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John and Valerie
Well, our bags are nearly packed, we’re nearly ready to go, so we thought you might be interested in where we’re going to be, so here comes
JohnandVal
Our Itinerary
13 January Bangkok
17 January Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand
19 January Chiang Khong or Huay Xai Thailand/Laos border
20-21 January Boat trip down the Mekong River in Laos
22 January Luang Prabang, Laos
24 January Vientiane, Capital of Laos
26 January Hin Boun, Laos
27 January Ninh Binh, Vietnam
28 January Halong Bay, Vietnam
29 January Hanoi, Vietnam
1 February Hue, Vietnam
2 February Hoi An, Vietnam
5 February Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
7 February Phnom Penh, Cambodia
9 February Sien Reap/Angkor Wat, Cambodia
12 February Bangkok
13 February Phuket, Thailand
18 February Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
20 February Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
22 February Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
23 February Kota Kinabalu, Borneo
27 February Sandakan, Borneo
1 March Kota Kinabalu, Borneo
3 March Singapore
5 March Perth, Western Australia camper van for 10 days
15 March Adelaide camper van for 21 days, driving to Sydney via Melbourne
5 April Cairns a week’s R&R at the beach, and visiting the Great Barrier Reef
12 April Auckland, New Zealand camper van journey to South Island
14 May Christchurch, New Zealand
16 May Hong Kong
21 May London
22-23 May Rugby 7s, Twickenham, London
24 May The End!
Time Differences, for those who want to Skype:
Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia are 7 hours in advance of British time, ie 5pm British time = midnight in those countries
Malaysia, Borneo, Singapore and Perth, Western Australia are 8 hours in advance of British time, ie 5pm British time = 1am in those countries
NB: with current daylight savings!, the following may be an hour out:
Adelaide is 10.5 hours ahead, ie 5pm British time = 3.30am
Melbourne and Sydney are 11 hours ahead , ie 5pm British time = 4am
Queensland 10 hours ahead, ie 5 pm British time = 3 am
New Zealand in 13 Hours ahead, ie 5 pm British time = 6 am
Hong Kong is 8 hours ahead, ie 5 pm British time = 1 am
Travel Blog Posts
May 21st 2010
And so we’ve come to the end of our travels for a while. We’ve been to some wonderful places and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Are we glad to be back? Yes, I think so - we’re keen to see family and friends and catch up on all that we’ve missed. We also need some time to relax and sleep - there was only one day in nearly 5 months that we’ve said ‘hell, let’s just do nothing today’ - and that was in Cairns because it was raining! Otherwise, we’ve been up and at’em every minute of every day, and as I said in Hong Kong, we were getting weary! A final confession: all those months ago when we left home, I threw in a couple of light swimming towels. When on the road, John pointed ... read more
May 20th 2010
This morning as I wearily got up I said to John “I think I’m ready to go home now” and he said “yes, its time - its raining”. And would you believe it, after breakfast the rain stopped! Hurrah! After the final pack of the bags, we went to the Airport Express in Hong Kong MTR. A wonderful idea - you can check your bags in for your flight any time and then go off for a last day sightseeing. This was great for us as our flight is at 11.45pm and dragging the cases round all day or storing them at the hotel weren’t great options. Luckily the weather had cleared enough for us to catch the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak to get a good view of Hong Kong, Kowloon and the lands and ... read more
May 19th 2010
Stanley Fort is on the far side of Hong Kong Island and it used to be a fair trek to get there - hence, when I lived here, it was only a journey we undertook occasionally, catching the bus that stopped at Aberdeen, Repulse Bay and terminating at Stanley. Aberdeen has the typhoon harbour that we’ve already visited, and Repulse Bay has unfortunately fallen foul of the planners inasmuchas they pulled down the iconic Repulse Bay Hotel soon after we left 30 years’ ago and have since replaced it with huge skyscraping developments - one of which I was amused to see was advertising an ‘art deco’ shopping mall. Too little, too late, I thought as we passed through on the bus. Only one comment worthy of note for those of a certain age - it ... read more
May 18th 2010
After a fairly gruelling day yesterday, I thought a slightly slower pace was called for today, so took John off to the Outlying Ferries Terminus for a ferry to Cheung Chau Island. For the princely sum of £2.30 pp return we had an hour’s quiet ferry ride sailing out of Hong Kong Harbour, past the docks and bridges linking some of the closer islands to the mainland, including Lantau Island where the airport is now situated, eventually leaving the skyscrapers behind. When I say it was quiet, it would have been had it not been for the schoolchildren, many of whom were on their first outing on water judging from the theatrical way they were clinging to each other when we first set off on the calmest sea you could wish for. Unfortunately, they got used ... read more
