Dear all
do you ever get the feeling that time is not just slipping away, but actually running away at breakneck pace? I cannot believe that I am at the very end of yet another Intrepid tour and that I will be home, actually at home, in just over a week. It is completely and utterly bizarre. For some reason this trip in particular has felt infinite, intense... something about this place.... sitting at a PC seems such a waste of time.... but the real world cant wait on me it seems....
So what have I been up to?
Well for the main we have been out of the cities, thus the delay in communication. Small towns, another night in the desert, mountains, Todra Gorge... all a little off the beaten track, which has suited me fine. I am developing a distinct preference for small places where the real people live and there is no hassle.
Our camel trek into the desert is something I will always remember, riding into the most beautiful dunes on camel back, fortunately these camels were a little more comfortable than the last one I rode! We ate tagine under the stars and climbed the dunes to watch the sun rise, you cant get much better than that.
Todra Gorge was wonderful; one of the most insane hikes of my life (think nearly 6 hours) which I managed after a night with too much alcohol... worth every second... visiting the family of our tour leader for home baked bread and hospitality.... a hammam (Turkish bath) to end all hammams where we were scrubbed to within an inch of our lives, completely and intimately (yes ALL of the places where the sun dont shine!!)
Into the High Atlas mountains for some more exercise at altitude, riding a mule to our accomodation, views to die for, sitting in the kitchen of a mountain gite (guest house) watching the family cook...
Beautiful Essaouira by the sea where I took many photos, a place to catch my breath after a fairly intense trip with far too many late nights....
Now I am in Marrakesh and I leave for New York tomorrow, strange but true. Farewell to a lovely group and a country that will always be in my heart.
Love you all,
Donna
PS please dont be offended if I dont reply to your emails right now, as I am on a French keyboard and this is taking forever to type!!!!!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Morocco... Casablanca to Fez
Hey all!
Right now I'm sharing a room with a lovely American girl so you will forgive the slightly American accent... lolz Can I please tell you how much I LOVE Morocco? It's such a beautiful country.
Today we visited the Fez medina, which went something like this (imagination ready?)
Close your eyes and pretend that you are walking down a crooked, cobbled walkway. If you stretch out your hands you can touch the walls on either side, which are faun coloured and rough. If you look up you can see ornate windows covered in curling wrought iron. You walk past a shop selling camel meat (tasty)... you can tell it sells camel 'cos there is a camel head smiling at you... it's very dead.... you make a quick dash past it with eyes half shut and you hear the cry "balek, balek!" (watch out!) and you press yourself against the wall to avoid the mule carrying crates of coca cola. You start to breathe again as you pass a vendor selling baskets of rose blossoms for rosewater. There is a call to prayer... people have headed toward the local mosque and you watch through a gap in the door as men touch foreheads to their prayer mats... a man bumps you, he's selling water... you can tell 'cos he's wearing a pointed hat and riotously coloured clothes, decorated with gold disks... you walk past a tiled fountain where the locals are casually bathing faces and hands.... a woman smiles at you as she absent mindedly strokes the head of her sleepy, dark-eyed baby, curled snugly in brilliant red scarf on her shoulder.
I love Morocco!
Love to all,
D
PS sorry no photos again, this camera doesn't seem to work on this PC! x x
Right now I'm sharing a room with a lovely American girl so you will forgive the slightly American accent... lolz Can I please tell you how much I LOVE Morocco? It's such a beautiful country.
Today we visited the Fez medina, which went something like this (imagination ready?)
Close your eyes and pretend that you are walking down a crooked, cobbled walkway. If you stretch out your hands you can touch the walls on either side, which are faun coloured and rough. If you look up you can see ornate windows covered in curling wrought iron. You walk past a shop selling camel meat (tasty)... you can tell it sells camel 'cos there is a camel head smiling at you... it's very dead.... you make a quick dash past it with eyes half shut and you hear the cry "balek, balek!" (watch out!) and you press yourself against the wall to avoid the mule carrying crates of coca cola. You start to breathe again as you pass a vendor selling baskets of rose blossoms for rosewater. There is a call to prayer... people have headed toward the local mosque and you watch through a gap in the door as men touch foreheads to their prayer mats... a man bumps you, he's selling water... you can tell 'cos he's wearing a pointed hat and riotously coloured clothes, decorated with gold disks... you walk past a tiled fountain where the locals are casually bathing faces and hands.... a woman smiles at you as she absent mindedly strokes the head of her sleepy, dark-eyed baby, curled snugly in brilliant red scarf on her shoulder.
I love Morocco!
Love to all,
D
PS sorry no photos again, this camera doesn't seem to work on this PC! x x
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Bonjour Casablanca!
Hello all
I think this computer might curl up its toes and die if I tried to plug in my camera, so excusez moi, mes amis, pas de photos! I am typing this on a French keyboard this time, which gives me the urge to scream... in French, bien sur! Also it is much easier to use the ! rather than the full stop so there will be even more !s than usual in this post, I suspect! Right, commence!
So first, how was Tacky Turkish Night? Great, actually! Tacky as advertised but a whole lot of fun: dancing, dervishes, belly dancing, raki... who could ask for more! set in a fake cave under a disco ball of all things (advertised as traditional... yeah right) So it was a great night and somehow an oddly appropriate ending to a trip that really was so much fun. I miss my group immensely.... hi guys!!! So far this group seems lovely too but I never believe that they could be as nice as the previous group, you meet such great people on Intrepid trips.
After Tacky Turkish Night there were many hours of transportation. Try this yourself, mes enfants: spend five hours on a local bus, overnight train where you get intermittently hot then cold depending on who was currently winning the window open v window shut game to arrive at 8am with very little sleep, run around a new city for 6 or so hours, then take two flights to a new city and see how it is that YOU feel! I have never, never been so tired! The man who transferred us tried to sell me a tour when I arrived and I was so out of it that I actuellement laughed in his face; mind you it was kind of funny if you think about it, trying to flog 45 Euro tours at 1 am!!!!
So Casablaca it is. To me, after Egypt etc it all seems très French and very civilised, there is a little bit of man hassle but not to the extent of Cairo, by any means. An amazing, obscenely large mosque, very modern women, great mint tea! I had tagine for dinner and I suspect that is the first of many... not that I am complaining! I have had many hours of quality sleep, too, which was very needed!!!!!!
Anyway I must go, sorry, more to come later.
Much love
D x x
I think this computer might curl up its toes and die if I tried to plug in my camera, so excusez moi, mes amis, pas de photos! I am typing this on a French keyboard this time, which gives me the urge to scream... in French, bien sur! Also it is much easier to use the ! rather than the full stop so there will be even more !s than usual in this post, I suspect! Right, commence!
So first, how was Tacky Turkish Night? Great, actually! Tacky as advertised but a whole lot of fun: dancing, dervishes, belly dancing, raki... who could ask for more! set in a fake cave under a disco ball of all things (advertised as traditional... yeah right) So it was a great night and somehow an oddly appropriate ending to a trip that really was so much fun. I miss my group immensely.... hi guys!!! So far this group seems lovely too but I never believe that they could be as nice as the previous group, you meet such great people on Intrepid trips.
After Tacky Turkish Night there were many hours of transportation. Try this yourself, mes enfants: spend five hours on a local bus, overnight train where you get intermittently hot then cold depending on who was currently winning the window open v window shut game to arrive at 8am with very little sleep, run around a new city for 6 or so hours, then take two flights to a new city and see how it is that YOU feel! I have never, never been so tired! The man who transferred us tried to sell me a tour when I arrived and I was so out of it that I actuellement laughed in his face; mind you it was kind of funny if you think about it, trying to flog 45 Euro tours at 1 am!!!!
So Casablaca it is. To me, after Egypt etc it all seems très French and very civilised, there is a little bit of man hassle but not to the extent of Cairo, by any means. An amazing, obscenely large mosque, very modern women, great mint tea! I had tagine for dinner and I suspect that is the first of many... not that I am complaining! I have had many hours of quality sleep, too, which was very needed!!!!!!
Anyway I must go, sorry, more to come later.
Much love
D x x
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Turkey... and no rugs!
Hi again
I am much less grumpy today, so I thought I would post again in apology for last time! But in my defence, you have no idea how frustrating it is to have the keyboard letters in the wrong place. Call me a creature of habit, but I like my I to be where the I is supposed to be, not somewhere off near the enter key!!!
I am writing this in Goreme, Turkey, in a small hotel that looks like a traditional house. The owner reminds us a little bit of Manuel from Fawlty Towers... if you can imagine what he would be like freed of Basil Fawlty! All over the place! But he just gave us a flower each and an apple tea, bless. Argh, he's looking over my shoulder! Loves my photos, which have taken me hours to upload, feel lucky, people!!!
Turkey is incredibly different from Syria. It's almost like magic... you cross the border and everything changes. It's greener for starters and you actually see women with uncovered hair (weird!)
We've been through a couple of places but here is my fave, so I'll tell you about Goreme.
It's in an area known as Capadoccia. You might have heard of the fairy chimneys... that's what's in the photo at the top. They are formed from volcanic ash then eroded by water and time into what you see. Ancients carved them into homes, stables, churches... it's completely incredible. Somehow, though, the Smurf theme song keeps going through my head!
We've done some lovely walks and it's been great to get into greenery again afer the desert. So beautiful, too, wildflowers and those amazing chimneys, underground cities and temples. I've crawled through caves and hopped over rocks.
Outside nature there have been some other temptations, namely pottery (the photo of me at the top was taken in a pottery factory, using a kick wheel to throw a pot, sort of!) Fortunately all the pottery was very expensive and I was easily able to resist. Perhaps in Istanbul! Also today we went to a rug place where we were entranced by beautiful carpets. No I don't NEED one, but I WANTED one! Still, I resisted (thanks Mum for the blunt and timely text message!!! no I cannot afford one, you are SO right!) but I am a little tiny bit sad at the loss of such a lovely thing.
