Our last over night train journey was probably the nicest and most comfertable out of them all....and it was only 12 hours!!! We left Moscow station in the evening and arrived in St Petersburg bright and early at 7am, where we were informed that at 10am we were going to be doing a giant walking tour of St Petersburg....exactly what you want after an overnight train journey!!!!!
The walking tour was actually brillant, even though we were all absolutely knackered by the end of it! Our guide took us through all the back streets of St Petersburg, where I saw some of the most amazing street art I had seen so far on the trip. St Petersburg appeared to be alot more "communists" looking than Moscow, which screams capitalists at the top of its lungs. All the apartments have that standard square look about them and the city in some parts did look a lot more run down. However, in saying this, I think I enjoyed walking around St Peterburg alot more than I did Moscow. I think maybe because it was the Russia I imagined while reasearching. Its a little bit new, a little bit old and has a hell of alot of character about it.
The following day we spent the day walking through the Hermitage Museum, which is one of the biggest museums in the world. The buildings itself was amazing to walk around, let alone the 3 million odd displays of art work from all over the world. There is a fact I read somewhere that if you visited the hermitage, and spent just 1 minute looking at every piece of art work, you would be there for over 3 decades. Pretty crazy huh?
The Hermitage building itself used to be a royal residence back in the day, and the ineterior certainly depicted this. Walking through the various halls was quite similar to walking through somewhere like the Sistine Chapel in Rome, just on a much larger scale. Holding artworks from such big wigs like Picasso, Da Vinci, Monet & Van Gough, the Hermitage is somewhere you have to dedicate at least half a day to walking through, even if its just to have a quick peak. Seriously, 5 - 6 hours is a quick peak!
We spent the afternoon walking up and down the massive Nevsky Prospect, the main street (or avenue rather) in St Petersburg. Holding shops for all tastes and budgets aswell as most Restaurants and nightclubs, you can imagine just how busy this place gets. Honestly, you can't walk in a strait line for more than about 30 - 40 seconds before some one comes barging into you.
That evening we had our final tour group meal, and said our goodbyes to everyone. After spending 3 weeks with these 12 people, it was quite sad to finally bid them farewell. However, not being much of a tour group traveller, I was really looking forward to being back out travelling on my own again (in the company of Sophie for the next 3 months!).
The following we checked out of our hotel, and jumped on a night bus to Helsinki, Finland.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Photos from Suzdal and Moscow
Suzdal
Suzdal
St Basils Cathedral, Moscow
One of the many amazing Moscow Metro Stations
Friday, August 1, 2008
The Trans-Mongolian Part IV - Suzdal & Moscow
On arrival in Suzdal, my first impression was how small it was! And the fact that there were next to no people anywhere to be seen. Apart from the market that was set up in the church yard oppisite our Hotel, there was honestly no other people anywhere.
But I guess you have to kind of expect that in a city with no more than 11,000 people in it!
Although small, Suzdal was yet another side to Russia I wasn't expecting to see. Suzdal is a bit of a "weekend" get away for most of the people who live in Moscow, as it's only 5 hours away. So it was quite the laid back town to walk around. No one was in a rush, there was hardly any traffic (due to the fact there were hardly any people!), so you could feel free to just wander around at your own pace.
One thing Suzdal doesn't lack in are churches. They are everywhere! Big ones, small ones, you name it - Suzdal's got it. It was here in Suzdal that I had my first chance to see a Russian Orthodox Church. You know the ones I am talking about, really REALLY big with the giant colorful domes on the top. It was amazing to finally see one in reality after seeing so many in books while researching the trip.
The insides of the church are a fantastic sight to see, unfortunately though I have no pictures! However, if you can imagine your house with every single spare piece of space painted in the most vivid colorful religious paintings, then maybe you get a small idea of what I mean. There is no spot uncovered; the floors, walls and ceilings are all painted depicting different scenes from the bible. Now, although I am not an overly religious person, it really was quite moving to see. While inside one of the churches, we were treated to a group of Russian Tenors singing a hymn, which sounded so wonderful, especially in the painted surroundings of the Church.
We spend the following day on a walking tour of the town, (which as you can imagine didn't take very long given how small Suzdal is!) which included a trip to a folk festival that was on. There was traditional russian singing, dancing and plenty of people in traditional costumes. Quite the sight to see.
We then headed to Moscow the following morning on a 5 hour bus, which me Ben and Sophie were lucky enough to sit up the back next to two severely drunk and smelly russians. It's moments like these that really paint Russia as a whole for me!!
Arriving in Moscow from Suzdal gave the system quite a shock, due to the sheer size of the city, the amount of people and the amount of cars wizzing by at 100 miles an hour. Moscow is the first European City (if you can call it that) that I had encountered so far, so as busy as asia was in its major cities, Asia has NOTHING on Moscow.
We checked into apartment which was right smack bang in the center of Moscow, and went on a walk down to the Red Square. As I said previously, the churches in Suzdal were pretty amazing to see. But in my opinion, you HAVE NOT seen a church until you have seen St Basils Cathedral in the Red Square. The best way to describe this church (aside from flipping HUGE), is as a giant ice cream. The outside is so colorful, and it stands out so much in comparison to all the communists era buildings surrounding it. The church is really the image that I think most people have of Moscow, if not the whole of Russia.
The following day we headed out on our tour of the Kremlin, which has been and still is the center point of Moscow and Russian politics. We walked past where the president resides and spent around 2 hours touring the art galleries inside.
One of the funnier things that happened on this paticular day: In order to get into the Kremlin, you must check in all of your bags (ie Handbags, Backpacks etc etc) into a locker room about a 10 minute walk from the entrance. Us being the organised tour group, had obviously done this. However, a gentleman of about 40 in the group in front us obviously thought he could slip past the Russian guards with his back pack still on......under his jacket (It wasn't one of those small packs either, he kinda looked like the hunch back of Notredam...!). After walking through the metal detector, the alarm bells going off and him insisting for at least 5 minutes that he had nothing to hide, the Russian guards eventually looked behind and saw his bag. He was promptly escorted out, and down to the lockers. What an idiot!
We then headed into one of Moscow's #1 truly bizarre sight, The Mausoleum of Lenin. Here you can bask at Lenin in all his communist glory, deader than dead, yet fully embalmed for all the world to admire. As freaky as it is to see a dead guy in a glass case, that was nothing in comparison to the 20 odd russian guards who stand in threes in all corners and walls of the Mausoleum, watching your every move. As it's quite dark in there (so as not to disturb Lenin in his sleep I presume), you actually don't see these guards until you are about 2 meters in front of them. They really do give you quite a fright!
No trip to Moscow is complete with out a tour of the underground metro system. The various metro stops dotting the center of Moscow are more like living Museums than Metro stops. Full of sculptures, chandeliers and various paintings and mosaics through out, these stations really were a highlight of any visit to Moscow.
A trip to Moscow is also incomplete if you don't make an effort to check out the legendary under ground Moscow Night Club scene. Now, by underground, I mean UNDERGROUND. Ben and I spent around an hour looking for a club one night that was supposed to be a ten minute walk from our apartment. After finding some young guys in the street who spoke English and asking for their assistance, they offered to take us to the club. After walking for about 5 minutes down a back street we are told by our new friends "there it is"....and pointed at a door. With no building behind it. They walked up to the door, knocked, the door was opened and we were greeted by 5 flights of stairs going down to a club full of people! It was absolutely bizarre! After spending around half an hour there, our Russian friends offered to take us to another club...and another...and another, until me and Ben found ourselves walking back to the Apartment at 6am the following morning! Each club was more hidden than the next..the complete opposite of anything I had ever seen before.
The next day we jumped on our last night train, heading for our last stop, St Petersburg.
Photos from Train Journey - Beijing to UB
The Party Cabin: Me, Ben, Nat and Sophie
Leaving China
Eating some quality Mongolian train food
The changing of the Bogies (wheels) on the Monlgolia/China border
Sunrise over the Gobi Desert
The Gobi
Leaving China
Eating some quality Mongolian train food
The changing of the Bogies (wheels) on the Monlgolia/China border
Sunrise over the Gobi Desert
The Gobi
The Trans-Molgolian Part III - 3 nights on a train, Irkutsk to Vladimir & Suzdal
I'm guessing most of you just read the above heading and thought "3 nights on a train!!!!", but trust me, it was no way near as bad as it sounds!!!!!
