Here we are in Bangkok again. So far we have had massages, manicures and pedicures, shopped and seen the taylor. We had a fun ride from the island on the first class train. When we arrived in Bangkok I left our most important bag with all our passports and cameras and ipods in it on the train. After a very embarrassing tackle of the nice train man we got it back ok. Today we are going to have some lunch on khoasan rd and then head out to one of the huge malls here to make our packs even heavier.
-Alice
I personally haven't had any manicures.. Only massages. I love this city, it's not as dirty as I remember it (I think that's because now I've been to much dirtier places) and I am in love with the food stalls. They make such good food from such simple ingredients. I think we're going to do a cooking "course" to learn some of it I hope. Only a few more days, then to Sydney with Sophie & Aidan then home. At least I don't have a job to go back too!
-Andrew
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Some of my memories
Our Aussie friend Gordon who we have been hanging out with a bit since we got here left today. Kinda feels like the end of an era of this trip. We leave tomorrow night on the stupidly expensive first class overnight train. I guess we left the booking too late. Anyway thats ok, first class over here isnt quite as fancy as our normal train. Thismorning we had breakfast at Seatanu, our old abide, with Gordon and then made sand castles, well actually Andrew made a big sand hole and planted a coconut. I have seen already today 3 different sized crabs, 2 schools of tiny see through fish, 2 lizards and a frog. The other night there was a huge storm here. You pretty much couldnt go out of your room and you could feel the rain pelting on the ground on the other side of the road before it hit you on yours. It was insane, it caused a huge landslide, well actually sand slide, down a hill about 1m away from our previous hut. That evening there were so so so many frogs out and the sound of them was deafening. Everynight so far we have sat and watched the sunset and nearly everynight we see a lightening storm on other islands dotted around us. Its a pretty magical place here, you feel like you are so far away from the rest of the world. You learn how the beach works, and how the people here live thier everyday. The Seatanu girls watch their thai soaps from 3-5, so watching a movie is out of the question. The Haad Chao Pao family send their son to care in the day then in the evenings they take turns to look after him and run the resturant, he has a wee nap in the hammock around 4. The paragon people all sit and play on the computer all day. The pool filter is broken so everyday the pool gets scummier and scummier until now we cant swim in it. At the resturant across the road the 2year old daughter brings us the menu when we arrive. You will always always get something cheaper than the tag. The guy selling fishermans pants on the beach imports them from the north of thailand and only sees his young family only 1-2 a year(or at least thats what he tells you!).
Anyways, just wanted to write down all these special tings I have learnt about this place. Tonight they are having a party at the pirate bar (the coolest bar Ive ever seen) so we will be dancing on the sand till morning.
Anyways, just wanted to write down all these special tings I have learnt about this place. Tonight they are having a party at the pirate bar (the coolest bar Ive ever seen) so we will be dancing on the sand till morning.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Not long to go
We have been here in our paradise for a week now and I almost cant imagine leaving. Everyday has been filled with beautiful sunsets, watching fireworks on the beach, drinking pina coldas, midnight swims, exploring the beach and jungle and making new friends. The people here are so lovely, and getting to know us now. We would love to stay for 6 months and become part of this place. We have moved back into luxury though, the heat here is insane right now and both Andrew and I were overheating alot. Now we have a nice pool to dunk into and aircon to get us to sleep. I think we will stay settled here until its time to leave and then just a couple of days in Bangkok.
We are looking forward to some home cooked meals and practising our cooking skills too.
We are looking forward to some home cooked meals and practising our cooking skills too.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Slumming it
We have finally, after extending our stay here in luxury by 2 extra nights have decided we have to move back out to the real world of backpacking. Have found a lovely place just down the beach with bungaloos for $6 a night and a great vibe. I have fallen in love with a wee puppy dog who has been following us everywhere for the past few days. He is homeless and so far has figured out how to charm the tourists to feed and play with him. I really want to take him home. He is the cutest wee thing!! I suspect I will have my heart broken. Havent got much snorkelling in the last 2 days, visibility is pretty crappy, but it looks like the tide is coming in all the time so we might get some done in the next couple of days.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Thailand
Well it seems this is our last big stop now. Tried to change our tickets to go back to the Philippines but no luck so we're making the most of our last couple of weeks here. Right now we are on Koh Pangang, a small island in southern Thailand famous for its full moon parties where every backpacker in Thailand congregates to drink buckets on the beach. We arrived on the black moon party night so stayed for a night in a scummy hotel in Haad Rin and then decided to move out to the beach. My how things have changed since we were here last. Our sleepy wee beach that had a shop and fruit stall now has a pharmacy, 2 bookshops and at least 5 general stores for our shopping pleasure. Our wee beach hut has been ripped down to make way for airconditioned condos that cost about 10x as much per night. We are embracing the new wave of aircon and pools though, we are even splashing out on the $3-4 meals. Havent decided quite what else we'll do yet, perhaps move somewhere a bit cheaper tomorrow.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Koh Samui
Well, we're back in Thailand, we got a flight directly to Koh Samui (one of the islands in the gulf) instead of to Bangkok, and it's been great. The airport on Samui is like a beach hut without walls, last time we came here it was nice, this time, it was unusual to go through immigration in a beach hut. But I have to say I love it here, I did last time, and have been reminded of just why. It is still really cheap, and the weather is awesome, and the beaches are beautiful. Tomorrow we move to Koh Phangan, hopefully find an even cheaper hut and spend the next couple of weeks on the beach relaxing and whatever else we want to do. We managed to find an awesome Thai restaurant, it's pretty budget looking, no A/C or anything, and it's cheap, but the food is simply awesome and it's open 24 hours so it doesn't really get much better than that. 4 meals at the same place in the last 2 days..
I wasn't quite sure how my impressions of this place would have changed after seeing a lot more of the world and maybe it only seemed so amazing since it was the only other place I'd been apart from NZ/Australia, but no, it's still just as good, it's still one of my favorite places I've been. I was surprised that the price hadn't really gone up, and I'd heard that since the Tsunami on the other side of the country that the tourism from there had come here, but it doesn't seem to have changed all that much. I don't remember getting so many insect bites last time though, I have like 20 or so at the moment, it's frustrating, but then again, the pharmacies are dirt cheap and sell anything over the counter, so maybe I'll get something treat it. It's a shame we're only here for a month really. We're also thinking we might go to the Phillipines after this for a couple of weeks too. Better get off the internet and go do something not so nerdy.
