Wednesday 31 December 2014

Someone has turned the temperature down


Thank goodness, as the 28 degree humid heat was getting unbearable! These hill stations were established by the British to escape the oppressive heat of the plains in the summers. They relocated govt for those hot months and enjoyed a climate reminiscent to England. Now I need a blanket at bed time and not a fan and my shoes and fleece have ventured out from being stuffed in the bottom of the rucksack!

Wow I'm on the Nilgiri steam train


This is the whole inspiration for my trip! Not that I'm a railway buff but I have have always wanted to go to the famed hill stations in India which have been served by railways for over a hundred years. There's three such hill station railways, all with UNESCO World Heritage status, Darjeeling (where had to take as I arrived so late, Ooty and Shimla, which is on my destination list as it's the gateway to Daramasala, the home of the Dalai Lama. So After watching the BBC three part documentary in these hill stations I decided I had to go to Tamil Nadu and go across the Nilgiri range on a stream train!
So sixty days ago I booked my ticket, second class for 30 rupees. I had a mammoth journey to get there, leaving Thanjuvar  on the 19.15 and arriving in Salem at 00.45. I then had a very slow wait at this station for two hours .... Joining the sleepers on the station I sat on platform 1 willing time to whizz past. Luckily an inquisitive policeman joined me on my bench and we whiled away some time conversing in broken English. His children were both engineers, in fact most students I meet on buses etc are engineer students, send the guy I was queuing behind in the incredibly chaotic immigration booths at Chennai Airport was here to have a 25 year graduation reunion of his engineering class and he now lived in The States.
So I got my second train, arrived just in time to get the steam train and started the spectacular journey shrouded in mist! Slowly it broke and we were rewarded with incredible views as our carriages were pushed by the 125 year old steam train named Nilgiri Queen. We made several stops, as the engine had to take on thousands of gallons of water as it inched up hills. In total it took us 5 hours to go 30 miles, but it truly was a fantastic experience. Squeezed into my carriage was a coup,e of families and when they heard to my long train travels I was given a homemade biryani and it had just turned 7.30! I was not going to starve on this journey! It's wonderful to see how many home tourists are always travelling around. The westerners sat in first class, but I was definitely having more fun and food!

Just one more temple


Before I head off to the hill station of Ooty in the Nilgiri range there's one more temple to head to. The thousand year old chola temple to the north of Thanjavur. Yesterday in the unexpected constant rain I travelled by train to the nearby town to see the urban temples and the rural 1000 year old chola temple complex famed for the its miniature statues. I had to get the rickshaw driver to stop off for me to get umbrella to cope with either unexpected deluge of rain. My planning hadn't factored in this, I have sun screen, mosquito repellent, hand sanitiser and now a new umbrella! Must make the most of temples, as I am moving west and there are other sights to seem.

Saturday 27 December 2014

I must help you, as you are in my country


Heading from temple to temple across Tamil Nadu has been an amazing experience, from the largest temple in India in Trinchy, to the tallest tower in Tiruvannamalai, to the sacred Shiva temple of fire to the Shriva temple of water in Trinchy, there's 5000 temples here to explore and that is why I chose here to travel. This is my 6th time in India and it's a place that you either fall in love with and want to come back again and again, or it overwhelms you and you will never return. It is a hard place to travel, the chaos, the crowds, the dirt, the extreme poverty, but take these all in your stride. India is magical, welcoming and open to the adventurous! I got a bus yesterday from the main temple in Trichy to the important Water Shiva Temple a few kilometres away. I asked a woman in the queue if I was waiting at the right stop and she said "I must help you as you are in my county". She guided me to the right bus, popped me in a seat behind her and her friend and then quizzed me about my travels through India. To most men I say I am travelling with my husband, who is back in the hotel with a poorly stomach. In absolute contrast, to most women I declare that I am travelling alone, which brings an equal reaction of anxiousness and amazement. India still is a male dominated and women are culturally and religiously ruled. Sure there's huge exceptions, within a country with such a wide disparity of wealth and opportunity, but a woman travelling alone is an exception. I remember on my last trip in the north I was waiting for a train and a woman near by struck up conversation. She was with her brother in law and father in law and told me that she couldn't even leave the compound where she lived unaccompanied by a male. This really made me thankful to be able to be independent in ever sense! 

