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Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:12:50 GMT

Arriving at 6 in the morning in the City of Dalat, it was a mere 23 degrees. I was shivering and Jade had donned her hoody, the 8 degrees drop was certainly a shock to the system. A Vietnamese man quickly approaches us, as we make our way off the bus, and is telling us we should go wait inside at the bus station as many of the hotels would be closed now. We get into the warm and sip on our super strength coffees; he is telling us all about tours that we could take around the area of Dalat. We now realise he is an Easy rider- Easy riders are an informal crew of local motorbike guides who can whirl you around Dalat. He is a very good sales man, that is for sure! And after he drops us off at our hotel in the City Centre we purchase a country side day tour from him, for two days later. As we drove into Dalat, which is located in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, Jade and I take an instant liking to it, even from the short 1km motorbike ride. Da Lat is 1600m above sea level and is beautiful; it has forests of pine trees (forming the name: "City of thousands of pine trees") with twisting roads along the mountainsides and endless fields of flowers blossoming all year round. The city's temperate weather stands in contrast to Vietnam's otherwise tropical climate. Mist covering the valleys almost year-round leads to its name "City of eternal spring"… Dalat looks like a cross between Vietnam and the French Alps. Many of its hotels and houses are built in a European/French style. With a small lake in the centre and surrounded by a manmade lake and higher peaks, making for some lovely scenery quite different from the Vietnam we have seen so far. We head to the market and have our jackets on as it is raining a little. On our way are joined by a monk who is very chatty and very interested in why we are here in Vietnam, he acts as our guide for a short while leading us to the market. Jade is quite taken back by his kindness…. He is the first monk to have spoken or acknowledged her since beginning our travels (some have very strict rules on interaction with females). We look at some incredible stitched silk art work; many portraying different Vietnamese cultures and traditions. We make tracks down stairs and leave the monk to go on his merry way. We try the Vietnamese Taco, a barbequed rice flour pancake topped with egg and spring onions! It is so delicious. We treat ourselves to some cheese and pate and head home to devour our treats… not forgetting that we stopped off to get some tarts just round the corner from our hotel! Exploring Da Lat, our first stop is the manmade Xuan Huong Lake which is lined with huge pine trees and beautifully kept gardens, there are even a few men trying their luck at fishing. It starts to bucket down with rain so we head back into town, we walk past so many stalls selling strawberries, avocado and artichokes; they can grow this produce all year round due to the cooler climate here. Taking shelter inside the market, dripping wet, Jade did not seem to mind as she noticed how many sweet treats were on offer … there were at least a hundred stalls all selling these treats. But what I cannot understand is that each stall sells the same products? Talk about competition! It is beyond me how they make any money. We pick out a stall and buy some delicious sweets made from local produce. They reminded us of Turkish Delight. We then continue outside to my favourite part of any market and Jades least! The fish, meat and veg section. I just love the array of fruit and veg the different colours of it all and all the new species of vegetables I have never seen. As we walk through crammed meat section the stench fills the air and this is the apart Jade really detests! There is no health and hygiene here; all kinds of animal entrails fill their chopping boards, no fridges and flies that cover the select cuts of meat. It is all as fascinating to me as because maybe 70 years ago in Britain we would have lived the same way. Jade informs me not to walk to the back of the market as this is where you will see chickens being slaughtered…so without hesitation this is where I head, No chickens being killed here, but lots cooped up in cages awaiting their sharp fate. I now reckon we are market experts and, what with Jade unscrupulous bargaining skills. I would love to see anyone try to charge Jade extra at a market! We head to a local restaurant just around the corner from our hotel to have some Pho which is pronounced Fer, it the Vietnamese national dish and like prostitutes you will find it on pretty much every street corner. It is Noodle soup and it is amazing, I won't bang on too much about it as I have mentioned it before… The Easy rider day out .This was a highlight of my trip so far; the friendly bike riders picked us at 8:30 am. Jade and I board the bikes and we are off. The mornings are so fresh here we have our hoodies on to keep us warm. As we make our way from the hotel and head out of the city centre you can see just how much agricultural activity take place here. There are so many green houses that fill the vast valleys and hills that surround Dalat. With its year-round cool weather, Da Lat supplies temperate agriculture products for all over Vietnam, for example: cabbage and cauliflower and strawberries. Its flower industry produces typical flowers like hydrangea, marigold and rose. Our drivers stop off just in front of the Lang Biang Mountains and give us very informative information about the landscape and countryside. Next stop, our drivers drop us off at the bottom of a humongous hill and tell us to walk to the top for some great views. They say would meet us on the other side of the hill, driving off jokingly saying "watch out for the tigers" and "see you tomorrow" the walk was absolutely knackering as we at such a high altitude and the air is somewhat thin (nothing to do with all of the numerous baguettes that we've been consuming here in Vietnam). We make it to the top alive! The 360 degree views are breathtakingly amazing. There are wild horses grazing on the hillside and run off as our presence scares them. Making our way down the hill was somewhat of a challenge too. Back on the road again and we make our way to a flower farm. In 1993 some Vietnamese that had travelled to Holland came back with the idea of using greenhouses as they do there. Although they make theirs out of bamboo and have to change them every 5 years due to wear and tear. It is very interesting learning about the flower trade, we cannot believe how interesting it is, and jade is telling me how her grandparents would love it here … not to mention my Nonna too. After having some pictures taken we head through the pine covered hillsides. The smells that fill the air are fantastic from the coffee flowers to the pine trees, it's all so fresh. I cannot believe how picturesque it is! And with that thought our easy riders are stopping again for some picture opportunities and give us information about the minority village in the distance and about the U.S Army/Vietnamese war that almost ruined a lot of their country side and nearly spoiled all their soil with all the chemical bombs they dropped during the war. Now luckily they have a thriving coffee trade #2 in the world (behind Brazil) for producing the lil beans of goodness! Next stop to learn about the coffee trade and have a (much needed) coffee ourselves! The drive is just spectacular it reminds me of where my late Nonna Vechio used to live in North Italy the country side filled with all kinds growing even down to the Idyllic buildings placed sporadically along the way. Now at this ramshackle building and we are stopping off for a coffee, and also to learn about "weasel coffee" and rice wine making, it is all just so interesting … First our guide lifts a lid on a barrel and there is this stench of rotting rice with a hint of nail varnish remover! He informs us that this is rice fermenting. Wow it really was potent. He then showed us the distilling process in which he gets us to try this rocket fuel, then after we try this firewater he then proceeds to light it - I'm sure this is what he powers his motor bike on! I need to tell you there is no such thing as health and safety in Asia and everything is all so makeshift, but yet I find it all so resourceful- where there's a will there's a way kind of attitude which doesn't seem to stop the process of anything stopping the working environment. Now on to "weasel coffee" which is coffee beans that have been through the critters digestion tract and are gathered in their poo yep you read it right their poo! A weasel eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes (bacteria to you and I) seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through weasels intestines, the beans are then defecated, keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world with prices reaching £110 per lb of coffee . Maybe I should start eating coffee beans?!?! After hearing of the weasel coffee, we sit in the sun and enjoy a regular coffee served in a singular coffee filter which sits on your glass, blinking delicious, just not enough of it as it is served espresso style, and served with, to Jades delight, sweetened condensed milk. Refreshed and ready to go. Next stop is the silk factory - up until we got there I could of swore he said shoe factory, and it did cross my mind why would stop at a shoe factory??? Jade found this quite amusing as we entered I asked some people who were leaving what are the shoes like… no reply just a gormless look and Jade said "what are you on about??". Our guide leads us in towards the noise of the machinery clattering away. Our guide tries his hardest to speak over the noise, the silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domesticated silk moth, it is an economically important insect, being a primary producer of silk. A silkworm's preferred food is white mulberry leaves, but it may also eat the leaves of any other mulberry tree. It is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and does not occur naturally in the wild. Sericulture, the practice of breeding silkworms for the production of raw silk, so fascinating as we watch each worm cocoon getting spun up on to each spool, it takes 12 cocoons per 1 thread, each cocoon making roughly about 900metres of silk, so impressive once the silk is harvested, threaded and dried it is placed onto these gargantuan silk threading/weaving machines which print out only 4 metres a day! There are only 3 machines in this factory so that is roughly 12 metres a day. We really liked this place, we took hundreds of photos to show Jade's granddad the machines (I wonder if they'd fit in his garage?!) and we have a new respect for all of Jades scarves!! We are now flagging with the heat and stop for lunch; Pho again! But I can assure you it so bloody delicious; Jade especially likes all the condiments you can add! I have finished my Pho and join the Bike riders table. One of them challenges me to see if I can catch one of the million flies around us with my chopsticks … I nearly did, no $10 for me, it was great fun laughing and joking with intelligent men. We make tracks to the minority village, what I forgot to mention is that everything they grow in this vast area is all farmed by hand, so I imagine this is what it was like in Britain before machinery came along… there are women carrying all kinds on their heads. Jade and I Joking say "could you imagine our grandparents carrying barrels of rice on their heads or boxes of flowers bigger than themselves for miles to the next town?! It truly is incredible what these old lady farmers are capable of! The village of the minorities is just a small village of how the Vietnamese people lived before the war and before the government introduced agricultural schemes to fund the poor. We now are heading back through all the scenery without stopping; I'm going to say it again- the views are just stunning, These Vietnamese are very lucky to have such a rich countryside, and they really are making the most of it. Last stop Jades Home … joke! Hằng Nga guesthouse, popularly known as the "Crazy House" is an unconventional building designed and constructed by Vietnamese architect Dang Viet Nga in Đà Lạt, Vietnam. Described as a "fairy tale house", the building's overall design resembles a giant tree, incorporating sculptured design elements representing natural forms such as animals, mushrooms, spider webs and caves. Jade loves it; it reminds us both of Alice in wonderland. That was such a fantastic end to such a fantastic day; our drivers drop us of to our hotel. We cannot thank the driver enough, And they tell us what a pleasure it was to have us and tell me that I am a very intelligent man who knows so much of his country, Jade laughs at me as this will give me a bigger head than it already is ...Overall Dalat is a must place visit for, there is something to suit everyone's needs, the sensational sights and friendly Vietnamese has made it one of our favourite places so far!

