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Pen and Dave - Penny Nikotin & Dave Cannan

Penny Nikotin & Dave Cannan
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Joined on: March 12th 2008
Last Login: October 2nd 2008

Blog Entries: 36
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Pen-and-Dave, order by Date newest first.

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Please excuse us kind Madams and Sirs, for leaving such a long time between drinks. But plans changed rapidly after the last straw of too many last straws in China and we've spent a week revelling in Hong Kong's Western affluence. First things first ... the reason we beat a hasty retreat from the backwaters of Chongqing: a dirty old man on a local bus hocked up a foul green oyster and spat it on the bus floor right at our feet. We were disgusted and outraged, yet this was a mere warm-up for the rudest and most indescent clash of [View Full Entry]

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685 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 13 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: October 2nd 2008 | 69 Views | [diary=330096]

Hong Kong Fireworks
ChungKing Mansion (Our HK Home)
Dave on the Highway (ChongQing Airport)

By Pen and Dave
September 22nd 2008

Macaque Madness

 Asia » China » Sichuan » Emei Shan
Our last day in Chengdu involved nothing more than recovering from our massages and treating ourselves to the Sichuanese delicacy: "HotPot". (For those who are uneducated in the ways of HotPot, please see the text at the end of the blog) Now anyone who has even met Dave, will know of his love for this dish. Penny's first HotPot however nearly ended in disaster. A piece of beef slipped from the hold of her chopsticks and splashed scolding hot chilli oil into her eye. As if that wasn't bad enough, the insuing panic caused her to suck a sprig of Sichuan [View Full Entry]

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774 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 17 Photo(s) | 1 Video(s)
Published: September 22nd 2008 | 68 Views | [diary=326320]

Dave at HotPot
Golden Summit - Emei Shan
Sea of Clouds - Emei Shan

What a Chinese Massage Disaster! Our $3 massage seemed like a fantastic treat, touted as "Chengdu Traditional Medicine University Professional Massage with over 10 Years Experience". We honestly assumed we'd discovered a small concession of heaven in China. Pleasure greed was our first mistake. After an hour of awesome shiatsu massage, the therapist convinced us to push for an extra half. Obviously labeling us as easily led 'laowai suckers', he then strongly suggested a spot of acupuncture. "Why not?", we asked ourselves. "We're in China, they're clearly professionals and we were coinc [View Full Entry]

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341 Words | 3 Comment(s) | 4 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 18th 2008 | 88 Views | [diary=324804]

Pen and her Spots!
Bloody Mozzies!
I look like Grimace!

As Penny's stomach slowly recovers from a bout of 'Beijing Belly', the tour of China continues.... At time of writing we are two overnight train journeys away from Beijing's choking smog and mean staring eyeballs. Green trees line the streets and parks (yes, parks!) of Chengdu, the charming capital of Sichuan. We can actually breathe out here. Penny's opinion of China improved, however, long before arriving in Chengdu. A day trip from Xi'an dumped us at the base of HuaShan, a 7km vertically hike-able mountain. Despite super-slow progress, (Pen still didn't trust food at that time), we re [View Full Entry]

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302 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 34 Photo(s) | 2 Video(s)
Published: September 17th 2008 | 81 Views | [diary=324531]

View from the top of HuaShan
Panda (what else is there to say?)
Sunrise from HuaShan

Due to vastly divergent opinions, we've decided to write separate blog entries for China so far: "Wretched Duck" by Penny China is not what it's cracked up to be. The flashy images portrayed during the Olympics are poles apart from the truth. The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square and the Temple of Heaven make fantastic postcards, (once the choking pollution fog is photoshopped out of existence), but the reality is much more hellish. The Beijing sun doesn't shine.... it 'glows' through a haze of smog so thick you can feel it sliding down your throat & gripping your lun [View Full Entry]

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1143 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 29 Photo(s) | 1 Video(s)
Published: September 12th 2008 | 91 Views | [diary=322620]

No, No, No.....buy MY stuff!
Pen out front of the "Water Cube"
Pen and Dave at Great Wall

