Visiting Vietnam

Christof and I are now in Hanoi, after arriving in Ho Chi Minh and sightseeing there we flew north.  Vietnam is so interesting because the different parts of it seem to vary so much. Ho Chi Minh was so western in feel, wide streets with huge modern buildings, bright lights, all the usual designer brands represented and even French bakeries on many corners!  We were both so surprised.

Hanoi really, but it gives you the idea. 

Then we arrived in Hanoi, which was much more as expected, although even more chaotic than anticipated.  We are staying in the middle of the 'old town' which is bustling with tour operators and hotels, restaurants, and traditional shops, people and traffic squeezing through its tiny streets. By day the streets a filled with the sound of birdsong, which seems so out of place that the many caged birds which adorn every building don't fill me with the lightness of spirit which birdsong usually inspires; in the evening, there is nothing to alleviate the sound of the honking horns of the traffic.  It is very picturesque.

From Hanoi we rented a motorcycle and travelled north to explore the hills. Logistically it would have been very hard to do by bicycle, difficulties finding hotels, information, maps etc and as vegetarians who can't speak the language outside of the cities we are reduced to biscuits and UHT milk and bread when we can find it. Everything seems to have some kind of animal in it. We also had limited time, and Christof was eager to drive a motorbike after seeing a Top Gear episode (seems to be Britain's biggest export - Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson, bit worrying really).  However we had an amazing time, and saw so much.  It was exactly like we expected but better in every way.  The drive was just amazing, mountains, forested hills, sheer craggy rock faces, valleys of lush rice paddies, beautiful old wooden buildings, perfectly wonderful.  It definitely makes it into the top five along with Yosemite, the West coast in both the USA and NZ, and Glacier National Park.

Of course We are technically in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, so here are some genuine posters to entertain!

Bicycling in Bali

In our lonely planet guide is a suggested bicycle route around Bali,so with no planning or effort at all we set off on our bikes and headed north. We soon left behind us most of the traffic and were pedalling down lanes and through areas that tourists don't usually see. The traditional houses here almost aren't houses so much as enclosed gardens with rooms in them. buildings don't need to be weatherproof and warm and some of them are indoor outdoor rooms. In the surf hotel for example our bathroom didn't have a proper back wall but kind of had garden instead. It seems a lovely way to live, in fact the best thing about my garden shed was the prominence of the outside spaces at all times, lying in bed and looking at the trees. It is a shame that the UK weather doesn't allow for more outdoor living.
We have been setting off very early in the morning to enjoy the cool dry mornings which has been super. We have been following the guide book and Bali is very small so our mileages have been very low. The first day we cycled north to a town where we caught a minivan thing to the top of the mountain to Candikuning. It was well worth getting a ride as the road was very steep and the day had warmed up.

Christof with bikes in the mini van

Steep road

View back towards Candikuning

 Candikuning is at 1300 meters and turned out to be so cool I needed my jumper. The town is small but by a beautiful lake and tree covered hills. It felt like another world,we had left behind sunny warm South Bali and were in a rather bleak cloud,the people didn't seem to be as charming we were accosted by desperate and pushy street vendors. We were woken at five the next morning by the muezzin, a beautiful sound calling everyone to prayer. I lay in bed and listened, it was quite magical. Later that morning we climbed to the top of the mountain, there were monkeys in the trees,and the view were super, I really got a sense of how small the island is as we could see the north coast and it was only about 15km away. We zoomed down the mountainside all the way to the coast. It was an amazing ride past villages and rice fields and unfortunately we overshot the waterfall and couldn`t face returning the 2km back up the hill. We made it to the coast and enjoyed a hotel with lovely garden and swimming pool in Lavinia which is a bizarre place, seemingly completely tourist focused with hotels and restaurants everywhere but not tourists. We had the choice of any restaurant all open with half a dozens staff members and all empty of customers. On arrival we were chased by men on motorbikes offering us hotel rooms and on arrival at the hotel we were offered cockfights and mushrooms. Hotels here are costing us the equivalent of £10a night and meals if you eat Indonesian are about £3 for both of us although eating western food costs much more.

The following day we cycled along the coast and caught a van to the top of the next mountain. I could get used to this sort of touring but it seems very lazy! We now cycled along a narrow ridge at the top of a huge volcanic crater from Penulisan to Penelokan. The views were simply incredible. on either side of the road the mountain fell sharply away. on our left was a huge valley with a lake and then the volcano itself. It really did look like a proper volcano too with two huge craters at the top and small wisps of smoke and down its sides the ground had clearly been shaped by lava flows. It was super.

The Volcano

Breakfast: Putting off the climb back up to the main road.