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:20:18 GMT

Hallo aus Addis Ababa! Heute haben wir eher organisatorische Dinge erledigt. Und wir haben uns richtig Zeit fuer den Mesquel Square genommen. Sind dort auf den Stufen gesessen und haben die Stimmung genossen. Der Mesquel Square ist ein riessiger Platz wo im September ein grosses Feuer gemacht wird um den Beginn eines neuen Jahres zu feiern. Uebrigens haben wir hier erst das Jahr 2004. Wer also schnell ein paar Jahre juenger sein will, sollte sich in den Flieger setzen . Und fuer alle Interessierten, um sechs Uhr in der Frueh (Europa) startet hier der Tag und es ist dann 0:00 Uhr. Also Mittags ist es dann 6:00 Uhr, usw. Bis bald und alles Liebe Alice

Koh Samui, Thailand

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:35:40 GMT

Halloooo! Kurz mal vorweg: mir gehts sehr gut! Sonne, Strand und Meer stimmen mich glücklich.. Tut mir leid, dass ich den Blog bis dato noch nicht wirklich benutzt habe, aber ich bin jeden Tag so müde, dass ich einfach nur ins Bett fall. Außerdem muss ich die Zeit noch mit Franzi, Pia und Daniel "genießen" ;-) .. weil ab 18.2. bin ich ja dann alleine. Dann werd ich aber auch mehr bloggen .. versprochen!! So.. muss mich fürs Abendessen fertig machen. Bussis

Australia, Victoria

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:04:25 GMT

10th Feb 2012 Hello back home! Hope you are all fine and dandy! We've come to the end of our Victoria/South Australia part of the trip and are moving on to Perth and Western Australia tomorrow. We thoroughly enjoyed Phillip Island, The Great Ocean Road and The Grampains - here's a mini insight to what we got up to...... When we arrived in Melbourne it was raining so we drove to Philip Island in search of sun! We didn't find a huge amount but we did find some cute cuddly Koalas instead! We visited the Koala conservation centre and watched them (mostly sleeping) in their natural habitat - did you know that they sleep up to 20 hours a day? That's more than Dave - lazy things! We only stayed on Philip Island one night and after a walk on the beach and some cliff tops we moved on via Melbourne & Ramsay Street, sad we know but it had to be done! They were filming so the street was blocked off but we got to see Karl Kennedy from a distance on set! Yes we know - we're losers! Tee hee! We stayed in Torquay (the surf capital of Australia where Rip Curl and Quicksilver were founded) to start The Great Ocean Road and stayed on a farm in a cabin with a good old fashioned aussie farmer - he could have almost stepped straight out of Crocodile Dundee! Torquay was cool but very windy! When we moved on we stopped to sun ourselves for a bit on Anglesea beach before visiting the local kangaroos on Anglesea golf course! We didn't think it would be so easy to see them - little did we know we'd later be sharing a campsite with them! Our next stop was Lorne - probably the prettiest beach town on The Great Ocean Road. At this point we decided to purchase a tent and the accompanying equipment with an aim to save a lot of money as the accommodation was very expensive. We managed to get a tent, 2 roll mats, 2 mini blow-up pillows, a saucepan set, 2 plates and 2 bowls - a very successful shop - minus the sleeping bags as the shop only had massive ones left and there was no way they were getting in or on our rucksacks! So we spent the first night in our lil tent under a sheet that we hired from the campsite - oops! Slightly cold! Sleeping bags were swiftly bought the following morning when the hardware store in the next town opened! We were all excited at the thought of saving loads of money and having 3 nights camping for the price of one night in a hostel when the weather turned and it started to rain! Not what we expected or wanted! After staying at Apollo Bay in the rain we went to Cape Otway lighthouse and we were pleasantly greeted by some lazy koalas munching in the trees on the side of the road - didn't expect to see them so close and active in the wild - again...very cute! We stayed at Princetown after that so that we could see the famous Twelve Apostles and the last part of the Great Ocean Road coast. The stacks of various shapes and sizes were impressive, with lots of other nooks and crannies to observe and read about along the way. We ventured out at sunset to see it at its best and fought with the very strong winds to get some great views. With a coffee and scone treat at Port Fairy we headed inland to The Grampians National Park where we camped at Halls Gap - a quiet town with a great deal of wildlife! We were surprised to share our camping spot with lots of kangaroos and native birds! The laughing kookaburras and hopping kangaroos were extremely active after dark - we've never heard such unusual noises in the night! Apart from Helen's snoring when she lived with us! Tee hee - only joking Hel! We loved the back to nature Grampians and enjoyed some lovely walks with some amazing lookouts over the valleys and lakes. We even visited an aboriginal rock art sight and made our own tower of rocks! We finished the relaxing time in the Grampians with a game of tennis and a dip in the pool and made the long trip to Adelaide where we were greeted by some more rain! It cleared up for us to pitch the tent though - phew! Parents - we'll be in touch when we land in Perth tomorrow! Lots of love to everyone else! Enjoy half term teachers! X x x x x x x x x x x

Cairns, Queensland

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:22:55 GMT

Wow, war das ein Tag! Ich kann es noch nicht fassen, dass es eigentlich Winter und eisig kalt ist.. Denn wir sind hier soooo in Sommerstimmung. Heute morgen ging es (leider schon) um 7.15 Uhr los. Ein kurzer Spaziergang zum Hafen und dort auf ein Schiff, dass uns etwa 2 Stunden zum Great Barrier Reef fuhr. "Passion of Paradies" hiess die Organisation und machte den Namen zum Programm. Ein super nettes Crewteam bespasste und bekochte uns, gab uns Einweisungen und Ausruestung zum Schnorcheln und fuer einige von uns (ich aber nicht) zum Tauchen. Zweimal waren wir an verschiedenen Stellen je 1,5 Stunden im Wasser und haben das wunderschoene Reef gesehen, das blau-gruene Wasser sah schon von oben traumhaft aus. Wir haben auch einiges an Fischen gesehen. Die Taucher haben wohl auch 2 Haie in der Tiefe angetroffen. Das brauche ich nicht, aber ich war froh, dass eine riesige Schildkroete bei mir vorbei schwamm. Waehrend wir auf dem Boot waren, gab es Zeit einige Leute aus der Gruppe besser kennen zu lernen. Alle waren nicht dabei, denn heute war ein Tag zur freien Programmwahl. Es gab einzelne die Rafting, Fallschirm springen etc. machten. Gegen 17 Uhr waren wir zurueck vom Boot. Nun sitze ich kurz darauf im Internetcafe und muss feststellen, dass es gerade noch innerlich etwas schwankt, als sei ich noch auf dem Schiff. In Summe kommt es mir so vor, als sei das heute ein Ausflug gewesen und morgen geht es wieder zurueck zB zur Tagesordnung. Statt dessen ist es sooo super, dass es jeden Tag neue Erlebnisse gibt. Zur Zeit kann ich keine Fotos einstellen, da einige PCs leider keinen SD-Karten-Zugang haben. Bilder werden also nachgereicht. Es ist uebrigens ueberraschend, dass super viele der Reisenden i-Pad oder notebook im Rucksack haben. Am Flughafen wird schnell das Bett im naechsten hostel klar gemacht und viele sind taeglich im Stundentakt auf facebook unterwegs. Vielleicht gehen schon die Auflagen bei Lonley Planet zurueck?

