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Published: November 3rd 2006
Home Sweet Home
Millstones, Stanage Edge, Peak District National ParkEven after being back for five months we're still experiencing elements of Einstein's relativism - spacepeople who have travelled very fast and returned to find time has moved faster at the place they left than with themselves - and it's not just all the weddings. When people talk about last year we both immediately think of events in 2004 - for us 2005 and early 2006 just didn't seem to exist. Nonetheless whilst things changed most people have remained reassuringly the same.
The Arctic Monkeys happened whilst we were away, and now I've finally got the album I quite like them - sorry Ken. Their
Fake Tales of San Francisco seems particularly appropriate to my current career, sitting in my attic a couple of hundred yards from Hunters Bar communicating with the rest of the company sitting in the East Bay. A common question has been how have we coped with the shock and expected depression of returning. In fact we've both been so busy we've not had chance to notice. So far only half my life has been at home, the rest spent travelling around Europe and trips to San Francisco. Kim has been equally busy getting
her physio practice up and running and finishing her Msc - although she points out it's time she had a trip to somewhere more exciting than Northern England.
Along with the Arctic Monkeys the other thing that seems to have taken off whilst we've been away is global warming. I'll not labour any points here but the warnings appear to be escalating and the actions being taken by both individuals and corporations seem to be accelerating - it's mainly governments and legislators that seem to be lagging. Given the amount of travel I do I've got to be one of the worst offenders, and I'm still looking for sensible technologies in which to invest as a form of offsetting - any ideas most welcome. At least our electricity has been sanctioned by Greenpeace (until recently). There's a list of UK providers at the end.
Channel 4's 100 greatest Cumberland Sausage moments
Many apologies, it's list time again. It can get quite dull sometimes in Nepalese tea-houses, where most of this was compiled.
Please excuse the indulgence. Remember, lists aren't bad in moderation, list responsibly etc. (Kim and I both did separate lists and then we merged them. The individual lists are perhaps more interesting with compromise candidates scoring better than they otherwise might. However I'll spare going through them all). The lists are in top-down order i.e. first in the list was our first choice.
Top twenty photos
Interspersed through the text for formatting reasons - my own personal list, not pixel-peeping nor dynamically ranging; just those I like the most.
Top Five 'Countries'
- Africa
- Mongolia
- Bolivia
- Nepal/Patagonia/New Zealand
- Sri Lanka/Bali/Lombok
Obviously Africa isn't a country but we just couldn't pick a single country out of this great adventure. It was perhaps the hardest thing we did, mainly because there was just no letup in the pace. When in charge of our own destinies we could take a break, but when at the mercy of Paul the Driver we just had to knuckle down and get on with it. Nonetheless the staggering amount we saw and the great company of our fellow truck members made this section a clear highlight. Mongolia actually topped my list, partly due to a fondness for underdogs. We both found the remoteness and wildness compelling - it perhaps felt the most different of all the places we visited. Nepal, Patagonia and Bolivia were the other places that made both lists, perhaps unsurprising given our fondness for mountains.
Top Ten things we did
- Canoeing with the Hippos on the Zambezi / Drinking Tompa on the Jiri to Lukla trail (Nepal)
- Playing footie with the Monks, Xiahe Monastery, ‘western’ China
- Bouncing around in the back of a Russian minivan in the rocky deserts of Mongolia
- Cruising the hardcore singletrack with Mike the Bike in Kerala, chasing down a spot of Tiffin
- Looking after one year old twins, Holly, Maia and Virtual Boy
- Letting reality sink in amidst the beauty of Rwanda / Wandering lonely amongst the Penguins, Chile
- Mountain biking down from 4700m to 1300m in the Zonga valley, Bolivia / Chilly sunsets amidst the volcanoes of the Altoplano, Bolivia
- Exploring well off the beaten track in Vuasa game reserve, Malawi
- Rogaining with Bill in the hills west of Wellington
- Watching Liverpool vs Chelsea with Ambramovitch’s mates in a St Petersburgh pub
Hell, it was a great trip.
I’m personally glad a bit of ‘orienteering’ crept in there since we’ve spent so much of our lives doing it - although it’s definitely more enjoyable once you stop. These days mountain biking seems so much easier on the legs, particularly when it’s all downhill.
The place I want to go back to soonest - the tea plantations of Kerala for masala dosa, Kingfisher beer and riding through the tea into the setting sun.
Top Ten places we stayed
We've deliberately left out friends and relatives, for obvious reasons - with one exception.
- Jiouzhaigou Monastery, China / Salt Hotel, Bolivia
- Whamsey's flat, Hong Kong
- Mueller Hut, Mt Cook National Park, New Zealand
- Onuku Farm Hostel, Banks Peninsula, New Zealand
- Blandfordia Hut, Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
- Windy Hiltop near Mt Kenya, Kenya
- Gunn's Camp, Fjordland, New Zealand
- Erratic Rock Hostel, Puerto Natales, Chile / Liqing Guesthouse, Rice Terraces, Pingan, China
- Gusti's Garden Bungalows, Ubud Bali
- Camping, Wineglass Bay, Tasmania
To be honest, I can't really separate the top three - Kim put the Salt Hotel top whilst I went for Steve's Hong Kong flat. The former speaks for itself - a top class hotel built entirely out of salt, with stunning views across the worlds largest salt plain, and ourselves as the only guests. For me the relief of reaching the luxurious sanctuary of an old friend’s flat after travelling across Siberia, Mongolia and Western China was unexpectedly strong. The monastery in Jiouzhaigou was another sanctuary - we'd nearly been stuck at the top of the park, ten miles from the nearest accommodation, but thankfully had made the last bus down and found this homely, comfortable and certainly illegal haven right under the authorities noses - amazing what a bribe can do. Most of the others are just simply stunning locations, although Onuku and Erratic Rock stand out for the warmth of the welcome from complete strangers.