The Lake

That night we cycled down to the lake to stay and the following morning cycled back to the top of the ridge, much to the amusement of the locals who all think we are mad. Cycling isn't a big thing here. It was I think the steepest hill I have done yet on my bike.
Then we whizzed south down the mountain to Ubud and suddenly we were back in the land of sunshine and smiling polite locals who don't harass you to buy things. In fact it was more magical than that as our road took us through orchards with oranges and lemons bananas and all sorts of other fruits, the road was shade by huge bamboo stands and palm trees laden with coconuts.

Fruit Stall

Rice Paddies

Cycling here is such a pleasure and although the traffic feels a bit chaotic sometimes and follows very different rules (basically ignore everything behind you but watch out in front) I think the roads here are actually the safest I have been on. The traffic is slow and although there aren`t many bikes there are so many other road users not in cars that you are accepted in a way unheard of in other countries. It has been a really fantastic few days. Christof has been marvellous and turns out to be very good at haggling whilst I`m still trying to do the maths!

Bali

Bali seems to be a wondrous island, hot and sunny, or hot with sudden violent tropical storms. (It is the rainy season). Although I have been here a week and a half, I feel as though I only have a kaleidoscope of images and impressions of the place. Everywhere is abundant greenery, verdant gardens offering patterned shade beneath the lush ferns and palms, in between the urban chaos, even in the smallest places are gardens or rice paddies, in every stage of cultivation.

The beach

Sun Set

Procession for new years

Street scene

Street scene

The streets are filled with low powered motorbikes driven by men, women, teenagers the elderly, most without helmets, and many bikes with three or more passengers including small children. Often the young children are hiding inside their parents obligatory large square biking pac-a-mac which is flapping behind them.  Some bikes are laden with huge baskets or panniers or small display stands obscuring the driver completely from behind. The roads are narrow and windy and filled with vehicles and people. The shops are a mixture of very western shops with glass fronts, air conditioning and high prices, or small stalls with dirty tarpaulins in front to obscure both the sun and the wares. There are workshops too, and it seems that everything is sold somewhere, there is such variety. I have seen woven mats for floors or walls, bamboo blinds, place mats and baskets of every description: small ones for fruit, big ones for laundry or ali babas men, and bird cages. Clothes of every description, although mainly skimpy beach wear and board shorts here in Seminyak. Carved wooden doors, stylish pinnacles for your roof made from tile, fruit stalls smelling of pungent banana and selling exciting and exotic fruit. (We bought some small round fruits with blueish brown leathery skins, on opening they have five segments of soft white flesh the size and shape of large garlic cloves, one of which has a stone, tasting so sweet and a little like lychee.) There are scrawny cockerels everywhere and organised cockfights are common. The cows, dainty honey coloured creatures like Bambi are tethered with blue nylon rope through their noses.

Everywhere one looks there are religious statues, temples, offerings, or merely decorations. Small square baskets filled with colourful flowers and fruit are everywhere, many of the statues are covered with black and white checked fabric skirts, and the temples are enticing buildings within high walls covered with decorations.  The people, all smiling and polite are so welcoming, so far we haven't seen any beggars, and those offering services accept the first, no thank you, with a smile. Bali seems to have much of the exoticness of India, but without the chaos, the mess, and the poverty.
This week is the new year here, so we have seen many big processions of villagers dressed in white walking to the beaches with decorated carts carrying religious icons, accompanied by music: symbols and bells and I believe parts of the Gamelan. Tonight we hope to go out to see the huge grotesque wicker and papier mache and painted figures of the ogoh ogoh carried in procession and then burned. Tomorrow is the day of silence when everyone in Bali hides indoors, no music no lights, no sign of life so that when the demons visit they believe the island is uninhabited and leave it alone for another year. Even tourists are subject to these rules and severe punishments are metered out to those caught out.

So far we have been at 'surf camp' a hotel which is focused around surfing, so there are two trips out everyday to different beaches, and the local surf school collects from the hotel for lessons. The whole set up seems bizarre and full of contradictions. The hotel is beautiful with a lush green garden, thatched roofs and a lovely swimming pool, but the restaurant has been out of action for a week, and every time it rains (everyday almost) the rooms are all flooded, an inch or two of water across the tiles, wet feet when you get out of bed is normal, and in one of the storms one of the gazebos fell down completely! Surf school is great but sometimes reorganised and the cars aren't always on time meaning I am never totally sure what I am doing that day. Surf trips too this week, due to the bad weather have been unpredictable, and sometimes I will try to do something but the trip gets changed so that as a total beginner it is less appealing and I find myself slightly bored at the hotel all afternoon with a beautiful swimming pool- such a hard life! Also I hadn't realised that we would be based at the German speaking surf camp- which this week has turned into the Finnish speaking surf camp, Christof who is better at surfing so abandoned surf school and has done lots of trips and speaks German and is less shy than I, seems to be fully integrated, whereas I seem to have a friendly conversation and then find myself back reading my history book! (Thank goodness for my kindle, I'm reading a fab history of Britain and have greatly enjoyed the murders, intrigues, squabbles and misdemeanours of the English monarchy from the 400's onwards. I'm approaching 1066 today). The hotel, deliberately chosen to be quiet is very rural, which means one has to get a car to go anywhere, and sometimes the traffic is so bad it takes hours.

