Since Wendy and I first traveled into China in 2005 and then in 2007, we have yearned for more. We then went to India and Thailand in 2009. This whet the appetite for more of Asia. In planning our next trip to Asia, we didn’t want to be constrained by time but of course this can never be. We have allocated ourselves 8 weeks to do a little bit of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Tibet. This cannot be done properly in 8 weeks (more like 8 months)so we have set ourselves a task of seeing what our friends on the www have told us through Travelfish, Worldnomads, Seat 61, Tripadvisor and several other websites that advise on things to do and places to see in Asia. Thank goodness for the web. It was through the web I sourced cheap airfares. It pays to use the web to its full extent. Look at at least 6 cheap flight websites and the airlines websites when looking for airfares. You will be amazed at the difference in pricing and airline selection from website to website. In the end, I booked through www.directflights.com.au this is an Aussie company however it is run by some energetic Vietnamese people who know Asia. I also looked at Jetabroad, Webjet, Flightresults, Flight network and all the individual airline websites. Most are not as user friendly as you would want. Some don’t have broken trips, only one way or return. Some seem to promote certain airlines and exclude others. It pays to look around, spend time to research your best options. Timing is a skill I haven’t mastered. I was very happy when I was able to book with DirectFlights from Sydney into Singapore and return from Shanghai to Sydney for $1589 for two.I did this on 9th September 2011 for travel in March 2012. I thought by booking that far out, I would get the best price. Not so.

In December 2011 I looked again at the fares I could get and the price came down about AU$50 each whereas I also looked in early February and the prices went up AU$200. Its a case of being happy at time our your booking. Sometimes waiting can be beneficial, sometime not.

At the end of the day, if you are not comfortable doing it this way. find yourself a good travel agency.

http://www.travelfish.org/ is one of the best site I’ve found for information on travel in Asia. Its run by Stuart McDonald and his wife who sometimes reside in Hornsby (Sydney), thats when they are not galavanting around Asia. It contains all manner of advice on all things you need to know about asia, although it dosen’t go into Myanmar,China, Japan or Korea but I suppose you have to stop somewhere. It caters for the backpacker and those with a bit more money.

Also, http://www.talesofasia.com/index.htm is an excellent site with no-nonsense help and guidance although the information is somewhat dated in parts.

Also, https://www.worldnomads.com is another good site. I am using that site to blog our travels. It caters to the broader traveller.

The airfares and the first three nights accomodation in Singapore are the only things we have booked before departure. The rest will be done on the road as we feel like it. We are booked into the Fernloft City Backpackers in Chinatown Singapore for our first three nights. This is a backpacker hostel with good reviews.

We stay in packpacking hostels or accomdaton booked through them for a number of reasons. The first one being, you can get very good accomodation at very reasonable prices. You need to do your homework on the hostels before you book. Hostelworld http://www.hostelworld.com/ is not our preferred way of booking however their website is comprehensive and gives good desciptions of the accomodation and most important are the reveiws given by fellow travellers. You need to sort out the genuine traveller from the whinger to give you good feedback on prospective accomodation. Hostelworld are very good but may not always have the best on offer. You soon learn. We also use www.tripadvisor.com.au to do further research on accomodation and things to do and see wherever we are. Asiaweb and Agoda also offer good accomodation. We’ve only had problems with one of our bookings over the years. That one was in Wuhan China. It wasn’t their fault, we just couldn’t find it. One cabby just dropped us where he thought it might be and drove off. In the end we asked a cabby to take us to the nearest fandian. He did and it was great. We have had some memorable overnight stays, the most memorable being at the Belltower International Hostel in Xian China. We had a corner room that overlooked the BellTower and the roundabout that goes around it. The traffic around the roundabout is horrendous. One wag had written on a wall in the hostel that everyone should test their courage by going around the roundabout at least once, with their eyes open. They didn’t think most of the drivers did.

Another reason for using backpacker accomodation is you meet other travellers from all around the world. You can learn from them, and they you. Many a good excursion is found by talking with fellow travellers. The other reason is the tours the Hostels can arrange. You will find they can arrange better and cheaper day tours and trips than those organised by fancy motels. A prime example of this is when we first went to China. We booked into a 5 star timeshare swap in a place called Miyun, about two hours drive north of Beijing. The Motel was oppulent, more grand than anything I’ve seen in Australia. It had everything, including its own 10 pin bowling alley. We decided we wanted to see the Great Wall. After a few language obstacles, through the Motel, we finally booked a day tour with our own driver in an old car, which cost about AU$120 for the day. We thought this reasonable for a private tour. The driver didn’t speak English, hence no commentary and very little interaction so we were basically on our own. It was a magical trip, some of which was spent on the wrong side of the road trying to overtake supposedly slower vehicles. Road rules in China are only a guide, as are pedestrian crossing signals.

The unguided walk on ‘The Wall’ was spectacular. In the following days, whilst just walking the streets, we found out the locals would have done the same tour for about AU$30 for the day. So much for booking through high priced motels.

The other reason for using Hostelworld is they don’t necessarily only give you Hostels. We booked the Umaid Mahal in Jaipur India http://www.umaidmahal.com/index.htm through Hostelworld and it turned out to be a very well appointed Motel with all the trimmings. It was the same price as some of the backpacker hostels. The Australian Cricket team had stayed there in years gone by.

SINGAPORE

PHUKET

Arrived by ferry at Phuket town for another mini bus ride to the other side of the Island to Patong Beach and the Baumanburi Resort. This took about 40 minutes and we were dropped at the front door. Booked in and did a heap of washing.

The Baumanburri is right next door to the Mercure, of which we are a member. We dined 2 for the price of one. Had a Thai smorgasbord for 330BHT ($10.35)

Monday was an unlaxing day for us. We slept in, had a leisurely breakfast in the restaurant, (its included in the price of the accommodation) wrote a bit for the blog, reorganised the photo’s in the ipad, bought a few items of clothing, booked our flights from Phuket to Bangkok on Friday. Also booked a day tour to James Bond Island for the next day.

Tuesday.

Went for a day tour of James Bond Island. The tour isn’t really about the Island, it is about showing the touriswts something about Phuket. It was fine, we drove in a mini bus for an hour os so to get to the top of the island. Along the way we stopped at the bridge that spans the river that makes Phuket and Islan. On the left is The Andaman sea and  on the right is Phang Gna. Nothing spectucular but its a nice area. They stpped for us to feed monkets on the way b ut we resisted. We then went and had a very forgetable lunch aon a floating village and then went on to James Bond Island.

The Island isn’t exceptional because a few scenes of a 1970 James Bond movie were made, however it did have some significant rock formations and interesting features. We also went for a short canoe ride just to break up the day and keep a local lad in work. The tour was ‘ordinary’ but it filled in the day. Phuket is very touristy and not our cup of tea.

We had a Thai meal last night which Allan thought was ‘ordinary’ however Wendy had a poached whole Red Snapper  which she enjoyed.

Tuesday went on the long boat trip to the islands was good. Although James Bond Island isn’t great.

Wednesday – Sitting having breakfast when some guy walks past Wendy and says ‘how ya going?’ – she acknowledges and keeps going (no glasses on). After putting glasses on, she looked again at the couple who said G’day, it was Tina Ryan who lived around the corner from us in Kotara. She is now married to the father of a girl Becky used to play basketball with, Kelly something or other. Amy Ryan was there as well.

Spent part of our Wednesday looking for a very short man who sold Allan a dodgy Folex. Of course there is always the risk of the Folex not working for very long but you would expect more than 24 hours. Couldn’t find him, the search will continue tomorrow. We got accosted by two Poms who were selling timeshare type accommodation, they soon learned they were wasting there time and we went on our way.

Monday was an unlaxing day for us. We slept in, had a leisurely breakfast in the restaurant, (its included in the price of the accommodation) wrote a bit for the blog, reorganised the photo

 Umbrella for hire.   Queen Mary off

shore“James Bond Island Tour”. It cost A$60 each. It was basically a 5 hour mini bus tour and a 3 hour ride in a long tail boat with a V6 motor to push us. They showed us the local sights, including a place to stop, buy banana’s and peanuts to feed the local lads. (Monkeys). We decided the local lads looked well enough fed and resisted. Went into some Muslim slum area where the local kids preyed on your sympathy’s to buy something you didn’t want or need. Wendy succumbed and bought a postcard and left all the beautiful Andaman Pearls and jewellery there.! special because a few scenes of a 1970 James Bond movie were made there it did have some significant rock formations and interesting features. We also went for a short canoe ride (insert photo) just to break up the day and keep a local lad in work. The tour was ‘ordinary’ but it filled in the day. Phuket is very touristy and not our cup of tea. We had a Thai meal last night which Allan thought was ‘ordinary’ however Wendy had a poached whole Red Snapper (insert photo) which she enjoyed.

