JannaB
Joanna Bencke Joined: July 3rd 2007
Logged in: April 5th 2008
Logged in: April 5th 2008
It's been a while since I've visited my own blog and I just noticed that my profile was in dire need of updating!
I'm sad to say that I am no longer 'on the road', but happy to say that I'm no longer lugging that big backpack around!! hehe!
I'm back at work.....yes.....back to reality....and it's all a bit of a shock to the system.....but I had to come back to reality sooner or later. However, I would have preferred later rather than sooner! I should be grateful though for having 8 months off!!
I haven't had time to write about the rest of my journeys through Laos and Vietnam, but that's on the agenda for the break we get over Christmas....so stay tuned!!!! hehe :o)
For the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful festive period and stay safe and happy.
Lots of love and hugs
Joanna :o)
Travel Blog Posts
Hong Kong Island
See ya later China....Enter Hong Kong...... After the mega mission on the overnight train from Guilin to Shenzhen, we crossed the border from China to Hong Kong. Not having enough of trains for one day, we then boarded another train, followed by the Metro and finally arrived to Kowloon Island where we were staying. Exhausted and starving, I slumped on the hotel bed and indulged in the pot noodles from the hotel room (pot noodles form the staple diet over here!) and layzed around infront of some interesting documentaries for a little while to re-energise myself. Feeling somewhat refreshed and having exploration on our minds, we jumped on the Metro to see where it would take us.... 'Soho' was our first point of call. I can definately see the British influence here....all the trendy bars, clubs, ... read more
Cruising down the Yangtze River
We are really getting used to these overnight trains in China..... So from Xi'an we spent the night enjoying (or not so much enjoying!) the delicacies of chinese rice wine to pass the time of the almost 14 hour train ride to Wuchang. After what felt like the longest night ever, we arrived at Wuchang and swiftly made our way towards the Yangtze River. On our way to Yichang, we passed through some of the most stunning mountain ranges I've seen and I can tell you it was a fabulous change to the city landscape that'd been all I'd experienced in China so far. Cutting it a tad fine (with only 2 anxious minutes to spare), we just made it to our 'Victoria Cruise' boat that was going to be our home for the next 3 ... read more
Getting amongst the 'locals' in Beijing
After spending more than three months in India, it was quite sad to be leaving....although further along the trail one must go. More aeroplanes here we come......we flew from Delhi to Singapore to Beijing - 3 countries in less than 24 hours.....and we were knackered! I think I was still in India mode and when we arrived in Beijing it was quite a shock to the system. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it was much more modern, developed and clean than I was imagining - it was a real city with skyscrapers and massive highways!! Beijing was pretty nice - the weather was good (we happened to be there on one of the 11 days of 'blue sky' per month - part of Beijing's new air pollution control plan). We walked around ... read more
Some lovely women I met in Haridwar
I have to dedicate an entire entry to this place as it is so incredibly close to my heart! Nahdi and I didn't really know where to head next after Amritsar.....I was thinking either Varanasi or Udaipur.....but then after talking to a few locals in the know, we decided to make Rishikesh our final destination in India....and boy did we make the right decision!!! Rishikesh is said to be the Yoga Capital of India (yes, India in general is the home of Yoga...but as we came to find out, Rishikesh in particular!). It's where the Himalayas meet the Ganges....so it's an incredibly beautiful and serene place filled with peace, love, tranquility, delicious food, chai tea, groovin sounds, yogi gurus, books, interesting travellers....and just everything you could want for totally chillaxing! And that is exactly what we ... read more
I'm welcomed!
Amritsar is the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh Religion and home of the famous 'Golden Temple' (The Harmandir Sahib). Sikh devotees, for whom the Temple is a symbol of infinite freedom and spiritual independence, come to the Temple from all over the world to enjoy its environs and offer their prayers. The temple is just amazing (and probably my favourite temple so far!). We decided to see the Golden Temple both at night and during the day, and both times were really different experiences. The Temple has such a peaceful vibe to it, not to mention the amazing arcitechture, carvings, gold and marblework. It is surrounded by a small lake of water, known as the Sarovar which consists of Amrit (Nectar or Holy Water). The highlight for me was enjoying a communal lunch in ... read more
Waterfall in Shimla
Well, from the desert to the complete opposite.....the foothills of the Himalayas! An overnight train and then wake up to such a dramatic change of scenery. India has everything!! Our first stop was Shimla.....which didn't even seem to fit the Indian mould - it looked way more European (reminded me especially of Bosnia!). It's a place where Indians go for their holidays....so not many foreign tourists, rather relaxed and chilled out Indians! It had a really nice 'homey' feel to it. We had a beautiful walk down to the waterfall through the rainforest and it was so lovely to inhale the fresh clean mountain air (a nice change from desert dust inhalation!!!) I think my favourite (actually 2nd!) place in India (although that is too big a call!!) was Manali. Although it was quite a nailbiting ... read more
Our balcony in Colaba Bay....sanctuary!
With a teary departure from London, it was time to yet again venture to the country incredibly close to my heart and full of extremes and diverse landscapes. I arrived in Mumbai and had 10 hours to wait till Nahdi's plane arrived from Sydney. After spending what felt like all day at the airport, we found a great little sactuary in Colaba Bay, Bentley's Hotel, which was perfect during the monsoon rains with its balcony overlooking the park...which became our natural TV! Onto new horizons, we flew to Delhi (crazy and not my favourite place in the world!) and began our adventure in the desert cities of Rajasthan. First stop of course was Agra (actually not in the state of Rajasthan, but close enough!!hehe) for the spectacular Taj Mahal ... one of the 7 wonders of ... read more
The City, old and new
Well, this month in London surely went very quickly....as the old saying goes, time really does fly when you're having fun! Other than my two little trips away to Ireland and Belgium, I spent the rest of the time being pampered, eating and drinking, going to gigs and just chilling out! What more could one ask for!? The Roots concert at Somerset House rocked. Such a great venue in the summer, right under the sunset!! I'm really going to miss all the live music that London is so famous for! I also went to see the musical 'Wicked' (the story of the witches before the 'Wizard of Oz'). Such great singing, costumes, storyline! I'd recommend it to anyone! Thanks to all that came to my little 'goodbye bash' (yes, another one...are you getting sick of them ... read more
Amazing Architecture
Edward told me to bring my passport ... and that's all I needed.... He'd packed a bag and we were on our way to Waterloo Train Station when I guessed where we were heading.....one of my favourite European countries.....Belgium.....the land of beer and chocolate!! Edward had treated us with first class on the Eurostar...so we enjoyed a champagne brunch and nice comfy seats and service for our 3 hours to Brussels. I love the Eurostar....it's so much better than flying....seeing the English countryside, then 20mins in the tunnel under the English Channel, through France and over the border to Belgium. Arrived at 'The Ghent River Hotel', our home for the next 4 days, then spent the afternoon exploring the lovely small town of Ghent. Found a nice little restaurant where we had a Hoegaarden (or ... read more
Our B&B outside Blarney Village
The alarm goes off at 3am......After only two hours sleep and too much beer from The Roots concert the night before ..... up and on the road again for the next adventure.....Ireland! I'm amazed at how many people are looking so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at Stansted Airport at 4:30am......I'm somehow running on adrenaline & momentum from the night before! But bright-eyes and bushy-tails seem a world away to me!! We arrive at Cork airport at 8am and are greeted by our lovely friend Stewart. None of us are from Cork, so we proceed to drive around in circles trying to find our B&B! All I can think about is breakfast and a quick powernap, but they seem miles away!! We finally stumble across 'Killarney House', our lovely B&B in Blarney and then go on the hunt ... read more
