Bumming around the world since 1996

26-29 August 2011: Faro, Portugal

2011-09-09T11:07:00.024+01:00

Going away for the long weekend was a welcome relief from the British summer (which hadn't happened this year) and the fact that there was plenty of surf, sun and sand made it even better!

Myself and Nicole stayed in a wonderful villa in Alberferie which is 35mins from Faro airport. It has a swimming pool and balcony overlooking the main beach - which is all but a 10min walk down to. There were plenty of Brits around, but also lots of Portuguese and mainland Europeans.

We flew out of Gatwick at 6am and by 10am (Portuguese time) we were by the poolside with sangria! During the next 3 days we rotated between the old town, the beach and poolside. At night there were plenty of pubs/clubs open and lots of cheap cocktails (€3 for a cocktail) and alcohol. The food was yummy and generally cheap and there was the added benefit of lots of eye-candy around on the beach.

What more could we ask for! Have a look at the photos as they say everything....

Overlooking the main beach

Myself and Nicole enjoying a a sunset cruise

Cocktails galore!

Our accommodation!

Old town of Albeferie, Faro

The main beach is behind me

A church in Albeferie

Eating again! But the seafood was so delicious!

4-30 May 2011: Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan

2011-06-05T20:22:00.241+01:00

Trip details

Tour: Dragoman's Turkik & Persian Splendors overland trip
Dates: 6-30 May 2011
Route through Turkey: Istanbul, Goreme, Dogeybeyzit
Route through Iran: Kandovan, Zanjan, Tehran, Esfahan, Shiraz, Caravanserai, Yazd, Khor, Damghan, Shirvan
Route through Turkmenistan: straight to Ashgabat
Passengers: 11 of us, aged from 23 to 68 years old. From Canada, Scotland, UK, Ireland, and Australia
Drivers: Luca (Italian), Noel (English)
Truck: "Archie"

Highlights

Visiting the ruins of Ani, Turkey
Having a hammam (wash and scrub down) in Dogubeyzik, Turkey
Experiencing a Friday (Iranian equivalent of our Sunday) and the mass of Iranian tourists in Kandovan, Iran
Showing locals how to toast marshmallows over a fire at our campsite in a waterpark in Zanjan, Iran
Going to the Armenian Club in Tehran where Muslims are forbidden to enter and woman are NOT allowed to wear headscarves
Going to the Jewellery Museum in Tehran where there are billions of dollars worth of jewels on view in a bank vault
Visiting the old US Embassy in Tehran and seeing the murals now painted on the Embassy walls (e.g. Statue of Liberty with a skull)

Getting a welcome at the Qom shrine with a 45min "speech" by the mosque high priest/Mullah on how the West is corrupt and Iran is friendly and misunderstood
Seeing Imam Square in Esfahan for the first time - amazing and very beautiful
The spectacle of the "shaking minarets" in Esfahan
Carved rock tombs outside of Shiraz that held the bones of various Kings (Naqshe-e Rostan)
Evening spent on the salt flats at Khor
Chatting to local girls in Damghan
Being invited to an Iranian wedding at Shirvan
Seeing the very OTT monuments in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Turkey

Turkey was just as beautiful and exotic as the previous two times I have been here. Istanbul is a great city that combines culture, business and history in such a way that you are never bored. I was staying in the old part of the city were you have the Blue Mosque, Ayaya Sofia, Topkapi Museum and the old bazaars. This is where the trip began and I met the others I was going to be travelling with.

The group consisted of various ages, genders and nationalities but the mix was brilliant and the group melded together from the first night. In fact we basically all stuck together from that point onwards and we all got on so well.

After Istanbul we headed out toward Goreme on a 12hr travelling day but the roads were excellent and we got there on time. We actually ended up spending that night with two other overlanding trucks that were also at Goreme.

During our time here some went air balloon riding for €120 which was beautiful and everyone came back so excited. We all ended up doing a day trip around Goreme - though the high point was the underground city that went down 7 levels (60 metres in depth). They carved this place out so they could hide from enemies and the had their own ventilation shaft and well, and the temp was kept constant all year round. Amazing if not slightly claustrophobic!

After Goreme we headed to our first campsite just out of Siva. What a site! Cold, but the view was over a lake and the sunrise the next morning was very soul-lifting! Campsite 2 the next night was near to Kars, again cold, but we had a fire and beers on the go which warmed us up. We then ended up in a town called Dogubeyzit. But before that we did a 100km side trip that wasn't in the trip notes...

.....but the ruins of Ani rate up very highly on the scale of stunning places to see. It is right on the border with Armenia and has only been open to visitors for the last 5 years or so due to it being a "sensitive" military area. Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city which is situated beside the border with Armenia. Called the "City of 1001 Churches", it stood on various trade routes and its many religious buildings, palaces, and fortifications were amongst the most technically and artistically advanced structures in the world. At its height, Ani had a population of 100,000–200,000 people and was the rival of Constantinople, Baghdad and Cairo.

We got to Dogubeyzit late that night so cooked dinner and went to bed. The next morning we could see Mt Ararat in the distance which was great to see. We visited a Palace before heading into the main town where we stayed another night. Jo and myself headed off to a local hammam for a wash and scrub down by a local woman who couldn't speak English. In fact, no one at the hammam could speak English which made it a unique experience! We came out very clean.

Iran

The next morning we headed for the Iranian border! It was easy getting through though the Brits had to be fingerprinted and have their knuckles printed ??? No idea why. Us girls also had to put on our headscarves, long shirts and trousers....which we had to wear for the next 16 days.

We drove to a town called Kandovan but hadn't realised how busy it would be on a Friday (the Iranian's equivalent of our Sunday). We wondered around the town which was shaped by volcanic eruptions and is like Cappadocia. The locals still live in the carved out homes even though the winter can can get down to -30 degrees. We ended up camping in the car park as there was no where else to go. But after sundown we weren't disturbed by anyone other than herders and their goats.

The next morning we packed up and drove to Zanjan via Tabriz where we camped in the local waterpark!! There were a lot of locals about, particularly the young adults, who stood around and watched us and were asking us questions about where we came from. After dinner the only locals left were the young men and they had a little party going with music from their cars. They were dancing about acting like young men do, but only danced with the guys and not us girls. The funniest moment was when a local guy tasted a toasted marshmallow for the first time..."Oh my god" was his response!

We drove towards Tehran the next day. When we got there the boys headed to a football match between Tehran and Esfahan...us girls weren't allowed to go (in fact, no women are allowed at football matches in Iran) and so some of us went to the Armenian Club. No Muslims are allowed and all headscarves have to be removed. It was a funny little place that reminded me of the mens' only clubs in the UK.

The next day we walked all over Tehran...14 hours on our feet! We visited:

National Museum of Iran (there was a preserved man from the salt flats in Iran)
Golestan Palace (several buildings, lots of marble, mirrors, mosaics and architecture students who followed us around)
Park-e Shahir which was beautiful with lots of shaded areas, exercise equipment and fountains
Jewellery Museum - in a bank vault, lots of security, lots of pearls, diamonds, rubies, silver, gold and even a 34kg globe with 51,000 stones
US Embassy - murals around this ex-Embassy, now Iranian Secret Police, that depict the US in some very derogatory ways!
the underground Metro system - cheap, air conned, modern
Tehran Bazaar - far too busy for our liking

We spent two days in Tehran before making our way to Esfahan via a side trip to Qom, the 2nd most holiest city in Iran. Us girls had to put on a chadour (basically a bed sheet) and then before any of us were allowed anywhere near the shrine (the sister of an Imam is buried here) we were "invited" to the Office of International Affairs. 45mins later, after a chat from our esteemed hosts about how friendly and misunderstood Iran is and how corrupt the West is, we were allowed to see the shrine...but not up close as Westerners aren't allowed to go anywhere near it. 2min photoshoot of the shrine and we were gone (it was also 38 degrees so we were pretty hot by now).

Onwards to Esfahan where there are plenty of mosques, churches, cathedrals, shops and bridges to see! Here are just a few things we got up to:

Si-o-Seh Bridge: very pretty but no water in the river as they dam it!
Imam Square: it is the 2nd largest square after Tianaman Sq in China and it is stunning! The square has the Jameh Mosque down one stretch, a Palace opposite it on the other side, another mosque around the next corner and lots of shopping all around the grass and fountain in the middle. At night it is really beautiful when the lights come on and the families sit on the grass to eat and drink tea
Vank Cathedral is an Armenian Church and depicts so horrible photos of the genocide that happened against the Armenians
The "shaking minarets" was an interesting side-trip....it was talked up in the Lonely Planet as a must-see...don't bother. We missed the last showing so they put on the demonstration for us especially. A little man climbed up the minaret and started shaking it about....

Shopping was great...there is gaz, a local specialty which is nougat and pistachio nuts (yummy), and then camelbone painting and boxes

Esfahan is a great place to sit and enjoy the atmosphere and to chill out. A lot of Iranians visit here for weekend trips etc to shop...they seem to have lots of money to burn.

We are now in the desert and the sun and heat was stifling...especially at 1pm on the day we rocked up to Persepolis! Darius I built Persepolis around 500BC, and it was added to by further kings over 150 years. It was then set on fire and destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330BC because Darius had burnt Athens to the ground when he was alive! Very childish if you ask me. It was abandoned and eventually uncovered in the 1930s.

As it was so hot and there was very little shade we stayed only a few hours to see the bas-reliefs (truly amazing), the pillars and various other statues. I still think Ephesus in Turkey is my favourite ruin though.

We left Persepolis and drove towards Shiraz, our southern most point in Iran. On the way we got stopped again by the traffic police....they are everywhere checking speeds as in 2006, 28,000 people died on Iranian roads and 200k were injured. There are no such things as road rules here, and crossing the roads is very hazardous to your health!

Shiraz was once a wine-growing area, but not anymore as Iran is a 'dry country' and bans all alcohol. It was also once the capital of the Islamic world during the medieval times. Now there is a lot of dust, hot temps and more mosques, citadels and churches to see. But I do have to say, the bazaar here is the best one I have come across...non-touristy and pleasant to walk about in.

Just outside of Shiraz we stopped and had a look at the rock tombs (Naqsh-e Rostan) of various kings (e.g. Darius I, II, Xerxex I). They are carved up high and out of the cliff where their bodies were left to be picked clean by vultures. The bas-reliefs under each tomb reflects their lives and it is a fantastic place to go and visit. It is still perfectly intact.

We then drove towards the Zeinodin caravanserai site in the middle of nowhere (well, it is actually just off the main highway in the middle of nowhere!). It is a 400year old site and was used as accommodation for traders in the old days. This has now been renovated and we stayed in it for a night. It was very clean, modern and you had 2 mattresses per curtained off room. Quite an interesting change to the normal hotels/motels/tents were had been staying in. We spent the night being entertained by the staff and then spent the late evening gazing at the stars.

After a comfortable night at the serai we drove off towards Yazd which was just as hot at about 37-38 degrees! But this place has an extensive Zoroastrian history to it and the first place we saw was the two Towers of Silence. Dead bodies are placed in these towers so vultures can pick them clean. Zoroastrians don't like to contaminate the earth so wait for the flesh to be eaten before burying them. Unfortunately in the 1960s, the Iranian Govt decided they didn't like this practice anymore, banned them from doing this, and now they have to bury their dead in concrete-lined graves.

We visited a few more mosques in town, the Zoroastrian Eternal Flame which was been burning for 700years, and the cistern water museum which shows how these desert towns/cities can still function though water is hundreds of miles away.

After Yazd we headed towards Khor where we had fantastic accommodation and a night out on the salt flats. We had dinner cooked for us, we had the shisha pipes out, and we enjoyed the cooler weather, all while watching the sunset. Beautiful.

It wasn't long before we were in another town called Damghan. Myself a few others spent a while chatting to 3 young local women (23yrs old) and got a bit more of an insight into the Iranian young. As long as they have a job they don't necessarily need to marry (but job sare hard to come by), they can have "boyfriends", they can have a Uni education, they can stay out late if they want...very much like any western woman. They just have to be mindful of what they say about the government (especially in front of the Iranian guide we have had with us from day 1)!

