However we've still not got used to the fairly regular sight of half a flock of goats surfing on the roof of a speeding bus.
25 September 2009
Snakes on a Plane (Part 2) - Goats on a bus!
In this part of the world you quite often see groups of people riding along on the tops of buses. Hanging on the roof bars as the buses pick their way through the city streets or hurtle along the dangerous mountain roads.
However we've still not got used to the fairly regular sight of half a flock of goats surfing on the roof of a speeding bus.
However we've still not got used to the fairly regular sight of half a flock of goats surfing on the roof of a speeding bus.
24 September 2009
Kathmandu cough
We both really like Kathmandu, after the reserved atmosphere that you get in the Middle East it's great to be somewhere that is a little more lively. However there are a couple of things we're not so keen on when in the Nepali capital.
The first is the traffic. In most of Asia the traffic is pretty bad and crossing the road on foot is fairly challenging. Here it just seems downright dangerous.
Vietnam always felt a little risky as the traffic never seemed to stop. The guide books recommended that you just step confidently into the road and stride across at a constant, steady pace (whatever you do don't suddenly stop or run). If you do this the millions of mopeds that are hurtling past will just swerve and swarm around you.
The traffic never seems to stop in Kathmandu either. However; the Vietnamese (or any other) method of crossing the road doesn't work as no one seems to be fully in control of their vehicle. Even if you think that you're safely across the road and out of harms way, some bicycle, moped or taxi (usually all three) will make some improbable out of control maneuver and end up running over your feet or hitting you with a wing mirror. On the narrow, pavement-less streets around Thamel you need to have eyes in the back and sides of your head to avoid the constant threat of a mangling.
The other thing we're not too keen on is the pollution. Kathmandu is situated in a bowl shaped valley which traps the fumes from the vehicles and makes the air thick, gray and soupy. We're now both afflicted with deep, hacking, Kathmandu cough which would give a 60 a day smoker a run for their money.
We've not had any time for sightseeing since we returned to Kathmandu from the Chitwan. We've wasted yet more countless hours at the Indian embassy attempting to collect our visas. When we've not been slowly aging at the embassy we've been trying to get kitted out for a Himalaya trek. The streets around Thamel are great for getting knock off climbing gear. I managed to pick up a pair of Salomon climbing boots that cost £89 at home for the princely price of 1500 Nepali Rupes, about 12 quid!
After months of pestering and badgering I've finally managed to cajole Liz into a bit of mountain hiking. She still steadfastly refuses to discuss the 16 day climb to Everest Base Camp but has agreed to something a bit less strenuous.
The first is the traffic. In most of Asia the traffic is pretty bad and crossing the road on foot is fairly challenging. Here it just seems downright dangerous.
Vietnam always felt a little risky as the traffic never seemed to stop. The guide books recommended that you just step confidently into the road and stride across at a constant, steady pace (whatever you do don't suddenly stop or run). If you do this the millions of mopeds that are hurtling past will just swerve and swarm around you.
The traffic never seems to stop in Kathmandu either. However; the Vietnamese (or any other) method of crossing the road doesn't work as no one seems to be fully in control of their vehicle. Even if you think that you're safely across the road and out of harms way, some bicycle, moped or taxi (usually all three) will make some improbable out of control maneuver and end up running over your feet or hitting you with a wing mirror. On the narrow, pavement-less streets around Thamel you need to have eyes in the back and sides of your head to avoid the constant threat of a mangling.
The other thing we're not too keen on is the pollution. Kathmandu is situated in a bowl shaped valley which traps the fumes from the vehicles and makes the air thick, gray and soupy. We're now both afflicted with deep, hacking, Kathmandu cough which would give a 60 a day smoker a run for their money.
We've not had any time for sightseeing since we returned to Kathmandu from the Chitwan. We've wasted yet more countless hours at the Indian embassy attempting to collect our visas. When we've not been slowly aging at the embassy we've been trying to get kitted out for a Himalaya trek. The streets around Thamel are great for getting knock off climbing gear. I managed to pick up a pair of Salomon climbing boots that cost £89 at home for the princely price of 1500 Nepali Rupes, about 12 quid!
After months of pestering and badgering I've finally managed to cajole Liz into a bit of mountain hiking. She still steadfastly refuses to discuss the 16 day climb to Everest Base Camp but has agreed to something a bit less strenuous.
