A Slight Change of Plans...

When I first set out on this trip three months ago, my original plan was that by this time I would be home sitting on the couch, watching TV, and munching on some Thanksgiving leftovers. But plans change, and as I write this I am not home in chilly Crystal Lake but am sitting on the patio of my hostel in sunny Airlie Beach, Australia.

Throughout the month of October, as my trip end date got closer and closer, I found myself increasingly wishing that I could stay out longer. There was so much more that I wanted to see; Singapore, Australia, and especially New Zealand [where they filmed Lord of the Rings!]. Knowing that if I returned home I would never again be able to put together another trip like this, I decided that the only way to see these places would be to extend my current trip. So that is what I did.

I’m currently two weeks into a month and a half exploration of the east coast of Australia, to be followed by a month in New Zealand. Now sure where to after that, possibly Fiji, possibly Singapore; but I will definitely be spending time in South Korea and at least a one night stopover in England to say hi to my little sister. The current plan is to return home sometime at the end of February.

So if you have enjoyed following this blog [even though I haven’t been diligent about updating it], then you are in luck because you get three extra months of updates.

See you all in February!

Ushi Says Hi!

One day in Vietnam we ate at this place called Ushi’s. None of us thought anything of it, until we saw movie posters all over the place for a movie called ‘Ushi Says Hi’. We had never heard of it so we jumped on the free wifi and IMDBed it. Apparently, ‘Ushi Says Hi’ is a movie that was released in the Netherlands and did quite well. We were just talking about it when Ushi herself walked in [we knew it was her because we recognized her from the poster].

Ushi owned the restaurant and when she heard that it was my friend Pat’s birthday that night, she insisted on joining our table and giving Pat a birthday present [it was a rat figurine, since Pat was born in ’84; the year of the rat. From that point forward everyone called Pat, “Pat the Rat”, for the entirety of the trip.]

So Ushi sits at our table for a bit and starts talking to us and then she gets this grin on her face and asks if we would like to see her collection. Thinking that she was talking about dolls or stamps, or even baseball cards, we all say yes.

So she pulls out her phone [and shows us the background picture, which was her in a bikini; weird] and proceeds to show us a strange collection of pictures. It took me a full five seconds of staring at one of these to realize what they were; the tops of people’s bald heads.

Apparently Ushi has a fascination with the top of bald heads, and whenever someone comes into her restaurant with a bald head, she takes a picture of it on her phone. To date she has over 500 pictures in her collection. Obviously, none of us really knew how to respond to that. I guess that becoming a Dutch movie star makes a person a little bit crazy.

For those disbelieving among you, I took a picture of Ushi’s phone with my phone. You can see below only a few of the 5000 bald heads in her collection. 

Photos

I realize that not everyone who follows this blog has Facebook so I've decided to include the links here to the photos uploaded to Facebook.

China: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.597454130487.2075957.51600686&type=1&l=63b46a2074
Cambodia:  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.601896497947.2076878.51600686&type=1&l=fd81050121
Vietnam: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.603556117057.2077264.51600686&type=1&l=f5b837f4a2

Additionally, I've taken many panorama shots which can't be uploaded to Facebook and therefore I have stored on my flickr account, which can be seen at the following link

Panoramas: http://www.flickr.com/photos/harrypotter08/\

Enjoy!

Recap: Cambodia

Sorry for the delay in updating the blog, things have been pretty hectic and it’s frustratingly difficult to find a reliable internet connection here. I’m currently sitting on the beach in Ko Tao, Thailand. Since the last blog update I’ve travelled through Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and now Thailand. I’ll try to get updates on each of those countries up soon, as well as some interesting stories that have occurred along the way.

From Hong Kong I flew into Bangkok and met up with my new group. Immediately the next morning we jumped a bus for Siem Reap. Cambodia had just has some serious flooding the week before we arrived, so there was still a lot of water on the roads and around people’s houses. The houses in Cambodia are, for the most part, built on stilts, and it was easy to see why. We drove past houses that had two feet of standing water under them.

Upon arriving we went to a homestay for some authentic Cambodian food.  The next day we got up at 4:30 to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the largest temple complex in the world and the thing to see in Cambodia. Unfortunately, the overcast skies ruined any chance of catching the sunrise, but it the temple complex was still amazing. We spent the rest of the day exploring the various temples around Siem Reap.

Our next stop on the trip was Pnomh Penh. Pnomh Penh is home to the killing fields, a place setup by the Cambodian government in recognition of the recent genocide that occurred in Cambodia. It was a sobering experience to see the remnants of a genocide that occurred so recently. 

The following day we explored the Russian markets, took a cyclo tour around the city, and then had a river boat dinner cruise. One of the things that the crew brought out was a homemade tarantula rice wine. Basically they get an old plastic jug and filled it with rice wine and tarantulas then let it stew for a week or so. The end result is a 60% abv yellowish concoction which is one of the most foul things I have ever tasted.

Next we visited Sihanoukville, a beach town in the south of Cambodia. We spent some time on the beach, visited a national park, saw some waterfalls, and just enjoyed the ocean. Our last night in town we ate at a BBQ place on the beach watching the sunset; it was wonderful.