Our final pitstop was a town called Shirvan - where we got invited to an Iranian wedding! The bride was initially covered over from head to foot and then the females/males separated into their own reception party! No one spoke any English and it was a surreal experience watching the females dance to Iranian pop in their mini skirts and evening dresses. As it was only females (other than the groom??!!!) they could take off their scarves and chadours.

I loved Iran...there is a certain naivety to the Iranians (particularly about the rest of the world) that is endearing and I hope they never lose it. The young are also pushing the boundaries and I can see Iran changing a lot in the next 5 years (as long as they don't politically annoy any neighbours!).

It was certainly a shock heading into Turkmenistan which is ex-USSR with half the population Russian and half Turkmen.

Turkmenistan

The border crossing was long and it took 2hrs before Iran was willing to stamp us out...with another 2hrs before Turkmenistan would stamp us in! Neither side were in much of a hurry to do anything with us foreigners.

We finally got to Ashgabat (capital city) where we were met by sour-faced, unsmiling and unfriendly locals. They didn't speak much English at all and we were nearly always ignored when trying to buy anything. Ashgabat itself is like a fairy tale/Las Vegas gone terribly wrong. It was mostly flattened in 1947 after an earthquake killed 2/3s of its population. It then got rebuilt using oil and gas money and is headed by a President who has created a lot of very large and OTT statues in his honour. It is also more expensive than Iran and nowhere as friendly.

This is where I had to say goodbye to my fellow travel buddies who were going on to Xian and/or Beijing on a much longer overland trip.

I really do recommend Iran to everyone...I felt safer there than I do in London and the people are just so friendly and hospitable. Let's just hope they keep their heads down and don't antagonise a certain few countries (inshallah)!

4-30 May 2011: Photos from Turkey, Iran and Turkmenistan

2011-06-01T17:46:00.002+01:00

Turkey

Iran

Turkmenistan

25 Feb-6 March 2011: Altenmarkt, Austria

2011-03-08T19:14:00.008Z

Skiing in Austria is so much fun....usually lots of snow and not many British people! And we get to stay with our favourite people, the Klausners in Altenmarkt!

The weather really and truly did make our time there even better...eight days of skiing, seven days dealing with bright sunshine....we were definitely not complaining about this! Though my knees were by Day 3 after I had conquered the black slopes quite a few times.

We usually headed onto the slopes about 9am, had a coffee/hot chocoloate about 11am, and then made a decision about an early or late lunch (trying to avoid the crowds). All in all we spent about 4 hours+ each day on the slopes.

It wasn't too expensive either...for an 8 day ski pass it was €240, and €90 for 8 day ski hire. We did eat out most nights but usually ended up at one particular restaurant as it was the only really decent one and did Terreis' favourite meal/dessert!

Here are a few photos of my time skiing in Austria (Zuchensee - about 40mins from Salzburg).

What else to do but rest the weary legs

Loving the scenery at Zuchensee!

A lone skier heading downhill

Blue, white and red...I do like my mix of colours!

Terreis enjoying the fine weather!

25 Dec-8 Jan 2011: O'ahu, Hawaii

2011-01-11T19:03:00.000Z

Just some of the photos from my trip to O'ahu, Hawaii over Xmas and New Years.

Polynesian Cultural Centre - Aoteroa (ie NZ)

Polynesian Cultural Centre - Tonga

Enjoying a day on the ocean (swimming with dolphins was the highlight)

Memorial to those dead at Pearl Harbour

Finally thawing out and soaking up the sun!

New Years Eve: Allison, me, Terreis

On Waikiki beach after a day's shopping....

USS Bowfin submarine - at Pearl Harbour

USS Missouri - at Pearl Harbour

Waikiki beach at night

Waikiki beach during the day (way too busy!)

Waimanalo beach (think Magnum PI...)

22-31 October 2010: Boston, USA

2010-11-26T18:35:00.003Z

I knew 10 days in Boston visiting my brother and his family would mean early nights, early mornings and busy days! I wasn't disapppointed!

Josh, Sam and Grace (9, 7 and 3 years old) kept me busy with their homework, books, and antics (and Jack their 2-year old labrador needed just as much attention). With my birthday and Halloween in the same week it meant for an exciting time for all.

The kids had Halloween school parades - they got to dress up in their costumes and then do a parade in front of the parents - and then they got to trick or treat in 0-degress temperatures. They all looked so cute...and there was so much candy...though saying that, I got hooked on the America Milk Dudds!

Here are some of the photos from during the 10 days I was with them....

Autumn in Boston is a beautiful time of year

My birthday cake!

Lots of fun rolling around on beds!

Face of an angel....as for the rest of the time....

Picasso in the making....

Hiking in North Hampshire

Dressed up and no where to go but school!

Wonderful decorations thanks to Hilary

Guarding the door!

Having lots of fun with the camera!

Not nearly scare enough.

Josh's friends....

My first pumpkin!

5-29 May 2010: National Parks, Southwest US

2010-05-31T18:51:00.104+01:00

Like always I decided I wanted to combine travel with exciting activities...which involved hiking around the national parks of southwest USA and camping. I ended up choosing a trip from TrekAmerca ("Best of the West")...a great company and one I used last year when going to Canada.

The weather...

What I hadn't thought too much about was the weather....it was May, spring, and the US...it surely couldn't be that bad???!!! Keep reading to see how wrong I was!! Instead of the trip being called "Best of the West", it should have been called "Best of the Worst Weather". Saying that, the scenery on this trip has been the most beautiful I have seen, the hiking the most rewarding, and the mix of the group one of the best.

The group...

The group size was 13...including Rachel the tour guide, 14. Ten were Brits, 1 Austrian and 1 German/Spanish (and of course me)! The average age would be over 50 but it was a mix that worked really well and the group turned out to be one of the most organised, enthusiastic and timely group I have ever been part of!!! In fact we were always so early that Rachel made a point of leaving on time rather than any earlier!!

The trip...

Yosemite (California)

We rocked into Yosemite National Park in the late afternoon of Day 1 and realised how wet it was (ie very wet). 30mins after putting up our tents we saw a black bear walking along the edge of the camp...about 10m from the furthest tent! Not that it did anything but keep wondering through. We have to bear-proof in this park and Yellowstone (where there are grizzlies). That means putting anything that smells (food, toothpaste, toiletries etc.) into a metal box that the bear can't open.

We didn't do much that night as it was so wet....in fact all of us decided as a group to have dinner at one of the restaurants in the park rather than cook! No one was in disagreement.

The next day started off with sunshine but quite cold. Our plans for the day included a round 7 mile hike to Nevada Falls (via Vernal Falls) which was about a 1,800m elevation. Normally we would do Half Dome, but the cables weren't up and there was snow up there which makes it very dangerous to attempt.

The hike took us up through forest and then along a steep set of steps from Vernal Falls to Nevada Falls. The view from the top of Nevada Falls is stunning as you can see the falls from the top and its entire drop to the valley floor. We descended via the Mist Trail, where we actually walked under Vernal Falls, back to our campsite. By midday it was raining hard and we all headed for warmer climates...ie, the pub! We again decided to eat out as it was freezing and raining hard...and by the time we got back to our campsite it was snowing.....oh joy....

Lake Tahoe (California)

It was freezing last night!!! We packed up (trying to not get frostbite in our fingertips) and headed to Lake Tahoe. A long day driving and when we got there we nearly didn't stay as only one toilet block was open and barely any running water (we were the only crazy ones camping as the snow storm came through last night!). We didn't do much but walk around some of the Lake, cook dinner, warm up around a campfire and go to bed.

Nat Soo Pah (Idaho)

Last night was just as cold as the previous one...brrrrrrr! But at least the sun was shining and there was hot water for a shower....bonus. We then drove 480 miles across Nevada to Idaho (heading towards Yellowstone) to a place called Nat Soo Pah where a thermal pool was waiting. Absolute bliss.

Yellowstone (Wyoming)

From here we then drove 400 miles into Yellowstone National Park via Norris Geyser. We again had to bear-proof and again it was freezing...no change there! In fact we found out it was going down to -7C tonight (at Yellowstone we are now sitting at about 5,000ft). I know for sure that some of us definitely thought about other means of accommodation but no one sucumbed and we all went to bed dressed in everything we had!!!

It was absolutely, undoubtedly freezing last night...there was even ice in the tent! The warmest place in most of the campsites were the bathroom as they all have heaters in them.

The first place we visited was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone...a canyon that holds the High and Low waterfalls. Then off to Mammoth Springs to see more thermic activity (very much like Rotorua, NZ). The best was left for last...the Old Faithful geyser.

In fact I saw the eruption of four geyers including Old Faithful. I even had time to fit in a hot shower at the Old Faithful Inn (there are no showers at Yellowstone campsite). Again we headed back to the campsite for dinner, a campfire and a very cold night in the tent!

Jackon (Wyoming)

The next day we woke up to a stunning day...blue skies and sunshine. We drove out of Yellowstone and into Grand Teton...which is a breathtaking mountain range. We packed a lunch and hiked up to Inspiration Point (7,200ft)....well not so much as hiked, as crunched through ice and snow (sometimes up to our knees)! It was a 6 mile round hike, with a steep 400m ascent up to the Point as you put your foot in the footmarks of others but because the sun was out and it was hot, you sunk much deeper than expected! But it was definitely worth it for the views over Jenny Lake, which due to the snow blizzard, was iced over.

From the Grand Teton we drove on into Jackson which is much warmer as it is lower in altitude. Jackson is a 'ski resort' for most of the year but really quiet now as the fields are closed and the summer trade hadn't yet started. After dinner we went into town to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar where I consumed local beer (very tasty), eyed up the cowboys (no real talent) and played pool (poorly). A nice way to spend the night (rather than huddled around a fire trying to keep warm).

A following morning was spent drinking coffee and doing my laundry. Most of us then white water rafted down Snake River which was about grade 2 and 3. Not very exciting but a lovely way to see the scenery along the river banks. We all got back, changed and then Rachel took us into town. Lots of beautiful artwork (particularly the paintings done on copper and the massive copper statues). I did some shopping with a couple of others and then most of us met for a much needed steak at the same bar as last night. Yummy.

Salt Lake (Utah)

The next pit stop was Salt Lake City...a chance to have a proper bed and a bathroom that is 10secs from the bed rather than a 10min walk!! I tell you, this was truly deserved!

Salt Lake City was built up by the Mormons, so the first thing I did was go and see the Mormon church (chapel and temple). I got guided around by 2 young missionaries from Korea and the US (they spend 18 months being missionaries in whatever country they get sent to) - it was actually a very informative tour. They then asked if I wanted a Mormon bible and no was pretty much the answer - they didn't push the point which was nice, or ask for a donation.

I then bumped into Sue/Barry and we went and had a look at the Mormon's conference centre....very, very nice! It houses a auditorium that sits 22,000 people - no columns in sight so everyone gets a perfect view. They even have a 'meadow' on top of the building! Smelt of lots of money and the paintings were stunning...they said they were all donated, but I bet quite a few were bought by their millions (not that I can prove it!).

Dinner was with the rest of the group and steak and beer were again on the menu.

Moab (Utah)

The next day we headed out to the desert... yippeeee.... warmth and sunshine! We got there about midday and straight into Arches National Park. As you might guess there are lots of arches and we did a quick hike of the main ones (we even had a heavy rain shower that only got some of us depending on which arch we were going to see).

After that we headed back to the campsite for pizza, shower and campfire in temperatures that didn't involve shivering!!

The next day was sunny and we headed out to the desert for some mountain biking. I can't say I was a natural at it and the way the guide was looking at me when I crunched the gears (of the US$5,000 bike), I knew this would never be something I would be good at!! After all the fun and many bruises that Sue and Gilly got, we then went on a hummer tour.

The hummer drove up and down the rock faces and though we were sometimes driving up a rockface at a very scary angle, we were never truly fareful for our lives. Lots of fun and I would highly recommend it to anyone travelling to Moab.

The next day we entered Canyonlands...another national park on the opposite side to Arches. I actually prefer this park to Arches as it is more sprawling and more dramatic. In fact we had a BBQ at Dead Horse Point Reserve which was absolutely stunning. The sunset was gorgeous as it highlighted the red in the rocks.

