wherearesteveandlisa's Travel Blog - wherearesteveandlisa

The Countdown
Cape Town, South Africa
Loving Noordhoek
This is our first blog entry...yahoo! We are in Cape Town at the moment, seeing the family off, doing the Argus, and making last minute plans for our trip... We leave on the 16th March 2009 for an 8 month extravaganza: we plan to backpack around the world through southeast asia, china, Japan, south america and africa!
We finished work on the 27th of Feb, moved out of our house, put our stuff into storage and are preparing to say a somewhat sad goodbye to The Comfortable Life, and a rather nervous hello to The World.
Chapman's sunset
Nothing better than icecream on a day like this
Fish Hoek swim
Argus spirit
Argus agony
Argus fever
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on March 7, 2009 from Cape Town, South Africa
from the travel blog: wherearesteveandlisa's Travel Blog

The Big Pack
Johannesburg, South Africa
Well we're back in Jozi and have noticed a few changes in our thought patterns for a regular Thursday morning...
Instead of wondering this: We're thinking this:
What will the traffic be like this morning? / What will 80% humidity be like?
Which parking bay? / Which malaria tablets?
What time is that meeting? / How will we keep the time?
How many kids do I need to put up with today? / How many t-shirts can I fit in my bag?
When can I go get lunch? / When will I get used to wearing khaki?
Woolies caesar salad or woolies couscous salad? / Hiking boots or off-road trainers?
Mmmmm that Urban dress..... / Mmmm that gortex rain jacket....
How will I fit all this in my day? / How will I fit all this in my bag????
How will we fit this in our bags?
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on March 12, 2009 from Johannesburg, South Africa
from the travel blog: wherearesteveandlisa's Travel Blog

A sweaty 'sa wat dee' from phuket
Phuket, Thailand
all ready to go
We arrived at our backpackers yesterday after a sweaty walk from the bus terminal (wishing we HAD halved the amount of stuff in our bags before we left).
our luxury aircon room
backpacker garden with hammocks
Phuket town is crammed with motorcycles, street stalls selling packets of noodles, household items, birds in cages, bunnies and other unidentified stuff.
one of the many 'spirit houses' outside thai houses
It reminds us a little of Stonetown in Zanzibar.
motorbikes motorbikes
Our street
Yesterday we only managed to explore it enough to find ourselves dinner from a market around the corner before passing out for a good 12 hours! Today we took a walk out of town and ended up at a nice restaurant with a view of Phuket town,
view from 'phuket view restuarant'
the cokes that blew our budget
and finally managed to see the sea, and blew our budget on 2 delicious cokes, so its toast and jam tonight! Tomorrow we hope to move to Kata beach and swim swim swim.
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on March 18, 2009 from Phuket, Thailand
from the travel blog: wherearesteveandlisa's Travel Blog

And no 'sanuk' in Surat Thani!
Surat Thani, Thailand
We've finally found a space and time to update our blog! We are in Bangkok, in the infamous khao san road backpacker paradise, and it is monsooning outside, so we're taking refuge in here... To fill you in on the last 10 days...wow!
We headed back to Phuket town by local bus (which looks like the 'dala dala' in Tanzania) and walked to the bus station to buy tickets to Surat Thani, where we would catch a boat to the island of Ko Phag Nan. And for the next 48 hours we got to experience what it is to be a tourist in Thailand, and be at the mercies of people who know a whole lot more than you, especially about making money... We wanted the cheaper ordinary bus, but got told there were none, so we bought the aircon bus ticket, only to see a few minutes later that we had been lied to! When we arrived in Surat Thani at 6pm we were called off the bus, with the only other two 'farangs' (white people) and lead to a 'tourist information office' which we later realised was just one of many tour middle man companies trying to sell you tickets to the island. We had planned to catch the 11pm ferry that night (again to save money) but were told the ferry was not going that night due to bad weather (it was raining so we were not sure whether this was a lie too), and that we must stay the night in a hotel the tourist lady could recommend and buy a combined bus/ boat ticket on the express boat the next day. After our previous experience we were reluctant, and decided to investigate a little further. We ended up finding the same hotel the lady had recommended, at almost half the price! But when we opened our bags we realised that Steven had had his only pair of long pants, as well as his flip flops stolen out his bag! We think it must have happened while our bags were in the luggage hold of the bus :( So we were pretty bummed about that.
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on March 30, 2009 from Surat Thani, Thailand

