Adventures of Britgirl

Britgirl returns to Panama

2011-07-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

Panama City Summer 2011

Panama City from the Amador Causeway

We arrived in Panama City with no flight issues whatsoever (pretty amazing for AA) and by 8pm we were settled at La Estancia Hotel on the balcony watching the bats feeding from the hanging bananas outside our room. The next couple of days (YES..I’m writing this really delayed) we took in the main sights in and around Panama City; Ancon Hill, Amador Causeway, downtown, Miraflores Locks (Karl's favourite), Casco Viejo (my favourite) Of course all these sights included eating as we went and ceviche playing a top role in our Panamanian culinary delights. I was recommended the Corvina ceviche and couldn’t get enough of it after that first taste

The Lock was way more interesting than I had imagined, though I did take more interest at waving (and taking photos) at the passing cargo ships and their crew than reading up on all the facts though even I can say it really is a remarkable feat of engineering!

The Panama Canal

The old downtown (Casco Viejo) was a photographers dream. Picture a more dilapidated version of New Orleans. It’s actually an UNESCO site now so whilst they are “doing up” this part of the city it is painstakingly slow as each part of the gentrification has to be logged, sent to Paris for approval, returned, then the work begins.

Ceviche at the fish Market

Therefore you step from gorgeous colonial building to broken down slum within minutes. Still this to me was all part of the charm and whilst it has a pretty bad reputation we never felt unsafe at all (and we returned day and night) The barrio outskirts on the other hand were another matter and there was NO WAY I was going to walk through them without being fully armed…erm…which I wasn’t so we took a cab! Also not to harp on about the food but here in Casco Viejo we found some of the nicest food and the coolest restaurants!

Casco Viejo

I'm sure I have much more to say about Panama city but I'm writing this 6 days later from El Valle so I may have to just add thoughts later about my thoughts……..

6 days later…

We have just arrived in El Valle now, which is a small town built in the crater of an extinct volcano but without getting too far ahead of myself let me recap the time spent on the San Blas islands as this was without doubt a highlight of the trip…

Kuna Yala/San Blas islands

Our lovely hut on Yandup

So we left Panama city on July 28^th. The Kuna Yala are hundreds of Islands off the Caribbean Coast of Panama. They are autonomous with their own laws and their own government. So far (and I really hope it continues) there are no hotels on the islands. You can homestay with the tribal people or do like what we did and chose an island (Yandup) where you stay with the people but have your own private cabin.

Again I’m jumping ahead. Let me go back to the flight which is just an hour from Panama City.

Leaving Panama City

As we took off from the region airport with not a cloud in the sky I was relieved as I’m not a fan of flying in those 8 seater tin cans during inclement weather. Not 20 minutes into the flight and the skies around us turned gray. Giant lightening thunderheads surrounded us and the ride got a wee bit bumpy. Bumpy enough that I found myself looking down onto the Panamanian jungle we were flying over and planning that when we crashed (as I was sure would happen at this point) I would know exactly which direction to walk (Yes, I was also assuming I would survive as I often do even in my own worst case scenario daydreams) to escape the jungle that loomed below us.

Obviously we didn’t crash -as I wouldn’t be writing this from El Valle 6 days later!
Instead, we landed on some random island airstrip and stumbled off a little green around the gills ready to kiss the ground. The disappointment immense when told that “no theees izzz not your stop-back on the plane pleazzze” I don’t know which island we were on at this point but oh how I wanted to call it home for the next 4 days. Instead the lucky, lucky few who were to call this home jumped out very much relieved and we got back on along with a few crates of bananas and two Mormons complete with suits and ties.

Our stop did come next but the addition stormy takeoff and landing did nothing for either of our nerves. On arrival at Playon Chico I wasn’t sure if I was most excited to be on terra firma or that the Mormons didn’t also disembark!

From here Karl wasn’t too impressed to learn that we now had a boat ride (aka fancy canoe) to our particular island but by now the storms had abated and the sun was coming out to play. The waters were a stunning blue/green and we were ready to see Yandup Island!

Our island was about the size of a football field, ringed with clear waters and white beaches.On it was a large open air “restaurant” (Palapa hut), 4 land huts (for guests and staff) and 6 overwater huts, one of which was ours. Other than a beach and smattering of palm trees this was it…home for the next 4 days. Food was caught and cooked daily and there was no menu. You got what was caught that day and let me say if you don’t like seafood I would look elsewhere

Let me add too at this point that these huts, whilst over crystal waters were not Fiji style. They had no AC, no hot water (getting water at all seemed luck of the draw sometimes and they were hand built from local trees and mangroves so the walls had gaps as did the floors

(jabba) The Hut

Before you go drifting down that path thinking how primitive these were let me also add that we very quickly fell in love with our hut, and the Kuna people, and the island and everything!!! The hut very much became our home and the fact that Karl too thought this place was amazing has to tell you something knowing his NEED for AC and hot water!!!

Each hut had a wraparound porch with multiple hammocks and day and night the sounds of the water below calmed our spirits more than I can explain.

The food was AMAZING!!!! Breakfast, lunch and dinner was served at the same time by the sound of a conch shell and we ate the same as the other guests at the same time as the other guests and whatever we saw the Kuna catch that morning we knew would be our meal later that day.

Dinner with the other guests

The Kuna also took whoever wanted to go out each morning to local deserted islands to swim and snorkel and in the afternoon to various places of more cultural interest like the the Playon Chico village or the cemetery.

The wonderful Kuna staff at yandup

They spoke Kuna and very little English but they also knew Spanish so understanding wasn’t as tough as I was expecting. We got to know our “hut neighbours” pretty well too and we felt really lucky that they were all of a similar disposition and personality that we all became like good friends sharing an incredible adventure.

Right now Panama wants these islands for development and I fear a time when things could change from the peaceful existence between the Kuna and the Panamanians to something a little different should Panama get pushier. As things stand now the Kuna of a very traditional tribal community and they want to remain autonomous but as Panama gets greedier for using the islands in their own tourist trade they have already cut off financial help in schooling of the Kuna children.

Some Kuna children playing

I’m hoping things don’t change as these islands are perfect exactly how they are!!

Kuna Village on Playon Chico

I think both me and Karl found this trip here to be one of the most remote and adventuresome we have ever undertaken. I was genuinely sad to leave our hut and our friends and our hosts behind. I recommend that anyone visiting Panama take this trip and stay with the Kuna for a few days. I cannot say enough good things about the whole experience.

beach fun

From the days spent exploring remote beaches, eating fresh seafood, and seeing the most amazing stars at night to watching afternoon thunderstorms rolling in from our porch hammocks and talking to the Kuna Yala about their lives!

El Valle- July 2^nd 2011

Leaving the KunaYala and our new friends was hard enough without the knowledge that we had to board that damn little plane again. The sky was clear at least; however this time we made 2 stops on other islands on route back with what I can only assume was a trainee pilot. The older pilot was present but it seems he was letting the girl do the majority of take offs and landings. Believe me when you land of a ridiculously short island runway with a few hops of the plane wheels and a swinging wildly from side to side its nerve wracking for even the bravest flier!

Again, we survived to tell the tale.

Back to Panama City, across to the bus station and busing it the 3 hours to El Valle.

The trip here took in some gorgeous scenery as we traveled along the coast and into the interior on Panama. El Valle as I previously mentioned is built into an extinct volcanic crater so all around is lush mountains and rainforests. El Valle itself is small and a little worse for wear but our hotel along the main street (Residential El Valle) commands gorgeous views from the full roof deck

El valle from our hotel

On arrival said roof deck was filled with loud, obnoxious noises, and as our roof is also located here I wasn’t too impressed. I could make out American accents in the din and after an hour of listening to the hooting and hollering of voices, banging of chairs I went to see what the hell was going on. Turns out children of the corn had taken over the roof deck. Seriously multiple families of weirdness were up there on the roof deck yelling to each other, kids screaming, mothers screeching…awful! Children of the corn dad approached me first and immediately launched into welcoming me while teenager of the corn informed me they were all from Texas! Not just Texas but Plano/Allen area and they were here on a mission from their church. In the background the mothers of the corn continued screeching about the great shopping. Father of the corn probably saw my deer in the headlights eyes and made a small joke about “don’t worry we leave tomorrow and it will be peaceful again” Karl smiled politely and I said “good”. What else could I say…these people were awful and I wanted OUT. I couldn’t wait until the morning and we got out the hotel as much as possible until then. BTW…if you think I’m exaggerating about the loud and obnoxious behavior I will tell you later that night as we still heard their din on our return Karl said “I think I hate them” For those of you that know Karl well that’s all you need to know how bad they were!

This morning we heard them leave and as they LOUDLY clambered onto their waiting coach to take them away they may have heard me clapping from my bedroom window and shouting “God speed bitches” Well perhaps the second part was only in my head!

Today

El Valle is growing on me more now the Children of the corn families have left. The surrounding mountains get ringed by low cloud and sudden rain downpours are frequent.

There are small poor homes and huge hacienda mansions. I had heard previously that Americans are buying into El Valle and nearby Boquette to guarantee a better retirement with far better health care and cheap prices in Panama over USA. I can understand that and whilst I don’t think the home prices here are low (yes me and Karl did look on the El Valle real estate webpage out of curiosity) there are some gorgeous homes here to be had and the surrounding are just stunning!

The Manly Falls

Today we hiked to a local waterfall (The Manly falls) and played around there and in the jungle area. We didn’t do a tour as there isn’t really much to be told and it was actually more fun just to play around in the Fall Rivers and streams. From the cold waters there we hiked to an area with hot springs and coated ourselves in mud, let it dry them relaxed in the thermal waters for a dollar!

Mud..Mud..Glorious Mud

After days of Platas Typical and tough but tasty meats and beans and rice we are heading to nicer restaurant tonight for our final dinner here. Casa de Lourdres has a chef who was renowned in Panama City and came here to live and cook. It’s meant to be quite amazing! I’m ready….

Back later.

Britgirls says "Good Morning Vietnam"

2010-12-20T01:53:00.000-08:00

VIETNAM

HO CHI MIHN 20th December 2010

"XIN CHAO"

13 hours to Tokyo plus 6 hours to Ho Chi Mihn and here we are in this crazy...dirty...noisy....busy...exciting city!
Our hotel is fabulous right in the middle of all the action and next door to the big Ben Than market great for street food and knock off Ed hardy t shirts :)

Spent our first day avoiding death on the roads. Whenever anyone talked about the crazy roads here I was like "Oh year Asian roads are insane" Well nothing I have experienced in Thailand/Cambodia could prepare me for the Saigon streets and moped insanity
Millions of mopeds, no crosswalks. Hell.... no traffic lights for the most part.

Crazy streets and please note there are no crosswalks and this MASS of mopeds is constant

Here's how our days street crossing went- edge two feet into a mass of mopeds, watch them part like the Red sea around us (and hope they do), edge another two feet, repeat, repeat until you reach the safety of the other pavement. HOWEVER, don't let the sidewalk lull you into a false sense of security as mopeds often take short cuts across the paths too! gulp
This city is rather overwhelming, everything here is full on!

We saw in the Lonely planet that the Jade Pagoda offered "A remarkably peaceful refuge" from the craziness of the city, so already feeling stressed from almost dying at every street crossing we made a bee-line there.

The Jade Pagoda...anything but peaceful

The Jade Pagoda was anything but a peaceful refuge.

The entrance was crowded with people selling bags of little fish or turtles and cages with birds all I'm sure bring luck to those who spend the cash to buy and release said creatures in the pagoda. Judging by the crowded pools of fish and turtles clambering over each others shells these touts are doing a roaring trade!!!
So on walked....

The War Remnants museu

The War Remnants museum was WELL worth a visit. Like visiting the "museum of Terror" in Budapest or Auschwitz in Poland, this museum is not for the faint hearted and I had a hard time getting through some of the devastating photos on display. The original name of the this was "museum of American War crimes" so I'm sure you get the idea.....
You were allowed to take photos of the photographs inside but Ive spared you by not including them here...so tragic.

Funny Xmas decor in Saigon

On to a lighter note....there are Xmas decorations all over town and most are made out of cheap materials and well dodgy looking Santas, HO HO HO Even expensive stores use cheap tin foil on mass

In my wanderings yesterday i met a 50 something English woman who had been here 4 years. I asked how she adjusted to the noise and the traffic and she said after a while she just didn't notice it.... I just can't imagine that! They say you either love or hate Saigon. I neither loved nor hated it but i am happy to be moving on today.......

HOI AN
December 21st 2010

Just one hour by Vietnam airlines and we left behind the chaos of Saigon for Hoi-an which is an UNESCO world heritage site and full of lovely preserved buildings down winding streets and Chinese style shophouses
Our Hotel (Long Life) is gorgeous with tiled floors, Chinese style lanterns hanging above the windows and views over the pool and outlaying rice paddy fields. So tranquil!

The Central market in Hoi An

Spent an idle afternoon wandering the narrow streets and checking out the multitude of tailors that exist (Karl needs a coat before we hit Beijing)

Hoi An

The river in Hoi An

There are more tourists here than we saw in Saigon and the town is a photographers dream
There no cars allowed but still the ever pesky motorcycles zipping around the alleyway. However a few times a day the streets get blocked of all but "primitive vehicles"(push bikes) and classical music is piped into the streets. Its very random and we haven't quite figured out when or why this happens but despire it sounding tacky its quite lovely!

I like the fact that Hoi An is a preserved city, because on the airport road from Da Nang (where we landed) its pretty obvious that Vietnam is well and truly on the tourist map with huge resorts being built along the coastal road, and I mean Vegas style resorts!
I think in a year or two this area of the country will be unrecognizable.

Wednesday December 22nd 2010
I'm enchanted with Hoi An already.....Whilst its obviously very Asian there is also a very French feel to the streets and houses. We have also had some amazing food here already and its so fresh and so cheap
Last night we found a local place "Green Moss" and for $10 we ate (very well) and had drinkies!

We had company

It was pretty low key...3 generations running the restaurant plus the cats trying to beg some leftover from us.
That was about as wild as our evening got, as we assumed Hoi An was pretty low key but as we made our way back to the hotel we spotted a nightclub AND a Karaoke bar! Ha....another night maybe!

Karl getting measured up

Today Karl got measured for a sport jacket. HoiAn is infamous for its Tailor shops and whilst there are plenty of fly by night establishments we have heard there are just as many high quality ones.
Well i guess watch this space as to how that all works out......

We also went out to the local beach. China Beach (made famous by the American TV show of the same name) was prettier than I thought it would be but you can already see signs that its on the brink of HUGE development.

Basket boats on China Beach-Vietnam

I wasn't expecting any beach time until Phu Quoc Island as its meant to be rainy season still here, but the weather is beautiful so we altered plans just so i could say i dipped my toes into the South China Sea. Had more fantastic food at a beach side cafe. Have a mentioned yet how FANTASTIC the food is here??!!!

finishing the day with a dip in the hotel pool

LATER:
Thank Goodness for Wifi as the nights here are fairly quiet. I got excited when we found a nightclub just doors away from the hotel but despite the out of place neon lights and dance(ish) music coming out the doors we have yet to see anyone go in or out of the doors. Hoi An is just a laid back place and whilst there are plenty of drinking holes I think that will the most nightlife we find. Last night the after dark excitement came from trying to find a bar/restaurant we had heard about (The Lighthouse). To begin with it was on the other side of the river from the main old town and once there we had to navigate dirt (pitch black, potholed) roads in the search for it.
Stray dogs wandered past us giving us odd glances...what are these odd white folk doing stumbling around our alleyways!!??

The extent of our nightlife tonight

As you see it wasn't my usual caliber of nightlife but it WAS worth seeking out as we got to sit on the balcony over the river (looking back onto the old town) and drink local Dalat red wine and have good eats! The stuffed squid was wonderful and I didn't even mock the dodgy ABBA tunes playing.

Thursday December 23rd 2010

Woke to rain this morning. I'm surprised there hasn't been more as we are at the tail end of the rainy season. It made for an atmospheric breakfast with the mist over the paddy fields but cleared up quickly and we headed.
Today was SCHOOL....Cooking school that I booked for me and Karl as Karl's Xmas gift.We met some really cool people today both Vietnamese and Americans.

Vietnamese milk apple

First we got taken around the main market and taught different fruits, veggies and herbs used in cooking here.


Siesta at the market

The we took a small boat down the river the the cooking school (Red bridge cooking class) From here we studied the local herbs and their smells/tastes and uses in local cooking

Karl making the pancakes

The chef demonstrated a few local dishes and gave us print out instructions then we were let loose to replicate the dishes.

"A" for effort karl

Harder than it looked

We made three dishes:
Rice paper spring rolls, savory pancakes and then a clay pot eggplant dish
Karl struggled with the spring rolls!
We also got taught some of the food decoration techniques like a tomato rose and how to make a cucumber look decorative...this was much harder than it looked and my decorations looked nothing like they were meant to
Overall a great day and hopefully Ill be able to repeat the recipes. We did get a print out of all we made and what we need to repeat.
Afterwords Karl went for his jacket fitting and its coming along great :)

Friday 24th December 2010
XMAS EVE

Woke to a gorgeous day and took a trip out to My Son (meeee son).
My Son is the major site in Vietnam from the ancient Champa Kingdom which flourished between the 2nd and 15th centuriess and whilst much was destroyed by Americans during the war its still worth a visit.

passing through the countryside

The drive took us through the Vietnamese countryside which was gorgeous seeing all the locals at work in the paddy fields.

Compared to Tikal and Angkor Wat My Son is small and not that exciting but karls loves that and the day out in general was great.


My Son

We traveled back to Hoi An by boat down the river.

Lunch on the river boat

Once back at the hotel we were given an invitation to their sister hotel for a free Xmas eve party. I'm cynical when I travel, so I expected the buffet they said would indeed be free but expected to be paying all night for overprice drinks.
When we got there it turned out everything was free, great buffet, dodgy Xmas (and not so Xmas) music and local beer. In fact as much as we could drink (which was highly encouraged)

Free beer anyone??

Not only was this Xmas party for the guests (of both hotels) but also for the staff so we got to hang out and party with the staff too who are all so friendly and nice

Staff table

We met some English, Canadians and Argentinians too so got to exchange travel stories. The English were working in Saigon so we got to exclaim about the insane traffic. Whats funny is Christmas is not really celebrated here (only about 10% are Christian) so the celebrated is done more for tourists but then the locals pick up on pieces of it and dress their kids in Santa hats etc.

"it was this big"

As we were walking back to our hotel (drunk) we passed many dive bars where tourists and locals were all dancing in the streets to Whams "Last Christmas" which I must have heard about a million times already!

I have really enjoyed Hoi An....In fact Vietnam in general is fast becoming a favourite of everywhere Ive traveled. The people are so very humble and friendly and whilst you get plenty of locals trying to sell you things we haven't had one single beggar approach us. I think they are too proud for that and even the very poor would rather sell you something crap than ask for $$.
Ive also felt very safe here and judging by the amount of Australians/European holidaying here with young children I guess I'm not the only one.
Random observations
The average local home is very small but nice with large front doors that open out so the whole front of the house is open (imagine a small fire station!)

Traditional home

Basically the front room (which opens up) is the living room with TV and often dining table then round a corner at the back is the sleeping quarters (bedrooms) Its small but functional.

For us everything is so very cheap. I told Karl that by the end of the 2 weeks we will have easily made back our flight $$ in what we saved spending here as opposed to if we were in Florida or Mexico on vacation.
When I think about all the ritzy hotels going in along the coast from Da Nang to Hoi An I wonder what this place will look like in a few years time. Its behind in the tourist path compared to Thailand and yet it has all the appeal and more so i can only imagine when the (tourist) boom hits it will go with a bang
I know Vietnam is excited to get more tourists but as I sat at he Xmas eve party with all the local hotel workers I hoped small hotels like that will survive the changes. Often when huge chain hotels arrive (and the ones going in along the coast looked like they could rival Vegas in their glitz and glamour) the typical tourist will gravitate towards the home away from home comfort they can offer and small local places will not be able to compete. I certainly hope not as that would be a huge shame!

DECEMBER 25th 2010
Christmas Day

Phu Quoc Island
We were a little sad leaving the hotel in Hoi An this morning (and hungover) The staff waved us off and we promised to return which im sure we won't but if I was to return anywhere this enchanting town would be a top contender!
Traveling with a hangover on Xmas day proved not pleasant. Flight to Saigon..layover..flight to Phu Quoc and now here we are on the beach in a basic but charming beach hut (bungalow) on Christmas day!

our beach bungalow

A brief walk down Long beach showed this would be a restful few days.

Long Beach

There is a scattering of beach BBQ spots and resorts with restaurants and bars but thats about it. Pho Quoc has also yet to reach a tourist boom and the whole beach is still backed by palm trees (and the odd Xmas tree!!!)

Merry Xmas from Phu Quoc

As the sun set on the beach me and Karl both took turns to call our family. Mine more emotional than most as the weather in UK has stranded my mum away from my sister for Xmas day :(
....and Karl's was more humorous as he forgot the time difference and woke them up at 4 am :)


Karl talking to his dad on Xmas day!

