Travelling statistics, tips and 'Best and Worst of.....'

Days on the road: 330
Countries visited: 20
Nights spent apart: 9

Beds/places slept in: 139 (includes overnight buses, planes etc. and different places we stayed in our campervan!)

Nights spent free with friends/relatives/other random people: 55
(17% of the total, that's really not bad going is it!)

Hours spent travelling by:
Bus - 282 hours
Car - 238
Boat - 93
Plane - 78
Train - 31
Tuk tuk - 16
Bicycle - 12
Moped - 6
Rickshaw - 2
Hot air balloon - 1
Bamboo Raft - 0.5
Elephant - 0.5 (and a bloody long 0.5 at that)

Weight lost/gained: Amanda +/- 0 kg! Rob -6kg

Highlights and Lowlights:
Our highlights are always places where we stayed a little longer and did something more worthwhile than simply being a tourist - the week of living with a local family and learning Spanish in Guatemala, learning to dive in Belize, 12 days working on the sheep farm in New Zealand, trekking to the local village in Laos, and the cookery course we did in Thailand. Sleeping on the Great Wall was pretty amazing too! And getting all those clothes made in Vietnam was great fun. Could go on all day!

Honestly cannot think of any specific lowlights... coming home?

Top 3 Favourite places: Belize, New Zealand, Laos

Most disappointing place: Honduras

Most surprising place (in a good way): Nicaragua

Paradise: Aitutaki, Cook Islands

Best accomodation: Maison Souvannaphoum, Luang Prabang, Laos (it was posh but we needed a treat)

Worst accomodation: There was the place in Belize where we looked at a room, but bats flew out when he opened the door, so we opted against that. The worst place where we actually stayed, probably a windowless room in Malaysia.

Best cuisine: Indian in Laos, French in Vietnam, Cambodian (in Cambodia!)

Best drink: Amanda - Cappucino! Rob - Beer Lao (we couldn't agree on this one!)

Best walk: Tongariro Crossing, NZ

Best experience: Our 'perfect' day in Aitutaki - snorkelling in the amazing clear lagoon in the day time, and in the evening an island buffet followed by dancing and beautiful singing from the locals. Fantastic.
Loads more too - skydiving, scuba diving, walking on glaciers, caving, trekking in Laos etc etc...

Scariest moments:
- The boat journey from Belize to Honduras when we thought we were going to drown
- Arriving home (!)
- and (for Amanda) whenever Rob let his facial hair grow for more than 3 days.

Person we saw most of: Our American friend Kevin, who we met in no less than 6 countries! Sinead comes a close second - we saw her in 3 different countries.

Tips and Pearls of Wisdom

1. A head torch is a most useful thing
2. Girls, pack a sports bra for those bumpy bus rides in eg. Central America & Asia. Trust me on this one!
3. For travel in Asia, practise your squatting technique (yes, THAT squatting technique!)
4. Get a raincover for your backpack. Not only does it keep your pack dry, but it protects it from all the dirt and scum in coach and aeroplane holds. Oh how I wish I had one, when my bag spent a long journey on a Greyhound bus swimming around in fishy smelling water. All my underwear stank of fish after this. Come to think of it, this may have been an improvement on the pre-journey smell. Another advantage of bag covers is that it makes you look like a tortoise.
5. You will meet many Americans on your travels and they are a friendly bunch. However, feel free to slap them in the face every time they inappropriately use the word 'like'. Its the only way they'll learn and they will thank you for your efforts.
6. Listen to an iPod sparingly. We witnessed so many backpackers get on to rickety old buses and put in their earphones for the entire journey. Part of the experience involves listening to arguments that you can't understand and hearing worrying clunking sounds from the rear of the bus. iPods do isolate backpackers from the locals in my opinion.
7. If beer is laughably cheap, drink plenty of it. You will get home, got to the pub and regret every minute of the day when you weren't drinking the 8p a pint beer in Vietnam. It was good beer too.
8. Eat at markets. We did, generally eating very tasty, very cheap food, most of the time not knowing exactly what it was. And ignore those scare stories about hygiene, we never once got the squirts. Well, not from market food anyway.
9. Try to spend time living with locals - it is a much more rewarding experience.

Winding down

Well I thought it was about time that I tried writing a blog entry again as Rob is getting far too many compliments on his writing :-)

We are currently in Beijing, staying with a friend of Rob’s and gradually preparing for our return home by buying up half the DVDs in China. In fact the total is at 250 right now...well at 40p a go, it's hard not to!

