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Sudamerica....el mejor lugar en el mundo

2005-10-30T15:56:00.000-08:00

After Auckland I flew to Tahiti where I spent 20 hours waiting for a connecting fight to Easter Island (Isla de pasque)....pure bloody torture.

(Church Choir, Tahiti)

Arrived in Isla de pasque suffering from a severe case of sleep deprivation so bed for about 12 hours....awoke to the sound of howling sea winds and torrential rain...an exploration of the island was understandably enough put on hold.

(Me on the Isla de Pasque, or Rapa Nui)

The next day however was beautiful so mike & charlotte (English couple), a chilean student and I hit the trail with our guide who proved to be very knowledgable about the Island.

(Maui´s en la isla de pasque un otra vez)

(Simply can´t get enough of easter Island)

(and again)

(Some unfinished stone mauis which never made it to their intended place of erection)

After easter Island it was straight on to Santiago, Chile where I got stuck into a 5 day string of spanish lessons. These proved to be quite enjoyable and well worth the time and money. I did manage to see some sights in Santiago...though not as many as I´d normally have managed....those old spanish lessons were pretty intense...going out at twelve at night and coming back shagged tired at 6 in the morning on a few occassions didn´t help either.

(Statue of the blessed virgin atop Cerro San Cristobal, Santiago, Chile)

(Buick, Bellavista, Santiago...close to Cerro San Cristobal)

Next stop was Buenos Aires, Argentina....a great spot....lots of great cheap red wine 920ml bottles of Cerveza and red meat to beat the band. They have these places over here called ¨Tenedore Libres¨ this literally means free fork but to all intents and purposes its basically a all you can eat buffet with great food....I ate and drank like a king here and found similar joints in other big Argentinian cities such as Cordoba and Mendoza.

They´ve also got some great nightlife here for dancing off all those calories...although the old going out at one in the morning and getting back in the early hours takes its toll after awhile.

(La Casa Rosada Buenos aires....from the balcony of which Eva Peron rallied support for her husband)

Now I did also manage to see some sights such as the area around Plaza de mayo...where the Casa Rosada stands.

(Riot police, buenos aires)

You can´t miss the riot police in this place they come out in force every time theres a demonstration of the least significance.

(El Jardin al dentro el casa rosada, buenos aires)

(Dodgey, dodge...san telmo, buenos aires)

I strolled around San Telmo at some stage and popped into Cafe Plaza Dorrego for a coffee and a sandwich. Oh thats another thing the Argentinians certainly know how to do coffee....these people are sophisticated....I felt like a ragamuffin nearly every time I went out to eat.

(The main road leading into the district of La Boca, Buenos Aires)

I spent a half day strolling around La Boca.

(Colourful houses...la boca)

(Mural in La Boca)

(The final resting place of Eva Peron in La Recoleta cemetery, BA)

La Recoleta cemetery has to be seen to be believed some of the tombs in here are as big as houses and a dam sight more ornate....its a bit mad in my opinion.

(Siesta, BA)

After Buenos Aires I headed up to Puerto Iguazu, where I saw the truly amazing iguazu falls from both the brazilian and Argentinian side. I´m sorry but without the best day, a wide angle lense, top class camera and a helicoptor photos simply can´t do this place justice. The experience of being there just can´t be replicated.

(Catarata iguazu, Brazil)

(Mi, a lado de el catarata iguazu, Brazil)

(As Arthur Guniness would say...if a toucan can then you can too)

(The birds just love to pose for the camera)

(El garganta del diablo, Catarata iguazu, Argentina)

Thousands upon thousands of tonnes of water gushing over the side of the monstrosity that is ¨El Garganta del Diablo¨ or the devils throat simply has to be seen and heard in real life to be appreciated. The way I look at is if Ian Thorp slipped and fell here that´d be it...good night Irene....no one´s going in after you and no swimming skills are going to help you here.

(Rainbow, iguazu, Argentina)

After Iguazu I hit Cordoba en route to Mendoza...a beautiful little city.

(La vista sobre Mendoza)

Hit Mendoza next took a quick snap of the city from atop the municipal building. Later I did a one day tour of some wine bodegas followed by a trip to a chocolate factory...pretty good day all told.

(Wine cellar in one of a number of bodegas visited in Mendoza)

Spent a whole other day up in the Alta Montanas where we hit each of the following sights.

(Puenta del inca, Argentina...cerca de la frontier con Chile)

(Church close to la puenta del inca)

(In front of Mount Aconcagua, Argentina)

(Relaxing in los pentitentes)

Later in Salta further north in Argentina I spent a day horse-riding with some other Irish people I bumped into earlier in Mendoza.

(Me y Enrique despuis de mucho vino tinto!!!)

Half-way through the day the bossman Enrique fed us a meal fit for royalty copious amounts of red meat and red wine to beat the band.

(Ready for the off again)

(Al dentro la cathedral, Salta, Argentina)

Next it was off into Bolivia entering via Northern Argentina now the ride was pretty rough but the scenery was nothing short of amazing....of the true spagetti western variety...sorry no shot of that...it was a bit cramped in that old 4WD. But man I made up for it on our three day trip around the Salar de Uyuni.

(El cemeterio de trens cerca de Uyuni, Bolivia)

(y un otra vez...)

(Experienced mechanic urgently required!!!)

(La Hotel de Sal, Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia)

(La Isla de pescado, Cerca de uyuni, Bolivia)

(Y un otra vez..)

(uno tiempo mas...)

(La salar de uyuni, Bolivia)

(Our 4WD pulled up in front of one of many colourful mountains close to the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia)

(Una Laguna, cerca de la Salar de Uyuni)

(Y un otra..)

(Seagull...hover above one of the lagunas)

(Me at 4,600 meters above Sea Level on the way to the geysers of Sol de Manaña)

(Y mi un poco mas alta...)

(Arbol de Piedra..)

(Laguna Colorado, cerca de la salar de uyuni, Bolivia)

(Laguna colorado con muchas flamingos)

(..y llamas)

(La laguna roja)

(Geyser at Sol de Manaña)

(Sol de Manaña)

(Sol de Manaña)

(La laguna verde..)

(Landscape on the way back to Uyuni..)

As you can see the scenery in this neck of the woods is beautiful and varied. Apparently Bolivia is one of the 12 most diverse countries in the world in terms of flora and fauna...and after a short spell here this was easy to believe. The Salar de Uyuni was hands down no contest the best place I visited in my entire trip...up to this point I thought there was no way I could beat the iguazu falls but I managed it....in fact i´d have to say Bolivia was all round the best counrty I´ve visited.

Things I liked about Bolivia
1 Freshly squeezed orange juice and grapefruit juice from the street vendors in the
early morning.
2 Followed by breakfast in a local comedor surrounded by the local constablury eagerly recommending shops where I could purchase one of their military style ponchos in la paz.
3 Practicing my spanish with the shoe shine boys in Sucre, the receptionist of La Casa Real de la moneda and her glamorous friend, and the old ladies in the markets around La Paz.
4 Oh did I mention the scenery...well there was lots of it.
5 Even though these people are poor they don´t ever seem to complain and yes theres crime here...surprise surprise...they don´t have a monopoly on it though...personally I found most of the people to be hard working and honest.

(Cathedral, Sucre, Bolivia)

(La vista sobre Sucre)

Sucre turned out to be my favourite city in Bolivia...believe it or not its the official constitutional capital...not la Paz although you always hear of La Paz being referred to as the highest capital city in the world...well Potosi also in Bolivia, though not a capital city either is the highest city in the world.

Sucre is so much better organised than La Paz...to be honest La Paz is a bit of a mess in my opinion....end to end markets and houses that look like they´ve been just left htere in mid construction.

(La Plaza de Mayo, Sucre)

(Dinosaur Footprints, Sucre, Bolivia)

(Backstreet, Potosi, the highest city in the world)

After Sucre I made my way to Potosi where I did a tour of the Silver mine el Cero rico...its still a working mine and the work conditions are real dickensian to say the least a good experience but glad to be out of the place in the end.

(Our guide preps some dynamite for explosion, el cerro rico, Potosi)

(Mine Workers, el cerro rico, Potosi, Bolivia)

(El Cerro Rico, Potosi, Bolivia)

Next off to La Paz where I did a trip out to the Inca site of Tiwanaku....some of this was quite interesting but to be honest there still digging the bloody thing up.

(Ruins of a dwelling, Tiwanaku, an Inca site close to La Paz)

(Puerta del Sol, Tiwnakau...pity about the barbed wire)

(Stone carving, Tiwanaku)

(Wall surrounding one of many temples, Tiwanaku)

Eventually Oisin a friend from Ireland arrived with John and Briona also Irish and we headed off to ride el camino mas peligroso en el mundo or el camino del muerte. The weather was absolutely atrocious....pissing down...visibility was very low...I came of the bike once at high speed around a corner...I pulled the back brake and the wheel just slipped away from me....back on and myself and the other two Irish guys were the first three to make it to the top of the rather steep hill near the start of the ride. Anyway the worst was yet to come this road isn´t very well paved so your bombing over stone after stone and it really gets your wrists after awhile. Now bare in mind that theres a sheer drop of a view thousand feet at the side of this bloody road....at one stage there was three cyclists and a pick-up in front of me the three cyclists steered around the pick-up...between it the cliff edge I was just about to follow them when the pick-up starts to reverse towards me narrowing the gap between it and the cliff edge...the bloody fool can´t see me because he´s so much crap piled on the back of the pick-up that he has no rear view....I hurriedly try to dismount and as I do the rain jacket I´m wearing catches in the saddle, I lose my balance and both me and the bike go over the side. I just threw myself into the side of the cliff and luckily there was something there to hold me...not much mind you..but enough...great view. Two lads pull me back up and we´re off again...I think I was very lucky to have gone over at that place.

(John and Oisin on the Death Raod)

(The Lads head back to La Paz from Coroico)

(Coroico)

(Welcoming if not somewhat worn Mural, Coroico)

(View down into the valley below, from above Coroico)

Finally we reached Coroico the little town at the end of the road...I decided to stay there for a few nights and explore Coroico....theres a massive fiesta going on there when we arrived.

(Festivities in full swing, Coroico, La Paz)

I ended up going out one night for dinner, I brought my diary with me to update it etc....but things were going so well I decided not to go home straight away. I ended up having some beers with some locals...anyway after quite alot of beer I left my jacket down in a nightclub and some dude swiped it while I was busy dancing....oh well...as the mother would say he´s only fooling himself...he probably ended up throwing that diary of the side of a cliff...if I could find him I´d throw him off after it.

(The Untouchables beat out some local tunes)

(Street dancers, Coroico)

(Two members of the flamboyant Untouchables posing for the camera)

(Two close friends I met travelling together in Coroico)

(...and a friend of theirs)

Anyway back to La Paz, some shopping to replace some items and on then to Copacabana...where I ended up taking a trip over to Isla del Sol with an Australian guy I´d previously done the death road with and two Irish nurses...whoopee. We did a hike from one side of the Island to the other....great scenery...then we decided we´d stay a night on the Island.

(The Cathedral in Copacabana viewed from atop a nearby hill)

(The path along the top of the Isla Del Sol)

(View from the top of the Isla del Sol...down into Lake Titicaca)

Headed back to the mainland the following morning and on to Cusco, Peru.

Cusco, Peru what can I say....its probably the most touristy place I´ve been to this trip...gringos all over the shop...great nightlife here though...although you need to make sure you get plenty of sleep the old thicker can´t do without it...at this altitute lepp´n around the place like a lunatic has some very noticeable side-effects.