22 September 2009
Going wild in the Chitwan
We've just arrived back in Kathmandu after 4 days out of town at the Royal Chitwan National Park. The park is the former hunting reserve for the nobles of Nepal and sits in the South of the country on the border with India.
The journey to and from Chitwan was a bit of a pain as it involved spending far too much time on a clapped out old bus on dangerous twisting roads.
The journey is only about 150km but took 7 hours to get there. However, the journey back managed to take 9 hours when we got stuck in a jam in the mountains when a bus went off the road. Although the delay was more than a little annoying we were just thankful that it wasn't our bus that had gone AWOL.
Unfortunately we've had to back track to Kathmandu to pick up our Indian visas. It was either that or wait in town for another week until they were ready. We decided to press on anyway even though Pokhara, our next destination, is annoyingly back they way we've just come.
We stayed at great hotel in the Chitwan called Hotel Parkside which is located in the village of Sauraha right on the edge of the park. The staff were really friendly and also acted as our guides when we went out into the reserve.
Whilst we were there we visited the Elephant Breeding Centre where they breed and train Indian elephants for use in the tourist industry. Although the big adults are tethered, the babies are free roaming and came over to sniff everyone out for biscuits.
They were incredibly playful and once all the biscuits were gone proceeded to have an elephant style wrestling match, nearly squashing several people in the process!
Getting to the breeding centre was a bit of an adventure in itself. The centre is reached by taking an incredibly unstable dug out canoe across the Bhude Rapti River.
Back on the other side of the river we got to partake in the daily elephant wash where we got to play mahout and scrub 5 tons of pachyderm clean with stones out of the river.
In reality the elephants spent more time washing us as with a call of "chhop, chhop" from mahouts the elephants would fill their trunks with water and give anything in range a good soaking.
We had yet more elephant action when we took a safari on elephant back through the park.
The Chitwan is one of the few places on Earth where you can see the one-horned Indian rhino in the wild. The Indian rhino is highly endangered and 30% of the worlds remaining 2000 are found in the Chitwan.
After only seeing rhinos at a distance in Africa it was great to be able to get up closer to them, and somewhat surreal to do it whilst perched upon an elephant.
Although we were lucky enough to see a few rhinos, the other big draw of the Chitwan, the Royal Bengal Tiger, remained elusive.
It wasn't all elephant based action though. We also did a jeep safari to Bis Hajaar Tal, the so called 20,000 lakes. If there was ever a case of mis-advertising then the 20,000 lakes has to be it. Despite being there for over two hours we only saw one.
It wasn't quite the safari experience of the Serengeti but we still got to see a fair few beasties including more rhinos, snake eagles, spotted deer and the mash mugger, a sort of small crocodile.
The journey to and from Chitwan was a bit of a pain as it involved spending far too much time on a clapped out old bus on dangerous twisting roads.
The journey is only about 150km but took 7 hours to get there. However, the journey back managed to take 9 hours when we got stuck in a jam in the mountains when a bus went off the road. Although the delay was more than a little annoying we were just thankful that it wasn't our bus that had gone AWOL.
Unfortunately we've had to back track to Kathmandu to pick up our Indian visas. It was either that or wait in town for another week until they were ready. We decided to press on anyway even though Pokhara, our next destination, is annoyingly back they way we've just come.
We stayed at great hotel in the Chitwan called Hotel Parkside which is located in the village of Sauraha right on the edge of the park. The staff were really friendly and also acted as our guides when we went out into the reserve.
Whilst we were there we visited the Elephant Breeding Centre where they breed and train Indian elephants for use in the tourist industry. Although the big adults are tethered, the babies are free roaming and came over to sniff everyone out for biscuits.
They were incredibly playful and once all the biscuits were gone proceeded to have an elephant style wrestling match, nearly squashing several people in the process!
Getting to the breeding centre was a bit of an adventure in itself. The centre is reached by taking an incredibly unstable dug out canoe across the Bhude Rapti River.
Back on the other side of the river we got to partake in the daily elephant wash where we got to play mahout and scrub 5 tons of pachyderm clean with stones out of the river.
In reality the elephants spent more time washing us as with a call of "chhop, chhop" from mahouts the elephants would fill their trunks with water and give anything in range a good soaking.