Tuesday went on a long boat trip to the islands was good. Although James Bond Island isn’t

Wednesday – Sitting having breakfast when some guy walks past Wendy and says ‘how ya going?’ – she acknowledges and keeps going (no glasses on). After putting glasses on, she looked again at the couple who said G’day, it was Tina Ryan who lived around the corner from us in Kotara. She is now married to the father of a girl Becky used to play basketball with, Kelly something or other. Amy Ryan was there as well.

Spent part of our Wednesday looking for a very short man who sold Allan a dodgy Folex. Of course there is always the risk of the Folex not working for very long but you would expect more than 24 hours. Couldn’t find him, the search will continue tomorrow. We got accosted by two Poms who were selling timeshare type accommodation, they soon learned they were wasting there time and we went on our way.

We had a drink with Tina, Brad, Amy and Kelly later that day at the bar next to the Hotel. The girls said they might go to a ping-pong bar later that night, we declined their invitation. We went to the Mercure next door and had a good buffet of Kebabs, meats and salads.

Thursday – Did nothing.

Friday – thought we might get a quick foot massage for 250BHT (A$7.50) before we got on the 11.30am plane to Bangkok. So such luck. The girls don’t start work till 11.00am. So vegetated till plane time.

Got into Bangkok on Orient Thai Airways. Good flight. Got MRT to Si Lom and walked to Sunflower Place.

BANGKOK

Exit Phuket – we are booked on to a 1.40pm flight from Phuket International Airport to Bangkok. Pre-ordered a cab to go to the airport at 11.30am. Paid 500THB. Bad turns up at 11.30am with the wrong room number and no name. We were the only two people in the foyer looking for a cab to go to the airport but he wouldn’t take us without documentation which we didn’t have. Reason isn’t part of their thinking in Pukhet. He lost out on a job, we got another cab for 800THB.

Got to the Airport and Allan had put our ¾ bottle of bourbon in his carry on bag. They took it going through the gate. He should have put in his booked through luggage.

First time ever, we have flown in a plane that was ontime. We taxied out a few minutes before time and lifted off on time. That’s where the good story ended. We got off in Bangkok, got a shuttle to the baggage collection area, that took 10 minutes and the luggage emerged 45 minutes after that. We decided to take the train into Bangkok city – very good but we had to change and get the MRT. Took a ten minute walk to get it. The security scanner at the MRT pulled Wendy over for something in her bag. The security guard was incompetent and disinterested. Eventually made it to Silom district and found our accommodation at the Sunflower Place Guesthouse. It was a nice place in a very seedy area. Went out for dinner in a sleazy back street very near our lodgings. It turned out the area/street is the Gay section of Bangkok. We had the best meal we’d had since leaving Australia.

Saty 7^th;

Had a lazy day. Walked to the Sofitel (just down the street) to book into their main restaurant for their seafood buffet that evening. Booked OUT. Bugger. Then went for a nostalgic trip on the MRT and back to the Sunflower. Had another foot massage that evening and another Thai meal off the street. Early night.

Bangkok was only a stepping stone for our travel from Phuket to Cambodia so basically did very little except kill time. On to Cambodia.

SIEM REAP

Sunday 8^th April 2012

Up before the sparrows to get taxi from Silom district in Bangkok to Mochit (pron Moechit) central bus station. Great driver – 120k in 80k zone on expressway. Got there in 20mins.

Got tickets for the 6.00am coach to Thai border at Aranyaprathet and got there at about 10.30am. Good trip. Hopped on Tuk Tuk to take us to the border crossing. The had to back pack to the Immigration & Passport/Visa control – took about half an hour, lots of people and too few staff. Then made the epic trek of about 400m backpacking across the border to the Cambodia Border Control, run by the Cambodian Police.

Wendy showed her documentation and the official pointed to her documentation, she couldn’t hear what he was saying. She emphasised the Visa in her passport was issued in Australia. It took some time to establish that he actually wanted a photo copy of the visa, not the one in her passport. Allan had copies in his backpack. When that was sorted, all good. The official was mumbling under his breath – something about stupid Australian woman….

Next we were accosted by a young bloke touting to sell a taxi to Siem Reap. He told some lies, Allan told him so and we got a free government bus to the bus station which is about 15 mins away. Got there and waited for someone else to arrive to share a taxi. They want $48US for a car so the more the cheaper. We arranged a car with another young lady when another 5 people arrived, so they then tried to arrange a mini bus for us. We agreed on the condition they only have 8 in the bus. All good. We got in the mini bus with all our luggage. They then tried to put another 5 in on top of us again. (Hadyai to Krabi memories flooded back) We said NO WAY and got our bags from the bottom of the pile and got out of the bus and said get us a taxi. Another fellow from the US said he would join us.

The air-con taxi costs $48/3 = $16US each. Took about 2 ½ hours. Got dropped at the door of our guesthouse called Sam So. Greeted by a lovely lady who called herself Mrs. Soveathy. (maybe 30yo). She was great. Made arrangements to get Tuk Tuk to see Angkor Wat by sunset. They charge $20US for a 24 hr pass to the Angkor Archaeological Park. Didn’t actually watch the sunset but got some great photo’s in the early evening sun.

Went back to Sam So guesthouse to have an ale and sort out our coming itinerary. Sam advised us about the Cambodian BBQ just across the road. It cost $3.50US for an all you can cook and eat buffet. Your cooking pot and pot of glowing coals is brought to your table and you can BBQ or boil anything you want. They had plenty of meats, fish, chicken, noodles and vegetables. A bargain. It took us a little while to get the idea of the best method to cook, but it worked well.

Monday;

Brecky supplied in the price of $7.50/head per night each. Coffee, fruit, toast egg…..great. Then Tuk Tuk to start our mini tour, commencing with Angkor Wat. It is most impressive and still has massive amounts of restoration work to be done. Climbed ’the steps’

thank goodness for good handrails.

As we decended down the stairs Allan looked over to the crowd and saw the Three Stooges. He said to Wendy, I don’t care who they are, I want a photo with them. So Allan approached them and understood their language. You know, that Queensland drawl with an ‘ay’ at the end of the sentence. Apparently, the three stooges travel a bit together and have know to get lost or lose each other from time to time. S they decided to make things alittle easier and where the wigs and load clothing. Suffice to say they came from Woolangabba.

Next was to South gate and to Angkor Thom. Bayon Temple was great – again a massive restoration task ahead.

Walked to Bauphon Temple, Allan was all ‘templed and ruined’ out and stayed outside. Wendy emerged from that temple as red as a beetroot and decided she was only good for one more ruin/temple. It was 30c and 95% humidity. Then walked around Phimeanakas and then along the Terrace of Lepers, King Top Pranam, and Terrace of Elephants.

Had lunch at a tent that catered to rich westerners. Then continued the temple trek, Thommanon, Chau Say Thevoda, Ta Keo. Didn’t really do these justice – you can look at so many ruins/temples before it becomes a blur. The one temple that did take our fancy was Ta Prom. It is similar to most of the others however they don’t have trees growing yup through them.

There are lots of these trees right throughout Ta Prom.

In 2007, an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre-industrial city in the world, with an elaborate system of infrastructure connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) to the well-known temples at its core. Countries around the world assist in the restoration, we seen Czech, Japan, China and India contributions. It is believed the Angkor Archaeological area dates back to 800AD.

Went back to Sam So all hot, bothered and dripping. The Tuk Tuk breeze was great.

Stayed a little while there until the blackout happened so we went for a walk down the backstreets of the Wat Bo area of Siem Reap. The poverty and filth was there to see but so were the happy people and their laid back style of living. We seen a minor prang between two mopeds at an intersection. Both riders got up, looked at the damaged bikes, dusted themselves off and got on with life.

Later that evening we ventured to another BBQ place up the road and around the corner. it was alittle more up market, it cost $4.00US for all you can cook/eat. The $0.50 made all the difference, the quality of the food was better than the night before.

Phnom Penh.

Tuesday 10^th April. Picked up from Sam So Guest House in Siem Reap and taken to a bus stop that didn’t look like a bus stop. Double decker bus and looked ok. We were upstairs and the lower deck was cargo which consisted mainly of motor cycles. The highway from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (aka the “Goat Track”) was not like any highway we’ve seen before in any country. It was narrow, pot holed and generally rough and we hit top speed at about 50kph at one stage. All manner of things on the road from cars, motor bikes, push bike, ox pulled carts, trucks, and tractors. About 30klm out of Phnom Penh, the road turned to dirt. They were building road shoulders – using concrete mixers. (oh for Readymix).

At current rate, it should be done in 20 years.