Our Ko Phangan spot o' paradise
Ko Phangan, Thailand
Anyhow the next day we had to buy the expensive tourist boat ticket as no one would tell us how to get to the local pier so we could catch the ferry, and finally got to our destination, quite grumpy really!
Express Boat to Ko Phangan
Needless to say our 'happy-to-be-travell-o-meter' was only sitting at about a 2 out of 5... It very soon shot up to a 4 though once we found our little wooden bungalow and beach... We spent 2 nights here at Haad Gruad resort, and snorkelled at Ao Mae Hat beach, (really lovely coral and fish actually!)
Haad Gruad resort
Ao Mae Hat
Pool at Haad Gruad resort
The next day we started our best experience so far for both of us; we caught a longtail boat to Bottle Beach which is a small, quiet beach on the north of Ko Phag Nan, and only accessible by boat and found a beachfront bungalow 41 steps from the sea! First thing we did (besides diving into the turquoise sea) was buy a hammock and string it up right on our front patio. The next 3 days went something like this: Wake up, swim, lie in hammock reading, swim, hammock, swim hammock..........such bliss! We had finally found our spot o' paradise and it was rather hard to leave...
Longtail boat trip to Bottle Beach
View from our bungalow
Beachfront bungalow
41 steps to the sea!
Longtail boat
Dinner on the beach
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on March 30, 2009 from Ko Phangan, Thailand

back to surat thani
Surat Thani, Thailand
boat back to Surat thani
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on March 30, 2009 from Surat Thani, Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on March 31, 2009 from Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok Dinner
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on March 31, 2009 from Bangkok, Thailand

Cambodia
Siem Reap, Cambodia
We arrived yesterday.
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 2, 2009 from Siem Reap, Cambodia

Bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 5, 2009 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Mekong delta
My Tho, Vietnam
mekong delta day trip
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 7, 2009 from My Tho, Vietnam

back to saigon
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
back to Saigon
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 7, 2009 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Fly to hanoi
Hanoi, Vietnam
flew to hanoi
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 8, 2009 from Hanoi, Vietnam

halong bay
Haiphong, Vietnam
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 9, 2009 from Haiphong, Vietnam

back to hanoi
Hanoi, Vietnam
bus back
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 10, 2009 from Hanoi, Vietnam

Sapa
Lao Cai, Vietnam
Sleeper train to Sapa
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 12, 2009 from Lao Cai, Vietnam

back to honoi
Hanoi, Vietnam
hanoi
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 14, 2009 from Hanoi, Vietnam

Bus vientiane
Vientiane, Laos
fjgd
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 15, 2009 from Vientiane, Laos

luang prabang
Luang Prabang, Laos
dgfsdgasf
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 16, 2009 from Luang Prabang, Laos

Luang Nam Tha
Muang Sing, Laos
Bus to luang nam tha
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 20, 2009 from Muang Sing, Laos

jinghong
Jinghong, China
Bus to jing hong
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 22, 2009 from Jinghong, China

lijang
Lijiang, China
bus to lijang
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 24, 2009 from Lijiang, China

tiger leaping gorge
Daju, China
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 29, 2009 from Daju, China

back to lijiang
Lijiang, China
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on April 29, 2009 from Lijiang, China

shaxi
Dali, China
bus to shaxi, then to dali
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 1, 2009 from Dali, China

kunming
Kunming, China
bus to Kunming
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 7, 2009 from Kunming, China

hong kong
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
fly to hong kong
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 10, 2009 from Hong Kong, Hong Kong

xi'an
Xi'an, China
fly to xian
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 12, 2009 from Xi'an, China

Pingyao
Pingyao, China
A quick blog with photo's cos our blogspot site won't open again!!!! We stayed in such a lovely guesthouse in Pingyao, another cool old walled town, with a traditional bed, which is a huge (more wide than long though, and we had to sleep sideways on it!).
Pingyao street
Harmony guesthouse in pingyao
Traditional pingyao bed
We bought a 'city ticket' to see all the preserved 18th century buildings in the city, some were boring museum displays with chinese labels only...how more boring...others were quite nice like this one old house here...
old preserved house in pingyao
While looking at these houses we were approached by two chinese girls who gigglingly asked us if they could have a photo with us. This happens all the time in china, cos they are fascinated with 'westerners' and will stare at you, and shout hhheeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllooooooooooooo across the road when they see you. It was really hilarious...
Its easy to make friends in China
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 16, 2009 from Pingyao, China