Since we last wrote, we have been up to quite a bit. We spent some time in Laos after Vietnam - Laos was a beautiful country. After Vientiane, the capital (where we learned to weave), we spent one week in Luang Prabang, spending two days trekking in the wonderful scenic hills, our overnight stay being in a small village where the people are pretty much self-sufficient, working in the rice fields and building their own houses. We were honoured to stay in the Chief’s house, Rob even managing a round of Laos wine with him (a bit like schnapps), which certainly helped sleeping on thin mattresses on a wooden floor. The houses were made of bamboo, the village shower was cold spring water coming out of a bamboo hose rigged up so it poured into the stream, and the land in amongst the houses resembled a clean(-ish), dry farmyard, with pigs, chickens and dogs running around causing us both much entertainment (yes, even though I grew up on a farm!).

After Laos we headed back to Thailand, to it's 2nd largest city, Chiang Mai, where we went to 3 days' worth of cooking classes at a fantastic school, which we thoroughly enjoyed. It wasn’t only cooking, but also presentation and the fine art of vegetable carving. This provided much entertainment for me as I watched while Rob aggressively gouged his leaves from a piece of cucumber instead of daintily carving them (as I did, of course). In any case, we really hope to cook ‘proper’ Thai food for our families and friends as soon as we can when we’re home. Which, as many of you already know, is not far off now….

As well as learning whilst travelling, we have also developed certain habits… well I have anyway. You may even call them addictions…

Scarves. And cappuccino.

The scarf thing came about only recently when in Luang Prabang – having learned to weave and seen scarves being woven, I became suddenly interested in buying as many as I could carry in all sorts of designs and colours. Rob even talked about getting a second job to fund my new obsession…
But the cappuccino thing, well anyone who knows me will know that I am a tea-lover and have never drunk a cup of coffee in my life… but now I can admit that I am fully fledged coffee lover as well (well Rob claims that cappuccino isn’t as ‘manly’ as coffee, but it’s the best I can do right now). In fact, because you can’t really get a proper (by my standards) cup of tea here, I search the menus instead for coffee. And I cannot believe what I have been missing out on all my life! No Nescafe for me though, only the proper stuff ;-)

We are in Beijing for a little while, going camping at the Great Wall of China this weekend. Completely illegal apparently but will be a fantastic way to see the wall, although I’ll have to go without the luxuries of a bathroom, bed etc. Soon we fly to Frankfurt to see our old offices and colleagues, before finally returning home….. and I’ll be in touch with everyone as soon as possible!

Thailand

Since Rob last wrote we have spent the majority of our time on beaches - a hard life it is indeed, but believe it or not we did get a little bored of it and were happy to finally arrive in the huge metropolis of Bangkok.

Our journey here took us through a very hot and sweaty and extremely old (oldest in the world?) national park rainforest in Malaysia called Taman Negara. We couldn't do the place justice as, due to the heat, all we could manage was a one hour treetop walk (not for the faint hearted) before giving up and heading back to our air-conditioned room to cool down. We ate on floating restaurants, visited the local tribespeople (where we failed miserably to hit the target with the blowpipe) and headed out of the park in style on a wooden long boat.

Following that were 3 nights relaxing on the Perhentian Islands - beautiful, white sand, clear water etc - before crossing the border to Thailand. We were glad to finally reach Thailand, it is definitely a country we have looked forward to a lot, not least because of the food, and so far we haven't been disappointed.

We spent our first two nights in Thailand in inland towns where we hardly saw another white face the whole time. We got stranded out in the sticks one evening after dinner (no-one told us the buses stop running after dark in remote places!) but two of the waiters kindly gave us lifts on their motorcycles - one on each - back to a main road. This was my first ride on a motorcycle and was actually surprisingly fun. Motorcycles are the main form of transport here but I just wouldn't trust myself to drive one around, although it would make our lives easier for exploring if we did.

Over to the west coast of the peninsula to try and visit Krabi and Ko Phi Phi (the island where 'The Beach' was filmed) without getting rained on, as it's rainy season there right now. Scariest moment? When we rounded a corner on the back of a truck in Krabi town and I spotted a friend from my days of A-Level Business Studies! It's actually the 2nd time I have bumped into Lindsey at random (the first time being outside the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas) but being in a taxi we couldn't actually stop to talk, although she did do a triple-take when I finally managed to get her attention! Anyway, we couldn't believe it when, later that day whilst on Ao Nang beach, a 20 minute boat ride away, there she was AGAIN. So this time we could talk and ended up travelling to Ko Phi Phi together and spending 3 nights there with her, her boyfriend and his mate.