Cambodia is not a rich country and it shows. Arrive at bus depot in Phnom Penh and got our bags out of the side of the bus. Covered in red dust. Took a Tuk Tuk to our accommodation at The Royal Guest House.

Cost $3 for Tuk Tuk and we booked him for the next day for our city tour. The Royal Guest House is OK for A$15/night but unfortunately we were on the 4th floor. No lift. 68 steps. After booking in we went for a walk and found a place selling seats on a 3 day/2 night trip to Ho Chi Min City. We booked it for $60US each. Excellent value. 2 nights accommodation and travel, 2 breakfasts and 2 Mekong River cruises.

Wednesday 11th April

Our Tuk Tuk picked us up at 9.00am to start our city tour – started with The Silver Palace – huge complex – gardens and of course it was beautiful with all the silver and gold spent on it. Then we went to another Temple. Not what we actually wanted to do, we are “templed’ out but we had a look. As we were leaving a little 15y/o in a nice black uniform thought he would try and rip us off by telling us we owed $1 each to be there. Wendy politely told we had already paid and Allan told him where to go. All part of the experience.

Next to the National Museum – this was very interesting but we felt they dwelt too much on their ancient history and didn’t show much of their recent history. Then on to The Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre which is also referred to as ‘the killing fields’. We didn’t know what to expect however the Cambodians have done a wonderful job of presenting the facts as they were. Included in your meagre $5 entry fee is a personal headset with numbers for when you walk through the area. This was essential to fully appreciate the centre. The story as related by a survivor is gripping. It was very emotional, it brought a lump to the throat and a tear to the eye. We only took 2 photo’s, it was so moving.

 memorial Stupor at The Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre

We then went to the Russian Market, but they weren’t selling Russians that day so we then went to the Central market and bought a 2 cup kettle so we could have a cup of Nescafe when we wanted it. It was that night we also decided to ditch the blender we bought in Kuala Lumpur to make smoothies for breakfast. We used it once. Also ditched a few other things we had been lugging around since Singapore.

After the Central market we and the Tuk Tuk driver had had enough for the day. Wendy paid him A$15 plus a tip of $5. He was good value. That evening we found a café/bar that served extra cold Angkor Beer and nice meals.

A good nights sleep.

Thursday 12^th April 2012 Phnom Penh.

Up and packed at dawn, down to Brekky and wait for 7.00am pickup to take us to the dock for our river boat trip from Phnom Penh (Cam) to Chau Doc (Viet). 7.00am comes and goes, by 7.30am Allan thought we should do something about it and rang the organising company. They said they hadn’t forgotten us they we just running late due to many bookings. After 10 minutes a mini van arrives, we scramble in with our packs and sit waiting to depart. One minute later a little bloke in a Tuk Tuk turns up and tells us we are to go to him. Confusion reigned. After several phone calls by him and the other tour operator, we get out of the bus and get into the Tuk Tuk. It turned out, the other tour operator tried to pinch us for their tour. We picked up two more guys along the way and four of us along with our luggage made our way to the docks in a Tuk Tuk that is built for no more than 2 1/2 people. Eventually boarded our river boat with about 15 others for our trip to the Cambodian Border. We set off and we were motoring along well however the boat captain kept looking behind us as if we were being chased by some nefarious scoundrel. An hour or so down the TonLe River the boat captain is still looking behind us, nothing there but clear water. About a half hour later we came to what can only be described as the most derelict, run down, safety hazard you will ever see for for a jetty to access a border crossing.

The boat pulled into the right bank as we went south toward Vietnam, at the Cambodian Immigration/Border Patrol and Passport check point. The jetty (or what was left of it) was a direct reflection on the wealth of Cambodia or so we thought. It so happens the jetty is maintained by the tour companies that use it to get their customers to the check point and of course no one, including the Cambodian Government will spend money on it. The jetty consisted of bamboo and timber planks criss-crossed with a few others and held together with granny knots of twine. Then there was the wooden bridge that took you off the jetty and up the stairs of the bank to get you to dry land for the short walk to the official check point. That consisted of a rickety handrail with wooden planks to keep you from falling in the TonLe River. The guide we had kept apologising for and watching for our safety, we did wonder how many people have actually fallen into the river.

The passage through immigration was painless and the toilets were clean. We then scrambled back onto the boat for a short trip (5min) to the Vietnam Border. The Vietnamese check point is much more up market. It was built by the Vietnamese Government.

The guide took all our passports, and a $1 each and disappeared into the immigration station. He emerged 30 minutes later with them and we got on our way. The boat captain still looking behind for the nefarious scoundrels. Onward to Chau Doc Vietnam. It became apparent about 5 minutes down the river why the captain was looking behind.

The black smoke that started emerging from the motor signalled the motor was in trouble. We limped down the TonLe River and into the Mekong River for about the next hour until the motor finally gave up the ghost. About 200 metres from the Chau Doc wharf, we stopped and prayed. The boat Captain got the motor to start again for 30 seconds and it died again. Eventually a rescue boat came and towed us into safety. Swimming and paddling were not an option. Where we docked in Chau Doc was also our accommodation for the night. It was called the Delta Floating Hotel. We had a neat little room with good clean facilities, running water was temperamental but nothing too bad. We then went for a sweaty walk around the immediate surrounds of Chau Doc where the main industry was wooden furniture. That evening we brought some bread rolls, some salad items and half a duck from a street vendor and made our own meal. Duck was tasty but tough. A point of interest for both Cambodia and Vietnam, motor cycle repair shops are everywhere.

Friday 13^th April; Chau Doc.

Up again at 5.30am for a 6.15am breakfast before we were onto a river boat again. This tour took us to a multitude of fish farms, all of which were under the houses of the people who live on the water that form the Raft Villages.

They grow 1000s kg of fish each year that normally go to the local markets.

They feed them 8-10 times a day (see photo). Apparently it costs about $100k to set up but they recoup their investment with a couple of years (in the good times)

We then went to visit a village of Cham people. (Pron Chum)

The Cham people are the remnants of the Kingdom of Champa (7^th – 18^th Century) they are closely related to other Austronesian people and speak Cham, a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Aceh-Chamic group (wiki)

They are a Muslim community that have their background in the Arabic belief. These people, whilst they live in Vietnam and have dealings with other Vietnamese, will not marry other Vietnamese unless the they convert to the Muslim faith. Most Vietnamese are Buddhist. There are about 20,000 Cham people in Vietnam and about 2000 lived in the village we visited.

After that it was back to home base and a bus that took us to Sam Mountain which is basically another Temple on the side of a hill. It filled in an hour or so before we then boarded the bus to take us to Can Tho. The ride to Can Tho was rough – bus with no shock absorbers and a road built at the turn of the last century. Booked into the accommodation in Can Tho and had a look around the local back streets.

Saturday 14^th April

Usual breakfast of eggs done which ever way you want them, fried, scrambled or an omelette. Trouble is, they all end up the same. Their idea of scrambled egg or omelette is the throw a fork around the fry pan of two fried eggs to change the shape of them. No form of seasoning or additive is thought of. Add a bread roll (baguette), a small banana and a cup of undrinkable coffee and there you have it. At time of writing, this is the stock standard fare for breakfast for us westerners, whether it be in a hostel, guesthouse or hotel. Speaking of which, we have found that there is very little difference in Asia on the style of accommodation in these three categories. Of course there is a difference of you want the 4-5 star, but we have stayed in backpacker hostels that have been better than some of the hotels. After breakfast, onto the local tour boat up the Mekong Canals and on to the floating market. The boat picked up a few people along the way that have been at ‘homestay’ accommodation. That is, instead of being in an hotel as we were last night, they chose to pay $15US more for the privilege of staying with a Vietnamese family for the night. We might have done this had we known about it. We found out too late. We meandered down the Mekong to the floating markets. These are basically fruit and vegetable markets on boats, the only problem is the minimum you can buy is 10kg of any commodity. Hence the main customers are small on-sellers who buy at the main market and take back to their district for re-sale. Each boat has a bamboo pole flying the flag of each type of fruit or vegetable they sell. (insert photo). Of course there is also the little entrepreneur that has his/her boat there selling bananas, pineapples and all sorts of other edibles (including beer) to whom ever will buy. On our boat we had a few people buy noodle soup, a few bought fruit and we bought a whole pineapple cut into 4 for 10,000VND (dong) (A$0.50). One lady who was in dire need of a toilet, even left our boat and climbed to an adjacent boat that had tied to our boat to sell her pineapples. I don’t know how she did it however she negotiated with the lady boat owner to use her facilities for a fee. The local boat was a small vessel hardly big enough to hold three or four people. When the lady had done her business on the local boat, she came back to a round of applause from our boat, congratulating her on her bravado and nerve. It was then the tour guide informed her of the western toilet on board our boat. Memories are made of this. On her boat, which you could climb over to if you wished, you chose the fruit you wanted, she then went about cutting/peeling it for you. Good value for A$.050.