Dalat, Vietnam

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:07:07 GMT

From Mui Ne we took the mountain road up to the central highlands. "Highway 28" turned out to be a quiet winding road through the mountains, which steadily became darker as the day wore on. Dan suffered a flat on the way up and had to push his bike about two kays back to the nearest village. I say push, but he actually ran the whole way with it, being the fitness freak that he is. The friendly village folk quickly had us on the road again and we forced some beer money onto them in return. In the heat of the afternoon, Dan decided to take his shirt off and drive the rest of the way like that, being the hardcore boss that he is. This turned out to not be such a good idea when he drove into a cloud of wasps or bees or somesuch. I was waiting for him up ahead on the side of the road and heard an odd sound, completely out of place with anything on that mountain. Dan? I thought, surely not. And then he comes round the corner, screaming my name out at the top of his lungs over and over again like he was calling for my blood, red in the face and driving right at me. Whoa there. He's in a highly agitated state (if you hadn't figured that out by now) and says he's been stung by a swarm of bees. Bees. Of all the things that could happen to someone riding a motorbike through Vietnam, being stung by a swarm of angry bees never quite figured into the picture. He was convinced he was going to die if he didn't get an "e-pen", and with great haste we barreled down the mountain to the nearest town, which was still more than 40km away at this point. I wasn't sure if he was being overly dramatic or if I should be calling in an ambulance, but I was along for the ride either way, whether I liked it or not. I was hard-pressed to keep up with him, especially now that the role of luggage mule had been transfered to me after Dan's flat had necessitated moving the racks onto my bike, and I quickly lost sight of him. We'd been driving like this for about half an hour when I rounded a bend and there he was, pulled up on the side of the road and having a smoke with two locals. I asked him if he was alright. "You know what?" he said to me. "I've lived a good life. I could die right here." Fortunately for Dan, he didn't, and we made it to Dalat by evening, arriving in the dark and pouring rain. We spent our time in Dalat in various states of being stoned, drunk, sick, and lost, and picked up some cheap leather and seude jackets at the flea market for the cold weather up north. I don't care where you're from, $5 for a suede jacket is damn cheap. It's a picturesque little place in the hills, originally a French hill station and now a bustlingly pleasant Vietnamese city that still feels more like a town, and one of my favourite spots in the country.

Auckland, New Zealand

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:15:26 GMT

Hallo ihr Lieben, inzwischen bin ich wieder in Auckland angekommen: habe erfolgreich von Mangawhai und Sail Rock Abschied genommen und bin jetzt wieder auf mich allein gestellt. Etwas traurig bin ich schon darüber und irgendwie ist es als ob ich schonwieder von einem hart erarbeiteten Teil meines Lebens einfach so und das wahrscheinlich für immer Abschied nehmen musste. Aber was solls, es wartetein wundervolles Land darauf von mir entdeckt zu werden - also ist das verkraftbar. Am Montag war nationaler Feiertag. Auch das Restaurant war geschlossen, sodass wir (Niall, Portia, Jono und Maxi) nochmal einen witzigen Ausflugstag unternommen haben: Minigolf, Besuch in der Chocolaterie in Mangawhai (war Maxis persönlicher Wunsch), danach zum Strand und schließlich noch einen Cowshed besucht (waren Kühe melken). Am Abend hat Margaret ein Abschiedsbarbecue für mich organisiert - bei uns Zuhause mit allen Kollegen und Freunden (war also ein irre cooler letzter Tag in Mangawhai - bis auf die tränenreiche Verabschiedung die darauf folgte). Seid gestern bin ich also wieder in Auckland. Bin mit der Fähre zu Jono geschippert (der eigentlich in Auckland studiert, also auch hier wohnt und 2 Tage frei hatte). Einmal in der Woche macht der eine Hiphopshow mit 2 Freunden für einen neuseeländischen Radiosender an der ich gestern teilgenommen habe. Ganz anders als ich mir vorgestellt habe, war das einfach nur unkoordiniert Müll ins Mikro quatschen (also nichts anderes als wir sowieso 80% der Zeit machen) und nebenbei ein paar Bier trinken (ok für mich nur eins). Und ich wusste bisher nicht, dass ein Ranking für das Verbot von (swearwords) Schimpfwörtern in Broadcasts existiert, welches der Radiosender selbstverständlich beachten muss. Naja wieder was dazu gelernt (wer zum Teufel führt eigentlich solche Umfragen durch?). Wie auch immer: mehr oder weniger daran gehalten sind wir nach der Show noch ins nächste Pub und haben bis spät in die Nacht Billiard gespielt (das heißt ich und inzwischen so ungefähr 5 schräge Hiphop Freaks). Was hab ich mir da bloß wieder eingebrockt? Naja trotzdem sind die Typen ganz in Ordnung und tiefenentspannt. Die Nacht (oder besser den Morgen) auf Jonos Couch verbracht, haben ich heute einen ganz gechillten Tag verbracht. Wir waren in ein paar Cafes, Sushi zu Mittag und die meiste Zeit am Strand. Jetzt bin ich wieder im Hostel im Zentrum Aucklands und werde morgen meine Bustour quer durchsLand antreten. Ich schätze jetzt ist es vorbei mit englisch sprechen, denn soviele Deutsche wie ich hier in der Stadt schon angetroffen habe… Naja ich freue mich jedenfalls schon riesig darauf jetzt endlich loszustarten und ein paar unterschiedliche Plätze Neuseelands sehen zu können und das beste überhaupt ist die Gewissheit, mir das alles selbst erarbeitet und angespart zu haben (danke Margaret!). Also kann es morgen losgehen! Ich hoffe bei euch ist auch alles bestens und wir können ab und an mal skypen oder schreiben. :-) Grüße eure Maxi