Monument Valley (Utah/Arizona)

Visiting Monument Valley will stay in my memory for a very long time...not because of its beautiful rock formations and amazing history, but because of the wind! Particularly when it is mixed with red sand. When we got there we went on a Navajo jeep tour of the area...Billy was funny, informative and he plays he flute beautifully...but it was very windy and sand was going everywhere. One of the highlights was having dinner in a very secluded, wind-free area - we had Indian tacos and they were very tasty, and huge....though I think most of the boys finished them.

After this we headed back to a viewing ledge over the valley and started putting up tents or started setting up our sleeping area if we were going tentless. Only 4 of us decided to go tentless....though we really should have been clever enough to realise the wind was not going to go away.....

The wind must have been gusting up to 80km an hour during the night, constantly, unrelenting, with red sand in the mix....arrghhhhh.....by 11pm I had had enough and begged for a space in one of the tents...though honestly it really wasn't that much better! The noise of the tent, the sand getting in through the mesh....we only got about 2hrs sleep that night and everything was covered, if not dyed red, by the sand. We were laughing about this the next morning and thankfully Rachel saw we were near-to-hysteria and got us into the Monument Hotel for breakfast and a clean-up (wet-wipes are the best invention ever).

Grand Canyon (Arizona)

Our next stop was the very grand Grand Canyon. Lots of people milling around, walking around the rim, taking photos...too many people if you ask me! Anyway we spent the afternoon walking around ourselves, going to ranger talks and generally mooching about. We all went and watched the sunset which was gorgeous and then had dinner (which was very quick as everyone was tired after only 2hrs sleep last night).

After a good night's sleep I was off to walk down to Skeleton Point which was basically 3 miles down the side of the canyon (via the South Kaibab trail) and 3 miles back (2,100ft descent, and then 2,100ft ascent). Thankfully I started early and was back at the campsite around midday which meant I could finally do my laundry, relax, chill out and try to find a condor (which I didn't see).

That night it was freezing! Snow was forecast and snow is what we got by the morning. So again we wimped out and went into town for an IMAX show (Grand Canyon one), and dinner (I love the concept of majority rules).

Zion (Utah)

The next day we headed to our final national park – Zion National Park...one of my favourites. I love the expanse of it, the rock formations and the general feel of the park. The Narrows was one hike I wanted to do but due to 'unnatural weather for this time of year', the water was too high and the hike up the river bed was closed. Instead we all did Angels Landing. Wow....you do not want to do this if you hate heights as you climb 1,500ft and the last 500ft or so is along a ridge. So if you fall you fall to the valley floor 1,000ft below (3 people actually died doing this hike the month before).

After this hike we then did the Emerald Pools (nothing very exciting) and then I went and saw the museum and went back to the campground for a much needed shower and put-up-feet time.

Very sad that night as it was our last...but we voted to eat out at a local restaurant so at least we didn't have to cook!

The next day was clean-up, eat all the food, drive to Las Vegas and say goodbye to everyone.... :(

All in all it was the hardest trip I have ever done....but the hiking, the scenary, and my fellow travellers all made it worth every minute of discomfort!

Here are some further photos....

Easter 2010: Fowey, Cornwall, UK

2010-04-06T17:52:00.018+01:00

Easter is always a great time to get out of London and get some fresh air. So heading down south towards Cornwall was a great suggestion by Al and Jane...just a shame they couldn't guarantee the sunshine for the whole time (but that would be too easy)!!

Fowey is a beautiful wee town....very narrow streets, old houses and a pub on every corner. We hired a cottage for the week which was a great idea (better than staying in a hostel) and we had gorgeous views over the estuary. There were 7 of us (Jane, Al, Tina, Tom, John, Pete) but the cottage had ample space for all of us. A bit of a queue for the shower, but nothing we couldn't sort out as adults!

The night we arrived we all headed out for a recce of the town and then to the nearest pub for some delicious grub. We didn't stay too long as we had all left London by about 6.30am that morning to get away from the traffic.

Saturday: Fowey to Polkerris return (7 miles)

We headed out on our first walk and the weather didn't look too great. That's why we thankfully chose to do a 7 mile walk from Fowey to Polkerris instead of a longer one. It had been raining quite a bit before we started the walk so there was lots of mud...the fact it started drizzling and then raining during the walk meant it got muddier and muddier! By the time we got to a pub in Polkerris we were literally soaked through, dripping, not particularly happy, and our boots were about 5lbs heavier with all the mud! After lunch we decided to walk back to Fowey as the rain had stopped...and by the time we got back the sun was peaking through the clouds a bit. Didn't mean it was any less muddy on the return trip!

Sunday: Polruan to Looe (13 miles)

What a difference the sun makes! It was still muddy in some places but we were actually warm and had our coats on and off all day. Not a hint of rain thankfully! The walk wasn't one of the hardest we had been on (I think the hardest one was in Boscastle), but it was still taxing with some big uphill and downhills! But the scenery was spectacular, the company great, and all in all the great day's walking.

When we got to Looe we headed straight for the nearest cafe for a well earned tea (or coffee). As we didn't intend to walk back to Fowey, we called up a taxi to take us to the ferry in Polruan that would cross the estuary back to Fowey. Low and behold...a black cab turns up! Thankfully he wasn't charging London prices...just £5 each for a 30min ride.

Monday: Eden Project

On the Monday we had a day off walking...some of us headed to the Eden Project whilst others did a bit of shopping (couldn't believe that Fat Face had a shop in Fowey!).

The Eden Project was created to fill in a quarry site...but they pulled it off beautifully with two domes: one had rain forests from around the world, and the other was laid out like the Mediterranean. Great to just wonder about and take in the wonderful smells of each dome.

Unfortunately for Al and myself, we had to head back to London on the Tuesday, but others stayed on during the week to enjoy some more walking.

Fowey is a lovely place to stay, especially if you want to walk some of the South West Coastal Pathway. Just keep in mind a lot of these small towns have very limited mobile reception (as John found out) and in some cases, none at all!

27 Feb-8 Mar 2010: Altenmarkt, Austria

2010-03-15T21:17:00.012Z

Oh how I love Austria! The snow, food, good company, quaint little town of Altenmarkt, the Klausners...this is my third time back and I would come back again and again.

This time I came with Sera, Alex, Terreis and Nick. We had some mixed weather...starting off sunny (and warm) and then heading towards a blizzard by the end of the week. But we had a great time, and we can't complain about the amount of snow we had (though going down to -14 degrees on the slopes was a tad cold!).

Zauchensee ski slopes were in great shape...lots of good snow, not too much ice, and not a lot of Brits in hearing distance! The ski field is run really well and they even provide free shuttle buses to and from Altenmarkt, all day and for free. With the Euro still strong, this was a bonus as it wasn't cheap buying a 7 day ski pass.

As for the food...lots of delicious things to choose from and for some...it was the highlight of the trip!!

Here are some pics that tell it better than I can....

6 Dec 2009-16 Jan 2010: New Zealand

2010-01-09T18:34:00.025Z

Wellington
I flew from the UK and landed into Auckland airport knowing I was home....I got greeted very warmly by the immigration officer! Once I was in Wellington I also knew I was home as on day 1 I felt my first earthquake!

Mum and Dad were in good spirits and the first week was spent catching up with friends in Wellington and getting over jet lag (which wasn't too bad). I did have to wait 3 days before I saw the sunshine...and it wasn't exactly very warm either! But home is home!

Waitomo
I hired a car for most of my stay in NZ - much easier and lots more freedom with a car. My first trip was to Waitomo Caves where I did a 5-hr tubing and abseiling trip into the caves. Absolutely fantastic experience (as long as you aren't claustophobic) and as there were only 2 of us we got to do far more than most trips. The water in the caves was actually slightly warmer than I imagined, but we were still in a full wetsuit.

Raglan
The next port of call was a quaint little town called Raglan (east coast of the North Island). I was there for one thing only...surfing. I was staying at the Karioi Lodge just by Mana Bay (where the left break is the most consistent in the southern hemisphere). The weather was generally sunny and I had 6 days of surfing. Very exhausting but so much fun and lots of people to talk to at the lodge. The waves were not as big or rough as Croyde Bay (Devon), but consistently good. I would definitely go back there for more surfing as it is such a nice spot.

Xmas week
I went back down to Wellington for Xmas week (but it was one hell of a drive...8hrs solid). My brother Jason and his wife Caroline had also arrived from the UK so half the Lind family were together.

Xmas day was typically NZ style...get up, unwrap pressies, have a hot lunch, afternoon snooze, and then a light dinner. Lots of champers, chocolates and rich food! But we would have it no other way!

Whakatane
Jason, Caroline and I stayed in Wellington for a few more days before heading up to Whakatane (near to Tauranga). It was a long day....8hrs driving....but the hire car was top of the range and was so comfortable to drive (and very easy to put the speed on). We also managed to get up there in time for the sunset which was very beautiful.

Thornton Holiday Park was packed full with people, but we weren't camping, we had a cabin. This is very typical way New Zealanders spend their holidays...and we were only a few minutes walk from the beach which was long and largely undeveloped. Lots of people were there to fish...but we were there for for some R&R and fun.

One day we headed to Rotorua where we did a white water rafting trip down Kaituna Falls. It is a 7m waterfall which the raft (and hopefully everyone) rafts down. The trip was very well organised, very professional and a lot of fun. We then went to Polynesian Spa for a well earned rest in very, very hot spring water!

The rest of the time in Whakatane was spent relaxing, checking out Whakatane, going to Ohope Beach (beautiful), and just not doing much. We ended up in Whakatane for New Year's Eve and I can't say it was kicking off like it would in London, but enough that we had a good time.

Picton
On 2 January 2010, I flew down to Nelson and Jason and Caroline flew back to the UK via Phuket. I then had 7 days of R&R which involved walking, canoeing, reading and not doing very much. I was staying at Portage Hotel (backpacker part) so I would usually start the day with a latte on the balcony and then decide what I was going to do for the rest of the day. The weather was fab, so I also working hard on my tan.

Wellington
And so my 6-week trip was coming to an end...the last week was spent in Wellington saying goodbye to friends and family and generally trying to savour the last few days of freedom!

The trip was everything I hoped it would be and it was so good catching up with friends and particularly family. I was also lucky with the weather so the whole trip was something that I will remember for a long while (well...at least until my next trip to Austria skiing in March!).

More photos....

25 Sep-5 Oct 2009: Sharks Bay, Egypt

2009-10-08T18:36:00.014+01:00

Having been without a holiday since the US in June, I thought I had better take one before I started experiencing withdrawal symptoms! The choice was hard, but I decided on sun, scuba diving and slumming on a beach...thus the Red Sea.

I went through a UK company called OonasDivers (the one I went through also for my liveaboard 2 years ago...see the post from Nov 07) and booked myself on a 9-day scuba package to Umbi Diving Village, Sharks Bay (about 20mins from Sharm El Sheik airport and further away still from Sharm itself...thank god!). I invited my very good friend Sera and her very good friend Ria. And what a blast we had!!

Umbi Diving Village is fab_u_lous...lots of character and well run. The accommodation we chose was great (air con, bathroom, balcony, view) and the dive school very well run. My only criticism would be the quality of their dive gear (leaking tanks are not a good way to start any dive holiday!). But other than that the dive guides were fun and professional, the boats in very good running order, and never more than 4 divers to a guide. They were catering to everyone from complete beginner to those who had over 500 dives under their belts.

I can't say I saw anything larger (or should I say more dangerous) than a very large napoleon fish which was about half the size of a human. But the coral was amazing, the fish life opulent, and not that many boats around as it wasn't peak season. We chose the best time as the weather was about 35 during the day/25 during the night, low humidity, not busy and the water temp around 28 degrees. Couldn't ask for more.

I can't say we actually did much outside of diving (me), snorkelling, and lying on the beach (Sera, Ria and me), but that was fine as we had our duty free alcohol, our balcony and each other. We also socialised with other divers who were a great bunch to be around, and enjoyed the array of fab (if not limited) Egyptian food on offer.

Saying that, Ria and myself did an all-day boat trip out to Tiran Island...and unbeknown to us, the boat will filled with 28 Egyptians and 2 of us! We were the only westerners onboard and I think we were more a shock to them then they were to us!! It was funny though...particularly when we stopped for snorkelling as half of them couldn't swim at all, and so they wore life jackets (although only 3 were available on the whole boat) and the snorkelling guide had to have a life saving ring with him to drag them along!

