vultures sunning themselves for quite a while. The wildlife in Peru really is incredible.

And then it was time to move on again..... No rest for the wicked...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1084874940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1084874940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1084874940/tpod.html Wed, 28 Jul 2004 07:46:04 -0400 Round the world - a voyage of discovery

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The Inca Trail, Peru

Finally it came round - the highlight of the whole trip. The 3 weeks of travelling in Peru had all been building up to getting us along the 4 days of Inca Trail with hopefully as little altitude sickness and general "south america sickness" as possible - and in most cases it was pretty successful.

I was quite nervous about the actual walking, not really being one for using my feet hwen there's a perfectly good engine powered alternative, and especially with a pair of somewhat dodgy knees. But I really surprised myself by really enjoying not only the scenery but the physical act of walking. I even found myself thinnking that I'll have to buy some walking boots and do some walking when I get back home... No doubt a thought that will pass very swiftly when I'm back in the big smoke of London!

Day 1 started at 6am, with a bumpy hour long bus journey to the starting point, Km 82. After a "before" photograph under the sign, we started on the walk, checking in at the first check point before heading off properly. For most of the first day, the walk was fairly easy - "Peruvian Flat" as our guides called it, ie. undulating! But it was beautiful weather and lovely scenery - a nice gentle way to get us into the swing of things.

We stopped a couple of times to look at inca ruins that we passed along the way, but the highlight for me (surprisingly!) was just the walking. We followed the Urubamba river for quite a way as it cut through the valley, and our track was surrounded by plants and flowers, which meant there was always something to look at. And I was even able to practise my spanish with one of the guides who didn't speak very good english (although as I don't speak very good spanish, it wasn't really all that much of a conversation!)

One of the biggest surprises for the day was when we stopped for lunch. Expecting a quick picnic on our laps at the side of the trail, we were amazed to arrive in a spacious field, with a row of washing bowls with warm water, soap and towels, a big tent with a table and stools to eat in, and a 3 course meal for lunch! No wonder we need so many porters! This is definitely the way to do it.

After lunch we relaxed for a while - and I had my first experience of the effects of the coca leaves - while I was lying down I definitely had a weird sensation of not being entirely attached to my body - I decided at that point to maybe put slightly fewer leaves in my tea from then on!

In the afternoon we started to climb, the beginning of the tough part of the trail on day 2 - but we only did about an hour and a half of it at this point, so it was ok. On the way we stopped quite a few times to watch hummingbirds and bird of prey. And at one point we stopped by a house and found a small hatch, with a sign saying "Shopping Center - we accept Visa and Mastercard". Commercialism has even made it to the Inca Trail!

That evening was our first evening of camping - and an interesting experience. The toilets were apparently absolutely disgusting (so much so that I actually decided not to go anywhere near them and kept to the "baños naturales" instead). But the atmosphere was good - we'd made a good start into the trail! After another 3 course meal and a few games of cards, it was off to bed for an early night in preparation for the 5am start on Day 2.

We'd all read our guidebooks and talked to other people who'd walked the trail, and we knew that Day 2 is tough. But I don't think any of us realised quite how tough, and how much the group would spread up as we all staggered up to 4200m at our own pace. Early on one of the girls had real problems with her breathing and needed oxygen - but most of us were oblivious to this as we just kept on plodding up the mountain. Or at least most of us plodded - Rob flew up, arriving a good 45 minutes before anyone else.

There was an amazing sense of satisfaction on arriving at the top (obviously once you'd actually worked out how to breathe again), but it was incredibly noticeable how thin the air was. The last 200 vertical metres seemed like miles, and after every 20 steps you needed to stop for air. And yet once I'd got to the top and relaxed, I didn't even feel tired! Very bizarre.

Once we'd gathered everyone together and had our victorious group shot at the top of Dead Woman's pass, we gratefully headed down the other side - first stopping for lunch (yep, another 3 courses!) and then to the bottom of the valley and our campsite.

This campsite was a slight improvement given that there was a shower (although cold) and 3 proper toilets. I decided not to brave the shower - we were given bowls of warm water for a bit of a rinse) but some of the more crazy ones amongst us did. Unfortunately as the night progressed, the cleanliness of the toilets decreased dramatically - which became really really unpleasant!