Hunan, China

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:55:22 GMT

We're back safely from our travels in the south of China and what a month it was! A couple of days before we left Leiyang, we took the advice of our friend Jelly's family and booked flights between our destinations rather than relying on train services. This proved to be an excellent idea as the Spring Festival is the busiest time of year in China and using the trains for long journeys just leads to delays, frustration and disappointment. We left on 6th January and met our friend and fellow teacher Vince who would be accompanying us on our journey. We flew from Changsha to Kunming in Yunnan province and headed for the train station to book tickets to our first destination, Dali. Although we had practiced how to ask for tickets in Chinese, being able to read timetables is another skill altogether! Luckily for us we met some helpful young Chinese men and after over an hour of queuing we were able to board our seven-hour overnight train. We arrived in Dali Old Town at dawn and were greeted by the sun's morning glow falling on mountains peaks in front of us and shimmering on the lake behind us. We found our hostel with ease and were delighted by the golden Labradors that lived there and the promise of eating an English breakfast. Our days in Dali were characterised by hiking along the Cangshan (mountains) where we saw streams, pine forests and the view of Erhai lake framed beneath the blue sky. The air there was so fresh and warm, two qualities that had eluded us whilst we have been living in Leiyang and we enjoyed the four hour walk greatly. The following morning Matt's friend from Folkestone, Sam, joined us as he had been travelling South East Asia and wanted to see some of China too. We rented electric scooters and went skirting around the lake. With a few more days left before we had to return to Kunming to fly to our next destination, Hainan island, we consulted our guide books and decided to embark on one of the most enthralling hiking expeditions that China can offer you: Tiger Leaping Gorge. After a six-hour bus ride north, we arrived in the foothills of the Himalayas on a sunny Thursday afternoon and began the trek. After thirty minutes of uphill walking, the majesty of the gorge unveiled itself to us and we were confronted by a huge range of snow-capped mountains draped in cloud. We continued along the deserted path in awe as it wound its way up the rocky valley. All around us were green rice paddies, and we could hear the roar of the mighty river below. After an exhilarating yet exhausting five hours, we finally arrived at one of the many guesthouses situated along the gorge just as dusk fell. We greedily ate up a delicious home cooked meal and were caught under the spell of the brilliant stars in the black night sky, a sight that can only be truly appreciated in those rare places in the world were there is no light pollution. The following day's hike was less arduous and shorter than the previous one and so we absorbed the views of waterfalls and mountains with only a herd of wild goats to pass us all day. The peace that overcomes you when you are in the close presence of such grand mountains was unforgettable and I hope that many of my friends and family will also experience something similar one day. Our hike was over before we knew it and we sat reflecting during the seven hour train ride as we made our way back to Kunming. We were soon to be in Hainan, a small island situated in the South China sea and very popular with Chinese and Russian holiday makers due to its tropical climate. We arrived in Haikou at midday on Sunday and took a short two-hour train journey down to the most southerly point, Sanya, our next destination. Out of the window I was delighted to see palm trees, rice paddies, water buffalos and barefoot Chinese farmers and I sat smiling the whole way because I hadn't seen such greenery since leaving England. We arrived at our lovely hostel in 25 degree heat and headed straight to the beach which was a five minute walk away. The golden sand and blue sea was such a welcome sight to us, especially as we didn't get to go on holiday with our families last summer. We spent the next five days at the beach every day, soaking up the sun and making the most of the delicious food and fruit smoothies. Our time in the sun was over far too quickly and we soon had to head for Hong Kong where we had decided to spend Chinese New Year. Our first impressions of the world famous city was that it was so clean compared to mainland China and so well organised! Every sign had an English translation and there were reminders everywhere to not drop litter and have consideration for others around you. We were astonished. After living in China for so many months where people scream down the phone, spit phlegm right next to your feet and have no moral qualms about dumping huge piles of stinking rubbish everywhere (not an exaggeration), it was such a welcome environment to be in. We were staying in a really good location about ten minutes walk from Victoria harbour in Kowloon, but the building itself we soon discovered was very notorious. Named Chunking Mansions, it is the multicultural home to many Asian immigrants selling all kinds of services including hostels, food and drugs. Every time we walked in or out we would be swamped by lots of Indian men all offering us fake handbags, watches, suits and of course, hash which they referred to as "Something special, buddy?!" The day after Chinese New Year there was a huge firework display over Victoria Harbour and we had been invited to the 57th floor of a huge apartment block by our friends Jo and Rachael who were staying there. The view of the city at night from that high up was indescribable and we all stood in wonder on the balcony while we watched the unforgettable 23 minute show. After our initial euphoria, we began to realise that Hong Kong was actually extremely expensive and the only thing you can really do there is either work or go shopping in the thousands of designer shops that sparkle along almost every street. However, we did try to sight see as much as possible and even visited Lamma, one of Hong Kong's many outlying islands that provide a welcome calmness to the manic 24-hour hype of the city. We were told that going to visit the giant stone Buddha on top of one of HK's peaks was a must, and so we stood in line for more than an hour, paid for our cable car tickets and waited to be hoisted to the top. As we ventured higher, the thick clouds engulfed the car and we were unable to see anything out the window except pure white during the whole ride, completely defeating the purpose and joy of this type of transport. We arrived in the drizzly and freezing 'village' of Pnong Ping where the Buddha resides only to realise that it was a contrived little community with brand new shops all offering food and trinkets for tourists, there was even a 'Subway' up there! We followed the masses to the top of a long set of steps only to be rewarded by a vague outline of the giant Buddha's hand… we could not even see the whole statue due to the thickness of the clouds! We were very irritated by this as we had paid so much money to see it and the cable car company did not give any warning at all that on cloudy days it is futile to visit. To top it off, we later found out on the internet that the Buddha was built in 1994 as a tourist attraction and so has no historical or real spiritual worth whatsoever…! Our time in Hong Kong was coming to an end and we savoured our last few Western food treats like pizza, frozen yoghurt and coffee. Matt and I said goodbye to Vince, Sam and Chiara as we were to all go our separate ways. Rather than return immediately to Leiyang we decided to stop off in Guandong province for a few days so I could spend my birthday somewhere nice. We stayed in Zhoaqing, a pretty town known for its karst peaks and beautiful scenery. It proved to be a good choice as it allowed us to acclimatise back into the Chinese way of life whilst still seeing a new place. We had a very relaxing 3 days there renting bikes, walking past lakes, and visiting waterfalls in the sunshine. We also saw a rat gets its head crushed under a bicycle wheel and fit in pain for thirty seconds until it died, but I wont go into that. So that is the story of our travels! We have been back in Leiyang for a week now, and teaching has started again. The teachers and students alike seemed to have missed us and we have been welcomed back in the traditional Chinese way: being invited out to eat delicious meals and then singing our hearts out at KTV (karaoke), much to Matt's displeasure! The weather here is bitterly cold, grey and drizzly, however we are consistently told that "it is spring now!" so it should be improving soon although I doubt we will see blue sky again for months. When we have saved some more money we are planning to visit Nanjing, Chengdu, Xi'an and hopefully at the end of our contract in July we are planning to end our Chinese adventure by visiting Tibet! That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed reading this. Missing everyone very much, please keep skyping but due to time difference it has to be before 1 p.m. English time! x

Melbourne, Victoria

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:18:03 GMT

Been living in Melbourne for a month now. Sorry its been a while since i wrote. Beginning to settle in and quite like Melbourne now, to start with i preferred Sydney... Will start with a little recap Flight from Sydney was slightly delayed due to a fault on the plane.. and then i left my luggage past the point of no return and had to ask a random, through the bars to get my bag for me, at this point i had completely lost my voice too..nightmare I had to get the free shuttle from the airport to my hostel, habitat hq, i was meeting my friend Jo I met on the coast there, she had been in Melbourne for a week already. Spent 2 weeks just doing touristy things really. Did neighbours night on the Monday, met skye mangle, steph scully and chris pappas, and watched paul Robinsons band, was a bit gutted karl kennedy was on holiday in queens land, but it was a really good night. Wednesday we went on the great ocean road day tour, the weather was bad, but it made the views spectacular Friday we went on the winery tour of the yarra valley which was another good day out Saturday we went on the neighbours tour, was so weird going to the set and on the street, it was so familiar.

Waiwera, New Zealand

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:10:01 GMT

Hallo Zusammen Nach langem haben wirs jetzt doch noch geschafft die ersten Fotos von Neuseeland hoch zu laden. Das Internet hier hat wiedermal viert Welt Qualität und es war fast unmöglich. Ihr findet die Fotos unter Cape Reinga. Der nächste Blog kommt sicher bald und bis jetzt gefällts uns echt super. Falls irgend jemand ein Mail an Cedi schreiben möchte, bitte nur an cedric.spring@gmx.ch, die andere Mailadresse funktioniert seit etwa einer Woche nicht mehr. Alles Gute und einen schönen Winter

Johannesburg, South Africa

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:44:34 GMT

Hallo Leute!! Wo soll ich anfangen... wie versprochen wurde ich und 9 andere Maedels vom flughafen abgeholt und ins guest house in Rosebank gebracht. Die Gegend ist relativ sicher, wuerde mich auch alleine auf die Strasse trauen. Trotzdem sind um jedes, wirklich jedes Haus meterhohe Zaune mit elektrischem Draht und der Aufschrift AGAINST CRIME gebaut. Das soll Diebe abschrecken. Unsere Unterkunft ist nett und sauber, zwar haben wir schon eine Maus gesichtet, aber da sehn wir mal drueber. Die letzten 3 Tage habe ich ein Mehrbettzimmer mit 9 anderren Madchen geteilt, boa das ist sooo eng! Aber morgen teilen sich unsere Wege. Die Orientierungstage waren echt super! Am Mittwoch gings los mit generellen Infos ueber das Land, Kultur, Geschiche... Am Nachmittag haben wir uns Soweto, Nelson Mandelas Haus sowie das Apartheid Museum angeschaut. Soweto ist ein riiiiiieeessen Township mit ca 2 Mio Einwohnern, es gibt Elendsviertel wie z.B. Kliptown mit den Wellblechhuetten, wo die Zustaende erschreckend sind, aber es gibt auch Mittelstand. Heute war ein unglaublicher Tag: Wir haben einen Ausflug nach Lesedi gemacht, ein Dorf in dem alle 5 Hauptkulturen (Pedi, Zulu, Xhosa, Basotho und noch irgendwas) vertreten sind. Es war zugegeben sehr touristisch aufgezogen, aber mir hats trotzdem sehr gut gefallen. Die Afrikaner sind wunderschoen in ihren Stammeskleidungen! :) Highlights waren die Suedafrikanischen Regen&Kriegstaenze und die afrikanischen Spezialitaeten. Heute habe ich GETROCKNETE TAUSENDFUESSLER gegessen, die werden lebendig mit salz bestreut und dann in der Sonne getrocknet. Boa ich haetts fast wieder ausgespuckt aber Augen zu und runter damit. Dann hab ich noch KROKODIL (das beste Fleisch das ich jeee gegessen habe, eine Mischung aus Huehnerfleisch und Fisch irgwie) und STRAUSSENFLEISCH(nicht mein Geschmack) probiert. Morgen gehts dann ins Projekt nach Soweto Othandwando oder so heisst das Waisenhaus und beherbergt 90 Kinder von 0-20 Jahren. Im Projekt bin ich 25 Jahre alt haben die mir bei der Orientierung gesagt ;) Ich bin so nervoes freu mich aber riessig auf die Kinder! Es gibt so viel zu erzaehlen, aber ich bin muede und mach an dieser Stelle Schluss... Ich finds super hier, nein UNGLAUBLICH! und bin gespannt was mich morgen erwartet Schoene schoene gruesse aus Suedafrika und haltet mich bitte am Laufenden was beim Bachelor passiert ;) lg Bianca