All in all, we had a brilliant time and though I stayed on an extra 2 days after Sera/Ria went home, I could have stayed there for another week. Oh, well, I'll just have to go back next year!

More photos:

May/June 2009: Boston, New York and Canada (Ontario, Quebec)

2009-07-10T14:16:00.020+01:00

During the summer this year I had six weeks off to go and enjoy myself in the US and Canada. The first thing on my agenda was seeing my brother, sister-in-law and two nephews and niece in Boston, then I took a train down to New York for some serious fun (i.e. sightseeing and shopping), and then I joined up with a TrekAmerica trip that went to Niagara, Ontario, Quebec and back down to Maine. And here is a little of what I got up to...not everything of course, as that would be telling..... :)

Boston
The reason for going to Boston was two-fold...to see my brother, sister-in-law, nephews and niece, and to also have a look around Boston. My brother Geoff and his family live about 40mins outside of Boston but very near to Plum Island which has some very nice beaches. They also live close to Newberryport which is very idyllic...similar feel to English seaside villages. I loved catching up with my nephews and niece and to experience living in a house with 3 kids under the age of 9!

Boston is a lovely city...quite condense and lots of things to do. I would really recommend the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, going out to Harvard University campus (I was there the day after graduation so it was pretty dead), and the Bunker Hill monument. I have to admit, I even have a photo of me standing outside the bar Cheers!

New York
After spending a week in Boston I caught the train down to New York. I was staying in a hostel called Village Inn and it was situated in Greenwich/East Village part of NY. I was basically in the middle of Manhatten so I could either head up to Times Square area or down to Statue of Liberty.

Walking NY is extremely tiring...the first day I must have been walking for at least 8 hours straight and then gradually less and less as I saw more and more. Luckily the weather was on my side and didn't get rained on at all. I really recommend the following things in NY:

Seeing Statue of Liberty up close and personal (if you want to actually go into the statue you need to get a free pass BEFORE heading out on the boat)
Going up the top of the Rockerfeller Building rather than the Empire State Building (this way you get to take photos of NY with the ES Building in the background)
World Trade Centre museum and guided walk (well worth taking as the guide is usually someone who was there on the day)
Natural History Museum (we have all seen 'A Night at the Museum')
Crossing Brooklyn Bridge (take the metro to Brooklyn and walk back as the view is much better)
Walking in Central Park
Guggenheimer Museum
Shopping on 5th Avenue (it has to be done)

Trip into Canada
The TrekAmerica camping trip 'Canadian Pioneer' was brilliant - a fantastic trip with great people (we only got rained on for two evenings - both times we decided to get other accommodation other than our tents!). There was a mixture of nationalities and everyone was a similar age...no one too old or too young! The first stop was Niagara Falls (US side) - it was exhilerating going out on the Maid in the Mist boat but well worth doing that to get a close up.

Then we headed into Canada. First on our agenda was Toronto (just another city) and then Algonquin NP. If was full of mossies and it was only spring. We all went on a canoe trip and after two people capsized we sent out a rescue party to go and get help as we were on an island in the middle of the lake and the wind was up which meant there were waves and strong currents. They capsized but managed to get a rescue boat out to us!

After that adventure we then headed to Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. Ottawa felt like Wellington, NZ with its parliament, and Montreal and Quebec very French! I loved Montreal with its harbour, and cafes / restaurants (went to a restaurant called 'ONoir' where we had dinner in the pitch dark - very freaky but great fun). It is also home to Cirque du Soliel (I saw the latest show called 'Ovo'), and has gorgeous parks and amazing night life. I recommend Montral to everyone.

After spending a week in Canada (where we did see a moose or two, but no bears) we headed back out to the good ole US of A. We spent a day in Maine and the Acadia National Park where it rained for most of the time. We did get to cycle around for the day which really was good fun and very beautiful. Then we coasted down through Rhodes Island and then back to New York.

I spent another 5 days in NY seeing everything I didn't get around to (ie. Brooklyn Bridge, nearly seeing Obama in Times Square), then back to Boston for 4 days before heading back to London.

I loved every minute of the trip and would go back to New York again for sure. And of course I will have to visit my brother and his family again before my nephews and niece forget about me!

More photos...

Xmas / New Year 2008: Florida, US

2009-01-25T21:04:00.018Z

Organising a trip so far in advance (we started talking about this from February) made the anticipation even greater for the four of us (Lu, Chi, Teressa and myself)!

Orlando

We eventually got to Orlando after what seemed like days...massive queues at Heathrow (surprise, surprise), queues at US Immigration and then more queues to get our hire car!! Then we get to our hotel (we went on a timeshare package), found the Welcome Centre very unwelcoming, had to attend our first 'tour' (having someone try to hard-sell you a timeshare for c.4hrs) the next day at midday instead of 8am, and then had to change rooms as there were no windows! This will be the first and last time I will mention the words 'timeshare' and 'tour' as they are dirty words and ones I have banned forever from my vocab.....!

It wasn't until the second day that we got to Disney...(which was Christmas eve)...and it was packed by midday. We got a 3-day ticket to DisneyWorld which includes Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, MGM, waterparks, and Epcot. Everyone working at Magic Kingdom seemed to be on happy pills as they were always polite, helpful and smiling...sincerely I must admit. It is definitely worth experiencing the atmosphere, parades, shows, and feeling like you are a kid again (i.e. see the photo of 3 of us with Mickey - it had to be done!). That evening we went to Epcot park for dinner to help celebrate Lu's birthday (I won't mention how old she was turning :).

On our second day (Christmas day) we went to Blizzard Beach water park after swapping presents and going for a Xmas buffet-all-you-can-eat meal. At the water park there is a 60ft vertical (straight down) slide where people can get up to 50 miles/hr - heart stopping ride and one that I screamed all the way down! Then that evening we went to MGM Studios (don't leave until you do the Tower of Terror - a truly thrilling ride) and back to Magic Kingdom for the fire works in the evening...spectacular is the only word to use! Another not-to-be-missed thing to do at MGM is see the Dance of Lights - it is a set of buildings that are lit up and then the lights 'dance' to the music - see the photos below.

The third day was spent at Animal Kingdom (the safari and Everest ride were the main attractions here) where it was much more peaceful, laidback than the other parks.

It wasn't until the end of the trip that we came back to Orlando and did Universal, Seaworld, and some shopping! These are much more adult-like activities and I have to say my favourite rides are at Universal were the Hulk, and Spiderman (4D show where you are on a rollercoaster and experiencing a 3D show at the same time....).

As for the shopping....there are outlet malls all across Orlando...just choose your brand and there will be an outlet shop that caters to it!

Daytona

Our next destination was Daytona - the only things really to do here was visit the speedway (interesting) and hang out on the beach (which was too cold to swim in). You can drive onto this beach (10m/hr max) and park up where you want to sunbath and unload from the car (this is where lots of kids come for their spring break). But we needed to relax after a hectic 5 days so this was the place to do it!

Fort Lauderdale

We then headed south to Fort Lauderdale, but found we were actually staying outside of it. We only had a day here as half a day was spent doing another t... (I can't say it...). So Lu gathered her courage and drove us into Miami. Pleasant enough heading in as it was only 50mins and it gave us a chance to have a look at Little Havana and then South Beach, but chaotic at 5pm driving back out (10 lanes of traffic all up)!!!

Bahamas cruise

This is what we had been waiting for! R&R...and a big party thrown in to celebrate New Years. We got on as soon as we could (4hr before sailing), grabbed our deck chairs and started on the cocktails. Which led into more drinks over dinner and then more to celebrate New Years.

I can't say I much worse-for-wear come the next day as myself and Lu got off and hit Nassau at about 9am that morning. Unfortunately most things were closed (including Starbucks) so we did a really interesting 3hr tour around the island, visited the Atlantis Hotel (very big, very posh and has a fish tank that fits everything from sharks to small fish!) and then saw their New Year's Day parade (similar to Nottinghill Carnival) before getting back on the cruise ship, grabbing our deck chairs and starting on the cocktails....

The food was excellent on board (including breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, evening snack, after midnight snack...) and was all free - the only thing to pay for was alcohol. The passengers were mostly families and the only eye-candy were 18-year boys who were dragged onboard by their parents!!

The 'Florida keys'

After the cruise we hit the Florida Keys...beautiful coastline and one hell of a drive...and drive we did for most of the day. We did get to Key West for the sunset which is as spectacular as most people say it is. Very quaint area with lots of interesting architecture but we could literally only spend an hour or so here before heading back towards Orlando.

That drive back took most of the next day and then it was back to the theme parks, shopping and trying to pack everything into a 'who shrunk the suitcase' suitcase!

(The journey back to London was much less eventful and stressful except for having a shackled prisoner onboard with 4 burly armed guards looking after him - seen by every passenger before they boarded!).

Xmas / New Year 2008: Florida, US (photos)

2009-01-09T19:53:00.028Z

10-19 September 2008: Tuscany, Italy (Jason and Caroline's wedding)

2008-09-27T20:26:00.020+01:00

London
Not only was this holiday about my brother's wedding (Jason), but it was also the first Lind family reunion in 15 years! My parents and sister came out to London a week before and split themselves across myself, Jason and my other brother, Geoff's family. It seemed to work and we all had 'mini' reunions before flying out to Italy on Sunday 14 September.

Italy
The wedding venue was Villa Maiano - a beautiful villa (built in 1400) that is situated on a olive farm, about 10km from Florence. The Villa has 5 halls on the ground floor, splendidly furnished with original seventeenth and eighteenth century furniture and a panoramic garden overlooking all of Florence.

Our actual accommodation was in an old nun's convent next door - luckily the whole Lind family (11 adults, 3 children) could stay together in one apartment - though my 14 month old niece Grace ensured everyone was an early bird for the whole week! Three other apartments were booked for other family members of the bride, and friends.

The week in Tuscany was filled with catching up with each other (two sets of aunts and uncles were out from NZ and Australia), seeing some of Florence (and even Rome), going to a very exclusive spa resort (organised for the ladies), and generally helping with any wedding preparations that Jason and Caroline needed doing.

The sun was shining most days though the temperature had dipped from 35 degree the previous week to c.20 degrees while we were there. And of course the rain had to happen....on the wedding day...but thankfully only for the morning!

The wedding (Fri 19 September)
I was bridesmaid so had a few things to do like turning up for my hair appointment and makeup, getting ready and basically helping the other bridesmaids to ensure everything went smoothly for the bride! A few stress moments at the hairdressers and then when the makeup artist turned up late, but considering all, Caroline was fashionable late for her wedding, but only by about 15mins!

The wedding ceremony was held under a marque (i.e. as it was spitting slightly), and it went very smoothly. Everyone remembered their respective parts, (particularly the 'I will' part), there were three beautiful readings and also a singer. Once Jason and Caroline were official 'joined in matrimony', they went off for their photos and everyone else enjoyed the antipasta buffet and champagne. The sun also came out and the terrace (which also overlooks Florence) was put to good use.

The rest of the wedding was filled with a dinner (gorgeous food), speeches (well written), an improvised theatre production (extremely funny - though most of it was in Italian and French), cutting of the wedding cake (lots of fireworks), more speeches (letting the 'cat out of the bag' on a few occasions) and final the 'first dance'. Caroline and Jason did an amazing Latin American dance that they had practiced and was choreographed for them specially - I am sure the wedding photos won't do it justice! (Caroline changed into a figure-hugging red dress for this dance and then changed back into her wedding dress for the rest of the evening). [PICS TO COME]

After the 'first dance', there was dancing, drinking, eating, sitting around chatting, or cooling off outside on the Terrace - something for everyone. The party started to dissipate around midnight with the die-hard party animals staying on until 2am - when the DJ also packed up. Then some of the more awake (or should I say, less drunk) guests moved across to an apartment and continued drinking (and eating more of the wedding cake) until the early hours of the morning.

The wedding went perfectly, the bride and groom looked radiant, and everyone had a fantastic time. Thank you Jason to Caroline and I wish you the happiest of lives together!

More photos...