We hopped on the train in Irkutsk at 5pm, armed with instant noodles, bags of chips, fruit and vodka, as well as our normal giant bags...the whole group looked quite the sight as we attempted to board the train.
After settling into our cabins and a having a few pre sleeping vodkas, we all fell asleep quite early getting ready for the following day which was full of.......sitting on the train!!!
It actually quite hard to write about this part of the journey, because in order to pass the time we all really just sat around talked the whole time. Thinking back on it now, I understand that it was a really long time to stay in one place, however during the actual journey, none of us really noticed.
We filled in the time chatting to each other, telling jokes, eating, drinking, listening to music and staring out the window. I dedicated a good chunk of my time to reading Nat's Russian Phrase book, trying to memorise as much as possible, however considering at that point I was having enough trouble saying Hello and Thankyou, it wasn't going as well as I planned.
Staring out the window was more interesting than it sounds, as the ever changing landscape of Siberia was amazing to look at. All the small villages, the millions of birch trees and the sheer nothingness that you sometimes see.
I made friends with some Russians from Irkutsk, Marsha and Den, who were just married and on there way to Moscow for there honey moon. Even though they spoke little english, and none of us really spoke much russian, we still all got on quite well. Mark, who was on our tour, could speak quite a few words of russian and managed to translate most of the conversations for me. One rather funny moment, was when Mark was explaining to Marsha and Den what my travel plans were and how I was going to be away for two years. Up until that point, the pair of them hadn't seen me with any shoes on, which caused them to ask (quite seriously) "Jess is travelling for 2 years with no shoes on??"!!!
On our second day on the train, the 12th of June, I did what every 22 year old in the world wanted to do. I celebrated my 23rd birthday in true Siberian style, aboard the train. Of all the birthdays I have had, this one will definitely stay in my memory for a while! I was given presents and cards from all the tour group and a neat collapsible shot glass from Marsha and Den (which considering they known me less than 24 hours was pretty generous!). After being dragged away for a birthday beer with Nat, I came back to my cabin and discovered Sophie and Ben had completely decorated it with Baloons and streamers, and decked out some food aswell! In the cabin next door we had Marg, Angela and Penny serving drinks from our make shift bar. An just when I thought it couldn't be any better, Marg pulls out a cake with candles and everything! We spent the evening listening to music, eating food and drinking vodka (suprise suprise!) and I had an amazing time....!
The following day was much of the same again, just eating drinking and staring out the window of the train, until the next day we arrived in Vladimir, and headed strait to Suzdal.
We hopped on the train in Irkutsk at 5pm, armed with instant noodles, bags of chips, fruit and vodka, as well as our normal giant bags...the whole group looked quite the sight as we attempted to board the train.
After settling into our cabins and a having a few pre sleeping vodkas, we all fell asleep quite early getting ready for the following day which was full of.......sitting on the train!!!
It actually quite hard to write about this part of the journey, because in order to pass the time we all really just sat around talked the whole time. Thinking back on it now, I understand that it was a really long time to stay in one place, however during the actual journey, none of us really noticed.
We filled in the time chatting to each other, telling jokes, eating, drinking, listening to music and staring out the window. I dedicated a good chunk of my time to reading Nat's Russian Phrase book, trying to memorise as much as possible, however considering at that point I was having enough trouble saying Hello and Thankyou, it wasn't going as well as I planned.
Staring out the window was more interesting than it sounds, as the ever changing landscape of Siberia was amazing to look at. All the small villages, the millions of birch trees and the sheer nothingness that you sometimes see.
I made friends with some Russians from Irkutsk, Marsha and Den, who were just married and on there way to Moscow for there honey moon. Even though they spoke little english, and none of us really spoke much russian, we still all got on quite well. Mark, who was on our tour, could speak quite a few words of russian and managed to translate most of the conversations for me. One rather funny moment, was when Mark was explaining to Marsha and Den what my travel plans were and how I was going to be away for two years. Up until that point, the pair of them hadn't seen me with any shoes on, which caused them to ask (quite seriously) "Jess is travelling for 2 years with no shoes on??"!!!
On our second day on the train, the 12th of June, I did what every 22 year old in the world wanted to do. I celebrated my 23rd birthday in true Siberian style, aboard the train. Of all the birthdays I have had, this one will definitely stay in my memory for a while! I was given presents and cards from all the tour group and a neat collapsible shot glass from Marsha and Den (which considering they known me less than 24 hours was pretty generous!). After being dragged away for a birthday beer with Nat, I came back to my cabin and discovered Sophie and Ben had completely decorated it with Baloons and streamers, and decked out some food aswell! In the cabin next door we had Marg, Angela and Penny serving drinks from our make shift bar. An just when I thought it couldn't be any better, Marg pulls out a cake with candles and everything! We spent the evening listening to music, eating food and drinking vodka (suprise suprise!) and I had an amazing time....!
The following day was much of the same again, just eating drinking and staring out the window of the train, until the next day we arrived in Vladimir, and headed strait to Suzdal.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Trans-Mongolian Part II - Ulan Baator (Mongolia) to Irkutsk (Russia)
Ok, after going back through my pictures I just remembered this leg of the train journey left in the eveining....not in the morning!
So, at around 8pm (I think!) we jumped on our second train bound for Irkutsk in Siberia, Russia. And it was here on the Monoglian station platform that I saw my first russian moustache.....however...it was on a woman. Her name Gallena, and she was our larger than life, slightly petrifying, Provanitza (carriage attendant). She knew next to no english, but after a few offeres of ciggarettes and chocolate, she was the tour groups best friend.
This train was slightly nicer than the previous. It was a lot cleaner, slightly more comfertable, and the carriage attendants were constantly walking up and down the carriage making sure everything was kept in a neat and tidy way.
This train journey was to take 2 nights, so once we sussed out that the border crossing wasn't until the following morning, we decided to have a few drinks on the train with some french guys we had met. It was here that we also met the drunkest tour leader in the world (thank god not our tour leader!), but an aussie girl leading some older folk on a Sundowner tour, which apprently cost a substantial amount more than our trip. This girl was really unbelivable, first of all she knew nothing about the trip and kept asking the F-RAT about when the train was stopping and for how long, and second, she kept leaving her group and crashing our cabin & drinking our vodka! She got so drunk on the first night we met her that we did our best to avoid her for the rest of the journey. Once we had kicked her out of our cabin as she was falling asleep, us lot continued drinking until around midnight when we all went sleep.
The following morning at about 5 am, we the first of our borders, Mongolia. Here we were stuck for around 2 and a half hours while they checked passports. 1 hour later we arrived at the russian border, where we stayed completely stationary for almost 9 hours. The first check we had was customs, where we filled out forms declaring what we did or did not have. Then our passports were taken and visas checked. We got the passports back around 5 hours later. Then they searched each and every cabin for drugs. Then they bought the sniffer dogs through, which was probably the worse part of the whole ordeal for us.
We were sitting in our cabin, patiantly waiting to leave, when all of the sudden the dogs come through sniffing around the outside of our cabin. Then the dog sat down....directly outside our door! Within 2 seconds our cabin door had been slammed shut, and the 4 of us could only sit there and listen as we heard the unhinging of bolts from the wall oppisite our door. Around 10 minutes later they re-opened our door, and we could see where they had completely dismantaled the wall. Even though nothing was found, the guard still wasn't satisfied, so he brought another dog in with 2 other guards...and this dog did the same thing! This time they didn't shut our door, so watched as they dismantaled the whole section of the wall oppisite our cabin, ripping out the lining and insulation in the wall. After around half an hour and still not finding anything, they gave up and put the wall back together again. Although none of us had a guilty conscience, having the area OUTSIDE your cabin searched at a russian border is definitely not something I would like to go through again!
So at around 3pm, the train set off to its first Russian stop, where we were able to get off the train for around half an hour. This is where we got our first taste of Siberian summer fashion, which on the girls included 5 inch high heel shoes, the tightest whitest and highest pants in the world, with a colorful often sequened top tucked in. On the guys it was black tracksuite pants, pulled up extremely high, and a black tank top. It was most bizarre, it was as if fashion in Siberia was still stuck in the early 80's!
