http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/FarahAndJohn/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from FarahAndJohn en-us Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:39:41 +0000 Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:39:41 +0000 This was our stopover between Xi'an and Beijing a small town remarkable for its preservation particularly an intact wall. We arrived on the sleeper well after dark and caught an auto rickshaw into town. Most of the lights had been shut down and it was eerie traveling down narrow alleyways and through the massive gates as they loomed out of the darkness. We spent the first night at the Lonely Pl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanxi/Pingyao/blog-153447.html Caught the bus out of the gorge up to Zhongdian the inspiration for Shangrila and now apparenty renamed that in order to attract more tourists. We cruised up through the hills and emerged on a comparatively flat brown plateau and noticed a change in building style along the roadside boxier trapezoidal and wooden rather than tile shingles. Some have an 'upside down roof' draining towards http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/Zhongdian/blog-149202.html 091Pictures to come. Now actually in Beijing we're falling behind on our entries having some trouble publishing them in China sometimes the site is completely inaccessible other times not able to upload pictures.093 Around the mountain from Lijiang the Yangtse passes through a deep gorge the deepest in the world and in danger of becoming a hydro megaproject site. Along one side is http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-146406.html Back onto the bus more awesome scenery tunnels valleys hills and into the smaller town of Lijiang. Nice just to wander the mazelike streets and alleys cobblestone streets beautiful old buildings or new ones in the same style with red lanterns flowering rees huge rose bushes and small canals running through filled with fish Very popular with tourists but has the sort of charm that http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/Lijiang/blog-146057.html Got on the night train out of Hanoi to Lao Cai on the Chinese border. By luck we had the whole train berth to ourselves and it seemed to be a private car a cut above what we'd been in coming up the coast cleaner and with a nifty lamp on the table for atmosphere. One nifty lamp and suddenly you feel you're on the orient express. We awoke to the conductors knock next morning and spilled out into http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-143667.html As we researched tours to Halong Bay it became clear that we would have to be extra cautious when signing up for one since there are so many frauds and scams out there So we opted for the pricier but well reviewed Handspan tour company which was just up the street from our hotel on Ma May. We walked in hoping to sign up for the 2 day 1 night trip but it was fully booked for the next coupl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-141506.html Took the train again was even grubbier than before with a weird conductor in addition but the scenery north of Hoi An was incredible with the track creeping along a steep slope leading down to the seacoast. Staggering blearyeyed out of the train we weren't as sharp as normal and paid too much for a cab they have metered cabs but there are rogue cabs with a 'bad' meter so you have to wat http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-141240.html Took the overnight train up to Danang for Hoi An. The trains are narrow gauge and noticably skinnier and bouncier than the broad gauge cars in India. The sleeper design is similar though 4 person cabins with upper and lower bunks. Similar to India you have a neatly folded bundle of bed linen waiting on your bunk however we found out later to our dismay that in Vietnam this seems to be just a r http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-140879.html We took a five hour bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh along a pretty road. The air conditioning wasn't quite up to holding off the 40 degree heat so we roasted in the bus once the morning started to heat up which happens by 900Phnom Penh is a bit sleepy but not as decrepit as I might have imagined given the turmoil in the country but Cambodia does seem poorer overall and there are some secti http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-136391.html Milestone We've just finshed seeing the temples and are moving on to Phnom Penh in the morning.We flew out of Luang Prabang on Siem Reap air subsidiary of Bangkok air 195 direct to Siem Reap. Nice experience and quite a nice new airport at Siem Reap. Man it is hot here it's going to hit 40C which is difficult to cope with. And its not a dry heat.The taxis here are an excellent sort of moto http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-134938.html Wow I love it. What a pretty place and gives you a neat feeling having boated through wilderness and then arrived here. There's a definite vibe the natural and architectural beauty plus an infectious feeling of calm and serenity.All along the river front are outdoor patios beneath the trees though the real main drag is parallel a couple of blocks inland. There's a steep hill in the middle wi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-132707.html What an excellent trip. Awoke at the crack of dawn and packed up the rickshaw driver arranged the day before showed up on time and we were down to the border station in minutes. Mornings are chilly but the days stinking hot. There's a bizarre temperature difference just walking from the shade out into the sun.We hooked up with our tour and got stamped out of Thailand then down to the muddy wa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-132303.html Finally moving on from Chiang Mai We spent an extra couple of weeks so that we could have a checkup with the same doctor for Farah's foot and all looks to be improving well though she'll keep the weight off it for a while yet and I will be the baggage mule. If I put one pack in front they balance surprisingly well. McCormick seems to be a great hospital. Afterwards we discussed hospitals with http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Northern-Thailand/Chiang-Khong/blog-131684.html The cooking course was really well done. We were picked up in a songthew truck with the others and taken to a local market where the instructor pointed out some things and picked up a few supplies not available on the farm. We had a few minutes to walk around and look I found cassava pone one of my favourites from caribbean cuisine. We drove out to the small farm and had a tour of the garden http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-127513.html We'll be here several days while we see the sights and get our Chinese visa but that should be no problem as it seems like a great little city with lots to do. The bus ride up was fine the terrain became slightly hillier and the AC was on meatlocker the whole way is there no happy medium. We stopped at one point for a break and a local knocked a bunch of tamarind pods off a tree for the b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-124324.html Ayutthaya is a fairly quiet little place just north of Bangkok with ruins scattered throughout. Each wat temple site of which there are many was a cluster of monuments chedis stupas and towering prangs. The ruins had a quiet parklike setting and it was peaceful yet moving to wander among the ruins. They're constructed of brick with a plaster coating most of which had crumbled away unfortu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ayuthaya/blog-124298.html We woke up feeling a bit sluggish and John wasn't up for travelling so we stayed in Bangkok for yet another day and we were just supposed to arrive get our visas and get out. So we had a leisurely morning at our favourite spot for banana pancakes the Merry V guesthouse. Some of the guidebooks and web sites I've read have used the unflattering term 'banana pancake trail' to describe a well http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-122777.html After a full week in Bangkok we're moving on to Ayutthaya tommorow to take in the historic capital but not before doing our last bit of shopping We spent the day downtown in an incredibly upscale mall that was spacious spotless and expensive The stores contained the best of everything clothes electronics jewelry and even luxury cars were on offer. Not being able to afford a pair of Jimmy C http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-121869.html We took a short cheap and badly scheduled flight from Kochi to Chennai 6800 Rs for both of us and sat in the Chennai airport for 10 hours. When we booked the noon flight we assumed we would be let into the passengers' waiting section of the airport where we could try and find a Thailand guidebook and have a bite to eat. Of course it didn't work that way the Chennai airport was surprisingly http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-120625.html Now in Cochin after much discussion we're going to spend a shortened amount of time in Thailand after all we fly on the 1516th.Took the bus to Kollam from Kovallam unfortunately similar names and booked into a cheap place to stage for a boat tour through the backwaters. We booked some tickets for the 8 hour northward cruise through the backwaters and found a hotel for the night.The next day http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kollam/blog-118991.html