We had yet more elephant action when we took a safari on elephant back through the park.
The Chitwan is one of the few places on Earth where you can see the one-horned Indian rhino in the wild. The Indian rhino is highly endangered and 30% of the worlds remaining 2000 are found in the Chitwan.
After only seeing rhinos at a distance in Africa it was great to be able to get up closer to them, and somewhat surreal to do it whilst perched upon an elephant.
Although we were lucky enough to see a few rhinos, the other big draw of the Chitwan, the Royal Bengal Tiger, remained elusive.
It wasn't all elephant based action though. We also did a jeep safari to Bis Hajaar Tal, the so called 20,000 lakes. If there was ever a case of mis-advertising then the 20,000 lakes has to be it. Despite being there for over two hours we only saw one.
It wasn't quite the safari experience of the Serengeti but we still got to see a fair few beasties including more rhinos, snake eagles, spotted deer and the mash mugger, a sort of small crocodile.
18 September 2009
Kathmandu
It's felt really good to be back in Asia again. Nowhere is quite so geared up for the needs of the grubby backpacker as it is here. Cheap accommodation, cheap food, cheap transport and cold beer. Good times!
Even though we've only been away from Asia for three and a half months it was still a bit of a shock to the system with all the chaos, noise and people when we stepped out of the airport. We'd also forgotten how much smaller your personal space is here compared to elsewhere, the scrum at the baggage carousel was worse than anything I'd ever seen on the rugby pitch.
The thing that you immediately notice coming here from the Middle East is women! Virtually the only women we've seen out and about in Egypt and Jordan have been tourists. The local ladies are usually hidden away out of sight and are more noticeable by their absence. It felt slightly strange to be in mixed company again.
We're staying right in the heart of central Kathmandu in an area known as Thamel. It's a little bit like the Koh San Road in Bangkok . . . only much nicer. It's a lot more civillised too as the gutters aren't overflowing with drunk kids and their vomit. Instead you have to contend with the odd hippy who's still stuck in the 60's or armies of Gore-tex clad trekkers who look like their kitted out for an attempt on the summit of Everest.
We've spent most of our time here just wandering around the streets soaking up the atmosphere and sights.
Just South of our hotel is the medieval old town. The whole area is like a set from a Dickensian film or Blackadder gone a bit wrong. Master Ploppy would certainly feel right at home here!
Looking at the buildings it's a wonder any of them are still standing as most of them appear to be at some obtuse angle with very little holding the bricks together.
Durbar square, where the Nepalese royal family lived until about 100 years ago, is the main focus of central Kathmandu. As well as the former royal palace the square is full of Hindu temples and shrines, none of which we really understand!
We also made a trip out to Swayambhunath, a Buddhist temple on a hill a few kilometers from the centre of town which has great views over the Kathmandu valley.
Today we've been out to see Bodhnath Stupa, which although it is only about 4km from the centre of town takes half an hour to get to by taxi. The traffic up just appaling and barely moves above the pace of a Yak.
Bodhnath stupa is one of the biggest in the world and the most important in Nepal for the many Tibetan Buddhists who live here in exile.
We've had to spend quite a lot of our time in Kathmandu trying to plan for our next few
destinations in Nepal and beyond, including the dreaded task of trying to obtain an Indian visa. No matter where you are in the world getting a visa for India is never a straight forward task. It will usually involve having to queue at some ungodly hour of the morning and a long wait. We only have to wait a week! It doesn't even take that long in the bizarre land that is Burma/Myanmar.
Even though we've only been away from Asia for three and a half months it was still a bit of a shock to the system with all the chaos, noise and people when we stepped out of the airport. We'd also forgotten how much smaller your personal space is here compared to elsewhere, the scrum at the baggage carousel was worse than anything I'd ever seen on the rugby pitch.
The thing that you immediately notice coming here from the Middle East is women! Virtually the only women we've seen out and about in Egypt and Jordan have been tourists. The local ladies are usually hidden away out of sight and are more noticeable by their absence. It felt slightly strange to be in mixed company again.
