The T 9662 tto Lanzhou was comfortable. We had the wide bedded soft sleeper with clean sheets and a cool but not cold, cabin. We boarded and slumped onto our seats. We chatted for a while, but soon could not do so any longer, and drifted off to sleep at 2330hrs. We rumbled and clacked into the night, and woke refreshed at 0630. The train halted at exactly 0700 at Lanzhou. There was the usual scrum as we got off in Darkness. “Shall we wait until the crowd dies down?” I asked Chris. “No” he screamed back over the short Chinese [View Full Entry]

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The T1086 to Dunhuang. Due to the vagaries of the China Rail System, it was not possible to buy a ticket from Turfan to Dunhuang. Our guides had to buy the tickets from Urumchi to Liyuan. However, it was not as simple as this. “If a berth goes un occupied for more than two hours, then the conductor has the right, indeed is encouraged to sell the berths to someone else” David explained as we stood freezing on the platform. “So my boss, mr Wong, has bought the tickets and will ride down from Urunchi to Turfan and give you the [View Full Entry]

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My previous experiences departing from Peking’s new Terminal 3 were atrocious. There was no climate control, the shuttle trains ran every 45 minutes, and water or food was not available for sale anywhere after security. This time, we checked in reasonably smoothly, breezed through security and found ourselves drinking atrocious cappuccinos in a nice chilly café with a view of the apron. This was changed china. I was most impressed. The efficiency of the airport put all of continental Europe to shame. There was no aircraft at our gate, we descended to Tarmac level and were bussed arou [View Full Entry]

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It had been 14 months since we were last in China, during the frenzy of the Peking Olympics. There had been a state inspired party atmosphere, during that time, where we felt that everyone had to be happy or else. It had been horribly hot, and polluted, and yet most things foreign and strange were forgiven. We had been to Sinkiang and seen the hard life that was lived by the minorities there, and our travel plans had been affected by the violence in the region. This time, the northerly winds brought down sub zero temperatures and clear blue skies. Beijing, [View Full Entry]

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A journey in the making. Milton Massachusetts to the People's Republic of china. Via Istanbul. I really don’t know where to start on this. It all started in Wales. My wife Cisca was in Hospital having her appendix out. I was at a bit of a loose end, and so wandered down to a friend’s house to watch some TV. BBC2 were doing a program on the origins of the Chinaman. They went down to Guilin and up to Peking and proved that the Chinese, are, like everyone else, descended from Africans. What caught my attention, was not the genealogy of [View Full Entry]

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Three hours east of Singapore, the shape of Sulawesi started to appear. A snaking green peninsula of peaks that wound its way towards the west. Three hours in an airbus A319 was a quite a distance, but our journey was not over yet. Another thirty minutes of flying saw us descend slowly over the South China Sea. The aircraft banked sharply over some small islands, and cruised in between some disused volcanoes. The clear sea gave way to tropical forest covered hills as we sped lower. By now, there were volcanoes to our left and right. We were landing in what [View Full Entry]

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Much to my regret, most of my journeys seem to start with a flight. This one was a little different. It started with three flights and a boat ride. On Friday, Cisca and I sat at Heathrow airport. We had checked in and Turkish Airlines accepted our 33 kilos each without demur. (30kg allowance). This had been a close run thing. The night before we flew out, Mac informed me that we had no working boats in the Dive Centre and no working vehicles. (Except for our 50 year old fire engine, but her main pump is not working). I walked [View Full Entry]

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We all have our pet hate airlines, and our favourite airlines. There are some things about some planes that are fantastic (like mood lighting on long haul flights) and some that are horrible (like bad legroom on a 6 hour flight). All of the major European airlines have now cut back on so much, that no matter how much you pay for a ticket, and no matter how long the European flight is (Amsterdam to Istanbul- 3 hrs) getting fed is an issue. In this day and age, no one is perfect. Even "5 star" Qatar airlines still have no entertainment [View Full Entry]

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The aircraft lined up on the end of the runway. The pilot was making sure that every inch of Pemba’s 5000ft runway was available to him. “Pemba tower, this is 5 hotel delta alfa kilo. Twenty six souls on board, destination Zanzibar, flight level two five” “Alfa kilo, Pemba tower, confirmed Zanzibar, flight level two five” The balding Pilot turned to his bald co pilot and said: “full brakes” “full brakes” Captain Tony Baxter eased the throttles forward and the twin Pratt and Whitney wasps spluttered and growled. He glanced at the oil [View Full Entry]

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Dear Readers, and friends of Pemba, it is hard for me to write this, as of course there will be some negative connotations attatched to this blog. But those of you who read this blog on a regular basis will know that I live on Pemba and that I am contantly in awe of the incredible and unspoiled underwater environment that exists here on our paradise island. True, we do have our problems and yes true the greed of man gets in the way of conservation, but in general. Pemba is still an incredible dive location. One of the world's top [View Full Entry]

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