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9/24/2008 Danube, week8Mon 22 Sep. 3 miles, Vienna/Cologne Walked round town, after late check out, then retired to bierkeller for backgammon challenge & sit down. Totally run out of tourist motivation. 3 mile cycle to station & boarded the night train to Cologne.Tue 23 Sep. 3 miles, Cologne/Brussels
Surprisingly got some sleep on the train. Quite comfy bunks. Then 3 trains to Brussels, where our luck ran out with most hotels being full for some conference. Found rooms a little below our usual standard to put it mildly, near station. Left rooms as quickly as possible for a large Leffe in the main square (where, usual story of our trip, a stage was being put up/taken down for some concert we've arrived to early/late for). Dinner at the top of restaurant alley, where we ran the gauntlet of waiters almost physically dragging us into their restaurants.
Wed 24 Sep. 0 miles, Brussels Walked round town, before again running out of tourist motivation. Unenthusiatically picked over some moules/frites for lunch – really feels like the 'full' lights have come on after 2 months eating out.
Thu 25 Sep. 5 miles, Brussels/Home Surprisingly smooth final leg of our journey. Despite the tunnel fire, Eurostar arrival in St Pancras was only delayed by half an hour. Cycle paths from St Pancras to Liverpool St also surprisingly good. Virtually walked straight onto train for Billericay & our final couple of miles cycling to our newly refurbished house.
What an adventure.
Huge thanks for everyone's support – Ulli has now over £4000 for the Parkinson's Disease Society: www.justgiving.com/ullidonau – tremendous.
Have a few thousand photos to sort thru now – will post here as soon as I have them down to a sensible selection. 9/19/2008 Danube, week 7Mon 15 Sep. 32 miles, Szetendre
Raining & cold from start to finish, mainly in traffic. Would almost prefer to be at work. Momentum maintained with hot chocolate, goulash soup (yum) & sőr (beer). Finished in last big town before Budapest for much washing, drying, warming up, more goulash & palinka. Quote of the trip: after Ian had a shivering fit & we made a soup stop to warm up, I remarked he'd stopped shaking involuntarily, quick as a flash Ulli shot back with a grin 'wish I could'.
Tue 16 Sep. 18 miles, BUDAPEST
Rain stopped - hurrah. Set off under cold grey skies for the finish line. Cycle path all the way also a nice change from yesterday's main roads. Saw the impressive green rooftop fo the Buda castle, then the stunning parliament building on the Pest side. Crossed over the Duna into Pest & found tourist info to book us a central hotel, which turned out to be a huge suite. Celebratory hot baths all round to warm up, followed by a curry.
Wed 17 Sep. 0 miles, BUDAPEST
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURAINE. 13C, brrr. Got 24hr sightseeing bus tickets & did a circuit of the city to get the lie of the land. Revisited the hilltop castle & citadel on the Buda side for panoramic views of Pest. Top dinner in cellar restaurant with extravagantly decorated desert, jungle, pirate & ocean themed rooms.
Thu 18 Sep. 0 miles, BUDAPEST
Slightly warmer sightseeing. Heroes square v impressive & wander down the main Andrassy boulevard with some incredible buildings. As 80% destroyed or damaged in the war, seems joining the EU in 2004 has brought in some money, as much repair work in progress on some grand buildings in a desperate state. Nice Hungarian white wine with dinner: Irsai Oliver. Palinka of the day: csipkebogyo (rosehip)
Fri 19 Sep. 0 miles, BUDAPEST
Hungarian history overload with museum visit - fascinating. After various invasions (Roman, Tartar, etc), final insult after 1st WW was that Hungary was reduced to a third of its size with 2 thirds reallocated to neighbouring Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia. Champagne celebration to start our last night in Budapest. Palinka of the day: feher eher (white strawberry), erder szeder (blueberry), birs (quince) Sat 20 Sep. 3.5 miles, Vienna
Grey, cold, showers. The return journey begins with an early 1 mile cycle to the hydrofoil back to Vienna. 6hrs to retrace our last 2 weeks cycle! Then check in to the sister hotel of our place in Budapest; only 2.5 miles ride from hydrofoil port. Big suite in town centre, fab. Great dinner in pucker Austrian beer keller. Superb dunkel beer which waiter insisted we precede with schnapps. No arguments here.Sun 21 Sep. 0 miles, Vienna
Grey, 12C. Had a wander round main photo points: rathaus, theatre, parliament, art & nat hist museums & hofburg. Dived into art museum just as rain started. Nice dinner in another old looking place but was actually rebuilt in 1988, recreating what was destroyed in 1881 - couldn´t get to the bottom of what caused destruction.Reminders:
Should you wish to kindly support our efforts to raise funds for the Parkinson's Disease Society: www.justgiving.com/ullidonau
Alternate blog (in case we split up or fall out !!) :www.funkycorner.blogspot.com 9/17/2008 Danube, week 6Mon 8 Sep. 23 miles, Babolna
Refreshingly cooler at 21C after rain overnight. Left Gyor via what look like fairly new cycle paths to ride thru various little villages. Passed a swiss couple cycling all the way to Belgrade, but not sure where they started. Finished at Babolna famous for its arabian horse stud. 2 hotels we were expecting were closed, but luckily found a fantastic b&b run by a lovely lady who plied us with beer, wine & sample of her homemade plum\pear palinka while she made up the rooms. V much like staying at your grannys.
Tue 9 Sep. 14 miles, Komarom
A pleasant 25C for a short ride to the spa town of Komarom, back on the Duna, the path having curved south away from the river since entering Hungary. Found a hotel with huge swimming pools - great - next to the thermal baths - not so great as the sulphorous pong wafts over quite regularly! Like Bratislava & many towns we've seen in Hungary it has a 24hr Tesco. Still seeing Aldi\Lidl occasionally, tho not as much as Germany, home of Aldi\Lidl. As per the whole trip, still seeing lots of Jesus & Mary shrines at the edge of fields & in peoples gardens, v catholic territory - Gruss Got, 'God greet you' being the standard hello in much of Bavaria & Austria we passed thru. Things looking up as girls win at cards - yes!
Wed 10 Sep. 0 miles, Komarom
Lazy one for us by the pool, while Funky Corner explored the sights. Lucky streak continues as girls win cards again - come on.
Thu 11 Sep. 22 miles, Tata
Rain overnight & breakfast! Set off when it stopped, but not a whole lot cooler. 13 miles to Tata, got hotel nicely situated behind the main street & between the towns 2 lakes. After dropping bags off, then did 9 mile round trip to a nearby palaeolithic settlement discovered in the 1960s. Ulli had a flat tyre on the way back to base, the 2nd of our trip - not bad in 6 weeks. Vilmos (?) & szilva (plum) palinkas tried following pizza overdose.
Fri 12 Sep. 14 miles, Labatlan
Disaster, Ulli had 3rd puncture of our trip as we were leaving Tata. For a change, bit of a hill to go up & over a wine region, before dropping back down to the Duna. Got rooms at the 1 hotel in Labatlan overlooking the Duna, saw the jetfoil we will take from Budapest to Vienna, tho trying not to think about journey home & eurostar situation following the fire yesterday. Bates motel feel to accomodation, old man & young girl produced great meal, & some wine from the hills we cycled thru earlier, but at 9.15pm asked us nicely to go to our rooms so they could lock up & get the last bus home!
Sat 13 Sep. 22 miles, Esztergom
Again we chose the hilly alternative to the rather busy main road. Went thru a bit of an industrial wasteland, before catching sight of the huge basilica towering over Esztergom, then winding our way into the city passed the enormous suzuki plant & obligatory 24hr tesco superstore into another lovely old quarter with newly pedestrianised main square. Found nice rooms in the shadow of the basilica. After a quick goulash soup lunch stop next door, had a walk up the endless spiral stairs to the basilica dome. Fab views of the Duna 'golden bend', as the river turns dramatically as it hits some hills. Being Saturday, the conveyor belt of weddings was in full noisy swing as each party arrived\left hooting every car horn possible. Palinkas of the day: raspberry & feketeribizli (blackcurrant). Dessert of the day: pancakes with choc & strawberry sauce, ice cream, etc - big smile on Ulli's face when finished.
Sun 14 Sep. 0 miles, Esztergom
Day off. Cloudy & cold - outraged. Wandered over bridge to Slovakia where Sunday closing also in full swing. Retired to bar for hot chocolate & girls win at cards - yey. Palinka of the day: vegyes (mixed fruit) Reminders:
Should you wish to kindly support our efforts to raise funds for the Parkinson's Disease Society: www.justgiving.com/ullidonau
Alternate blog (in case we split up or fall out !!) :www.funkycorner.blogspot.com 9/3/2008 Danube, week 5Mon 1 Sep. 0 miles, Wien Day off. Checked out the work of local artist, Egon Schiele, imprisoned accused of producing pornography, not really my cup of tea, but not a huge modern art fan. Watched the Anker clock's understated 'animation' at midday. Toured Schonbrunn palace - v impressive, a little reminicent of Versailles, & this is where Marie Antoinette grew up. Caught an organ recital at St.Peters church, much nicer than St.Stephens Dom, then a much needed drink in the sky bar looking over the rooftops, followed by unbeatable views over dinner in the revolving restaurant in the donauturm tower. Schnapps of the day: walnut. Dessert of the day: kaiserschmal (shredded pancakes & jam type sauce).Tue 2 Sep. 38 miles, Altenburg Phew it's hot. Left Vienna via the aforementioned fab cycle path network, crossing to the north bank where the path went thru a national park, v peaceful, if a little boring after the 1st 20 mins. Beer/sausage stop at Orth, which kept us going til we crossed over to the south bank to stay in altenburg - a spa town with mainly elderly visitors, many wandering round in dressing gowns, between treatments!Wed 3 Sep. 21 miles, Bratislava
Still hot. Visited various remains of the large roman town of Carnuntum(.co.at) - with v atmospheric full reconstruction of a roman villa. staying on the south bank, after only a few miles, Bratislava appeared on the skyline. Unexpectedly border post deserted, rode into totally pedestrianised lovely old town centre on great cycle path, signs/menus in english/slovak, prices in krowns & euros, as they seem to be in change over period with currency, rooms similar price, beer half the price of Germany/Austria - result! What a great place.
Thu 4 Sep. 0 miles, Bratislava Day off. A leisurely walk up to the castle & presidential palace, before retiring from the 29C heat to a shady corner of the main square for cold beers & salad. The history museum was interesting as I know sod all about Slovakian history, amazed how recent some changes are: 1989 velvet revolution, 2004 joined EU, 2007 joined schengen, 2008 started euro entry, fully euro due Jan 2009. Walking around the old restored buildings of the city centre v pleasant with no traffic. Had another nice dinner just off one of the central squares - meat, fish & veggy dishes have all been great, which is a pleasant surprise after the 1st restaurant we saw listed 'roasted bull gland' as one of the chefs specials!
Fri 5 Sep. 30 miles, Mosonmagyarovar
Left Bratislava, pausing to catch breath after getting bikes & panniers down 3 flights of stairs (hotel central, but no lift), crossing the 'Donaj' to follow the south bank into Hungary, where it's called the 'Duna'. Tho the Slovakian north bank has a path, most books advise the Hungarian side is nicer, so that's what we're going for. Passed thru another derelict border post & on into Hungary, which seems quite similar to Austria, but hotter & drier. Arrived in Mosonmagyarovar about as hot & bothered as it's possible to be. Headwind for the whole ride made the going v tough. Unfortunately, despite having a town map, struggled to get bearings with either no road names or different road names, but eventuallly tried a hotel, which turned out to be a hidden gem, 4*, rooms like huge apartments, right near the pedestrianised old town centre, just before I turned into one giant heat rash. Did I mention already that its bloody hot?
Sat 6 Sep. 20 miles, Asvanyraro
Rode thru various small villages I can't be bothered to spell here, with real mix of ramshackle, brand new & everything in between houses. Passed a waterpark\leisure complex, mobbed being Saturday & baking hot. Found a castle-turned-ultra-smart hotel which was full due to hosting a wedding. Called it a day when we ran out of water\steam in the above mentioned 1 horse town, where we found rooms, after much gesticulating as no english or german spoken, for the 1st time in our trip. Splashed out on 2 rounds of cold beers before staggering off for cold showers to hose off the salt crust - crikey it's hot. Quick mention of the real autumnal season change now from our start with green elderberries\maize\sunflowers in the fields & hedges now turned to black elderberries falling off onto the paths & baked, dried out maize\sunflowers being harvested by machines pressing them for oil. Liquor of the day: unicum - to be avoided at all costs, possibly only to be applied externally - nasty.
Sun 7 Sep. 15 miles, Gyor
Early start after nice surprise of a handsome breakfast, included in our nearly 17 quid room. Despite early start, still 30C by the time we got to Gyor around midday. A really lovely pedestrianised centre, many beautiful old buildings. After a celebratory beer & salad, stumbled across the final of a 3 day palinka (Hungarian schnapps) festival, which meant a lazy afternoon watching traditional bands & dancing in the main square. Rounded off the evening with: meggy (sour cherry), korte (pear) & szilva (plum) palinkas.