We jumped back on the train and headed off towards Irkutsk, where we arrived the following day at around 9am, jumped on a bus, and headed strait to Lake Baikal.
The village where we stayed was called Listvyanka, a small little town right on the shores of the massive Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal is the biggest and deepest fresh water lake in the world, and during the winter months is completely frozen over creating a roadway between each side of the lake. It had only defrosted around a month prior to us arriving. It really was the most amazing thing to look at. It was as if you were looking out at the ocean, not being able to see where the sky began and the lake ended. And the water was so clear, that when we did a boat trip out on the lake, you found yourself suffereing from vertigo as you could see directly to the bottom in some parts. The water tempreture at that time was around 1 degrees, so we decided going for a swim would not be the best of ideas!
Our group stayed in a bed and breakfast run by the charming Nikolai, who without any knowledge of the english language and us with no knowledge of Russian, continued to innitiate quite indepth converstaions with us all for long periods of time! It was really quite amusing....
We stayed in Listvyanka for one night, and the following day we headed back to Irkutsk, where we spent the day wondering around before catching the next part of our trip across Siberia to Vladimir.
So, at around 8pm (I think!) we jumped on our second train bound for Irkutsk in Siberia, Russia. And it was here on the Monoglian station platform that I saw my first russian moustache.....however...it was on a woman. Her name Gallena, and she was our larger than life, slightly petrifying, Provanitza (carriage attendant). She knew next to no english, but after a few offeres of ciggarettes and chocolate, she was the tour groups best friend.
This train was slightly nicer than the previous. It was a lot cleaner, slightly more comfertable, and the carriage attendants were constantly walking up and down the carriage making sure everything was kept in a neat and tidy way.
This train journey was to take 2 nights, so once we sussed out that the border crossing wasn't until the following morning, we decided to have a few drinks on the train with some french guys we had met. It was here that we also met the drunkest tour leader in the world (thank god not our tour leader!), but an aussie girl leading some older folk on a Sundowner tour, which apprently cost a substantial amount more than our trip. This girl was really unbelivable, first of all she knew nothing about the trip and kept asking the F-RAT about when the train was stopping and for how long, and second, she kept leaving her group and crashing our cabin & drinking our vodka! She got so drunk on the first night we met her that we did our best to avoid her for the rest of the journey. Once we had kicked her out of our cabin as she was falling asleep, us lot continued drinking until around midnight when we all went sleep.
The following morning at about 5 am, we the first of our borders, Mongolia. Here we were stuck for around 2 and a half hours while they checked passports. 1 hour later we arrived at the russian border, where we stayed completely stationary for almost 9 hours. The first check we had was customs, where we filled out forms declaring what we did or did not have. Then our passports were taken and visas checked. We got the passports back around 5 hours later. Then they searched each and every cabin for drugs. Then they bought the sniffer dogs through, which was probably the worse part of the whole ordeal for us.
We were sitting in our cabin, patiantly waiting to leave, when all of the sudden the dogs come through sniffing around the outside of our cabin. Then the dog sat down....directly outside our door! Within 2 seconds our cabin door had been slammed shut, and the 4 of us could only sit there and listen as we heard the unhinging of bolts from the wall oppisite our door. Around 10 minutes later they re-opened our door, and we could see where they had completely dismantaled the wall. Even though nothing was found, the guard still wasn't satisfied, so he brought another dog in with 2 other guards...and this dog did the same thing! This time they didn't shut our door, so watched as they dismantaled the whole section of the wall oppisite our cabin, ripping out the lining and insulation in the wall. After around half an hour and still not finding anything, they gave up and put the wall back together again. Although none of us had a guilty conscience, having the area OUTSIDE your cabin searched at a russian border is definitely not something I would like to go through again!
So at around 3pm, the train set off to its first Russian stop, where we were able to get off the train for around half an hour. This is where we got our first taste of Siberian summer fashion, which on the girls included 5 inch high heel shoes, the tightest whitest and highest pants in the world, with a colorful often sequened top tucked in. On the guys it was black tracksuite pants, pulled up extremely high, and a black tank top. It was most bizarre, it was as if fashion in Siberia was still stuck in the early 80's!
We jumped back on the train and headed off towards Irkutsk, where we arrived the following day at around 9am, jumped on a bus, and headed strait to Lake Baikal.
The village where we stayed was called Listvyanka, a small little town right on the shores of the massive Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal is the biggest and deepest fresh water lake in the world, and during the winter months is completely frozen over creating a roadway between each side of the lake. It had only defrosted around a month prior to us arriving. It really was the most amazing thing to look at. It was as if you were looking out at the ocean, not being able to see where the sky began and the lake ended. And the water was so clear, that when we did a boat trip out on the lake, you found yourself suffereing from vertigo as you could see directly to the bottom in some parts. The water tempreture at that time was around 1 degrees, so we decided going for a swim would not be the best of ideas!
Our group stayed in a bed and breakfast run by the charming Nikolai, who without any knowledge of the english language and us with no knowledge of Russian, continued to innitiate quite indepth converstaions with us all for long periods of time! It was really quite amusing....
We stayed in Listvyanka for one night, and the following day we headed back to Irkutsk, where we spent the day wondering around before catching the next part of our trip across Siberia to Vladimir.
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Trans-Mongolian Part I - Beijing to Ulan Baator
After an emotional and sad goodbye to our friends in Beijing, Sophie, Ben and myself set off on the first leg of our Trans Mongolian journey with Intrepid Travel (http://www.intrepidtravel.com/).
Before we set off, we are all introduced to the group we would be travelling with...all up there was 12 travellers and our group leader, Efrat. When the three of us first saw the group, it was quite amusing. I was the youngest member of the group by about 10 years! In fact, the first thing Ben said to us was "Maybe we should have choosen Vodka Train instead??" (Vodka train being a tour group that appeals to most people our age, but I choose against due to the cost and the fact I did not want to be surrounded by ten 20 somethings who would be durnk 24/7!). However, our impression of the group quickly changed as we got to know everyone....!
We boarded the first train at around 9am on the 4th of June, due to arrive in Ulan Baator at around 1pm the following day. This train was a chinese train, each cabin had four beds (one up one down on either side of the cabin). It was quite comfertable and we were given tickets for 2 meals throughout the journey. In my cabin, there was myself Sophie Ben and Nat, who was from Sydney.
It was amazing to watch the scenary change as we left Beijing. After about 2 hours of travelling through the out skirts of Beijing we eventually ended up in some greener areas, quite similar to those I had seen travelling through Southern China. Lots of forests, lakes and rivers which were a welcome change from the bright smog covered neon lights of Beijing!
As the journey went on, we slowly got to know each of our fellow tour members. There was Phil and Janine from Geelong, Mark and Marie from Brunswick, Angela and Marg from New Zealand, Penny from Melbourne and Phil, who at around 70 years of age had seen almost all of the world and quickly became the hero of the trip (and also an inspiration to me, knowing that even at that age I can keep travelling the world!). Our Tour Leader Efrat, from Israel, was quickly renamed "The F Rat" as none of us could pronounce her name properly...
At around 5pm we cracked open our first bottle of Vodka, thinking that by the time we arrive at the mongolian border we will be sober enough. Unfortunately not the case...because once the three of us plus Nat had finished that, we moved onto beer from the dining cart, and then onto some extremely cheap chinese red wine, which for some reason we mixed with coke as someone in the group thought that would be a good idea to take the taste away.
Lesson one about taking the trans mongolian, or any train crossing the border, don't be drunk when crossing! As the conductor came around with our mongolian immigration cards, Sophie and I proceeded to write our birthdays instead of out entry and exit dates within Mongolia. It was amusing to us, but not so amusing to our beloved F Rat who then had to fill out our third immigration form....!
Prior to arriving at the border, the train stopped for around 3 hours to have the bogies changed. The reason for this is the rail gages between China and Mongolia and Russia are different. Someone at one point told me this was to prevent invation into China...wether there is any truth to this I am unsure.