15-17 August 2008: Chelmsford (Caz's hen weekend at V Fest)

2008-08-18T20:44:00.017+01:00

My brother's fiancee - Caroline - decided to have her hen's night at the V Festival! What a fab way to celebrate only being free for another month....

We all arrived on the Friday evening at the campsite in Althorne (a little village 30mins from the V Festival) and set up home for the weekend. There were 10 of us in 3 tents and thankfully Lisa had organised a gas BBQ as well. We all managed to set up the tents (even though we were women I think we were extremely impressive) and then set about getting the barbie going and spending some quality time drinking!

Lisa had organised the whole weekend and though we were sorted for the night in terms of games, food and alcohol, our neighbours had a disco going with some very loud, very cheesy music blaring out of their tent! I kid you not. So like all good neighbours we joined them! If anything it was a chance to get warm and we even had our own male stripper...(enough said)!

The next morning was a leisurely one as we did not have to get to the festival until after midday. So on went the bacon, toast and tea. A taxi turned up and after the bride-to-be had preened herself enough we left the campground around 1pm.

By the time we got into the festival (and there some dramas with that!), had more to eat and had a drink in our hands, we were listening to Alanis Morrisette - then Duffy - then onto Will Young. Unfortunately we missed out on Estelle and the Sugababes...oh well....maybe next year. Along the way we met some aspiring male 'angels' who were trying on Caroline's wings for size - the competition was to see who could get the most gorgeous guy to wear them...some contenders but I am not sure there was any one clear winner....

It didn't rain all day and in fact the sun shone for most of it. By the time we got to the main act (The Muse) it was spitting but being crammed in amongst all the bodies actually kept you dry. The Muse were amazing and I know Caroline had a blast (you only need to see the photos to see that)!

We eventually got picked up again after the festival (lots of dramas with that!) and got returned to the campsite, though some a little worse for wear than others (no names mentioned...though you might be able to tell from the photo....).

Sunday was a day for sleeping off the previous night's excesses, but tents had to be packed up, people had to drive home and Caroline had to face up to the prospect of never being single again!! We had a pub lunch at the campground and Lisa recited an emotional poem and gave Caroline a collection of old photos for her to keep.

The sun was shining and we were a little sad to say goodbye to everyone...but we will all be able to relive the weekend come Caroline's wedding on 19 September.

Here are a few photos from the weekend...(I can tell you now that the incriminating photos are already deleted...)

6-18 July 2008 - Laos

2008-08-08T21:31:00.008+01:00

The moment we stepped foot in Laos the rain was never far away. It rained every afternoon and was torrential and sometimes stayed around for a good couple of hours (but thankfully this meant the temp was much cooler than Vietnam which was a relief to everyone). Keeping this in mind, and the fact we were driving across a mountain, we had to stop due to 3 very large landslides covering the road. The sort that can't be driven around, or over and being in Laos, it could be hours before it's cleared away. As Soon and the Laos guide were wondering what to do, they realised another Intrepid trip was coming up the other way. What luck we had in being able to 'swap' minivans on either side of the landslides. Of course that meant we had to get from one minivan to the other....

We put on our backpacks, grabbed any other bags and headed for the first landslide. Not only was it extremely muddy, it was raining still and the gradient was steep going up and then down the other side. Most of us needed help from each other due to the precarious nature of balancing 15+kg on your back and numerous other bags and walking up and down a very muddy slope...which 2 people found went up to your thigh if you stepped in the wrong place!! Lets just the next hotel had a large amount of very muddy clothes to wash (and the poor minivan driver had a very muddy minivan to wash). But everyone got through safely except for a flipflop still MIA!

Laos food is very much like Thai and a hell of a lot spicier than Vietnamese! We found that out the hard way on one of the nights as the cook forgot to put the chilli on the side and put it in the meal...there were a good few tears, and not many people could finish their meal. But the food is delicious and the coffee is as good as Vietnam.

Vang Vieng is famous for its tubing. In fact this town is only here for this one purpose only. You can either do the 4km in 1hr (just sitting on the river), or 6 hours if you want to do a tubing pub crawl! The pubs (and I use this term loosely) have people to pull you in from the river and try to get you before you float past them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The river is called Nam Song and as it is the 'rainy season' it is very high, very fast and very dirty. But oh so much fun!

We then headed of for another 8hr travel day to get to Luang Prabang. It is a lovely place to chill out – very much geared to westerners with its own coffee houses and western pubs. There is a lot of French architecture, a fab night market and gorgeous view point over the city if you want to climb over 300 steps We also got up at 5am to see the monks collecting alms – ie. their food for the day. Locals will come out and sit in the street waiting for them to pass by – about 60 of them in total.

After Luang we boarded our boat for a 2-day journey (and I do have to put my hand up and admit it was pretty boring) down the Mekong River to Pak Beng and then on to Huay Xai. In the evening, we docked at the small town of Pak Beng to spend the night (all electricity is turned off by about 11pm).

After this we had a border crossing back into Thailand which ended our trip!

I do like Laos, and it is very similar to Thailand. The scenery is very lush and absolutely stunning in Vang Vieng, but it is not as cheap as we imagined (except for Beer Lao which is usually the cheapest thing on any menu (660ml for 10,000 kip (c. US$1.20)). Most of us have also discovered the 'towers' you can buy that holds 3 litres of Beer Lao...amazing good value.

A collection of my favourite photos from Laos (top to bottom, left to right):
- Monks collecting their alms
- Preying on good fortune
- Even the young are taken to the temples to prey
- A monk and his 'Beer Laos' umbrella!
- Monks are allowed mobiles and obviously know how to take pictures with them!
- An evening by the Mekong River
- Bringing in the rice (a very dirty job)
- Collecting alms

22 June-5 July 2008 – Vietnam

2008-08-08T21:30:00.007+01:00

I love Vietnam....even with all its chaos and motorbikes! Vietnam is just so different from Cambodia. The Vietnamese food has to be my all time favourite – Pho noodles, fresh spring rolls, cau lao, white rose, Vietnamese pancakes, bbq and most other dishes are so delicious. I would come back to Vietnam just for the food. And as for the coffee...that definitely has to rival anything from the UK (maybe not NZ though...).

I really do like Saigon but crossing the street is literally taking your life into your hands. There are about 5m people in Vietnam, and 3m motorcycles (more like mopeds)...so when you cross the street there is never a naturally break in the traffic so you step out slowly and keep moving slowly and let the bikes dodge you (I'm not kidding!). You just need to watch out for the kamikaze bikers who want to run you down!!

We visited the War Remnants Museum which houses remnants from the Vietnam War. We also went and saw the Cu Chi tunnels that the Viet Cong created. They run for about 200km and go from the Cu Chi river to under the US army base...the US army never knew they were literally under them the whole time! The tunnels are very claustrophobic to crawl through and I am told that they have been expanded for 'Westerners'...so the real tunnels are much smaller! There are three levels, at 3 metres, 6 metres and 9 metres deep and they had bunkers which houses the hospital, kitchen etc. Once the US realised they existed, they first tried to throw down gasoline and set it alight...but all that did was harden the clay, then they put dogs down there to flush them out, but the VC used the US garbage (food, cigarettes, toilet paper etc) to put off the dogs' scent, then they tried to drown the VC and then lastly, the US bombed the hell out of them...which did collapse the tunnels.

We then went to Nga Trang....scuba diving, lazing about on the beach and drinking Saigon beer was about the only thing on the menu! After that we went to Hoi An which we all fall in love with.

It only has a population of 80,000 and it has amazingly well preserved architecture - there is a part of the town ('Old town') recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also probably the hottest part of Vietnam so far so most of us were sweating like crazy the minute you step outside the hotel. The best time of day is after 2pm when a thin layer of clouds come over and it stops the full glare of the sun. One afternoon we went for a bike ride into the countryside and it was lots of fun. We passed people just out and about doing their everyday work and when we cycled past kids they would all high-5 us.

It is also the place to get any tailoring done. Thanks to a friend's recommendation I found a fantastic tailor (two sisters) who I then recommended to everyone else in the group and they must have made about US$1,000 from us all. If anyone intends coming over the tailor's address is: Phoung Nam, 15 Phu Tran, Hoi An.

We spent 1 night in Hanoi before escaping to see Halong Bay on a day boat. Halong Bay is in north eastern part of Vietnam and very beautiful with its nearly 2,000 limestone islands. We stopped to go to one grotto called Thien Cung, but so did every other tourist!

I liked Saigon better than Hanoi...not sure why, but Saigon has a better vibe to it. Hanoi is very historic and we were staying in the Old Quarter where 100,000 people live in 100 square miles...the most populated area in the world and only consists of 36 streets that are named after the product they sell (e.g. fabric, electrics, spices...). I went to see the water puppets and it was very entertaining (I recommend everyone go and see them). I am sure the expertise needed to manage one of the puppets is more than I have! In fact only a few families in Vietnam teach the art and every puppeteer has to study under them.

A collection of my favourite photos from Vietnam (top to bottom, left to right):
- Sleeping and keeping cool
- A very friendly local
- Young boys entranced with us westerners!
- Cruising along Halong Bay
- A temple in the lake (Lake of the Restored Sword in Hanoi)
- Harvesting time
- I even did a double take at what is on her top!!
- A monk's homework fluttering in the breeze
- Du Tuc's tomb near to Hue
- A painting by a 14 year old...it says a lot!
- A sign I found in a park...give it a read...
- Nga Trang beach
- A sailor in Hoi An
- Very brightly coloured lanterns

9-21 June 2008 – Cambodia

2008-08-08T21:27:00.006+01:00

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Cambodia. The heat was hard to get used to, particularly in Siem Reap – but thankfully it was clouded over a lot of the time. The first thing we did was go to the Angkor Wat complex. We had two days to look around and what an amazing place. The temples are spread over 40 miles and built between the 8th and 13th centuries. We managed to get around to see 6 temples...all very different from each other and could well be built in different centuries. The Angkor Wat temple is the most fascinating but my favourite was the temple where some of Tomb Raider was filmed.

In fact, travelling through Cambodia now it is sometimes hard to imagine the atrocities that went on. But it did get very real when we arrived in Phenom Pehn and visited the Killing Fields and S-21, the infamous torture and interrogation centre the Khmer Rouge set up during the war.

Cambodia is still being developed for tourists and is still more a destination for backpackers rather than 3-5* travellers. It is dirtier, noisier and more chaotic than Vietnam, the food is pretty non-descript...lots of rice and instant noodles, and the roads atrocious in some parts. Got to say though, Angkor beer goes down very well and on the beach it was only 50c for half a pint, $2 for a cocktail (where they certainly don't measure out the alcohol) and around $4 for a seafood feast!

A collection of my favourite photos from Cambodia (top to bottom, left to right):
- The memorial at the Killing Fields contains the skulls from the mass graves
- A friendly face!
- Who can spot the tarantulas?
- Sleeping on the job (it is afternoon siesta time as it's so hot)
- Rain in paradise (usually in the afternoon and torrentially)
- The grisly rules of S-21 (the prison where Pol Pot put everyone he didn't like)
- The group
- Angkor Wat temple
- A young girl selling fans (the best buy I ever made!)
- Up to no good!
- Angkor Wat temple

25-27 April 2008 - Milan, Italy

2008-05-01T20:42:00.031+01:00

Vicky, a good friend of mine, finally decided to do the 'right' thing, and marry Conall. Preceding such a commitment, you have something called a 'hen's night' and therefore a weekend was planned for celebration/commiseration in Milan.

There were eleven of us - 8 friends and 3 mothers. We arrived in the afternoon and after finding out hotel we ventured into the city square where we were met by riot police and lots of people! We didn't know that we had arrived on a public holiday and the hot topic was the liberation of Italy by the US...because there were riot police about, I wasn't entirely sure it was a protest or celebration....

Milan has a lovely cathedral and shopping pricinct (where Posh Spice shops) and after spending the afternoon walking about in sunny 20 degree temps, we found an ice cream shop that was shouting at us to come and try it out! I forgot how nice it is to eat an ice cream in warm weather - will London ever be warm again!!??

That night was the first night of 'celebration' and we ended up in a restaurant called Joia, dressed like angels (literally)!

The meal was an experience and a half...very 'out there' and 'spiritual'....