December 26th 2010

Tough life on Phu Quoc

Long beach-Phu Quoc

Swim...read...swim...rest...swim...eat...sunbathe....read...eat

Life is a Beach on Phu Quoc

Its so nice having the bungalow right on the Beach and we have been lazy just swimming and eating and reading books. The only time we moved was to wander to a French restaurant called La Bistro for food...and even then we didn't really have to as Vietnamese women wander along the beach selling snacks

snacks??

Tomorrow will be more active as we have a snorkel trip planned.....Watch this space!

Wednesday 29th December 2010

Time escaped me here on Phu Quoc and now 4 nights later here we are at the airport leaving! Had a wonderful time enjoying the beach and the relaxed atmosphere here. Phu Quoc has not yet developed as a tourist destination (Like much of Vietnam) so there is not a whole lot to do here if the weather wasn't nice.
Luckily for us (and my ace planning) the weather WAS nice and we were able to enjoy the beach by day and then venture into the night market each night to eat.

Bai Sao Beach

There are plenty of resorts all along Long Beach and you can wander into any of them and use their facilities. The first night we went for dinner in one but found it just ok.
On recommendations we tried the night market the next night (about 20 stalls) and from that point on we returned there every night to eat as it was the best freshest seafood cooked right there under your nose

Cat food??? Well technically that's right!!!

We made a point to try a different stall each night and were not disappointed once. The favourite being a dish of grilled squid rings that we ordered a second plate of! GREEDY.

The best squid ever!

It was very cheap too. The night market was a good 15 minute walk from our place down quiet unlit roads and I never felt unsafe. in fact my whole time in Vietnam I have never felt unsafe or threatened. The locals are so friendly and helpful even though their English (and my Vietnamese) is limited
As with any country, they appreciate you trying with the odd words (please, thanks you etc) and their sometimes stern expression (cultural) turns into a huge smile!

We did do a boat trip which Karl just about survived. Poor Karl...I did tell him I would go alone but I think he feels he has missed too many good times by not going on the boat trips so he came along. Of Course it was the windiest day of them all but once we got going it calmed down and he was fine.

Karl surviving the boat trip

We went off the South of Phu Quoc to smaller islands (pineapple island,lamb island etc) where we could swim and snorkel. It was stunning...islands that were not inhabited at all and some just had the local fishermen there.
The boat captain swam with us and caught sea urchins then showed us how to trim their spines and served then as a pre lunch snack.

enjoying my sea urchin

I tried a cooked one and then as that was so good (and I was feeling brave) tried the raw one (the spines were still moving!)
Once back on Phu Quoc we went to Bai Sao beach (South Beach) which has the whitest sand on the island and chilled out here a while

Bai Sao beach

Pretty much that was the extent of our excitement here on Pho Quoc.
We did take a taxi to a local pepper farm as pepper is one of Phu Quocs biggest exports (along with fish sauce which you aren't allowed to fly on Vietnam air with!!) At the pepper farm they were quite surprised to see us and even though its mentioned in the Lonely planet as something to do and there really wasn't anything to see except the pepper vines themselves and to buy cheaper than usual pepper corns

At the pepper farm

Next year when they open the international airport I see this island going through big changes. Even though I usually like "action" on holiday it was great to enjoy some enforced R and R and I got used to the laid back atmosphere and friendly laissez-faire locals. As yet they still don't really know what "to do" with tourists.

Sea star resort

There are resorts and there are trips (like our boat one) but don't go expecting it to be the same as a trip you would take in Mexico or such. Whilst they are well organized and timely its still very unstructured and things can change at the blink of an eye. Be prepared to go with the flow!.

One more night back in Saigon then we will leave Vietnam for China (Beijing) I will be sad leaving Vietnam behind even though Im excited to experience a new country.
Vietnam has exceeded my expectations and judging by the comments I'm getting has surprised a few people too.

Those who asked "Why Vietnam?" are realizing (just from the photos) why i wanted to come here. I hope my photos and words encourage people that may have shied from traveling here that its a fantastic place with fantastic people.
If you like the comforts of a full tourist environment wait a few years, but if you want to come to Vietnam before the full boom hits book quick!!

Wednesday 29th December (much later)

So back in Saigon for the day/night. This time we stayed in a total different area.
Last visit we were in District 1 where all the action was; and this time (due to ridiculously early flight tomorrow am) our hotel is closer to the airport in a business section of town. Being geared for business men it is decidedly seedy with prozzies in the bars..subtle though not like Thailand.

The plan was to stay here and just use the hotel to relax and decompress before tomorrows flight to Beijing. However within an hour we got antsy and got a taxi back into district one to finish up some of the sightseeing we missed first time around.
I'm so glad we did....this time we saw the reunification palace proper and had some of the best pho of the trip at the chain fast food Pho place (pho 24)
Funnily enough we thought now we had settled into Vietnam and over the jet lag we wouldn't find the traffic so unnerving...Ha...wrong...I'm not sure how anyone gets used to this craziness!!!

ready steady GO

It was so very humid today too though, so after that we found AC in another mall before seeking out the Sheraton hotel for what was one the the better views of downtown Saigon

drinks with a view at the Sheraton

We cabbed it back to the hotel in time for dinner and after wandering our hotel (business) section we realized there was not much to chose from so we settled for a seafood place oppostite our hotel (owned by the hotel too i think).
The restaurant was a mix of Asian tourists and Asian business men clustered around a huge swimming pool and the menu was HUGE...anything from suckling pig to spaghetti bolognese. We didn't have much hope for the meal being any good so was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be very tasty
Such a bizarre place though....at one point in the evening loud music began and the staff all gathered in a vietnamese rendition of the "chicken dance" Why ???? We had no idea!!
Sort of like a bad TGI Fridays birthday celebration without the birthday..

However nothing about this restaurant (or area) made much sense but we rolled with it and had a fun time. Back at the hotel now which is more modern and western than most we have stayed in (still under $50 though) and time to catch a few winks before the 5am wake up call.
China here we come.....( See "made in China" Blog)

Goodbye Vietnam...we heart you

Britgirl gets LOST IN TRANSLATION

2010-09-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

Tuesday March 16th 2010
Here we are in Tokyo after quite a smooth (yes unusual I know) trip.

Spent Saturday night in Chicago and had dinner at this Speakeasy called Gaslight lounge. It was full of old crooners singing St Paddys day songs on a piano. Super laid back and then I saw SNOOKIE!!!!

She came in with her manager and affliction clad "boyfriend" and sat right next to us.
Well saddo that I am that was the highlight of my Chicago evening

The flight for Chicago was only 13 hours...and went quick thanks to 4 movies and a little sleeping aid (thanks Nancy)

Now here we are at the Prince Park Tower hotel for 3 nights which is just amazing (Leading hotel of the world) Got a brill deal but not brill enough for the full 7 nights

We have floor to celing windows wth a view of tokyo...a toilet that does all but serve our breakfast! I could so get used to this ! Unfortunatly we are only at this hotel for 3 nights..pocket book wouldnt stretch to more.

Our first night we spent wandering "lost in translation style" round the bright lights of Shibuya which also has the busiest crossing in the world.

I already love Tokyo. Everyone here dresses so well, male and female. Its like being in a japanese fashion show with the most put together high end fashion side my side with the craziest styles, yet but all looking so good-like they have just stepped out of a magazine
Our first meal last night involved a machine where you click a button/photo of a meal that looks good. Out pops a ticket and then you hand that to the waitress. On the machine I tried so hard to find a photo that looked like it might not have red meat and the voila steaming beef/noodle broth. Damn...they need to take clearer photos :)

I have decided that I need a Japanese toilet at home now. They are the bomb !!!

Buttons for music, bidet, spray, Powder, seat warmers, deodorizing, drying.....Who knew going to the bog could be so much fun !!!

This morning we woke at the ungodly hour of 4am to head to the Tsukiji tuna auction, which is where the huge Tunas come in and get sold to the restaurants. It was prett amazing to watch and see how the process goes before it ends up as Sashimi on your plate.

Needless to say the Sushi restaurants around have some of the best seafood on offer !
Spent the rest of the day sightseeing..., Ginza (posh), Shinjuku (crazy), Imperial Palace (beautiful), Akihabara(electric town). We used the metro all day and for the most part managed pretty well.

Most of the underground is labelled in English which is surprising considering that barely anyone speaks English.

Hardly any restaurants/bars have English menus of English speaking staff. I dont mind this as it all makes the adventure but its still surprising considering other conutries we have visited more off the beaten track (Peru, Cambodia etc) did !

Another thing to note about the people is while they dont speak English they are so very friendly. They cant do enough for you rushing to get this rushing to get that...apologizing profusely when they dont understand US...even though its us in their country

My favourite part of today was Electric town..justa mass of Gaudy shops selling all the latest and greatest technologies for cheap. Karl enjoyed alll the video games sega stores and we wandered into the Pachinko arcade but didn't have a clue what the oint was to all the silver balls so will have to try that again later after Ive googled how to play it

Ok thats it for now...heading out to Dinner.
later....
Wednesday March 17th 2010

Ugh...waking up with a hangover thanks to Random Japanese man who decided we hadn't drank good sake til we drank what he bought us.

We had found this awseome sushi place and was just busy minding our own business trying to make out what the hell to order on a menu with no photos and no english. The staff just thought we were amusing and without my translation book I was stumped just remembering odd words for yellowtail and such

Anyway we attracted the attention of a local who started sending over BOTTLES of sake...then food...then more sake. Oh my !!!

Its a little fuzzy after that but I do remember having a wonderful evening and some amazing Sashimi

Wednesday 17th March 2010

We dragged our hungover arses out of bed this morning and took the metro to old Edo (Asakusa) to see the temples. There are vending machines everywhere selling snacks, and cans of drink (both hot and cold) Everything is just so convenient here. Other than just having the temples Asakusa is just an step back in time with wooden store fronts and old fashioned noodle houses.

We wandered the main market area which led to the temples. I liked people watching there more than I liked the temples. Tokyo girls amaze me with their fashion. Even at the temples people were dressed like they were going clubbing in mini skirts and high boots !

We are just at the very beginning of Cherry blossom season and whilst there are areas where the blossoms are peeking through its really just a few weeks too early to see them in their full glory yet at the temple they seemed "more advanced". A divine actby Buddha maybe??? Nope…on closer inspection I saw they were stuck on !!! Seriously fake cherry blossoms so no matter what time of year we all get the perfect photo op. at Asakusa. The japanese do love perfection

At lunch we found a 100 years old noodle house that the lonely planet recommended.

I had quite a few restaurants picked out in advance for this trip either from the lonely planet or the interne but for the most part they have been impossible to find as their names have only been in Kanji Japanese symbols and not the English name I read about !

Its equally difficult trying to find an address and just too tough to ask as virtually no one speaks English. Anyway call it Buddha good luck but in this case we did find the right place we were looking for somehow just by matching the symbols.

It was a small wooden café (called "Namiki Yabu Soba" in the Lonely planet) and with communal tables …all Japanese except me and Karl you can imagine it was quite an intersting time. We both had Soba noodles (Karl cold-me hot). Karls favourite Japanese food is Soba and whilst I love the taste there is no way I could enjoy eating it often unless I was solo.

The noise does my head in. SLURP SLURP SLURP…SLURP SLURP SLURP. Its deemed normal in Japan to do this and it drove me mad…It was so loud and so constant. Needless to say for this reason, and this reason alone, I will never be a big fan of Soba !

What tradition i AM a big fan of is how very polite the Japanese are. It puts Americans (and British) to shame in their customer service. Karl forgot some change in one shop and he was practically chased down the street so they could return it. People apologize constantly even though its US not understanding THEM and smile and try to help even when its not needed.

We cant take Karls traditional "monkey Arm" photo without someone prizing the camera out our hand to take it of us. Same with our map…the minute we start looking at it on the street someone is trying to lead us where we want to go ! AND I don't mean Thailand style where they detour us by their brothers tailor/gem store first !

Nope…the Japanese here wouldn't dream of scamming you.

It's the safest, friendliest yet incredibly foreign country I have ever visited !

Ok so in the afternoon as a totel change of pace we went to the Harujuku area and I found Heaven !!! I was so in love with this place in seconds. To start with the fashion that I already thought was amazing in Tokyo is on a whole other planet here ! Its like Halloween everyday as the girls (and boys) dress to impress.

The stereotype of giggling asian girls wearing kitch is long gone….these girls take their fashion very seriously and each one looks beautiful as though she is right out of a magazine. They still wear kitch but its to an extreme here..One moment sid vicious Punk…then Halloween goth…Next moment its like being on a set of Alice in Wonderland. Tim Burton aint got nothing on these kids…Pull up socks, lace, fake eyelashes, tutus,make up out the wazoo!

I could easily max out some credit cards here too…such cool clothes (though most what I tried on was way too short..arms and hemlines)

It was just a shopping frenzy but not really as uncultured as it sounds because here in Harajuku was the best teen culture Tokyo has on offer and I could have sat all day just people watching (which I almost did)

Later….

So now I know the real reason Japanese are so slight. Its nothing to do with healthy cuisine but the damn Shinjuko train station. Its like a mini city and we must have been lost down there for almost an hour tonight. Of course being tipsy doesn't help with a sense of direction either but that place is seriously insane !

We found a rather bizarre restaurant called Christon café which was part bar, part restaurant and part dj lounge. It was a gothic theme with all the workers dressed as Goth kids and the whole place decorated in theme…Gargolyes, candles, chandaliers. Even the menu was in a huge black book called the Epicurian Bible and drink names like Sucubus kiss, Hells blood etc !

The food was honestly just ok but the atmosphere was fun and fitting after an afternoon in the dressup Harajuko

Friday 19th March 2010

Ive been AWOL for a couple of days as Thursday we left Tokyo for the Hakone region (Mount Fuji national park). This trip had seemed complicated in advance trying to read up on how to execute it, but actually it was fairly straight forward.

We boarded the cutely named "Romance train" and headed from Tokyo to Hakone Yamota…from there we changed to a small mountain train and took that to Miyanoshita where the Hotel Fujiya hotel was our stop for the night.

It was an amazing old hotel with pagoda style buildings, gorgeous Japanese garden grounds, Carp ponds. It was like stepping back into "Memoirs of a Geisha" .

The restaurants there though were ridiculously expensive so we had a "picnic" dinner from Lawsons (think Japanese 7/11) of Noodles, sushi and bean paste cakes !

The staff were so sweet (again very little English versus my very little Japanese) yet they went out of their way to help us. The one afternoon we returned in (slight) rain and they came running at us down the drive with umbrellas! It was like something out of a film :

Our room was huge and a mish mash of odd furniture. It was like 1960's Japan had exploded all over the place and every type of furniture had landed in our room. Very strange yet very fitting …..The bath was like an old Victorian claw foot with the hot water right from the Springs. I was asleep by 10pm !!!!

Must be that mountain air

We spent that day and the one following exploring the Hakone area including cable cars and ropeways, pirate ships (on Lake Ashi) and exploring by foot. Mount Fuji itself seems to elude us with slight clouds the first day and full-on fog the second but as its rare this time of year to see it in all its glory I wasn't too bothered.

Ate famous black (sulphur) eggs and tempura octopus on a stick until I was nearly sick in the various small mountain towns and villages along our route. Whilst this area had its fair share of tourists we were still about the only Westerners causing something of a stir in each place…especially Karl with his height !

Now its Friday afternoon and we are back In Tokyo

Britgirl heads South of the Equator to "Deepest Darkest" Peru

2009-03-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 14th. 2009
Ok...Superstitious or not, I will think very carefully before flying on Friday the thirteenth again !!!
Our flight was delayed leaving Dallas; meaning a domino effect would cause us to miss all the connections after that.
After a call to the ever useless AA customer service they informed us that in missing the Miami connection we would not be able to fly to Lima until the 16th (three days later!!) WTF ???
To say i was pissed was an understatement but no matter how much begging and pleading we got the same response "sorry its spring break..no more flights til 16th"
I even spoke to the pilots (ok...as Karl said...I accosted the pilots at the gate) and asked them if they could fly as fast as possible to make up the hour and a half we needed to make our connection...Well it was worth a try :) They did at least say they would radio ahead and see if the plane could be held but they didnñt hold much hope as it was so late already and most airports had a curfew :(

We got on the delayed dfw-Miami flight just hoping for a delay that end too. It was a nerve wracking few hours until the pilots came on the intercom as we were decending to say the Miami to Lima fight was going to wait for us.... I need to add it was now AFTER midnight and no longer Friday the 13th :)

I was so happy

We made it to Lima and then had a short wait for our internal flight,Lima-Cusco.
From Cusco we had a car from the bed and breakfast pick us up and take us the two hour drive through the Sacred Valley (stunning) to the small mountain village of OLLENTAYTAMBO
Ollenta is beautiful...very small and nestled in the Andes mountains. No one here speaks English and only a few speak spanish as the native Language is different (Quecha I think)

The locals all wear the traditional clothing with the bright coloured slings/babies on backs etc. There Are tourists that come through but mainly on day trips from Cusco-so whilst we see people on vacation by day its locals after all the tourist buses leave

Our hostal (Hostal Sauce) is great...the room has wood floors and huge french windows opening onto a view of massive Inka ruins here.

So far the food has also been great. Cheaper than home but not as cheap as Central America

For dinner we found a pretty restaurant by the river and Karl ate Alpaca steak while I had river trout and of course my first PISCO sour-Pisco brandy, bitters and raw egg (surprisingly yummy)

Karl is already feeling the altitude (just a headache and short breath) but I can´t tell any difference as yet, except I have been way more winded on the cobbled hills...but I could just be unfit :)
He told me not to write that he has been tryting to combat the sickness with Cocoa tea but Im writing it anyway (sorry Karl but it is legal here so don´t worry)
I had cocoa tea too even though Im not feeling it just to try it. Certianly is a bit of a pick up...who needs red bull ???
Im writing this Sunday (nor Saturday) as this has been my first time at a computer at all. My typing is not the best normally but here this keyboard has ALL the letters worn off so its hard going !!!

SUNDAY March 15th. 2009
They say the altitude can cause insomnia but i think that comes more from the cocoa leaf tea ;)
Despite that it was a good nigths sleep and this morning we tackled the Inka sights that are here in Ollentaytambo.
I am so pissed I can´t add photos but I will only be able to do so if I find a computer with the slot for my card as I didnñt bring the cable with me (its probable that photos will be added after the trip as often happens when Im traveling in these countries with SLOW internet)
So for now you will have to take my word for it that the area is absolutly beautiful. With mountains all around and Ollenta being a very small town rights between them all.
We climbed the Ollenta Inka ruins and had a brill view of the whole town are surrounding valley.
Its still Sunday morning here but I have to head out now. We leave Ollenta tomorrow via train for Aquas Caliente. Im so excited about travel by train and Aquas Calliente has no roads into it...just the train track.
Hopefull I can find internet there to keep you updated but...............so far so good :)

Tuesday March 17th ;)
Sorry its been a while since I blogged but finding intertnet with any speed at all has been interesting. I finally found one with a card reader so I can add photos but...dammmmmm...its slow. Im trying though :)
Anyway we left Ollenta via backpacker train and two hours later of spectacular scenery we were in Aquas Caliente. Everything I had ever read about this stopping point town for Machu Piccu was bad-Ugly, ramshackled, exploitive !! You know what? It is all those things but I quite like it. The Town itself looks like its just recovered an earthquake and all the building are half finished but at the same time is has a "fugly" appeal.

Our hostal was not quite expecting us so after some confusion and polite "prove it" email showing we got rewarded with a top floor room (delux suite)

It really is very nice...huge with wooden floors and a giant balcony overlooking the town square.

On arrival we were told that the gorgeous weather was rare so we decided to head straight to Machu Picchu rather than wait until the origional plan of waiting until the following day !

....And what a day it was. The sky was blue and we could see all the peaks of the surrounding mountains as well as crystal clear shots of Machu Piccu.
We hiked up WaynuPiccu which was unbelievably tough with the thin air. The whole hike is steep enough that you need to pull yourselves up the steps and rocks in places with your hands. One hour each way but we did it..through cave, up ladders, through undergrowth but what a view from the top down onto MachuPiccu.

In the distance is Wanya Picchu which we climbed to the top of...quite an accomplishment

The whole day the sky stayed cloudless which was wild considering this is peak rain season. I saw Lllamas and took some amazing photos which I cannot believe will show the sheer beauty of the site. It really did leave us both in awe.

By the days end Karl was hurting bad (Ok I was too a bit)
What better way to celebrate St Patricks day than to be SURROUNDED by green Andes mountains !!

Back down in Aquas Caliente we ate a great dinner (more trout for me..the river Urabamba runs right through this town) and made the decision that despite the leg pain (and the cost...going to machupiccu is not cheap) we would return the following day and hike up to the Sungate (part of the inca trail)
That was today !!!
It was so worth returning the second day for more hiking and today the weather was still nice but a few storms blew through whilst we were there adding a definate magical twist to the scenery with white mist envoloping the scenery from time to time and then just as quicky clearing away

The hike to the Sungate was also arduos but very rewarding with a total different view of Machu Picchu and of WaynaPiccu which we had hiked the previous day !

I can´t quite believe how much we have pushed our bodies the past two days....Well I can when I feel the painful burn running through my legs :) But so very worth it !!!

Magical with the clouds !!!

Tonight we eat good and rest up. Tomorrow back on the train and next stop Cusco .

