Monday, 28 November 2011

The Northalnds

Our Budget car - masterfully turned into a little cafe
After settling in to the slower pace of travelling (quite literally with our budget car) we headed north for our first trip in to the more rural areas. This was up the east coast and would spend the next 4 days heading right to the top of NZ up to Cape Reigna. But our first stop was a place called Whangerai (pronounced Ph-onger-ay) this caused much amusement to many people, as i had no idea you pronounced 'Wh' as 'Ph'.

We stayed on the outskirts of Whangerai in a little lodge and set off for a local walk to the nearby caves. The attraction of these caves were the glow worms.

However, to get to see them, you had to descend in to the caves with a torch - BY YOURSELF. No guide, just a little head torch. We had 3 caves to see, we managed a good 2.5 caves without getting too scared. This was considering the water (very cold water) level in them could be up to your waste.

That aside, we managed to see the glow worms and braved the caves. The surrounding area and walk back to the lodge was also just great. Such a different landscape to anywhere i have been before, rolling hills, grass, trees, but all of it soo picturesque.





The next day we were again heading north and stopped at the local Whangerai Waterfalls.

After a 3 hour drive we arrived in the Bay of Islands and a small place called Paihia. Close by was the little settlement of Waitangi, the famous place where the Traeaty of Waitangi was signed (back on the 6th February 1840). A great place and a lovely museum detailing the history of how the treaty came about.


LUSH !
The afternoon was spent at a relaxed pace with the best dinner we have had in a long time...fish & chips on the seafront. Somethings are always good, no matter where you are !

The next day we headed north again to a little town called Ahipara, which is a beachside town at the bottom end of ninety mile beach. We stayed in a really lovely house/lodge that was made from a single Kauri tree (more about Kauri trees later). This was our home for the next 2 nights and a lovely place to watch the world go by.

Whilst Kip tried out the comforableness of the various loungers, hammocks and chairs, i went off for a day trip up to the top of NZ, Cape Reinga and ninety mile beach. A great day trip with a funny and informative guide, who brought the tour and region to life.


Cape Reigna was a lovely spot and a special place for the Maori people, who believe Cape Reinga is where the souls depart the land, into the sea. Also a great place to view the meeting of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

After the trip to the top, we had to head back south; before we did we stopped off to do a bit of sand dune surfing.









Head first on a body board down a very steep sand dune....good fun, but unlike the coach driver, i didn`t manage to get up enough speed to go down the dune AND cross the stream at the bottom. He passed the coaches...!
Now when the tour said about driving down ninety mile beach, i thought it might be a section of it..oh no, most of it. We rattled down the majority of the beach, stopping a few times to get out and look at the surrounding emptyness.
The final day of our trip to the Northlands was a long day of driving. We were to stay in Auckland that night, so a 6/7 hour drive. En route we stopped on the west coast at various places of interest, the most impressive were the forests of Kauri trees.

Now the Kauri trees are a native tree that are known for growing big. Actaully not big, Chuffing Massive ! We saw 2 of the biggest ones still in the country, their sizes don`t come across in the picture. They are Tane Mahuta the largest Kauri alive 51m tall, 13.8m girth and the widest Te Matua Ngahere, 30m tall and 16.4m girth ! Now that is a lot of wood.

We arrived back in Auckland and stayed with some friends, Kat & Simon, which was great. To stay in a home after being on the road for 2 months was great and we were made to feel very welcome. Thank you !

New Zealand

We have arrived..!

After a long transfer (18 hour wait in Bangkok) we finally arrived safe and sound in New Zealand. First stop the North Island and Auckland. We collected our budget hire car and set off to explore.

The first few days were spent settling into another new time zone (another 7 hours ahead, now 13 hours ahead of the UK), currency (sadly not a millionaire anymore) and climate (brrrr!). We were both loving the fact that everyone did not honk their car horns every 2 seconds and they drive of the proper side of the road!

