Most people who think of Kazakhstan, think of Borat. Most people who have been to Kazakhstan might think of Almaty its former capital, and then there are some who decide to discover what the rest of the country might be like. I decided to go up north, and to keep me company along the way I went with an English man who went by the name of Tim, whom I had met in a rather decrepit dormitory in Almaty. Before long we were on a train riding up the steppes of Kazakhstan and I learned my first lesson on this country. [View Full Entry]

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The end is nigh Kate It's coming to the end of our contract here in Haiphong. We finish teaching for Apollo on the 5th December and we fly back to the UK, via Kuala Lumpur, on the 12th. We are really excited about coming home now. We are not the sort of expats who can stay away from the UK for long periods of time. We don't live abroad because we hate the UK, but simply because we love the life we lead away from it. We left the UK this time nearly 14 months ago now, and for future [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday, November 17th We woke to a beautiful morning in the peaceful country side. Ferdi went to feed the chickens and in return they kindly left us two eggs. We made tea and enjoyed Talita’s rusks while sitting on the veranda. What a way to live! We feel right at home here. Dave and Deborah might be in for a surprise when they return; a couple of bus-sitters with no intention of leaving. Ferdi also took care of the plants in the greenhouse. It’s a great feeling to take care of a living thing. It’s strange how he’s come almost full-circle; [View Full Entry]

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DAY 377 There is never a dull moment on the farm, which is proven to be quite true much later today. Up at 7.15, and made myself a cup of tea as Helen and I are off to Wagga Wagga this morning, providing there are no more disasters on the horizon. We left early so that we could have breakfast when we got there. Helen needed to do a couple of errands first, the unused Wobble Box (read yesterdays if you don’t now what that is about!) went back to John Deere, the radio from the Header had packed up so [View Full Entry]

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I am back... sorry for the delay in blogs but as you all know I am now home... the last week was just so crazy (and relaxing) that my blogs got forgotten for awhile! After settling in, getting back to work and have unpacked (well half of my stuff) I am ready to sit down with a cup of tea and try remember everything we did! Crazy times! So we left our little hotel Bich Duyen and got a taxi to the airport... for some reason it was only $8 on the way back out (even though they had charged us [View Full Entry]

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Day 21 continued (Thursday, September 17, 2009) After leaving Seguret, we began the long drive north to Lyon. This magnificent city is sadly often overlooked on the tourist trail, with Paris and Nice being much more popular cities to visit. This is truly a shame considering that Lyon has much to offer to visitors, including multiple museums, gorgeous churches, diverse neighborhoods, pedestrian-friendly squares, and more restaurants to choose from than anywhere else I've seen in the world. Prior to our visit, even I was unaware that Lyon had multiple areas within its city desi [View Full Entry]

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Vung Tau and the Con Dao Islands If you are tired of the hot and sweaty HCMC and yearn for the beach, Vung Tau is the least expensive option. If you want to spend a little more money, Con Dao is a possible option. Going to the beach, dealing with the sand, salt water, never gets me too excited. Getting out of HCMC does. So, Trang and family rented a car and off to Vung Tau we went. Vung Tau is described as crowed, oil polluted beach. Not true, in my experience. You can see the off shore oil platforms from [View Full Entry]

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Nothing can prepare you for arrival in India. No matter how many stories you have read or experiences you have heard no preparation can really help for what can await you in this amazingly diverse and huge country. Our arrival to Bangalore airport was without much hassle and we were surprisingly greeted with a chilly night and cool breeze passing through. In the city centre it was difficult to find much around at night so we settled for the nearest hotel we could find even though it was quite a dump for quite a lot of money. The first thing to [View Full Entry]

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