Thursday 25 December 2014

Where to stand


There's always an element of chaos at the train stations. Checking platforms, checking for delays and getting the right spot to stand for your carriage, as there's about 40 of them! We see a decline in services, cost cutting and fewer more crowded trains. Indian railways is one of the biggest employers in the country, moving millions of people daily from A to B. When I got on the overnight train to Madurai I really misjudged the spot and as the train pulled away the train guide helped me by dragging my rucksack through half a dozen carriages of sleeping passages, as it had gone midnight. Today I'm heading north and in the light of day the chaos is easier, here at Madurai station there's digital displays showing the train number and carriage. Come on Chennai express,  I'm eager to explore my next destination of Tiruchchirapali. 
Yesterday I walked though the maze of back streets by the dried up river, taking my own walking tour of where the locals lived. The streets were full of temples, children and families going about their daily business, just slightly bemused as to why a traveller would be wondering in their neighbourhood. So many people wanted me to take their photos, from the bamboo sellers to the women at the water pumps! I ended up playing a game at the end of the street, must find out what's it's called bot you flick a white counter and have goals in each corner - like finger snooker! Let's just say I did better playing cricket with the kids the other evening and it's always a pleasure to find yet another you're hopeless at! 

Midnight mass


A friend who coincidently is now in Bangalore posted that this was her 6th Christmas abroad. I'm probably double that, but seldom take the opportunity to go to church. Here in Madurai there's plenty of churches, and after enquiring at the reception desk where an English speaking service was, the hotel manager invited me to join him for midnight mass. And what a joyful mass, there was so much music and dance and the congregation was full of beautiful voices. It certainly was a privilege to see in Christmas in this way and always brilliant to belt out some carols! After the service we all congregated outside the church holding candles and wishing everyone a merry Christmas, which was a lovely end to the service

An Apprentice style challenge


After heading out of the pedestrian streets surrounding the Meenakshi temple I succumbed to the sight of coffee being poured into the tiny glass cups - to give you just enough of a sugar and caffeine shot. On this busy  thoroughfare hordes of pilgrims and devout headed through. I'm not sure how this happened but I was suddenly on the selling side of the stall and joyfully chanting chai and coffee. I'm sure I would not have survived the boardroom with my sales totalling 30 rupees, but it was certainly fun! 

Tuesday 23 December 2014

Photographers heaven


Incredible India, you never know what is round the corner, but I bet you want to take a photo of it! I have been overwhelmed by the number of volunteers to have their photo taken. Each day I am setting a photographic assignment and today was shadows. So after a night train to Madurai I checked into myhotel and slept, showered and had breakfast before heading into the bustling centre to see the amazing Meenakshi Annam Temple in the heart of town, dominating the centre with four huge colourful gigantic towers. The pilgrims, worshippers and devout line the streets and wait patiently for the 4o'clock gate opening. Surrounding the temple are quieter non traffic roads and after heading to the market, set on an ancient temple I perplexed the stall holders by just taking photos of the feet and shadows of passers by. It's great to take a breathe in the chaos of the streets and concentrate to get a great result!

You're never alone when you travel by yourself in India


There's always someone starring, someone begging, someone selling and someone who wants to be helpful! At the incredible temple in Tiruvannamalai there were hundreds of pilgrims who have walked there from far flung places, women dressed in their finest saris to pay their respects to Shiva, and families galore.  This huge temple has been totally restored in the last forty years and is the fifth largest in the world, preserving this important Hindu site for another thousand years. It's a privilege to visit  such a sacred site and once I got my camera out, everyone wanted to have their photo taken. The four pilgrims by the gate were the keenest and were eagerly giving me instructions on how to take the best portrait. Eventually they agreed that a close up was the most trilling portrait ... Job done.... 

