TravelBlog » boristhegreat

boristhegreat - Lee Marshall

Right now I've been on the road for almost 2 years and hence I feel it's time for a new introduction!

I set off from the UK 2 years ago on a trip around the world which I anticipate will take around 5 years - maybe longer. The plan is to travel and work alternatively in whichever countries we come across that seem nice, or that we can get permission to work in. Travelling through somewhere is seeing, but living there is understanding!

Since travelling I've discovered a love of writing. I generally spend a long time writing my blogs and love to hear feedback from the people who read them - but ultimately I write them for me.

I write about the world as I see it through my eyes. You may see it differently, but that's what makes our world great isn't it!? Some blogs you may find overly political or downright disagree with what I have to say. Everyone believes they see they world 'the way it really is', but ultimately everyone actually sees the world the way THEY see it. Disagree with me if you want - you merely prove my point!

So far travelling has been incredible. A brief summary since leaving:

Turkey was fantastic - my favourite country in the world!
Thailand and Cambodia were nice but incredibly touristy
Hong Kong was everything it was cracked up to be, although 2 weeks was perhaps too long for such a small country..
China.... well, what an absolutely incredible experience, although I'm not sure enjoyable is necessarily the word....
Vietnam and Laos were amazing with friendly people, great landscapes and food to die for
Mongolia was out of this world amazing - the culture, people and landscapes were intoxicating
Malaysia was such a surprise - a pleasant country and a nice dose of western style civility after so long in Asia
Indonesia (where I am right now) has been so much more than expected. Sumatera is surely the most impressive place in SE Asia!

So, Next stop... New Zealand. Flights are booked. Can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by :)

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Joined on: November 24th 2008
Last Login: November 9th 2009

Blog Entries: 14
Photos: 361
Recommended by 1, Recommends 2

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by boristhegreat, order by Date newest first.

By boristhegreat
August 7th 2009

Shamanic Rituals in the Midnight Taiga Forest Asia » Mongolia » Khovsgol

The shaman performing

Blue bands tied loosely around a lone tree greeted our arrival. The colour of Tengger. God. Each band representing a dream of those who dared to ask. A wish cast upon the wind. There never was a road. Mongolia doesn’t have roads. The track there hadn’t been much of a track either. More a place where trees weren’t growing. We sighted the Shaman’s cabin perched alone in a dark corner on the edge of the forest. “Anyone there?” No response. We looked around the back. Why doesn’t this cabin have any windows? I wondered…… Strang [View Full Entry]

By boristhegreat
June 23rd 2009

Into the Back of Beyond. Visiting the Darkhad and Tsartan People Asia » Mongolia » Khovsgol

Friendly Tsartan lady whom we herded reindeer with in the snow

‘This winter it’s very bad’ said Ulzii, our hired translator for the trek, ‘at worst it’s maybe -52C or something, many people losed cattle and this spring it’s very sad and the cattle is still so weak’ she explained as we marvelled at how she’d managed to learn English so well having lived her entire life in such a barren outpost, in addition to ‘Darkhad’, ‘Tsartan’ and her native Mongolian languages. ‘That is why nobody, they don’t really want to hire their horses to us because they still so weak a [View Full Entry]

By boristhegreat
June 3rd 2009

The place where roads end.. Asia » Mongolia » Khovsgol

Darkhad minority

Illuminating the heavens in crimson reds, bold oranges and vibrant purples as it sank below the hills on the horizon, the suns dying rays gloriously graced the sky with a kaleidoscopic spectrum of colours so haphazardly blended into each other it was impossible to determine where one colour began and the other ended, such is nature’s grand design. A late start meant a late finish, but cresting the last hill and sighting Moron’s dusty collection of ramshackle homes with brightly bedazzled tin roofs reflecting the divine light, the town had a heavenly aura that dispelled our feeling [View Full Entry]

By boristhegreat
May 21st 2009

A day driving through the Mongolian steppe - better than it sounds! Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar

Mongolian sky at night
This photo is a 1/2 hour exposure. I've honestly never seen so many stars in the sky!