Anyway, I should really go as we are off to what our excellent leader Nina affecionately calls Tacky Turkish Night, complete with dancing and buffet.
Love to all,
D x x
Thursday, May 14, 2009
from Jordan via Syria to Turkey.... no ı am not dead!
Well hi all! Sorry it has been so long since I last wrote. And you will need to excuse the fact that this wıll again be short and fılled wıth many mıstakes as a) it ıs late b) i am tıred c) i have a cold and am therefore a little bıt self-pityıng and d) thıs Turkish keyboard ıs Killıng Me - the letters are ın the wrong places! please no one else ask me for pıctures, I know that they are lovely thıngs but they take forever to load, forget fancy wıreless connectıons at home, cable internet and the lıke, it ıs more than tedıous ın some places!
and i have the best excuse ever for not wrıtıng for a while, as blogspot ıs actually censored ın Syrıa, along wıth facebook! can you belıeve ıt!!!!
so i can't belıeve how far i've come. not to mentıon how long ıt just took me to find an apostrophe on this keyboard! last i wrote i had just conquered a mountaın and sınce then i have done two border crossıngs and so many thıngs ıt hurts my head to thınk of them!
so some hıghlıghts for you...
Wadi Rum.... desert! another nıght under the stars! and thıs tıme (sorry Egypt group) i caved ın to the majestıc settıng, shisha pipe (just tobacco Mum and don't worry i don't plan to make a habıt of ıt believe me) and peer pressure and sung for our Bedouin hosts and my tour group, poor people. but amazıngly, ıt raıned! ın the desert! around 15 mm per year and most of ıt that nıght! maybe i can sing the rain ın, should try ıt back home!!! but wadı rum is ıncredıble. rocks risıng out of the sand lıke Ayers rock but so very dıfferent...
Petra! i have alway wanted to see Petra and ıt didn't dısappoınt. more hikıng up stone stairs but worth every mınute! the temples at Petra have been chiselled out of the clıff faces, thousands of years ago, then buried ın sand. Unbelıeveable stuff!
Dead sea floating! we covered ourselves ın mud and floated, weıghtless, ın the rıdiculously salty water...
Ruıns at Jerash wıth the most wonderful guıde... you sometımes need someone who can brıng ruins to lıfe....
Jordanıan/Syrıan border crossıng, whıch warrants a post on ıts own really! We spent several hours at the border from Jordan becuase the Jordanians suspected that one of our group (lovely innocent Aussıe gal) was a wanted crıminal! gotta love ıt when the Australian embassy only has voicemail servıce and one of your group ıs stuck in an interrogatıon room! mind you it was all very gently done. after the fırst half hour or so the offıcer seemed to thınk ıt was all a mere formality and was offerıng us all tea and tıssues. a great story but ın realıty i have to admıt it wasn't really all that stressful lolz!!! at least not too bad. and then gettıng ınto Syrıa was a comparatıve breeze!
Syrıa! Damascus! I love Damascus!!! ı want to LIVE ın Damascus! why? hard to explain. wındıng alleys, lovely people, juxtaposıtıon of old and new, a certaın atmosphere... more later....
Palmyra... back to the desert... an Oasıs next to the most stunnıng ruıns i suspect ı wıll ever see....
Crac des Chevalıers... have we left Syrıa??? seems more lıke Ireland! vıews of the castle (crac)from our hotel wındow and the most ınsanely huge dınner ( ı have put on all the weıght ı lost durıng thıs partıcular trıp!!=(
Aleppo... the best hotel rıght ın the heart of the Souq... meetıng the locals wıth a fantastıc guıde....
Then onto Turkey!
Tıme to edıt at least some of the speelıng mıstoooks out of thıs then go to bed.
Love to all,
D x x x
and i have the best excuse ever for not wrıtıng for a while, as blogspot ıs actually censored ın Syrıa, along wıth facebook! can you belıeve ıt!!!!
so i can't belıeve how far i've come. not to mentıon how long ıt just took me to find an apostrophe on this keyboard! last i wrote i had just conquered a mountaın and sınce then i have done two border crossıngs and so many thıngs ıt hurts my head to thınk of them!
so some hıghlıghts for you...
Wadi Rum.... desert! another nıght under the stars! and thıs tıme (sorry Egypt group) i caved ın to the majestıc settıng, shisha pipe (just tobacco Mum and don't worry i don't plan to make a habıt of ıt believe me) and peer pressure and sung for our Bedouin hosts and my tour group, poor people. but amazıngly, ıt raıned! ın the desert! around 15 mm per year and most of ıt that nıght! maybe i can sing the rain ın, should try ıt back home!!! but wadı rum is ıncredıble. rocks risıng out of the sand lıke Ayers rock but so very dıfferent...
Petra! i have alway wanted to see Petra and ıt didn't dısappoınt. more hikıng up stone stairs but worth every mınute! the temples at Petra have been chiselled out of the clıff faces, thousands of years ago, then buried ın sand. Unbelıeveable stuff!
Dead sea floating! we covered ourselves ın mud and floated, weıghtless, ın the rıdiculously salty water...
Ruıns at Jerash wıth the most wonderful guıde... you sometımes need someone who can brıng ruins to lıfe....
Jordanıan/Syrıan border crossıng, whıch warrants a post on ıts own really! We spent several hours at the border from Jordan becuase the Jordanians suspected that one of our group (lovely innocent Aussıe gal) was a wanted crıminal! gotta love ıt when the Australian embassy only has voicemail servıce and one of your group ıs stuck in an interrogatıon room! mind you it was all very gently done. after the fırst half hour or so the offıcer seemed to thınk ıt was all a mere formality and was offerıng us all tea and tıssues. a great story but ın realıty i have to admıt it wasn't really all that stressful lolz!!! at least not too bad. and then gettıng ınto Syrıa was a comparatıve breeze!
Syrıa! Damascus! I love Damascus!!! ı want to LIVE ın Damascus! why? hard to explain. wındıng alleys, lovely people, juxtaposıtıon of old and new, a certaın atmosphere... more later....
Palmyra... back to the desert... an Oasıs next to the most stunnıng ruıns i suspect ı wıll ever see....
Crac des Chevalıers... have we left Syrıa??? seems more lıke Ireland! vıews of the castle (crac)from our hotel wındow and the most ınsanely huge dınner ( ı have put on all the weıght ı lost durıng thıs partıcular trıp!!=(
Aleppo... the best hotel rıght ın the heart of the Souq... meetıng the locals wıth a fantastıc guıde....
Then onto Turkey!
Tıme to edıt at least some of the speelıng mıstoooks out of thıs then go to bed.
Love to all,
D x x x
Saturday, May 2, 2009
I did it! Mt SInai to Aqaba
Well hi all
this is going to be the shortest blog post ever and will likely contain a number of spelling mistakes etc. but given that I have about 15 minutes I am sure you will forgive!
So we left grotty Cairo and all of those horny men, gee damn! lolz It is very weird to be on the streets here and not be hissed at or undressed by the eyes of dozens of men. Occasionally there is the odd "hello", but it is SUCH a relief! Anyway, getting sidetracked....
Once we left Cairo we made our way by bus to Mount Sinai - think Moses, burning bush, la da. As many of you will already know, it was the one thing I was massively stressed about, given that the mountain contains... wait for it.... 3750 steps!! wooooooooo. I was contemplating taking a camel up, however let me tell you that I MADE IT! Yay me! I even went the hard way (steps rather than the sloping camel path), mainly ços it was shorter, but also cos my leg does not enjoy inclines upwards. And I am perfectly fine, though at one stage I thought I was going to DIE of exhaustion.
The steps are known as the Steps of Repentence. Here is what i repented on my way up:
*The days that I skipped working out with Murray (sorry Murray)
*Chocolate Borios (that is what they make here, surprisingly similar to Orios)
*Chips
*All the fried food I have ever consumed
*Sitting on my bum in all of those cities where I opted to sit and have coffee rather than walking/hiking around, hrll i should have jogged!
And the fact that almost all of the rest of my group were infinitely fitter than me! They were very polite about it, but I suspect I was the one holding ém back, and the guide did offer to carry my daypack (which I accepted, just goes to show how completely buggered I was!)
So that was that and I am glad that I did it! I HAVE CONQUERED A MOUNTAIN!
We left there and went to Paradise, otherwise known as Sawa Beach Camp on the Red Sea. SOOOOOOOO lovely, beach huts, blue sea, snorkelling, great food, I was in Heaven. Could have done a couple more nights.... and then maybe a couple more..... mmmm napping....
We then took the ferry across to Aqaba. So now we are in a whole new country, Jordan! It seems very clean, modern and expensive compared to Egypt, has sort of a Gold Coast feel to it here, but that just could be in comparison.
Anyway, must go!
Love to all
D x x x
this is going to be the shortest blog post ever and will likely contain a number of spelling mistakes etc. but given that I have about 15 minutes I am sure you will forgive!
So we left grotty Cairo and all of those horny men, gee damn! lolz It is very weird to be on the streets here and not be hissed at or undressed by the eyes of dozens of men. Occasionally there is the odd "hello", but it is SUCH a relief! Anyway, getting sidetracked....
Once we left Cairo we made our way by bus to Mount Sinai - think Moses, burning bush, la da. As many of you will already know, it was the one thing I was massively stressed about, given that the mountain contains... wait for it.... 3750 steps!! wooooooooo. I was contemplating taking a camel up, however let me tell you that I MADE IT! Yay me! I even went the hard way (steps rather than the sloping camel path), mainly ços it was shorter, but also cos my leg does not enjoy inclines upwards. And I am perfectly fine, though at one stage I thought I was going to DIE of exhaustion.
The steps are known as the Steps of Repentence. Here is what i repented on my way up:
*The days that I skipped working out with Murray (sorry Murray)
*Chocolate Borios (that is what they make here, surprisingly similar to Orios)
*Chips
*All the fried food I have ever consumed
*Sitting on my bum in all of those cities where I opted to sit and have coffee rather than walking/hiking around, hrll i should have jogged!