The following morning we jumped back on the bus and crossed the border into Vietnam.

Flooded streets of Siem Reap

Enjoying a Cambodian meal

Angkor Wat

One of the various temples around Angkor Wat

Another temple [where scenes from Tomb Raider were filmed]

One of the tarantulas from the rice wine

Waterfall in Sihanoukville

Yangshuo

In order to get from Xi’an to Yangshuo, we had to suffer an unpleasant few days filled with buses, vans, and boats but once we actually arrived, it was all worth it.

After arriving in Yangshuo it was immediately apparent that this town was vastly different from the major cities that we had been frequenting. Yangshuo is basically a backpacker’s haven where the lifeblood of the town is providing food, lodging, and guides for the myriad of outdoor activities in the area.

When we arrived in the city the first thing that we did was take a boat cruise to explore the incredible scenery. The rocky pinnacles around that area used to be part of the ocean floor, which gave them a very unique shape. After the boat cruise we spent some time exploring the town and getting some food.

Enjoying a riverboat cruise

A little village outside of Yangshuo

Yangshuo has some of the best scenery that we have seen in China

The following day we got up early and rented a bunch of bikes. We then biked through the countryside for a bit before arriving at the starting point for cruising the river on bamboo rafts. After lazily floating downriver for a few hours, we jumped back on the bikes and took a trip through the scenery of Yangshuo.

After enjoying the trek for a bit, we eventually made our way to a nearby cave that had a mud bath and hot springs.

Taking a break from biking at the side of a rice paddy

Meandering downstream on a bamboo raft

My teeth have never looked so white

Enjoying a mud bath

After we'd dried off a bit from the hot springs, the entire group climbed up to one of the many moon hills surrounding Yangshuo

The whole group at the moon hill

I hope that my mother does not look at this one...

The following day we caught a bus to the train station for the overnight train to Hong Kong.

Recap: Shanghai and Xi'an

Our first day in Shanghai we just explored the city. Shanghai had a very much more modern feel than Beijing, mostly due to its fantastic skyline. We saw the antique market, the bird and insect market, and the French Quarter. That evening we took a nighttime river boat cruise to examine the skyline of the city.

Large crickets are a popular pet in China. I have no idea why.

On the streets of Shanghai

Shanghai skyline at night

 

The group in front of the Shanghai skyline

Next day visited the temple of the Jade Buddha and then took the overnight train to Xi'an.

Chloe, Roxanne, and me at the temple of the Jade Buddha

Jade Buddha temple

Xian is a crazy city. The population has more than doubled in the last few years and as a result, they do not have the infrastructure to handle the population. The taxis are insanely cheap and therefore, it is impossible to find an empty one. The taxi drivers will actually turn people away if they think that the fare will not be good enough for them to bother loading you. After arriving in Xi'an on the night train, we spent the afternoon biking around the wall of the city.

The group posed on top of the walls of Xi'an

Adam, Richard, and me taking a break from biking

Sunset over the city wall.

A van in Xi'an where you can get tattooed.. Needless to say, we all declined.

Next day, visited the Terra Cotta warriors, which were amazing. Then walked around to the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Muslim Quarter, and Night Market.

It is estimated that there are around 8000 Terra Cotta warriors in total

Standing in front of the arranged warriors

The Bell Tower of Xi'an. It used to be used to sound the beginning of day and the opening of the city gates.

Recap: Beijing

After arriving in Beijing and finally making it through customs, I spent the rest of the day exploring the area around the hotel and meeting the rest of the folks on the tour [Ten from England, two from Wales, two Scots, and me; occasionally referred to as 'the Yank']. In the morning, still suffering from jet lag but excited nonetheless, we set out for the Great Wall.

The Great Wall is one of those places that I have heard about my whole life and seen in numerous pictures, but when I got there it still took my breathe away. It is one thing to see photos of something and hear crazy statistics [like if you used the materials of the Great Wall, you could construct a wall 1.1 yards high and 5.5 yards wide that would encircle the globe], but it is another thing entirely to see it.  I will just say that if you ever have a chance to visit the Great Wall; take it. 

My first glimpse of the wall

The wall dips, curves, and climbs it's way through the countryside

There are tourists all over the wall, but it is still possible to find some solitude 

The following day we visited Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. I'd heard so much about Tienanmen Square, but once I got there I was actually quite disappointed. Its is basically just an open concrete square. I took a look and then quickly moved on.

I found the Forbidden City to be much more exciting. The Forbidden City was the palace and residence of several of China's Emperor's. As you might imagine, the place is huge. If a person were born today and slept one night in each of the bedrooms in the complex, they would not complete the task until they were 29 years old.

One of the numerous empty courtyards in the Forbidden City

The City has several flowing streams and picturesque bridges

Me standing in front of one of the towering halls

In the evening we visited the Bird's Nest and the rest of the Olympic facilities.

The group having some fun in front of the Bird's Nest

The following day a small group of us decided to explore the sprawling Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is the largest and best preserved imperial garden in China. After the manic, crowded streets of Beijing it was nice to experience the tranquility and natural beauty of the Summer Palace. In the evening we jumped on the overnight train to Shanghai.

One of the many statues that adorn the Summer Palace