Reminders: Should you wish to kindly support our efforts to raise funds for the Parkinson's Disease Society: www.justgiving.com/ullidonau
Alternate blog (in case we split up or fall out !!) :www.funkycorner.blogspot.com 8/26/2008 Danube, week 4Sat 23 Aug. 28 miles, Inzel
Cloudy & cool. Set off on south bank path, paused for photo by 'welcome to Austria' sign, which was frankly rubbish. Caught cute wee bike ferry at Engelhartszell to follow north bank path. Dunkel weissbier stop at Niederranna gasthof by the river, showing pictures of Danube floods in 1954 & 2002. At Au, caught equally cute ferry back to south bank, stopping at Inzel. As you can tell, the team meeting last night didn't conclude any one side was best - most guide books advise following sections furthest from busy roads, ie. flip from 1 side to the other, thus keeping dozens of little family ferry boats in business. We seem to have been joined by loads of poeple hiring bikes in Passau going to Vienna - easy to pick out with same bikes & small panniers. 1st English encounter today, 1 couple started same time\place as us, but camped - nutters - evening storms we barely noticed were a bigger deal for them! Before Passau, Donau was muddy brown, since joining the much bigger Inn, it has taken on the latters jade green colour, much nicer. Gasthof quirky, with yodelling & accordian playing from the men of the house - the hills are alive! Edelweissbier, followed by Schnapps of the day: opsala (or some such) - we are definitely in Austria!
Sun 24 Aug. 38 miles, Linz
Cloudy, cool start along v pretty riverside south bank path, steep-sided narrow valley til Aschach where it widens considerably. Blue sky appearing - hurrah. At Ottensheim, cycled across massive dam to take north bank into Linz. Main square v impressive. Sunday closing & clear up operation after concert yesterday (featuring Shaggy & Kim Wilde!) meant not too much choice of rooms, but found small hotel near station. Being Euro city of culture 2009 means huge refurb in progress. Will be fab when finished, but currently a bit of a building site.
Mon 25 Aug. 27 miles, Mauthausen
Left Linz under clear blue skies along north bank, following meander round the industrial side of town - altho not the prettiest site on the opposite bank, our side was thru nice, quiet parkland, an improvement on the cycle path into the city running alongside a v busy road (our standards are v high now!). Crossed to the south bank on another huge dam & detoured to the pretty village of St. Florian (patron saint of firemen, usually painted in a spectacular scene on most firestations), for eiskaffee\bier stop (no hefeweiss from this point on). Made our way back to the river via Enns, the oldest town in Austria (1546), with a beautiful town square. Caught wee ferry to north bank to stay in Mauthausen, with marvellously decorated 17thC houses (skirting over its gory war history). Stayed in 500yr old river front gasthaus. 3 Austrian wines tried: Muskatela & Reisling from Wachau, Grüner Veltliner from Seftenburg - both areas ahead of us, all delish. Schnapps of the day: nuss (nut) - scrummy.
Tue 26 Aug. 25 miles, Grein
Crossed bridge shortly after Mauthausen for south bank ride to Wallsee, up an absolute sod of a hill, but pretty town square at the top. We are now in Mostviertal territory, where the apples & pears are turned into 'Most', the local scrumpy. Needless to say, at our lunch stop in Ardagger Markt, a round of Most hit the spot. Luckily only 7km to Grein, on Most legs. Cycle path into Grein, after crossing bridge to north side, v pleasant. Icing on the cake was finding rooms in 700yr old hotel, like staying in a stately home.
Schnapps of the day: zirbes (pine needles), surprisingly yum. Following a foray into Austrian desserts last night with some kind of 'most' cake, Ulli followed up with an apricot dumpling to go with his mirelle (apricot) schnapps.
Wed 27 Aug. 32 miles, Melk
Left Grein crossing back over the bridge on the much quieter south path, pausing for the jigsaw puzzle-worthy views of the town reflected in the river. fortunately, south path shady as valley sides v steep & it is scorching again. Skin now feeling like jacket potato, ie. baked, maybe I'll switch to tin foil & ditch the factor30, which just isn't cutting the mustard! Incredibly lovely scenery. 'Most'\lunch stop at Krummnussbaum (crooked nut tree) - aah. Awesome view of the basilica cycling into Melk. Found a tardis of a wee gasthaus in the shadow of the basilica with huge rooms. Tourist central, large groups of various nationailities stopping on their luxury Danube cruises - lazy bums. Desserts of the day: apfelstrudel, mohr in hemd (more choc than you can shake a stick at) & mirelle palatschinken (apricot crepes) - feel sick just writing about them.
Thu 28 Aug. 20 miles, Dürnstein
Up to the basilica for a tour round then, left Melk, crossing the bridge to follow the north bank for the day. After a few miles, entered the Wachau region, vines growing in every possible nook & cranny on the steep hillsides. Passed thru various lovely villages, some with stone age history (Google 'venus of Willendorf' if you're bored), stopping for white, or, a new one, red wine spritzers in 1st Spitz, then Weissenkirchen. V muggy today, not refreshed at all after a v brief shower at our 2nd drink stop. Called it a day at Dürnstein, tourist central again, had to ask at 4 places before finding rooms free, luckily at a wine-makers! V old buildings here, main historical point: Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned in the castle. Dinner mainly a cheese & wine tasting at our winery gasthaus.
Fri 29 Aug. 27 miles, Zwentendorf
Cycled out thru the vineyards & thru Krems aldstadt with bustling shops, crossing the bridge to follow the south path, hugging the riverbank most of the way. 'Most'\eiskaffee stop at Traismauer marina. Looked & felt like thunderstorm could break out any minute, but never did. Stopped at Zwentendorf, home of the only nuclear power station never to be used. Schnapps of the day: birne (pear).
Sat 30 Aug. 22 miles, Kritzendorf
Staying on the south bank, stopped in Tulln for midmorning wander round. Riverside path well used by joggers & high speed cyclists all the way to Kritzendorf, where we got a snug appartment - with internet & pc, hurrah. Landlady also has a rooms in Vienna, which may save us some faffing about tomorrow. Local pizza place, with strangest 'red' wine ever, more like brandy, for dinner. Sun 31 Aug. 12 miles, Wien
Oh Vienna! Short ride to give plenty of time to find rooms. Cycle paths into & around the city fantastic. Tourist info super efficient, found us fairly central reasonably priced rooms & checked in by midday, then out exploring. had a 'sturm' for the first time, this is 'unfinished' wine, cloudy grape juice with a bit of a kick, quite refreshing on yet another glorious day. Took a horse drawn carriage tour, a great lazy way to see all central sites. Fantastic architure everywhere. Ulli found a great place for dinner, with autographed walls & ceiling by Mark Twain & Pavarotti, among many others. Wiener schnitzel for the non-veggies, of course, for dinner. Schnapps of the day: dirdenbrand (some kind of small red fruit/berry, really not sure from the picture on the label). Reminders:
Should you wish to kindly support our efforts to raise funds for the Parkinson's Disease Society: www.justgiving.com/ullidonau
Alternate blog (in case we split up or fall out !!) :www.funkycorner.blogspot.com 8/22/2008 Danube, week 3Mon 18 Aug. 30 miles, Donaustauf.
Weissbier stop in Regensburg & wander round the dom (cathedral) & altstadt. Another hot one, last 10km tough as the afternoon heated up. Found a place, just before they closed post lunch, not great looking from the outside, but something of a hidden gem with a fab dinner menu. Pre-dinner walk to Walhalla (some kind of german hall of fame parthenon) or lounge on balcony for the less energetic, ie. me. Dinner with background pet parrot squalking, fab food, wine 1:1 cards.
Tue 19 Aug. 30 miles, Straubing.
Yet another hot one. Detoured briefly into Wörth for a better view of the schloss there. Nightmare traffic, left quickly for the peace of the cycle path. Weiss bier stop in Kussnach only a few miles from our finish point. Straubing centre lovely, ate in cobbled main square in bright sun - retired inside for girls win at cards when thunderstorm started later. Chatted with waitress from Bucks. via Norway, who was thinking of moving to Spain after 24yrs in Bavaria - itchy feet or what.
Wed 20 Aug. 37 miles, Winzer.
Rain stopped overnight, leaving cloudy warm day. Weissbier\lunch stop in Deggendorf by river. Called it a day at Winzer - so boys could have a wander round 'Winzer castle'. Tho town looked closed, rooms available in lovely b&b in hillside home. Peter & Sarah Kragl drove an hour & a half to meet us for dinner, great to see them again, no special costume this time - Sarah celebrated her 10th year in Germany last year with a party where friends came in what is considered typically English dress - all as wide of the mark as our lederhosen images of Germany apparently.
Thu 21 Aug. 26 miles, Passau.
Clear blue skies again. Whizzed into the city of Passua for 1pm, checked into central hotel - to give you an idea: our most expensive room so far @ 109 Euros, after our cheapest last night @ 50. Pizza & hefeweiss dunkelbier (the dark malty version of hefeweiss, mmm) lunch stop in the square below our hotel, to celebrate completing our crossing of Germany. After a stroll around another v picturesque altstadt, found a nice curry house for dinner.
Fri 22 Aug. 0 miles, Passau.
Day off. Took a boat trip to view the 3 rivers that meet here: Donau (obviously), Inn (as in Innsbruch) & Ilz with great views of the city. Wandered round the incredibly beautiful dom. V hot by this time, so I retired to a quiet shady corner to read. Ian went to the roman museum, coming back all hot & bothered after an hour. Team meeting over dinner as the cycle way now runs both sides of the river most of the way to Budapest, which one to take? Another dramatic thunderstorm over dinner.
Sat 23 Aug... Brightening up altho cooler. Off we go to Austria
Reminders:
Should you wish to kindly support our efforts to raise funds for the Parkinson's Disease Society: www.justgiving.com/ullidonau
Alternate blog (in case we split up or fall out !!) :www.funkycorner.blogspot.com
8/17/2008 Danube, week 2Sun 10 Aug. 0 miles. Ulm day off continued...
Went for a gentle river cruise on the Danube - lucky we had the factor30 with us, another hot day. Returned to the riverside Ethiopian restuarant, where we had a weissbier stop at lunch, for a top Ethiopian meal - v similar & as good as the one in the 'blue nile' all those years ago in Detroit on a Ford trip. Boys now 5-1 up at cards, disaster.
Mon 11 Aug. 29 miles, Gundelfingen.
Good to be back in the saddle after a day off. No ill effects after climbing the church tower. Gunzburg weissbier\lunch stop - yet another v pretty altstadt (old town) & fab weather. Finally called it a day at Gundelfingen (wasn't he in Lord of the Rings?). Fortunately ate in our gasthaus (which had its own prizewinning beef herd - a little wasted on me) as there was a spectacular thunderstorm over dinner.
Tue 12 Aug. 31 miles, Donauwörth.
Set off in slight drizzle, cycling thru trees was sheltered, then had a fairly unpleasant half hour in the open & pouring rain. Coffee stop in Hochstadt to dry off. Stopped raining & even had a bit of sun as we set off. Motored thru to Donauwörth by 2pm in fear of further showers - found a central gasthaus just as serious rain started. Boys now 6-1 up at cards - have decided there will be a news blackout on cards til girls win.
Wed 13 Aug. 32 miles, Dollnstein.
Left the Donau midmorning to follow the Altmuhl cycle path for 3 days as it avoids an industrial section of the Donau. Back to lovely weather again - hurrah. Weiss bier stop in Wellheim - quick mention that we have had a different weiss bier in every town - all good, no intention of listing them as they are far too hard to spell. Fab riverside room & sunny balcony to loll about on this afternoon, watching people mess about in boats. LC got repair to wobbly wheel, so full steam ahead tomorrow. Nice meal in riverside terrace downstairs & girls won cards - come on!
Thu 14 Aug. 40 mile, Beilngries.
Forecast for tomorrow pants, so decided to aim for major town & take rainy day off. Started out with a tyre pump up at gas station for Ian & I, as we have schrader valves. Got to Pfunz for walk round roman fort & weiss bier\lunch stop. Ulli booked ahead for rooms, as we'd be finishing later than usual. Also stopped for wander & photos round the pretty town of Kipfenberg. 1st puncture award to Ian, late afternoon - luckily front tyre, which the pit crew sorted out in a few mins. - quick mention that we've all had a few instances of chains coming off, as the terrain is so flat, gear changes tend to take us by surprise - we have perfected speedy, no-oil-on-the-hands techniques of sorting this out now. Reached Beilngries at 5.30 after a 40 miler. Phew. Still sunny & warm, can't believe it'll be raining tomorrow. Had a wander round the pretty main street after dinner (too tired for cards), then collapsed into bed.
Fri 15 Aug. 0 miles, Beilngries.
Day off - raining as expected. Everything shut as its a local holiday - unexpected.
Sat 16 Aug. 20 miles, Reidenburg.