The amazing thing about this campsite though was the view - out across the mountains, with the clouds gathering and moving up and down as the temperature around us changed. It was incredible. At one point we were actually in the cloud and visibility dropped to just a few metres - never ideal when you're on a cramped, terraced campsite and surrounded by guy ropes!

Day 3 dawned (actually, we set off before it dawned I think) and we headed off for our final tough day. I was dreading this day more than I had been the previous one because I have dodgy knees and I knew there were a couple of hours of downhill (and after the experiences of the Tongariro Crossing and Mount Roy in NZ, I knew that was going to painful!). But it was probably the most beautiful day of walking. We headed up first of all to another set of ruins a tambo, or watchtower. The views were great, and it was built in a perfect oval shape. But as the sun hadn't risen yet, it was absolutely freezing so we didn't hang around for long!

We headed up to the 2nd pass of the trail, passing through areas where apparently deer are often seen - but we didn't see any unfortunately. I amusing managed to fall into a hole (up to my waist!) but luckily didn't hurt myself - I was just confused for a while about how I was going to get back out again. When we reached the top, the view was incredible - the rainforest stretching out below us, with dense vegetation everywhere.

I began to understand how Machu Picchu had stayed hidden for so long, and why many people feel there are probably lots of other inca cities hidden in the jungle. It stretches for miles, and there are inca trails criss crossing all the valleys and mountains sides from all directions. We stopped at one of the fortifications at the crossing point of a number of these trails, and had a look around. By that time we'd already seen a lot of ruins, so we were able to make out for ourselves a lot of what was there. 3 of us arrived early, so mucked about taking photos of ourselves as mummies in the niches around the walls. Only they actually weren't niches, they were windows, so we had to be very accurate with our balance!

The remaining hour or so before lunch was up to another pass, but was a beautiful, gentle walk through the cloud forest, surrounded by orchids, birds, and all sorts of insects. It was incredible scenery - absolutely unforgettable. We were walking along a ridge way up in the mountains and it really did feel like being on top of the world. And to maintain that feeling we stopped for lunch right on the top in the sunshine. Just perfect - I really didn't want to carry on down to our final campsite!

The three hour walk downhill wasn't even as bad as I thought, as there was lots to look at, plants to identify, and photos to take. And we got our first view of the mountain Machu Picchu - with the city just the other side of the mountain. The excitement was rising in all of us by that stage - we were nearly there. And more importantly, we were nearly at our campsite - with hot showers, proper toilets and a bar!!!

After a couple of well deserved cusqueñas and feeling clean again, we had our final 3 course meal in our tent and said thank you to our porters - an interesting experience as we had to translate backwards and forwards from Quechua and Spanish! But then we all happily headed for an early night as we were making a mad dash in the morning to get to the gate before anyone else. This would give us the best chance of getting to Machu Picchu before all the crowds, and therefore getting fantastic pictures!

We gate opened at 5.30, and we headed out full pelt to the sun gate, about 45 minutes walk away. Most of the walk was quite simple, with the exception of about 50 almost vertical steps - a real killer, but definitely woke me up!!! I was about the tenth person to reach the Sun Gate and get my first view of Machu Picchu. And it was an amazing feeling, to be standing there, in the first light of the day, looking out over these incredible ruins!

We walked slowly down from the Sun Gate and sat on one of the top terraces, waiting for everyone else to join us, and watching the sun rise slowly over the city. There was an incredible feeling of satisfaction at having managed the walk, of peace and tranquility (until the buses started arriving!) and of awe at the architecture and the perfection the incas had achieved 500 years ago. One of the other groups who'd finished the walk had brought champagne with them - a great idea, but I don't think I could have carried it for 3 days!!!

After the obligatory photos, we headed down to the gate to enter the city itself. Passing people who had arrived that morning on the bus from Aguas Calientes was really strange - one of them asked me if I'd just come off the trail (obviously must have been looking my best that morning!) and I didn't know how to explain to her what it was like. It's definitely true that you can't really understand Machu Picchu without walked the Inca Trail first.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1090577880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1090577880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1090577880/tpod.html Fri, 23 Jul 2004 07:47:14 -0400 Round the world - a voyage of discovery

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London, United Kingdom

It hardly seems possible that all that fun finished nearly 2 months ago now.

