Hi everybody!
Tess and I have now made it to Sydney but I am well aware I have yet to tell you all about Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.
However, I am still going to wait to tell you about all of the fun we have been having. Prolonging the suspense for you all I know.
Instead I have 2 new photo albums to have a look at all from Vietnam...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=324472&id=223406963&l=b39dd00076
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=324486&id=223406963&l=020c70f82d
I will hopefully get a real blog up soon but in the meantime, peace out.
Simon
Saturday 1 May 2010
Wednesday 14 April 2010
Malaysian madness
So we have just had our last night in Vietnam and are about to head to Laos this afternoon, but thanks to some laziness and Internet trouble I have yet to write about Malaysia which ended over 2 weeks ago. So you now have the joys of reading a bit about Malalysia and then about the amazing Vietnam!
Our first stop in Malaysia was Kuala Lumpur which we thought was a great city. We spent a lot of our time, most evenings in fact, in Chinatown where there was a huge market and great food being sold. My favourite dish from our time there was a soup called 'beef ball mee'. A lady cooks it in front of you in about 1 minute and includes beef, beef balls, mee noodles and some veg, all for about $1! We also were bargaining a lot with the market sellers and Tess even got an Omega/Rolex watch! Completely genuine of course. The water that is getting in the face of it is just bad luck!
We were also on the look out for some great satay, which Malaysia is famous for but our search proved difficult.
We spent 3 days there originally and had a look around the main sites including the petronas towers and the malls! After the 3 days we headed south to Melaka, which is a very funny town that is heavily influenced by the Dutch. Trying to find anything traditionally Malaysian was difficult. Tess and I really enjoyed Melaka though as it was very laid back and our riverview guesthouse made us feel at home. The town is easily walkable so we had 2 days of some casual strolls and looking around Melaka's Chinatown on Jonker Walk.
One great experience in Melaka was a restaurant called Capitol Satay. Satay at last!! We decided to go there one evening but when we arrived the queue was miles out of the door but we persevered and waited an hour to get into the restaurant. When we got in the atmosphere was great. We sat on a round table and had a big bubbling pot of satay in front of us. We then had to cook our meat, fish and veg in the satay and we were very satisfied afterwards.
We then left Melaka after 2 days and headed back to Kuala Lumpur for another 2 days as we had a flight to Penang booked after that. In these couple of days we wanted to see the sites we had missed the first time around. Central market was a great place filled with Malaysian souvenirs and also a tank of fish that massage your feet. Tess had a go for 10 minutes and was walking on air after that for the whole day!
Penang followed this and was definitely an interesting time... We checked into a nice hotel as it was Tess's birthday and received a birthday cake from the staff within an hour of being there. All seemed well but thanks to some perverted men and some camera phones, the pool was unusable. After a chat with the staff we ended up getting our 4 night stay for free. However Penang was not how we hoped it would be and so we headed back to KL after our 4 nights ready to move on from Malaysia and get into Vietnam.
Vietnam has been an amazing 2 and a half weeks and I have so much to tell you all about but this will have to be another day!
We have been trying to upload photos to of Vietnam but after the hour it takes to upload an album, we are getting used to seeing 'upload failed' and so pictures are having to wait too.
Speak to you all soon with some more Asia news!
Our first stop in Malaysia was Kuala Lumpur which we thought was a great city. We spent a lot of our time, most evenings in fact, in Chinatown where there was a huge market and great food being sold. My favourite dish from our time there was a soup called 'beef ball mee'. A lady cooks it in front of you in about 1 minute and includes beef, beef balls, mee noodles and some veg, all for about $1! We also were bargaining a lot with the market sellers and Tess even got an Omega/Rolex watch! Completely genuine of course. The water that is getting in the face of it is just bad luck!
We were also on the look out for some great satay, which Malaysia is famous for but our search proved difficult.
We spent 3 days there originally and had a look around the main sites including the petronas towers and the malls! After the 3 days we headed south to Melaka, which is a very funny town that is heavily influenced by the Dutch. Trying to find anything traditionally Malaysian was difficult. Tess and I really enjoyed Melaka though as it was very laid back and our riverview guesthouse made us feel at home. The town is easily walkable so we had 2 days of some casual strolls and looking around Melaka's Chinatown on Jonker Walk.