As everything closed yesterday, tried blog update before setting off but hindered by dial up connection via string\tin cans! Made a pit stop in Dietfurt for 2 new tyres for Ian, who decided to retire the 12 year old rather perished ones he set off with. Feeling lazy so called it a day at the pretty town of Riedenburg. Had dinner in a giant beer barrel - v german.
Sun 17 Aug. 14 miles, Kelheim.
After an atmospheric misty morning in the hills, set off in bright sun again. After only a few miles, detoured up a 14% hill to see a schloss (palace) & view at the top. Hit 39.8 mph on the way down. Early finish to check in, change, then catch boat trip up the Danube, which we've now rejoined after our 3 day Altmühl detour, to meet up with the Kragl family, who dressed up specially in Bavarian costume! Great to see them & can't believe how the girls have grown since our bbq 2 years ago.
Reminders:
Should you wish to kindly support our efforts to raise funds for the Parkinson's Disease Society: www.justgiving.com/ullidonau
Alternate blog (in case we split up or fall out !!) :www.funkycorner.blogspot.com
8/10/2008 Danube, week 1Sat 2 Aug.
Panniers packed, managed to pare it down to 8 kilos each. Gentle start with 2 mile cycle to Billericay station, then 6 miles Liv. St. to our hotel in Marylebone. Met with Ulli & LC at hotel. Quick change & off to nearest pub then met little Dave, who came to wave us off, in Zonzo restaurant in Edgware Rd.
Sun 3 Aug.
3 miles cycle hotel to St. Pancras for 7am check in. 4 trains: Eurostar to Brussels, then trains to Liege, Aachen & Köln. Lucky break got us to Köln 2 hrs ahead of schedule. 4 miles cycle to Klaus' flat & out for our 1st German meal of the hol & a few kölschs of course. Having been told even the salads come with bacon bits, was pleasantly surprised with excellent tuna carpaccio at Klaus' local Nordlicht bar - now smoke free since our last visit, so we saw the whole room for the 1st time!
Mon 4 Aug.
3 trains: Mainz, Karlsruhe, Donaueschingen.
Poured overnight & watched some heavy showers over breakfast. Left Klaus' under grey threatening sky, but, another lucky break, brightened up as we cycled 4 miles back to station & had photo by the Dom. Caught 1st & 2nd trains without incident - getting pretty slick at loading bikes & baggage. No room on 3rd train, as we'd hit rush hour, which left a 2 hr beer\snack break waiting for the next train. Saw some heavy rain on the last train, but, another lucky break, no rain for the couple of miles cycle to our gasthaus. Nice meal & german wine - called something like mulligatawny, v nice indeed.
Tue 5 Aug. 24 miles to Tuttlingen.
8.30 breakfast, photo op. at the official source, then, on your marks, get set, go...at 10.15. Route wonderfully flat, cycle path like a small road minus cars. Took turns overtaking\being overtaken by same groups of cyclists as we all stopped for photos at different points. Cloudy but warm, thru open countryside. LC slipped into a gutter & now has wobbly back wheel. 2pm lunch & well earned weiss bier in Möhringen. 3pm booked into gasthaus near Tuttlingen town centre. After a stroll round the v picturesque old town & lovely park, found a bar to sit outside & get down to serious business: girls won opening round of the 2mth canasta challenge, boys totally fished in with our "we're so tired we can hardly see the cards" routine. Another great weiss bier sampled, served in ceramic steins.
Wed 6 Aug. 31 miles to Dietfahrt.
A scorcher as forecast. Luckily, route went thru lots of tree lined bits today with limestone cliff scenery. Some actual uphill bits but no more then 5 mins, ie. nothing to a LEJOG veteran - still quite tough with heat & baggage tho. Weiss bier stop near monastery in Beuron, then lunch stop in Hausen. No rooms in Gutenstein, but a short cycle on, found fab gasthaus, which was also a working mill, just when we were hot, pooped & had enough. Lovely meal with a different german wine outside in another sunny evening. Boys drew level at cards. Ah, this is the life.
Thu 7 Aug. 27 mile to Riedlingen.
Temp matching milage, but quite a bit of today's route not tree covered, so heat was quite sapping, on top of little sleep after overnight mozzie attacks. Spent all night with just face poking out from from sheets - 5 bites on face - feel &, according to Ian, look like elephant woman. Will try not to frighten any children we cycle by. Passed the impressive palace at Sigmaringen midmorning. Binzwangen weiss bier\lunch stop at sportsground. Beer legs made the short onward stint to Riedlingen a bit of an effort. Thought we were hallucinating as we started seeing giant brightly painted stork statues everywhere & some actual stork nests on chimney tops. storks v popular here apparently. Found a nice central gasthaus (by a giant pink painted stork). After tapas dinner & hefty thunder storm, boys won cards.
Fri 8 Aug. 24 miles to Ehingen.
Slightly cooler at 21C with breeze & some shade, so much easier today, except for a short but unfeasibly steep slope. Passed thru v pretty old town of Munderkingen - lots more painted giant storks here. Rotenacker weissbier-lunch stop at a v modern bar by a v modern rathaus (townhall) in contrast to the quaint, historic timber-framed buildings elsewhere. Easy ride after to Ehingen. As tourist info closed, took 1st rooms found cycling round town centre. Ulli managed to book ahead for rooms in Ulm for 2 nights, as we are planning a rest day - hurrah. Had a wander round yet another v pretty old town - our hotel was built 1630. Found a traditional old bierkeller - empty when we went in - shades of Fawlty Towers as the barman had to tear himself away from his table of friends to serve us. Boys won cards - boo.
Sat 9 Aug. 26 miles to Ulm.
Woke earlier than planned with 6am bells of at least 3 nearby churches, shortly followed by Sat. market stallholders setting up below our window! Rain overnight & over breakfast. Thought we were in for a soggy day, but it stopped by 10am, so we set off & soon pealed off layers & replaced with sun cream. Made it to Blaubeuron for a touristy bit of wandering round the medieval monastic town, Blautopft (limestone spring - v blue) & lunch-weiss bier stop (of course). Gentle cycle to Ulm. Started the evening with a curry to celebrate our 1st week. Unfortunately, Ulli not feeling so good, so he & LC had an early night. As there was some kind of street party outside our room, Ian & I went stage front to watch the band, even helping them out with the chorus of 'mustang sally'.
Sun 10 Aug. 0 miles. Ulm day off.
Thankfully, Ulli feeling much better. So to explore Ulm, birthplace of Einstein & home to the world's tallest church tower. Just put the knees thru the 780 or so steps (161m, 50m taller than St Pauls) - ouch. Considering a visit to the bread museum - yes, that's right, bread. Oh, nearly forgot to mention, giant storks statues have been replaced here by giant painted lions, homage to a 32,000 year old lion carved out of mammoth tusk found here.
Reminders:
Should you wish to kindly support our efforts to raise funds for the Parkinson's Disease Society: www.justgiving.com/ullidonau
Alternate blog (in case we split up or fall out !!) :www.funkycorner.blogspot.com
7/22/2008 Cycling the DanubeIan & I will be cycling with our very good friends & now personal travel agents (as they organised our tour of Vietnam last year), Ulli & Lauraine, for about 1000 miles along the Danube cycle way during August & September, passing thru Germany, Austria, Slovakia & Hungary.
As Ulli was diagnosed with Parkinson's 3 years ago, we have a website, should you wish to kindly support our efforts to raise funds for the Parkinson's Disease Society:
I know Ulli has been overwhelmed by support & messages received so far.
We'll try, internet cafes permitting, to update this blog as we go along.
Hat's off to Ulli for taking on such a challenge & fingers crossed we make it passed the sniffer dogs at all the border crossings with his lorry load of medication.
Alternate blog (in case we split up or fall out !!) :
10/5/2007 WE DID IT! End2End diaryWE DID IT. End2End blog (=beer log) 1Sep-Sat, 6miles, to St.Just Ian saw us off from Bristol Parkway near Justeen's place-good so far. Nearly missed connection at Bristol Temple Meads, then had to turf someone from our reserved seats - bit of a stressful start. Dropped off bike & bags with Ant & Adrian (or Dec as we're bound to call him) who will be looking after us for the trip, alternating between a day driving the bags in the van & a day cycling with us. Then had a wander round Penzance. Taxi to Land's End. Met up with group for photo at the signpost. Unfortunately didn't meet unlucky Bob, who's wheel collapsed cycling from Penzance. Now that's a stressful start. 6 miles to St Just with a fair hill at the end, was quite enough for 1 day. St Just v pretty – Commercial Hotel, super room - loo with a sea view. Wooden hand brewery-Cornish mutineer to kick off the beer log. Our fellow nutters: · always 1st in: Paul & Dave C · the upgrade boys: from Ilkley Dave R & Les (via Aberdeen), A-roads Martin, Ian & his amazing technicolour waterproofs · the prostate peleton: unlucky Bob with his friends Chris & Nick · team tandem: Nick & Issy · with the hidden engine: Dave D · & Land’s End to John O’Groats using only 1 gear: Jean !
2Sep-Sun, 38miles, to Perranporth Foggy start = no wind-hurrah. Some tough uphills-would have been quite unpleasant if sunny. Justeen's chain came off-lucky Ant was with us at the time & could fix it. Nice coffee stop & hellova downhill to lunch in the lovely little seaside village of Portreath-Skinners Heligan's Honey. Uphills & full sunshine made for a pretty hot afternoon. Nice room in Perranporth Hotel, til I broke the bed when I sat on it. Had to scrape ourselves off the shower cubicle – water pressure set to stun - marvellous. Wooden hand-Cornish buccaneer, to complete the beer set started last night. 3Sep-Mon, 53miles, to Ottery, Tavistock 9.15- 7.15 - tough day. Extreme hills. Spectacular scenery around Bodmin moor. Crossed from Cornwall to Devon. Passed on Bodmin T shop where everyone else stopped. 10 miles further, just before we ran out of water, got to London Inn at St Neot before they closed – hurrah. Stopped at Hurlers Halt in Minions, where I went with friends last year for cream tea before watching the Hunters Moon morris dancers on the moor – proprietor still serving up cheesy jokes. Beers-doombar-london inn,duchy. Just made it in time for dinner at The Coach House. Justeen falling asleep in her pasta. 4Sep-Tue, 52miles, to Tiverton 8.40- 6.40 - tough day again. Went for the early start, in an effort to finish before dark! Spectacular scenery around Dartmoor. Coffee stop at 2 bridges, again, where I went with friends last year. Dartmoor prison looking slightly less austere than usual in the blazing sunshine – a definite factor30 day. Post Inn lunch stop closed – boo – quick sarnie at petrol station instead – nearly choked on sarnie when some kind of military jet burst across the sky just overhead. Made it to The Bridge Guest House after another 10 hour day, engaging auto-pilot into the routine of devouring coffee & whatever biscuits are in the room while washing, wringing out & hanging day’s cycle gear creatively round the room on every available hanging point. Weatherspoon's, mercifully, just across the road for dinner – nice beer, Osprey or some such, too tired to take note – didn’t even notice the rest of the group across the pub until Adrian (Dec) came in looking for them. 5Sep-Wed, 53miles, to Cheddar 8.50- 5.30 - tough morning, Justeen's chain came off again in 1st 100yds of the day, crossed into Somerset, easier afternoon. More great scenery & weather. Utter sod of a hill up thru woods for an endless mile, before Wadworth's 6X at Travellers Rest lunch stop - aah. Same Bay Rose House B&B & room as Ian & I stayed in last year on stopover to Cornwall. Ex-Ford friend Jane had lovely bottle of wine delivered to our room - we'll tuck into that when faced with our day off. Met up with ex-Ford friend, Claire, who drove over from Chippenham bringing aching leg gel (possibly all in the mind, but we slapped it on religiously every evening after that) & chewy banana snack bags (which were yummy elevensis over the next few days). Had dinner with her at White Hart next to our B&B - Butcombe & Tribute beers. 6Sep-Thu, 46miles, to Chepstow 8.40-5.30. Gorge not as bad as we thought, 1st thing. Justeen bumped into her boss as we were studying directions round near Winford, Bristol. Crossed Avonmouth & Severn bridges into Gwent. Welcomed by a bit of a welsh dragon at The First Hurdle. Coach & Horses for dinner, bumped into Ant & Dec -Pitchfork & 2 other beers I forgot to note. Chepstow a much nicer town centre than I was expecting. 