chrischarly

Bye Bye Chris and Steve xxxxxxxxxxx
Colombo, Sri Lanka
This morning we awoke far too early to catch our plane to Malaysia. The hardest thing however was saying goodbye to Chris and Steve...
A little note to you both... 'Thanks so much for treating us we have had a fantastic time with you both and we will both miss you loads and Steve, it's such a shame we didn't video you doing your widths!'
So happy to have the extra leg room seats... Air Asia makes Ryanair leg room look spacious!
Our plane we just came off next to a highly decorated other plane
Our flight wasn't too bad considering it was a cheap budget flight only costing £40pp. It did in fact arrive 25 mins early!
Very very sleepy but excited
Luxury trains
Where Chris' dad said we should be staying
Then after buying a local sim card ad topping it up with credit (that didn't work) we headed off to find accomodation. We managed to find somewhere not excatly cheap but really nice at £32 pn and chilled out for the night pretty exhausted and ordered a Dominoes PIzza!
written by  chrischarly on February 3, 2011 from Colombo, Sri Lanka
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Passage through SE Asia

Prep, prep and ,more prep
Coventry, United Kingdom
Still planning, and still lots to do. Have provisional itinerary and still awaiting confirmation if we can get a 4WD in Africa or we may have to startoff backpacking. Charly bought her sandals, very excited. Lots of shopping to do over next 2 weeks.
written by  chrischarly on June 28, 2010 from Coventry, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's African Adventure

Our odyssey begins with 26 hrs travel
Heathrow, United Kingdom
Indian efficiency started at Heathrow as Jet Airways called Flight Closing and we arrive to a queue of 200 passengers. In the rush we forgot to get suncream, oh bugger - bring on the burn !
Our Boeing 777 to Mumbai
written by  chrischarly on November 7, 2010 from Heathrow, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Indian Odyssey

All packed and ready (ish)
Rayleigh, United Kingdom
So excited about going to America!! But how come when we have finally finished packing at 10pm tonight that we have more stuff packed for a 3-day trip to Washington (as the folks are bringing the rest of the stuff out with them) than we did for 2 years travel?? Makes no sense to me. Maybe it could be the hair straighteners I have smuggled out with me or all of Chris' cosmetics? :) Anyway, early start in the morning!
written by  chrischarly on September 16, 2012 from Rayleigh, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's mini trip to The States

OFF TO FIND SOME SUN!!!
Auckland, New Zealand
On the plane to Fiji
Had a quick coffee with Sam before she left to go to work and then Chris walked into town to post my diary home and change up some money into Fiji dollars. We then packed up, showered and waited for our shuttle bus to come and pick us up for a surprisingly cheap price.
Leaving NZ
I hate airport days as I always feel agitated until I know I am safely on the plane so when the shuttle but was running 5 minutes late I did start freaking out, but we got there easily and with time to spare to grab some lunch before getting on our Air New Zealand flight,
which, by the way was a nice change to the budget airlines as we had leg room and a T.V. so a nice 3-hour flight. We landed in Nadi at 6:24pm, cleared customs, collected our bags and walked around trying to find our pick-up to take us to the hotel we booked.
We couldn’t find them anywhere so we sat outside, waited and waited before finding another couple who were also waiting to be taken to Wailoaloa resort. After an hour, Chris went to the information desk and called them and still nothing. 1 hour, 45 minutes later someone eventually turned up after 3 more phone calls to pick the 4 of us up. Very irritating and not the perfect start to Fiji. But the resort was lovely and the room pretty nice for $55, so we had some dinner and went to bed.
written by  chrischarly on March 29, 2012 from Auckland, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Pacific Island Pit-Stop

From 40 degrees to 5 degrees... ouch
Perth, Australia
The lovely beach
The pilot announced that it was 5 degrees in Perth just before we landed. Not ideal wearing shorts and t-shirts… We had no idea it would be that cold! We stupidly thought it would be nice and toasty! As we declared our Kampot Pepper and spices, we thought that being honest would save us time and hassle. No it didn’t. Being honest obviously doesn’t earn you any brownie points in Australia. Anyone that declared anything went straight through to customs to get their bags x-rayed so we thought we might just as well kiss goodbye to our cigarettes now, and anyone that said they didn’t have anything went straight through to the exit! Bummer. So after queuing up for ages, a lady called us over and asked us what we had, we tried the ultra-smiley and friendly approach and straight away got out our food items out to show her. Unfortunately the supervisor walked passed and said that the pepper would definitely have to go, and being apparently the best pepper in the world, and as it was red impossible to buy overseas, Chris was obviously heartbroken! But being friendly obviously helps as she took pity on us and sent us on our way, without screening our bags! Yay, we got our cigarettes through! So, after power-walking as fast as we could for the exit just in case they turned round and changed their minds we waited until a bus arrived for the other airport, which we got on, then caught local transport into Perth and changed buses into Fremantle. Definitely the cheapest way of getting there, but also the most time consuming!
Chris and Gill dipping their feet in the icy water
Then we set up camp in a café until Gill woke up and came and got us. We then went for another coffee to help us stay awake before going back to hers. Staying awake was a struggle for the rest of the day as we didn’t really sleep much on the plane, but somehow we agreed to go out and watch Gill’s son, Jo DJ at a club down in town, but as he was the last one playing we didn’t leave until gone midnight.
Chris and I
Gill and I
Jo as DJ
Jo
Gill and Jo
I managed to fall asleep standing up a couple of times, but Chris was fuelled on beer so he was fine, but $10 a pint is a bit steep! Then came back and had the nicest exhausted sleep in a long time.
written by  chrischarly on September 24, 2011 from Perth, Australia
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly Down Under

Relaxing in Fremantle
Fremantle, Australia
A guy who made his bath mobile
The busy market
A dog that loves walking like humans
Enjoying a cuppa by the sea
Gill and I
After having the most amazing sleep I woke up at about midday and we went out to a street market just down the road where they promote sustainable living and recycling. It was a great market and we had a great time wandering around. I even managed to find a new jumper to replace my old battered Cardigan that is so full of holes; it almost looks like it was designed that way (but badly). Then chilled on the beach at a little café in before it started raining so went back and Chris cooked a tasty pumpkin soup to warm us up in the evening.
written by  chrischarly on September 25, 2011 from Fremantle, Australia
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly Down Under

Underwater
Nadi, Fiji
Outside our room
After hearing the rain on the roof through the night, we were hopeful of a nice clear day when we woke. We were wrong! The rain was pouring and our resort was underwater. We waded to the reception area through knee deep water and found out that more rain was forecast, the town was completely flooded and no transport was running.
The front entrance/exit
Looks like we might be here for a while! Taking it in our stride we had our free breakfast and then asked if we could stay another night. We could but we had to change rooms unless we wanted to be floating on the bed.
The restaurant
Luckily for us we got upgraded to a deluxe Villa, which was nice and big and had a kitchen, not that we could go anywhere to buy food. We moved in the pouring rain, and then settled in to watch some films on our laptop.
Chris wading through
After a while the power went off, so once we had run down our battery, we went back to the reception, the water had risen about another foot, which made it interesting. The bar was open but the kitchen was about a foot under water so no lunch. I had a beer and we munched on some bar snacks.
The restaurant underwater
We went back to the room and chilled some more before returning in the evening. The water had dropped a lot but the kitchen still wasn’t open. They were taking orders for fish and chips, and then going to buy them outside, we probably paid twice as much as it should have been, but at least we ate. We went back to the room and with power back on watched yet more movies before drifting off and dreaming about the pacific Sunshine!
written by  chrischarly on March 30, 2012 from Nadi, Fiji
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Pacific Island Pit-Stop

4 airports in a day
Frankfurt Airport, Germany
Woke up at 4:40am, quickly got dressed ad ready before Chris' parents gave us a lift to Stansted airport for our first flight to Frankfurt. Got there in plenty of time before queuing to take our Ryanair flight.
After speaking nicely to the stewardess she gave us Emergency Exit seats once on the plane so although the flight was merely an hour long, it was a comfy one.
Then, once we'd landed in Germany we got the bus from Frankfurt Hahn to Frankfurt International, a nice bus ride of 1.5 hours. It was packed so we couldn't sit together, but Chris managed to make friends with a bloke
who was a aircraft spotter, and was coming to see the new Dreamliner depart (glad Chris got that one!). We then went and checked in using the self service and Chris managed to get us extra legroom seats (bonus) for our Condor flight and with plenty of time to kill we went for some lunch.
We boarded and got chatting to our neighbour Margaret who was lovely and had a nice flight, making sure Chris went for regular walks. After arriving at Baltimore Washington we went and found our super shuttle service and were soon on our way to DC. The (not-so-super) shuttle seemed to take forever, about 1.5 hours actually and he managed to drop off the other two passengers first before finally dropping us at our hotel. The hotel room was lovely and we chilled for a few hours before falling asleep.
written by  chrischarly on September 17, 2012 from Frankfurt Airport, Germany
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's mini trip to The States

Nice flight, shame about the next 11 hours in Mumbai airport
Mumbai, India
The hours are slowly going by but at least I managed to get free Wifi.
Charly resting in Mumbai airport
Mumbai Domestic Terminal at 5am
written by  chrischarly on November 8, 2010 from Mumbai, India
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Indian Odyssey

A day of exploring
Kovalam, India
Our delhi friends
The beach front
Check out the hair!
Again we over-slept as it had taken hours to finally drift off, but we still had an amazing day exploring Kerola by rock climbing to discover some hidden secluded beaches.
More amzing views
Chris
the beach
At around 3pm we took a walk up to a lighthouse and climbed to the top to see some breath-taking views.
Lighthouse
The millions of stairs we climbed
The term and conditions
2 temples
Lovin' the lighthouse
Amazing viwe of Kovalum
By the evening we were exhausted and enjoyed a quiet dinner along the coast starving due to having too much fun to eat!!
written by  chrischarly on November 10, 2010 from Kovalam, India
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Indian Odyssey

We are safe
Nadi, Fiji
Just a quick blog entry to keep everyone updated...
The price to use this computer is on the verge of criminal, so won't talk for long or have time to write any more blogs...
After the recent floods and cyclone last night things are starting to get back to Normal and the sun is even shining!
All power has been out for days including phone lines and internet.
Hopefully will be back online in the next couple of days and will be somewhere else than in Nadi when the ferrys, flights and roads are back open.
Chris and Charly
written by  chrischarly on April 3, 2012 from Nadi, Fiji
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Pacific Island Pit-Stop

Doing the touristy thing
Alexandria, United States
Happily surprised that we had breakfast included in our room rate we went to Jackson 20 next door after being awake for a few hours struggling with jet-lag.
As we only have 2 full days here in Washington we decided to make the most of our day by going to see as many tourist sights as possible, heading to the Smithsonian on the metro, which is a cluster of museums in one area.
Our museums of choice were the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museums, which we thought to be the most interesting. Unfortunately the weather was miserable and we did get caught in a few downpours so we tried to spend most of our time inside before we had had enough and took the metro back home again.
One thing we were amazed at is that so many things here in America are free.
Such as all the museums and a free bus service (trolley) that runs all the way down King Street between 11:30am and 10pm, which is nice and unexpected.
Once we got back to our hotel we got ready to go downstairs as our hotel offers complimentary wine between 5 and 6 which we made the most of before taking a walk to 'Brabo Tasting Room', highly rated and recommended to us as a cheaper version of the main restaurant next door.
It was well worth the money and we had a great evening sampling the food and supping on wine before taking the trolley back to the hotel.
written by  chrischarly on September 18, 2012 from Alexandria, United States
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's mini trip to The States

WE HAVE OUR VAN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fremantle, Australia
Just got back to Gill's
Even though we weren’t 100% sure we were going to buy the van off Gill’s friend, we stayed positive and went shopping for stuff. Although it comes pretty much equipped it’s surprising how any extras there are to buy! Then after shopping in Fremantle we went to Mike’s to have a look at the van. OMG it’s amazing and practically perfect.
Chris and I after just buying the van
We knew we would be in love with it at first sight and that we were! So after finalising things with him we drove away very happy people! Can’t wait for our many adventures! Then after driving back Chris cooked dinner for us, Gill and family. Tasty Chicken and beef, delicious!
written by  chrischarly on September 26, 2011 from Fremantle, Australia
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly Down Under

Out on the open road
Collie, Australia
Big smiles!
SO HAPPY!
Did some last minute shopping in Fremantle to buy groceries and another spare battery for the campervan. Of course spent far much more than we intended or expected before coming back and sorted out the van for our first adventure! Then at 3pm we finally left, far behind schedule, headed for Collie as we left it too late to make it down to [[Australia/Margaret-River]]!
Chris happily driving
Driving into a rainbow
It was so nice to be out on the open road and Australia truly is gorgeous! As we brought the new Camps 6 book we had many camp sites to choose from so picked the nicest free one and by the time we turned up and parked it was dark so had some tasty vegetable fried rice cooked inside the camper to warm us up. But I have to say, the bush loos are something to get used to…
written by  chrischarly on September 27, 2011 from Collie, Australia

To the White House
Washington, United States
After breakfast Chris and I took a walk to the waterfront a few blocks up King Street and spent an hour walking around
enjoying the lovely Sunshine before taking the free trolley to the other end of King Street right outside the metro station.
After a short ride we arrived on 17th Street a bustling square with lots of locals and tourists hanging out in the park also enjoying the nice weather. We took a walk to the Whitehouse,
firstly taking photos of the back of the building before walking around and taking photos of the back. Although we thought we could get a tour of the inside,
this wasn't the case, so admiring the grounds was the only option. We then walked around for a little while longer taking the obligatory tourist photos before walking back to the square,
eating some yummy street food and relaxing in the park, before catching the metro back to King Street.
Once back at hotel we went for a swim on the 3rd floor of our hotel before showering and dressing up for our free wine hour downstairs.
After having a look at Trip Advisor we decided to take their advice and go to their Number 2 restaurant choice, 'Vaso's Kitchen' , just over a mile's walk from our place. Food was ok, but nowhere near as tasty as the previous night, leaving us a bit disappointed and surprised by the generous reviews it's received online. Either way though, we left full and wandered back to the hotel, put on the T.V. and had an early night excited about tomorrow!!
written by  chrischarly on September 19, 2012 from Washington, United States

Chris meets the President's brother... and we all go drinking
Nadi, Fiji
After putting everything we had onto the spare bed last night as high tide was expected at 1am so although we had moved rooms, we still expected to wake up with a wet floor, but alas our room was dry and most of the flood water had disappeared.
But still most inbound and outbound flights are cancelled and the roads still closed, so we spent the morning and afternoon researching what to do when the sun finally makes an appearance. Chris soon hit the beer and got chatting to a few people at the bar including the President’s brother, completely wasted on a business trip also trapped here.
Many hours later of sat drinking at the bar, Chris, of course was very merry and some of the others staying here said they were going to ‘Smuggler’s Cove’ down the road for something to eat at 8pm as our place still wasn’t able to serve any food and famished we decided to join
them and stayed there for a few hours as it was a nice change of scenery. At around 10 or 11 we headed back to sit at the bar for one last drink before bed before a few other people staying here announced they were going to go to the local nightclub, ‘Ice’, so Chris and I joined them and had a great night dancing and drinking before getting a lift back and we finally staggered to our room at around 3 or 4am.
written by  chrischarly on March 31, 2012 from Nadi, Fiji

Jet-lag...
Kovalam, India
Fishermen
After falling asleep at around 11pm last night; 15 hours later we woke up feeling rubbish as the jet lag has definitely sank in.
Pretty butterfly
Gorgeous secluded beach
By the time we left our hotel it was gone 3pm and the day was almost over . However we still made the most of it enjoying fantastic Indian weather but before we knew it it was 2am and well past bed time.
written by  chrischarly on November 9, 2010 from Kovalam, India

In search for a hang-over cure
Woke up at 3pm today feeling very delicate and finally managed to emerge from our rooms at 4pm in desperate need of some food. We were very late for our complimentary breakfast of over-cooked eggs and still the kitchen was closed for any other food, so, craving an Indian we prepared ourselves for the long walk up the road in the torrential rain to the closest open restaurant which luckily was serving Indian food. Feeling sorry for us, the manager of Wailoaloa kindly gave us a lift in her 4x4 and promised to pick us up once we’d eaten, which meant we wouldn’t have to sit and eat drenched. Food was amazing and the perfect hang-over cure and when we returned we briefly watched some of the staff play rugby in the rain before going straight back to our rooms to watch films on the laptop for hours.
written by  chrischarly on April 1, 2012 from Nadi, Fiji

Meeting up with the family
Atlanta, United States
After packing we went downstairs for some tasty brekkie for checking out and leaving Hotel Monaco Alexandria for our 20 minute walk down King Street to catch the metro. We arrived just in time to catch the delayed rush-hour train all the way to Green Belt, the last of the day which was perfect for us as this meant no changes.
Then, just a short walk to the bus stop which would take us straight to the airport. Easy and in fact faster and a lot cheaper than our shuttle to Alexandria. No queues at security so time for a quick coffee stop before boarding the plane bound for Atlanta.
We sat right at the back of the small aircraft and I was surprised at just how polite Americans were letting all the other passengers off the plane in order with no pushing in. Quite a pain as we were in a rush though. Then we ran through the airport, caught two shuttle trains to the hire car companies running the whole way as we knew Chris’ family would’ve been waiting for us; exhausted having flown from London. We then collected our two cars and took the two hour drive to Auburn with two very tired yet excited children. Once we’d arrived in our hotel, time for a quick change and shower before a tasty dinner down in the restaurant before we all collapsed in bed.
written by  chrischarly on September 20, 2012 from Atlanta, United States

Charly's Leaving Party
Shipston on Stour, United Kingdom
Me n Neil
Haze, Amba, Stu, Georgia and I
In order to ensure that I could see everyone, my Mum decided that it would be a good idea to organise a leaving party for any family and friends to attend before Chris and myself head down to Essex.
Amba, Haze Stu, Georgia and I
Sara and Lilly
This was at The George in Shipston where I used to work. It went surprisingly well considering all my family were in the same room together; no arguments or bitchiness occurred.
Jan, Haze and Bridge
Apart from the fact that nothing was ready when I arrived and the food was a disaster and seriously late we had a good and relaxing evening and I pleased that most of the people I care about made an appearance.
written by  chrischarly on July 4, 2010 from Shipston on Stour, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's African Adventure

Walking around Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Today we walked for hours and hours around KL enjoying the sunshine and planning what to do when Neil, Haze and Reggie come and visit us in 2 months...
Our first sighting of the towers
Beautiful and clean KL, complete opposite to India!
Me and the towers
Chris and the towers
Everywhere we go we have the twin towers in our photos they are that huge
Walking around the lovely KL park
The largest twin towers in the world
Chria and a bunny
Outside the Pavilion
Malls all decorated for Chinese New Year
Beating one of the many good luck drums
A Dragon
Sitting in a cafe in a nice air-conditioned mall to cool down
Lovely day!
Oh, apart from the fact that we discovered this morning when changing our clothes that Chris left his favourite t-shirt and all of his underwear apart from pair he was wearing back in Sri Lanka! Good job there's a Debenhams in KL!!
written by  chrischarly on February 4, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Passage through SE Asia

Plenty of wine tasty :) and a dead whale :(
Augusta, Australia
View from the camper
View first thing in the morning
Our little friend
Tucked up in bed
Our camper
Chris
Still not seen any kangaroos, so got excited when seeing a sign for them; my beady eyes on lookout. 3 dead ones spotted though on the side of the road; not exactly what I was expecting?! Very sad for my first sighting. Freezing cold 1st night in the campervan but part of the reason was discovered at 7:45am when we got up to see the passenger door open, oops!.. At least nothing was stolen. Anyway, we left Collie to head to [[Australia/Margaret-River]] and after stopping at many wineries along the way (Chris of course spitting his out until I start driving!) we didn’t make it!
About to blag our free tasters
Sad Chris after spitting out his wine
Grape vines
Ching ching
Our first winery
Standing outside the winery
But still had a great day stopping occasionally along the coast and enjoying the fantastic scenery, but also saw a dead whale which was pretty sad.
The lovely sea
Pathway to the sea
Climbing up
Rock climbing
Standing by the natural bridge
The bridge
Huge waves
Chris at the top of the rocks
High up and enjoying the view
The sea
Chris on the bridge
Awesome beach!
Dead whale
Too many dead things seen today, but still an awesome day!
We set up camp in a little forest for the night and luckily the Ranger didn’t come along so it was free and we started a BBQ to keep warm and save our gas, we didn’t have any meat to put on there though unfortunately, but Chris still cooked a delicious warming dish of corned beef, carrots, onions, potatoes and baked beans.
Our first BBQ
Our yummy feast!
Then we tucked up in bed to watch a film, blissfully unaware it was only 7pm!
written by  chrischarly on September 28, 2011 from Augusta, Australia

Sea World
Orlando, United States
Had a great day at Sea World today! Woke up at about 8am, but Chris was so excited and beat the kids out of bed this morning getting up before 6am. So who knows who is the biggest child. As soon as we arrived just after 9, we walked straight to see the dolphin show which was very impressive, and quoting Lucy, ‘This is the best thing I have ever seen’…
We then wandered around a bit and went in to see some manatees, turtles and a 3D show which was also quite impressive. Then we missioned it right to the other side of the park to see the orca (killer whale) show, which was the thing I was most looking forward to and it was not disappointing.
We then went for a bite to eat before walking to see the otter, sea lion and walrus show.
We then went on a few rides, saw a couple more animals and brought a few souvenirs before heading back to the car.
Well, we had no idea between the 8 of us where we had parked the car exactly, so it was took a while in the boiling hot sun. As soon as we returned to the Villa we all had a splash in the pool to cool down a bit before ordering some pizza.
written by  chrischarly on September 27, 2012 from Orlando, United States

To the shops to stock up before the cyclone hits...
In the night we got a text about a cyclone warning due to hit Fiji in the next 24-36 hours, so we decided to take a stroll into the local shops with Andy, Abbe and Julian, to get some supplies. After getting to the main supermarket and finding it closed, we continued on under direction from Julian who said it wasn’t far to the next one. It was actually a couple of k’s, which would normally be fine, but it was boiling hot and extremely humid. We fought our way around the supermarket as it seemed everyone was panic buying and got some tinned meat, rice and curry mix. We caught a taxi back and stopped to pick up some beers along the way. We had all bought food, but when evening came, we all decided that a visit to the curry House was in order. The 5 of us walked down and had a yummy curry before the heavens opened so yet another taxi home, and got into bed to await the approaching cyclone.
written by  chrischarly on April 2, 2012 from Nadi, Fiji

Finally in Thiruvananthapuram!!
Thiruvananthapuram, India
The restaurant we went to didn't have a licence to serve alcohol- thus Chris had his beer in a mug so it looked like coffee!!
Finally we have arrived in India after 27 hours non-stop-travelling.
Locals
Our second flight to Trivadrum we can barely remember as we slept solidly the whole way; fast asleep before we even set off!
Early evening walk
A big bird
To try and stay awake for as long as possible we decided to go exploring after checking out our new hotel and found a lovely little veggie restaurant after having a couple of drinks
our hotel room in kovalum
view from our hotel
our bacony in kovalum
before sleep…
written by  chrischarly on November 8, 2010 from Thiruvananthapuram, India

Chillies...
Kovalam, India
me eating the true indian way
Today we ate in the true Indian way enjoying a typical local dish ‘thali’ however; I later didn’t find it funny when I chewed on 2 green chillies!! Chris however thought it was hilarious…
a lovely sunset
beautiful sunset
kovalam beach
but a walk along the beach soon made up for things later.
written by  chrischarly on November 11, 2010 from Kovalam, India

Planning our escape
We thankfully awoke to no cyclone destruction, which to be fair we were all pretty terrified about, so planned our escape - Last day in Nadi today! Am so excited. Cannot wait to go exploring a bit more! The weather is slowly improving and the ferries have now started to operate again. We had done some research on the Island before arriving in Fiji and the main place we fell in love with is Ovalau an Island not too far away and apparently gorgeous and not touristy. It is also where Fiji kind of began and is the centre of the country, full of history.
We had also found the most awesome place to stay, ‘Bobo’s Farm’ but they are unfortunately fully booked for Easter weekend but we are hoping to get in just after, so we plan to just get straight to the Island and sort it out from there. Abbe, Andy and Julian are also planning to join us in our escape from Nadi, so it will be a nice place to hang-out for a couple of days. Didn’t really do anything exciting today.
Went to find some internet as the internet and power at our place was still not working and had some late lunch at a little local/tourist shack, but that is about it really. I also got a phone-call from Mum this afternoon. She is only aware of what has happened here from we have told her and by looking up the weather on the internet. I’m so amazed it isn’t plastered all over the news back home as most things tend to be and highly exaggerated, but apparently nothing has even been mentioned and as this has been Fiji’s biggest natural disaster to have happened on record, so this completely baffles me. Chris rustled together some tinned mutton, curry powder and rice, which was actually quite delicious, and Andy said it was his best meal in Fiji, very worrying!

Last day of relaxation
Destin, United States
It’s our last day in Destin today so we woke up early and went to the beach to play some Frisbee, attempted and failed to teach the kids how to snorkel, (something we later achieved easier in the swimming pool) and built sand castles before walking to a resort near ours for a swim. Then after some lunch back at our apartment we cruised around the lazy River for a while and then did a little shopping, went for some drinks, had dinner at the infamous Pandora’s and rolled back to the apartment and relaxed for the evening.
written by  chrischarly on September 25, 2012 from Destin, United States

A fantastic day
Augusta, Australia
The old jetty
Early morning walk
What an awesome day! Chris woke me up at 6:45am all excited to go on our next adventure. First stop was to go to Hamelin Bay where you can see loads of stingrays in the shallow water just off the beach.
Footprints in the sand
Dead Blue Bottle jellyfish
Unfortunately we couldn’t see any but that could be because it was a cold morning and we didn’t want to wade up to our knees in the freezing sea. Still it was lovely to walk along the deserted beach at 7:30am dodging the washed up blue bottle stingrays. Then driving through the trees headed for the lighthouse in Cape Leuwin just south of Augusta 2 kangaroos hopped along the road just in front of us! Such an amazing sight to see them alive! Luckily we weren’t just a second faster otherwise we may have hit them! The lighthouse was a non-starter though as they wanted a $17 each entrance fee, so we thought we would give that a miss!..
As close as we got!
The lightouse
But we did go and see a really old water wheel which was pretty interesting.
The Natural Bridge
Walking around
The old battered waterwheel
Explanation
We then made a quick stop to see a water wheel before stopping for a coffee at a café called the last stop before Antarctica! Whilst waiting for the slowest and most expensive coffee Chris spotted out the window a dolphin! We couldn’t believe it! So after downing our drinks we went outside and was amazed to see about 10 of them right up close, about 15m away from where we were standing playing about!
The last stop before Antartica
Fishermen right by the dolphins
A dolphin!
A fin and a head of dolphins!
Dolphin!
2 dolphins, 1 a tiny baby 1!
A dolphin
Amazing! So, we sat and ate our muesli by the side of the River watching them swimming for an hour before we continued our journey. All this before 11am in the morning!
written by  chrischarly on September 29, 2011 from Augusta, Australia

Trees which you can live inside!
Albany, Australia
The trees
ting Ting trees
This morning we headed to see some ting ting trees which are famous for having large holes in the bottom near Nornalup.
A drawing of the biggest ting ting
Explanation
People even used to live in the bottoms of them, supposedly. We chickened out of going up the tree top walkway, but after speaking to a couple of others about it, they said it was amazing, so we kinda wished we were braver!
A fallen over ting ting
Standing by a ting ting tree
Then we went and found a lovely beach to have a walk on, which isn’t hard to find as the west coast is simply beautiful.
Me jumping in Chris' photo
Seagull island
The Natural Bridge
'The Gap'
Amazing blue sea
Spot the muppet at the bottom
Then, after exploring around Denmark and Albany today quicker than intended we decided we might as well head back up to Gill’s in Fremantle a day earlier than planned and along the way we saw loads of kangaroos lounging in the sun!
Kangaroos
A very friendly horse
Kangaroos playing in the field
So had chance to take a few photos, amazing animals. Getting to Gill’s was a long a boring drive up the freeway and by the time we got there we were exhausted but stayed up and chatted for a few hours before passing out.
written by  chrischarly on September 30, 2011 from Albany, Australia

Long car journey
Tallahassee, United States
Had a long long day in the car today. All the way from Destin to Orlando, so about 7 hours, so pretty boring, so not a great deal to write about as there’s not much to say. But we were so pleased to have finally arrived very near Disney Land and lucky enough to be staying in our own private Villa with a swimming pool, games room with all of us able to have our own en-suite room. So after un packing we all went for a swim before showering and going out for some dinner, unfortunately getting a little confused as to the location of the restaurant so drove for 30 minutes in the wrong direction. Oops. So we changed plan and drove back stopping at somewhere a little nearer before having an early night in preparation for Sea World tomorrow!!
written by  chrischarly on September 26, 2012 from Tallahassee, United States

We are now in 'The Real Fiji'
Suva, Fiji
Woke up at 6 and banged on Andy and Abbe’s door to wake them up, before showering, packing and then making our way to the restaurant for breakfast, which was a rubbish choice of toast (which I no longer eat) or black tea as they had run out of milk, orange juice, eggs, and fruit.
Luckily Abbe had a tin of baked beans to liven up the choice a bit. She also had some sausages but we couldn’t eat them either as it takes them over an hour to cook anything. But never mind, we are leaving and finally getting out of this place! Got a lift to the bus stop driving through Nadi town for the first time since we’ve been here as the road is now open.
At the bus stop we got familiar information to what we have previously heard in places such as Asia, “No bus [to] Suva. I take you in [my] car” just as the bus to Suva was just coming around the corner.
Hmmm. Need to remember that we are no longer in the ‘Western World’ so to speak… The mess and destruction that the floods have caused was shocking; too devastating to take photos of. So many homes and businesses destroyed and insurance isn’t something very heard of here, so many people have to start again from scratch, it was pretty heart-breaking.
Even the road between Nadi and Suva was in a mess including a bridge that collapsed in half, which meant we all had to get off the bus and walk across catching another at the other end. The bus ride though was pretty comfortable and we happily all enjoyed the scenery along the way.
When we arrived in Suva we had 1 ½ hours to wait before another bus picked us up and drove us to the ferry, so just enough time to eat some quick lunch and find a public toilet before a friendly guy walked us to the bus stop which we would’ve struggled to find without his help.
It was then about an hour’s drive until we reached the point to catch the ferry, again driving through some cute picturesque villages and then the bus drove straight onto the ferry, so we all got off and climbed to the top to watch Vitu Levu (the main island which we’ve been on) slowly disappear and Ovalau appear.
The ferries have only just started operating again since the floods but the sea was still too rough to drop us off at the main jetty so the ferry drove around and dropped us off the other side, in Levuka town, the first capital of Fiji, (originally chosen as it had a natural harbour due to the reef, and being the centre point of all the Fiji Islands) which actually did us a huge favour as where we wanted to stay, ‘Mary’s Lodge’ was just a short walk away, so really easy. ‘Mary’s Lodge’ is a homestay and although basic, Leila the owner is so lovely and funny we were glad we chose to stay here.
By the time we settled in, had showers and relaxed a little we were all getting hungry again, so Leila recommended a place to go for dinner, ‘Kim’s’ about a 5 minute walk away and this is where we discovered and tasted our first drink of ‘Kava’, a local drink served in a bowl and shared between a group. Can’t say I particularly liked it that much. Reminds me a bit of mud pies I used to eat as a kid in the garden at home, but the social aspect of it is really nice. It’s not alcohol or a drug but you do get a buzz from it and it sure makes you sleep like a baby later!
written by  chrischarly on April 4, 2012 from Suva, Fiji

Tour around Kovalum
Neyyur, India
another picture of the lions
lion
male lion
2 lions
a lioness
This morning we went on a guided tour around Kovalum. However the guide barely spoke any English so the tour didn’t exactly happen, he also got lost many times and tried taking us to the most expensive places so we think he was on commission.
crammed like sardines on a bus
the lake we went on
the dam
beautiful scenery
So we ended up finding our own tour for the fraction of the Price and just using him as a driver and left him sulking in the car.
amazing views again
standing at the back of the boat
more beautiful views
on the boat
chris seriously unimpressed with having to wear a life jacket!
the crocodiles right by our feet !!!!!
However, we did have a good day going on a small boat tour, to a lion park, a crocodile rehabilitation centre where we went inside the actual enclosure with them, a deer Sanctuary which unfortunately didn’t seem to have any deer in and experiencing our first yet very claustrophobic Indian bus journey.
written by  chrischarly on November 12, 2010 from Neyyur, India

Moving on...
Varkkallai, India
the train we went on
chris busy working
Deciding that we’ve probably seen and made the most of what is on offer in Kovalum we packed our bags and made our way to Varkala on the train. It was certainly an experience this time travelling 2nd class, but to be honest we enjoyed it, for just 42p per ticket it was a bargain.
crammed on 2nd class
sitting on our balcony
When we arrived, after some serious haggling by Chris we managed to get a 2-bedroomed air conditioned cottage for just £5.63 a night! That’s a 10th of the Price of what another couple has just paid, admittedly in a slightly nicer room. As usual we’ve landed on our feet!!
written by  chrischarly on November 13, 2010 from Varkkallai, India

An awesomely sunny day
Levuka, Fiji
What a gorgeous day! I couldn’t believe it when we awoke to fantastically beautiful blue skies, a calm sea and more importantly no rain. Perfect day to enjoy Fiji and Levuka at its best. Think some relaxing and Sunshine was in order so after eating breakfast we wandered to the shops for a crate of beer before the 5 of us booked a taxi to take us a few kilometres down the road to a resort with a swimming pool which they let us use for $1 each. Such a hot day and it is so great to finally enjoy it in a pool as the resort we stayed in in Nadi, although had a pool, was permanently closed due to the flooding as the water was fowl. We stayed there for about 3 hours, before returning, showering and going out for some dinner at the same place as last night where we once again drank lots of Kava between us for $5,
which was about 5 litres still trying to ignore the taste of muddy water.
written by  chrischarly on April 5, 2012 from Levuka, Fiji

A nice chill day
Destin, United States
I got up had brekkie to discover that all but Chris’ Mum (and myself, of course), had gotten up early and ventured down to the beach for an early morning dip, so had a quiet hour chilling.
Then, once they’d returned we went to the outlet malls, which sells designer clothing at discount rates.
We went back via the Shrimp market and Chris bought 6 pounds of Golf Coast shrimps- huge prawns, which he cooked up and we had a yummy dinner, after lounging around in the pool.
written by  chrischarly on September 22, 2012 from Destin, United States

Blisters...
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
We had a fanatstic day exploring KL once again. We went to the Bird Park which is the largest free-flight avery in the world and walked for hours and hours until our feet were covered in blisters
A strange looking hornbill
Charly under the waterfall
If you could only see the sweat !
Lizard running up a tree
Flamingo
Charly and a duckling
Charly and a chick
before going up the KL Tower
Our apartment viewed from KL Tower
Another view from KL Tower
Niah Caves viewed from KL Tower
Charly finally gets her audio guide working
Petronis Towers from KL Tower
Petronis Towers and the rain coming
Check out the rain coming !
Shangri-la doesn't even have a pool on the roof !
City skyline
Our apartment block is on the right
and ending up at another wildlife Sanctuary.
written by  chrischarly on February 5, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Passage through SE Asia

Bye Bye Tysoe
Oxhill, United Kingdom
Finally things are starting to get exciting. I've packed up all my things in a bin-bag to sort when I get down to Essex to meet Chris. I say good-bye to Mum and family, pretty nervous now
written by  chrischarly on July 9, 2010 from Oxhill, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's African Adventure

Bye Gill! xx
Fremantle, Australia
Perth city
Bye Perth
We left Fremantle once again but this time heading North. It was sad to say goodbye to Gill and Jo as we have no idea when we will next see them again! We’ll miss you! Unsurprisingly we left a lot later than planned and did some more ‘essential’ shopping for the van along the way.
Sand dunes
(I swear Chris has an addiction with spending money!) We arrived at a little rest stop outside of Cervantes just before dark and parked up next to 2 friendly French guys and supped a little wine and shared travelling stories with them until falling into a blissful sleep.
written by  chrischarly on October 1, 2011 from Fremantle, Australia

The amazing Pinnacles
Cervantes, Australia
Woke up at 6am this morning and left straight away headed for ‘The Pinnacles’. We had read that the best times to see them are either at dawn or dusk so we decided to bite the bullet and get up first thing,
1) So we could make the most of the day and
2) So the Ranger doesn’t find us parking somewhere we shouldn’t be.
The pinnacles
Pinnacles
2 parrots
The Pinnacles are limestone structures made from compressed shells and natural erosion has made them into the jutty things they are today. No idea how old they are, just very old. It really was fantastic. It kind of reminded me of ‘The Plain of Jars’ but it is completely natural and in the middle of a dessert. Then after the pinnacles, we made our way in Cervantes the town close by made ourselves bacon sandwiches before walking along a few beaches.
Chris making bacon sarnies
So much sea weed
Sand dunes
View from the top of dune
Climbing up the dune
The huge sand dune we ran up and down
A bright orange crab
Lovely clear water
A lovely beach
A huge eagle
Awesome beach
We then made a brief stop off to see some stromolites which are the first living known to create oxygen.
Stramolites
Explanation
Then, on the way to find somewhere to camp up for the night, I even decided to take the van for a test run! It was ok to drive once I got used to it, but having not driven for 15 months, it took a little getting used to again especially a vehicle of this size and no power steering!
Me driving!
The leaning tree
Leaning tree
Just before finding somewhere we spotted some strange looking trees that were completely bent over! Pretty impressive, and after reading up on it discovered that it was due to some sever winds that force the trees to grow this way.
written by  chrischarly on October 2, 2011 from Cervantes, Australia

And to the lazy river!!
Florala, United States
We drove down to the coast and checked in to our lovely apartment, and very quickly went to explore the pool, including the lazy River, where you get in a big ring and float around, very nice and relaxing... We pretty much did this for the rest of the day and had yummy pizzas for dinner.
written by  chrischarly on September 21, 2012 from Florala, United States