Dirty Datong
Datong, China
The city of Datong is a big dirty hole of coal dust, really ugly and dirty, but there are two cool sights to see nearby so we stopped for a night, and did a tour the next day. We saw the hanging monastery (which was originally occupied by buddhist monks, then later by the other two big 'religions' of china -taoism and confucianism) and the Yungang caves (buddhist carvings in sandstone). Both were really impressive and unlike anything we've seen so far.
clinging to the rock face
hanging monastery
more carvings in yungang caves
china's prime minister (apparently)
yungang caves
sandstone carvings in yungang caves
dinner time on the pavement in dirty datong
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 17, 2009 from Datong, China

Beijing
Beijing, China
So here we are in Beijing finally! We took a sleeper train here last night, arrived at 6 am this morning, then caught buses and subways to get to our hostel.
Update: yesterday we took a tour to a remote section of the great wall, and walked 10kms along it, much more difficult than i'd thought as it wasnt built over smooth rolling hills...and involved A LOT of climbing up and wobbling down...but it was truly worth it....really quite a sight!
we're in china!
the Great Wall really is great
locals playing the '5 in a row' game
hostel lounge vibes ha ha
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 19, 2009 from Beijing, China

Beijing
Beijing, China
So here we are in Beijing finally! We took a sleeper train here last night, arrived at 6 am this morning, then caught buses and subways to get to our hostel.
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 19, 2009 from Beijing, China

Shanghai
Shanghai, China
Fly to Shanghai
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 25, 2009 from Shanghai, China

USA
Chicago, United States
Fly all the way to chicago
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 26, 2009 from Chicago, United States

New york
New York, United States
fly to new york
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on May 29, 2009 from New York, United States

Back to chicago
Chicago, United States
fly back to chicago
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on June 1, 2009 from Chicago, United States

north carolina
Kill Devil Hills, United States
fly to north Raleigh
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on June 5, 2009 from Kill Devil Hills, United States

back to chicago
Chicago, United States
fly back to chicago
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on June 15, 2009 from Chicago, United States

fly to quito
Quito, Ecuador
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on June 15, 2009 from Quito, Ecuador

bus to laguna quiltoa
Latacunga, Ecuador
bus to Laguna quiltoa
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on June 18, 2009 from Latacunga, Ecuador

Baños
Banos, Ecuador
Bus to Baños
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on June 20, 2009 from Banos, Ecuador

Bus to Montañita
Montanita, Ecuador
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on June 23, 2009 from Montanita, Ecuador

Back to Guayaquil
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Bus
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on July 3, 2009 from Guayaquil, Ecuador

Into Peru
Mancora, Peru
Mancora
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on July 4, 2009 from Mancora, Peru

Chiclayo
Chiclayo, Peru
Volunteering at Morning Star children's home
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on July 5, 2009 from Chiclayo, Peru

Lima
Lima, Peru
Bus to Lima
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on July 16, 2009 from Lima, Peru

Fly to Peurto Maldonado
Puerto Maldonado, Peru
fly to the jungle
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on July 17, 2009 from Puerto Maldonado, Peru

fly to cusco
Cusco, Peru
Meet friends in Cusco
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on August 2, 2009 from Cusco, Peru

Bus to Puno
Puno, Peru
Bus to Puno on Lake Titicaca
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on August 10, 2009 from Puno, Peru

Bus to La Paz
La Paz, Bolivia
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on August 14, 2009 from La Paz, Bolivia

Copacabana Bolivia
Copacabana, Bolivia
Into Bolivia
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on August 12, 2009 from Copacabana, Bolivia

Sucre
Potosi, Bolivia
Bus to Sucre
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on August 21, 2009 from Potosi, Bolivia

Tupiza
Tupiza, Bolivia
Overnight bus to Tupiza
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on August 26, 2009 from Tupiza, Bolivia

4WD Trip to Uyuni
Uyuni, Bolivia
Salt flat tour
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on August 30, 2009 from Uyuni, Bolivia

Back to La Paz
La Paz, Bolivia
Overnight bus
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 2, 2009 from La Paz, Bolivia

Into Chile
Arica, Chile
Bus
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 4, 2009 from Arica, Chile

Santiago
Santiago, Chile
30 hour bus ride
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 6, 2009 from Santiago, Chile

Fly to Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas, Chile
Into Patagonia
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 9, 2009 from Punta Arenas, Chile

Bus to Puerto Natales
Puerto Natales, Chile
Torres del Paine
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 10, 2009 from Puerto Natales, Chile

Bus to El Calafate
El Calafate, Argentina
Into Argentina
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 15, 2009 from El Calafate, Argentina

Beunos Aires
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Argentina
Flight to Buenos Aires
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 17, 2009 from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Argentina

Iguazu Falls
Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
Bus to Iguazu Falls
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 19, 2009 from Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