This was to be the location for watching the first England match, but when it neared 8pm (local time the match started) and there was still no coverage on the tele, despite what the TV guide said, I could see Rob starting to get a little anxious... In actual fact we ended up missing the first 25 mins (and the first goal) of the game due to coverage of the Thai King's 60 year anniversary of being on the throne, and I swear you could practically see the smoke coming from Rob's ears by that point. His anger was made even worse by the fact that every other channel was showing exactly the same pictures of the king. He was not a happy bunny, and swore at that point that we would not, under any circumstances, be in a remote place for any of the future matches!

From there we travelled across to the eastern coast of the peninsula and spent more time on more beaches on more islands - Ko Samui, Ko Phang-an and Ko Tao - all beautiful, if a little crowded and too 'touristy' for our liking. We had intended to dive on Ko Tao, and indeed we did dive, but just the once before realising that conditions were not the best (strong current and bad visibility). It was a real shame as we had looked forward to it so much, but you win some you lose some. We did some great snorkelling instead.

So after a very long journey we arrived in Bangkok last week and have been staying with Rob's cousin, John, and his family in their gorgeous house, being very well looked after and enjoying the proper bed complete with duvet, squashy pillows and air con! Going out with the children is certainly an eye opener - both blond and blue-eyed, they cause a sensation with the Thais, who all want to touch and take pictures of the children. Tilly had a group of teenage schoolgirls cheering and clapping when she put her hands together in prayer, the Thai greeting. It was unbelievable what a fuss was made.

Bangkok has been a lot of fun - John and Laura even managed to wangle us an invite to the British Embassy along with them. It was an informal 'do' to celebrate the Queen's birthday, with miniature fish & chips, beef pies, lemon meringue pies and apple crumbles - we were in heaven! Last place we expected to visit on our travels but not something that every backpacker gets to do!

We leave for Cambodia on Saturday - hopefully the journey goes smoothly so that there is no chance of missing England's next match, on around 10pm in this part of the world.

One final note, we have encountered some superb English mis-spellings on menus recently. It was a tricky decision as to whether to go for 'Gordon Blue' or 'Sosej and chips' at one place. Turning to the drinks list, I plumped for the 'spacking water'. I had brought my own wine, but was put off by the expensive 'cockage fee'....

Til next time.

The end of NZ

Well it has been a while, and since Rob has done most of the writing I thought it was about time I wrote an entry instead.

We last wrote just before visiting the Cadbury Chocolate Factory in Dunedin for my birthday – Rob failed to mention the balloons he blew up and the little notes inside each one with a present for me (bless!) – including dinner out that night (delicious), $10 to spend at the chocolate factory shop (I spent $13 instead!), and, amongst other things, a hot air balloon ride! More on that later. The point is that, although it rained pretty much all day (the first time I spend my birthday in summer…), it was really special and I had a lovely time.

We also visited the Speights Brewery in Dunedin and ended up staying an extra night due to van problems, before heading back inland through some amazingly stunning scenery and going to Mount Cook, Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo – all beautiful places, the lakes are the bluest blue you have ever seen! However we were constantly a little distracted by the fact that we knew we only had a week to sell our van when we arrived in Christchurch.

Our fears were made worse by the fact that, during our last week in NZ we had to replace both of the back tyres, one of which we had bought just 1000km previously! So Rob is practically a professional tyre-changer now, and we sure know how to spot a warped tyre when we see one!

But we were in luck and, unlike the people who had been at the Backpackers Car Market for 9 days trying to sell their vehicles, our van came up trumps and we sold it on the 2^nd day! This really was a stroke of luck and extremely jammy – probably about 5 buyers came through the market over the whole 1½ days before ours did, so we left feeling a bit (ok, very) smug and had another 5 days in which to enjoy Christchurch – lovely city, if a little cold and windy.

This was also the city where I had my hot air balloon ride – a 5am start but definitely worth it. There were actually 22 of us in the basket – it was the 2^nd largest balloon in the world (made in Bristol) – so very cosy but it needed to be at those temperatures. Floating through the air was so calm and smooth, and we felt completely safe with our Oxford-born pilot. Landing was fun in a field full of cow poo, followed by a glass of champagne, and then I was treated to a big breakfast in town afterwards. A fantastic birthday present!

Our last night in Chch was a free concert in the park which concluded with the Christchurch Symphony playing the 1812 Overture complete with real canons, the cathedral bells and the most fireworks I have ever seen in my life – it was fantastic, despite the fact I was ill! Rob says that the canons were even louder than the version they did at Yate Leisure Centre a few years ago…

So that was it for NZ - a really amazing, beautiful country with some fantastic scenery and very friendly people. But don't worry parents, we have no intention of living there, yet!