(View of Cusco from above the city)

(Writing on the hillside above the main square of Cusco)

(The doorway into the Inca ruins of Puka Pukara situated in the hills above Cusco)

(The inca site of Sacsaywaman...also close to Cusco)

(An indigenous woman gazes down on the ruins of Puka pukara)

(Children in a street parade..Cusco)

(Cusco´s Cathedral at night)

I visited a number of sites around Cusco before venturing off on a three night four day hike all the way to Macchu Pichu along the reknowned Inca trail.

(The view from our mountain side campsite on the third day)

(Machu Pichu in the Distance....beneeath the clouds unfortunately)

(Me at Machu Pichu)

(A pose somewhat reminiscent of Che in the motorcycle diaries)

(Machu Pichu)

(San Francisco Church, Central Lima Peru)

After the Inca trail I made for Lima, Peru to await my return flight back to Ireland via Madrid. Did a fair bit of shopping while here....got some great bargains etc. But alas all good things come to an end and while its been great...the best year of my 27 years so far...bar none...I am looking forward to returning home to hibernia. To steal a few words from old Frankie blue eyes himself..¨It was a very good year¨...vintage in fact.

Scenic New Zealand

2005-09-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

(Chess players in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, New Zealand)

14/07/05 Thursday (Day 229)

Hit Christchurch.

15/07/05 Friday (Day 230)

While taking a few photos around cathedral square I spotted a familiar face . None other than John O´Connor an old pal from home. Its his first day in a new job here in Christchurch and I end up staying with himself and the girlfriend, Deirdre for the remainder of my stay in Christchurch.

16/07/05 Saturday (Day 231)

Hit the musuem early in the day and went drinking later with John.....stumbled back into his place at about 4am.

17/07/05 Sunday (Day 232)

Up at about 1.30 pm, John and Deirdre have gone to the shop for brekky...(man I was spoilt). While I was waiting then a knock came to the door. Now we´re seven floors up on the top floor of this apartment block so I´m curious to see who it is. I opened the door and theres a strange woman standing outside.

W: I´m looking for John

Me: Oh I´m John (Inner monologue:Who is this woman???)

W: Oh you look different ....you must have cut your hair. (Inner monologue: Where do i know this woman from???). Finally the penny drops.

Me: Oh your looking for John who actually lives here.

W: Um.....yes.

Ah the demon drink....it dulls the wits of even the sharpest of us...anyway after profuse apologies by yours truly it transpires that shes a neighbour from downstairs...She wants to talk to John (obviously)....I can´t help wondering if it had anything to do with our late entry the previous night....ah well these things happen. As it happens she has trouble sleeping and things like people going to the toilet in the middle of the night, walking on the floor above (pretty thick concrete floor), opening and closing doors, and using the elevator disturb her...I told John he´d better tie a knot in it and take up levitation.

18/07/05 Monday (Day233)

Another day knocking around Christchurch.

19/07/05 Tuesday (Day234)

(Look..tis the man from snowy river)

Off to Arthurs Pass which with its snow capped peaks and sheer valleys turned out to be my favourite place in New Zealand.

(...grizzly Adams after a shave)

20/07/05 Wednesday (Day 235)

Ascended the snowcapped Avalanche Peak (Arthurs Pass)....taking in the great views on the way up . A bit treacherous coming down so not so much gawping at the lanscape I´m afraid.

(On the ascent of Avalanche Peak, Arthurs Pass, NZ)

(Atop Avalanche Peak)

(The Valley below)

21/07/05 Thursday (Day 236)

Off to Greymouth and like so many of my journeys in New Zealand I got none of my book read the countryside is that beautiful and peaceful it held my attention for most of the time. On arrival in Greymouth I caught onward transport to Franz Joseph...same story.

22/07/05 Friday (Day 237)

Lazy day.

23/07/05 Saturday (Day 238)

I did a guided walk on the Franz Joseph Glacier which was well worth it despite the inclement weather.

(Me on my way up the Franz Joseph Glacier, NZ)

24/07/05 Sunday (Day 239)

Yet another breahtakingly scenic bus trip this time to Wanaka.

(The road to Wanaka)

25/07/05 Monday (Day 240)

Visited puzzleworld...where I spent about an hour trying to get out of the maze..later attempted some of the many puzzles..as did a group of primary school teachers on holidays from Ireland...one of them from Caherdavin..yet more proof of what a small world it is...and the myriads of Irish people traveling.

26/07/05 Tuesday(Day 241)

Abondoned all plans of visiting Milford sounds due to the bad weather and made a beeline back to Christchurch.

27/07/05 Wednesda (Day 242)

A day of administration...it has to be done...unfortunately.

UNFORTUNATELY AT THIS JUNCTURE THINGS GET A BIT HAZY....AS SOME DUDE IN BOLIVIA SWIPED MY DIARY (He´s entire haul consisted of one scruffy jacket, one scarf, one cherished Ozzie hat, one pair of gloves, two biros , a half roll of tiolet paper , half a chocolate bar, and one diary maintained meticulously with endless amounts of love and attention for a grand total of 11 months...oh and a maglite with two spare batteries.) How did the ingenious fiend manage to outwit me??...stay tuned for the south american chapter....more on that later.

So what happened next....well I could trawl through hundreds of photos viewing electronic date tags but that would just be torture so lets see how good the old memory is....

Next stop was definitely Lake Taupo....I remember it vividly....after all it was the first and only time I´ve jumped from a plane at 12,000ft....

(One of many lakes spotted on the way to Lake Taupo)

(Coming in to land)

(Glad to be back on terra firma)

The view on the way down was pretty breathtaking.

After Lake taupo I headed for Rotorua where the novelty of the geysers held my attention for a day or so but after that the rotten egg smell of the sulphur was enough to put me on a bus heading for Waitomo.

(A traditional maori welcome to Rotorua)

(Geysers, Rotorua)

What does Waitomo have to recommend itself?....well some caves I believe which are inhabited by glowworms? Spectacular I´m sure but I´d seen enough caves at that stage so I just did a few walks around the area....its landscape is remarkably similar to the irish countryside.

(Posing yet again....in Waitomo this time)

Finally I managed to reach Auckland where a DJ friend of mine from Dublin generously gave me lodgings in her crib for the duration of my stay....thats DJ ¨KB¨ to all you mere mortals....big up...respect.

(Skytower, Auckland)

So what the hell did I do while here...well I´d been informed before I got here that the place was pretty dead regarding nightlife...but DJ ¨KB¨ true to form referring to herself and her two amigas as ¨charles angels¨ has managed to pump some new life into the Auckland late night party scene.

(Charles Angels get ready to hit the town....Charle who is taking the photos has had a bit too much to drink)

I also somehow managed to get to the Aquarium in Auckland which I thought was better that that in Sydney....if only for all the cute little penguins there. I also did a walk from one side of the city to the other.

(Me being an idiot)

On the day before departure DJ ¨KB¨ and her two side kicks took me inline roller blading....bad idea...less that ten minutes into it I fell and landed right on the old Cocyx...bloody painful and not just for one day...or two.

So overall how was New Zealand....personally my favourite was the South Island...the scenery was spectacular....I´m sorry I didn´t have more time to spend there...It´s a great country to go trekking in...unfortunately I never managed to organise myself for any of the multi-day treks. Would I go back...yes. I found it more interesting than Oz....however after three months or so in south america at this stage I´m beginning to realise that a very different culture and language make a huge difference to the traveling experience,....both australia and new zealand are English speaking and the culture is very western....particularly in australia where they appear to be trying to emulate the states. When I was there I felt something was missing..but couldn´t quite put my finger on it. So my favourite place so far...three months ago I simply wouldn´t have been able to say...but now I have no doubts...Its got to be the Salar de Uyuni and its surrounds in Bolivia. Bolivia is a country which is even more scenic than New Zealand and the landscape is so varied also. Needless to say its a somewhat different culture also with spanish being the spoken language. In fact south america overall has been a great experience...anyone planning holidays at the moment should definitely have a look at going there. Unfortunately however you´ll have to wait awhile for the update on the place...great place.

Good-day from Downunder

2005-09-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

25/05/05 Wednesday - 26/05/05 Thursday (Day 180-181)

Moved out to Freemantle, a suburb of Perth.

(Ship moored of the beach at Freemantle)

27/05/05 Friday (Day 182)

In exchange for acting as guinea pigs me and some other backpackers get a tour of the tunnels beneath Freemantle prison. Afterwards I strolled around Freo Market and paid a visit to the motor museum.

(Ferrari 250 GT/L, Freemantle Motor Museum)

(Rolls Royce, Silver Ghost)

Freematnle is a nice little place with a good deal more character than Perth.

28/05/05 Saturday (Day 183)

(Boats moored just off Rottnest Island)

An easy day spent on Rottnest Island (originally christened rats nest by the Dutch who discovered it in the 1600´s after the "Quokkas", the marsupials native to the Island).

(Quokka, Rottnest Island)

29/05/05 Sunday (Day 184)

Another relaxing day this time spent at Cottisloe beach finishing off "Vietnam the 10,000 days War".

30/05/05 Monday (Day 185)

Visited the Freemantle Maritime Museum (which included a tour of a real Ozzie Sub) before heading back to Perth.

(Torpedo Tubes of Submarine, Freemantle)

31/05/05 Tuesday (185)

North to Cervantes and a gander at the Pinnacles

(The Pinnacles, Cervantes, Western Australia)

(Striking yet another pose at the pinnacles)

01/06/05 Wednesday (Day 186)

Further north to Kalbarri National Park

02/06/05 Thursday (Day 187)

Trek through Kalbarri National park before canoeing down the nearby gorges.

(Natures Window, Kalbarri National Park, Western Australia)

03/06/05 Friday (Day 188)

Sick....

04/06/05 Saturday (Day 189)

Off back to Perth

05/06/05 Sunday (Day 190)

Flew into Ayrs Rock airport from Perth and join my tour group for the next three days. This was to proof to be the highlight of my time in Australia...due in no small part to the great bunch of people in my group.

(Ayrs Rock by day)

(Ayrs Rock, later in the evening)

06/06/05 Monday (Day 191)

Up early and off to the Olgas

(The Olgas)

(....me at the Olgas)

(The Olgas yet again)

(Around the campfire in the red centre)

07/06/05 Tuesday (Day 192)

(Mount Connor as seen on the way to Kings Canyon)

Kings Canyon and a novelty ride on a camel before making our way back to Alice Springs, followed by a great night out later that night at Melanka´s disco......oh the reckless abandon of it all.

(Yours truly at Kings Canyon)

(me again...)

(Kings Canyon)

08/06/05 Wednesday (Day 193)

I spent the day wandering around with Anna an English girl from our group. It was bloody baking hot so we decided against walking to the airschool although if we hadn´t been hungover from the night before we might just have given it a shot. So instead we head off to visit the botanical gardens. To be honest I was surprised they actually had one here in Alice Springs. The phrase "botanical gardens" conjures up images of romantic strolls through leafy walkways surrounded by colourful flowers with the sounds of birds chirping in the background. No such natural wonders in Alice Springs, I´m afraid. Instead we are greeted with a sign announcing our arrival at the botanical garden "arid zone"....well I´m being extremely euphemistic in describing it as a bit of a disappointment....ah well in fairness I suppose we weren´t expecting it to be that spectacular anyway.