Good Friday Celebrations
Levuka, Fiji
Chris woke me at 9am this morning as Leila the owner of Mary’s Lodge said we were welcome to go up and visit the church here in Levuka to join in with the Good Friday celebrations especially as many of the local children were doing performances.
So we woke Abbe, Andy and Julian and then ate some tasty brekkie before taking a walk to the church. The children were really sweet and tried really hard and although re-inacting some pretty gruesome historic events in Fiji involving one about cannibalism and another about Jesus before and during his crucifixion, it was light-hearted and entertaining.
The Priest and other adults in the church were really happy that we came down to join in with the celebrations and kindly translated everything into English for us after first spoken in Fijian, but this also meant that the service went on for 2 hours and we were boiling in there.
The Priest also gave us some further information on Fiji history and the relationship the country has with England, which seems to be a close friendly one. But it was also sad as he spoke of how the Fijians felt very sorry and prayed for the Australians during the recent bush fires and yet news of the
flooding that happened just last week hasn’t even reached news in other countries regardless of the lives that were lost, implying that Fiji isn’t important enough to hit the headlines. At midday we came back, Chris and Andy raced to the shops to buy some fishing line before they closed at 1pm and after untangling the line for over an hour and eating some lunch we walked down to the wharf.
The sun was yet again out in full force and was almost suffocating it was that hot (not that I am complaining of course). A couple of locals also fishing at the end kindly gave the boys some super-smelly fish eggs to us for bait as the bread they brought with them was simply laughed at.
Andy was the first to catch a fish closely followed by an almost identical one by Chris and although they were both small, they saved them both to use as back-up bait once the fish eggs ran out.
An hour or so later Chris felt a hard tug on the line and excitedly reeled in and we were amazed to see a big octopus hanging on! It was amazing! A local guy with his two children had just walked past and we exchanged some friendly ‘Bulas!’ (a bit like ‘Hello’)
with them and we called them back to show them his catch and too check if the octopus was good to eat and not poisonous. But just as they arrived the octopus let go of the line and crawled back into the water, too fast for me to get a quick photo. We were all very upset, especially when it was explained to us that the octopus is “good eating”.
Never mind. I then walked back to ‘Mary’s Lodge’ having had enough sun for the day and left the boys behind to continue fishing and a couple of hours later they returned with a big fish (can’t remember the name of it though) which we took down to ‘Kim’s restaurant’ later to get fried up and accompany our dinner. It was delicious!
written by  chrischarly on April 6, 2012 from Levuka, Fiji

£4.79 per night!
Varkkallai, India
the view from where we're staying
the north cliff
Today we had a lovely walk exploring Varkala. We are right on top of a Cliff over-looking the beach and it is simply beautiful!
Chris drenched by the rain
drenched by the rain storm
Chris actually managed to haggle further with the manager of the resort we’re staying in as we love it here so much. So we’ve extended our stay to 5 nights and are now paying £4.79 a night, although it does make me cringe when Chris starts bartering.
written by  chrischarly on November 14, 2010 from Varkkallai, India

Too much testosterone for 1 club
Levuka, Fiji
Waved goodbye to Julian this morning as he had to get back to the main Island for his flight out and the
rest of us went for a stroll around town and went to the internet café while Chris searched for somewhere to get some clothes repaired.
It was again baking, but we decided to explore around Levuka regardless. We strolled up the steps towards the mountains seeing many inviting swimming holes to jump into and saw locals doing just that.
It was a really nice walk, but due to the heat we didn’t last long before retiring back to the hotel for some chill time. Chris and Andy went for a snorkel to cool off
and then in the early evening we headed to check out the Ovalau club, sort of like an old English gentlemen’s club that time forgot.
We then headed to a new restaurant that Chris had found during his wanderings earlier in the day, they sold huge pizzas, so we decided that a pizza night was in order.
Adjoined to the restaurant was the only ‘club’ in Ovalau, which was more like a school disco filled with lots of blokes… only blokes actually. All very friendly,
some a little too much at the sight of two white girls. We got the party started, and consumed a little too much beer and some very dodgy Bounty rum that Chris thought was a good idea. We staggered home at some point and took our sorry selves to bed.
written by  chrischarly on April 7, 2012 from Levuka, Fiji

A lot of shopping!
Destin, United States
Got up, had brekkie before going to the pool and then went shopping at the discount mall.
We then had a lovely seafood lunch at Mitchells Seafood Market and then went home and went in the pool again before chilling and having a light dinner.
written by  chrischarly on September 24, 2012 from Destin, United States

A tour around Varkala
Varkkallai, India
chris in our rick-shaw
In the search to find somewhere to post a package we managed to go exploring Varkala twice in one day, travelling using the local transport an auto-rickshaw.
our rickshaw driver
over-taking a rick-shaw
Although no one in India has any knowledge of the highway code it was great fun!
written by  chrischarly on November 15, 2010 from Varkkallai, India

Rainy day, broken convertor & broken shower
Geraldton, Australia
It did look more pink than this
Pink lake
The pink lake
What the pink lake should've looked like!
Woke up again early leaving the North of Geraldton headed straight to Horrocks, but nothing was particularly interesting there so we headed to Port Gregory to see The Pink Lake, which was pretty amazing. But unfortunately it was raining and the sky was pretty black and if it was blue the lake would be a lot pinker. But it was still pretty fascinating. We then headed up to Kalbarri but as it was raining we didn’t do a lot and the 2 main roads we wanted to go along were closed. So we then continued driving and made our way up to Carnarvon.
Very windy
Nice coastline
Long day and a lot of driving. Oh yeah, our invertor broke as well along with a few fuses, so that also put a dampener on the day.
Memorial site
A very windy campsite
Chris making fire
Our shadows
Also, when we pulled up at a campsite we tried out our solar shower for the first time and managed to put it up in a sharp tree so it put a little hole in it. Not the best of days but at least we covered a lot of ground.
written by  chrischarly on October 3, 2011 from Geraldton, Australia

Crowded Coral Bay
Carnarvon, Australia
Overlooking coral bay
Beautiful Coral Bay
So beautiful
We decided to make our way up to Coral Bay today to do some snorkelling, so after a lot of driving we made it to find it full of people as it is the school holidays and there was nowhere to stay for less than $38 which put us off, and with no free campsites around we thought we had better give it a miss and head further North.
On top of sand dunes
Lamb and emus who live together
Lots of sheep wool
Our tent
We still had to pay for a sight but $24 is a bit better and we did kind of like it as it had hot outdoor showers and the sight was noticeably nicer than the free ones, so paying for them occasionally doesn’t hurt. Had a great evening walking about the campsite which is an old station and chatting to some other (if slightly bizarre) travellers.
written by  chrischarly on October 4, 2011 from Carnarvon, Australia

Just chillin'
Lovely beach
Chris pointing at our accomodation
Today we spent the majority of the day just relaxing before going for a loving walk around the gorgeous beaches Varkala has to offer.
The sea
A Mosque
Fantastic sunshine until yet another electrical storm hit. It's funny, I never thought anywhere could or would rain more than in the U.K, but in the south of India I have been proven wrong!

And another day of relaxing... just what holidays are for
Went to the beach early morning, then went to the other pools across the road enjoying the lovely Destin Sunshine, before return back to the lazy River, had a light lunch, went to the mall and wandered around for a while, then went and had lunch at Fokkers Pub and watched some American Football.
Then once we returned, took the kids for a late night swim which they absolutely loved!!

A great big slice of paradise
Ovalau, Fiji
We awoke slightly delicate today, and had breakfast before packing up ready to move on to Bobo’s farm. They were planning to pick us up mid-afternoon, but in fact called around 11 and said they were early. We were picked up by Bobo’s dRiver and driven over the very picturesque coastal road with some photo stops on the way.
When we got there we were dropped at the side of the road and lots of locals came out to help us with our bags. Andy and Chris being men, decided to take their own, while Abbe and I took a few small things.
We were led down a track that was pretty slippery and muddy and Andy went to ground first, followed by Abbe and then Chris who at one point was seen doing the can-can on the slope before getting his balance back. How I never fell over I will never know especially considering my previous clumsy records.
When we got to the bottom of the slope we got to a River, WITHOUT a bridge, where we then had to wade through and up the other side before finally getting to Bobo’s. Bobo and Karen arrived 30 mins after us, and came from another direction with no slopes or mud, which they thought very amusing!
Which to be fair, was. We got to our lovely guesthouse in the middle of beautiful Forest and gardens. Very basic here, with no power or fridge but some basic cooking facilities, but amazingly peaceful and I’m sure we are going to have an amazing time. In the evening we went for dinner and had some local scrummy roots and ferns from the farm, with some tasty Chicken. We then had our welcoming ceremony and all drank kava (which tasted a hell of a lot better than in Levuka as it is fresh) and enjoyed chatting with Bobo and his friends.
written by  chrischarly on April 8, 2012 from Ovalau, Fiji

Snorkelling and fishing trip. Awesome.
Rukuruku, Fiji
Woke up this morning and Bobo had hired his friend’s boat to take us out for the day snorkelling and fishing. Although it was heavy rain when we awoke, as soon as we were ready it was fantastic weather for the whole day, so we were very lucky. To get to the boat we walked for about 15 minutes to the beach through a local village greeted by loads of friendly smiles and happy faces.
The boat took us out for about 20 minutes before we all jumped in to cool off in the Fijian waters. We snorkelled for about an hour seeing some beautiful fish and corals before swimming up to the sand bar and climbing back in the boat.
We then continued on to another spot a lot deeper to throw in a couple of hand lines to try and catch some dinner. Chris was just like a fish himself and continued to snorkel and both him and Bobo saw a few sharks.
The hand-lines didn’t prove very successful, well Andy managed to catch 2 fish, and I even caught one, but I was so excited and was busy showing everyone dangling it over the water, and the fish, cleverer than myself just jumped straight off the line and back into the water. Very stupid mistake.
Bobo and his friends who were also on the boat had a lot better luck swimming and spearing fish which thankfully meant that we had 4 smallish fish for our late lunch. After a few hours out at sea we came back at around 3pm all pretty knackered and had a nice cool of in the river before showering and gladly returning back to our balcony.
Chris and Andy managed to find some energy from somewhere and soon disappeared again with the snorkels to attempt and fail to find some freshwater prawns whilst Abbe and I stayed behind, read books for a while and soon fell fast asleep for a couple of hours.
The boys returned as I woke back up having hiked in mud and wading through the river and under the bridge through a pipe for hours. We then ate some quick dinner before meeting up again with Bobo at the main house to drink a load of cava and chatted for hours before finally retiring to bed for a much-needed sleep.
written by  chrischarly on April 9, 2012 from Rukuruku, Fiji

Planning
Our bargain room
Today is our last day in Varkala and thus we spent the majority of our day planning what to do next!
Our balcony at Clafouti
But apart from that we didn’t do anything very exciting; merely a ton of hand-washing and general re-organisation of our luggage…

Malaysian food...
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Due to the blisters on our feet we took it a little easier today.
View from top of our apartment block
Our roof-top pool
Charly in the rooftop pool at night, its tough here !
Reflection View of KL Tower
Fountain outside Pavillion
I tried proper Malaysian food this evening. Still not convinced that I like it though! Dessert tasted like dentist mouth wash mixed with soup whilst the soup was a little bland...
My first Malaysian dish
Chris breathing in Curry Laksa, yummy !
Chris excited about his not-so-delicious dessert
Chris enjoying his strange Ice dessert
Chris dribbling his dessert
Chris will KILL me for saying this though! I think I'm going to struggle the over the next few months with Asian food!
written by  chrischarly on February 6, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Chris' Leaving Party
Rayleigh, United Kingdom
After two manic and stressful days in the Joel house-hold Chris held his leaving party. As usual Chris didn't hold back on cooking for the 5000. It was a great turn out and also meant that I finally got the chance to meet some of Chris' closest friends. It was a gorgeous day and everything went smoothly thanks to Chris' parents planning and organising. All we have to do now is pack, only three more days before we fly...
written by  chrischarly on July 10, 2010 from Rayleigh, United Kingdom

5ft Black tipped reef shark
Exmouth, Australia
River
Woke up bright and early at 6:15am to get away as early as possible to try and secure a place to sleep in the Cape Range National Park, but unfortunately as we lent 2 hard-core travellers our tent for the night as they only had a sheet of tarpaulin to sleep under we had to wait for them to wake up as well, plus we promised them a lift to the end of the road as they were hitchhiking their way around Australia.
Sandy Beach
At 7:30am, Chris gave up waiting and woke them up so by the time they were ready we were way beyond schedule.
Driving through a lot of nothingness
But we did feel better about ourselves for our good deed for the day! So anyway, off we headed towards Exmouth, filled up our water and then waited for the visitor information centre to open so we could book somewhere to stay. As the doors open a sign goes up saying, ‘No spaces left in The National Park’. Great. And it was only 9am!
Forest fires
But we decided to make the most of our day regardless and would just hop from place to place seeing as much as we could. Firstly though we had to go and buy some snorkels and managed to get a good deal for $50 a set. Still pricey but well worth it.
Nice views
First stop was Yardie Creek which is a huge gorge with some fantastic views. Then straight after we made our way to Sandy Beach which is a perfect swimming beach with very light blue clear water.
In the park
We had a nice refreshing swim in there before making our way to Turquoise Bay to do some snorkelling. Everyone had told us just how amazing it was for snorkelling so we were really excited.
Scenic driving views
They have quite a dangerously strong current just outside the bay, but the best way to get in the water is to walk as far up the beach as you like and just let the current take you but you have to get out before the shoreline changes or you’ll drift out to sea! Pretty scary but we listened to advice given so were fine.
Driving along a rough road
To be honest though, the snorkelling itself was pretty disappointing. There were quite a few fish in the water but most of the coral was dead, just think we have been spoilt by all the awesome snorkelling we did in Indonesia!
Walking along
The highlight of it was though; I saw a black tipped reef shark the same size as me and managed to swim alongside it for a while, completely unaware that it was in fact dangerous until I read the boards about them! But apparently if you leave them alone and don’t wind them up you’ll be fine. After snorkelling we had run out of time to do or go anywhere else so made our way to the next free campsite arriving just before dark.
written by  chrischarly on October 5, 2011 from Exmouth, Australia

A lot of driving
Tom Price, Australia
Rock face
Flowing falls
First thing we set off for Tom Price and Karijini National Park. A lot of driving but it was worth it. We decided to go straight inside the park and spend the night there and found a huge camping ground for $7pp per night.
Lizard number 2
A big lizard
It was a lovely sight, although busy. We considered going out for a drive to do some exploring late afternoon, but the gorge nearest to us, Dales Gorge was sadly closed due to a man and his child falling off a Cliff, so instead spent the evening relaxing with a glass of wine and some tasty BBQ Chicken.
written by  chrischarly on October 6, 2011 from Tom Price, Australia

Varkala- Rickshaw- train- Kollam- taxi- ferry- walking- and finally in Allepy!
Kollam, India
We woke up this morning at stupid O’clock where a rickshaw (tuk-tuk) was already waiting to take us to the train station.
The train journey again was ok and seriously cheap once again standing at the back of 2nd class.
We then haggled a taxi and arrived at the boat jetty to take the Ferry almost 3 hours early, the first ones to arrive!
Then after quite a beautiful, yet long 8 hour Ferry journey along the back-waters (wishing it was a house-boat) we arrived in Allepy!
The houseboat I wanted to go on...too much money
Compromise- A ferry along the backwaters
Chinese fishing nets
Hundreds of ducks
Another big bird
A big bird
Chris waiting to buy some munch
2 men rowing
3 men fishing
A lady washing her clothes
A man washing his bits
Chris' dream woman
A man fishing
Us on the ferry
A nie photo!
A man inhis fishing hut
Pretty exhausted we searched for some accommodation and managed to find a little home-stay for £3.50! However, we noticed that there wasn’t exactly anything here to see or do we didn’t unpack. Next stop: Fort Kochi!
written by  chrischarly on November 18, 2010 from Kollam, India

Visiting a local school and drinking with the chief!
Rukuruku, Fiji
Today we planned to chill in the morning and go for a village tour in the afternoon.
We had a good walk around the village and then had an amazing tour of the school, which has to have the best view from any school in the world.
The kids seemed so happy to see us and sung us some nice songs with very strong voices. After this Bobo took us for a hike up a hill to see the nice views and sit under a huge mango tree.
On a Normal day it would have been fine, but it was so hot it was a killer. On our return to the village we saw some local men sitting by the school enjoying a bowl of Kava, after mowing the lawn around the village.
We were invited to join them and we soon realised that they were drinking full strength grog, it was great fun and Chris was even got the privilege to sit next to the village chief!
We staggered back home, which was quite difficult after lots of kava and grabbed a quick shower before Chris and I headed to have dinner leaving Andy and Abbe to their 2-minute-noodles.
We had a delicious dinner of freshwater prawns, cassava cakes and local spinach cooked in coconut milk – Chris was very happy!
After this we joined the party on the deck which was a joint leaving doo, mainly for Andy and Abbe but also covering us too. Lots more Kava and some local music and dancing – it was great fun, but we were so knackered that soon had to call it a night.
written by  chrischarly on April 10, 2012 from Rukuruku, Fiji

Farm tour
Rukuruku, Fiji
We awoke at 4.30am to say goodbye to Andy and Abbe, then straight back to bed. We had a good lie in and then we went for a farm tour with Bobo.
The farm is spread over a large portion of the 500 acres that Bobo owns, but it is in no way a conventional farm.
He has pigs and cows but it is mainly a collection of fruit trees, vegetables, flowers and trees that all work together, with no need for fertilizers or pesticides.
If you want to weed then you let the cows come into an area for a day. To list them all would take too long, but some of the amazingly tasty fruits include bananas, mandarins,
kumquats, passion fruits, star fruit, avocado, papaya and the biggest mango trees you have ever seen. Apparently, in mango season (October), locals sit underneath the mango trees and gorge on them until sick.
To add to this there are of course all the local root vegetables they survive on, plus kava, plus coco, chillies, vanilla,
ginger plus lots of herbs and spices. To put it simply, you could live in this place and be fully sustainable on pure organic and wild foods.
To say Chris was excited would be a massive understatement. We ate fresh coco pods and marched around the farmyard (read jungle) in awe of what Bobo and Karin have accomplished in their little piece of paradise. After our tour we chilled before having a delicious Indian dinner.
written by  chrischarly on April 11, 2012 from Rukuruku, Fiji

First proper bus journey!
Ernakulam, India
Us on a seriously crowded bus
After an amazing night’s sleep we headed to the bus station and luckily we straight away found seats.
However, it does seem that no one wants to sit next to 2 white travellers so most of the way it was just us on a bench that with a squeeze could fit 3 people. However, when someone did sit next to me, I did feel like a sardine with a largish Indian man to my left- and Chris to my right!
A lovely sunset on the water
But to be honest the journey really wasn’t too bad about 1 ½ hours long and very breezy as there are no windows which meant not too many fragrant smells! We then took a small Ferry ride from Ernakulam to Fort Kochi and walked around for over an hour to find somewhere to stay as everywhere was full as it’s now high-season. Another long day!
written by  chrischarly on November 19, 2010 from Ernakulam, India

Karijini National Park
Karijini National Park, Australia
Standing by a huge ancient rock
Circular pool
Woke up early to see that the Dales Gorge is now open, so that was our first stop in the Karijini National Park.
Chris and I
Falls
It was really beautiful and took a long walk down to Fortescue Falls and went for a refreshing cool off in the water below.
Chris having a wash in Fortescue Falls
Chris after his swim
Then after we dried off took a 3km rough hike to see the Circular Pool and again went for a swim and then a steep walk back to the top to find our van.
Hiding behind a rock
Where we went
It was a fantastic morning and as we arrived to both places quite early on, it felt as if we almost had the place to ourselves.
Chris standing in the middle of the gorge
On the walk from falls to pool
Then, starving we went and hungrily made ourselves bacon sandwiches and made our way to the visitor centre in the park.
Pigeons with Mohicans
Everyone advised that as we were here we should go and see some of the other lookout points North of the park making Weano Gorge the priority, so we got in the van and set off.
Strange but pretty tree
After 14km down a horribly corrugated dirt track taking us 35 minutes we gave up and turned back around scared we would permanently damage the van. It was 43km in total so would’ve taken us 2 hours to get there and as it was already the afternoon we wouldn’t make it back before dark. Gutted. We really were disappointed. So instead we headed out of the park and to a little campsite, which we had completely to ourselves, apart from the horrible disgusting persistent flies which drove us crazy!
Views looking back over park
Amazing views
I HATE FLIES IN AUSTRALIA!
written by  chrischarly on October 7, 2011 from Karijini National Park, Australia

Lots of driving
Port Hedland, Australia
Salt Plains
Chris hiding from the flies
We left camp at 6:30am this morning, the flies were out once again and the only thing we could do was leave as quick as possible for Port Hedland. But, Port Hedland was a bit boring with very little to do, so we soon moved on and drove for Miles to get a little closer to Broome so we could check that out tomorrow. Not a lot to write about just loads of driving.
written by  chrischarly on October 8, 2011 from Port Hedland, Australia

Tummy Bug... :(
Ernakulam, India
This morning I woke up feeling pretty rough; I think I have caught a tummy bug with pretty severe stomach cramps along with a painful headache that won’t shift… So as I wasn’t feeling very well we didn’t do a great deal until the evening where we did a bit of exploring the town.
Sunset
Fishermen
Sunset at Fort Kochin
Unfortunately as its Saturday, many of the touristy ‘things-to-do’ were closed so we just peered over railings. So we took a long walk along the front.
Me surrounded by an Indian family
Beach covered in rubbish
It is such shame as Fort Cochin is/well could be a beautiful place yet what seems to be typical of India is that they stick an oil factory right at the centre of the view point.
Oil storage
Ship yard
So whilst we are talking about this sitting on a bench admiring the rubbish thrown everywhere,
Yummy Ice-cream
Hello Friend
A rat loving the India trash
a huge rat pops up to say ‘Hello’!
written by  chrischarly on November 20, 2010 from Ernakulam, India

Our own private beach and ocean
Today was another Bobo expedition, so we thought we better get some breakfast inside us, which was some Weetabix with fresh fruit, avocado, and then wholemeal pancakes with Forest honey and star fruit jam
– as delicious as every other meal at Bobos! After breakfast we packed up and headed off, first on the gravel road up and down hills for a while then across a neighbour’s farm, with a nice break under yet another huge mango tree.
Then we headed further down a supposed track that was more bush than track, but Bobo did stop to harvest some sugar cane for us,
which when finally at the beach was a delicious snack. Then while Bobo amused himself making a shell necklace for Charly, we headed off into the beautiful Coral Bay to explore
and for Chris to hunt with spear in hand. Much like his “ing” expeditions in NZ Chris managed to fire the spear at many fish and hit approx. zero.
This was mainly due to the fact of his excitement and thrashing around once a big fish came by, causing the fish to swim away to live another day. After a while
Chris started to get cramp and went for a rest while Bobo and I continued to explore the underwater beauty of this untouched paradise.
Once we were all pretty knackered we came ashore and as the tide had retreated followed the coast around to the village, stopping at Bobo’s childhood playground and grandfather’s House before returning to the farm for some rest and to start packing. We then had our last delicious meal before an early night, knowing we had to get up at 4.30am.

We're now in Munnar
Munnar, India
Ernakulam bus station
After a seriously rubbish sleep I woke up feeling a lot worse than yesterday. The original plan was to wake up early and catch the bus into town before getting a second bus to Munnar that took 5 hours. However, I just couldn’t face the journey so instead we caught it a few hours later once Chris had finished playing nurse and I felt a little better.
The bus driver's seat, looks comfy!
Us getting the best seats first on the bus!
The bus journey was in fact very beautiful looking at waterfalls and travelling high up in the mountains looking down at the clouds beneath us.
The bus drivers view is restricted by clouds
Our home in Munnar
Although we couldn’t exactly call it a peaceful journey as the driver really liked the sound of his horn!
written by  chrischarly on November 21, 2010 from Munnar, India

Last day in KL
Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
Today is our last day in KL for a couple of months so we relaxed a smuch as possible before catching the monorail into town,
KL monorail
then a train to the bus station where we went to the LCC Terminal.
Rustic, but very clean inside
The outside of our flat
Our living room
Our kitchen
Our messy little room
Our flight wasn't until 1am so quite a long day of just hanging around and waiting...
written by  chrischarly on February 7, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

Last Lazy Sunday
Rayleigh, United Kingdom
Had a relaxing day today- lovely. Couple of glasses of wine, Last chance to watch EastEnders omnibus and The World Cup Final. Early night and then packing and panic-shopping tomorrow. However, got bitten twice last night and still in the U.K... not a good sign :(
written by  chrischarly on July 11, 2010 from Rayleigh, United Kingdom

Stuck in the sand
Broome, Australia
Lifeguards
Well today was certainly a stressful one! Woke up and left for Broome first thing and arrived at 8am. First stop was to the Visitor Centre to ask them for some advice on the free campsites just north of the town. It said on our map, that 4WDs were recommended to drive along the road to get access to the camp, but the lady confirmed that our van would be fine to make it up there. Well, she lied…
Chris having a swim
But firstly we went to Cable Beach to have a swim, but there were too many jellyfish in there for me to go in, but Chris went in regardless and luckily didn't get stung. The road was awful and very badly corrugated and I had to sit in the back as all the cupboard doors kept flying open and throwing all our food and clothes out, but we made it to the campsite.
Big jellyfish!
The directions then said to make your way to the picnic spot where you could camp for free, so we drove on a little further, turned a corner and saw some very deep soft sand. Chris stopped as quickly as he could, did a U-turn and then got stuck. We spent about 15 minutes trying to get ourselves before Chris went and got some help.
Digging out the sand
By this time we were well and truly buried and I got underneath and started digging right down until I could find a hard surface for the back wheels to drive over, then, Chris came back with our 2 helpful travellers with a huge 4WD pickup and kindly towed us out. By this time we had had enough of Broome and thought our best bet was to just drive away and stay at another campsite outside of town. Unfortunately though at the end of the stupid corrugated road another driver flagged us down and told us that our door on the outside of the van where our gas bottle lived was hanging off!
broken down :(
Bugger. The bumps had sheared the lock off and it was nowhere to be seen, but luckily the gas bottle itself was still hanging in there. Great. Back to Broome to try and get the problem fixed as there was no way we could continue. But as it was 5pm on a Sunday so, nowhere was open, and with no free campsites accessible to us for a 60km radius we just had to bite the bullet and stay at the cheapest pay one for $33. On the plus side though, it had a swimming pool and with 30 minutes to spare before it closed once we arrived, I quickly showered to get all the sand off me and jumped straight in to cool off and de-stress.
written by  chrischarly on October 9, 2011 from Broome, Australia

Getting things fixed
Fitzroy Crossing, Australia
After a nice swim!
To make the most of our expensive campsite we woke up early and went for a swim before packing up and leaving to search for a new lock for our gas door.
Boab tree
After driving around and around Broome we finally came across a locksmith who could sort it out for us for just $15,
Finally in some shade!
which was great as we thought it would cost considerably more. Then, we were on our way. Quite a lot of driving to head as close to Fitzroy Crossing as possible so we wouldn’t have far to go in the morning. It was a scorcher of a day and we pulled up at about 3:30pm, desperately seeking shade, went to find firewood, made a fire, ate some food, watched a film and then slept.
written by  chrischarly on October 10, 2011 from Fitzroy Crossing, Australia

Tour around Munnar
Munnar, India
Today we caught a rick-shaw to take us on a tour around Munnar.
Our rick-shaw
Wild honey on a tree
The sights were amazing surrounded by tea plantations and breath-taking views.
A 'normal' monkey- as quoted by our guide
Tea being picked
The mountains
More tea...
Chris holding a pretty Indian girl
Gorgeous views
There had been heavy rain last night and therefore many land-slides making it at times quite difficult to pass.
A huge landslide
Chris having a sneaky wee...
This also made the air quite humid which meant that the main sight we wanted to see, ‘Top Station’ was actually covered in clouds.
The view from 'Top Station'... disappointing
It was still worth it as on our way back we saw 3 wild elephants!
The hill where we spotted the elephants
Walking towards us!
The baby elephant feeding
3 Indian wild elephants!
We were absolutely amazed as it’s a very rare sight and they weren’t even in a National Park just eating grass in a Field next to us!
written by  chrischarly on November 22, 2010 from Munnar, India

A lot of travelling, travelling with many smelly bodies
Nabouwalu, Fiji
Alarm went off at 4:30am closely followed by a bang on the door from a sleepy Bobo, so time to hurry and get ready to walk up to the main road by 4:45am to get our taxi to the ferry. Guided mainly by moonlight the walk took about 10 minutes but luckily as the rain had held off it was pretty easy apart from our tired legs slowing us down. Alvin, the driver was running late and turned up at about 5:15am and every minute that went by was an extra minute I could’ve spent in bed.
On the way to the ferry we picked up many other stragglers loitering on the side of the road eager to pick up a free ride as we had already booked and paid for the lift, but a car full of smelly bodies was not what I needed at this time of the morning. But we did get dropped off straight on the ferry bound for Natovi just outside of Suva on the mainland before continuing on to Nabouwalu where we got off on Vanua Levu (the second biggest island). The ferry ride itself was pretty painless apart from the loud films they played along the way, but I soon zoned out and read my book for most of the 6 hour journey.
Once we arrived at our destination we got straight onto a bus which the seats were very skinny for our not-so-skinny bums and drove for a few hours with some simply spectacular views. All luscious green forests everywhere, completely untouched. The roads however for most of the way we just dirt tracks and as it was hot outside I had to have the window wide open the whole way, which meant I was completely covered with red dirt which the locals and Chris especially found highly amusing!
We were dropped off at ‘The Junction’ (named for obvious reasons) to catch another bus to Savusavu and I think it was the only actual junction we have seen on this island so far. The bus was already parked up and waiting for us and we just had to wait another 15 minutes before some more passengers arrived and then we were on our way. The final journey was only anther hour and it was pretty comfy as we had a whole bus for just 5 of us.
Once in Savusavu, Chris phoned one of his Government friends and we took a taxi to meet a guy called Herbert who found us a cheap room in Sunset Lodge. It is a nice room with air-con, what a luxury but very basic, but it’s all we need really. We then showered away the dirt and smelliness before going for some serious tasty and cheap food, followed by a drink at The Planters Club, which we believe to be yet another old English Gentleman’s Club. Then bed.
written by  chrischarly on April 13, 2012 from Nabouwalu, Fiji

Fish with Miti (Coconut)
Savusavu, Fiji
It was nice to have a lie-in this morning, especially in our air conditioned room! So after lounging about for a while
we took a walk into town and went for some delicious lunch at a little local shack eating ‘fish with miti’ which we ordered although clueless what it would be and a Chicken curry to share.
The fish was amazing cooked in coconut milk with some greens on the side. Just as I announced it was quite possibly one of the most tastiest things I have eaten as well as the cheapest I took a big spoonful of the sauce which had many tiny bits of chilli in and coughed and choked myself half to death!
It was still tasty though nonetheless and as usual I entertained the locals by embarrassing myself! After lunch, we went to find some Wi-Fi and stayed for an hour before they closed and then went in search of somewhere to find some info on ferries and buses.
As it was a Saturday everywhere was closed and it will be tomorrow too. So we went and asked a few people for some information and got many different answers from everyone so we are none the wiser. Then as then rain hit we walked back to The Planters Club for a drink or 3 before calling it an early night.
written by  chrischarly on April 14, 2012 from Savusavu, Fiji

Too hot to do anything but jump in a pool!
Katherine, Australia
5 rivers lookout
5 river lookout
We woke up really early and went to Wyndam to see the 5 River lookout. This is where 5 Rivers all join up into one, but as it is quite dry, the Rivers weren’t flowing very much as it was a hazy morning so there was very little to see, which was pretty disappointing as we had driven out the way to see it.
Huge Croc
Lake with locals fishing
We then headed to Kununurra and it was so hot at just 8:30am. So the first stop was to the Leisure Centre to go for a swim and cool off. At 10am in the morning it was already at 43 degrees! We couldn’t believe it! Scared to get out and back in the heat we stayed in for just over an hour, showered and continued driving through the border, losing 1 ½ hours due to the time difference and stopping 100kms short of Katherine.
Forest fires
forest fires
written by  chrischarly on October 12, 2011 from Katherine, Australia

To Batchelor to meet up with Becks...
Batchelor, Australia
Piccitto the baby wallaroo
Woke up early and drove straight out to Katherine to have an explore around. However, when we arrived, I logged straight on to the internet and noticed I had a Facebook message from our friend Becks who we met in Laos.
Baby wallaroo
She only lives 200km away from where we were so we cancelled our plans and drove up to hers outside of Batchelor. It was great to see her and meet the family and all of their animals on the farm and inside the House.
Duck in a bird cage
They have 9 dogs, about 7 or 8 cats, 2 pigs, 1 cow but many more live on their land, 2 hand-reared goats, loads of chickens, ducks, geese, Guinea fowl, a lorikeet (talking bird),
he lives in a shopping bag!
some horses I think, 2 wild deer they feed all kept outside. Then inside, a duck in a bird’s cage, a baby Wallaroo kept inside a shopping bag as it’s like it’s mother’s pouch, 2 rats, a few snakes and I’m sure some other animals I’ve forgotten. Pretty amazing staying on a mango farm and walking around!
written by  chrischarly on October 13, 2011 from Batchelor, Australia

Making a new friend
Coimbatore, India
the cutest little girl we played peeka-boo with on the bus
This morning we woke up nice and early and took a 5 hour bus journey to Coimbatore. The scenery was pretty amazing regardless of the driver loving the sound of his horn a little too much!
More schoolchildren
Schoolchildren waving at us
Once there we met a nice Swiss lady, Regina and instantly made friends with her with the bonus of her having the same itinerary as us.
Our new friend Ragina and her camera
A kingfisher
We then took 2 more buses before arriving in Mettupalayam where we arranged our BlueMountain railway tickets for tomorrow. Chris managed to get the last seat available and I was on standby for a seat. Fingers crossed I get one…
written by  chrischarly on November 23, 2010 from Coimbatore, India

To yet another place in paradise
Tavuki, Fiji
We awoke by 6am to get down to the bus station for departure at 7 to Taveuni where we would get picked up by the Dolphin Bay Divers Retreat boat.
There had been some rain overnight so the mud road was slippery and we have to “hail to the bus driver” for his skills driving a very crappy old bus, stacked to the rafters over these roads.
It wasn’t the most comfortable journey, but we are used to that by now and after around 4 hours we reached the Ferry crossing which was easy. Just before we reached Taveuni, Chris spotted the pickup boat following us in and they were on the dock waiting for us when we disembarked the Ferry.
It took 20 mins to come back to the resort that was in a little bay and was absolutely beautiful and also has its own time zone from the rest of Fiji; a further hour ahead.
We had a great welcoming and then some lunch before being led to our tent, that turned out to be an amazing bure as they had upgraded us. Chris really had outdone himself getting us here – we later found out that we had 3 meals all included and a really nice room for $85 per night (about £30) for both of us. We relaxed for the afternoon before enjoying happy hour and a delicious 3 course dinner. We only wish we had more than 4 nights here as it is truly paradise!
written by  chrischarly on April 15, 2012 from Tavuki, Fiji

Jellyfish, sharks and a lost Chris, or a blind Charly?
Dolphin Bay, Fiji
Just before getting ready to go snorkelling this morning a couple that are staying here, Carla and John returned from a swim with John having 2 bad jellyfish stings, 1 on his arm and another on his neck.
This immediately got me worried so I opted for a stinger suit then after seeing a jellyfish just offshore I rapidly exited the water having only been out about 5 minutes. Chris went out for about an hour and saw some huge lobsters and a turtle among lots of other fish.
I was supposed to be his land based spotter but lost sight of him, as he had gone so far out, so I decided to walk around the bay to look for him.
Somehow he must have made it all the way back before I saw him as I had walked all the way around to the next resort worried he had drowned or been eaten by a shark. I myself saw 3 reef sharks swimming in the shallows just off the shore with 1 swimming right at my feet, causing me to jump out of the water and onto the rocks just in case my toes were mistaken for fish and thus nibbled. We once again had a delicious dinner and enjoyed chatting to the other guests.
written by  chrischarly on April 16, 2012 from Dolphin Bay, Fiji

Nicest friend in the world... EVER!!
Today, and yes I realise that it is pretty late, but we've just sorted out our first place to stay! One of my friends, Sanette lives in Johannesburg, S.A and has just said that we can go and stay with her once we land! So excited to be seeing her again; it has just been far too long! Her father has even said that he will pick us up. It just makes you realise just how lovely true friends are and we are truly grateful!...
We also did a trial pack with our luggage, and although we are just taking 90L capacity with us will still had quite a bit of room still left so that's reassuring especially after spending a further £65 in Boots today!...
We're getting VERY excited now!!!
written by  chrischarly on July 12, 2010 from Rayleigh, United Kingdom

Flying...
Manila, Philippines
Our plane to Manila
At just gone 1am we boarded our flight to Manila, the capitol of the Philippines which took around 3 1/2 hours.
Our customary on flight photo
Happy about having extra-leg room seats from KL to Manila
When we arrived in Manila there was very little to do but take little power naps and drink rubbish coffee for 7 hours before our next flight to Tuguegarao
Our plane run on propellers
last ones on the plane
Our tiny plane
Chris all squished in
Chris and I very sleepy on the plane to Santa Ana
where we kindly were picked up Trev and taken to his beautiful resort in Sanata Ana! How exciting! We have a lovely room surrounded by lovely people for the next 2 months! Perfect!
written by  chrischarly on February 8, 2011 from Manila, Philippines

Blue Mountain Railway
Coonoor, India
the front of the steam train
the steam train
the blue mountain railway
having a break off the train
This morning we woke up pretty excited about our train journey through the mountains.
our train
going through a tunnel
loads and loads of trees
a cute little village
the scenery from the train
We had heard great reviews about it and managed to fight our way for some good seats after my seat was secured thankfully last night.
our 2nd class carriage with a random man waving in the distance
me and reggie
However, there was heavy rain last night which meant that the clouds were very low thus meaning that there was barely anything to see!
a pretty waterfall
a stream high up in the clouds
the stream high in the mountains
monkeys attempting to break into the train
So after all the travelling to finally take this train journey as well with all the excitement it was pretty disappointing but we did laugh about it!
the view blocked by clouds
the bridge we crossed across
Once we got off the train in Ooty there wasn’t exactly a lot to see so again we took many buses yet again before we arrived in Sulthan Bathery in our first search for a tiger!!
written by  chrischarly on November 24, 2010 from Coonoor, India