Our first full day was spent walking through Auckland and to Devonport, a lovely little area just north of the city centre, via a 15 minute ferry ride (don`t worry i managed to keep my breakfast down on this little jaunt!). We visited the local parks, museum and port. Within the space of about half an hour, Kip and I had alredy identified about 3 or 4 houses that we wanted to buy. The most impressive, just a stone`s throw from a lovely little beach.



We stumbled across an exact replica of the Cenotaph, which was a bit weird and reminded me of Remembrance Sunday.



We ended our first day, with a trip to the pub (and most probably our last) at 16 NZ dollars (8 quid) for 2 pints, we maybe heading to the liquor store and sitting on a park bench instead!






The next day we headed north for a short day trip to the west coast and it's infamous wild beaches. We visited Piha, Karekare and Bethell's Beach. All really nice, wild, open and rugged beaches full of black (iron) sand. A great first insight into this amazing place. However the site of a few locals in full wetsuits and surf boards didn`t inspire me to jump straight into the 'fresh' waters.

The only drama we encountered was smoke coming from our tyres as we headed down the steep, very twisty, turny roads (Paula you wouldn`t have liked them !).

So our first few days in NZ have been great, all the locals have been soo friendly and helpful, it is a refreshing change. I cannot wait to get to exploring the rest of the North island.

More photos (link to FB)

Some more photos of Vietnam, for those not on Facebook

Vietnam (Easy Rider Tour)
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150454691501407.411182.563621406&type=3&l=c84b334ebc

Vietnam (Hoi An)
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150454775916407.411192.563621406&type=3&l=87061e344a

Vietnam (Mai Chau)
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150454779976407.411193.563621406&type=3&l=5dd9479607

New Zealand blog updates to follow soon

Sunday, 13 November 2011

Ha Long Bay

We returned from our 4 day trip a little tired and in need of a proper bed. So after a night's stay back in Hanoi, we were off again; this time for a more sedate tour - Ha Long Bay.


Ha Long City is about a 4 hour drive east of Ha Noi and we arrived just after noon. We took a small boat taxi to our home for the next few days; a traditional junk boat. 
The boat held about 20 people, so a nice number. We had booked on board for a 3 day / 2 night cruise. This was to maximise the time on the boat, as had heard that with the 1 night stays, you hardly spent any time at all on the boat.


Once on board we got shown to our cabin, a cosy little room, with all the things you need. Lunch was served and then we set sail for to start cruising round the islands. The afternoon was nice and relaxing. We went kayaking round a local fishing village and caves - all very impressive.


Local School 
The local fishing village was a whole community that lived and worked out in the rocky outcrops. There was everything you need, shops, petrol station and school.


We then sailed a short distanced and moored up for the night. We knew that it would be busy on the seas, but there were a lot of other boats. No so many that you felt crowded, just noticeable that there were a lot of other people also doing the same thing. 


Day 2 we were up early for breakfast and out on to a separate day boat for our tour. It was all nice and comfortable, with a sun deck and nothing much to do but sunbathe and enjoy the view. The first stop was a jump off the boat and swim to a local stretch of beach. 


We then cruised round to a bay where we had the chance to do some more kayaking around the rocks. This was better than the day before as we could explore the caves and tunnels that lead you through to areas where the main boats could not go. 


Lunch on board the boat, followed by another good helping of sunbathing (although my tan is still lacking in any real change from white...)


The last stop of the day was to one of the islands, where you could climb to the top and admire the view. This was great as it gave you the chance to see the various islands from a better vantage point. 


After this we went back to sea level and enjoyed a beer whilst watching the sun set. 




Halong Bay was a nice trip away, but sadly we both felt that the place had been overpopulated by tourism, which did spoil some of the trip. However it was a nice relaxing time away and we were both pleased to be sleeping back in a normal bed and not on the floor of a stilt house !

Ha Noi and Mai Chau

We arrived in Ha Noi after an easy and quick flight from Danang. With a set amount of time we were quick to start looking into the two main trips that we had left to do in Vietnam. These were a hill trek and a visit to Ha Long Bay.