Basically, the way these are changed is by a machine lifting each individual carriage around 3 meters off the ground. The wheels are then taken off by some big machines, put back on the track and wizzed away. Around 20 minutes later, the new wheels and gages come wizzing under the lifted train, and the same machine lifts them up and places them on the train. Lucky for us, another train pulled up along side ours so we were able to see the whole thing take place. It was quite bizarre to watch.
So after those three hours were up, we moved onto the Mongolian border, where quite possibly the scariest looking and biggest Mongolian lady in the world came into our carriage and checked our passports and visas. Considering we were half asleep when she knocked on the cabin door, it really was quite a fright to see her....! After a furthur two hours of waiting, our passports were handed back and we were on our way.
At around 4am, I woke up needing to use the lovely train toilet. When I came out, I decided to have a look out the window and see where we were....and the strangest sight I had ever seen was before me. We were nowhere. Literally! Although it was still slightly dark, I could see the sun rising over absolutely nothing but desert. When we went into our alcohol induced sleep, we were at the border, and before that in a forest region. Now, there was nothing! Once the sun had risen fully you could see just how far into the Gobi Desert we were. There was absolutely nothing for miles, nothing infront, nothing behind and nothing either side. Just sand, and the odd Mongolian Ger Camp. What was truly strange about going through the desert, is the train kept turning corners. We couldn't really understand why considering there was nothing to dodge...but you would be sitting there eating your noodle soup, and all of the sudden the train would turn quite sharply to the left or right. Very bizarre!
We arrived in Ulan Baator at around 1.30pm, and were greeted by our guides for the three days, Nemo and Mia. We went and changed some money, jumped on the bus and headed to our hotel.
The following morning we headed out to Terlj National Park, around an hour outside of the capital, to stay at Mongolian Ger Camp. A ger camp, for those of who are un aware, are basically big felt tents with loads of layers, perfect for any kind of weather. A good majority of Mongolian people live in the Ger's in the Gobi Desert and in the parks. They really were quite amazing, and quite comfertable aswell! The surroundings of the park were stunning and created a very surreal contrast between UB and the rest of Mongolia.
Myself and Ben headed out horse riding on proper Mongolian horses that after noon, which was really quite amazing. The horse were so small! As we pulled up to one of the stops, we watched as a few mongolian kids were racing there horses at full speed around Turtle Rock. The kids were only about 10. We were informed after we came back that most mongolian children out in the desert and the national parks learn to ride not long after they are able to walk. Pretty amazing stuff.
That night we had dinner with the group at the camp, and finished the evening with Ben, Soph, Nat and myself polishing off 2 bottles of Mongolian Vodka....under the watchful eye of our fearless leader F-RAT of course! We decided to sit up on one of the hills for a while so we didn't keep everyone awake...at around 12 midnight I decided I should probably carry myself off to bed. So I said goodnight, went for a bit of a tumble down the hill and headed into my ger tent. Or so I thought. It turns out that in my vodka filled state I walked strait past my ger tent and right into the one next door....which was housing a whole german family!!! Lucky they were fast asleep so once I realised I had made a rather large mistake, a shut the door and ran into my tent instead!
The following morning we headed back into UB for an afternoon sightseeing tour around the city and some of the monastries. The majority of Mongolian people are buddhists, and all the temples were very traditional. They were very simlar to that I had seen in Laos and Cambodia. After the tour, a few of us headed out to see some tradition mongolian wrestling, a big national sport in Mongolia. The monglians are hoping to win gold this year at the Beijing Olympics. It was quite strange to watch however, as these big giant masculine wrestlers would come out to the ring, wave to the audience, and then do this quite feminine bird like dance around a flag. Very odd, but still amazing to watch.
In the evening we headed out to a traditional monglian folk show, where I got to see the one thing I was dying to see (or hear rather!) in mongolia....THROAT SINGING! This was quite possibly the strangest thing I had ever seen or heard. This guy comes out with a guitar like intrument, starts playing, looking very mundane as he plays. Then all of the sudden he opens his mouth and its like satan is singing from the back of his throat in a foreign language...! Throat singing is only heard of in Mongolia, and if you get a chance to download some from the internet, give it a shot, I personally gurantee it will be the WEIRDEST thing you will ever hear! As well as throat singing there was also traditional Mongolian dancing and opera singing aswell.
The following morning we were up bright and early to get the second leg of our Train into Russia....
(PICTURES TO BE UPLOADED SOON! TO SEE PICTURES FROM THIS PART OF THE TRIP PLEASE CLICK THE LINKS TO THE RIGHT OF YOUR SCREEN)
Apology!
Before I begin writing about the next segment of the trip, I would first like to yell out a HUGE apology for not updating this blog more regurly. The reason for the lack of updates is while I was travelling through China, the website I use (blogger.com) was actually banned by the Chinese government. So therefore, I was unable to read my blog or update it unless I managed to find a dodgy internet cafe somewhere that had found a loop hole around the chinese fire walls. Then, once I left China, I was travelling on the Trans Mongolian train where there really wasnt ANY access to internet in any part of Russia I went to except the odd 5 minutes worth than was costing me over $10 to use!!!
However, I am now in Eastern Europe, where the internet is not wonderful but at least user friendly.
Right at this point in my trip, I am around 1 month behind on my travel tales, so I will do my best to get this thing as close to up to date as I can over the next week or so!
Thanks to those of you who keep reading it, even though it is out of date! Also a big thanks to those of you who continuely keep bombarding me with insults about how much my blog sucks due its out of dateness.....its the kind words you guys send that make me write more!!!
However, I am now in Eastern Europe, where the internet is not wonderful but at least user friendly.
Right at this point in my trip, I am around 1 month behind on my travel tales, so I will do my best to get this thing as close to up to date as I can over the next week or so!
Thanks to those of you who keep reading it, even though it is out of date! Also a big thanks to those of you who continuely keep bombarding me with insults about how much my blog sucks due its out of dateness.....its the kind words you guys send that make me write more!!!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Goodbye Asia......
So, before I move onto the next part of this epic journey, I thought I would write down what my highlights have been through each country. Please keep in mind that there have been so many....this is really just small list I can remember off the top of my head!
VIETNAM:
I must say that by the end of China, I was ready leave Asia behind me. 3 months of travel in Asia does take it out of you (I will be kind of happy never to eat rice EVER again!). However, I really can't wait to get back to this region and see some of the places I missed out on such as Tibet, Burma, Thailand, the South East Asian Islands, North and South Korea and Japan.
So, onwards and upwards towards Europe now!
VIETNAM:
- Arriving in Saigon. After never traveled to another Asian city, this was quite the introduction! I couldn't get over the amount of people, the amount of motorbikes, the amount of noise, the amount of Traffic Lights that are blatantly ignored and the amount of street hustlers trying to sell you watches/sunglasses/purses/bags/hammocks/bracelets/necklaces etc etc etc! To some people, that may have been really annoying, and to me it was at first. But after a while, you learn to enjoy it as being hassled and nearly run over every day is all part of Saigon experience!
- Hoi An. A nice escape from the big cities, and a great 10k bike ride to the beach. And seriously, if wanted anything made, and i mean ANYTHING, this is THE place to go. There are Tailors on every corner just begging for your buisiness.
- Angkor Wat. Few people could come away from seeing one of the big wonders of the world and not count it as a highlight. Even though it was a touch over 40 degrees when I went, it really was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. The only down side is every single temple I see from now on is a bit of a let down!
- The boat/pickup truck journey from Siem Reap to Battambang. This is still one of my favorite backpacker stories to tell people, especially now being in Europe. The boat being overcrowded, then getting bogged, us 50 odd passengers being taken off, then being dumped in the back of two pick ups and driven along THE WORST road in the history of roads, all the way to Battambang.
- Sihanoukville. The combination of a nice beach, hanging out with two cool people (Leanne and Mary Liz), and being annoyed by Cambodian children all day certainly made this place a highlight. If you are going to Cambodia, get there now before the rest of the world finds it!
- Lao New Year. Spending Lao New Year (otherwise known as The Water Festival) in Vang Vieng is an experince I know I will never forget. Not being able to walk down the street without having some child/teenager/adult throwing a giant bucket of water on you was just simply bizarre, but a hell of a lot of fun.