We then continued on to visit a rice noodle maker. It was a small hutted area that housed the whole operation and they showed us how they make rice noodles. (cellophane). Very clever people.

We then moved onto a rice processing factory. They showed us their method of turning unprocessed grain into the glossy rice that sells so easily. The back to the dock for lunch and the bus to pick us up at 1.20pm.

We were advised of a good restaurant adjacent to the docks for a meal. We wanted a banana in a bread roll for lunch and nothing more so we walked the streets for about 15 minutes until we came across a little café called Gony. It was run by a Vietnamese fellow who was brought up in Buffalo (US). It was there, Wendy discovered the joys of an Avocado Shake. Not sure how they made it but it was beautiful.

Then onto the bus without shock absorbers and onto the road that doubles as a goat track to go to Saigon.

All in all, the trip wasn’t too bad. The driver did very well negotiating the volume of traffic and got us there on time. We got out at the Delta Tour Company office, went inside and got them to book our train tickets from Saigon to DaNang. We then went in search of our digs in one of the thousands of alley ways in the heart of Saigon. After three attempt to find the Ngoc Thao Guest House, we finally arrive to a warm welcome and a very nice room. We later found out there are 3 different alley ways to enter to reach our the Ngoc Thao. The people there were great. Our room was on the 4^th floor but they carried our bags for us and didn’t want anything in return. They use the local boys to carry luggage as opposed to installing a lift. The back alleys of ‘district one’ in Saigon is riddled with guest houses or hostels (there is no difference) and for the most part, they provide great budget accommodation to the weary traveller. They provide a place to interact the both the locals and the other travellers. They are always clean. The competition is so fierce, one bad report and they suffer. They also provide good travel assistance and can make rail/bus/plane tickets for you with very little added cost.

Sunday 15^th April – Saigon

Had a lazy day, slept in until 6.00am, did some writing and had breakfast of eggs, baguette and tea. Rang Raquel for her 40^th birthday and then went for a walk around the inner Saigon sites. Went to the War Remnants Museum, walked past the Reunification Palace (closed Sunday) a breif look at a local soccer game, had a real cup of coffee at the Coffee Bean, walked past the Notre Dame Cathedral (closed Sunday?), The Opera House (closed Sunday?) and went in and had a look at the Art Museum.

After about 5 ½ hours walking decided to have a massage to ease the pain. It was a relaxing massage as opposed to a good hard muscle manipulating massage which we needed. Should have had a foot massage. After three weeks of Asian food, our tummies needed a rest so we went to ‘the Spotted Cow’ Bar and Café. We had a good old Aussie pie and peas and a shepherds pie. Both were good.

Monday 16^th April 2012

Had breakfast, baguette and eggs of course, then joined about 30 odd people on a half day tour of the Cu Chi tunnels. (pron Coochie)These are the tunnels used by the South Vietnamese to hide from thier oppressors. (originally the French)

It is about an hour and a half to get there however at about half way we stopped to do the tourist thing at what was said to be a workshop for those affected by Agent Orange. They were either those directly affected, or the children who were effected though birth defects. There were about 50 people who made various objects from egg shells, nacre and other shiny things inlaid into timber or on stone. The artworks were beautiful. Unfortunately what we liked wouldn’t fit in the backpacks.

As we were getting back on the bus we were asked by someone if we were from Newcastle. It turns out they were a couple from Newcastle and Rebecca used to play in their sons soccer team when she was about 6. Small world.

Onto the Cu Chi Tunnels which we found very interesting and informative. The tour above ground showed a lot of booby traps and devices to kill the enemy painfully without firepower.

Then came the actual tunnel (or part thereof that they had modified for tourists) we were all able to go into if we wanted. There were a number of people decided not to go under, including the tour guide because he was the exception to the rule in Vietnam, he was fat. We both decided to give it a go. Thankfully there are ‘get out’ tunnels about every 20m. We found it difficult to duck waddle very far and it was claustrophobic to say the least. We opted out after 20m. Some opted out at 40m and 60m and quite a lot made it through. It gave us a real appreciation of what the south Vietnamese went through to survive.

When we got back into Saigon that afternoon, we got some food to take on the train, showered and took a taxi to the train. The people at Ngoc Tao Guesthouse in Saigon were great. Got to the station and met up with Lindsay and Irene from Perth. We thought we were going to be in the same compartment as them but we were in different cars.

Our roomies for the train trip from Saigon to DaNang, who we named Cu and Chi,

were two beautiful old sisters aged 80 and 85. They knew no English and we know five words of Chinese. Apparently they had been to Saigon to visit a son and grandchildren and were returning to Vihn in the north of Vietnam. We were able to get that much out of Cu’s son before he left the train after seeing them off. We had an early night, about 8pm Allan turned out the lights so they could get some much earned beauty sleep. About half an hour before that, the conductor placed a young fellow into our cabin to accompany us. Allan questioned who he was and the conductor signed that he was ‘hers’ which we took to be her boyfriend so she stuck him in with the two old ladies and the two foreigners. All the other compartments had 4 Vietnamese in them. He camped on the floor which didn’t pose any problems except when Allan went to go to the toilet in the morning. Whilst getting down from the top bunk he nearly trod on him. That train got us into Danang at about midday.

Tuesday 17^th April 2012

Woke at about 5am on the train after an OK night. We had soft sleepers but they use the term soft very lightly in Vietnam. The train pulled up at a station at about 7.00am for about 20 minutes where lots of people got off the train and headed across the tracks to the small stalls that sold everything you will ever need for a good Vietnamese breakfast. Allan bought a couple of baguettes to go with the bananas. Then everyone scrambled back onto the train and off we go to DaNang. We passed the time by spending some time talking to Lindsay and Irene and eventually got into DaNang with further incidents. The third ‘roomie’ left us earlier in the morning after realising he wasn’t wanted and some gentle persuading.

After booking into the hotel in DaNang we decided to do the normal ‘reccy’ to size up the place and see what there is to do. We have learned on several occasions not to trust hand-written local map handouts given by hotels/guesthouses. They tend to omit a lot. You can sometimes think where you want to end up is only a few blocks away only to find out they left 6 streets off the map. We set out to find the Cham Museum., This interested us after first learning about them in southern Vietnam (Chau Doc). We found it after an hour of walking. Very disappointing. It was actually a museum of the Cham sculptures, not of the people and their way of life. You can only look at so many sculptures that are basically meaningless if you can’t read the information. We then went in search of the Ho Chi Min Museum……second mistake, looking at a hand drawn map. Couldn’t find it so the next best thing was to have a foot massage, Uncle Ho would have to wait until tomorrow. Had dinner that night at an Indian Restaurant run by Vietnamese. It was good but you could tell it wasn’t cooked by an Indian.

Wednesday 18^th April – DaNang

Again went for a local walk around the DaNang CBD. Then got a taxi to take us to the Ho Chi Minh Museum that we couldn’t find yesterday. On arrival we realised we should have walked another 200m and there it was. What a disappointment. We had hoped to see the life and times of HCM. Wrong. It was a pictorial history of the wars Vietnam had fought over the years but had nothing on Uncle Ho.

Decided to trust the map again and went in search of the supermarket marked with a © on the map. The Vietnamese idea of a supermarket and ours is vastly different, or the map was wrong again. Gave up and went back to the motel to veg out for the afternoon and write up the blog and tag the several hundred photo’s and videos we had taken. We’ve learned you must do it within a short time or it becomes a blur and you can’t remember which mountain is which. Allan decided to have another haircut. The one he had in Melaka was not good enough. This one was….nearly bald…

Tuesday 17^th April 2012

Woke at about 5am on the train after an OK night. We had soft sleepers but they use the term soft very lightly in China. The train pulled up at a station at about 7.00am for about 20 minutes where lots of people got off the train and headed across the tracks to the small stalls that sold everything you will ever need for a good Chinese breakfast. Allan bought a couple of baguettes to have a banana with. Then everyone scrambles back onto the train and off we go to DaNang. We passed the time by spending some time talking to Lindsay and Irene and eventually got into DaNang with further incidents. The third ‘roomie’ left us earlier in the morning after realising he wasn’t wanted.

After booking into the hotel in DaNang we decided to do the normal ‘reccy’ to size up the place and see what there is to do. We have learned on several occasions not to trust hand-written local map handouts given by hotels/guesthouses. They tend to omit a lot. You can sometimes think where you want to end up is only a few blocks away only to find out they left 6 streets off the map. We set out to find the Cham Museum., This interested us after first learning about them in southern Vietnam (Chau Doc). We found it after an hour of walking. Very disappointing. It was actually a museum of the Cham sculptures, not of the people and their way of life. You can only look at so many sculptures that are basically meaningless if you can’t read the information. We then went in search of the Ho Chi Min Museum……second mistake, looked at a hand drawn map. Couldn’t find it so the next best thing was to have a foot massage, Uncle Ho would have to wait until tomorrow. Had dinner that night at an Indian Restaurant run by Vietnamese. It was good but you could tell it wasn’t cooked by an Indian.