After much searching, talking and crunching of figures, we discovered that the best bet for our remaining time was to head the next day to Mai Chau. This is one of a few hill regions in the north of Vietnam. The more well known (and one we were planning on going to) is Sapa. However after speaking to various people we discovered that apart from being very heavily populated by tourists, Sapa is now out of the rice season and all the lush green rice fields would actually be brown and empty. We therefore opted for a trek in Mai Chau, a similar hill region to the south west of Ha Noi. (also this was save an 18 hour overnight drive and train journey to Sapa!)


The next day we were packed and ready to go for a 4 day/3 night trek in to the hills. This was again with only what we could carry in a small rucsac. So day 1 was a short 3-4 hour drive to the SW of Hanoi. We started with a small 1 hour walk before lunch at a local restaurant. 


After lunch we had a 2-2.5 hour hike through the jungle to the first night's homestay. Our accommodation for the trek would be to stay with local families in their traditional stilt house. The hill areas are dotted with 'minority villages and people'. The minority people are groups of people who have migrated from China, Cambodia, Thailand or Laos. They have traditional dress and local dialects aswell as Vietnamese. 


(Gwed our host in our 1st homestay)
The stilthouses are a single storey building raised about 8-12 feet from the ground. The underneath is used to store rice, cattle etc. The first floor is an open plan layout space where the whole family (mum, dad, children, grand children, grand parents) live, cook, eat & sleep. our bed for the next few nights would be a mat on the bamboo floor. The pillows were pretty much a brick with a bit of cloth....


Now we were hoping that being in the middle of nowhere, the day would be started listening to subtle bird song in the distance and peace and quiet. Sadly not, we awoke to the sound of dogs, birds, chickens & cocks, buffaloes  cows, coughing and goodness knows what else. 


Day 2 was spent with a combination of hill walks through the rice fields, bike rides and walking through local villages. We were very pleased with our decision to come to Mai Chau, as so far there was only 5 of us in our group (Kip, myself, our guide and a Swiss couple) and no one else in site. We were literally the only people, apart from locals, working in the hills. Perfect !


The 2nd nights accommodation was again in a family`s stilthouse. A similar setup of arriving at the house for mid/late afternoon. Chilling out and then sharing a dinner with the family at around 7pm. The facilities were as predicted, long drop toilet and a cold shower...happy honeymoon !! (Not exactly Maynard-Stylee..!)


 The 3rd day was to be the longest walk, 15Km up and down the various hills. It would take about 6 hours. So we loaded up our rucsacs and set off through the village, along side the river and toward the rice fields. The 3rd day was a long walk, but some of the best scenery so far. The rice fields stretching out to the side and beneath us, as we climbed the hills. Despite being advised that he harvest season for the rice was over, we were fortunate to see the rice still in most of the fields. Not the 100% lush green that we were hoping for, but the scenery was great and again hard to capture on the camera. 


The last village and homestay we got to was the best so far. It was very remote and about a 2 hour walk to the nearest 'village' (even then that village was remote in itself). The surroundings of the last homestay location was kind of magical. It was about 300 people in 50 stilt houses, but the rice feilds were situated in a large basin, surrounded on nearly all sides by the typical limestone rocky outcrops. The family we stayed with were again also very nice, but the best thing of all....they had HOT WATER - Whoop !


We shared a lovely meal with the family and guide that night, the Swiss couple had parted company to a new tour that morning, so it was an even more intimate homestay. The menu was similar to the majority we have had in Vietnam so far, rice....rice and chicken. The only uneasy bit was that the chicken was "fresh" (i.e it was happily wandering around under the house only a few hours before).


The final morning we awoke (on the floor again) to the usual noises of the village. The last stretch of our trek would be a 2 hour down hill  trek to the village, where we would be collected for our transfer back to Ha Noi.


