http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Andy-and-Debbie/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Andy and Debbie en-us Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:55:48 +0000 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:55:48 +0000 There are those who say you can have too much of a good thing.But letrsquos face it theyrsquore mostly boring old bastards who donrsquot get out that much.Nine months of thirdworld travel though had definitely taken their toll and on returning to Australia in October we were glad to be back home at last. Arriving only served to remind us how lucky we are to have moved to one of the be http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Noosa/blog-457059.html Punkrsquos Not Dead.At least not according to the little old lady stood in front of me in the queue.The charms of SouthEast Asian travel still involve the occasional encounter with folk dressed head to toe in traditional attire. Sadly this seems to get rarer with every passing year globalisation seeping its way ever deeper into the regionrsquos psyche. A West is Best outlook prevails and s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-456901.html The fifth best thing about going to Laos is being able to say that yoursquove been.On returning home from your year away everybody you know will ask just two identical questions of your entire trip all the detail they can squeeze in before returning to the unrelenting pressures of their busy modern liveslsquoDid you have a good timersquoOooh no. Terrible. Irsquod much rather have bee http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-452582.html As we began our descent from 30000ft I was entirely oblivious to the aircrewrsquos requests to stow our traytables return our seats to the upright position and fasten our seatbelts as I was entirely rapt by the stunning views laid out for before me from my windowseat. A vast glistening blue lake was encircled by endless emerald green fields themselves sparkling with the waters sustaining t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-451554.html If yoursquod told me way back as a kid that Irsquod be flying to Beijing one day Irsquom not sure Irsquod have known what to think.Back then China was something of an unknown quantity a mysterious Red Giant which while not as likely to blow us to kingdomcome as the bloody Ruskies still definitely resided in the lsquoNot To Be Trustedrsquo file.The truth is I like the rest of the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Great-Wall-of-China/blog-446568.html Itrsquos official.Malaysia is full.Irsquove been to some pretty crowded places in my time but never before have I come across an entire nation which was sold out.Admittedly we hadnrsquot done ourselves any favours by arriving in late July slap bang in the middle of peak season but even so yoursquod think therersquod be at least some chance of somewhere to stay.Travelling used to be s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/Bukit-Bintang/blog-442225.html Thailand The Land of Smiles.The locals really do seem a cheery bunch round here and for our part we found no trouble fitting right in as we appeared to have just stumbled on paradise.First stop was Koh Phi Phi a pictureperfect little islet of curving beaches and lush jungle. The view from the peak was pure travel brochure like stepping onto the set of an escapist movie which in fact you ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-440901.html Close your eyes for a just a minute and picture Scandinavia.Looks pretty fine doesnrsquot itIrsquom guessing we summoned our fair share of forests and fjords lakes and longboats saunas and snowclad slopes. And it really is all out there in this winter wonderland an area five times as large as Britain with less than half the population.So why is it do you think that hardly anyone ever g http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusimaa/Helsinki/blog-437829.html Five years.Actually a little longer.A shade over five and a half.Therersquos no doubt about it itrsquos quite a while.Athens and Beijing had come and gone. England had won the Rugby then carelessly knockedon to the Springboks and Italy somehow snatched the soccer silverware. It was longer than my time at university. Almost as long as senior school. And by far the longest Irsquod ever spe http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-434318.html Of all my many foibles the one that foxes Debbie most is my approach to films.In a nutshell I donrsquot like to know anything about a movie before I see it.Okay the titlersquos always handy to avoid walking into the wrong theatre. And maybe Irsquoll risk a quick glance at the cast list in order to gauge its quality and avoid any accidental exposure to Jennifer Love Hewitt. A guyrsquos http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/blog-429935.html Now herersquos a thing that always puzzles me.Back home in Cairns we have an excellent seafront swimming lagoon built to make up for the lack of a towncentre beach. Beside it runs an attractive boardwalk stretching the length of the Esplanade backed by landscaped parkland and fronting the ocean. Itrsquos a great place for a stroll particularly at the sunrsquos rise or set and large num http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Annapurna/blog-426356.html Christmas is for the kids.At least thatrsquos what they tell me.Which is funny as back as a nipper I recall folks banging on about the birth of the baby Jesus and sending me off to sing carols in cold unwelcoming churches which wasnrsquot my idea of fun at all.These days everyone knows the whole thingrsquos a sham solely for the benefit of those two most disparate of parties the Capita http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Annapurna/blog-420597.html Varanasi the holy Hindu city lying on the banks of the mighty Ganges is said to be an auspicious place to die.A curious claim to fame it has to be said and in any case not the reason we were going.At least we sure as hell hoped not.To die here means cremation at the sacred burning ghats said to free one from moksha the eternal cycle of death and rebirth. Irsquod always presumed that reinca http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Varanasi/blog-418738.html Way back when I was a nipper my Dad did his very best as the dutiful parent taking time out of his busy schedule to sit us down each night and read a bedtime story our own personal Jackanory. Irsquod sit expectantly with my brother and sister in a semicircle before him watching the sparkles of excitement leap from their eyes as they lapped up his slow baritone delivery of The Arabian Nights http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttarakhand/Corbett-National-Park/blog-398905.html New Age.Sounds pretty good yoursquove got to admit.A damn site better than old age at any rate.Two words just six letters promising to banish all past woes and conjure thoughts of inspiration the dawn of a fresh era as if everything gone before was fallacy soon to be cast out summoning in a new epoch of understanding.The truth is unfortunately that anything with New in the title is not http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttarakhand/Rishikesh/blog-395778.html Incredible India.This is the India Tourist Commissionrsquos slogan for attracting visitors to the heart of the subcontinent. Catchy concise and actually very apt.As usual with these sneaky advertising types though you have to learn to read between the lines. They never actually say itrsquos incredibly good. Just incredible. I can attest that my previous visit to Delhi certainly stretched l http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/Delhi/blog-393957.html Back when I was a kid I couldnrsquot wait to grow up and know everything about everything just like Mum and Dad.If only Irsquod realised back then that life could be so disappointing. Irsquove now been grown up longer than I was ever a kid and know Irsquoll never know everything about anything let alone acquire universal knowledge.So many things still completely elude me.The concept of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Hong-Kong-Island/blog-387654.html We returned to Broome to find it a town transformed. Temperatures had risen considerably over the last month to what were now intolerable levels and as a result the entire tourist population had decamped back down south to cooler climes leaving only a smattering of somewhat relieved locals who were now left with not much to do.We ourselves were also at something of a loose end. Wersquod left http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Broome/blog-383054.html Whatrsquos your favourite animalNot a question Irsquove been asked in quite a while.Back as a kid it seemed of endless fascination to any number of girls. Theyrsquod sidle up next to you completely uninvited conjure a mechanical origami contraption and promise to tell your fortune. This they did by requesting your preferences over colour numbers or best of all animals desperate to disc http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Karijini-National-Park/blog-381004.html After the traumas of Perth I was keen to get out on the highway again and put as much distance between ourselves and these particular holiday memories as possible. Fortunately recovery seemed to be swift and after a precautionary dayrsquos delay to make sure all my pipes still worked we were on our way north once again and it was as if the whole sorry episode had never happened. Actually there http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Ningaloo-Reef/blog-354048.html