Steven & Lelde
So we are a Latvian and a Brit who've been in the UK for 2 years, working, and are soon off to the Far East to see what we can find. Hope you will enjoy the ride.Brass Monkeys
PS- This is a bi-lingual blog! English and Latvian.
Hope that saves confusion.
Travel Blog Posts
March 23rd 2011
Wahey I have , made it out of the UK Back to backpacking... Marocco has been a huge breathe of fresh air. The first moments in the country found me wandering around the airport carpark looking for the exit. It becomes quickly apparent that English which I ve been working on for 30 years is next to useless compaired to French. Ah French.. the language of childhood holidays those exchange kids with fancy trainers who ate chocolate for breakfast and one which i was going to have to summon quickly. Yep so Marocco is a 3 hour flight from London and a world away. Along with the French and Arabic script there was also the call to prayer echoing over the parked cars. The Mezzuine has always held an attraction for me sampled on some of ... read more
September 8th 2008
So Lelde and I have just got back from spending two weeks at her grandparents' farm, deep in the Latvian countryside. 32 per cent of Latvians live in rural areas#. I think that Latvians have strong and thriving traditions related to the land. Whilst there, we went mushroom picking, which Lelde's mum describes as nearly being a national sport in Latvia- you can often see people coming from the forest with a basket full of senes(mushrooms) after an early morning hunt. It makes me think how in Britain most people wouldn't know what they were looking at when it comes to fungus- perhaps we're more removed from the source of our food- harvesting it in the supermarkets. So we got back to nature and experienced farm labour and farm life- mostly- and I like this, the ... read more
August 14th 2008
Steven// Here are some pictures from the harbour festival in Bristol ( 2nd and 3rd Aug). I (Steven) am staying for a short stop in the UK. It's a stop of 6 weeks here before heading back to Latvia. I have felt over the past year and a bit that I was fleeing my native country in order to taste more exotic experiences. Many times on my travels I looked at Britain as dreary, having removed myself to the other side of the world and comparing life at home with all the new exploits that were in store there. When I came back to Britain, I firstly noticed that it was a pleasure to understand all that was said around me but what was really nice was the turn of phrase and the day to day ... read more
June 8th 2008
08/06/2008 Lelde/ I think this is our last entry. We may find time for one more if there is cheap internet in the airports where we will spend many hours of our live's in the very near future, but maybe not, as we don't get any responses from you anyways, probably you don't even bother to read it anymore..:)) Have some shame people - we are exposing our existances to you on a regular basis, but I hardly have any idea of what is going on in your own lives. And I WANT to know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( to friends and family:) Ok, don't panic, you can still redoom yourselves and creat some long and detailed emails to send to my address. We are in Bali, but will start with Java, both of them are islands of Indonesia ... read more
May 11th 2008
Steven// 11th May 2008 I have been traveling solo for a few days in Northern Sumatra. First stop was Medan, a coastal city of 2-3m people. There is a beautiful mosque here- Masjid Raya- as well as a healthy Chinese presence- good chance to air my Mandarin and get some tasty treats.This first night in Indonesia for me felt edgy, it might just be that I am traveling alone for the first time in the journey, but I think that it has to do with what I have heard and read of this huge country. This is just a first impression, but along with it is the observation that the Indonesian people are welcoming, with broad grins, asking how you are and, oddly, where you're going. I then went to Bukit Lawang for the orangutan exposure. ... read more
May 7th 2008
Lelde/07/05/08 here I'm sitting in an Internet cafe in Kuala Lumupr - the capital of Malaysia. we've been in this country since 24th of April. We went to to a few lovely places before arriving here. One of those places was an island, can't remember the name of it. The way we got there was rather scary and I think i wont take speed boats ever in my life (if I can help it), the weather was moody that day and we arrived at the port quite late and our only option, if we didn't want to stay overnight in the little town, was to take the last speed boat to the island. Decisions, decisions...after not being able to decide we somehow got tickets to the boat and the journey which usually takes half an hour, ... read more
April 16th 2008
16/04/2008; Lelde Shorit ieradamies atpakalj Bangkoka- neliels pargurums, jo vienigas biljetes, ko varejam dabut bija sedvietas, un tad nu ka macejam ta 12 stundas pavadijam pusguljus pusnomoda ieksh ta vilciena. Kopsh pedejas sadaljas esam paguvushi aizdoties uz nelielu miestinju Taizemes Ziemeljos, sauktu Pai, visnotalj relakseta un skaista vieta, bet, protams, turistu sabliveta. Pavadijam tur laiskas 4 naktis un tad no viena autobusa uz otru (kopuma nomainijam 3 autobusus) lidz vakara nonacam pilsetele pie Taizemes Laosas robezhas - ljoti laicigi, jo nakamaja diena Stivena vizai beidzas terminjsh. Abas valstis taja vieta shkjir Mikongas upe un vakara sezhot viena upes krasta var verties pari un noraudzities naksnigi izgaismotaja Laosa. Un tad nu no rita izgajam cauri pasu robezhai un tad ar laivu shkjersojam upi, lai iepaziti valsti par kuru bijam dzirdejushi ljoti daudz labas ats... read more
Almost tempted not to write about Loas so that it stays just the way it is!
Published: April 23rd 2008Asia » Laos
April 16th 2008
Loas has been really relaxing- it's just impossible to become frustrated with the constant delays there, as life around you moves at such a lazy pace. I did'nt know what to expect from Loas. It turned out to be a breath of fresh air, as the tourism infrastructure there is much less evolved than it's neighbouring Thailand, so things feel more authentic. This doesn't mean that, like in Vietnam, the locals don't know what it is that Western travellers want, just that travel takes longer and a very real feeling of isolation can be found in this gem of a place- this based on just over 2 weeks there( after this short time I feel that Loas joins Mongolia in places I'd most like to revisit from this journey). We entered after a long day of ... read more
March 20th 2008
lelde/25/03/08 nu tad ta, ka jau nu visukartejo reizi ir nacies secinat - laiks nak un paiet un var tik brinieties kur izchabejis atkal... Mans miljais mumitis ar savu shaiku no Latvijas bija ieradies mus apciemot un uz Taizemi paskatities un, rau, jau atkal ir atpakalj majas un soloshajas sniega kupenas var sildities ar atminjam par piedzivoto, par dzidro-zilo udeni, baltajam smiltim un karsto sauliti.:) Bet nu vispar jau bija baigi jauki, iztusejam pa dazhadam pludmalem un salam, izpeldejamies cik uziet, saule nedaudz pacepinajamies (varbut bishkjinj pa daudz:)) un taizemieshu edienus/gardumus saprovejamies. Ari feini pasnorkolejam pa dazhadam vietam un visadas krasainas un mazakkrasainas udens radibinjas redzejam. Es pat redzeju haizivi!!! Bet nu nekaitigo, cilvekus negrauzosho un apmeros nelielako "Zhoklju" galvenas varones radinieci. Ta ka feini! Ta esmu saradusi ar shito laiku, ... read more
March 4th 2008
Steven/ So We spent a few days on Phu Quoc island( the pictures speak for themselves- it's a paradise on Earth!), off Vietnam's southern coast, then hopped into Cambodia. After crossing the border, there was a marked change in the local's behaviour and general demeanor. Trying not to generalise here, but we found people in Vietnam to be a bit shifty- prices needed to be nailed down or the person would invent all sorts of sums and try to play different tricks, eh, tiring after three weeks!( an egsample of this is that we were asking a Western couple for directions to the ferry booking office, a local lady came out of her restaurant to show us the way to a ticket agent, then asked us for money for the favour, afterwards!) In contrast, the people ... read more
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