http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Occasionally-Bob/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Occasionally Bob en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:51:32 +0000 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:51:32 +0000 As she stepped across the threshold of Aunt Mayrsquos house into the land of Oz Judy Garland wasnrsquot seen to sniff her own armpits and wince in disgust. Neither did she curse the curry stains and samosa crumbs on her clothing or run her fingers through greasy unwashed facial hair. But then Dorothy travelled in style. Shersquod clearly booked ahead thereby avoiding the somewhat slower and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-375594.html Do you like India Itrsquos a question all the Indians we meet like to ask after ldquowhich countryrdquo ldquowhat is your jobrdquo and ldquois she your girlfriendrdquo. Irsquove thought about the answer to this question quite a bit and had plenty of time to consider a polite enough response that doesnrsquot involve lying diplomacy is something I am hugely successful with http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-362390.html Pokhara Birethanti Ghandruk Chhomrong Dovan Deurali Macchupuchhre Base Camp Annapurna Base Camp Bamboo Chhomrong Tadapani Ghorepani Birethanti Pokhara 1. I Bow to the Linguist in YouThe creators of the Nepali language were worried that theyrsquod never be able to come up with enough words for a full language so they started doubling up fairly early on. For this reason t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Annapurna/blog-353050.html Kodari Kathmandu Pokhara Birethanti Gandruk Ghorepani Birethanti Pokhara Kathmandu Baktaphur Kathmandu PokharaNo border crossing wersquove been to has said ldquoyou are now in a new country with an entirely different culturerdquo quite like the ChineseNepali one. The Chinese border post between the Tibetan hillside town of Zhangmu and the huddle of shacks that forms t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/blog-352715.html Lhasa Yamdroktso Lake Gyantse Shigaste Shegar Everest Base Camp Old Tingri ZhangmuThis week Occasionally Bob's special guest ishellip Bob's MumldquoQuickly Quicklyrdquo the carriage attendants said as they excitedly grabbed our unpacked belongings from our compartment and threw them out the carriage door onto the platform. It seemed wersquod missed the wakeup call. The re http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-351157.html In the evenings Yangshou is characterised best by the brash neon that lights the narrow caf restaurant bar and souvenir shop lined streets of its lsquooldrsquo town and by the foreign tourists who walk with an awkward John Wayne style shuffle between these gaudy WesternChinese fusion establishments. During the day the done thing for any visitor wishing to truly appreciate the landscape fo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-338193.html Too Good to be True vs Never Look a Gift Horse in the MouthThe people running the lsquopublicrsquo bus from Attapeu in Laos to Kon Tum in Vietnam didnrsquot inspire great confidence. The ticket office doubled as the Vietnamese trading hub of Attapeu a slightly seedy shades of black market restaurant called the Thi Thi a place where everything on the menu seemed to come with sheep intest http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Central-Highlands/blog-332763.html Bangkok Pakse Don Khong Don Khon Pakse AttapeuAs I retrieved Vikrsquos rucksack from an overly confident tuktuk drivers vehicle I banged my head on a typically well positioned and unfeasibly rusty Laos road sign. There was an audible ldquooooordquo from the group of drivers who surrounded us. ldquoHappens to me all the time that was nothing in Scotland we put barbs on the si http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/South/blog-328982.html Occasionally known for our naturally gloomy outlook Scots find winter is a time of darkness and cold of biting winds and seasonal depression relievedforgotten in those sacred days around the end of December and beginning of January when itrsquos socially acceptable to pack tightly into 70rsquos dcor clad sticky carpeted pubs and drink until thoughts of the cold are replaced by a cheer tha http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/blog-293477.html Mount Cook Rakiura Track Stewart Island Kepler Track Te Anau Milford Sound Routeburn Greenstone Tracks Glenorchy Rob Roy TrackCountry walks usually fall into one of three categories walks to waterfalls walks round or along bodies of water or walks up mountains. As walkers we look at the descriptions