By Pen and Dave
September 6th 2008

Tokyo Torpedo Tunas

 Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ikebukuro
Tokyo is the New York City of Asia .... well, almost. Take Manhattan, multiply it's population by 4, jack up the fashion dare coefficient, add a billion more flashing neon signs and similar numbers of department stores, subtract the stinking sewers and street bums and there you have it. Unbelievable! Somehow the confusion melts into pure efficiency. Just don't attempt crossing the current of subway passengers en route to somewhere other than your chosen destination. Not that it matters where you end up. It's all so damn exciting. The shopping in this city is insane. We're hardly sho [View Full Entry]

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358 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 26 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 6th 2008 | 97 Views | [diary=320427]

Pen Greets Hello Kitty
Mini Yummies
Prada Building

* We mentioned Japan was cheap .... True, unless you're a fan of fresh fruit and vegies. 1 x mango @ $24 + 1 x peach @ $12.99 + 1 x bunch of grapes @ $8.50 = weekly food budget blown on half a fruit salad. * More fruity facts .... each individual piece of fruit is custom-wrapped in a polystyrene lattice sock. Perhaps this explains the elevated cost? * Talk about polite .... Pull into a Japanese petrol station for a fill-up and afterwards you'll be personally escorted out to the street and recieve a deep bow for your troubles. [View Full Entry]

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658 Words | 2 Comment(s) | 21 Photo(s) | 2 Video(s)
Published: September 1st 2008 | 118 Views | [diary=318558]

A Discovery on our Rainy Hike - Togakushi
Dave in Nagoya Street Festival
Street Squid

By Pen and Dave
August 23rd 2008

Chasing Geisha in Kyoto

 Asia » Japan » Kyoto » Kyoto » Gion
They say Kyoto is the most visited tourist destination on the entire planet, eclipsing heavyweights like Paris and New York. Even so, we have yet to spot more than a handful of Westerners. With countless World Heritage listed temples and shrines, the mysterious Geisha underworld and a multitude of calming Zen gardens, Kyoto is in every sense the most traditional of all Japan's large cities. Our Japanses-style guesthouse is in a fantastic location and the cheapest in town. (Who could go wrong for AUD $25 a night?)Management didn't even bat an eyelid when Dave's hair blanketed the tatami afte [View Full Entry]

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372 Words | 3 Comment(s) | 21 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 23rd 2008 | 129 Views | [diary=315259]

A Real Live Geisha!
Pen Under Torii
Giant Bamboo Grove

After the crazy concrete jungle of Osaka, we stumbled upon quintessential Japan in the mineral hot spring onsen town of Kinosaki. Despite spending only a single night here, the experience deserves an entire blog entry as it held so many joys in such a small space in time. Kinosaki is a laid-back resort town where the Japanese come to soak their troubles away in 7 public bath houses aligning a slow drifting canal. As budget accommodation is non-existant round these parts, we splashed out on our first 'ryokan' & fell in love with the concept. Ryokan are traditional Japanese guest inns [View Full Entry]

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595 Words | 2 Comment(s) | 9 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 22nd 2008 | 448 Views | [diary=314977]

Yukata-Clad Girls in Main Street
Pen and Dave Turn Japanese
So Typically Japanese!

By Pen and Dave
August 18th 2008

Konnichiwa Osaka

 Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka
Japan is awesome! The culture shock strikes right to your core as you wade around a sea of indecipherable characters like a blind shark. Futuristic technology meets a backward existence where rusty old bikes seem to be the most popular form of transport and the crime rate is so low there's not a bike lock to be seen. We opted for a 'Japanese Style' hotel room in Osaka and we were delighted by the simplicity of fresh tatami mats with their barn-like scent and futons rolled up in the cupboard. Our only complaints revolved around communal bath times according to some [View Full Entry]

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426 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 9 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 20th 2008 | 108 Views | [diary=314234]

Pen and her Japanese Tree
Pen is Zen
Zen Garden



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