I wasn't quite sure how my impressions of this place would have changed after seeing a lot more of the world and maybe it only seemed so amazing since it was the only other place I'd been apart from NZ/Australia, but no, it's still just as good, it's still one of my favorite places I've been. I was surprised that the price hadn't really gone up, and I'd heard that since the Tsunami on the other side of the country that the tourism from there had come here, but it doesn't seem to have changed all that much. I don't remember getting so many insect bites last time though, I have like 20 or so at the moment, it's frustrating, but then again, the pharmacies are dirt cheap and sell anything over the counter, so maybe I'll get something treat it. It's a shame we're only here for a month really. We're also thinking we might go to the Phillipines after this for a couple of weeks too. Better get off the internet and go do something not so nerdy.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Stuff.co.nz
Today we slept in again because we are so jetlagged, so we will again burn the candle at the other end tonight to make up for it. Thats whats so cool about Hong Kong, it never sleeps, much more than anywhere else we've been.
So we got our luggage back nearly 30 hours after we arrived. Its a shame we spent all day wandering around in our track pants when we could've gone shopping on the insurance for 3G. So anyways...
I was catching up on the news today and I read an article about concerns over the quality of babies being born in our country. The professionals are concerned that uneducated people are having all the babies. They want to put contraceptives IN THE WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Every time I go away our country goes bananas. Please please please NZ DO NOT let this happen. How can it even be suggested is beyond me. Why not just castrate all the ugly people at birth? Or abort all unplanned babies. I find this terrifying.
-Alice
So we got our luggage back nearly 30 hours after we arrived. Its a shame we spent all day wandering around in our track pants when we could've gone shopping on the insurance for 3G. So anyways...
I was catching up on the news today and I read an article about concerns over the quality of babies being born in our country. The professionals are concerned that uneducated people are having all the babies. They want to put contraceptives IN THE WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Every time I go away our country goes bananas. Please please please NZ DO NOT let this happen. How can it even be suggested is beyond me. Why not just castrate all the ugly people at birth? Or abort all unplanned babies. I find this terrifying.
-Alice
Friday, July 6, 2007
Laters Europe
It's a sad time, but we're finally off the continent of Europe, and back onto the same big old piece of land that is Asia
After Florence we took our last train to Rome, to stay at a camping ground and visit the city of Rome.
We stayed in a camping ground, in a little cabin, about 30 mins bus/metro from Rome, and it was probably one of the coolest places we have stayed in. On our first night, we met some Canadians, and they were painting t-shirts because it was Canada day, and there was a pub crawl "Blame Canada for this party" it was called, and so we decided we'd join because it sounded like a fun night. We somehow became half-honourable Canadians for the evening, and got Canada and colours painted on us. It ended up being quite a patriotic night, with Alice and I being the only Kiwis so we had to single handedly support NZ and I think we did a pretty good job of it because somehow we became the most remembered people of everyone and other people came up to us the next night and told us that they'd heard of our legend..
We spent only 1 day out of our 4 in Rome actually seing things, and man it was hard, we saw basically everything there is to see except the Vatican City, and we spent from 10am to 9pm doing it walking around in the obscene heat (the weather was exactly like a real hot day back in chch) and it was pretty cool, my favorite thing I think was the Trevi Fountain, it's just amazing, and the Collessuem was pretty big and awesome too.
We had 2 flights to our current location of Hong Kong, we had to switch planes in London, and our first flight was late so our bags didn't get transferred, and so when we landed they told us and now we don't have our bags, but they should be here tonight, hopefully, because it'd be really nice to change because we slept in these clothes on the plane ride and then another night, and it's so hot and sticky here in Hong Kong. It's great to be back in Asia though, we were starting to get real tired of travelling around I think, but this has renewed us. There is so much shopping here (it's not that cheap though, same as home) and the amount of buildings and how big they are, makes NY look a little long in the tooth. They have massive over-the-harbour laser light shows and fireworks with the buildings, so I'm looking forward to that tonight. Soon back into Thailand, can't wait.
-Andrew
Well we are coming to the last leg of this journey now, seems hard to believe. We had fun in Florence watching the illegal imitation bag sales men running from the police and watching a beautiful open air classical concert. Our hostel was one of those lock you out during the day and make sure your all tucked in by 2 places. Rome was so much fun, mostly thanks to all our new Canadian buddies who took amazing care of us. We will never forget your help Brad and co seriously!!
Like Andrew said its great to be here in Hong Kong. I had forgotten that feeling of arriving in Asia. Its like walking into a bath going outside and everything is so organized but chaotic all at the same time. We are doing a tea appreciation course on monday as part of a festival they have here at the moment.
-Alice
After Florence we took our last train to Rome, to stay at a camping ground and visit the city of Rome.
We stayed in a camping ground, in a little cabin, about 30 mins bus/metro from Rome, and it was probably one of the coolest places we have stayed in. On our first night, we met some Canadians, and they were painting t-shirts because it was Canada day, and there was a pub crawl "Blame Canada for this party" it was called, and so we decided we'd join because it sounded like a fun night. We somehow became half-honourable Canadians for the evening, and got Canada and colours painted on us. It ended up being quite a patriotic night, with Alice and I being the only Kiwis so we had to single handedly support NZ and I think we did a pretty good job of it because somehow we became the most remembered people of everyone and other people came up to us the next night and told us that they'd heard of our legend..
We spent only 1 day out of our 4 in Rome actually seing things, and man it was hard, we saw basically everything there is to see except the Vatican City, and we spent from 10am to 9pm doing it walking around in the obscene heat (the weather was exactly like a real hot day back in chch) and it was pretty cool, my favorite thing I think was the Trevi Fountain, it's just amazing, and the Collessuem was pretty big and awesome too.
We had 2 flights to our current location of Hong Kong, we had to switch planes in London, and our first flight was late so our bags didn't get transferred, and so when we landed they told us and now we don't have our bags, but they should be here tonight, hopefully, because it'd be really nice to change because we slept in these clothes on the plane ride and then another night, and it's so hot and sticky here in Hong Kong. It's great to be back in Asia though, we were starting to get real tired of travelling around I think, but this has renewed us. There is so much shopping here (it's not that cheap though, same as home) and the amount of buildings and how big they are, makes NY look a little long in the tooth. They have massive over-the-harbour laser light shows and fireworks with the buildings, so I'm looking forward to that tonight. Soon back into Thailand, can't wait.
-Andrew
Well we are coming to the last leg of this journey now, seems hard to believe. We had fun in Florence watching the illegal imitation bag sales men running from the police and watching a beautiful open air classical concert. Our hostel was one of those lock you out during the day and make sure your all tucked in by 2 places. Rome was so much fun, mostly thanks to all our new Canadian buddies who took amazing care of us. We will never forget your help Brad and co seriously!!