7Sep-Fri, 52miles, to Weobley 8.55-5.40. Passed the impressive ruin of Tintern Abbey (didn’t have scaffolding round it when I was last here - on a school trip 30 years ago) & into Monmouthshire. Monmouth a very pretty market town. V welcoming Mellington House landlady. Unlucky Bob had a lucky escape apparently, on the main A road near Chepstow racecourse, when he keeled over still hooked into his new clip-in shoes. He passed us some ‘sports beans’, possibly trying to weedle his way into our affections, possibly trying to distribute his possessions after his near-death experience! Started the evening in the Salutation Inn-drank Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody, moved to the other end of the v pretty market square (has actually been used as a film set apparently) to eat in Red Lion with Martin as chef at 1st pub had a bit of a tantrum & closed the kitchen - Rhymer beer. 8Sep-Sat, 59miles, to Bomere Heath 8.30-5.10. Long milage day. Met Meg & John for lunch in Bucks Head, Church Stretton- Butty Bach beer. The Old Station v quirky, run by Lady Margaret & Lord somebody, a small sherry in the room to start the evening off – hurrah, right by the railway line, but luckily hardly any trains Sat night/Sun morning. Meg & John took us for super meal in Burlton Inn. Robinson's Flash Harry beer. 9Sep-Sun, 48miles, to Acton Bridge 8.40-3.10 earliest finish so far - hurrah extra relaxing time. Saw Meg & John as they were leaving this morning, seconds before turning off the main road. Rising Sun in Tarporley, Robinsons Unicorn beer for lunch stop. Acton Bridge, Holly Bush Inn - Uni-friends Louise & Stewart popped over, with daughter Izzy, from Lymm to buy us a beer. 10Sep-Mon, 55miles, to Clayton, Blackburn 8.50-4.50. Lucky weather continues, raining when we got up, but sun out by time we set off. Busy traffic going round Manchester. Lunch at Haigh, Balcarres Arms-no proper beer - boo. Tough 25miles after lunch across moor. Brown Leaves Country Hotel – lethally slippy bathroom floor nearly killed Justeen after my shower flooded the room (extremely ineffectual shower screen). Dining room strangely funereal with wildly flowery, unmatching carpets, curtains, wallpaper, an organ to one side, loudly squawking parrot in next room, Peter Kay accents all round, bit of a Phoenix Nights vibe) BUT superb selection of bottled beers: Black Sheep & Thwaites Bomber – 10 out of 10. 11Sep-Tue, 45miles, to Dent 8.30-4.30. V tough 3 major hills to climb. Stunning scenery of Lancashire hills & N York moors. Lovely & sunny yet again. Lunch Coach & Horses, High Benton, Robinsons Unicorn. Hellova downhill to finish-brown cycling shorts time! Dent a very quaint village with cobbled streets – initial impression good. No hot water at Sun Inn, Dent, (1 broken shower & 1 toilet shared between 4 double rooms – & if that doesn’t put you off, for full review, see www.tripadvisor.com) so showers down the road at the pub owners house! Super George & Dragon meal with Jennings Cumberland ale, Dent bitter & Dent Kamikaze. 12Sep-Wed, 55miles, to Armathwaite 8.40-4.40. Tough 3mile climb to start the day, up to Dent station. Lunch stop at Crown & Cushion, Appleby-in-Westmoreland, Robonsons Old Stockport – lovely couple sponsored us having spotted Justeen’s End2End Bike Adventures shirt. Armathwaite Fox & Pheasant in lovely setting: great landlord, great clean room, hot bath (could it be more different to last night), great meal, great beer Robinsons Hatter & DoubleHop. 13Sep-Thu, 61miles, to Moffat 8.40-5. Long day. Crossed border into Scotland after 28 miles. Lunch stop Canonbie, Cross Keys Hotel, Calder bitter, really ran out of steam for last hideously hilly windy 20 miles, but, as all the group went past us, think morale was running quite low all round. Unbelievable, no cycling in rain for 13 days. Cracked Jane's bottle of wine to celebrate making it to day off. Knees really griping last 15miles of last 3 days. Probably just as well we have a day off. Nice meal in Bridge House, just about had energy to get up/down stairs for meal. Pretty cold but no heating on. Luckily hair dryer in room served as fan heater! What a Southern softie. 14Sep-Fri, 0miles! Day off. Not a moment too soon. Went for a walk round the main square, watching the military jets buzzing around, then an energetic session of reading/snoozing back in the room. Met group for dinner in Star Hotel-narrowest hotel in Britain. Beer had funny name like Crudlies or some such. Back to room to see last half Eng/SA rugby-wish hadn't bothered. 15Sep-Sat, 57miles, to Strathaven 9-2pm. Ditched recommended route for 43 mile B road direct flatter route. Worked great. Nice coffee stop to warm up in Abington Hotel. Sun out on arrival in Strathaven in time to see 'tour of Britain' cycle thru, then caught last half of Wales/Oz rugby - well done Wales, much better show than Eng. Rained from about 4pm- sooo glad we took quicker route. Springvale Hotel v nice & it had a superb restaurant for dinner. 16Sep-Sun, 53miles, to Luss 9.15-6.45, pouring rain for all but 4-6pm – wet weather gear struggled to be fully waterproof. Stayed together as a group for safety thru Glasgow- lucky as 6 punctures in the group- 1 each for me & unlucky Bob, Ian & Dave C had 2. Bike computer gave out-as did a few other people's, must've been water in the works. Similarly, space key on mobile stopped working. Sunshine for our 1st view of Loch Lomond, which was beautiful, but too wet & despairing to appreciate. Luckily we were greeted by the best landlady in the UK at The Corries – full review in www.tripadvisor.com – washed & dried our sodden clothes & drove us to & from Inverbeg Hotel restaurant for dinner – what an angel. 17Sep-Mon, 55miles, to Loch Awe 9-4.30. Lovely sunny morning & view over Loch Lomond for breakfast & 1st part of ride. Coffee stop at THE Loch Fyne restaurant. Lunch at Argyll Hotel, Inverary, v pretty town. 70' bitter. Riding round Loch Awe, saw castle used in 'monarch of the glen'. Apart from 2 x 5min showers, cool but pretty nice day. Knee hurting from start of day. Brander Lodge Hotel bit of a Crossroads Motel feel, but warm, dry & comfy room. Justeen braved the haggis, tatties & neeps option for dinner. 18Sep-Tue, 49miles, to Fort William 8.15-1.15. Glad we made early start as forecast for heavy rain true after we finished. Rained for 2-3hrs of ride. Cycled for 1st time in knee brace-kept knee warm, as well as some support. Coffee stop to warm up at Portnacroish. 3pm pub lunch after quick shower & chg. Pint of 70'. Got absolutely soaked on quick walk back to Myrtle Bank B&B. Dinner at nearest place, as still lashing down, Atlas 3 sisters bitter, waterproof cycle gear kept us dry for the short walk. 19Sep-Wed, 53miles, to Drumnadrochit 8.50-2.50. Bike computer working again-must've dried out. Space key on mobile still kaput after Glasgow dousing. Soggy morning, so cold & wet by lunch stop at Loch Inn, Fort Augustus, some beer with long name beginning with 'c'. Sunshine riding along Loch Ness, almost dried out. Massive disabled room (which suited me down to the ground at this point) in Woodlands Guest House. V welcoming landlady, who’d only taken over the place a week ago. Orkney best & dram of Balvenie with eventual meal in nearest Ben Leva Hotel – bit of a floor show towards the end as a carpenter started remodeling the ceiling lighting with major power tools. With my knee aching quite a bit at this point, Nick & Issy (team tandem), who are vets, explain to us the benefits of taking a Glucosamine concoction for the joints - they have a bottle of tabs labeled ‘for large breeds’ – not sure if this is tested for in ‘Tour de France’ circles! 20Sep-Thu, 51miles, to Bonar Bridge 8.50-3.20. Relatively dry morning, passing wonderfully scenic Cromarty Firth. Evanton lunch (directors bitter) followed by long climb to Dornach Firth viewpoint-wow. Bridge Hotel quirky- mid-refurb, en suite engineering fairly Heath Robinson, lucky to make it out of the shower alive. Hair dryer gave a fut, puff of smoke & died. Staff v obliging & quickly replaced hairdryer & missing towels. Last day of washing cycle gear ! Ran the gauntlet of the restaurant, an entertaining lasagne, possibly part-bbq.ed. 80' beer. Close shave paying for dinner as no credit cards taken – must find cash point tomorrow. 21Sep-Fri, 56miles, to Bettyhill 8.35-3.25. Started quite brightly in sunshine along Kyle of Sutherland to Falls of Shin for spot of sightseeing & after Lairg (cash point – hurrah) alongside Loch Shin, then really tough 10mile stretch into wind before coffee stop at the dismal Crask Inn quite soul destroying. After that wind more helpfully behind & scenery considerably better & more downhill along Loch & river Naver. Ember 80' at Altnaharra Hotel lunch stop. Half hour rain near end - not too bad – sheltered in little church in Syre for the worst of it. View of the sea at top of Bettyhill wonderful in full sunshine. Found bottle of sparkly from Dad when we got to Bettyhill Hotel room. Desperately cold with no heating & single glazed windows, brrrrr – lucky we’ve no washing to do, as the 2nd set is clean & dry for tomorrow. Super dinner with whole group (& warm with actual heating downstairs) unlucky Bob kept me, Justeen & Jean entertained at one end of the table – he is deeply disappointed that the ‘sports beans’ cut no ice with us in the end – stand up routine by Dave R had us in stitches after dinner. 22Sep-Sat, 53miles, to John O’Groats 8.50-3.30. Rubbed Ibuprofen gel on knee, knocked back a couple of paracetemol & donned knee brace for the last time! Morning passed in slow motion uphill – couldn’t cycle quite as fast as I’d like to past the hideous Dounreay power station. Lunch in Thurso, Mcewans 80' yet again. Hour or 2 v cold rain. Got to the other end just before the joyless git with the sign packed it away & left for the day. Ant & Dec greeted us with glass of sparkly & yummy cake selection & did the photo honours for us – big smiles all round – WE DID IT !!! Photos with the early boys, followed shortly by photos with the main group who got there 10 mins after sign packed away. Ant & Dec packed all the bikes in the van. Seaview hotel rooms looked newly refurbished & were lovely & warm – hurrah! Cracked into Dad’s sparkly, then went downstairs to crack some more over our final dinner with the group. Martin did a great after dinner speech thanking Ant & Dec for all their hard work, followed by some more cracking comedy from Dave R. 23Sep-Sun, & rest Gosh, do we really get to just sit in a coach for a couple of hours? What idleness, watching the scenery & snoozing as we motored down to Inverness. Dropped most of the group at the station – very sad parting after all we’ve been thru – it’s only been 3 weeks, but feel we’ve known each other much longer. The rest of us are dropped at the airport, which is pleasantly small & quiet, so time for some more idleness, sitting, reading & finally getting on a plane, back to a normal life.
7/31/2007 Land's End to John O'Groats cycle rideFrom 1-23 September, my sis, Justeen & I will be cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats, raising funds for Marie Curie.
Please see www.justgiving.com/JusteenandAshley for details & if you'd like to encourage us with sponsorship, we'd be eternally grateful. If you'd like to cheer us on at some stage, here's where we'll be: (blog & pictures will be added as soon as poss)
2/24/2007 Postcard from Phu QuocThe final installment:
Sat 17
Flew to Phu Quoc on prop plane - beautiful island & beach, much nicer than Nha Trang (which was the other place we considered for the extra week). Mai House is a superb resort, we seem to be in the best small family run place, having walked the beach looking at others - full marks to 'Funky Corner Travel'. Dive booking office next door at Rainbow bar. Not far away is La Veranda: new, v nice, old colonial style, but considerably pricier. 1st fish dinner in our resort restaurant fab. Sunsets here spectacular.
Sun 18
Sleeping under mozzie net with fan on full not too bad, altho seem to have been attacked by a swarm in the night. Looks like I have measels, Ian untouched - doh! Lazy day on beach about 50m from bar & room. Lunchtime snack/cards - boys win. Had dive refresher session in pool just up the beach. Whole grouper & snapper for dinner, yum. Boys win evening cards.
Mon 19
Total double thick layer of 50% deet slapped on, burning anti mozzie thing in room, in silk sleeping bag under mozzie net, seems to have improved things - only a couple of extra bites, altho a bit hard to be sure in places! 8am pick up, 1hr 20 min boat trip each way, 2 dives, lunch on boat, back 2pm. Nice boat trip, quite shallow dives, not a huge amount to see, but great to practice some more. Lounge round back at the resort in the afternoon. Cocktails at the Rainbow bar next door, then tried Tropicana for dinner, a couple of hundred yards down the beach. Cards - girls win - at last!
Tue 20
8am pick up for dive boat. All 4 of us today, as the others have a snorkel. Saw more while diving today, altho in v similar dive spots to yesterday. Walked back along beach to our resort for afternoon relax. Started cards after dinner, but too knackered to finish!
Wed 21
Lazy beach day. Cocktails at Rainbow bar, then tried Eden for dinner, a couple of hundred yards down the beach - torches handed out to read menu - v dim lighting!! Cards 1:1
Thu 22
A final lazy beach day. A final cocktail at Rainbow bar for our final sunset & final dinner at our resort. Boys win cards - damn, looks like the downward trend set in again for the girls.
Fri 23
Last couple of hours lazing on beach then prop plane back to Saigon & into our v posh riverfront Majestic Hotel. Lunch stop at place decorated with London Underground maps. City seems relatively quiet - assume many still away on Tet hols. Dinner at place helping street kids. Cocktails in rooftop bar of our hotel overlooking river.