Sunday 21 December 2014

And a squeeze of lime in your eye will stop you drinking

I head out of Pondicherry to the west for a day of forts and temple viewing. My taxi driver, who insists his name is Guru, makes plenty of stops when I want to take photos and we end up in a tiny temple just off the main road to Gingee. Here a group of men are celebrating their sobriety and during the blessing from the priest they get a squeeze of lime in the eye - crikey that would be enough to put anyone off drink! They then get a red band on the wrist to remind them off their sobriety, but brilliantly the priest answered his phone whilst performing this ceremony. 
Then I stop at Gingee Fort, a complex of forts across the multiple hill stops. The views are stunning and an ancient temple provides another opportunity to be blessed. Here I'm invited to lunch by a lovely family, but I'm running out of time and need to press on! It's so funny being here where there are so few International tourists! 

Saturday 20 December 2014

I know it's only 50 rupees for the rickshaw, but I am a little fat and need to walk

Now the jet lag is slowly waring off I spend a dozy day wondering round town. There has been a local tragedy, with three women living in the local ashram threatened with eviction and committed suicide. This has caused local outrage and the whole town was on strike. Riot police were everywhere and the shutters were firmly shut across Pondicherry. After heading to a couple of temples, being blessed twice !! I then have to go in search of the restaurant where I'm meeting an old work colleague who's here teaching yoga. I spot the shutter of the closed restaurant of our rendezvous and luckily it's only secretly shut, so when we go they bring up the shutters and whisk us in! After a good catch up and a walk we head our separate ways and after a stroll along the beach I indulge in an afternoon nap. After making my reviving coffee I then manage to kick it over, smashing it and spilling all the coffee on the beautiful rug in my teak festooned heritage hotel room ...aarghhh! 
With the sun going down the shutters come up and the city springs back into life. I head off in search of the clothing Mecca FabIndia, I even love it's name. I decline the offer of a 50 rupee rickshaw ride and put my best foot forward to start my shopping ....

Friday 19 December 2014

Planes, trains and taxi's


What a journey! A delayed takeoff at Heathrow resulted in a swift transfer and Bahrain and in Chennai I was really relieved to see my rucksack appear on the crazily crowded luggage belt at 5am. By 6.30 I was sitting in a cafe in Chennai's main station, having not quite spent 50p on my train journey from the airport, got coffee and breakfast - I'm definitely back in India! 
Already fielded hoards  of questions about me travelling alone, most notably from the passport officer! But that is part of the course of travelling solo. At the train station heading into town from the airport I met a woman who was an air stewardess from Chennai and really understood solo travel. Luckily she said her favourite city was London, but on a recent stop over got a cold as it was freezing! In contrast here's it a humid 28, which will take some getting used to. But it was great to sit in the sanctuary of the women only carriage  and chat before I got to the chaos of the main station. 
On the three hour journey south soon the city rolled into rice fields festooned with palm trees and the gentle sway of the train lulled me to sleep, as I had now been travelling constantly but I woke to see the train come to a holt at my stop and had to carry my rucksack through the carriage, so as not to sweep up all the shoes that lined the aisle. Already London feels a million miles away! 

Sunday 14 December 2014

The rucksack is out and ready to be filled

I love the excitement and challenge of packing! With my holiday just around the corner, four sleeps, it's time to dust off my rucksack and get packing. Time to sync my iPad so I have all the desert island disc podcasts ready for my long train journeys and make sure all my camera batteries are fully charged and there's plenty of memory cards, as there will be so many amazing photo opportunities to come! 

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Mad Adventures in Mongolia come to an end



What an incredible trip, amazing on so many levels, but as always made by the wonderful people that we met along the way.
It was a privilege to see a small part of this nation that under Chinggis Khan around 1,000 years ago ruled EuroAsia, this small country fought to dominance and then introduced a diplomatic representation in each country, safety of traders and brought the East trade through the Silk Route to Europe,
I will miss the sheer overwhelming vastness of the country
The warmth of the people, as it was an incredible privilege to spend time with the Eagle Hunters and others that we met along the way
Making anywhere our camping home
The freedom of being the only jeep on the 'road'
Our fabulous crew of cook, driver and translator
Afternoon power naps in the back of the jeep.
Curd
And the only hard bit was camping at zero degrees and finding the right more secluded place to go to the loo!!!
Mongolia provides some of the remotest and beautiful scenery, still a true nomadic population, where the country belongs to them.
Life can be incredibly hard with such harsh winters, but their sustainable living must be truly envied, with rich traditions and amazing community spirit and cooperation. In the eagle hunters village they asked how we wash our clothes and heated our houses. Everything we do is at a touch of a button and it was great for a short time to wash by the river, and help collect dried dung for the fire, with no buttons in sight!   