And the fact that almost all of the rest of my group were infinitely fitter than me! They were very polite about it, but I suspect I was the one holding ém back, and the guide did offer to carry my daypack (which I accepted, just goes to show how completely buggered I was!)
So that was that and I am glad that I did it! I HAVE CONQUERED A MOUNTAIN!
We left there and went to Paradise, otherwise known as Sawa Beach Camp on the Red Sea. SOOOOOOOO lovely, beach huts, blue sea, snorkelling, great food, I was in Heaven. Could have done a couple more nights.... and then maybe a couple more..... mmmm napping....
We then took the ferry across to Aqaba. So now we are in a whole new country, Jordan! It seems very clean, modern and expensive compared to Egypt, has sort of a Gold Coast feel to it here, but that just could be in comparison.
Anyway, must go!
Love to all
D x x x
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Return to Cairo
Hi again
Well, back to Cairo! And what to tell you, since last I wrote... considering there hasn't been much time between posts I am slightly at a loss for words (I know! can you believe it!) but will do my best and tell you a little bit about the last day or so. My friend Yvonne (joining me on my next tour) caught up with me at my hotel on Sunday, which was very clever considering that my hotel is on the other side of the Nile, situated in a maze-like semi residential area that even taxi drivers find intensely confusing. So far three drivers have gotten lost, so I am completely impressed that she managed it, there is no doubt in my mind that I would never have found it had it been me! For anyone who doesn't already know this, I firmly and truly believe that I was born without a sense of direction. Sad but true! Spin me round three times and I am lost, compass points are completely without meaning to me... oh well, can't have everything in life!
So Yvonne and I have been fairly chilled, the last couple of days. I inflicted the remainders of my last tour group on her on Sunday night and she coped well... lolz.... love you really, guys!!! Even if I am apparently one step from the zimmer frame... hey I wasn't even the oldest! Miss you x x x (but God knows why)!!!
If you are wondering, yes the tats are permanent... nah not really. Yvonne and I had our hands hennaed in a tea house in the Khan e Khalili Bazaar, which was a laugh. I love that place! It wasn't actually the most aggresive market I've been to, a little like Turkey and no grabbing like some of the markets in Vietnam. I guess that suprised me, given that the men here are so painful. I have reached the point where I would like to slap them, suppressed it, regained tolerance, reached it again... I know it' s cultural and I should just be flattered, but it's so HARD! Ah well.
We also went by train (women's carriage! wonderful respite from the ogle-rs!) to Coptic Cairo and walked around the churches and even a synagogue. Very peaceful.
Oh well, best go now, I am HUNGRY! We meet my third tour group tonight, then on to Mt Sinai. Wish me luck, I may possibly die of exhaustion... lol... but think how nice my legs will be after all this exercise!
Much love
D x x
Saturday, April 25, 2009
A trip to the Sahara
Well hi all!
So I am not dead, unless of course I am emailing from above (or below) lolz. You will have to forgive my sense of humour today, there was a little too much beer around last night and I was just a helpless victim! Ah, travelling Australians, what is it about us and beer...
Anyway I cannot believe that it has been a week since I last wrote. Surely not! And what to tell you first, in that case....
Well right now I am in Alexandria and I have spent most of the last week in the desert or in various Oases. A LOT of time spent getting from one place to another, by death defying 4WD or mini bus.
The fascintating thing about the desert, for me, is the way that the colours change. You are staring out of the window playing eye spy and after spying sand and rock - game over. But the Sahara was glorious. Just imagine a scene where everything you see is bleached white and the rocks curl and hollow like giant, ancient bones. Like you're walking on some distant planet, hardly earthbound. Then you drive for another hour and some great force has sprinkled the white with shards of grey rock. And then more sand, mountains of sand, where it seems that no one has ever walked, or will walk, again.... and you take photos of your footprints and feel like an astronaut.... and the heat takes the moisture from your mouth and eyes and the sweat from your body until you forget that it's even hot at all....
That was very deep, wasn't it? lolz
So i have slept under the stars in the Sahara and rolled down a sand dune. Quite literally rolled. Think sand in your ears, sand in your undies, sand sand and more sand! It was such a silly thing to do but *man* it was fun. Like being a little child and getting on a whizzy dizzy, spinning madly until you can't walk straight. Lucky no one has ever accused me of being a grown up!
What else have I seen, then? Small villages made of mud, rocks that look like chickens, mind blowing sunsets, camel farms and unexpected lakes. I have swum in Cleopatra's bath (complete with green slime, bet Cleo never had that) ridden on a donkey cart and broken my solemn vow in relation to bicycles... (I once vowed never again to ride a vehicle with a seat smaller than my behind, that was post Chinese bicycles several years ago) but I got back on the proverbial horse and it was fine! Better than than watching as the donkey from our cart got walloped with a stick, I am too soft hearted to watch that.
Anyway lovelies, must go, running out of time! I am going to visit a library today, lolz! But don't worry, I am still well, still having a great trip, missing you all, though...
Much love,
D x x
So I am not dead, unless of course I am emailing from above (or below) lolz. You will have to forgive my sense of humour today, there was a little too much beer around last night and I was just a helpless victim! Ah, travelling Australians, what is it about us and beer...
Anyway I cannot believe that it has been a week since I last wrote. Surely not! And what to tell you first, in that case....
Well right now I am in Alexandria and I have spent most of the last week in the desert or in various Oases. A LOT of time spent getting from one place to another, by death defying 4WD or mini bus.
The fascintating thing about the desert, for me, is the way that the colours change. You are staring out of the window playing eye spy and after spying sand and rock - game over. But the Sahara was glorious. Just imagine a scene where everything you see is bleached white and the rocks curl and hollow like giant, ancient bones. Like you're walking on some distant planet, hardly earthbound. Then you drive for another hour and some great force has sprinkled the white with shards of grey rock. And then more sand, mountains of sand, where it seems that no one has ever walked, or will walk, again.... and you take photos of your footprints and feel like an astronaut.... and the heat takes the moisture from your mouth and eyes and the sweat from your body until you forget that it's even hot at all....
That was very deep, wasn't it? lolz
So i have slept under the stars in the Sahara and rolled down a sand dune. Quite literally rolled. Think sand in your ears, sand in your undies, sand sand and more sand! It was such a silly thing to do but *man* it was fun. Like being a little child and getting on a whizzy dizzy, spinning madly until you can't walk straight. Lucky no one has ever accused me of being a grown up!
What else have I seen, then? Small villages made of mud, rocks that look like chickens, mind blowing sunsets, camel farms and unexpected lakes. I have swum in Cleopatra's bath (complete with green slime, bet Cleo never had that) ridden on a donkey cart and broken my solemn vow in relation to bicycles... (I once vowed never again to ride a vehicle with a seat smaller than my behind, that was post Chinese bicycles several years ago) but I got back on the proverbial horse and it was fine! Better than than watching as the donkey from our cart got walloped with a stick, I am too soft hearted to watch that.
Anyway lovelies, must go, running out of time! I am going to visit a library today, lolz! But don't worry, I am still well, still having a great trip, missing you all, though...
Much love,
D x x
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Luxor is not just a crappy computer game
Hey all
Well, not so rushed this time but alas I won't be posting any photos, as one of my fellow tour mates got a mild electric shock from the USB port on this PC! So no way in the remotest Hell am I risking my lovely camera and lovely photos, never mind me....
So what to tell? Since I last wrote I have actually ridden a camel. Let me tell you about it...
Those of us who decided to brave the camels met at dusk in a small village on Elephant Island, I think it was (off Aswan). Approaching the camel was a daunting task. Do you know how big camels are?? Enormous. And getting on to a camel is a tricky thing. The camel is tall enough (even when seated) that you have to sort of lie on it and haul your arse over by sheer brute force. Graceful, absolutely (not)! Then the camel stands up and OH MY GOD it's high. You lean forwards and backwards while he (or she?) is rising so you theoretically don't fall. But the saddle feels wobbly. The handler tells you to wiggle until you are in the right position but what IS the right position? Let me tell you I didn't actually enjoy the whole camel thing. The whole time I was completely consumed by the certainty that I was going to fall. And camels move in a lurching sort of manner which is kind of nauseating. Not to mention the fact that they grunt, snort, fart, piss AND spit with grumpy abandon. And they smell bad in general. Ugh.
Finally it was over and we went to have dinner with a Nubian family. The Nubians are one of the cultural groups in Egypt and they speak Nubian, which is not Arabic or even a dialect thereof. But we played with the kids and you don't really need words for that. We sat on a mat on the floor and shared food around, watched as it was prepared in a clay oven probably hundreds of years old. My favourite part of any trip is seeing how people live, just the ordinary people. I know that our Intrepid dinners are a little out of context, if you get my drift (when there's money involved of course everything starts to change), but at least it's a glimpse. Better than a restaurant at any rate. Good food, too, except for some green soupy stuff the texture and taste of spit!
We then spent a day and night floating on a felucca on the Nile. Very lazy, basically, a day of lying around on a glorified giant mattress (with sail on top) napping and staring at the scenery in turn. After that we got the minibus to Luxor, which used to be known as Thebes for any of you history buffs. And that is where I am now.
Otherwise we have been Templing. I declare this a word though it might not be in your dictionary!
Templing (defined): the science of wandering through many temples, guidebook in hand or guide in earshot, looking and acting like a complete tourist.
We have visited the Karnak Temple (unbelievable, columns and hieroglyphics) Valley of the Kings (unbelievable, hieroglyphics in burial chambers cut out of the mountains) and Hatshepsut's Temple (unbelievable, massive structure with columns and hieroglyphics) and the Colossi of Memnon (also unbelievable, with hieroglyphics of course). Between me, you and the lamp-post, I am a little overtempled right now.
