Gallivanting Gympie Boy and Wandering Coffs Girl

The smog hovered over Beijing as we approached terra firma and there was to be no panoramic view of the city from above. Post landing, we walked for what seemed an eternity to get our bags but they eventually came and we were on our way. The subway into the city was fairly easy to navigate – courtesy of Beijing 2008, everything was in English. After arriving at Hepingmen station we trudged with our heavy packs (not much more of this to go) and found our accommodation. We thought we were staying in a hostel but it ended up being more like a hotel. Can’t complain. In need of a snack we popped across the road to a little shop where the owners slept inside. The only reason this trip is of interest here is because ... read more

Destination China began before we even landed. Our predominantly Chinese populated flights from Mumbai to KL and KL to Guangzhou certainly gave us an introduction to just how loud the Chinese people seem to be. Talking seems to consist of not calm and measured speech but outright shouting at one another, regardless of whether the intended recipient is close or not. The flights all in all were relatively painless however – the need for sleep outweighed the noise level. KL was a nice stopover destination also, essentially because they had a little rest area with big comfy seats and, more importantly, the Blue Jays were playing the Yankees on the box. Finally arriving in China, immigration was not a hassle although we got the expected stern welcome. The cabs were pretty easy to find (English signs ... read more

So after spending a long day on numerous modes of public transport getting to Gokarna we finally made it to our accommodation at Om Beach. We spent the rest of the day on the beach and at the restaurant before heading to bed. We woke up in the morning and although we had been sleeping under a mosquito net we were attacked by mosquitoes. I claim that mosquitoes have evolved to not make that annoying buzzing sound so they can attack you in stealth. So Nezzi and Khaliq had finally arrived in the middle of the night although we had to wait until lunch time for them to wake up! We spent the day relaxing, playing cards (uno and skip-bo), walking on the beach and eating of course! We then arranged to get up early the ... read more

After an uneventful night on the train we arrived in Chennai early in the morning. I got a bit of culture shock returning to a big city and seeing the intense poverty and pollution of Chennai. We checked into our hotel and ate our share of some dodgy Indian style Western food we decided to do some exploring of the city. We walked to Chepauk Stadium and collected our cricket tickets then jumped on the train to go to Kapaleeshwarar Temple. The temple was very impressive with a lot of colour and movement going on. We then wandered to San Thome Cathedral, which houses the tomb of St Thomas, one of the twelve apostles. We then walked down to the beach which was apparently hit hard in the 2004 tsunami. With everything going on in Japan, ... read more

We got up early to get the bus to Kannur. Suneer took us to the bus station and made sure that we got on the right bus. 5 ½ hours on the bus, included on this trip were 5 hair pin turns (I know this because they were sign posted). I’ve never seen an Indian bus driver be that cautious or a bus load of Indian people be that silent, it was a good thing that he was being cautious because if he hadn’t been we would have driven off the side of a very high mountain. We arrived in Kannur safe and sound and took an auto out to our accommodation Costa Malabari recommended by Nicola. We arrived in time for lunch and a delicious fruit salad. All of our meals were included this gave ... read more