WEDNESDAY 18th March 2009

Few more random thoughts.......I think the Inka Gods were smiling down on us these last two days. We are here in low season-in fact the inka trail was closed all through february from the rain season- and yet its been perfect. Everything I had wanted from the Machu Picchu experience came our way. I knew the weather potential was grim...come people come here during this time of year and barely see a thingOur first day was clear skies and even thr locals remarked on it being unusual. Our second day had the clouds and mist that give Machu Picchu its mystique...and all the time we got llamas llamas and more llamas wandering around us :)

We didn´t do any tour or group and being low season we found we could wander into parts of Machu Picchu and feel like we were the only ones there

They do a great job of keeping it pristine...so much so infact that you can´t take any food or drink in with you (thats tough !!!) There are no rubbish bins and no vendors selling food so the overall effect leaves it remarkably untouched.

Now...coming in peak season perhaps my thoughts would change,,but this was perfect. The Inka god were also on our side with the hiking to Waynu Picchu. In an effort to keep that mountain pristine there are limtes to how many can climb it per day. We started late on the Monday and still got to climb yet on the Tuesday even when we first arrived we saw the max number had already been reached by 9am and it was closed. Lucky Lucky Lucky.Last night in Aquas Caliente the heavens opened and it poured all night (it seemed the break in the storms had been for us alone) It rained so hard I feared the river would burst its banks. You could hear it roaring outside in the dark night.

You would understand my fear more if you saw this town. Its tiny and built along the river Urubamba which (at least this time of year) is no dainty river but a massive roaring beast bigger width wise than the town itself. Infact we noticed all over town there were RECENT flash flood warnings posted all over...gulpIm curious infact how many times this town does get washed away or buried under mud with each wet season. Its certainly seems a very disposable town and with the amount of buildings missing parts of their roofs or sides tells me its more common than I dare think.

Anyway...this morning Aquas Caliente was still standing and we took the Vista dome train (glass roofs and nicer than the prior backpacker train) back to Ollentaytambo to pick up our bags- you can´t take luggage on the train past a certain weight so we left most behind

The Vista Train was fun and very bizarre with the Peru rail employees putting on a fashion show mid run and one running round with t stuffed toy llama ???!!!! I didn´t understand ...but it passed the two hours nicely So now here we are back "home" in Ollentaytambo with an hour to kill before our lift to Cusco where we will spend the next 3 nights. Im proud to say my Spanish in coming along pretty well. Not bad considering I can´t practice it too much with the ancient language being more prevelant in these small villages

Thursday 19th March 2009

Back into civilization now in the city of Cusco. Its really a small city but after the villiages we have been staying in it feels like culture shock now. Along with the civilization comes the typical tourist traps and scams....Not really scams but it gets tiring turing away old people selling postcards and kids selling everything from condor finger puppets to cigarettes.

"No gracias" " No gracias" "luego" "manyana" Anyone you happen to take a photo of they come up saying "one Soles. one Soles" Ok...its only 30 cents but it gets annoying. I will be taking a photo of Karl and suddenly a woman in traditional dress will force her way into the photo them demand a Soles after the photo has been taken

Also, every corner we turn here in Cusco we run into someone we met in Aquas Caliente or Machu Picchu. Its funny we act like old friends re untited after months apart yet our only meeting was for a few hours here or there to exchange travel stories

There are many more tourists here compared to the other places but with that comes lots restaurant choices, pastry shops, food vendors etc
I ate Trout way too much in the other places...now I have more choices. Today I had this local dish called Aji Gallina (chicken stew in bright yellow sauce with a boiled egg on top and cheese !!)
I hope my niece Doesn´t read this because tomorrow Karl is having another local speciality called CUY (guini pig)... and yes I will take photos but right now Im back to having no way to download them againAnother funny food (well drink) custom is the Chicha..local beer made from corn. You find it in establishments marked with a red flag. It tastes like poo but sometimes they add fruit flavour too and then its drinkable. Karl summed it up great by saying it tastes like a mixture of egg and spit...to my knowledge it contains neither :0

My favourite non alcohol drink (ok..Im addicted to that as well as the cocoa tea!! ) is INKA Kola. Its made by Coca cola company but is nuclear yellow and tastes like bubblegunj. Pure sugar !
Hey...the amount I have hiked and walked this trip (Cusco is also ALL steep cobbled hills) I deserve Mucho sugar

Friday March 20th 2009

Last night was our first real night of proper drinking. I had read about this place called Fallen Angel which was totally different from anywhere else we have eaten in Peru. It would have been more at home in South Beach with its beautiful gay bartenders/waiters Kitsch design and nuevo cuisine. Different rooms made up different themes and we were in the sex shop room with local paintings of x rated designs. many of the tables were bath tubs with glass over the top and fish swimming inside. The lighting was subtle and the overall effect was gorgeous. The dj was playing trance music and whilst it was more for lounging then dancing it was a nice change of pace.

Luckily no hangover today as it was an early start. We weren´t able to arrange the rafting trip as that would have taken two days so we took another hike. This time up to Saqsaywaman (pronounced Sexywoman). Its nice that we haven´t had to do any arranged tours or trips this time and had all the time in the world to loiter or go off track a little. On this trek up to Saqsaywaman we had great views down onto Cusco as well as passing women heading to the fields with their bundles on their back and llamas in tow. From there we hiked over to the Blano Christa (like the white jesus above Rio) for more fantactic views of the city. This will just be a quick addition as we are about to head to lunch at a place called La Chomba which is not really a restaurant but more of a local kitchen where a family makes the food and you sit in their garden/courtyard/home to eat it.

I have to add real quick that the weather has been amazing. Considering this is rainy season we had a brief downpour at Machu Picchu and again whilst on the train. A couple of times in the night it has rained but for the most part its been warm and sunny by day and chilly enough for a jumper by night. Perfect.

Saturday March 20th 2009

New day...new City. We woke early to catch our flight to Lima which wasnt easy considering a bad night on Karls part. Perhaps it was the bottle of cheap Peruvian wine last night or the strenuous hike yesterday in high altitute sun, or the spirit of the Guinea pig he ate at dinner came back to haunt him but to spare you the details he wasnt a happy camper mid-night.Our early rise didnt help but now we are in Lima on the final leg of this Peruvian adventure. We actually are not staying downtown but in the seaside suburb of Miraflores. It doesnt feel very ethnic with its seaside malls, tony Romas and even a Hooters (ugh..shoot me now) but it is by the Ocean and that was reason number one for staying here. The Hotel is an old Colonial mansion filled with antiques and justa few streets away is the Parque d amour with cliffs looking out over the Pacific.Now this is no white sand beach...but big grey pebbles and more surfers than sunbathers but its nice and a pleasent way to end the trip.Im sticking with local food but the seaside change is refreshing. For Lunch I had Cerviche (popular here) and a prawn "choup" (spicy chowder) and both were fabulous...all accompanied with the view of the cliff top location.

Other than walking across the cliff tops, enjoying the sea breeze and buying some last minute gifts today has been the most laid back of them all. Karl really doesnt have the energy for much more given his night last night and Im just enjoying this last day in Peru. Tomorrow the day starts at 4am and we will arrive back in Dallas around 7pm (depending on the voucher situation....what ???....I have to try ; )

The Ticos and The Britgirl (Costa Rica and Panama)

2008-03-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

17th March 2008

Yes ....I'm here in Costa Rica FINALLY.
I arrived a day later than Karl thanks to an overbooked flight and greed on my part :)
AA offered me $800 voucher and upgrades to fly one hour later.
However, the kicker is it was through LA (not direct) so instead of arriving at 11pm like Karl I did´t hit Costa Rica soil until 6am. Missing my first night in a hotel room in San Jose ;(

Poor Karl looked so forlorn as I waved him off at the airport.
He was clutching the hotel details and "Spanish for Dummies", whilst I held the AA voucher tight, trying not to jump up and down in glee :)
It was¨t so bad really...the business upgrade made my night flight more pleasant.
I got delayed in La though due to another oversold flight(yes I was tempted to volunteer again but thought Karl would kill me!!)
After landing in Costa Rica I got a taxi straight to the hotel only with time to see the room Karl had enjoyed the night before...Then checkout and it was straight to the bus station and onto the public bus (standing room only)
North to La Fortuna..6 hours and many stops !!

La Fortuna is a small mountain town at the base of Arenal Volcano (the reason we came)
Its got a handful of restaurants, a handful of bars and a million travel agent/tour companies. Pretty much all the outdoorsy, adventure stuff can be done from here.
Its typical in that its full of Granola crunchers and hiking types as well as more adventurous college kids.
The Volcano towers over the town.

VOLCANO FACTS

Its one of the 10 most active in the world !!
Its one of the most dangerous in the world...no gentle lava flows here (chunks of rocks blown out on a regular basis !!)
You can¨t climb too high due to previous (RECENT) deaths...damn rules !

Right now Arenal is on Yellow alert meaning its been more active of late and could erupt ...hmmmmmmmm. What I love it the car parks close by tell you to park your car facing out in case of sudden evacuation
So...um...well...if I'm not back at work on 24Th you know what happened !!??

Its also pretty rare to actually see the full volcano as, for the most part, it is shrouded in clouds...but the day we arrived the sky was clear blue and we saw Arenal and all her glory (has to be HER right with all that unpredictability right ;))

Yesterday (17Th) we spent the whole day doing tours in the area....The hanging bridges at the rain forest (it did rain), swimming in a giant waterfall (it was cold)

Then later in the day we took a hike up Arenal (as far as we were allowed to go)
Clouds covered the top so we couldn¨t see the bright red exploding rocks which sucked but we could see the red hot boulders being flung down the mountain side.

It was pretty spooky with the sounds of the eruption going on behind the mist and then just BOOM BOOM red rocks coming into sight.

The day ended at Baldi Hot springs which is a super nice (IE expensive) hotel with 25 pools/thermal baths fed by water heated by the volcano...some were too hot to even set foot in (another sign that the volcano is at an active level. It was fun though and we met a couple of travelling Canadians who helped us down a few drinks later ;)

I tried the mega slide there which was friggin ridiculously fast and flung me upside down and round and round before dumping me into the biggest pool with a sore head and split lip (lip healing nicely thanks !!)
NEVER AGAIN...It was Megan's idea (crazy Canadian) to do the slide (the boys didn't) and was probably fueled by the Pura vidas we had downed prior

Today we woke to amazing storms so decided to catch up on mail etc and wait for the sun to show (it is now actually)

TO BE CONTINUED.....

19th March 2008
Today we leave Costa Rica to head to Panama.

Yesterday we spent the whole Day with our new Canadian friends; Bo and Megan.
They had a jeep making it much easier to get around.
Costa Rica is much more geared towards tour travel and a little more difficult for backpackers regarding public transport
Having a rental car is pretty much necessary for exploring the surrounding countryside, unless you want to stick with tour groups all the time.
However cars are expensive and are more prone to crime, so this worked out really well for us :)
First we tried to go Zip lining (which me and Karl had done prior in Honduras) but it was crazy busy with hoards of bus tours so we bailed and drove around the area sightseeing instead.

We ended up at the Volcano Observatory Lodge where we proceeded to down Margaritas.
One hike trail was closed, but whilst the boys played chess me and Megan took off to explore it...The hike was grueling, but fueled by tequila we made good progress ;)

As night approached the views from the Lodge Observatory were stunning.
Sucks that it was dark and the camera couldn't capture what I experienced; but to give you a visual.....it was red hot lava boulders being thrown down the volcano side.
Now this volcano is nothing like Pacaya (see Guatemala pics) so you cant get close at all.
The boulders I speak of are the size of cars...so understand we are at a decent distance ;) Being on Pacaya (prior) I had been in awe at how close we were to the Lava (touching distance)
However, here I was just as spellbound at what I was seeing.....An explosive, erupting, dangerous Volcano which if she decided to blow (it will happen) we would be gone. Pooof.

Our night of merriment ended a little premature with Megan getting sick...Food or Tequila? We may never know. lol

Thursday 20th March
Panama

Here we are now in Bocas del Toro...An island cluster in the very north of Panama.
Getting here was quite an adventure on Nature air.
The Fortuna airport was little more than a corrugated iron shed. They weighed our bags and then they weighed us !!!!
Our plane to San Jose (first flight) was a four seater. As it was oversold ??? I got to sit alongside the pilot. In the co pilot seat....!!!!!!!

It seems crazy not to have a co pilot...I was looking at our sweaty, older pilot thinking please please don't have a heart attack today.
As we took off I made sure to not exactly what he was doing and figured out where the landing gear button was just in case ..........
Of course we landed safe and switched to the second flight from San Jose to Bocas.

Bocas Del Toro is a pretty little Caribbean village with all the buildings along the waters edge on stilts. There is no town beach but water taxis run all day long to any beach you care to visit (there are many)
We headed straight to Red Frog beach and stayed until the sun went down. The local kids run up with the poinsonous (tiny) frogs on palm leaves !!
Apparently this beach is private land so the (water) taxi dropped us at the opposite side and we had to walk through the jungle to the other side in order to get to the beach...it was wild. I kept reminding Karl we were wandering through the Panamanian jungle alone. As we cleared the trees the most pretty beach came into sight

There were very few people there; as its more of a surf beach that a snorkel/dive place so we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.
Its also not the typical White sand like many here, but more yellow and overgrown....but stunning all the same. We stayed until the sun set and the sand flies came out in force to eat from the gringo Buffet we were providing!

Nightlife here is MELLOW...bars and restaurants.
Lots of music but more Reggae style and less Techno...I'll survive I guess ;)
The people are super friendly and mostly black Afro Caribbean like in The Belize Cayes.
There are tourists but more younger of the surfer/dreadlocks kind..."The unwashed" as my dad used to call them.
It all makes for a relaxed, chill (safe) vibe.
Last night storms came through and its still raining now so I figured I would catch up on the blog whilst we wait for the sun to return.
Poor Karl who doesn't like boats or small planes is having to suffer through this second leg of the adventure....Hey he got plenty of Volcano excitement at least ;)

March 21st 2008

Today we wanted to head to the beach that Panama Survivor was filmed on.
We found a water taxi who would take us there, via a few good beachs/snorkelspots first.

The day proved quite an adventure when a huge storm moved in and we got pelted with rain part way into the day.....making us detour to a different beach and pretty much get stranded there until a lull !!!
I felt like Castaway with my "Wilson" Coconut in hand :)
Sorry.......photos to follow, as I ruined yet another camera !!

Karl was hating life (IE me !!!) with the storm waves + rain + small boat !!!
Still we really did feel like Survivor Panama for part of the day... so I say be careful what you wish for :)
All in all the snorkeling was great; as the coral was all live...I found fire coral the hard way :(
The best part was we got followed by dolphins AND saw a huge sea horse whilst snorkeling which was amazing to watch

Its Good Friday today and they take their religious holidays pretty serious here. Last night the supermarkets were full of tourists stocking up their alcohol supplies. Today we found out why.....No alcohol sales of any kind
Therefore we took dinner at an Indian (Hindu) restaurant where the liquor was free flowing. Even there it was funny that they "hid" the TajTINI (yes that was the real name) in a metal cup so as not to offend anyone.

Tomorrow there's time for one more beach before flying back to San Jose (Costa Rica)

March 22nd 2008

Today dawned bright and clear so we took another water taxi (same guy who incidently was an "extra" on Survivor Panama) to Starfish beach. The name became pretty obvious as we pulled up to the beach and saw tons of Starfish all over, all sizes. I couldn't believe how many there were

The beach itself was gorgeous...Long narrow and almost empty.

I now love starfish !!!!

They were fascinating to hold their little vibrating bodies....Their "teeth" are on the very bottom but it seems maybe they don't bite?!?? I don't know ....but I did stick my fingers right where the mouth is and I still have all my digits !!!

The boat driver says they do have teeth and infact a second stomach which extends out their bodies to eat bigger prey. Ok..Maybe they are not quite so cute !

From Starfish beach we went to a busier place called Bocas de Drago...but there were plenty of quite spots for snorkeling. The Boccas Del Torro area of Panama is SO undeveloped still.

The beaches are all backed by forest and palm trees.....some white sand and some yellow but all overgrown and stunning.

I hear that so many developers are jumping on the "Panama bandwagon" and in just a few years there are some huge planned resorts.

Later we had to fly back into Costa Rica back on Nature Air (Costa Ricas Safest airline apparently !!) We had to divert through Limon so landed late in San Jose.

In a full circle we are back at the same hotel we (well...really just Karl) started out at. The Don Carlos in downtown San Jose. The area is pretty sketchy as we just found out when wandering looking for dinner and a supermarket for cheap souvenir shopping :) We are in the Barrios which does seem more iffy but at the same time its prettier than the high rise downtown (chain hotels) . The Barrios is more old, old neighbourhoods with pastel run down buildings but also nicer B&B type places

March 25th 2008

Im back in the Big D now. Another adventure returning home involving delays, storms and another flight voucher :)

Britgirl rocks the Kasbah in Morocco

2008-01-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Morocco !!!
Pigeon Pie...yes I did eat it :)

Me and Karl spent last new year in Morocco, splitting our time between Marrakech and Essaouira
I didn't get chance to blog at the time and it would be hard now to conjour up all the tastes, smalls and experiences that were Morocco.
Therefore Im going to just add some photos and let you see for yourself some of the magic that was This North African..mostly muslim country
There is so much culture and tradition here struggling to coincide with more modern thoughts
On New year we experienced both sides of this culture clash by eating NYE dinner in the local Market with the locals and then cabbing to Pasha nightclub for some Euro style techno :)
Sorry...I couldn't resist

Im afraid these photos are in any particular order but Im sure you will enjoy viewing them all anyway.
Something intesresting to note in the pics is the difference between the outside of the Riad we stayed at (rundown) compared to the inside (stunning)

Britgirl Returns to Central America (Guatemala and Honduras)

2007-05-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday !
Guatemala

So, here I am again in an internet cafe in a foreign land trying to figure out the keyboard and work out why my blog page won´t switch from Spanish to English

So far I have only been here two days and managed to destroy my phone (the charger or voltage make it blow a fuse and now it blinks madly and only once in a while lets me text)
....and my camera no longer works. It takes and saves pics to the memory card, but the display screen won´t work making it tough to do much else. I got it too close to molten lava I guess !! :)

Oh well.......At least Im in one piece
So..the story so far.
...........I arrived Friday night and got a collectivo bus straight from Guatemala City to Antigua.
Like most of my trips the highways between the cities leave much to be desired...switching from one lane to three often without road markings.
Antigua is stunning. An old Colonial city...the whole city is rough cobbled streets and pastel buildings.
On the first night out I meet this bloke from Manchester (Adam)He is embassador for couch surfing.net.( A cool website for people who travel by sleeping on others couches.!!)
This guy sold his house in uk and is travelling the world for five years by only sleeping on peoples couches so he can then write a book and prove it can be done (he can´t stay in hotels or hostels ANY night for the 5 years !!)
Turns out he is also a DJ so I got to shake my thang a little Antigua style :) (his is from UK so the tunes were to my liking at least)

Saturday I did some sightseeing of the city. Its so pretty and like my previous experiences last year in Guatemala I love the people. It makes me fall more in love with this country.
Then in the afternoon once karl joined me we did a Volcano hike.
AWESOME

We got a bus to the village at the bottom of Pacaya Volcano( couple hours drive)
From here, there are many robberies so we needed an armed guide (and he was armed with a chrome sub machine gun !!) to walk us the mile from there.
We were inundated with local kids trying to sell us walking sticks and 4 year old boys on horses shouting TAXI TAXI if we wanted to ride half way up on their skinny nags.

Has anyone seen TOURISTAS yet ?
I only ask because the bus driver was crazy like that and flung us around dirt road hairpin bends up the mountain. Then the Village, we needed the guard through, looked remarkably like the village they wandered through after they had crashed !!!!
Any robberies that have occured were guys with guns or machetes; but all the dudes carried machetes.... so its nerve wracking not to tell the good guys from the bad.
Needless to say I didn´t venture far from our guard !!! He was a bad ass looking bloke too, so I felt safe :)
Once through the scary area the guard left and we were ok to do the rest of the climb in safety (sure)
It was a tough hike.

One and a half hours of steep muddy slopes through forest followed by another hour up steep, steep Cinder cones. It was crazy; for every step up I slid down two. Needless to say it was tough going. I wish I had taken the kids up on their rides so I could have saved my energy for the volcanic part
It was SO worth it though !!!
We got right up to the lava. It was flowing and hotter than hell as we were less than a foot from it. My trouser bottoms singed and if you stood still too long the bottoms of your shoes started to stick
Unbelievable

After a while, the heavens opened and the biggest downpour started adding a magical feeling to the lava spitting and sizzling as the rain hit it !
We would be totally drenched from the rain..then go stand next to the Lava and be dry in seconds from the intense heat. wild
Then..lightning started and one bolt hit with the loudest crack I have ever heard(twenty feet away from us) so we dashed down that volcano as quick as possible (smeone had been killed by lightening just weeks earlier !)

Our friend (Adam) went so fast he fell and cut his hand open on the dried lava...OUCH
The bus back was miserable...we were drenched and cold at this point. It was pitch black and we were sliding all over the road from the storm. Im glad it was dark, but I remembered all too well how steep the ravines were either side !!!!