09/06/05 Thursday (Day 194)

Said goodbye to all and headed off to Cairns....

(Cairns so-called beach....more of a swamp really)

10/06/05 Friday (Day 195)

Off up to Kuranda a little town in the Jungle/rainforrest above Cairns where I had some glorious food. Later went out in the notorious Woolshed of Cairns fame....something similar to Copper face jacks back home in Dublin....great craic.

(Train to Kuranda)

11/06/05 Saturday (Day 196)

Spent the day soaking up some rays at the lagoon and headed to the woolshed later I believe.

12/06/05 Sunday (Day 197)

Not much happening.....but I did book a tour to Cape Tribulation for the following day.

13/06/05 Monday (Day 198)

Sampled the delights of the exotic fruit farm, Cape Tribulation.

14/06/05 Tuesday (Day 199)

Strolled around Cape Tribulation for the day.

(Crocodile spotted on the Daintree river)

(Me in the Daintree)

(View from a look-out point above the Daintree)

15/06/05 Wednesday (Day 200)

Arrived in Port Douglas a very nice place but probably the most expensive place I´ve been to in Oz.

16/06/05 Thursday (Day 201)

(Raising the sails on the Shaolin)

Went out on the great barrier reef with the crew of the "Shaolin" a restored chinese junk boat. Its a fairly amazing sight unfortunately my photos don´t do it justice.

(A Section of the coral reef)

(One of the Ozzie guys who did most of my underwater photography)

(...and his friend)

(Pulling back into Port Douglas)

17/06/05 Friday (Day 202)

Cairns again....

18/06/05 Saturday (Day 203)

Got me one of those hop-on-hop-off bus tickets all the way to Melbourne.

19/06/05 Sunday (Day 204)

Hit Townsville but didn´t stay there long as a friend from home texted me to let me know himself and the girlfriend Jennifer were on the way to Hervey Bay to do the Frazer Island tour.

20/06/05 Monday - 22/06/05 Wednesday (Days 205-207)

These few days were taken up with our tour of Fraser Island.

(Old Shipwreck, Fraser Island)

(Niall and Jennifer, Fraser Island)

(Lone Dingo, Fraser Island)

23/06/05 Thursday - 24/06/05 Friday (Days 208-209)

Two fairly unremarkable days spent in Brisbane.

(Bird posing, Brisbane)

25/06/05 Saturday (Day 210)

Day trip to Movieworld, Surfers Paradise. The Police Academy show was pretty good but the rest of it was fairly tacky...I thought.

26/06/05 Sunday (Day 211)

Its raining extremely heavily in Byron bay so I had to abandon my hopes of a walk to the lighthouse.

27/06/05 Monday (Day 212)

Off to Port Macquarie.

28/06/05 Tuesday (Day 213)

Raining heavily here also went for a walk anyway and grapped a Guinness in the local Irish bar.

29/06/05 Wednesday - 13/07/05 Wednesday (Day 214-228)

The entire of this time was spent in or around Sydney.

(The Sydney Opera house by night)

The first few days I spent seeing some of the main sights like Sydney harbour, darling harbour, the opera house and the botanical gardens to name a few etc.

(Two Cockatoos pose for the camera, botanical gardens, Sydney)

(A duck glides gracefully by, botanical gardens, Sydney)

(Bats in the trees, Botanical gardens, Sydney)

Finally my sister arrived from Ireland suffering from a severe case of Jetlag. So I left her rest for awhile and updated the old blog. Eventually Mags arose predictably enough with shopping on her mind.

(My Sister Mags rocks into Sydney airport)

(Sydney Harbour)

(Mags on the Sydney Harbour Bridge)

While Mags was about we tended to eat out more...although in fairness I didn´t need much persuasion in that regard. My own personal favourite being Thai Power in Kings Cross. Cheap and absolutely fabulous.

Somewhere along the line we met up with the brothers Kenihan from home...remarkable hosts. Brian led us to probably the best pub in Sydney "The Old Fitzroy" a pub with a nice cosy atmosphere....like a nice quite local back home.

(The Limerick/Sydney mafia having a late night Shindig at an undisclosed location somewhere in Sydney)

After a night in Chez Kenihans myself and Mags headed up to the blue mountains, just outside Sydney. Its a very scenic place and I enjoyed it much more than many of the much hyped places on the east coast. They have a really nice hostel there too with a reading room that smells exactly like my granny´s house all the way back home in Tipperary.

(Big Fish swimming in the Sydney Harbour Aquarium)

After two days trekking around the blue mountains we headed back to Sydney where Brian took us top-roping for the evening....and was good enough to drive me to the airport the following morning on his way to work.

(The three sisters in the Blue Mountains, outside sydney)

(From this close up you can see just how big the three sisters are by comparing them to the people crossing the bridge)

So there you have it a full report from an upside down world where gravity works miracles.....stay tuned for an account of my travels in New Zealand where I was privileged to encounter some of the most scenic landscapes of my travels so far.

From the dark side of Cambodia to the Land of "She'll be right...no worries"

2005-04-02T02:23:00.000-08:00

26/01/05 Wednesday (Day 58)

Off to Phnom Penh by bus again. On arrival we decided to stay in a guesthouse by the lakeside.

(Roadside on the way to Phnom Penh)

(Sunset from my Lakeside Guesthouse, Phnom Penh)

27/01/05 Thursday (Day 59)

We had a leisurely stroll to the S-21 camp in central Phnom Penh where Polpot's Khymer Rouge interrogtated and executed around 17000 prisoners. Apparently out of 17,000 prisoners brought there only 7 survived. Not exactly the most uplifting of experiences but definitely interesting.

(A Rather sobering picture of a death torture victim from the s-21 interogation camp)

(A picture of some young Khymer Rouge mercenaries)

28/01/05 Friday (Day 60)

Today we decide to visit the killing fields as we simply didn't have the stomach for it the previous day. Surprisingly its not as moving as S-21 probably due to the lack of man-made physical structures and background information (its basically a field with alot of hollows in it) .

(The Killing Fields)

Later we head back to town to explore the grand palace.

29/01/05 to 04/02/05 (Days 61 to 67)

Head for the sandy beaches of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. We eventually set up camp at the beautiful serendipity beach and apart from a single boat trip out to some of the islands (which culminated with three of us being driven back to our guesthouses on the back of the same moto) our time here is reasonably subdued, taken up mainly with some beach lazin and reading. I do manage to finish Angela's Ashes however and I simply can't understand what all the controversy was about. Personally I thought it was superbly written and simply hilarious in parts.

(Boat moored on the shores of the Island we visited)

(View of serendipity beach from Eden Bar)

05/02/05 Saturday (Day 68)

I finally leave Sihanoukville by taxi, all the way to Kampot.

The drive was a bit of a hairy experience to say the least, with the driver sitting up front wedged in between two passengers (he's sharing the driver's seat with one of them). His foot is firmly on the gas all the way. This guy thinks nothing of overtaking against clearly visible and extremely proximate on-coming traffic (invaribly buses and trucks). Over-taking on a bend and just below the crest of a hill are other favourites of his.

Eventually we get there in one piece.

06/02/05 Sunday (Day 69)

Off to Bokor hill-station resort on the back of a pick-up truck its a long bumpy ride but well worth it for the clean air and breathtaking scenery.

(View from Bokor hillstation just outside Kampot)

07/02/05 Monday (Day 70)

Head for Phnom Penh in order to catch the bus to Saigon

08/02/05 Tuesday (Day 71)

Up bloody early again at 5am to catch my bus at 6.30am only to be told that my guesthouse failed to confirm my place on the bus the previous day and so I'm stuck in Phnom Penh for one more day.

The whole place is celebrating the chinese new year so I ramble around town watching the celebrations and spend a few minutes in the national museum.

(TET celebrations in Phnom Penh)

(I finally bagged a full house)

(National Museum, Phnom Penh)

09/02/05 Wednesday (Day 72)

Finally I head for Saigon.

10/02/05 Thursday (Day 73)

After an hour on the phone changing flight dates I head off to the reunification palace (which is not really very palatial as it happens) and went on from there to the War Remnants Museum and stayed there until they kicked me out.

(View from the roof top of the reunification palace)

(The not very palatial looking reunification palace, Saigon, Vietnam)

(The traffic parts around me in Saigon)

(Traffic chaos, Saigon)

11/02/05 Friday (Day 74)

Off to visit the Cu Chi tunnels with two American guys I met on the bus to Saigon. After a short Pro VC propaganda video we were taken on a tour of the tunnels including a winding stretch which is 120 meters long and was bloody tough going as you have to squat down and scurry along. Our guide was practically running through it, I was the first in line behind him but I simply couldn't keep up. I was absolutely banjaxed at the end of it.

(Bat in the Cu Chi Tunnels)

On the way back we're dropped at the war remnants museum and I decide to go in again as I hadn't a enough time yesterday to read everything.

Its an excellent museum with lots of great photographs, which show the casualties and cruelties of war in vivid detail, mostly taken by the Americans or their allies.

12/02/05 Saturday (Day 75)

On the road again this time to the beach resort of Muine, Vietnam. Hired a bicyle and went for a short spin when I got there.

(Kids swimming, Muine, Vietnam)

13/02/05 Sunday (Day 76)

I got a moto driver to give me a tour of the main sights. Personally I thought that while the red sand dunes were quite impressive the rest were nothing special.

(Me on top of the red sand dunes, Muine, Vietnam)

(Look no hands)

(Fishing Boats, Muine)

14/02/05 Monday (Day 77)

Just relaxed in the sun for the day.

(Late evening in Muine)

15/02/05 Tuesday (Day 78)

I hire a 15 speed mountain bike, but unfortunately only 5 of the gears actually worked. Anyway I still manage to take in the Cham Tower before cycling 20Km inland towards a lake the lonely planet refers to. All I find when I get there however is a dried out valley. As its the dry season I imagine the lake has evapourated. Ah well at least I got some excercise.

(Local transport, Muine)

I am yet again totally wiped out when I finally get back to the guesthouse. But myself and the very strong Irish/Australian contingent decide to go for the seafood hotpot tonight and that puts me right back on track. Pure splendacious.

16/02/05 Wednesday (Day 79)

Off to Dalat a resort town up the mountains further north.

17/02/05 Thursday (Day 80)

Hired a mountain bike and toured around the city. This place is pretty hilly so its a 15 speed in good working order or nothing (you'd kill yourself on a single speed in this place.

(Crazy House, Dalat, Vietnam)

(Crazy House, Dalat, Vietnam)

(Old Steam Engine, Dalat, Vietnam)

18/02/05 Friday (Day 81)

Paid a visit to Lang Bian mountain and one of the local waterfalls.

(Me on top of Lang Bian Mountain, Dalat)

19/02/05 Saturday (Day 82)

Spent some time on the net uploading photos etc and later met some of the Irish contingent for some lunch and drinks.

20/02/05 Sunday (Day 83)

Off to Nha Trang.

Met some more Irish people. I tell you for a small little nation we sure do manage to get around.

21/02/05 Monday (Day 84)

Not much done

22/02/05 Tuesday (Day 85)

I'm on the bike again and off to Long Son Pagoda and the hot springs to soak in some mineral mud baths which are apparently good for the circulation???

23/02/05 Wednesday (Day 86)

Out in the Nha Trang Sailing club.

24/02/05 Thursday (Day 87)

Rose at 6am to catch bus to Hoian.