Oh by the way, someone just offered me five chickens for my love, and I was called a "sexy madame". These men are sleazier than you would believe humanly possible, I am almost ready to start flipping them the bird but I'm not sure if that gesture translates. It's like continually walking past the worst kinds of building sites. But you should take your compliments where you can find them I guess! lolz
Will write more in a few days, as we are going into the desert tomorrow.
Love lots,
D
Well, not so rushed this time but alas I won't be posting any photos, as one of my fellow tour mates got a mild electric shock from the USB port on this PC! So no way in the remotest Hell am I risking my lovely camera and lovely photos, never mind me....
So what to tell? Since I last wrote I have actually ridden a camel. Let me tell you about it...
Those of us who decided to brave the camels met at dusk in a small village on Elephant Island, I think it was (off Aswan). Approaching the camel was a daunting task. Do you know how big camels are?? Enormous. And getting on to a camel is a tricky thing. The camel is tall enough (even when seated) that you have to sort of lie on it and haul your arse over by sheer brute force. Graceful, absolutely (not)! Then the camel stands up and OH MY GOD it's high. You lean forwards and backwards while he (or she?) is rising so you theoretically don't fall. But the saddle feels wobbly. The handler tells you to wiggle until you are in the right position but what IS the right position? Let me tell you I didn't actually enjoy the whole camel thing. The whole time I was completely consumed by the certainty that I was going to fall. And camels move in a lurching sort of manner which is kind of nauseating. Not to mention the fact that they grunt, snort, fart, piss AND spit with grumpy abandon. And they smell bad in general. Ugh.
Finally it was over and we went to have dinner with a Nubian family. The Nubians are one of the cultural groups in Egypt and they speak Nubian, which is not Arabic or even a dialect thereof. But we played with the kids and you don't really need words for that. We sat on a mat on the floor and shared food around, watched as it was prepared in a clay oven probably hundreds of years old. My favourite part of any trip is seeing how people live, just the ordinary people. I know that our Intrepid dinners are a little out of context, if you get my drift (when there's money involved of course everything starts to change), but at least it's a glimpse. Better than a restaurant at any rate. Good food, too, except for some green soupy stuff the texture and taste of spit!
We then spent a day and night floating on a felucca on the Nile. Very lazy, basically, a day of lying around on a glorified giant mattress (with sail on top) napping and staring at the scenery in turn. After that we got the minibus to Luxor, which used to be known as Thebes for any of you history buffs. And that is where I am now.
Otherwise we have been Templing. I declare this a word though it might not be in your dictionary!
Templing (defined): the science of wandering through many temples, guidebook in hand or guide in earshot, looking and acting like a complete tourist.
We have visited the Karnak Temple (unbelievable, columns and hieroglyphics) Valley of the Kings (unbelievable, hieroglyphics in burial chambers cut out of the mountains) and Hatshepsut's Temple (unbelievable, massive structure with columns and hieroglyphics) and the Colossi of Memnon (also unbelievable, with hieroglyphics of course). Between me, you and the lamp-post, I am a little overtempled right now.
Oh by the way, someone just offered me five chickens for my love, and I was called a "sexy madame". These men are sleazier than you would believe humanly possible, I am almost ready to start flipping them the bird but I'm not sure if that gesture translates. It's like continually walking past the worst kinds of building sites. But you should take your compliments where you can find them I guess! lolz
Will write more in a few days, as we are going into the desert tomorrow.
Love lots,
D
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Protestations of undying love and temples...Aswan
Hey again all
This blog post finds me still in Aswan, Egypt on a much better PC than last time, with approximately 15 minutes to spare before breakfast, so it will be a quick post probably with many spelling mistakes! This internet cafe is rather great. It is filled with men who (for once) are not staring at me avariciously... or only in the sense that the owner would like to be paid his $5 EGP for the internet use! The owner has even turned on a fan for me, recognising that I am a Westerner and the heat here is really very... well... hot! Sure it was about 40 the day before yesterday, hot enough that the spit in your mouth dries and you consume litre after litre of water and still feel dehydrated. Ah well, I am much better prepared for this than most, given that I have a) been in Sweaty Saigon and b) lived through the Melbourne Heatwave! There is Arabic music blaring in the background and out the window I can see the grotty and dinted Egyptian cars, a beggar, birka clad women and dusty buildings. Egypt is certainly Not Like Home. Which is a wonderful thing.
Yesterday we went to Abu Simbel. The whole thing was a massive production. For those who have no idea (like me a month ago) Abu Simbel is a massive temple cut into the side of a cliff. We drove through a desert in a convoy, watching as the land slid past... the only variation in the scene the massive powerlines like demented, futuristic scarecrows.... sand and rock, rock and sand.... stunning.... the temple was mindblowing, so incredible it seemed almost fake, like stepping into a film....
the markets here are fun. More hassle than Cairo as it is quite touristy. They are filled with men who tell you that they love you:
"Hello, I love you..."
'Hello, Shakira, " (why Shakira I don't know, but I have been called this at least twice
"You are so beautiful, lovely"
"Hey, Aussie" (I am almost certain I have an invisible tattoo with my nationality on it, how do I ook Australian???)
"Come in, no hassle" (that from a man standing two inches from my nose)
Anyway, more on that later! Not too bad for 15 minutes, hey???
Love,
D x x
This blog post finds me still in Aswan, Egypt on a much better PC than last time, with approximately 15 minutes to spare before breakfast, so it will be a quick post probably with many spelling mistakes! This internet cafe is rather great. It is filled with men who (for once) are not staring at me avariciously... or only in the sense that the owner would like to be paid his $5 EGP for the internet use! The owner has even turned on a fan for me, recognising that I am a Westerner and the heat here is really very... well... hot! Sure it was about 40 the day before yesterday, hot enough that the spit in your mouth dries and you consume litre after litre of water and still feel dehydrated. Ah well, I am much better prepared for this than most, given that I have a) been in Sweaty Saigon and b) lived through the Melbourne Heatwave! There is Arabic music blaring in the background and out the window I can see the grotty and dinted Egyptian cars, a beggar, birka clad women and dusty buildings. Egypt is certainly Not Like Home. Which is a wonderful thing.
Yesterday we went to Abu Simbel. The whole thing was a massive production. For those who have no idea (like me a month ago) Abu Simbel is a massive temple cut into the side of a cliff. We drove through a desert in a convoy, watching as the land slid past... the only variation in the scene the massive powerlines like demented, futuristic scarecrows.... sand and rock, rock and sand.... stunning.... the temple was mindblowing, so incredible it seemed almost fake, like stepping into a film....
the markets here are fun. More hassle than Cairo as it is quite touristy. They are filled with men who tell you that they love you:
"Hello, I love you..."
'Hello, Shakira, " (why Shakira I don't know, but I have been called this at least twice
"You are so beautiful, lovely"
"Hey, Aussie" (I am almost certain I have an invisible tattoo with my nationality on it, how do I ook Australian???)
"Come in, no hassle" (that from a man standing two inches from my nose)
Anyway, more on that later! Not too bad for 15 minutes, hey???
Love,
D x x
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Egypt - Cairo to Aswan
Hey!
Guess what? I am actually in Egypt, on one of the maddest computers I have ever had the misfortune to use. It keeps typing in the address bar, every now and then when I press the spacebar... and the Arabic keyboard doesn't help either! La! But I have successfully managed to decipher "edit blog" in Arabic, yay me! So really it will be a wonder if this post makes any sense at all... here's hoping....
So I arrived (obviously) safely in Cairo, after having a ginormous stress out in the plane. I was almost hyperventilating by the time we landed, doing the whole "death by what-ifs" thing... you know how it goes... "whatif there's no one to meet me? whatif my luggage gets lost? for God's sake what the Hell are you doing, Donna, going to the Middle East, did you actually know where you were going? look at the countries on the flight map you are going to get KILLED " etc. etc.
But let me tell you, it has been Very Easy so far! Really can't quite believe it. Vietnam was much more of a stress! And the whole baggage, lifts, la da has gone fine. I was collected by a prompt and friendly travel agent, along with two of the most embarassing specimens of travelling Aussie you might ever have the misfortune to meet...
"maaaate, had my last beer on the plane at 3 am, hanging out for the next one already" (bearing in mind that this was about 6am)
but my personal favourite comment was as follows:
"do you think the roads might be quiet because it's Easter Sunday?"
Well if you can't figure out what the problem is with that I can't help you....
Anyway, this will have to be a short post 'cos the PC is drivng me INSANE and there is a queue (apparently this is the good PC!!)
So what to tell....
yesterday I stood on a pyramid!! and saw the Sphinx! And the mask of Tuthenkamen! (that is spelled incorrectly i know it) Kept walking around in a semi daze, repeating to myself "I can't believe I'm seeing this" and hopping on one foot like a kid! It is so amazing to be here! I can't stop using exclamation marks!!!
Cairo is very brown and busy, filled with beeping horns and people, people, people. I feel a little bit naked in comparison to the local women, most of whom are covered... but at least I am not the typical tourist and I cover knees and shoulders. My roommate (ironically an English girl named Sarah) and I have taken to glaring at the bikini clad shorts wearing Westerners who are so disrespectful of the people here, it annoys me intensely.
Anyway, sorry all but I have battled this PC long enough... I give in and will let someone else fight.
Love to all,
D x x x
Guess what? I am actually in Egypt, on one of the maddest computers I have ever had the misfortune to use. It keeps typing in the address bar, every now and then when I press the spacebar... and the Arabic keyboard doesn't help either! La! But I have successfully managed to decipher "edit blog" in Arabic, yay me! So really it will be a wonder if this post makes any sense at all... here's hoping....
So I arrived (obviously) safely in Cairo, after having a ginormous stress out in the plane. I was almost hyperventilating by the time we landed, doing the whole "death by what-ifs" thing... you know how it goes... "whatif there's no one to meet me? whatif my luggage gets lost? for God's sake what the Hell are you doing, Donna, going to the Middle East, did you actually know where you were going? look at the countries on the flight map you are going to get KILLED " etc. etc.