We left Antigua behnd this morning.
Right now we are in Panajachel, a hippy hangout by Lake Atitilan.
Its stunning...a deep lake formed in the crater between 3 Volcanoes. Panajachel is on the NE egde of the lake and full of backpackers and local Mayans
It was a 2 hour drive here and the guy from our hotel actually came to pick us up.
Instead of taking us the normal route along the PAN AMERICAN highway, he took us through the mountains and through indeginous mountain towns.

It was amazing...big towns where EVERYONE wears all the local Maya outfits, women carry pots and bundles on their heads, children strapped to backs etc
I felt like a caged curiosity in his car, for everywhere we went the locals stopped and stared at these two blonde heads.
It was quite an experiece.
The towns were big and dusty and all the houses were made of concrete and corrugated iron. The scenery beween the towns was spectacular also...steep mountain sides and winding (often unpaved) roads
Tomorrow we will see more of the lake (locals will take you out on their boats for just a few Quetzals)
For now I have just been exploring the town while Karl takes a quick siesta. Its been a busy few days and Im already exhausted.

Monday
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL MY US PALS

Home sweet home
...not really but Im back in Antigua which is starting to feel alot like coming home. I already know people here and bump into the same folk over and over again (its a small city)

Back to this morning......woke at 6am in Panajachel (lake) to the sound of a demented rooster crowing madly. I love nature and the sounds of it.....but I will tell you I felt really vindiacted later when I tucked into Rooster stew at a local restaurant ! :)

The Lake was stunning this morning with clear skies and calm waters.

There are taxi boats which go from town to town along the lake shores and so we spent the day zipping along visiting all the villages.

Each place has a slightly different language and type of clothing (all Mayan related) so it was really cool to experience a few different cultures within a small area.

We ran into Robert and Adam (couch surfboy) again on the lake which was such a coincidence as we didn´t know they were heading our way.
Then at 4pm it was back on a bus and back 2 hours to Antigua. Good practice as tomorrow we have to wake at 4am for a 6 hour bus ride down across the border and our first time into Honduras.
Wish us luck !!!

HONDURAS
COPAN RUINAS
Tuesday

So, don't ask how, but we managed to wake at 3 30 am (needless to say last night was an early one) for the mini bus to Copan Ruinas
Karl slept alot of the way, but it was so gorgeous I didn't want to miss any of the drive through the Guatemala mountains.
We were in notorious bandit country, as the mountain road signs kept reminding us ! But, truely, I was more worried about ending my life in a fiery wreck from the nail biting game of chicken our bus driver was playing with oncoming traffic
I had my ipod on most of the way, and thought if I was going to die on that Guatemalan mountain at least it was to the strains of Ferry Corsten !!

The border crossing itself was a cinch. We stopped at some hand operated ALTO sign. Disembarked the bus. Payed $5. Handed over our passports (no stamp.boo) Then back on the bus and we were officially in HONDURAS.

A new country finally for this Britgirl to explore

Our Bed and Breakfast (Casa de Cafe) is lovely, and I have already befriended the Pregnant gato which was mewling around our door earlier...me and Kitty hung out in the hammock some this afternoon!

Copan Ruinas is a really small mountain village where The Honduran men still tend to farming rather than tourism...they ride around town on horses, in cowboy hats. Meanwhile, the women have a similar (bright Mayan Coloured) dress to that in Guatemala, and tend to the *womanly* chores such as laundry in the river and cooking.
The one bank in town had 3 heavily armed (chrome shotgun) guards outside, as did the Beer delivery truck we saw pull up.
Dammmmmmmmmm..... but it seems a very quiet and peaceful place.

Nightlife is centered around the local bars and a couple of ex pat pubs that have sprung up so I can't imagine tonight will be wild either!!!!
The main reason for being in this town is to explore the Copan (Mayan) ruins which we will do tomorrow
Im finally picking up a little Spanish, thanks to no one speaking much Englaish on this trip and so I am forced out of my lazy gringo state to pick up the language more than previous trips (Belize is English speaking)
My vocab, at least, is improving so even if my conversations are all stilted and one worded... I am now being understood well. Ha ha ha

DAY 2 in COPAN
Last night my kitty friend had her babies...awwwwwww !!

Today was spent at the Copan ruins.
It was a just a short walk from the town.
Karl was over the moon at the intricate designs and such.

Me......I just had fun playing and climbing everything. Maybe Im not such a culture Vulture but Copan suddenly became my very own jungle jim !!
Some parts were really cool like the ancient ball court which involved a Mayan ball game in which towns men would play with an 8 pound ball and the loser got sacrificed ! wow, now thats competative !!

Food has been wonderful so far and really cheap. We haven't been careful as to what we have eaten at all but have avoided the water...and so far so good
A Plato Typica each and a drink just $4 for both of us. Im getting used to the new currency...the Lempira and it seens to go a long way :)

My favourite (non alcoholic) drink has to be the smoothies and milkshakes they make with fresh fruit. Im sure its not something Im supposed to be downing in big quantities (isn't fruit often a no no) but they are sooooooo good

Kitty on a plate (no ts NOT food but a newborn kitten !!)

My only negative to speak of has been the side effects from the Mosquito meds..its given me bad nightmares most nights. I guess thats ok compared to the hallucinations I have been warned about. gulp !
Karl is taking a Siesta now whilst I catch up on the blog. Most days the heaven opens around 2 and torrential storms come in for an hour or so.
Here in Copan its uncomfortably hot. Antigua and the lake felt great (even chilly at night) but here the humidity is almost unbearable.
The storms help somewhat with that, but not enough

Tomorrow is another EARLY start. Our bus for the coast leaves at 5 am and takes 8 hours !!!!

sorry guys but a storm hit the mainland and knocked out internet so Im a little behind....

ROAD ACROSS HONDURAS

So the storm moved into Copan on Thursday night (tropical storm) and knocked out all the towns power. We had an early bus ride and the town was still in darkness as we were trying to pack to leave. It was crazy....the whole town was in darkness. We walked though town to the bus stop and that, of course, was also in darkness.

Oh well...adds to the excitement (Karl disagrees with me there) of what would otherwise be a long day on the roadOur bus was amazing. Cross country (international) Hedman Alas buses ROCK. We had security patting us down before boarding then someone even took our photo !! Wild. They had reclining seats, a movie, tolilet and snacks. Something to give the airlines a run for their money !

The bus ride was 8 hours and mostly the bus curtians were closed. It was meant to be a more dangerous stretch of road, so whether the cutains were to be sure the mountain folk couldn't see how many gringos were on board or for our own comfort I will never know. Maybe I don't want to know...Regardless, I didn't keep my cutain closed...and survived to tell the tale !

As we traveled South the landscape became more tropical and less mountainous. The locals wore more western clothes and looked more carribean rather than Mayan. Honduras certainly sems even poorer than Guatemala judging by the looks of some of the towns we passed through.The 8 hours ended in La Ceiba (Say-ba) and we killed some time there before heading to the port. By now, another storm was brewing and the race for the ferry to make it to Roatan was underway. Karl hates boats; so this made me extremly agitated :)

2 hours later we are island tourists instead of travelers. Most people here are just on vacation from europe or USA and we stop being the circus show (ie everyone staring at the two blondes walking by) Karl especially was quite the celebrity,on the mainland, with everyone wanting to be in a photo with him or just point and stare.Sucks now, to be one of the masses :)

FRIDAY

ROATAN ISLAND (Honduras)

Last night the storm arrived and carried on through the night; so by this morning all the internet was down (Im writing this late) as well as all the ATMS (whoops)

We also couldn't dive :( There was too much of an undercurrent for novice divers (the shops wouldn't risk taking us out) and yet the sky was clear blue and no waves on the shoreline

Story was that a major tropical storm was heading our way..though of course it may change direction. Basically no one really knew..and it seemed no one much cared ! If it hit- it hit and if not- GREAT.

Anyway as diving was out, we spent the day snorkelling at West bay which has reefs you can swim out to from the shoreline. It was quite amazing. The beaches were clean and white sand and the water really clear.

That night we hit the west end (where we are staying) and as the clouds rolled in some folk said to prepare for a major storm and some said it had long gone...who knows??? Without internet the world becomes a much smaller place and island folk are a rare breed anyway !!!!

SATURDAY June 2nd ...on Roatan

Not sure what happened to the storm...some say its now in Florida (you guys reading this probably know better than me where the hell it went)

Yay....we get to dive !!!! Ocean connections agreed to take us out even though the undertow was still strong

It was pretty scary getting in and first going under, because the waves at the divesite were huge. However, once we started going down it was like another planet. The reef is stunning and as I have only dived at Athens park before this was quite remarkable in comparrison !!!! We got to see the reef (which is stunning in itself) as well as many different fish, rays, an eel and a barracuda.

It was a fairly shallow dive but at 45 feet stil the deepest I have been so far !

There was just me, Karl and our divemaster Kent and so we had alot of freedom to roam the coral at leasure and take everything in. It probably ranks up there with some of the coolest things Ive ever experienced !! (along with lava On Pacaya, petting nurse sharks in Belize,playing with tigers in Thailand etc !!)

posted some pics now but no underwater ones yet as will have to wait for cheap underwater camera to be developed :)
We have one more chance to dive tomorrow but it depends on the weather (and Karl -he got a tooth squeeze and cracked a tooth)

Sunday June 3rd. Roatan

Last night, for the first time since Antigua we drank enough to get pretty tipsy (Karl especially) It was great..ate at a lovely seafood place right on the water, drank mojitos and watched a lightening storm on the horizon. Karl was stumbling around afterwards and I fell asleep on the pier...thankfully waking up before a major storm moved in.

The restaurants here are good but nothing like the mainland where we ate at Comodores; which basically means someones kitchen. There's no real menu, so they just cook for you and you eat it in their garden or courtyard. Can't quite believe we haven't gotten sick yet. Anyway the places here on Roatan are much more geared to tourists (menus are even in english) and $$$ accepted all over instead of the honduran currency (lempira)

We didn't dive today because of Karls tooth so for the first (and probably last) time on this trip we took the whole day to eat, catch some sun, snorkel and in general just RELAX !!!Heaven !!!!

As much as I LOVED the diving I must say Im a HUGE fan on snorkeling. From West Bay you can swim out and hit some amazing reef. I took off for hours, just snorkeling by myself and seeing all kinds cool things. I even learned the trick (NOT meant to be done) of mildly hyperventalating first so when I dive under I can hold my breath much longer !!! (shhhhh)

We also joined a dive boat that took us to a shallow dive site which we could snokel at..it was stunning, and though the thrill of the dive was missing we could see as much as the divers could as the reef was just 5 feet down in places

Tomorrow, sadly, is our last full day and Im hoping to snorkel a more adventurous section of the reef (can't dive because of flight the following day) as well as do the canopy tour (zip line) thats here on the island !!! I have never done the zipline thing before so that should be fun at least.

Monday June 4th. Roatan

We got up really early today to head to Gumbalimba park (part nature preserve part adventure park) for some Zipline action

There were 12 platforms starting on the hillside above the trees all the way down-ending at the beach. It rocked. I wanted to do zipline just because I hadn't done it before but I didn't expect it to be so fast or cool. Fying through the trees (it goes quite fast as long as you don't use the brakes) along a cable. Our guides were total daredevils and as we were the only ones at the park got their total attention

They taught us to hang upside down from the cable so we flew through the trees that way and also got the cables bouncing so the line flung me about 15 feet up and down as well as zooming vertical (Karl didn't like this one at all !!!)

The park itself was cool with its own beach and jungle areas for the animals. I learnt that I LOVE Monkey la las (not monkeys at all but lizard things that run on their hind legs...cool) Also say realy Monkeys swinging from the trees including one spider monkey called Ricardo who was braver than most and came right down onto us.....actually the little shit even picked Karls pocket , but we had been warned and didn't have anything for him :)

Then in the afternoon spent the rest of the day snorkelling back out to the reef. (can you believe one and a half days of relaxing must be a record for us !!)

Tonight is our final night on the town. The West end (like the rest of the island) is actually very empty (not that is was ever really busy...low season) but we are going to enjoy our last good seafood and wake early for the hellish flight we have tomorrow. What should be a 3 hour max flight is going to 16 hours of travel time with 3 connections. :( Our last flight goes from Miami to Dallas !!!?????????? WHY
So amigos...its time to say adios and I hope you enjoyed this blog. The fun memoried will last a lifetime, but hopefully not the mozzie bites and nightmares from the maleria meds :)

OVER AND OUT !

damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...I thought I had traveled alot. Obviously not enough !!!

Britgirl enters Eastern Europe via UK

2007-01-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

Britgirl on Xmas Eve

Planes, trains and automobiles ( oh..and a bus thrown in for good measure!)
Just getting from Dallas to my home town on Christmas eve proves to be an adventure. Can public transport really make it that difficult for me ??!!
Lets start with the planes...
I understand we want "safety in the air" but is it really necessary to have some of the new, rather bizarre, rules in place. I am tempted to log on to a terrorist website and see if it really is possible to make dangerous firebombs out of cream filled chocolate because that's what the bastards at DFW took away from me :(
...along with the nyquil gel caps, hand lotion and bottle of water.
Luckily once into Duty free there's a sign saying its now safe to buy all those things, including liquor AND take it all aboard the plane with you.
I don't understand !!!!!!!?????
Someone message me with the logic behind all this.....
Thankfully the airport shops stocked adequate sleeping pills so the flight was a blur of dreams of firebombs make from pralines...

Now its time for trains..
Flying into Gatwick means the train journey home is not the most fun experience. With a rucksack full of cold weather clothes and further bags full of Xmas gifts (because I had been too lazy and tight to mail them ahead of time) the task becomes daunting.
First across the airport to the next terminal..then onboard the Gatwick express to Victoria, then down into the tube at Victoria (praying the escalators are working), across London on the tube (Xmas eve..crazy busy), then back above ground at Kingscross for a regular train up North to Lincolnshire
..Only wait !
British rail can't make it that simple for me. No way..Its Xmas eve, time to do rail work AND have strikes. So after paying the $100 (F***ing dollar/pound ratio) I'm told that ..
a) there's rail work between Grantham and Newark meaning we have to switch to a bus mid journey then BACK to the train
and
b) There are strikes so no trains OR buses between Retford and Gainsborough (the final leg of this marathon trip!)
Hence why, after all day experiencing the grand English transport system the journey ends with automobiles as my darling sister comes to rescue us from Retford.
And so...like a dodgy Disney movie, we make it just in time. Still Xmas eve (only much later now) and ready for the holidays !
No wonder Mary and Joseph stuck to a donkey on Christmas eve.. Hallaujah :)

XMAS in GAINSBOROUGH

No room at the inn for us either..my parents 1000 square feet bungalow just can't hold us all so whilst my sister, Niece and brother in law get couch/floor space there; we crash at Helenes each night and visit my parents by day.

My parents are pretty old fashioned and stuck in their ways; so having any change to their regular schedule seems to throw them into a panic and cause undue stress.

My dad is ex Navy and still thinks he is the party animal he once was....only he isn't and just one glass of wine has him tipsy. However, he won't ever admit it and so will get drunk fairly quick whilst spending all his time assuring us there's no way he is drunk because

"when i was in the navy I drank.....blah blah"

"you should have seen the drinks we had..blah blah"

"this is nothing compared to what i could down...blah blah"

etc etc etc until he eventually falls into a deep snoring slumber :)

This happens every year, only this year my brother-in-law was in town, and he is in the Army and he CAN drink. LOTS

...and my dad thinks he should be able to keep up, only there NO WAY. Karl learnt long ago it just wasn't worth trying to keep up on the drinking with any of my English friends and family !

Hell, my niece can drink more than Karl ! So Xmas dinner starts out with wine and Alcoho-pops. We have the traditional table of food and all the trimmings as well as Xmas Crackers and party poppers. By the end of dinner my dad is heading for a "lie down to rest his eyes", my mum is Shhhhhh ing everyone as she tries to watch the queens speech, Lisa (niece) is tipsy and slurring her words, my sister is chastising John, me and dad for giving Lisa more Alcoho-pops and John is mortal (drunk) and has changed the cute Xmas carols to "Paris to Berlin" at which everyone starts dancing !!!

Christmas at home......arhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The rest of the week goes by at much the same pace. Each morning we all swear no more drink and each evening we are all wasted.

I get to hang out with Helenes each evening and though its less party than usual (she has a 7 week old baby girl now) I find the hanging out and catching up nice and resful after the madhouse that is my parents. Her new baby is gorgeous and she is a brilliant mummy :)

Boxing day is big in England (day after Xmas) and as is the tradition we go over to my cousins and all get drunk (of course) whilst playing silly interactive DVD games. Every time a question comes up with any relation at all to America Im expected to get it right which is ridiculous as its usually something like "which American movie star won an Oscar two years running" or some crap I have no idea about and everyone in the room groans...

"Oh ...Louise will get this one that's not fair"

...and so another Xmas comes to an end. I feel 5 pounds heavier due to being force fed all week and doing nothing more energetic than going to see a film !

Time to make the return trip back down to London and across to Eastern Europe (POLAND)

WARSAW

We flew a cheapie flight from Heathrow to Warsaw. British Airways rock...free alcohol shouldn't make or break a flight but a cheapskate likes me appreciates those things :)

Warsaw was pretty much destroyed in the war. It had been rebuilt from scratch to look the same as before and the old town square is really pretty. on the whole though, Warsaw is a modern city and wasn't my favourite..other than the fact that on arrival it started to snow. YAYYYYY

Our party group at this point was me, Karl, Steven (Karls cousin) and Sarah

KRAKOW for NEW YEARS EVE

I love the old style European trains with the long corridor down one side and separate carriages/compartments for passengers. I feel like Im on some film set from an Agatha Christie who dun it.

3 hours later and we are in Krakow, which I immediately fall in love with. Its stunning. The whole city (old town) is ringed by the castle walls and all the streets are cobbled and quaint. Its a fairly small city with a labyrinth of narrow maze like streets full of shops, bars, museums and clubs ! Its like a fairytale city with legends of dragons :) and kings and castles.

Before long the Polish staple-Pierogi-has become my favourite food. Its like a giant ravioli stuffed with anything you can imagine. My favourite was the Pierogi Ruskie which was cheese and onion and I had that at least once a day :)

Our next dilemma was to find Anita who was somewhere in Krakow. On arrival she found her phone didn't work (along with her credit card) and so we were in touch only via very sporadic emails whenever she ventured into an internet cafe. By evening we still hadn't managed to touch base and so headed to find a drink and bite to eat.

On checking out the menu at one pub some English bloke, leaving the pub (drunk,of course) yells "The drinks are bloody strong in there" he proceeds to tell us they don't have food so we exchange pleasentaries and start to walk away. next thing I hear "Louise. Louise"

There's Anita also coming out the pub...and she's with the English bloke and his friends. Small world !!!

We catch up over drinks amazed at how we had managed to bump into each other so randomly. She is staying with this merry band of Brits and so we all wander back to their place and proceed to get slaughtered on cheap Polish Vodka. Feeling wasted and ill after what seesm like hours of drinking we leave-only to realize its 8pm !!! It sure gets dark early in Eastern Europe !!!

By New yrs Eve we have once again lost touch with Anita. The town square is starting to fill with people, the stages are setting up and the fireworks being laid out. We found the local Alcohole (yes they do spell it this way which was constant amusement to me) store and stocked up on bottles for our pockets :)

For those that joined us in Amsterdam last yea the experience was very similar. Thousands of people in the town square, dodgy vodka in our bags, bizarre European singers making appearances; whilst we got slowly wasted. People are in trees, up on the porta-potty roof, climbing buildings, dancing. its a great scene. The fireworks at midnight were awesome and only a few were shot into the crowd this time

After midnight there is little need to leave the square and we are all well toasted. Steven is dancing to "sex bomb ...sex bomb..I just wanna be your sex bomb "....don't ask but its apparently popular in Poland and the fact that Steven is dancing at all, nevertheless to "sex bomb" leads me to believe he is on another planet at this point !!! This is reinforced by his yells of TAK each time a firework goes off (Tak means YES and is the only Polish word remembered at this point). I am at this point trying to join the crowd atop the portable bathrooms but in my inebriated state I make a pathetic climber and end up with Three Polish folk trying to drag me up to the top. I give in when my arms start to click !!

Suddenly

"LOUISE..LOUISE"

No way.....There's Anita again !! Random. She had tried to make the square but it was too crowed for her to get in so here she was after midnight with men. Not English this time but Australian, 4 cute, horny Australians who are as wasted as we are. No one is sober enough to make it into a club or bar...infact we aimlessly wander the square, streets, meeting people, taking photos for hours until Steven and Sarah stumble back to the hotel, I stumble into a local Kebab shop and Anita vanishes again

Needless to say new years day was one of recovery :)

AUSCHWITZ and BIRKENEU

After recovering for a day and finally finding Anita again we took a local train to Oschiewin which though doesn't mean much to you is the town the Germans renamed Auschwitz.

No one was under any impression that this would be a fun trip, but to see the atrocities forced on people (Jews, homosexuals, gypsies etc) seemed necessary since we were in Poland.

However, i for one was not quite prepared for the shock at seeing those places first hand. Everyone was wandering around crying or teary eyes. There's no way you couldn't be there and not be hit by the magnitude that envelopes you.