There were six courses, and the most memorable one for me was

the soup...you had 3 small glasses of soup, you ate half of the middle one, mixed in the one from the left, ate half that again, and then added in the right one. Amazing how the taste changed with each addition.

Two hours later we were absolutely stuffed - even though they were 6 small courses, over 2 hours it all added up (as did the bill...along the lines of about €880)!. But we didn't mind paying as it was worth it for the experience, the absolutely delicious food and supurb service.

The next day we all got on the hop on-hop off bus which took us around Milan. Milan seemed to be just another European city - there is the cathedral, the church, the castle and the expensive shops, but not much more....except of course, the 'Last Supper' painting. Vicky - the art history buff she is - gave us a great 'lecture' on the painting and that certainly helped with the memory! (trying to think back to the Di Vinci Code...)

That night there were lots of festivities, and thankfully the Italian waiters were good sports...enough said! Here is a picture that sums it all up....

The next day we headed home....some great memories to take away, and hopefully the 'bride-to-be' enjoyed it as much as everyone else did.

29 Feb-3 March 2008 – Altenmarkt, Austria (skiing trip 2)

2008-03-08T02:28:00.015Z

Some of us decided to head back to Altenmarkt for another weekend of skiing (myself, Carla and Terreis). Very much like last time, but the weather was warmer and there was less snow about (the warmest any local has ever experienced in February).

Saying that, the field was closed for two afternoons due to high winds (talk about being blown down the mountain) and we also had wet weather and snow one night. We spent the afternoons shopping (well Carla and Terreis did) and eating and drinking.

On the Friday night we went out night clubbing and as C and T aren't the young bunnies they once were, they ended up sleeping the whole next day to get rid of their hang overs! I was on the skifield skiing my heart out - the weather wasn't too nice, but the snow was good and there were not many people about.

The consolation prize was the last day when the sun was shining very brightly and we had a fantastic day skiing over in Flachau - another ski field but in the same general area. This ski field was wider and not as steep as Zauchensee, but was it busy! Every man, woman, child and dog was on the ski field and it took 4 chairlifts to get to the top of the mountain. At least in Zauchensee it was at most two.

At Flachau there was great, OK and just plain ugly snow conditions as the sun was quite hot and there were lots of people about. Talk about quad-burn on the last run down - it was a combination of moguls and slush! But we all had fun and I came back injury-free. We are already thinking about next year's trip....

17-20 January 2008 – Altenmarkt, Austria (skiing)

2008-01-21T23:09:00.003Z

There were 16 of us in total meeting up in Altenmarkt (45mins from Salzburg airport) for a long weekend skiing. Seven of us were coming from the London Credit Suisse presentation team, and nine from the Frankfurt Deutsche Bank presentation team (a big thanks to Wolfgang, Alex and Vesko for organising this).

Some of us from London were flying in on little sleep – for me I had no sleep as the flight was at 6.30am and I went straight from work to the airport. It meant that when we got to the ski resort, we dumped our stuff at the very lovely apartment we were staying at, got the shuttle bus to the ski slope, got our hire gear and pass and skied for the afternoon.

The skifield (Zauchensee) was great – lots of runs to choose from and though it was snowing, there was no wind and little people about. The runs were mostly intermediate with some black runs thrown in. With it snowing there was lots of powder and we had reasonably good visibility. We skied the whole afternoon and then got the shuttle bus back to Altenmarkt (only 20mins away).

The ‘Germans’ were coming by train and didn’t get there till that evening. When they turned up we got ready and headed out to dinner with them. I was literally falling asleep at the table by 10pm, so I excused myself and went to bed. Some stayed out a little later but most of the us from CS were in bed by midnight. The Frankfurt guys were out later, but they had slept the previous night!

And then it all went wrong…

…The next morning I was skiing along happily (and doing pretty well considering I hadn't skiied for two years) when I stupidly got my pole in the way of a ski and took a tumble. Not a bad fall in any way, shape or form, but I did fall awkwardly and ended up tearing my left calf muscle. By the time I got down the slope I couldn’t even clench my calf muscle without it screaming in pain! I ended up going to the hospital and after an ultrasound came back negative on a haematoma (bleeding in the muscle), I limped out with painkillers and 1-2 weeks of no activity ahead of me.

Though I couldn’t ski, I still managed to hobble around and keep occupied. There were others who kept me company as they were either injured or tired so I wasn’t completely bored. Still managed to enjoy meals out, go to a nightclub and have fun with everyone. I just couldn’t walk very fast, or put any weight on my calf muscle.

In fact my injury kept me from making a very unwise decision on the Saturday night – to go down a very long, steep and icy slope that had no lighting except for the moon, on the back of a sled with people who had been drinking since 8pm that night! Let’s just say that there were a few more people not skiing the next day!

Being injured was not the scenario I had in mind for the long weekend but I did get some fresh air (except for smoking in public places which is allowed in Austria), met some fab people and had a good laugh.

24 Dec-3 January 2008 – Lanzarote, Canary Islands

2008-01-05T22:25:00.000Z

The three of us decided that a good way to celebrate Xmas and the New Year was to surf in the Canary Islands…yes it is winter, but it had to be warmer than the UK!

We flew in on Xmas Eve to a small sleeping town called Famara – on the north coast of Lanzarote – the best surfing location on the island (and far enough way from Port del Carmen)!

I flew in with Sera (my travelling buddy from Morocco and good friend), and we were picked up by her pal Marcel who flew in earlier than us. He hired a car, did the shopping and generally potted around until we got there. As it was Xmas Day the following day, we did the shopping on the basis that nothing was going to be open – I am glad we did as nothing was open!

Xmas Day was spent not doing much. Lanzarote is a very windy island so sunbathing on the beach is not always the ideal thing. It wasn’t particularly warm on Xmas Day and the wind was blowing – and without a balcony we had no option but to eat and drink the day away. Saying that we did manage to do a BBQ meal for dinner – albeit cooked on the pavement outside the apartment! Thanks to Marcel for getting an early flight so he could go food shopping while the shops were open...otherwise we would have starved!

The next day was my first day of surf school (Surf School Lanzarote)! I had booked for 5 days of surf school, Sera for 2 days and Marcel none as he had been surfing since he was 8 years old. The day would start at 10.30am, do a warm up, and hit the water until 1pm when we got lunch. There would normally be a talk about things such as surf board design, rips, waves etc over lunch, before heading back into the water until 4pm. I found the first few days exhausting as my muscles got used to the workout and I got a bit more proficient on the surfboard. It also didn’t help that I had picked up the cold that was going around London (even the surf instructors were struck down with it).

By the end of the course I was on a hardboard vs. a softboard (more buoyant, larger and easier to learn on), and was standing up on most waves I caught. Surfing is lots of fun and you get such a blast when you get a good wave, stand up quickly, feel completely balanced standing on the board and you surf the whole way into the beach without falling off! It is tiring though, and all three of us were in bed around 9.30pm most nights.

We did pluck up the energy to celebrate New Years in Famara at a little bar called ‘Lenny’s’. About 20 of us were there celebrating and after demolishing a wide range of alcohol, Sera, Marcel and myself called it a night at about 2.30am. We had thought about spending the night in Port del Carmen – but I am glad we stayed put as our apartment was a block up from the bar (ie stumbling distance)!

The weather over the 10 days was sunny, but the more the wind blew, the colder it was (we were wearing a 3m full wetsuit so it could have been much colder). Thankfully the surf was pretty good on most of the days – though some days were better than others. And I have come back with a tan – if anything to cover the many bruises I picked up! On top of that, I nearly broke my big toe, my sinuses became blocked up, I had the cold the whole way through, and my fingertips / palms were shredded after hauling the beginner softboard to and from the beach over the first few days.

But I am not complaining – I had a fab time away with Sera and Marcel, I learnt lots about surfing (and improved my surfing lots), and was glad to be somewhere warm for Xmas/New Year. And we even did a bit of site seeing on the island with the hire car we had.

17-24 November 2007 – Red Sea, Egypt

2007-12-08T02:13:00.000Z

Oh what a trip! Six nights on a boat, on the Red Sea scuba diving my little heart out.

I had always wanted to do a ‘live-aboard’ trip but had always ended up doing land-based trips. Not this time. I booked myself on a trip to Egypt through a dive company in the UK (http://www.oonasdivers.com/) and picked a trip around the northern Red Sea. It was definitely the right choice.

I flew into Sharm el Sheikh and immediately joined the boat. We were moored for the night but the next morning we took off. The boat (M.Y. Juliet) was well kitted out…the cabins were pretty good and I got one to myself with bathroom as well. Five cabins all up, with a bigger one on the main deck that costs a bit more. The ‘lounge’ was very comfortable and that’s where we ate as well. As for the main decks, they all had large cushions everywhere so wherever the sun was shining, you could lay out and soak it up.

The other divers consisted of nine people: three Spaniards and the rest from the UK (the five from the UK were from the same dive club). It didn’t matter that I went by myself as we were all there for one thing…diving.

On the Sunday we got up at a leisurely time of 8am and had our first dive at 10am. It was an easy one as everyone was still a bit tired and it was the first dive of the week. The water throughout the time was around 26-27 degrees, and with the sun out I got myself quite a tan. Saying that, it was very windy in some places which bought the temperature down somewhat.

Our days usually began at a 6am wakeup call, a dive at 7am, breakfast at 9am, lazing around until about 10.30am, another dive, lunch, lazing around until about 2pm, our third dive, afternoon tea, and then our last (night) dive around 6pm. The sun set each day about 4.30pm so it was dark by 5.30pm. Dinner was about 8pm and most of us were soundly tucked up in bed by 9.30pm! Scuba diving is exhausting work!

Our local dive guide Wael was experienced and with his knowledge and the captains, we got to see a whole lot of hammerhead sharks, dolphins, turtles, string rays and fish/coral. None of us left disappointed – particularly when we were scuba diving and were visited by a pod of 13-14 dolphins who played around with us for about 5mins. Amazing mammals. And the hammerhead sharks…they kept their distance but still near enough for us to appreciate the size of them (c.2.5 metres)! We also spied a white tip reef shark on the last day.

The highlights of the trip include:

Diving with a pod of dolphins
Seeing the hammerhead sharks (about 11 in total over the 6 days)
Spying the white tip reef shark
Coming across a massive turtle (about half my body size) while doing a night dive on the Thistlegorm wreck (which was being chased by about 6 divers with their flashing cameras)
Diving on the Thistlegorm wreck was truly fantastic – it was a WWII steam freighter and sank in 1941 with all its cargo…which meant we got to see jeeps, trucks, ammunition, rifles motorcycles and many more things. We got to dive in and around it and because work was being done on it, rumours were around that it was closed. Lucky for us that it was open on the day we visited it and only three other boats in the vicinity. Usually in peak season you could have up to 20 boats parked up!!

I had such a good time and would definitely recommend the boat and doing a live-aboard – it gets you away from the day-trippers and gives you far more flexibility.

10-14 October 2007 - Poland

2007-10-15T19:43:00.000+01:00

Krakow

Krakow is a fantastic town...right from the first moment when we (me and Sheree who is another of the bride's friends) got off the train from the airport. It was such character and the historical buildings are wonderful. We visited the 'old town' which were were actually staying in (thanks to my sis for the Green Hostel recommendation) and the square (the oldest one of this size in Europe) which is really busy with tourists and locals.

We ended up having a dinner of dumplings which is very traditional in Poland. Can't say we stayed up very late but did go and have a traditional Polish beer called Tyskie - a very light beer and one I may actually try to find in the many Polish shops we have in London now.

We had arrived in the late afternoon and by sunset were were shivering away as the night temps for our stay in Poland was around zero at night and about 9 degrees during the day. I can still feel the cold! Thankfully I had my fleece with me but could have still done with another layer.

Aushwitz/Birkenau

On the second day we got up (very) early and got a bus to Aushwitz and Birkenau concentration camps (costing all of 14zl return...which is a couple of pounds). It was a 90 minute journey time but between looking at the passing scenery and nodding off, the time went quite quickly. We got there just in time to join the English tour and over the next four hours we got to see, to some extent, the misery and horror that prisoners went through. There were some bits worse than others, especially when we saw the initial movie of the camp being liberated and the actual shoes, hair, glasses and clothes that the Nazis horded in warehouses.