Chinggis Khan fell off his horse


It's amazing to link your holiday with a festival and the Nadaam festival across Mongolia in mid July was the reason for coming. So we organised getting a day trip including tickets to the amazing opening ceremony of the festival. In the National stadium hundreds of singers, dancers, United Nations peace core soldiers and wrestlers and horse riders all danced and paraded their way through the grand opening ceremony. On a tight schedule we then headed to the ankle bone shooting, where the good luck humming throughout the stadium was impressive. Then to the archery where the opposing players sing and chant, mocking their opponents as they aim their bows.
Like any large event we then spend an inexplicably long time getting out of the car park and then headed out of town in a long slow procession of cars to where the horse racing was taking place. Here the young horses and their young riders galloped for 30km and with over 200 riders this was a long and hard race. When they came past us they looked like they were hanging on for dear life!!! We were weirdly surrounded by other riders on their horses, pushing forward, which was a bit scary, when you turn around and there's a row of horses almost looking over your shoulder.
In the evening the main square filled with revellers wanting to celebrate, listen to the live music and watch the fireworks. Ulaan Baatar was ready to party

Friday 11 July 2014

Farewell Ulgii, hello Ulaan Bataar


Another early rise and breakfast at 6.15am. Bidding a fond farewell to our cook, and ensuring that she is now the proud owner of the memory foam pillow, we head to the airport. This is a crazy airport surrounded by hills, with only a couple of flights a day. Security, searching and passport check was a one woman show and we all sat patiently watching the plane arrive from UB, unload and then get ready for us. What a trip !!!! It's blown my mind by spending so much time outdoors, freezing, overheating, feeling overwhelmed by the warm hospitality that we encountered, the yaks, camels and over friendly dogs, this has been an amazing adventure, and now we're heading back to the the second coldest capital in the world, but not to worry as it's summer and it will be in the twenties.
My only concern is my mossie bites as my wrist and arm are swollen and I'm munching on anti-histamine! I'm sure that I read that there were no Mosquitos in Mongolia - lies, lies,,lies!!!! 

Stoney face or sleepy face?


Our last few days of the camping trip  were jeep bound, as we went across to the far west Russian and Chinese border and then round to the stone paintings and stone faces, dotted across the land marking battle grounds and lost kings and soldiers. As ever the back seat crew of cook and guide snoozed through this amazing scenery, as they had seen it countless times before and now made full use of my memory foam neck pillow, as I sat like an upright meerkat at the back taking in the vast space around us that was forever changing from lush valley to sparse moon like landscape. 

Wednesday 9 July 2014

How many meals in one day!


Our two night stay in the national park became an eating fest. In the morning after eating five pancakes, as the guys hadn't got up yet we walked to the top of the hill to have a better view of the snow capped mountains and of course we had lunch at the top. Then we went to visit a Tuvan family, living such hard remote life. They put out the normal Mongolian spread of cheese. curd, curd biscuits etc and then we have a delicious horse stew and then fried fish that the son had caught that morning, washed down with home brew vodka! Finally we then have dinner of a traditional Kurd dish of stewed mutton, dough and vegetables and it comes on a large tray and we all eat with our hands.
The food on the trip has been amazing as we have the head cook with us and our three meals a day have ranged from crepes, pasta, hamburgers and mash and various stews and soups, all cooked on a single gas hob!!

There's a camel outside our tent


After a really rocky eight hours drive to Altai National Park we pitch put tent up not far from the snow covered mountains and river rushing with glacial water. There's a ger that we can use for our kitchen/dining room and once settled in having a cup of black tea the door opens and we can see a pack of camels outside. This is truly an exceptional holiday and we're out of our comfort zone with camping in the middle of nowhere, sometimes in zero degrees with wind chill factored in, but this is such an extraordinary adventure with so many rewards of scenery, amazing people and the surprise of how the landscape changes Round every corner,
Our crew is fabulous, our 44 year old cook, Kenjejan, who is the wise leader, having done this for ten year but hilariously hates the countryside, preferring her winter job as a nurse in Ulan Baatur. Then our guide and interpreter, Iman,  21 year old Justin Beiber fan who's a law student in UB and does this as a summer job. Then there's Mukhanet,  our thirty year old driver is constantly leaning forward in concentration for driving, but has a wicked sense of humour, often laughing at us, which is fair as this is a hilarious trip and often it's just us wherever we go! 