Auschwitz is smaller and more of a museum now with the bunkers containing photos and memorabilia. I wasn't prepared for the emotions at seeing whole rooms filled with Shoes, bags and worse of all hair. I have never experienced anything as shocking as that.

I got to stand in one of the only remaining gas chambers left (Nazis destroyed much of the evidence) and to enter that was a horrible feeling..knowing that the prisoners entered thinking they were going to be showered and moments later all be gassed and dead. Horrific beyond words. One last word on Auschwitz..I admit to being a camera whore but on seeing some of the non european tourists taking their photos smiling next to the death wall (the wall which many Jews were shot to death) it left me feeing ashamed to be a tourist. ITS BAD TASTE...don't do it !!!

Birkeneu was across town and such a huge camp. Acres and acres of desolate camp with many of the bunkers still remaining that housed the prisoners. The feeling here was much more eerie than Auschwitz mainly due to the scale and the desolate nature of the place. The railroad tracks still run into the camp itself. The other thing we all noticed was the lack of birds. It was deathly quiet and still here. Not one bird was in the trees yet outside the gate perimeter plenty could be seen, as though they sense the amount of death that happened here.

The train journey back to Krakow was a somber one as we were all lost in thought at the awful things we had seen that day.

And that night...what better way to forget our sorrows than Pierogi and vodka :)

ZAKOPANE

After more sightseeing, shopping museums..(please no more museums-does no one listen when I tell them I hate museums !!) I was getting bothered by the lack of snow

As Anita had left for London after a fun nights clubbing I decided it was time to find some. If the snow didn't come to Louise..she was going to it !!!.

A rather bemused Karl, Steven and Sarah who, rather than fight my random ideas, found themselves the next day on board a bus to the mountains. Zakopane is south of Krakow near the slovac border nestled in the mountains.

Leaving Krakow we could see the mountians in the distance lookinf terribly green but 2 hours later we are rolling through snow laden small villages. Zakopane turns out to be STUNNING..yay..me !!!

On arrival in town its snowing hard with lots upon the ground. the town itself is sooo pretty like a snowland postcard with pointy house and ski style restaurants serving hot mulled wine and lots of dead animals. In town there were tourist style pictures to be taken with santa, the Xmas witch a stuffed bear ??!!! Fairground rides zoomed through the snowy skies. Tacky, tourist snowland...Hoorahhhhhh :)

We took the funicular to the mountain top and found more cabins, bars and restaurants along with horses and sleighs, dog sleds and so on. We really hadn't planned on skiing or dressed for waterproof weather but I found a great sledging spot. A huge hill where all the kids were whizzing down on cheap plastic sledges.

Of course I had to play...so i bought one and joined the fun. I was alone in my snowplay :(

Where were those playful spririts when I needed them to play with me???

But still I had a blast..up the hill then down again on my uncontrollable plastic $2 circle. I made the climb and sledge down around 12 times until the throbbing in my hand and thighs from various "wipeouts" made me end my playtime. I gave up my wonderful plastic circle to some little Polish kid who was thrilled to be getting a free one.

As darkness fell and the Xmas lights came on and the night markets set up, I loved my winter wonderland even more. Over dinner i amused my fellow travelers with the videos taken and told them they had missed out big time. the apple size contusion growing on my hand told them otherwise.

ZAKOPANE-KRAKOW-WARSAW-LONDON

So Poland was coming to an end but instead of the usual tears and tantrums (me) at leaving I was ok because ahead of us we still had a day and night in London. So (3 more dishes of Pierogi later) we bussed it back to Krakow, then took train to Warsaw for our final night. As our Uk flight was early and we hadn't been too thrilled at Warsaw we timed to it arrive at the airport hotel later in the evening therefore maximizing our time in Zakopane and Krakow on route.

On arrival at the hotel Sarah thinks its only fitting to have a Scotch drinkfest to end the holiday in style and so we hit the hotel bar. A few drinks later and we are all getting nice and tipsy. Theres an 18th party going on upstairs and Im amused at all the pretty dresses and random Dj tunes drifting our way.

Our flight is it 5am and when it comes time to end the night..me, never one to end a vacation in a dignified manner do indeed stamp my feet and demand we have more drinks at the bar. And so it comes to pass that on our last night in Poland that im alone downstairs drinking, emailing, enjoying the Dj and eventually crashing out on the lobby chairs......Because thats how BRITGIRL rolls !!

FULL CIRCLE BACK TO LONDON

The early nature of the next mornings flight (not my MIA- hungover state) had us running as the doors were closing to catch the plane. we did make it and somehow discovered we had been upgraded to business class...yay from British airways !

A short flight but nontherless interesting to do it from business class standpoint. i would have enjoyed it more had i not been feeling rough as a dogs arse !

I found this funny though...on arrival in London the gangplank thingy was broken and so they announced we would have to catch a bus back to the terminal. It was raining out and so Business class (us) got to exit some magic stairs attatched to the broken gangplank whilst the rest of the cattle car had to stand and wait. we were led to the waiting bus...and once we were on board , only then did they release the rest of the plane ! Ah...how the other half lives !

And so..back in London with the city of 9 million stretching out before us. karl had to have more history..ugh.....I was historied out !!! So I suggested the Tower of London which at least was interesting with all the torture chambers and dungeons :)

A quick bite to eat before entering the tower and BAMMMMM...who shows up at the same crappy small cafe ??? ANITA of course !!! Wow...that really is kinda freaky now :)

In true English style it POURS with rain all day long and even the good old Indian curry didn't warm our chilled bones. Have I told you lately I love London, because I really do think its one of the most wonderful cities ever. Except for being hideously expensive its my favourite place to be. Why did I leave again ??

Anita has already begged me to marry her so she can get a green card and move there...she loved it too.Yay

...and so flying back to Dallas was not a happy moment. though we did get upgraded to business yet again (first time ever on international flight) and got to spend the whole 10 hour flight being force fed and getting trashed on the free drinks that the business traveler does get on AA.

As this is a full circle blog, and Im back pondering the craziness of flight rules and regulations can someone PLEASE tell me why sharp objects need to be left behind yet the business class traveler get given real knives, forks, and glass bottles ??!!!!! The last I heard the terrorists did indeed sit towards the front you guys !

Britgirl takes on Mankind

2006-10-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

So, as many of you know I volunteer at a local no kill animal shelter.
I can't sing its praises high enough and the staff don't just work there..they live and breathe the animals that pass through.
It was here at Operation kindness that Mercy the dog caught the nations attention after being burnt alive by her owner.
Operation Kindness took Mercy in and worked all day and night trying to save that Dogs life to no avail.
I hope the scumbag that did that to this dog gets what he deserves.
Hopefully mercys death was not in vain and someone will sit up and take note at the way animals are being treated in this State/country/world
It confuses me to no end in a city which has more churches than I can count, and well attended churches at that (just try driving down midway road past the Prestonwood monstrosity on sunday and see how long it takes to get through traffic) ; In a city where I have been asked
"So, why did you get married if you don't want children?"
A city in which I am a minority...A non-believer who will undoubtedly go to hell and burn for eternity for my evil actions on this earth.
And yet...I go to my voluntary work and have to deal with the same people, day in day out.
The ones who bought a puppy for their darling daughter, but now the puppy is too big, too naughty,too old, too smelly, not cute enough and so in she comes to Operation kindness to begin life in the shelter while said family jaunt off to Canton market to pick up a newer, cuter, younger model (see its not just men that do that !!)
The amount of cats that come to us at 6, 7, 12 years old and the excuse for dropping of the beloved family pet? The new baby is allergic, the new husband doesn't get along with it, we have to move...
Come on folk. I long for the day someone brings their baby or husband to the shelter instead of the cat :)
Please just let it happen once in my lifetime- to see said husband in the cage with a note "He didn't get along with the cat"
...and the last I heard there was no law governing cats moving between states so guys just take your damn pet with you...you wouldn't leave your kid behind would you ??
If you take on the responsibility of a pet..its yours, for life.
Im sorry but you can't trade them in or get rid of them when the mood suits.
Remember the old saying "A dog is for life ..not just for Xmas"
Not everyone falls into this category and with the Iraq war (ugh...another blog needed for that rant) upon us I have been moved by the men coming in crying and gutted that they have been deployed and cannot take their pets along with them. It's really sad and though foster arrangements have been set up the demand is too high at the moment.
For these men I feel genuinely sorry.
My other pet peeve, whilst Im on this rant, is cat declawing.
Let me tell you first and foremost that this is ILLEGAL in England and actually last I heard California had followed suit; but for every other state in USA its legal and in fact very common.
Operation kindness will not do declawing but plenty of other money hungry vets will.
For the most part this procedure is not done out of evil but out of ignorance.
I cannot remember how many people have come to the shelter wanting to declaw a cat and have been shocked when I tell them the reasons for not doing it....there again I also can't count the number who say "Well thats what i want" regardless
Let me point out without going into Gory details that this is inhumane, cruel and unnecessary. You can cut a cats claw just like you can a fingernail with no fuss, especially if you do it from an early age and they get used to it.
Declawing is the equivalent of cutting ones finger off at the knuckle.
Its painful, a long healing process and can often cause more harm that good (a cat with sore feet often will not use its little box)..in general...just don't do it.
If the furniture is more important I suggest you save your pet $$$ until you have children..then maybe you can afford to have their arms surgically removed so they don't mess anything up either.
Finally with my fave Holiday fast approaching (yes...Halloween) what kind of place do we live in where we have to ban the adoptions of all black (and pure white) cats between the two weeks around Halloween.
Come on guys.....We have to hold the animals so you so can't take them home and use them as Costume props? Then bring them right back again after the season has passed. Im not kidding here, the ban was put in place for a reason !!
Wake up.
I may be one of the few non-religious folk in Dallas and I may spend eternity in hell...but if some of the people I meet are indicative of heaven...then bring on the flames :)
Of course i WANT people to adopt..good, honest, genuine people.
I don't want the latest Lasaoodle. Snickerdoodle, beagloodle ..whatever bought from the big designer pet shops (by the way, there is a terminology in the shelter for such mixed dogs...its called a MUTT and doesn't cost $600 !!!)
But when you adopt it really is for life. Your pet should be an extension of the family not an accessory.

Britgirl becomes PADIgirl

2006-08-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yes yes...I travel.
I live it and breathe it.
Well, I started to realize that there was 75% of this world that was unavailable to my explorations.
Why ? I hear you ask.
Well, my dears, because its underwater; and as wonderful and amazing as I am I have not yet developed gills (well except in this dream I had once but that's another blog)
...and so, not to let something as menial as that get in my way, I decided to get certified in SCUBA.
BTW the fun pics from diver friends and my sudsequent jealousy also had a smidgen to do with it :)

And so- a new chapter in my blog begins

ONE WEEK BEFORE CLASS
I pick up my "scuba packet" and start by watching the really cheesy video in which the boy and girl smile a lot, look serene and beautiful both in and out of water, and wear all the latest cool gear.
Im hooked !!!
I read the book too but all that physics, water pressure, Boyles law, lung overexpansion, tooth squeeze (ouch), and dive tables put me off....so i go back to the video and watch that again a few times instead.
Next I just have to look the part; so its off to Scuba Toys to get my gear.
Some things I HAVE to get for the class like the mask and fins...but these are rather boring compared to the wetsuits and gadgets.
I leave the store with a super cool neon yellow shorty and an underwater writing pad . YAYYYYYY
Ok so it wasn't entirely successful and I had to go back the next day to get the essentials. By now the guys there are midly amused/annoyed at me.
Its hard to tell but as I was comparing the 20th mask alongside my previous purchase they said,
"Ma'am is more about the fit than the coordinating colours "
Hey, Im new to this..Im not meant to know everything
...Two hours later I have a mask, fins, booties, snorkel all in great colour combination and they even up graded my dive bag for free so it matched....Arrrrrrr, nice boys :)

FIRST CLASS
Why we had to start at 8am I have no idea.
Don't scuba folk have a social life ??!!
Anyway, today's class started not in the water, as Id hoped, but in a classroom for most of the day going over that book (the one I hardly read)
Why oh why hadn't I studied it harder.
I quickly became the class dunce.
Not only that, but although no one else had their dive certification I was the only one that had NO experience diving.
Kerri...well she worked at a dive resort and had taken about 15 resort dives before.
Another girl...she was a marine biologist
Snorkeling with the kids in a 15x8 pool just didn't seem as impressive
And that book I hadn't read.....Not only were we supposed to know it but we were to be tested on it. We had to solve math problems relating to the dive tables, remember the theory names and know the pressure and volume in a beach ball under water !!??? (come on guys..is this really necessary !)
Oh crap.
I will tell you I passed the test !!
All I can say is the "diving buddy" system works above ground too. Thanks Kerri :)

IN THE WATER
Finally we hit the water...Granted its a swimming pool and not the ocean but Im ready.
It takes about forever to get all the gear on and learn what all the knobs and tubes do.
Which one do I breathe through again ??!!!
I wasn't nervous until now and suddenly that 6 feet of water seems daunting
..such a lot to remember before even entering the water and how do the instructors make putting fins on look so easy.
Its like a delicate ballet...turn this way ..do that...turn that way...do that and Ta daaaaaa....fully dressed and geared up.
I was not quite so glamorous, with a lot of half stumbles,grabbing my dive buddy, some "oh shits"... the damn tanks are so bloody heavy it feels like an elephant on my back.
Once in the water at least the weight on my back was eased....and under we go.

..and up I come again.
Is it meant to feel like this?
Is it meant to sound like that?
Are these bubbles normal?
Lets just say I didn't quite take to it like the duck to water I had thought.
Being a water baby all my life I thought this shit would just naturally but breathing under the water is a whole new ball game
...and who knew I was a "nose breather " ??!!!
That was before we even started all the tasks we had to learn.
"you mean already"
"Yes now"
"but..Im not ready to learn new stuff. I still mastering this breathing shit"

So here is where I learn that im crap at mask clearing. I mean REALLY crap. I mean panic the water hits my nose and head for the surface crap. Ho hum
With all the wonderful technology in the world why the hell do we have to learn to take a mask off underwater, put it back on underwater and empty the water from it UNDERWATER !!???
Come on...it would be so much easier just to have a button to do that job.
For Gods sake we have a machine down here to let us BREATHE under water ...you're telling me its too difficult to invent some button, drainer, plughole thingy for retards like me that can't do it !!
Well, by days end I was at least at a "no panic" "no head for the surface" stage so all was well. It still took me approx 12 snorts through my nose to empty the damn mask, but I considered the day a mild success.

DAY TWO
All day today was in the pool and though I learnt to see pretty good through a half water-full mask (too scared to clear it).
I managed all the other tasks..buddy breathing, Buoyancy control, and learning how to tell when the air ran out (ie can no longer breathe !!)
Huge lightening storms moved in and cut the class short but at least by now I was feeling fairly confident with the whole underwater thing.

OPEN DIVE WEEKEND

I passed !!!!!!!!!!!! Yayyyyyyy.
We spent the holiday weekend at lake Athens and somehow between the 4 open dives I managed to con Ted into letting me pass :)
I won't lie, it was quite tough but mainly it was tough because I was nervous. I had the worst cotton mouth as though Id smoked pot all weekend. (Not that I know the feeling of course..poetic license)

The worst thing was my hair. It turned green. Lovely lime green. Something to do with the chemicals or clay or other crap that we were floating in all day.Nice.

"Honeeeey yooouurrrr hayyyrrrr is briiiite greeeen" (they speak country out there)

Im not high maintenance but green hair I could do without. Luckily a few rinses with Lemon juice and I was back to the dirty blonde I am

But I did it..got though all the tasks and even managed to enjoy the diving by the end of it.
As karl wasn't diving he took in the "sights of Athens" ( !!??) by day; and joined us in the evening for campsite food and drinking. I know ...drinking. I had been so good before thinking I was sticking to the diving rules and them the dive master plies us with alcohol. Probably hoping I would pass out and stop going on about my green hair !

Britgirls ASIAN adventure

2006-05-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

Good for the SEOUL

The check-in from Dallas at Korean air started badly with the Korean lady not being too happy that my passport was my maiden name
" Ohhh...very bad. You will have much trouble...much trouble"
Then on hearing we were heading on the Cambodia..
"Nooooo...no that very very dangerous place. You not go there. Not a good place for vacation "
too late now lady....it got more positive from there on

Kinda interesting flying Korean air-Karl was in heaven at the movie choices (all of the crouching tiger theme!)
They are very accommodating with FREE (hear that AA...you tight bastards) free alcohol !!
The food was great if not a little bizarre with seaweed soup, noodles, pickles etc.
It was a bloody long flight but between the movies, food and my Ipod "in flight Thai lesson" it went quicker than we had feared.
The lovely Korean air hostesses were totally charming
"more wine ?"
"more food ?"
"snack ?"
"face wipes ?"
Certainly puts the miserable biatches at AA to shame....we even got peanuts taking me to a time long ago before allergy law suits were present !!
The few hours in Seoul Airport were well spent stuffing yet more weird and wonderful foods into our bellies:)
I think I might explode before the end of the trip.
Got in at midnight to Bangkok and in amazing race style we ran though the airport to the immigration desk to beat out all the other arrivals and hoping to save ourselves a good hour.
unfortunately (woulda made good viewing) we got the wronf line so had to wait after all behind everyone else.....boo hoo.
Made our hotel by 2am.
Its in awell dodgy area (few blocks from the backpacker ghetto that in Koh san road) and we have a view of corrugated iron homes from our window with chickens, cats and dogs roaming the alley.
Still the hotel (Swana) could be described as a "diamond in the rough"
Once indoors it looks like something more fitting to south beach with its Art deco style. I love it. ....and theres AC, very very important as its unbelievably hot here.
The humidity is unbearable even at 2am
fyi...ignore any typos as its really hard on this key board with thai and english letters

BANGKOK BABY

So here we are after our first full day in Bangkok.
What a place !!
I love it- but its crazy, wild and dirty (maybe that's why!)
Despite being in the middle of monsoon season( awful flooding north of here) there has not yet been a lick of rain. It might actually be nice to get some as the humidity is stifling.
The news today was a lot about the earthquake in Indonessia and worries about a tsunami coming back this way; but I think it woulda happened by now if that was the case (and we are not on the coast yet anyways)
Our only danger to avoid so far has been to escape the relentless scam men that walk the streets.
Its very safe here day or night and I don't fear anyone robbing us in the true sense of the word but, man, they sure try and charm the $$$ out of you at every move.
Its quite funny and very clever in fact; I have the lonely planet guide book to thank for all the tips on avoiding them
Everyone is your friend and EVERYONE has some advice on where you should and shouldn't be sightseeing......mainly not wherever you were heading and instead to someplace else which just happens to be on route to his fathers/brothers/friends tailors/gem store
....it goes something like this
"Ãh friends...you from Us of A?
...I used to work/live/visit there often."
"I am a teacher/lawyer" (anything that sounds trustworthy)
"Where you got today? "
"Oh Grand palace.......its closed...kings birthday. Will be open all day tomorrow and free tomorroww. Best go then..not now."
"Maybe now you want to see big budda. I can get you a taxi to take you right there !!!!"
and so on and so on
It varies slightly each time but basically the theme remains the same and they are so well dressed and so charming it would be easy for a (non lonely planet book) person to fall for
Its all harmless enough. But all lies
The tuk tuks are the same...you ask to go one place and they take youwherever they want (again...a store of some relative) and tell you just to go in to look ..which of course is when the hard sell starts.
So...the Grand place WAS open and we did get there and sightsee all day around the Palace, the Wats (temples) and such.
I am kinda Budda'ed out by now after seeing the golden budda (who was very golden) the Emerald budda (little and green) and the reclining budda who was HUGE and, you guessed it.Reclining.
We saw plenty of others too but they blurred into one by the end of the day
It was actually very beautiful and the gold and the glitz was AMAZING
After a good nap we hit Koh San road which is where all the street nightlife is.
All the bars playing competing techno really really loud. Street vendors, animals, crazy folk
....my favourite was the local gas station became a bar after dark. The gas pumps were covered in blankets; tables with candles (??!!!) were set out for diners ..Seriouslyly I kid you not !!! can anyone say explosion risk !!????

It was quite an experience. I had a Green curry which blew my non existant socks off ....so friggin' spicy !!!
Then in true "Amazing race" fashion I ate some fried locusts. Ok I ate half of one and it actually wasn't too bad as they shake salt and crisco all over them.
I didn't brink my camera cord so the pics will only be available on my return, and believe me I took MANY

Tomorrow its up north of bangkok to Kancaburi just for the day and a chance to see the traditional floating markets as well as the Tiger Temple where local monks have rescued tiger cubs and brough them up within the temple quarry
apparently you get to walk with them and pet them but the monks warn you not to wear bright clothing as this could alarm trelativelyvly tame tiger.
Tdisclaimermer said only one tourist in the last 5 years has been mauled but few have damaged their fingers !!! Ohhhkkkaaaaaayyyyyyy

EYE OF THE TIGER

So i forgot yesterday to mention the shopping which of course shouldn't ever be forgot...
We did the famous weekend market early in the morning which was packed and crazy; they sold everything under the sun from plants, furniture, plastic Budda's, food, knock off clothing and animals.
Of course the animals was my favourite part with puppies and kittens, squirrels, chip monks, rabbits, chickens and fighting cocks.
Probably not the best with bird fly around but that's what we saw.