Sat 24
V comfy bed, lie in & leisurely brekky, good start to our last day. 3pm checkout, then we'll probably have a wander round the city for a few hours, as flight isn't til 11pm tonight. Back home tomorrow. Will probably have to wear most of our clothes on arrival to guard against the sudden drop in temp & must remember to look before crossing the road. What a great month it's been - except for the cards.
Signing off from Saigon
Ash 2/17/2007 Postcard from SaigonAah, end of tour, ready for a week on the beach. The final part of the tour:
Mon 12
5am wake up call-ouch, flight to Saigon, trip to Cu Chi tunnels, with option to try out one specially adapted for large westerners!! Interesting video presenting view of the American War from the winning side. Lunch near hotel, couple of hours rest, then tried out rooftop restaurant with DIY BBQ for dinner. Found hotel we'll be staying in after island week - v posh, road tested their rooftop bar. Forgot to mention the home news we've seen over the last week: England doing great in 6 nations with Johnny back in the saddle, Wales heading for the wooden spoon (sorry Leighton), snow closing some UK airports & 5m snow drifts in parts of New York - did I mention it's hot, damned hot here ?!
Tue 13
Walking tour of city, some beautiful colonial old buildings, modern high rises & everything in between. Not got the charm of Hanoi, but then it's much bigger with much wider roads, which we now cross with barely a glance - must retrain ourselves when we get home or we won't last 5 mins. Everywhere so far has increasingly been decorated with banners 'chuc mung nam moi', happy lunar new year, as they approach Tet festival this Fri, all city main streets being festooned with lights, acres of flowering pot plants & models of pigs in all sizes - can you guess what year it is? Visited the war museum, some pretty gruesome pictures & quotes of GIs of massacres, torture & all manner of horrible things done to locals during the war & the continuing suffering of agent orange victims & their decendents. Enough said. Picked up tickets for our island flight, then 'hotpot' lunch, where the service just stopped short of spooning it into your mouth. V popular dish here, tho quite unsuited to the blazing heat! A round of cards with a win to the girls (yeehaa) before a lovely Thai dinner then an Irish bar visit for a change. Lauraine has a sore throat, so we're not done yet passing the cold round.
Wed 14
Bus to Mekong delta boat. Cruising in about 35C, pretty warm even with slight breeze. More cards, a win to the boys, boo - wind stopped play as cards started flying off the table. For the Fordies: as on Halong bay boat trip, Pedro, the office mascot, was hung from the yardarm for most of the journey. Lunch on board, then a stop to see some local trade: making water coconut candy & carving chopsticks, etc from its wood, then tasting some local honey & a v peaceful sampan ride back to the boat. 'Cocktails' on deck before dinner where we got to sample local orange vodka, which tasted like malibu for some reason, yummy. Dinner on deck, like lunch, masses left over as the heat sapping the appetite a bit.
Thu 15
A hot, noisy night with boats chugging past frequently, but mozzie net seems fully functional, combined with Boots 50% Deet. Cai Be floating market visit & demo on making rice crispies, followed by a lazy day cruising & fighting over the shady places to sit & more superb food. Others visited another market later, had my lazy head on & just couldn't be bothered.
Fri 16
Another noisy night, but marginally cooler. Bus back to Saigon. Eerily quiet as this is new year's eve & most places are closed. Main street decorations v impressive in the bright sunshine. Superb curry for last group meal, followed by a stroll down the main street. In contrast to the afternoon, could hardly move for people, even bikes having a hard time getting thru pedestrian filled roads. Back to hotel rooftop for riverfront fireworks viewing at midnight. CHUC MUNG NAM MOI.
Sat 17
Said group goodbyes at breakfast. Taxi to airport v quiet with little traffic, except when we went by a main temple which was heaving.
Oops, flight just called for Phu Quoc. Bye for now
Ash 2/11/2007 Postcard from Nha TrangHello everyone, phew it's getting warm as we head south - now in the beach resort of Nha Trang.
The continuing saga:
Mon 5
After blog write up & a light lunch, some serious made-to-measure silk shopping, followed by a cycle round the old town & out thru some countryside. At 30p each, we went nuts & hired 4 push bikes, rather than 'going local' & balancing a passenger on the metal rack at the back. Had some exciting traffic moments til we got the hang of the rules: there aren't any, expect the unexpected. Dinner at a riverfront restaurant, where we uncorked our own wine as the staff didn't seem to know how - think we may've been their 1st customers!
Tue 6
Drove inland for My Son tour of ruined 10-15th century Indian-influenced temples of the Cham people. Heavily bombed by US til French Cham expert complained to Nixon & he stopped! Picked up my silk stuff & had some incredibly swift alterations made. Swim to cool off before dinner - definitely getting warmer.
Wed 7
Bus to Kon Tum. Central highlands v lush & mountainous. We're close now to the Ho Chi Minh trail, which kept the VC supplied thru the war. Also close to Laos border. Hotel looks brand new with a nice view over river, rice paddys & mountains, bit of a surprise, as this area is relatively off the beaten tourist trail & roads round here are still v much under construction. Might actually sleep after 3 nights in a room that sounded as if the bed was in the middle of a road. Celebrated one of the group's birthday & stopped at street bar for some local vodka after group meal!
Thu 8
Brilliant, 3rd day of my cold (Ulli passed to Ian, who passed to me, Lauraine managed to fight it off pretty quick), not great sleep, feel yuk & today is one of the highlights: a 10km hike in the highlands, dugout canoe trip & dinner in village 'Rong' house, not back til late. Quite a day, saw some real rural life as we hiked, some more Indiana Jones moments on what's billed as an easy-to-moderate walk, pretty damned hot, dusty work. The canoe trip went thru some minor rapids, but with Ian & Ulli on bailing out duty, that was exciting enough combined with balancing on a bamboo stick as a seat - ouch. For those of you in the Ford office, Pedro (soft toy sheep), had a bad day, as he was on the back of Ulli's rucksack, which he put down in the dirt, so he got pretty filthy, then he nearly drowned as he was put in a plastic bag for the canoe ride, but if filled up with water. Dinner crossed-legged on floor of village community house on stilts was great, followed by dancing demo/participation & much sharing of local grog from huge urns. Even bus back quite exciting as we stopped in the dark at one point & had to get out & walk thru shallow stream as road not finished - big cheer as bus made it across without our vast bulk on board.
Fri 9
Bus to Lak lake. Only thing suffering after yesterday is my rear end from bamboo seat on canoe. Elephant ride on arrival went across lake, which we weren't told, so slight apprehension as our elephant took the plunge 1st. Dugout canoe back over lake perfectly timed with sunset over mountains. Rear end tenderisation complete after these last 2 jaunts. Dinner was on the lake shore in open air restaurant with tube lighting. Never seen so much insect life on a tablecloth - talk about "waiter, there's a fly in my soup". Overnight in longhouse on stilts, dormitory style, with mozzie net tucked under mattress on floor (to keep out all manner of other bugs too I hoped). Was better than the train, not best night's sleep ever, but more exciting. Insect/frog noises as you'd expect by the lake. Dogs fighting & cockerals crowing at various points were not so soothing. Waking in the dark to the sound of large rodent chewing someone's rucksack next to me was not relaxing, but must've been tired, as dozed off again. Felt relatively protected against creepy crawlies with mozzie net & the cocoon of the silk sleeping bags bought a few days ago.
Sat 10
4 people's rucksacks eaten thru by rats - quite pleased that I got thru the whole night without screaming the place down & waking the whole group up! Bus to Nha Trang. Group meal a bit stressful - annoying/useless head waiter managed to upset many of the group, which was a shame as food & rest of staff were v nice. Crazy Kim's bar for relaxing BGI beer - run by a Canadian/Viet woman, who also runs a worthwhile 'hands off the kids' campaign, so unlikely to run into G Glitter here.
Sun 11
Boat trip to snorkel spot, island beach, small fishing village for lunch, back to hotel pool. Oops, seem to have a few red bits. Lovely Turkish meal this evening from really nice Turkish guy married to Viet woman (Diet/Rula, we impressed him with our 'to shake a leg' & 'I'm a little yellow duck' phrases)
Right that's you all up to date. Tomorrow is a hideous 5am wake up call-ouch, flight to Saigon, trip to Cu Chi tunnels, with option to try out one specially reconstructed for large westerners!!!
Ash
2/5/2007 Postcard from Hoi AnYes I know it's an anagram of Hanoi, but it is a different place, honest.
Right, continuing on.....
Tues 30
Found internet cafe, really slow connection, so email & epostcard took ages, but at 10p an hour, not a problem. Afternoon bus to Halong bay. Stopped en route at a 'humanity' centre, where disabled children/adults can get training for making/marketing handicrafts-even now the children & grandchildren of the first victims of agent orange are still being born with disabilities caused by the chemicals (similar to those caused by thalidomide) - the company that produced it have been successfully sued by US, Canadian & Australian ex-serviceman - the Viet victims are still fighting for compensation. Also stopped to walk among some fields being tended by conical hatted ladies doing the back breaking planting/watering of their family patch. Under the original communist ideals, huge fields were cooperatively worked with machinery, so it seems a backward step that these have all been divided into small pieces to be worked by hand or with water buffalos as they did before communism. Arrived in Halong bay to see the spectacular 'limestone bump' scenery. Went to seafood restaurant with main ingredients swimming in tanks out front, recommended by Hung, our guide & he convinced us to try the local vodka - showing the Russian influence - after the meal.
Wed 31
Must've been good stuff, best night's sleep so far! Altho Ulli, not so lucky, now has full blown cold. Caught an incredible sunrise over the mountains in the sea, might be the photo of the hol. Got on our junk & sailed off into the mist/pollution, not sure which, as about 50 other junks set off belching clouds of diesel. Lovely scenery on leisurely cruise, then some exercise as we tried sea kayaking after lunch. Tried the local white & red wine with dinner, like lunch, another spread of fresh seafood. Wine not great, but good enough to try a 3rd bottle, while playing cards - boys won, boo.
Thu 1
V comfy cabin, pretty good night's sleep, despite Ian telling me about the giant rat he saw running round the kitchen of our overflow boat (not enough rooms for our group on 1 boat). Wine seems to have beaten Ulli's cold into submission. Sailed to some huge caves & had a chance for Ian to try every setting on our camera to capture stalagtites/mites. Sailed back to Halong, survived disembarking, Indiana Jones style, across 3 other boats & a v thin wobbly gangplank across the murky harbour water, nearly as heartstopping as crossing the road in Hanoi. Bus back to Hanoi. Final trip to the lonely planet recommended microbrewery for some more of their lovely red belgian beer & dinner. Quick rundown of other local beers tested so far: Hanoi, Halida, 333 (pronounced bababa). Boarded the overnight train setting off at 11pm - we had the 1st class luxury of 4 per cabin, other options were 6 per cabin or just a plain hard seat.
Fri 2
Hmmm, not the best night's sleep ever, but an experience. Played canasta til we reached Hue. Boys won again - Lauraine & I will take ourselves off for a team talk. At the hotel in Hue, it was straight for a welcome shower to hose off the travel grime, then out to check the lonely planet recommended bar 'why not'. Tried Huda & Hue beers & some noodles for lunch - more of a backpacker vibe here than in Hanoi. Crossing the road easy-peasy after Hanoi. Bikes don't have such interesting loads here, but cyclos (bike with passenger seat in front) have some corkers - saw a heavy mother-of-pearl inlay teak sideboard strapped to one, then, not far behind, another with a matching wardrobe, man could just about peer over the top to see where he was going. Took a boat down the perfume river to the main pagoda in Vietnam. Lots of reconstruction going on in the main temple, not US or French damage here, but the weather - gets so wet here all the wood rots. Luckily we've had a steady 22/23C & dry so far. Stopped at a huge market on the way back, similar sights/sounds/smells to Hanoi. Nice dinner with group at restaurant suggested by Hung. Tried out remaining local beer, festival. Another swifty on way back to hotel, continuing our L. planet bar research - manage to lead 2 other group members astray with us.
Sat 3
Tour of imperial citadel, copy of Beijing's Forbidden city, much rebuilt due to weather damage, much destroyed in the American war, as it's called here. Last emperor abdicated to the Viet gov in 1945 & died recently in France, where he & his family chose to live, some family members still live in Vietnam - anyway, you can google the rest. With a free afternoon, we did a little more bar research, tried unsuccessfully to get on our blog a few times, cards resulted in 1:1 draw, a step in the right direction for the girls. Left bar as UK footy started on TV - hurrah. Finished off with a curry - pretty standard Sat afternoon/eve really!
Sun 4
Heard church bells this morning - seems quite strange given all the buddhist/taoist temples we've seen. There are some catholic churches around, but it's a minority religion. Bus to Hoi An. Various stops to break the journey:
- beach near Danang - glad we didn't book our extra week on this coast as a tanker spilled it's load recently & we got oily feet going for a beach walk.