Wednesday 18^th April – DaNang

Again went for a local walk around the DaNang CBD. Then got a taxi to take us to the Ho Chi Minh Museum that we couldn’t find yesterday. On arrival we realised we should have walked another 200m and there it was. What a disappointment. We had hoped to see the life and times of HCM. Wrong. It was a pictorial history of the wars Vietnam had fought over the years but had nothing on Uncle Ho.

Decided to trust the map again and went in search of the supermarket marked with a © on the map. The Vietnamese idea of a supermarket and ours is vastly different, or the map was wrong again. Gave up and went back to the motel to veg out for the afternoon and write up the blog and tag the several hundred photo’s and videos we had taken. We’ve learned you must do it within a short time or it becomes a blur and you can’t remember which mountain is which. Allan decidied he needed another haircut. He actually only needed a shave but what the heck, give one of the locals a thrill to shear and shavel a foreigner. He did a great job…..nearly bald.

Thursday 19^th April 2012

Walked along the river front in DaNang CBD and came across a school of would be artists

strewn along the bank of the river drawing either the river itself or the CBD buildings. Some very talented young men and women among them. We were on the afternoon train from DaNang to Hanoi so killed the morning with general walking the streets, had a shower and went to the station and waited. When we got there an old bloke with a trolley spotted us. He grabbed our bags and scurried away into the waiting room. He found us a couple of seats, put our bags in a safe place and vigilantly kept an eye on us until train. Time. When it arrived, he grabbed our bags and headed straight for the train and car 7.

He lugged both backpacks onto the train and into our cabin, pushed into the cabin and demanded money. We were prepared for this and gave him the equivalent of $2.….he wanted $3 and wasn’t going until he got it.

Our cabin only had one other in it, a young lad, about 18

and he was going to Hue (pron Whey). Didn’t have anything else to do on the train except watch the magnificent scenery out the left of the train going north. The coast line and mountains is spectacular. Allan started to view the photo’s in the computer and he became interested. They spent the next half an hour viewing our holiday snaps…he was fascinated. Later on that evening a young 22 year old lad from the next compartment poked his nose in the cabin door to say hello. He was a boy from England who has spent the last couple of months as a volunteer at a school in Siem Reap Cambodia, he was travelling in his time off before going home to England for his sisters wedding. We had dinner by ourselves and soon thereafter we were joined by two young Vietnamese fellows who were travelling others and they spent most of their time in their cabin. Later on we were joined by another couple, a Yank with a Vietnamese wife. Our half in thick mattress was starting to expose bones and we needed a break from it. We had 6 in the cabin so it was fortunate we arrived into Hanoi at about 6.15am.

Thursday 19^th April 2012

Walked along the river front in DaNang CBD and came across a school of would be artists strewn along the bank of the river drawing either the river itself or the CBD buildings. Some very talented young men and women among them. We were on the afternoon train from DaNang to Hanoi so killed the morning with general walking the streets, had a shower and went to the station and waited. When we got there an old bloke with a trolley spotted us. He grabbed our bags and scurried away into the waiting room. He found us a couple of seats, put our bags in a safe place and vigilantly kept an eye on us until train. Time. When it arrived, he grabbed our bags and headed straight for the train and car 7.

He lugged both backpacks onto the train and into our cabin, pushed into the cabin and demanded money. We were prepared for this and gave him the equivalent of $2.….he wanted $3 and wasn’t going until he got it.

Our cabin only had one other in it, a young lad, about 18 and he was going to Hue (pron Whey). Didn’t have anything else to do on the train except watch the magnificent scenery out the left of the train going north. The coast line and mountains is spectacular. Allan started to view the photo’s in the computer and he became interested. They spent the next half an hour viewing our holiday snaps…he was fascinated. Later on that evening a young 22 year old lad from the next compartment poked his nose in the cabin door to say hello. He was a boy from England who has spent the last couple of months as a volunteer at a school in Siem Reap Cambodia, he was travelling in his time off before going home to England for his sisters wedding. We had dinner by ourselves and soon thereafter we were joined by two young Vietnamese fellows who were travelling others and they spent most of their time in their cabin. Later on we were joined by another couple, a Yank with a Vietnamese wife. Our half in thick mattress was starting to expose bones and we needed a break from it. We had 6 in the cabin so it was fortunate we arrived into Hanoi at about 6.15am.

HANOI

Friday 20^th April 2012…

The taxi from Hanoi railway station ripped us off. Charged us $5 for a $2 ride. Anyway, got to the Golden Time Hostel and it was closed. It was about 6.15am. The taxi driver wanted us to go with him, he knew of a ‘good place for us to stay’. In unison, we told him where to go. About 1 minute later, the owner of the Hostel opened the door and welcomed us warmly as he had said he would in his email to us when we advised our arrival time. Our room wouldn’t be ready till 8,00am so we stowed our luggage in the foyer of the Hostel and went for a walk around the centre of Hanoi, specifically around Hokiem Lake. It was on the lake we came across what looked to be a western café but it was actually Vietnamese and we both dined on a lovely bowl of Beef Pho for breakfast. It is to be recommended.

We then dawdled around for a while until 8.00am when we could get access to our room and a shower. Done that and then went on the obligatory ‘reccy’ of the neighbourhood. Found a couple of paintings we liked and went back for a quick nap and booked a tour to Tam Coc the next day. Dinner that night was quiet and we had an early night.

Saturday 21st April 2012

Bus picked us up after a breakfast supplied by the hostel which consisted of a baguatte and a dollop of jam with a cup of green tea.We decided to go on the trip to Tam Coc as opposed to going to the very touristy HaLong Bay. We’d had good and bad reports about it however the photo’s we had seen could well have come from Phang Gna Bay in Thailand where we were a few weeks ago. So with the help of the wag that said, ‘there will be you and 500 other boats on the bay’ made up our minds not to go there.(it was 170klm from Hanoi) The bus trip to Tam Coc was uneventful except for the obligatory bad Vietnam roads and buses made for Asian people with short legs. We had to of course visit two temples along the way just to drag out the tour and show us some of the Vietnamese history. After the temples we went to a restaurant that was included on the tour for what was a very good buffet meal. We ran into a couple of diggers who had been up in Laos for the last couple of months doing volunteer work for the victims of land mines. They work predominantly on infrasctructure (water, power etc.) They were making their way down south to Lon Tan for Anzac Day and were doing some tourist things first. One was from Cairns and the other Sydney.

We eventually reached Tam Coc

 where we were escorted onto little tin boats for a ride up a river. The propulsion was provided by a driver with both feet in the air. Out ‘skipper’ who we named ‘Gertude’ was the same as the rest of them although she seemed to have an enormous temper.

YES..she paddles with her feet….a smile a mile wide…..

After about an hour of leisurely paddling,(Wendy and I grabbed a spare oar each and helped her a little) we reached the end of the line where a number of boats line up to try and sell you something you don’t want or need. This happened to us. After a bit of jostling between boats and Gertude being shoved around a bit, she let fly with every expletive know in the Vietnamese language. We weren’t sure what it was about but we think she had a go at a couple of the hawkers for pestering us and of course they retlaited and the verbal stouse was on. It was good theatre.

Of course on the way back, Gertude pulled over to the side of the river and tried to sell us all her various wares. We did buy a couple of things that would fit in the backpack. Then it was back onto the goat track back to Hanoi. We asked Tony the guest house owner where their was a good cheap local Vietnamese diner. He gave us directions to one that was 6 minutes walk away. It was a Pho only diner but the food was good. The locals looked surprised we were there.

Sunday 2^nd April 2012 depart Hanoi.

Had a taxi take us to the bus stop to pick up the bus to Nanning China. Tony told the driver where to drop us. He did. It was on the footpath outside a closed travel agent. Alarm bells rang. Allan walked a few shops down to a mobile phone shop and asked the lady to ring Tony for us to clarify that where we were standing, in the middle of nowhere, was the right location. He sent his offsider over on a motor cycle to establish the situation and why we were there. The Offsider made numerous phone calls. Our bus was due away from the bus depot at 9.30am. He we were at 9.10am on the footpath of a very busy street with not a bus in sight. More phone calls from The Offsider. At about 9.20am he hailed a taxi and said that we get in, he’ll tell the driver where to go, he’ll pay, and the driver will follow him. After 20 minutes of a cab driver trying to follow a motor cycle through the streets of inner Hanoi, we did a full loop and drove past ‘Ly Thai To’ Street

where we spent last night, we went another 2 blocks, turned right, and there was the bus waiting for us. We could have walked there, with back packs, in 7 minutes. Anyway, that drama dealt with, the bus pulled out 10 minutes later after waiting for others who were probably told the wrong thing. Our bus trip from Hanoi to Nanning was uneventful. About 100 minutes out of Hanoi we stopped for meal and a toilet break. After that, we noticed the scenery began to change. We started to ascend mountains and look at beautiful scenery. The road got better as we got closer to the border.

