Since China

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hey all,

I know its been a long long long time since we blogged =. I think we just got a little side tracked over here in oz. :-)

I am going to try fill you in as much as possible.

After Sanya.

We flew to Hong Kong for a day and then to Bangkok. Now we were not mad about Thailand so the only reason we did this was because it was so hard to get into any other country with regards visas. We arrived in Bangkok late in the evening and got a taxi to the hotel ( who as you would expect with Thai taxi drivers shafted us. after we got in he said he would take us to the city for 600 baht but we refused and told him the meter as tourists are told to do but low and behold he got lost couldn't find the hotel street name and then the meter read 650 baht. The taxi back to another airport which is further from the city was 400 baht ) . When we arrived at the hotel it was in a poor area and we had a large room but it was basic. We found a cockroach in the room and insects in the bathroom so we managed to change room. (in our defense although China was dirt poor there was never a cockroach or dirty room form the cheapest (6euro) to the most expensive room (I think 200 euro -in Hong Kong the night we arrived!! ) over all the 3 months there. The next morning the receptionist rang us at about 8 am and we were told we would have to move to another room . We didn't move. Bangkok is crazy, the first time we were there so many people tried to fool us into going places with them by tuk tuk. this time we just ignored them and it worked better. Although we had plenty of various characters trying it on. We went to the palace in Bangkok and saw a white couple at the other end of a park talking to a local. When the woman looked up we waved our arms around wildly and shook our heads as if to say " No matter what he is telling you don't trust him he is trying to shaft you. :-D " The woman smiled and the next time we looked back she had her husband by the arm and was walking away from the guy.

We went into the Palace and it was quite beautiful, sadly a large part of the palace was closed off; because the Kings sister had passed away and only Thai people were allowed into the main say chapel area. We also had to wear fishermen robes because we had to cover up going into the area with Buddist monks. ( 10 minutes away by tuk tuk right beside a shopping street like Moore Street you can pay to see any type of , shall we say adult show you want. I know I might be a bit judge mental but its all a bit hypocritical )

We flew to Phuket for a few days which was a really cool place. It has old spanish architecture in the old town, it's very arty and has some great cafes, restaurants and guest houses/hotels. It's far more interesting than the beach resorts about 30 minutes by local bus, which have no character and could be any resort anywhere in the world. We stayed in the Bukkita hotel for about 20 euro which was newly open and dirt cheap as a result. It was great and the staff were really cool. From Phuket we got a ferry across to Koh Phi Phi (where 'the beach' was filmed) it's a very pretty place but overcrowded by tourists thus awful accommodation for incredibly high prices and mediocre food. We did find a really cool bar on the beach that played really cool music and had a bumch of Thai guys with afros and dreads doing fire shows who were amazing. (We especcially thought of Mel and Dan :-) We swam in the crystal clear ocean every day, rented kayaks and took a trip out to the cove where the beach was filmed. We walked up the mountain in the village and watched the sun set over the island. When we went back to Bangkok we splurged and stayed in a "boutique" hotel for about 40 euro a night. Probably one of the nicest hotels we have ever stayed in.

We left Thailand for a rainy Hong Kong and flew from Hong kong just before Chinese New Year. We landed in Sydney on a cold and wet January day (it was one of the worst summers they have had in years- Sinead nearly cried) We got the train out to Dereks place and slept and slept and slept for the next week.

Syndey was great, it rained for the first 2 weeks but that gave us a chance to catch up on some long needed rest. We flew down to Hobart, Tasmania with jetstar. It rained and rained for the first 5 days straight and we both were getting depressed! At this stage we had spent over 4 months traveling through the winter with a couple of weeks sunshine in between. Thankfully the weather picked up a bit. We did a gig in the New Sydney Inn , Hobart. Got $120 a nights accommodation and free dinner and drink.

Accommodation was expensive for what it was and it was our first time in 4 months paying western prices, we were nearly sick! We were staying near a road filled with car dealerships and wandered up there a few times, we saw a few station wagons that we were interested in but finally decided to rent a car. We bought a tent,sleeping bags and an inflatable bed and headed off camping for a few days, and guess what? It rained!! We felt like we were in Strandhill and not only was the rain depressing but it was worsened by homesickness, a bad combination! 😊

The day we were returning the rental car we stopped at this dealership that were having a huge clearance sale, again we looked at a couple of station wagons- 1998, Air-con, power steering, electric windows, alloy wheels, cd player. And then from the corner of our eyes we spotted a pop top camper with a price tag of $8000. (a lot out of our range), we went to have a nosey around anyway- somehow they went down to 5500 and a few days later we paid 5000 for our very own Peg! We had it looked at by a mechanic and she had new suspension put in and new brakes (included in the cost) and he gave her the all clear. We drove out of the yard like two pigs in sh*t!! We went to visit the previous owners who took such great care of it and stayed chatting for hours.

Dave and Jose are a couple in ther late 70's and they told us their stories of traveling. The fist time they traveled around australia was in 1964 in a station wagon and 3 children! They were a very interesting couple, we spoke about the changes in China as they had been there 20 years ago! Address and phone numbers were exchanged and we occasionally get a phone call off them both to say hello and see where we are and see that the van is looking after us!

Right hippies we are turning into! There is a great energy off the van, you can feel the adventure by just sitting in it!

Before leaving Hobart we went to Port Arthur for a day or two. It was a major gaol for offenders mainly from Ireland. Very beautiful place and steeped with history. The four young Irishmen were sent to tasmania and one of them had a house here where he was confined to for his gaol term.

Since Hobart, we drove up the east coast of Tassie and got the Spirit of Tasmania ferry across to Melbourne. Melbourne to Sydney in a few days and then up the coast to the guys beach house for the Easter Holidays.
Back to Sydney for a few days and then on to the Blue Mountains for a few days, where we gigged in the tourist hostel for free use of their facilities and their car park (more like a back garden and we were the only car there.) One hour gig for 3 nights accommodation, not bad, we saved ourselves at least $100. And have a few more of those gigs already lined up along the coast.

The Blue Mountains get s its name from the blue mist that rises from the eucalyptus trees surrounding the mts. It is an amazing site to look out onto. We did many bush walks while we were there, we hope to go back at the end of the year and do a 2-3 day hike through the mountains. There back to Sydney and Sydney up the coast for the week to the beach house. We are spending this week at the house and then heading up the coast where we have a couple of gigs planned.

So now we are up to date with our travel blog, we promise not to leave it so long between the next one!

4000 kms and counting in "Peig Saoir" (our beloved camper van.)

We will post more photos soon .. sadly a lack of good internet for wireless so a bit stuck sometimes. :-)
Love you and miss you all
xxxXXxxxx

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Photos

Gigging
Playing for our stay in a hostel in The blue mountains

hardys Bay
This is the town near derek and bretts holiday home

Comments

[brian]

hi
Hi guys, how r things? Weather is getting nice here, like the photos, a guy at work said if van is over heating, take the spare wheel away from rad. Take care, Brian