Like Andrew said its great to be here in Hong Kong. I had forgotten that feeling of arriving in Asia. Its like walking into a bath going outside and everything is so organized but chaotic all at the same time. We are doing a tea appreciation course on monday as part of a festival they have here at the moment.
-Alice
Friday, June 29, 2007
Hungary
We've just arrived in Florence, Italy, (I think we've stumbled into the spanish district though..) and soon will get to our hostel. We left Prague on the train and headed onto Austria, to visit Alice's friend Nicole and her Husband Adrain, and their two children, one of whom is very new. It was so good to have a break from the typical travelling, we got to stay in a real bedroom and have real home cooked food and have real conversations with people we knew (I didn't really know them prior to this). It was such an excellent time. The place we stayed at was about half an hour south from Vienna, in a lovely little village. We went swimming in possibly the coolest pool I've ever been in, and also went to a celtic festival. Turns out that the celts didn't just inhabit Scotland, but also a hell of a lot of Northern Europe too. It was a great time, I tried my hand at ordering drinks and food using the best German I could speak and failed. It was a pretty good experience, and probably something we never would have done if we'd just travelled there alone. Staying with Nicole & Adrain was such a highlight of this trip. Unfortunately I was also recovering from being sick, so I wasn't quite up for everything.
We got on a lovely train from Vienna to Budapest, Hungary. Wow, what a cool city. I don't really know exactly how to put my finger on what was so great about it, but it was one of our favorite cities we visited. It has a lot of history from the wars too, we visited a WW2 bunker up in the citadel, and Alice got lots of Hungarian souvineirs. We spent 4 nights in a hotel for a change. It was so sweet, to have our own room and privacy and our very own toilet and shower! The food was pretty cheap, and the city was just lovely to walk around.
Unfortunately we had to leave, we hopped on the sleeping train yesteday afternoon and spent the trip talking to a med student from Germany with perfect english. We got into Zurich this morning and tossed up staying there or coming here to Florence, and coming here won out. We've yet to get to our hostel, they don't open until 4, and then have an explore of this city which so far seems pretty nice.
- Andrew
Seems like such a long time since we have had a chance to write here! Prague for us fizzled out after our day there. We tried to go out to this huge nightclub we had heard about but ended up getting there too late for cheap entrance, with no map and no idea when the bus home finishes. The club was 5 floors high, 4 of which were empty when we arrived and slowly filled up with skanky tourists. Staying with Nicole, Adrian, Emilia and Marlon was great, thanks guys!!! such special times.
For me Hungary was amazing, a city so recently effected by communism and war and its scars still visible. It struck me that although this is the case the biggest souvineir market was childrens toys. It was pretty nice to stay in the Ramada too!!!
-Alice
We got on a lovely train from Vienna to Budapest, Hungary. Wow, what a cool city. I don't really know exactly how to put my finger on what was so great about it, but it was one of our favorite cities we visited. It has a lot of history from the wars too, we visited a WW2 bunker up in the citadel, and Alice got lots of Hungarian souvineirs. We spent 4 nights in a hotel for a change. It was so sweet, to have our own room and privacy and our very own toilet and shower! The food was pretty cheap, and the city was just lovely to walk around.
Unfortunately we had to leave, we hopped on the sleeping train yesteday afternoon and spent the trip talking to a med student from Germany with perfect english. We got into Zurich this morning and tossed up staying there or coming here to Florence, and coming here won out. We've yet to get to our hostel, they don't open until 4, and then have an explore of this city which so far seems pretty nice.
- Andrew
Seems like such a long time since we have had a chance to write here! Prague for us fizzled out after our day there. We tried to go out to this huge nightclub we had heard about but ended up getting there too late for cheap entrance, with no map and no idea when the bus home finishes. The club was 5 floors high, 4 of which were empty when we arrived and slowly filled up with skanky tourists. Staying with Nicole, Adrian, Emilia and Marlon was great, thanks guys!!! such special times.
For me Hungary was amazing, a city so recently effected by communism and war and its scars still visible. It struck me that although this is the case the biggest souvineir market was childrens toys. It was pretty nice to stay in the Ramada too!!!
-Alice
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Prague
Here we are in the confusing Czech Republic. It seems quite a party town, at least at the hostel we~re at anyway. Meet some nice people and stayed up till quite late. Andrew is run down again so is having another bed day. Its hard at this place though because the concenus seems to be that lights on and talking are ok at any time of the day. Tomorrow we are going to visit Nicole, Adrian, Amelia and little Marlon!!! So excited! Anyways here are some more photos for your visual pleasure....................
Here we are, sitting on one of the pyramids. Check out our authentic arabian hats.
Heres Andrew, and a girl Linda we met. In Luxor, in front of a ruined statue.
Ooo, riding camels! Must have been like 5am, thats why its dark.
Alice, in our sweet as swimming pool in Luxor
Andrew taking a nap under a big ole rug up Mount Sinai, before the sun had come up.
Andrew & Alice, at the lovely park in Amsterdam
This is the best tasting ice cream I~ve ever eaten. Its totally in a class of its own. From this wee ice creamery in Amsterdam thats been making it since 1930s.
With our new friend Haitham who took us out for shisha on our last night in Cairo.
The felucca sailing down the Nile. Most of the day was spent lying around in and out of the sun.
The swimming spot we stopped at, our guide told us it would be AWESOME................
Andrew with some massive statues at Abel Simbel
Finally the memorial for the Jewish people killed in the second world war in Berlin. Best memorial Ive ever been to. Amazing the way it makes you feel.
Here we are, sitting on one of the pyramids. Check out our authentic arabian hats.
Heres Andrew, and a girl Linda we met. In Luxor, in front of a ruined statue.
Ooo, riding camels! Must have been like 5am, thats why its dark.
Alice, in our sweet as swimming pool in Luxor
Andrew taking a nap under a big ole rug up Mount Sinai, before the sun had come up.
Andrew & Alice, at the lovely park in Amsterdam
This is the best tasting ice cream I~ve ever eaten. Its totally in a class of its own. From this wee ice creamery in Amsterdam thats been making it since 1930s.
With our new friend Haitham who took us out for shisha on our last night in Cairo.
The felucca sailing down the Nile. Most of the day was spent lying around in and out of the sun.
The swimming spot we stopped at, our guide told us it would be AWESOME................