25/02/05 Friday (Day 88)

Arrive Hoian and spent most of the day cylcing around the old town. Hoian is a nice quaint little place but not worth spending alot of time here unless you intend getting a suit tailored or some shoes custom made at knock down prices.

(Fisherman, Hoian)

26/02/05 & 27/02/05 (Days 89 & 90)

Just my luck another case of the dreaded big D and I'm stuck here for another two days afraid of my life to venture too far from the toilet and the comfort of my hotel room.

28/02/05 Monday (Day 91)

Walked around the centre of the beautiful city of Hue.

01/03/05 Tuesday (Day 92)

Hired a mountain Bike and cycled off to see the citadel.

(Inside the Forbidden Purple city, Hue)

(Bridge accross the Song Houng River, Hue)

(Water Family, Hue)

02/03/05 Tuesday (Day 93)

Cycled out into the local countryside to see Thanh Toan bridge, its not much to look at itself now, but it was a nice cycle with some great views on the way....off to Hanoi at 5.30 pm.

(Thanh Toan, Covered footbridge, just outside Hue)

(Duck herder spotted on the way back from the foot bridge)

Random Quote #1 "You can always rely on the Americans to do the right thing once they've exhausted all the alternatives" (Winston Churchill, 1943 as seen on the wall of my hostel in Hue, Vietnam)

03/02/05 Thursday (Day 94)

Myself and Stewart (UK) went to see Ho Chi Minh's Mauseleum.

(Ho Chi Minh, Mauseleum, Hanoi)

Later we hit the town and amongst other places we tried out the New Century Nightclub (serious military style bouncers). I'd say we were easily the only non-vietnamese in this rave house which must be the only establishment i've ever been to where the water costs more than the beer.

My mouth was all dried up from the amount of beer comsumed at that point so I badly needed some water.....imagine my frustration at such sharp practices....what can a man do....I simply had to have another beer...at least that would create the allusion of hyrdration.

04/02/05 Friday & 05/02/05 Saturday (Days 95 & 96)

Off to Halong Bay which proved to be the highlight of my time in Vietnam.

(Fruit Sellers, Halong Bay)

The views are simply quite breath-taking. We sailed out through the bay and stayed on Catba Island for the night and sailed back the following morning.

(Halong Bay)

(Me in the front of the boat Halong Bay)

06/03/05 Sunday (Day 97)

We decided to do something cultural on this night so we headed off to take in a vietnamese water puppet show....which was certainly different.

(Water Puppets, Hanoi, Vietnam)

Later we ended up in the "Half man half noodle" pub which is fast becoming our favourite pub in Hanoi. On the night in question I remember asking the barman "what time does this place close?"...."Whenever the last customer leaves" was his response..fair enough says I.

As the night wore on...into the morning the conversation was wearing a bit thin with a great deal of repitition and nonsensical ramblings....so I excused myself for a few minutes and went out for air.

As soon as i got outside I noticed this Vietnamese guy who is acting in the most peculiar manner.He's got an old black bike with what looks like a cage attached to it... but more interesting than that he's armed with a flashlight, a net and another net attached to a thin length of bamboo and he's rummaging around in the alleyway with all this paraphernalia. What's going on? Bear in mind it's 4.30 in the morning at this stage.

I asked the two marijuana vendors, who are perched on the doorstep of the pub puffing smoke out of two bongs each of which closely resembles a didgereedoo, what the story is...but they don't even know what day it is...so I hurry back inside and ask the barman. "Oh their selling marijuana" he tells me. He's obviously thinking of the two boys so I drag him outside and point out our mysterious friend. "Rat Catcher" he informs me as natural as you like before re-entering the pub. Back inside he informs me that it tastes and looks like chicken. He's eaten it many times apparently and in all likelihood so have I as our friend the rat catcher sells his catch to some of the local restaurants. Oh well.....I did get a few good photos...feast your eyes.

(The Rat Catcher, Hanoi)

(The Rat Catcher's cage, Hanoi)

07/03/05 Monday & 08/03/05 Tuesday (Days 98 & 99)

The bus journey from Hanoi, Vietnam to Vientiane, Laos was an absolute nightmare...much worse than the Thailand to Cambodia crossing. The vietnamese bus drivers basically just stranded us at the Laos border... a bit of an inconvenience to say the least. Up until this point I was in total disagreement with the many people I'd met who said that the vietnamese were all crooked bastards. While I could see how a single incident like this might be enough to turn some people against an entire nation I have to say it was my only really bad experience while in Vietnam. I'd been there 30 days and for the most part found the vietnamese people to be very friendly people....sure they want to make money who doesn't....but most of them won't rob you for it.

Now I must confess I was going to launch into a bit of a rant at this stage but almost four months down the line I just don't see the point any longer. Looking back at it now it just seems like a minor inconvenience and a bit of an experience. Anyway one way or another we (all 18 of us) did manage to find our way to Vientiane eventually.

09/03/05 Wednesday (Day 100)

After the previous 30 hour bus ordeal I decided to go for a herbal sauna/massage at one of the local brothels.....sorry did I say brothel I meant monastery the Wat Sok Pa Luang to be exact...easy mistake to make. Funnily enough I met about half of the people from the previous days bus journey there also....great minds.

10-12/03/05 Thursday-Saturday (Days 101-103)

Hired a bike, cycled about and saw some sights. Theres not really that much to see in Vientiane but it does have the cheapest and most reliable internet connections in Laos so I decided to stick around for a few days.

(Patuxai in Vientiane, a replica of the Arc the Triomphe)

(Sign beneath Patuxai must have been taken straight out of a guide book without much consideration for what it actually means)

(View of Vientiane from the roof of Patuxai)

(Phat That Luang, Temple, Vientiane, Laos)

13-15/03/05 Sunday - Tuesday (Days 104-106)

I travelled further north to Vang Vieng with Yuval this Israeli guy I met. While there we hired some bikes and travelled out to see the caves and the so called blue lagoon. We also watched the bats stream accross the sky out of their caves in the mountains at sunset.

Vang vieng is much talked about but theres really not that much here. Personally I thought it was a bit tacky...although theres a place there that does a great Calzone.

16/03/05 Wednesday (Day 107)

We both caught the bus to Luang Prabang. I'd heard that it was standard operating procedure to have an armed guard on the bus along this route...but I saw no sign of him. However just before we arrived in Luang Prabang this really young looking guy in front of us stands up to get off the bus and before he leaves he pulls his trusty AK-47 from the overhead compartment.

(Local village kids in Laos watch us curiously as our bus makes a stop at the side of the road)

Later in Luang Prabang we walked around town and visited the night market.

(Night Market, Luang Prabang)

17-19/03/05 Thursday - Saturday (Days 108-110)

We spent these three days exploring the sights of Luang Prabang. Amongs other things we climbed up to the top of mount Phu Si (a hill overlooking the town), visited Kuang Si waterfall, the royal palace museum and various temples dotted around the town.

(Kuang Si Waterfall, outside Luang Prabang)

(Phu Si, Luang Prabang, Laos)

20/03/05 Sunday (Day 111)

Finally we caught a slowboat up the Nam Ou river to Nong Khiaw. It was a pretty cramped 6 hour trip but well worth it.

(Some locals we passed on our way up river)

Nong Khiaw is a very isolated beautiful little place which is fairly cut-off from the rest of Laos.

(Nong Kwiaw)

21-24/03/05 Monday - Thursday (Days 112-115)

I took the slowboat a further one hour north to the even more isolated village, Muang Ngoi Neua.

(Mong Ngoi Neua, Laos)

On my first day there I trekked off to the local caves and a nearby village on my own.

(Cows in Mudbath)

Later I arranged for a guide to take myself and a few people I'd met on a longer trek up into the hills. This proofed to be quite interesting as we trekked through some local villages and a great deal of dense jungle before arriving at a village high up in the mountains where the chief had arranged a shindig for us.

(Locals, in Hill Village)

(Matt shows the local kids his ipod)

(Myself and Matt Drink the cocktail prepared by the village chief)

25/03/05 Friday, (Day 116)

Unfortunately I have to leave Laos a little earlier than I hoped as I must collect a replacement credit card in Chiang Mai, Thailand. So off to Udomxai on the first leg of my journey back into Thailand.

(Udomxai, Laos)

26/03/05 Saturday, (Day 117)

For the second leg of the journey I caught yet another bus to Luang nam tha.

(Road Conditions on the way to Luang Nam Tha)

(Local Lads look on curiously as we make a short stop)

27/03/05 Sunday, (Day 118)

.....and yet another bus to Hui Xai the cross-over point for the Laos/Thai border.

(Jaysus whats the hold up)

28/03/05 Monday, (Day 119)

Crossed by boat from Hui Xai (Laos) to Chiang Khong (Thailand) and got the 9am bus to Chiang Mai.

29/03/05 Tuesday, (Day 120)

After hiring a really good 24 speed hybrid I spent the day cycling around the old town. There is alot to do in Chiang Mai and the old part of the town is really quite nice.

(Sunset, Chiang Mai)

30/03/05 Wednesday, (Day 121)

I cycled up Doi Suthep, which turned out to be a bit more difficult than anticipated. Its 16Km up to the temple of Wat Suthep and a further 3Km to Buphing palace. The downhill run was pretty good craic though. When I finally got back my face was covered in white salt from all the perspiration. Thats never happened me before..but I suppose the fact that this place is really bloody hot even when your standing still didn't help.

(Wat Suthep, Chiang Mai)

(Wat Suthep, Chiang Mai)

31/03-03/04/05 Thursday-Sunday (Days 122-125)

The highlights of the next few days included participation in an Irish Pub quiz where I'd just wandered in for a quite pint of Guinness while I wrote up my diary and had some NZ/Scot&UK expats take pity on me and put me on their team and a visit to Chiang Mai Zoo. So nothing spectacular I'm afraid. Finally I set off by train for Bangkok at 9.50 pm on Sunday.

(Gorilla, Chiang Mai Zoo)

(Flamingos, Chiang Mai Zoo)

04/04/05 Monday (Day 126)

I arrived in Bangkok at 12.45 in the afternoon and caught the connecting train to Butterworth, Malaysia at 2.45 pm.

05/04/05 Tuesday (Day 127)

22 hours later upon arrival in Butterworth I get a bus the remainder of the way to Kuala Lumpur. The buses here are something else this thing was a full size coach with a total of only 27 seats on board in rows of three. On each seat there's a lever you can pull which allows you to relax in true "Friends" style.

Upon arrival in KL I book into the Pudu hostel directly accross the road from the bus station.

06/04/05 Wednesday (Day 128)

Wandered around the city and took in the Petronas Towers, independence square(not much to talk of) and KL Communication Tower.

(Me at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia)

(Petronas by night from the KL radio communication tower)

07-08/04/05 Thursday-Friday (Days 129-130)

While in Singapore I visited the Battle Box which is situated on Fort Canning Hill and is the command post from which the allies surrendered to the Japanese back in 1942 and I also had a stroll around the old colonial symbol that is "Raffles Hotel".

Random Quote #2: "Providence conducted me along a beach, in full view of five miles of shipping,...five solid miles of masts and tunnels,....to a place called Raffles Hotel where the food is as excellent as the rooms are bad. Let the traveller take note. Feed at Raffles and sleep at the Hotel de L'Europe." This was a quote I came accross in Raffles Museum and is taken from the book "From Sea to Sea" by Rudyard Kipling.

