The Much Travelled Man ! Hi Jon, Just caught up with you last few blogs - shame about Australia, but your views on the descendants of our convict outcasts echo mine, although your first hand experience carries more weight !. Hope you enjoy New Zealand, it has always appeared to be a very beautiful place. Are you going to Christchurch where the earthquake hit last year, or do you think you & natural disasters should stay apart ?. Keep enjoying your trvaels. Where to next ?. Hope to see you when / if you return - good luck. Malcolm
Great to hear from you. Hi Malcolm, thanks for the message it's always great to hear from folk back home.
As you can see from the blogs Australia was not the place for me for many reasons but thankfully NZ is a shining star, it's a trekkers paradise and the scenery is out of this world, it's fair to say I'm very happy here.
I'm currently in Christchurch as I write this reply. I had no idea it was so badly affected, it's like a ghost town and is very sad to see it this way. As a city they have a massive mountain to climb before anything looks like being normal again, your heart has to go out to them.
I hope all is well back home and you are keeping that work/life equation well balanced toward life. I take it you are still with NPS, how are things looking there? Any signs of improvement or positive change?
I leave NZ in a couple of days and we be heading to Indonesia next, I can't wait although I'm very sad to be leaving here because I like it so much.
Keep well and stay in touch.
Cheers
Jon
We found the north of Vietnam was far less pushy than the rest, almost no-one trying to shovel you in to a taxi or put shitty "crafts" in your hands. Keep the blogs coming :-)
North/South divide Yeah I have to say you’re spot on, I think from Hoi An upwards the country seemed a lot more chilled out and as you hit Sapa it changed a little bit with the Mountain women continually pestering you to buy yet more sh*t, but they weren’t too aggressive so it didn’t really matter.
More blogs on the way, happy reading!
Dora the explorer
First, the posts have been fantsastic, lately. It seems like perhaps having Cyclo there meant that you could actually share the humour of those otherwise crazy moments. Really glad for you!
Also, I don't know about you, but when people come to visit me in foreign places, it always somehow makes it more real for me that I am out somewhere and that they are back home. I seem to avoid that hitting me until people come over. I find the phenomenon quite interesting, and was wondering if it was the same for you at this point? If so, I hope you are coping well.
Have fun with your parents in KL. I believe it is coming up soon, isn't it.
A la prochaine,
Valerie
Love this new blog post. Keep up the French digs. We love them, too. Also, I went to a presentation about land mines and cluster munitions. The stories are horendous and deeply touching, even though I have yet to meet an actual victim. I am just starting the job search for next summer, and this is definitely one issue that I am considering working on. Anyways, glad to hear of the absence of natural disasters at your end. We just had the worst snowstorm ever for October. Take care!!
Yo Plunkers, oh my god what are you eating!! Have arranged for emergency airdrop of Monster Munch! Have passed your blog onto a few people Ian S via Dick and HM Customs ref. Dodgy polo shirts? Hope your really enjoying yourself oh and by the way just watched new series of idiot abroad - things to do before you die! Just as good. My girls really liked pic of dung beatle.
Keep having fun. Paul
I am so envious right now... All this fun and laughter you speak of... I so miss that! Your blog is inspiring, as always, and the pictures are absolutely gorgeous. I am so glad you did the Gorges, and that you are validating that it is one of the most beautiful sights in China. I didn\'t do half as many hikes as I would\'ve liked to do while I was there, but at least I did the Gorges, right?
Getting There !!! Hi Jon,
Impressed with the "baby harness" on the Macau Tower skywalk !!
More impressed with the fact that you got up there & walked round !
Sorry to read about the scam in Chinese bar - still, glad to see you got out of it in one piece !
Malcolm
No Way Jose (or JP) !!! Hi Jon,
Good to see you are having a great time on your travels. Like you there is just no way I could have done it either !. Glad to see the pictures of the Terracotta Army, you must have been blown away by it. Good luck with your travels - I look forward to your future blogs. Regards, Malcolm Streatfield
I'd have bailed, too! I had just recently heard of this place and although I think the views would be to "die" for... I, like you, would fear that I'd do just that! Superb pics! Loved seeing them and reading your blog!
Wow! You kept your word for the mention :)
Don't expect other spots to be less crowded. XiAn feels worse than Beijing, as far as I could tell. I did rouli qiu tai ji quan (tai chi with racket) with my water bottle this morning...So, yeah, I got another racket in the afternoon.
Hello awesome update dude! Just a quicky as im now leaving work to go to see take that! Can you also include laura in your blogs cause she keeps asking after you. laura-brown@birketts.co.uk
The travelling has begun....... Here's the list of places visited so far.
1.) South Korea- Seoul, Sokcho, Samcheok, Gyeongju, JeJu Island, Busan
2.) China - Beijing, Pingyao, Taiyuan, Xian, Hefei, Tunxi, Shanghai, Guilin, Yangshuo, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-la, Chengdu, TIBET - Lhasa, Everest Base Camp.
3.) Hong Kong - Kowloon, Kennedy Town.
4.) Macau
5.) Nepal - Kathmandu, Chitwan, Pokhara.
6.) Thailand - Bangkok, Koh Chang, Chaing Mai, Chiang Rai,
7.) Laos - Huai Xai, Luang Prebang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane
8.) Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City, Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Han... full info
zizan
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