We've been on Mongolian TV


It's been years since I've taken a holiday in the summer, but the lure of the Mongolian Nadaam festival was too much. The Itinerary for our ten day camping trip in the west got changed around as the president of Mongolia was coming up to open their Nadaam games. Luckily we were able to see the amazing spectacle of the wrestling at Ulgii Stadium as an added bonus and whilst siting in the stadium were interviewed by the main Mongolian TV crew on where we were from and what we thought the Nadaam festival was about. The next morning the driver said that he had seen us on TV!!!! 

Are you saying we're fat?


Travelling in a land with no roads outside of the cities is tough. There are points when our land cruiser squeals with the sheer effort of getting up hills, or overheats with the stain on the engine, but this tough environment demands tough vehicles and often you can drive for hours without seeing another car, camel or goat. Often we traverse hills at crazy angles and at one point the hill was do steep we all had to get out of the car and walk up, admiring the view but also feeling breathless in this unforgiving high altitude. The four of us leaving the car enabled a lighter journey.

How many chores to complete in one day?


Having the opportunity to spend two days in this rural nomadic community you really see how hard life is, especially for the women. They are the first ones up to milk the cows, then they round up goats, collect dung for the stove, cook for the family, wash the clothes, and it's never ending. It was amazing to see the team work involved in the daily rounding up of goats to be milked. They're separated by the colours painted on their horns, to show that they belong to different families and they are all bound by rope hooped around their neck, as they're milked. Then the vat of boiled curd needs to be spooned into the muslin cloth and so the work continues! Then more dried dung needs to be collected, or special branches from high up the hill and the girls scramble up to get them. In the pouring rain the dung needs to be covered and the women rush out to do that.
It really makes you appreciate how easy your life is - washing, heat, cooking all at the press of a button. 

Saturday 5 July 2014

Vodka for breakfast


Heading for a very early morning hill loo stop I was beckoned to a van by the uncle of IChopin the eagle hunter, he was on the drivers seat and with a couple in the back I was offered vodka and all this before. 6am! The van was to transport a cow into town and they seemed to be celebrating this early! So have a drink, then read by the river till everyone is up . I'm on photographic duty and go to the older eagle hunter's ger and he puts on his wolf skin coat and hat and then I'm snapping away. Then head to the eagle hunters family and do some portraits which end I'm tears, as the young boy doesn't want to be photographed and then Ichopin's hat is wonky and she goes off in tears!!! Still get some great shots and bid our fond farewells as it's been such a privilege to get to know them and stay in the village.

I'm on a horse in Mongolia (for 5 minutes)


Awoke in the middle of the night with the ger door flapping in the wind and it's freezing, this is the coldest I've been in a long time but at least now we're in a ger and sleeping on a mattress.
The morning starts with a game of catch with the young brother of the eagle hunter. After breakfast we walk up to the steep hill where there are some eagle nests. The sisters scarper up the steep rocky side and start collecting twigs for firewood. I decline this challenge and watch as they scamper up the hill and sneak in a power nap to recharge for what's next. After showing the girls how to make stones balance like Jenga my horse arrives!!!
With an audience it takes me ten minutes to psyche myself up and I get on the horse screeching, then as I'm led round I wince and squeal with fear at every step and after five minutes decide that trotting across the valley to the glacier is not going to happen. No one around me quite understands the problem as they are all on horses from the offset !!! Relieved to be on firm ground I walk behind the horse with Rachel on and we head to the glacier. The valley just gets prettier and prettier and after about an hour, with the little brother as my guide we get to the glacier for a snow ball fight, which ends really quickly as the snow melts so rapidly !

Can you help me find my pants?


When travelling there's always the conundrum of when to hand wash and when to use the launders service, but in the middle of nowhere you make use of rivers to make it all more natural. After a washing session we hang our smalls on a line by the ger and later I see that a pair of pants have gone as it was so windy. By the power of sign language I get the eagle hunter and her sister to search. ... Hang on a minute, I should of got the eagle!!!! Hurrah, they're in the small river, so my smalls live another day! 