Andrew with some massive statues at Abel Simbel
Finally the memorial for the Jewish people killed in the second world war in Berlin. Best memorial Ive ever been to. Amazing the way it makes you feel.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Amsterdam
Well we have been incredibly fortunate with our trip to Amsterdam this time. After taking a sleeping train to the middle of nowhere and changing trains twice in the early hours of the morning we arrived here at 0820hrs. At least one person we know didnt make the connections and we think prob woke up in Paris by accident. We didnt have anywhere to stay here in Amsterdam so we headed over to the old fav, the flying pig. We didnt know this but at 0830hrs they sold all the beds that we left over for that night. We JUST made it, pretty much after us everyone was turned away. We got a double bunk too which is perfect. Since then we have had to get up early every monring to secure a bed for the following night. So far the job hunting is going slowly. We decided we didnt want to be illegal immigrants so we're only looking for jobs with either a visa attached or just for room and board. We'll leave tommorrow night if nothing eventuates. Still, its been another great time in an amazing city. Being the weekend is a bit different, have to avoid the tourist areas and leave alot of time for getting home through the crowds. Andrew calls this the Vegas of Europe but I reckon that once you get out of the tourist areas this city is magical.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Berlin
Such an amazing city!! Did a free walking tour yesterday and saw all the amazing memorials and buildings here. The parliment building has this glass dome on top that you can walk around that looks right over the sitting politicians. Pub crawl last night was fun. Learnt heaps about German history and particular about the cold war and Berlin wall. So so so interesting. Today I visited a former concentration camp. I dont think I could write anything to describe it, or that would be respectful of it so I wont. Very humbling experience. Anyway we are off to Amsterdam tonight (surprise!!) to try and find a job (surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Monday, June 11, 2007
Barcelona again
We said goodbye to Egypt last night. Our 'khabibi' Haitham (wrong spelling I'm sure) took us out for shisha and a goodbye Egypt drink to one of the local places. He explained to us why EVERYONE yells out to Andrew that he is a lucky man and how cats are respected in Egpyt. During the day we went to the market and bought some earrings and last minute nick nacks. I think we are pretty good negotiators now. For the third night in a row we had no sleep flying back from Egpyt.
We arrived here in Barcelona at 5am and had to wait till 12 to get a bed to sleep. The shops dont open here till 10 so we spent the morning reading mags and then headed off to the Havaiana jandals store. The man there was very nice but he laughed at my request to buy a right jandal only. You would think they could sell me one with all the jandals they had there. Anyways I'll keep the old one in case of similar incidents in the future. We have just now returned from a delightful secondhand english bookstore run by this eccentric american man. There are hundreds of books all piled in no apparent order and you can get tea and cookies while he talks your head off about history and consipacy theories. This afternoon we are gonna take an afternoon stroll to the beach and have tapas and sangria at the hostel tonight. Tomorrow to Berlin.
We arrived here in Barcelona at 5am and had to wait till 12 to get a bed to sleep. The shops dont open here till 10 so we spent the morning reading mags and then headed off to the Havaiana jandals store. The man there was very nice but he laughed at my request to buy a right jandal only. You would think they could sell me one with all the jandals they had there. Anyways I'll keep the old one in case of similar incidents in the future. We have just now returned from a delightful secondhand english bookstore run by this eccentric american man. There are hundreds of books all piled in no apparent order and you can get tea and cookies while he talks your head off about history and consipacy theories. This afternoon we are gonna take an afternoon stroll to the beach and have tapas and sangria at the hostel tonight. Tomorrow to Berlin.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The rest of Egypt
It's now the end of our trip. It's 7pm, and at 10pm we leave to go to the airport to get our plane. I'm going to miss this place, but I'm really ready to move on. Now, we left off in Aswan
The next morning, we get up at 3am, to get on a bus and go in a military convoy (because we get so close to the Sudan border), and drive through the desert right down to a place called Abu Simbel which is a tomb, which has been moved from it's original place. It's probably the most impressive old thing I have ever seen. It's not as large as the Giza Pyramids, but it's just so much more amazing. It's 4 people engraved into the side of a mountain, and it's absolutely incredible to imagine this was done such a long time ago. But you can only look at it for so long, and then back on the bus for another 2 hours. We got a flat tire on the bus, and we had to get out. I have no idea how people survived in the desert back then, I mean, all of Egypt is basically a big desert and rocks, apart from the Nile which is where almost everyone lives next to.
We got back to our hotel, just in time to leave and go on a Fulucca boat trip for two nights. I wasn't too sure of this before we did it, I thought it could get very boring, but it wasn't. We jumped on the boat which is like a small sailing boat with a small roof and a padded area for lying/sleeping, and left off. It doesn't move very fast, only as fast as the river does, but this was probably the best part of the trip for both of us. We met some really cool people, and we stopped for the night on a beach thing, they served up their food (simple, but I loved it) and got some blankets and just slept. There was a roof, but no walls, very very simple. It gets kinda cold at night. Woke up to the sunrise, and then I got into the Nile and went for a swim. Not as warm as you'd think, but so refreshing. Sailed again very slowly for another day and then parked at night by a swamp. (there was no toilets, so we had to use the side of the shore, and the swamp was the least nice..) We stopped during the day and visited a camel market, the biggest in all of Egypt. Was OK, not nice to see the way they treat them, but was a prett unique time. We then woke up, and learned the guy had already started sailing. I know it sounds like it was quite uneventful, but just the simplicity of it, and the people. One of the top experiences of my life really.
Off the boat, and onto a bus (with the people from the boat) which would go to Luxor, and drop us off at our Hotel. This Hotel was nice.. We immediately got into the swimming pool and cooled off. These places really are hot. We enjoyed a bit of a half day off, wandered around and found some local markets and some egyptian fast food restaurants.
Next day was just a relaxing morning by the pool overlooking the nile, and then in the afternoon we met our guide, an egyptian girl called Amy, and went to visit Karnok and Luxor Temple. Strange situation though, somehow this girl tells us that it's actually meant to be her wedding day but that just yesterday her fiancee married some other woman, although he onl wanted to marry her for a month or two, then divorce, then marry this Amy girl. Why was she at work?? Made the day unusual, although the places we visited were nice. Karnok temple was so incredibly big, would have been impressive when it was two stories high. What's interesting is that these places over the years had been covered with sand and then had a graveyard on top of it! Then someone discovered a massive temple under it. I'm sure there's more stuff they haven't discovered yet.