Surfing is hard! I can stand maybe half on my runs and have learned to turn, its great fun and the water is so warm its wonderful! I am hoping that learning to snowboard will be easy compared to surfing, there is so much to get right, and so much relies on the speed and agility with which one can stand up- I feel like I'm at the clambering up stage! It is so nice learning here because you can stay in until tired instead of getting out numb with cold. The instructors are great too, and I find it amazing watching them convey their ideas in English- not the native tongue, to native German or Finnish speakers, it works- and I am full of admiration.

We have also been to some art galleries, a small holding growing coffee with what seemed like a small zoo- we were introduced in turn to the python, the owl, the rabbit, some other furry creatures, a bat the size of a large cat and then, much to my amusement, the 99 year old granny. We visited a sacred monkey sanctuary, an amazing place rather like an Indiana Jones film set, with ancient stone carvings, bizarre sculptures, temples, a river with gated bridge, all set amongst an ancient forest with enormous trees with curtains of dangly branches, which in turn form roots. Everything was covered with bright green moss. To Christof's delight and my anxiety, the place was filled with monkeys. Big monkeys and baby monkeys, the place was littered with them. It was an amazing place.

Sacred Monkey Sanctuary

Sacred Monkey Sanctuary

Next week we are cycling across the island, I can't wait!

Gado Gado: My favorite dish, vegetables with a spicy peanut sauce

Wood Carving in the Museum

Leaving New Zealand

I can't believe I have been in New Zealand three months, time flies by!  I have really enjoyed my time here, I have really done some amazing things, and seen some wonderful sights.  My favourites have to be hiking the routeburn trail with Naomi, kayaking in Abel Tasman with Christof, and cycling from Arrowtown to the coast, all of which were truly fantastic experiences.  Although my earlier plan was to work here in New Zealand, by the time I arrived I was already thinking that living here probably wouldn't suit me - it is so far away from everyone I care about, and the time difference makes even having a phone call hard.  After six months in America, which felt a long way from home, New Zealand is even further.  I also had made tentative plans to continue travelling with Christof.  New Zealand has been a fantastic place to visit but I have not been tempted to stay: I get sunburned even on a cloudy day, all books are at least twice the price of the UK, houses and jobs don't seem to have a much better chance than in the UK, and the country is over run with bright young things here on working holiday visas - the chances of me getting a job doing something I actually wanted seemed slim.  I have also found it difficult here in that New Zealand I think is either over rated, or has changed in the last few years, and matching my expectations to reality has been difficult.  I also think that America exceeded my expectations so far in every way that New Zealand almost couldn't live up to them!
So in two days Christof and I are on a plane for Bali for two weeks of trying to surf.  We hope to get a quick swim in the sea in Sydney between flights, but we shall see. We have spent much of the last few weeks planning the rest of our journey, trying to get visas sorted out, and buying Japan Rail Passes... I am so excited!
Missing you all, and hoping you're all well.

Wellington

I am now in Wellington trying to plan the rest of my trip which is taking shape nicely - I am so excited; but you will have to wait and find out what happens next!  I can't believe what I am hoping to do, I look at the plans and think, really? WOW!
I am also trying to postpone the more cycling part - I feel like maybe I have had enough for a while.  I also am finding it difficult in that I have been away for what seems like ages, and I am feeling like maybe I ought to be returning to the real world.  I also tend to like having a project on the go, or working towards something or making or creating something - and travelling means that I can't do that, so I find this difficult.  Cycling gives me a real sense of purpose which helps to balance that, but at the moment I am a bit lacking in purpose and motivation.  I saw a girl in a campsite toilet wearing flannelet pyjamas - goodness, how I miss pyjamas!

Wellington is very nice, the museums are interesting, and the architecture is nice.  It really shows the British influences from the late Victorian era and early 20th century though. There is even a nice statue of Victoria which could be almost anywhere in Britain.  I do love these repeated icons around the world.  I like familiar references hidden in the most unlikely places - a Palladian design, or a statue, or art - I even found the familiar and friendly Durer in the museum here.  Why does every clock in the world sound like Big Ben - or is it that Big Ben sounds like every clock in the world? (Alaska, India and New Zealand all have clocks that play Big Ben chimes).