Playing catch with the Eagle Hunter


In a country so big, you can't help feeling so small. Each day you drive through vast expanses on dirt tracks hardly passing any other traffic. Just being engulfed by the vastness of the land and sky. It's an extraordinary feeling to be so in the open, one that I've experienced in Uganda, Australia and Kenya and of course on road trips in the States but here in a country of 21 towns you have so much land, belonging to one of the last nomadic people on this planet. You move your ger (tent) in winter, in school time and your country belongs to you.
We stop for many direction/loo/car overheating stops but eventually we head into Tavan Belchir and down into a valley with a village of 6 gers. We head into one and are met by a lovely family, two daughters, a son and one of the daughters is the recently famed 13 year old eagle hunter daughter. I was just looking at pictures of her and her dad last week in the office and now  I'm having tea with them in her house!! Eat about seven varieties of curd, washed down with curd tea with added curd!
Then head out to the tethered Golden Eagle and take photos with the multiple award winning father and then IChopin the eagle hunter girl puts on her outfit of wolf skin hat,  black top with gold embroidery and take some amazing pictures. Then I hold the eagle and it's so heavy. Move from a squat position to standing - this should be a new yoga move - eagle arm!
Head for loo stop over the hill out of sight from the camp and them see them shear the sheep and pile the wool high on the truck. All of this is a real team effort with all of the village out to help and amazing to see, as life here is hard and nonstop with so many children and animals to look after.
After lunch get out the small rugby ball I packed in my rucksack and pretty soon all the kids are out playing catch, which in the first hour is pretty tame, but then becomes rough and it's amazing that no one twists an ankle on the stony terrain, but what a hilarious evening workout. Then joined on the last hill climb loo stop by one of the women and then together we sit on the hill side taking in the view, a wonderful way to end the day spent with these welcoming and hospitable villagers.

Five in the four wheel drive


Woke up to the sound of the flowing river and bursting to go to the loo. Here's its hilarious as everywhere here is your toilet, as we are camping in the middle of nowhere, there's few paved roads, so our four wheel drive is crammed full of our driver, cook, guide and Rachel and me, a motley crew on an incredible ten day adventure through Western Mongolia. If you need to go you find a large plant or small hill to crouch behind, travelling here is not for the faint hearted!
The sky was so bright full of stars and our first night camping by the river has been amazing. Washing your hair in the cool river water is certainly a thing to really wake you up!
The curious children eventually came closer to our tent and the fun begins when we get out the large rainbow frisbee and we're all playing - hilarious, don't think that they get many foreigners just appear as their neighbours for the night. We then head through Hovd and off to a large lake for lunch,  although we seem to be on the menu as we get badly bitten!
Then off again towards the mountains, as we head towards the Eagle Hunters recently featured in an amazing set of BBC pictures!
We camp on the middle of nowhere with view of the Tsamba-Garav Uul, one of the largest mountains and there's still snow on top in mid summer! There's just us and a far away camp with horse riders preparing for Nadaam festival. Eat by the river and have an early night - slowly adjusting to all this fresh air! 

Happy birthday Mr Throat Singer


Thank goodness for jet lag, needed to get up at 4am and head to the airport for our domestic flight out west.  Headed out on air Mongolia in a tiny plane, with the staircase only six steps up to the plane. After three hours of flying west we arrived at Ulgii airport and were met by our guide and driver. By this time our two breakfasts led us to out third of the morning, a packed lunch from the hotel was swiftly eaten at the airport, our plane meal quickly devoured and then we were on to a buffet of omelette, toast and jam and tea, I've got a feeling we're not going to go hungry!
So the jeep gets loaded with our provisions, our ten day itinerary gets changed round, as the president is making his once in four years journey here to climb the sacred mountain and then we're off.
The scenery is extraordinary. Hundreds and thousands of miles of nothing but mountains, wild camels, goats and sheep with very occasional gers (nomadic tent dwellings) and the very occasional passing vehicle. In the middle of no-where everywhere is your front room,  your accommodation to pitch your tent and your bathroom!! In this vast space it all feels so liberating and for once you feel so small.
In a country of 21 towns we head into Hovd, now our third city to visit and weirdly we head to the flat of the best throat singer in town and take him to the picturesque riverside where In local costume he sings for us! Not saying I'll buy the albumin (don't worry there isn't one) but his singing is extraordinary, from the throat to his nose and somewhere in between this incredible multilayered sound appears. Weirdly it's his birthday and we delight him with our singing and when there's silence over "happy birthday dear " ...I pitch in mr throat singer!!!
So we pitch our tent by the river near some gers and settle down for the evening. An impressive noodle and mutton dish is washing down with tea and we watch the sun set and have inquisitive kids pass by ever closer to get a good view of this gathering of five, our driver, our cook, our interpreter and us!!!

