http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Gus-C/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Gus C en-us Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:52:28 +0000 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:52:28 +0000 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 midmorning and midafternoon we travelled to a different snorkelling spot. There was a huge variety of marinelife ju http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Maldives/blog-222541.html I have been in Sri Lanka for 3.5 weeks. Being the offpeak 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 sham http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-219824.html 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 C http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/blog-218447.html 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 shirtscoats. First stop was Mashad where the ladies in the group hit the shops to purchase long robes or manteaus kneelength coats and head scarves. Considering that the only form of selfexpression fa http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/blog-216536.html 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 cou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Turkmenistan/The-Silk-Road-of-Asia/blog-214530.html Arrived into Tashkent Airport on the 4th October evening to find noone 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 f http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Uzbekistan/blog-210117.html 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' http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/blog-207966.html 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 cabinmate was a Mongolian lady who was carrying numerous boxes filled with paperwrapped packages. When I enquired what she had she told me it was tea. After I had stowed my backpack http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/blog-207651.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-203182.html 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 tiri http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-201440.html Spent my final week checking out the Cu Chi Tunnels Viet Cong guerrilla stronghold and chilling out on the idyllic Phu Quoc Island which is located off the southern coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand. I've felt really buggered the last 6 weeks so it was nice not having to do much other than roll out of my bungalow lots of ZZZ's to the beach relax swim read to the cafe a girl's got http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Phu-Quoc-Island/blog-132980.html Happy New Year of the Pig farewell to the Year of the Dog. Or as the Vietnamese say Chuc Mung Nam Moi. Wishing everyone lots of love happiness success good health good fortune especially to my family and friends in Australia and around the world. Flew into Hanoi on the 11th Feb and was involved in a taxi scam. Hanoi is apparently famous for them. As a precaution I had arranged beforehand http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-129975.html Another longwinded blog entry for the punters. Like I mentioned previously the internet in Myanmar is bloody hopeless and not helped by the frequent power outages and random rainstorms. Caught the boat from Mandalay to Bagan. As the river was really low we had to be transported 18kms downstream to board near Sagaing. Supposed to be the fast boat but it took 11 hours meandering from one side of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/blog-128117.html Bear with me this blog entry is rather lengthy as the internet in Myanmar is really crappy and slow. Since it is illegal to access Gmail Hotmail and Yahoo the only way to do so is via a proxy server. Arrived in Yangon Airport on 291 and was organising to catch a taxi into town. The lady asks do I need someone to share to split the cost Sure why not. So she assaults this young English dude http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/blog-128097.html Caught up with some mates in KL last weekend which was really great Eric Theresa Fenella Ethan Dick Hawlinn kiddies. But not Denys as he was in Mumbai. Then it was off to Siem Reap Cambodia to catch up with Jason and Natalie Sydney mates and also attend the Cambodian wedding celebration of Natalie's brother Tony and his wife Solida. I was in Siem Reap 5 years ago so visited all the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-122791.html Sapa is bloody freezing What makes it worse is the high humidity and fog which means that the air is so moist that your clothes are always damp. It goes right through you and seeps into your bones.Our trekking group consisted of our guide CeeCee cheeky 17 y.o. Hmong native a couple of French guys and a Jap dude. We were followed every step of the way by an entourage of local villagers whose http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northwest/Sapa/blog-120350.html Arrived in Hanoi and was immediately signed up by the hostel management on tours to Halong Bay and Sapa. No mucking about just sign here and pay up. It's pretty easy to walk around Hanoi. Otherwise just hop on the back of a Honda motorbike. Visited Uncle Ho looked very lifelike as if he was sleeping and all the streets in the Old Quarter and watched a water puppet show. Other than that I h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-120201.html Drop everything the time to come to Luang Prabang LP is NOW Whilst the tourism infrastructure has improved in leaps and bounds LP remains the most charming town I have visited in Asia thus far. I hope the authorities control development so it doesn't become spoilt.You can do as much or as little as you like. We managed to do the absolute minimum including a walk up Mount Phousi watching the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-117841.html Sabaidee hello from LaosAfter many hugs and kisses from the parents and relo's in HCMC my cousin Chaudie and I flew into Vientiane on the 29th December. And immediately felt chilled out. The food is so cheap and delicious here. We have done nothing but eat since we landed. Feeling very fat and content. One night we had sukiyaki style steamboat by the Mekong riverside followed by roadside bana http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vientiane/blog-117635.html Landed in HCMC on Boxing Day with free upgrade from Cathay Pacific yahoo. Had a belated Xmas and family reunion wiith my parents cousin Chaudie and her folks. Traffic is pretty chaotic but it's really easy to cross the road once you get used to it. Just keep walking everyone swerves around you. And the food is bloody magnificent. Have been pigging out on fabbo seafood pork chops pho beef http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-114858.html