Another night of relaxing and then getting up early to go with this girl again and see a few other things, Valley of the Kings being the highlight. Was a cool thing to see, and I hate to sound so negative, but you get "templed out" if that makes sense, all these things are so impressive, but unless you have a personal interest in them there is only so much effort you can give. This was our last temple visit though so.. Met a friend on that trip who more or less was going the same way as us for the next few days. Always makes things a lot nicer
Last day we visited the guy we got to know at what we'd call a corner dairy at home. He had christian pictures on his wall, not islam (it's hard to explain just how much that stands out here) and I asked him about it, and he showed me a tattoo he had been given by the government for being Christian and not Muslim. Not easy I think over here, Islam is so ingrained EVERYWHERE. Went to the takeaway bar and got falafel (had lots of it here) and it was only .50 egyptian pounds each, or $0.12NZ, so was very cheap, even for here. Good meal. Considering we had spent 100 egyptian pounds on one meal in an attempt to eat out fancy, which was really average anyway.
Left on a "16" hour sleeping bus. Was so so annoying, I wish they'd turn off the lights. So uncomfortable, and in the end it took 20 hours. I got out at a stop and had "beans", thinking it'd be like maybe mexican beans or baked beans but it was like mashed broad beans, and my Mum knows just how I hate broad beans. Was cheap though. Arrived in Dahab at lunch time and checked in.
Dahab isn't in the big block of Egypt that's in Africa, but on the Sinai Peninsula, in the red sea. It's more of a backpacker town than anything else. Not quite fancy enough to call it a "tourist place" but also not egyptain enough like any other city we went to which were all cities in their own right. Basically this town wouldn't be a hell of a lot without backpackers..
Was such a cool place. They had a line of hostels, then a boardwalk, and then all the restaurants/bars just next to the ocean. Because it rains less than annuall in egypt, it was fine to not have walls, but the ocean breeze meant you didn't need A/C or anything. Such a relaxing awesome place. Met two of the people from our boat trip, which was like getting instant friends. First day we just relaxed and walked around, the second da we planned a trip to two places to go snorkelling, as the red sea as quite a repuation for some of the best snorkelling in the world. We stopped at this place called "the canyon" and got geared up, moved slowly into the water (those flippers make it hard) and swam around. So far, this was the worst snorkelling I have ever done, and I haven't done a lot. I was so disappointed, and it wasn't sandy but rocky and I cut my foot on the way out and was so pissed off. Got in the car with a bad attitude and went to the blue hole. I wasn't going to give up, and when we got there, saw a man made easier way into the water. Sat down and Alice and I counted down and jumped in and WOW..
I have almost never seen something in nature quite so beatiful. It was a massive hole that went down further than we could see (visibility pretty amazing here in the red sea, so they say) and coral and tropical fish everywhere. Swam around for a while and got to the edge of this hole, to another drop off of 2000 meters.. Had an awesome time there, can't really describe it in words.
Got home, realised we're both incredibly sunburnt, and I actually feel ill, which isn't good, because at 11pm we're climbing Mt Sinai, which is the highest mountain in the penisula, where moses got the commandments. Think it was sun stroke or something.
Got on the bus at 11, and drove for a few hours to the base of the mountain and started our climb. It's a rock mountain, no grass or dirt, maybe rocky dust. Was about 2am climbing, by moonlight and torches. I was starting to feel sick again, don't think my body was ready for all the excersise, and I actually threw up a couple of times on the way up. We finally got to the top at like 5am, and tried to sleep, but we couldn't because of a woman who was singing, and then the sun came up at about 5:40am. Was a pretty amazing sight, amazing looking mountains, completely unlike anything at home. Also my birthday up there. Just a shame I felt so sick. Then we started out descent at 6. Got down, and waited until 9am to visit "St Katherine" monastary. Waited like an hour and a half, and once again, hate to sound negative, but was probably the most boring thing I have ever seen. They have the "spiritual successor" of the burning bush from the bible. Lame. Some people were climbing over other people to touch it. Got on the bus back and crashed for the afternoon. Had some relaxing before getting on another sleeping bus (terrible sleeps both sides of my birthday, and I couldn't even find an iceblock which was the only think I wanted)
Got back to Cairo this morning and crashed until 2pm, went to some markets, screwed the sellers over (they were expensive markets, but we'd learnt over the course of the trip the value of everything) and then came back, and I jumped on the internet.
This place has been so amazing, has really inspired me to travel more of the Middle East, the culture here is so unlike the western world at all.
Well, onto Barcelona tonight for one night then Berlin.. Fun time!
New: Random Observations.
This isn't really stuff we've done as such, just stuff we've experienced.
It's like the locals have gone to an english school, and everyone gets taught the same stuff. On our first day we got amazed when some random guy asked us where we were from and we said NZ and he said "Kai Ora" and we were amazed, haven't heard that anywhere else. Took us into a store and told us he had to drink "coke, sprite, fanta, 7-up, 7-down".. cheesy. I've now heard that joke like 3 or 4 times. Also people on the street markets say stuff to you like "how can I take your money" and we had one guy say "come into my store of rubbish, come see my crap". Sometimes I'm not sure they know what they're saying exactly. The people really are nice to you when they don't want your money. Some people are really poor though. The have an amazing sense of humour, it's a hell of a lot simpler than ours, but everyone gets in on the jokes and laughs with you, it's nice. It's hard to explain just what they find funny, but it's just simple play. Once you get used to it, it's actually quite fun to talk and haggle with them.
I saw the two fattest egyptains I saw the entire time yesterday, both at a place called Hardies, which is like Buger King. I think it's too expensive for most of them to eat there, I think people can earn like 100 pounds a week, but a meal might cost 20 pounds, so only rich people eat there. And then they get fat.. Interesting. I actually thought of heaps of things to write here, but then I got on the computer and forgot. Typical
The next morning, we get up at 3am, to get on a bus and go in a military convoy (because we get so close to the Sudan border), and drive through the desert right down to a place called Abu Simbel which is a tomb, which has been moved from it's original place. It's probably the most impressive old thing I have ever seen. It's not as large as the Giza Pyramids, but it's just so much more amazing. It's 4 people engraved into the side of a mountain, and it's absolutely incredible to imagine this was done such a long time ago. But you can only look at it for so long, and then back on the bus for another 2 hours. We got a flat tire on the bus, and we had to get out. I have no idea how people survived in the desert back then, I mean, all of Egypt is basically a big desert and rocks, apart from the Nile which is where almost everyone lives next to.
We got back to our hotel, just in time to leave and go on a Fulucca boat trip for two nights. I wasn't too sure of this before we did it, I thought it could get very boring, but it wasn't. We jumped on the boat which is like a small sailing boat with a small roof and a padded area for lying/sleeping, and left off. It doesn't move very fast, only as fast as the river does, but this was probably the best part of the trip for both of us. We met some really cool people, and we stopped for the night on a beach thing, they served up their food (simple, but I loved it) and got some blankets and just slept. There was a roof, but no walls, very very simple. It gets kinda cold at night. Woke up to the sunrise, and then I got into the Nile and went for a swim. Not as warm as you'd think, but so refreshing. Sailed again very slowly for another day and then parked at night by a swamp. (there was no toilets, so we had to use the side of the shore, and the swamp was the least nice..) We stopped during the day and visited a camel market, the biggest in all of Egypt. Was OK, not nice to see the way they treat them, but was a prett unique time. We then woke up, and learned the guy had already started sailing. I know it sounds like it was quite uneventful, but just the simplicity of it, and the people. One of the top experiences of my life really.