I'm back home, trying to get a job, and wishing that the sun would finally come out - a far cry from the explorations of the last 10 months.

But at least I have my photos to amuse me - putting them into albums now, and enjoying all the good memories that go with them. Thanks to all of you who were with me for helping to make the 10 months amazing!

The traditional thing at this point (apart from updating all the other entries, which I haven't actually done yet!) is doing a kind of top 10 of the best places. So here goes. It will probably all change the next time I speak to any of you, but I'll try to work out where was best!

TOP 10 PLACES
10: Wanaka, New Zealand
Just breathtakingly beautiful... And once I'd got my breath back at the top of Mount Roy, the views out across the Mount Aspiring National Park and over turquoise blue lakes were just stunning. Could have stayed for weeks.

9: Okavango Delta, Botswana
Being poled slowly through towering papyrus amongst lily pads in the middle of nowhere, camping out with the sounds of hippos nearby, and a walking safari to see elephants, buffalo etc... An adrenalin booster on the fear factor, but just amazing.

8: Byron Bay, Australia
Could quite happily have spent the full 2.5 months in Oz here. Totally chilled out, juice bars and cafes on every corner, shops which open when the owners stop surfing, the chance to see whales and dolphins off the coast - and of course great weather. Does it get better?

7: Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina
Freezing cold, but just awesome. Hearing the roar as huge blocks of ice crash off the glacier and into the water, seeing the incredible luminosity and depth of colour of the ice, and all beautifully contrasted against the amazing colours of a Patagonian autumn. But it was cold!

6: Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia
There's definitely something mystical there. Having seen the pictures so many times, I wasn't sure I'd be impressed, but it was incredible. And watching the colours change as the sun rises must be a photographer's dream!

5: Sossusvlei and Dunes, Namibia
Amazing contrasts of bright orange sand against perfect blue sky, and the eerie silence of Deadvlei with its dried out forest.

4: Iguazu Falls, Argentina/Brazil
Don't know why this place isn't more well known. Vic Falls was amazing, but hadn't prepared me for Iguazu. An immense amount of water everywhere you looked, but coupled with tranquility above the falls and deep in the jungle. And a fantastic chance to get close to the rain forest and its wildlife (coatis, toucans etc).

3: Machu Picchu, Peru
Inevitable really - bound to be on everyone's list. But sitting on some of the first terraces having walked down from the sun gate at dawn, to watch the sun's first rays hit the city had a very spiritual feel to it. Taking the piss out of the group on a shaman tour doing Tai Chi and getting energy from the hitching point of the sun was very amusing as well! A great finale to my trip.

2: Tongariro Crossing, New Zealand
I was amazed to enjoy the actual walking on this 7 hour hike, but was just blown away by the scenery. From the just waking up scrubland filled with dew covered spider webs, to the desolate scenery at the base of Mt Ngauruhoe and the magnificence of the volcano itself, and then walking down the other side to see the huge vent blown in the wall of the red crater and the magnificence of the emerald lakes. I spent the whole day unable to take in what I was seeing. Truly gobsmacking!

1: Salar de Uyuni and surrounds, Bolivia
Another few days of overwhelming beauty everywhere you looked. On top of the world, surrounded by volcanos, beautiful and weird coloured lakes, flamingoes, vizcachas and then the highlight of the Salar itself at the end. Images that will remain with me forever. But don't forget the sun cream!!


TOP 10 ACTIVITIES
10: Watching the crowd at River Plate, Buenos Aires, Argentina
They say no-one is more passionate about their football than the south americans, and althoguh I've never been to a match in Britain to be able to compare, it really was incredible. They kept up the cheers for the entire game, and went mad on the 5 occasions of a home score! And amazingly, the 300-400 away supporters even managed to out-sing the thousands of home supporters on a couple of occasions.

9: Giving something back on Tiri Tiri Matangi Island, New Zealand
As most of my trip was pure tourism, it was great to have the chance to give something back for just a few hours on this island which has been turned into a bird sanctuary in the Hauraki Gulf, just 45 minutes from Auckland. Encouraging native birds to settle here will hopefully help these endangered species avoid extinction.