Now on to today which was about the best day ever.
We gave in and did a tour as we wanted to see the Tiger temple and this was the only way to get there without renting a car which neither of us wanted to do as the drivers are CRAZY here !!!
It was just a small group of 6 of us in a small van and we had to get about 2 hours north of Bangkok.
The driver was a maniac and my nails got bitten to the quick. It was mental how he weaved in and out of traffic....really fast and really close to the car/bike/truck in front.
Most of you guys know how Karl drives so you will know Im not easily shaken but this was very scary.
No wonder the blokes have mini shrines and good luck charms hanging from their mirrors.
I was about to kiss the ground when I got out.
We had no seat belts and the motorbikes around us held a family of 3,4 or even 5 with the youngest baby jammed in the middle of the older kids...no helmets on anyone !!!!
...Im thinking britney Spears would have less trouble here :)

The drive through the countryside goes something like this.......Poverty, poverty,poverty....glitz gold temple, poverty, poverty,poverty...glitz gold temple...you get the idea.
The one constant is the hundreds upon hundreds of huge glamorous billboards of the king EVERYWHERE. That guy sure likes to have his photos on display.

First we stopped Dameon Sudak for the Floating market which was quite touristy but really cool to see.
It was hectic yet serene at the same time. Tons of long boats selling wares as you went by them in your long boat....gifts, souvenirs,fruit,spices, food even being cooked on them.
We spent a while at the market and them drove on to Kanchuburi to see the bridge over the river Kwai and a small museum there.
Next was what today's trip was all about (for me anyways) and that was the Tiger temple.
It was another hour north in an old quarry with forestland that had been donated all around.
At three every day the tigers that have been rescued by the monks get to leave the forest environment and enter the quarry.........That's where we got to go in and visit them...And I mean visit !!
This was Karls anniversary gift to me (think he might be trying to get rid of me!!??)
Its a long way off the beaten track and doesn't get too many visitors but is well worth making the effort to get to.
On arrival we were told not to wear bright clothing as this can irritate the cats and no one wants that. The bizarre thing is; the monks who raised them wear dayglo orange so thats really odd but I wasn't about the argue the rules in this case
We were told to be careful and not to make sudden movements. To move "as nature" as the monks do...very serene and calm
Im not so sure about calm but I tried.
It was unbelievable
The monks take you one at a time into the quarry.
Some Tigers are on long chains and some not at all. There were a couple of babies but the majority are big full grown Tigers....huge. It's truly awe inspiring to see the monks with them and the respect from one to another.
Anyways I digress. The monks took me up to each tiger and sat with me so I could hug,pet,stroke,tickle the big cat.
Their volunteer took the photos to ensure no flash or anything which may scare the cats.
I was in heaven and coulda stayed there all day. I even have one photo with me resting my head on the tigers neck.
It was wonderful.
There were a couple of scary moments witht he tiger getting freaked out by something and two male tigers got into a fight whilst we were in the quarry...it wasn't too bad but the roars echoed and sounded really frightening.
One monk in particular took a liking to me and got some great photos. He also let me do things we weren't really meant to do like touching their huge feet...ok that part was scary......long, sharp claws on my fingers. WILD !!!!!
I had read a few reports that tourists who had done this before and questioned whether the Tigers had been drugged but Im pretty sure that wasn't the case.
They did get a bit wound up every once in a while and the monks did do alot of distraction techniques.
If they growled or showed teeth at me the monk would pour water on their noses and then distract them with toys and food
All in all it was one of the best things I have ever done and the temple project there is great with donations they are building another 12 acres for the cats to live and play.
All the cats there have been brought up as cubs and can never be released to the wild as they have lost any hunting ability; but the next generation of cubs they are hoping to be able to release to live as true wild tigers. This will be easier once the next stage of their project is complete.
I loved it :)
Check out www.walkingwithtigers.org for more info

CAMBODIA

Here we are now in Cambodia.
We had to get up at 5am for the flight so our last night in Bangkok was a bit more mellow...we just hit the bars and got a semi early night (midnight is REALLY early for me)
I had one of my fave drinks in the Koa San road area which was the "buckets"; which are literally buckets with coke, thai whisky and thai max (really really stong red bull). They are crazy drinks and get you wasted soooo quick.
Even though there was no clubbing to be done it was a night in itself just to sit with a drink, a potent red curry and watch the crazies on Koa san road go by.
.....Lady boys, mashed up english blokes, thai club kids, baby elephants (really...I have the pic to prove it!!!)
You name it and you will see it down there.
The nice thing that IS missing from Koa san road is the fat, old western man who buy the young thai chick for the night. Its not really too prevalent in that area which was a nice change as its sickening to see really. Some gorgeous', really young ( and Im talking teenager) walking hand in hand with a pot bellied 40 yrs old sweaty westerner
UGH

So, now we are in Cambodia and its still hot hot hot (hence the time being spent in the internetcafe.) Theres only one in town though and so this will be my one and only blog from here Im guessing.
Tomorrow is karl';s idea of heaven.
A whole day to see the Ankor Wat temples. I hear they are quite amazing so I am excited too.
Siem Reap is an odd place and at the moment at least very few tourists.
Coming in from the airport were some really big glitzy hotels but once in town its just dusty roads and poverty like I have never experienced before.
Lots beggers all over; most kids and many with missing limbs from landmine accidents. Its really sad and hard to see them and have them approach you as aggressively as they do. They grab at you and follow you for ever but theres too many to start giving too so what the hell do you do!!???
Well karl wasn't too impressed when I suggested just running for it as they couldn't catch us with one leg.....
Ok ok I was just joking but what do you do or say in this situation......Its pretty awful.
On the whole though I am quite amazed by the happy smiling faces I am seeing despite the poverty and despite the awful history the cambodians have endured (pretty much everyone and their dog has had a go at them at some time or another !)
The town itself looks like a bombed out zone....all dusty and broken buildings though I hear this is from construction not any war.
Though the Khmer rule was so new history that its kinda scary in itself. The last Khmer shooting spree was only as far back as 1996
Little too close for comfort there Im thinking.....
The bad part is the road we will be taking back is in bad shape right now and the normal 7-8 hours is estimated to be more like 11.
You can imagine karl is not too happy with that situation but the flight is $120 each whereas the road trip will be less than $20 each.
We may get our first rain of the trip tonight which hopefully will cool the air down a little before tomorrows sightseeing bonanza.

P.S. Oh a little deet info for anyone that has followed previous (Guatemala and Belize) blogs.
The 100% deet that robbed me of lower leg hairs and an eyebrow last year has struck again and blistered up my ankles. Yet still the mozzies bite :(
P.P.S Bangkok airways rocks.....our flight was only 30 minutes and we got free snacks at the check in gate as well as a full breakfast on board, wet towels to clean up with and a newspaper to enjoy...all served with a smile.

ANGKOR WAT ??!!!

Last night we went to see the sunset at one of the temples.
It was beautiful and we rode up the trail by elephant !!!!! Was quite scary at first but soon got used to it. We were on a seat strapped to the back but fat bastard karl was heavier than me so I ended up being way higher that him. Too funny.
Loved the sunset and it was quite a cool atmosphere being up there with the monks and other travelers.
We went out that night to Pub Street which is an area of Siem reap popular with tourists. It was just so so. We met a bloke from Uk -Ty who had been on the road for 2 1/2 years....man was I jealous !!!!
Shared a few beers and a few stories but to be honest I didn't like the atmosphere. It was a really nice street with really nice bars but the locals were not allowed in !!! Seemed weird.
Once 11 o'clock came there were the locals...man with no legs, lady with dead-looking baby, kids, kids with no arms, all wandering close by staring in; looking sad.
Was not conducive to a fun night. Though the gigantic Ankor beers (a bottle of beer is about the size of a bottle of wine !!) were conducive to fun :)
Next day and we spent the whole day at Ankor seeing all the temples...Terrace of Elephants, Banyon, Angkor Wat(karls fave...stunning) and my favourite Ta Phrom (think Lara croft in tombraider)....all overgrown and huge tree roots. It felt like the most adventurous to me
Outside each temple...there were the kids again...all sellling crap but so damn cute.
So aggressive with their sales pitch that I have a feeling they have a budding career in used car sales
"buy buy...one dollar"
"one dollar"
"where you from? Ah capitol london. Labour government"
After a while we broke and did buy a couple of trinkets which went steadily from one dollar each to 20 for one dollar
That didn't help ease the sales patter
""why so no buy from me. I sad. You buy from her but not me. I cry "
IMPOSSIBLE
And the don't take no for an answer but follow you for miles and miles.
My favourite part about Angkor Wat was the random monks scattered around who all seems to have a liking for me and would look serious and then just start giggling when I talked to them
...I got some great pics though...I think karl is concerned that I might run of with a monk as I have a bit of a photo fetish for them now.
It was an exhausting day and that night we went back out into the town for dinner but with pretty much the same results and it just felt bad to be sat eating with starving people all around :(
The food here is pretty cheap though not as cheap as Bangkok.
In Bangkok we were eating a full meal and drinks for $2 each and here a full meal and beer was closer to $4 (ok...not exactly expensive I know !!!!)

THE ROAD FROM HELL AND BACK

Today after breakfast the staff in Siem reap (the Two Dragons guesthouse) all came to see us off :) .....the girls that worked reception...the cook (even though we only had breakfast) and Mr Bunny the tuk tuk driver who drove us around Angkor.
It was really touching.
......and then ....da da da daaaaaa......there we were on the infamous "Siem reap to Bangkok" road
It is about 100 miles to the cambodia/thai border and took us 3 hours. The road is not pathed and has pot holes the size of craters all along it.
Its a good job I wasn't X-rayed at the end as Im sure my liver, stomach, intestine, and bladder would have been all in the wrong place by journeys end.
Me and Karl were like a pin-ball machine being bounced around like crazy in the back of the vehicle.
My back, butt, boobs were in agony by the end but it was ssssoooooo worth it
We drove through all the dusty local villages where markets were going on.
Bikes with chickens, piglets, dead pigs...Strung onto a bike with their feet bouncing along , ox and cart etc were all along the road as well as tons of carts, bikes and mopeds full of whole families heading to market buy their supplies
It was quite a hair raising ride as the cars had the correct side to drive on; but really because of the pot holes no one stuck to the correct side at all... It was like playing chicken with the buses and carts that were coming towards us and more than once a small squeal escaped me out of pure fear!!!!!!
Once we arrived in the poo-hole border town that is Poipet (it really is awful...NEVER stay here).....we found our way through cambodian immigration...(a shed) walked to thai side (another shed) went through customs (a joke) got a tuk tuk....and then got the thai government (local) bus to Bangkok.
After boarding the first vehicle at 8am we finally reach our destination in bangkok at 7pm !!!!
A great road this time but still 5 hours of travel ...ugh.
We were lucky as the road could have been 11 hours and sometimes if the weather is bad up to 20 hours !!!
I heard that the thai government slip money to the Cambodians to not fix the road as only Bangkok airways fly from bangkok to Siem reap and they can charge whatever they want as no one wants to use the only other option...the road !!!! What a Con
That will come to an end soon when Siem reap open their new international Airport !!!

Also (you don't have to read this part) but my least fave thing about the trip that I have to mention so far has been the traditional style toilets !!!
They are just of the squat variety but worse than that; they have no paper and no sinks !! Just a trough by the "hole".
Somehow you are meant to squat and hold your balance then use the trough to scoop out water to wet your hands..........wipe with said hand !!!!!! then shake dry......get up (without dragging pants on the ground which is always wet and gross)
.....them remember not to use that said hand to eat, etc.
However thanks for forward thinking we brough lots of alcohol wipes, lotions, baby wipes etc ....so our typical thai/cambodian toilet experience has been a bit more pleasent than it could have been

ONE (MORE) NIGHT IN BANGKOK

Sawadee Ka !!!!!
So here we are back in bangkok only this time we are not in the backpacker ghetto but instead we stayed in a different area closer to the Patpong area, so that we could check out the infamous red light district.
Our first rain storm of the trip made walking around the streets quite crazy; as when it rains here it REALLY rains and my flip flops became water born vessels and there I was practically walking on water though it was more like slip-sliding on water along the streets of Patpong
They have a great night market where all the british tourists were getting their bargains but the red light district itself was very depressing.
At every stop some one would hand us a "menu"
"pussy pingpong show"
"pussy banana"
"pussy flags"
"pussy fire darts"
...and most scary of all
"pussy and razor blades" !!! OUCH
From a safe distance (outside the doors) we could see girls on stage. Some were really young and some were most certainly lady boys (they look very feminine and pretty here) dancing but not really dancing...hardly moving. Just swaying in a bored way in a bikini and a number attatched to their chest :(
Them the fat western blokes would come out the bars with girl in hand and vanish into the dark streets. I bet some of them got a shock when they awoke that morning hungover and realized their hot Thai chicka had boy parts. Ha ha ha
I wanted to just go and buy them all so they could sleep safely in my room for the night and not have to do whatever these blokes wanted them for :( :(

Well...on a lighter note....here we are at the airport again. free food....free internet and awaiting the flight to the islands :)
YAYYYYYYYY
Look out beach...here I come :)

ISLAND FEVER

Here we are on Koh samui
....so tropical and really stunning. Even the airport resembled a holiday resort with Palapa style roofs :)
Karl hated the flight as it was one of those propellor planes...poor boy.
At the moment we are in the north in a quiet fishing village called Bophut (fishermans village).
Theres not much action here at all...in fact the bars/restaurants are all shut by 10pm.
Right now thats ok with us as we need the rest and relaxation after the hectic pace we have been keeping.
Our guesthouse is gorgeous.
Its an old chinese Tea house and the rooms are big with 4 poster beds and decorated so over the top with Chinese artifacts. From our bed it looks out onto our own terrace which hangs out over the beach and ocean. Really a little slice of heaven.
A room like this would be hundreds of dollars in USA or Europe but we paid just $40 (still quite expensive for here !!!!!)
The beach here is not very popular as its a quieter town and also as its more course yellow sand rather than the powder white on Chewang or Koh Phangan. In fact we pretty much have had the town and beach to ourselves which is wild.
I think the beach is really pretty though with the jungle as a back drop and hardly any resorts of hotels to mar the view
The restaurants are really quaint and again a little more expensive than we have been used to (but at $5 a meal inc drinks...still not bad)
We ate out last night at a place called Starfish and Coffee and enjoyed the sunset.
The food so far on this trip has been wonderful.....so much great thai food (which I prefer from the Cambodian grub which isn't as spicy).
We have not had any "western" meals so far. The Thai food is delicious. Spicy and full of flavour...jungle curry, red curry, yellow, green, different seafoods and pastes that I forget the name of but all GREAT......and cheap as chips !!!!
Later today we move to Koh Phangan island and from there its back to Koh samui but this time to the party resort for a little club action which has been sadly lacking so far !!!! Well, ok not really "sadly lacking"...... all the backpacking places have a bar scene and beach party scene more than official clubbing which has been a fun experience too.

Island fever part 2

Later.....
After a ferry ride we are now on Koh Phangan.
This island is the hippy isle I think and Im slowly leaving my Dallas ways behind me.
Gone are the shorts and Cargo's instead a tie died wrap and flip flops are about my only clothing for now.
Everyone here looks like they have been living here for years and its mainly Europeans with a real backpacker feel to it....dreadlocks, braids, head scarfs...cheap cheap food, clothes, drinks.
The bars all play pirate movies and during lunch today we saw half of "dick and Jane"!!!!
Karl was pissed as the bar further down had da Vinci code on :)
They are hard to follow though with subtitles and you can hear people laughing in the non existant audience form when it was secretly taped.
The beaches are GORGEOUS. Powdery sand. Clear waters but more of a silky green colour than blue; and the jungle hills behind.
Breathtaking. I know I won't want to leave this island for sure...
There are tons of small bars and beachside "clubs" here with jugglers and fire eater type entertainment.
We are supposed to be going to a thai boxing match back in Chewang tonight if we can figure out how to get there. Certainly more Karls scene than mine !

FIGHT CLUB

I don't understand the need for two men in a civilized nation to want to beat the crap out of each other....not boxing...not wrestling and especially not Muay Thai Boxing where pretty much anything goes !
We went to the Stadium to see this bizarre event of testosterone last night.
I didn't want to go and Karl did so I said I would; just to experience it.
I was both appauled and excited at the same time.
Im sure they have rules in the match but as the commentary was in Thai I had no clue as to what they could and couldn't do.
It seemed to me that other than head butting or biting pretty much anything goes....kicking in the groin, kicks to the stomach, chin butts, punching, kicks to the face.....very gruesome.
We were really close so could hear the impact of each kick and see the sweat (and blood) fly.
5 rounds of three minutes each and high impact fighting. These guys are tough.
Before the beginning the fighters performed some graceful dance that wouldn't have been out of place in a female ballet !!!!
......then they proceded to kick the shit out of each other.
The crowd was rowdy and I have to say by fights end I was even getting into it a little.

Other than that; last night we enjoyed the beach bars and restaurants.
At night they pull out short tables to the beach and triangle cushions which you lounge on on the beach and enjoy your dinner by the lapping waves...its great.
Managed (yet another) curry and a few to many Chang beers for ridiculously cheap. The competing bars all play Techno and House music so you can pretty much pick your tunes as you wander between them.
Then at 1 am I had my first "western food" of the trip when I spotted a fish and chip shop owned by a Scottish bloke who gave up in England and moved here 8 years ago :)
The party beach calls when we move tonight to Chewang beach !!!.....think Faliraki (or jersey shores)...fast food, english breakfasts, clubs, markets full of souvenirs, neon and glitz.
It has to be done :)

Finally some clubs that don't include razor blades and naked birds

So.....now we are in the party town on Koh Samui called Chewang Beach and its a totally different pace from both Bo Phut and Koh Phangan.
Nothing sleepy or even hippy about this town. Lots of bars, clubs, restaurants serving full English breakfasts, US newspapers, LOTS of build up to the world cup with bars playing the warm up games...you get the idea.

Fun and tacky..yet with a gorgeous beach on one side of the party street and a tropical jungle the other. MAD.
Though the street is madness the beach is not too hectic at all. There are plenty of beach vendors though selling odd, random stuff like neon lighters, Nemo hats, flashing things....sometimes they even move their whacky wares to one side and show you what they really want you to buy.....Ghanja or black tar Heroin !!!
Yeh right like Im gonna risk going to the "Bangkok Hilton" for a few drugs of a beach bum.
They don't really bother you though and the beach is way more peaceful than the street side.
Last night we decided to hit the town so; despite not having any clean clothes we went out to find some partying.
After yet another great Thai dinner...Pad Kea mow; we ventured into the party zone which is a couple of blocks long and full of club kids, lady boys, bars and clubs.
Its low season but the streets were still busy (not too bad though.)
Lots and Lots of dodgy massage parlor's
"sirrrr......you want masssaaaaagggge.
massagggeeeee"
Just watch out if they offer you a happy ending with that !!!!???? (use your imagination !!!!!)
It doesn't have nearly the same amount of girlie bars as Patpong but did seem to have a lots of "hostess bars"
No one strips or even dances just lots of cute girls(and boys) that will happily come and sit with you hoping that you will pick them up for the rest of your vacation.
...and plenty do. we sat in a "regular" bar opposite the hostess bar for a while just watching the action.
Early in the night there will be as many as 20 girls or ladyboys working the tables and its just business as normal if you are a girl or a couple but once a single guy goes in its like flies round shit and they really pamper to him......lots of giggling, smiling, touching his shoulder, mopping his brow (no lie...we witnessed this) until he somehow negotiates a price and leaves with someone for who knows how long.
Anyway...the night was fun though I made the mistake of getting the dreaded Sangsom whisky bucket again and was well gone !!!!
Made it to one of the more popular clubs here called Green mango where we found ourselves bopping to Eminems "shake that ass" !!!!! What were we thinking ???
Well Im glad to say as the night wore on the tunes got better and some great house tunes later we stumbled home drunk and feeling regretful that an early start had been planned
Needless to say the 6 am start was not much fun for either of us
We had booked a tour on a ferry out to Ang Thong (marine park) for a Kayaking trek.
It was a great time though Im in agony from it now. Lots of Kayaking around the islands. There are 40 in all (we only did a few !!)
This was the inspiration for Alex Garland novel "the beach". Most of the filming was actually done on Koh Phi Phi but some here too . Limestone cliffs, clear waters, white sand.
On the way back we stopped off at an Elephant camp where the retired and rescued Elephants go.
We didn't have time to do the full trek but got to ride them up into the hills and back which was cool (second elephant ride of the trip now !!)
Nice too that its a protected place for them and I have to say they have great living areas amongst the jungle there.
Tomorrow is our last (full) day.
Very sad :(
For the first time this vacation we will spend the day around the town/guesthouse and actually rest up and enjoy the beach :)
Our place here is really nice. We have a garden bungalow which should really be called the jungle bungalow as its surrounded by vegetation (and bugs...huge) but its lovely inside and just down a path from the beach too.
Ok them well...I doubt Ill log back on tomorrow. A day of rest probably on't make for interesting blogging . Tonight we are back out to the bars and with no early start the night is ours for the making....