A baby cow!
Batchelor, Australia
The fence we built
I felt like I truly worked hard today! Being on a farm is pretty exhausting at times! Chris and I put up a chicken wire fence that took us 3 hours in the baking hot sun, with the animals not particularly being helpful. The goats kept trying to eat the cable ties and our clothes whilst the pigs kept pushing out the fence in the wrong direction. Pretty irritating but funny and the same time, especially when the goats fell out of the wheelbarrow!
Chris doing some work
But when we did complete it we were pretty proud of ourselves and a little sunburned. Rebecca went out in the afternoon to meet up with a couple of friends whilst the boys went camping so it was just Chris, Cheryl, Rick and I for the evening, so I went out and helped Cheryl move a couple of gates around so the cows had access to a waterhole and walk the dogs.
A massive cane toad
Whilst we were out there, Cheryl spotted a tiny calf out walking on its own at the end of the far field. How she noticed it, I’ll never know as it was so far away, so she went back to lock away the dogs whilst I went to try and grab it. I didn’t have a clue what to do, having never even stroked a cow before let alone go and grab a tiny baby one. So I slowly walked up to it and tried to pick it up, but it was so scared of me so I sat down and stroked it a bit so it could get used to me and tried to persuade it to walk, but it was so weak it just kept collapsing to the ground, so eventually I gave up and picked it up and started walking back.
Chris carrying her properly
Meanwhile back at the house Rick and Chris couldn’t believe Cheryl had sent me to go and get the calf, finding it hilarious so Chris came back with Cheryl armed with a camera, whilst I was struggling to walk back the length of the field with the calf (later named Ginger Princess by Chris). As soon as we got back Cheryl made up a milk formula for G.P and bless her, although she could hardly walk she drank 2 bottles until she fell fast asleep in the kitchen in an old dog cage.
Feeding G.P
Ginger Princess
Let’s just hope she makes it and is still alive in the morning.
written by  chrischarly on October 15, 2011 from Batchelor, Australia

Lichfield Park
Batchelor, Australia
Wallaroo playing by my feet
Taking the wallaroo out to play
Baby wallaroo
Playing with the goats
It was so nice to sleep in an air-conditioned room last night! But woke up and Chris went straight to work mowing the lawns whilst Becks and I cleared the twigs and hoses out of the way.
Dirty Chris
Mowing the lawn
After that, Daniel took us to go and see the magnetic termite mounds that point from North to south and the reason they do that is to get the sun when it both rises and sets to keep the mounds warm as much as possible.
Me and Becks
Magnetic termite mounds
The falls
The pools we swam in
Brendon
Becks, Daniel and Brendon
Quite clever. After, we went to go for a cool off at some pools at Lichfield Park. Nice way to finish off the afternoon.
written by  chrischarly on October 14, 2011 from Batchelor, Australia

Our first safari in India
Kalpatta, India
Pretty excited about our first safari in India, the 3 of us (our friend Regina is still travelling with us) arrived at Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary at 7am for our 1 ½ safari drive.
a tree passageway
our safari jeep
Unfortunately we couldn’t spend longer in the park as it closes at 9am till the evening. Although we didn’t exactly see a lot; it was very over-rated.
Us pushing the bus as it was too close to our jeep
Chris and our safari driver
Our safari driver weariing Chris' lucky hat
We saw spotted deer, a wild boar from very far away that in fact resembled a stone, some monkeys also far away and some tiger footprints.
An elephant, unfortunately with chains around it's neck
A monkey far away
a deer a lot like bambi
I was though very impressed by the footprints and prayed we would see some tigers themselves but unfortunately our luck wasn’t with us today.
Tiger footprints!!
Then yet again we spent far too many hours on a bus to spend some time relaxing on the lovely, quiet Pallyam beach just outside Kannur for a few days.
written by  chrischarly on November 25, 2010 from Kalpatta, India

Snorkelling
Dolphin Bay, Fiji
After breakfast this morning Chris went off for an early snorkel whilst I waited behind and watched him from the beach waiting for him to return to inform me whether or not there were any jellyfish in the water as I wasn’t keen to risk it again. After about an hour he returned having failed to spot any jellies, great news so after lunch I also went out for an hour, with Chris to snorkel up and down the bay.
They have had some heavy rains and landslides here so the visibility isn’t very good unless you are in the shallows but there are tons of fish to be seen and we saw 3 lobsters hiding under rocks. Dolphin Bay, the place we are staying protects this bay from fishing so the fish are in abundance everywhere which is great for snorkelling, but not so much for the locals as they are not allowed to go spear fishing. After we came back, we showered and changed before going to the bar to have a couple of drinks, use the internet and wait for a delicious dinner of fish kebabs, using the ribbon-tailed snapper that was caught yesterday.
written by  chrischarly on April 17, 2012 from Dolphin Bay, Fiji

Corals that look just like cabbages
Dolphin Bay, Fiji
As soon as the generator started this morning at 7am we woke up, dressed, and walked to the restaurant to eat breakfast before I squeezed into my stinger suit, applied some sun-cream, grabbed some fins and got on the boat to take us snorkelling and another guest diving leaving at 8:30am.
The first spot we stopped at was called ‘Coral Garden’ which was amazing. So many beautiful corals and millions of stunning fish, including 4 white-tipped reef sharks! 2 of them were huge but
the third one was probably the most impressive sighting as I was snorkelling along with Chris a little ahead and it started swimming closer and closer to be, until I managed to catch up with Chris to show him as well.
It was pretty scary as it was obviously quite interested in me, not for its dinner luckily, just being nosey. Then after an hour in the water and the current getting stronger we climbed back onto the boat and moved on to another place called,
‘Cabbage Patch’ aptly named due to a section of coral looking just like a cabbage patch, of course. This site was also really nice especially alongside the reef but I think it is more aimed towards divers as it is a lot deeper so visibility wasn’t as great.
But still a fantastic stop off and we enjoyed playing in the bubbles created by the divers underneath us. After another hour in the water Chris and I were pretty tired, so once again climbed out and relaxed before collecting Mike and Roland.
We then drove back on the boat, showered and hungrily ate our lunch; a tasty curry and we then read books for the afternoon, before having Lovo for dinner.
This is a traditional Fijian dish cooked underground for 50 minutes at a seriously high temperature. My God it was delicious! We then stayed up for ages chatting to other guests staying at Dolphin until crashing out.
written by  chrischarly on April 18, 2012 from Dolphin Bay, Fiji

Chillaxing on a deserted beach
Cannanore, India
Me and Reggie
Today the 3 of us had a great time walking bare-foot along the deserted beach and swimming in the sea for the majority of the day before heading to the travel agents to sort out train tickets for the rest of our stay in India.
Me and Reggie in the sea
Our footprints on the beach
This proved to be a lot more difficult than first anticipated as we are here over Christmas and New Year so most trains are full. So after a few hours we left and re-thought our route which took hours.
written by  chrischarly on November 27, 2010 from Cannanore, India

Day of rest
G.P
I had a bit of a lie-in today which I felt was much needed and of course Sunday is the day of rest, but I did feel bad waking up at 10:30am whilst everyone else was out working. But I didn’t feel like I could do a lot anyway considering how achy I was after carrying G.P. yesterday, but it was great to see her still breathing this morning as I’ve already gotten very attached. I feel like such a girl!
Ginger Princess
None of us did a great deal today apart from check-up, feed and water a very sick cow that cannot walk and is slowly dying. We originally thought yesterday that this was G.P’s Mum, but then later today we found a dead cow with the same kind of markings as the baby so that wouldn’t give G.P a very good chance as it would be unlikely that she fed on her. Had a good day though, Rebecca, Daniel, Jesse and Brendon came back after lunch and just basically chilled with just a little bit of farm work to do.

Jumping Crocs!
Humpty Doo, Australia
Boxing croc
Woke up this morning, sorted out and tidied the van as we made the sad decision to leave the farm today.
Chris
We have had a brilliant time, but must go and do some more exploring. So after saying goodbye for far too long to Rebecca and Cheryl and of course to all the animals we finally left at 1pm heading for Kakadu National Park via Darwin.
The boat we went on
Enjoying the boat ride
On route we stopped off at Adelaide River and took a boat trip to see the crocodiles. It was a really good trip as they tempt the crocs with big chunks of meat to persuade them to jump out of the water and we did get to see and learn about some of the massive ones.
Flying eagle
Jumping croc
Head sticking out
They also fed the white bellied sea eagles and kites which was also pretty scary as they fly straight past you to grab the meat.
Sniffing the meat
Croc right next to our boat
Croc's belly
HUGE croc
We arrived a bit later than planned to the park and after travelling 5kms up a dirt track to a free campsite we came across a huge puddle so instead headed for the next available place to stay for $29.
written by  chrischarly on October 17, 2011 from Humpty Doo, Australia

Tour around Kannur
Cannanore, India
A lighthouse
A British Cannon
A lovely view
Another nice view
Chris imitating a statue
Us walking through the fort
A man showing off his catch to us!
A heron or a stork ??
Today we hired a rick-shaw to give us a tour around Kannur stopping at St. Angelo Fort which was constructed in 1505 by the Dutch where there are still canons left behind by the British and underground jails.
A lovely Mangrove walk, but too many Mozzies
A pretty bridge
A View from the top of the fort
The Fort
Graffiti on leaves
3 men fishing with rubber rings!
We then went to Parassinikadavu Temple which is famous for a religious dance performed every morning and evening. However, we didn’t understand it and due to being pushed and shoved constantly we soon went outside and watched the locals bathe themselves in the river at the bottom; I think it was considered Holy water??
written by  chrischarly on November 27, 2010 from Cannanore, India

Bye Bye Dolphin Bay
Savusavu, Fiji
Gutted that we have to leave here this morning. Especially when we know that we are faced with 2 days of solid travel, which we are not looking forward to, to get back to Nadi to fly onto Tonga. So after breakfast we said goodbye to everyone and the staff all sang us a farewell-song in Fijian which was a really nice touch, followed by giving us a necklace each made out of shells.
Then we got into the boat to take us back to Taveuni to get straight onto a Ferry to take us back to the mainland again. Although the Ferry was busy, it was fine and took about 1hr30 minutes. Then, straight onto a bus bound for Savusavu. It was so much easier than we thought it would be. Fiji transport is actually very organised.
Bus journey was ok too, the roads of course were shocking so it was bumpy but we arrived in Savusavu at 3pm. We thought the easiest thing to do was to go back to Sunset Lodge as we knew the beds were comfy and the prices reasonable so this time got into a taxi and went straight there after booking tickets all the way to Lautoka (close to Nadi) for tomorrow. After unpacking our things we went to the internet café, then for some dinner, followed by a beer and an early night, before our 4.30am start in the morning.
written by  chrischarly on April 19, 2012 from Savusavu, Fiji

Something smells very fishy...
Suva, Fiji
Alarm went off at 4:30am this morning. There should only be one 4:30 in the day and definitely not the am one. We then quickly finished packing, got dressed and went outside to wait for our taxi. We had booked it for 4:50am and by 5:10am it was clear that he was a no-show. What a bummer. No other taxi drivers were answering their phone so we had no choice but to power-walk it down to the bus stop. Well it started off as power walking but in the dark and with our bags I soon resulted to dawdling as that was the fastest speed I could muster up this early. Stupid taxis. We luckily arrived in time for the bus, which we were delighted to see was more than half empty, so picked our seats right at the front, got comfy and we set off.
Unfortunately as the bus didn’t have 20 or more people we had to get off at ‘The Junction’ and clamber onto a very full bus, with the only seats left for us at the back. Not ideal for a long trip, but no other choice. We then drove for another 4 hours before arriving and waiting for the ferry in Nabawalu, for an hour along bumpy muddy roads and I had the pleasure of sitting behind a man with hygiene issues for the way. Then, onto the ferry bound for Natovi Landing, which was a lot nicer than sitting on a bus as we had space to move around and lucky managed to grab a space on the comfy sofas in front of the T.V. to watch a couple of films along the way. Then after the approximately 4-hour journey we got back onto the bus for another long ride to Lautoka. The bus stank. Luckily the man mentioned earlier moved seats had his seat nicked by someone else so he found somewhere else to sit and a lady plonked herself down next to me who had obviously eaten something that didn’t agree with her so I had to open the window and close the window every few minutes. But the journey only got smellier.
About an hour in there was a very strong smell of rotten fish eggs, well that was the only thing I could compare the smell to having had the pleasure to smell them before when fishing off the wharf in Levuka and the smell just got more and more intense throughout the journey without a clue where it was coming from. After 3 hours I just couldn’t take it anymore and moved right up to the front with Chris when a couple of people got off for the last hour. At maybe 8:30pm we finally arrived at our destination, opened up the luggage department to collect our bags to be faced with the intense fish smell once again. So that was where it was coming from! So I prayed and prayed that it hadn’t seeped into our bags and we found Chris’ first which did have a hint of fish smell, but pushed right into the middle was my bag, and ironically sitting on top of my bag was the source of the smell. So, soaked through from the rain that had leaked in, the fish (which we discovered was dried fish) was now wet and all the smelly juices had soaked through to my bag. It was vile and I had no choice but to put it on to walk and find a mini bus to take us to Nadi airport, so I too stunk, as that is where Wailoaloa agreed to pick us up from. The ride to the airport didn’t take long, maybe 30 minutes and as expected, our transfer wasn’t waiting for us, even though we asked them to be there 15 minutes before we knew we would arrive as they are so slow at everything. So after calling them twice, they finally came at 9:45pm, so we hurried back to the resort in time to order some dinner as we were famished. Then, off to bed after washing my stinking bag.
written by  chrischarly on April 20, 2012 from Suva, Fiji

Already getting stuck in
Tuguegarao, Philippines
Trev, Jo and Me
Chris is quite in his element here in Trev's and Jo's resort already taking over the kitchen sharpening knives for hours and cooking his first Filipino dish, whilst I've been trying out my Excel skills drafting out spreadsheets and researching Valentine Menus!
written by  chrischarly on February 9, 2011 from Tuguegarao, Philippines

Last full day in the U.K
It's our last full day and pretty much everything done... went for a yummy pizza at Chris' cousin's restaurant with his family. However, it still hasn't sunk in :S

90,000 lights
Mysore, India
the facinating palace
this photo makes it look like the palace is floating???
the band playing
thousands of lights
the palace
a side view
a close up to the 90,000 lights
the main gates to the palace
the palace entrance all lit up
The palace at night
This morning we woke up and caught a 7 hour bus to Mysore to see the Palace all lit up. Every Sunday evening they turn 90,000 on all over the palace grounds and it was pretty amazing!
written by  chrischarly on November 28, 2010 from Mysore, India

Kakadu National Park
Kakadu National Park, Australia
Flying bird
Birds having a swim
A pretty bird
Floodplains
Went for an early swim in the campsite pool to refresh ourselves before our busy day ahead. Firstly we went to Bardedjilidji which was a beautiful 2.5km walk through layered sandstone outliers before stopping off at Cahills Crossing which had a viewing platform over the East Alligator River, where we stood watching some huge crocs coming up out of the water.
Kakadu
Climbing
A tree's long roots
Balancing act...
A croc hiding on the bank
A croc in the river
Road train driving through the flowing water
Road train about to cross bridge
Walking around
Finally we went to Ubirr which was a 1km track that takes you past several fascinating Aboriginal rock art sites, which some are a few thousand years old.
Aboriginal rock art
We then climbed to the top of a steep rocky lookout which has superb views over the Nadab floodplain which was beautiful.
Awesome views
Ubirr views
Amazing views
The views from the top
Checking out the views
Then, pretty tired, we went and found a free campsite and set up early before all the mozzies came out. At about 8:30pm we were tucked up in the van and we started to see lightening continuously 180 degrees around us, and slowly it got closer until the winds started to shake the trees and the van. We were camped out under a huge tree but decided as we were in a forest there was little point moving. So, we lowered the pop-top roof and just prayed for the best. It was pretty scary but a truly awesome storm and we don’t even think we got the full brunt of it luckily as the next morning there were many fallen trees.
written by  chrischarly on October 18, 2011 from Kakadu National Park, Australia

Another day in Kakadu
Pine Creek, Australia
Chris moving trees out of the way
Aboriginal rock art
Got up early once again and took a drive out to Nourlangie and went on a 1.5km walk past an ancient Aboriginal shelter and several more art sites.
Nice views
We then took a steep climb to Gun-warddehwardde Lookout and saw some impressive views of Kakadu’s escarpment and Nourlangie. After this we went to the Yellow Water Wetlands which is part of the South Alligator River floodplain and walked along a boardwalk to see the wildlife. Unfortunately most of the walk was closed as the water was too high but it was still a nice, if short walk.
Lots of fish
Ducks
The floodplains
The little lake
We then went to the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre and learnt many things about the culture and history of Kakadu before watching a video and I fell fast asleep until Chris awoke me.
Chris swimming in Kakadu
Crocodile warnings
Then after a quick lunch we drove to Maguk and took a 2km walk through monsoon forest and along a Sandy and rocky creek which led us to a small Waterfall and a clear plunge pool where we went for a quick swim reassured by the rangers that this area had been checked for crocs although later signs suggested otherwise. Next stop to Pine Creek to meet up with Jesse, Rebecca’s brother for a couple of drinks and a pizza before pulling up at the pub campsite, pouring with rain where we camped out for the night.
written by  chrischarly on October 19, 2011 from Pine Creek, Australia

Rooms serviced by a 6-7 yr old boy!!
Hampi, India
Local school children
Me surrounded by a local school
sweet children
As soon as we arrived in Hampi; unwilling to search for accommodation we stayed at the first place we came across. It was pretty cheap and in a very relaxing place but also pretty dirty.
We later understood why as we saw a young boy around 6 or 7 years old servicing the rooms. No wonder the sink was filthy, there was no way her could even reach it!
Local boys
Local Boys
some of the many men desperate for our photo- we took one of them instead
Chris negotiating the 10 rupees payment for a photo
During the day we were hassled quite a lot for our photo to be taken by many Indians that Chris has now started charging 10 rupees per picture taken of us! Hilarious! Some Indians even put their hand in their pockets about to pay us before our conscience kicks in!
written by  chrischarly on November 30, 2010 from Hampi, India

Thieving Wailoaloa
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
WE HAVE BEEN ROBBED!!!
Chris calmly woke me up this morning to tell me. He had realised this after noticing that the alarm had failed to go off on our phone, so after going to the toilet he got dressed and put on his shorts to discover that his wallet was in the wrong pocket, so thinking this strange, he checked inside to notice that it was empty of cash and then that our phone, which we had left on charge on top of the fridge was also missing.
Thank God we watched a film last night so had to charge the laptop and thus it was next to Chris’ sleeping head all night or that would’ve clearly been taken too. Can’t believe this has happened after 22 months of nothing, which of course is lucky I know, but still. Just hate the thought of someone creeping about in our room last night whilst we were fast asleep. Plus, we ALWAYS make sure we lock our door, so pretty sure it was the staff here at Wailoaloa, but of course we cannot prove it, but luckily our cards all remained in our wallet, but maybe that was so we could still pay our hotel bill before checking out! So, even though we stayed here when the floods were in Nadi and we hated it then, we came back as it was easy as we fly out to Tonga today. BIG MISTAKE.
After calming me down a bit Chris went straight to the bar to inform the manager that we had been burgled and left me inside the room as I was too upset to leave. He then came back explaining that a manager will be over to speak to us straight away in our room, so we waited. After an hour, we gave up waiting and went down to the bar to order breakfast and asked yet again to speak to someone.
As we were flying out today to Tonga we had to leave the resort at 2pm so we needed to get this sorted asap and I the staff were aware of this so I think they were trying to delay speaking to us as long as they could with the hope that we would just forget and think it wasn’t worth the hassle. But someone Chris managed to persuade me to be patient and eventually a manger came over to see us and said she had checked the cctv and no one was near our room all night. This is where my patience started to run out and I told her to check it again to make sure as someone clearly took our things as it was obviously not a gecko, so we disappeared and returned a little while later telling us once again that no one was there in a patronising manner which implied to me that she didn’t believe us. I then of course was very upset in the way this was being dealt with, not at all seriously so asked he to call the police so they too could check the cameras as nothing was going to be solved through this resort and by getting the police involved may also scare the resort and staff into action.
Chris then went and saw the cctv himself as we obviously didn’t believe the manager and discovered that the camera didn’t even cover our room! So no wonder they didn’t see anything on it! But of course this wasn’t mentioned to us, which fuelled us even further to belive that our things were stolen by a staff member as they knew nothing would show on the cameras and they would know where to hide and not be seen.
The police arrived after yet a few more hours of waiting and to be fair to them, they were fantastic. They assured us that they were going to conduct a full investigation into what happened and wrote us a long detailed report of what we told them and promised they would do whatever they could and email us the details of what they found.
As we said before, this was our last day in Fiji and we had the most amazing time previous to this day so we were glad when we finally arrived at the airport and we just decided that we would put this all behind us, well after I write a review on both Trip Advisor and Hostel Bookers so future travellers contemplating staying at Wailoaloa will think twice before risking their belongings also disappearing.
Anyway, we did strike lucky when checking in as the lady at the desk asked us if we minded having emergency exit seats, so we jumped at the chance knowing that this always meant extra legroom as long as we promised to help (touch wood) in the event of an emergency.
But the flight was delayed an hour, and a further hour once we were on the plane as we were waiting for 2 other passengers to get on as a plane was late arriving from Hawaii. But check out how much leg room I got! A whole extra seat’s worth! What a bonus! The flight once we were in the air was only an hour long and we chatted the whole way with another traveller sat next to us, Hal who came to stay in the end with us at ‘Toni’s Lodge’ as we had a pick-up waiting for us.
The guesthouse was about 30 minutes away from the airport, and about 15 minutes from town and it is pretty basic but clean and cheap for Nuku’Alofa. We were also luckily upgraded as the house we had originally booked, ‘The Green House’ was over-booked so we got a nicer double room at ‘The Blue House’ for the same price. Bargain. We stopped at the super-market en-route and joined in drinking some Kava with some other people staying here so it turned out to be quite a late night in the end before turning in to a nice room with a bed big enough for 4 people.
written by  chrischarly on April 21, 2012 from Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Sunday= Day of Rest
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Everyone staying here at ‘The Blue House’ woke up today feeling rough and dizzy, including both Chris and I and I had a bad stomach to accompany it. So we didn’t achieve much today as none of us had the energy or motivation to do so. But as it is a Sunday, that didn’t matter much anyway as no-where is open or any activities even flights don’t run. So Sunday is definitely a day-of-rest, so we took complete advantage of that and just relaxed and watched T.V. and films all day.
written by  chrischarly on April 22, 2012 from Nuku'alofa, Tonga

11 hour car journey
Mysore, India
Mysore palace
a tiger monument
the palace
the palace gates in the day
This morning we went to see the palace during the day but it was nowhere near as amazing as seeing it all lit up at night.
Cows on the road
Cows munching on rubbish
Then as our friend Reggie really wanted to go and visit Hampi she hired a car to take us there and for a very small bargain Price we joined her!
giving a local school boy a lift
us driving through a shallow river
the car that took us from Mysore- Hampi
The journey was 11 hours long and we travelled all through the night but although tiring was a far better way to travel than on a night bus which would have taken a great deal longer.
written by  chrischarly on November 29, 2010 from Mysore, India

A lot of driving and Edith Falls
Elliott, Australia
Me having a swim in Edith Falls
Left Pine Creek this morning with a lot of driving ahead of us as we are now making our way down south to Alice Springs. We camped up just outside of Elliot for the night after driving pretty much all day stopping briefly at Edith Falls for a refreshing swim and Katherine for a bit of shopping.
written by  chrischarly on October 20, 2011 from Elliott, Australia

Bush fires and the devils marbles
Alice Springs, Australia
Devils marbles
Devils Marbles
The alarm went off at 5:30m this morning to get on the road first thing for an exhausted day of non-stop driving. Drove pretty much all day, with just a brief stop-over at Devil’s marbles which are a collection of round-ish rocks seemingly scattered in the desert.
Chris pushing
Chris trying to push the marbles off
Chris tried to move them but didn’t have much luck.
Everything all black from the fire
Thick smoke
Huge bush fire
Driving through clouds of smoke
Tropic of Capricorn
Also drove through a bush fire, which was a bit too close for our liking considering we couldn’t see and had to drive on the other side of the road to avoid our jerry cans from exploding. Pretty scary. Then stopped for the night at The Tropic of Capricorn rest stop just North of Alice Springs. Long day, awesome sleep.
written by  chrischarly on October 21, 2011 from Alice Springs, Australia

2 snakes!!
Hampi, India
Today, making the most of having a free car to use we went on a long tour around Hampi visiting countless amounts of temples,
climbing over rocks to see yet another temple
and to see another...
a photo taken of a film set before we got thrown out!
me stood in a doorway in an elephant's stable
me attempting to hide from Chris
one of many monumenets we've seen
and another...
a scary-looking monkey
a chariot
the sacred bull
another religious building
the elephant's stable
a temple
Queens bath
an ancient stone monument
a seriously erotic stone monument
where we saw 2 snakes! One dead. One alive!
(Email me if you would like to see the photos)
The latter apparently being quite special as it is said to have 2 heads; one at each end! The locals were amazed at the fact that we saw one, calling us very lucky, even though it was pretty close and very scary!
Then late afternoon we went to the Sloth Bear Sanctuary where we saw 6 wild Sloth Bears.
a bear licking honey from a rock
a sloth bear
2 sloth bears
Even though they were quite far away it was pretty amazing!
written by  chrischarly on December 1, 2010 from Hampi, India

Into the city
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
We caught a shuttle bus into town; well it is in fact the capitol of Tonga, so a city, but it is quite small and reminds me of a small Asian town actually. Which is nice as we don’t really like cities anyway.
But as it is small, there isn’t much to do or shops to buy anything decent so the main reason to go in and buy a new Mobile was unsuccessful as they were all really expensive for what they were. We just wanted a dirt cheap ugly-looking thing that no one would want to steal. We then went for some cheap local lunch which was a BBQ.
Pretty unhealthy BBQ actually as the meat was really fatty so only something you could eat as a one-off, but it still tasted good. The shuttle bus was due to pick us up in another 2 hours after lunch, and as we had already walked all around the city and ate lunch we had nothing else to do except sit in a
café and waste away the time. But the staff were really friendly so we got the good opportunity to learn some news Tongan words as well as phases to help us decipher the local menus, but even their English menu was funny to read but at least it was understandable. Then once the shuttle arrived, we came back, went on the internet for a while before relaxing back in the T.V. room for the evening.
written by  chrischarly on April 23, 2012 from Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Cancelled flight :(
As we no longer have a phone we no longer have an alarm, so Moni, one of the staff here woke us at 6am so we got get packed and ready for our flight leaving at 8am to Vava’u. All through the night the rain hammered down and this morning was no different, the first thing Chris said to me was, ‘I bet the flight is cancelled’ and unfortunately he was right. We left Toni’s at 6:30am and drove to the airport arriving at 7am to check in, drink some coffee before we noticed the change on the whiteboard.
The rain was starting to clear a bit but the pilots also sitting in the café confirmed they were waiting for the weather to clear the other end before we could set off, so after 3 hours of waiting it was announced that the flight was in fact cancelled and rescheduled for tomorrow at 11am. So we called Toni and asked him to come and pick us up. But unfortunately as we had already checked out, some other people were due to move into our room and as there were spaces in ‘The Green House’ now we either had to move there or pay to stay back in ‘The Blue House’ where we were originally. So we upgraded as it’s far nicer. Spent the afternoon on the internet and again watching films as it rained almost continuously all day so not nice to anything else.

Time to Fly
Heathrow, United Kingdom
After finally fitting everything into our bags, we are now all set to go to the airport! Chris' parents gave us a lift to Heathrow and although the traffic on the M25 was pretty bad, we made it with plenty of time to have a quick drink before flying.
Very nervous. Very excited, BYE BYE U.K!!
written by  chrischarly on July 14, 2010 from Heathrow, United Kingdom

A little recovery
Santa Ana, Philippines
3am in the bar
Last night after I had already written the blog entry we stayed up late drinking with some of locals on the beach, one even sneakily stealing a bottle of our wine!! So today we were a little tender slowly doing some work taking a little rest bite on the beach occasionally; Chris doing a little fishing and myself some reading...
written by  chrischarly on February 10, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

Being blessed by an elephant and climbing 675 steps !!
Hampi, India
Today we went to see yet another temple, but this time the highlight being blessed by an elephant!
giving the rip-off elephant 10 rupees
the elephant giving his owner my money
being blessed by an elephant
It was quite funny as a local Indian could give the elephant 1 rupee in exchange for a blessing by the elephant, but a tourist has to give at least 10 rupees, aka a note instead of a coin in order to be blessed!
children begging me to take their photo
one of the many photos taking of the children- obsessed with having their photo taken
Thus the elephant could tell the difference between a local and a tourist! A true Indian making us pay at least 10x more for an attraction! But it was funny!
Afterwards we went to go and see a temple at the top of a hill where we climbed 675 steps to see some pretty amazing views of the whole of Hampi.
the temple at the top of the hill
Half way there- already exhausted!
the steps we climbed
the view from the 675 steps
another nice view
A monkey admiring the view with us
all hot and bothered looking like a beetroot after the climb
the not-so-amazing temple at the top
The temple was pretty disappointing and it was seriously hard work but we were in fact very proud of ourselves for making it the whole way!
written by  chrischarly on December 2, 2010 from Hampi, India

The other side of Hampi...
Sadly today was Regina's last day so after walking her to the car we decided to try out the other side of Hampi which had been highly recommended to us.
putting a very expensive&very heavy bike on a small boat- only way to cross!
trying to re-start the bike
Pushing the very heavy bike up the hill
To get accross we had to take a small boat and when it rains heavily means that you get completely cut off from the main land.
the walk down to the ferry
in the middle of no where
the ferry crossing
However as soon as we went across we were in no hurry to leave finding an awesome place for an awesome Price !!
written by  chrischarly on December 3, 2010 from Hampi, India

First spotting of Ayers Rock
Yulara, Australia
Enjoying a beer and the view
Chris enjoying a beer
The view from our campsite
Drove to Alice first thing to fuel up with coffee and petrol and do some shopping before getting back in the van for another afternoon of driving. We found a really nice free camp spot for the night about 30kms away from Yulara with views of Ayers Rock for sunset up a sand dune with a beer; although sunset was a little disappointing. Nice early night in preparation for Sunrise but not a great sleep due to another bad storm.
written by  chrischarly on October 22, 2011 from Yulara, Australia

To Vava'u
Three Little Birds, Tonga
We set off again to the airport to fly to Vava’u but luckily a little later in the morning at 9:30am than at the crack of dawn and amazingly even though there were thunder storms at the airport the flight was still going just 30 minutes later than scheduled.
But unfortunately they had changed planes as the pilot that flies the DC-3 had run out of hours and we had to fly in a CIC. Poor Chris was broken-hearted as he desperately wanted to fly in this 60yr-old war plane, but I still think that the plane we did go on was pretty special, it looked like a rocket and was tiny and claustrophobic inside.
But at least we made it and in 2/3rds of the time the DC-3 manages it in. We were met at the airport by Lee, who took us to the beach and our home for the next few days. It is an amazing beach and the Fale was really nice, although pretty basic without electricity.
They had made an extra effort to finish it for us and it was nicely made up for our arrival. They had erected a temporary water tower so we could have some running water, all from rain water. Once we had settled in, the tide was low, and there were locals collecting shells to eat, so we put on our reef shoes and went out to join them, we even managed to find some for them.
The beach started as sand but quickly became rocky with coral and lots of hidden sea urchins, so we had to be careful where we walked. After a while Chris came back and got his swimmies on so he could go for a snorkel, and managed to spike the side of his foot with a sea urchin, luckily not too badly.
After a while Lee, Isi and the team set off and said they would return around 6.30pm to collect us for dinner. We chilled on our own private beach for a while, before having a quick shower and being picked up. We were taken back to the village to have dinner in Isi’s house with his lovely family. We asked to have just what they would eat and we had a delicious Tongan meal of raw fish in coconut milk, taro and some local salad. All washed down with a tea made from lime leaves.
After dinner we tried to have a chat with the family, who didn’t speak much English, but it was nice none the less. Then we headed to town to watch a drag show at Tongan Bobs, it was hilarious and called ‘Fak-a-lady’ and the ‘Fak’ part is pronounced the same as the common ‘f’ swear word, but instead of what it sounds like, it actually means ‘like-a-lady’.
We had a few beers each and after a couple of hours watching the show it finished and so they drove us back to our private little beach.
written by  chrischarly on April 25, 2012 from Three Little Birds, Tonga

Yummy octopus
Three Little Birds, Tonga
Chris did some fishing off the wharf, unsuccessfully, and I chilled out on the beach reading my book. We headed into town after lunch to go on the internet and Chris tried to help Lee sort out access to her website so he could write it for her.
When we got back from town Chris went for a long snorkel, and some guy had been spear fishing catching 8 octopuses plus some other fish so Isi bought some for the House. We got ready to go to Isi’s House for another amazing meal, this time octopus cooked with Taro leaves. It was so yummy I could almost give up cheese for this.
written by  chrischarly on April 26, 2012 from Three Little Birds, Tonga

The almighty Ayers Rock
Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia
Chris and I
Me
After hitting ‘snooze’ to many times we did surprisingly get up at 4:45am and drove into Uluru to see the amazing Ayers Rock for Sunrise with a ton of other tourists.
Ayers Rock
Kata Tjuta
Walking around the base
Although it is a rock, it’s still pretty impressive and thought we would make the most of our entry fee and walk around the base 10.2kms and do a couple of the extra walks to the waterhole and a gorge.
Stupid people climbing in the midday sun
The mighty Ayers Rock
Exhausting day and very hot with not much shelter from the sun, so for the rest of the day we were a bit like zombies. In the afternoon we checked into Ayers Rock campsite which although it was a paid sight, was nice to just chill the afternoon away in the pool before heading back out to Uluru to see sunset although that was a non-starter much like last night but an excuse for another beer didn’t hurt.
written by  chrischarly on October 23, 2011 from Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia

The Olgas
Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia
Kata Tjuta
We couldn’t be bothered to wake up for Sunrise this morning but still got up early and went to Kata Tjuta which is still in the National Park and better known as the ‘Olgas’.
Us
The olgas
Me
A scary-looking spider
Walking around
Chris climbing up
Me a little behind
Cooling off!
We spent the morning walking around and exhausted ourselves once again before driving out to Kings Canyon National Park for another long walk tomorrow, staying once again in a paid campsite with pretty rubbish facilities compared to other paid ones we’ve stayed in for the money spent, but it was nice to go for another swim though in the pool although it did have some weird biting beetles in the water.
written by  chrischarly on October 24, 2011 from Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia

Relaxing in our new pad
Today we just spent the day chillin'... It was really nice actually just relaxing and just generally doing nothing!
our back garden
view from our room
It is like we are in the middle of the countryside in India where there's little if any rubbish scattered everywhere, pretty idyllic if not perfect !!

Chris being arty
Three Little Birds, Tonga
Chris decided to Surprise Lee and Isi with a little flower display in the morning, quite arty for him really! After this he sat down in the office he had built to help Lee draw up plans for the restaurant Fale.
Today was exciting as we were going to meet Isi’s family (wife Martha and son LeLei-Leka) who visit at the weekends. We picked them up and went back to Isi’s for a lovely meal, including some random shellfish that was tasty. Martha had bought a huge coconut pudding, which was simply divine!
written by  chrischarly on April 27, 2012 from Three Little Birds, Tonga

EARTHQUAKE!!
There was a lot going on at the beach today with the builder working on the furniture for our Fale, so everyone was busy. Chris fixed the tap and silconed the kitchen and also found time to make a swing for the kids whilst I cleaned out both shower heads for the fales.
In between Chris and I went snorkelling and saw some really nice fish, but not there wasn’t much coral and thus fish as well but it was still a nice swim. After everyone had gone home, we chilled for a while,
then showered and off to Isi’s for dinner. We awoke around 11.08pm to the Fale shaking around us, it was terrifying and my first thought was that some people were outside and literally shaking the building. After it had finally stopped, we went to check the building then gave Lee a call to check in. It was a fairly large earthquake, either a 6.4 or 6.7 as some websites gave different scales, but luckily no-one was hurt, just a bit shaken and scared, especially the two of us as it was our first one we’d ever experienced.

Windy, rainy weather
Santa Ana, Philippines
The pool at night
You would think we were in the U.K by taking a look at the weather here, so we have mainly been working inside on the computer in the kitchen today as there's very little else to do except taking a walk earlier when it stopped raining for 1/2 hour. We haven't even been in the pool or sea as yet as it's too cold!!
written by  chrischarly on February 11, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

Arriving in Johannesburg!
Johannesburg, South Africa
Myself, Sanette and Mario
Finally we are at our first destination! The flight was pretty busy and although the air-stewards were stingy with supplying us with water, we had a comfortable flight. Sanette's father was waiting for us which was perfect timing as it stopped pestering-porters from hasseling us too much! He then took us to a huge flower market on-route to his gorgeous home, where we have been really looked after and we can definately say that we are NOT slumming it whatsoever! However, Johannesburg is FREEZING!!
written by  chrischarly on July 15, 2010 from Johannesburg, South Africa

Stinking colds... in India ???
Today Chris woke up full of cold... how is that possible in a place as warm as India!
monkeys
One of the 4 frogs found in our room
Chris always being the one to share kindly passed it on to me as well by the end of the day, so as well as relaxing we spent the day feeling pretty shitty and sorry for ourselves :(

The beautiful Kings Canyon
Kings Canyon Resort, Australia
Over looking the Canyon
Lizard
Kings canyon
Chris climbing up
A little bird
Got up early once again to go and see The Kings Canyon.
Getting pretty tired now!
lizard
Another nice view
King Canyon
Kings Canyon
It was a right mission of a walk that took 4 hours at the top of the canyon and to the bottom of the Garden of Eden.
So amazing!
Standing on the edge, or at least close to it!
So amazingly beautiful!
But it was so worth the effort and the views were outstandingly beautiful.
Walking
Fantastic view!
A lost hat
Then, off we drove the 500kms back to Alice Springs, did a little shopping and then headed off to the West MacDonnell ranges but unfortunately missing the turn and went the wrong way! Long, long day and we are very tired people.!
written by  chrischarly on October 25, 2011 from Kings Canyon Resort, Australia

Donkeys, Spiders and Mice
Tennant Creek, Australia
Fantastic cool off
Drove back on ourselves and finally ended up at the MacDonnell ranges and went to Ellery Creek Big Hole for a nice refreshing early morning swim. By refreshing, I mean bloody freezing! Many other people went down, dipped their feet in the water before running off scared, Chris and I were the first and only people in the water all morning before some other brave people joined us.
A great water hole
Nice relaxing morning before we continued driving for the next few days. In the evening we made it further than we thought we would staying 100kms south of Tennents Creek. The campsite we chose was recommended in our Camps book, but we can safely say that it was our worse one yet…
Donkey
The ground was almost swimming with ants it was impossible to sit outside or even go outside without running, a ton of mosquitoes, a wild donkey that attempted to kick Chris, but luckily he ran away in time, tried eating our food,
Stupid bloody donkey
tried breaking into the van by bashing it all night at almost broke our wing mirrors. Not only that, a Huntsman spider invited it’s way into our van and scared me half to death and then awoke in the night to hear rustling in the front and petrified it was a snake, we tried to investigate, but found nothing until morning when Chris was about to get in and drive and found tiny mouse poos on his seat.
written by  chrischarly on October 26, 2011 from Tennant Creek, Australia

a little rock climbing... by Chris
This evening Chris did a little exploring high up on the rocks we could see out side our room to watch the sunset.
our accomodation in Hampi
The rocks look like they will fall off!
so peaceful up here
gorgeous view from this high!
sunset
the rocks Mum thinks look like ducks!
I didn't exactly like the thought of climbing rocks almost as high as myself so thought I would let him try it out before I decided to go up !!