Rotorua, New Zealand

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:47:38 GMT

Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th February Two excellent days in Rotorua, once you get used to the underlying smell of sulphur in the air!

Auckland, New Zealand

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:37:06 GMT

Ok so we arrived at Kuala Lumper after a 12 hour flight and after declining plane curry for breakfest (which normally I would say yes to after 10 pints of cider). Three hours flew past and then it was back on the plane for another 12 hours (another declined curry for breakfast) before finally arriving in Auckland at 1pm NZ time (2am UK time).We stayed two nights in the Skyway Lodge with some cool people, which is about 20k out of Auckland to get over the jet lag and what better way to get over it than a 10 mile hike up a volcano (Mt Mangere)and some sun burn.... it was a pretty nice view though. Next day we set off and heading into auckland staying at BK hostel. It was short walk to the harbour, so we jumped on a ferry over to Devonport. We then hired a tandem bike, which meant I (Chops/ Charlie/ Charlotte or whatever you know me as) could put my feet up without Tim noticing ;) We cycled up North Head - another volcano, bit of a mission but alternatively provided an awesome view. When we arrived back at Auckland Harbour, and caulght the bus along the senic coastline to mission beach and finished the day with fish and chips and a pretty cool view of Rangitoto (the youngest volcano). Yesterday we headed to the Auckland museum, next up we walked to the foot of Mt Eden to check it out and then onto the Sky Tower. the building is 192 meters high (roughly), its ok though you catch a glass bottom lift to the top and the views of auckland and the islands round it are fantastic. We topped this off with some wine (fyi not drinking for month, then drinking at high altittude- great fun). Today we fancied a chill day so we caught a ferry to Waiheke Island, then jumped on a bus to Palm beach (one of the many white sand, blue sea beaches). We then caught a ferry back and managed to catch an amazing sun set over auckland, this was top off with a drink at the Auckland Harbour. And thats it so far folks...... Chops xxPS- Its been around 25 degrees every day :)

Kathmandu, Nepal

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:28:20 GMT

Namaste to you all, this is the Nepalese greeting - also used in India it means "the divinity in me bows to the divinity in you" Thanks for the messages, lots of them too, it's great to hear from back home. In answer to the question that has been puzzling some of you, we are lucky enough to have a south facing balcony and so we washed our smalls before bedtime and they were dry by morning. Oh the degradation! I did also buy a couple of emergency tops. Our week has been a full one soaking up the sights, sounds and smells of Kathmandu (food, herbs, spices, incense and the occasional waft of sewage and refuse which had me gagging) On our first full day, Saturday we headed for the Ghats, these are riverside steps upon which Hindus will bathe - not in that water they won't!! The riverbank had manynshrines, stupas and temples - rivers being sacred places. Our trek there - in high heeled ankle boots and that was just Paul - took us along the backstreets of Kathmandu. The streets with no pavements are essentially old dusty brick paths with major potholes. Everywhere teems with life and colour, fruit sellers, spice sellers, flower offering sellers, beautiful saris, babies with Kohl pencil eyeliner and the meat stalls - have you seen enough of those yet? Paul can't pass one without taking a photograph. Not forgetting the national pastime of spitting - with the pollution it is unavoidable. The river was really bad, I guess the monsoon eventually washes it all down to India. I was feeling particularly weak that day and could not stop retching. Sunday was an uphill walk to the Swayambhu Temple (a Buddhist Stupa) - more popularly known as the Monkey Temple or it could be the Dog/pigeon/eagle temple as they are in more abundance. The temple is a further walk up many steps and so has great views over the Kathmandu valley. Monday was a busy day with hopeful trips to the airport squeezed around visits to two other World Heritage sites - Boudha, a 43m high Buddhist Stupa and Pashupatinath a Hindu temple complex. Boudha is a huge stupa - 120m in diameter - the area around it has been developed by refugee Tibetans, they have businesses selling prayer beads and other stuff for the pilgrims. Pilgrims circle the Stupa in a clockwise direction, spinning the prayer wheels that line the outside. Next was Pashupatinath - a fascinating look at the death rituals of the Hindus. The sprawling complex of temples, courtyards and mausoleums is built along the riverside, where the funeral pyres are started. There were musical processions with drums and horns - parading what we assumed to be flower-decorated containers for ashes. There were many families in the courtyards and lawned areas eating picnics and taking part in other rituals such as stoking the votives. Holy men with their white and orange faces were everywhere - no photos though they are very sharp and hustle you for money. Monday night was the sacred opening of the cases - hooray!Tuesday was another walk in comfortable shoes and clean clothes to Patan Durbar Square. Patan is a vibrant artisan area with Durbar (Palace) Square at its heart. The Buddhist square was a residence for the Patan Royal family. It has a huge palace, courtyards and many temples. Kathmandu is another shining example of Buddhists and Hindus co-existing harmoniously. Wednesday's spectacular thunderstorms meant we took a break and sorted out our next destination. And finally...today we had another trek round the very walkable Kathmandu we climbed the 213 spiral staircase steps of a tower called Dharasara, (used historically to gather people for important announcements by sounding the curved horns) a last look round the remaining areas that we had missed. We walked round a more modern 'paved' shopping area with glass fronted shops like a 'Kathmandu One' (a scouse joke there!). We also saw a Nepalese wedding today - a horse drawn carriage led by a horn and drum procession. Sad to see the beautiful bride and groom (pictured) wearing make-up to make them look whiter - this is a despicable campaign by the western beauty industry. A quick mention of the food - I've had vegetable curry and rice every day - always delicious. We both had vegetable Malai Kofta curry, a spicy Korma type dish and vegetable Pakoras (deep fried veg patties). Nepalese dishes include Momos, which are like Sui Mai parcels containing meat or veg. Today we had our third Nepalese set - rice with a collection of side dishes (Dhal,Spinach, Veg curry etc.) in bronze bowls - see Kathmandu 2 photos. Tomorrow we are off to Chitwan National Park for a couple of days to trek through the jungle.

Posadas, Argentina

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:36:24 GMT

Arrived in Posadas - trip only took an hour and this time the bus had genuine air conditioning. This is only a stopover town on our way down to Buenos Aires, nonetheless we headed out with Adam and an Argentinian guy called Santiago to grab a bite to eat and see some of the sites. Posadas, located on the banks of the River Uruguay is a nice, clean and seemingly safe town. We headed to an Arabic / Mexican restaurant - odd mix but food tasted ok and was relatively cheap. Was a really pleasant evening watching a big storm booting off over Paraguay (just across the river) - finished the night with a Sheesha. Good times !! Once again another good nights sleep in preparation for a mammoth 12hr bus journey to take us down to Parana which is West of Buenos Aires. Stop after there will be Rosario - the birth Place of Ernesto Guevara - with the beard coming along well, I hope to be stopped for the occasional photo

Windhoek, Namibia

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:32:54 GMT

Tha erum vid loksins komnar til Windhoek eftir solahringsferdalag. Ferdalag okkar gekk afallalaust fyrir sig, sem betur fer I dag erum vid bunar ad vera ad skoda Windhoek og erum nu ad bida eftir thvi ad vera sottar, thar sem vid erum a leidinni i 2 1/2 tima hestaferd. Kvedja farfuglarnir

Surfers Paradise, Queensland

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:22:53 GMT

We have had three days in Surfers Paradise now, and another three to go, really nice place, lovely beach and good waves! Been in the Jacuzzi in the hotel in the afternoons and the beach during the day, probably the best place for entertainment so far, so many bars, clubs, pubs and restaurants, off to the Hard Rock Cafe tomorrow night, apparently Surfers Paradise is the Miami of Australia so can't be bad. Next stop Byron Bay...