8: Sea Kayaking around the coast of New Zealand
I sea kayaked twice - on the north and south islands, and both times was amazed by the variety of scenery around the coastline of NZ. And I just loved the tranquility of paddling around, getting close to sea birds and seals. I am however trying to forget the hour or so of paddling the mad mile in the rain in the Abel Tasman...

7: White Water Rafting on the Zambezi, Zimbabwe/Zambia
An ambition for many years, it was just incredible. Loved every second, despite swimming 6 times (3 full raft flips) and being told afterwards that they'd seen a croc quite near me when I'd been in the water! Being able to get right up to the foot of the falls and see their power was just incredible as well.

6: Cheering on England live throughout the Rugby World Cup, Australia
I got to a total of 9 live games (and will probably always regret not staying in Sydney for the final!) which was absolutely awesome. Am an even more die-hard fan now, and having perfected my facepainting in return for a beer technique, roll on RWC 2007 in France!

5: Jumping out of a plane, Mission Beach, Australia
Another lifetime ambition, which I absolutely loved doing. Although the moment of absolute terror as we tipped out of door is quite clear on the photographs, as soon as we started freefalling, I loved it. And Mission Beach was a beautiful place - plenty of time in 45 seconds of freefall to look around at what's beneath you!

4: Learning to Scuba Dive, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Finally a dream come true. Learning to dive in bath-temperature waters surrounded by giant turtles, multicoloured fish and beautiful coral, with a spa on board the boat to relax in and get a tan by while waiting for nitrogen levels to go down - amazing! And thanks so much to Lisa for the comedy value she provided underwater with her phobia of fish!

3: Walking the Inca Trail, Peru
You really can't go to Macchu Pichu without having done this part first... Beautiful scenery in all directions, an amazing sense of self satisfaction on reaching the top of Dead Woman's Pass, and an understanding of just how brilliant the Incas were. And amazing 3 course meals cooked from a tent (although it may be a while before I can eat soup again!)

2: Game "hunting", Etosha National Park, Namibia
There is just nothing like watching the beauty and majesty of a lion, a giraffe, an elephant... Having seen them on TV, watching them in real life is just indescribable. An experience everyone should have in their lifetime. But don't forget to pack binoculars and a powerful telephoto lens for the camera!

1: Swimming with Dolphins, Kaikoura, New Zealand.
It was 5.30 in the morning, the moon and sun were competing for space in the sky, and I really wasn't awake. But the moment I saw my first dolphin, and they began interacting with me, swimming round and round, diving and making eye contact, that all just vanished. A truly awe-inspiring moment. I did feel a bit of a prat singing through my snorkel, but it was well worth it for those couple of moments of connection with these incredible animals.

So there you are - that wraps up this trip, just waiting for the next one to start (although that may have to be ever so slightly shorter and cheaper...!)

Hope you've enjoyed reading my travelog over the last year,

Take care,

Vicki
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1079452800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1079452800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1079452800/tpod.html Fri, 11 Jun 2004 08:36:23 -0400 Round the world - a voyage of discovery

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Whakaari (White Island), New Zealand

Since my first time on the North Island a month ago, I'd been very keen on a trip to White Island - the chance to walk on New Zealand's most active volcano. And finally the Gods were smiling, the rain wasn't falling (or not too heavily), and we were able to get out there.

Unfortunately being an island the first 2 hours of the morning weren't particularly pleasant for me, as I had the usual bout of seasickness. But eventually we arrived, I made sure I was on the first boat to dry land, and we were able to set off to explore. Kitted out naturally with gas masks and hard hats!!! (This may have been another thing I "neglected" to tell them back home before I did it!)

It was quite weird to think that we were actually walking on a volcano, which last erupted as recently as 2000 and is expected to erupt again soon. But there were all the usual signs - the pleasant smell of sulphur and clouds of steam everywhere! Not to mention of course the heat, quite welcome on a slightly damp and overcast day.

