http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/pummel/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from pummel en-us Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:56:55 +0000 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:56:55 +0000 Trying to negotiate a taxi to go a very specific route across a mountain pass is not easy. For a start literacy is very low so writing Taroudannt Tizi N Test Marrakech 1 pax 9h30 isnt as clear as you may hope or think. Also once you finally get the message across not many drivers are willing to take it so there is not much room for establishing a fair price. No busses run the route s http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-347442.html Morocco is not a place ideal for diabetics. Drink of choice is 'berberwhiskey' or mint tea a drink which contains about as much sugar as tea bydefault. The moroccans use a solid aubergine or marrow sized block andchip away with a hammer and often the lump has trouble fitting into theneck of the teapot. So the opportunity rarely comes around to see just howmuch sugar goes in. Today at the bus http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Souss/Taroudannt/blog-347432.html Good intentions. The road to hell is paved with good intentions whereas the road to southend is paved with bitumen.... I never did make the essaoiria dawn although for a holiday 730 am isn't bad as a start. Iwent down for breakfast then set off for a final stroll around this citythat I have to say I have really taken to. Its such a relaxed place and just existing here is nice. I can't really sa http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Souss-Massa-Dra-/Agadir/blog-346675.html The annoying thing about Riads which also makes them fantastic is the amount of light coming down into them. One one hand if you so choose you can sleep all day and all night but on the other hand if you are relying on natural light to wake you you may end up oversleeping. My plans to wake at dawn were retrospectively ambitious alarm clock or otherwise but regardless dawn was well done by the http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Essaouira/blog-345986.html I decided that it was time to leave Marrakech. I knew that I was coming back so it wasnt leaving out of spite in a huffy strop I just thought that was the best way to do things... After breakfast I headed off the the bus station to head to Essaouira. I knew that I would be hassled by touts and I knew I would pay a markup if i used their services but time was so tight that I decided to do so http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Essaouira/blog-345983.html So have you been to morocco beforeSarah it turned out was on her way to the final weekend of a hen week in Marrakech flying out for literally 24 hours in Morocco. An honourable effort indeed. And seeing the place that they had booked I think it must have been worth it. You never know your luck on a flight and I did alright with a spare seat for legrooms and someone with which to share a ta http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-345379.html Cookery courses are a newfound hobby of mine and today was a chance to practice that hobby. The course here was a very different format I just went in and we started cooking. No recipe sheets tips and techniques or anything. This is probably becuase the instructor spoke no english other than the word yes showing her to be a girl worth getting to know .... But I did kind of learn to ma http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vientiane/blog-73381.html I spent today with Anne who I met on a flight in March from Tokyo to Sydney. We went for a walk around bustling China Town Sam Peng in the morning before heading over the the very floral flower market. Then we went to the Old Siam Plaza reputadly called old because of its clientele as well as the face that its old. We had lunch in the uber trendy Thong Lor street where I sampled the dish http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-76578.html Waiting for my taxi sorry Anne LIFT for which I am eternally grateful to dinner and then the airport as I write this. Spent the day wandering around the city getting hot sweaty and exhausted. It was nice tho although for the second time I tunrned up at the royal palace too late to actual go in I could really live in Bangkok and hopefully Ill get an opportunity to spend some more time her http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-77203.html I met up with Charmy who I met in Vientienne and she showed me various sights around town from the famous reclining budda at Wat Pho to Wat Aruns towering pinnacles as well as the very western modernity around Siam Squares many upmarket department stores. I love the variety that Bangkok has to offer some areas have a small town feel other really make it feel like the big city it is. Some http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-76577.html A refund Never...As I was walking around the streets of Vientienne I happened to pass the travel agent who had sold me a VIP priced ticket for a local bus. I couldnt resist going in to say something even though I knew it could do no good. Noone believes in service in this corner of the globe so whos going to care about a few dollars for a random tourist. Well how wrong could I have been http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nong-Khai/blog-76576.html One very good thing about Vang Vieng is that it is very easy to book up to do almost any activity you want. I needed to get to Vientienne so decided to take a fun route and go by Kayak. Actually while 'Kayaking to Vientienne' is how the trip is sold it really is nothing of the sort. What you actually do is drvie to Vientienne and kayak for a bit on the way. But I knew this in advance so I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vientiane/blog-76371.html The Bus Of TerrorExpress bus I was told was the fastest way to publically get to Vang Vieng. And this turned out to be true. How was this achieved I wondered Perhaps fewer unecessary stops for snack breaks picking up chickens and so on. This was not the case. It was the fastest way because the particular amphetamine laden driver they chose for this trip had no regard for safety whatsoeve http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-76368.html Smelly sandalsI shower every day sometimes twice a day. And ive been washing myself for a good few years I think I know how to do it. I change my clothes every day. But for some reason I stink and the reason is this my sandals. What is it about a pair of teva sandals that can smell so bad I scrub them clean every few days but still the smell is enough to put me off my lunch WHYThe mu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-76366.html More than any bus so far this one isnt designed for 6'3.5'' of Alexander Brown. I arrived 1 hour early and still most of the seats were taken and the isles were filled with potatoes. I think if road safety laws were introduced in Laos there would be a severe hike in bus prices.Along the way we almost left one person behind. Bizarrely her travelling companion did not think to mention this until http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-75559.html Trekking seemed like an appealing idea but I guess I'm becoming reclusive so I didnt go. I just really didnt like the look of the other people going. Its an opportunity that I may live to regret but I doubt it. I hate being guided on treks. For me walking is about independance and unless they have a lot of interesting things to say the guides just annoy me. In a strange way I just like mov http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Muang-Xai/blog-75555.html Another river journey but this time in my own privately chartered vessel. Expensive relative to getting a shared boat which wasnt possible today but still an absolute bargainI stopped for lunch at Muang Ngoi I tiny village with no roads. It kindof a small pile of guesthouses and a school and small temple. The view is great over a forested valley which could easily be used to film the next http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/East/Muang-Kwa/blog-75553.html For the first time in a while I allowed myself to awaken naturally before going out for some Foe noodle soup. Ive decided i will miss it immensely so I may have to start making it at home. Watch this space.I set of for a wander in the direction of some caves. I didnt particularly want to see the caves I just fancied a wander. As I was passing I decided to look in. This turned out to be a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Nong-Khiaw/blog-75547.html My Lonely planet is well and truly packed away where it will remain until it gets placed on my bookshelf at home. In my bid for freedom I find myself on a boat with 9 other backpackers 4 of which at any one time during the 7 hour journey can be found reading the fg lonely planet.But Im happy. Im on a boat going up river and its stunning. At times the water was churned up white by the ro http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Nong-Khiaw/blog-75409.html Today I did another cookery course. This time it was a full day and it was really very good. The one in Vientienne had been very short and very sketchy and this one did not repeat at all. It had a good market tour and a full days cooking and eating. I got a good cross section of both Luang Prabang and Lao Cuisine.But thats not my real news. My real news is that im divorcing the lonely plane http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-75412.html