What took me by surprise was the that the buildings at Aushwitz were made of brick and it looks more like a modern day prison than a concentration camp...I was expecting huts made of wood or something similar. Birkenau was more primitive with wooden huts (or what I would call barns) which was really barbarically basic. I have no idea how they could have survived a winter with no heating, barely any food, hard labour and one layer of clothes.

The guide ended the tour at Birkenau which housed most of the prisoners and I found that his grandfather had been held in the camp. It makes you realise that this can't simply be written down in history books and left as is, but it should continually highlighted as an example of what humans can do to each other and ensure it doesn't happen again (which of course it has in places like Croatia/Bosnia).

After the tour we headed back to Krakow and by the time we had found somewhere to have dinner and a coffee to warm up, we headed to bed for another early wakeup to see Wawel Hill - there is a castle and cathedral worth seeing there - and to get our train to Warsaw.

Warsaw

The train to Warsaw was on time and took us just over 2.5hrs. We got tickets the day before and it was actually cheaper to buy them at the train station than over the internet (which you can do). Warsaw was wet and cold when we got there but what warmed up us instantly was the beautiful hotel we were booked into (Le Royal Meridian Bristol). It is placed right by the 'old town' so we didn't have to go far to see some of the sites in Warsaw. The old part was actually rebuilt after WWII (as it was completely bombed out) and the Polish demolished a town in Germany to get the necessary material!

We didn't do much as it was wet and very cold so went down to the hotel bar for a couple of (very expensive) drinks and meet up with Ewa (bride), John (groom) and some of the groom's family. It wasn't a late night as we had the wedding the next day and the beers were just too expensive!!!

The wedding (Warsaw)

We woke on Saturday to see the sun shining but the temperature wasn't going to be hitting double figures as there was a bitterly cold wind blowing. We did go for a wonder into the old town again and visit a palace, but more to find a decent coffee than anything else. We needed to be ready for 1.30pm so after getting back and dressing, we were heralded into waiting taxis for the ride to St Anne's church. It is a stunning church, and is one of Poland's most notable ones.

The service (and Catholic mass) was done in Polish and though John is English he knew what was basically being said and what he was signing his name to!!! It was about 1hr and there were some photographs taken afterwards but it was so cold outside that we went back to the hotel. Some of us then headed to the 'local' bar for some more decently priced alcohol and the soccer for the blokes. We got back to the hotel for 7pm where the reception was being held.

Two thirds of the guests were Polish and the rest of us English but that didn't stop us socialising with each other as there were a few who understood English and translated. Ewa and John had 2 or 3 'English' people sitting at each table so we could get to meet some of the Polish wedding guests, and frankly, after the music began, everyone was up and moving around anyway.

It was such a fun evening, and with shots of Polish vodka to keep everyone going all of us made it till midnight when the wedding cake was cut. As to after that, some of it is clear and some of it is not so clear. I know I got to bed about 4am and think I was one of the last. The Poles certainly know how to party, and they certainly know how to drink vodka! I think the last of the guests left about 5am...and I don't think one English person had lasted the distance!!

The next morning, with many people feeling sorry for themselves, we checked out of the hotel, saw off the Polish contingent who were driving back to their homes, and headed to the airport for the flight home.

I will certainly go back to Poland (I think I invited myself to someone else's wedding during last night), and found the Polish to be very friendly and welcoming. There is certainly more to be seen in Poland!

28-30 September 2007 - Devon, England (surfing)

2007-10-02T13:49:00.000+01:00

Myself, and friends Sera and Tina decided to do a learn-to-surf weekend down in Croyde, North Devon (which came with all the 'oh my god, you're crazy, you'll freeze' ringing in our ears). Come 5pm Friday afternoon I was rearing to get out of London and head towards the coast, but getting there was another matter entirely.

After 7 hours we did eventually got to Croyde, but that was after idling for about 1.5hrs after an accident on the motorway. Half an hour later we passed another accident but this time we got through pretty quickly. It did mean we couldn't enjoy the scenery as it was about 12.30am when we got to our rented cottage 'Chapel Farm Guest House'.

I had looked up the weather forecast and it 'promised' sunshine and a very 'warm' 18 degrees. Unfortunately it didn't quite turn out that way and it was a bit grey and overcast when we got up the next morning.

After breakfast we turned up at the surfing school and got kitted out in wetsuits and booties. We then got a lesson in the sandpit which showed us the necessary basics to standing up on a surfboard. Pretty easy on land....not so easy on the water! We had booked lessons for the whole weekend, which meant 2hrs in the morning and afternoon on both the Saturday and Sunday.

Amazingly the water was warm and with a 7mm full wetsuit on, we were all pretty toasty while (trying to) surfing the waves. It really wasn't as easy as it appears, and I have a new found respect for surfers as it is a hard workout and by the end of the first lesson on Sat morning we were all feeling pretty tired. You literally have to heave yourself onto the surfboard, start paddling like crazy to catch the wave, push yourself up to a standing position and then try to stay on! Then you have to drag yourself back out into the surf, avoid other surfers and crashing waves, and do it all over again...and again...and again.

For us beginners, we also had to deal with swallowing water, having water rushing up our noses when doing a nose dive because your weight is in the wrong position, and also the constant face plants and belly flops when you fall off the board. All the instructors were patient and I can still hear their 'paddle faster' screams as we were trying to catch the waves! They are all surfers themselves and know what they are talking about. The school we went through has a 1:6 ratio, so we all got individual attention which helps a lot.

As part of the surfing package we got lunch includes which was delicious. In fact, I would go back to Croyde for just the food as all the meals we got over the weekend were really tasty and reasonably priced.

After the Saturday afternoon lesson, we were so tired that we headed back to our cottage, had showers, a wine or beer, and dragged ourselves out for dinner. It didn't help that Croyde was packed and the restaurants/bars were packed (all 3 of them), but we eventually sat down for a meal and then dragged ourselves back to the cottage and ended up going to bed...very early....(far too embarrassed to say what time!)

The next day we woke up with very achy muscles and wondered how on earth we were going to surf that morning. It was slightly colder as well and still grey and overcast. We warmed up pretty quickly after literally dragging on wet wetsuits inch by inch...very ungraceful getting into them and out of them, and very unforgiving on the figure! But we got there in the end and headed towards the beach for a lesson...this time the three of us had an instructor to ourselves. We were all able to catch the waves and get up on the board so we were improving...gradually! That afternoon we had another lesson but the water was much more flat and we were getting cold towards the end.

We had such a great time in Croyde (which is a lovely little village), and I would recommend surfing to anyone...it's such a buzz when you catch the wave and manage to stand up and stay up. If you do go to Croyde, the Surfing Croyde Bay surfing school is a great school to go through. We may well have been bitten by the 'surfing bug' as myself and Sera are already trying to organise a surfing week in Portugal over Xmas and New Year!

24-27 August 2007 - Dorset, England (walking)

2007-08-25T16:11:00.000+01:00

The six of us (Allison, Tina, Jane, Eloise, Tom - and me behind the camera) all arrived at Lulworth on the Friday, with some of us driving down, and the rest getting the train. The day was beautiful and it was about mid afternoon when we all congregated at the ‘local’ (I know, it didn’t take us long to find the nearest pub!). But we had a valid reason…the YHA didn’t open it’s doors until 5pm.

Sitting at the pub we decided on the route we were to walk the next day and also organised a taxi to get us there as we would walk back from Weymouth to Lulworth (just a mere 10 miles, and a few hills). We did go for a small walk that afternoon and of course treated ourselves to a delicious ice cream (the first of many).

We couldn’t ask for better weather on the Saturday. Walking 10 miles in rain and wind would not have been fun, so the fact that we had sun the whole time was miraculous. The first part of the walk was pretty reasonable, one or two hilly parts but generally fine. It was after lunch that the fun began – and of course the big a**e hills came at the end of the day when we were already tired and sweaty!

Got to say though, between the huffing and puffing we had some fantastic views, gorgeous weather and had a good laugh or ten along the way. It is a beautiful part of the country and reminds me a little of New Zealand.

After a shower, change of clothes, and wine or two, we headed back to the local for dinner (Lulworth was full with day trippers and anything near the main hub of Lulworth, ie the cove, was expensive and packed…and we were too tired to walk far). A delicious meal, cold beer, and good company made the night pass very quickly. But most of us were in bed before midnight as the next day we were going on another (even hillier) 7 mile walk from Kemmeridge back to Lulworth (ie headed out north from Lulworth one day, and south the next).

Again the weather gods smiled on us and apart from some wind (which was cool and a welcome relief at times), we had another gorgeous day….to climb one hill, after another, after another….and the scramble down the other side wasn’t anything to scoff at either!

But we had a good time, and we even stopped off at a beach where 3 adventurous people jumped in and went for a swim (the fact I put a toe in and grimaced, was enough to tell me that it was far too cold to take a dip)! Instead, I had the very necessary ice cream back in Lulworth to cool down.

We headed back to the YHA and changed, and some of us drove to the nearest town 20mins away to get out cash as there are no ATMs in Lulworth and most places only accepted cash. But we made it back in time to sink a few wines before heading back to…yes you guessed it…the local!

On the Monday we were all a bit tired so we packed up and had a leisurely day off from walking. Some of us drove back to London (in very good time since it was a Bank holiday and the Nottinghill Carnival), and others took the train back.

I really do recommend these walks, and you don’t need to be super fit to do them, but a bit of perseverance and good lungs will help! (and of course the goodwill of the weather gods).

A big thanks to Jane who organised it all, and volunteered to drive some of us down and back.

2-17 June 2007 - Morocco

2007-06-20T01:47:00.000+01:00

I arrived in Casablanca a day earlier than the 2-week Exodus trip and met up with the two people I was travelling with – Anne and Sera. We hit the markets in Casablanca and found that it wasn’t as cheap as we thought. And as for haggling…let’s just say to get a good bargain you started at half the price given, and work up slightly from there. On the Sunday we met the rest of the people we were going to be travelling with – 10 Americans (very nice ones as well), 5 Brits, 3 Aussies and 2 Kiwis.

The ages were from 24 up to 60, with about half male and half female. Our local guide Larcen was lovely and as he spoke Berber, French, English, Arabic, some Portuguese, Italian and little bits of other languages, we knew we would be in good hands. What amazed me was that 95% of the population here are Berbers (indigenous) with 5% Arab and nearly everyone in Morocco speaks French. If only I could remember my school-French!

We were in Morocco just before its hottest time…so we were bathed in temps around 30 degrees+ most days, though in the Sahara it was about 45 degrees! They didn’t seem to have aircon working properly in most of the places we were staying so there were some very restless nights and meant we were ready to get out of bed when the sun rose every morning (well...a slight exaggeration)! Because of the season, there weren’t a lot of other tourists about so in some places, especially the Atlas mountains and Sahara desert, we had the place to ourselves.

As for the sights in Morocco here are my favs:

Walking through the medina (market place) in Fes – massive area with lots of side alleys and we were told to stay close as getting lost was a surety! It is in fact the largest medina in the world. It is confusing, immense, noisy, smelly, hot and intense – an amazing experience!
Hassan II mosque in Casablanca – the third largest mosque in North Africa. Absolutely stunning.
Volubilis – the largest and best preserved Roman ruins in Morocco. The mosaics are amazing and very well preserved.
Staying at Merzouga (Sahara desert) where we climbed the Erg Chebbi dunes for sunrise. The dunes are a staging post for the Paris-Dakar Rally. We also had a 2hr camel ride into the desert where we spent the night under the stars at a Bedouin camp. (One of the guys got stung by a scorpion here…not a poisonous one, but he was in a lot of pain most of the night).
Todra Gorge in the Atlas mountains – awe-inspiring with thousand-foot high vertical walls. We went for a 5 hour walk from 1600m to 2000m (very hot, but not as hard as you might imagine). There is a massive contrast to the barrenness of the mountains and then coming down to Todra gorge where it is basically an oasis…green with lots of date palms and wheat fields. Their irrigation system is simple, but very effective and everyone has access to the water.
Spending 2 nights at a gite – local and basic accommodation in the High Atlas mountains. A great time to unwind and a highlight was going for a walk around the fields and watching people harvesting them. Girls were hauling loads of wheat and grass up hills and were a lot fitter than I am! In fact harvest time is the best time to come here for.