We reached the Vietnamese border and the process was different to any other we’d been through. The Vietnamese bus dropped us off at a central bus depot, we then collected all out luggage and climbed into a very large golf buggy. Luggage stowed in the back. We were to be transferred about 1 klm down the road where the passports and visa are checked.

We jumped into a cart driven by Mark Webber. He did not like anyone in front of him and sped past everyone at will. In approaching the immigration point, he came to a very rough halt after going over some rough road. Wendy’s backpack was lost about 20m before the cart finally stopped. Mark Webber could not have cared less. Not sure what would have happened if something was seriously broken, probably nothing.

We queued up at the immigration stalls, the Chinese did their normal thing and barged in and jostled for position and cared about no-one but themselves. Wendy was able to get her passport to the officials while Allan hung back a looked after the luggage.

They took Wendy’s passport. One official looked at it, didn’t like what he saw so passed it to the next official. He didn’t like what he saw, or didn’t see and he passed it onto the next official. There was something wrong with Wendy’s passport/visa. Apparently she wasn’t really in Vietnam. There was nothing in the passport to show that she entered at Chau Doc on the Mekong river about 2 weeks earlier. The immigration officials examined it several times. Wendy examined it another 50 times, nothing to be found, she wasn’t legally in Vietnam. Wendy was getting a little worried. Meanwhile, Allan had had his passport processed without a hitch. He was legal. He then gave his passport to the official and told him to compare them. It was quite evident we were travelling together and something had gone wrong at Chau Doc. The official went away, took the obligatory 15 minutes that seemed like an hour, while Wendy sweated away. He then came back and with a wry grin said to Wendy ‘next time you come to Vietnam, get it stamped’. A most relieved Wendy agreed.

In recalling the Chau Doc Vietnamese Immigration process, the tour guide on the boat, took everyone’s passport + $1 and disappeared into immigration, only to emerge about 30 minutes later with a handful of passports. He gave them out. Nobody checked to see if they had actually been approved for entry into the country. A lesson learned by us all.

We cleared Vietnamese Immigration and Wendy’s passport still only shows she left there, she didn’t go in.

Passing though the Chinese immigration was without incident.

The border area between Vietnam and China is about ½ klm long and it seems no-one owns it. The only vehicles there were the motorised carts.

The remainder of our trip from the border to Nanning was uneventful. The coach was excellent and the ride on very good Chinese roads was great. The trip from Hanoi was supposed to be about 7 hours. We left at about 9.45am and arrived about 5.45pm…

Arrived the Dia Jia Jun Gong Hotel in Nanning. No wifi and Allan can’t get the LAN to work. Bugger.

NANNING CHINA

Monday 23rd April;

Our first full day in Nanning and things were not going well. We needed a LAN connection for the laptop but no matter how much Allan and the Hotel IT bloke tried, it wouldn’t work. The Motel didn’t have a computer for guest access. We asked were there any Internet Cafe’s in the Nanning CBD but of course, Wendy and I seemed to be the only two English speaking people in Nanning, we had no way of finding out. So we walked, and we walked and we walked in search of an Internet Cafe. Final result – no such thing in Nanning.

We have been trying to book a tour out of Chengdu to Lhasa through LazyBones Hostel in Chengdu. Everything was going fine. We sent them our papers, we sent them our itinerary, we agreed on a price, now we have to pay for it. There are three ways. One is bank transfer but this can take up to 5 working days in China, then there is Western Union and then there is PayPal. Thats what we’ll do, pay by Paypal. So we did.

All went through, or so we thought. Apparently Paypal took it apon themselves to reverse the transaction because they thought the transaction was suspicious. So we had to try and do it again. No way. Pay Pal had put our account on limitation and we are not able to use it until we jump all sorts of hurdles which is nigh on impossible from here. They want a photo of Wendys passport or drivers license asnd they want a copy of an electricity bill or something similar. WARNING ….don’t rely on Paypal if you intend using it overseas.

As it happens, we were able to go into a Bank Of Chiyesterday next day and remit the money direct. The people at the bank were helpful and it was done without much fuss, language barrier aside.

We had also been trying to buy train tickets from Zhangjiajie to Chengdu via Dazhou (pron DartZo) for Saturday. Allan went to the train station to try his best to get his message through but of course the rail staff are the same the world over – if it aint easy – I aint doing it. The only way was to have our train travel requests written out, word by word, in Cantonese. Allan tried in vain to get this message through to the front reception staff at the Dia Jia Jun Gong Hotel. They were 3 young ladies, all about 18 or 19 y/o who tried their best to understand the aging westerner. They even communicated by using Google translater. Without success. However, a supervising young lady (aged about 23) turned up and asked what was going on. She didn’t speak English but she was savvy enough to take Allan into a back room, open up the Google translater and work out what it was he actually wanted. After about 45 minutes, they had worked it out. She typed in Cantonese and he typed in English, back and forth until it was clear what was required. She was good enough to hand write it in her language. Allan took the handwritten instructions to the train station, handed it to a lady ticket officer and 4 minutes later, the tickets appeared exactly as we wanted them.

This was typical of all the front office young ladies we have encountered here in China. Give them time and will help you work it out. We were so impressed with the reception staff at Dia Jia Jun Gong Hotel we gave them a very large box of chocolates when we left. They helped us immensely.

Tuesday 24th April, day of departure from Nanning. The weather was hot and the humidity stifling. After a succesful mission to the Bank of China, called in to get some provisions,Haeckel a shower and went to the station to wait for the train trip from Nanning to Zhangjiajie. Train 2012s scheduled running time was from 17:50hrs to 08:27hrs. Sitting in the waiting room brought home to us that the Chinese still haven’t learned anything about general sanitation, hygene and general good manners. There are signs everywhere saying ‘no smoking, no spitting, no lying on seats, no littering, no this, no that. Each and every sign is ignored. They ‘hacked’ loadly, they spat, they smoked, they lounged on seats, they gave their luggage a seat and left people to stand, they threw their rubbish all over the place and they were generally unkind to each other. We watched this for 2 1/2 hours waiting from train 2012. We weren’t able to get soft sleepers on this trip so we had to accept hard sleepers. The Chinese hard sleeper is a little different to those in Vietnam yet they are the same. Basically it is 6 bunk beds in a cabin. Each bunk is supplied with a sheet, a doona and a pillow. This would have been alright except it wasn’t airconditioned except for the windows your were allowed to open about 6 inches. As stated before, the weather was hot and humid. Conditions were stifling. We weren’t the only ones to feel the heat, the locals were all sweating profusely as well. Wendy had previously bought some folding fans in Melaka so she handed them to some of the locals who appreciated the gesture. One liked the fan so much, she still has it. The trip was going to be long and uncomfortable. We were both on top bunks, Allan in one cabin and Wendy in the adjacent cabin. The eleictric fan in Wendy’s cabin worked, the fan in Allan’s cabin was an ornament.

At one stage, Allan was speaking with a young Chinsese girl who had learned English at Yichang University and she became the interpreter for the circle of people in the two cabins. We settled in for the night at about 8.00pm when it got dark and there was nothing to see outside. The heat was bearable as long as you lied still and didn’t move and thankfully we were heading to Zhangjiajie which is in the mountains, so at around midnight the weather became more bearable and by morning the doona was needed. We arrived into Zhangjiajie on time at 08:27hrs and looked for a meter cab.

Zhangjiajie –

Wednesday 25^th April 2012 – ANZAC DAY.

Arrived as per schedule on Train 2012 from Nanning at 08:27hrs, took a meter cab to the Home Inn, in Tianmen Road. We were thankfully able to check in straight away and have a shower and do some computer work with emails and blog etc. The LAN worked. We then went downstairs to the foyer where there was a travel agent. The young girl spoke broken English and we were able to book a 2 day tour of the Zhangjiajie National Park. The cost of A$65 each included the tour in an 8 seater van, a tour guide who didn’t speak English, some entry onto a few minor scenic side tours, lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch and one nights accommodation at what was to be a very run-down Motel.

After that it was time for a Beer to celebrate ANZAC DAY. Unfortunately their isn’t any Pubs in Zhangjiajie, so we bought a couple from the little side-alley shop and took back to our room and drank to the Anzacs.