- mountain pass stronghold used by French, US & Viet Cong to hold territory - v atmospheric with bunkers peppered with bullet/shell marks & an all round view of mountains & sea in the mist.
- museum with Hindu relics - we're going to see the temple ruins these came from in a couple of days.
- Marble mountains - incredible carving work in the local shops, some statues are huge - there are 5 mtns, wouldn't surprise me if there used to be more before the carving started - VC used caves here as hideouts - we went in 1 commemorating VC women who brought down 19 US aircraft here..
- passed China beach, where US troops 1st landed.
Had a walking tour of Hoi An, en route to our group meal. Seems like a lovely little old town & quieter compared to previous towns, or are we just getting used to bikes & bibbing everywhere? Not sure. Lovely seafood dinner in riverfront restaurant. Lead more of the group astray as they joined us in our bar research after. Our group is quite a mix: 4 of us, 2 younger singles, 3 singles older than us, then 2 couples & 3 singles of retirement age. Nearly forgot, Saigon beer v nice.
Mon 5
Found internet which actually got us into this webpage pretty quickly - hurrah. Off to get some tailor made silk stuff & perhaps hire push bikes to do a little exploring this afternoon.
Ash
1/30/2007 postcard from HanoiSat 27 Jan
Set off with my fellow explorers, Ian, Ulli & Lauraine. Flight to Paris, then Hanoi uneventful.
Sun 28 Jan
7am arrival - GOOOOD MOOORNING VIETNAM! Sorry, had to be done. We weren't expecting pick up, but a nice man from the hotel was there to greet us with our names on a board-altho Ian was listed as Mrs! The ride into the city was fascinating. Unlike China, where push bikes are still used in huge numbers, the motorbike is king here, with constant bibbing of horns as standard. Went for a walk round the old quarter, where our hotel is situated. Survived crossing the road numerous times. After watching a few others, realised this is achieved, not by standing like a lemon at a crossing waiting for a gap in the worlds busiest motorcross event or, even more ridiculously, waiting for them to stop, but by fixing the eye on the opposite pavement & walking slowly across. Somehow the sea of bikes parts around you. Quite thrilling. As most pavement doubles as a parking area for bikes or sitting/eating zone for shop/stall owners, you are walking on the road most of the time, so you quickly get used to being part of the traffic. Motorbikes are often stacked with a load you'd struggle to squeeze in a van, with tottering heaps of a variety of goods stacked behind the driver - eg. 3 pigs. Altho you can buy anything & everything in the shops here pretty cheaply - trainers for about a fiver - don't think we'll be buying any off the peg clothes. Unless you have legs like pencils & are built like a slim 13 year old, nothing will fit. Hence the locals sit outside their shops on the wee plastic stools & chairs we use for toddlers. The dust & fumes made the walk thirsty work, so when we got to a bar overlooking a lake, decided it was time to check out the local beer. After 24 hours with about 10 mins sleep, we were needing matchsticks to keep the eyes open, so headed back for a powernap. Met up with the tour group at 5.30pm as they were on different later flights. Glad we didn't switch to these when we were offered as they had quite a long tedious stopever, 1 brand new suitcase broken & 1 suitcase missing. As the lady with no suitcase said, she wouldn't mind so much if she could go out & buy some clothes, but, not having the build of Kate Moss' younger sister, no chance. The tour guide, Hung, booked a restaurant for dinner & ordered a selection of food. I sat with the 2 other veggies in the group for our meat free stuff-v nice-Lauraine had a sample & said the fish was nicer than the beef. As with China, fish always fresh as its live in a tank til right before it's cooked. With a couple of beers, this came to 200,000 dong, bit more for the meat eaters. sounds scary, but seemed pretty reasonable, once calculated back to 6 quid! As the group headed back to the hotel, the 4 of us peeled off to check out a microbrewery & sampled both in-house beers, v nice, until closing time was signalled by a man demolishing the bars counter with a sledgehammer with a team of 6 or 7 blokes watching him working-might go back tomorrow to see how refurbishments are going!
Mon 29 Jan
Went to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum (fortunately closed on Mondays so we didn't actually have to file past his preserved remains) & walked round his presidential palace & grounds - v pleasant & almost peaceful, as birds twittering in the trees could be heard over the ubiquitous horn bibbing. Visited the 1 pillar pagoda, a reconstruction, as the original was destroyed along with much else when the French left. the temple of literature & a taoist temple were v chinese in style. A walking tour of the old quarter in the afternoon covered much of what we'd seen on our own yesterday, including market stalls selling familiar fruit & veg as well as some new to us, eg. dragon fruit, a particularly strange looking thing. The meat stalls all look v well stocked, with pigs trotters seeming v popular. Piglets & small birds roasted complete with heads & feet, lots of live fish packed in huge bowls of water, ready to be chopped up when you pick one out, all manner of dried stuff: fishy bits, fruit, mushroom, make for a very colourful & aromatic (!) experience. Saw a lady buying hot soup to takeaway poured straight into a carrier bag-no wasted packaging here. Best loaded motorbikes of the day:
- 14 boxes of photocopy paper behind driver, 2 boxes between his legs
- & following him, bike with photocopier strapped on the back, we assumed they were in business together
- sony widescreen TV, a big old CRT, not a flat plasma
- not 1, but 2 palm trees
If strapping/balancing large loads on bikes & driving them undamaged thru mad traffic was an olympic sport, I think it would be a Vietnamese gold every time. Went to see a water puppet show, where puppeteers are waist deep in water & puppets are on underwater poles, not strings. Headed back to the microbrewery for dinner-new bar installation complete - if only they'd bid for the wembley stadium build!
Tue 30 Jan
Morning free for typing up this postcard. This afternoon driving to Halong bay. Hotel tonight, then on the boat tomorrow, followed by overnight train the day after - might be a while before the next thrilling installment.
Signing off from Hanoi (am surrounded by about 30 kids playing games in this internet cafe!).
Ash
PS. Ulli & Lauraine say 'hello' to everyone who knows them. 1/21/2007 Vietnam itineraryOn the Ho Chi Minh Trail - Just so you can keep track of us:
Our exploratory journey includes sea-kayaking in Ha Long Bay, trekking and elephant riding to tribal villages in the Central Highlands, and travelling by riverboat through the picturesque Mekong Delta.
Ha Long Bay & Imperial Hué First, we'll enjoy Old Hanoi, to see the lotus-shaped One-Pillar Pagoda and Ho Chi Minh's humble stilt house. We then take a full day cruise around Ha Long Bay, where you can go sea-kayaking among the beautiful islands and limestone scenery - we overnight on a boat. At the wonderful old capital of Hué, we'll visit the royal palace of the Nguyen dynasty and moated Old Citadel, and take a boat ride on the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda and Monastery. Hilltribes & Central Highlands
After visiting Danang's historic Cham Museum and 'China' Beach, we'll spend time relaxing at the historic fishing port of Hoi An. Then, heading into the Central Highlands, our next four days are spent in the Bahnar tribal region. Walking through cassava and sugar plantations, we pass through stilted villages and have dinner in a Rong (communal village house). At Lak Lake we ride elephants, stay in a traditional longhouse and take pirogues on the lake. Making our way down to the idyllic harbour of Nha Trang we'll swim from palm-fringed beaches and discover tropical off-shore islands by boat. Ho Chi Minh City & Mekong Delta
After sightseeing in Ho Chi Minh City, we'll make a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels - this underground base hid 10,000 Viet Cong troops during the Vietnam War. The last few days of the tour are spent travelling by riverboat through the stunning Mekong Delta; we take a smaller boat to explore the colourful floating markets, and on foot we wander through the many fascinating stilt villages that line the waterways. Itinerary
1 Sat 27 Jan, Fly London/Hanoi. 2 Sun 28 Jan, Arrive Hanoi.
3 Mon 29 Jan, In Hanoi; city tour.
4 Tue 30 Jan, Drive Ha Long Bay.
5 Wed 31 Jan, Cruise in Ha Long Bay.
6 Thu 1 Feb, Return Hanoi; overnight train Hué.
7/8 Fri/Sat 2/3 Feb, In Hué; tour Museum and Citadel; boat trip on Perfume River.
9 Sun 4 Feb, Drive Danang; visit Marble Mountain and 'China' Beach; continue to old port of Hoi An.
10/11 Mon/Tue 5/6 Feb, In Hoi An; optional tours; excursion to My Son.
12 Wed 7 Feb, Drive to Kon Tum in Central Highlands.
13 Thu 8 Feb, Hike to Kon Kotu Bahnar village; overnight in Kon Tum.
14 Fri 9 Feb, Drive via Dac Lac plateau to Lak; elephant ride.
15 Sat 10 Feb, Excursion on Lak Lake; drive Nha Trang.
16 Sun 11 Feb, Boat trip to off-shore islands.
17 Mon 12 Feb, Fly to Ho Chi Minh City; walking tour.
18 Tue 13 Feb, In Ho Chi Minh City; visit Cu Chi Tunnels.
19/20 Wed/Thu 14/15 Feb, Drive through Mekong Delta to Can Duoc for 2 day riverboat cruise through Delta to Long Xuyen.
21 Fri 16 Feb, Drive Ho Chi Minh City; free afternoon.
22-28 17-23 Feb, sea view bungalow, Mai House resort, Phu Quoc Island (extra week after basic tour)
28 23 Feb, Hotel Majestic Saigon
29 24 Feb, Fly London.
30 25 Feb, Arrive London.
Accommodation & Meals 15nts hotel, 3nts overnight boat, 1nt longhouse, 1nt sleeper train; 19 breakfasts, 4 lunches & 5 dinners included. Group Size - Approx. 13 to 18 Cornwall & Monkey World, Easter 2006Went to Cornwall again, this time with Merrells (Diet, Rula, Chani & Neo) & Funky Corner (Ulli & Lauraine), staying again in one of Rhiannon's lovely cottages, see blog entry for Cornwall trip in Aug 2005 for her website & pictures.
Went via Monkey World in Dorset on the way home - leading to my xmas present of Ian adopting my monkey namesake for me.
Photos to be added later, monthly allowance permitting. Chatsworth & a winter walk in Gunthorpe, Dec 2005Went with Dad & Justeen to see Chatsworth House in Derbyshire all done up for xmas -v. pretty.
27 Dec, Dad & Justeen go for a walk in Gunthorpe & get caught in the snow.
Photos to be added later, monthly allowance permitting. Nottingham Goose Fair & Wallace & Gromit, Oct 2005A couple of shots on Dad's research trip to Nottingham Goose Fair, looking into Carousel designs for his scaled down model.
Then went to the Bristol premier of Wallace & Gromit Curse of the Warerabbit, followed by an exhibition of sets from the film with Dad & Justeen.
Photos to be added later, as I've reached my limit for this month 1/16/2007 Vegas photos added, Sep 2005Reached my limit for this month after loading nearly 500 photos.
57 of Vegas loaded, 27 to go - will have to wait til next month to complete this lot, but I've set up the pre-wedding, wedding (Ian's sister Claire) & post-wedding folders - should be done before their 2nd anniversary! 1/15/2007 Cornwall photos added, Aug 2005That didn't take long - just the 38 pics from 2005 Cornwall trip, including
Camel Trail cycle ride from Wadebridge to Padstow
Eden project
Port Isaac, where Doc Martin is filmed
Boscastle, 1 year after the flood
We stayed in one of Rhiannon's lovely cottages at Trevosper Barn near Launceston, highly recommended - see her website: www.trevosperholidaybarn.com
1/11/2007 Australia diary, Jan-Mar 2005A compilation of the email 'postcards' from the trip:
Wednesday, 12 January, 2005 2:56 PM
Subject: postcard from Kuala Lumpur
Arrived safely in KL last night (well, yesterday lunchtime, but we're 8 hours ahead). Met up with my friend Junko & her husband, Hiroshi (I didn't remember she was married, what kind of a rubbish pen friend am I?).
They took us for a super Japanese meal last night & a lovely Indian meal
tonight. Junko took the day off work & very kindly showed us the sights around
Town today: we went up to the bridge (41st floor level, can't get to 88th
floor at the top) between the Petronas towers (as in Entrapment with Sean
Connery) & then up the KL tower (only 420m up!) to a revolving restaurant for
Lunch including some Malaysian dishes. We then went to the Batu caves which
are natural limestone caves containing a hindu temple. Up at 5.30am tomorrow to catch flight to Perth.
Friday, 21 January, 2005 11:40 AM
Subject: postcard from Perth
Right, think I last reported in from KL, which was a hot & sticky 37C. We arrived in Perth to a much more comfy dry 25C. Ulli, when you say Perth was clean but unexciting, I'm guessing you weren't here on a Fri/Sat night & didn't go to Northbridge where the bars, clubs, restaurants (& peep shows!) are. Anyway, it's the most British Oz city with about 20-30% UK people living in various suburbs. Western Aus is pretty big - 3 x Texas & 7 x UK in size. Beers tried so far:
redback - served with lemon - girls beer!
carlton midstrength
tooheys
victoria bitter
swan
emu
hahn
little creatures - 3 types
...not that we've tried them all yet. Served in pints or 'middys' as they call the halves (haven't needed this term much so far) Now for the Bridget Jones diary bit:
Fri - up to King's Park for a great view of the city.