Monday 30 June 2014

How difficult can it be getting to Gatwick !!!!


With so many tube and train works on Sunday it was a real challenge just to get to the airport.  Normally I fly from nearby Heathrow, so a lovely taxi ride door to door starts the holiday in a relaxed style. However trying to get through London when all south bound trains aren't going where you want them to and confusion at west hampstead means time is wasted as overground trains aren't going through London, and the taxi company announcing that there's nothing until 10 left us tutting and tired and we were still in zone two. Still this trip is all about being challenged, and I have never been so relieved just to arrive at Victoria, taking almost two hours!!!! Thank goodness we left with plenty of time to spare. When travelling so long as you are moving nearer your destination, however slow, you're moving in the right direction. 

Moving in the right direction


After 21 hours of travelling we arrived safely but delirious with lack of sleep, to one of the remotest capital cities in the world Ulaan Baatar. Nestled in between a mountain range this sprawling soviet style city is home to just over a million Mongolians, a third of the entire county! Everyone has been so friendly and helpful so far, a guy at the airport got us a crazy old taxi driver who didn't over charge!!! The the receptionist walked us to the nearest bank and made sure we headed off on the right direction in our jet lack fog and the bus conductor was lovely as we headed home after an afternoon of seeing most of the Gengis Khan statues in town! 

Sunday 22 June 2014

Count down to travels

I love the packing frenzy in the last few days before you head off. You dust down your rucksack, get out you travel kit, and pop to the chemist to spend a small fortune on getting your travel stuff up to date. One session needed for charging camera batteries then I'm ready to go!

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Another amazing trip comes to an end

Here's some funny highlights!
Monk cutting toe nails in front of us when we're the only visitors for months
Girl serving beer then cleaning out her ears with a key and wiping wax on black jeans
Steering cruise boat with feet whilst playing game on phone - thank goodness Harlong bay channel is so wide
Rat running through my legs whilst crossing road in Hanoi
Mouse trapped on our first class sleeper cabin
Man violently shaking his hard whilst showing us a restaurant menu
Me needing to get a bra mended - in Asia a c cup is the equivalent of Jordan!!!

What an incredible trip - amazing to catch up with Em, we're already planing our 50th birthday adventure!  And so wonderful to come back to Vietnam after 16 years!!! It was so hard to travel in before, but a fantastic experience as tourism was relatively new then. This is why I headed to Myanmar last year, just as I did to this part of south East Asia all that time ago as an independent traveller travelling in new frontiers. I also went back to Loas a couple of years ago and enjoyed travelling in air conditioned buses on paved roads. In the nineties there was just a bumpy road from the capital Vientiane to Luang Prabang and I had to take a truck for 18 hours with an armed guard to stave off mountain bandits!!!!!
I'm now having a beer whilst I wait for my night train to take me back to Hanoi. I'm on the Vietnamese/ Chinese border town of Lao Chai and have 24 hours left before I fly hope. Yet again I have been overwhelmed with the kindness of strangers. From the Sapa hotel staff who packed me a dinner for my train trip tonight, to the hill tribe kid girl who gave me a bracelet, to the tax men at their staff meal who serenaded us with jingle bells on their guitar just before Christmas, to the nine hill tribe women who got me down to the villages today and the seamstress who mended my bra without looking shocked about the cup size!!!!
Ok the weather was not great, too much cloud, but the warmth of the people really made up for this.  What more can I say - great food, amazing people and fascinating places to visit    and you feel safe and supported along the way!