We're staying right in the heart of central Kathmandu in an area known as Thamel. It's a little bit like the Koh San Road in Bangkok . . . only much nicer. It's a lot more civillised too as the gutters aren't overflowing with drunk kids and their vomit. Instead you have to contend with the odd hippy who's still stuck in the 60's or armies of Gore-tex clad trekkers who look like their kitted out for an attempt on the summit of Everest.
We've spent most of our time here just wandering around the streets soaking up the atmosphere and sights.
Just South of our hotel is the medieval old town. The whole area is like a set from a Dickensian film or Blackadder gone a bit wrong. Master Ploppy would certainly feel right at home here!
Looking at the buildings it's a wonder any of them are still standing as most of them appear to be at some obtuse angle with very little holding the bricks together.
Durbar square, where the Nepalese royal family lived until about 100 years ago, is the main focus of central Kathmandu. As well as the former royal palace the square is full of Hindu temples and shrines, none of which we really understand!
We also made a trip out to Swayambhunath, a Buddhist temple on a hill a few kilometers from the centre of town which has great views over the Kathmandu valley.
Today we've been out to see Bodhnath Stupa, which although it is only about 4km from the centre of town takes half an hour to get to by taxi. The traffic up just appaling and barely moves above the pace of a Yak.
Bodhnath stupa is one of the biggest in the world and the most important in Nepal for the many Tibetan Buddhists who live here in exile.
We've had to spend quite a lot of our time in Kathmandu trying to plan for our next few
destinations in Nepal and beyond, including the dreaded task of trying to obtain an Indian visa. No matter where you are in the world getting a visa for India is never a straight forward task. It will usually involve having to queue at some ungodly hour of the morning and a long wait. We only have to wait a week! It doesn't even take that long in the bizarre land that is Burma/Myanmar.
17 September 2009
14 September 2009
Generous measures on Gulf Air
We left Amman at the incredibly stupid time of half three in the morning flew to Manama in Bahrain for a brief stop over. Thankfully our fifteen minutes through Israel weren't spotted by the immigration officials and we were allowed to change planes.
The leg of the flight from Bahrain to Nepal passed in somewhat of a blur, for me at least. Not long after take off the stewardesses came round with the drinks trolly. I think that they must have known that the passengers were escaping from a Ramadan no alcohol zone and felt the need to provide much support, the gin and tonic that I was given looked like it was at least a quadruple. Then when the food came round shortly afterwords I was given another equally large measure.
The lack of alcohol intake during Ramadan, the unusually generous measures and having no sleep for two days then took its toll. I feel I should apologise to anyone who was on Gulf Air flight 260 yesterday and had to witness the sight of me zonked out with my trap open for a large proportion of the flight. I only woke up when I managed to dribble down my own arm. Liz never realised what a classy fella she's married!
The leg of the flight from Bahrain to Nepal passed in somewhat of a blur, for me at least. Not long after take off the stewardesses came round with the drinks trolly. I think that they must have known that the passengers were escaping from a Ramadan no alcohol zone and felt the need to provide much support, the gin and tonic that I was given looked like it was at least a quadruple. Then when the food came round shortly afterwords I was given another equally large measure.
The lack of alcohol intake during Ramadan, the unusually generous measures and having no sleep for two days then took its toll. I feel I should apologise to anyone who was on Gulf Air flight 260 yesterday and had to witness the sight of me zonked out with my trap open for a large proportion of the flight. I only woke up when I managed to dribble down my own arm. Liz never realised what a classy fella she's married!
12 September 2009
Amman
We ended our trip through Jordan and the Middle East in Amman.
Amman is the first big city that we've been to since we left Cairo over five weeks ago. It felt very strange being back in the big smoke amongst all the hustle, bustle and traffic.
Our first problem was disposing of the mighty pea. We had to drop the little fella off in the centre of Amman and were a bit apprehensive. Driving in the desert and smaller towns isn't too bad as there's not that much traffic to contend with, you're more wary of the donkeys, camels and children that wander aimlessly into the road. However; after witnessing the chaos of the roads in Cairo we weren't sure how bad Amman would be. It wasn't quite the all out war of the Egyptian capital but it was still fairly full on. We only nearly got mangled the once and thankfully made it to the drop off point without damaging the car (or ourselves).
Amman's not the most exciting city we've been to but we still managed to entertain ourselves for three days. It's not the prettiest city either but it does have a certain wonky charm about it.