It was really interesting to have the various instruments we saw explained, and to understand the kind of research which is happening on the island to understand why volcanoes erupt and how to predict them. One of the most interesting things was the news that the lake in the main crater, which was formed during the last eruption, is filling very very fast. There are a number of theories about why the water is rising at half a metre a week, but the scientists really aren't sure. And even more interesting are the predictions of what might happen when it reaches the top of the crater (only 20m - you do the maths!). It could be another eruption, or it could just flow over, pouring acidic water across the island and out into the sea. Watch this space...

We walked across the island past steaming fumeroles and right up to the edge of the crater lake. We also saw a number of other craters, caused by other eruptions across the years. At one stage they had cut open a cross section of the rock to show the various layers created by the ash and eruption debris. The volcano had "ashed" (erupted with ash) for about 6 months continually - and had deposited about 4 feet of ash. Incredible. At one point we were invited to try the water - just a drop on the tongue. It was quite warm, and I thought it tasted quite metallic. And then they told us it contains diluted acids. Nice!

As we walked back to the boat, we went past the factory where the sulphur was processed when it was a commercial concern. It is incredible to think that we were issued with gasmasks for a couple of hours visit, and yet people lived here for a year, mining the sulphur. The factory was interesting mainly seeing the effects of the sulphur and other chemicals in the air on the machinery. Everything was rusting and half buried in the ash. Slightly creepy really...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1079233140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1079233140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1079233140/tpod.html Fri, 11 Jun 2004 08:35:33 -0400 Round the world - a voyage of discovery

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Wellington, New Zealand

I flew into Wellington from Christchurch and found that the cold which had been brewing for a few days hit me well and truly as soon as I crossed the Cook Strait. So the first morning was spent sniffling in bed and feeling sorry for myself. But eventually I dragged myself out of bed for a bit of a wander around Wellington. Which was a very good plan as it was gorgeous weather and a really nice stroll.

Once I eventually found the Information Centre (obviously turned into a man for a while - forgot to take a map and refused to ask for directions), they had some fantastic walking tour brochures, so I followed a couple of those, which took me along the waterfront and into the political areas of town.

First was the Civic Centre where the information centre is, and as it is the Wellington Festival at the moment, there was a free street theatre show going on. It was excellent - a Japanese group with a guy on a tightrope pretending to wobble, but all choreographed to drums and music. The skill it must have taken to pretend to fall, but manage to actually stay upright is incredible.

From there I walked along the waterfront, admiring sculptures and stopping off at a photography exhibition. It was great to see an area so obviously redeveloped and now a great place to just wander. The photography exhibition wasn't really my cup of tea - I wasn't very impressed, but obviously I'm just a heathen who didn't understand what the photographer was trying to achieve....

After walking along the waterfront, I got to the main political area of town, the centrepiece of which is the Beehive, the main parliamentary building. As you had probably already guessed, the name comes from the shape, which does look odd alongside the classic architecture of the buildings around it.

Around the corner from the Beehive I discovered Old St Paul's Cathedral, once the cathedral for the city until the congregation became too big and a pink nonentity was built up the road. Old St Paul's was possibly the most beautiful church I have ever seen. It was in gothic style, but unlike many British churches which are gothic stone, because this was made of wood, it gave it an incredible warmth.

The final bit of sightseeing was a trip on the cable car, or funicular which goes up to a great viewpoint over the city. There was an observatory up there with a talk about the stars of the southern hemisphere which was very cool. Now I'll be trying to spot a few more constellations next time I'm out at dark!!

One of the main parts of the few days I spent in Wellington was catching up with friends I'd met earlier in the trip. I spent one evening having a bit of a blowout with James from Perth - the first big boozy and food night out either of us had had in a while, as he'd been desperately saving money as well. It was so good to catch up with him - it seemed incredible that 4 months had passed since we last saw each other - there was a hell of a lot to catch up on!!!

I also met up with Kerryn from the Africa trip, and went back to her flat to look through all the pictures. It was very funny reliving all those memories! But it seems like years and years ago that I was there.

Another major highlight of Wellington was Te Papa, the museum. It is fairly new and the exhibits are incredibly interactive, which makes them so accessible. One of the best bits was the section on earthquakes and volcanoes (all very fascinating if you're from Britain, where we don't really have either!) At one point you could stand in a house and experience what an earthquake feels like - quite scary!