To church and a tour of the island
We decided to join the family this morning and go to church as this is what almost all Tongans do every Sunday. But before church began we went down and drank some Kava at 9am with some of the local men- a tradition before and after the service. Afetr church we went back to the family home and ate Umu, which is food cooked underground on a huge fire, another tradition on a Sunday, similar I suppose to a Sunday Roast.
Isi and Lee then took us on a small tour of the Island including visiting a small cave with freshwater inside next to the sea, then to Tongan Beach Resort where Lee collected some ideas of what her place will look like when it is finished and then to a restaurant which had some botanical gardens next to it. At the last place we stopped for a couple of drinks and a chat before we were dropped off back at the beach before Lee came and collected us again for dinner. Nice chilled evening and an early night for us.

Poorly Chris
Went to town this morning to get logged on as this was the first opportunity we had to get connected since the earthquake on Saturday and as we don’t have a phone yet, we were worried that our families couldn’t get in touch.
But it looks like the earthquake didn’t hit the news as we didn’t have any emails about it, which is good. After spending an hour on the very expensive and slow internet we headed back and relaxed for the afternoon as Chris wasn’t feeling well, just very achey, so he went to bed at 4pm and didn’t really get back out of bed apart from go to the toilet and eat some dinner which was brought down to us tonight so he didn’t have to go out. Whilst he was resting I did some washing, tidied up a bit, read my book and just looked after him.

A day of virtually pure nothingness!!..
What an awesome day...
a relatively clean river in Hampi
women washing their clothes and theirselves
a man having a wash in a fast-flowing river
Acheived hardly anything...
'Quality ice-cream
Perfect!!..

Now in Queensland
Mount Isa, Australia
Chris looking gorgeous
After a rubbish sleep, back on the road all day to see how far we can get. We did manage to drive almost to Mount Isa but it was a proper boring day. Miles and Miles of pure nothingness to look out of the window at…
The view out of the back window. aka nothing
Miles and miles of nothing
In the evening we camped up, too hoot for anything else but cheese sarnies and played some card games with a couple we keep bumping into.
written by  chrischarly on October 27, 2011 from Mount Isa, Australia

Well-hidden sunnies
Normanton, Australia
A load of cows
We headed from our rest stop to Mount Isa to get fuel and go to the visitor’s info. After passing pretty cheap fuel on the outskirts we continued on thinking it would be the same, it wasn’t. We headed to visitor info and it wasn’t open so decided to head back out to the first fuel stop. Refuelled and watered and noticed they had free showers for the truckers, so made the most of it! All refreshed we headed back to town, went to visitors info and then to get a new jerry can funnel to reduce the chance of Chris bursting into flames with our leaky one. All done we headed out of town until about 20kms out I went to put on my sunnies but couldn’t find them.
Having a quick stop over
After a bit of panic and Chris requesting a full search I was adamant I had left them in the shower room back the other side of Mount Isa. We headed back but couldn’t find them and no-one had handed them in, oh bugger, but wait, what’s this, under the pillows! Another Charly great search = an extra 40+km’s. This made Chris grumpy for a good while, but it was at least better than a grumpy Charly if she had lost them. The rest of the day was continuous driving of about 800kms, the last 200 were very tricky at dusk and with 100’s of roos unhappy with life and wanting to have a close encounter with our bull bar. We made it by dark to a nothing camp, Chris made me Macaroni cheese and ate cold chili from a can, then sleep!!
written by  chrischarly on October 28, 2011 from Normanton, Australia

Staying on a family's couch- at Christmas !!
rocks that look like they will fall off!!!
again, lovely views...
monkeys playing
The boulder
Our friend Adrian climbing the boulders
getting there
almost there
made it!
Goan Corner
Today we spent most of the day attempting to find places to stay over the next month using a website that we’ve recently heard of called ‘Couch Surfers’ which is where we can stay at locals House’s for free! Yep that’s right for absolutely nothing!! Perfect for us poor backpackers!! So after a little searching we found a nice family to stay with over Christmas in Jaipur where prices for accommodation normally sky-rocket!

A nice chill day
Had a nice lazy morning, I read my book whilst Chris worked on Lee’s website offline. Chris went for an unsuccessful fish again and then borrowed one of the staff’s kayak to play about in for a couple of hours. Then went to see the family again in the evening to be informed that they had really missed us last night, which was lovely to hear.
Over the past few days I have somehow managed to teach Isi’s Mum and nephew (with a lot of patience as they don’t speak and English and myself only basic Tongan) how to play a dice game with me which has proved immensely popular and it was nice to sit on the floor and play with them for ages, which has become another nice routine here.
written by  chrischarly on May 1, 2012 from Three Little Birds, Tonga

Chris finally manged to catch some fish
Isi’s parents came down this morning, one to see us and another to see how the guesthouse is coming along. So Chris and I kept Isi’s mother (Ofa) entertained by going out and collecting mussels and other shells and some yucky-looking things to eat.
We were out for ages and ages and we did actually get quite good at spotting the mussels and shells inbetween the corals dodging the sea urchins and sea snakes. But after a while I caught up with Ofa and saw that she had cut her feet as all around her the water was red and as I couldn’t communicate very well with her,
I ran back and made Isi take her out my reef shoes to wear so she wouldn’t hurt them anymore, which she finally appreciated once her stubbornness wore off.
I then went back to the beach and sat with Moni (Isi’s father) and we tried a few times, sometimes successful to have a conversation, but he was just happy with me sitting next to him.
God I love Isi’s parents, they are so adorable.
Once Chris and Ofa had had enough of the shell collecting Chris was taught by Vincini, one of the staff how to go fishing with a net.
His first few attempts were simply hilarious to us all, but after a while he finally got the hang of it, and after catching just one tiny fish,
on his next throw managed to catch 5 which we all ate raw straight out of the water (after displaying them in a basket for photo purposes) and Chris of course was so happy. We then cooked some tasty food on the beach before relaxing for a while and then to the family home yet again for dinner and then out to Aquarium for a couple of drinks before bed.
written by  chrischarly on May 2, 2012 from Three Little Birds, Tonga

Man vs. Food
Roodepoort, South Africa
Sanette Snr, Johan and Chris
Chris enjoyed his first South African meal with an amazing 500g Aged Rump steak, rated as in his top 5 ever eaten. It was a difficult challenge but Chris managed to polish it off washed down with 2 bottles of South African Red shared with Mario. A most memorable first meal with our amazing hosts! So much for our new and healthy lifestyle!
written by  chrischarly on July 15, 2010 from Roodepoort, South Africa

Work and chill, work and chill
Santa Ana, Philippines
Enjoying a glass of wine
We've just been doing a little bit of work followed by a little relaxing taking walks along the beach with Trev and his dog Max, we just hope that the weather clears up a little before Valentine's Day!
written by  chrischarly on February 12, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

Finally our last night in Hampi
where we stayed in Hampi
the awesome bar/ restaurant
Finally deciding to leave the relaxing and beautiful Hampi we booked our tickets for a sleeper couch to Gokarna.
me working hard on this blog
where we are staying
the courtyard
The coach we had been told has real beds! However, always been a little dubious we will wait and see if that really happens!
Ginger asleep
the boulders
Sharmilla our landlady
So in the evening we stayed up pretty late celebrating our last night in Hampi with a couple of friends.

Ice cold water
Ravenshoe, Australia
Nice view
Really nice waterfall
After waking at our roadside stop, we headed further towards Cairns, stopping at Millstream Falls for a look then stopped at Ravenshoe visitor centre were a nice man gave us lots of useful info. Heading further we got to Millaa Millaa falls where Chris braved the cold water for a swim under the falls.
Malanda Falls
How the curtain fig tree was made
Curtain fig tree
We then took a brief de-tour to go and see a huge curtain fig tree which was pretty impressive and after this we headed into Atherton and did some shopping before finally getting to Lake Tinaroo to camp the night. Enjoyed a glass of wine and a bacon and Camembert Sandwich. Yummy!
written by  chrischarly on October 29, 2011 from Ravenshoe, Australia

Turtle spotting
Atherton, Australia
The river
Bottom feeders!
Turtles
A turtle head
Turtle
Had a nice day with not doing a great deal. In the morning we drove to Lake Eacham and did a little turtle spotting before going for a nice early morning swim for an hour.
Great view
Then we made our way out of the Atherton Tablelands and headed North towards Port Douglas where we found a nice little place to camp and got chatting to a nice guy who was a dozer driver and a snake catcher who gave us this amazing drawing he had done of a crocodile, just need to find a way to get it safely back home now.
written by  chrischarly on October 30, 2011 from Atherton, Australia

A Real sleeper coach !!
Hospet, India
The coach did have real beds!!
our room right at the back of the coach
Chris and I couldn’t believe our luck when we walked onto the bus and we had reserved for us a huge double bed!
all of the other compartments down the bus
However, it was right at the back; the only worse beds being those above us!
before the journey began- hence why we're smiling
Although the bed itself was quite comfortable, every Speed bump we felt quite severely- a couple of times even leaving our bed being launched into the air!
the view from our little room on the sleeper coach
Thus, the first half of the journey we failed to even have a wink of sleep…
written by  chrischarly on December 10, 2010 from Hospet, India

Spit-roast suckling pig
Our last day in paradise was spent relaxing, with Chris having a bit of a fish and a very long snorkel.
In the evening was our leaving dinner and we were having spit roast babe – the only problem was that babe was alive when he arrived, so Chris took on the manly job of dispatching him under guidance from Isi.
Chris then decided to teach the Tongan’s about black pudding and made a batch with the blood, liver, kidneys and testicles. All wrapped up in a leaf and cooked in the Umu. Surprisingly not many of them wanted to try it, but Isi did, and I did and it was actually very tasty. The pig was delicious as were all the veg we had with it. We washed it down with some beers, sitting out under the beautiful night sky.
written by  chrischarly on May 3, 2012 from Three Little Birds, Tonga

Back to Tongatapu
Lee picked us up at midday today and took us to Isi’s House where we ate our last lunch in Vava’u which was a tasty fish curry shared with Isi’s family. After spending 22 hours up at the House it was a sad goodbye with Ofa and Moni, Isi’s parents who were even crying as we left. We’ll miss this place.
We then went and collected Martha and Lelei-Leka (Isi’s wife and son) from their village and Martha had made us some pretty flower necklaces as a leaving present, before driving to the airport and saying some more sad goodbyes. Unfortunately yet again we were not to fly on the DC-3 and back on the same plane we flew on before so Chris was disappointed, but at least it was on time and not delayed or cancelled. Peter, who works for Toni was waiting for us at the airport and drove us back to Toni’s via the supermarket for some basic supplies, before getting settled in and chatting to some of the other guests who we would be staying with, 11 Canadians who were training to be nurses and as they had made so much food they kindly shared some with us. It was then for an early night to be bright and fresh for Neil’s arrival tomorrow morning.
written by  chrischarly on May 4, 2012 from Nuku'alofa, Tonga

A Joke of a journey !!
Gokarn, India
After being told before getting onto the bus that we were due to arrive in Gokarna at around Sunrise, we were blissfully unaware when we were woken from sleep by the conductor repeatedly shouting ‘Gokarna, Gokarna’ at 2:30am! We were then ushered onto a smaller and seriously crammed in bus to take us the final ½ hour journey! We were NOT expecting that! Then, even worse, it dropped us off into the middle of nowhere 6km away from our destination! Then after failing to negotiate a fair Price for a rick-shaw to the beach we arrived outside a closed resort begging them to let us into their restaurant so we could sit down and try and get some more sleep. Luckily he kindly let us and a group of us sat for hours then watching a beautiful Sunrise on the beach.
quiet beach
where we were in the empty restaurant
just as the sun was rising
taking a walk
early morning
the sunrise
Completely unaware of what our night of travelling would be like we did very little for the rest of the day. We managed to find some rustic but nice accommodation on the beach for 150 rupees= £2 for a night and settled ourselves there reading books for the day whilst Chris did some fishing on the beach.
Chris fishing
His luck was actually with him after not long he caught a catfish!
Chris proud of his catch
Chris killin' the fish
a zoom in on the fish so it looks bigger
The locals were amazed by this and they soon huddled round to inspect his catch!
written by  chrischarly on December 11, 2010 from Gokarn, India

Charlie's Restaurant
Port Douglas, Australia
Such a lovely beach
We drove up to Port Douglas and down the coast taking a look at some of the nice beaches along the way to Cairns. In Cairns we went for a nice swim at the huge free pool and chilled out there for a while before checking into a campsite in town. We then went for another swim in their swimming pool and then got dressed up to treat ourselves to some dinner out. We had heard that ‘Charlie’s’ a restaurant in town did an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet for $25pp and there would be loads of lobster, crab, prawns etc. etc. So we were really looking forward to it.
Nice look
Bubbly and prawns
After ordering a bottle of bubbly we checked out the buffet and unfortunately it was not what we expected, strange-tasting oysters, cold prawns, cold mussels, a little sushi and bland Western type food. But we paid so were determined to make the most of it, leaving very full but pretty unsatisfied. But we still made sure we had a good evening, but vowed to not eat in a budget buffet again.
written by  chrischarly on October 31, 2011 from Port Douglas, Australia

Trains and Sky rails
Kuranda, Australia
We left the campsite first thing this morning and drove to Freshwater Railway Station to go on the scenic train journey up to Kuranda.
The station
Going in a tunnell
The carriage
Loads of people waiting
Chris by the train
On the tarin
Nice view!
The train
Waterfall
It was a nice journey on a really old train which lots of tight bends, tunnels and Bridges up the Mountainside. Once in Kuranda we wandered around for a while, but what was once a cute little village in the rainforest has now morphed into a massive tourist hub but we made the most of it by getting all the free samples we could get our hands on.
The skyrail
On the skyrail
Skyrain
View from skyrail
Nice view
Skyrail
What a cassowary is...
When we had had enough we then took the Sky train back down to Cairns making a couple of stops along the way to walk around. Had a great time, but it did make our wallet a lot lighter at $99pp for the 14km train journey and 7km sky rail, but worth it. We then took a drive out to Babinda in the evening and stopped at The Boulders at a free campsite and spotted the rare and endangered cassowary bird! I followed it for ages until it ran off into the bush and unfortunately without a photo.
written by  chrischarly on November 1, 2011 from Kuranda, Australia

Getting eaten by stinging things...
Gokarn, India
our little bargain room
outside our huts
the toilets and bucket showers
Where we are staying right on the beach
After being pretty exhausted from the travelling the day before, we spent the majority of the day on the beach and swimming in the sea.
the beach
a sunset on Om beach
We all set ourselves the challenge to swim right out to a rock we could see from the sand. We did actually get pretty far out, almost making it but then we all started to feel stinging all over our body!
a cute little puppy
then the puppy finds some cow poo on the beach
then decides it's lunch!.. Yuck
digesting his food before it tries to lick my feet later!
We’re still unsure whether there were tiny jelly-fish in the water or plankton as we couldn’t see anything in the water but we soon swam back fast!
written by  chrischarly on December 12, 2010 from Gokarn, India

NEIL'S HERE
Peter, Toni’s driver had said to us we could sneak into the minibus that was driving to the airport to collect Neil and by sneak we mean not pay the transfer fee so we woke up early, showered and got ready to get a phone call from Peter to say that Toni would be driving to the airport instead. Bugger.
So we walked down to try and sweet-talk Toni into letting us come with him and to try and blag it for free. He of course was having none of it; we either pay full price or don’t go, so after some negotiating Chris managed to secure himself a seat for ½ price but there was no room for me in case he collected some more guests. So I turned back around and walked back, with the intention of going back to bed but instead stayed up and chatted to Carol, the mother superior of the nurses for a few hours before the boys turned up. It was of course fantastic to see Neil again and we were all excited to be spending 3 and a bit weeks with each other, Neil soon forgot about his jet-lag having flown for 2 days straight we all unloaded our bags in a different room and went straight to town to help keep him busy and awake. Then, after coffee and a bite to eat we headed back after a couple of hours and spent the rest of the day relaxing.
written by  chrischarly on May 5, 2012 from Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Changed flights
With Neil still recovering from the jet-lag we had a
relaxed day again today not particularly doing a lot, but Chris and I being King and Queen of relaxation it didn’t worry us and we happily wasted away the day chatting with other guests staying at Toni’s, so although not a lot occurred we still had a great day. Oh, but we did decided to change our plans a little; instead of spending a week here, after listening to our travel tales about Fiji, Neil liked the sound about spending a bit more than 3 days there, so we changed our flights and we leave tomorrow!
written by  chrischarly on May 6, 2012 from Nuku'alofa, Tonga

A nice day finally to enjoy the beach :)
This morning Trev decided to treat us to Dim Sum- a Chinese brunch at a casino close by, and it really was delicious! We couldn't take any photos there unfortunately but it really was a fantastic! It did however look quite out of place here in The Philippines where everywhere else surrounding it was a great deal poorer.
Then, in the afternoon as the sun was finally shining for the day, we did a little work before hitting the beach for a couple of hours,
Chris preparing his bait
About to cast
Chris casting
Chris doing a little fishing whilst I pretended to watch by reading a book...
Relaxing and reading
He did manage to catch 2 fish though!
Yes, it's small but at least he tried :)
Ugly fish
That was however until the sky started to change colour and we wathched the rain coming in again...
Yucky rain clouds

Chillaxing
Roodepoort, South Africa
Our first wildlife encounter
Had a relaxing morning where we did nothing except- nothing... fantastic. However, even though we are from the U.K, we never expected S.A to be this cold, where we had layer-upon-layer of clothing.
Although Chris was feeling a little under-the-weather we had a lovely evening again with Sanette and her family at Mario's 500 seater restaurant sport's bar where we Chris ate another steak and I ate pizza... delicious!
written by  chrischarly on July 16, 2010 from Roodepoort, South Africa

A mission of a walk !!
Gokarn, India
The view on our walk
The boat we caught back
This morning we took a walk to Paradise Beach about 1 ½ hours away. My God it was a right mission.
An Indian tribal man watching the world go by...
Dal and Becks posing
Becks pretending to be a pirate
It was a lot further than we thought it would be; having to clamber over rocks and doing some serious trekking.
Paradise beach
Dal fast asleep after our walk!
Me loving the sunshine
We were pretty proud of ourselves for actually making it there! Thus after breakfast I fell asleep!
Our place from the boat
The sun vanishing!
After spending a nice few hours chilling on the beach we opted to get a boat back admiring just how far we walked.
Chris seriously excited at thoght of night-net-fishing !
bringing in the net
Looking for the fish they'd caught
Chris happy with all the fish they'd caught
Then in the evening Chris went net fishing with the locals.
written by  chrischarly on December 13, 2010 from Gokarn, India

Off to Beth's...
Mission Beach, Australia
The lovely water
Windy but gorgeous beach
Didn’t do anything too strenuous today, went to MacDonald’s to take advantage of their free Wi-Fi and managed to book our New Zealand- Fiji flights which we found for a bargain! Then made a quick stop off at Mission Beach, but too many stingers for a swim and then drove to Townsville and gave Chris’ parent’s friend, Beth a call and turned up at her lovely House for a couple of nights.
written by  chrischarly on November 2, 2011 from Mission Beach, Australia

The lovely Townsville
Townsville, Australia
View from the hill
Completely cleaned out the van this morning and did a lot of re-organising and it now looks as good as new, before Beth took us out to check out Townsville. First stop was to Castle Hill and we took the easy option of driving up trying to avoid hitting the masses of locals on a keep fit regime trekking up and down, which did not look easy.
Stinger nets
After admiring the views for a while we drove back down and had a look at The Strand, but unfortunately couldn’t go for a swim as the man made pool was closed for cleaning. We then made our way back, Beth showing us other sights along the way, had a bit of dinner, played cards and chatted for a few hours.
written by  chrischarly on November 3, 2011 from Townsville, Australia

A nice stroll on the beach...
We had a great day today just lounging around reading books, going on a lovely long walk along the beach until sunset and going for occasional swims...
Chris having a swim...
..then having a wash!
our lovely beach we're staying on
Me taking a walk along the beach during sunset... lovely !!
climbing along the rocks about a km away
A cow on the beach
Chris sitting on the rocks unaware that he's lost his bait, weight and hook!
me cuddling one of the puppies who wasn't eating poo yesterday!
Our crazy bar-man with a seriously high-pitched laugh!
Chris looking rugged and unshaven...
Chris now shaven and having a massage
Chris also got his hair cut and had a cut-throat shave followed by an Inidan head massage!

Returning to gorgeous Fiji!
Suva, Fiji
Woke up, packed, showered and checked out before spending the morning yet again chatting to fellow travellers and sorting a few things on a horribly slow internet connection. Then Peter came and picked us up along with a few others and drove us to the airport to go on a small plane to Suva, Fiji’s capitol.
We opted to go to Suva instead of Nadi as it is closer to get on a Ferry to Ovalau where we visited before and where Neil also can’t wait to go and also because it is nice to check out somewhere we haven’t really visited before.
Once in Suva we shared a taxi to a hotel with Curly and Vo (some travellers we met also staying at Toni’s and on the same flight with us) which was a Best Western. To be honest it sucked as it was expensive, had a pool that was under maintenance thus empty, faulty air-con that we only realised too late and a fan that sounded like a helicopter landing, but as it was only one night it didn’t matter I suppose. Then down into the city for a couple of drinks followed by an Indian.
written by  chrischarly on May 7, 2012 from Suva, Fiji

Just the 3 of us
We moved hotels to the South Seas that was half the price of the Best
Western, if a bit basic, but still a really nice building
Traditional canoes to sail the Pacific
and the staff were super-friendly. We then went for a walk around Suva and I tried and failed to buy some new tops as all of mine are falling
Traffic
apart due to being stretched so much from hand washing. We had a very tasty lunch at the Pavilion by the sports ground, which was full of locals and not another tourist in sight serving local curries for cheap.
Chris and Neil
Then after lunch we had a good look around the Suva museum before walking into town again and finding some internet. Then, just like the old times, the 3 of us went to the cinema to watch ‘Pirates’ in 3D which was entertaining, before having a couple of drinks and grabbing a pizza before heading back.
written by  chrischarly on May 8, 2012 from Suva, Fiji

Gokarna town
Puppies sleeping at Dolphin Bay Cafe Gokarna
Today we took a rickshaw into town for a change of scenery from the beach. However, we didn’t stay long as we soon missed it and it was blisteringly hot away from the sea breeze so soon came home!

On the road again...
Bowen, Australia
Airlie Beach
Left Beth’s this morning after breakfast, sad to leave after being looked after so well, just like staying at your Nan’s! We then briefly stopped off in Townsville to pick up some things, before hitting the road and continuing south. We didn’t make it far though opting to stay in a free campsite but the only one for 200kms. In the afternoon we attempted to fix the cracks and chips in our windscreen as much as possible and chatted to a few people before getting back into our early night routine.
written by  chrischarly on November 4, 2011 from Bowen, Australia

Geike Gorge
Kununurra, Australia
Kangaroo
Chris and I on the boat
We left first thing this morning at 5:30am to head to Fitzroy Crossing and then onto Geike Gorge. The plan was to go for a walk around the gorge and then go on a boat trip. But when we arrived at the gorge, the boat trips were due to leave in 45 minutes so no time for our walk before it got hot, so we went straight for the boat trip for $28pp.
Croc
Crocodiles
Rocks
Tiny bird's nests
Geike gorge
Crocodile rock
White line= previous flood lines
Inside Geike Gorge
Impressive balancing rocks
We thought it was time to spend a little money doing something touristy and were glad we did as it was worthwhile and informative. On the way we saw a few kangaroos and along the River saw many freshwater crocodiles as well as many impressive limestone structures caused by weathering overtime. We then went straight past Halls Creek to make our way as close to Kununurra in preparation of crossing through to The Northern Territory border tomorrow.
written by  chrischarly on October 11, 2011 from Kununurra, Australia

Another fishy
Chris' big fish
Had a lovely day today swimming for most of it. Then in the evening had a few drinks in the evening with friends to celebrate Chris catching another fish!

Back to Bobo's!
Shops
We awoke reasonably early this morning so we could check out of our nice hotel and head downtown to do some internet work,
Local buses
booking flights etc. before getting tickets and heading back over to Ovalau.
Changing the tyre
We took the nice bus and Ferry as before and as we were going straight to Bobo’s, got off at the wharf rather than travelling to Levuka on the bus.
Check out their jack!
We were expecting Alvin to meet us, but when we walked off the Ferry all we could see was Bobo and his huge smile and waving arms. We exchanged hugs and boarded Alvin’s truck for the ride back to the farm.
Replacement tyre with a chunk out of the side
Neil was very happy with the ride as the views are amazing and he took several pics.
Our completely-bald flat tyre
We decided that we should take the rough track and River crossing to the farm, if only for Neil to experience arriving as we did on our first visit.
On the ferry to Ovalau
Luckily no-one fell over this time, although it did take Chris and I a lot longer than Bobo and Neil.
Road to Bobo's
When we arrived Karin and the dogs/cats were all waiting and we had some lovely refreshing mandarin juice.
Sunset
After a while of swapping stories of our travels we went up to the House,
On the way to Bobo's
to get settled in before our Kava welcoming ceremony and dinner. As ever Bobo was the perfect host and storyteller and Karin the amazing cook. Neil was very pleased with our choice, and we were pleased to be in our pacific “home”.
written by  chrischarly on May 9, 2012 from Rukuruku, Fiji

Waterslides
Neil having some down time
Chris on our balcony
Dragon fly
Karin's lizard
We had a nice chill day at Bobo’s today. I wasn’t feeling too great today having come down with another cold and feeling dizzy, so decided to relax for the day before our hike to Levoni tomorrow.
The pigs kissing!
Chris and Bobo on the farm tour
Nice tree
The bridge to get to the pigs
Chris and Neil went on the farm tour again as Neil didn’t go before and Chris liked it so much.
Neil and Chris
Our place at Bobo's
Coco
Chris and coco
They then went for a small hike up to a waterslide and a few swims before they came and got me for one last swim in the River.
It was then time to just have a nice early night after a few hours chatting in the evening with Karin and Bobo to store up any extra energy for tomorrow as it will definitely be needed!
written by  chrischarly on May 10, 2012 from Rukuruku, Fiji

Lion Park
Randburg, South Africa
Lion cubs
Lion licking a bogie
Cheetah
Today we woke and visited the Lion park. It was a fantastic opportunity to see African Lions, Zebras, giraffes, Meerkats, Cheetahs and some other fantastic animals where you may not get the opportunity to ever see in the wild.
Chris n Giraffe
Giraffagus
Simpler
A little later, Chris, being the amazing cook he is, made a delicious spagetti bolognaise and we had a relaxed evening drinking wine digesting far too much food!
Mario, Sanette and I
written by  chrischarly on July 17, 2010 from Randburg, South Africa

Happy Valentine's Day xx
The bar on Valentine's Day
The bar at night
Chris today taught the kitchen staff with me as his assistant how to make his delicious freshly baked bed and then made his legendary pizzas! I then re-wrote the specails board introducing them to the local Filipino guests and remarkably they went down a storm that we even sold out! :)
My valentine xx
Moi

Dolphins
Chris and Charly enjoying last meal in Gokarna
Today is sadly our last day in Gokarna but we’re excited about our next stop in Goa where we will be staying with our new friends Del and Becks… What made it a perfect last day is during a lovely sunset once again we saw dolphins swimming in the sea very close to shore, closer than where we swam to today!

Platypus spotting
Mackay, Australia
Amazing view
Drove straight to Airlie Beach this morning, but due to a lack of stinger nets, we went swimming in the manmade lagoon, lovely if you ignore all the toddler wee. We then made our way to Eungella National Park to go Platypus spotting
A platypus swimming
A platypus
Platypus
and we were lucky enough to see a few as well as many turtles.
Turtle friend
2 turtles
A turtle
The platypus' home
Then headed just North of Mackay and found a great free camping spot for the night.
written by  chrischarly on November 5, 2011 from Mackay, Australia

Chris' 1st fish!
Carmila, Australia
The monster flathead
Took a short drive today to Carmila Beach between Mackay and Rockhampton. There was a nice campsite directly on the beach so decided it was time Chris put into action his fishing skills. Only problem was the fact the tide was out and it was about 500m to the water.
Chris and his catch
At the end of the beach was a River mouth were the sea runs in so decided to give it a go there. With his cheap rod and reel and only Squidgee lures we setup and gave it our best. Still in Croc territory we were sure to watch the water and got a bit freaked when seeing something surfacing then diving,
Where we were fishing
after a few times we realised they were huge turtles coming up for air. Anyway, back to the fishing, we setup on the slippy bank and after about 15 mins Chris was in with a big fight he landed what can only be called a monster Flathead
Me
(we found out the name after). It was a monumentous fight and trying to find somewhere to land it was a job in itself.
Cleaning the fish
I even managed to slide over and get myself covered in mud whilst helping. Anyway, we got it in, killed it and carried on fishing for an hour or so, before deciding that we had enough fish for a few meals. We took it back to the campsite, Chris hacked it up best he could and we froze down some and left some out for dinner. Chris then cooked a yummy fish stew and we enjoyed our first free meal!! More please!!
written by  chrischarly on November 6, 2011 from Carmila, Australia

Levoni Hike
Levoni, Fiji
Chris and Bobo climbing
After a stormy night we knew our trip to Levoni was going to be slippery but we hadn’t expected it to be quite as tough as it was.
Break time, thankfully
To set the scene, we were hiking from Bobo’s, on the coast, to the centre of the island before finally arriving in Levoni, a village which sits inside a crater of an old dormant volcano.
Neil and I
Bobo led the way and after making this trip several hundred times before, had no issue with the mud, that was until he stepped to the side of the track to help
Cooling down
Charly pass a slippery section and disappeared into the vegetation, only held by Charly until Neil could assist.
My nice ripped trousers :(
We went up first into the plantations and it was pretty slippery but doable, then we left the track and the rest was Bobo hacking through the forest on what he told us was his secret track.
Nice view
It did resemble a sort of track I suppose. We climbed, descended, slipped, fell over, got knackered, fell some more, crossed the river/s more times that I can remember,
taking breaks in the cool water, and then 5 hours later we were there. Not bad for a 3-4 hour trek that Bobo used to be able to do in 1 hour, in his youth.
View down to Levoni crater
Charly and I were totally knackered, Neil not so, but he is a tad fitter, or at least disguising his tiredness very well.
Levoni village
We met Epi, the Levoni host for a fabulous and well needed lunch and to learn the amazing story of Levoni and how it fits in with Fiji. I won’t recall the whole story,
Neil looking good in his sulu!
but it was really interesting and if you want to know the full story you just need to come to Levoni and meet Epi. If it’s been raining take the road, not the hike across the mountain!
Little local house
Epi took us for a quick tour of the village, where there is a stone marker showing the absolute centre of Fiji. After this we took Alvin’s truck back to Bobo’s for some rest and relaxation and more of Karin’s lovely food – this time my favourite freshwater prawns that we saw swimming around in the streams on the walk today. Early night was very much welcome.
written by  chrischarly on May 11, 2012 from Levoni, Fiji

Local buses and rugby games
Neil and his new mates
Chris, Bobo and I
Market stands
We awoke early today to get some brekkie before heading off with Bobo, to Levuka, to show Neil around and watch the local rugby.
A fishing boat
We took the local bus/truck which was packed! After 1 hour of bumpy roads, and with numb arses, we made it to Levuka.
Local market
We went down to the cessation stones, where Fiji was originally signed over to UK in 1874, and then back to Fiji in 1971.
Levuka town
We then went for a look around the museum and town, which was nice with a guide like Bobo telling us lots of information Chris and I missed on our first visit here. We went to have a look around the Royal Hotel, before we popped in to Mary’s to say hi again to Leila.
The oldest hotel in the Pacific
Rugby Match
Fans celebrating
Commiserating their loss
Then we headed for some lunch and a beer before making our way to the rugby ground.
Eating at Bobo's
We caught the second half of a local game and then the full Ovalau vs. Northland that unfortunately Ovalau lost.
Bobo and kava
We went back on the truck, which was even more packed than before and Neil, Chris and Bobo had to stand, whilst I was kindly given a seat by a local guy which I was extremely grateful for as I was so sore from yesterday and I there was no way I could’ve reached the bars at the top of the truck to hold on to. In the evening Karin made us a lovely curry dinner and we had some Kava with Bobo for the last time as once again we have to leave tomorrow.
written by  chrischarly on May 12, 2012 from Levuka, Fiji

Another day of fishing
Maryborough, Australia
Chris fishing
Decided to give fishing another go, but was not lucky this time so packed up after an hour or so. Then we headed further south to another campsite by the Boyne River. Saw some local fishing so thought we would give it a go so wandered down the bank and chatted to the local.
Chris cleaning his fish
He advised us not to go barefoot into the water as there were lots of stonefish that apparently have a spike on them that is very poisonous and can kill you if you don’t get to a hospital, good old Oz.
What a great fishing spot!
He was fishing with livebait that he had caught with a net, but we decided to give the squidgee another go as that’s all we had.
The pretty river
A few hours passed and whilst enjoyable, there were no fish for us or the local. Then just as we were considering packing it in, Chris caught another flathead. One of the other campers was taking a walk and showed us the best way to clean and fillet it. We then headed back to the van and fried up the fillets to have with our leftover stew, once again very tasty and free.
written by  chrischarly on November 7, 2011 from Maryborough, Australia

Off to Goa; Del with food poisoning!!
Goa, India
This morning we woke up bright and early for our trip to Calagute, Goa to stay with our frind Del. Unfortunately after eating some dodgy Chicken the night beofre he woke up feeling pretty ill and after throwing up during breakfast, then at the train station we finally made it to Calagute.
One of many, many beach bars on Calangute beach
Calangute Beach
Then once we made it he was feeling a great deal better so we went for some lunch where he once again was sick at the back of the restaurant! Poor Del was so sick, and as he is a huge food lover often eating about 5 meals a day ddin't like it when we forced him not to eat agin for 24 hours! So we had a nice relaxing night in watching a cheesy film...
written by  chrischarly on December 18, 2010 from Goa, India

Sleeper train to Jaipur
Mumbai, India
After finally arriving in Mumbai we jumped straight onto a local bus to the train station. Mumbai was very busy and chaotic we were secretly glad to only be staying a few hours!
Our first sleeper train.......very long !
Still our first sleeper train....still very long !
The moon at sunset taken from the train
Then after a little wait we got onto a sleeper train to take us to Jaipur where we will be spending Christmas with an Indian family!
written by  chrischarly on December 21, 2010 from Mumbai, India

Not a lot...
Gympie, Australia
Cute sign
Koala sign
Didn’t do a great deal today, a little driving and camped just south of Maryborough on the Mary River and went for a really nice swim.
written by  chrischarly on November 8, 2011 from Gympie, Australia

To another remote island in Fiji
Lellevia, Fiji
The long walk down
We left Bobo’s once again, and we will really miss Bobo and Karin. They are great hosts and we really fell in love with the place.
Walking down to catch the boat
We walked down to the village with Bobo just as the boat from Lellevia was just coming in to meet us. On the way we caught a few squalls and it was like icy spikes hitting your face.
Leaving Bobo's...
When we arrived on Lellevia the sun was out and it looked really nice as there are no mountains on the Island so the rain doesn’t hang around for long.
Frozen coconuts
We knew they would be doing some construction, but they were offloading a large ship of materials, so it could be worse than expected.
Our bure
As soon as our bags were off the boat we had lovely coconuts that had been kept in the freezer so just like slush puppies before going to our room, which was ok, if a bit tired.
That’s why they are building new ones I suppose. The conch horn sounded signalling lunch and we headed down for some Chicken
Chris in our room
curry. After digesting we all went for a snorkel that was better than expected with a wide array of hard and soft corals and many fish.
Neil and his little scary-looking friend
It is protected here and it shows, it was some of the best snorkelling we had seen for a while. After snorkelling Chris and Neil enjoyed a couple of happy hour beers before showering and dinner. We chatted to some of the other guests while having a few more beers before retiring to our bure for a good night’s sleep.
written by  chrischarly on May 13, 2012 from Lellevia, Fiji