Sat - 29C. Swan river cruise to 'Freo' - Fremantle is the town on the
coast. Very cute market area, a bit like covent garden, with street
entertainers - a little more daring than the ones in London, they swear a lot & throw
knives at people! Top fact discovered here - the prison, supposedly the roughest on earth, is where Bon Scott & Angus Young met as inmates & spawned AC/DC.
Sun - 34C. Caught the beach bus & tried out a couple of the local beaches, managed not to get burnt, as we were in the shade most of the time, it being too hot to sit in the sun for long - driven round by a surfer dude, sporting the curly blonde mullet which is still very much in fashion here! Went to AQWA, the state aquarium - quite good. Returning to Perth, the driver pointed out that the cloud over the city, the first we'd seen, was in fact a pall of smoke from the bush fires some nutter had started that day.
Mon - 41C. In our 4WD, did 600Km up the coast to our 1st stop point. Should point out that like India, China, Malaysia & most of the civilised world they drive on the same side as the UK here (Sorry Binkys & Setchells!), which makes it quite easy. Also, passing 1 car about every half hour, even tho the kids are still on their 6 week xmas summer hols is pretty good. Anyway, 1st stop point a bit like Butlins, but scenery quite nice.
Tue - 41C. 400K. Saw 20 roos, unfortunately only the 1st 2 were alive, the rest hadn't really grasped the green cross code. Despite the rotting roadside roos, Ian decided to try a skippy fillet for dinner! Rather nice I must say (I tried a bit)
Wed - 41C. 600K. Saw wild dolphins being fed just a few feet from the waters edge. Also saw stromatolites (see Bill Bryson's Down Under). Stopped at a place which was very like Eastbourne, only much hotter. A real trip back to the 70's as everything was built around then & hasn't changed much since.
Thu - 41C. 200K. At last, a day when we don't spend the entire time in the car - this maybe Dave & Russ' idea of a great holiday, but frankly, I wouldn't have chosen this if I'd realised the mileage involved. Saw the very spooky Pinnacles Desert & actually did some off roading.
Fri - 41C. 300K. Another shorter drive back to Perth. Stopped at a little town with the only Benadictine monastery in the country & the largest radio telescope - just recently used to get the Saturn pictures.
Right that's you all up to date. We're off to join the Friday night goings on about town. Off on the 2 day train ride to Adelaide soon. Probably report back from Adelaide next.
Ash & Ian
(p.s. more of a novel than a postcard - Ian)
Friday, 28 January, 2005 7:31 AM
Subject: postcard from Adelaide
Another report from down under.
Sat 34C, pootled round Perth on our last day.
Sun - caught Indian Pacific train. Ulli, completely agree, the gold kangaroo
class travel is ace. This is a hell of a way to cover 2700Km of unbelievably
flat, hot, seemingly never ending bush. Hour after hour is pretty much the same, but at least you have the comfort of air conditioning, super meals in a very grand dining car, a very nice lounge bar to read the paper & have a glass of wine & a compact room to retire to if you feel the need – although ours wasn't as compact as most, as our original room developed a technical fault & we got moved to the disabled traveller room which was more than double the size to allow wheelchair access (Henry, not sure if you've ever done a long train ride here, but I think you'd be fairly well catered for). Got off at Kalgoorlie at night, the site of a huge open pit gold mine in the middle of nowhere. Some seriously big nuggets of gold found in people's
back gardens here. Really hot, even tho it was 11pm when we stopped.
Mon - crossed the Nullarbor (no trees) plain - stopped at Cook, population 2 (they weren't in). Took a quick picture out in the bush then ran back to the train before our shoes melted. Met a nice couple who Ian thought were German, I thought were French, but they turned out to be Swiss - but then they thought we were Aussies, so all's fair.
Tue 39C - hell's bells, really thought we were going to get a break from the heat in Adelaide, but turns out they're having an unusually hot spell. Quite humid too, so v. difficult struggling from bar to bar.
Wed 39C - Australia day - how everyone in the parade in various costumes didn't pass out I've no idea. Couldn't get tickets for the Oz vs Windies cricket at the Ade Oval, but walked round it to soak up some atmosphere, before deciding sitting outside all day was not a very good idea anyway - looked around the wonderfully air conditioned national wine museum instead. Didn't touch the exhibits.
Thu 35C - ah, cooled off a bit & headed to the beach via the tram, which was
novel. Such a cool breeze at the beach that I overdid it a bit on arms, legs & back, while Ian got a burnt belly button!
Fri 30C - mercifully it rained this morning & cooled off even more. Made use of the handy washing machine & dryer near our room (which is now a great deal fresher), planned our drive to Melbourne, had breakfast & hey presto rain stopped, all dried up & sun out - what a great country this is. Watched the news while ironing & was highly amused to see the snowy wasteland that is Europe & N America at the moment.
Top news story so far: man went to dentist with toothache & xray revealed he'd shot himself in the head with a nailgun the previous day & didn't realise - they really are hard as nails round here.
Frankest language in newspaper report: "Grandma bashed in by youths" - something as mild as 'attacked' or 'assaulted' just doesn't cut it round here. They also 'bashed in' a kitten, which received considerably more coverage!
Corks in wine bottles are definitely out & the screw top is in: this may explain why we haven't been able to get hold of the Aussie hat with corks hanging from the brim to keep the damn flies off!
Bush fires: Looks like we've been lucky, we left Perth for our drive up north during the worst of the smoke drifting over the city & we've arrived in Adelaide after all their's have been put out. Although it was quite a way from the city anyway.
Local beer coopers v good.
In the heat, all the WAus semillon sauvignon blanc are highly recommended.
Ash
saw an interesting piece on the news - a checklist to use if attacked by a brown snake.
1) A brown snake's bite will kill you in 3 minutes
2) Don't panic (!)
3) Seek help immediately (????)
Ian
Thursday, 3 February, 2005
Subject : postcard from Melbourne
Hello again. Your intrepid reporter down under here.
Sat – left Adelaide to begin our trip down the limestone coast. Stopped to admire larry the big lobster (see Bill Bryson, Down Under) – they really don’t have much to do out in the sticks & obviously have a lot of chicken wire hanging around, or Blue Peter really go to town with their sticky back plastic suggestions out here. Picnic at Robe, a pretty coastal village. Mt. Gambier is a town with a big lake which mysteriously turns bright blue for 3 months of the year – Jan being one of them luckily.
Sun 24C. Saw roos, wallabies & emus in the nature part by the lake before leaving for the coast again. Saw a blowhole and a petrified forest at Cape Bridgewater, then at tower hill nature reserve in a volcanic crater more roos, including some carrying joeys in their pouch – quite cute, emus (a bit closer than expected at one point), finishing with a koala carrying baby on back across the car part walking towards me to get up a gum tree for an evening snack – extremely cute. Port Fairy a quaint overnight stop.
Mon 30C. The spectacular Gt. Ocean Rd: bay of islands, grotto, london bridge, thunder cave, loch ard gorge, 12 apostles all amazing, although the 12 apostles is the one where all the coaches stopped so this was our first real feeling of being on a tourist route, as most places not very busy, even though still summer holidays. Ulli, thanks for the recommendation, tried to stay in Apollo Bayy, but it was full, so had to move hurriedly into Lorne, which was also very nice and luckily had a room free.
Tue 30C. Erskine Falls were peaceful and pictuesque, caught a car ferry across to Phillip Island so we could check out the Mornington Peninsula, which would have been lovelier had the weather not started to crack up – suddenly plummeted to 15C – brrrr. Went to Phillip Island to watch the sunset fairy penguin parade – abso;lutely hilarious as the adults come waddling full tilt out of the sea, across the beach only to be mugged by every chick waiting to be fed, who don’t care who their actual parents are. As this goes on for nearly an hour, we were quite cold by the end, it even rained a bit.
Wed 16C. Dull and pouring – what on earth? Drove into Melbourne on a 4 lane freeway in driving rain and very heavy traffic – this was very like being on the M25! Walking around Melbourne in the cold and wet, with trams clanging about every where – this was very like being in Nottingham! What have we come all this way for – ok, maybe being a bit ungrateful there after our long stint of great weather, plus we saw on Sky news it was only 11C at home.
Thu 18C. Phew, blue sky again. News reports that yesterday was the coldest and wettest summer day in Melbourne- ever – wasn’t that lucky. Another person killed by falling tree – these seem far more dangerous than sharks, snakes or spiders, as this makes 3 since we’ve been here. Up the Rialto Towers for a 55th floor view of the city – fantastic – although a bit worrying as we could see a load more weather arriving. Hoping to go to MCG to watch Oz and Pakistan 1 day cricket final if not wet tomorrow.
Ash.
I thought all Aussie place names would be tough and macho to suit the local image i.e. Rocky Cove and Hard Town. In fact we have driven through Port Fairy, Sausage Gully (Ooooer) and the Nobbies. Not quite what I expected.
Caused some major gridlock in Melbourne when trying to turn right like a normal person. In Melbourne you have to pull over to the left, wait 3 hours and then speed across the road avoiding trams and pedestrians. Quite happy to get rid of the car in the end.
Ian.
Sunday 13 February 2005, 12:32 PM
Subject : postcard from Sydney the tour down under continues: Thu 3rd, 18C. Melbourne. Went up the Rialto tower for a great view of the whole city. Saw foul weather in some parts, bright sun in others. Went down to the docklands, which they're still building, as a trendy redevelopment of a tatty old area. A hell of a lot of building going on in Melbourne. Bit different to Adelaide, which seems to be closing down.
Fri 21C. Hung around in the Hard Rock Cafe, debating whether to risk the cricket - came out & big patch of blue sky swung it - we were very lucky to get a full day/night game, some very nasty weather nearby, but patch of blue stuck over the MCG throughout - what a great ground - shame the cricket wasn't up to much, Ozzys batted badly, Pakistan even worse, luckily the crowd were very entertaining.
Sat 21C. Managed to convince Ian to do a walking tour of the lanes & alleys with a mix of buzzing street cafes & very grand old Victorian shopping arcades with the promise of the odd drink stop. Went to Federation square, interesting mix of bars, restaurants & entertainment only built a couple of years ago, very modern design - looks like the army have thrown a camoflage net over the whole thing. Bit of culture - went to see the Kylie costume exhibition in the Arts Centre! Not much material in any of the exhibits, I must say. Didn't stay long (Note for Dave: we couldn't take any pictures). Saw fallen trees lying around in every park we went thru - that weather a few days before really did some damage. Went to the Casino, where Ian struck a bit lucky on the roulette. Not US style at all, had to get your own drinks at the bar - very poor show.
Sun 25C. Got a ferry to the planetarium & science museum - a very ill judged trip as it turned out to be aimed at the under 5s. Consoled ourselves with a very grown up meal in the little Italy end of town.
Mon 28C. Flew to Sydney. Clear blue sky & quite a bit warmer than Melbourne. Darling Harbour super with loads of bars & restaurants to try out. Checked out the casino - smaller than Melbourne & Ian didn't win as much - but did give us our first glimpse of the Harbour Bridge at night.
Tue 31C. Bondi beach bus tour was really surprising - didn't expect so many great views of the Bridge & Opera House en route. Bondi really busy & very hot - managed not to overdo it. Moved on to Coogee beach for a drink stop later, a bit quiter & prettier. Returning to circular quay, saw the QE2 in dock - wow, it's big. Got a ferry back to Darling Harbour, to get our first view under the bridge. Had dinner in the Rocks - great view of the bridge at night.
Wed 27C. Sydney bus tour - explored the Rocks more - Lord Nelson old brewery pub, great beer, the observatory (no beer, just telescopes), then a German bierkeller (probably the one you went to Ulli).
Thu 24C. Morning & afternoon cruises gave us yet more bridge/opera house views, although a bit cloudy. Lunch in Hard Rock completed our set of both Oz locations - although this one's had some bad luck with a hail storm battering in the glass roof, then a kitchen fire destroying most of the exhibits - managed to make it out alive, onto our next adventure: Twilight Bridgeclimb topped off the day, especially as the cloud cleared to give a great sunset. What a great experience - although the gear they tog you up in makes you think you're going on a moon walk. Having talked Ian into this, luckily he had no problem with the height in the end as you are so well strapped in. Impressive range of celebrity bridgeclimb photos on display.
Fri 25C. Up Sydney tower to the revolving restaurant for lunch - gotta love a revolving restaurant - never put your handbag on the edge. Great views on a lovely sunny day & tried my first ever oysters - yummy. Also had a taste of roast camel (like chewy beef), emu (bacony/hammy) & kangaroo (gorgeous - a taste all of it's own). Went to Mrs Macquarie's chair which gives the best bridge/opera house view (haven't reviewed photos yet, but may well have overdone the bridge/opera house thing!). Then, culture vultures that we are, had a superb evening at the opera house - managed to get tickets for Tosca - fantastic sound, wonderful singing, lavish sets, glass of bubbly on the terrace overlooking the bridge at night in the interval enchanting, bumping into Cherie Blair in the ladies loo a little surprising, seeing the enormous P&O Sapphire Princess leave port lit up like a xmas tree with everyone cheering & waving in the 2nd interval was incredible - all in all, a top night out.