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:34:59 GMT

So meine Lieben, endlich komme ich zum Schreiben. Die letzten Tage waren turbulent und sehr aufregend. Ich habe viele neue Eindrücke gewonnen. Ich bin mit vielen positiven und negativen Vorstellung hier her kommen, und zum Glück haben sich meine Bedenken in Luft aufgelöst. Da ich Malaysia schon irgendwie bißchen kannte, wusste ich was auf mich zu kommt, daher habe ich den Weg vom Flughafen zu meiner neuen Wohnung schnell mit Bus und Bahnverkehr gefunden. Ich befürchtete die Hitze und die hohe Luftfeuchtigkeit würden mich erschlagen, aber dem war nicht so. Ich war einfach nur froh die Wärme auf meiner Haut zu spüren, nachdem es in Deutschland eiskalt geworden war.Als ich die Straße meiner Wohnung hochfuhr, war ich einfach nur erstaunt wie grün und schön die Gegend war. Banenbäume und Palmen überall. Schöne Villen, hochklassige Autos. Mir wurde sofort klar, das ist eine wohlhabende Gegend. Als ich mich dann unserem Tower näherte und den dazu gehörigen Guards, hat sich dies dann auch bestätigt. Nachdem ich meine Mitbewohner kennengelernt hatte und meine schöne neue Wohnung bestaunen durfte, fühlte ich mich direkt heimisch. Das schönste für mich war, dass die Wohnung sauber war und keine Schlupflöcher für Ungeziefer hatte. Als mir dann meine Mitbewohner sagten, sie hätten in der Wohnung noch nie Kakalaken gesehen, wusste ich egal was kommt, ich bleibe hier. Denn das war meine größte Angst, diesen Fiechern ausgeliefert zu sein. Das schönste an der Wohnung ist der herrliche Ausblick. Zu einen Seite kann man in den tiefen Tschungel sehen und auf der anderen Seite das Stadtpanaroma von Petaling Jaya(die Vorstadt von Kuala Lumpur). Am gleichen Abend waren meine zwei Vorgänger/Mitbewohner bei einer Lehrerin eingeladen und ich wurde direkt mitgenommen. Ich bin dann hinten auf dem Moped mitgefahren. Ich konnte die erste Fahrt gar nicht genießen. Rafal(mein Vorgänger/Mitbewohner) fuhr soo schnell dass ich dachte das wird mein erster und letzter abend in Malaysia sein. Aber jetzt im nachhinein sehe ich das anders. Es lag nicht an Rafals Fahrstil, sondern an den Linksverkehr und an den vollen Straßen. Ich bin zwar noch nicht selber gefahren, aber ich liebe es jetzt schon. Angekommen bei der Lehrerin lernte ich alle anderen Praktikanten kennen, denn es gibt ziemlich viele an dieser Schule.Es war ein netter abend und ich merkte direkt dass das Klima hier zwischen den Kollegen ganz anders ist als in Deutschland. Es wurde getrunken, geraucht und getanzt. Die lockere und unbefangene Atmosphere gefiel mir sehr. Am späten abend bin ich dann mit den anderen Praktikanten nach Chinatown/Indiatown(Stadtteil von Kuala Lumpur) gefahren. Denn dort fand gerade das größte Hindu Fest statt. Thaipusan! Es ist ein Aufopferungsfest. Die Inder pilgern zu ihren Tempeln und bringen ihren Göttern einen Krug Milch den sie auf dem Kopf tragen. Und das ganze Barfuß. Es gibt die einen die nur den Krug tragen, aber es gibt auch die Extremen die sich Metallspieße in die Wangen stechen oder Haken mit Orangen und Zitronen dran in den Rücken klemmen und so bis zum Tempel laufen. Teilweise war es sehr schlimm und brutal mit anzusehen, aber auch sehr interessant. Sie fasten einen Monat vorher und verfallen während dem Ganzen in Extase. Es ist unglaublich wieviel Inder hier in Malaysia leben. Malaysia ist in drei Rassen aufgeteilt. Malayen, Chinesen und Inder. Daher auch die Religionsvielfalt. Moslems, Hindus und Budhisten leben „friedlich" nebeneinander. Wobei die Malayen die Priviligierte Gesellschaft sind und die Inder eher die niedrigere. Zudem kam auch noch das Chinesische Neujahrsfest dazu. Daher hatte ich auch montags und dienstags frei und konnte ersteinmal ankommen bevor der Schulalltag anfing. Die Schule ist sehr schön aber ziemlich klein was das Gebäude angeht. Es gibt knapp 200 Schüler, vom Kindergarten bis zur 12. Klasse. Es gibt viele Mischlinge, Deutsche und Asiaten. Es herrscht eine sehr familiäre Atmosphere. Die Schüler sind höflich und diszipliniert. Wir Praktikanten sind hier für die AG's zuständig. Es gitb super viele Sportangebote und man muss echt sagen, es gibt kein einzig dickes Kind hier an der Schule. Die Schüler machen fast jeden Tag bis fünf Uhr Sport. Die Sportangebote sind echt beeindruckend. Ich bin für die Basketball-, Schwimm- , HipHop-, Leichathletik- und Fußball-AG zuständig. Ich muss hier 24Stunden in der Woche arbeiten. Den Rest habe ich mit Geschichte gefüllt. Allerdings muss man sagen, dass viele Kinder keine guten Deutschkenntnisse habe. Sie sprechen alle untereinander Englisch. Das ist das größte Problem der Lehrer. Sie können keine einheitlichen Unterricht machen, denn das Niveau der Schüler ist sehr unterschiedlich. Der Vorteil ist, dass viele Schüler daher Nachhilfe brauchen und suchen. Das ist auch die Aufgabe der Praktikanten. Dadurch kann man sich auch ganz gutes Geld nebenher verdienen. Ich habe schon drei Nachhilfeschüler. Sogar eine für Latein. Tja, irgendetwas muss mir ja das blöde Latinum gebracht haben. So, genug von der Schule. Wir sind hier fast jeden Abend lecker essen gegangen. Es ist hier soo günstig und einfach nur lecker. Als ich den anderen erzählt habe ich würde hier gern abnehmen, brach ein großes Gelächter aus. Die haben alle, wirklich ALLE ausnahmslos zugenommen. Es ist wohl unmöglich hier abzunhemen. Irgendein Haken muss dieses paradiesische Leben ja auch haben. Aber ich bin hier eigentlich ganz fleißig. War jetzt schon jeden Tag in unserem privaten Fitnesstudio und anschließend eine Stunde schwimmen. Denn das Schwimmbecken ist 25m lang. Also sehr praktisch zum Schwimmen. Mal sehen wie lange die Motivation anhält. Am Wochenende wollen wir einen Kurztrip auf eine kleine Insel machen. Darauf freue ich mich schon sehr, denn da kann man wohl AUCH sehr lecker und günstig essen und entspannen. Bericht und Bilder davon werden dann folgen.