Amman's the site of the Roman city of Philadelphia and there are a few remains scattered around including an amphitheater and an old citadel on the hill overlooking the town.
We also managed to sneak a trip into the cinema but there wasn't much of choice, Day of the Dead or GI Joe (no contest - zombies all the way!).
Our accommodation in Amman was a bit crumbly. The Bedeiwi Hotel and Hostel had great reviews on Trip Advisor and Hostel World but our experience was a little different, it made an attack by zombies seem quite pleasant. Once we negotiated the stroppy cow on reception we then had the fun of our room to contend with. In the first room we were given the fan didn't work and the toilet didn't flush. When we complained to the owner he suggested to use a bucket instead. I should point out that he meant to flush with, not to go on! We said that it wasn't good enough and wanted a different room. The next room we were given was marginally better as the fan worked and toilet flushed. However, the toilet seat wasn't attached and the toilet itself wasn't properly screwed to the floor. Sitting down was quite a test of your balance. It was a good job that it was Ramadan and we could get any alcohol otherwise there could have been all sorts of toilet related injuries! The sink wasn't attached to the walk either so if you grabbed that to steady yourself you would end up in even more of a mess squashed between two lumps of porcelain.
The beds were also horrible too and looked like they were straight out of a Victorian sanitarium or prison. They had been partly hacked about with a saw and had jaggedy bits of metal sticking out which Liz managed to gash her leg on. It was a long way from the Movenpick Dead Sea Resort and Spa, they didn't even have a pillow menu!
In the early hours of tomorrow morning (at 3:30) we leave the Middle East and its deadly toilets behind and fly to Kathmandu via Bahrain. Lets hope that the immigration folks in Bahrain don't see our little Israeli diversion.
Amman is the first big city that we've been to since we left Cairo over five weeks ago. It felt very strange being back in the big smoke amongst all the hustle, bustle and traffic.
Our first problem was disposing of the mighty pea. We had to drop the little fella off in the centre of Amman and were a bit apprehensive. Driving in the desert and smaller towns isn't too bad as there's not that much traffic to contend with, you're more wary of the donkeys, camels and children that wander aimlessly into the road. However; after witnessing the chaos of the roads in Cairo we weren't sure how bad Amman would be. It wasn't quite the all out war of the Egyptian capital but it was still fairly full on. We only nearly got mangled the once and thankfully made it to the drop off point without damaging the car (or ourselves).
Amman's not the most exciting city we've been to but we still managed to entertain ourselves for three days. It's not the prettiest city either but it does have a certain wonky charm about it.
Amman's the site of the Roman city of Philadelphia and there are a few remains scattered around including an amphitheater and an old citadel on the hill overlooking the town.
We also managed to sneak a trip into the cinema but there wasn't much of choice, Day of the Dead or GI Joe (no contest - zombies all the way!).
Our accommodation in Amman was a bit crumbly. The Bedeiwi Hotel and Hostel had great reviews on Trip Advisor and Hostel World but our experience was a little different, it made an attack by zombies seem quite pleasant. Once we negotiated the stroppy cow on reception we then had the fun of our room to contend with. In the first room we were given the fan didn't work and the toilet didn't flush. When we complained to the owner he suggested to use a bucket instead. I should point out that he meant to flush with, not to go on! We said that it wasn't good enough and wanted a different room. The next room we were given was marginally better as the fan worked and toilet flushed. However, the toilet seat wasn't attached and the toilet itself wasn't properly screwed to the floor. Sitting down was quite a test of your balance. It was a good job that it was Ramadan and we could get any alcohol otherwise there could have been all sorts of toilet related injuries! The sink wasn't attached to the walk either so if you grabbed that to steady yourself you would end up in even more of a mess squashed between two lumps of porcelain.
The beds were also horrible too and looked like they were straight out of a Victorian sanitarium or prison. They had been partly hacked about with a saw and had jaggedy bits of metal sticking out which Liz managed to gash her leg on. It was a long way from the Movenpick Dead Sea Resort and Spa, they didn't even have a pillow menu!
In the early hours of tomorrow morning (at 3:30) we leave the Middle East and its deadly toilets behind and fly to Kathmandu via Bahrain. Lets hope that the immigration folks in Bahrain don't see our little Israeli diversion.