Thursday 26^th April 2012

We joined two young ladies (which we subsequently named Cuyuan and Chiyuan) and two young men in the 10 seater van for our tour of Zhangjiajie National Park. Along the way we picked up another two young Chinese fellows, so that made it 8 for the tour and one young lady as our guide. One young fellow, whom we subsequently name ‘the Prof’ made himself known to us as he spoke some English. He had been taught English for a number of years through his high school days but hadn’t used it in a couple of years. So we had a two-way beneficial street here, he could practice his English on us and we would know where to go and what to do. He couldn’t be our guide as such as his English was not good enough but he could tell us what the tour guide was saying when we had to do something or go somewhere. In the end, ‘The Prof” treated us like his mother and father and pampered us with all sorts of information he thought we should know.

The tour began with a 45 minute van ride from the Zhangjiajie township to the National Park where we, and umpteen thousand others, lined up to go up the most impressive lift we’ve ever been in. This took us up to the canopy of the mountains. When we got off we were then able to walk through the magnificent scenery and marvel at how it was created. Words cannot describe its beauty and unfortunately the photo’s don’t really do it justice either. You need to be there to fully appreciate it. This is the region where Avatar was made.

At about 2.00pm we were given the option of going down the mountain by cable-car or walking. We did the group thing and made a democratic decision to walk down the mountain. The guide knew better, she went down by the cable car. There we were, 6 young Chinese, all in their early 20s and two old westerners, going to walk down the mountain. We weren’t on the top of the mountain and they said it might take about an hour, maybe a little more. Off we went. The steps were short, only just long enough to put your foot on. There were no hand rails, the steps were sometimes irregular. The trail would go down for 500 steps and then go up 100 steps. At what we thought was about half way, we were starting to hurt. The young girls were getting calf muscle soreness, Wendy was going ok but was also starting to feel the pain in the calves. We continued, after 3 hours of walking down the mountain, all calves and thighs were burning we finally made it. We weren’t advised we would be doing so much walking so we only wore our good walking sandals and this made things a little worse than would have normally been. We can now say we have seen the Zhangjiajie National Park from its best and worst aspects. Got back to our accommodation at about 6.30pm and they shunted us straight into a dining room for a meal of mass produced Chinese tasteless food. There was plenty of variety but the quality was crap. Up to the room for a shower when there was a knock on the door. A young lady from the Hotel wanting to know if we wanted a foot massage for 48RMB ($8). You know the answer to that.

Friday 27^th April.

Up at 6.30am for Chinese breakfast in the run-down hotel included in the cost of the tour. The sight of the dish water noodles, uncooked buns, cabbage, spring onions, tofu, dried something or other and an assortment of items that had been resurrected from last nights leftovers was a bit much for both of us. Allan went in search of some edible street food but came back empty handed. Had an apple.

Then onto the bus and onto the National Park again. Then another winding bus ride to a most scenic place where they dropped us off and said, you can walk 5.5klm to the end of the trail and we will pick you up when you get there. The walk was absolutely beautiful. It meandered along through the forest. Little bridges crossing streams, ginormous outcrops creeping into the sky, wonderful flora and just to spoil it, every 400m was a small resting area where they sell all manner of snack products and crap souvenirs. The pictures tell the story. We loved every moment of it. Wendy was fortunate enough to come across one of the worst toilets in China. It was an open stall where the women just squatted beside each other, did their business (1s and 2s) and walked away. No flushing, no sanitation, no privacy a stench that would outlive religion. (..Kenny)

Our guide Si Goong,

gave us the option of going to another mountain which in her mind looked exactly the same as the one we had just seen or to take us to a different area. We asked could we go to Tianmen Mountain where the have the most magnificent rock structures and mountain walkways. It cost an extra 240RMB each but it was what we came here for.

The trip up to Tianmen Mountain started with the most incredible 7.5klm cable car ride you will ever see. It goes up and down mountains and rises to an altitude of 1297m. We were flabbergasted. So were our Chinese friends.

The young lady we called Cuyuan, was so frightened she covered her eyes most of the way. She only looked down once, that was enough for her.

When we eventually reached the top we then went on a walk around the edge of the mountain on a ‘skywalk’. There is a 60m stretch of the ‘skywalk’ that is glass bottomed. Seven of our group took up the challenge and walked it, one young man we named ‘woose’ did exactly that. He refused to walk on the glass.

At one point on the ‘skywalk’ there is a place where the Chinese write on red pieces of cloth, their hopes and dreams for this life and the next. We did the same and tied it to one of the tree branches. Time will tell if the Gods of China will shine on us.

From there we went back to the cable car and it took us down to about 1/3 the way back down to another cable station to get off. We then jumped on another bus that took us back up the mountains in another direction to Tianmen Mountain itself. This road winds and turns and rises and fall and is mostly only wide enough for one ½ buses but they pass without danger.

We got to the top and took one look at the voluminous steps leading to the Archway that the Russian Air Force flew their MIG jets through a few years ago. We are told there are 999 steps. The Chinese recognise 9 as the biggest number and designed it that way.

We hesitated and said, lets give it a try and see how far we get. We were still a little sore and sorry from the enormous walk down the Zhangjiajie Mountain the day before and didn’t want to push ourselves too hard for fear of injuring ourselves. So we set off. Some of the steps were normal sized steps where a good stride is comfortable, then there were steps that were small and you needed to be very careful where you trod. We started off together but after a little while Allan decide he would meet up with the other lads who where about half way up. He met “The Prof’ at about half way mark where he had decided was far enough. Allan cajoled and embarrassed him into going further.

They got to ¾ up and rested. Then another 20 steps and rested, then another 20, then another 20 and so on until the top. Victory for Allan. A dream come true.

We had both seen a video of this mountain several years ago and put it on our radar to do some day. Today was the day. After Allan had reached the top and rested a little, he looked back and couldn’t see Wendy, he thought she had got to about ½ the way and decided enough was enough. Then, another look and there she was, ¾ the way up and taking it step by step. With some encouragement from ‘the boys’ and Allan. She finally made it to the top. Legs like jelly and face red as a beetroot. What an effort and what a dream realised.

We took a photo in front of something which “The Prof’ told us was something to do with achievement and character building….it certainly was.

Then the trek down. This hurt the thighs a little and caution was needed because of the size of the steps, so it was slowly down to the waiting Cuyuan, Chiyuan and Goong who applauded our efforts. They had decided not to even attempt it. There were very few tourist souvenirs at the bottom so we didn’t bring anything back from that expedition only heaps of photo’s and memories.

Back down to the cable car and down the mountain and then to the train station to meet train K1096 at 18:36 from Zhangjiajie to Dazhou.

We said our goodbyes in our own languages. We treated them like our kids and they treated us like their parents. The girls bought three necklaces at one of the souvenir shops to cement their friendship. A lovely blue necklace that would suit any Cheroke Squaw.

We waited at the station and observed the Chinese waiting room habits again although they were much more civilised this time.

The train arrived and departed on time as most Chinese train do. We were in soft sleeper tonight, so we were looking to a good nights rest.

Saturday 28^th April 2012 Chengdu, Sichuan, China

We woke on the train from Zhangjiajie to Dazhou at about 6.00am and we were still the only two in the compartment. Train Was due in at 09:26 so we had a leisurely banana sandwich and a cup of coffee for breakfast. Wendy played some solitaire on the card table and Allan watched the scenery go by. At about 08:05 the train slowed into a station, the conductor sidled up to the compartment and gave us our tickets back saying Dazhou, Dazhou. Bloody Hell. We were at Dazhou and we weren’t ready. A scramble to repack the bags and get off the train. Little did we know (the conductor knew) the train would be there for 15 minutes to replenish supplies. We had plenty of time but didn’t know it.

So, we had 3 hours to wait around Dazhou Station. We checked our luggage into the baggage area and went for a stroll looking for something we didn’t know what, mainly a western toilet. Walked slowly until about 09:00 till the fast food chain called DICO’S opened. It is a very clean and well run Chinese version of McDonalds. But no western toilet. Never the less, it was far better than anything else on offer.

We then went into the ‘special’ waiting area for those passengers boarding train D5183 to Chengdu. You show your ticket, they then scan you with a wand, you then put your luggage through an airport style x-ray machine, you then walk through an archway that scans you. Only to get inside and find nothing more than some ordinary seats and disgusting toilets. The security is all for show. When any lights go off, they ignore them. We noted one lady set off three lights, one of the rail staff confronted her, she told her where to go and walked away. It keeps people employed.