But let me tell you, it has been Very Easy so far! Really can't quite believe it. Vietnam was much more of a stress! And the whole baggage, lifts, la da has gone fine. I was collected by a prompt and friendly travel agent, along with two of the most embarassing specimens of travelling Aussie you might ever have the misfortune to meet...
"maaaate, had my last beer on the plane at 3 am, hanging out for the next one already" (bearing in mind that this was about 6am)
but my personal favourite comment was as follows:
"do you think the roads might be quiet because it's Easter Sunday?"
Well if you can't figure out what the problem is with that I can't help you....
Anyway, this will have to be a short post 'cos the PC is drivng me INSANE and there is a queue (apparently this is the good PC!!)
So what to tell....
yesterday I stood on a pyramid!! and saw the Sphinx! And the mask of Tuthenkamen! (that is spelled incorrectly i know it) Kept walking around in a semi daze, repeating to myself "I can't believe I'm seeing this" and hopping on one foot like a kid! It is so amazing to be here! I can't stop using exclamation marks!!!
Cairo is very brown and busy, filled with beeping horns and people, people, people. I feel a little bit naked in comparison to the local women, most of whom are covered... but at least I am not the typical tourist and I cover knees and shoulders. My roommate (ironically an English girl named Sarah) and I have taken to glaring at the bikini clad shorts wearing Westerners who are so disrespectful of the people here, it annoys me intensely.
Anyway, sorry all but I have battled this PC long enough... I give in and will let someone else fight.
Love to all,
D x x x
Friday, April 10, 2009
An evening and a day in Saigon... only because I am bored
Hi again all
To be honest there is not a lot to tell you at the moment, but I am bored so please bear with me! And don't expect that I will be this up to date once I reach Egypt, who knows how hard it will be to get onto a PC! Right now I am on the hotel's only free PC again. Hogging it. And NOT feeling guilty, so there!
Well, maybe a tiny bit....
So I am still here in HCMC, killing time until my flight tomorrow afternoon. I've kept myself occupied thusly:
* Trying to find a pair of crop jeans that won't fall off me like the pair I brought from home (despite the fact that I haven't had any stomach issues whatsoever, travel has had its usual effect on me and I've dropped a fair bit of weight already! Yay! Better than Jenny Craig! must be all the walking)
* Reading a book in the park and rebuffing a date with a local, manicure, survey and cyclo ride in turn. Eventually gave up and went back to my airconditioned hotel room.
* Visiting the Reunification Palace (tourist duty now officially DONE, there is nothing more listed in the Lonely Planet that remotely interests me)
* Eating and drinking with fellow tour group-ites, all of whom are now gone :((
* Recovering from the above
Have to tell you about the jeans, though. Shopping here is an adventure. I bought my "genuine" Tommy Hilfiger jeans from the Banh Thanh market, which is a little like Istanbul's Grand Bazaar in size, but much grottier. And hotter. And filled with ridiculous quantities of Stuff (mainly Crap). With really tiny alleyways. Well, OK, maybe not THAT much like the Bazaar after all! People in this particular market are probably the most pushy people I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. I would pen the name of one alleyway "the Alley of Many Hands", as every person you pass grabs your arm and physically tries to pull you into their store.
"Madame, very cheap!"
"What you looking for, Miss? I have!"
"T shirt, Miss?"
"Embroidery, Madame? Very beautiful, hand made."
"Handbag, Madame? Come look, just look!"
Really, it's nuts. I tried at first to be methodical about it but it's such a rabbit warren you just end up giving up and wandering aimlessly. I think I passed one store four times at least. Entirely unintentionally.
So back to the jeans. I entered the first stall and looked at a couple of pairs of jeans. Now as you all know, I am not the tiniest person in the universe, even after having dropped a few kilos. But in comparison to the average Vietnamese lady I am the Jolly Green Giant. They are completely fascinated by me, my skin (which gets stroked every now and then by complete strangers), my height and most of all my dimple. I think it might be something to do with a slight resemblance to the Happy Buddha *lolz*! But back to the shop.
The first woman measured me and presented me with a pair of jeans that looked Very Small. But I figured hey, you've lost a few pounds, may-be.... so I tried them on. Of course, trying on jeans in 35 degree sweaty heat is fun anway, but add on the fact that you are a) wearing really inappropriate entirely lace underpants b) you are trying to stand behind a (short) curtain held up by the salesperson and c) stand on one leg while trying to maintain some sort of modicum of modesty while forcing on jeans at least three sizes too small....and you get the picture! NOT easy! So the first pair proved to be Very Small, the second Very Ugly and still Very Small (worried looks exchanged by the sales ladies) and the third just plain Wrong.
So onto the next shop, where I repeated the whole process. But this time they measured me a little better and it was fair less painful. The jeans I ended up buying needed to be cut down, so once the bargaining process was completed (Dad, I got them down from $350000 VND to $190000 (around $17 AUD), be impressed!) I followed my jeans out of the market, across the road to the tiny tailor shop where the jeans were presumably made. Yes of COURSE they are genuine! On the spot the little tailor, sitting on a stool in a back room with an ancient sewing machine, cement floor and curtain, cut the pants down and sewed them up. I love Vietnam!
Otherwise in the last day or so.... the Reunification Palace was OK, not much to tell there really, Google it if you want history, my memory sucks....
Dinner, on the other hand, was great. What is it about me and food! I ate rice from a coconut and we had beers in no less than three different venues. Lucky I had nothing planned for today! My tour buddy was good company, lolz... drinking while sitting in deckchairs on the side of a roundabout in Saigon is not a bad way to while away some time! On a sidebar, it always strikes me as weird that I drink so much beer when I travel. I don't at home. Maybe just trying to keep up the Aussie spirit abroad! My tour mate is Aussie also and he's probably what you'd call a beer connaisseur, so we did the country proud.
Anyway, I am going off to see if I can arrange to get my boarding passes printed for tomorrow.
Love youse!
D x x
To be honest there is not a lot to tell you at the moment, but I am bored so please bear with me! And don't expect that I will be this up to date once I reach Egypt, who knows how hard it will be to get onto a PC! Right now I am on the hotel's only free PC again. Hogging it. And NOT feeling guilty, so there!
Well, maybe a tiny bit....
So I am still here in HCMC, killing time until my flight tomorrow afternoon. I've kept myself occupied thusly:
* Trying to find a pair of crop jeans that won't fall off me like the pair I brought from home (despite the fact that I haven't had any stomach issues whatsoever, travel has had its usual effect on me and I've dropped a fair bit of weight already! Yay! Better than Jenny Craig! must be all the walking)
* Reading a book in the park and rebuffing a date with a local, manicure, survey and cyclo ride in turn. Eventually gave up and went back to my airconditioned hotel room.
* Visiting the Reunification Palace (tourist duty now officially DONE, there is nothing more listed in the Lonely Planet that remotely interests me)
* Eating and drinking with fellow tour group-ites, all of whom are now gone :((
* Recovering from the above
Have to tell you about the jeans, though. Shopping here is an adventure. I bought my "genuine" Tommy Hilfiger jeans from the Banh Thanh market, which is a little like Istanbul's Grand Bazaar in size, but much grottier. And hotter. And filled with ridiculous quantities of Stuff (mainly Crap). With really tiny alleyways. Well, OK, maybe not THAT much like the Bazaar after all! People in this particular market are probably the most pushy people I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. I would pen the name of one alleyway "the Alley of Many Hands", as every person you pass grabs your arm and physically tries to pull you into their store.
"Madame, very cheap!"
"What you looking for, Miss? I have!"
"T shirt, Miss?"
"Embroidery, Madame? Very beautiful, hand made."
"Handbag, Madame? Come look, just look!"
Really, it's nuts. I tried at first to be methodical about it but it's such a rabbit warren you just end up giving up and wandering aimlessly. I think I passed one store four times at least. Entirely unintentionally.
So back to the jeans. I entered the first stall and looked at a couple of pairs of jeans. Now as you all know, I am not the tiniest person in the universe, even after having dropped a few kilos. But in comparison to the average Vietnamese lady I am the Jolly Green Giant. They are completely fascinated by me, my skin (which gets stroked every now and then by complete strangers), my height and most of all my dimple. I think it might be something to do with a slight resemblance to the Happy Buddha *lolz*! But back to the shop.
The first woman measured me and presented me with a pair of jeans that looked Very Small. But I figured hey, you've lost a few pounds, may-be.... so I tried them on. Of course, trying on jeans in 35 degree sweaty heat is fun anway, but add on the fact that you are a) wearing really inappropriate entirely lace underpants b) you are trying to stand behind a (short) curtain held up by the salesperson and c) stand on one leg while trying to maintain some sort of modicum of modesty while forcing on jeans at least three sizes too small....and you get the picture! NOT easy! So the first pair proved to be Very Small, the second Very Ugly and still Very Small (worried looks exchanged by the sales ladies) and the third just plain Wrong.
So onto the next shop, where I repeated the whole process. But this time they measured me a little better and it was fair less painful. The jeans I ended up buying needed to be cut down, so once the bargaining process was completed (Dad, I got them down from $350000 VND to $190000 (around $17 AUD), be impressed!) I followed my jeans out of the market, across the road to the tiny tailor shop where the jeans were presumably made. Yes of COURSE they are genuine! On the spot the little tailor, sitting on a stool in a back room with an ancient sewing machine, cement floor and curtain, cut the pants down and sewed them up. I love Vietnam!
Otherwise in the last day or so.... the Reunification Palace was OK, not much to tell there really, Google it if you want history, my memory sucks....
Dinner, on the other hand, was great. What is it about me and food! I ate rice from a coconut and we had beers in no less than three different venues. Lucky I had nothing planned for today! My tour buddy was good company, lolz... drinking while sitting in deckchairs on the side of a roundabout in Saigon is not a bad way to while away some time! On a sidebar, it always strikes me as weird that I drink so much beer when I travel. I don't at home. Maybe just trying to keep up the Aussie spirit abroad! My tour mate is Aussie also and he's probably what you'd call a beer connaisseur, so we did the country proud.