Everyone in the group got on amazingly well, and it has to be one of the best groups of people I’ve travelled with. I would definitely recommend this trip if you don’t have much time and want to see it all. Otherwise Morocco would be easy to travel around independently. Got to say though, two thirds of the group came down with a dodgy stomach during the trip….no one is quite sure what it was as it was like a domino effect - ie went from one person to the next over a course of about 5 days. Luckily I escaped the worst of it!

Morocco is so diverse in regards to landscape, people and history! The food is very tasty, though, it usually consisted of only 3 choices…cous cous, tagine, and omelette….for lunch and dinner!Once we got to the main cities like Casablanca and Marrakesh, there was more on the menu, but not much! And as for alcohol...barely saw any of it. Remember that nearly the whole population is Muslim.....

I really enjoyed my time here and would definitely come back to Casablanca for a long-weekend of shopping, and a week of hiking in the Atlas mountains.

2-17 June 2007 - Photos from Morocco

2007-06-19T14:40:00.000+01:00

Door knockers to the King's palace!

A good ole gossip!

Amazing tile work

How to keep the neighbours out!

Couple strolling through Casablanca

Hustle and bustle of a medina (market place) at Meknes

Hassan II mosque in Casablanca

Standing guard outside the tomb of a Moroccan king

The sprawling medina of Fes

6-11 April 2007 - Brisbane, Australia

2007-04-18T05:45:00.000+01:00

It could be a good couple of years before I see my little sister Penny again, so I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone…see my sister in Brisbane, and actually visit Australia for the first time (yup...flown over Australia many times but have never visited)!

The flight got me into Brisbane airport at 11pm on Easter Friday and Penny (or should I say Penelope) was there waiting for me (iPOD plugged into her ears of course). We had a quick catch up but by 12.30am both of us were ready for bed.

Saturday had a leisurely start to it, and after Penny showed me her lab and all the serious looking equipment and chemicals in it (no playing allowed), we headed into Brisbane city. There I met Mike (her boyfriend) and we had lunch, went to the art gallery, a museum and generally mooched around for the afternoon. Of course a good way to see a place is by boat, so we got the ferry – we spent the next 1.5hrs cruising the river and freezing our butts off as it was windy and the sun was setting. All I can say is there were lots and lots of apartments and office buildings along the waterfront.

After the cruise we headed to a Japanese restaurant to eat, and to warm up. Dinner was delicious and would have been a lovely evening if on the next table there wasn’t a small boy watching a DVD on his DVD player (I kid you not). Obviously his parents either have nothing to talk to him about, he doesn't talk, or he has Attention Deficit Syndrome!

We went back to Mike’s place where we stayed the night and caught a taxi back to my sister’s place so we could get a bus out to Lone Pine Sanctuary. It is the world's first and largest koala sanctuary, with over 130 koalas. So yes, I got to hold a koala, feed kangaroos and have a very pleasant time viewing dingoes, kookaburras, wombats…all things Australian!

We spent the afternoon there and that night my sister kindly made dinner and we chatted and watched telly. A nice way to unwind and relax as we had to get up early for the Bushwacker's eco tour we were booked on for the next day.

We had to meet the van at 7.20am, and the first stop on the tour was a place called the ‘Natural Arch’. We were driving up to Springbrook Mountain, and this waterfall/arch was on the way. We were basically in the rainforest and you could notice the drop in temperature. Our guide was in a fleece and beanie even before we left on the tour!! After some more driving we got to a track through the rainforest that should have taken us 45mins, but because there was a couple with a 5 month old baby on the trip, and the woman was wearing a skirt and inappropriate footwear, it took us 1hr15mins, which happened to coincide with the rain. So yes, we got very wet and didn’t get lunch until 2pm!

It was great walking through the rainforest, hearing the birds, taking in the atmosphere, and getting a botany lesson or two! We didn’t see any wildlife (other than hearing birds) but near to the Natural Arch we did see a red-bellied black snake on the side of a bank…my first venomous snake!

After lunch we basically headed back to Brisbane, but did stop at a glowworm cave and fed Rosalie birds which was great fun. We also hit the local fudge shop (yum). Four people left the trip in the afternoon as they were spending the night in the forest…3 of them were Korean and didn’t speak a word of English to us, so I felt sorry for the Italian girl who was the only other person doing it.

By the time we got home, had something to eat, drank a wine or two, we were both ready to crash.

Tuesday was my last day so we had a late start to the day and headed into town to do some shopping and see a movie ("300" - very violent). Afterwards we met Mike and went out for dinner.

All in all I had a fab time and was really glad I made the effort to see my sister. I wouldn’t want to live in Brisbane but its climate while I was there was great…26/27 during the day and 17/18 at night. I also love not having to wear a coat or hoodie all the time and being able to sit in restaurants/bars that are opened up onto the footpath.

6-11 April 2007: Photos from Brisbane, Australia

2007-04-16T22:52:00.000+01:00

Me and my little sister!

Walking under a waterfall in the rainforests on Springbrook Mountain

Penny feeding the Rosalie birds

Brisbane city by ferry

Red-bellied black snake...can kill you in an hour

Kookaburra

Feeding the local wildlife

Isn't he just adorable?

Looks pretty uncomfortable to me!

Wombats are just plain weird looking animals....

Dec/Jan 2007 - New Years at Marlborough Sounds

2007-01-02T22:23:00.000Z

28 December 2006 - 2 January 2007

What a wonderful way to spend 5 days...chilling out in the Marlborough Sounds. I had organised a 5-day trip to Lochmara Bay in Marlborough Sounds and invited two friends and my mother along with me. Basically a girls-only break in the sunshine with lots of alcohol and good food! We were staying at a place called Lochmara Lodge which is about 20mins boat ride from Picton (top of the South Island). Luckily the ferry journey from Wellington was in good conditions and sunshine (as was the water taxi ride from Picton to the lodge).

The very first things we did was take a walk around the lodge...they have about 40 hammocks strewn around the massive property and you just need to figure out which has the best sunshine and breeze (or not). It was sometimes the hardest decision of the day as to which hammock to snooze in!

By the time we had a look around and familiarised ourselves with area, it was time to open the first bottle of wine (of 14) that we had bought with us. They don't sell food and alcohol here so we had to bring all our food and drink with us (other than for the evening meal which we ordered every night). After a few bottles of wine and a very tasty dinner, it was time for (what would become our ritual), evening spa. I think our 'arrrhs' and 'oohs' were heard all over the lodge as the spa has a balcony looking over the water and the water was very warm! I think we lasted 20mins before we became overheated and had to beat a hasty retreat back to the lodge. By the time we had showered and dressed, I think we were very much ready for bed.

The next day we sat in the sun, read, went kayaking, snoozed in hammocks, went for walks, ate, drank and just lazed about. Not a very active day, but we were only just starting to unwind. The weather was fantastic but there were times when the sun was hidden by the clouds and it got a bit chilly. This also happened at night when the sun set and the wind came up. But with the open fire and nightly spa we didn't feel the cold too much.

The third day was definitely more active with Deirdre, Cheryl and myself going out for a 6hr walk from Anikawa back to the lodge along the Queen Charlotte Track. We got dropped off by the boat and then spent the day walking back. We had lots of sun and the track was pretty flat and easy...except for a steep climb up to a 450m lookout point. From here we had 360 views of the Marlborough Sounds...worth every bead of sweat (though Deirdre thinks otherwise)!

That night was New Year's Eve so out came more bottles of wine mixed with games of patanque, laughter, good conversation and a skinny dip by the very adventurous lodge staff! A great way to see in the new year.

No hangover the next day so Cheryl and myself spent the morning kayaking and then we all spent the day doing absolutely nothing other than reading. playing games, chatting, and snoozing in the very comfortable hammocks. Bliss. That night we had lamb shank for dinner and then polished off the last bottles of wine. With the spa thrown in as well, we were pretty knackered from the night before and I think we all had a good nights sleep before our departure the next morning.

After all the relaxation, food and rest, we were ready to face the world again. That was before we realised we would be sailing back into Wellington with 5 knot weather! By the time we had docked, I think half the people on the ferry were throwing up or at least feeling there were about to! We also had 11 degree cold southerlies blowing so the holiday felt like a dim memory by the time we all got home.

But I think we can all say we had a great time unwinding, relaxing and gathering the necessary energy to tackle the new year.

Dec/Jan 2007 - Photos from New Year

2007-01-02T20:00:00.000Z

A view of Marlborough Sounds

Boat house at Lochmara Lodge

We had decided that I would have the boat, Cheryl would have the owner and Dierdre would have the owner's money...there's nothing like sharing!

The owner's daughter acting as the 'motor'!

Mum having a good laugh as I take ANOTHER photo

Me with the Punga people (see the Lochmara website for more details)

A view of the lodge to the right hand side

A bit of activity going on with Cheryl and Dierdre...

The entrance to Lochmara Lodge from the Queen Charlotte Track

Cheryl and Deirdre not looking amused as a I take ANOTHER photo when we were doing the 6hr walk

25 December 2006 - Photos from Xmas at Kapiti

2006-12-27T22:10:00.000Z

Mum and Penny playing cards

Penny and me

Mum and Dad

Penny and Mum

1-29 October 2006 - Europe

2006-10-30T20:05:00.000Z

1-29 October 2006

London

After flying into London at 6am Monday morning, I was picked up by my older brother Jason and stayed with him and his partner (Caroline) for the next 3 nights (and their two adorable kittens - Christo and Bella). My sister had also flown in from Brisbane the day before, so it was a bit of a reunion for us all (and a rather crowded house)! On the Wednesday night we all went and saw the stage production 'Evita' - loved it. I generally spent the days shopping, catching up with my sister and brother and getting over my jetlag!

Holland

Four days after getting into London I was again on a plane...this time to Holland. My aunt, uncle and two cousins live in a town called Gramsbergen which is in the north of Holland and close to the German border. Both my cousins are about to give birth (well....my cousin's wife is...) and my aunt is very excited as both babies are due within 3 months of each other.

Leicester

After getting back to the UK, I stayed with friends in Leicester...and their two cats! Vicky and Conall have spent the last year or so gutting and renovating their new house...and now Vicky is house bound after having surgery on her shoulder. It was great catching up on all the news, seeing what they had done with the house and making the most of their bar!

Colchester

Finally, more than a few days in one place! I got the train down from Leicester and then straight up to Colchester where my eldest brother (Geoff), his wife (Hilary) and their two sons (my nephews) Josh and Sam live. I loved the time I got to spend with everyone - though I am sure I could have done without the two runs that my brother dragged me out on!

On one night we had a 'sibling reunion' - only the second one since Geoff and Jason left NZ in 1993. Hopefully the next one will include my folks as well!

Salisbury/Avebury

After Colchester I went back down to London to meet up with Sera (who I met through work at Deutsche Bank). She very nicely drove me out west to see Salisbury Cathedral, Sarum Castle and Avebury. We had a fab time...Salisbury Cathedral was stunning on the outside, but even more so when you go into it. Unfortunately it was very misty in the morning but we did spend considerable time inside it photographing every square inch! Got to say Sarum Castle was left to your imagination, and as for Avebury...mmm....all I can say is that it's a smaller version of Stonehenge.

London

To end my trip I stayed with Teressa (who I met through UBS) for 3 nights. This also included my birthday where Sera got some ex-Deutsche people together - in a pub of course! Jason, Caroline and Geoff also came which was great.

I was in England for 4 weeks but in someways it felt much longer...in a good way. I just hope it won't be another 2.5yrs before I see everyone again!

1-29 October 2006 - Photos from Europe

2006-10-30T01:26:00.000Z

Me and Teressa (a good friend of mine)

Me and Sera (another good friend)

Me and my two older brothers (Jason, Geoff)

Salisbury Cathedral - England

Jason and Josh

Hilary, Josh, Sam and Geoff

Josh (5yrs) and Sam (nearly 3yrs)

Bradgate Park in Leicester

Vicky and me at Bradgate Park in Leicester

Eric, Bo and Jacco (my Dutch cousin)

Buckingham Palace in London

Big Ben in London

My sister Penny

Jason and Caroline's two kittens - Christo and Bella