One great experience in Melaka was a restaurant called Capitol Satay. Satay at last!! We decided to go there one evening but when we arrived the queue was miles out of the door but we persevered and waited an hour to get into the restaurant. When we got in the atmosphere was great. We sat on a round table and had a big bubbling pot of satay in front of us. We then had to cook our meat, fish and veg in the satay and we were very satisfied afterwards.
We then left Melaka after 2 days and headed back to Kuala Lumpur for another 2 days as we had a flight to Penang booked after that. In these couple of days we wanted to see the sites we had missed the first time around. Central market was a great place filled with Malaysian souvenirs and also a tank of fish that massage your feet. Tess had a go for 10 minutes and was walking on air after that for the whole day!
Penang followed this and was definitely an interesting time... We checked into a nice hotel as it was Tess's birthday and received a birthday cake from the staff within an hour of being there. All seemed well but thanks to some perverted men and some camera phones, the pool was unusable. After a chat with the staff we ended up getting our 4 night stay for free. However Penang was not how we hoped it would be and so we headed back to KL after our 4 nights ready to move on from Malaysia and get into Vietnam.
Vietnam has been an amazing 2 and a half weeks and I have so much to tell you all about but this will have to be another day!
We have been trying to upload photos to of Vietnam but after the hour it takes to upload an album, we are getting used to seeing 'upload failed' and so pictures are having to wait too.
Speak to you all soon with some more Asia news!
Saturday 27 March 2010
Photos update...
You can now see all of my photos from Indonesia and Malaysia on the following two links...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=320062&id=223406963&l=1895acb643
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=320073&id=223406963&l=0426d94a98
I will update you all on Malaysia as soon as I get a chance.
Speak to you soon.........
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=320062&id=223406963&l=1895acb643
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=320073&id=223406963&l=0426d94a98
I will update you all on Malaysia as soon as I get a chance.
Speak to you soon.........
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Indonesia
Tess and I are now in our final night in Indonesia and it has been a brilliant week and a half.
We went to Ubud as planned and it ended up being my favourite part of Indonesia. Ubud is known as the cultural hub of Bali and thanks to a cycling tour around a lot of the island, we agree with the description!
We decided to stay in a bit of luxury in Ubud, which made us feel very relaxed. The hotel was at the bottom of the Monkey Forest and on the first morning there, we were greeted by lots of monkeys coming into the hotel and attempting to steal all of our breakfasts! At one point I walked past a few of them and a tiny little one decided to hiss at me obviously thinking I am a monkey too and a threat due to my size. I consequently run away screaming but that is an aside point.
On the same day we went to look around the market and we used our bartering skills to full effect and left the market traders feeling like they had felt the full force of us Brits eye for a bargain! That evening we went to a traditional Balinese show called Kecak where around 100 men sit around and chant in a tribal way whilst Balinese women are dancing around them in traditional dress. Was very interesting and a lot different to what I have seen before so will definitely go down as one of the highlights of Ubud.
The next day we went on a bike tour around Ubud and its surrounding areas. The views throughout the trip were spectacular and it was great to see what real Balinese life was like. First off we went for breakfast overlooking Mount Agung which was great. After breakfast we went to a coffee plantation and we sampled many different coffees including the male coffee, female coffee and ginseng coffee. However we did not get the chance to sample the speciality coffee which is made by giving a cat certain coffee beans to eat and then to poop out. Supposedly it tastes nice but I am unsure! We then started our bike ride by going through many villages and stopping off at temples and a compound where lots of families live. We were invited in to the compound and saw how the Balinese live. There was a 2 year old girl working in the compund as well as some horrendous living conditions. The whole experience was quite humbling and made us appreciate what we have. The kitchen was really shocking as there was a 'fridge' in there that was basically a cupboard with food and many insects inside. Other rooms were also in a poor state but it was really great to see a completely different world to what we are used to.
Our tour guide, Katuk, was really excitable throughout the trip and he wanted to give us as many facts about the Balinese as possible. For example he has never left Bali, which is similar to many other Balinese people and all the rice that is produced in Bali (which is a great amount) stays in Bali. He also was very excited to tell us that he and the driver shared the same name and this was because they are the 5th child to be born. The tour was brilliant and has made us really appreciate Ubud and Bali.