Crazy not lazy!!!

Wow this morning presented a HUGE challenge for me. I decided to trek to the local villages of Lao Chai and Ta Van. Getting a lift to the start was the easy part and then the realisation of what lay ahead left me shaking in fear as my vertigo kicked in. Yep I'm taking the winding hairpin bending road down to the valley floor and I was shaking like a leaf!!!! Soon I was surrounded by nine women who clung on to me with today's mantra of slowly slowly as we inched our way down the steep path dropping into the valley. What a way to start the day! I was trying to tell that I was crazy not lazy.... Not sure they believed me, but when we got to the valley floor they could see that I was walking ok and crazy not lazy!!!!!



Tuesday 7 January 2014

You buy from me

Heading back to Sapa was an incredible experience. Nestled in the mountains near the Chinese border, this hill town offers incredible views of cascading rice terraces and mountain tops, but you have to be patient as it is often covered in dense mist and you can't see further than your hand!!! It reminds me of my stay in Darjeeling when I only saw the beautiful view of the Himalayas once!!!
Here you are quickly targeted by the local H'mong or Red Zao women, who become your shadow when you walk through town. "You buy from me" is the mantra here, as the selling is gentle but with some persistence.
Wanting to make the most if my last few days and the subsiding mist revealing incredible scenery, I headed out with a guide to a couple of villages, attracting two Red Zao women as my walking shadows and making great foregrounds for my landscape shots!
It's so interesting to see where all of these women live and then descend on town every day. One of the Zao women showed me round her house, which she shared with three sons, daughters in law and grandchildren. The fire is the centre of the wooden house, but there is no chimney for the smoke to disperse, so the wood is blackened. The dirt floor must be freezing at night but the warmth of the fire and the family must see them through.
Although education is free the tourist pull of Sapa is huge and this ensures that the grandmothers, mothers and grandchildren maintain their traditional dress and head into town to sell their handicrafts. But tourism brings income and a more sustainable way of life. My guide had left school at 14 and at 21 was married with a small child, living in Sapa with her chef husband. She was able to make an independent life and see a brighter future, which is great. There's a trekking company here set up by three sisters, so the independence of women here has progressed, but they still work harder, longer and have to support the family in every aspect.

Sunday 5 January 2014

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I remember when the only way to communicate whilst travelling was to call or arrange to pick up mail at post offices. Now there's wifi everywhere - even in the middle of Halong Bay!!! Everyone is busy tapping away on their phones, collecting facebook friends along the way, instragraming pictures of their exotic meals and rating all the restaurants and hotels that they stay in. The world is now so connected and small and chimes to the ring of your mobile phone in your pocket!   

Keep paddling !!!!

I never anticipated that kayaking would be a highlight of the trip !!! After climbing down the ladder on the side of the boat and getting into the kayak we then went around the secluded bays and through natural tunnels in the rock - this was both exhilarating and challenging. as being a city dweller i still get excited at the sight of open water and I hadn't  kayaked for 16 years (the last time being in Katherine Gorge in the Northern Territory of Australia and I fell in!!!!) After ti chi on the deck at sunrise the world was my oyster and this three day cruise was the perfect opportunity to experience all that Halong Bay had to offer. 

Have fun on the outside



So many times hotel staff have said this or when we have been waiting for transfer pick ups have said have you booked the tickets on the outside? And have checked our reservations! There is a lot of fun to be had on the outside and in Hanoi you take your life in your hands as you cross the street. Unlike HCMC where your slow steps across the road cause the traffic to gently swerve round you the Hanoi motorbikes head straight for you and your nerves of steel are tested. If you  can cross the road here you can cross the road anywhere!
Coming back to Hanoi after a beautiful three day cruise in Halong Bay was an assault to the senses. The noise of the traffic, the smell of food cooking in boiling vats of oil on the street corners or BBQ sweet potato sizzling, and streets lined with shops crammed full to the rafters, this is crazy intoxicating Hanoi.
Halong Bay is a stretch of almost 2,000 islands scattered in the South China Sea. Each uninhabitable and mainly unnamed island juts out of the sea covered in green foliage, hiding monkeys and birds of a variety of species.  This has been designated as a natural wonder of the world and quite rightly so.