Sat 25C. Jetcat to Manly beach - bit nicer than Bondi, but still pretty busy. Bit of sunburn as it was quite windy & fooled us into thinking it wasn't very hot.
Sun 23C. Found a nice Brewery pub in Darling Harbour to plan our road trip starting tomorrow to Brisbane. Have fixed up our 1st night in a historic inn in the Blue Mountains with 8 rooms - how romantic for valentines day! Went round the aquarium - to say I've seen more in a fish & chip show would be a little Dave style exaggeration, but not by much. Not as good as AQWA near Perth - London aquarium still unbeaten - 'the Deep' in Hull coming 2nd (sorry Aunt Sheila).
Writers cramp setting in & Ian has nodded off, so will not be adding his usual postscript.
Standby for postcard from Brisbane.
Ash
PS. Leighton - well done to Wales on winning their 2nd game in a row (grr)
Heather - no sign of White Rhino Cafe in Kings Cross
Tuesday 22 February 2005
postcard from Brisbane
G'day from Brizo. The diary continues:
Mon 14, 28C. Left Sydney for Blue Mtns. V impressed with the 3 sisters (Priscilla queen of the desert, etc), not so impressed with the 'corridor of oaks' which turned out to be a line of oak trees - can't get them under trade descriptions or anything, just not sure why this was pointed out as a tourist attraction! Top valentine evening. 1893 haunted guesthouse with only 8 rooms - super restaurant & accompanying wine list, v friendly hosts who took us out for a night drive to do a bit of stargazing on an incredibly clear night with no light pollution - never seen so many stars or seen the milky way so clearly.
Tue 15, 30C. Drove miles to visit some caves to find all visits sold out - doh! Drove even more cautiously on the windy mountain roads after seeing a car flipped over in the road. Motel that night had power cut after young girl drove into & knocked over power pole, needing to be cut out of her car then airlifted to hospital - I guess the frequent signs 'drinking kills driving skills' & 'drowsy drivers die' along the roads round here aren't working.
Wed 16, 33C. Drove thru part of Hunter Valley - all v nice, but a bit boring when you're driving & can't stop to taste any of the goods. Worth the trip for a sign which made us laugh from a farm selling chicken manure or 'CHOOK POO' as the sign neatly put it. Took the tourist route thru the Great Lakes, altho the road didn't often give lake views - v hit & miss approach to 'tourist' stuff here - always the element of surprise as to whether it's going to be any good or not. Dramatic thunder & lightening in the evening.
Thu 17, 25C. Break in the rain allowed a visit to a little zoo which was brilliant as it was nearly empty & allowed koala & roo/wallaby/wallaroo(!) petting - awesome. Also saw our 1st monster spiders whilst walking round - yeuchk. Stayed in Coffs Harbour, which is meant to be lovely, but as it hurled it down the entire time we were there, we took full advantage of the motel laundry & swimming pool (well, we couldn't get any wetter & all our clothes were in the wash).
Fri 18, 30C. Added photo stops of the big banana & the big prawn to our collection of strange 'big' things found on the roadside in this country. Passed by Russell Crowes place, but didn't see him (Did I mention we saw Campese running his own sportswear shop in Sydney?). Luckily by our lunch stop at a beach cafe it was back to glorious blue sky - hurrah - spotted some dolphins - we hoped they were dolphins anyway for the surfers' sakes! Onto Surfers Paradise - what an amazing sight - some say tacky, but it had a casino which kept Ian occupied for a while. Had another super Indian meal - a bit more traditional, not like the one we had in Sydney, which had a definite Mod Oz twist.
Sat 19, 30C. Watched a surfing competition before leaving S.Paradise, then onto Brizo. Hotel only 2 blocks from the casino - another evenings entertainment sorted.
Sun 20,30C. A little topping up the tan by the pool, before exploring on the city cat - a ferry giving great river views. Sampled Eagle St Pier restaurant/bar area for lunch - v nice river views. Checked out the south bank area (Claire, see other note on the hotel you'll be staying in) - loads of restaurant/bar choice & a rather cool lagoon surrounded by a beach which overlooks the river. Amazing number of huge bats flying around at dusk - saw a couple in Sydney, I guess the tropical weather further north makes all these things more likely. Speaking of which, haven't seen too many enormous roaches here - they do seem part of the eating outdoors scene, having seen some whoppers when eating out in Perth, Adelaide & Sydney. I think the cold & rain in Melbourne was the only reason we didn't see any there. (Top tip Claire - don't sit at an outdoors table wearing a dress that goes anywhere near the floor!)
Mon 21,31C. More pool time, running for cover by 11am as it's too damn hot. Walked round the botanical gardens, spotting a few more scary spiders in what is basically a jungle. Spotted a possum walking back along the river bank after dinner - that makes 5 out of the Aussie 6 spotted in the wild (roos/wallabies, koalas, emus, echidnas, possums, no wombats yet)
Tue 22, 30C. Forecast rain for today - fortunately, the weathermen are as clueless here as anywhere else, so yet again, had a spell by the pool. Route planning for our trip to Cairns looking like we have some long hours in the car - wish I'd looked into milage a bit more before I'd booked these. Went to the pictures for a bit of a cool down - biggest screen in the s. hemisphere apparently 25m. Super Greek lunch & Lebanese dinner - every type of restaurant in this town it seems.
Standby for postcard from Cairns.
Ash
PS. Ian seems to have sloped off to the Casino yet again, but at least he's $250 up at the moment, which is at least paying for my growing wine habit.
Sunday 6 March 2005
postcard from Cairns
At the risk of irritating those in the frozen wastes of the UK, can I just start by saying - flipping heck it's hot here. And so to the diary:
Wed 23, 31C. 200k. Steve Irwin zoo - no appearance by the loony himself, but he has plenty of trainee loonies jumping into the 'crocoseum' to feed the beasts. Drove round the Glass house mountains, v. picturesque, & had to stop at the 'big pineapple' to add to our photo collection of large fruit/seafood. Onto Mooloolaba - what a great name for a town & v. pretty beachfront too.
Thu 24, 31C. 650k. Long drive today, picnics at some lovely ocean view spots - Noosa Heads, Hervey Bay overlooking Fraser Island, Tullum Sands. Rockhampton overnight - superb Moreton Bay Bugs for dinner - sound disgusting but if you like lobster, they are sublime.
Fri 25, 32C. 480K. Raced upto Airlie Beach, with short picnic stop at Mackay - all big coastal towns round here seem to have major docks shipping coal, but have quite nice beaches, so a bit nicer than Newcastle then! Airlie Beach motel had super pool & evening entertainment, which lead us into having a few too many.
Sat 26, 33C. Nursing hangovers by the pool for the morning. Boarded the Coral Trekker at lunchtime. What a great boat. A Norwegian sailing boat built in the 50's. Sailed down to Hook Island. Took it in turns to swing from the rigging into the sea - that certainly cleared the cobwebs away! Ian had a bit of a body weight vs arm strength issue & nearly pulled his arms out of his sockets - how we all laughed. Slept on deck under the stars, as far too hot in the hold -fantastic.
Sun 27, 34C. Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island - literally blinding white sand, never seen anything like it - v. rough swim in the surf - wearing our obligatory stinger suits - think superman outfit without the 's' on the front - v. fetching. No-one stung so far, which is nice. A full on sail to Luncheon Bay - one passenger a little green round the gills, but great fun for the rest of us. Did my 1st dive since 2002 - superb, saw turtle & some parrotfish as big as me (honest)
Mon 28,34C. Another dive off Hayman Island - v cool. Also bit of snorkelling later at another site.
Tue 1, 34C. All except for me went for beach walk - once they were all tendered off to shore, absolutely pelted down with rain - ha ha - all soaked to skin on return, except me - it pays to be lazy now & again. Motored back to Airlie Beach - really sad to leave boat - had a fab time - would recommend this trip to everyone. Stayed in A. Beach overnight, met up with crew for drinks in the evening.
Wed 2, 34C. 650K. Another big driving day. Stopped for photo opportunity at the 'big mango' - well you have to, don't you. Townsville lunch at super cafe overlooking Magnetic Island & once again major shipping port. Millaa Millaa falls v pretty in the Atherton Tablelands before arriving in Cairns late. Cairns seemed v nice - like Brizo, has a lovely manmade lagoon near the waterfront, as it has no beach. Drive from Brizo almost solidly thru sugar cane fields, occasionally pineapple or banana plantations - it's v tropical here & someone must have a v sweet tooth.
Thu 3, 31C. Returned hire car for the last time - all been v. nice a/c, automatic mitsubishi or toyota - v easy driving. Got to Port Douglas - straight to pool for a cool down - aaah.
Fri 4, 32C. Walked along 4 mile beach, virtually deserted - might be to do with the marine stinger (vinegar bottles strategically placed along beach) & croc warnings! Saw 1 washed up jelly fish, no crocs tho. Tried out the curry house restaurant at the hotel for dinner - didn't think it was possible to feel any hotter - how wrong can you be.
Sat 5, 31C. Took a barrier reef trip on 'poseidon' - advised against 'quicksilver' the biggest operator as they take 250 people at a time. Our boat had 60 & that was quite enough. Did 3 dives on 3 different sites - good, but a bit of a production line - no way of getting accidentally left behind with all the regular headcounts done. I think the incident of the 2 left behind some years ago turned out to be a suicide pact anyway. Besides, I'm sure Ian would have said something if I hadn't got back on the boat......
Sun 6, 32C. Steam train ride into town. Have just watched Melbourne Grand Prix in pub. Am now melting in internet cafe/ice cream parlour & may have to get back to the pool soon. Only have about 8 mozzy bites at the moment, but I must say it's not surprising - surrounded by mangrove swamps here, it's about as tropical as it gets. Like Kaula Lumpur, there is also danger of Dengue fever here, which I hope I haven't got! I can't begin to describe how much I'm dreading going back to the UK. Looking forward to Uluru & swapping humidity for dry heat & mozzys for flies (got used to those in WA where it's v. dry heat to) - am armed with netting to drap over hat, which is essential to stop the damn things getting in your nose & mouth.
Claire - haven't seen Thala Beach resort, where you'll be staying - I think it's quite a way out of town.
Ash
PS. Ian says he's too hot for a PS & finished his ice cream ages ago.
Saturday 12 March 2005, 10:45 AM
Subject : it's all over Can't believe 9 weeks has come to an end. We are now at Sydney airport about to fly to Kuala Lumpur for 2 nights, then back to the UK - what a depressing thought. Since the postcard from Cairns, it's just been hotter & hotter:
Mon 7, 33C, a very hot day by the pool. After evening meal, saw a couple of bandicoots running around on the way back to the room. Still not seen any wild wombats yet.
Tue 8, 33c. tour of mossman, daintree rainforest & cape tribulation - super swim in a waterfall pool (no crocs guaranteed!), saw a snake & a couple of big spiders in the rainforest - cool. Loads of signs up warning not to be in the area the next day as they were expecting cyclone Ingrid to blow it all away
Wed 9, 33C. nice day by the pool, despite cyclone - mildly breezy was in fact quite pleasant.
Thu 10, 36C. Flew to Uluru - excellent room overlooking the rock! off to sounds of silence dinner - top star gazing - can't remember much else, got incredibly drunk
Fri 11, 38C. Oh goody, hell of a hangover, hot as hell & had to get up at 5.15 for sunrise Uluru tour, then Kata Tjuta (Olgas) sunset tour later - which every fly in the world signed up for too.
Sat 12, 39C. Phew, getting too hot here, time to fly off to Sydney, then off to KL.
Well, see you all next week. This is Waltzing Matilda signing off.
Ash
PS. For those of you who haven't gone metric yet, Uluru used to be called Ayres Rock Australia pictures at lastAfter just over 2 years, I've finally gotten round to uploading our holiday photos from the Jan-Mar 2005 Australia tour, adding captions to each one. Only 405 of them, but divided up into (hopefully!) more manageable chunks.
Better start on the 2005 Cornwall & Las Vegas photos now. S America diary, Nov 2004Sent a few email 'postcards' reporting from Peru, but, unsurprisingly, 2 years later, can only find this one!
Friday, November 19, 2004 2:52 PM
Subject: Postcard from Machu Picchu
OK, we are out of the jungle & have now done Machu Picchu. Spectacular.
Could not have been better weather. Got a bit burnt in fact & a little over heated on the 1000ft 1 hour trek this morning on our 2nd visit. Whew. Just awaiting the 3 hour train ride back to Cusco thru fantastic scenery. Tomorrow have 9 hour train ride up to Puno by Lake Titicaca, going from 3300m, up to 4500m and back down to 3600m. Only 1 person has needed oxygen so far!
Ash
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