A variation of this quote was subsequently used by the management of Raffles in a number of advertisements. An advertisement appearing in 1905 read as follows;

The truth must be told "Providence led me to a place called Raffles Hotel where the food is as excellent as the rooms are good. Let the traveller take note. Feed at Raffles and sleep at Raffles" From "Sea to Sea" by Rudyard Kipling.

(The Battle Box, Fort Canning Hill, Singapore)

(View of Raffles from the Hotel accross the road)

09-17/04/05 Saturday-Sunday (Days 131-139)

On arrival in Perth I booked into the "Underground Backpackers" which proved to be a bad decision. A grand place if you intend spending absolutely all your time pissed and living in squalor.

On my second day I moved into the much cheaper and more orderly Aberdeen Lodge, strolled around town paying a visit to the Art Museum and King's Park.

(Bell tower, Perth)

For the next few days I was hit with a bad case of the big D (again) and unfortunately I didn't manage to do much of note apart from visit my relatives the Ryans. Now normally I have a pretty voracious apetite but due to my condition at the time (which for obvious reasons I decided not to discuss over the dinner table) I wasn't able to make the most of the meal which the Ryans had prepared for me. But apart from that we had a great Chat and guess what Hugh's brother Pat sounds exactly like him...now isn't that amazing.

18/04/05 Monday (Day 141)

On my first day back in action I decided to head south to Manjimup of old time tobacco fame for at least 3 weeks of apple picking.

19/04-23/05/05 (Tuesday-Tuesday) (Day 142-178)

Three weeks turned into five as things were going well and during this 36 day period I was holed up at "The Tobacco Park Hostel" about 10km outside of town.

While I tried my hand at a variety of jobs I spent most of my time picking apples for the dynamic Rob Taylor. Myself and Daniel (German guy whose sense of humour left alot to be desired) worked together for most of the 36 days and if memory serves correctly I belief that in between shooting various pests with Robs 22 and developing an extensive line in bullshit we managed to pick some apples.

Belief it or not this period did have some highlights. Rob took myself and Daniel out to tea (when they say "tea" in Oz they mean a slap up meal) one night and dropped us off at the pub afterwards while returning later to ferry us both home. Its amazing but when your stuck in the middle of nowhere with precious little in the way of real entertainment something like this makes a big difference....suffice is to say that the rest of the gang back at the hostel were extremely jealous.'

(Me at Windy Harbour)

Also a few days before I left Manjimup Rob took us both out to Windy Harbour on the coast where himself and his wife Catherine treated us to a feed of Marron and some barbecued steak and sausages washed down with some Red wine.....scrumptious.

(Me and Rob perched on the swings outside his aptly named holiday home "Tellataylortwo")

24/05/05 Tuesday (Day 179)

Rob was good enough to drive me back to Perth and Daniel came along for the ride.

Later that night myself and Daniel went to see "Star Wars Episode 3: Return of the Sith", which is probably the best Star Wars film of the lot (although perhaps after 36 days couped up in Manjimup any sort of entertainment would appear wonderful)

So there you have it, i'm afraid i'll have to leave it there for now but fear not there's plenty more to come as I've sense been through the red centre of Oz and down the east coast as far as Sydney....next stop New Zealand.

From Christmas in Shanghai to the wondrous Ankor Wat

2005-02-22T18:24:00.000-08:00

When last you heard from me I believe I was on my way to Shanghai for Christmas having already arranged to meet one of the Irish lads there. One of my less optimistic friends informed me that christmas in Shanghai would be about as exciting as Yom Kippur in Mecca. I wasn't too sure what "Yom Kippur" was but knowing him as I do I reckoned that it couldn't be good (apparently its a jewish religious festival). So about as popular as the Queen's birthday in the bogside then. Anyway I reasoned he's never been to shanghai for christmas so what does he know.

21/12/04 Tuesday (Day 23)

Head for Shanghai

(Santa takes himself seriously in Shanghai)

22/12/04 Wednesday (Day 24)

Its raining heavily when I arrive in Shanghai. I manage to meet Dermot as soon as I find the hostel. So we hit the town looking for the Irish bars, the start of a rather extensive pre-christmas watering hole reconnaisance. The Guinness was a wapping Euro 6 a pint but we bit the bullet and had one each in both O'Malley's and the Blarney Stone before hitting "Zapitas" dishgo bar for some dancin and gyratin.

23/12/04 Thursday (Day 25)

A nice easy day exploring "the Bund" and "the Yu Gardens".

(Yu Gardens Shanghai)

Later off to the Grand Hyatt Hotel to view Shanghai's much vaunted skyline. On arrival the taxi doors were opened by the hotel porter who greeted me with a smile and a very helpful "Welcome back Sir" (He must have remembered me from one of my tax seminars on Foreign Direct Investment). On up to the 56th floor and the piano bar which has to be seen to be believed its like something out of the battlestar galactica. Eventually we reached the 87th floor and had a quick stroll around "the cloud 9 bar". Aptly named if the prices are anything to go by. Nice place but absolutely dead....I suppose there's not many who can afford these prices in Shanghai. Great views from up here but unfortunately the glare of the glass doesn't make for great photo's....what the hell.

(The Bund at night)

(Shanghai's Pearl Tower)

24/12/04 Friday (Day 26)

Scour through one of the local entertainment rags to see whats on offer for Christmas eve in Shanghai. Among the many choices is the newly opened "Manhattan bar" with its 10 Euro open bar. Does "open bar" mean the same in China as it does back home we wonder? If it does surely Christmas eve isn't the most intelligent night to be having one. So off to the Manhattan and a bloody great night had by all accounts. The chinese barman seemed a bit miffed at the amount we had to drink while ironically the English guy who owned the place couldn't stop singing songs for us and plying us with free shots. Anyway they closed whenever we left.

25/12/04 Saturday (Day 27)

Off to O'Malleys for the traditional Christmas dinner which was top notch....although not a patch on mothers cooking back home. We each had a bloody mary, to sort us out from the night before, on Dermot's recommendation. I in my naivety was expecting it to have a nice refreshing strawberry taste, no such luck. It did the trick though.

26/12/04 Sunday (Day 28)

Not a whole pile done, but I do believe we did go out again that night.

27/12/04 Monday (Day 29)

Heard about the Tsunami tragedy, checked e-mail. Becky had e-mailed so I took it that herself and Rosy were fine.I was beginning to get a bit worried about the whole south-east asian jaunt. In the end I decided it was best not to panic and I'd reassess the situation once I hit Hong Kong.

28/12/04 Tuesday (Day 30)

Catch the train from Shanghai to Kowloon, Hong Kong.

(View from the train about an hour outside Shanghai)

29/12/04 Wednesday (Day 31)

Stayed in an over priced youth hostel in Hong Kong.

30/12/04 Thursday (Day 32)

Moved into cheaper accommodations on the now famed Nathan Road. Also took the night tram up to Victoria Peak to see Hong kong's much vaunted skyline.Checked the department of foreign affairs website in the Hong Kong Central library (absolutely state of the art and free internet) got an all clear for the east coast and my travel consultant on the ground in Thailand www.beckstravel.com also gives me the green flag.

(Hong Kong's skyline from Victoria Peak)

31/12/04 Friday (Day 33)

Up early, to start the day d'unbelievable way with the full Irish breakfast in Delaney's. Did a jig and a reel all the way to Hong Kong airport with my Shelelee in mo lamh and my backpack on my back. Ah to be sure to be sure..tis great to be Oirish.

Rang in the new year on Khaosan Rd, Bangkok with some like minded (Drunk) English pool enthusiasts. Finished the night in none other than the Shamrock bar (ethnic origins you can no doubt guess).

01/01/05 Saturday (Day 34)

Today I discovered that the scorching heat is not very good for a hangover. I suppose I should really have seen that one coming. So not much sights seen today I'm afraid.

02/01/05 Sunday (Day 35)

Spent most of the day indoors playing pool and rehydrating in this new korean hostel that I somehow managed to find yesterday. Managed to see one or two of the smaller sights.

(View of Bangkok from atop the Golden Mountain)

03/01/05 Monday (Day 36)

Finally got some pictures up on the net. I think all this travelling is beginning to wear me down so I booked a ticket to Ko Phanang as I think a beach break is just what the doctor ordered.

04/01/05 Tuesday (Day 37)

I decided I'd get my hair-cut before I leave Bangkok. So I walked into the first barbers I met....bad idea. The old barber guy made a major song and dance about the whole procedure. You'd think he was Vidal Sassoon preparing to cut David Beckhams hair. Anyway eventually I was satisfied he knew what I wanted...he'd certainly nodded enthusiasticaly and said "yes, yes" enough times. Unfortunately I knew from his first stroke that I was doomed. You know your in trouble when in one quick stroke he manages to take off your entire right side burn to just above the ear and swings a sharp immediate left straight accross the back of your pole. My initial instinct was to lift the roof off the place but with the by now painfully obvious language barrier etc it just seemed like and excercise in futility. I took it on the chin paid up and left. I felt really conspicious when I got back on the street..this wasn't helped by all the weird looks I was getting from the locals. I couldn't find another barbers quick enough. I walked into this place on Khaosan Road and I could tell by the shocked looks on their faces, they didn't share the previous guys taste in hairstyle.Their shock soon turned to amusement..at my expense of course. After they calmed down it became obvious they weren't too sure what they could do to solve my problem. However even I with my limited knowledge of the hairdressing industry (very limited) knew that drastic measures were required. So I suggested a blade one all over (sure what the hell it certainly wouldn't be the first time) or shave it all to hell if you have to. They thought this was a bit extreme and suggested a blade two to start with, blast away says I and we'll see how it goes. (We hit another slight problem at this juncture as I was in a rather frenzied and highly charged state I hadn't thought to phrase my language appropriately and unfortunately phrases like "fire ahead" and "blast away" don't quite cut it in foreign parts, after taking a few seconds to re-compose myself we managed to understand each other).
As it turned out the blade two was fine and I left the barbers a relieved man.

Later caught the train to Surat Thani...the jump off point on the way to Ko Phanang.

05/01/05 Wednesday (Day 38)

Arrived in Ko Phanang after a 3 or 4 hour leisuerely ferry ride. Decided to base myself on the beach at the quite fishing village of Ao Chalok Lam as I needed some peace and quite after a fairly hectic Bangkok. Did some reading, played frisbee with some ozzies and in general...just relaxed.

(Approach to Ko Phanang Island)

(Fishing Village, Ao Chalok Lam)

06/01/05 Thursday (Day 39)

Rose early for a day of no holds barred relaxin...found a nice little secluded area of beach ideal for this...caught up on some reading again.

07/01/05 Friday (Day 40)

I enquired about transport to bottle beach wondering if it was possible to walk it. They looked at me as if I was mad. According to them it is not possible to walk there...although I have heard tell of an Irish couple (a Limerick/Clare alliance) who apparently did make the journey by foot on one occasion. Anyway I opt for the journey by long-tail boat and am glad I did because it soon becomes apparent that to get to this place on foot you'd either (a) have to walk around the coast which is populated with mounds and mounds of rock and is consequently more of a climb than a walk or (b) trek inland (Rambo style) through what looks like some very dense jungle...neither of these seem like fun especially when your wearing sandles and dressed for the beach.

(Bottle Beach..nothing spectacular I thought)

The boat ride there and back was quite refreshing although I didn't think the beach was anything extraordinary.

