http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/MillsyandMillsy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from MillsyandMillsy en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:18:53 BST Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:18:53 BST Our next stop after lovely Cuzco was Arequipa another nice city and the base for trip to the Colca Canyon which is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. So the next day we were back on a bus this time with a tour guide on our way to the small town of Chivay which would be our base for the night. After our bus had knocked down someonersquos low hanging electricity cable we made our way to the l http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Andean/Merida/blog-293187.html Cusco is a gorgeous city with narrow cobbled streets a stunning main square endless parades and festivals great food etc etc.... But of course the main thing is Machu Picchu so after speaking to a few agencies we settled on the 5 day4 night Salkantay trek apparently harder than the 4 day3night Inca trail.So last Monday we were picked up at 5am and driven 2 hours to Mollepata at 2800m the s http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Cusco/Cusco/blog-284854.html At midnight on the 9th May we took a bus from Salta to La Quiaca in Argentina the border town with Bolivia. After waiting for half an hour for the Bolivian border to open its an hour behind Argentina we passed into Bolivia and could see an instant difference between the 2 countries although both were absolutely freezing at 8am and about 3400m The women give it away as so many wear the tradio http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Uyuni/blog-277285.html El Solar del Convento in Salta is fantastic Bubbly on arrival and a massive 220g steak each weve had a fab eveningSell your house and come to Argentina NOW http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Salta/Salta/blog-274344.html Were now in South America and loving itWe flew from Auckland to Santiago on the 2nd April but arrived in Chile before wed left New Zealand which wrecked our body clocks for a couple of days and it immediately became apparent that not knowing any Spanish could be a problem. Wed learnt a few phrases from a CD and book Jose had bought us but the first question threw us and we were only asked if w http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Salta/Salta/blog-264033.html Flying into Christchurch was amazing in itself with fabulous views of the Southern Alps beneath us. This was going to be good.We only had 1 night in Christchurch when we first arrived as the next day we were bound for Methven in the Canterbury Plains where we stayed in a great YHA and woke up at 5am the next morning to go up in a hot air balloon This was a wedding gift from Roger and Diane and w http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Ponsonby/blog-258431.html Helloooooo to one and allSorry this is sooo late we've been too busy having fun We're currently in Nelson in the northern part of NZ's South Island but need to think back to Queensland to bring you up todate So we left Airlie Beach after having had a great few days and then spent a wet 2 days paying ping pong in Mission Beach before getting the bus to Cairns. Here we stayed with friends Ray an http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-256803.html We travelled first class over night on the train to Singapore where our friend Jose was there to meet us. We had 4 great days staying with him and Vicky and we ate loads As a wedding present they took us for a buffet dinner at the luxurious ShangriLa Hotel all you can eat seafood including lobster and crayfish sushi western Chinese and Indian dishes a chocolate fountain and umpteen yummy http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Airlie-Beach/blog-239939.html Happy New Year to one and all. Hope you had a great time and a very merry christmas. We wish you all a fab 2008.Lots of love fromThe Millsys http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Opera-House/blog-232102.html Before we start we have some bad news ....... we're sorry to have to let you know that the Mills gerbils are no more.... Thanks to Philip George Archie and Harry for looking after them during their last couple of monthsOk so way back on the 17th November yes we're that behind we took an overnight bus from Vientiane in Laos to Chiang Main in Thailand. We actually made a rare decision and http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Darlinghurst/blog-230655.html So where were we........We decided the best way to cross the Cambodian border was as part of an organised trip half by boat half by bus. This meant a hassle free crossing and a bit of fun along the way. The trip included a tour round some local factories where we saw them make coconut sweets rice paper and rice crispies the best part was getting to try everything really tasty stuff. They al http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-227305.html So the day after David's birthday we packed our bags again this time cramming everything we'd need for 3 days trekking into our day packs as we were off to Sapa in the far north west of Vietnam. After spending the day walking round Hanoi we caught the overnight train to Lao Cai a few miles from the Chinese border and arrived just as the sun was coming up. We then got the touristpacked minibus http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-220290.html So Vietnam.... We love itWe arrived at Ho Chi Minh aka Saigon airport on the 10th of October yes we're a tad behind on the blog updates and stepped out of the airport to find our transport to Phan Ngu Lao St. the main backpacker area. Immediately we were swamped by a hoard of taxi drivers all saying that the buses had finished for the night and that it would cost 120000 Dong 4GBP which http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Mui-Ne/blog-217333.html Whilst waiting for the World Cup Final to start sitting at our own personal PC with free internet hence the numerous emails some of you have received we just thought we'd say that we really appreciate all the messages and comments that you leave for us. Every time we check the blog we're excited to see what's waiting for us so please keep them coming. Come on England http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-212894.html So after India we flew to Hong Kong for 3 nights.Our room cost almost 10 times more than our rooms in India and was half the size but we had hot water and a great cosy air conduvet combination which meant a great night's sleep It was dead easy and cheap to get around and we felt completely at ease straight away.After sorting out our visas for Vietnam Jose we ended up paying 500 HKD each t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Hong-Kong-Island/blog-212807.html While we're avoiding a mega thunderstorm in Ho Chi Minh City here is the last entry on India.........We left Palolem after a few days and headed to Kerala. Kerala is much lusher cleaner and greener than Rajasthan and the only cows we saw tended to be tied to trees and eating grass not litter. First stop was an overnight stop at a bizarre Government Guest House in Kollam an old British Colonial http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/blog-209947.html So we're now in Palolem Goa. Described in the book as lined with a swaying curtain of coconut palms the bay forms a perfect curve of golden sand it wasn't quite what we expected. The book didn't mention the cows ... and where there's cows there's cowpats.........Anyway let's backtrack.We arrived in Jaisalmer from Jodhpur where you couldn't even see the station floor due to people sleeping e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Palolem/blog-203907.html We're now in Jodhpur after skipping Japiur...heard it was another hectic congested city and after Delhi and Agra we couldn't face another straight away. The journey was fun though.... We got a second class sleeper train from Agra to Japiur which was crammed very smelly and had nowhere to sleep. We headed straight for the tourist office when we arrived at 11.30pm to see how fast we could leave. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jodhpur/blog-200424.html Oh my god Never thought we'd get out of Delhi. On more than 3 occasions the local hawks fronting for dodgy travel agents where you get the pleasure of paying at least twice the going rate tried to steer us away from the foreign ticket office where we wanted to buy our train ticket to Agra to get the hell out of Delhi. Most tried the 'you don't want to go down there most dangerous. Full of cro http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/Agra/blog-199742.html