- Elephant Mahot Training. This will always be one of the most amazing things I have ever done. Learning how to ride Elephants and then taking them into a river on a 40 degree day to wash then was simply mind blowing.
- Luang Prabang. The books and people don't lie, this really is one of the stunning and laid back places I have ever been too. Just remember not to go to a restaurant when your starving for two reasons: 1) your waiter will probably be asleep and you will have to wake him to serve you & 2) Its Lao time! Its ready when its ready!
- Lost In Translation. The many many sign you see that have been translated into English from Chinese. Theres nothing better when you open a restaurant Menu and read "Steam Dumping Soup", or when your walking near a lake and you see a sign that says "Careful When Slipping". One of my favorites was at Beijing's brand new internation Terminal, built especially for the Internation community comming for the Olympics...and on each escalator at both ends it states "Please Mind Oldster and Child". Now if thats not offensive to the over 65's..then what is???
- The Yunnan Province. Seeing "Real China" in all its glory. People working in the fields by hand & ladies in traditional dress. Also the lovely toilets, the constant spitting and the staring. All part of the China Fun!
- Shanghai. For a last minute city added due to the earthquake, and somewhere I was not particularly looking forward to visiting, I actually became quite fond of in the 10 days I was there. It probably helped that I met some awesome people to hang out with, but the city itself has an undeniable charm about it that I just can't quite put my finger on.
I must say that by the end of China, I was ready leave Asia behind me. 3 months of travel in Asia does take it out of you (I will be kind of happy never to eat rice EVER again!). However, I really can't wait to get back to this region and see some of the places I missed out on such as Tibet, Burma, Thailand, the South East Asian Islands, North and South Korea and Japan.
So, onwards and upwards towards Europe now!
China - Beijing
After a wonderful 12 hour train journey, Matt and I made it to Beijing, and checked into our hostel "The Leo Hostel" located about 10 minutes from Tiananmen Square in one of the Beijing Hutong's (Beijing Old Town). I'm sure at one time in there lives, the Hutong's were quite a pretty area to walk around...however with Olympic games just around the corner, almost all of the Hutongs were in process of being effectively ripped to shreds and rebuilt. Its a shame really, as they are a good indication of how northern China used to be.
After spending a couple of days chilling out, I went to pick up Ben and Sophie from Beijing's brand new Terminal Three at Capitol Airport. It was amazing seeing the two of them again after almost three months on the road. It brought back a lot of memories from home, which was quite a bizarre feeling really.
Ben and Sophie clicked in really well with Matt and Emma, which was a relief. Theres nothing worse than introducing friends from different circles and them not getting on...however, in this instance that didn't happen, which was brilliant! A couple of days after our little group met Pete (AKA Pirate Pete...don't ask me why.....) and Dom, plus a few others, and all of the sudden we had quite the posse going on! Over the space 1 week, we managed to test out a good majority of the Beijing Nightlife, which was fantastic.
Beijing really was an amazing city though. So many contrasting differences, and an obvious struggle between the way things used to be and the way things will be going. The best way I can probably describe Beijing is a combination of the entire Yunnan Province and Shanghai. It seems like the people (especially the younger generation) are desperate to become up to date with the latest trends that you see blasted through the internet, yet still wanting to hold onto traditional values as well. In Beijing, it is still quite common to see the older ladies walking down the street carrying tons of food over their shoulders, and men delivering things on Bicycles. Where as in Shanghai you really don't see that at all. It was interesting to say the least!
And the pollution.....oh my god the pollution! Even when it was a nice day you couldn't tell due to the giant smog cloud that shadows the entire city. The only time I saw a blue sky was when some of us went to the Summer Palace and we went to the top of one of the temples. It was so bad that within one day of being there my eyes had swollen up and were itchy as hell...giving them a really stunning red glow to them! One thing I have to say is I definitely feel sorry for every athlete, especially the track and field guys and girls, who have got to run in that. Should be interesting to see how everyone goes.
That said, the city has definitely cleaned up. It was a lot cleaner than I was anticipating, and the entire Beijing population is just so excited about the games. Even some of the taxi drivers had started to get a basic understanding of English, which in China is pretty rare.
The Olympic stadium that has been built for the games was truly an amazing sight to see. The whole area around the stadium is till under heavy construction, however I think by the time the games roll around it will look magnificent.
We spent the first week in Beijing just wondering around the city, checking out only a few of the sights, as we knew the main ones were included in our Intrepid Tour, which was starting the following Sunday. We headed out to the Summer Palace and checked out the 798 district (art house Beijing).
As said earlier, we spent most of our evenings checking out the best of Beijings nightlife, which really was an amazing experience. From dancing in an empty club on a tuesday night, to hitting up $1 shots at a bar called Shooters, to checking out on of the classiest techno clubs in Beijing, Tango...we truly saw it all! It was great to see all the young Chinese out and about, dancing away to music that we get at home.
We then departed our hostel on Sunday the 1st of June, and headed to the Harmony Hotel (quite possibly the fanciest hotel I will ever stay in on this trip!) to start our Intrepid Tour.
After spending a couple of days chilling out, I went to pick up Ben and Sophie from Beijing's brand new Terminal Three at Capitol Airport. It was amazing seeing the two of them again after almost three months on the road. It brought back a lot of memories from home, which was quite a bizarre feeling really.
Ben and Sophie clicked in really well with Matt and Emma, which was a relief. Theres nothing worse than introducing friends from different circles and them not getting on...however, in this instance that didn't happen, which was brilliant! A couple of days after our little group met Pete (AKA Pirate Pete...don't ask me why.....) and Dom, plus a few others, and all of the sudden we had quite the posse going on! Over the space 1 week, we managed to test out a good majority of the Beijing Nightlife, which was fantastic.
Beijing really was an amazing city though. So many contrasting differences, and an obvious struggle between the way things used to be and the way things will be going. The best way I can probably describe Beijing is a combination of the entire Yunnan Province and Shanghai. It seems like the people (especially the younger generation) are desperate to become up to date with the latest trends that you see blasted through the internet, yet still wanting to hold onto traditional values as well. In Beijing, it is still quite common to see the older ladies walking down the street carrying tons of food over their shoulders, and men delivering things on Bicycles. Where as in Shanghai you really don't see that at all. It was interesting to say the least!
And the pollution.....oh my god the pollution! Even when it was a nice day you couldn't tell due to the giant smog cloud that shadows the entire city. The only time I saw a blue sky was when some of us went to the Summer Palace and we went to the top of one of the temples. It was so bad that within one day of being there my eyes had swollen up and were itchy as hell...giving them a really stunning red glow to them! One thing I have to say is I definitely feel sorry for every athlete, especially the track and field guys and girls, who have got to run in that. Should be interesting to see how everyone goes.
That said, the city has definitely cleaned up. It was a lot cleaner than I was anticipating, and the entire Beijing population is just so excited about the games. Even some of the taxi drivers had started to get a basic understanding of English, which in China is pretty rare.
The Olympic stadium that has been built for the games was truly an amazing sight to see. The whole area around the stadium is till under heavy construction, however I think by the time the games roll around it will look magnificent.
We spent the first week in Beijing just wondering around the city, checking out only a few of the sights, as we knew the main ones were included in our Intrepid Tour, which was starting the following Sunday. We headed out to the Summer Palace and checked out the 798 district (art house Beijing).
As said earlier, we spent most of our evenings checking out the best of Beijings nightlife, which really was an amazing experience. From dancing in an empty club on a tuesday night, to hitting up $1 shots at a bar called Shooters, to checking out on of the classiest techno clubs in Beijing, Tango...we truly saw it all! It was great to see all the young Chinese out and about, dancing away to music that we get at home.
We then departed our hostel on Sunday the 1st of June, and headed to the Harmony Hotel (quite possibly the fanciest hotel I will ever stay in on this trip!) to start our Intrepid Tour.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
China - Lijiang, Earthquakes and an last minute flight to Shanghai!
So, after finishing Tiger Leaping Gorge, Sarah and I headed back to Lijiang for a couple of days before we both parted ways. Sarah back to Dali, and me heading north to Chengdu.