Off the boat, and onto a bus (with the people from the boat) which would go to Luxor, and drop us off at our Hotel. This Hotel was nice.. We immediately got into the swimming pool and cooled off. These places really are hot. We enjoyed a bit of a half day off, wandered around and found some local markets and some egyptian fast food restaurants.
Next day was just a relaxing morning by the pool overlooking the nile, and then in the afternoon we met our guide, an egyptian girl called Amy, and went to visit Karnok and Luxor Temple. Strange situation though, somehow this girl tells us that it's actually meant to be her wedding day but that just yesterday her fiancee married some other woman, although he onl wanted to marry her for a month or two, then divorce, then marry this Amy girl. Why was she at work?? Made the day unusual, although the places we visited were nice. Karnok temple was so incredibly big, would have been impressive when it was two stories high. What's interesting is that these places over the years had been covered with sand and then had a graveyard on top of it! Then someone discovered a massive temple under it. I'm sure there's more stuff they haven't discovered yet.
Another night of relaxing and then getting up early to go with this girl again and see a few other things, Valley of the Kings being the highlight. Was a cool thing to see, and I hate to sound so negative, but you get "templed out" if that makes sense, all these things are so impressive, but unless you have a personal interest in them there is only so much effort you can give. This was our last temple visit though so.. Met a friend on that trip who more or less was going the same way as us for the next few days. Always makes things a lot nicer
Last day we visited the guy we got to know at what we'd call a corner dairy at home. He had christian pictures on his wall, not islam (it's hard to explain just how much that stands out here) and I asked him about it, and he showed me a tattoo he had been given by the government for being Christian and not Muslim. Not easy I think over here, Islam is so ingrained EVERYWHERE. Went to the takeaway bar and got falafel (had lots of it here) and it was only .50 egyptian pounds each, or $0.12NZ, so was very cheap, even for here. Good meal. Considering we had spent 100 egyptian pounds on one meal in an attempt to eat out fancy, which was really average anyway.
Left on a "16" hour sleeping bus. Was so so annoying, I wish they'd turn off the lights. So uncomfortable, and in the end it took 20 hours. I got out at a stop and had "beans", thinking it'd be like maybe mexican beans or baked beans but it was like mashed broad beans, and my Mum knows just how I hate broad beans. Was cheap though. Arrived in Dahab at lunch time and checked in.
Dahab isn't in the big block of Egypt that's in Africa, but on the Sinai Peninsula, in the red sea. It's more of a backpacker town than anything else. Not quite fancy enough to call it a "tourist place" but also not egyptain enough like any other city we went to which were all cities in their own right. Basically this town wouldn't be a hell of a lot without backpackers..
Was such a cool place. They had a line of hostels, then a boardwalk, and then all the restaurants/bars just next to the ocean. Because it rains less than annuall in egypt, it was fine to not have walls, but the ocean breeze meant you didn't need A/C or anything. Such a relaxing awesome place. Met two of the people from our boat trip, which was like getting instant friends. First day we just relaxed and walked around, the second da we planned a trip to two places to go snorkelling, as the red sea as quite a repuation for some of the best snorkelling in the world. We stopped at this place called "the canyon" and got geared up, moved slowly into the water (those flippers make it hard) and swam around. So far, this was the worst snorkelling I have ever done, and I haven't done a lot. I was so disappointed, and it wasn't sandy but rocky and I cut my foot on the way out and was so pissed off. Got in the car with a bad attitude and went to the blue hole. I wasn't going to give up, and when we got there, saw a man made easier way into the water. Sat down and Alice and I counted down and jumped in and WOW..
I have almost never seen something in nature quite so beatiful. It was a massive hole that went down further than we could see (visibility pretty amazing here in the red sea, so they say) and coral and tropical fish everywhere. Swam around for a while and got to the edge of this hole, to another drop off of 2000 meters.. Had an awesome time there, can't really describe it in words.
Got home, realised we're both incredibly sunburnt, and I actually feel ill, which isn't good, because at 11pm we're climbing Mt Sinai, which is the highest mountain in the penisula, where moses got the commandments. Think it was sun stroke or something.
Got on the bus at 11, and drove for a few hours to the base of the mountain and started our climb. It's a rock mountain, no grass or dirt, maybe rocky dust. Was about 2am climbing, by moonlight and torches. I was starting to feel sick again, don't think my body was ready for all the excersise, and I actually threw up a couple of times on the way up. We finally got to the top at like 5am, and tried to sleep, but we couldn't because of a woman who was singing, and then the sun came up at about 5:40am. Was a pretty amazing sight, amazing looking mountains, completely unlike anything at home. Also my birthday up there. Just a shame I felt so sick. Then we started out descent at 6. Got down, and waited until 9am to visit "St Katherine" monastary. Waited like an hour and a half, and once again, hate to sound negative, but was probably the most boring thing I have ever seen. They have the "spiritual successor" of the burning bush from the bible. Lame. Some people were climbing over other people to touch it. Got on the bus back and crashed for the afternoon. Had some relaxing before getting on another sleeping bus (terrible sleeps both sides of my birthday, and I couldn't even find an iceblock which was the only think I wanted)
Got back to Cairo this morning and crashed until 2pm, went to some markets, screwed the sellers over (they were expensive markets, but we'd learnt over the course of the trip the value of everything) and then came back, and I jumped on the internet.
This place has been so amazing, has really inspired me to travel more of the Middle East, the culture here is so unlike the western world at all.
Well, onto Barcelona tonight for one night then Berlin.. Fun time!
New: Random Observations.
This isn't really stuff we've done as such, just stuff we've experienced.
It's like the locals have gone to an english school, and everyone gets taught the same stuff. On our first day we got amazed when some random guy asked us where we were from and we said NZ and he said "Kai Ora" and we were amazed, haven't heard that anywhere else. Took us into a store and told us he had to drink "coke, sprite, fanta, 7-up, 7-down".. cheesy. I've now heard that joke like 3 or 4 times. Also people on the street markets say stuff to you like "how can I take your money" and we had one guy say "come into my store of rubbish, come see my crap". Sometimes I'm not sure they know what they're saying exactly. The people really are nice to you when they don't want your money. Some people are really poor though. The have an amazing sense of humour, it's a hell of a lot simpler than ours, but everyone gets in on the jokes and laughs with you, it's nice. It's hard to explain just what they find funny, but it's just simple play. Once you get used to it, it's actually quite fun to talk and haggle with them.