Top Five Meals
Again we've deliberately left out (old) friends and relatives, with one exception.
- Adrian's Boeuf Bourguignonne, both times, somewhere in Africa
- Divemasters Tuna Fish on the beach, Sri Lanka
- Wild boar, antipasta and Steak, El Caulle Ranch, Chilean Lake District
- Beth's Pate, Hobart, Tasmania / Thai-style duck, expat Restaurant, Beijing
- Rajesh and Shilpa's Indian feast, Pune / Late night Kebabs, Brunswick, Melbourne
Adrian, our eccentric, frustrating and loveable French-Canadian truckmate just had to take top prize - after all, he told us often enough how good a cook he was. I'm not sure I've ever met anyone quite so frustrating when it comes to food, not even Mark at
Food and Fine Wine. But in the end, with the help of his ever patient Passepartout, Paul, he conjured the best Bouef Bourguignonne I've ever tasted (sorry Mum) - twice, for twenty odd people, on a charcoal fire, in a remote campsite, somewhere in Africa. Respect.
A special mention should go to Kim's green curry and sweet and sour vegetables, made with the help of the friendly proprietress of the Joy Luck Club restaurant, Bangkok.
For me, the country that had the best food overall, ignoring the Western culinary paradises of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa where we couldn't really afford the best food, was without doubt India. Kim would plump for Sri Lanka, where she just loved the curries.
Top Five Big Nights Out
Kim declined to add to this one.
- The Hyena Impersonator, Lake Kariba houseboat, Zambia/Zimbabwe
- Hong Kong double header with Steve and Tonia
- Overland Scum night, Luderitz Camp site (Pokerface shows his hand)
- Paddy, Sam and some Vodka, somewhere between Moscow and Irkutsk, Russia
- NGO's, Terence and the Colonel, Kandy, Sri Lanka / Steve and Margaret, New Years Eve, Punta Arenas
Top Three Travelblog comments
In reverse order this time...
- In joint 3rd, our friends in Sheffield, Ruth and Jaimie, who seperately and within hours of each other demanded we bring home Penguins from Chile ... "Please bring me back a penguin with you. Al won't mind. I’ll dig a pond for it in your back garden."
- In second, Alice, from Estonia : "Did you note that the KGB headquarters is now the Russian Embassy? I had a delightful visit in January, 2003, in a vain attempt to get my son a visa to come visit me in St. Petersberg, where I was working for a year. It's a better Museum of Occupation than the official one, as it is equipped with actual Soviet bureaucrats. Their main task is to torment Estonians trying to get into or out of Russia, but they will gladly display their formidable talents to other capitalists. Reason for denying visa: my son had already been to St. Petersburg, and there really isn't that much to see there. A must-see attraction, so don't delay--those Soviets aren't getting any younger."
- But for me, in first place by some margin, was the enigmatic John with the immortal "You could have been great, but now you're just like David Beckham." (I've taken the liberty of reordering it slightly)
Thanks Ali
Many thanks to Ali who has made Travelblog the undoubtedly great site it is today - we both wish him the best success with this and any future endeavours.
Thanks Everyone
Also much thanks to all those who helped us on our way, providing accommodation, support, gear and friendship …
John and Joan, Steve and Margaret, Al and Jaimie, Paul the Driver and Nicky, all our Exodus truckmates, Oli’s Russian mates, Steve, Hiko, Tonia and Rob, Nigel and Hilary, Adrian, Gill and Bob, James and Heather, Carina and John, Dale and Blake, Susan, Beth and Andrew, Tom, Hannah and Reggie, Joan and Henry, Bill and Patrice, Liz Dombrovskis, Roz and Andy, Clyde and Helen, Bill and Susan, Will and Micky, Yvette and Joel, Mahendra de Silva, Mike the Bike, Rajesh and Shilpa, Satish and Man and of course, Adrian again.
Apologies if we've missed you - you're not forgotten, just saved for a warm memory on a dark winter's evening.
Also many many thanks to all of you who have spent time browsing the photos and occasionally reading the words, and to all of you who have sent comments, both kind and informative. Most particularly thanks and apologies to those few, often in surprising quarters, who have bravely ploughed through the words - 'Polemic' was the term used by a sarcastic old friend from Leeds who has a rather better way with words than I.
Green Power in the UK
Not a political organisation for leprechauns. With thanks to
Tim Flannery ...
Ecotricity Green Energy (UK) Good Energy npower Juice RSBP Energy Scottish Power/Manweb Utilita London Energy, NIEB, Powergen, Seeboard and SWEB also have schemes, I just couldn't be bothered typing in the long urls.
And, by way of variety, here's our friend Marie-Claire's perspective on the best photos. Only one makes both lists...
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Dan
non-member comment
Wow
Sad it's over, but I'm glad to see Tasmania made it onto your list a couple of times, I'm lucky to live here. I hope someone who can equal the quality of your photography and writing skilling will come along very soon because we've just come to the end of another outstanding blog.