However, the day before I was due to leave, at 2.30pm, while I was illegally entering a park in Lijiang via a small waterfall as I didn't want to pay the entrance fee, the massive 7.9 Shichaun Earthquake happened. Where we were in Lijiang, we didn't feel a thing (which was lucky as we would have fallen INTO the waterfall we illegally crossing at the precise moment the earthquake hit!), however the earthquake managed to block just about every road heading in and out of the Schicuan province, thus making it rather difficult to get to Chengdu.
After a few phone calls and research, and a very stern warning from my parents about still heading Chengdu, I decided to get on a plane and head to Shanghai instead.
Now, those of you who have been reading my blog and speaking to me a bit about where I have been so far and what the places were like, would all have a general understanding that every place I have been to has been pretty small. So you can probably imagine the look on my face as I cruised into shanghai in the back of a taxi from the airport at 9pm. Every single building was lit up, there were people everywhere and it was M A S S I V E !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was actually quite mind blowing just how big this place was. It felt like every building was a sky scraper and me feel like I was about 2 feet tall.
After arriving at my hostel, checking into my room, and having a quick bite to eat I headed to bed....only to be woken up at around 3am and realising I wasn't feeling very well. So bad in fact, that I spent the next 36 hours vommitting absolutely everything I had consumed in on my trip so far. In my professional traveller opionion (hahaha), I'm pretty sure I got a pretty bad bout of food poisoning from either the food on China Eastern Airlines, or from a potato salad I had the hostel. Either way, the only place I went for my first two days in shanghai was either to the toilet to throw up, or to bed to sleep. Quite the party animal!
Once I finally got over all that (and the fact I lost about 2 kgs in the process!), I got out for my first day and dropped my passport off to have the visa extended. On dropping the application off, with my passport, I found out the process was going to take 10 days!! Most other towns were only 3 - 5. That piece of info threw the rest of my china plans (prior to arriving in Beijing) out the window, and I got myself ready for what I thought was going to be a very painful "almost" 2 weeks in Shanghai.
But then I met Matt and Emma. Its funny how you meet some people when you travel and you don't click at all, then you meet the odd one that you think "yeah, if I met you at home we would probably be mates", and then sometimes very rarely you are fortunate enough to get the chance to meet people that not only do you click with, you know that you are quite possibly going to be mates with them for many many years to come. Thats what happened with me meeting Matt and Emma.
The three of us hung out around Shanghai, seeing the sights of East Nanjing Road, the Bund, going to the top of Jin Mau Tower for great views of the Shanghai and hanging out in the artistic areas of the city. Emma left us about 4 days in, but we agreed to meet in Beijing. Matt and I continued to hang out right up until the day before I left China!
In touring around Shanghai, it was amazing the differences to southern China. Southern China in the Yunnan province was quite traditional and very simple. In Shanghai it was like being in an Asian New York City (even though I haven't yet been to New York, I'm sure you still can catch my drift!) with all the guys and girls wearing designer clothes, listening to modern music and giant bill board advertising signs all the way through the city. For such a large city, Shanghai wasn't overly expensive, however it was around twice the price of everything in the Yunnan Province. Which I guess when you start to make things relative to the earning capicity of the average Chinese worker, thats a pretty big jump in cost.
On my second last day in Shanghai, the Olympic torch made its journey through the city. We all got up early to watch it run on East Nanjing Road, only to be met by a very strong Chinese Millitary Presence right around the city, not allowing us anywhere near the relay. However, later in the day when Matt and I headed out to pick up my passport with its new visa, we "accidently" got stuck in a barricade and we were able to watch the torch run through twice. It was amazing to see just how excited the Chinese were about the Olympics.
The following evening, Matt and I jumped on the Z train express to Beijing.....
However, the day before I was due to leave, at 2.30pm, while I was illegally entering a park in Lijiang via a small waterfall as I didn't want to pay the entrance fee, the massive 7.9 Shichaun Earthquake happened. Where we were in Lijiang, we didn't feel a thing (which was lucky as we would have fallen INTO the waterfall we illegally crossing at the precise moment the earthquake hit!), however the earthquake managed to block just about every road heading in and out of the Schicuan province, thus making it rather difficult to get to Chengdu.
After a few phone calls and research, and a very stern warning from my parents about still heading Chengdu, I decided to get on a plane and head to Shanghai instead.
Now, those of you who have been reading my blog and speaking to me a bit about where I have been so far and what the places were like, would all have a general understanding that every place I have been to has been pretty small. So you can probably imagine the look on my face as I cruised into shanghai in the back of a taxi from the airport at 9pm. Every single building was lit up, there were people everywhere and it was M A S S I V E !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was actually quite mind blowing just how big this place was. It felt like every building was a sky scraper and me feel like I was about 2 feet tall.
After arriving at my hostel, checking into my room, and having a quick bite to eat I headed to bed....only to be woken up at around 3am and realising I wasn't feeling very well. So bad in fact, that I spent the next 36 hours vommitting absolutely everything I had consumed in on my trip so far. In my professional traveller opionion (hahaha), I'm pretty sure I got a pretty bad bout of food poisoning from either the food on China Eastern Airlines, or from a potato salad I had the hostel. Either way, the only place I went for my first two days in shanghai was either to the toilet to throw up, or to bed to sleep. Quite the party animal!
Once I finally got over all that (and the fact I lost about 2 kgs in the process!), I got out for my first day and dropped my passport off to have the visa extended. On dropping the application off, with my passport, I found out the process was going to take 10 days!! Most other towns were only 3 - 5. That piece of info threw the rest of my china plans (prior to arriving in Beijing) out the window, and I got myself ready for what I thought was going to be a very painful "almost" 2 weeks in Shanghai.
But then I met Matt and Emma. Its funny how you meet some people when you travel and you don't click at all, then you meet the odd one that you think "yeah, if I met you at home we would probably be mates", and then sometimes very rarely you are fortunate enough to get the chance to meet people that not only do you click with, you know that you are quite possibly going to be mates with them for many many years to come. Thats what happened with me meeting Matt and Emma.
The three of us hung out around Shanghai, seeing the sights of East Nanjing Road, the Bund, going to the top of Jin Mau Tower for great views of the Shanghai and hanging out in the artistic areas of the city. Emma left us about 4 days in, but we agreed to meet in Beijing. Matt and I continued to hang out right up until the day before I left China!
In touring around Shanghai, it was amazing the differences to southern China. Southern China in the Yunnan province was quite traditional and very simple. In Shanghai it was like being in an Asian New York City (even though I haven't yet been to New York, I'm sure you still can catch my drift!) with all the guys and girls wearing designer clothes, listening to modern music and giant bill board advertising signs all the way through the city. For such a large city, Shanghai wasn't overly expensive, however it was around twice the price of everything in the Yunnan Province. Which I guess when you start to make things relative to the earning capicity of the average Chinese worker, thats a pretty big jump in cost.
On my second last day in Shanghai, the Olympic torch made its journey through the city. We all got up early to watch it run on East Nanjing Road, only to be met by a very strong Chinese Millitary Presence right around the city, not allowing us anywhere near the relay. However, later in the day when Matt and I headed out to pick up my passport with its new visa, we "accidently" got stuck in a barricade and we were able to watch the torch run through twice. It was amazing to see just how excited the Chinese were about the Olympics.
The following evening, Matt and I jumped on the Z train express to Beijing.....
Tiger Leaping Gorge - Part III
Waking up on day three was good, as it wasn't raining!! It was still a little overcast though which was good because it kept the sun away from us most of the day.
At around 9am we set off down to 'Middle Gorge', which was the last part of the trek. The part of the trek took us all the way to the bottom of the gorge to where the river ran through. It took around 1 hour to hike down the amazingly steep track down to the gorge. The further down we got the more I couldn't help thinking about how the hell we were going to get back up again!!
Finally reaching the bottom, we were met by a series of massive rocks lining the banks of the ferocious river. It was amazing, I have never seen rapids like it. Looking at the water, you knew that if you fell in you were as good as dead. There is absolutely no way you could survive it.
As we proceeded to jump over the rocks and have our pictures taken etc etc, I later found out that about 4 weeks earlier a tourist had been doing the same thing...having his picture taken...and lost his balance and fell in the water. They never found him! Comforting to find this out after you have had you picture taken!!