(Longtail Taxi Boat)

Later I decided I'd have a stroll around town and see whats going on. Not much happening to be honest...but wait whose that over there? It looks alot like Lynne Rae (of PwC fame) from back home...surely it can't be, that would be too much of a coincidence. The guy this girl is with looks alot like Lynne's boyfriend Alan so I finally convince myself it must be them and guess what...of course it is. We had a few drinks and I discovered that their moving to the same place as me the following day.

08/01/05 Saturday (Day 41)

Got up early and rented a moped from my guesthouse and headed off to the beach at Mae Hat. I passed Alan and Lynne on the way as they marched over to Ao Chalok Lam in true military style.

I didn't stay long in Mae Hat because now that I had the moped I was all geared up to go exploring the island. However things came a cropper when I fell off the bike. I somehow managed to take off in 4th (thinking that I'd gone from neutral to first). I took off like a rocket and totally unprepared for it hit this bump directly in front of me and went airborne. Now that I was airborne the brakes weren't going to be much help. So my options at this stage were (a) to keep going and plough straight into a german couple who happened to be directly in front of me or (b) lean off to one side and go to ground. Not wanting to kill anyone I decided to go to ground and got away with a bloody elbow and a broken mirror. The German couple helped me to my feet and I dusted myself off....lucky I had the long pants on as the most prevalent injury here on the island from this sort of shenanigans is a burnt leg from when you fall and the bikes red hot exhaust lands right on top of your leg. So things could've been worse I suppose.

Theres no shortage of steep slopes here so first gear is getting alot of use. It's shameful really....I'm chugging up hills at a snails pace and at one stage this little girl on a moped whizz's by me. She's got a bag of shopping hanging off one of the handlebars, is going at least twice as fast as me and still has the balance and confidence to turn her head and look back at my miserable effort.

I eventually gave up on the bike reasoning this is no place for amateurs. Afterwards I walked back to Mae Hat for a shot of the sunset.

(Sunset Mae Hat)

Later I met Alan and Lynne for dinner.

(Alan & Lynne at Ao Chalok Lam)

(Alan & Lynne sample a banana pancake...a defining moment if ever there was one)

09/01/05, Sunday (Day 42)

Alan, Lynne and myself hire a boat and go fishing for a few hours. The cool sea breeze is quite refreshing and we do actually catch a few fish.

Later myself and Alan treat ourselves to a traditional Thai massage while Lynne watches vigilantly. I'd a pain in my back from the fall off the bike, but this sorted me right out.

(Myself and Alan treat ourselves to a traditional Thai massage)

In the evening we decided we'd go and see some Thai boxing. So we jumped in a taxi and headed for Thong Sala. On arrival the taxi driver stopped beside a group of Thai guys (about 100 metres from the entrance to the fight venue). They tried to sell us some tickets but we said we'd wait till we got to the door. When we did get to the door...guess what...the fight had been cancelled. However all was not lost as the taxi driver suggested he drive Lynne back to Ao Chalok Lam while myself and Alan went for a "massage:???...they've no shame these boys.

10/01/05, Monday (Day 43)

I said goodbye to Alan and Lynne as they headed off to Ko Samui....and back into town to find that taxi driver....only kiddin.

I decided i'd practice my pool as there's a competition in the "Dive Inn" tommorrow night and I'm conscious of the fact that Lynne beat me twice while she was here and the pride does take a bit of a bruising when a woman beats you. So get a full size snooker table and play pool on it for an hour. One of the local kids gives me a few games...me paying of course. Even the owner is playing me and he's bloody good too..(Note to self:"If this guys in the Dive Inn tomorrow night I'm not risking my money").

Later I head to the Black Moon party in Ban Tai with Eric (Canadian). It's very quite at first but eventually the crowd began to arrive. It's very much a rave, rave, thump, thump sort of affair but good craic. I'm asked on numerous occassions if I want any E. Naturally I politely declined. I made a conscious decision to drink a combination of beer and water, probably more water than beer I must confess as the whole ladyboy factor can be confusing enough without the old beer goggles. Christ its scary. I had a couple close encounters of the run for your life variety myself. There seems to be an awful lot of guys here who are totally oblivious to what their snogging or perhaps intimacy with a ladyboy is a life goal of theirs. I doubt it.

Many of the people who see me drinking water automatically assume I'm on E, however I explained to one Canadian guy;

CG: "Water.....you on E?

ME: "No.....just rehydrating after some beer"

CG: "Where you from?"

ME: "Ireland"

CG: "And your drinking water"

I felt further explanation would be futile.

Towards the end of the night this Thai guy clocks me drinking water and straight away, probably judging by my relatively sober state correctly deduces that I'm attempting to avoid the ladyboy minefield. I suppose he's seen it all before. Perhaps feeling sorry for me (and believe me he needn't) he offers me a sip from his bucket of joy (in the interests of clarity thats a rather large plastic glass shaped like a bucket, containing a local spirit mixed with redbull...rocket full in any mans language). So I chatted with him for a few minutes and as it was rather late now (6am or so), myself and Eric decided to head back to base.

11/01/05, Tuesday (Day 43)

Today I make up my mind to stay a few days more as the weather is getting even better, and so I spend much of the day on the beach.

(Northbeach Boat)

I made my way to the Dive Inn later in the evening and noting that there are no local competition staked my 200 Baht (a wapping full four Euros) and bought a beer. I was fortunate to win by one frame in the final round and the prize money covered the penalty I'd incurred earlier as a result of the damage to the moped....not bad for a few hours play....and it goes someway towards confirming that it hasn't been an entirely misspent youth.

12/01/05, Wednesday (Day 44)

Today I spent most of the day in Had Rin (an area of the Island in the south-east famed for its full-moon beach parties). I got some snaps of the sunset on the appropriately named "Sunset Beach".

On the drive back to Ao Chalok Lam the taxi driver was telling me how cheap it was to get a woman for the day in Thailand. According to him its very "cheap-cheap". The real kicker was when he asked me how much a woman costs for the day in Ireland. I didn't know what to say to the guy. The concept of paying for sex over here seems to be par for the course. They almost think your gay when you respectfully decline. I've even seen an article in the Bangkok Post which explained that the Thai tax authorities are revising the system of taxation of massage parlours as they have reason to believe that there is widespread underdeclaration in respect of certain "naughty extras" being offered by some of these establishments. Most unethical.....tax evasion that is.

13/01/05, Thursday (Day 45)

Today was a lazy day mostly spent on the beach, sunning myself and finishing my latest read, a book called "White Mischief" which is a sort of inquiry into the murder of some English Lord, Lord Erroll if I remember correctly. Nothing special but quite interesting nonetheless.

(Ao Chalok Lam Beach, late Evening)

14/01/05, Friday (Day 46)

Guess what...another lazy day sunbathing and reading Robert Ludlum's "The Bourne Supremacy", which proved to be quite a roller coaster ride of a thriller.

15/01/05, Saturday (Day 47)

Head back to Bangkok by train

16/01/05, Sunday (Day 48)

On arrival in Bangkok I checked back into the Korean Dorm and went for a wander around the Grand Palace area and the riverside.

17/01/05, Monday (Day 49)

I decided to visit the Grand Palace. Unfortunately it was closing early due to the visit of the President of Singapore and his wife.

(Me in the grounds of the Grand Palace)

(...and again)

I still got to spend two hours in the grounds and see the security circus afterwards.

(Military Band)

Alas I got no shots of the presidents Rolls Royce as one of a number of mysterious security types made it plain to me that this would not be permitted.

(The Bangkok motorbike police travel in style)

(Even the Bangkok motorbike police have their Mavericks)

On the way back I bought a walkman on Khoasan road for about 20 USD and a few CD's for about 2USD each.

(Khaosan Road, Bangkok)

(Some of the wares on display in the Khoasan road...why can't they have a set-up like this in Limerick?)

Later that night I finally realised why my Korean guesthouse was called DDM's. Apparently it stands for "Dance Dance Music" and theres a "Pscho trance" disco shaking the place to the rafters until about 3 in the morning....oh well after awhile on the road you can sleep through just about anything.

18/01/05, Tuesday (Day 50)

Hooked up with Matt a New Zealander I'd met the previous day and we caught the ferryboat to chinatown where we had some noodle soup before heading to the train station to make some enquiries. On the way back to the river ferry we had a burmese cigar by the canal.

(Me and Matt enjoy a Burmese cigar each)

Next I went on to see Wat Pho which is one of the bigger temples here in Bangkok and houses both the reclining and the sitting buddha.

(Wat Pho, one of the larger temples in Bangkok)

(The much revered reclining Buddha)

(The head of the much revered reclining Buddha)

Afterwards I went for a stroll through a nearby park which seems to be a focal point for local exercise enthusiasts. It even had an open air weight lifting area.

(People exercising in a local park)

(One of many forms of transport available in Bangkok)

(Street Stalls, Bangkok)

19/01/05, Wednesday (Day 51)

Today I went to the "Scriraj Medical Museum" with Matt. That was an interesting but somewhat unnerving experience. Some of the items on display were extremely gorey. These included photos of the bodies of people who have been killed in car crashes and in bombs. One photo showed a guy who had a car roll over him and you can plainly see the tire track accross his chest.

One section of the museum displayed fully bissected bodies preserved in some sort of chemical. The bissected skulls of two guys who'd been shot in the head were on display and you could clearly see the path taken by the bullet.

The parasitology section was also quite interesting, showing you all the different types of parasites you most definitely do not want to fall victim to.

20/01/05, Thursday (Day 52)

Bought a copy of "Angelas Ashes" by Frank McCourt and got some more CD's.

21/01/05, Friday (Day 53)

I rose at 5.30am to catch my bus to Siem Reap. One hour after my lift was supposed to arrive I was still waiting. So I got the guy in the guesthouse to call the driver...he's on the way i'm told. In the meantime I'm looking up and down the street stopping every minibus I see to ask if their going to Siem Reap....no luck. Eventually this guy on a scooter pulls up outside the guesthouse and it soon becomes apparent that he's going to drive me (Rucksack, Daypack, and supplies for the journey on board) to my bus all on the back of his scooter. Anyway he does get me there in one piece but I can't for the life of me understand why they didn't just tell me where the bus was, as it turns out to be less than a five minute walk from my collection point.

Now the bus journey over to Cambodia from Bangkok is reknowned for its scam artists and cowboys. But if you've decided your definitely taking the bus you just have to take your chances (as there's no warning signs over the doors of these travel agents saying "We're the ones that are going to scam you"). Anyway I was glad to see there was plenty of others on the bus...strength in numbers.

Our drivers were most definitely a shower of chancers. But you just have to play along otherwise things can get nasty. The first sign was the excruciatingly slow pace they drove at (an attempt to ensure you arrive at your ultimate destination very late and have no option but to stay at whatever guesthouse they decide to drop you at). Finally we got to the border but had a long wait ahead of us. I saw some people with smaller tours pay some cambodian guys about a Dollar to take them to the head of the queue. However the cambodian guys didn't even bother asking any of our group..so it appeared that our drivers had already paid the customs officials to ensure the opposite inconvenience.