I also met up again with Louise, who I'd spent some time travelling with in the North Island the first time, and we arranged to drive up to Auckland together over the next week. I'd always wanted to do that trip driving, but it just didn't seem that I'd be able to find anyone to come with me. So I was very glad to get a text from her! We also went to the rugby again to see another Super12 game, although it was a bit disappointing as there really wasn't very much atmosphere.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1085075760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1085075760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1085075760/tpod.html Thu, 10 Jun 2004 05:59:44 -0400 Round the world - a voyage of discovery

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Lake Titicaca, Peru

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]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1084985100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1084985100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vicki/off_to_explore/1084985100/tpod.html Sun, 23 May 2004 16:00:11 -0400 Round the world - a voyage of discovery

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Paracas, Peru

After leaving Lima we headed south along the coast. It was amazing how quickly we went from the centre of a busy, polluted city into the middle of desert. Although the absence of the coastal fog which usually hangs over Lima at this time of year definitely helped everyone's mood. But it was really quite odd to suddenly be in the middle of nowhere.

Despite being in the middle of a desert, along the road there were still incredibly green and fertile strips - a legacy of the incredible irrigation techniques developed by pre'Inca and Inca civilisations over the centuries, and still in use today.

One of the really interesting things we drove past was a collection of shacks and houses of varying standards spread along the side of the road. The trip leader explained to us that this is a kickback against the crime and pollution that is growing in Lima - many people have just upped sticks, left the big city and settled here, returning to traditional ways of life and values. They're having to pretty much relearn all the old techniques for farming and surviving in this pretty tough environment, but the new "town" is growing rapidly. Takes a lot of guts to do that!

In the afternoon we drove onto the Paracas peninsula, which was stunning, and most surprisingly wasn't blowing a howling gale, so we were able to enjoy it. We walked out to the cathedral, a huge rock formation in the cliffs surrounded by many sea birds. And then we walked down to the beach for a paddle in the Pacific ocean - a first for most of the people in the group. The waves were absolutely huge as well, taking quite a few of us by surprise, which led to much hilarity. It was great to just chill out and watch the sun go down with the power of the sea sending waves crashing into the beach just in front of us.

We stopped overnight in Pisco, a town famous for its liquor, more often made into the national drink, pisco sours. But that wasn't the local speciality we tried that night. Instead it was off to the interestingly spelt Jhonny's cafe for fish and chips Peruvian style. Or for loads of us, cebiche, which is raw fish or seafood marinaded in lime juice, which helps to partially "cook" it. It is absolutely delicious, but not to be recommended with the early signs of South American stomach....!

The next day bright and early we headed off for our boat trip to the Ballestas Islands, nicknamed the Poor Man's Gallapagos because of the incredible variety of seabirds there. Once again the Gods were smiling at us, as the trip, which is usually incredibly rocky and vomit-inducing was very calm, which was great for those of us with serious travel sickness!!!

I have to admit that I wasn't really all that excited about this trip, having already seen many birds, sealions and penguins around the world. But I was very very pleasantly surprised - it was just incredible! The first thing we saw as we headed out to the islands was the Candalabria, carved into the rock on the Paracas peninsula. No-one knows why it is there, who carved it or what it symbolises. But it is pretty incredible. The bad news is that it is being filled in by the dust being blown into it from the peninsula. In maybe 50 years it may not be there anymore. (Although the question I never managed to get an answer to was why nothing seemed to be being done about that...)

As we neared the islands, the rocks seemed to be an incredibly dark colour on top, in contrast with a light brown on the sides - and as we got closer it became obvious that this colour was actually made up of the hundreds of birds who were sitting on the top of the rocks. I don't think I've ever seen so many birds in one place. There were about 3 different types of cormorant, peruvian boobies, inca terns, pelicans, vultures and probably hundreds of others. We also saw the biggest sealion I have ever seen in my life, certainly happy with his harem, and a few Humboldt penguins - as the guide put it, "they're peruvian penguins - they're short and they're fat!"

I'm really glad I did the trip as it really was incredible and much much better than I was expecting.
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