205 South 600 West ,logan, Utah

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:14:55 GMT

Hanoi, Vietnam

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:56:33 GMT

Am 31. Januar sindwir nach Vietnam eingereist. Obwohl wir hier einige Zeit verbringen wollten entschieden wir uns kurz darauf das Land schnell wieder zu verlassen. Wir waren in Dien Bien Phu, dies war sehr laendlich (an der Grenze zu Laos), in der Hauptstadt Hanoi, in der Kuestenstadt Hue und in Danang (in der Mitte des Landes). Bei unseren Busfahrten (mit dem Schlafbus) mussten wir natuerlich auch lange warten, bis es losging. Auch hatten wir einige besoffene Vietnamesen im Bus, wovon einer versuchte eine Hollaenderin anzugrapschen und seine Haende haeufig und unauffaellig an den Wertsachen hatte. Hier lag das Hauptproblem aber in der Sicherheit - wir waren kurz davor den Bus zu verlassen, aber was macht man in der Nacht mitten im Niergendwo?! Die Busfahrten haben wir zum Gleuck heile ueberstanden trotz geplatztem Rad, welches aber erst in ca. 2 Stunden gewechselt wurde und unzaehligen, gefaehrlichen Ueberholmanoevern auf nasser Strasse. Dafuer ist Hendrik in Hanoi von einem Moped angefahren worden. Nicht schlimm, nur der Flip Flop war kaputt. Das Schlimme war, es passierte auf einem engen Fussgaengerweg und mit Absicht. Wir sahen natuerlich kein Geld fuer einen neuen Schuh und noch viel schlimmer nicht einmal eine Entschuldigung! Wir mussten einmal Abends unser Vorhaben in die Stadt zu gehen um etwas zu essen abbrechen, weil die Mopedfahrer den Buergersteig zur Strasse machten und man sich nicht ohne Stress und Angst bewegen konnte. Zudem ist es dreckig und laut. Die Hupe ist das wichtigste Teil am Fahrzeug. Wir haben echt schon viel erlebt, aber hier (Hanoi und Hue) war es einfach nur Stress vor die Tuer zu gehen.Fuer ein Zugticket zahlst du als Auslaender grundsaetzlich mehr. Dafuer steht dann auf deinem Zugticket auch Foreigner (was soviel wie Auslaender heisst). Wir fuehlten uns als Touristen schrecklich behandelt, irgendwie unwillkommen. Wir trafen Kinder, die kein Englsich sprachen, uns aber mit den Worten „F... You" beschimpften. Vor Jahren sah es in Vietnam bestimmt noch anders aus. Auch heute gibt es sicherlich landschaftlich schoene Ecken und Hotels mit Privatstraenden, die toll sind- dennoch nach unserer Erfahrung in dem Land werden wir wohl kaum zurueckkehren. So flogen wir am 6. Februar ueber Kuala Lumpur nach Bangkok, um ein Visum fuer China zu beantragen.

Atherton, Queensland

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:57:06 GMT

Endlich wiedervereint! Lange genug hats gedauert! Aber der letzte Tag war alles andere als megatoll! Um zehn musste ich ja schon auschecken. Danach bin ich zu McDonalds. Da gabs nur komische Leute. Und d*** waren die. Und man kommt sich schon irgendwie dumm vor, wenn man alleine isst. Aber das haben die alle. In Deutschland geht man ja fuer gewoehnlich in Gruppen zu McD. Wenn ich das richtig in Erinnerung hab. Danach musste ich mir bis um zehn abends die Zeit vertreiben. Man bemerke, es war grad mal elf Uhr nachmittags. Also bin ich wieder zum Hafen und hab gelesen. Und geschlafen, glaub ich. Ich haette natuerlich auch durch die Geschaefte tingeln koennen. Aber wozu sich unnoetig unglueklich machen. Prada, Burberry und Co. sind dann doch nich ganz meine Preisklasse. Um fuenf hab ich mein Shuttle zum Flughafen buchen lassen. Und die an der Rezeption meinte so: Willst du da echt schon um fuenf hin? Am Flughafen ist doch nichts los! Ich: Doch doch, passt schon. So. Und dann war ich am Flughafen und musste feststellen: Scheisse, hier ist ja gar nichts los. Da waren vier Menschen. Zwei davon Angestellte. Dumm, denn ich war nicht am international airport, sondern am domestic. Tja. Also musste ich noch zwei Stunden rumkriegen. Und ich hatte Hunger! Wirklich Hunger. Ganz furchtbar normale belegte Broetchen, die nicht mal besonders lecker aussahen, kosteten da elf !!!! Dollar. Die spinnen, die Australier. Also hab ich einfach mal auf Essen im Flugzeug gehofft. (Ich nehme schon mal vorweg, dass die Hoffnung vergebens war) Im Flugzeug haben meine Beine voll krass weh getan und keiner wusste, warum. Aber die Flugbegleiterinnen (keine Mona Lisas, ich bin nur mit JetStar geflogen und nicht mit Qantas, da muessen die anscheinend nicht so kompetent wirken) waren freundlich und ich durfte mich zu denen stellen und huepfen. Als ich dann endlich da war, kam Uti auch schon auf mich zugesprungen! Nach zwanzig mal Druecken und Rumfiepsen haben wir mein Gepaeck geholt und als wir nach draussen sind, hab ich mich gefreut, dass es endlich n bisschne kuehler wird. Es war so warm im Flughafengebaeude!! Leider bin ich es noch zu sehr von Deutschland gewoehnt, dass es kalt wird, wenn man raus geht. In Cairns war das anders. BAEM uebelste Schwuele in die Gusche! Dann ne Stunde nach Atherton und ab aufn Huegel, Sonnenaufgang angucken (ich bin um vier Uhr morgens angekommen, also hat das gepasst). Ich durfte nicht zu McDonalds und Burger fruestuecken, sondern habe Muesli mit Obst und Meeeech bekommen. Aber keine Frischmilch, sondern nur die komische, obwohl wir Frischmilchkinder sind. Wat solls. Ich bin satt geworden! Danach sind wir zu irgendnem Wasserloch gefahren, dessen Namen ich nicht mehr weiss und von dem die Aussies selber nicht wissen, wie sie ihn aussprechen muessen. Da wars so dermassen cool, kann ich gar nich beschreiben. Aber ich bin vom Wasserfall gefallen. Das hat leicht weh getan. Danach gings noch an nen anderen See. Und bloed, wie bin, renn ich erst mal voll barfuss ueber den Boden. War auch fast gar nicht heiss. Ich dachte, meine Fuesse verbrennen. Und das Wasser war noch so weit weg!!!! Als ich endlich drin war, wars schon zu spaet. Jetzt hab ich konstante Schmerzen beim Gehen. Naja. Fuers naechste Mal dann. Jetzt sind wir grad irgendwo. Uta wollte duschen und auf einmal ging voll der Regenschauer los :D Haha. Und jetzt hab ich nen Blick auf zwei Regenboegen. Ansonsten muss ich sagen, dass mir immer warm ist. Auch, wenn Uta im Pulli rumrennt. N Kaenguru hab ich heute auch gesehen. Ach ja. Bestes Zitat bisweilen: Nele, ich muss dir noch ne Box freiraeumen, in die du dein Zeug machen kannst ... Oder ich klau eine. Mir gehts hier gut. Uta auch. Und in Australien mag eh jeder jeden. Man muss sich hier mit jedem unterhalten. Gut, dass ich die nie verstehe, wenn die mit mir reden. Ich laechel dann einfach hoeflich. An dieser Stelle noch die nelichsten Gruesse an Jule, Laura und Liedy!! Jule, ich schreib dir bald ganz viel :) Laura, dir auch! Ich hoffe, dir gehts gut mit allem und allen! Und Liedy, ich hab DAS BUCH durch! Rezension folgt spaeter! Haltet die Ohren steif, wenn auch moeglichst nicht durch die Kalete, und wir hoeren uns, wenn ich Neues zu berichten habe! Jetzt ist schon heute, also morgen bzw. naechster Tag. Es war so warm! Die Nacht war sehr gut, wenn auch mueckig, aber ich hab geschlafen wie ein Stein! Nachm Aufstehen sind wir zum Fig Tree gefahren (wers ausspricht, muss sicherlich schmunzeln. Ich musste es zumindest ;) ). Son riesen Feigenbaum mit einer Million Wurzeln, die nach unten haengen, danach waren wir in Yungaburra in nem Buchladen mit mehr Buechern, als der Fig Tree Wurzeln hatte. Und dann wollten wir uns Schnabeltiere angucken, aber die finden die Hitze genauso kacke wie wir, also sind die nicht aus ihren Hoehlen gekommen. Joah und dann war die fast letzte Station fuer heute Lake Eacham, in dem ich gebadet hab. Uta wollte nicht. Vorhin ging dann wieder n uebelster Regenschauer los und jetzt sitzen wir im Auto und warten ab, bis es zuende geblitzt hat. Also nicht sonderlich spannend heute. Trotzdem gut ;)