Anyway, I am going off to see if I can arrange to get my boarding passes printed for tomorrow.
Love youse!
D x x
Thursday, April 9, 2009
How slack am I.... Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City
Hi all,
Sorry it's been a little while. I knew that I'd have some downtime today and tomorrow, so basically I've been keeping this 'til last - something like saving the chocolate that comes with your coffee right up until the very end. I am enjoying doing this blog, but it feels very self-indulgent, it amazes me that people are reading it! Thank you!
So, my last post finished at the mud baths. Unfortunately no photos, we didn't take our cameras into the mud and the photo that we would have paid for didn't work. Alas!
So I am spending five or so nights in the glorious Ho Chi Minh City. I am being completely cynical using that word. Basically, it's an Asian city. Not dissimilar to Bangkok, but smells better. Marginally fewer cripples and beggars, but only just. It's about 34 degrees and 90+% humidity, which increases to 100% humidity reasonably often. Going outside=sweat and motorbikes, more motorbikes than you could possibly imagine. Crossing roads in Vietnam is an interesting experience requiring intensive training. Our tour guide provided this training early on. "Just walk, go slow. If you wait, you wait for long time. They will avoid." Now in most places in Vietnam the locals have an unerring ability to do just this. Lolloping Westerner steps onto road, fourteen motorbikes beep and swerve gently and elegantly to avoid them. Here in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) I get the feeling they just consider us sport. Drivers regularly go through red lights and pedestrian crossings, which I think is actually legal if you are turning. It's nuts, but you just sort of look in ten directions, take a deep breath, pray to whatever gods tickle your fancy, and go! La!
Anyway, I should recap a little 'cos I have missed some great days. In Nha Trang we did a fantastic boat trip which took up most of the day. We left in a big fishing boat (set up for tourists, of course), made our way to an island where we went snorkelling (OK nothing on the Great Barrier Reef, but still fun), went to a local island and got a glims
pe into the lives of the islanders, got paddled around in giant baskets by the local ladies (see photo), devoured a pretty reasonable on board lunch then got massages, or hair plucking as required and basically just chilled out on a stony beach! Perfection! I have very nice toenails now, painted for the vast sum of around $5 AU with tiny flowers. The guys had theirs done too in an overwhelming show of bravadery... for a bunch of Aussies and poms they weren't half bad!After that, an overnight train. Had one of those nights where you stay awake just in case you sleep in....!!
We then arrived here in HCMC, which seems like forever ago. I elected not to go to the Cu Chi tunnels, much to the narrowly concealed disgust of our local guide. I don't choose to immerse myself in reminders of war, particularly when I have to pay extra for the privilege. But I should point out to my readers that I am not unaware of the tragedies that occured during the American War, much more so now (I did visit the War Remnants museum, featuring terrible photos of war crimes and dead babies). I acknowledge and share my Nation's guilt. Oh now that's terribly deep!
So, what else, Mekong Delta where we visited the islands, were paddled in canoes, ate exotic fruit, watched coconut candy being made, rode at breakneck speed on the back of little truck motorbike things and wore lovely hats. COOL!
Anyway, must go and share this PC time.
Love lots,
Donna x x x
Saturday, April 4, 2009
A day on the train... and mud
Hi again,
I'm currently blinking at the screen, which is slightly blurry owing to a little bit of mud in the eyes. Ah well, who said a little mud ever hurt anyone! Tell you why in a minute.
So right now I am where, um (have to think about this one a little), oh yes, Nha Trang. Nha Trang is a Vietnamese resort city set right on the beach. The beach itself is quite lovely, even by Aussie standards, but the city fairly ordinary. There are some very, very large rats, the kind that look as though they would steal your baby if you gave them half a chance! Also there seems to be a fair few prostitutes out in the evening offering nasty Westerners a happy ending. Ah well, not everywhere can be as lovely as Hoi An!
So where was I up to... Hoi An... not much more to tell there, really. I explored some of the old town, assembly halls and temples on my own, which was a nice thing to do. I do love having company but it needs to be the right sort (hi Yvonne!!! can't wait to get to Cairo!!! can you bring me some vegemite???) and there is only so much of the not-quite-right sort of company I can take. Hey, only child....!!! So getting out on my own again was a Good Thing.
We then spent a fairly nuts amount of money posting the red boots etc. back home to Aus, so hopefully all of that will reach home OK and the Melbourne girls will babysit it until my homecoming. The post office in itself was an experience, took us nearly an hour to get that all sorted! Plenty of "you fill in this paper" and "you fill in that paper" and "box too big, we cut down" and a Hell of a lot of masking tape. You wonder how much of the weight (17 kg!! between 3 girls!) was taken up by the masking tape, but it's not as though you can argue. After the post office we went to the feeding frenzy restaurant again and had our fill of cheap and cheerful Vietnamese food. Then to a bar, which had great music but was pretty uneventful despite experimental cheap cocktails (and no, I'm not censoring!)
So nearly up to date now, one more day to go aside from today....
Yesterday was Train Day. And there's not so much to tell about that! Ten hours on the Reunification Express... naps and snacks.... little bit of iPod... insanely smelly toilets.... lots of smokers... used sheets in the sleeper beds.... people selling everything from loo paper to cooked ducks through the train window.....
Oh now that is priceless, the taxi that's reversing just near me plays "twinkle twinkle little star" instead of beeping, lolz! I wonder how Ollie the Outreach Van is going??? :)
So today I spent the morning in the market with my room mate, an exercise which tested my patience to the absolute limit. She is a lovely, warm hearted soul, though, so I should not complain.
This afternoon we went to the mud baths, which was An Experience! I still feel as though I have mud between the teeth, but my skin feels Amazing! Two hours for around ten dollars Aus, alternately sitting in warm pools of mud, showering in mineral spring water, bathing in hot mineral spring water, blasted by showers of all sorts and lolling in a warm mineral pool. We did the cheap option rather than the private bathing and it was a riot; young Vietnamese girls found my white (or red or muddy, depending on the moment) skin incredibly funny and kept touching it and giggling! Weird how we westerers covet a tan and the Vietnamese girls envy my pallor!
I will admit to the world that I went for the most spectacular "speccy" (great Aussie word there) by the mud pool where I fell in the mud, exposed both flobby stomach and likely boob (so much for Vietnamese standards of decency) and narrowly managed to avoid braining myself! Oh dear, maybe one day I will grow graceful and elegant, do they do lessons in that any more??? lolz
Anyway, we are off to dinner and I don't have anything else interesting to tell!
Love lots,
D x x
I'm currently blinking at the screen, which is slightly blurry owing to a little bit of mud in the eyes. Ah well, who said a little mud ever hurt anyone! Tell you why in a minute.
So right now I am where, um (have to think about this one a little), oh yes, Nha Trang. Nha Trang is a Vietnamese resort city set right on the beach. The beach itself is quite lovely, even by Aussie standards, but the city fairly ordinary. There are some very, very large rats, the kind that look as though they would steal your baby if you gave them half a chance! Also there seems to be a fair few prostitutes out in the evening offering nasty Westerners a happy ending. Ah well, not everywhere can be as lovely as Hoi An!
So where was I up to... Hoi An... not much more to tell there, really. I explored some of the old town, assembly halls and temples on my own, which was a nice thing to do. I do love having company but it needs to be the right sort (hi Yvonne!!! can't wait to get to Cairo!!! can you bring me some vegemite???) and there is only so much of the not-quite-right sort of company I can take. Hey, only child....!!! So getting out on my own again was a Good Thing.
We then spent a fairly nuts amount of money posting the red boots etc. back home to Aus, so hopefully all of that will reach home OK and the Melbourne girls will babysit it until my homecoming. The post office in itself was an experience, took us nearly an hour to get that all sorted! Plenty of "you fill in this paper" and "you fill in that paper" and "box too big, we cut down" and a Hell of a lot of masking tape. You wonder how much of the weight (17 kg!! between 3 girls!) was taken up by the masking tape, but it's not as though you can argue. After the post office we went to the feeding frenzy restaurant again and had our fill of cheap and cheerful Vietnamese food. Then to a bar, which had great music but was pretty uneventful despite experimental cheap cocktails (and no, I'm not censoring!)
So nearly up to date now, one more day to go aside from today....
Yesterday was Train Day. And there's not so much to tell about that! Ten hours on the Reunification Express... naps and snacks.... little bit of iPod... insanely smelly toilets.... lots of smokers... used sheets in the sleeper beds.... people selling everything from loo paper to cooked ducks through the train window.....
Oh now that is priceless, the taxi that's reversing just near me plays "twinkle twinkle little star" instead of beeping, lolz! I wonder how Ollie the Outreach Van is going??? :)
So today I spent the morning in the market with my room mate, an exercise which tested my patience to the absolute limit. She is a lovely, warm hearted soul, though, so I should not complain.
This afternoon we went to the mud baths, which was An Experience! I still feel as though I have mud between the teeth, but my skin feels Amazing! Two hours for around ten dollars Aus, alternately sitting in warm pools of mud, showering in mineral spring water, bathing in hot mineral spring water, blasted by showers of all sorts and lolling in a warm mineral pool. We did the cheap option rather than the private bathing and it was a riot; young Vietnamese girls found my white (or red or muddy, depending on the moment) skin incredibly funny and kept touching it and giggling! Weird how we westerers covet a tan and the Vietnamese girls envy my pallor!
I will admit to the world that I went for the most spectacular "speccy" (great Aussie word there) by the mud pool where I fell in the mud, exposed both flobby stomach and likely boob (so much for Vietnamese standards of decency) and narrowly managed to avoid braining myself! Oh dear, maybe one day I will grow graceful and elegant, do they do lessons in that any more??? lolz
Anyway, we are off to dinner and I don't have anything else interesting to tell!