Then its onto Bangkok for yet another visit (and shop :)) Finally the flight home which is doing my head in thinking about as somehow we land in Dallas before we even took off from Bangkok....I can't get my head around that !!
Im in full fledges backpacker mode..... Dirty hair, smelly clothes, I stopped shaving legs or wearing shoes. Nice eh
Not sure Im ready to get back to leave the islands and get back to real life just yet............... Though the rest will be much needed
I think we will both need a holiday !!!

Final days

Our last day on the island was indeed spent relaxing, enjoying the beach and taking tons of photos. We even waded out to a deserted island to explore some which was tough going through all the coral but worth the effort to ahve the place to ourselves.
The final night was really really sad and we went into town and had our final beach meal at Ark bar with mattresses thrown on the sand, house music and spicy food.
Finally it was back to Bangkok for a whole day and most of the night. We flew in...left our bags at the airport and got a taxi to the Sukhumvit area (more american hotels and ex pat feeling)
We did our last minute shopping at the market stalls and MBK mall then went to dinner in that area to "Cabbages and Condoms" - a restaurant set up to promote knowledge and fund reaserch into Aids (kinda ironic that its in Sukumvit area which is the leading place for Sex tourists !!)
Had a wonderful meal, wine and even got a free condom with the check :)
A few (too many) drinkies around the bars there...saw Bed supperclub. Until it was time to return to the airport and the long flight home
This was without a doubt one if the roughest flights ever.
Im not a nervous flyer but when mid flight after awful turbulance the crew all run to space seat and buckle down its enough to make anyone sweat.
I had visions of my seaweed soup and pickels being my last ever meal :(
Turned out ok though and MANY hours later we land back in Dallas. exhasted and just a little sad.
It was good to see the kitties on our return and later I will show them the photos of their big cousin Tigers !!!!!!
S. E asai is a great place for holiday and travels. It has its fair share of issues and corruption for sure ( I spent the 24 hour flight reading some very interesting books about the prison system, sex trade, child prostitution etc) but as a place for adventure its top notch and I would highly reccomend it to anyone wanted something a little different

Players In Playa

2006-04-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

.....What started out as a small group blossomed into a party crew of over 30 going to Playa Del Carmen (sorry Mark!)
Great fun was had by all. From DFW on the funjet plane(which we almost filled) the fun began.

Our days were spent exploring that area of Mexico otherwise untouched (well by us)
...and our nights were all about the good food, even better Margaritas and partying til the wee hours.
Ok...ok... my "wee hours" were in the 3-4am range and not the 6-7am range like some of our hardcore buddies but with a hubby instant on waking me at 8am sharp I had my own curfew this trip.
The beach at Playa is beautiful and we posed like..well...erm Posey people at Mamitas beach club; which woulda seemed more at place in South beach that here on the Mexican coastline.

With its Urber-cool Mexico Cityites shaking their butts to the Dj, and the four poster sun loungers we felt like Way Cool.

One of the day trips involved the local ferry to Wilma stricken Cozumel. Not a bad day out and cheap as chips to do.

Only problem was some of our crew had no sea legs and weak land lubbing stomachs ( Ana and Karl!) and they paid the price later.
I have to say I was more likely to get ill from the dodgy Mariachi band on board....and why was a Ronald Mc Donald look alike part of a band anyways???
With childhood vacations spent crossing the English channel on a P&O ferry I have a stomach of steel !

The second days adventure proved to be a little taxing. I had promised Karl we would hit some ruins and Coba beckoned. Ruins you can climb on and further off the beaten track?... we had to get there.
Unfortunately we made it as far as Tulum and then hit a problem. All the buses had stopped running for the day, All the rental cars were gone gone gone, the taxis were a rip-off and Karl refused to let us hitchhike.
We were stuck. Plan A,B,C and D had been exhausted...
Luckily we met a local girl at lunch who made some quick calls and got us a bargain cab fare. All five of us had to squeeze in and duck if we passed a police car but we made it in one piece and it was so worth it just to see karls happy shiny face!
The ruins weren't too bad. I thought after Tikal I woulda been too spoilt to enjoy then but the climb up the big pyramid was quite tough and worth doing
Pallins observation "well, where's the jungle" did have a ring of truth in it as the "jungle was remarkable scrubby and not too jungely but still...

The nightlife was good and we hit a different club each night. My favorite evening being At Club Bali.
It wasn't your typical beach club but had air-con. Yay!!!
The music ranged from Deep House to Black eyed peas...at which point Chris (ever the DJ) made "I-will-slit-your-throat-if-you-don't-put-the-techno-back-on" signs.
The Dj refusing be told what to do by this gringo then proceeded to play YMCA and I Will Survive...much to Chris' outrage and our amusement !!!
By 4am we were the only non locals in the joint and everyone know the music but us as they sang along drunkenly to what I can only assume to be mexicos answer to Back street boys.
Ah, a fun night
VIVA MEXICO !!

Ps And as for the rumours floating around...Something about a make-out game with "tough" challenges !???....hmmmmmm....what about the story of some chicas skinny dipping....being kidnapped...hitchhiking in just a towel ??!!!! Whats the story of the "noomyenoh"...the mysterious WWF masks??...and why did one of our crew show up on the return flight in a wheelchair ???

Well I guess you just had to be there....sorry my lips are sealed. "What happens in Mexico stays in Mexico!!"

Britgirl in Amsterdam-new yrs eve

2006-01-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

December 30th
So after some time in Uk it was on to Amsterdam for some fun. meeting us there was 7 of the dallas party crew as well as a couple of Karens friends. (Chris, Karen,Anita,Aliza,Kevin,James and Brett.
We arrived in a blizzard...couldn't even see in front of us as we battled with the backpacks to find our hotel. Got there with 30 minutes to spare as Chris had booked us in for dinner at the "Supperclub cruise". Cruise didn't really cruise too much thanks to the snowstorm going on outside (which was fine with Karl) but it was busy and the whole floor was one giant bed all in whites and chrome.
There was a Dj spinning house and 5 courses came out...all out of this world !! Inbetween courses we danced...on the deck, on the bed,,,everywhere. Great vibe.
We drank bottles of wine and Aliza (who hates techno) was the biggest dancer of us all !!!!!???
The meal lasted hours and we were all pretty trashed by the end of it. I don't even know what time we left the boat but it was still snowing and really late...still we went on a search for another club to carry on the dancing.............
We walked and stumble through the snow trying to find someplace cool. Eventually came to "eleven" which was in a disused warehouse and really bizarre location in the middle of a construction site. One single door led the way to graffiti corridors and then a guy appeared and let us into a lift which took us to the top floor and there was the club. Not busy like we had hoped but decent music so we settled in to enjoy the night
....until minutes late some dodgy guy came on the stage and started singing along to old style techno...Ugh...pretty awful so we decided to call it a night and back out into the storm to find our hotels !!!!!

New yrs eve.
After a day of sightseeing...wandering the canals, eating great Indonesian food and getting our culture fix at the Rijks museum we prepared for the news yrs eve night at Dam square !!!!!
filled our pockets and bags with bottles of alcohol and smokes and headed to the square to find a good spot. Already fireworks had started and the Djs and beer tents had set up. Was an awesome atmosphere with 30 000 people all set to party. As midnight approached the fireworks got louder and more frequent til it felt more like a war zone. They weren't just going up in the air but along the square, into the crowd...everywhere !!!! It was a bit hairy but added to the excitement. Midnight was madness...yelling and fireworks, singing and kissing.....
Me and the girls ended up on a lion statue with a great view all around and spent the rest of the time dancing whilst clinging onto the lion at the same time !!!!!! Quite an experience !!!
January 1st 2006 !!!
Started the day nursing hangovers at a pancake bakery...what a great start to the new yr !!!
More sightseeing afterwards and lots of photo ops as we took a canal boat tour.
That night we wandered the back street checking out the infamous red light district. Some dodgy characters wandering around there(not including us). The girls are sat in the windows at eye level either stroking their bodies to entice men or more often looking very bored reading a book or on the phone !!!!!!!!!!!! heres how it works...browse all windows looking for girl...knock on window...girl lets you in...curtains close and ...bobs your uncle ...instant sex!!!...short time passes...guys come out...curtains open and ready for the next customer....NICE ?!!
Girls had either of two looks
a: sweet and innocent blond russian type
b: fat ugly and possible transvestite
Im assuming there was a price difference between the two but obviously never got to find that out !!
Dinner was an expensive but traditional dutch restaurant with lots of meats and potato type foods
We had already partook in a few coffee shops at this point but decided tonight was the night to sample the infamous space cakes.
BIG Mistake !!!
Effects didn't hit me til ages later when we were in a club called Escape (ironically enough !!)
First I just felt a bit weird...like a little disconnected from my body. The slowly it got worse. I grabbed Karen and said lets go get some air and we ended up sitting on the stairs for ai don't know how long !!! It was very strange and very trippy. At first kinda fun and spacey but then gradually got to where I was feeling really bad and just wanted it to stop. tried to make myself sick but that seemed only be make it worse....eventually Karl came to take me back to the hotel. The walk home was odd. I was not even in my own body and it was like I was trying to control my movements with a joystick. I wasn't falling all over like when Im drunk just wanlking very placid but all the time my mid was racing and I was scared not knowing how I was moving or walking.
Even back at the hotel and in bed the feelings kept getting worse..my heart was racing and I had "sliding vision" like I would say something to karl and then not realize and say it again.
I couldn't keep in reality and spent hours trying to focus on one thing to keep myself from drifting off again.......It lasted hours and scared the crap out of me.

Next morning it was as though nothing had ever happened.
I had survived an Amsterdam Space Cake !!!!!!

January 2nd. 2006
the group is now down to 4 of us and we spent the day wandering the canals, the flower market, Jewish quarter and ate both lunch and dinner at cheap brown cafes both of which had a really dive feel to them...warm and cozy though.
One final walk though the narrow street and late night food from the Diiirrrtyyy kebab shops.
Our last night...no one wanted to leave and head back to Dallas.
We had a flight back to UK...one more night there and then another flight to Dallas..........

Another britgirl adventure closes its doors

Britgirl goes Home

2005-12-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

Back to Jolly ole England for the Xmas hols and what fun was had.....
We started in London meeting some friends there and making the most of the new licensing laws. Pubs can stay open 24 hours now in an effort to curb the binge drinking.
Hmmmmmmmmm.
Don't think I saw much evidence of it working but Im not complaining.

Our first night we spent visiting my sister, niece and brother-in-law....As usual Karl was left in the dust with the drinking by John...you just can't compete with a squadie !!!

Next night met with Lucy, simon, Amanda and Leesha and took them to the Absloute Ice bar by Regents street. Was great. They gave us trendy silver capes with fur lined hoods and big gloves. We needed them too as it was bloody freezing...the whole place was solid ice...the walls, the tables, the stools(brrr) the bar the shot glasses...there was even an ice bottle that you could stand inside. Well worth the 12 quid to get in.
Our London days were spend shopping and sightseeing and the nights spent drinking, eating and clubbing !!
Ahhhhh...who said english food was dull?? We had steaks in Kensington, Indian from Brick lane, and a wonderful Italien down soho to name but a few.
The Italien sticks in my memory as a great night....six friends chatting by candlelight...ravioli,grappa,tiramasu,wine.....the dinner lasted hours and we didn't even get thrown out when Amanda pinched the waiters bum.

For the hard core clubbing we did Turnmills, a favourite of mine. Steve Lawler was spinning a 4 hour set but the place was soooo crowded it made any dancing tough. Still atmosphere was electric.
Karl got his museum fix with a whistlestop tour of the V and A as well as British museum...and I got to shop at Harrods and Spitalfields market.

Next was up to Gainsborough for time to visit family and friends up that neck of the woods. I went out Xmas eve in Gainsborough with Helene, Paul and Jamie (karl was still recovering from the club night) and that was fun as usual....tacky pubs, Xmas music, lots trashed folk and then the traditional chips and cheese from helenes "chicken man" aka the Kebab shop.
Only one fight (that I saw) this time...not bad at all for Gainsborough..maybe the extra hours are helping after all.

Thank goodness this year I didn't get too ill to enjoy my Xmas dinner the next day. Yummy.
Mum and Dad made great big prtions of food and all washed down with screw top wine.....can't beat it !!
Whilst up at home we spent a day in Lincoln, visited the relatives, Karl got to sit on a tractor !! Me and Helene went shopping (in the snow) and also to visit Yvettes new boxing day baby. We had quite a bit of snow all in all and made the raods really slippy. We went one night to Scunny for dinner and paul was all over the road...slipping from one side to the other. But we made it and because of the weather almost had the whole place to outselves.

Too sad saying goodbye again...we left Gainsborough a day earlier then planned because of the weather....we had a flight to catch to Amsterdam !!!!!!

Britgirl in Missouri

2005-08-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

So...another year in Missouri trying to teach those yanks great English words like Mozzies,Wanker and minge !!!!
This year passed without any serious accidents or boat sinkings. Infact the most serious ailment of 2005 seemed to be the self induced kind-from the Absinthe bottle.
I made sure my packing for this trip included all those really awful alcohols that seem such a great buy in foreign lands ..... So armed with 140 proof absinthe and dodgy UNICUM we drove the 8 hours to Ozark land for a long weekend of fun and frolic.
Lucy from London was a new addition to the trip and fit in extremely well by drinking most of the blokes under the table
You go girl
Our first full day consisted of wakeboarding and watching sex in the city. That night was Hawaiian night. The food was great and us hula girls looked hot. The pirates woulda looked tough except that some of those dodgy costumes made them look a bit on the homo side.
We even got chance to have a Hawaiian dance lesson.
Gotta say we all looked a bit retarded for that one !!!
More ourdoorsy stuff next day followed by a night in Osage beach...silly mazes, crazy cousins cabin, food, cocktails, Go carts and clubbin'. Not bad for a night on the town.
Now the Piece de la resistance came on the last night with Nancys new night...CIRCUS night. Some of us had a tough time finding costumes for this one so there was a little improvising going on. I was some kitty leopard thing and the red noses were everywhere.
We loved nancys cotton candy maker and Jeff won hands down in the firework competion though I have to say the girls choreographed sparkler dance stole the show !!!
Actually I take that back.....Kens dare stole the show but I can't tell you what that was...
What happens in Missouri...Stays in Missouri
Needless to say a good time was had by all

Surf and Turf (Belize and Guatemala)

2005-06-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, Im pretty much ready for the trip to begin now....16 more days and Im counting down every damn one of them.
Been warned already about the crazy dangers Ill be facing. Of course, I also got warned first time I went to friggin' Cancun !!
Ive done my research though...I know what we are getting into, but at the end of the day its an adventure and you know what "Shit Happens" in all corners of the globe.

We are flying into Belize city and staying the first night there. Everyone on the travel sites showed more concern for that than Guatemala and as they have been and not just talking-I listen.....
Therefore, booked a nice hotel there in a "nice" ie tacky touristy area right by the ocean. its called the Great House so we shall see just how great it is !!
Hopefully we will get to see Belize city some as Im curious why everyone hates it so much

From here on to gasp shock horror Guatemala !!!
Not sure yet if we will fly or take the bus. We do have time limits but $120 versus $20 !!! hnnmmmmmm
Two nights will be in Guatemala...a really small village (Flores) about an hour or two out from the site we have our eyes on. TIKAL. For you Star wars geeks it was the area they filmed the rebel base (above the jungle canopy)
Hopefully we will get a full day at this Mayan site. They are filming the next Survivor whilst we are there in an adjacent Mayan site and that one will be closed to the public. To me thats much more exciting than any Star wars film.
If I run into Mark Burnett out there, I will give him apiece of my mind about not getting non-citizens on his show :)

After this it's back via bus to Belize and a border town called San Ignacio. a night here at "Martha guest house".
Another bus to Belize city again and the plan is to catch a ferry across to Caye Caulker for 2 nights R and R on that Island (at "de real Macraw" guesthouse)
Finally a ferry to Ambergris Caye for 2 more nights R and R with a little partying thrown in for good measure. Here we will stay at a bed and breakfast called "changes of Lattitudes"

Puddle jumper back to Belize city, and homeward bound

On paper looks great. Im sure there will be adventures on route.
Karl said Russell gets the Vette keys if anything happens....sorry crazy Tina.

BRITGIRL IN BELIZE

Arrived in Belize safe and sound. Gorgeous room in old hotel......We have really nice wood floors and the Ac is remote controlled. Its our little Oasis in this heat.....nice area too though the rest of the city is VERY third world. Went for a stoll saw rats the size of Roxy sat on top of cars just washing themselves. Cheeky Buggers!!!
The crabs in the street are harmless but make me jump as they scurry to their holes in the verge along the road. They are really big and especially in the dark kinda frightening to hear this "scurry scurry scurry" and then see a kitten sized crab run past your toes.
Its really dirty and bit smelly...the street folk just poo in the gutters. We were affraid of Belize city so any downtown exploring was done in the early hours. Morning is the best time to explore when all the crackheads are still sleeping...some in the trees!! Im not kidding, wereally did see this.
On our first walk we saw a man whose job is was to go around the road gutters with a trowel on a long pole scooping up all the poo and putting it down random drains!!! NICE. We didn't hang around and bought bottled water immediatly. Remind me never to complain about my job !!! The swing bridge is an interestingplace to people watch. Its right by a big church and few market stalls...but also near the water taxi terminal so you can watch the local folk as well as all the stunned looking vacationers with water connections to make...no one looked too comfortable.
The city has a well dodgy feel to it too but having said that everyone we met was really sweet and helpful...no one bothered us but yet at the same time it felt like there was an underlying danger at all times.
Not a good place for clubbin' even the Belize folk get off the streets by nine pm.

We did walk all round and had a a few moments when we felt bit iffy but alls well that ends well. Was strolling in early evening and had a "night of living dead" moment when some old haggy woman kinda appeared out of no where....full (old) evening gown, pearls, missing teeth, wild hair etc and started chatting to Karl.

BRITGIRL (PLUS KARL) HIT GUATEMALA

So here we are in Flores, Guatemala.
Flew in a 10 seat little bitty plane all the way across Belize to here. Wanted to kiss the ground when we landed but was trying to look cool........When we left Belize airport and had been flying about 5 minutes, the pilot banked a quick right and went back to the airport that we had just left from...nothing to worry about we had just forgotten two people. !!! Got them and then back on the way.
Only in Belize.
Was pretty awesome really but scary too. I was sat right behind the pilot and watched him dodging between the cloud banks for a smooth(er) ride.

Flores is great, full of Guatemalan locals on holiday or backpackers from all corners of the world.....hence the internet cafes all over ! Have already met and exchanged stories with all kinds of folk. The travellers all want to chat and pick up tips and recommendations on cheap eats etc.
Flores is a tiny "island" village joined to a bigger town Santa Elena by one road. Santa Elena is busy and dusty, kinda like a mexican border town but Flores is quaint and pretty. Only about 6 streets wide with a mix of cobbled and dusty streets. Tiny bars, and local shops. Surrounded by the lake and our hotel room has a view of it all. Our hotel looks really sweet and colonial from the second floor down...a pretty red colour with white colums flanking the front door. Look a lot more expensive than the $16 each we are paying but if you glance up higher than the second floor you see that construction is still on going and the roof is infact missing.
Our room is tiny, but a beautiful view out over the lake and this ($35 aftertax) room is one of the most expensive due to the extremly loud Air conditioner box shoved into the wall. Its sticky and hot though so we needed that...added for the keeping cool is a ceiling fan but we darn't turn it on because it rattles and groans and spazzies out each time we do, making us think its gonna fall on our heads in the night and kill us !!!
The Local buses are my new favourite photo op. Love them. They are all old yellow(american) school buses that have seen better days.
The people paint over the yellow...sometimes nice muted pastels, usually bright wild colours and strap luggage,bikes, furniture to the top and fill the inside with as many folk as they can squeeze in...kids, grandmas,gringo tourists,dogs, chickens....hence the name Chicken buses.

Tikal tomorrow for the history part...Karl will be SOOOOO happy. Thousands of Mayan ruins for him to climb and explore....none of those western restrictions. You wanna climb 62 meters and fall to your death go ahead !!
Going for a beer and food now...not into beer but starting to enjoy the cold Belikins and Gallos and its cheaper as the wine is imported.
Later.....

BRITGIRL V'S THE MOZZIES

In the jungle the mighty jungle....etc etc etc

So an early start today and we got a bus to Tikal. Well I say bus...it was a mini van with missing pieces and broken windows but, Hey, it got us there in one piece.
Drove though the hillside villages and towns.
Our bus would come round a bend them slam on the breaks to avoid the wandering cows, horses,dogs and kids.
The houses are just wooden huts with palm frond roofs and in the "richer" towns these are replaced by cement block homes with corrugated iron roofs.
The local women walk around still carrying produce on their heads, often in local Mayan costune which looks very ethnic...but them once in awhile you see them on a cell phone too.
Well, I saw that once but it shocked the hell out of me, is it possible that they live in such poverty yet have a cell phone or was that phone "aquired" by horse riding,machete bearing husband ?? Quite baffling !?

