http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/wazzaonholiday/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from wazzaonholiday en-us Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:24:45 +0000 Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:24:45 +0000 Ok I admit as much as I liked Nepal Irsquom not actually still there. Irsquove been such a lazy bugger in the blog writing stakes lately that in a vain attempt to recompense you dear reader beloved fan for your anguish in not having had anything to read these last two months Irsquove written not one but TWO blogs You are at this point allowed to express your appreciation. Now whe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/blog-27029.html Naturally after 7 months on the road in Asia the first stop for any hardy traveller is of course Oberstaufen in Germanyrsquos southwesternmost Allgu region. So naturally it is from this pretty little Alpine hamlet that I now write to you. How did I end up here you may ask Did I mention sexy Bavarian medical students Ok it is time to admit the holiday romance with Christine may have de http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Oberstaufen/blog-27033.html The best preparation is always the worst preparation. This nicely ambiguous statement is my new motto. It was certainly on my mind as we four intrepid adventurers Alastair Simon Aimee and I set out that brisk August morning for the town of Besisahar and nearly 3 weeks of hard slog around the Annapurna Himalaya Massif. It wasn't so much the month of partying that preceded this moment but mo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Pokhara/blog-19983.html They sell alcohol in Nepal. There are other people in this world with just as much inclination as me to get drunk on a regular basis. These are the two most important facts I have discovered in the last 6 weeks in this tiny oasislike kingdom at the foothils of the Himalayas.Greetings from Pokhara the beautiful lakeside city in central Nepal 400km west of Kathmandu and gateway to treks in th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Pokhara/blog-16958.html Tibet Shangrila the roof of the world the land of snows... with a lovely touch of cultural genocide thrown in for good measure.Since the last update I've travelled in Tibet through some of the real highs and lows of this trip so far until visa restraints and general travel weariness deposited me in the veritable oasis of western goodies that is Thamel Kathmandu of course this means the lo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-13399.html Veerrry Goood... veerrry goood drawled the driver in a smug low voice as our minivan was speeding along the bumpy dirt road soon to rendezvous with yet another downhill hairpin turn. The ten or so Tibetans that had been crammed into this little 7seater with us for whom reckless driving was a rare treat weren't helping egging the driver on as he attempted to pass yet again his friend wh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Sichuan/Chengdu/blog-11451.html Its amazing how one song by Monty Python can be so useful. Well its only Wazza on Holiday once again. After 3 great weeks together Yvette has had enough and is on her way back to Sydney and I'm stuck here on my own in the amazing mountains of Yunnan. Its a hard life.We spent the best part of the last week or so in the mountains west of Deqin about 180km by winding mountainous road northwes http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/Zhongdian/blog-9984.html The Wazza and Lynchie show is on the road. Greetings loyal perhaps bored with no life readers from Zhongdian in the Tibetan world of China's northern Yunnan Province. Its been a busy 3 weeks or so since my last entry.After spending a delightful sorry I needed a new adjective but that one really does suck week or so on Koh Chang Thailand's next big tourist island near the Cambodian borde http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/Zhongdian/blog-9343.html After suffering a 30 year secret war while the world's eyes were on Vietnam enduring the most sustained bombing campaign in history leaving most of the land unusable due to unexploded ordinance experiencing ongoing skirmishes between Royalist Hmong Rebels and the Pathet Lao Government and being heavily reliant on foreign aid with no real industry you'd forgive the Lao people if they occasion http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-8145.html Arriving in Vientiane after 24 hours on the bus from Hanoi was like stepping into a warzone. Every one of the dusty side streets showed evidence of a recent skirmish. They roamed in gangs some as young as 3 or 4 armed to the teeth with pistols pumpactions and buckets. Just when I thought I'd found a safe street to walk down a sniper from a second floor balcony got me in the back... S http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-7515.html My travels in South East Asia have finally commenced. After touching down in Bangkok on Sunday night and a couple of days on Khao San Road I've spent the last few days in Kanchanaburi a small busy town spanning 5km along the northern bank of the River Kwai about 150km west of Bangkok. The town is famous as the site of the base camp for Allied POW's in WWII working on the Death Railway lin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Western-Thailand/Kanchanaburi/blog-5623.html No I haven't made a pilgrimage around the Indochinese subcontinent getting to know the poor swimming across the Mekong to a leper colony and learning the ways of communism in my prerevolutionary youth... yet...I'm in Saigon Ho Chi Minh City since its 'liberation' in 1975 city of Motorbikes. There are 6 million people in this city and an estimated 5 million registered motorbikes or scooter http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-5908.html Drinking games aren't very complicated here in Vietnam. Everytime you want a drink just hold up your glass and make everyone say Mot Hai Ba... Yoooo 1 2 3... GO but with the right crowd you still get the desired result. An added benefit is you learn to count. I proudly announce that I can count to 3 in vietnameseI've continued travelling with the Police group from Sydney firstly http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-6228.html Here in Hanoi one of the westernstyle cafes named the Kangaroo Cafe and of course there are about 3 other ripoff Kangaroo Cafes around town sells Tshirts which proclaim in Vietnamese No I do not want... motorbike cyclo postcards cigarettes tshirts etc.. now go away. I think it sells well. If the locals here actually learned the word no in their standard issue Vienglish t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-6843.html