Anyway after about four hours standing in the unforgiving heat of Cambodia we finally cleared customs and low and behold our bus had developed a flat tire.... how unfortunate. So we must wait for a replacement in a little restaurant place from which our drivers will no doubt collect a nice commission. Next our helpful drivers inform us that as there are no ATM's in Cambodia we will need to have cash on us when we get there. Everyone is already aware of this, however our driver goes on to tell us that they do not accept Dollars in Cambodia anymore, due to new regulations imposed as a result of a change of government last october and guess what...theres a money exchange located right beside the restaurant...most convenient. This story is a real transparent crock of shit as far as I'm concerned and merely serves to further confirm that these boys are a real shower of gangsters. I've also recently met some people in Bangkok who used both Dollars and Riel while in Cambodia (less than a week beforehand) and informed me that the Dollar is eagerly accepted everywhere in Cambodia. With this in mind and knowing that the exchange rate being offered is roughly 30% less than what it should be I decide to give it a miss. Understandably other people are a bit concerned and change a small bit just to be on the safe side. It certainly goes a long way towards explaining why these bus tickets are so cheap.

Finally our journey recommences and we drive along deserted dirt tracks accross what I can only describe as barren tracts of land. We cross a number of dried up rivers by means of metal bridges crudely constructed from a mish-mash of iron girders. Finally we arrive in Siem Reap (the closest city to the famed Ankor Wat temples). Needless to say it is past midnight and our drivers refuse to drop us in the city centre but dump us instead at a guesthouse well outside the main area. Its reasonably priced however so we stay the night.

22/01/05 Saturday, (Day 54)

At this stage I've gotten to know three other people from the bus fairly well, Mitch (Melborne, Oz), Lucy (UK) and Dan (UK) so we all check out and move to a cheaper more central place.

I spent the remainder of the day walking around town and organised a moto driver "Achman" to drive me around the temples tomorrow (only $6 for the day).

(Siam Reap Ice Vendors)

23/01/05 Sunday, (Day 55)

Up early again at 4.45am this time and off at 5.30am on the back of the scooter/moto on the relatively short spin to Ankor Wat, and we get there in time to view the sunrise.

(Silouette of Ankor Wat at Sunrise)

Ankor Wat was pretty impressive. My driver took me to see a whole load of other temples also, all scattered around the main Ankor Wat complex.

(A cow being watered by a young lad outside the Ta Prohm temple)

(The Terrace of lepers)

(Tree in the grounds of Ta Prohm)

(Aerial Palace)

(Tree choking the entrance to the Ta Som Temple)

There are lots of little kids hanging around trying to sell stuff... the sandard speel goes something like this...."Hey mister, you want scarf, me lots of scarfs many colours, Scarf one dollar. Maybe you come back you buy from me".

(Some local kids harrass some japanese tourists and eventually succeed in getting them to buy something)

(The two little entrepreneurs who sold me some cold drinks)

(The former royal baths)

I had dinner later in town and me and Mitch decided to get a foot massage after all the days walking around the temples.

24/01/05, Mnday (Day 56)

Up early again and saw the sunrise again...from the top of a hill on which yet another temple is perched.

I spent awhile exploring around Ankor Thom, another temple complex quite close to Ankor Wat, and then Achman drove me a further 30 Kilometers to see one of the temples a bit further afield.

(Flowers growing inside the grounds of Banteay Samre)

Then back to Ankor Wat and I explored it more thoroughly than the previous day.

(One of the many bas reliefs etched on the walls of Ankor Wat)

(Yet another bas relief)

I talked to a few monks while there.....very interesting characters all eager to learn English. They explain to me thats why they like to go to Ankor Wat....so they can practice their English with any willing tourist. It appears that joining the monks is a popular route to a better education.

On this day the Prime Miniser of Cambodia was visiting Ankor Wat with his entourage unfortunately I could only get pictures from a distance.

Back in town later we played some pool to while away a few hours.

25/01/05 Tuesday, (Day 57)

Its the final day of my three day pass for the temples and I decide to sleep in until about 10am as I'm quite tired from the two previous days.

Eventually I rented a bike and cycled around the temples for a while although my journey was somewhat somewhat hindered by the sudden onset of a mild case of dhiarrea once I finally reached the temples.

(Me outside Ankor Wat you can see one of the many little beggar kids perched on the wall on the right)

(Me inside Ankor Wat)

I spent a good part of my first hour and a half wandering about half way into Ankor Wat only to have to turn tail and scurry out again in search of some decent toilet facilities. Rather frustrating to say the least.

(Instructions for correct use of the western toilet facilities at Ankor Wat)

Towards the end of the afternoon one of the monks I met gives me a guided tour of part of Ankor Wat.

(The monk who showed me around part of Ankor Wat)

After a short time I was quite literally completely drained. So i left to seek shelter somewhere. On my exit I was plagued by some kids trying to sell me stuff. One little girl asked me where I was from;

Girl: "Where you From?"

Me: "Ireland"

Girl: "Ah Ireland, capital Dublin, Conas ata tu?"

Me: "Ta me go maith agus tusa?"

No response....as I scurried off to take refuge in the Ankor Cafe, a rather plush overpriced establishment. I'm past caring at this stage....not feeling the best the sweltering heat is killing me and the air conditioning in this place is absolutely divine. A waitress rushes over with a mint scented cold face cloth and I relax for a few minutes before eventually deciding to have a fruit shake and some food.

Next back to town where we had dinner in one of the night restaurants.

(Family in transit)

(Four young lads on the most popular form of transport in South-East Asia)

Since Ankor Wat I have travelled to a number of other places in Cambodia, Vietnam and am currently in Vientiane, Laos. Unfortunately I have not been able to keep up to speed with the online updates due to unreliable internet connections etc but I will let you all know how my travels in these other exotic locations have progressed as soon as I get the chance.

Happy reading until next time...same bot site, same bot time....dinner,dinner,dinner,dinner botman.

China Calling

2004-12-20T04:10:00.000-08:00

Good day all sorry for the delay in updating you all but theres been alot going on as you'll soon see.

Trek so Far: Beijing - Xi'an - Chengdu - Liuzhou - Guilin - Yangshou

28 Nov 04 (Sunday, Day 1)

Apart from a slight hiccup on boarding my Heathrow to Beijing flight my journey to Beijing was relatively painless. My boarding pass made reference to Beijing Capital Airport and despite having already checked in etc the Air Hostess doubted its validity. I was tempted to suggest that Beijing being the capital of China the reference to Capital Airport made sense. However I reckoned she might find that a tad patronising and perhaps it would be best to keep her on side. So I merely informed her "thats the boarding pass they gave me and I'm definitely on route to Beijing so unless this plane is going somewhere else I think i'm in the right place. " Wait one moment sir while I check with the Captain". Captain enlightened us that everything was in order and matter amicably resolved to the satisfaction of all, thus avoiding major international incident???

29 Nov 04 (Monday, Day 2)

Found hostel with some difficulty. I reckon my charades skills will be well honed at the end of this chinese jaunt. Met English guy (Marcus) and strolled around beijing with him. Met three chinese (eager to improve their English, this is a popular ice-breaker for sellers of just about anything). After the obligatory 5 minutes of harmless chit-chat they wondered if we wanted to get something to eat. We decided to go to a chinese teahouse with them. Only cost about 20 Yuan (2 Euro's) but a fellow could have 10 bottles (630ml) of the local beer for that. Still it wasn't too bad as I'd asked the price in advance. I've since heard of guys having to fork out 300 Yuan for the same lark. Thats 10/15 nights accommodation. Doesn't say much for the old adage "if you have to ask the price you can't afford it".

30 Nov 04 (Tuesday, Day 3)

Visited the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square amd Jingshan Park.

(Front of the Forbidden City)

(Rear of the Forbidden City)

On my own on this occassion later I met two more avid English learners, Wong and his rather taciturn friend Chi-Chi, if in fact that was their real names....the plot thickens. I was eager to confirm my suspicions from the previous day so I acted all eager and enthusiastic initially only delighted to help them improve their knowledge of the English language, just to see what sort of a response I'd get. Sure enough they eventually wanted to know if i'd like some chinese tea, some peking duck, to view some art, or take a rickshaw ride. Once they'd gone through their entire inventory and realised I'd no intention of buying anything from which they could earn a commission they left. Chi-chi spoke for the first time apparently she had to go meet a friend.

(Spotted this old Jag on the way to Tianemen Sq)

(Tianemen square late at night & in heavy smog)

Later back at the hostel got some drinking buddies for the night.

01 Dec 04 (Wednesday, Day 4)

Went to Mao's Mausuleum with English Guy and Chinese-American (Hoi). It was a strange, somewhat surreal experience and the best indication yet of the ability of this communist country to perform as efficient capitalists. We were practically the only foreigners in the queue (but it is low season at the moment). As we neared the steps of the Mausuleum the orderly queue erupted into momentary chaos as throngs of native chinese made a mad dash to the flower vendor's booth, where they purchased flowers, funnily enough, with which to pay homage to chairman Mao. We noticed that the flowers were artificial and cynically deduced that once deposited at the statue of Mao they would be collected later that evening and resold the following day. Money is also left at the alter and I'm sure thats not simply allowed to rot either. Anyway once all the chinese in our tour had their flowers we ascended the steps in an orderly queue. At the top of the steps they were also selling a pamphlet on Chairman Mao. I'd say we were the only three not to buy one. Next on in past a humongous statue of the seated chairman Mao and on into the room where his preserved body is laid out encased in glass and out the other side into the chairman Mao Memorabilia shop. We were all quite glad to have done it although it was nothing by comparison to the "Roger Moore" narrated audio tour of the forbidden city. The American guy said he was glad he'd done it as apparently he'd never seen a dead body before. High praise indeed for Chairman Mao.

Next off to the wax and history museum. I'll spare you the details. Also went to the silk market a street vendors paradise. You can get some good fake gear here (Gortex, north face etc) but you'd better be prepared to bargain or you'll be ripped off. Their fairly enthusiastic to say the least. Later we sampled some of the legendary Peking Duck washed down with some local brew......lovely jubbly.....sorted.

02/12/04 (Thursday, Day 5)

The highlight of my time in Beijing was undoubtedly the 10Km trek along the wall from Jinshanling to Simatai. I was the only person in the hostel doing the trek and the chinese bird on reception thought this was hilarious. "You only person doing this" she said laughing uncontrollably. So I'm like is there any guarantee I won't be the only person doing it if I do it the following day instead. "No". Ok sign me up then. Sure enough there was a good crew from other hostels doing the trek and I ending up in a group with 2 aussies and and English guy, all good craic. Great scenery a truly awe inspiring sight, or as Richard Nixon is famed for saying "It truly is a great wall". Bush couldn't have said it better himself. Wall very steep in certain areas. Parapets on either side missing at various points. At the end of the trek we had to cross a foot bridge (Indiana Jonesesque) over a river. I was so knackered tired when I got back to the hostel that I walked straight through the vertical plastic strips they have at the doorway (abbatoir style), to keep out insects etc and slap bang into the glass door behind it. Oh painful. True to form the receptionist thought it was hilarious. No problem sleeping that night.

(Me on the Great Wall)

03/12/04 (Friday, Day 6)

Off to Xi'an via train (hard sleeper 256 Yuan, 14Hrs). Sleeper was surprisingly comfortable although the top third bunk is a bit hard to mount and consequently cheaper. Well, you know me last of the big spenders.

(Hoi & Me before I head for the train to Xi'an)

04/12/04 (Saturday, Day 7)

Saw some of the sights of Xi'an did both the bell and drum towers and walked the length of the old walled city and back.

(Drums on the drum tower.... of all places)

Met both a Leitrim and a Longford lad in the hostel, both great craic, and so JB's barmy army was reborn.