Stupid friggin' chainsaws
Lellevia, Fiji
The stupid chainsaw
Before booking to stay here on Lellevia Island we had been warned that they were doing “a little bit of construction work”.
The beach
But nothing was mentioned about being awoken at 8am by a chainsaw being started right outside our room and continuing all day until after the sun had set. We were not happy. It was so loud there was just no escape from the noise as we were on such a small Island with at least 20 workers rushing to get some more bures up in time for the high season, next month.
Where Chris and I spent most of the day
Neil wasn’t feeling great today as I had kindly passed on my cold and stomach cramps over to him so he was especially irritated when all he wanted to do was rest and catch up on some sleep. Chris and I sat on the
beach for most of the morning as far away from the building work as we could get. Then, after lunch, Neil was back up and we went for a walk to the Cannibal Pol, which is still there from years ago when the locals would come over to
Nice beach
the Island to cook up
The cannibal pot!
some yummy humans for the chief. After having a quick look at the pot and not wanting to hang around for too long in case we fell in, Chris and I went for a snorkel while Neil relaxed and recovered on the beach. In the evening after our dinner we drank some Kava with the workers and watched the replay of the rugby sevens which were on last night, but the reason why we couldn’t watch them live was because they couldn’t pick up the signal on the Island, so a DVD recording was brought over instead. It was nice to have something to do in the evening and to hang out with the friendly workers and watch them so happily watch Fiji’s victory especially over England.
written by  chrischarly on May 14, 2012 from Lellevia, Fiji

A trip into Appari
Aparri, Philippines
The busy street of Aparri
Today Trev took us out to Appari town about 90 kilometres away, which is the nearest town to buy supplies!
A motorbike with a carriage attached to the side
An extended motorbike
We really are out in the sticks here!
One of the many extended vans used as buses
A local bus/truck driver stood proud infornt of his pimped-up rides
We both had a great day just walking around picking up a few supplies and seeing some funny sights!
written by  chrischarly on February 15, 2011 from Aparri, Philippines

Another Lazy Sunday
Roodepoort, South Africa
Chris, Little dog and Chloe
As you can see...
We didn't exactly achieve anything today...
We played a few games of Pool...
Chris cooked an amazing pork belly dinner...
We drank loads of wine...
Very chilled...
Very relaxed...
written by  chrischarly on July 18, 2010 from Roodepoort, South Africa

Catching Mary River turtles
Noosa Heads, Australia
Now a dead flathead
Chillaxing
Chris' catch
Chris went for an early morning fish in the Mary River and managed to catch quite a few catfish and the endangered Mary River turtle,
Gorgeous beach
all of which he threw back in, especially the turtle as quick as he could before anyone saw! We then drove up to Noosa Heads stopping off for an ice-cream on the sand and then drove south down the coastal road before camping just North of Australia Zoo.
written by  chrischarly on November 9, 2011 from Noosa Heads, Australia

Enjoying the beach...
Panaji, India
Chris, Del and Becky
Chris chilling on Calangute beach
We had a lovely day today walking around Calangute with Del and Becks enjoying the fantastic sunshine whilst we hear that back home in the U.K it's -17 degrees!
written by  chrischarly on December 19, 2010 from Panaji, India

Our 2nd sleeper Bus
Pernem, India
Chris trying to set timer on camera, not very well !
After enjoying our last day with Del and Becks we took a sleeper bus from Goa to Mumbai taking around 14 hours!
On the sleeper bus from Goa to Mumbai, very cosy !
It was a long journey and instead of being really bumpy like the previous bus, we payed extra to guarantee a bus with air suspension but instead of us bouncing up and down the whole way we felt as if we were on a boat swaying from side to side.
Charly relaxing on the sleeper bus
Note to anyone travelling in India: - always take the train if possible, it is so much smoother a ride and in fact cheaper!
written by  chrischarly on December 20, 2010 from Pernem, India

Australia Zoo
Landsborough, Australia
Having a close look at a Koala
Joey feeding off it's mum
Koala
Me and a Koala
Koala having a snooze
Me and my bird friend
A big bird
Woke up early this morning, Chris all excited about going to pay tribute to one of his hero’s Steve Irwin at Australia Zoo.
Chris and Steve
Feeding a Kangaroo
Kangaroos having a sleep
Croc
Balancing act
A massive tortoise
Feeding a kangaroo
Feeding a croc!
So we arrived just before 9, paid our $118 entrance fee and walked around and around the zoo checking out all of the animals before leaving at 4:30pm with a flat battery on our camera to quickly recharge and then take a look at the animal hospital just outside.
A big tortoise
Chris and the Irwin family
Kangaroo
Chris with a massive croc
Lizard
Great day, but pretty exhausting! Then made our way to a free campsite just North of Kilcoy.
Otters
Mother and baby kangaroo
Australia Zoo hospital
written by  chrischarly on November 10, 2011 from Landsborough, Australia

Onwards to Samoa!
Nananu-I-Ra, Fiji
The bar
After waking up and having breakfast we packed up and left Lellevia on a tiny little boat to the mainland.
Neil chillaxing
It was supposed to take just 40 minutes but instead took 1.5 hours, luckily Neil had his sun-cream close to hand or we would’ve all baked in the sun as the boat wasn’t undercover. The reason why it took so long was because the boat kept cutting out and they had to keep pulling it apart and repairing it.
Beautiful sea
But eventually we made it and caught a taxi to Suva to get on a very small and cramped bus to Nadi airport with a couple of hours to spare to take our flight to Samoa. The flight wasn’t long, under 2 hours and it was nowhere near full so we all got to spread out, but they sure like their air-con so it was freezing so I snuggled under
No smoking sign
the 3 blankets on the seats next to me. When we landed, the accommodation we booked, Livingston apartments was there waiting for us and drove us from the airport and into Apia driving the long way through the city taking in some night sights along the way. By the time we had unloaded our bags and gotten into bed it was gone 1am so we were all really tired so soon got into bed excited about being in a new country and going to explore tomorrow.
written by  chrischarly on May 15, 2012 from Nananu-I-Ra, Fiji

A traditional fiafia show
Apia, Samoa
Chris enjoying a Vailima
After our late night last night we all had a bit of a lie-in this morning and once we had all arisen, ate some papaya for breakfast and did
Neil and I
some hand washing as all our clothes were filthy and no washing machine were available. So I washed, Chris rinsed and Neil rung out and hung up; a good conveyer belt system we thought!
Practicing for the boat race
Fiafia show
But it did take ages and by the time we had finished it was boiling hot outside as it was now midday. But we still had a nice walk around Apia which is in fact a really nice capitol city kept immaculately clean with nicely manicured gardens all along the road side. We stopped off at a posh Chinese restaurant which served tasty, yet expensive food served by some miserable staff, surprising for such a friendly country.
Traditional ladies dance
After lunch we all wandered about a bit more and Neil and I brought a new top each in between going in and out of various hire car companies trying to get the best rate, car and price with the lowest insurance excess which we finally found when we walked into Avis. They were very efficient and said we could have the car straight away if we wanted so as it was already 4:30pm just managed to book some ferry tickets for the following day in time and thought we may just as well get straight out and enjoy the nice beaches on Savaii. So happy with our new car we drove back stopping for a quick drink along the way at the Yacht Club to watch some rowers practising for the 50 years independence in a couple of weeks’ time before going back to Livingstone Apartments for a quick change and out to Aggie Grey’s for dinner, in a very old hotel which served a delicious buffet dinner accompanied by a fiafia show, which is a traditional Samoan dancing and fire show, expensive but worth it.
Firedance
Our drinks and food
Enjoying a cocktail
We all really enjoyed ourselves, ate too much food and drank a couple too many cocktails.
written by  chrischarly on May 16, 2012 from Apia, Samoa

Meeting up with Wil and Florence
Coolangatta, Australia
105 different pies to choose from
We left our campsite and headed further south stopping for a swim in Somerset Dam and then at an awesome little pie shop in Fernvale.
Chris tucking in
Yummy. We then managed to get in touch with one of Chris’ old work mates, Wil who now lives in Coolangatta so made our way down to the Gold Coast to spend the night with him and his wife Florence. We went out for dinner on the sea front at a surf club and had a great evening chatting the night away.
written by  chrischarly on November 11, 2011 from Coolangatta, Australia

Our first Couch Surfing Experience!
Surat, India
The bustling streets of Jaipur
Chaotic traffic
Our first proper long stay in a city- Jaipur
After a really smooth train journey where we both slept solidly for more than 10 hours we arrived safely in Jaipur! It was a very comfortable train journey that was very quiet and it hardly felt as if we were moving!
A straight to the point sign!
Amber palace over-looking Jaipur city
Jaipur is a huge bustling city full of character and life yet so far doesn't seem as chaotic and polluted as Mumbai which is a relief!
Oytside our home in Jaipur
Cows in the middle of the highway
Massive monkeys taking over an Indian home
We managed to find Sanjay's and Annu's place quite easily about 9km away on the outskirts of the city and we were delighted with the warm and hospitable reception we recieved straight away.
Making us feel like home by having a tree although we're living with a Hindu family
Our Indian Christmas tree
Annu, Sanjay and Me after we finished decorating the tree
Think it will be a great Chrismas here.
written by  chrischarly on December 22, 2010 from Surat, India

The Pink City
Jaipur, India
Entrance to Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal from street
Inside Hawa Mahal
View from top of Hawa Mahal
Chris posing for the Indians to take photos of him!
Me and a little Indian girl
Top of Hawa Mahal
A pedal rick-shaw! What a work-out!
Today we took a walk around Jaipur nick-named 'The Pink City as the majority of the building are painted pink.
Touching the top of the palace
Hawa Mahal
Entering the Hawa Mahal
Jantar-Mantar, very old astrology/astronomy centre
Rubbish just dumped in a beautiful place
Entrance to the City Palace was 300rps each!
So instead we took these 2 photos off of post-cards to pretend we saw it!
We went exploring a little to see some of the sights on offer.
written by  chrischarly on December 23, 2010 from Jaipur, India

Stunning beaches
Gold Coast, Australia
Gold coast
After saying goodbye to Wil and Florence we drove to a couple of the beaches along the Gold Coast understanding why so many people want to live here as the beaches are stunning.
Walking along the sand
We slowly cruised down the coast a little way before finding somewhere to camp up for the night earlier than usual and got chatting to a couple of friendly Aussies who invited us to join them at a poker night in town, so of course we went. Neither of us won though, but it was free entry so we didn’t lose anything and Chris even made it down to the final 5. Good evening though and was nice to go out to a true local pub.
written by  chrischarly on November 12, 2011 from Gold Coast, Australia

Off to beautiful Savai'i
Mulifanua, Samoa
Our new ride
Alarm went off at 5:30am today to head to Savaii the other large Island here in Samoa. So after packing we hung up our wet clothes we had washed yesterday that had failed to dry completely over the backs of the seats in our car and drove to the Ferry terminal in Mulifan, 1 hour away.
Day fales
It was nice to be up bright and early so we could make the most of our day and make it to Savaii at a reasonable hour to have a look around before finding somewhere to stay.
Coastal road
So after a quick snack for breakfast we drove straight onto the Ferry and found some seats upstairs. The Ferry journey was comfortable and not too long, just 1 hour and as soon as we arrived in Savaii the sun was there to meet us and we had a nice slow drive to Lano as the speed
Chris and Neil
limit is just 40kmph but at least it meant we could enjoy the views along the way. We chose to stay in Lauiula Beach Fales as it had a nice open restaurant with a lot of breeze going through and also had the traditional Samoan Fales to sleep in.
View from our fale
These are all open with shutters all around that you can either leave up or down when you are sleeping and when open give fantastic views of the sea, beach and Sunrise in the morning.
Neil
But as they are so open, security of any valuables is an obvious issue but luckily we had our car that we could lock anything
Big bowl of 'ava for the 3 of us
valuable up in. So after a tasty Chicken curry for lunch the 3 of us all went for a snorkel for an hour or so before having a relaxing afternoon and evening. After dinner we decided to buy some ‘ava which is the same as kava just spelt differently and as there were other people staying here as well we chose to get 2 bags so we could share it around. But typically as we had gotten so much the others didn’t like it so we had a huge bowl all to ourselves which was a struggle to drink and kept all of us up at night needing to use the toilet. A good night though.
written by  chrischarly on May 17, 2012 from Mulifanua, Samoa

Flat battery...
Lano, Samoa
Our fale
After watching an amazing sunrise this morning Chris and I dozed for a little while before waking up and seeing the sun shining as it has done every day since we have been in Samoa so far so we had an awesome day just relaxing, reading books and going in and out of the water snorkelling. Neil unfortunately left his clothes out on the line to dry last night, as did the rest of us but when he came to get ready he noticed that they were nowhere to be found.
Inside our fale
So annoyingly after searching everywhere they had obviously vanished, but we did find a mysterious pair of shorts outside his fale that didn’t belong to anyone staying here, so it seems that someone who must’ve walked by late at night took a liking to his shorts and decided to swap them for his or her own. Irritating, but kinda funny. Then when it got to lunch time we decided to go out and find somewhere to eat something as our place wasn’t serving lunch today and they had run out of supplies.
Explaining the ingredients and how to make
So got in the car to realise that we had a flat battery. Great. We have only had it one day, so Chris called up Avis and they remarkably sent someone straight out to buy a new car battery and sent him on the 4pm ferry to come over and change it for us. Pretty good service really, but it did mean that our car wasn’t fixed until 6pm and then it was pointless going out and doing something, but still, a good excuse to enjoy the sunshine.
Richard demonstrating the umu
So, when dinner did arrive at 7:30pm we were all famished, but at least it was delicious as we had ‘umu’ but instead of being cooked underground as the Fijians and Tongans do, it is instead cooked above ground cooking the same things though, just using slightly different methods. Chris and Neil went and watched the preparations as Neil had never seen it being made before whilst I enjoyed some more quiet time reading my book. The evening was a quiet one again as nothing much seems to happen in the evenings so we stayed up chatting for a few hours before grabbing an early night.
written by  chrischarly on May 18, 2012 from Lano, Samoa

Moving on... almost
Sandton, South Africa
A Big Bird
Today we went to Sandton City for the morning to a huge shopping mall, with a million over-priced items which were crying out to us to buy! However, we managed to resist and instead went on the look out for a hire car.
This proved to be more difficult than we originally thought as most company's won't let you cross the border!
However, after much searching on the internet later, Chris thinks he's found the right car hire place for the right price... So looks like we're moving on, on Wednesday!
written by  chrischarly on July 19, 2010 from Sandton, South Africa

...
Today we spent the day around the resort doing bits and pieces, Chris pretty much spent the time in the kitchen in between spending hours untying his fishing line before we went for a walk late afternoon.
Chris untying his fishing line
A boat
A truck on a little boat

Huge lightening storm
Byron Bay, Australia
Near Byron Bay
Lighthouse
Drove to Byron Bay this morning and had a nice walk around and up to the lighthouse before trying to find a nice spot to have swim. This was pretty hard as it was a Sunday so everywhere was jam-packed so we travelled further down the coast before stopping in Iluka but before we could contemplate going for a dip a huge storm hit us and we took some amazing photos of some impressive storms, with one fork of lightening hitting the ground just in front of us!
Really black sky
Such black sky
Amazing lightening
So, pretty scared we drove away and stayed at a pretty rubbish but free campsite unable to go outside as it poured with rain all night.
written by  chrischarly on November 13, 2011 from Byron Bay, Australia

Christmas Eve
Jaipur, India
Chris and Charly at Amber Palace
Amber Palace
I think he is leaning away ?!
Chris sitting right at front of bus on way to Amber Palace
Elephant taxi at Amber Palace
Charly getting up close and personal with elephant taxi at Amber Palace
Today we went for another walk around Jaipur going to The Amber Fort and The Water Palace.
A clear day where we can see for miles
View from Amber Palace
View within Amber Palace
View of Nargarh Fort from Amber Palace
We had again a fantastic day but doing a great deal of walking so we were exhausted!
Water Palace Jaipur
The Gorgeous Water Palace in Jaipur
Fish in the Water Palace lake
Then later as it's Christmas Eve we played Father Christmas and sneaked out once everyone had gone to bed at midnight to put some Christmas presents under the tree.
written by  chrischarly on December 24, 2010 from Jaipur, India

Christmas Day!!
Jaipur, India
Our Christmas tree stacked with presents!!!
It was so lovely being woken up bright and early by the little girl all excited to discover that Father Christmas has been and delivered presents in India!
Anu, Lakshita and Sanyay on Christmas morning
Anu and Lakshita opening pressies
Chris' Christmas pressie
Although we are staying with a Hindu family; they did everything in their power to ensure that we felt at home by making an extra special effort to make Christmas perfect which was lovely.
A parade for a famous Hindi priest
Is that guy carrying horse hair?
For Christmas lunch we had the traditional meal of pasta with chips made by Chris and for dinner we had tradtional Indian food made by Anu... Delicious!
Sanjay flying a kite
Sanjay fixing a new kite
Charly in her new Punjabi Suit
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
written by  chrischarly on December 25, 2010 from Jaipur, India

Moonie Beach
Coffs Harbour, Australia
Such a nice place to swim
Headed to Moonie Beach this morning avoiding all major beaches as they were too busy. We went for a nice walk through the coastal rainforest which is one of the only ones left here on the east coast.
Huge lizard up a tree
We saw a huge carpet python on the side of the road (unable to put photo on due to Chris’ Mum’s phobia) and also a huge Lizard which darted up a tree.
really clear water
On the end of the walk we sat on the headland to do a bit of whale spotting before making our way back down to go for a swim in the icey cold water and then Chris went for an unsuccessful fish. We then continued driving south and veered in land and stayed in New England National Park for the night.
written by  chrischarly on November 14, 2011 from Coffs Harbour, Australia

Lava fields and a protected Virgin's Grave
Saleaula, Samoa
Virgin's grave the lava missed completely
Got up this morning, chilled for a little while before checking out of Lauiula Beach Fales and headed North for a little while to go and see
Old church destroyed by the lava
some lava fields in Saleaula, which were really impressive that happened between 1905-1911 which destroyed 2 churches and impressively missed a ‘Virgin’s Grave’, the lava spitting in half completely avoiding covering her grave.
Corrugated iron melted by lava
There was a couple staying at Lauiula with us who we made friends with and as they didn’t have a car and wanted to go and stay at the same place as us we all squeezed together
Lava fields
in the car and headed out together which helped our negotiation skills when trying to find some accommodation after seeing the lava fields as there were now 5 of us and it isn’t quite the high season yet.
Chris driving through a restaurant
After deliberating over lunch between the 5 neighbouring fale accommodation we finally made a group decision to stay at ‘Vacations’ which although was the most expensive was clearly the nicest.
Our little mozzie-eating friend
Then, for the rest of the day we all did what we know best… relaxing, which a bit of snorkelling added into the mix. Then, later after we had all showered and were enjoying the gorgeous sunset Chris spotted a turtle coming up for air just past the shallows, then after seeing
Awesome beach
it in the same place for a second time decided to grab his mask and see if he could see it and he luckily got the chance to swim alongside it for a while before coming back out and enjoying gloating to the
Sunset
other guests who have been staying here for a week desperate to see a turtle themselves but not being able to. At 6:30pm dinner was served which was some Chicken and mashed potatoes and then the bar closed shortly afterwards so the 5 of us sat and chatted for a couple of our before Chris, Neil and I retired to bed to all snuggle up and watch a film.
written by  chrischarly on May 19, 2012 from Saleaula, Samoa

Sunday= day of rest
Manase, Samoa
Had a nice little lie-in this morning before getting up and eating some tasty fruit for breakfast. Then Chris and Neil went out for some early-morning snorkelling but the current was so strong they soon returned having gotten stuck in some places as the current just wanted to take them far out to sea, so we decided before going out again we would wait for higher tide when it wouldn’t be as strong, which it wasn’t but still a good work-out swimming session.
As it was a Sunday we had umu for lunch; very tasty and lots of nice selection to choose from. Samoa is similar to Fiji and Tonga in the way that everything virtually stops on a Sunday so most if not all shops are closed and the people just relax the whole day, so we did pretty much the same.
written by  chrischarly on May 20, 2012 from Manase, Samoa

Carp fishing
Armidale, Australia
Awesome view
Left our campsite and went to Point Lookout in New England National Park before continuing driving south through Armidale and stayed just south of Tamworth in a lovely campsite right by the side of a creek. As it was a boiling hot day, the first thing we did was jump straight in it to cool off. Then, after some dinner early evening, Chris started chatting to an old local, Barry who said there is fantastic carp fishing here in the creek, so Chris decided to give that a go. Carp in Australia are a huge pest, introduced by us Brits for some unknown reason and they have just taken over the rivers so unlike in the U.K. when you catch one, you are not allowed to just through it back in, you have to kill it and leave it on the banks. Pretty gruesome and it felt pretty cruel, but better than getting a hefty fine if you’re caught throwing them back in!
Chris' 2nd catch
Chris' 1st carp
Chris' 3rd catch
Chris' 4th carp
Anyway, Chris managed to catch 4 pretty big ones!
written by  chrischarly on November 15, 2011 from Armidale, Australia

Sickness and diarrohea... :(
The local rubbish collection in Jaipur
I don't know what I've eaten or caught but I spent pretty much the whole day in bed getting up only to run to the loo :'( Not exactly the perfect Boxing Day...
We are catching our train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal tomorrow, however, there are many protesters about resulting in most of the trains being cancelled and roads closed. So maybe we may just be in Jaipur a few more nights as the last protest lastest 20 days!

Stupid, stupid protesters!
Delhi, India
Wonky house in the fog
Wow... What a difficult and stressful day! After waking up at 4:30am to find our taxi-driver already waiting for us to go to the train station we were in a mad rush to get ready as quick as possible...
Poo cakes and poo makers
We then arrived at the station in plenty of time for our train. We were pretty excited to see the Taj Mahal so really looking forward to getting there; to discover that our friggin' train has been cancelled!
Man taking a break to look at train
Gutted... We were so upset! They also said that no trains would be going to Agra all day so we are stuck in Jaipur! This also meant that we wouldn't make our evening train to Varanassi!
Evil squirrel
So our first plan was to head back to Sanjay's and get some sleep and relax a little, so we got back into the rip-off taxi and went straight back to where we started...
Parrot feeding chicks
Once we woke up the second time we had a look on the internet to see if we could get refunded on our tickets, however, as we booked all of them through travel agents we had to go back to the same travel agents to cancel.
Camel rides
Although this was a pain, it was ok for our first ticket, Jaipur-Agra as we booked it in town, so we got most of the money back. Yet the second ticket, Agra- Varanassi was a little more difficult as we booked it in Kerala, right down the south of India and it wasn't cheap either!
Male parrot protecting the tree
We finally worked out how to get a refund, by getting them to pay the money into Sanjay's account and then he would transfer it into ours, yet we only got a fraction of the money back! So unfair!
Farmers carrying reeds
So pretty upset and unsure whether we would get to see the Taj Mahal, Varanassi or even the National Park which we'd already paid for, we worked out that we could catch a bus to Delhi and then a train from Delhi to Agra and then a train from Agra to Varanassi.
View from train
Such a mission but there's just so much we want to see and you can't go to India and miss these 3 things, especially as they were the ones we were most looking forward to!...
written by  chrischarly on December 27, 2010 from Delhi, India

Hunter Valley... or not
Denman, Australia
Chris fishing
Chris decided to go fishing again this morning for more carp, but unfortunately they just weren’t biting today, so after a few hours we gave up due to it starting to rain once again and headed towards the Hunter Valley to do some wine tasting. This didn’t happen though as the weather was just far too horrible to leave the van so we camped up for the night instead.
written by  chrischarly on November 16, 2011 from Denman, Australia

Mt. Matavanu Crater
Manase, Samoa
Pidgin English
Checked out this morning and drove to see Mt. Matavanu Crater which is a Volcano responsible for the devastation visited upon North Eastern Savaii a century ago.
Warning
We were greeted by the famous Gr8TRMan (Crater man) and drove on a rugged 4WD track and took a short hike to the top to take in some impressive views and read some signs written by the Crater man himself in his funny Pidgin English.
Neil
We then continued on to find somewhere to stay for night after our first choice was fully booked and stumbled across a deserted amazing beach with an old resort on.
View from the crater
Luckily the family were still taking customers but due to the reputation this part of the Island has for car break-ins we had the whole place to ourselves which made it simply paradise!
Old church affected by tsunami
After we had settled in, the sea soon started calling us so we grabbed our snorkels and went for a swim.
It was in fact the best snorkelling we have seen so far in Samoa and we saw a big puffer fish and amazingly a HUGE shark!
Nice sunset
It was by far the biggest Chris and I had ever seen and we would like to think it was merely a harmless(ish) black tipped reef shark, but by judging the size and shape of it (it had a huge belly and a few black stripes down the side) I’m not so sure, so we got out quite quickly just in case!
View from Neil's fale
Our beach fales
We then had a couple of drinks and some tasty dinner and relaxed watching the stars.
written by  chrischarly on May 21, 2012 from Manase, Samoa

Awesome Blowholes
Manase, Samoa
A natural pool
Lovely day
Blowholes
Coconut man
Reluctantly we left our lovely beach and drove along the south coast to check out some other places. But unfortunately the place where we wanted to stay was closed due to a private function so we continued on and went to see some blowholes which were in fact amazing.
Admiring the blowholes
Huge blowholes
Chris and I weren’t that bothered to go out and see them as previous ones we’ve seen were pretty disappointing, but as Neil was keen we both tagged along and I’m glad we did. Then after watching a guy throw some coconuts inside the blowholes we drove further on and ended up in the main town by the wharf and found a nice resort and after some super bargaining by Chris we managed to get a bargain room for 100 tala, 50 tala cheaper than the original price.
Our fale
We then chilled for a while, went to buy some tickets for the Ferry tomorrow and then went for a swim in the natural fresh water pool before having dinner and an early night.
written by  chrischarly on May 22, 2012 from Manase, Samoa

Anguib Island
Trev today took us to Anguib island on his Speed boat.
Our boat tied up
The beach
Our speed boat
We took some staff with us as well as some were off duty and we all had the most amazing time.
Trev and I outside our hut on the beach
Paradise
White sand, perfect blue sea!
Fantastic white sand and the most perfect clear blue sea,
Burying Cora
Making it a little more realistic
Cora and Mary-Jane
Staff at Jotay
Authentic and O'Natural!
Chris, Pearla and I (you would never guess Pearla was a guy!)
the photos still don't do the pretty little island justice though!

Planning
Today we had a pretty stressful day as it seemed all we have done is try to get things sorted but without success.
The internet connection kept disappearing and the car hire company that we chose wasn't replying to emails as there was a problem with payment.
So was quite a shitty day as we pretty much achieved nothing.
Thus we are now moving on, on Thursday.
A day later than planned!
Chris however, lightened the mood though by cooking a delicious dinner-
which was in fact the highlight of our day.

To Pete and Anne's
Crows Nest, Australia
Peter and Anne's house
Still raining… Pretty depressing when stuck in the van and you get drenched through just walking to the toilet! Drove through the hunter valley to get to Sydney but didn’t leave the van again until in the outskirts of the city when Chris got his hair cut and I did a little shopping so I didn’t look too much of a feral over the next few days hanging out with all of Chris’ work friends!
Anne
Late afternoon we went to Anne and Pete K’s House in Crow’s nest greeted with a nice hot shower and a couple of bottles of champagne, how perfect! They then treated us to much more wine and the tastiest Japanese food I’ve ever eaten. Fantastic evening, a little hazy towards the end finishing at 2:30am…
written by  chrischarly on November 17, 2011 from Crows Nest, Australia

We finally made it to the Taj!
Agra, India
After finally working our way out of Jaipur we headed to the bus station to travel to Delhi via bus, then Delhi to Agra on the train.
The bus journey was really horrible though and as well as being really late, it was a long lasting 7 hours on a small reclining seat with no leg room.
The windows weren’t insulated and mine was even broken meaning that it kept sliding open! It was freezing! We got barely any sleep and were exhausted once we arrived in manic Delhi, which was in fact cleaner than we expected.
We luckily arrived in plenty of time so went to a little café to wait for our train pretty excited about seeing the Taj finally!
However, our luck still wasn’t to be with us as it then was delayed by 3 hours! Then when the train eventually arrived named the ‘Taj express’ was a joke. It was in fact the slowest train ever taking 2 ½ hours longer than scheduled!
So by the time we eventually arrived in Agra, left our luggage at the train station then walked to lock away our hand luggage as we couldn’t take anything in with us it was almost 4pm and a long queue for tickets and entry greeted us.
So unfortunately our long day meandering around the Taj wasn’t to be, although we did manage a rushed visit and it was very very beautiful; well worth a visit…
The queue to enter the Taj
Taj entrance gate
1st sight of Taj
Taj
Taj close-up by Chris
Hasn't she grown
Chris posing at Taj
Charly posing at Taj
Inventive photography by Chris
Charly posing at the Taj
Us at the Taj
Charly on Princess Diana bench
Millions of Inidans queing for inside
Sunset at Taj Mahal
Then we met up with some friends in the evening for dinner before catching our evening train at 11:30pm!
written by  chrischarly on December 28, 2010 from Agra, India

Finally in Varanasi
Lucknow, India
On the train at last
Charly freezing on train from Agra to Varanasi
The train journey was nowhere near as comfortable as the previous one as we were in ‘Sleeper Class’ which is lower than third class!
Station retirement rooms
More poo cakes
Agra train station, jobs going for rubbish collectors !
Charly' interview smile
It was freezing cold and no one would give us any blankets to use so we used our thin travel towels and shivered to sleep.
Nice clean village by train track
But then after a restless sleep we finally made it to Varanasi. It wasn’t at all what we had expected. We knew that it was a big city so prepared ourselves as best as we could, but to be honest it was a right hole.
More pollution on the Ganges
Boating on the Ganges
Bathing in the Ganges, nice !
After taking a rick-shaw and a very long walk we gladly found our hotel, had something to eat and fall fast asleep even though it was only 3pm in the afternoon.
Chilling in our lovely room with mice, rats, lizards and mozzies
Our lovely room ?!
When we had woken up we discovered that a monkey had been into our room through our windows and stolen all our cigarettes as well as a candle! Then not much later we saw a tiny mouse run across our room, shortly followed by a huge rat! Our room to be honest fits right into Varanasi; just take a look at the photos! There are also tons of mosquitoes which have even bitten me a few times on my face and loads of lizards which we don’t mind as much and even a cow in the front room!
The cow that followed us into our hotel, honest !
But regardless of all that we have an amazing view and stayed in watching films in the evening on our laptop.
written by  chrischarly on December 29, 2010 from Lucknow, India

Home and Away Beach
Palm Beach, Australia
Chris on the harbour
Sydney Harbour and Opera House
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Near the harbour
A little hungover this morning, unsurprisingly. Pete and Anne had to work so Chris took me on a tour of Sydney showing me his old hangouts and the amazing places he used to live.
Where Chris used to live
Where Chris used to live!
(Above left= Chris' apartment right on the waterfront overlooking Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. Above right= Chris' apartment on top floor on Freshwater Beach)
We then drove up to Palm Beach which is more commonly known as ‘Summer Bay’ to me as it is the setting for ‘Home and Away’.
Home and Away beach
On Home and Away Beach
Unfortunately there wasn’t any filming taking place but still great to check out. We then drove back and got ready to go out early evening to meet a few more of Chris’ friends in the local before going out for dinner and more drinks once again.
written by  chrischarly on November 18, 2011 from Palm Beach, Australia

Pulemelei Mound
Banana flower
We checked out this morning and left after a nice breakfast.
Check out how long the grass is!
The useless staff at the hotel managed to get our bill wrong and ended up not charging us for half our food, their loss! We then drove a little way to find the walk to the Pulemelei mound. After taking LP direction we arrived at a ford that we didn’t want to risk crossing so went around to the village to ask some locals for assistance.
Random bit of tarmacked road
They setup a guide and Neil and Chris went off for the walk, which was pretty tough so I was glad I didn’t go, instead staying behind keeping an eye on our car. The boys took lots of nice pictures though, and their guide was really nice and explained to them some of the history of this strange mound in his very basic English.
Rock hopping
He climbed for coconuts on the way back so Neil could watch with admiration as he’d never seen it done before. The walk had taken longer than planned, so we had to rush to get fuel and a quick bite before getting on the ferry. The ferry itself was a rough trip and we were pleased to get off the other end.
Chris having a little break
Once back on Upolu Island we met a Kiwi couple we had met at Lanu, and offered them a ride to their accommodation as we were going past it. On our drive the weather got worse and worse with torrential rain. After dropping off the Kiwis and stopping for a drink with them, we got on our way to find a beach fale in this horrible weather. A little way on Chris said he was feeling unwell, and offered an alternate plan to detour across the cross island road to Apia for a guaranteed good room out of the weather.
Neil and the boy's guide
We were pretty glad we agreed, as Chris got worse, and Neil did a great job driving in the dark rainy conditions.
We fed the hungry dogs whilst waiting for ferry
As we entered Apia, Chris told Neil to stop and got out of his system whatever it was that upset it, which we suspect it was the fried chicken for lunch. We got back to our original accommodation and got Chris rested up, while Neil and I went out and grabbed a take-away pizza. Later that night I got struck by the same as Chris only as it was later in the day and not so immediate I was up all night, only Neil was saved!

Sick sick sick
Neil
Inviting bed
Chris was feeling much better in the morning, but I was not, so after a lazy morning for all I let the guys go out and explore. They went out for a nice breakfast then up to the Robert Louis Stevenson House/museum before returning to check on me.
Neil about to have a nap
Table in the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum
Old photo in Robert Louis Stevenson Museum
I was still feeling rough so expedition 2 was to the point, and then to ‘Cocks on the Rocks’ for a few beers and pool, before returning to check on me again. The last expedition they went to McDonald’s and then the cinema to watch a blokey movie. Chris returned with acid reflux so took a few pills and had a pretty uncomfortable night, think the sickness followed by a day out eating badly may be the cause!

Cruising in a porsche
Bondi, Australia
Me and Peter in his Porche
Before leaving Crow’s Nest Pete took us both out separately in his Porsche for a little drive around before
Such a gorgeous road!
we said goodbye to him and Anne as their parents were coming over and one of Chris’ other friends, Dave was having a BBQ, which we went to before lunch. Had a nice swim in their pool and ate lots of tasty food before we made our way to Pete C’s House for a nice relaxing evening pretty exhausted.
written by  chrischarly on November 19, 2011 from Bondi, Australia

Exploring the Ganges
Varanasi, India
Today we had a great day exploring Varanasi walking Miles and Miles along the Ganges River taking a look at all the Ghats.
More ghats
Hand painting by girl selling
View along ghats
Hindu God painting on the Ghats
Buffalo on the river Ganges
Poo cakes collected from ghats
We saw many burning bodies that we couldn’t take any photos of; out of respect for the families which we understood.
Some of the many cows
Old temple on the piss in Ganges
Lookingh along the ghats
Near Main ghat
Water fountain or bust water main ?
Sunset from the roof of our hotel
The locals here must have fantastic immune systems as many were bathing in the river here and considering the pollution, dead body parts and rotting animals in the river, you wouldn’t see us copying them!
written by  chrischarly on December 30, 2010 from Varanasi, India

Another long train journey!
Katni, India
Charly with a big smile
This morning we left Varanasi and the strong smells behind us and headed to Katni where we stayed over night before going to Bandhavgarh National Park tomorrow.
Charly chilling on the train
Unsurpringly the train was late arriving by 4 hours which meant we arrived at 11:15pm!
The train, 2A, easy to get lost
Not exactly ideal in a huge town!
Chris and his dot
We found the hotel that was supposedly booked for us fairly easily only to discover that The National Park hadn't made a booking for us!
Some bloke stuck red dots on our head
So we wandered aimlessly around the town until we finaly found somewhere that wasn't fully booked to sleep... Long day...
written by  chrischarly on January 1, 2011 from Katni, India

Tour of Sydney with Ezzer and Treggars
Padstow, Australia
The beach
This morning we drove up to Padstow to see Erin and Treggars who we last saw at around 5am last year on Erin’s birthday in Kenya leaving in a taxi.
We couldn’t wait to see them again.
Amazing view
Then, at about 11 Treggars took us on a nice scenic drive along the coast south of Sydney through a National Park to see the sea bridge,
Erin, Mark and I
stopping a couple of places along the way for drinks and lunch. It was great to have a catch up and remembering everything we did back in Africa. In the evening we played a few games, had a BBQ dinner and consumed plenty of wine and beer.
written by  chrischarly on November 20, 2011 from Padstow, Australia

Keeping Neil entertained in bad weather
Lots of rain
Chris was feeling rough after a bad night, but I was feeling a bit better, so I swapped roles with Chris in entertaining Neil and we decided to go out on a mission.
Waterfall
Although the weather in Apia was not great, we had high hopes that it would be fine the other side of the Island, so we chose to take the cross-country route through the centre of the Island to the south coast and then drive up and round to the east. But the weather only worsened the further from Apia we went.
Neil checking out depth of ford #2
By the time we had reached the bottom of the Island Neil could barely see out of the windscreen so we seeked some brief shelter at a nearby resort.
Would be fantastic views if no clouds
We both felt very under-dressed as this was an obvious honeymooners retreat and we sat in the restaurant dripping wet in our optimistic beach wear receiving unfriendly looks from the staff as we chose to only have a drink and nothing to eat. As soon as we downed our smoothies, we drove quickly away faced once again with the rain.
The ford we didn't pass through
But as it had rained so hard, we were faced with a deep ford and feeling brave decided to chance it and luckily as we had quite good clearance managed to drive straight through, but just a few kms down the road we were met by another, this time fast-flowing which we just made through.
Choppy sea
Thinking we had finally crossed through the worst of the roads, we saw one more and there was no way we could risk driving through as it was really wide, even more fast-flowing and this time ended up in the sea, so we sadly turned back around and drove back to Chris for a relaxing evening and a quick bite to eat at a Chinese which unfortunately made Chris feel even worse even though he just ate clear soup.

A nice tasty treat of a meal
Neil cooling off
The cave pool
Fish in the cave pool
It’s Neil’s last day today and the first thing Neil and I did was to drive to the doctors with Chris who was still feeling unwell after a rough night, so after getting him some strong painkillers we tucked Chris back into bed and drove into town to buy him some bananas and do a little bit of souvenir shopping for Neil before returning a couple of hours later still to an exhausted Chris, who sent us back out again so he could get some more rest.
Us
So, as the sun was attempting to shine through the thick clouds we headed back towards the east coast and went to a cave pool. It was really nice and full of fish so we had a very cold yet refreshing swim in there for half an hour before we got back out and returned once again back to Apia. Chris was feeling a lot better so we all got dressed up and went out to Paddles restaurant for a celebratory last meal with Neil.