Across the border into Brazil
Foz do Iguacu, Brazil
Bus to Foz
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 21, 2009 from Foz do Iguacu, Brazil

Paraty
Parati, Brazil
Bus
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 24, 2009 from Parati, Brazil

Last stop
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Last bus ride to Rio!
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 25, 2009 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Fly to London
London, United Kingdom
Fly
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 26, 2009 from London, United Kingdom

Italy
Pisa, Italy
Fly to Pisa
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 27, 2009 from Pisa, Italy

Umbria
Florence, Italy
Train to Florence
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 28, 2009 from Florence, Italy

Train to Arezzo
Arezzo, Italy
Train
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 28, 2009 from Arezzo, Italy

San Giustino
San Giustino, Italy
Car ride
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 28, 2009 from San Giustino, Italy

Gubbio
Gubbio, Italy
Drive to Gubbio
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 29, 2009 from Gubbio, Italy

Drive home
San Giustino, Italy
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 29, 2009 from San Giustino, Italy

San Sepolcro
Sansepolcro, Italy
Drive there
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 30, 2009 from Sansepolcro, Italy

Sansepolcro
San Giustino, Italy
Walk home
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on September 30, 2009 from San Giustino, Italy

Germagnano
Germagnano, Italy
Drive there
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 1, 2009 from Germagnano, Italy

Germagnano
Drive back
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 1, 2009 from San Giustino, Italy

Perugia
Perugia, Italy
Drive there
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 2, 2009 from Perugia, Italy

Assisi
Assisi, Italy
Drive to Assisi
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 2, 2009 from Assisi, Italy

Back home
Drive back home
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 2, 2009 from San Giustino, Italy

Lago Trasimeno
Castiglione del Lago, Italy
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 4, 2009 from Castiglione del Lago, Italy

Back home
Drive back home
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 4, 2009 from San Giustino, Italy

Parco Nazionale Monte Cucco
Sigillo, Italy
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 7, 2009 from Sigillo, Italy

Drive home

Getting to Rome
Arezzo, Italy
Bus to Arezzo
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 10, 2009 from Arezzo, Italy

Rome
Rome, Italy
Train to Rome
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 10, 2009 from Rome, Italy

Shrewsbury
London, United Kingdom
Fly to London
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 14, 2009 from London, United Kingdom

Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury, United Kingdom
Bus to Shrewsbury
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 14, 2009 from Shrewsbury, United Kingdom

Back to London
London, United Kingdom
Train to London
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 17, 2009 from London, United Kingdom

Africa begins
Nairobi, Kenya
Fly to Nairobi
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 20, 2009 from Nairobi, Kenya

Into Tanzania
Arusha, Tanzania
Overland truck
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 25, 2009 from Arusha, Tanzania

Back to Arusha
Arusha, Tanzania
Safari
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 28, 2009 from Arusha, Tanzania

Arusha to Pangani
Pangani, Tanzania
Overland truck
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 29, 2009 from Pangani, Tanzania

Pangani to Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Overland truck
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 30, 2009 from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Zanzibar
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Ferry
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on October 31, 2009 from Zanzibar, Tanzania

Back to Dar
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Ferry
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on November 3, 2009 from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Dar es Salaam to Iringa
Iringa, Tanzania
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on November 4, 2009 from Iringa, Tanzania

Into Malawi
Chitimba, Malawi
Camping along Lake Malawi
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on November 5, 2009 from Chitimba, Malawi

Down Lake Malawi
Chintheche, Malawi
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on November 7, 2009 from Chintheche, Malawi

Into Zambia
Chipata, Zambia
Overland truck to Chipata
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on November 10, 2009 from Chipata, Zambia

To Lusaka
Lusaka, Zambia
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on November 11, 2009 from Lusaka, Zambia

To Livingstone
Livingstone, Zambia
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on November 12, 2009 from Livingstone, Zambia

Across the border into Zimbabwe
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on November 13, 2009 from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Fly home!
Johannesburg, South Africa
Our RTW trip has ended!
written by  wherearesteveandlisa on November 16, 2009 from Johannesburg, South Africa

How will we fit this in our bags?

all ready to go

Bangkok Dinner

motorbikes motorbikes

our luxury aircon room

backpacker garden with hammocks

view from 'phuket view restuarant'

one of the many 'spirit houses' outside thai houses

the cokes that blew our budget

Our street

Dinner on the beach

Pool at Haad Gruad resort

Express Boat to Ko Phangan

Ao Mae Hat

Haad Gruad resort

Longtail boat trip to Bottle Beach

View from our bungalow

Beachfront bungalow

41 steps to the sea!

Longtail boat