May 17th 2010
After a long day’s travelling, we finally arrived in Hong Kong last night. It’s always a bit of a shock arriving somewhere new (perhaps I ought to call it a ‘challenge’?), especially after a long flight. I suppose in some ways, I find it more difficult in Hong Kong, as I lived here for a couple of years a lifetime ago and therefore feel as if I should know what I’m doing, but everything changes so quickly here! Having said all that, we managed to negotiate our way onto the Airport Express, the MTR train to Hong Kong, and from there to our hotel fairly seamlessly (and more importantly, painlessly!). We even managed to get ourselves into a local restaurant for a meal before collapsing in a heap having lost 4 hours some time during the ... read more
May 16th 2010
Australian’s stick to the speed limits, Kiwi’s don’t! It’s not just me that’s noticed - we’ve even had radio phone-ins on it. I’ve no idea why - there must be some major difference in the national psyche. It simply strikes me as really odd. Australia’s vast distances, straight, wide roads, unchanging scenery, and propensity for falling asleep at the wheel - you might think they’d put their foot on the gas to shorten journey times and keep up interest levels (not least looking out for cops!) The opposite argument would apply in NZ - journeys are generally shorter, roads narrow and windy, and scenery spectacular - you’re unlikely get bored and nod-off driving here! Factor in additional hazards such as single track bridges and step drop-offs and there’s a definite need to keep speed down. ... read more
May 16th 2010
Hmmm! After mentioning the peace and quiet on more than one occasion, we’ve discovered when Christchurch comes alive. Two o’clock in the morning is an especially noisy time with lots of police car sirens, screaming and shouting. The hotel porter says its the same every Saturday night - and the town was still buzzing at 4.15 when we got in the taxi to the airport. Obviously everyone stays really, really quiet all week and then they go mad on Saturday nights. So now its New Zealand that we’re bidding a fond farewell to. Time has absolutely flown while we’ve been here. Its strange - as we landed in Sydney, I was thinking that it was only 12 or so weeks before that we landed in Australia excited about our travels, and here we were seasoned travellers, ... read more
Arts & Crafts in Canterbury
Published: May 19th 2010Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch
May 15th 2010
True to form, another splendid day with only a couple of clouds to mar the blue skies! We were out in Cathedral Square quite early looking round the market stalls before popping in to the Library to send some emails. If we thought it was quiet yesterday, today was even quieter - so peaceful. We then walked down to the Arts Centre where a weekend market had been recommended. Well, my goodness, what a wonderful place the Arts Centre is! In the 1870s they built the first University of Canterbury, together with the Girls and Boys High Schools, in Victorian Gothic. The buildings had subsequently been abandoned by the girls in the 1880s, the boys in 1929 and the University in 1957. Alumini at the University include notables such as Rutherford, and I was interested to ... read more
May 14th 2010
Our last day as wandering travellers came to an end today with us waking to a fantastic view, yet more glorious weather, and a seriously hungry hen. We sorted out the cupboards, which didn’t take long as there weren’t many (oh for a Cheapa Camper!!), and packed our bags. We congratulated ourselves on the fact that we hadn’t seriously overstocked the food cupboard, and only had two tins of chickpeas and a pasta sauce left over which I’d been keeping for serious emergencies. It appears that chickens like chick peas ... must be something to do with the name. We drove into Christchurch with the fuel warning light flashing as John was determined it would be on fumes by the time we got there - I think he succeeded! We handed over the van and caught ... read more
The French are Coming, The French are Coming ...
Published: May 15th 2010Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Akaroa
May 13th 2010
Waking up this morning and not being able to see our breath was quite a novelty, but no surprise as it had been raining in the night. What was a surprise was the glorious sunshine when we pulled back the curtains. In fact, it has been really hot all day today - we really can’t believe how lucky we have been with the weather! So, once more over the longest bridge, we drove down to find the site we couldn’t find last night. It was quite a way, and it was a lovely site, but it was much further out than we thought it was, so we decided we wouldn’t stay tonight. The countryside was very flat, and we weren’t surprised when we passed through Lincoln, and it was very reminiscent of the Fens. There is ... read more
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