We finally have our car!
Johannesburg, South Africa
Our mini 4x4
We have just collected our little kia picanto from Johannesburg airport so are pretty happy! Not entirely sure where we will end up over the next month, but that makes it even more exciting! We can't exactly say that it's the nicest car we've even driven, as it doesn't have air-conditioning or power steering, which will make things challenging in hotter climates I'm sure! Yet at least it has the bare neccesities such as a 4 wheels and brakes.
written by  chrischarly on July 21, 2010 from Johannesburg, South Africa

A visit to Saint Anthony's College
This morning Trevor took us to Saint Anthony's College which is ran by the Order of Franciscan Sisters and today a group of voluntary army doctors and dentists came here to give free medicaton to the poor people of Santa Ana who cannot afford any medical treatment elsewhere in the town. This is because all the doctors and dentists in The Philippines are private so many people come here to seek medical assistance.
Eating maize from the sisters
The sisters are so tiny, cannot imagine them using this!
Absolutely no idea how they fitted this jeep in a tiny room!
Me, Chris and Sister Irene
Trev and Sister Irene
It was a great morning and we were treated as V.I.P guests and the Sisters gave us free food and a tour of the museum as Trev is quite a celebrity here!

Last night in Sydney
Sydney, Australia
Where we went out for lunch
Out for lunch
Chris' dinner he cooked
Unfortunately Treggars had to work today,
Dog with the bone Chris gave her in her mouth
but Erin had the day off and was meeting up with a few of her girlfriends for lunch so invited us along and we’re glad she did as it was delicious! In the evening we stayed in and Chris cooked a feast for us for our last night in Sydney.
written by  chrischarly on November 21, 2011 from Sydney, Australia

New Years Eve in Varanasi...
Varanasi, India
Armed guards after bombing in December
Nice hairstyle
This evening we went for a walk once again along the Ganges River but this time at night to watch a celebration happening on the Main Ghat.
This little guy shocked by Puja
Puja on main ghat
Puja on Varanasi main ghat
Although we are still unsure what it was for, it was pretty nice.
Then, in the evening we celebrated the New Year with the Indian family we were staying with. Our first tee-total New Year!!!
Varanasi hotel family and Yoda
New Years Eve celebration, with NO BEER !
A strange evening; yet certainly memorable!
written by  chrischarly on December 31, 2010 from Varanasi, India

We've made it to The National Park!
Umaria, India
Chris with his new Inida friends
After waking up bright and early we caught a train from Katni to Umaria and shared a jeep with 2 friendly Canadians we met to Bandhavgarh National Park.
After a mamouth climb, Charly on train top bunk !
We are staying in a lovely hotel and now ready for our first safari tomorrow afternoon; fingers crossed we see a tiger!
written by  chrischarly on January 2, 2011 from Umaria, India

Blowholes
Kiama, Australia
beach
Said goodbye to Erin, Mark and family this morning and started making our way down south again. Had a great time in Sydney over the past few days and it’s sad to leave but I’m sure it won’t be our last visit! Thank-you to everyone who made our stay here amazing…
Blowhole
Before we camped up for the night we went to Kiama to see the blowholes which apparently blow up to 60m if the waves are strong enough, but not today.
written by  chrischarly on November 22, 2011 from Kiama, Australia

A load of wildlife
Bega, Australia
Playing on the swings
Beach
Continuing south we found a nice little beach to walk along and climbed over rocks. We saw black swans, a bright red octopus, a stingray swimming in the water and some other pretty fish in the gorgeous clear water.
Waves
Rocks
Awesome beach
Black swans
Red octopus
On our way to find a campsite we took a turn off to a National Park to try and spot some wild koalas unsuccessfully but did see some kangaroos really close, one with a joey in her pouch.
Kangaroos
Baby joey getting in pouch
Mother and joey
Chris walking to get fuel
Then on our way to Bega to stay for the night we ran out of petrol so Chris walked the 300m to the petrol station. Almost made it!
written by  chrischarly on November 23, 2011 from Bega, Australia

:(
Umaria, India
No such luck in the search for a tiger today... better luck tommorrow we hope!...
Ready to go see the tigers
Lucky hat, or not so it seems
Tala Zone 1 entrance at Bandhavgarh NP
More amazing views at Bandhavgarh NP
In the back of our Gypsy Jeep
Amazing views in Bandhavgarh NP
Chris and Charly on the hunt for Tigers
Saw plenty of deer,
Sambar deer
More tiger food
Male spotted deer taking a break
Spotted deer eating
Spotted deer looking out for tigers
Spotted deer
monkeys,
Monkey arse
Cheeky monkey
tiger footprints
Pugmarks, they do exist !
and an owl though.
1 of 2 owls hidding in a tree
Yet not as exciting...
written by  chrischarly on January 3, 2011 from Umaria, India

Bye bye Neil xxxx
Apia, Samoa
Got up early with Neil and drove him to the airport to bid him a sad farewell. These 3 ½ weeks have gone by so fast and we’ll really miss him. Chris and I then had a very quiet journey back to Apia in mourning of the departure of our friend…
Hermit crab in a snail's shell
Once back in Apia we drove around some other accommodation to try and find some availability for the 31st as it is Samoa’s 50th year of independence, but we failed to find anything but high end places for ridiculous prices as everyone else except us thought long ahead and booked up, so we’ll have to think of something else. Then went back and did some washing for 2 hours before driving back into town to buy some supplies for dinner. We then relaxed for the rest of the day as Chris was still feeling a bit weak and is unable to eat much else except bananas, papaya, eggs and bread.
written by  chrischarly on May 27, 2012 from Apia, Samoa

A plan day
Apia, Samoa
The roof's made out of flip-flop remains
Another rough night for poor Chris so we had to take another trip to the doctors in the morning after taking the hire car back but luckily after having another take-it-easy day he felt a lot better but still not perfect. We took a trip into town and managed to finally find some internet! Although it was pricey it was quite fast so we started planning our onwards trip to America. Then after wandering around town for a bit we came back and chilled some more, apologies if this is getting boring to read about…
written by  chrischarly on May 28, 2012 from Apia, Samoa

Safari Round 2 - Chris and Charly 0 vs Tigers 2
Umaria, India
Now usually the blog is Charly's domain, but whilst she is busy reading I thought I'd have a go..............
Jackal
It all started with a knock on our door at 05.30am. After a terrible nights sleep - due to insanely cold weather they are having here - we dragged ourselves out of bed, both feeling rotten, and prepared for our first morning safari. To protect ourselves from the bitter cold amplified by the open top jeep our attire went as follows:-
- trousers - CJ x 2, CP x 3
- t-shirts - CJ x 2, CP x 2
- shirt - CJ x 1 (lucky safari shirt), CP x 1
- fleece - both x 1
- cardigan CP x 1
- the big double blanket from our bed
- and of course Chris' lucky'ish Tilley Hat
After all of this prep we still froze to death; there was ice on the ground and we were driving through the park with the full force of the icy wind in our faces.
Elephant rides in Bandhavgarh NP
We had a new guide who was determined to find tigers, and so once we heard of a sighting he directed our driver (now called Colin McRae) to head there top speed. Now let me explain that there are 6 of us in an open top small jeep, driving on pretty rough tracks, all of us holding on for fear of leaving the vehicle at the next bump. It warmed us up slightly at least.
To summarise, we froze, got scared to death and didn't see any tigers. Oh well, 3 more to go, fingers crossed!
The pics in this entry are from our limited sightings, plus it was too cold to operate the camera. We did see a Jackal, and some of the elephants they use to hunt for tigers within the forest, plus the usual Sambar and Spotted deer, and some Warthogs (too quick to take pics of).
Scary spider in our bathroom
Last but not least was the spider Charly found in the bathroom that she promptly decided was going to eat her and went off to get help from the staff (whilst I laid in bed). When they finally came they brought a heater (her hysterical English not getting through), so I stepped out of bed and used my size 10 to dispatch the poor fellow.
written by  chrischarly on January 4, 2011 from Umaria, India

Cheese factory
Eden, Australia
Cookaburra
Went to the Bega Cheese Factory this morning before driving to Eden where we had fish and chips over-looking the harbour.
Our camp site
Our van
Didn’t do much else during the day but found a lovely place to stay in the evening in the middle of the Forest completely to ourselves alongside the Ada River.
written by  chrischarly on November 24, 2011 from Eden, Australia

We struck GOLD!!
Club Terrace, Australia
Chris looking for gold
Woke up and re-made our fire to cook some breakfast before making a make-shift shower doing it the old traditional way of heating up water on the fire and washing with a cup.
Chris' fish
At least we had the campsite and forest to ourselves so we could do it. Chris took a walk down to the River and we found lots of small pieces of gold sitting at the bottom of the River and a pink Crystal! We then drove further on to find another nice spot and Chris fished once again catching many fish but all too small for dinner so instead of fish to eat, we had egg sarnies.
written by  chrischarly on November 25, 2011 from Club Terrace, Australia

Finally finding a bed
Still feeling a bit off today but a great improvement on the past few days, after some brunch Chris and I took a walk into town. Instead of walking the boring road way, we decided to take our chances and go the scenic route.
Our home in Apia
Remarkably after stumbling through a couple of villages we managed to navigate our way to the coast alongside a River linked to the sea.
But OMG it was such a hot day! By crossing roads and paths a few times we did manage to stay mostly in the shade, but when we showed up at the visitor information sight we were sweating hard and appreciated their turned-up air-conditioning. With a bit of prompting the guy was quite helpful and managed to find us somewhere to stay for the night of the 31st for quite a good price, as it was looking like we may have just had to camp up underneath the stars. For such a huge event happening Samoa is so unprepared for the amount of visitor’s it’s going to have. But at least we have a bed for the night. We then continued to walk through town and going to the internet again for a couple of hours before taking a taxi back home.

Work...
Once I sorted out the fridge, nice and organised!
Wide load
Today we spent most of our day at the resort, Chris as usual in the kithen whilst I did some training out front...
Pigs in the back of a trailer!

A long Drive
Uvongo Beach, South Africa
The Crab that kept Attacking the Line
Today we woke up at 5:30am for our long drive down to Margate.
After a long 7 hour journey,
not including breaks we finally arrived to gorgeous sunshine!
To treat ourselves we went out for lovely Italian and had an early night.
written by  chrischarly on July 22, 2010 from Uvongo Beach, South Africa

A day in the docs
Chris had an early-morning appointment with the docs today and not wanting to wake me he slipped out the door informing me he would only be an hour. Unfortunately over 5 hours later he returned as they were just so busy after doing some routine tests and scans on him. But he did have to fast for the whole day so he could go back tomorrow for some more scans as they wouldn’t show up properly, so Chris was quite weak and tired for the day so again we didn’t do a lot, just generally relaxed.

Koalas in the wild!
Raymond Island, Australia
We left the wet and cold stop at the side of the Snowy River, after the rain keeping us awake all night. It was a pretty grim day, but we headed to Raymond Island just off from Paynesville to go and see our first Koalas in the wild!
To go to Koalas
Sleeping Koala
Mother and baby Koala!
2 koalas up a tree
Koala!
Koala having a nap
Koala
Such a cute koala
It was awesome and we saw 22 in total all spotted by ourselves up in the Eucalyptus trees.
After about an hour walking around we ran to the Ferry headed for our next stop as quick as we could trying to avoid the thunder storm brewing. This was an okay stop at the side of another River just near Rosedale. As usual Chris found someone to talk to while I setup the van, this guy was a local cherry farmer who had setup in the roadside stop with a sign off the road. He did pretty well and Chris promised to get some in the morning before we left. It was pretty cold and wet still, so we just played cards and then went to our nice warm bed early to watch a film.
written by  chrischarly on November 26, 2011 from Raymond Island, Australia

Safari Round 4 - Chris and Charly 1 vs Tigers 3
We finally saw one!
Our first tiger!!!
Granted it ws Miles away but at least we know they're real now!!!

Safari Round 3 - Chris and Charly 0 vs Tigers 3
Still not seen any tigers...
As snug as a bug in a rug
Our safari Jeep
A Lesser Educated Stork- apparently
Little elephant
Mother and 2 babies
An Elephant family
Elephant
A kingfisher
A happy Indian family
Pug Prints, yet still no tiger
Cheeky Bastards
Do they really exist ???

Flat tyre...
Walkerville, Australia
We've got a flat
Chris finding the spare
Completely destroyed tyre
Not the best start to the day by getting our first flat tyre on the van, in the middle of nowhere, but luckily we had a spare and I suppose we’re even luckier as it is our first one we’ve had so far, but Chris soon fixed it so we were back on the road again. After finally finding our campsite at Bear Gully Reserve, a little way west around the coast from Wilsons Prom, we found a great spot with a campfire already lit from the previous residents.
Setting up camp
Chris ran round and gathered a good pile of wood people had left behind and got the fire going well for the evening. Chris then disappeared to the beach rod in hand, but returned about an hour later with no fish. Apparently it was too rocky and he couldn’t get out without getting snagged up. He did manage to cook an amazing butter Chicken on the camp fire so it all ended well in the end.
written by  chrischarly on November 27, 2011 from Walkerville, Australia

Smelly disgusting motel
Checked out of Livingstone Apartments this morning as they are full for tonight, then back down to the doctors for another check-up on Chris before having some breakfast at a café and logging on for a couple of hours. After the internet, we took a walk around the waterfront and watched a heat of the massive canoe racing before making our way to our new hotel for the night.
Only after we had checked in and paid did we realise how lucky we have been with our previous hotel in Apia. This place ranks in our top 5 worse hotels to have stayed in during our trip. It was very small, hot and incredibly smelly, actually incredible smelly is an understatement. We didn’t waste too much time there, and headed out for an Indian to make us feel better, at least it’s only for 1 night!

UB40
We woke up after an awful night in our smelly hotel room after a group of drunkards were outside our room screaming and throwing things at our hotel and checked out straight away.
We headed to a nice café for some breakfast then in to town to look at what was going on for the Independence Day celebrations.
It was really busy and everyone was in a buoyant mood, there were stalls setup all along the front and even the police had on shiny white uniforms (Sunday Best!).
It was very hot, so we had to keep stopping for refreshments, before heading back to our NICE hotel and getting a well needed shower and some rest before the big night.
We headed to Apia Park around 6pm, to get in early for the UB40 concert. We were glad we did as it was very busy.
There were a number of local bands on first, and one from NZ, but at around 8.30, when the place was really packed UB40 came on. They were without their lead singer, but still did a very impressive set lasting nearly 2 hours. The old stuff was the best, and the locals liked this a lot more than the newer. All in all a great night but both Chris and I were both aching from standing around in a small area for so long.
The party animals we are, we went back and to bed for a nice sleep; pity we didn’t have any Cocoa!
written by  chrischarly on June 1, 2012 from Apia, Samoa

Wilsons Promontory
Foster, Australia
:)
Wilson Prom
On the beach
Norman Beach
About to cross the tidal river
Left our campsite this morning and drove to Wilson’s Promontory and it was nice to see some sunshine for a change!
Chris squeezing through
We drove to Tidal River first and went for a nice walk through the Forest a little before coming to the North of Norman’s Bay and we walked down the end of the beach, crossed a small River and went back to the car before visiting ‘Squeaky Beach’ named after the fine sand that when you walk on it, it squeaks, and then to Picnic Bay.
Tidal river
Lovely beach to ourselves
Entering the 'Prom'
Great day, but sure enough before it was over it started raining again, which was pretty irritating, but I suppose expected as we are now near Melbourne. We then headed back to the same campsite as last night and posted our van for sale on Gumtree hoping we will be able to sell it, but not too soon so we can go down further south.
written by  chrischarly on November 28, 2011 from Foster, Australia

Penguins!
Cowes, Australia
Penguins
Woke up this morning to find 3 missed calls on our phone- looks like people are interested in the van already! That was quick, was hoping we could have it a little longer. Meeting a guy called Tom tomorrow who seems uber keen on buying it, so Chris dumped me off in MacDonalds whilst he went searching for a spare tyre and somewhere to get it serviced before tomorrow.
Then after getting everything ready for the van, which by the way nothing was found wrong with it, which is great news, we rushed down to Phillip Island to find the cheapest place to stay before going to see the penguins. Being super keen to get the best spot to see them, we sat out in the cold for almost 2 hours before the first one appeared, followed by the masses.
Penguin chick
They are so funny to sit and watch waddling up the beach to their nests and also so tiny being the smallest breed of penguins their maximum height being 1ft or 33cm! We even got to see some baby chicks feeding off their mothers, but the babies are so fat and fluffy they are almost twice the size of their parents, which looks pretty funny! Unfortunately though we weren’t allowed to take any photos of them outside of The Entrance, which sucked, but was worth going just to see them so the photos here are of pictures inside.
written by  chrischarly on November 29, 2011 from Cowes, Australia

Safari Round 5 - Chris and Charly 2 vs Tigers 3 and then our last safari Safari Round 6 - Chris and Charly 3 vs Tigers 3
Today was the best day so far with regards to the success of our safari... We saw loads of amazing animals,
Loads and loads of bats
A bat
3 monkeys by the side of the road
Caves
Monkey
A 1000 year old temple at the park
In the jungle
A pretty bird
A wild boar
A pretty butterfly
Another Lesser-educated stork
not to mention a 14 year old tiger named B2, the oldest and biggest tiger in the park just a few feet away from us!
The first spotting! A close up tiger walking straight at us from out the jungle!!
Walking straight in front of us
The most amazing animal
B2
The gorgeous tiger
At 14 years old- an elderly male he still looks beautiful
Just after B2 walked straight passed us!
B2 walking infornt of us just after sunrise
B2 walking around
Almost thought he was going to slip
B2 climbing down rocks for a rest
Well this was our last safari and to be honest it was equally as amazing as this morning's.
Almost sunset
The beautiful landscape at Bandhavgarh National Park
A spotted dear and a stork
A male sambar deer
This time almost straight away our guide, Mukesh spotted a female tigress coming out of the jungle heading straight towards us!
Gorgeous animal
Tigress having a rest
JUst got up after a rest
The beautiful tigress we saw
She was so beautiful it was amazing!
walking straight toward us!!!
coming out into the field
Beautiful tiger
The tiger looking around
Walking down a dried up river
We then spent the remaining 3 hours tracking her every move and following her path through the forest in the search of B2, the male tiger we saw this morning for a mate.
Coming right up close to our jeep
Tigress
Walking towards us
Walking away
We knew this as she walked straight towards where we saw him resting this morning and marking the territory by urinating and stratching at trees apparently so he knows she is there as well!
The scratch marks made by a tiger to mark it's territory
The tigress looking at us whilst I am coughing
Clever animals...

Not a lot to do
Stacks of coconuts
The celebrations were still going on today and will be for the rest of the week so we headed into town today and surprisingly it was a lot quieter than we envisioned. Many places were closed or closed early so we soon got bored and headed out for an Indian before heading back.
written by  chrischarly on June 2, 2012 from Apia, Samoa

Fishing
Margate, South Africa
This morning we woke up with the best intentions of catching crayfish for dinner in the evening. However, although we had a great day, after around 7 hours of trying, loosing a lot of bait, line, hooks and patience we finally gave up. So we decided to drown our sorrows and go out for the night! We had a fanatstic evening and saw some very strange sights, but the bar-man seemed to like us and was gave us a few free drinks! We then stumbled home at around 12.30 and ate cheesy chips.
Perfect end to the perfect day!..
written by  chrischarly on July 23, 2010 from Margate, South Africa

A Voyage to the Lighthouse Island
Jordy, Melissa, Jill, Chris and I
good balance
the island
mini islands
resting after our mammoth climb
Last night we met a friendly couple Melissa and Jordy with tiny 5 month baby Jill who said we could join them on a fishing boat to another nearby island to visit a lighthouse with some breathtaking views.
The cliff
lighthouse
The lighthouse
Blue sea
The island
fantastic view
We had a lovely day after some climbing we went snorkelling again, but unfortunately I looked down and I was surrounded by loads of jellyfish! They really hurt! I don't think I have swam so fast in my life to get away from them!
Us
The view from the lighthouse
the lighthouse from the boat

Another Sunday spent in The Pacific
Once again it is a Sunday so nothing to do again, so that’s what we did, nothing. Apart from make a tasty pasta bake and watch some movies.
written by  chrischarly on June 3, 2012 from Apia, Samoa

1st viewing on our van
Northcote, Australia
Black swan
Had a pretty long a stressful day today. Woke up early with tons of rain and thunder storms. Perfect weather for gutting out and cleaning the van! Typical. Luckily at the campsite the lady took pity on us and didn’t make us leave by 10am, which is checkout and said we could stay longer so at midday we set off for Northcote in Melbourne to see Tom, praying that he would want it, even though we have had other people phone up interested.
A blind dog on the back of a bike
He did fall in love with it at first sight which we knew anyone would, but he wants his friend to look it over on Saturday and a few other checks done, so as usual things don’t turn out as easy as we hoped, so still searching for more people in the meantime… After driving for a couple of hours east of the city for a free campsite we realised it would’ve just been cheaper to stay in the city than use loads of petrol! We never learn. Anyway, rubbish site and pouring with rain again.
written by  chrischarly on November 30, 2011 from Northcote, Australia

We sold the van! :) Will miss it though :(
Melbourne, Australia
Just need to see a wombat!
Woke up to a dry day and after talking to a local Chris realised that we might not have enough fuel to make it to the next fuel stop and was told to go and ask nicely at the local shop. He did and the guy gave us 5L for the tidy price of $2 per litre. Better than running out, but after 2 months we should be better than this at planning!! We headed back into Melbourne to St Kilda to show the van to some Canadian guys that Charly didn’t think would buy the van.
Pretty parrot
They rolled up on skate boards and checked out the van and seemed to love it. Told us they had some more to check and would call us later. We decided to stay at a delightful roadside stop on the motorway between Melbourne and Geelong. Not our finest spot but close to the city and free. Chris made an amazing corned beef hash and we chilled waiting for a call. The Canadians did call us back and bought the van, yippee, but they want it on Monday (2 weeks before our flight), bugger! Oh well at least we sold it, and relatively hassle free.
written by  chrischarly on December 1, 2011 from Melbourne, Australia

A whole day and night on a train... How delightful!!
Balharshah, India
A pretty butterfly
Arriving at the airport at midnight in Katni we were in plenty of time for our train due to depart at 1:10am. As usual when it comes to luck with public transport, both myself and Chris have very little. We were frozen solid with a metal bench to sit on watching the locals 'go the toilet' anywhere they could find a space... Nice... The train arrived just before 3am in completely the wrong platform, but still we made it, thankfully! So for the next 20 hours we just slept and chilled till the train arrived, of course very late than sceduled in Secunderbad.
written by  chrischarly on January 7, 2011 from Balharshah, India

Bye Bye Bandhavgarh
Gondia, India
After an amazing time at Bandhavgarh we took a car to the station at 10pm having missed all the trains to Katni arriving at midnight in plenty of time for our 1:10am train. As usual when it comes to public transport in India it wasn’t on time but 2 hours late leaving us freezing on the platform. When the train did arrive we had to find our beds in complete darkness as everyone was fast asleep. I think we officially had the worst beds in 2nd class on the aisle where everyone bumped into us opening the curtains throughout the night and my bed was even broken. It’s fair to say we both had rubbish sleeps and we were a little grumpy.
Me, Bhavesh and Chris
When we finally arrived in Secunderbad Bhavesh was there waiting for us at the station ready to take us for something to eat at midnight and back to his home for our second couch surfing experience! He was so friendly and stayed up watching films till almost Sunrise.
written by  chrischarly on January 7, 2011 from Gondia, India

A great big dent in the bank balance
Took a walk into town today and wandered aimlessly around for a while, went online and booked our flights back home! OMG we fly home in 10 days! That is scary. So our USA, Central America and South America trip is going to be put on hold for a little while whilst we go back and visit family and friends for a bit! So all change out here, but change is good. We had just 2 hours in the internet before it closed as it is still holidays here and managed to book the cheapest options we could find…
American Samoa-Hawaii
then Hawaii-Alaska
then Alaska-Germany
then, finally Germany-Home
So after 3 days of travel which every night will be spent on planes with horrific lay-overs! But then again at short notice this was cheap. So pleased with ourselves but sorry about our new bank balance, we went back and chilled out for a while away from the blaring sun before heading back out for a yummy Indian in the evening.

A stupid mistake
Woke up this morning before 7am to our Mobile ringing. Uh oh… it was Chris’ dad informing us that we had stupidly booked our Hawaii-Alaska flight in July instead of June. So Chris’ dad thankfully managed to search online back home whilst on the phone for us and book an alternate route to get to Alaska in time before we missed our connections; so now instead of flying directly to Alaska from Hawaii we have to go Hawaii-Seattle then Seattle-Alaska, so yet another flight on our mammoth trip back home making it 5 flights in a row!
Wow, we are gonna be exhausted! But on the plus side, as there were on a couple of rubbish seats left on our new flights and not together, for just $100 more we get to fly 1st class! Now that is exciting! I have never flown 1st class before and it will be a nice treat to break up the journey! But on the downside we lost quite a bit of money as the original far was non-refundable so now our bank balance is really suffering! Never mind. So once the internet had opened for the morning we headed down into town for a couple of hours, ate in a crappy Italian, confirmed our Ferry tickets for tomorrow and hung out and watched some more boat racing. It was pretty cool as all the Samoans were cheering and enjoying themselves and then we finally headed back and had yet another relaxed evening.

A walk along the river with Max
Beautiful
Max
The river
Glad he's not doing that stood by me
Max over-looking the river

Sunshine Worshippers
Ramsgate, South Africa
Crayfish Catching
I eventually managed to drag the ultra-sulky-hung-over Chris out of bed at 12:30pm and due to the lack of groceries and fish we caught the previous day we had 1/2 sausage sandwichs for breakfast and headed for the beach.
When we found the perfect spot, we sat and spied on the local fishermen to steal some tips on how to actually catch fish.
We then went out for a bite to eat, though it was pretty tasteless and had another early night.
written by  chrischarly on July 24, 2010 from Ramsgate, South Africa

Fantastic 2nd couch sufing experience!!
Secunderabad, India
Our bedroom/ living room
When we’d woken up Bhavesh had already gone out and brought breakfast for us! It was delicious! Then we went off to meet his lovely family before he took us around to see the sights of Secunderbad and Hyderbad.
It’s so much nicer spending time with the locals in India than staying in a dodgy hostel or hotel.
written by  chrischarly on January 8, 2011 from Secunderabad, India

Koalas at our campsite
Apollo Bay, Australia
Gorgeous!
Entering the Great Ocean Road
Went into Geelong to meet the Canadians and get a Deposit, all good. Then we headed, for our FINAL stage of our amazing journey, down the Great Ocean Road.
The coast
What an amazing road!
Campsite
Driving along the Great Ocean Road
The weather was great, at last, and the scenery was beautiful. Found a great campsite half way, with koalas in residence, ate some fire cooked pasta and chilled with our Aussie neighbours for the evening.
The Koala at our campsite
written by  chrischarly on December 2, 2011 from Apollo Bay, Australia

12 Apostles
Warrnambool, Australia
The arch
Woke up to a grey morning, we waited a little hoping it would clear before the rest of the Great Ocean, but it didn’t unfortunately.
12 apostles
But we still tried to make the most of our day and saw as much as we could in between the rain, including the 12 apostles which are rocks of the shore.
We then went in search of a campsite stopping at one rubbish one, followed by another rubbishish one due to the severe winds which meant we had to keep the roof down all night as we were scared it would blow away.
written by  chrischarly on December 3, 2011 from Warrnambool, Australia

Bye Bye Bhavesh...
Vijayawada, India
Today we had to take another train to Chennai in the evening and although it only had one stop before us to go, only 20 minutes away, it still managed to be 2 ½ hours late to arrive, maybe it is just the norm but still very irritating!
Lights to tell you when the toilets are being used!! How clever!!
A little bit of luxury on our last journey
Our first-class cabin!
This time however we decided to treat ourselves to a first class ticket for our last train journey and although expensive it was nice to have a little bit of luxury. We managed to get the only compartment on the whole train which was for 2 people and it was fantastic with larger beds and loads of space!
written by  chrischarly on January 10, 2011 from Vijayawada, India

Time travel
Pago Pago, Samoa
Got up at 6:30am and got ready to head to the ferry after waking Poy up to drive us there. We were told to be there by 7:30am at the very latest so we had chance to clear immigration before boarding the ferry due to depart at 9am, so we arrived at 7:15am thinking we were running late already but when we arrived everyone was also sat waiting for immigration to open. By 8:30am everything was still closed and this is when most of the locals started showing up clearly more aware obviously than us dumb ‘palangis’ that we are on island time and there is no way the ferry will leave on time. So of course we just sat and waited.
At around 9am immigration finally opened and some security officer started to announce things in Samoan which we kind of understood meant that just some V.I.P.s could start boarding now, not exactly sure who they were but they looked important anyway. So Chris and I, as well as 2 American friends we got talking to, Carl and C.J, decided to use our ‘palangi’ ignorance to our advantage for once and proceeded to board as well, even though no one else was moving forward. So with big friendly smiles, we cleared straight through without any fuss and managed to grab the best seats on the ferry before the masses came onto the ferry.
Haha. The reason as to why the ferry was so busy, as it was packed, is because it is the first ferry operating since the independence and many people from American Samoa came over to celebrate as well, so we were lucky to skip the queues. The ferry finally left at 10:30am bound for American Samoa and OMG it was such a horrible journey! The sea was so rough many Samoans were green within the first hour and it wasn’t long before the whole ferry smelt of vomit and even Chris and I felt really rough, which is not something we are familiar with when on boats,
so Carl kindly gave us some of his sickness tablets which helped a lot but didn’t cure us unfortunately. At one point in the journey maybe just under ½ way the boat hit a big wave and then thumped back down with a bang which sent off one of the emergency flares emitting continuous fluorescent orange smoke, which we thought was pretty awesome and we were half expecting some emergency helicopters to come to our rescue, even though we weren’t in any danger, but thought it might be cool to see. But we soon got sent inside until the flare stopped by some deck hands as the smoke is apparently dangerous to inhale so our excitement soon ended.
Mum told us that Venus was due to cross the sun at 2:30-3pm this afternoon and although it would’ve been interesting to see, it was really cloudy outside and walking was a right mission on this ferry as was trying to stand still, so after a weak attempt I soon gave up and sat back down. Suppose I’ll have to wait another 100 or so years until I get to see it again. Finally after 8 hours of hell on the ferry we arrived in Pago Pago- the capitol of American Samoa and we were all delighted; cleared immigration as quickly as possible and stood chatting once again to Carl and his son.
We met their family briefly and Carl’s Mum shared some oranges and papaya cup cakes with us, which were a nice change to cheese sandwiches as that was all we brought with us on the ferry and the shop was closed on-board. By the way, we crossed the dateline on the ferry so it is now a Tuesday but still the same time, so we are officially time-travellers! We then took a walk to the cheapest motel we could find in town at $60 a night, what a rip-off especially as we had to go searching for someone to let us in as it was empty. But the room itself is ok, pretty rubbish for the price, but never mind, it’s a comfy bed and then we took a walk to the Mexican downstairs. Food was tasty but even though it was just the two of us in there they had the music blasted up so loud and it was lit up with just disco lights you would think you were in a club and not a restaurant so we ate as quickly as we could and left for bed.
written by  chrischarly on June 6, 2012 from Pago Pago, Samoa

Rip-off-Rickshaws...
Chennai, India
Once we got off the train we took a rip-off-rickshaw to the main bus stand in Chennai. It was huge and in fact in largest bus station in the whole of Asia which isn’t surprising when you see the size of it! Yet somehow the first bus driver we asked was going to Pondicherry so it wasn’t as hard as we thought it would be. The journey was long but comfortable as we managed to get the front seats.
Chris having a lie-down
Our neighbours
Charly climbing up the ladder
The view from our little hut
When we arrived in Pondicherry we took another rip-off-rickshaw, and then another until many hours later we found suitable accommodation going outside of town. It was such a mission as all the places were either too expensive or right dives. Finally we found somewhere nice yet rustic on the beach.
written by  chrischarly on January 11, 2011 from Chennai, India

Preparing to move
Geelong, Australia
Putting up our new home
Left our last free campsite this morning and drove back to Geelong and checked into a paid site on the edge of the city to start packing up the van and set up our tent which will be our home now for the next 2 weeks. Will really miss the van when it goes tomorrow but at least we have one more night to sleep in it tonight until we pass it over to Scott and Jordan first thing tomorrow morning.
written by  chrischarly on December 4, 2011 from Geelong, Australia

Walking around the French town of Pondicherry
Pondicherry, India
The Gandhi statue
Along the beach-front
Happy to be in Pondicherry!!!
Today we did a lot of exploring of the beautiful Pondicherry; our last stop before Sri Lanka!!
written by  chrischarly on January 12, 2011 from Pondicherry, India

Woke up and it's a Wednesday... again...
Pago Pago, Samoa
Woke up this morning bright and early and went for a nice walk into town to find somewhere cheap with breakfast preferably with Wi-Fi.
American Samoa is pretty pricey actually much to our dismay so breakfast wasn’t cheap and we had to pay for the internet as well.
But we will have to get used to it for the next 8 days. On the internet we managed to get in touch with Carl and arranged
to go and stay with him from tomorrow onwards which will be very exciting, definitely beats staying in a motel for the rest of our stay. We then had a wander around town; Chris got his hair-cut and due to the usual miscommunication ended having it all shaved off really short. We then wandered back for a little while before having some sushi at a little Korean place down the road.
P.S, This blog entry is actually newer than 'The Time Travel' entry, but annoying this blog doesn't understand that!
written by  chrischarly on June 6, 2012 from Pago Pago, Samoa

WE CAUGHT 3 FISH!!!
Ramsgate, South Africa
Breakfast
Today we finally worked out how to catch fish in South-Africa.
Although we were fishing from 10am in the morning, we managed to catch 3 fish in the space of 1 hour at around 3pm.
We just need to wait until the high tide and all the fish come towards the beach!
We were so pleased with ourselves even though we've spent 10x the amount the fish are worth on bait and fishing tackle that we went out yet again to celebrate and ate so much food we could hardly walk!
However, when we got back I noticed that I'd forgotten to put sun-cream on the backs of my legs... Ouch...
written by  chrischarly on July 25, 2010 from Ramsgate, South Africa

Arranging for free clothes in Santa Ana
A guy posing with his cute little kid
Trev's sister sent a huge box of clothing for the poor people that live in Santa Ana. So today after arranging all of the clothes and sorting through them we went down to the children's clinic and then walked around half of the town giving out tickets to the small children and their families so they can attend on Sunday to Jotay and pick out some clothes.
Kids playing basket ball...
It was quite faninating and upsetting at the same time to see so many of the children here living in poverty but we can imagine it will be pretty chaotic on Sunday! Still many more tickets to give out though as we had over 380 items of clothing sent from the U.K, which cost over £150 just in postage!

Last day in India; quite possibly forever!
Chennai, India
Today we chilled in Pondicherry for a few hours before getting a bus back to Chennai airport ready to fly to Sri Lanka!! How exciting!! Although we've had many great experiences here in India; I can't see us hurrying back there. It's pretty hard work to be honest and not as fanastic as we expected it to be...
1st on the plane !
On our flight Chennai to Colombo
Anyway next stop: Sri Lanka!!
written by  chrischarly on January 13, 2011 from Chennai, India

Moving house
Geelong, Australia
I waved goodbye to our first home we brought together at 9:30am as Chris drove it down into town to meet Scott and Jordan. He was gone for over 3 hours but most of this time
Our new home
I was kept busy chatting to Maureen, our neighbour who has been in the caravan park for over 30 years. She kept feeding me coffee and gossip so the time flew by. Chris returned with a tear in his eye, but all had gone well and Marcy was now in the hands of the Canadian Chuckle Brothers – we wish her well and hope that they look after her like we did. After chatting more to Maureen, asking her questions about the area etc. she decided to take us up to the town and show us around. We found the library where we could get free internet and the post office to send off all car paperwork. This killed a few hours then we checked out the local eateries and our local pub. We had a few beers to celebrate/commiserate and then some yummy dinner before staggering to the campsite and turning in for our first night in the tent.
written by  chrischarly on December 5, 2011 from Geelong, Australia

Cheap flights :)
Geelong, Australia
We woke to the sun shining through blue skies. We went back into town and visited the charity shop where Maureen works, she had found some nice thongs (flip flops) for me, Havaianas once again as the last ones broke yesterday for only $1. Plus I found some bargain tops all for $1.
The camp kitchen
We then grabbed some lunch and headed to the library to try and solve our issue of getting from Auckland to Queenstown. Because we had left it too late, and it being Christmas time, the flights were NZ$300 (£150), so not a great option. The relocation cars/vans were not offering anything good to us. The bus/bus/bus/ferry/bus/bus option looked painful to say the least. Then we checked flights to Christchurch and were pleased to find one for NZ$109, we jumped on it and booked straight away. It was about 6 hours after we arrive in Auckland. So perfect, now we just need to worry about getting from Christchurch to Queenstown, should be an easy bus if no car relocations come up.
Pleased with ourselves we headed back via some shops and then chilled out in the sun for the afternoon before Chris cooked up some yummy wraps with bbq’d halloumi, asparagus, tomato, Spring onion and salad. After chatting a while to a kiwi traveller, we retired into our cosy tent.
written by  chrischarly on December 6, 2011 from Geelong, Australia

Finally in Paradise!!
Colombo, Sri Lanka
It is amazing how clean it is here!.. No filthy streets littered with litter!! No stinky smells!! Paradise!! After waiting for over 6 hours for Chris' parents to arrive it was great to see them again and driving to the luxurious Bentota and stay in Karen and Rohan's gorgeous Guest House...
Our lovely bedroom, for 1 night, till we get moved !!
Our lovely bathroom, for 1 night, till we get moved !!
1st night in Sri Lanka
Mmmmmm, Lion beer... first one for 2.5 weeks!!
Charly and her 1st drink for 2.5 months!!
Time for some pampering!! Yay!!
written by  chrischarly on January 14, 2011 from Colombo, Sri Lanka

Lovely Lovely Lovely Lovely Lovely Lovely Chill day...
Bentota, Sri Lanka
Today was a great day spending time doing very little and loving it...
Charly and Mum chilling
Our balcony
although not much sunshin here today... at least we are not in the U.K though!!! Hehe...
written by  chrischarly on January 15, 2011 from Bentota, Sri Lanka

Swim
Chris cooling off
Had another chilled day, nice and sunny so perfect for a swim in the pool before heading to town for a few beers and a lovely pizza and a bottle of wine.