After Ubud we travelled for 2 days on a bus to get to Yogyakarta on Java, which is in Indonesia still. Yogya seems like it was a really interesting place before the tourists came as there are many arts, crafts and traditional dances from Yogya. However it has now been overrun by tourists and therefore touts trying to sell you things so my opinion of the place has not been too great and I don't have too much positives to talk about!
On the way to Yogya we stopped off at Mount Bromo to see the spectacular sunrise. We woke up at 3am to get the jeep up to Mount Penanjakan where the best sunrise views are seen and we were certainly not disappointed. As the sun rose and the light came, the views of neighbouring mountains were fantastic and we felt that the 3am start was definitely worth it. We then went down from the viewing point and went to the bottom of Mount Bromo which we climbed up, 270 steps in total as well as many rocks before that. The views from here were just as great and the crater is still smoking inside so it was great to see something so different to what we have in the UK.
So now I am trying to upload photos onto Facebook! I have been on the internet for 2 hours and the upload has failed twice, so now I am ready to give up with the photo situation. Tomorrow we are off to Malaysia for 12 days. We are thinking of stopping off at Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Penang in our time in Malaysia. Any tips from anyone that has been will be greatly appreciated!
I will hopefully update this at the end of Malaysia and get the photos up asap! 300 photos and counting at the moment!
Speak soooooooooooooon.....
Also, you can view my Singapore photos at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=318779&id=223406963&l=2addc30ee4
Indonesia ones to follow!
We went to Ubud as planned and it ended up being my favourite part of Indonesia. Ubud is known as the cultural hub of Bali and thanks to a cycling tour around a lot of the island, we agree with the description!
We decided to stay in a bit of luxury in Ubud, which made us feel very relaxed. The hotel was at the bottom of the Monkey Forest and on the first morning there, we were greeted by lots of monkeys coming into the hotel and attempting to steal all of our breakfasts! At one point I walked past a few of them and a tiny little one decided to hiss at me obviously thinking I am a monkey too and a threat due to my size. I consequently run away screaming but that is an aside point.
On the same day we went to look around the market and we used our bartering skills to full effect and left the market traders feeling like they had felt the full force of us Brits eye for a bargain! That evening we went to a traditional Balinese show called Kecak where around 100 men sit around and chant in a tribal way whilst Balinese women are dancing around them in traditional dress. Was very interesting and a lot different to what I have seen before so will definitely go down as one of the highlights of Ubud.
The next day we went on a bike tour around Ubud and its surrounding areas. The views throughout the trip were spectacular and it was great to see what real Balinese life was like. First off we went for breakfast overlooking Mount Agung which was great. After breakfast we went to a coffee plantation and we sampled many different coffees including the male coffee, female coffee and ginseng coffee. However we did not get the chance to sample the speciality coffee which is made by giving a cat certain coffee beans to eat and then to poop out. Supposedly it tastes nice but I am unsure! We then started our bike ride by going through many villages and stopping off at temples and a compound where lots of families live. We were invited in to the compound and saw how the Balinese live. There was a 2 year old girl working in the compund as well as some horrendous living conditions. The whole experience was quite humbling and made us appreciate what we have. The kitchen was really shocking as there was a 'fridge' in there that was basically a cupboard with food and many insects inside. Other rooms were also in a poor state but it was really great to see a completely different world to what we are used to.
Our tour guide, Katuk, was really excitable throughout the trip and he wanted to give us as many facts about the Balinese as possible. For example he has never left Bali, which is similar to many other Balinese people and all the rice that is produced in Bali (which is a great amount) stays in Bali. He also was very excited to tell us that he and the driver shared the same name and this was because they are the 5th child to be born. The tour was brilliant and has made us really appreciate Ubud and Bali.
After Ubud we travelled for 2 days on a bus to get to Yogyakarta on Java, which is in Indonesia still. Yogya seems like it was a really interesting place before the tourists came as there are many arts, crafts and traditional dances from Yogya. However it has now been overrun by tourists and therefore touts trying to sell you things so my opinion of the place has not been too great and I don't have too much positives to talk about!
On the way to Yogya we stopped off at Mount Bromo to see the spectacular sunrise. We woke up at 3am to get the jeep up to Mount Penanjakan where the best sunrise views are seen and we were certainly not disappointed. As the sun rose and the light came, the views of neighbouring mountains were fantastic and we felt that the 3am start was definitely worth it. We then went down from the viewing point and went to the bottom of Mount Bromo which we climbed up, 270 steps in total as well as many rocks before that. The views from here were just as great and the crater is still smoking inside so it was great to see something so different to what we have in the UK.