09 September 2009
A jaunt to Jerash
This morning we left Madaba and drove North towards the Syrian boarder and the town of Jerash.
The big attraction at Jerash is the Roman city which is often referred to as the Pompeii of Asia. Thanks to the dry desert heat it has some of the best preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy.
Most of the city dates from the 1st to the 3rd century AD and although it isn't on the same scale as Pompeii it's still really impressive.
The colonnaded street that runs the length of the town is nearly 1km long and was lined with 500 columns.
The city also features a hippodrome where daily chariot races are held. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any Ben Hurr style action as the 2pm race that we turned up to see wasn't on. We did however get to see a bagpipe recital!
We just thought it a little strange to see a Bedouin Arab playing the highland fling on the bagpipes in the middle of a Roman Amphitheater in Jordan.
We ended the day by going for a meal at Jerash's most well known restaurant, a great place on the outskirts of the town called Lebanese House. The back of their menu features some entertaining spellings of some famous past patrons including, Richard Gear and Nilson Mandela.
The big attraction at Jerash is the Roman city which is often referred to as the Pompeii of Asia. Thanks to the dry desert heat it has some of the best preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy.
Most of the city dates from the 1st to the 3rd century AD and although it isn't on the same scale as Pompeii it's still really impressive.
The colonnaded street that runs the length of the town is nearly 1km long and was lined with 500 columns.
The city also features a hippodrome where daily chariot races are held. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any Ben Hurr style action as the 2pm race that we turned up to see wasn't on. We did however get to see a bagpipe recital!
We just thought it a little strange to see a Bedouin Arab playing the highland fling on the bagpipes in the middle of a Roman Amphitheater in Jordan.
We ended the day by going for a meal at Jerash's most well known restaurant, a great place on the outskirts of the town called Lebanese House. The back of their menu features some entertaining spellings of some famous past patrons including, Richard Gear and Nilson Mandela.
08 September 2009
Not mad about Madaba
To get away from the Dead Sea truly tested the performance of the mighty pea. Its food processor sized engine had to work overtime to haul us from -400m down at the Dead Sea to 800m up Mount Nebo in the Moab Mountains. I nearly wore out 1st and 2nd gear.
According to the bible Mount Nebo is the site where Moses first saw the promised land, died (at the age of 120!) and was also buried. Because of its biblical connections it has been an important pilgrimage site since Roman times.
At the top of Mount Nebo are the ruins of the Moses Memorial Church which we couldn't get to explore due to archeological work. We did have a nose from the viewpoint though and got to see the views (through the haze) over the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea to Bethlehem, Jericho and Jerusalem.
We then descended into the town of Madaba where we were spending the night. Madaba is famous for its Byzantine era mosaics, the most famous of which is the map on the floor of St George's Church. The map was made in 560AD and shows all the biblical sites of the Middle East. We can't show you a picture of it because I was too annoyed to get my camera out. After paying to go into the church (which severely hurt my inner Atheist) I then got told off for having my legs crossed. When I uncrossed them I then got told off for not having both feet flat on the floor, and for good measure the guy came back and told me off for wearing my hat. Welcome to Madaba, home of the Middle East's most friendly Christians! Oh, and the mosaic wasn't much cop anyway.
According to the bible Mount Nebo is the site where Moses first saw the promised land, died (at the age of 120!) and was also buried. Because of its biblical connections it has been an important pilgrimage site since Roman times.
At the top of Mount Nebo are the ruins of the Moses Memorial Church which we couldn't get to explore due to archeological work. We did have a nose from the viewpoint though and got to see the views (through the haze) over the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea to Bethlehem, Jericho and Jerusalem.
We then descended into the town of Madaba where we were spending the night. Madaba is famous for its Byzantine era mosaics, the most famous of which is the map on the floor of St George's Church. The map was made in 560AD and shows all the biblical sites of the Middle East. We can't show you a picture of it because I was too annoyed to get my camera out. After paying to go into the church (which severely hurt my inner Atheist) I then got told off for having my legs crossed. When I uncrossed them I then got told off for not having both feet flat on the floor, and for good measure the guy came back and told me off for wearing my hat. Welcome to Madaba, home of the Middle East's most friendly Christians! Oh, and the mosaic wasn't much cop anyway.
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