My Kindle

Here is a post I have been meaning to write for months. My Kindle is great. I love it. for reading it is amazing. It is so light to carry and every kilogramme counts when you are peddling up a hill. I usually use it in large print which surprised me initially. I have read some brilliant stories on my travels, many of which were recommended and many of which have been classics i have always meant to read. I really enjoyed Anna Karenina or Shackleton's story of the south pole and Heidi all of which were free and unexpectedly brilliant. I have enjoyed getting to know some of my favourite authors better, Frances Hodgson Burnet, for example, turns out that her other stories are a bit weird! Yesterday I finished The Woman in Black, which was deliciously spooky. I have loved having gift vouches to spend and really enjoyed The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, which was so good i started at page one again immediately after finishing it.

I love my kindles dictionary. It is so convenient I use it lots. I love being able to look things up from the older and therefore free books. I love being able to check the origin of words or look up definitions I am not sure of when Christof asks the meaning of something.

I have even managed to download books in German to read which I have enjoyed wrestling with.

My Kindle is also fantastic because it does Internet. However I do have to qualify that. It does some websites that it likes slowly and only when it has signal which, especially in NZ isn't very often. I can sometimes update my blog, sometimes book hostels, sometimes check other things, which has been invaluable to me travelling. It doesn't, however, like hotmail. It is also a bit fiddly to type on, so please excuse all my mistakes.

I have music on it to which has been amazing. I was too technologically inept to get the music on it myself so travelled for many months without until Tim rescued me. Thanks Tim. Then one evening i was feeling a bit down and I remembered my music and played it. It was super like being at home surrounded by familiar things, like being able to wrap myself up in my favourite quilt and sit in my favourite sofa. I so appreciated it. Music is also brilliant for cycling in the rain,keeps you going.

In America my kindle broke. I was distraught and really realised how much I need it. Amazon were great and I called them and they replaced it. No problems.
Thank you all for getting me my kindle- it really is the perfect present.

Amazon, don't get big headed! an order search by price option would be great. I know the website has it. I would also like more books available-  am often amazed by what isn't available. Books with pictures would be fab I haven't dared by a travel book as I think it wont have maps. Would be nice to choose the order in which music is played and the best improvement would be an international amazon account so that I can buy books available to German users for example. It would also be nice to load pictures from my camera. A better Internet connection but since its free I have no complaints!

Nelson and Abel Tasman

Nelson is a beautiful town, nestled between the hills and the sea. It is a smallish place by British standards, the middle of town is smaller than Guildford.  It has a very nice feel and many of the houses are charming small 'victorian' homes in the American style but with far more modesty. The town is green and leafy has a very nice cycle path along an old railway line although as with most cycle paths it stops starts and gets you lost. There was an enormous market last week filled with crafts, street performers, and yummy local or specialist produce. Surrounding Nelson are productive farms and small holdings most with trays of vegetables for sale outside and the orchards are laden with Rosy red apples. This is more perhaps what I expected of New Zealand.

Christof and I cycled from Nelson to Abel Tasman, an easy days ride although with some fun hills and views all the way across the bay back to Nelson and beyond. From Marahau we hiked along the coastal track in the national park, which is one of New Zealands 'great walks'. The route was all forest and coastline and the views along the coast were amazing, bright gold beaches blue sky green waters and lots of curious bays and inlets. It was however the easiest 25km  have ever walked in a day. We got the water taxi, boat, back to Marahau which was also a lot of fun getting to see everything from a different perspective. It really looks like those pictures of tropical islands and harbours it is beautiful. Unfortunately I am writing this on my kindle so no pictures for a while.

We rented a kayak for the next day and paddled all around the islands and had lunch on a lonely golden beach. We saw several seals up close and also a penguin swimming around! The green sea was as still as a millpond and so we paddled maybe nearly 20km my arms were so tired! It was also great to see some of the sea birds up close too.

So it has been a fantastic week, beautiful scenery and lots of exciting things happening. I find it hard sometimes to think of anything to write, so many days cycling are rather similar now, the routine isn't very easy to write about. I get up and then have either porridge or eggs for breakfast, take the tent down and load the bike. Set out, try to get about 30km or more done before lunch I travel at roughly 15m an hour if not being very pathetic! Always starving by lunch time which is just as well as i am getting a bit bored of sweaty cheese and stale bread. Then back on the bike. Most days I try to do 60km or more but it doesn't always happen, and New Zealand is hard work for cycling.  have given up thinking I ought to do more! The scenery is aways varied and often very beautiful. However as this seems to have been my life for weeks I haven't got much to write about. I have cycled over 1700km in New Zealand on the south island. Hostels are more widely available than campsites and they seemed to be filled with Germans. All of whom are very nice but it sees odd to find German the language of all kitchen conversations.

A campsite in the middle of nowhere with resident chicken and Weka (a cheeky native bird)

A random goat by the side of the road

One of the many super beaches

Lunch stop

Pancake rocks

The road

Another nice campsite

More road