Nacula Island, Fiji

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:35:11 GMT

The one where the biggest decision in life is what to have for lunch Sooo... we made it!! All the stresses as of saturday are very much behind us, we very much took advantage of all the free goodies on the flights, so arrived in fiji feeling very stuffed and hungry after the lack of sleep and crossing the date line! LA airport was a stressful encounter, spending our time there endlessly queing, so we were very happy to be on the plane to fiji, (with air pacific, not virgin, as faye thought haha, at least one of us is switched on!!!) awaiting our arrival to paradise, and this deffinately did not dissappoint, fiji is a beautiful place and is excactly what you see in pictures! We boarded the Yasawa flyer, and the name of the boat very much lived up to its name - it took us from the mainland to the island, and we had to be the last stop on the boat didn't we, and due to the recent bad weather in fiji the sea was very choppy, which only meant one thing - a horrific four hours spent on a flying boat feeling practically like death. Now i understand your pain Claire when you get sea sick on a ferry to france - you would not want to experience this!!! so we were very happy to be met at our island by a singing band and a cocktail!!!! We spent our first afternoon visiting the local village and experiencing the traditional fijian culture, pariticpating in fijian dances and exploring the local schools/churches etc - the highlight of this was faye being sick outside of the most respected place in their village - the church - haha she still wasnt feeling very well from the boat and didnt realise the fact it was near a church so we will let her off!!! After a quick swim in the sea it was time for dinner and we are making the most of the three meals a day here for sure!! A tradition in fiji is drinking cava, which is basically mud and water and it is suppose to make you sleep well and feel totally relaxed so after a doce of that an early night was in order!! The weather has been perfect since we have been here and yes you guessed it I have been bitten to death already and have burnt slighly - standard cat whittall!!! but lets hope my skin gets use to this over the next five months!! We have had a little rain today, but this did not stop us - we went on a snorkelling trip, and it was amazing!! saw soo many different beauitful fish, including blue star fish and a sea snake, and were feeding the fish - steph jones you would have hated it and tom payne you would have been very proud - I am now a pro compared to KOS!! We have met some lovely people already, everyone talks to everyone and it is so chilled here. Everyone seems to be at the end of their travels, and are ridiculously brown which is sickening so me and faye look very pasty lying next to them on the beach!!! Anyways it doesn't really feel like this is going to be our life for the next five months -the biggest decision I have to make in life right now is what to have for lunch and that is an amazing feeling!!! Anyways we are both safe and having an awesome time already, missing you all lots and can't wait for everything that is to come! Will update you when I can but there is one computer on this resort and I am very much feeling the pressure behind me to hurry up so must dash, lots of love xxxxxxx

Cairns, Queensland

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:08:01 GMT

FInal destination.......hopefully not like the film UPDATE : So i am now sitting in Sydney airport freezing cold as there air conditioning seems to be blowing out antarctic air. Mark had his hair trimmed and his beard trimmed - Anne you can sleep easy now, he no longer has pubes on his face! i cant afford a hair cut so mine is looking like a bush ( the hair on my head!) . So anyway Cairns is the hottest and most humid place we have ever been to! apparently theres a heat wave. you looked like youd been in the swimming pool by the time you had walked to the toilet thats how humid it was!We stayed in Nomads - some of you may already know the hatred and anger i felt/still feel about this place. it was discusting, took us four hours to wash our clothes on the first night which broke me, yes this was the first time i have cried whilst being away and it was over washing! our aircon in our room didnt work for two nights we both felt like death, the unit itself was held up by a wooden doorstop (dont ask me how!) there was tiny insects crawling everywhere. the whole place needs to be torn down. Nevermind im soo over that now!. You cant go in the sea as everything in australia wants to kill and eat you (apparently) im sure this is a lie and just to scare you because we didnt see any death animals. there is a lagoon which is 27 degrees so very hot but nice to dip in and out of. MArk did his skydive! woop jumped out of an areoplane at 17 thousand feet eek i was so nervous and i was on the ground!. i went to the landing zone, its weird because its so high up you cant even see the plane or them jump out!! you can hear the shoot go up then you start to see little specs, i do have pictures which il upload to facebook when i can. We went scuba diving on the great barrier reef ( yes another boat!) i couldnt equalize my ears so i didnt do it! and marks mask kepy on leaking so he didnt do it! so we just snorkled. i dont know why i thought id be immune from sea sickness because obviously i wasnt! and i was sick into the sea again (after taking 5 sea sickness tablets!!)! fortunetly i didnt get fish attacked!. We have had a wicked time in Australia met some great people! but both of us are now ready to go to New Zealand- its alot cheaper there!. This is definetly a once in a lifetime trip to Australia( unless we win the lottery), its far to expensive and things are way over priced which is a tad annoying you do feel as though your being robbed for every penny - we even had to pay 6 dollars each to catch the shuttle in the airport to go to a different terminal!. If any of you are thinking of doing this then id reccomend you working here as there minmum wage is 15 dollars an hour ( thats if you can find work!). ITS A RICH MANS WORLD OUT HERE!. Anyway iv got a plane to catch! New Zealand here we come woop see you all in 3 and abit weeks...........................TBC xxxxxxxxxx

Saigon, Vietnam

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:54:05 GMT

Nachts um eins fahren wir mit der üblichen Verspätung in Mui Ne mit dem „Sitting Bus" los. Wir hatten uns gegen den „Sleeping Bus" entschieden um Geld zu sparen. Das scheint vernünftig, denn wir schlafen auch im Sitzen praktisch die ganze Fahrt. Morgens um sechs sind wir in Saigon (oder Ho Chi Minh City, wie es offiziell heisst). Die Stadt gefällt uns auf Anhieb. Vielleicht nur weil es wärmer ist als Hanoi und dadurch lebendiger wirkt. Wir besuchen das Kriegsmuseum (sehr eindrücklich, wenn auch etwas Propaganda beladen) und den Markt (eher Karins Ding). Am nächsten Tag machen wir eine Tagestour ins Mekong Delta. Die Tour ist gut organisiert und mit Bus, Motorboot, Ruderboot und Fahrrad kriegen wir viele verschiedene Seiten dieser fruchtbaren Region zu sehen. Hier sagen Bilder mehr als tausend Worte. Am Abend gehen wir in ein Lokal, das sogar Geschnetzeltes mit Rösti hat. Das probiere ich natürlich gleich aus. Nicht wie in der Schweiz, aber sehr lecker! Danach verbringen wir noch ausgiebig Zeit mit Shoppen und decken uns für wenig Geld mit DVDs und Software ein. Morgen wollen wir dann Saigon noch ein wenig geniessen und danach geht es weiter nach Malaysia.

Geraldine, New Zealand

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:38:30 GMT

Hi Leute. Die letzten Tage sind wie im Flug vergangen und wir sind mittlerweile schon wieder seit einigen Tagen am Reisen. Nachdem wir in Blenheim nochmal 2 Tage auf der Knoblauchfarm gearbeitet haben und dort sehr gut bezahlt worden sind, haben wir unsere 7 Sachen gepackt und sind in Richtung Kaikura abgehauen. Dort haben wir eine Wanderung über die Peninsula dort gemacht und auf dem Weg dorthin konnte man an einigen Orten Seelöwen beobachten die, die schönen Sonnentage genossen. Nach Kaikura gings weiter nach Christchurch, die größte Stadt der Südinsel, die allerdings stark gebeutelt von den Erdbeeben in letzter Zeit nicht wirklich interessant war. Denn bis auf zerstörte Gebäude gab es nicht mehr allzu viel zu sehen. Deswegen sind wir gleich weiter auf die Banks Peninsula gefahren und haben dort 2 Nächte verbracht. Die Landschaft war wirklich schön dort, die Fjordlandschaft war mit ihrer Mischung aus Bergen und Meer beeindruckend. Wir schlafen, wie üblich wenn wir unterwegs sind, auf kostenlosen DOC Campingplätzen oder auf Rastplätzen. und alle par Tage müssen wir im Supermarkt mal wieder Nudeln, Brot, Milch und Wasser kaufen und vorallem den Tankaufzufüllen, denn auf der Südinsel sind die Strecken die man zurücklegt doch deutlich länger. Was allerdings ganz erfreulich ist, dass der Spritpreis wieder erwartens billiger ist, als auf der Nordinsel :). Nach der Banks Peninsula gings dann immer weiter in Richtung Süden, die Ostküste entlang. Gestern haben wir dann am Rangitikai River gecampt und geangelt, denn hier soll man angeblich seh gut Lachse fangen. Wir haben natürlich keinen gefangen und die Einheimischen hier haben das auf den Vollmond geschoben, da es angeblich zu hell war für die Fische :O Naja der Fluss und die Gegen drumherum waren wenigstens wunderbar. Ein absoluter Geheimtip! Ja und heute sind wir den ganzen Tag auf dem Campingplatz, machen Auto sauber, waschen Wäsche und kühlen unsere Lebensmittel mal wieder richtig. :) Liebe Grüße Lorenz