So now I am trying to upload photos onto Facebook! I have been on the internet for 2 hours and the upload has failed twice, so now I am ready to give up with the photo situation. Tomorrow we are off to Malaysia for 12 days. We are thinking of stopping off at Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Penang in our time in Malaysia. Any tips from anyone that has been will be greatly appreciated!
I will hopefully update this at the end of Malaysia and get the photos up asap! 300 photos and counting at the moment!
Speak soooooooooooooon.....
Also, you can view my Singapore photos at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=318779&id=223406963&l=2addc30ee4
Indonesia ones to follow!
Sunday 7 March 2010
So long Singapore, Bonjour Bali
Hey everyone,
Tess and I have now made it to Bali and to the beaches of Kuta! Our first day here so far have certainly been an experience! Every cab hoots at us as we walk past as they think that if they hoot at us, we will naturally want to get in the cab. It is a shame we realised this as it was nice to think that the cab drivers were hooting at us for approval on our look. Apart from that, we have enjoyed a walk along the lovely beach and are now hunting down a bus that will take us from Kuta to Ubud tomorrow.
Singapore was a really nice and easy introduction to South East Asian life. Everywhere was super clean and there was air con almost everywhere too. We took a river cruise which was the highlight of the trip in my opinion. Seeing all the sights and how commercialized Singapore has become. The Central Business District was brilliant with so many skyscrapers and I have got many pictures of each skyscraper to show! How interesting for everyone!
We are also trying to get over jetlag at the moment but our sleeping patterns are all over the place and we cannot seem to bring them back to normality. Nothing a few nice hotels won't sort out though!
In the meantime, we will carry on travelling in luxury while everyone else enjoys the rain of the UK!
Speak to you all soon!
Simon
xxxxxxxxx
Tess and I have now made it to Bali and to the beaches of Kuta! Our first day here so far have certainly been an experience! Every cab hoots at us as we walk past as they think that if they hoot at us, we will naturally want to get in the cab. It is a shame we realised this as it was nice to think that the cab drivers were hooting at us for approval on our look. Apart from that, we have enjoyed a walk along the lovely beach and are now hunting down a bus that will take us from Kuta to Ubud tomorrow.
Singapore was a really nice and easy introduction to South East Asian life. Everywhere was super clean and there was air con almost everywhere too. We took a river cruise which was the highlight of the trip in my opinion. Seeing all the sights and how commercialized Singapore has become. The Central Business District was brilliant with so many skyscrapers and I have got many pictures of each skyscraper to show! How interesting for everyone!
We are also trying to get over jetlag at the moment but our sleeping patterns are all over the place and we cannot seem to bring them back to normality. Nothing a few nice hotels won't sort out though!
In the meantime, we will carry on travelling in luxury while everyone else enjoys the rain of the UK!
Speak to you all soon!
Simon
xxxxxxxxx
Sunday 28 February 2010
Tomorrow and we are off...
So, tomorrow is the big day when Tessa and I are off on our travels for 4 months. Excited? Yes!
Currently, my bag is sitting in my room with about double the amount of things in it than can possibly fit, so tomorrow morning could be fun trying to fit it all in!
I shall now leave you with the route that we have planned so you can keep track on where we are. I hope to be updating this blog regularly when we are away so keep checking for updates...
Tomorrow (1st March) we travel to Singapore. Then...
6th March to Indonesia
17th March to Malaysia
29th March to Vietnam, where we will travel down Vietnam, into Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Then on 30th April we leave for Australia.
24th May to New Zealand
24th June to New York and then...
29th June Home!
So, keep checking for updates on here and I will see you when we are back.
Currently, my bag is sitting in my room with about double the amount of things in it than can possibly fit, so tomorrow morning could be fun trying to fit it all in!
I shall now leave you with the route that we have planned so you can keep track on where we are. I hope to be updating this blog regularly when we are away so keep checking for updates...
Tomorrow (1st March) we travel to Singapore. Then...
6th March to Indonesia
17th March to Malaysia
29th March to Vietnam, where we will travel down Vietnam, into Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Then on 30th April we leave for Australia.
24th May to New Zealand
24th June to New York and then...
29th June Home!
So, keep checking for updates on here and I will see you when we are back.
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