Love lots,
D x x
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Hoi Anh from the perspective of the proud owner of red boots (that fit)
Hi again,
Still in Hoi Anh and we have had our first bit of rain. The wonderful tropical kind of rain that comes down in sheets, pauses for breath then comes down in sheets again, then parts to let the sunshine back in. There's water everywhere and the streets have turned to Mud. We got caught out in it yesterday and you can see why one of the locals' favourite purchases are plastic raincoats that reach from top to toe, usually spotty or floral. I was absolutely and completely and utterly drenched despite the umbrella! Not that it matters when it's so warm, really just serves to wash away the sweat and dirt - eeew. And I'm still in drought mode, I think, so the rain just seems like a slightly amusing blessing! At least as long as I still have dry clothes somewhere to change into every now and then.So what to tell you since last time... well I have collected all of my clothing, which of course fits like a glove. The boots are VERY red, must admit that they are, erm, MORE red than I had imagined they would be, all made up, but they will be distinctive and I love them. So yesterday was fairly occupied by the various fittings ("you come back two hours, try again") ("ready at nine tomorrow, sorry sorry not now") ("more tight here, move out here, finish hole for button") etc. etc. Fun really. Compared to most of our group I have been incredibly restrained. One of the girls has spent about $1000 US and I am currently babysitting four pairs of boots for the Melbourne girls, one of whom is three inches taller than me and has bigger feet! Short people will not understand how happy this makes me but I know my Mum gets it. Particularly here where you feel like the jolly green giant most of the time in comparison to teeny weeny svelte little Vietnamese ladies in their Ao Dai. Ah well, can't help those German genes!
So what else to tell... I did the cooking class yesterday, which was great. We made five dishes - sweet and sour soup, Vietnamese spring rolls, banana leaf wrapped fish, eggplant in claypot and green papaya salad. Lurrrrrved the eggplant, it was spectacular. And as for the green papaya salad, words cannot express!!!! Sweet, salty, peanutty.... mmmmm. We visited the local market first, think tiny winding paths between scores of women squatting with simple baskets filled with home grown (or home caught) produce. Wiggling crabs, enormous tuna, tiny, glistening silver fish and every imaginable type of squid. Fragrant in a way that you can't really imagine if you haven't been to an Asian market before! It's that curious blend of fish, mud, sweat and probably some sort of effluent that you only seem to get in Asia. Our instructor taught us how to pick the best vegetables and fruit and here are some pointers for my readers (and my memory):
1) to pick a good pineapple, try to pull out one of the centre leaves from the top. If it pulls out easily it will be sweeter. Pick the ones that have a green stem and not a brown one (the bottom bit). And they should be firm not squishy. 2) to get a good whole watermelon, knock on it. If it sounds hollow there's no one home, pick another one!
3) Lemon grass should be green at the bottom of the stem for chopping and adding to food. Use the yellow ones to flavour stocks etc., don't eat them as they're old.
The spring rolls were great. Keep an eye out for this in Australia - they have a kind of rice paper here that is more like a flat, lacy sheet of vermicelli noodles than it is like a sheet of paper. The spring rolls taste so much better and seem to absorb less oil (which isn't logical, but there you go). After we cooked, we ate - and enjoyed. We got to keep a recipe book to take home so maybe there is a Vietnamese dinner party planned for sometime in the future in downtown Hampton!
Anyway, this has been a particularly long post and I hope you aren't completely bored. I should really go now and NOT spend any more money.
Love you ,
D x x
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Hoi An
Welcome yo Hoi An! (In the virtual world, at least). Let me describe Hoi An to you.
It's a fairly small town on the waterside. The streets have a certain sameness - bumpy paving, mud, street vendors, cafes and tailors - so it's very easy to get lost. I am managing by turning right at the karaoke place with the neon sign and I get a little stuck when they turn off the light! But luckily it's not very big so if you do get lost you keep on wandering aimlessly until you see something you remember. Like a small roadside petrol pump for the endless stream of bikes, or the ATM with airconditioning....
Hoi An is known for its tailors and I spent much of the bus journey here thinking "resist, resist" but I just didn't. There is no plainer way to put it. I will soon be the proud owner of custom made leather boots, tailored pants and a jacket, purchased for a ridiculously small price, considering. Luckily there are some fellow Melbourne-ites on my tour so I will ship it all home... funnily enough I don't fancy carrying boots I won't wear all around Egypt! The tailors are quite amazing. You sit and look through a catalogue featuring a whole range of pictures from magazines, or items they have made in the past. You select, every part of your anatomy is measured (I am glad I don't speakVietnamese, I think, I don't want to know what the two girls who measured me were saying!) and you are photographed in a booth from various angles.
Anyway, must go, on my way to a cooking class!
It's a fairly small town on the waterside. The streets have a certain sameness - bumpy paving, mud, street vendors, cafes and tailors - so it's very easy to get lost. I am managing by turning right at the karaoke place with the neon sign and I get a little stuck when they turn off the light! But luckily it's not very big so if you do get lost you keep on wandering aimlessly until you see something you remember. Like a small roadside petrol pump for the endless stream of bikes, or the ATM with airconditioning....
Hoi An is known for its tailors and I spent much of the bus journey here thinking "resist, resist" but I just didn't. There is no plainer way to put it. I will soon be the proud owner of custom made leather boots, tailored pants and a jacket, purchased for a ridiculously small price, considering. Luckily there are some fellow Melbourne-ites on my tour so I will ship it all home... funnily enough I don't fancy carrying boots I won't wear all around Egypt! The tailors are quite amazing. You sit and look through a catalogue featuring a whole range of pictures from magazines, or items they have made in the past. You select, every part of your anatomy is measured (I am glad I don't speakVietnamese, I think, I don't want to know what the two girls who measured me were saying!) and you are photographed in a booth from various angles.
Anyway, must go, on my way to a cooking class!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Royal dinners and motorbikes
Hello all
The last night and day have been pretty fantastic. Last night we had a royal feast where we dressed up in traditional costumes. The food was beautiful. I don't mean that from a taste point of view predominantly, though it was fairly tasty, more from an aesthetic point of view! Think
birds carved out of carrots, flowers, hens carved from tomatoes and beautiful dumplings made to look like the feathers in a peacock's tail. Too pretty to eat, really! But eat we did, all seven or so courses. Lovely tasty beef rolls, spring rolls, soup, chicken in broth, coconut jelly... gah! Really extremely full afterwards. Perhaps I won't come back from the trip skinny!!!
As for the costumes.. i was a concubine (yes Matt, I know what you're thinking) and wore a pink robe with a red headpiece. It should have been pink but I have a frighteningly large head, even for a westerner (apparently!) The bloody thing was still a little small and flopped alarmingly toward my meal every time I nodded. Makes for more graceful eating I suppose!
This morning we went on a dragon boat and a motor bike tour of Hue, which was fab! :)) A little bit of grit between the teeth never hurt anyone, now, did it!?!! (don't worry, I didn't fall on my face, just the kind of grit that eventuates when sweat, sunscreen, wind and pollution collide, mmmm). I also didn't actually steer the motorbike Mum, so don't stress about that. And I wore a helmet. And I have certainly made it back alive!! lol
We toured all the tiny backroads of Hue, waved at children, visited some pagodas and temples. It ended at an orphanage, which was the stuff my nightmares are made of. I am going to send them books when I get home (dual language Vietnamese and English of course). I didn't cry, but wanted to... think beds pressed together with no mattresses or toys, children with scabs looking after smaller children, it was horrible. But good to see, I think. That was apparently one of the nicer ones. I bought them a couple of little toys so I guess that's a start. You can understand the likes of Madonna wanting to take them home.
Anyway, free internet has queue and I really need to go and buy some (more) water.
Love lots
D x x
The last night and day have been pretty fantastic. Last night we had a royal feast where we dressed up in traditional costumes. The food was beautiful. I don't mean that from a taste point of view predominantly, though it was fairly tasty, more from an aesthetic point of view! Think
birds carved out of carrots, flowers, hens carved from tomatoes and beautiful dumplings made to look like the feathers in a peacock's tail. Too pretty to eat, really! But eat we did, all seven or so courses. Lovely tasty beef rolls, spring rolls, soup, chicken in broth, coconut jelly... gah! Really extremely full afterwards. Perhaps I won't come back from the trip skinny!!!As for the costumes.. i was a concubine (yes Matt, I know what you're thinking) and wore a pink robe with a red headpiece. It should have been pink but I have a frighteningly large head, even for a westerner (apparently!) The bloody thing was still a little small and flopped alarmingly toward my meal every time I nodded. Makes for more graceful eating I suppose!This morning we went on a dragon boat and a motor bike tour of Hue, which was fab! :)) A little bit of grit between the teeth never hurt anyone, now, did it!?!! (don't worry, I didn't fall on my face, just the kind of grit that eventuates when sweat, sunscreen, wind and pollution collide, mmmm). I also didn't actually steer the motorbike Mum, so don't stress about that. And I wore a helmet. And I have certainly made it back alive!! lol
We toured all the tiny backroads of Hue, waved at children, visited some pagodas and temples. It ended at an orphanage, which was the stuff my nightmares are made of. I am going to send them books when I get home (dual language Vietnamese and English of course). I didn't cry, but wanted to... think beds pressed together with no mattresses or toys, children with scabs looking after smaller children, it was horrible. But good to see, I think. That was apparently one of the nicer ones. I bought them a couple of little toys so I guess that's a start. You can understand the likes of Madonna wanting to take them home.
Anyway, free internet has queue and I really need to go and buy some (more) water.
Love lots
D x x
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Hue (and filling in some of the missing bits from previous posts)
Well, I'm now in Hue, which we reached via train (14 hours, give or take). The train ride was very uninteresting, but in some ways that's a good thing. Fell asleep very early, there is something about trains that makes me sleepy....