I saw the two fattest egyptains I saw the entire time yesterday, both at a place called Hardies, which is like Buger King. I think it's too expensive for most of them to eat there, I think people can earn like 100 pounds a week, but a meal might cost 20 pounds, so only rich people eat there. And then they get fat.. Interesting. I actually thought of heaps of things to write here, but then I got on the computer and forgot. Typical
Friday, June 1, 2007
Aswan
Aswan is even hotter than Luxor is apparently. I heard it was 42 today, and the other day it got to 55. Anyway, we got the "sleeping" train, which was a non sleeping train, at 10pm last night, and arrived here at 12.30 with an OK sleep and sore bodies from conforming to the train seats. It was alright though, I've slept much worse places (I'm still haunted hourly from Madrid International). The hotel we're at is nice, and has A/C, and the guide met us soon after and took us to see a massive Dam, which sounds boring, but it's incredibly big and the important role it plays in Egypt is quite large really. Pretty much prevents Cairo from being swallowed under water. We then saw our first Egyptian temple, which was really interesting, and having someone with us who really knew their stuff was a great help, learnt a lot all about the Egyptian religion and their view on the world and why all these things were there and how it linked into their Monarchy and basically shaped the rest of their lives. Very interesting stuff really.
-Andrew
We are learning a bit of arabic here, just enough to ward off the hagglers and appreciate our helpers. Our guide took us to get a feed of this traditional Egyptian meal, Koshari, after our day out the other day. It was so yummy but I got confused and instead of saying thankyou I said Koshari. Andrew thought this was hilarious and teased me all the way home.
-Alice
-Andrew
We are learning a bit of arabic here, just enough to ward off the hagglers and appreciate our helpers. Our guide took us to get a feed of this traditional Egyptian meal, Koshari, after our day out the other day. It was so yummy but I got confused and instead of saying thankyou I said Koshari. Andrew thought this was hilarious and teased me all the way home.
-Alice
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Cairo
Wow
It's the end of our second day, and soon we're taking a sleeping train to Aswan.
We arrived two days ago at midnight, and got into our hostel without experiencing any of Cairo so far. We then ventured out in the morning and experienced Coptic Cairo, Islamic Cairo, The Citadel, and the Egyptian Museum. The sights I have seen have been some of the most amazing things I have seen in my entire life. At the museum they have Tutenkhmens tomb and everything in it, he must have had a big ego. It's almost unbelievable until you see some of these things, and then learn they're 3000+ years old!
Today we got up at 4am, and got on some camels and went to the Giza Pyramids and watched the sunrise. What an experience, it just seems so surreal what we did this morning, it was dawn, in the desert, just sand dunes and us, until we saw some guys riding and yelling on horses. They weren't a threat though. Then we went to the Pyramids and climbed one of them, they're really big. We saw the Sphinx, which was OK, and then rode the camels some more. Parts of the Pyramids are really close to the city, it's odd actually.. We then went to some other tombs, and I have to tell you, I am getting sick of the way here people try to get your money. They act as a tour guide, show you a few things, then ask, or try to persuade, you to give them money. We tell them from the start "we don't want a guide, we have no money to give you" but they come along, and then ask for money and get really angry when you don't give them money. Frustrating. And people ask for tips all the time, I mean, we do have more money than them, but we soon wouldn't if we gave stuff to everyone that has asked us over this entire trip so far.
The sleeping train should be nice, first class apparently. As long as it's air conditioned, because the done near Aswan and Luxor is hot. Can't wait though. It's such a unique place. Cairo is completely mad, 22 million or so they tell us...
-Andrew
What a crazy place. We got up so early thismorning and our lovely taxi driver was waiting for us to take us to Giza. We get there and start riding out to the desert while its still dark. My camel was called Ali Babar. The area around the pyramids is now fenced off and they close the area until 9am everyday. Well, our 'guide' knew some guy whole lived in a shack just inside the fence and bribed him to let us in. Then he bribed the tourist police (such a joke in this place) to climb up the pyramid and inside one of the tombs. We were there for 2 hours and it was just us and these amazing structures. He even gave Andrew some souvineer rocks from the pyramid. After we got back we went to some more pyramids that are less know but the insides are a bit more intact. We are so thankful for our tour guide because he told us exactly how to go about getting tickets. Its crazy because ou get your tickets at one place then you drive to the site and the police tell you you have to buy more tickets, you dont. I quite like the struggle with the hagglers, its fun just sticking up for yourself all the time if you know how to do it.
Anyways tomorrow we are starting this crazy hard core non stop tour of Egypt. Highlights incluse a miltary convoy to Abel Simel and waking up on Mt Sinai on Andrews birthday. The spray from my work pressie is awesome in this heat- thanks guys!! Love you all
-Alice
It's the end of our second day, and soon we're taking a sleeping train to Aswan.
We arrived two days ago at midnight, and got into our hostel without experiencing any of Cairo so far. We then ventured out in the morning and experienced Coptic Cairo, Islamic Cairo, The Citadel, and the Egyptian Museum. The sights I have seen have been some of the most amazing things I have seen in my entire life. At the museum they have Tutenkhmens tomb and everything in it, he must have had a big ego. It's almost unbelievable until you see some of these things, and then learn they're 3000+ years old!
Today we got up at 4am, and got on some camels and went to the Giza Pyramids and watched the sunrise. What an experience, it just seems so surreal what we did this morning, it was dawn, in the desert, just sand dunes and us, until we saw some guys riding and yelling on horses. They weren't a threat though. Then we went to the Pyramids and climbed one of them, they're really big. We saw the Sphinx, which was OK, and then rode the camels some more. Parts of the Pyramids are really close to the city, it's odd actually.. We then went to some other tombs, and I have to tell you, I am getting sick of the way here people try to get your money. They act as a tour guide, show you a few things, then ask, or try to persuade, you to give them money. We tell them from the start "we don't want a guide, we have no money to give you" but they come along, and then ask for money and get really angry when you don't give them money. Frustrating. And people ask for tips all the time, I mean, we do have more money than them, but we soon wouldn't if we gave stuff to everyone that has asked us over this entire trip so far.
The sleeping train should be nice, first class apparently. As long as it's air conditioned, because the done near Aswan and Luxor is hot. Can't wait though. It's such a unique place. Cairo is completely mad, 22 million or so they tell us...