From the middle gorge we proceeded back up to the top of the gorge via a series of very steep paths and extremely steep and unsafe ladders! Finally reaching the top alive and well around 1.5 hours later. We then organised a car to take us back to Lijiang, via a giant landslide in the middle of the road......
Only in China!
At around 9am we set off down to 'Middle Gorge', which was the last part of the trek. The part of the trek took us all the way to the bottom of the gorge to where the river ran through. It took around 1 hour to hike down the amazingly steep track down to the gorge. The further down we got the more I couldn't help thinking about how the hell we were going to get back up again!!
Finally reaching the bottom, we were met by a series of massive rocks lining the banks of the ferocious river. It was amazing, I have never seen rapids like it. Looking at the water, you knew that if you fell in you were as good as dead. There is absolutely no way you could survive it.
As we proceeded to jump over the rocks and have our pictures taken etc etc, I later found out that about 4 weeks earlier a tourist had been doing the same thing...having his picture taken...and lost his balance and fell in the water. They never found him! Comforting to find this out after you have had you picture taken!!
From the middle gorge we proceeded back up to the top of the gorge via a series of very steep paths and extremely steep and unsafe ladders! Finally reaching the top alive and well around 1.5 hours later. We then organised a car to take us back to Lijiang, via a giant landslide in the middle of the road......
Only in China!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tiger Leaping Gorge - Part II
So, remember how in the previous post I said that i had been told not to do this trek in the rain?? Well guess what we woke up to the following morning?? RAIN!!!!
And not just a little bit either...it had been absolutely bucketing down all night, so as we set off we discovered that where the track was dirt it had turned to mud, and where it was stones it was really slippery.
As well as the mud and the slipperiness (I'm not actually sure if thats a word...!), random waterfalls kept appearing out of no where right in the middle of the track. So you have no other option but to walk over the top of them or through them to get to the otherside. At the time it was quite funny, but as you look back you kind of start to think 'Wow, that was really dangerous!!!'.
This part of the trek however was quite pretty with lots of flowers and brilliant views (which would have been more brilliant had the weather not been so bad!). And it was all practically down hill or on flat ground...so nice and easy in comparison to the day before! We made it to our last guesthouse, Tinas, at around 3pm. It was practically all downhill for about an hour so that was fun running down this big grassy hill....until a slipped and slip for about 3 meters down the side of it! I slowed down after that....
After grabbing some lunch we decided to stay the night and complete the last part of the trek the
next day.
And not just a little bit either...it had been absolutely bucketing down all night, so as we set off we discovered that where the track was dirt it had turned to mud, and where it was stones it was really slippery.
As well as the mud and the slipperiness (I'm not actually sure if thats a word...!), random waterfalls kept appearing out of no where right in the middle of the track. So you have no other option but to walk over the top of them or through them to get to the otherside. At the time it was quite funny, but as you look back you kind of start to think 'Wow, that was really dangerous!!!'.
This part of the trek however was quite pretty with lots of flowers and brilliant views (which would have been more brilliant had the weather not been so bad!). And it was all practically down hill or on flat ground...so nice and easy in comparison to the day before! We made it to our last guesthouse, Tinas, at around 3pm. It was practically all downhill for about an hour so that was fun running down this big grassy hill....until a slipped and slip for about 3 meters down the side of it! I slowed down after that....
After grabbing some lunch we decided to stay the night and complete the last part of the trek the
next day.
China - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Part I
After a couple of days in Lijiang getting ready, Sarah and I headed off to start our 3 day trek through Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Now, before I start telling you about the three days, let me just fill you in on a few of the things I had been told by people who had done the trek:
1) The first part of the trek to the Naxi Guesthouse is really easy, just a really basic walk
2) The 28 Bends are hard, but probably a little bit overrated
3) Don't attempt this hike in the rain, as it can get really dangerous
Please, keep these 3 points in mind as you read this post!
We arrive at Janes Guesthouse (the beggining of the trek) at around 10.30am. The weather was looking brilliant, nice and sunny. After a quick bite to eat and hearing about the conditions of the track, we set off about an hour later.
So, like I said, the first part of the trek is meant to be quite easy?? Just a basic walk?? WELL IT WASN'T!!!!! In the wonderful early morning heat with the sun blistering down on us, we walking for around 2.5k's constantly up hill on a dirt track, with absolutely no relief from the shade what so ever. We managed to do the first part in a little under 2 hours, which was impressive considering we walked quite slow. When we arrived the first guesthouse (Naxi Guesthouse) I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do the next part of the trek as I was absolutely exhausted. However, once I had some lunch and drank my 4th 1ltr bottle of water for the day (I told you it was hot!!) we headed on to begin the hardest part of the trek, the 28 bends.
(Now, before I get to the next bit....When I was in Kunming I met a couple and there 7 year old daughter who had just done the gorge, and said it was quite easy. Even the 7 year old said it was easy, which made me think that if a stupid 7 year old girl can do it, then I shouldn't have a problem.....)
After an hour of walking uphill, we finally got to the beginning of the '28 Bends'. From the bottom the top of the mountain didn't seem that far away, however it did look pretty damn steep.
Unfortunately, calling the 28 bends steep would be a complete understatement....!!
It took us around 2.5 hours from the Naxi Guesthouse to the summit of the 28 bends, and we climbed them in the middle of the day when it was around 26 degrees. The 28 bends are realistically more like 40 bends, as you weave your way through steep corner after steep corner slowly getting towards the summit. Even the fittest people doing the hike were having to stop at least every ten meters to get there breath back.
The worst thing about the whole hike is that you have these guys on horses following you up, waiting for you to give in so you will pay them the equivilent of $10AUD so they will carry you to the top! If anything they make you more determined to carry on. But you see I had two things driving me to get to the top: The horse people and the memory of that stupid 7 year old girl telling me how easy the trek was!! I'm sorry, but there is NO WAY that 7 year old could have found this easy....!
We got to the top at around 4pm, and what a feeling that was! And what a view! You could see all the way back to where we had begun the trek right up to where we were then and there.
It took us another 2 hours to walk down the other side of the mountain, and towards our guest house for the night, the Tea Horse.
We arrived there at around 6pm, had some dinner, and I promptly fell asleep at around 8pm...!!
Now, before I start telling you about the three days, let me just fill you in on a few of the things I had been told by people who had done the trek:
1) The first part of the trek to the Naxi Guesthouse is really easy, just a really basic walk
2) The 28 Bends are hard, but probably a little bit overrated
3) Don't attempt this hike in the rain, as it can get really dangerous
Please, keep these 3 points in mind as you read this post!
We arrive at Janes Guesthouse (the beggining of the trek) at around 10.30am. The weather was looking brilliant, nice and sunny. After a quick bite to eat and hearing about the conditions of the track, we set off about an hour later.
So, like I said, the first part of the trek is meant to be quite easy?? Just a basic walk?? WELL IT WASN'T!!!!! In the wonderful early morning heat with the sun blistering down on us, we walking for around 2.5k's constantly up hill on a dirt track, with absolutely no relief from the shade what so ever. We managed to do the first part in a little under 2 hours, which was impressive considering we walked quite slow. When we arrived the first guesthouse (Naxi Guesthouse) I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do the next part of the trek as I was absolutely exhausted. However, once I had some lunch and drank my 4th 1ltr bottle of water for the day (I told you it was hot!!) we headed on to begin the hardest part of the trek, the 28 bends.
(Now, before I get to the next bit....When I was in Kunming I met a couple and there 7 year old daughter who had just done the gorge, and said it was quite easy. Even the 7 year old said it was easy, which made me think that if a stupid 7 year old girl can do it, then I shouldn't have a problem.....)
After an hour of walking uphill, we finally got to the beginning of the '28 Bends'. From the bottom the top of the mountain didn't seem that far away, however it did look pretty damn steep.
Unfortunately, calling the 28 bends steep would be a complete understatement....!!
It took us around 2.5 hours from the Naxi Guesthouse to the summit of the 28 bends, and we climbed them in the middle of the day when it was around 26 degrees. The 28 bends are realistically more like 40 bends, as you weave your way through steep corner after steep corner slowly getting towards the summit. Even the fittest people doing the hike were having to stop at least every ten meters to get there breath back.