So not much to tell today, but I will hopefully have more to tell tomorrow evening that's interesting!!! We have a couple of nice activities planned in Hue, so there are sure to be some more embarassing photos I can share with the world very soon :)
As I ran out of time last time I didn't tell you about the water puppets in Hanoi. So here goes. We left the hotel in cyclos. For anyone who doesn't know what a cyclo is, it's a small bike with a little person-carrier on the bike (see left). Mine was driven by a man who was so old and slender I really wished that I'd dieted for a year before I inflicted myself upon him. Poor bugger was gasping and wheezing, and had to hop off every now and then to push the bike. Now that's a way to make a gal feel good about herself! lol I almost felt like offering to peddle him, but who wants to brave THAT traffic! Not this little black duck, that's for sure and certain!!!After driving around the city for a hour or so we reached a theatre. Inside the theatre was a mock temple and in front of 
that was a water stage. Out of the water popped the most gorgeous wooden puppets, mainpulated by actors hiding behind a bamboo screen (wearing gumboots, it turned out) I really don't have much of an idea what the show was about, to be completely honest with you, but the puppets were beautiful. Dragons that spat fire, dancing phoenixes, fairies, warriors, a farmer and his wife... great!
that was a water stage. Out of the water popped the most gorgeous wooden puppets, mainpulated by actors hiding behind a bamboo screen (wearing gumboots, it turned out) I really don't have much of an idea what the show was about, to be completely honest with you, but the puppets were beautiful. Dragons that spat fire, dancing phoenixes, fairies, warriors, a farmer and his wife... great! So, is anyone actually reading this? No followers, no comments :(( c'mon guys, make me feel loved, even if it's just one little teeny weeny comment....
x x
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Halong Bay, water puppets and seafood....
to be
,
Hey again all,
So I am back from Halong bay after a night on a boat! Can I just please say at this point OMG it was THE MOST AMAZING couple of days! Soooooo much better than I expected! To be honest, when I read that we were heading for Halong bay to spend the night on a boat, I had imagined pretty basic accomodation: smelly loos, sleeping in tiny short uncomfy beds, grilled fish slapped onto a plate... that type of thing. Well, let me tell you what eventuated....
First of all, we reached Halong Bay (stunning) and were lead to a 1940s style (I think) old wooden boat, and were greeted by a smiling man with a silver tray of hot towels (!) We were then lead to a simply deluxe restaurant with lovely silverware and, of all things, white tablecloths! You could have knocked me over with a feather. It was so very lovely. We were served in the formal fashion with a tasteful repast of fresh cooked prawns (caught mere metres away, as we afterwards found out) fresh spring rolls, etc. It was so very lovely. And our rooms were great! That afternoon we visited the Amazing Cave where our guide spent a great deal of time pointing out very subjective objects in the stalagmites/tites (I can never remember which is which). It went something like this:
"see that one? It is a baby lion, see the nose and the hair"
Group response, "hmmm, yes of course" (most of us faking it with impugnity). It
was very beautiful, probably not the highlight though. I then decided that I was not going to spare the world the sight of my white thighs and go for a swim... which was just fab. How many people can say that they have floated in between islands in a bay in Vietnam!!!! It was the most spectacular scenery, probably up there with the best I have ever seen.
Fish dinner was spec-tac-ular, more amazing seafood and wine.... mmmmmmm. Literally the best meal I have every eaten. Massive prawns, baby limes, crayfish type thingies, crabs, fish cakes, mmmmmmmmm. I don't think, somehow, I'm going to be losing much weight this trip!
Anyway, I was going to write about the water puppets but I think I need
to be polite and let someone else have a go at the free Internet!
Love,
D x x
,
Hey again all,
So I am back from Halong bay after a night on a boat! Can I just please say at this point OMG it was THE MOST AMAZING couple of days! Soooooo much better than I expected! To be honest, when I read that we were heading for Halong bay to spend the night on a boat, I had imagined pretty basic accomodation: smelly loos, sleeping in tiny short uncomfy beds, grilled fish slapped onto a plate... that type of thing. Well, let me tell you what eventuated....
First of all, we reached Halong Bay (stunning) and were lead to a 1940s style (I think) old wooden boat, and were greeted by a smiling man with a silver tray of hot towels (!) We were then lead to a simply deluxe restaurant with lovely silverware and, of all things, white tablecloths! You could have knocked me over with a feather. It was so very lovely. We were served in the formal fashion with a tasteful repast of fresh cooked prawns (caught mere metres away, as we afterwards found out) fresh spring rolls, etc. It was so very lovely. And our rooms were great! That afternoon we visited the Amazing Cave where our guide spent a great deal of time pointing out very subjective objects in the stalagmites/tites (I can never remember which is which). It went something like this:
"see that one? It is a baby lion, see the nose and the hair"
Group response, "hmmm, yes of course" (most of us faking it with impugnity). It
was very beautiful, probably not the highlight though. I then decided that I was not going to spare the world the sight of my white thighs and go for a swim... which was just fab. How many people can say that they have floated in between islands in a bay in Vietnam!!!! It was the most spectacular scenery, probably up there with the best I have ever seen.Fish dinner was spec-tac-ular, more amazing seafood and wine.... mmmmmmm. Literally the best meal I have every eaten. Massive prawns, baby limes, crayfish type thingies, crabs, fish cakes, mmmmmmmmm. I don't think, somehow, I'm going to be losing much weight this trip!
Anyway, I was going to write about the water puppets but I think I need
to be polite and let someone else have a go at the free Internet!
Love,
D x x
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Hanoi, Vietam
Well, hello all! I am finally actually blogging from outside the country! And my camera upload actually worked! Minor miracles, all!
So, at the moment I'm in Hanoi, having met up with my tour group yesterday. A great variety of people, though predominantly a bunch of Aussies, which is no particular surprise. I am sharing a room with a lady who is exactly one year younger than my mother (!) and at the moment I am using one of the most FAB things in the whole wide world - free Internet!
Now I am completely obsessed by food, so I hope everyone will forgive me if I tell you what I'm eating, just 'cos I find it fascinating. Last night we went to what I would describe as the Vietnamese version of Jamie Oliver's restaurant - the one for street kids (I can't remember the name of the series but you know the one I mean!) Effectively it does the same thing. So food was very expensive, but it was extra tasty and you got to feel very self-righteous and noble for eating there. Yay on both fronts. I had a claypot with pork and, of all things, lentils. Tasty! Breakfast was included (yay again) and I went traditional and had a deeee-licious bowl of pho (noodle soup), mmmmm. And for lunch we had a plate of Vietnamese noodles and veges which cost around $2 Australian. Noodles are great :))
Spent much of the day today schlepping around the typical Asian tourist stuff shops. Incredible how you can see the same souvenirs from one side of Asia to the other! And we saw the corpse of Uncle Ho, as our guide describes him - otherwise knows as Ho Chi Minh. Eerily similar to seeing the body of Mao in China, hey to be a philistine about the whole thing, seen one old dead guy, seen 'em all...!!! lol
So some impressions of Hanoi. for you.. very much a part of Asia with ten billion bicycles that somehow manage not to run you over in the street, lovely skinny buildings in the French style that are only slightly wider than your average phone box yet stand five stories high, people crouched over tending weeds with very small scissors and traditional hats, friendly people, confusing winding streets, insane quantities of all sorts of stuff from chickens to bonsai somehow packed onto bikes (see above piccy of balloons, there's a chick riding that bike under there somewhere, believe it or not!)... I love Asia!
Anyway, I should probably stop hogging the free internet and go. We're off to see the water puppets tonight!
x x Donna
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
it's amazing how much you can achieve online in 20 minutes...
How much do I love the information age... some days! At the airport at the moment with one minute to go, so this will be quick! I have managed to check on all sorts of things in my 20 minutes so am feeling rather proud of myself. And not so nervous any more! on to Vietnam!
Love, Donna
Love, Donna
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Hello!
Well, hello everyone and for those of you who have managed to stumble here with very little idea as to what a blog is, yay you! Don't stress, there's no pressure to do anything once you get to this blog other than read it. A blog is like a diary that I can show the world, fitting in with the current trend of self disclosure and communication/interaction ad nauseum (twitter, anyone? facebook? linked in? myspace, meebo, MSN? gah!!!) If blog readers feel inclined they can log in (you will need to create an account) and leave comments, but for all you blog-virgins I won't expect it! Email me instead if you feel the urge.
So I leave on Wednesday - technically - but in reality I fly out in the small hours so it's really tomorrow (Tuesday!) In some ways the arrival of this trip has dragged and in others stormed ahead, so it's kind of odd that it's finally here. I also FINALLY feel like I'm on holidays. I caught myself emailing journal articles to my supervisor last week. Now if THAT is not a sign that I need a holiday, I don't know what is!! lol
So not much left to do now other than a bit of cleaning in honour of my lovely house sitter (thank you Gabby, take care of Mo =^.,.^ =), collecting money, buying obvious displays of my nationality (yes Mum) in the form of ghastly plastic Aussie luggage labels and the like. This whole week has felt like one long string of errands interspersed with online scrabble games (tsk tsk!)
Anyway, have to go, plumber is here! Keep your fingers crossed for a healthy hot water service...
x x x Donna
So I leave on Wednesday - technically - but in reality I fly out in the small hours so it's really tomorrow (Tuesday!) In some ways the arrival of this trip has dragged and in others stormed ahead, so it's kind of odd that it's finally here. I also FINALLY feel like I'm on holidays. I caught myself emailing journal articles to my supervisor last week. Now if THAT is not a sign that I need a holiday, I don't know what is!! lol
So not much left to do now other than a bit of cleaning in honour of my lovely house sitter (thank you Gabby, take care of Mo =^.,.^ =), collecting money, buying obvious displays of my nationality (yes Mum) in the form of ghastly plastic Aussie luggage labels and the like. This whole week has felt like one long string of errands interspersed with online scrabble games (tsk tsk!)
Anyway, have to go, plumber is here! Keep your fingers crossed for a healthy hot water service...
x x x Donna
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