Anyway...I digress.......
Tikal was amazing and Im not even keen on the whole TEMPLE thing but this was once the biggest city in the world. 4000 ruins to explore which up until 100 years ago were still buried under the jungle folliage.
We didnt get to them all off course but still spent the whole day there. SOOOOO hot. We were only 10 miles from the Yaxha area where the survivors are right now. Im telling you I will watch that with great admiration this time.....the heat...the bugs.....UGH. I wouldn´t have lasted too long. I do wonder how many other cities like this have yet to be discovered as this jungle was immense.
Its soooo humid and with the sun out constantly it feels like 140 though I think its only just 100 degrees. I step out the door and am instantly drenched in sweat...theres no point showering though I do anyway
Some temples were so high that once we climbed the Really steep steps (200 feet high) we were above the jungle canopy making for some awesome views !!! It was a scary climb though and no railing once you are at the top. Im not scared of hights but felt my heart racing a wee bit....which just adds to the drama. I think that the numerous liability laws have taken all the fun out of America. People should have the right to plunge to their deaths without anyone getting sued.

Saw the whole Star wars (rebel base) scene much to Karls excitment.

Met a fella from Leicester who had been travelling all over the central American region...why is it all the travellers are always from the North UK !!??? He was really cool though and had some good tips for us for the rest of our trip as he had already been.
The mozzies have been my constant enemy here. I itch constant and have a nice variety of bites ranging from little red marks bit apple size whelts.
Even though I had 100 per cent deet and long cargos those vicious mozzies still did plenty of damage !!!!! OUCH...and the stupis afterbite I bought is useless too. Those bugs are MEAN.

The whole of the ruins are in the jungle (second biggest after Amazon) so its really quite an adventure just walking between the sites !!! Howler monkeys swinging through the branches...tons of them and though the little ones do have a cute howly sounds the big ones have this terrifying roar......GULP
We spent 6 hours there and much of that was hard core climbing and clambering.
Walked so much up and down ruins so hopefully it willbe working off all the fried Plantains and beans Ive been eating. I did get distracted occaisionally from the said ruin by the monkeys, leaf cutter ants (huge and fascinating) and these cute fox looking creatures. Didn't see any tarantulas, snakes or jaguars that also live there thank goodness.
Though Tikal is a popular site its big enough that its easy to wander the trails and be totally alone for ages. This is why just few years ago they had a band of theives/rapists praying on the tourists...they have since been caught (so I was told) and now equally scary police with shotguns and machetes wander around from time to time.
We were often alone on the jungle paths and didn't feel unsafe at all.

Last night, in Flores, we had a great meal....meat,veg, plantains,drinks, water. all for $10 for both of us !!!!
Also much to Karls fun we found this funny little bar/cafe playing a pirated STAR WARS....bit dodgy quality but here you can´t be too fussy.
No clubs for this clubber til the islands.............
Also.....kinda weird last night as we were woken at 2 am by a truck going by with a microphone shouting "Attension...Attension." Couldn´t make out anything else they were saying as it was all Spanish. Caused few moments of panic til we just fell back to sleep.
There are armed guards here all over the place...and sometimes in really odd places. They carry Rambo style rifles which are bigger then they are and often a machete for good measure. Its normal, now, to see them outside banks,liquor stores and supermarkets but have also seen them in odd random spots like outside a closed store...at gates in the countryside....or like today on a soda truck !!!????? WEIRD places. They look so intimidating til you walk past and get a wink !!!
It is a very friendly place...very little english spoken at all but we manage between a couple of word and alot of miming.
No one hassels you to buy anything or to come into their restaurant...its just do as you please and cheap cheap cheap
Wonder what excitement awaits us tonight......more beer ???
Tomorrow another early start as we will be leaving Guatemala and back into Belize to the mountain village of San Ignacio
bye.............

BACK INTO BELIZE

So, back into belize after a 3 hour bus ride over non paved roads through the hills and jungle villages.....pretty much the same scenery as yesterday. Lots of cattle wandering the streets, though also saw a dead horse laying there too :(
Women doing the laundry in the local river walking back to town with it all balanced on their heads. Was quite a ride...the bus would veer dramatically to one side of the street then the other to avoid the huge potholes so a bit nerve racking.
Still very hot . Some places have Air con but usually its just about opening the windows and as the mozzies have tasted by blood already theres really no stopping them !!!
We are here now in San Ignacio. Its in Belize but very close to the Guat. border just in the Belizian hills.
Had to come across the border by bus...get out walk though the "customs", get a stamp, avoid the money changers, and back on the bus.
Its a funny little town...again full of either locals or backpackers no one really here on a vacation as such. Reminds me off an old fashioned frontier town. I instantly liked it here, its rundown but feels like we belong.
Kinda nice to be speaking English again as we didn't do so well with the Spanish. Nobody in the areas we stayed in Guat. spoke english and their Spanish is not the same as the text book spanish so was quite an adventure just trying to communicate.
Its more lively here too...lots of bars along the river and loud music , reggea and dodgy chart tunes....though not techno. For some reason they must like George Micheal in these areas, because I keep hearing songs like 'Careless whisper' over and over.
Already had lunch....Karl had this chilimole soup. beany,chocolatey, with meat and a single boiled egg in the middle....sounds gross,looked gross but was sooo good. Dinner was at "Hannahs" and more of an Indian/Taiwan food......got my curry fix !!!
The power went out this morning before we arrived . Something about a power dispute with Mexico. Hoping that doesn't happen whilst we are here. There has also been a bad storm in Mexico which we had no idea about, but its messing with the power here.
Met lots of people on our travels...most out in this area for months on end...would be nice!!! Only heard good things about Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Actually Honduras sounds great so may have to go there someday, maybe next time ????

Did meet a girl today whose friend did get kidnapped in Guatemala city but she lived there and was from a wealthy family......the way we look (and smell ) right now, no one will be doing any kidnapping thats for sure. Also was on the news that a tour group of 16 Americans got their bus held up at the local caves. So these caves, (which we had wanted to see) were closed whilst the police searched the surrounding areas for men with axes and knifes !!!!??
Whats funny is; because we are on the "backpacking" trail so to speak we keep running into the same people in each town. its like " Hey...don't I know you" in almost every restaurant and bar ...because alot of europeans choose to travel alone they always want to stop a while and chat so it feels like having old friends in each town.

Our bed and breakfast is out of this world. We have the top floor in Marthas guest house....big double bed...two singles,sitting area, huge bathroom,and a balcony with a panoramic view of town,table and hammocks all to ourselves. Its lovely and only $45 a night. beautiful.
This afternoon walked about 40 minutes up the really steep back roads to another Mayan site. Was called Cahal Pech and was much smaller than Tikal but really pretty....also within the jungle.
Sat above the largest temple for ages in the shade of the jungle chatting to two girls on their trip around the area.. They had just started so we felt very wise and worldly telling them where to go and where to avoid ! ha ha
Think Im about templed out now. Thats ok its onto the the beaches tomorrow !!!!!!!! YEHHHHHHH
Hope the weather stays as sunny as its been here... we have had the brightest blue skies every day.....forgot to ask which direction that Mexican hurricane was going ???
Later.....

BRITGIRLS SAYS "LIFE IS A BEACH"

Now its time for some R and R on Caye Caulker. Was a little sad leaving San Ignacio and the mainland really....we loved it there and wasn't sure if it would be too touristy here after being used to the opposite for so long.
Was another three hour bus ride from San Ig. to Belize city (and that was express bus) and then another hour on the water taxi to Caye Caulker.
The water Taxi was quite an experience....lets see how many folk you can pile into a speed boat and then bump across the water at high speed like sardines.

Its gorgeous here and really not very touristy. Everyone here is VERY laid back...many backpackers again and the locals are friendly and still not pushy at all...many are Rastas so theres plenty of music and dancing of the Reggea kind !!
We walked the whole island as its just 3 streets wide and a mile long. From the beach on one side you can loook down the streets and see the beach on the other side.
There's no real distinction between the beach and the streets.....sand everywhere !!! Soft white sand for the beach, hard, white sand for the streets, sand as the floor in the bars and restaurants. Unless you eat at a place on stilts,which many have for the rains, then you are gonna be on sand. No one wears shoes hardly (Greg !!!!) and the people just love their island.
Everyone knows everyone else and so the feeling is very much like a family and feels safe. I think it said the population was just 700 !!! There are certainly more stray dogs and cats than locals. the place next to ours has 20 cats !!!!
The ocean is beautiful.....clear with greens and turquoise. The"official" beaches are not maintained or manicured at all so its all very wild with grass growing (in and out of the water), palm trees leaning into the water and washed up logs. Looks and feels more like a desert island than a vacation spot.
Our guesthouse is really cute...very basic rooms. Its a wooden thatch hut. The AC broke last night and the toilet doesn't flush without a lot of work.....but theres a hammock on our porch and its on the beach, so who cares eh !!!!
Eating is more expensive here than the mainland, and much more than Guatemala but still quite reasonable and the seafood is caught right there and cleaned in front of you, so gotta love that.
We found a pretty little house for breakfast and the man running it was well into the politics of the island so gave us a full run down of all the ins and outs...troubles and strifes that was going on. He was certainly an outspoken fellow, and very interesting.
Oddly enough the mosquitos are gone, and no sand flies that all the books warned me about. Its been very dry here seen as its wet season and is hot and sunny today though feels so good with the breeze off the ocean. Heaven.
Meant to be about 94 degrees but feels more like 80 when the breeze comes in the afternoon.
I can handle that.....in all the other places the heat was quite oppressive. I would be drenched in sweat in two minutes of being outside.
The internet cafes are about the only places with decent AC hence my little siestas on the BLOG !!!!!!!
The Mexican hurricane missed us and I guess hit Us as a tropical storm. Another lurking near jamaica but only clear blue skies and sun for now. still.

Been very lazy since arriving. There are "Go slow" signs everywhere even though there are no cars on the island...so we have been taking those signs quite literally.

...was gonna do a snorkle trip today but with the news of the bombs in London we stayed on the island to call friends and have the cell phone for the English backpackers if they needed to borrow it to check on their families.
Tomorrow its on to our second island, Ambergris Caye.
Meant to be much more touristy there, clubs, resorts etc etc.
We are planning a big snorkel trip there to Hon Chan a protected sight and to Shark ray alley, to swim with the sharks and Rays.
Im guessing it will be harder to email or Blog with it being a big resort town and off the backpackers trail....but Ill see.
I have many photos but the internet connection is slow that I can't include them on the Blogs but will add them after Im back....so check back once in a while ok.

TEMPATION ISLAND

" Last night I dreamt of San Pedro
it all seems like yesterday...not far away.
Tropical the island breeze...all of nature wild and free........................."
ahhhhhh...La isla Bonita.

So here we are on Ambergris Caye....San pedro !! Made famous by the Madonna song and of course Temptation island.
Its our last stop and indeed our last night that I am finishing off this blog.
Will be very sad to leave the island...the country....and more importantly, the people.
I think I can easily say the people here are some of the nicest and most friendly I have met on ANY of my travels. EVER.
All the locals in all the towns have been awesome and though they do look a little intimidating there is always a smile and greeting and never any ulterior motive...ever. They don't want to sell you anything or bother you.... just meet you and chat and tell you how they love their country and want you to feel the same.

So,San Pedro......
Its still very laid back but busy and loud compared to Caye Caulker. They do have some cars on this island but only little Toyota vans for Taxis. Its still very much a bike and golf cart kinda place. Some of the carts just crack me up. Gangsta looking boys driving them around.....one cart had Spinners (NO shittin') and saw a couple with neon underneith. UNBELIZABLE.
The nightlife is fun but at the same time its no Cancun...its all about beach bars and dance/punta music. Live bands or chart music is about all you will get here..Beyonce and 50 cent seem very popular on this island.

We arrived by ferry... a 20 minute ride from Caye C. and we are again staying in a bed and breakfast place, 10 minutes from the middle of town.
Again, its just three streets wide...all sand...but a much longer island with all the Resort places in the far north. Tucked far far away....
Unlike most vacation places though, this one doesn't mind if you don't stay in their resort...you can still use their pool, restaurant, beaches etc......so this afternoon we visited Captain Morgans (from temptation island fame) Poor Karl !!!!!!! .....but it had to be done !! I was dying to go there and see it. Poor mandy ...poor billy (ha ha ha...you won't understand that unless you were an avid watcher)
We rented bikes and went all over the island,,,.....They have a hand pull ferry that links San Pedro with the north end, where all the Resorts are.
Past the ferry, that area is just one, single, potholed road. To the left is swampland, "beware crocodile" signs, tin shacks and LOTS and LOTS of trash all thrown along the roadside or strewn through the swamps. To be right is the backs of all the resorts and vacation homes. They have tried to hide this road from most of the resorts and infact you really wouldn't know it was there because almost everyone staying in the resorts comes and goes by watertaxi so they don't get to experience this section at all. As we biked over 10 miles we got to see it all.
On the ocean side, gorgeous white sand beaches. Captain Margans, Mata Chica, Journeys end....all with beautiful beachside acommodation, wonderful restaurants, infinity pools etc etc

Earlier that day, did a fabulous snorkel trip.....like nothing I have ever seen before. We went to Hol Chan (a protected marine reserve) right on the barrier reef. Beautiful. Followed by a trip to the channel known locally as "Shark Ray alley" The name speaks for itself. This channel was where the fishermen cleaned their fish before returning to town and so still attracts huge nurse sharks and Sting Rays. We got to swim and snorkel amongst them. Got some awesome pics and video of me in with them all. The Sharks are quite timid but the Rays would brush right by !!!!
The water in that area was crystal clear.... it was like swimming in a pool.

I am still covered in mossie bites though funnily enough not as bad here on the islands. The deet spray we have been using has managed to strip the hairs from my legs leaving no need for a razor !!!! nice one !!!!........however also must have gotten some on one eyebrow and the hairs came off there too. Not so good !!!!
I have to pencil them in now, else i look like that serial killer from the film Monster !

Tonight was our final meal so we splurged and took a water taxi over to the resorts and have a gorgeous seafood meal there. The "capricorn" was beautiful and we ate under the stars and watched a lightening storm somewhere in the distance.
The water taxi coming back went though the pitch black and was quite an experience in itself.
Now back in the regular town for beers and drinks. Don't care if we get trashed tonight....just flying back tomorrow :(
better to be done with a hangover I figure.

So guys...no kidnappings...muggings....attacks.....maleria...stomach bugs.......etc etc etc .....Well so far :)
Just many great memories of a wonderful country( 2 countries) that I will be heavily promoting on my return !!!!
*The beaches arn't as stunning as Mexico though the way they looked so natural would appeal to some folk more I think.
*The nightlife is of the shoes off, relaxed kind so again no big clubbin' nights but its safe that you can enjoy all the towns local nightlife with no fear.
* Some places are dirty but much of that is about the culture...the Garifunis through the ages have been used to just throwing their trash out their windows for the pigs and other cattle to eat and as the world has changed they haven't quite developed with it.
* You won't find nicer or friendlier people in Mexico or any other carribbean spot..this is the best.
* (.....with the exception of Belize city) these countries are very safe to travel.

BACK TO REALITY

Here we are back to the real world.
Safe and sound after our adventures.
I was crying leaving that last guesthouse. Cindy and Renita (the owners of "changes of lattitudes") were so cool.
The water was off for our last spell there and as the temperatures were back to hot and humid and the sweat was dripping within seconds I was worried about the people that would be sitting near me on the flight back....but...Ta daaaaa. Like Magic the water came back on in time for us to shower up before leaving.

Took another tiny plane from Ambergris Caye to belize city in time for the AA flight back. The small plane was sweeeet....flew over all the small islands and islets so was a stunning view.
AA flight was boring and uneventful compared to that...chatted a bit to the other passengers but other than us most of them had only been to the resorts on Ambergris and had loved that but not seen anything else on Belize.
Will add some pics to these pages now Im back......

Adventures of Britgirl-San. Fran.

2005-05-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

Day 1

Booked a trip through Travelocity. Man, their last minute deals were pretty good. Was set to spend the holiday weekend in Dallas until I found this. Flights to San Fran were $300...this was flight and hotel for $400/ Of course...no knowing what the state of the hotel will be....... Got to S. F. airport with no drama and as taxis are not cheap took the Bart down town. Very easy to use now they link directly to the airport. ($5 whereas taxi woulda been $40) Wasn't too sure where to get off as we didn't know where hotel was so just headed to Market street and walked. Good job we only had a small backpack as hotel was quieter a walk....all down Market, Along Embarcardo, into fishermans wharf. Quick stop at the seals ...arhhhhhhhh. HOTEL. Sweet, its nice. A holiday Inn. They upgraded us from 'plebe' room to BUSINESS. Oh yeh.....Karl loved putting that card in the lift to get to the special floor of business rooms. "oh excuse me...I need to insert my card for the TOP FLOOR" Pretty nice room. No closets though. Is that a business class kinda thing?? No idea..maybe one of our fly friends can help with that..... Dropped off bags and dragged Karl back to the seals...arhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Friggin' BUSHMAN scared me to death...psycho street man who dresses in twigs,pretend to be a bush,jumps out scares you,laughs like a moron then wants money for the pleasure. yeh right.
The Scary Bushman !!

Don't care how tacky fishermans wharf is I LOVE IT. Decieded to be rebels and hang out in the tourist area all evening. Ate great seafood,shopped at the tack and crap stores, and drank irish coffee's.

Day 2

Karl was nearly molested at breakfast.Guy there tool a liking to him !!! Wouldn't have been so bad but man that guys wasn't even cute. Lots and lots walking today. close to 7 miles I would guess along Embarcardo, golden gate bridge, through Presido,fort point where we broke down and caught a bus to Bakers beach. really pretty but no food or bar !! Onto Ocean beach and yeh...the 'beach Chalet'. The perfect rest stop. Microbrew pub and food, with a view of the sea. Laid out on Ocean beach afterwards. Coulda easily fallen aslepp but didn't through fears of a farmers tan !!! Walking more...though golden gate park til I get fed up of the trees. Back to the street and the long trek back to our hotel. Got dressed up and ready for a night on the town. Top Castro area for dinner. You know the area by all the rainbow flags. Its cool place..bars,clubs,food,coffee shops. Ate great seafood at CATCH. Got told off for being late for our reservation. Damn cable cars. clubbin' next at Ruby skye. Dj Christopher Lawrence spinning banging tune. Wish my poor legs didn't aches so much...I could hardly dance. Cool club though. By time we left R.Skye the trabsport had switched to night mode so we had no idea how to get back to hotel.Found a street pointing in right direction and just sat there til bus came by.

Day 3

Couldn't get out bed this morning...legs hurt like a mo fo. Hot shower helped so on with the day.... Hit China town looking for bargains but it was all same old crap..shop after shop. Dragged Karl round all the shops anyway. More walking through Castro and up the STEEPEST hills ever. Found a great park called Buena Vista. Really steep climb up to the top. Well worth it despite my bitchin' Top of park had a little oasis with dog walkers,yoga folk,hippies,lovers and bums were all gathered. Gorgeous views... Down other side to the hippy HAIGHT street. You can smell the insence a mile off. On Karls insistance another Micro brew (Magnolia brewpub) Was good though and the beer helped my legs feel better. Great little shops here. bussed it back into Market street and walked to union square but after all the character of Castro and Haight was bit bored. Had to do Lombard street of course. Think the designer had been smoking something in Haight before creating this crazy road. Gotta love it though Last night already....... Went into little Italy. Had a restaurant in mind but once I saw the name of one called "the stinking Rose" had to eat there. Can you say GAARRRRLLLIICCCCC No Vampires near me tonight Awesome area with pastry shops on every corner...good job we had done so much walking. FAT BASTARDS

Adventures of Britgirl-Sobe

2005-05-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hen weekend in SOUTH BEACH.

It was a wicked Sobe weekend.
The beach, the sun, the food, the clubs....sleep and repeat.
It was hot hot hot.
Ran into the man himself Jay-ZZZZZZZ.
so...what happens in south beach stays in south beach ( Oh, and on my blog)

Night 1
hung in Coconut Grove at some student biker bar...Seriously !! Made me feel old. Hormonal Latino boys trying to hump your leg at every move. Too funny

Night2
Eventually we bid farewell to Coconut Grove and on to our hotel in Sobe.
After a whole afternoon chillin' like a Villin' on the beach its time to get primpin' in the rooms. Game on.....the Sobe 4 have some pre drinks and on to Clevelander, my old stomping ground. Its as tacky and dodgy as ever. Gotta love it.
On to meet the rest of the Sobe Posse at BED. 9 girls in bed together.
We were total fly girls hittin' Delano afterwards but, man, that place is so chill we almost fell asleep. Beautiful tho.

Night3
another day spent between the shops and the beach. Took drinks with us this time....nice life.
Pri was already drunk by noon.Poor girl. We got bit worried but she made a quick recovery at least !!
Some annoying guys gave us free passes and drinks coupon to their friends club...Amika.
Dinner that night at TOUCH and how cool. Lots of freebies, cocktails,shots,dessert.
Stayed there long enough to be tipsy and full.
on the town in SoBe

Even the dancing on the bar didn't work off any callories.
On to the freebie AMIKA....not bad if ya like chart hiphop.Worth it for free drinkies.
Then the serious clubbing starts...........
SPACE CLUB
God I love that place...took us forever to get thereas there had been a wreck on the causeway but we made it and well worth the wait.
Music was banging with Oscar G in the main room and the girlies liked the roof deck playing Rigatone and full of Latin lovers.
Didn't want the night to end but as we got back to the hotel the sun was rising though I know Space was still going strong.