We boarded bullet train D5183 on time at 11:15. The seating is tremendous. Rows of 3 and 2, with at least 8 inches of leg room. Very comfortable and smooth. Top speed of 195klm/h but mostly cruised at 155klmh. Reached Chengdu 5 minutes early – best train ride we’ve had whilst travelling. At Chengdu Station, we told the taxi driver to take us to Yangshi Ji. We don’t know how he knew where it was, Chengdu is 3 times the size of Sydney, but somehow he knew and about 30 minutes and 35RMB later he deposited us across the road from the Lazybones Hostel. That would not have happened in any capital city in Australia.

Sunday 29^th April

Nothing planned for today, needed to take it easy for a day. Decided we needed a good walk. Located Wal-Mart on the Chengdu map and started out. Thought we might get some western things like Nescafe and real bread, not the sweet stuff the Chinese make. Our hour long walk took about 90 minutes but it was a nice day and it did us good. Got to Wal-mart and got some western things and also watched a fellow in a small booth, dissect and slice the most beautiful Peking Duck we have ever seen. We had to have one for lunch. Or at least half a duck. Allan put in our order and videoed the entire operation. The butcher then put the meat and carcase into a bag along with a bag that contained the Peking Sauce, shallots and wafer thin bread wrappers. Yum Yum. The half duck and accompaniments cost A$5.90. Lunch at its best, took it back to the hostel and pigged ducked out.

Had a lazy afternoon catching up on emails, blogging, surfing the net etc. At about 5.00pm, wafting up through our open window, were the aromas from the back alley below us.

The locals had started cooking. The smells were many and varied but all great. All fresh produce being cooked on the spot below our window. That’s where we went for dinner that night. For the two of us, two mains meals, some rice and a bottle of local beer cost 23RMB (6RMB = A$1). Allan took a video of the girl cooking and the bloke waitering. He gave the video camera to the waiter so he could take a scene of us at the outdoor dining area. He didn’t have a clue what to do. He looked through the viewfinder, He seen everything that was down the alley-way, his mates inside eating and his feet and the sky, but nothing that we wanted. We missed out on being videoed but it made his day.

Monday 30^th April

We went on a walking tour of Old Chengdu. This was a free activity organised by the Hostel. There were about 15 in the group. They took us through the local markets and back-alleys of old Chengdu. There was a Restaurant that specialised in Rabbit Head (stewed and fried) and we thought we would give that a miss. Bugs was not welcome on our plate.

There was nothing else there we hadn’t seen before however they did take us to a Nunnery for lunch.

The Nuns have a vision of ‘always think of the peasant‘. This was peasant food. This was a special treat. Before we entered the dining hall we collected our bowls and chop sticks, sterilised them in boiling water and then went quietly into the dining room and sat at the bench to quietly wait for the Nuns’ to serve us. Whilst waiting, Monks came and sat. Other Chinese came and sat. Other Nuns came and sat. All with their bowls and chop sticks sitting in front of them. One of the junior Nuns’ started a very calming chant and the other Nuns’ and Monks joined in the ritual.

Then other Nuns brought in very large pots, each containing a separate dish. There was boiled rice with kidney beans, cabbage, spring onions and vegetables, sprouts and vegetable, a soup of some sort and a few other pots that we couldn’t identify. Each diner was to place 5RMB (A$0.90) on the table. The Nuns would then take around a pot at a time and dole out as required. If you didn’t want a particular dish, you waved it away, however, if you received it, you HAD to eat it. The principle being that there should never be waste, if you accept it, you eat it. After everyone had been offered a second helping, the Nuns again started a chant whilst they and the Monks cleaned their bowls and sticks.

We both finished everything we accepted but there were a few, (Chinese) who couldn’t eat one particular dish. It had bean sprouts, preserved ginger, garlic, onion etc. It had a very ‘tart’ ‘acrid’ taste and whilst not one you would ask for seconds, it was edible. The entire ritual was a privilege to be part of. No photo’s were allowed of course.

After that our Old City tour took us to a Chinese Tea Shop to be ripped of to the tone of 4RMB for a cup of green tea. (when compared to the 5RMB for the meal) Then back to the Hostel to get passports to go to the station to buy tickets from Lhasa to Beijing. It turned out the sleepers on the train we wanted on Monday 7^th May were booked out so we took sleepers 2 days later which means we will spend an extra 2 days in Lhasa.

Tuesday 1^st May – Panda Day.

The Lazybones Hostel was an excellent choice of backpackers to stay. The beeding was good, the hot water etc was good, the wifi was good, the communal area was excellentand they had a small travel agency in the front that ran some very interesting tours. We did the free walking tour and decided to book a day tour of the Pandas with them. They were also able to book us aa 5 day tour of Lhasa Tibet. We had to book thgis from within China because the Tibetans sometimes close their tourist doors. We weren’t abke to book from Australia. If we had applied for a Tibet visa in Australia we would hhave been rejected so we got Lazybones gto do it for us.

Left the hostel in a mini bus at about 7.30am which took about 45mins to get to the Panda Research Station. We were again in a group of about 12 travellers and were escorted into the park. There are only so many photo’s you can take of this beautiful creature. Thankfully digital crap photos can easily be deleted. The Research Station is well set out and the benefits of it are evident right throughout. The animals are obviously well looked after and their insitu and exsitu breeding programmes are well documented. The Chinese go to great lengths to ensure there is no inbreeding in their programs. The photo’s tell the story of how impressive they are..

The Red Panda or Lesser Panda is also researched at the centre. It is a beautiful little Panda that looks like a Fox when it runs.

On our 5th day we were to travel from Chengdu to Lhasa Tibet at 8.50pm. So we had a leisurely day, made sure all the washing was done, blogging up to date and supplies for train trip bought.

The map shows our train route via the blue dots.

Got to the train station at about 7.30pm. We were told to go to the special gate for Train T22 to Lhasa. At the special gate we had to show our train tickets, passports and Tibet Tourist Visa, (organised by Lazybones) then through another useless scanner that went off for everyone and then into waiting hall No.1.

It was chockers. Estimated about 1000 people waiting to leave Chengdu. Not all on our train we hoped. Allan went for a walk in search of a toilet.

The one in waiting hall No.1 was out of action as they made way for a MacDonalds ??. So he went up stairs. It turns out there are four waiting halls at Chengdu and they were all full. Waiting Hall No.1 cleared a little when train K2123 to Chongqing was called.` Then it was our turn. T22 to Lhasa was called. There was ‘panda’monium. The line was 6 abreast, they were letting them through the gate one at a time and the natives were getting restless. There were hundred of people who had bought ‘standing’ tickets and wanted to be the first on board to find the best corner to stand in. There was nearly a revolt. Some jumped over people to get through, some jumped the gate. They were all pushing and shoving, it was like a rough mosh pit. (we’ve been told about them)

At one point, there were fisticuffs on the other side of the gate. Apparently someone didn’t get their own way. The queue lessened.

We joined the end of the queue and the line dwindled to an orderly crawl.

We were in Car 3, bunk 10, lower and middle. Settled down for the night and had a reasonable sleep.

Thursday 3^rd May – on train

Woke around 6.0am. Toilet at one end was overflowing and the other end was heading that way. It turned out some people didn’t know how to flush. It settled down after a while. Allan discovered a clean western toilet in the next carriage. Instant noodles, banana and apple the order for the day for brekky and lunch. The people in our cabin didn’t speak English but sign language normally got us by. We had good travelling companions all the way from Chengdu to Lhasa. We met one young lad Zong (Pron Zoong)

who said he had first seen us in the Chengdu Subway the day before and so he attached himself to us for the rest of the trip. He was 21 and tickled pink that he could practice his English on us. We seem to attract this sort of person. He was a likeable young fellow who lives somewhere near Shanghai. He is studying economics and banking and will start work later at the Construction Bank of China. That night we dined in the buffet car. Allan had an excellent fish soup and Wendy had a very nice plate of chicken and nuts. Then to bed and the climb through the mountains via Xining to Lhasa. The train went around and through mountains, over bridges and took its own sweet time having engine changes and the dining car replenished. As we started to climb to altitude was starting to affect most of the passengers. It wasn’t until the next morning (Friday 4^th May) that we climbed to 5072m. Altitude sickness kicks in at about 3000m so we were well and truly up in the rare air. One young lady Zu, in our cabin was so sick she needed the oxygen. She had spent over 12 hours in her top bunk without stirring. We didn’t know she was ill until she came down to go to the toilet. We were both quite lethargic and had strong headaches, especially at the highest level. We arrived into Lhasa train station (3750) at about 4.30pm (20m early) still worse for wear.

Out train trip was a fascinating one. The landscape changed so many times. We seen Yak, pony, deer, sheep, goats, shepherds living in their nomadic tents. Small hamlets, large cities, enormous mountains, green flatlands, barren hills, very large lakes, rivers and streams. It was a magical trip, pity it was in a hard sleeper.

Shanghai China