-Andrew
What a crazy place. We got up so early thismorning and our lovely taxi driver was waiting for us to take us to Giza. We get there and start riding out to the desert while its still dark. My camel was called Ali Babar. The area around the pyramids is now fenced off and they close the area until 9am everyday. Well, our 'guide' knew some guy whole lived in a shack just inside the fence and bribed him to let us in. Then he bribed the tourist police (such a joke in this place) to climb up the pyramid and inside one of the tombs. We were there for 2 hours and it was just us and these amazing structures. He even gave Andrew some souvineer rocks from the pyramid. After we got back we went to some more pyramids that are less know but the insides are a bit more intact. We are so thankful for our tour guide because he told us exactly how to go about getting tickets. Its crazy because ou get your tickets at one place then you drive to the site and the police tell you you have to buy more tickets, you dont. I quite like the struggle with the hagglers, its fun just sticking up for yourself all the time if you know how to do it.
Anyways tomorrow we are starting this crazy hard core non stop tour of Egypt. Highlights incluse a miltary convoy to Abel Simel and waking up on Mt Sinai on Andrews birthday. The spray from my work pressie is awesome in this heat- thanks guys!! Love you all
-Alice
Monday, May 28, 2007
Freedom to Lobsters
A phrase they have on the back of our map to learn in Spanish?!!
Well anyways its 6am and Andrew is in bed, I cant sleep so this is my third entry. Last night we went out for a Flamenco show and Spanish tapas meal. It was fun and we meet a crazy Aussie who is living here in Madrid and has the job of being the pub crawl girl AND the breakfast girl at our hostel, harsh. I think our hostel has a big sign on it welcoming all the teenage american girls on college vacation. There´s one guy here who spends all his timei t seems on the internet, funny!
Perhaps its a tad premature to make this announcement but here we go....
I have begun to walk the road of vegetarianism. I havent had meat for about a week now, actually not alot of meat on the trip at all. Its something thats been on my mind for a long time actually, ever since Mandy and Dave introduced me to the idea of my ecological footprint. It started in Morocco when we went to the chicken markets. As you can probably imagine they wouldn´t have got the SPCA seal of approval and they made me sad and sick. I decided that I couldnt be a part of that happening and gave up chicken then. And then I thought is it so different back home, I dont think the chicken we have had has been free range (can you even get that) and it made me realise that I have no idea where the meat I eat comes from or much about how it gets to my plate at all. So, thats it, no more meat, for now anyway. Its going pretty good so far, they have amazing falafel here and even Andrew prefers it to the meat sometimes. I´ll have to talk to Mandy (are you out there sister?) and find out all about how to get my iron and protein.
Well anyways its 6am and Andrew is in bed, I cant sleep so this is my third entry. Last night we went out for a Flamenco show and Spanish tapas meal. It was fun and we meet a crazy Aussie who is living here in Madrid and has the job of being the pub crawl girl AND the breakfast girl at our hostel, harsh. I think our hostel has a big sign on it welcoming all the teenage american girls on college vacation. There´s one guy here who spends all his timei t seems on the internet, funny!
Perhaps its a tad premature to make this announcement but here we go....
I have begun to walk the road of vegetarianism. I havent had meat for about a week now, actually not alot of meat on the trip at all. Its something thats been on my mind for a long time actually, ever since Mandy and Dave introduced me to the idea of my ecological footprint. It started in Morocco when we went to the chicken markets. As you can probably imagine they wouldn´t have got the SPCA seal of approval and they made me sad and sick. I decided that I couldnt be a part of that happening and gave up chicken then. And then I thought is it so different back home, I dont think the chicken we have had has been free range (can you even get that) and it made me realise that I have no idea where the meat I eat comes from or much about how it gets to my plate at all. So, thats it, no more meat, for now anyway. Its going pretty good so far, they have amazing falafel here and even Andrew prefers it to the meat sometimes. I´ll have to talk to Mandy (are you out there sister?) and find out all about how to get my iron and protein.
New Photos
This is a our hang out loungey area in Amsterdam, had to put this one on there, so many good times!
This is a horrible cheese wrapped in bacon heart stopping kebab we got in a Japanese restaurant in Paris.
This one is of the catacombs in Paris, crazy place where the walls are completely lined with peoples bones. The bones came from an old graveyard and were moved there ages ago due to a funny idea that the cemetary was making the people sick.
The next one is us in Madrid at the royal palace. The gardens in the backgound are the royal gardens.
A spice market in Morocco
This is a horrible cheese wrapped in bacon heart stopping kebab we got in a Japanese restaurant in Paris.
This one is of the catacombs in Paris, crazy place where the walls are completely lined with peoples bones. The bones came from an old graveyard and were moved there ages ago due to a funny idea that the cemetary was making the people sick.
The next one is us in Madrid at the royal palace. The gardens in the backgound are the royal gardens.
A spice market in Morocco
Me, standing in front of a doorway in Morocco. You can't see the detail it was amazing.
Alice sitting by the pool in the Riad, taken from the 3rd floor where we stayed.
A cheesy as hell photo of Alice and I above the big square in Marrakesh
Alice standing down the street we took to get to our Riad every day.
Hello Barcelona
Well it didnt take us too long to get over the craving of own bed. Its been a glorious day in Barcelona today. After breakfast, groceries, posting, Andrew having a hypo we finally hit the beach. Such a lovely blue water, yellow (but coarse) sadny beach. We found a wee second hand bookstore thisafternoon and spent a bit of time browsing all the books. Tonight we are going to a Flamenco show. I have to log off now so Andrew can put some photos on.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Sleeping in airports
We had our first exciting homelessness night last night. Got in from Morocco just after 10 and being the tight asses we are decided to bunk out in the airport for the night instead of paying for a hostel. We wandered around for a while and saw heaps of people trying to sleep in an assortment of positions an locations. Some were across chairs, some had found chairs with wheels and out them together and lots were just on the hard marble outside the police station. I think ours was the best. We found a few checkout counters right down one end of the airport where nobody was and decided to set up beds on the luggage scales ( the rubbery belt you put them on before getting on the plane). This was quite sqeet because we could put our bags at one end so that if anyone wanted to steal them they´d have to walk over us first and the rubber was much softer and warmer than the marble. I was quite worried that we might get into trouble but after a few police, cleaner and security rounds we realised that noone seemed to care at all. Got about 5 hours sleep all up I reckon. It was heaps of fun. We´re in Barcelona now until tues night when we go to Cairo. We have bought tickets to go from Barcelona to Berlin when we get back so we´ll be coming down Europe instead of up.
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