BBQ
Lovebirds
Had a swim, went shopping, bought some bargain food, returned home and had a lovely bbq lamb dinner.

A Huge Toad
Bentota, Sri Lanka
Yet again another chill day...
check out the massive toad though!!!
The toad
The huge toad
A wine bottle put behind the toad to show just how big it was
written by  chrischarly on January 16, 2011 from Bentota, Sri Lanka

A Huge Snake...
Bentota, Sri Lanka
The pool ready for our swimming challenge
Right behind the pool today was a huge snake hiding in the toilet/massage room!!! The photo is in the photo album though and not on this entry as Chris' mum is so petrified of snakes she can't look at the photo! Bless her she won't even go and have a massage now in case she comes face-to-face with them!
written by  chrischarly on January 17, 2011 from Bentota, Sri Lanka

Happy Hour...
Chris and I in our tent
Happy hour started at the local pub at 4:30pm so promptly 2 minutes before we turned up. We took full advantage of the cheap beers and free bar snacks, but unfortunately we ended up staying for all the unhappy hours until closing. Met loads of friends, drank and talked a load of rubbish all night. Staggered home and fell over a few times, all good though, we survived!

More tickets distributed
The kitchen staff
Today we finished distributing the rest of the tickets around the village and you'd be amazed just how many children there are per household! Once we finished we came back up to the resort and before we knew it, there were people coming up and asking for tickets 'as they were at the market'.
L-R Anna, Chris, Jarret and Mary-Jane
Word soon spreads around this place and unfortunately you cannot provide for everyone, but we still had around 100 more tickets requested for! It's so hard to say no to them though

Yummy Fishies!
Uvongo Beach, South Africa
Chris Casting
Today we ate Chris' catches from the day before for breakfast and they tasted just like Seabass and were delicious!
So we decided to give fishing another go today to see if our luck would continue- it didn't :(
However, we spoke to some people at the fishing bait shop and they were amazed and very impressed that we managed to catch 3 Shad!
So Chris walked out of the shop with his head held high feeling very pleased with himself-
I was so proud!!
written by  chrischarly on July 26, 2010 from Uvongo Beach, South Africa

Celebrating 100 (joint) years !
Today was both Karen and Mark's 50th birthday so to celebrate we spent pretty much the day drinking champagne, setting off fireworks and eating some of Chris' delicious food!!!
Me enjoying a champagne breakfast!
Birthday morning
Our table
Chris in his element cooking
Champagne!
Some fireworks set off from the balcony
Chris bringing out Mark and Karen's 50th birthday cake
Mark and Karen blowing out their candles
Mark dancing with Bobby
What a treat!!!

My head hurts... in fact, everything hurts...
Chris cooking
Spent the day recovering… Ouch, everything aches, got bruises everywhere, Chris has a bad knee whilst I have a bad ankle, so we both hobbled along for the day feeling VERY sorry for ourselves. Unfortunately we did have to leave the campsite as we ran out of essential supplies, such as Comfort food and cigarettes.

All the way into the city
Ducks
Went into the city of Geelong, had a walk around for a bit. Weather= crap. Nothing particularly exciting occurred.

Leaving the Guest House Haven!!..
This evening was the first time I had actually left the guest House ever since arriving for some yummy dinner!
Us at Esscofier
Karen and Rohan
It was pretty scary, but I suppose I had to do it some time!

...
Same old...

Soon to be moving on...
Found out that we have got a place to stay in Melbourne from Thursday until we fly out on Monday in a REAL bed! After considering it for not too long we jumped at the chance to be out of our tiny damp leaking tent (although I do secretly like it) so tried, and failed to get a refund as we had already paid to Sunday.

The alarm on my phone bought me to life at 0538, I had planned it to be 0530 but keyed it in wrong and figured I could do with the further 8 minutes.
I quickly dressed and donned my lucky hat to ensure the fish would be biting. The fishing team consisted of me, dad and Mark (our northern pal) - I was very excited and so were the rest of the team..........
Don't look too interested boys !
The first thing we caught was a fantastic view of the sun rising over the coastline, then it went all quiet and the four trawling rods didn't even twitch.
Sunrise from the boat
Finally, one of the rods started to run and Mark took it, unfortunately not with fish still attached.
At about 0830 we decided to crack open a beer, we were at sea after all. However, Dad was slightly green and did not partake in any beverage consumption. I couldn't even tempt him with a hardboiled egg form our picnic, although I enjoyed trying!
Steve and Mark before Steve goes green!
A few hours in, and our only highlight was seeing a pair of randy sea horses having it off, the captain sent the "full stop" order, and we prepared ourselves for some hard-core reef fishing. With our sophisticated hand lines wrapped around old plastic bottles, we searched the deep for a monster catch. We hooked a few goldfish and one interesting looking creature - that I was advised was not good eating.
Steve's head replaced by a fish
After an hour or so of this riveting entertainment, and the gentle roll of the boat sending dad a further shade of green, we headed back.
Waiting for the fishies
Demoralised by our poor catch we still put the trawling rods out in hope of the monster. Then, when we had finally given up all hope a reel started screaming and I jumped to action, striking hard to make sure and taking up position in the fighting chair!
Chris reeling in his big catch!
The fight was not a long one, but was a tough one, as it appeared the fish was foul hooked and was trying its best to get free, so much so that close to the boat a rather larger Barracuda thought it could take my prize off me - a few seconds more the captain would have gaffed them both but the Barracuda departed leaving only teeth marks in my catch.
Gaffed by skip
Chris' massive catch !
Big fish!
Now I know it doesn't look much but it was a nice catch and went down very well with the folks after I filleted and beer battered it later that day. Keep watching, as I'm keen to get out on the sea again, as is Mark, dad however will be leaving the team and we are actively looking for a replacement.
Until next time, CJ.

Best Beach- so far
Port Edward, South Africa
One and only catch for the day
Me Swimming
Today we went to the prettiest beach we've been to so far in Africa. We went to a little park, drove around and found a secluded path to a beach! It was practically deserted apart from a couple of passers by, but the mile long beach was practically ours! Unlike the other beaches we went to, this one wasn't stoney or windy and the sea looked so inviting and warm I just had to go for a swim. The added bonus was that Chris caught another fish so we had a lovely dinner afterwards too! Perfect last day in Margate...
written by  chrischarly on July 27, 2010 from Port Edward, South Africa

Another day at Jotay
Local fishermen bringing in a huge net. 2 1/2 hours total they were at it!
Our beach

Bye Bye Margate and Hello St. Lucia!
Saint Lucia Estuary, South Africa
Our holiday home in Margate
A Crocodile!
Today we played a little role reversal... I cooked breakfast for Chris this morning!!! The first time I'd ever cooked scrambled eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms and he loved every mouthful! Then we drove for four hours north to a more rural part of South-Africa, Saint Lucia where we are staying in a gorgeous b&b called Anna's (www.annasbnb.com). Ivan and Brenda are fantastic hosts who are ultra friendly and helpful, ensuring our stay is perfect!.. Had a lovely afternoon spotting crocodiles and hippos whilst having a beer. Lovely. Then later to top it off I beat Chris 4-2 at Pool, of course changing the rules slightly in my favour :)
written by  chrischarly on July 28, 2010 from Saint Lucia Estuary, South Africa

Farewell dinner
The lake
We started to slowly start organising our things today ready to pack back into our backpacks with Chris discovering that I now had 17 tops. Bugger. So of course some had to disappear to the local charity shop. When you don’t have many clothes it is hard to part with ones that have travelled the world with you. But Chris didn’t of course fall for that and demanded that some had to go ignoring the argument that mine were half the size of his. It is going to be hard to leave the camp site tomorrow! We felt bad for leaving Maureen and will really miss her so early so cooked her (well Chris did) a farewell dinner and chatted for ages until I started drifting off to sleep on her sofa…

Puffing Billy
Belgrave, Australia
Leading the way
After doing pretty much nothing for far too long we surprised even ourselves by having a busy day. Woke up too early to finish packing away all of our things and left Maureen with everything we couldn’t fit in our bags to take to the charity shop or keep if she wants including our tent, mattress, doona, clothes, food, etc. etc. Tim, another friend we made then gave us a lift to the train station just in time to make the 10:24am train to Melbourne, then with a quick change over we caught the metro to Belgrave and then just a walk to find Eamann at the Puffing Billy Railway Station armed with free tickets for us to go on this famous steam train.
The engine of Puffing Billy
On the puffing Billy
The switch room
Chris and the captain
Nice view from train
On the bridge
Eamann and I
It was a great trip taking about an hour each way with fantastic scenery. We then met Eamann when we got back and we went to have a few drinks at his local before he took us home to his lovely House and cooked us a delicious dinner.
written by  chrischarly on December 15, 2011 from Belgrave, Australia

9 amazing hours of Safari!
Hluhluwe, South Africa
A White Rhinoceros' Bum
A Hyena regurgitating his food!
1 Zebra
At 4:45am we woke up and went on an amazing safari.
A Pretty View
Blue Wildebeest
Impala's kissing
Our tiny little car was amazing and managed to take us pretty much everywhere the jeeps and 4x4s went.
A Cheetah!!!
A Bush Pig!!!
A Goliath Heron
We had a very lucky day managing to see the extremely rare sighting of a cheetah, 2 Bushpigs and so many more animals.
Warthog Family also having a drink
A Warthog
A WILD Giraffe this time!!
However, Chris is now exhausted and has been sleeping for over 2 hours now after his very long drive, whilst I'm getting itchy feet and hunger pains desperate to go out again! Anyway, I will let the pictures speak for themselves!!!
Nyala and Impala having a drink
A Hyena
written by  chrischarly on July 29, 2010 from Hluhluwe, South Africa

Note to everyone... get you hair cut by someone who understands English!!!
The land turtle
A land turtle
Today I left the guest House once again but this time to get my hair cut!!! It's so short now!!! Although I repeatedly said 'keep it long' I don't think he understood me and kept saying 'I will make it nice' and granted, yet it does look nice but I like my hair long! Now I struggle to put it all up :(

....
Nothing much happens here in Paradise...
Off for a swim...
Me after a swim
Sorry to rub it in to all the people working 9-5 :)

My Birthday!
Saint Lucia Estuary, South Africa
Hippos play-fighting
Hippos and a hidden croc!
I had a lovely day today, of course being pampered by my lovely boyfriend! We moved to a different B&B, Parkers which is also lovely as neither could accommodate us for the full 4 days. Had a strange pizza for lunch with bacon,Banana and garlic??? However, was still a taste sensation!
A Mangrove Kingfisher!
A Croc
In the afternoon we went on a hippo and croc tour and we saw hippos and crocs, obviously, and also a Mangrove Kingfisher, which is the rarest bird in S.A.
Hippos
Pretty sunset
We then sat and watched the most gorgeous sunset. In the evening we went out for some yummy dinner then went out to party till 2am, where the owner kept giving me far too many shots. Unfortunatly there isn't much night life in Saint Lucia so we had to beg for the last few drinks and then staggered home...
written by  chrischarly on July 30, 2010 from Saint Lucia Estuary, South Africa

Fuzzy
Pakenham, Australia
Chris chillaxing in libray
Woke up with fuzzy heads again this morning. But to work it out of our systems a little we tidied up, did some washing before justifying sitting on the sofa for an hour or two before Phil kindly gave us a lift into town. So after using the free Wi-Fi in the library and then a little shopping we took a slow walk back and had a chilled evening watching a couple of films and Chris made some homemade pizzas.
written by  chrischarly on December 16, 2011 from Pakenham, Australia

shopping, chores and films
Pakenham, Australia
Did a little shopping, did a few chores and watched a couple of films and hung out with Eamann’s flatmate, Phil. But apart from that didn’t do a great deal…
written by  chrischarly on December 17, 2011 from Pakenham, Australia

The Morning After...
Saint Lucia Estuary, South Africa
A rhino
A family of baboons
Today was a little slow-starting as we were both a little hung over! But once we'd finally got up we went to Cape Vidal which is a little park just outside Saint Lucia where we saw a rhino properly and not just it's bum. We then found a lovely secluded beach again and went for a long walk, however, it was so windy that the sand HURT!
A chameleon
A dwarf Chameleon
In the evening we went on a night safari to try and spot the elusive leapord, however, instead we saw 2 chameleons, one so small and rare, almost impossible to spot! The sky was so beautiful at night you could see the milky way very clearly.
written by  chrischarly on July 31, 2010 from Saint Lucia Estuary, South Africa

And another day...
Playing basket ball
Locals playing basketball outside the resort
Kids playing basket ball...
Today we finished off making the last few prperations for 'The Gay Night' tomorrow evening and the clothes distribution on Sunday

After leaving the villa the last night to recover we once agin stayed in...
Lunch...
Yummy arrack cocktails!!
kinda running out of things to stay as we do NOTHING!

Yummy meal
Me and Steve
Chris and his mama...
Today we had a yummy meal at Marley's once again venturing out of the villa, yet the staff were so sickly sweet it made you want to vomit!

Hello Swaziland!
Siteki, Swaziland
Hut in Siteki
A Swaziland Airport!- Honest
Today was our last day in Saint Lucia and we were sad to say goodbye :( However, we were both excited to going to Swaziland! We didn't get a border crossing permit for the car so we were praying that they wouldn't check it closely as I forged the documents! Luckily, they didn't as we were ultra-friendly and we were also lucky they didn't search the car as we had some wine and gin stashed in the cool box! We eventually found our little place and it was amazing, situated on acres and acres of land. In the evening we went out for dinner in a scary 'restaurant', where Chris ordered me a pizza ensuring it wasn't spicy by repeatedly saying, 'Not hot. Not hot'. Thus, it came out stone cold :(
written by  chrischarly on August 1, 2010 from Siteki, Swaziland

Mission Impossible
Pakenham, Australia
We didn’t do a great deal in the morning, but went out to do a bit of shopping in the afternoon and we brought a new hard drive as our other one has broken. We then went to the cinema and watched the new ‘Mission Impossible’ film, which was I surprised myself by enjoying it! It was nice to go to cinema and it’s the first time we’ve been since we’ve been away, but it wasn’t cheap at $21 a ticket! We then came back and chilled on the sofa.
written by  chrischarly on December 18, 2011 from Pakenham, Australia

Almost in Auckland...
Auckland, New Zealand
Yummy pate
Cannot believe we are leaving Australia already!.. So we got ourselves motivated eventually to get on with stuff and to get ready for flying out in the evening to New Zealand.
Chris' delicious pork belly dish
Chris cooked a culinary delight in the evening consisting of homemade pate and his signature dish of pork belly for us, Eamann and Phil.
Eamann, Phil and I
Then Eamann kindly gave us a lift to the airport in the evening and we said a sad goodbye to both him and Phil who have been great to us the past few days. Our flight left at 11:50pm for Melbourne and by this time we were both already exhausted but I had a horrible middle seat on the plane with Chris on my left and a guy with no sense of personal space on my right, and an annoying brat behind, so although just a 3 hour flight, it was horrific!
written by  chrischarly on December 19, 2011 from Auckland, New Zealand

Things that Annoyed Charly today...
Maputo, Mozambique
Today everyhting that could go wrong- did today:-
I had a restless night's sleep, with a huge headache
Neither mine or Chris' bank cards were working so we had to leave Swaziland early as we didn't have money
The banks refused to change our currency as we didn't have an account with them
I left the ring Chris brought me in Venice at Swaziland
The lady at the Swaziland border asked me loads of questions and I couldn't understand her so we both got very annoyed with each other
The guy behind the counter wouldn't accept dollars for the visa- only rand, so took our last rand and wouldn't give us change- until he saw that we weren't leaving without it.
Chris then had to buy even more car insurance to enter Mozambique and then they kept begging him for more money.
I got attacked by a swarm of children at the petrol station for sweets, then one accidentally punched me in the face
We couldn't find any accommodation in Maputo so had to drive 4 hours further than planned
I got ripped off buying a high vis jacket (an essential in Mozambique) by giving the guy rand instead of meticas, 5x the amount he asked for as I got mixed up with all the currency we had on us. Chris thought it was hilarious, I was fuming
We got stopped by the police for no reason at all.
We had no choice but spend 70 pound pp for a night's accomodation as there was no where else.
A very stressful day...
written by  chrischarly on August 2, 2010 from Maputo, Mozambique

Sri Lanka...
Monkeys!!!
Cute monkey
Monkey in the trees in our garden
Monkey!

My Hair..
After too many people have asked... begrudgingly here is a photo our me with short hair :(
Me with short wet hair...
It had to ba photo taken when my hair is wet as it frizzes up to a fluff ball when dry here and lots unfortunately even shorter and VILE!!! :) Only kidding, I'm getting used to it now :)
Anyway, took a little stroll all the way down to the beach today!
Lovely beach yet dead deserted
Bentota beach
Footprints in the sand

An Adventure Drive!
Xai-Xai, Mozambique
Pot holes twice the size of our car
A Lorry refusing to move out of our way!
After staying a very quiet night in Praia do Bilene, we decided to move on to a more livlier place. The journey to Tofo beach was very difficult for our little Kia, ideal for a 4x4, but we still found it pretty amusing! Yet we still made it getting stuck only once, but luckily it was the 'car park' at the next B&B, which was pretty over-priced for a so-called backpackers place for what it was. We just relaxed in the evening after the long drive where we got served raw Chicken and cold pasta, delicious! We got kicked out of the bar at 9:20pm as the generator was about to be switched off leaving us in complete darkness!.. Still a fun day though :)
written by  chrischarly on August 3, 2010 from Xai-Xai, Mozambique

A building sight
Christchurch, New Zealand
Our plane
We are now 13 hours ahead of the U.K and we landed in Auckland on time at 5:20am both kind of in a daze. Chris did manage to sleep a little, but bless him, it was the kind of sleep where you jolt your head every couple of minutes, so that did keep me entertained most of the journey.
Control tower in Auckland
We didn’t have a great deal to do to kill time before our next flight to Christchurch in 7 hour’s time apart from, go through security and change to the domestic terminal so we did this as slow as possible. To be fair though, it wasn’t too bad as our flight left on time at 12:10pm with no hassle and this time we had 3 seats for the two of us,
About to fly...
so I passed out before take-off and slept until Chris woke me up to check out the awesome scenery before entering Christchurch. We had already booked somewhere to stay, which is a hostel is New Brighton called Point Break on the outskirts of the city so we took 2 buses to get there
Awesome view from plane
which was relatively easy and the last bus driver dropped us off right outside of the door. As we had a van when in Australia so slept in that, this was our most expensive accommodation yet at about £60 for 2 nights and it was the cheapest we could find, so different from the bargain places you can find in Asia.
The snowy mountains from plane
When we got off the bus though it looked just like a building sight and when we checked in and paid the remaining balance we got taken upstairs to be shown our room. It was tiny with just a bunk bed wedged in the corner with the windows open and a builder outside drilling so all the dust was blowing in the room. Fantastic.
A Building Sight aka our hostel
So obviously we weren’t happy, but before we said anything, the manager showed up, took a 1 look at our gob-smacked faces and instantly moved us to a room out the back with no work going on. We were so happy, plus it was an en-suite with 4 beds in, including a double, so we quickly shut the door and locked it before they changed their minds. Unfortunately though for them, some other people saw we got upgraded so had a bit of hassle from them! Oops! Chris then forced me to go out and join him for a beer so I didn’t crawl straight into bed and get jet-lag so I finally got to sleep properly at 10pm thankfully!
written by  chrischarly on December 20, 2011 from Christchurch, New Zealand

New Brighton
New Brighton, New Zealand
New Brighton Pier
A segull
The New Brighton Pier
After dragging myself out of bed for our complimentary breakfast due to the building work, I crawled back into bed and fell back asleep ‘till midday. Finally able to face the world Chris and I wandered off into town to have a walk about, going to the library and on the pier. It was a nice and relaxing day happily achieving not a lot just enjoying this lovely town.
written by  chrischarly on December 21, 2011 from New Brighton, New Zealand

Aquatico lodge!
Praia do Tofo, Mozambique
Aquatico Beach
In the morning we went for a little trip around Tofo, finding a lovely little deli where we made a couple of friends who found us some much better accomodation, which a lot cheaper right on the beach! So we swiftly moved all of our things out of Bamboozi lodge into Aquatico receiving a frosty goodbye from reception. In the evening we went out to an all-you-can-eat pizza evening and I out-ate Chris by 5 slices whilst being eaten myself alive by mosquitoes :(
written by  chrischarly on August 4, 2010 from Praia do Tofo, Mozambique

The Gay Night
After spending the day making last minute preperations for The Gay Night after having a busy day at the resort as we had a conference that lastest a little longer than expected in the morning we were all ready.
Carla's first glamerous outfit- made out of a curtain!
We were secretly looking forward to it as we would get to see loads of the locals all dressed up and as the tickets were all given out it should have been a fantastic evening!
Carla and I
My job was to sell tequila to all the guests, although customeres only ever drink beer, so thought this would be quite a challenge!
Chris and Carla- perfect couple!
However, Carla, one of the members of staff who helped organised was the first and unfortunately the last person to turn up though!
Carlos and GeeGee admiring Carla's back!
So this was in fact very disappointing :( Somehow though, I still managed to see 45 shots to other customers here! But poor Carla was broken hearted and went to bed early after getting dressed up not just one but twice! :((

Releasing the turtles
This evening at 9pm I went down to the beach to release some turtles into the sea.
A HUGE turtle
A huge turtle at the hatchery
When they are picked up still as eggs off the beach by locals, they are brought to the turtle hatchery where they are cared for until they hatch.
A very friendly turtle
A poor turtle unable to be set free as he has a broken back! :(
A swimming little turtle
Hundreds of day-old turtles
Then, when the are merely a day or two old they are released back into the sea where they will have a greater chance of survival than they would have had if the eggs remained on the beach.
About to set my turtle free...
The turtles walking to the sea after we let them go
The reason they are released at night is so the birds etc wouldn't see them as clearly, but still they have only 1 in a 100 chance of survival!

Sri Lanka
Locals playing volleyball
Elephant on a main road!
The road down to our guest house
A pretty pond!
Hot and flustered
A lovely day...

:( :( Poorly Toe! :( :(
Praia do Tofo, Mozambique
My Poorly Foot
After going for a lovely long walk along the beach we went to check out going on an ocean safari. Luckily, we didn't book one as an hour later I tripped up outside the deli on a step and ripped half of my big toe nail off! Blood squited out everywhere and the pain was so bad I though I might faint. I couldn't put a picture of the actual wound up as it's so vile but here's one bandaged up after covering it in anticeptic...
written by  chrischarly on August 5, 2010 from Praia do Tofo, Mozambique

Meeting back up with the ever-extreme Justine
Twizel, New Zealand
Leaving Christchurch
Stunning
The pretty wild flowers and blue lake
Woke up, packed bags, ate breakfast and checked out of the building sight and waited for Justine to arrive to chauffeur us back down to her pad for Christmas.
Driving to Q'Town
She arrived at about 1pm with Dan, her South African friend and a hitchhiker she picked up along the way and we drove slowly for about 8 hours down to Queenstown stopping a few times along the way.
The most gorgeous place
We were all pretty tired by the time we’d arrived but still stayed up chatting for hours having a couple of drinks and a catch up. She has an amazing House, full of character and people staying here all the time, thus it can never be described as quiet… Think we are in for another crazy Christmas!
A baby fallen through the roof
Justine's pad
written by  chrischarly on December 22, 2011 from Twizel, New Zealand

Enjoying the sunshine
Frankton, New Zealand
Makumba just before he goes to Oz
Got up and chilled for most the day in the gorgeous sunshine, reading books and drinking a few beers. Early evening we headed into the supermarket to get Christmas supplies, at the same time we found out that there had been two earthquakes in
Chris with a beer
Christchurch, exactly where we were just yesterday in New Brighton and Justine even felt it whilst lying in bed, but not being used to them, we were oblivious. We came back and Chris cooked yummy steaks with baked sweet potato, salad and pepper sauce. Yummy as ever.
written by  chrischarly on December 23, 2011 from Frankton, New Zealand

Partying
Praia do Tofo, Mozambique
A Boat
I woke up to find Chris watching the whales jump out of the sea in the distance. It's amazing how clear you can see them! We had a lovely day even though we couldn't do a lot due to my toe as it's hard to walk, but in the evening we went out to Dino's- which is the local bar and had a great night, but unfortunately unable to dance. I haven't a clue what time I managed to drag Chris away but I'm sure the sun wasn't far from rising.
written by  chrischarly on August 6, 2010 from Praia do Tofo, Mozambique

Rain...
Chris tucking into his breakfast
Chris looking silly eating a mango
Posing with a banana...
Chris still eating his breakfast
A not-so-lovely day today... too much rain all day...
rain rain go away
raining in paradise
Admiring the pool from a distance as it's raining :(
Stupid rain storms spoiling our sun-bathing
amazing thunderstorms though!

Chillaxing
A chill day...
Reading books in the pool
Enjoying a beverage in the pool
Chris' mum and Maisie on their balcony
Our pool
as with any other day!
Shark teeth
Dinner...
Tying up the crabs
Massive crabs
A crab fighting back!
Alive crabs back home
Fish market
Lovely weather so barely left the pool except to get some crabs for dinner!

Zzzzzzzzzz
Tofo Beach
Myself and Chris eventually woke up at 2:30pm, Chris with a raging hang-over and ate till we were fit to burst to soak some of the alcohol up! However, that was pretty much all we did as we fell asleep around 7pm. Pretty wasteful day but we feel so much better for it!

Christmas Eve
Frankton, New Zealand
Manakin modelling Justine's cast
Manakin we dressed up
Barbie zip-lining
Hung out at Justine’s and helped her organise the place for Christmas. It pretty much entailed a bit of tidying, lots of dressing the place up with some funky arty stuff, all mixed in with plenty of breaks in the sunshine. Chris then deboned the turkey which he was very pleased about and we had a nice chilled Christmas Eve.
Freaky
Cleaning the BBQ
Chris preparing the turkey
Mine and Chris' creation
written by  chrischarly on December 24, 2011 from Frankton, New Zealand

Merry Christmas!! :)
Frankton, New Zealand
A guy trapped in the sofa
Planking
Outside Justine's place
Mason breaking into the site opposite
Another manakin we dressed up and laid next to Justine whilst she slept!!
Got up and Chris got to work on food prep. Some early birds rocked up and we started on the cocktails early before a BBQ breakfast to ensure we could last the day. The whole day was a mix of drinking, chatting eating and having fun. Chris’s food went down really well and we all had a great time. Justine was clearly out of practice and ended up crashing about 5pm but did re-emerge later in the evening. Happy Christmas everyone…
written by  chrischarly on December 25, 2011 from Frankton, New Zealand

Night Out With Friends
a boat
Women having to transport things through the water!
We had a great day today relaxing outside our little home reading in the gorgeous sunshine then making a couple of new friends, Sam and Mags who we later invited out to dinner with us in the evening. Had a great night, drinking till quite late at Tofo Tofo and then back at ours.

Sunday- clothes give away!
Following the failure that was last night, we were a little anxious about today hoping that nothing would go wrong as it was horrible weather with really bad rain storms getting everything and everyone soaked!
Cold Max
Puppy-dog eyes
But then again, this was giving away free clothes to the locals and for a good cause.
By 8:15 we were all se up and ready and although the first group wasn't due until 9am and the second until 10am, there was already a massive queue!
Before opening
Queue of people waiting to get in and pick clothes
Out of 380 items of clothing and more donated later by some of the staff, not one piece of clothing even unmatched socks were left by 11am...
A cute boy with a bag almost as big as him stuffed full of clothes!
Clothes day
Busy, busy, BUSY!
Waiting to get in
It was crazily busy, but a great success! It was a just a shame we couldn't have provided to everyone, but at least everyone who had tickets were provided with at least one item of clothing.

Pool...
Elephant
Modelling the sarongs for us
Reading books in the pool
Enjoying a beverage in the pool
Denushka up a tree picking coconuts!
Nope, you'll never catch me doing that!!
Another relaxing day at Shangri Lanka!

Yummy pork roast
Yummy Sri Lankan curry for breakfast... tasty gorgeousness
Monkey
The back of Rohan's head
Our spit-roast pork
Pig roast dinner
written by  chrischarly on February 1, 2011 from Bentota, Sri Lanka

Exploring
Inhambane, Mozambique
Sunrise
swimming pool
This morning we woke up to catch a glimpse of the lovely Sunrise before getting up to explore somewhere new. We found an amazing hotel which was we ate a lovely lunch- only purchased as we wanted to use the pool! Although the weather was lovely it was so windy that we tried to play cards later in the evening but was difficult as they kept blowing everywhere.
written by  chrischarly on August 9, 2010 from Inhambane, Mozambique

A little explore around town
Queenstown, New Zealand
An awesome road
Queenstown
The pretty lake
Mason
Although pretty hungover, we manged to get our act together and went for a nice tour around Queenstown with Mason, Justine’s son, which took in some of the nice parts of the lake and the town. We then went shopping for a few bits before headed back to base for a chilled evening.
written by  chrischarly on December 26, 2011 from Queenstown, New Zealand

Camping again
Albert Town, New Zealand
Me and Justine relaxing
Off-roading
We packed up the car and headed to Albert Town which is near Wanaka to camp. It was an amazing drive through the mountains and the views were even better than we had seen so far.
BBQ
Chris setting up the tent
Found a nice spot and Chris setup the tent while we supervised and drank some wine. Later on, some of Justine’s paragliding crew turned up. They were running a course for two guys the next day at Lake Hawae. We cooked some tandoori Chicken and drunk more wine, then headed to bed as we had to get up at 7am to go support the paragliding course.
written by  chrischarly on December 27, 2011 from Albert Town, New Zealand

Windy day
another boat
Chilli's- the deli
Not much to say about today as we didn't do much as it was too windy and to cold to do anything! So went spent 4 hours in a deli eating some nice Comfort food and spent the rest of the day reading. It was far too cold to go to Tofo Tofo, so had a very disappointing pizza at Dino's with a few additions to the pizza which I didn't order, such as thick lumps of fat! So watch out eating in a dimly lighted room!

Last day in Sri Lanka... :( :( :( :(
Today is our last night in Sri Lanka and we are both gutted to be trading our lovely comfy bed to a thin mattress designed for the cheap-skate backpackers we will transform into by tomorrow...
Me, Chris and Steve squeezed into a tuk-tuk! Very cosy!
Mo, Chris and I
Chris and our super-friendly waiter
More importantly though it will be really upsetting to say goodbye to Chris' parents, Chris and Steve. 3 weeks has gone far too quickly...
written by  chrischarly on February 2, 2011 from Bentota, Sri Lanka

Another Windy day
Me and Chris
Our front garden!
Today was just as bad as the day before, which also meant that the sea was impossible to go in as it was so dangerous; they weren't even launching boats! However, Chris was outside reading his book watching kids as young as 3 and 4 playing in the sea whilst their parents enjoyed a beer! He though he may have to go and rescue them when one disappeared for a minute finally coming up crying. The parents didn't even notice! In the evening we went to Casa Barry to listen to a whale shark talk in preparation for our ocean safari which we still hope to do. However, we have 'till Saturday for the sea to calm down before we move on, so keep your fingers crossed for us!

Paragliding and 4 wheel driving
Wanaka, New Zealand
Practicing paragliding
So pretty
Got up at 7ish and quickly packed up what we needed for the day before heading to the lake with the guys.
Our cars at the bottom across lake!
Waterfall in the mountains
Crossing a river
On the 4X4 trip
Views from Justine's car
Off-roading
Having a quick break
Awesome
Unfortunately it was too windy for the course so it was aborted after a few hours of waiting. We then decided to go on a 4WD tour around the lake which was amazing and the views epic.
So gorgeous!!
We then headed back to camp; Chris and Dean went fishing whilst we went to town to get some more beer and food and had a chilled night. Good job we bought Salmon as Chris and Dean were rubbish at fishing!!
written by  chrischarly on December 28, 2011 from Wanaka, New Zealand

Another night binge drinking...
Justine
Woke up, too windy again for the course so we cleared and packed up headed back to Queenstown picking up an Italian friend of Justine’s along the way. When we got back we dropped off Justine and headed into town to pick up Tracy,
Drinking cocktails...
another friend, brought a load of drinks including 2 bottles of vodka and spent the afternoon and night consuming way too much for 5 people, including sending Mason, Justine’s son into town to buy 2 more bottles of vodka. Lots of yummy cocktails were consumed and all in all a pretty messy night. No idea what time we went to bed.

Lovely Walk
Menu at Black and Whites. Very simple!
Gorgeous beach
Today we went on a lovely walk to Casa Barry completely the other side of the beach and although it was still windy the sun was shining. However we couldn't spend long there as the weather was still awful so we were afraid of being cut off. We found another amazingly cheap place in the heart of the market called black and whites which served basic yet tasty food. Even though the rice was served to us cold we could hardly complain as it worked out just over 1 pound each! Bargain

Jai Alai
The court
This evening Trev took us to see a Jai Alai game.
The score board
At the Jai alai
This game is shown all over The Philippines on television and online for people to bet on.
Playing jai alai
It was actually quite an interesting game although the commentator obviously didn't agree
The commentator has obviously lost interest!
It doesn't usually have spectors, so we virtually had the place to ourselves!
The only spectators
Very exciting being on T.V to millions of viewers!

Ocean Safari
A boat and a whale
We both had a fantastic day today, not believing just how exciting the ocean safari would be! We saw hump back whales about 5 feet away, I swam above a whale shark and saw 2 pods of dolphins. Not bad for my first ever snorkelling experience. However, it was ultra scary and seriously tiring, especially as I didn't even know how to breathe through a snorkel! Climbing back into the boat wasn't exactly glamorous either as I managed to flash everyone on the boat when Chris dragged me up :O How embarassing!

Recovering.... AGAIN
Awesome views from a lookout point
After a fantastic night’s sleep, Chris and I woke up massively hung-over at 1pm and woke Justine as she was supposed to be going to a hotel with a friend. She eventually got up at 2pm and left at 4 a few hours later than planned and we spent a relaxing day chilling out watching films.

End of the year
Sunset in Frankton
The last day in 2011. Been a fantastic year, been to and seen a load of amazing places and collected some unforgettable memories. We didn’t do a lot today. Justine had plans with a few of her friends and as New Year’s isn’t exactly that special to us; just another day, we stayed in and had a few drinks together as we don’t spend enough time together as it is!

Friday
Had a nice day today,
booked our ocean safari for tomorrow,
but they're still not launching boats
so we pray they do!
Went out in the evening for an opening party at Turtle Cove,
we had a great night,
lovin' the complimentary pork rolls!
When we were walking home at night
I thought it was strange that a half moon in Mozambique is upside down?!

9 1/2 hour drive...
Siteki, Swaziland
Mozambique public transport!
Acres and acres of pineapples
Today we woke up at 4:45 preparing for our long drive back to Swaziland this time prepared with lots of currency! It didn't take anywhere near as long as we'd expected as the road works had improved loads. We got stopped by the police again, but this time he was really nice and all he wanted was a drink, so we gave him a can of red bull and he was so delighted I thought he might kiss me! This was the first night that we'd stayed in backpackers accomodation, yet you wouldn't have though so as we had our own room in a gorgeous setting, the only aspect making it different was sharing a bathroom, but it was huge with hardly any guests staying there that it didn't matter.
written by  chrischarly on August 15, 2010 from Siteki, Swaziland

Happy New Year!
Justine enjoying the sunshine
Happy New Year!! With Christmas and New Year out of the way, we are now on a search for a new van! So the first thing we did was to get a lift into town and take back and replace the broken portable internet stick we brought yesterday with another one twice the price that also didn’t work. So after about 5 hours of Chris playing with it, he fixed it, this time himself. We then spent the evening searching for cars and vans, loads available but most of them pretty rubbish.
written by  chrischarly on January 1, 2012 from Frankton, New Zealand

Looking for wheels
Had a look at quite a few vans and cars today, all of them over-priced for what they are and many things wrong with them which Chris could tell by having a look. Busy day but I suppose it is just our first day of looking for vehicles. Just hoped it would be as easy as it was in Oz.
written by  chrischarly on January 2, 2012 from Frankton, New Zealand

First night in a game park
Ezulwini, Swaziland
2 crocs and a hippo
Our hut
View from our hut
Today we went searching for somewhere else to stay as we'd already stayed at Mabuda before so we wanted to explore a litle further. This was harder than we thought as the first 10-15 places we tried were either fully booked or very dodgy-looking. Eventually we found a lovely little backpackers place in the middle of a game park! The surroundings are by far the most beautiful I'd ever seen and we stayed in a hut in the middle of no where. Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous!
written by  chrischarly on August 16, 2010 from Ezulwini, Swaziland

1st proper day on duty
Today both myself and Chris got written into the rota, so now we are both working proper shifts for our last 2 weeks at Jotay. Chris is working 8-11 and 1-6 whilst I will be working 2:30-10:30pm.
Having a swim
Locals all swimming in their clothes
Happy little boy
Locals playing in the sea
We had a good day although it wasn't as busy as we expected just doing general tasks.
written by  chrischarly on March 1, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

Sleeping in a stable!
Ezulwini, Swaziland
Inside the stable
Me sleeping
Our private stable!
After a rubbish sleep we decided to move on again and this time came across a stable to sleep in. Yep, a converted stable! It was for true backpackers and housed 36 people, 4 beds in each room with half a wall separating us from the next room. However, although it sounds scary, which it was in fact, we remarkably were the only ones staying there, thus we had our own private kitchen and 2 bathrooms! Great adventure at a bargain price, althought it was freezing!
written by  chrischarly on August 17, 2010 from Ezulwini, Swaziland

Still no wheels...
It is so hard to go and look at vehicles when we ourselves don’t have any wheels! But we still continued the search and saw a few more today, none we particularly fell in love with though.
written by  chrischarly on January 3, 2012 from Frankton, New Zealand

Final 3
Queenstown, New Zealand
Steve
Third day of frantically searching for cars. Saw heaps more today and Aston gave us a lift into town to have a look at some parked up around there. We did find the most perfect people carrier though and it was in mint condition for a bargain price. We took it for a test drive and certain we wanted it, started negotiating with the owner. However, a lady was driving over 2 hours to look at it, so he said he would give her first refusal, which he did and she brought it. We were so gutted! Later in the evening though we had a look at another couple of possibilities so we had narrowed it down to the final 3. None of them perfect, but and all would need a bit of work. In the evening we went out with a few of Justine’s friends to a nice restaurant in town and ate some awesome food and went to a few bars afterwards. Great night, but will suffer for it tomorrow…
written by  chrischarly on January 4, 2012 from Queenstown, New Zealand

A little bit of luxury :)
Barberton, South Africa
How high up are we!
Our makeshift washing-line!
A dam
After 3 night of backpacking accomodation we decided that we would treat ourselves to a comfy bed for a great night sleep which luckily was achieved. Chris also liked it as it had we had a pub in our garden! So that's where we spent the majority of our night! During the day we went for a lovely drive from Swaziland up in the mountains and found a town dedicated to help orphans and AIDS survivors, so we decided to support it by staying for lunch and buying some fresh tasty milk from the local bakery!
written by  chrischarly on August 18, 2010 from Barberton, South Africa

Double Booking!
Komatipoort, South Africa
3 warthog and Chris' sandal
The road which we were driving along
As we were off to Kruger the following day we decided to stay over at Marloth Park for the night which was about 30mins from Crocodile Bridge Gate entrance. Chris made a provisional booking before on the internet, yet to our Surprise it was already booked out! So after searching for the place for over an hour we weren't at all impressed, but luckily found a cute guest-House not too far away.
written by  chrischarly on August 19, 2010 from Komatipoort, South Africa

Our new home!..
Queenstown, New Zealand
Our new car! Name=Lucy
Finally we have brought a new vehicle! It’s a Toyota Estima Lucida and we are so happy we now have wheels! There’s a couple of things wrong with it that need fixing, so a few pennies need to be spent to buy at least 2 new tyres, get the wheels aligned, check out the battery, fully convert it so we can sleep inside and a few other things. But at least we’re a bit closer! We decided on this one as it would have the most space and probably the cheapest to do up in the long run as it only cost $2500, which we thought was pretty good. Unfortunately the 4x4 we fell in love with failed it’s WOF (M.O.T) by a lot so the Estima it is.
written by  chrischarly on January 5, 2012 from Queenstown, New Zealand

OJT's last day
Today was Mary-Jane and Mayette's last day at Jotay as they are students and they came here to do some On the Job Training (OJT) for a month. So I helped write their references and took photos of them pretending to work as they didn't have a camera so they could show their tutors...
Pretending to work on reception
Pretending to make beds
At the bar
Happy at work!
Predending to clean a mirror
And then cooking
Prentending to look in the fridge
Mayette pretending to wash-up
Mayette pretending to lay up a table
Predending I'm a happy customer
Then Mary-Jane...
After training Mayette how to carry a tray of drinks
Mayette, Anna, Carl, Mary-Jane and Fender
Front of House Staff
The Staff by the pool
written by  chrischarly on March 2, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

The Big 5
Komatipoort, South Africa
A leopard!!!
3 rhinos
Buffalo
Yay today as well as many other amazing sightings, we saw the Big 5!!
Lion
Elephants
written by  chrischarly on August 20, 2010 from Komatipoort, South Africa

Almost ready to leave
Gravel?
Spent the day clearing out and buying stuff for the van as it needs everything. Also got the tyres changed, the battery terminals fixed so it now re-charges and managed to come across an abandoned Toyota just like ours so ‘acquired’ the stays off the back, so the boot remains open. Another busy day and got a lot done, almost ready to leave in it!

