Yo ho ho. Life doesn't get much better than cruising the Maldives. Did little else but swim, snorkel, eat and laze about. What's more - no honeymooners! The first night was the captain's 30th birthday which we celebrated in grand style with chocolate cake and Gin & Tonic's. Each mid-morning and mid-afternoon we travelled to a different snorkelling spot. There was a huge variety of marine-life; just like being in an aquarium. Almost as good as the Barrier Reef (I had to say that). I'll just post a few pikkies so you can all get the gist. No underwater shots unfortunately. [View Full Entry]

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I have been in Sri Lanka for 3.5 weeks. Being the off-peak rainy season and given the recent attacks by the Tamil Tigers, in hindsight 2 weeks would have been long enough. This country is eerily quiet, and sometimes I would be lucky to meet another soul in the various guesthouses I stayed in. Who knew it was such a small island? But once you're on, you can't bloody well get off. It's a crying shame; the 10 days could have been better spent in Iran. I have been hassled and hustled everywhere I've been, and even been proposed to (give [View Full Entry]

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Esfahan was our next destination after Shiraz. They say this is the jewel in this country; and I would have to agree. The hotel we stayed in (Abbasi Hotel) was a beautifully restored caravanserai. Over the next couple of days we took in the sights which were mainly located near the Imam Square. Then it was onto the capital Tehran for our last day of the tour, which we spent visiting 3 museums - Carpet Museum (superb); National Museum of Iran (great exhibits, especially from Persepolis); and the National Jewels Museum (more security than anywhere else; no bags or cameras allowed; [View Full Entry]

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Crossed the border from Turkmenistan to Iran on the 15th October. A much easier undertaking compared to the previous one, except now the ladies had to cover their hair with scarves and wear long shirts/coats. First stop was Mashad where the ladies in the group hit the shops to purchase long robes or manteaus (knee-length coats) and head scarves. Considering that the only form of self-expression fashion-wise is the different coloured head scarves you wear, one could easily develop a bit of a scarf fetish in Iran. The main attraction in Mashad is the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (the 8th [View Full Entry]

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The 11th October started out like any other day, except we were leaving Uzbekistan and crossing into Turkmenistan. Things seemed a bit dire when I told everyone to make sure they had their Uzbekistan Customs Declaration forms ready to present at the border, and found out that 2 people didn't even have a form (both copies were mistakenly taken off them at Tashkent Airport). There was nothing we could do about it. Firstly we got them to offload as much currency as possible to other group members, but this still left them with around US$1470 total. Nothing for it. We knew [View Full Entry]

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Arrived into Tashkent Airport on the 4th October evening to find no-one at the visa office. After hanging about for 45 minutes and hassling every official looking person I could find, finally a man came up to me, asked for my visa number and passport, and just ran off with them. Before I could stop to wonder if I would ever see my passport again, he was back after 10 minutes with the visa, asked for US$60, and then took himself off again. Customs was mayhem with every local loaded with all manner of goods. No time to be polite; you've [View Full Entry]

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Moscow hit us like a ton of bricks. It always comes as a shock when you come from the countryside to a huge bustling city. The language barrier (Cyrillic alphabet) makes it even more challenging. We hit the usual touristy spots such as the Kremlin (Armoury; Annunciation Cathedral; Assumption Cathedral); Red Square and St Basil's Cathedral; Church of the Saviour; Sparrow Hills; Kolomenskoye (Tsars' parkland retreat); and the beautiful Moscow metro stations (works of art in themselves, and packed with commuters at all hours). Also did a half-day trip to Sergiev Posad, which is one of the holiest [View Full Entry]

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Sadly we said farewell to UB on the 18th Sept and boarded the train to go to Irkutsk and Listvyanka in Siberia, Russia. There was a lot of activity amongst the various traders in the carriages after we boarded. My cabin-mate was a Mongolian lady who was carrying numerous boxes filled with paper-wrapped packages. When I enquired what she had, she told me it was tea. After I had stowed my backpack under my bed, I went and stood in the corridor while deals were being done in my cabin. All manner of items were being traded including the so-called tea, [View Full Entry]

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This is a bulk blog of Mongolia with lots of photos to ogle. Arrived into Ulaanbaatar (or "UB") and had a wander around Sukhbaatar Square, the National Museum of Mongolian History, plus the Monument to the Russian Heroes (wonderful panoramic view of UB). Also attended a Mongolian music and dancing concert - the traditional throat singing (known as "Khoomi") was awesome. The next day we went to a ger camp in Hustai National Park to see the wild Takhi horses (also known as Przewalski horses), which were truly magnificent creatures. The Takhi are the last remaining wild horses in the wo [View Full Entry]

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Sorry but haven't had any time until St Petersburg to start this blog. So here goes... Landed in Beijing on the 8th September evening and was picked up by the local guide Wang Hao. Only had time for a quick shower and then it was onto dinner to meet the group. There are 8 of us in total, including myself. I'm really fortunate - they are a fun bunch of people. Have had a couple of long, hot and tiring days packed full of sights and experiences - eg. Tiananmen Square; Forbidden City (a lot of the buildings being tarted up [View Full Entry]

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