guidebooks give us and think ldquohmm this walk goes to a waterfall that c http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/blog-265778.html Auckland Tryphena Medlands Haratonga Port Fitzroy Windy Canyon Mount Hobson South Fork Port Fitzroy AucklandOur journey to Great Barrier Island began as every journey should with a muffin. For years Irsquove considered muffins to be the third lowest form of pudding behind fruit and Petit Filous yoghurts. In the cake stakes they definitely sit at the bottom of the stack. It has http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Great-Barrier-Island/blog-262169.html Auckland Waiheke Island Cathederal Cove Hot Water Beach Whangamata Wentworth Valley Wainui River Tauranga Rotorua Waikite Valley Orakei Korako Tongariro National Park Wanganui Upper Hutt Wellington Martinborough Wellington Picton Motueka Saint Arnaud Kerrrsquos Bay Kaikoura Sheffield the best pies in NZ Arthurrsquos Pass Hokitika Franz Josef http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/blog-256486.html Kauaeranga Valley Waiheke Island Mokoroa Falls Goldie Bush Walkway Russell Whangamumu Scenic Reserve Cape Reinga Waipapakauri Beach Ahipara Opononi Tane Mahuta Matakohe Mount AucklandBloominrsquo eck itrsquos been a long four months But finally having sat at a desk from September to February seeing how far through a pad of Postits I could stab a map pin wersquore http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-248133.html We stopped in Auckland for two reasons. First we needed to make some money if we didnrsquot get our hands on some cold hard cash soon wersquod be flying home before we could even say ldquoWhakatanerdquo much to my own personal amusement apparently wha is pronounced fuh in New Zealand how whacking weird is that Second we wanted to stop moving around for a while settle for a m http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-226197.html On a warm morning in Auckland we ventured out through the Central Business District bypassing the shopping Mecca that is Queen Street past the Ferry Terminal to an area of poster plastered adult shops and fusty strip bars next to the docks. Our search for a place to call home for the next four months had brought us here. I have to say that with the benefit of hindsight it was an inauspicious http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Ponsonby/blog-211056.html hellipZERO Which is the number of flights wersquove taken in a year of travelling. Not only that but itrsquos the number of days wersquove been in employment in the last 12 months. Itrsquos also the chances of me ever finding employment again other than as an extra in a remake of ldquoOliverrdquo if I donrsquot buy some new clothes have a bath and cut my hair for further cons http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/blog-196125.html Have all the children been given their spoonful of gin and put to bedlocked in the closetYes Then come hither warm your self in the tall leather chair by the fireside not that close your shell suit looks flammable and I shall begin my tale of unexplained and mystical happenings from The Outer Dimensions. It begins as any tale from the greasy fingerprinted files of the FBI's XFiles shoul http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Northern-Territory/blog-190797.html Hydeaway Bay Townsville Paluma Wallaman Falls Girringun National Park Paronella Park Mena Cairns Innot Hot Springs Georgetown Croydon Normanton Mount Isa ldquoIt wasnrsquot me guv it was my subconscious wot done itrdquoToday I stole a motorbike.It was the tippetytiptoptip of a oneman crime spree. Frankly I blame the parents. My upbringing was rough. Dad left wh http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-177894.html Brisbane Glass House Mountains Lake Coothabaraa Hervey Bay Town of 1770 Rockhampton Mackay Broken River Hydeaway bayIntroducing the NativesJames Cook discovered Australia in 1982. Twentyfive years later Occasionally Bob has reached the same shores. When Cook arrived he brought with him Janet Jacksonrsquos Rhythm Nation and Chocolate Milo. Immigration didnrsquot so much as bat http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-172094.html Singapore At SeaIntroducing the Good Ship Theodor StormldquoOn this ship you are specialrdquo.That was what the 3rd Officer told me with a warm broad Filipino smile. He meant it as a form of introduction to the manner in which we as the only three passengers should become accustomed to being treated on our 9 day stay aboard the cargo vessel ldquoMV Theodor Stromrdquo but Irsquove h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-166104.html