All in all a great trek and very pleased that we saw the rice fileds still in bloom, without the hoards of tourists that were in Sapa. The treks were another great way to see the real Vietnam and after the tour we really felt we had delved in to the local cultures, especially staying in homestays. 



For those not on Facebook - Link to Photos

I have put some pictures of our travels so far on to Facebook, but for those who are not on there, I have put the public links below. 


Enjoy


South Africa - Part 1 (Garden Route)


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150451238506407.410685.563621406&type=1&l=fe7b48a532

South Africa - Part 2 (11 Day overland Tour)


Saturday, 12 November 2011

Hoi An

Hoi an is famed for its tailoring, cuisine and old buildings and on first impressions we were not disapointed. In fact we were surprised at the many streets of old buildings, still in tact and looking so quaint. 

We spent a total of 4 days in Hoi An, which was enough to recover from our Easy Rider tour. 

On our first day, we frequented one of the many (many) tailoring stores that are around the town. The intention...tailor made shirts ! Oh yes, the time had come for some shopping. You can have anything you want made. They are well geared up for the western tourists, with books and books of the latest fashion. Male or female, you can get anything from the catalogues. Although fear not, if it is not in the mountain of books/catalogues, then some shops hand you a computer and they will copy it straight from the website. Hmmmm, this could get expensive. 

I setlled on just getting some work shirts and held back on a full blown suit. (although it was VERY tempting). We had been cautioned that the quality needed to be closely looked at, but within 24 hours i had 4 shirts ready for the first fitting. They insist on 3 fittings in total to make sure you are happy with it. 

Kip also managed to get a few little things made. A nice beach dress and also a cocktail dress. All a nice little bargain !


Day 3 and we had booked ourselves on a cookery course at one of the many local restaurants that host them. We had been given a steer to a place called the Lighthouse and were not disappointed (Thanks Laura). After meeting at 10am at the local market, we joined 2 others and our guide (Linh) and spent a few hours just browsing the markets and learning about the local foods. This was anything from the various types of rices, lentel, beans, to the array of new fruits and vegetables. Most of them unrecognisable to most, but we got a few. The "meat"section of the market was not exactly our highlight but still interesting. 

The weather was lowsy and rain the entire day, so we had been fortunate to be inside the market or the venue for our cooking lesson. 

After we had tasted, prodded and sniffed the majority of the produce in the market, we headed across the river to the Lighthouse Restaurant and place where we would turn the ingredients into lunch !







We were to prepare and cook four Vietnamese dishes and then serve them for lunch. The first dish was traditional Vietnamese spring rolls. These were vegetable and fresh prawn. The next dish was a chicken clay pot with a ton of ingredients to give a whole host of flavours (Sorry Lin, i am sure we can pass on the recipe, there was a lot flying in the saucepan!). The third dish was a signature dish of the main Lighthouse Restaurant, stuffed squid (Kip had the task of doing the stuffing bit!)
The final dish was a simple one of water spinach.


The group we had were a good laugh and so the course went on longer than we thought, but at about 3pm we finally served a 4 course lunch...and you know what...it wasn`t half bad ! By then we were both properly hank marvin !

Our time in Hoi An was mainly chilled and it was nice to spend time in a place that had characther without the hustle and bustle of a large city. The quanit streets transformed at night and they restricted the cars and mopeds so you could wander and admire the streets in peace and quiet - a nice touch.  

On our final day we packed up our stuff early and headed for Danang, the local major town about 30 minutes up the coast. With the unexpected time spent on the Easy Rider tour, we decided to fly up to Hanoi. This was a bonus as the other alternative was a 18 hour bus journey. 

So thank you Hoi an and hello Ha Noi (try saying that fast 10 times !)



Easy Rider !

So the next morning, we were packed and ready to go, with a small rucsac of stuff for the next four days we would be heading out on to the open road to see central Vietnam, by Motorbike !