The worst thing about the whole hike is that you have these guys on horses following you up, waiting for you to give in so you will pay them the equivilent of $10AUD so they will carry you to the top! If anything they make you more determined to carry on. But you see I had two things driving me to get to the top: The horse people and the memory of that stupid 7 year old girl telling me how easy the trek was!! I'm sorry, but there is NO WAY that 7 year old could have found this easy....!
We got to the top at around 4pm, and what a feeling that was! And what a view! You could see all the way back to where we had begun the trek right up to where we were then and there.
It took us another 2 hours to walk down the other side of the mountain, and towards our guest house for the night, the Tea Horse.
We arrived there at around 6pm, had some dinner, and I promptly fell asleep at around 8pm...!!
Monday, May 26, 2008
China - Shangri-La
After 8 hours, 3 car accidents, and 2 stops for strawberries, we finally arrived in Shangri-la....and my god, it was freezing!
As I have mentioned before, I was currently going through the worst weather of the trip so far with it being quite a bit cooler than Laos and getting the odd spot of rain. Shangri-la however was around 3700 meters above sea level around surrounded by snowcapped mountains, thus making it icy cold (around 5C - 10C degrees). So it was lucky I hit up those fake outdoor gear shops in Dali, as my snow jackets came in more than handy...!
Sahngri-la as a town was quite small, with hardly any tourists. It was a really nice mix of Tibetan and Chinese culture as it was not far from the Tibetan border.
We spent our first day wandering around the town and had a look at one of the monasteries in town. This monastery would have had over 1000 prayer flags throughout the complex in all kinds of different colours, it looked amazing. It also had a giant prayer wheel in the middle overlooking the town, which the locals would climb up to and spin around for good luck.
The evening we caught up with some people Sarah had met along her travels, and had dinner and a few beers with them. We ended up going to a small tibetan bar where we ended up singing along with some guys for most of the night!
On our second day we headed to the Monastery just outside of town. Half falling down and half being rebuilt, this Monastery would have to be one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. The Monastery is home to over 700 monks, whose age ranges from 7 years old to 90. As you walk through the monastery you see the monks doing everyday things like building, cleaning, and chatting on there cell phones.
The colours on the outside of the buildings and temples within the complex were a brilliant yellow and maroon, which matched the Monks robes. We spent around 4 hours just walking around the place exploring the different temples.
The following day we headed to Lijiang....
As I have mentioned before, I was currently going through the worst weather of the trip so far with it being quite a bit cooler than Laos and getting the odd spot of rain. Shangri-la however was around 3700 meters above sea level around surrounded by snowcapped mountains, thus making it icy cold (around 5C - 10C degrees). So it was lucky I hit up those fake outdoor gear shops in Dali, as my snow jackets came in more than handy...!
Sahngri-la as a town was quite small, with hardly any tourists. It was a really nice mix of Tibetan and Chinese culture as it was not far from the Tibetan border.
We spent our first day wandering around the town and had a look at one of the monasteries in town. This monastery would have had over 1000 prayer flags throughout the complex in all kinds of different colours, it looked amazing. It also had a giant prayer wheel in the middle overlooking the town, which the locals would climb up to and spin around for good luck.
The evening we caught up with some people Sarah had met along her travels, and had dinner and a few beers with them. We ended up going to a small tibetan bar where we ended up singing along with some guys for most of the night!
On our second day we headed to the Monastery just outside of town. Half falling down and half being rebuilt, this Monastery would have to be one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. The Monastery is home to over 700 monks, whose age ranges from 7 years old to 90. As you walk through the monastery you see the monks doing everyday things like building, cleaning, and chatting on there cell phones.
The colours on the outside of the buildings and temples within the complex were a brilliant yellow and maroon, which matched the Monks robes. We spent around 4 hours just walking around the place exploring the different temples.
The following day we headed to Lijiang....
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
China - Dali
After travelling so much on buses throughout South East Asia, I was rather excited to find out I could catch a train from Kunming to Dali. I automatically presumed it would be faster aswell.
I need to learn not to presume things!!!
The following day we decided to go cycling, which really was quite a dumb idea considering Andreas was cycling around the WHOLE of asia, and was therefore quite fit. He decided we would do an easy 25klm ride (!!!!) to the port of the lake.
It took around 2 and a half hours to get to the lakes edge, so suffice to say we were all completely stuffed by the time we got there. After a small rest, we went in search of a toilet and food. The toilet we found first, which was probably a good thing, as had we found it after eating, we probably would have vommitted our whole meal up. This public toilet was quite possibly the worse public toilet I have ever seen in my whole life. It was as open as every other chinese public toilet (ie: no doors), but this one obviously was completely blocked, due to the smell that almost made you fall backwards as you walked towards the front door. Unfortunately, it appears a few people had "missed" while doing there "buisiness" and this was the result:
I need to learn not to presume things!!!
The train took 9 hours, which at first was fine. Until I was informed by a guy sitting next to me that the bus only took 4 hours...but the train was more scenic...! I think I would have prefered a 4 hour boring journey to a 9 hour over crowded yet scenic train trip....!
On arriving in Dali, I automatically fell in love with the place. This was the China I had come to see. Dali is a tiny town, with a small population of around 40,000. The town its self you could walk around in half a day, and were all traditional chinese buildings and cobblestone streets. The only thing that was slightly out of place were the minority women, around 80 years old, trying to sell you dope and opium as you passed by the Tibetan Cafe...!
At the hostel I stayed at (The Jade Emu), I met up with Sarah and Andres, who I hung out with the whole time I was in Dali. Sarah as it turned out was heading in the same direction as me, so we decided to stick together through the next couple of weeks.
On my second day in Dali, Sarah Andres and myself headed up one of the Jade Mountains that surround Dali. ALthough you can hike it, we took the easy way of a cable car to the top. From the top you could see for miles and the view was stunning. Like I said before, Dali was really my first proper "China" experience, and from the top of these mountains you got a real taste for the beautiful lanscapes that China has to offer; from the way the montains surrounded the lake, to the hundreds of rice fields that appeared painted on the horizon.
The following day we decided to go cycling, which really was quite a dumb idea considering Andreas was cycling around the WHOLE of asia, and was therefore quite fit. He decided we would do an easy 25klm ride (!!!!) to the port of the lake.
The ride was actually quite easy, but the roads were bad bad bad, which made riding slightly more difficult than orignally anticipated....! However, the views while we rode were just about worth the pain my arse went through on those bumpy roads. We rode past a whole bunch of rice fields and farms where there were Chinese working in all there tradational minority clothing, and through a couple of little villages aswell.
It took around 2 and a half hours to get to the lakes edge, so suffice to say we were all completely stuffed by the time we got there. After a small rest, we went in search of a toilet and food. The toilet we found first, which was probably a good thing, as had we found it after eating, we probably would have vommitted our whole meal up. This public toilet was quite possibly the worse public toilet I have ever seen in my whole life. It was as open as every other chinese public toilet (ie: no doors), but this one obviously was completely blocked, due to the smell that almost made you fall backwards as you walked towards the front door. Unfortunately, it appears a few people had "missed" while doing there "buisiness" and this was the result:
Lovely isn't it??
Then came the food search. We couldn't find any obvious food stalls or restaurants anywhere, but we did come across a youth hostel on the street leading to the port. We walked in there, and after finding aboslutely no body spoke a word of english, we mimed the actions to eating to which the guy at reception nodded furiously and led us into the back of the hostel. After walking for about 10 meters, he led the three of us into the kitchen where we basically just pointed at things that we liked and the chef gathered them up.
We ended up turning this:
Into this:
And in doing so, quite possibly ate the greatest meal I have ever tasted in my life, for a total of $5 per person!
After we finished eating we grabbed our bikes to head back to Dali. However, I so tired and really didn't want to ride all the way back....so I took a tuk tuk back! Lazy person that I am...however in saying that I don't know how many of you reading this could honestly be arsed cycling for 55k's in one day??? Honestly???
The next few days were spent generally chilling out at the hostel, and enjoying Dali's knock off versions of North Face and Columbia jacket shopping for less that $20AUD.....!
From Dali, me and Sarah then headed to Shangri-la....
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