(The Bell Tower, Xi,an)

05/12/04 (Sunday, Day 8)

Head to the Terracotta Warriors with the two Irish guys, and Marcus (English guy). A spectacular enough sight but after 20 minutes you've seen it all.

(Dermot, Patrick, Marcus and me at the Teracotta Warriors)

06/12/04 (Monday, Day 9)

Visited the muslim quarter (so colourful character to be seen here and the food hygiene isn't up to much) and walked along the top of the old city wall. That night we hooked up with a native chinese guy (Li-tan), always good to have one on board and Mark another English lad. Decided to climb mount Huashan the following day.

07/12/04 (Tuesday, Day 10)

Climbed Mt Huashan (2160 Meters above sea level). Steps all the way up but in places the stairs are inclined at angles not far off 90 degrees.

(Two of the lads ascending one of the steeper stairs on Mt Huashan)

It was tough going up but it was worth the effort as you get to escape the smog of the big cities and inhale some fresh air. Absolute agony going down as old knee-injury flaired up. Glad to have done it though and I reckon it was definitely the highlight up to this point. Later on to traditional chinese dumpling joint with Li-tan on board to order for us.

The English lad that was with us at this stage was from Hereford. (One of the Irish lads had discreetly informed me earlier that this was apparently home to the SAS so be careful what you say because you never know). Of course I couldn't resist. He was a grand lad and I reckoned he had a sense of humour so at one stage during the meal he commented on my use of a knife and fork as opposed to the traditional chinese chop-sticks. To which I responded "Ah ye English more chinese than the chinese themselves". I got a bit of a laugh from the two Irish boys at this. So I let the dust settle...for about 5 seconds...timing is everything and then "Sure before you know it you'll be trying to colonise the place". The lads couldn't contain themselves. The English guy feigned ignorance and the chinese lad as usual was looking around all confused wondering what the three Irish guys were laughing at. All in good fun.

(Litan, Mark, Myself and Dermot at the Summit of Mount Huashan)

08/12/04 (Wednesday, Day 11)

Calves & Quads absolutely killing us. All walking around like John Wayne. Off to western barbaque buffet joint for protein hit.

09/12/04 (Thursday, Day 12)

Catch train to Chengdu (16.59). Top bunk again of course.

10/12/04 (Friday, Day 13)

Arrive Chengdu, 09.00 . Word of warning avoid eating loads of peanuts and drinking copious amounts of orange juice as this can give you Vitamin C poisoning. I'll spare you the lurid details but believe you me, you don't want to get it. Anyway suffice is to say that the first port of call in case of any travel difficulties is the biggest most luxuriant hotel you can possibly find, as they can speak English, are most obliging and almost invariably will have western Jax. After all in times of crisis one needs ones comfort. So off to the Yinhe Dynasty Hotel. I highly recommend it although it's not a patch on the much more oppulent Sofitel Wanda Chengdu Hotel. Anyway while we were there we got talking to this american business man:

"So are you guys stayin here?"

"God no we're just using the facilities"

"Aw you Irish....So where are you stayin?"

"Hostels"

"How much they set ye back"

"20 Yuan a night"

"20 Yuan, my God I wouldn't put my shoes down in a place like that"

"Why not?" (Stupid question I know)

"They'd start to walk on their own"

Anyhow he was paying 600 Yuan (60 euro roughly) a night (Company footing the bill of course) for the Yinhe Dynasty which isn't bad if your only travelling for a week or so and the company is footing the bill. I reckon a room in a similar hotel back home would easily cost over 150 Euro a night. We explained that this was a full months accommodation budget for us. "Yeah, I know" came the response, as he took another drag on his big fat cigar. "You know guys you'll have no problems in a place like this, they love westerners, nice seein ye enjoy your stay". And so we left him to enjoy his cigar.

11/12/04 (Saturday, Day 14)

Up bright and early to visit Panda research centre. Basically they get up early in the morning waddle around the place (not too much waddling as they don't want to strain themselves) eat some bamboo shoots and conk out for the rest of the day (at about 10.30am) in whatever position they find themselves in once their tummies are full. What a life. Well worth the visit though. Got to see some red pandas also, some cranes (the flying type although no shortage of the other variety here in china at the moment) and some black swans.

(Panda having a leisurely meal in Chengdu Panda Research Centre)

12/12/04 (Sunday, Day 15)

At this stage we've recovered from the after pains of Mount Hua Shan so time to climb yet another mountain we surmise. So off to Mount Emei Shan (3077 Meter ABSL). Gluttons for punishment. Me and the two Irish Guys stayed in the Teddy Bear Hotel in Baoguo Si near the base of the mountain. After a truly tremendous bargaining session got room for 110 Yuan between three down from the original 270 Yuan. Sat TV, Western Jax,own shower, heating etc,....pure luxury. Wrote on wall of the Teddy bear Cafe as is the tradition, as gaeilge of course.

13/12/04 (Monday, Day 16)

Up early again and first bus to the base of Wannian Temple. Admission 120 Yuan (60 Yuan with student Card). Dermot and I used our cards. Vendor doesn't look closely at our faces but carefully inspects validity date. Grand job. Give glasses and student card to Pat who after a reasonable interval approached ticket office with glasses and baseball cap donned. No problem. Onwards and upwards. Climbed almost to the top but fog very heavy and visibility low, so stopped for the night in this dingy little cafe/bar place. By this stage we'd hooked up with yet another English guy. The owner of the cafe and he's female companion had a right laugh at the four of us. The place was freezing but thank God for longjohns and electric blankets.

(Me with my head above the clouds on Mount Emei Shan)

Mount Emei Shan is inhabited by Kleptomaniac Monkeys and as is my luck I happened to have an encounter with one of these. There I was walking along minding my own business, Dermot behind me, monkeys to my left, monkeys to my right and this monkey walks right up beside me grabs my coat to impede my forward movement and with his other hand reaches right up and swipes a bottle of orange from my pocket. He had plenty of back-up so I offered no resistance. The two lads who were some distance behind later happened accross the same monkey who at this staged had opened the bottle and was licking the contents off the ground. The cheeky monkey.

14/12/04 (Tuesday, Day 17）

Up early and on up to the Golden Summit. Fog had lifted and clouds were breaking so some fantastic views. Loads of native chinese labourers hauling heavy loads up the mountain on their backs. Bloody tough work.

(Some of the heavy haulage brigade taking a well earned rest on the ascent of mount Emei Shan)

At the top saw some of the rich chinese. They were wearing only the most expensive gear. No exaggeration, but a fellow could climb mount everest in the gear they were wearing and they were so clean and well turned out it was obvious that they'd gotten the cable car the whole way up. They also had these huge top of the range digital cameras with them. On our descent we saw a chinese man in a suit being carried up by two chinese carry car operators. Fair enough this did look a bit pretentious and he did appear to be lording it over them and showing off to his friends but on the other hand these boys are doing this to make money so if no one avails of the service their out of business. Also undoubtedly bloody tough work. More to the point though what in the name of god is this moron doing wearing a suit way up hear in the middle of no-where. It defys logic.

(Me at the Summit of Mount Emei Shan)

On our descent we get lunch in a nearby restaurant. It was not very appetizing.The chicken I got was a combination of bones, fat and a less than generous helping of actual meat. It was accompanied by generous helpings of some vegetable I didn't recognise but suspect was bamboo. Well it may as well have been saw dust for all the flavour it added. Felt a bit pissed off with that meal. Headed back to Chengdu.

(On the descent from Mount Emei Shan)

15/12/04 (Wednseday, Day 18)

Hit a western food joint to make up for yesterday's culinary fiasco. Later hit a few night spots.

16/12/04 (Thursday, Day19)

Train from Chengdu to Liuzhou (31 hrs). Got goodsleep. Had a bad dose of the flu at this stage. Met a chinese businessman on the train (Kendall, many chinese people I've met who deal with a lot of foreigners tend to anglicise their name). He was anxious to practice his english, for an upcoming trip to Forida USA (Citrus Fruit Growers Convention). He already had good english but I gave him a few pointers. A western friend of his had just married a beautiful chinese girl and he wasn't quite sure how to word his letter of congratulations. I gave him some conservative recommendations along the lines of live long and prosper. He had some oranges with him so we sampled a few. I assured him that if the rest of his produce was as good as these he should have no problem exporting. He was chuffed with that and gave me some oranges for the road along with his business card. He also asked me for mine but I explained I was fresh out them at that moment. The men beside us were obviously having a good laugh at my expense (a common occurrence here for the hapless foreigner). Kendall informed me that they said I was eating alot of fruit, drinking loads of water but was afraid to try the train food. I explained to kendall that I'd been to the dining car earlier but had to leave as I was unable to order anything. Everthing on the menu was in chinese mandarin only and the waiter (who you can normally have a game of charades with and get some rice and something else) if there was one, wasn't exactly advertising his presence. Later when the food lady came around Kendall got some grub for himdelf and I said feck it sure I'll have some too. Of course as soon as I started using the old chopsticks an audience began to congregate and I was again the source of much mirth and amusement. The Chinese really are a curious lot.

Now the language barrier etc was not the only reason for my reluctance to eat on the train there is one other major factor to be considered namely the lack of western toilets. I had managed to master the use of the squat on terra firma but on a moving train and not just any train but a train with a tendency to jolt violently every so often without any warning the task struck me as one which required a high degree of athleticism and I wasn't certain I had what it took. I'd also heard of one Irish lad who'd mis-timed it badly on one occassion and I had no desire to be smelly paddy number two...pardon the pun. However it was a 31 hour train journey and when nature calls you'd better answer. So off to the jax firmly clutching my much prized toilet roll. I felt like one of the 600 should have felt before they marched into the valley of death. Finally I emerged victorious, not quite smelling of roses but mission accomplished without incident. Perhaps they should consider entering it as an event in the upcoming olympics I reckon the chinese would win hands down.

Said goodbye to Kendall at Liuzhou and on to Guilin by bus.

Hit Guilin and the hostel I was looking for was either closed no longer in existence or like alot of places in china part of a treasure hunt that nobody has bothered to tell the foreigners about. Finally got room in hotel but had to pay a bit above my usual as arrived in town late, on my own, with cold and in the pouring rain. Not in great bargaining position still managed to get hotel room for 60 Yuan down from initial ask of 100 yuan.

18/12/04 (Saturday, Day 20)

Caught bus to Yangshou. Raining monsoon style on arrival. No problem getting accommodation. Food here is quite good. They do a great rice, meat and veg stir fry for a mere pittance. I've also tried some banana pancakes, not bad either. Also loads of western food joints.

!9/12/04 (Sunday, Day 21)

Walked around Yangshou for a bit ventured just outside the city. The area around here is quite scenic. But its obvious from the low level of the river and the scarcity of westerners that its not high season at the moment.

(Karst Peaks and river view, Yangshou)

Nevertheless the karst rock peaks jutting up all over the landscape is a pleasant change from the much more urban and industrialised parts of china. Its extremely laid back here I think I could stay here for ever but reality bites.

(View of Yangshou Bridge)

20/12/04 (Monday, Day 22)

Still trying to shake off flu. So trying to keep the appetite going so not missing any meals and may even add a few. Drinking lots of fluid. Having a reasonably relaxed day. Won't be climbing any mountains today. What else did I do today....well this supdate didn't write itself.

Thus ends the first installment from the annals of Bolands travels.

Seasons greetings to all have a very merry christmas and a happy new year. A couple of responses would be more than welcome.

JB (Off to Shanghai for christmas, I hope there's something going on there but I'll soon see)