Wanny
Dan B Joined: April 25th 2008
Logged in: August 8th 2009
Logged in: August 8th 2009
Travel Blog Posts
We signed up for an elephant ride and got far more of an adventure than we'd imagined. The ride was with an elephant camp who rescue elephants from a life of logging timber, train mahouts (elephant keepers) and look after the health and welfare of the elephants. We imagined the camp to be an enclosure near town but it turned out to be quite a journey into the wild. An ancient Land Rover Defender came to pick us up from our hotel and we climbed into the tray at the back. We drove for an hour on the road out of town, passed little villages, rice paddies and beautiful mountain scenery. The greenery here is so vibrant it's almost irradescent. From the road we turned on to a bumpy dirt track full of mud holes, heading ... read more
Luang Prabang is exquisite, it takes my breath away. We've wanted to come for some time, but have traversed so many other parts of South-East Asia before finally making it here. This is a jewel of a town, and having travelled to nearly thirty countries, this would make it on to a 'top ten' list. The whole town is relaxed and romantic, full of culture and tradition and every comfort a traveller could want. It's the old royal capital and has an elegant and regal feel to it. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995 and that thankfully means they can't raze the old buildings. The streets are lined with French colonial two-storey villas complete with window shutters, balconies, louvered doors, ceiling fans and polished wooden floors. Many of them have been restored ... read more
Last night we went to a Thai Boxing match. As those of you who know me will know, I'm usually a handbag and shoes kind of girl so boxing was a whole new experience. Dan had to explain the rules to me! It was surprisingly addictive, probably because we were more or less ringside so had a great view of all the gore and action. One of the guys in the first match, second round (is that the right terminology?!) got a massive, black eye that swelled so much you couldn't even see his eye. It didn't look like much fun. The men were very measured in their fights, but then they had two women boxers and they were nasty. Their fighting got really vicious and quite out of control until one woman literally fell out ... read more
We've been in Thailand nearly a week and lost track of time as all we've been doing is swimming, sunning ourselves, having massages, eating and reading. It's a tough time! We spent two nights on Koh Samui on Bo Phut Beach, which was quiet and quite idyllic - swaying palm trees, turquoise water, white sand, and candlelit dinners on the sand. We stayed in a great beach bungalow called 'Free House Bungalows', and paid less than 10 quid a night. The food was amazing too - lots of curries and stir frys and coconut shakes. Each afternoon a big storm would roll across the sea and as it started raining it was our cue to get an hour-long massage in a beach hut. We decided we need an annual Thailand holiday - we've been here half ... read more
We set off early from Yangshou to drive three hours to see the amazing Longji terraced rice fields high in the mountains. Our bus driver was a horn enthusiast and used it frequently and repeatedly, even when there was only a lone motorbike to overtake. Even with my ipod on full volume I couldn't drown out the shrill sound. It was a hazy and rainy day and as we neared our destination visibility got so bad that we could only see as far as the side of the road. We'd heard that there were lots of landslides on the way to the terraces so it was a little disconcerting not being able to see, or maybe better that we couldn't see! En route we stopped at the obligatory local village and saw a traditional Yao tribe ... read more
The weather in Yangshou was finally clear this morning so we set off on a four hour bike ride, with a local guide. We were thrilled to have a guide as we got to go off-road and explore the back lanes. We met other travellers along the way who'd decided to do it independently and they were hopelessly lost even on the main roads. When I say off-road, I mean that we pedalled through rice fields, through grass paths, through mud paths, through gravel paths, and through paths where there was nothing but puddles! We ended up with mud splashed all up our legs and arms and with saturated feet. Just as we rode back into Yangshou there was a sudden tropical downpour and we were drenched when we got back, much to the amusement of ... read more
We left our Shanghai backpacker's in a taxi that had a sign in the back saying 'psychos or drunkards without guardians are prohibited from taking taxis'! Yet another great Chinese/English translation! We flew from Shanghai to Guilin in Guangxi province, in south-east China. The region is famed for its karst scenery, and the peaks rising from the fields are magnificent. We caught a bus from the airport into Guilin, navigated our way to another bus, paid someone we hoped was legitimate (turned out to be the bus driver) and then set off for Yangshou. Yangshou is a town set up for backpackers, set amidst dramatic karsts and on the Li River. It has a relaxed vibe and is full of hostels, guest houses, cafes and shops. It's well set up for travellers but doesn't feel touristy ... read more
We've now spent four days lazing in Shanghai. We've taken it extremely easy - sleeping late and sitting in cafes and just generally meandering around the French Concession area. We've discovered that Shanghai is a great food city, not only is the local cuisine good but the western style food is amazing and could rival Melbourne and Sydney's cafes (although Dan says it would rival Sydney, never Melbourne!) Specifically we've eaten a few times in an area called Taikang Road Art Centre, which is an area of laneways with funky cafes, bars, galleries and shops. It seems to be where Shanghai's trendy young things and expats hang out and is a great place just to people watch. We ate at a cool little cafe called Kommune where we ate delicious grilled panini - mine was roasted ... read more
We're now in Shanghai and although we've only seen a little of the city, I really like it. It's a vast city full of high rises, trendy shops and restaurants, expressways, mega malls and polluted air - does anyone ever get to see blue sky in China, I wonder? It feels like a much bigger city than Beijing as horns honk all the time, homeless people are seemingly greater in number, and mostly we'd rather get the metro or a taxi than attempt to walk around. Having said this, we were in a taxi this afternoon and our driver was impatient with the traffic so decided to drive on the footpath for a block instead! As one does! Someone's been watching too many car chase movies, I think! We've seen the grand, elegant Art Deco banks ... read more
After four days enjoying Beijing, we left on the overnight train to travel to a town south-west of Beijing called Pingyao. We couldn't get the Lonely Planet recommended soft sleeper bunks on the overnight train as they were all booked, so we opted for the hard sleeper bunks instead. The hard sleeper consisted of an open carriage lined with bunks stacked three high. We were the only non-Chinese in our carriage and I think the only English speakers. The train took 12 hours and we had the misfortune of the top bunks, which meant we were less than a metre from the train ceiling - not good for claustrophobia! I lay there staring at the ceiling thinking of Michelangelo on his back painting the Sistine Chapel for four years, wasn't it? I had no such inspiration! ... read more