NZ - after Zorbing

So we have been on the road for over four months now and in NZ for over 5 weeks. So an update is in order of all the recent fun and games, I feel.

After the Northlands we headed to the Coromandel Peninsula, a beautiful stretch of coastline. We bought a body board and went splashing around in the waves. Amanda got caught out by a big old wave and nearly drowned but was back in the sea half an hour later. Brave soldier. Hot Water Beach was fun - digging a hole in the sand by a hot spring and enjoying the hot water in the sunshine.

Walked up and down an extinct volcano which was very hard work, rewarded by a dip in a soda water spa at the end. This was meant to soothe our aching muscles, however, we both could hardly walk the next day.

Then it was down to the Tongariro National Park for 'the best day walk in New Zealand'. And it was very good. Up at 5.30am and we started off in the freezing cold at 6.30am. The first couple of hours were in the shadow of a volcano so it was a welcome relief when we finally got in the sunshine again. We skirted round the bottom of a volcano (Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings apparently) and then walked over a massive crater, which was very like walking on the moon (I have experience of lunar walking of course). Look out for my arty pictures on flickr. Then it was on to unnaturally blue crater lakes and through some magnificent countryside, and we were done by 2pm. Very nice indeed.

We met up with Amanda's parents in Taupo and had the luxury of a proper wide bed for a few days. We had a lovely time, and I think they did too. One day myself and Amanda jumped out of a plane. We were relieved to look round and find we each had a man with a parachute attached to us after we had done so. It was 12,000 feet, so 45 seconds freefall of our faces wobbling around uncontrollably and lots of screaming, before floating down over Lake Taupo and landing quite smoothly - Amanda gracefully on her feet, me on my arse. Quite an experience. The next day it was more adrenaline packed adventure with a whitewater rafting trip, this time with Richard and Julie. We paddled down a beautiful river and got quite wet along the way.
Then it was back to Taupo and out for dinner for the biggest challenge yet, as I embarked on the consumption of a 750g steak. Needless to say, I rose to the challenge, even managing to squeeze in Spotted Dick and custard afterwards. Well, Julie did say that I looked like I had lost weight, so I decided to do something about it. Therefore it has also been necessary to increase pie consumption by 50% in recent days - the Thai Red Chicken Curry Pie today was exquisite.

Then it was down to Napier where we took in a Twenty20cricket match in a glorious sunny day. Good game, although Amanda missed most of the action as she was reading the paper. She did say that she liked the music they played whenever a four was scored. So that is the main thing I guess.

We met my Mum and Dad in Napier, wandering around the town on the first day and tastings at a couple of wineries on the second day. Their camper rather put our rustbucket to shame (one of our tyres fell to pieces on the way to Taupo, but apart from that she's still in good health), but I still think our van has more 'character' than these modern new-fangled things. Out for a cracking Thai meal before saying goodbye and going back to normality.

Down to Wellington, which we liked, and over the Cook Strait to South Island. Great, and thankfully smooth, crossing. There was a maritime festival in Picton, which was pleasant. My highlight would have to be the middle-aged couple dancing to a blues band. There was plenty of finger pointing in the air involved in her dancing style - particularly at the end of a song when she would freeze in a certain pose. It was priceless to watch.

Then onwards to Blenheim (more wine tasting), Nelson (more again) and to Abel Tasman which was stunning. Did a cruise and day walk along a beautiful stretch of coastline, stopping briefly to see some seals. Scenery was very similar to the Cook Islands but the water, unfortunately, much colder.

Then we headed down the West Coast stopping to cross NZ's longest swingbridge high above a river. It was very wobbly too. Mother, you would have loved it. Then some more stunning coastline before ending up today in grey Greymouth.

Have just come back from a trip clambering through caves, floating on inner tubes in caves looking at gloworms and generally getting quite wet and muddy. The spa, beer and muffin at the end were tremendous too.

So where from now. Onwards and downwards to Queenstown before we stop for 8 days to work on a sheep farm. They have a sit-on lawnmower so I intend to drive around on that all week. Then to Milford Sound and round up to Christchurch.

NZ is definitely a beautiful place and the people have been very kind and friendly to us. One small annoyance is that they do seem to have a problem in the correct use of apostrophe's which really gets to be quite annoying. Even worse than the greengrocers back at home. I blame the school's over here not learning the kid's proper.

We fly out of NZ on March 6th now (original plan before we left was Feb 1st so we are little behind schedule) then straight to Tasmania for a few days. Got tickets for the Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens in Melbourne on March 16th, so keep an eye out for us there.