We met our guide, a cheeky chap by the name of Duc (pronounced as if you were saying Alright Duck in a broad Yorkshire accent). Before long our luggage was strapped down to the seats and we were weaving our way through the morning traffic in Nha Trang. 
We were off ! 
Luckily the traffic wasn`t too bad as it was a Sunday morning, but still - the Vietnamese don`t play by the Highway code - anything goes...literally. 


The first day was to be about 240Km, with stops along the way to see various sites. The local fishing village, a black pepper plantation, ethnic villages, wood carving place, large waterfall and various other sites, but the first day was mainly to cover ground and get ourselves comfortable on the bikes.  
It was great being on the bike, the first day definitley got rid of any aprehension of being on the roads. We learnt quickly to use the horn (as everyone does frequently over here) and just drive and don`t look back. The roads were a mixture of nice, quiet open roads, to very busy dirt tracks and pot-hole ridden roads through the suburbs of the main towns. We got quite good at riding on pavements and the wrong way down dual carriage ways! We both got used to the bikes and before long were edging over our initial slow pace of 10 Km/h (although saying that, neither speedos worked, so goodness knows how fast we eventually were going !?) 
And we thought we had a lot of luggage !?


We stopped the first night in a placed called Buon Ma Thout, in a small hotel and collapsed after the long day`s biking. The next day we were up and out on the road for 8:30am. Today was to be another long day with a similar distance to cover. 


We stopped on the way to fix a few punctures on Duc's bike (in all he had 3 and we survived with only a small slow puncture). This gave me chance to stop and try out the local transport - a tractor. 


We knew that where we were stopping was not usually frequented by tourists. Mainly because of the locals coming up to us to say hi, with a bemused look on their faces. (Perhaps becuase they had never seen anyone as white as me...!?)




Being on the bikes and only being Kip, myself and Duc meant that we could stop when we wanted, there was no tour group or organised stops. This was great, as Duc would take us off down little side roads and show us cocoa plants, black pepper on the trees, rice noodles being made, coffee beans being picked or green tea growing in the fields. 


So Day 2 was again just working our way North up the cental Vietnam Highlands. We were to cover another distance of about 240Km and were headed for Kon Tum. Again a nice stay in a local hotel and we joined another guide plus guest for a local Vietnames dinner. In fact all the food along the way was local cuisine. Duc was great, as we would pull up to places that we would not normally go in to and just order food. To be honest if we did we wouldn`t be able to order a thing, as we couldn`t read the menu. All of the food was great and there is always plenty of it (bonus !). 



Our 3rd day was good, we started the morning visiting a local school (which Kip of course loved). It was nice to see the kids and i can assure you that their english was a lot better than our Vietnamese. But it wasn`t until the afternoon that things got really good. We knew we were travelling along the Ho Chi Minh Road, but the next section was the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a North/South passage that has been used over the centuries. This has only recently been paved with proper road. It is a long stretch of road that winds up in to the highlands and alongside the dense jungle. 


We stopped after lunch and were given some wet weather gear (Sadly my long legs are a bit of an abnormality in this part of the world, so the trousers stopped above my shins, but i was covered none the less).


The afternoon's drive was just breathtaking. The scenery in the highlands was amazing and something that we were not expecting. Despite the rain we were both riding along with our mouths open, just trying to take in the scenery. The pictures here cannot do it justice. 


The final night was again in a nice hotel, in a small town in the highlands called Kham Dac. This was our last night with Duc. We were on our way to the local Kareoke and the village had a power cut. Ah well, it saved us from hearing Duc screach his way through a list of Vietnamese classics !


The last day (Day 4) was started in the highlands. We were lucky and the rain had stopped overnight, so we could cruise the last stretch in the sunshine and admire the stunning scenery. It was hard to keep our eyes on the road, let alone dodge the occasional coach that careered round the windy roads. 


We visited so many places on the way it is hard to remember them all, but they all added to the feeling of being able to get to know more and more about the hill tribes and local people of Vietnam. 