Like a moon landing, Ulaan Baatar rises from the barren nothingness of the Mongolian steppe - a city occupied by more than one million people and almost half the minuscule population of Mongolia; the most sparsely populated independent country in the world. Venture some five kilometres from downtown and the city ends abruptly as you fall from the proverbial cliff of civilisation, and into the bleak beauty of an undulating landscape devoid of barriers or boundaries, evidently untouched by its millennia of human habitation. Save a few barren outposts with inflated prices due to their inacc [View Full Entry]

One of the camels we would encounter on our trip

By boristhegreat
April 6th 2009

Being Chased by the Bacon Asia » Vietnam » Central Highlands » Kontum

Being Chased by the Bacon You’re in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country and you’ve just reached the end of a dead end road; a man comes up to you and introduces himself as a traffic Police man. The Police in this country don’t follow the rules - they make them. You half don’t believe he’s a Police man due to his lack of obvious uniform and dodgy looking ID card, but know you’re in the wrong - you’re riding without a Vietnamese license, and you’ve a good idea what he wants to do - but nobody is around [View Full Entry]

By boristhegreat
April 6th 2009

A road less travelled Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Buon Ma Thuot

Ya Xian, near Kon Tum

Buon Ma Thout and the Central Highlands 27th - 31st March 2009 Buon Ma Thout and Kon Tum When we arranged the bus tickets from Saigon to Buon Ma Thout we had forgotten it was a Friday and hence we quickly realized we’d left it too late to catch a local bus. They were all full. Even though it would take marginally longer and cost more money, we decided to catch a night bus back to Dalat which would arrive at 5am, and from there we planned to catch a local bus to Buon Ma Thout. Vietnam, like China, has invested [View Full Entry]

By boristhegreat
April 3rd 2009

The Meaning of Hot! Asia » Vietnam » Mekong River Delta

Sunset on the Delta

The meaning of hot 23rd - 27th March 2009 Ben Tre & Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Plans formed, plans broken, new plans made, new plans broken, more new plans… ahhhh! My head hurts! We were never definite deciding where our next destination following Dalat would be. We had considered Mui Ne, Saigon, Can Tho, Phu Quoc Island, and Rach Gia to name but a few possibilities however we could never quite strike the balance required between potential fun, cost and desire to visit that we’d been searching for. All places have their virtues and flaws alike, but ultimately [View Full Entry]

By boristhegreat
March 27th 2009

Peace, quiet, forests, waterfalls and a happy Lee & Caroline Asia » Vietnam » Central Highlands » Da Lat

A waterfall to ourselves for the day!

Peace, quiet, forests, waterfalls and a happy Lee & Caroline - Dalat 20th - 22nd March 2009 This is my kind of place; cooler climate, endless forests of towering pine trees, the beautiful smell of pine sap in the unsullied air, twisty roads, dirt tracks to explore and minimal effort required to escape the crowds. It’s been so long since I’ve been anywhere similar I’d almost forgotten just how much I love places like this. I was born for the hills; when I used to compete in cross country running and cycling years ago the hills were my forte, they’re [View Full Entry]

By boristhegreat
March 25th 2009

It just keeps getting better! Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Qui Nhon

In their garden

It just keeps getting better!- Quy Nhon 17th - 20th March 2009 The previous nights 1:30am walk of 5km carrying our fully weighted rucksacks actually made little impact on the following day’s energy levels, despite having only managed 4 hours sleep the reason being; as we’ve travelled further south the temperature has gradually increased from quite cold in the north, until here in Quy Nhon where it’s actually beginning to get so warm it’s difficult to sleep at night. I only managed to find a little information regarding Quy Nhon on the inter [View Full Entry]

By boristhegreat
March 25th 2009

Why did I go to Hoi An again?? Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Hoi An

Temple gateway in Hoi An

Why did I go to Hoi An again?? Hoi An 14th - 16th March 2009 Whenever someone tells you the bus will take X number of hours in Vietnam, take the longest and most conservative estimate, add 50% and you’ll be somewhere in the ballpark! At least that’s what experience has taught us thus far. The bus we’d arranged to catch from Hue to Hoi An departed at 8:30 from outside our hotel as most of the tourist buses do. We had been told previously by numerous and unconnected people the bus journey to Hoi An would take 3 hours. From [View Full Entry]

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