Our final destination was a town called Hoi An, this is about half way up the length of Vietnam, about 5Km from the beach. We finally rode into Hoi An mid afternoon, after an amazing few days. 


This whole trip was not planned and at short notice we threw a few things together and set out on an unknown journey with Duc. After over 800Km on a motorbike, Kip and I were beaming from ear to ear with what was so far our outright highlght of Vietnam. We have been able to experience the local people, food and amazing scenery that we wouldn`t have been able to see from a tour bus. Being able to stop along the way and have the freedom to experience things that are "off the beaten track" has been great. 


So with a sore back and bum, we said goodbye to our guide and headed for a beer to celebrate  arriving safely and not crashing along the way. 







Wednesday, 9 November 2011

Nha Trang

We arrived in Nha Trang early evening on Friday, tired after an early start in Mui Ne for our sightseeing tour. 


THAT'S RIGHT - STILL NO TAN.....! (For Tim)
So early to bed and up the next morning to go and explore. Sadly when we woke on Saturday morning it was raining, but that didn't stop us from strolling for what seemed like miles along the beach. Always a great way to start the morning.


We then walked around the main parts of Nha Trang town. A lot of places really gearing up for the halloween weekend of parties. Nha Trang seems to be the main beach place on Vietnam`s coast and it certainly seemed to be setup that way, but not like in Thailand where it is a bit too much in your face, more a lot of local bars, shops and restaurants. 


So after lunch we decided to start the obligatory planning of how we were going to travel on our next stage of our trip. We headed in to a local tour office and saw something on the wall called the "Easy Rider Tour". We enquired and were told it was a way of seeing the Central Highlands of Vietnam either as a passenger or riding your own motorbike.... 


Now this instantly put a little sparkle in our minds...what were we to do....did we have enough time...do we have enough money....will it be safe.....


Well within the hour we had paid a deposit and were walking back to the shop to have a lesson in how to ride a motorbike. Now Kip and I have both ridden mopeds before, nice and easy, twist the handle and away you go. However i decided to bite the bullet and learn to ride a proper motorbike. We went round the corner from the shop and after a brief tutorial i was off, wobbling down the street, trying to remember which foot was the break and which hand was to change gear. 


Shortly after this we were soon back in our hotel, packing a small rucsac for a 4 day, 3 night motorbike tour...let the fun begin !

Mui Ne

After leaving Ho Chi Minh, we headed north east to the coast. We took a sleeping bus which was a first for me. It was literally a bus with lots of bed - bit weird, but also good fun. Needless to say i stayed awake whilst Kipper.....studied the back of her eye lids. 


We arrived in Mui Ne and found a little hut right on the beach. Mui Ne is known for its surfing and kite surfing, so we were looking forward to some fun. Sadly the waves were not great for normal surfing so decided to go in search of kite surfing. Chuffing 'eck it is expensive, but that aside they didn`t have any availability for 3/4 days and we were only planning on being in town a short while. Never mind, it will save the me the embarassment of being dragged on my face, in the sand, along the beach!


Mui Ne was a nice place to chill out and we made the most of seeing the sights, whilst also chilling out for a while. It was nice to be on a beach again, with great sunshine and a cool breeze. With time against us we decided to go on a local tour that was either at sunrise or sunset.  


We opted for the sunrise and were up and out at 04:30am. About an hours drive from Mui Ne is a series of sand dunes. These are a local attraction and quite random in the middle of nowhere, but still impressive to see. 




After this we headed to "down town" Mui Ne, a typical Vietnamese fishing  village. This was good and just after the morning boats had returned from being out all night at sea. The smells were not that great, but i suppose it was a fishing village.


 




After this we went on to the last of the local sights, Fairy's Stream. No fairys but there was a stream. 


After getting back from our early start, we headed for a well deserved brunch and chill out by the pool. This afternoon we are taking another  5 hour bus and heading north again, this time to Nha Trang, the main beach town in Vietnam. So a brief but good stay in Mui Ne.