First stop= Paradise
Paradise, New Zealand
The blue lake
We finally left Queenstown today in our van after buying yet more things. Only problem is that we haven’t managed to make a bed yet, so we will be sleeping on the floor for the next couple of nights until we come back to Queenstown and Justine’s neighbour said he would make one for us, so we can store everything underneath.
Beautiful!
Road we're about to drive on
Chris admiring the views
Our first stop was to Paradise an aptly named little settlement 20km North of Glenorchy. It was a gorgeous place down a rough road and we found a place where we could ‘Freedom Camp’ for the night right by the lake with amazing views, yet too many sandflies.
Our first adventure in our new car
Camped up
written by  chrischarly on January 7, 2012 from Paradise, New Zealand

Big 4
Malelane, South Africa
A black-backed jackal
A honey badger
A poo bird
A young male lion
A very colourful bird
Lion
Today was our second day in Kruger and we saw 4 of the big 5 excluding the leopard, with 3 other new sightings, a black-backed jackal, a honey badger and 3 porcupines, resting this time in Mopani rest-camp.
written by  chrischarly on August 21, 2010 from Malelane, South Africa

Big 3
Phalaborwa, South Africa
Lion cubs
3 elephants
A hippo yawning
A monkey family
Today was our last day in Kruger, and we surprisingly didn't even see a rhino as we were much higher in the park.
A baby hyena
Mother and baby rhino
A Vulture
Chris cooking on the Braii
We left around 4pm to search for our B&B having had an amazing few days, but seriously exhausted.
written by  chrischarly on August 22, 2010 from Phalaborwa, South Africa

The Great Panorama
Graskop, South Africa
Today we decided to take a scenic route through S.A to return to Sanette's House. Unfortunately it took a little longer than expected, even though beautiful resulting with Chris spending another 10 hours driving!
written by  chrischarly on August 23, 2010 from Graskop, South Africa

Decent Chinese Food...
This evening Trev, Jo, Chris and I went out to our friends', Carlo and GeeGee's Chinese restaurant, and to be honest I really enjoyed it; nothing at all like Chinese food you get back in the U.K... Yummy!..
Carlo and GeeGee
Trev and Jo
Yummy food
However, the zoo they kept outside wasn't very nice to look at, I swear the Chinese eat anything!
written by  chrischarly on March 3, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

Gorgeous NZ
Glenorchy, New Zealand
Chris fishing in Diamond Lake
Admiring Paradise
A place called Paradise, honest!
Beautiful!
Filling up our water bottle
Diamond Lake
Just gorgeous!
We slept pretty well last night especially considering we still need to buy a proper mattress for it and Chris was already out fishing first thing in the Crystal clear ‘Diamond Lake’. He was pretty disappointed that he didn’t catch anything though as he could see all the trout swimming straight past his line, but not biting, but maybe that’s because they saw him as well. We then went for a drive to the end of the road about an hour away and went for a walk down to the Dart River which is freezing, before driving back and walking some of the way round the lake we are staying at.
written by  chrischarly on January 8, 2012 from Glenorchy, New Zealand

Back to Queenstown
Glenorchy, New Zealand
Paragliders
Chris went for an early-morning fish whilst I still slept feeling optimistic about a fish breakfast. Unfortunately by the time I got up and walked down to him, he himself was walking back without anything but his rod. We then packed up and drove back to Glenorchy so we could get phone signal to call Ed, Justine’s neighbour who said he could fit a bed in the back of our Estima so we could store our boxes underneath. He just needs to have a look at it first, so we drove back to Queenstown. Once there, he said he could do it tomorrow, which is perfect so we went to buy some wood and then drove to Kingston to meet some of Justine’s friends who were paragliding and chilled there for a couple of hours before making our way back for the night.
written by  chrischarly on January 9, 2012 from Glenorchy, New Zealand

Last day in S.A
Johannesburg, South Africa
Me and Chris
We spent our last day in Joburg packing and getting Dora (our car) cleaned. This took over 2 hours with at one time 4 people cleaning it! In the evening we enjoyed our last evening with Sanette and Mario with Chris cooking a culinary delight!
written by  chrischarly on August 24, 2010 from Johannesburg, South Africa

4 minutes left to check-in!
Livingstone, Zambia
Lunar Rainbow
We decided to go against our gut instincts by leaving at 6 for the airport, by leaving at 7 as it wasn't far to the airport... BIG MISTAKE!! There was so much traffic leaving us arriving at Europcar and our panicked expressions meant the guy kindly driving us to the terminal himself so we got there quicker. However, we didn't know which terminal to be at, so we guessed at unfortunately we were wrong! I don't think either of us have ran so fast in our lives! Eventually we made it with only 4 minutes left before the lady closed the desk and we were the last ones on the plane. Had a great flight with extra leg room seats blagged by Chris, arriving in sunny Zambia half an hour earlier than expected.
We were greeted by our friendly host, Richard, the owners of a lovely B&B we would be staying in for the next 5 days. We relaxed for the majority of the day before going to the Victoria Falls for the first time but in the dark to see the rare sighting of an amazing Lunar Rainbow! It was fantastic and unfortunately the photos don't do it justice.
written by  chrischarly on August 25, 2010 from Livingstone, Zambia

Finally our carvans kitted out!!
Mossburn, New Zealand
The back packed
The back of a car
After spending our last night on the floor of our ‘carvan’ we woke up at 7:30am to get ready for Ed to start fitting out the back with bed and storage. As expected he did an amazing job and much quicker and better than we could have done ourselves, well worth the money!
Storage space
Storage
Our new bed!
After it was done, Chris and Aston headed to Warehouse to buy a foam mattress, which Chris then had to cut down to size. When complete, we headed out on our adventures to pastures south of Queenstown. We headed to Mavora Lake which was in fact two lakes connected by a River. It was down quite a long gravel road, but after taking it carefully we finally arrived and it was worth it. The lake and scenery were, as most of NZ, amazing. Chris was excited seeing trout in the lake, so after finding a nice spot on the quieter southern lake Chris broke out the rod and went for a fish. Unsuccessful, we ended up with a yummy veggie pasta washed down with some white wine. We retired to our uber comfortable bed and watched Lord of the Rings 2, as some of it was filmed in this area.
written by  chrischarly on January 10, 2012 from Mossburn, New Zealand

Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
A day-time rainbow
Today we went to see the Victoria Falls but this time during the day. It was a fantastic experience and we both got drenched by the spray.
We walked across the bridge as far as we could before we got stopped by immigration. In the evening we made plans to go out for dinner with our neighbours, Sylvia and Nicolas, however, we noticed later that a doctor had been called out and Sylvia had in fact got Malaria :(
written by  chrischarly on August 26, 2010 from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Day 44
Livingstone, Zambia
A bridge
Today it's our 44th day of our travels so far and we just can't believe it! We had a nice day not doing much as the weather was blisteringly hot, but in the late afternoon talk a nice walk into town amazed at how built up Livingstone is.
written by  chrischarly on August 27, 2010 from Livingstone, Zambia

Another day at Jotay
Jo and Max
Jo playing with Max
Oh and we forgot to say in a previous blog entry... We saw dolphins the other day whilst sitting in the bar looking out to see; they were really close it was amazing!

Clever trout
Mossburn, New Zealand
A load of clouds :(
Chris got up about 8am and went straight down to the lake in search for the wild trout. He tried all of his methods, and fished most of the day, but other than one bite, we were fishless once again. We went for a short drive around the whole campsite ending up at a nice spot on the River, where Chris fished for a while, again unsuccessful – either the trout are clever or Chris is rubbish! We ended up returning to our previous night’s spot and had another yummy dinner before bed.
written by  chrischarly on January 11, 2012 from Mossburn, New Zealand

New sport = "ing"
Mossburn, New Zealand
Day 3 of fishing and no fish, Chris has seen them, but they are just taunting him. We moved to the nice spot on the River and Chris continued his quest. The weather turned today, so fishing was broken, by sitting in the car. We met a local guy who gave Chris some advice on fishing and also gave him a lure that is supposedly good here. He also said the best time was 5am, so looks like an early morning for the fishless fisherman. We have now decided from here on, to call Chris’s new sport of choice “ing”, very much like fishing but without the fish!
written by  chrischarly on January 12, 2012 from Mossburn, New Zealand

Nightime walk
Livingstone, Zambia
Chris and the Falls
Victoria Falls and Me
Had a lovely day today, relaxing by the pool before taking a walk to a restaurant in town in the evening. Although we made it perfectly fine we were in fact a little scared with dodgy road surfaces the whole way only to be ignored once at the restaurant resulting with us taking a taxi in the end to another restaurant which we have become big fans of over the last couple of days.
written by  chrischarly on August 28, 2010 from Livingstone, Zambia

Last day at Chanter's today so a nice day enjoying the gorgeous sunshine before a great deal of travelling over the next few days...

1st Coach journey
Lusaka, Zambia
3 Chickens in a basket
This morning we woke up ultra early to catch a 'business-class' coach to Lusaka.
It was surprisingly not a bad journey apart from getting hassled as soon as we left the coach and I Split open my carrier-bag full of drinks.
Checked into a nice place in the evening,
though a little over-priced to catch another early night.
written by  chrischarly on August 30, 2010 from Lusaka, Zambia

Satan's spawn...
Te Anau, New Zealand
Satan's spawn
Woke to lots of rain, so the 5am fishing expedition was cancelled. We packed up and headed out to Te Anau, the gateway to Milford Sound and a refreshing break from Satan's spawn; the vicious sand-fly... We went to the visitor info, before finding a campsite and a nice hot shower. They are always better after three days without one! We then took a stroll into town had a yummy lunch, bought some raincoats (very much needed here) and then went to a little cinema and watched a film called Shadowland, which was made by a helicopter pilot and is about the amazing scenery and nature of the Fiordland area. Rest of the day spent chilling away from the rain and writing this……
Proving my jacket works
Chris' jacket works
written by  chrischarly on January 13, 2012 from Te Anau, New Zealand

Milford Sound, seals and flippin' dolphins!
Milford Sound, New Zealand
Milford Sound
Nice view...not
This morning despite the weather took the amazing scenic drive to Milford Sound. It is just a shame that after such fantastic weather over Christmas; the day we decide to go here it pours down. But determined we would enjoy it whatever the weather we went anyway armed with our new raincoats.
About to go on the Milford Sound cruise
Captain
The write-ups about the journey there itself weren’t exaggerated. It was simply gorgeous and a positive note regarding the rain there were many waterfalls to be seen along the way.
Drenched
Waterfalls
Once at Milford we booked tickets to go on the cruise and chose to splash out a bit and go for a 3-hour cruise for $115pp including a BBQ lunch and a trip to the underwater Observatory as this seemed like the best deal so we could get the most out of our day.
The Underwater Observatory
A fish
Underwater Observatory
Eggs
Unfortunately the day didn’t brighten up at all so we never got the ‘post-card photos’ we dreamed of but still a memorable experience. The highlights definitely involving spotting seals lazing on the rocks, but even more impressive, dusky dolphins swimming alongside our boat and flipping out the water!
Jumping dusky dolphins!
Dusky dolphins! Awesome!
Dolphins by our boat
Seals on the rocks
So not all was lost and luckily the boat had seating inside so inbetween bouts of freezing winds and rain to take obligatory photographs we could go back in the warmth.
Snow
After again a gorgeous drive this time away from Milford we escaped to Hollyford, Gunns camp to sit and dry off in front of a nice warm fire.
written by  chrischarly on January 14, 2012 from Milford Sound, New Zealand

Finally on the Tazara!
Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia
First-class-lounge
This morning we took an early morning coach to Kapiri Mposhi to catch the Tazara railway to Tanzania. Again the coach journey was fine, but getting hassled constantly is getting a little tiresome now! We boarded the train at 4pm into our 'first-class' cabin, made a prison-cell look like luxury! Nevertheless, we are very excited about our journey...
written by  chrischarly on August 31, 2010 from Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia

Lovely day
Sunset at Jotay
The sunset
A gorgeous day followed by a gorgeous sunset!

Still on the Tazara
Mbeya, Tanzania
3 boys dancing
We are still on the Tazara, luckily I managed to sleep a little, unfortunately Chris barely had an hour, very surprised we didn't roll off the bed as it bangs and crashes every 10 minutes.
People selling food
However, I now know what cockroaches look like as many seem to live in our cabin! We made a couple of new friends, Jason and Joyce and played cards with them to pass the time.
written by  chrischarly on September 1, 2010 from Mbeya, Tanzania

A day of snuggling up next to a fire
Hollyford, New Zealand
Manager has a sense of humour
Way too cold for me to face the outdoors today. It was even snowing on the mountains outside our camp thus a plan for me to join Chris on another “ing” expedition failed and after just 5 minutes outside I swiftly turned back around and huddled up next to the fire for the day whilst Chris tried (and failed) once again with catching fish for dinner.
Nice fire
I was easily kept entertained though as a 3yr old boy happily destroyed a 1000 piece puzzle almost completed by a Belguim lady whilst she popped out for a few minutes. Completely gobsmacked the boy’s family and myself spent over 5 hours reconstructing it for the devastated lady.
Camp
In the evening at around 10pm when it finally became dark Chris and I went for a lovely walk up the tiny country road to have a look at some glow Worms hidden in the bushes under a small Cliff face. No photos possible unfortunately so a memory remembered in our heads. They are so pretty though; look just like loads of stars.
Snowy mountain
Snowy mountains
written by  chrischarly on January 15, 2012 from Hollyford, New Zealand

Return to Milford
Milford Sound, New Zealand
River
Finally a sunny day to take some photos!
Reluctantly left the safety and warmth of Hollyford and went to visit an old swing bridge over-looking a pretty River before going back to Milford due to the sun finally deciding to make an appearance!
A wall of snow
Waterfalls coming off the mountains
Heaps of snow
Snow tunnel
A Kea parrot
A kea doing what it's famous for- destroying cars
Thick snow
So we had the chance to see Milford with clear skies and snow on the tops of the mountains.
Milford Sound
To see it properly we would’ve had to go back out on a cruise but that would’ve been a bit pointless so we took a nice walk along the Shoreline and took a million photos on the way back heading south to Monowai lake and camped up next to nice couple, Ron, and Mel and their 1 yr old Max.
Snowy mountains
A load of snow
The road by our camp to see glow-worms
Amazing views
Nice view of snowy mountains
Snow and lots of it
Chris went fishing, yes fishing, not “ing”, and came back with a nice big trout for dinner, cooked it up with potatoes and salad, EXTRA yummy. Stayed up drinking and chatting to Ron and Mellissa until midnight.
Chris and his 1st NZ trout
Chris soooo happy!
Our dinner
Finally some fish!
Chris and Mel
Trout cooking
written by  chrischarly on January 16, 2012 from Milford Sound, New Zealand

Now in Zanzibar!
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Chris' head!
After 48 hours on the Tazara we were so happy to finally get off.
The Tazara
We shared a taxi with Jason and Joyce to the Ferry to go to Zanzibar as we just wanted to get all our travelling finished with.
Our cabin
I don't think we have ever appreciated a shower so much! Not at all what we expected but we are getting closer to the beach every day!
written by  chrischarly on September 2, 2010 from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

On the beach
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Keys B&B
After talking to a local guy we managed to pick up a 4x4 for only $25 per day, and Jason and Joyce got a motorbike for $15, although it's a little rustic it's a fantastic way to get around the island. We then found out the same guy also had a place right on the beach for just $35 per day so we headed up there and spent the evening in the bar.
written by  chrischarly on September 3, 2010 from Zanzibar, Tanzania

Enjoying Lake Monowai
Lake Monowai, New Zealand
Chris gong for a refreshing dip
Fishing
Ron and our brekkie
Chris got up and went fishing at 06.30am and his luck had obviously run out as he came back without anything but a sad face. So cereal it was for brekkie before going for a nice long walk broken up with a little more unsuccessful fishing. Went then made our way back to camp and made a big fire again and Chris cooked a Butter Chicken curry to share with Ron and Mellissa. Then, feeling optimistic Chris and Ron went fishing and luckily Ron was successful twice, so we have nice trout to look forward to tomorrow morning.
written by  chrischarly on January 17, 2012 from Lake Monowai, New Zealand

Crazy night with a crazy local
Colac Bay, New Zealand
Chris collecting mussels
Chris and Ricky
Got up and ate trout and eggs for breakfast, left our friends and headed south for the coast. Found a nice spot by the sea at Colac Bay, and Chris went to collect mussels for dinner, then we went to the pub, got drinking with locals and it all went to shit. Ended up sleeping in someone’s driveway. Got drunk, free night, crazy local. Oh yeah and the mussels were a disaster!
written by  chrischarly on January 18, 2012 from Colac Bay, New Zealand

Beach Party
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Collecting seaweed
Although we felt a little jaded from the night before, we heard there was a beach party in Kendwa Rocks so headed down there for the evening. We had a fantastic time and the night flew by arriving back at 4am to be locked out of our B&B which meant Jason had to climb over the wall to wake up some of the staff.
written by  chrischarly on September 4, 2010 from Zanzibar, Tanzania

Another day of fishing for Chris
Fishing
The further he walks out, the better his chance??
Almost tripping up
Walking in once again having lost his bait
Admiring his rods
About to cast
Chris patiently waiting
Chris still fishing
Although we are working, Chris always manages to find time for some fishing!

Sun-bathing
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Erin and I sunbathing
Today was a lovely day, and Tanzania sure is hot.
Enjoying some cocktails
We walked along the beach with Mark and Erin to a hotel with a swimming pool with a beach par and pool table and spent the day enjoying their facilities.
written by  chrischarly on September 5, 2010 from Zanzibar, Tanzania

Yellow-eyed penguins
Bluff, New Zealand
The sign in Bluff
Woke up early and headed from our unknown driveway down to the sea for breakfast. After brekkie we headed towards Invercargill which was a medium city, so we passed through after refuelling.
Curio Bay
We did head down to Bluff, famous for its Oysters, but unfortunately they are not in season, Chris was most disappointed. At Bluff we did visit a cool AA marker showing distances to various places around the world, showing us we were over 18,000km from London.
What the wind did to trees
After leaving Bluff, we continued east along the coast towards Curio Bay, unfortunately the closer we got the worst the weather was; hence we skipped a 40 min walk to Slope Point, the most southerly point on the South Island.
The sea
When we arrived at Curio it was blowing a gale and raining on and off. We checked into a cheap campsite and found the most sheltered spot we could.
Yellow-eyed penguin
Then we headed down to the Petrified Forest which is basically a load of rocks with trees that were turned to stone by volcanic ash millions of years ago.
Penguin trying to get out of river
This was also the spot the Yellow eyed penguins exit the water to feed their chicks, we waited for ages in the cold, windy weather but it was well worth it as we saw 6, some performing hilarious exits from the water and up the rocks.
Yellow-eyed Penguin
After this we retreated to the car, made pasta in the extremely small and busy camp kitchen and hit the hay!
written by  chrischarly on January 19, 2012 from Bluff, New Zealand

McLean falls
Curio Bay, New Zealand
McLean Falls
Waterfall
We left windy Curio Bay and headed further along the Catlins coast. We made a nice stop and walk at Mcleans falls and then to Niagara Falls before finally finding a really nice campsite for $6.
Read this...
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls!
After a few hours of laundry, we hung our nice clean clothes up just in time for the rain to give them an extra rinse. It wasn’t too bad so we took a track down to the beach, more of a River inlet, and had a long walk in the very strong wind and occasional rain. We were hoping for some seal or sea lion spotting, but all we managed to do was get attacked by two very protective Oyster catcher birds.
A dead crab
A log
Oyster catcher
Rainbow
We soon realised they had chicks and we were way too close, hence a scene from a Hitchcock classic. We escaped without injury, but just a little scared of these 10 inch tall man eaters. We went back, had a yummy dinner, and got chatting to a nice couple from Switzerland, Phillipp and Silja, before retiring to the warmth of our cosy car.
written by  chrischarly on January 20, 2012 from Curio Bay, New Zealand

Another relaxing day on a gorgeous beach...
Me and Chris
Today we woke up and went to another lovely beach not far from where we are staying and splashed around in the sea for a while and then spent the evening playing drinking games and I lost loads of times :(

Last day in Zanzibar
Jason, Joyce, Erin, Mark, Me and Chris
Had another lovely day and went swimming for ages in the sea then finding a lovely local restaurant in the evening for about $3 per meal. We decided at around 9pm that we would leave tomorrow and head back to the main-land with our new friend Erin and Mark as they want to do the same things as us so not exactly sure where we're headed for the next few days... what an adventure!..

Sealions, Seals and Penguins
Nugget Point, New Zealand
Female sealion
2 Female sealions
Woke up at our nice campsite, packed up and headed off. We met our new friends at the next town, Owaka, and had a coffee before driving to Surat Bay in search of sea lions.
Sealion
We headed off along a track before reaching the beach, a short way along the beach the tide was very high and we took to high ground on the edge of the sand dunes. Well Chris, Phillipp and Silja did, I managed a small mound of sand and a big wave came in and soaked me to knee level. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I wasn’t wearing trainers! I squelched on until we found our first sea lion, which was hard to spot as half buried in sand.
We walked further, for about 2 ½ hours, and we managed to see 6 in total including 1 massive male swimming in the sea.
Just cannot believe just how huge they are.
Surat Bay
After returning to the car we took a drive to Kaka Point and our next campsite, checked in, had some lunch then went for a drive to Nugget Point to see the lighthouse and amazing views and then more yellow eyed Penguins.
Birds
View from the lighthouse
The lighthouse
Along the walk we saw Fur seals and Elephant seals and more sea lions and at the Penguin hide we saw 6 Penguins.
Yellow-eyed Penguins
Seals
Yellow-eyed Penguin
All in all a very good wildlife day! We then headed to the pub for a few beers and to watch Chris beat all the locals at pool………..
written by  chrischarly on January 21, 2012 from Nugget Point, New Zealand

Ice hockey
Dunedin, New Zealand
Too expensive, what a rip-off!
Such rubbish weather again today. Definitely does not feel like Summer at all. We left Kaka Point this morning and went to Dunedin. We found out that Aston was playing his final game of Ice Hockey in an international tournament, so we decided we would go see him, neither of us having seen Ice Hockey before. Before that we drove out from Dunedin to the Otago Penninsula to see the Albatross, however the weather was so bad we couldn’t justify the $40 pp charge, so drove back and found a campsite near to the Ice Hockey venue.
Before the game
New Zealand team
The game
Ice hockey game
The end of the game
We made it to the Ice Hockey and met up with Tony, Astons father, and continued to ask lots of questions about the game, before watching NZ U21’s, with Aston in goal, beat Turkey 16-1. It was great fun and good to see Aston play. It was late when it finished so we grabbed a pizza and headed back to camp.
written by  chrischarly on January 22, 2012 from Dunedin, New Zealand

Stupid Stupid Police...
The ferry
This morning we woke up nice and early in preparation for our Ferry journey back to Dar es Salaam. We decided to go in convoy with Erin and Mark, however, Chris wasn't paying attention and we lost them. I seriously was not impressed, then we got stopped by a corrupt arrogant policeman on the way which kept us there for 20mins threatening to take Chris to court and saying that he would refuse him bail. I lost my temper quite a bit with him, which I think upset him even more... oops. But when he saw that our wallets were empty and that we couldn't bribe him he let us go. I was fuming...
Us waiting for the ferry
Eventually we made it to the Ferry dropping our car off on the way and into accommodation with just a little hassle.

Jotay
Staff
Not a great deal to say about today to be honest, another day of work in The Philippines, Chris in the kitchen and myself out front, almost feels like we're back in the U.K!..

11 hour bus journey...
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
The luxury bus
Today was a pretty long day taking a bus journey from Dar es Salaam to Arusha on a 'luxury' bus.
The journey was supposed to take 9-10 hours but the driver was so slow it took 11.
We were so pleased to finally get off the bus and have a walk round town, but it is impossible to simply enjoy a walk without at least 10 people stalking you; it's pretty stressful.
Had a good night eating street food and having a drink in a bizarre local place before retiring for the evening.
written by  chrischarly on September 9, 2010 from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Moeraki Boulders
Kakanui, New Zealand
Chris admiring the view of 'Shag Point'
Woke up to slightly better weather, so we did a few chores around Dunedin before heading North. We called Ron and Mel, friends we had met camping in Fiordland, and arranged to go and stay with them on Tuesday. They also told us a good donation campsite to stop at enroute. We made our way to a nice stop on the coast for lunch, and then onwards to see the Moeraki Boulders, which are boulders that started off as small pebbles or shells I think millions of years ago.
Driftwood
I’m sure there is much so more to it than that though, so sorry for the rubbish explanation.
A cracked-open boulder
They were nice to see, but the tide was a little high and the sky a pretty grey, so not perfect.
We then moved on to a nice campsite on a Cliff overlooking the beach and had a yummy dinner before retiring to a really nice starry night.
written by  chrischarly on January 23, 2012 from Kakanui, New Zealand

Seeing Ron, Mel and Max again
Kurow, New Zealand
After breakfast we drove to Oamaru and then took the highway up to a tiny village, Kurow to meet up again with Ron, Mel and Max after spending time with them last week. Kurow is right in the heart of the south Island deep in the countryside and it is simply beautiful. We were really happy to see them all again and had a great day catching up and spent the evening in the hot tub laughing at Chris and Ron’s antics after a few too many martinis.
written by  chrischarly on January 24, 2012 from Kurow, New Zealand

2 safaris booked!
Arusha, Tanzania
Our safari car and Nixon
We had a pretty practical day managing to book 2 tours to the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire national parks and a bus to Mombassa for Monday. However, getting hassled is getting very annoying now; a group of guys waiting for us outside even made our friend cry by calling her vicious names. So I'm actually looking forward to leaving Arusha.
written by  chrischarly on September 10, 2010 from Arusha, Tanzania

Taranguire Safari
Babati, Tanzania
Jackals, and a vulture
2 ostrichs
A squirrel
Elephant
Mother and Baby
Baby elephants
We had an awesome day today without many expectations as it's not a very popular park in Tanzania, but we managed to see a leopard,
Another Leopard
3 cheetahs together,
3 cheetahs
3 lions also together,
2 lions
Big teeth
3 lions
a golden jackal and loads of elephants, thousands of wilderbeest plus loads more animals...
1000's wilderbeest
A golden jackal
written by  chrischarly on September 11, 2010 from Babati, Tanzania

Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro, Tanzania
A black rhino!
Yet another amazing day on another safari in a Crater, a collapsed Volcano.
Hyenas eating a wilderbeest
A cerval!
Thousands of flamingoes
A monkey and her baby
A sleeping hyena
We saw loads of other amazing animals, loads of hyenas eating a wildebeest, a cerval which we'd never seen before, 2 black rhinos and thousands of flamingoes.
The kestral that attacked me
My attacked finger
However, when we (stupidly) got out of our cars to eat some lunch a kestral swooped down in atempt to steal my roll and hit me pretty hard on the head and cut my finger!
written by  chrischarly on September 12, 2010 from Ngorongoro, Tanzania

To Oamaru
Oamaru, New Zealand
Ron and Max
We took a drive to Oamaru today which is Ron and Melissa’s closest town to get their shopping a good hour and a bit away. Chris and I took a nice walk around the town whilst they went about their jobs for the day. We first went to the visitor centre where we watched a video on the history of the town and early settlement there before walking round having a look and the old buildings for ourselves and the wide streets. Then after a few hours we headed back to Kurow and chilled for the evening whilst Chris and Ron went hunting and fishing.
written by  chrischarly on January 25, 2012 from Oamaru, New Zealand

Last day at Jotay
Tiger prawns freshly caught and about to be prepared
And then, the prawns cooked... I practically licked the plate clean!
Today is our last day at Jotay as we have decided to move on a little earlier than planned.
Firstly as we think we have both achieved as much as we wanted to whilst we were here.
Secondly, as I have itchy feet having spent a month in the same place.
And thirdly so we have more change to explore...
Did you know there are 7107 islands which consist of The Philippines, amazing huh?! So far we have visited only 3; so don't think there will much chance of even visiting the 7 islands!
So we stayed up having a few drinks with Trev to say goodbye to him before packing once again for our next adventure!!!
How exciting!!!

An awesome but knackering walk
Kurow, New Zealand
Mel and me far behind
The walk we went on
Today we all went on a walk to the Benmore Peninsula Track. It took about an 1 ½ hours and to say it was easy would be a lie!
Amazing view after our hard walk
Ron and Max
Nice views
View on our walk
Nevertheless it was a fantastic walk with amazing views but it is safe to say we were exhausted afterwards!
Tired after our walk
But the hot tub was a nice reward after dinner to soak the tired muscles! But it was so freezing outside that is was so difficult to get out, so I wasn’t surprised to see snow-covered mountains the next morning.
written by  chrischarly on January 26, 2012 from Kurow, New Zealand

Losing my camera, and getting into 1st fight!
Mombasa, Kenya
The Busy Bus
It was hard work getting up at 4:15 to get ready to catch the bus to Mombasa for 5:30am, it was only an hour late, which was pretty irritating and only arrived when I decided to go to the loo, without realizing that I had to pay for it! Thus a group of guys grabbed me and tried to drag me into their office. I was petrified and fuming. Eventually they let me go after I lashed out at them and kicked them as I didn’t have any money on me in order to bribe them to leave me alone. My god I hate Arusha! Everyone just seems violent and aggressive so I was delighted when I finally managed to get away and jump on the bus.
Me and the 2nd Baby
During the 10 hour bus journey 2 ladies decided that they had enough of carrying their children so decided to put them on my lap for a while, strange but true. They were SO cute!
Me and a African baby
The bus this time wasn’t business-class but pretty rustic and battered but a lot quicker than previous buses which we were grateful for stopping at virtually every bus-stop on the way.
Us out for dinner
When we arrived we managed to find somewhere to stay pretty quickly but I left my camera in the taxi, so that was frustrating, but it restored my faith in humanity when it was returned on Wednesday morning!
written by  chrischarly on September 13, 2010 from Mombasa, Kenya

Erin's (almost) birthday
Mombasa, Kenya
Me, Erin, Mark, Hans and Marjol
Today as it was our last day with Erin and Mark we decided to celebrate Erin's birthday a day early.
Chris' culinary delight!!
Chris cooked some delicious food in our shared cottage and we had a great day swimming in the sea and literally baking in the heat
written by  chrischarly on September 14, 2010 from Mombasa, Kenya

Another day in Kurow
Kurow, New Zealand
Ron and Max
After planning to leave Ron and Mel’s today, we finally succumbed and stayed with the promise of Chris’ cooking and another day for me to play with little Max, something pretty difficult to resist!
written by  chrischarly on January 27, 2012 from Kurow, New Zealand

Last time in Queenstown, for real this time
Wanaka, New Zealand
Viewpoint
The back country
We finally left Ron and Mel’s House today to continue exploring the south Island. It was hard to leave as we have had such an amazing time here! So after sad goodbyes we headed back to Queenstown and this time for the final time to pick up and drop off a couple of things at Justine’s before driving up to Wanaka to camp up.
Ignoring the sign
Mountains
Quite a lot of driving today but still nothing compared to our trips in Australia and we stayed in the same campsite as before when here, Kidds Bush as it was the best option. So after finding a nice spot Chris and I went for a long walk broken up by some unsuccessful fishing before calling it a night at 10pm.
written by  chrischarly on January 28, 2012 from Wanaka, New Zealand

A huge spider!
Mombasa, Kenya
A Huge Spider
Today we woke up early to wave off Erin and Mark at 5:30am, we're gutted to see them go! When we got back to our cottage to jump straight back into bed we saw a huge spider that scared the life out of us sitting on a chair... Anyone know what kind it is???
written by  chrischarly on September 15, 2010 from Mombasa, Kenya

Exploring Diani Beach
Our new palace!
Today we went walking around Diani Beach enjoying the gorgous beaches and sunshine, it was so hot but lovely and we made a couple of local friends who invited us to stay with them for just 20 pound per night! Fantastic! We have a private pool and the House is virtually ours as they're constantly working as from tomorrow! Yet again we've landed on our feet!

Fiordland Crested Penguins!
Jackson's Bay, New Zealand
Nice scenery
The lovely beach
Woke up with the sun blasting through our windows so we were lucky to be blessed with a great day to hit the west coast. So after leaving Wanaka we drove to Haast and then south a little to Jackson’s Bay where we went to Cray Pot Café which is a cross between a rail carriage and a barge which is famous for its fish and chips.
Fiordland Crested Penguins
Chris enjoying his Fish 'n' Chips
So of course we had to give that a try before going for a lovely walk in a coastal Forest. This area used to be home to many Fiordland Crested Penguins but according to the visior centre in Hasst they know longer call this place home.
Cray Pot Cafe
But they were fortunately wrong as one took Chris and I completely by Surprise by running out straight in front of us just in time for a quick picture before it jumped straight back into its nest. Amazing. We were so close to it and as mentioned before, the main visitor centre was clueless about their presence here! So we were of course very happy and after our walk started to make our way back to Hasst to find somewhere to camp for the night as hidden as possible from sandflies and where Chris could go fishing.
written by  chrischarly on January 29, 2012 from Jackson's Bay, New Zealand

Fire drill at Jotay-gorgeous beach in Pagudpud!
Pagudpud, Philippines
As mentioned yesterday, today is our last day at Jotay and Trev arranged for us to get picked up at 10:30am after a fire drill took place at the resort.
The drill itself was in fact very entertaining!
The pretend fire at Jotay
About to call the 3 fire departments with the chief
We made a pretend fire just outside the main entrance and then called 3 different fire departments to check their response time.
Impressive fire hose
The size difference between the state fire department and the volunteers vehicles
They were remarkably very quick as well as efficient we were all very impressed, but felt a little guity though when they all rushed in as they themseves were unaware they were being tested.
The Eatern Hawaii Fire departments volunteers
Can yoelieve this tiny vehicle is the state fire engine???
Also, if all 3 fire departments were on call, then we dread to think what would happen if there were a real fire!
After the fire was put out- time for photos
Nice jacket!?
After the drill everyone was given loads of free food and we said goodbye to Trev and made our way to Pagudpud in a local's van which was so basic and run down we were amazed it could even drive!
Trev, Max and the 3 fire departments
Once in Pagudpud, we had to remember that we are now once again backpackers so had to walk from one resort to the next to haggle down the Price and considering it is a major tourist destination the place is seriously a ghost town which left plenty of room for negotiation.
Kehana resort
Our room before we made it messy
Our balcony
Relaxing with a buka juice
Loving Pugudpud
Once we settled in we took a walk down to beach to grab something to eat and the beach we had to ourselves as well which suited us just fine!
written by  chrischarly on March 9, 2011 from Pagudpud, Philippines

Monro Beach and a vicious eel
Haast, New Zealand
Coastline
Beach
After leaving the campsite we headed to Monro Beach to try and see more penguins. After a nice walk to the beach, we sat back and waited in the lovely sunshine. Unfortunately no penguins appeared but it was a nice walk and we did get the chance to see an Albatross.
A big seagull
After this we had a lovely drive down the coast road before camping in Lake Paringa. Chris went for an ing, then he went for a swim. After taking an age for him to get in the cold water he swam out a way then back, before feeling something Brush against his toes, thinking it was a submerged branch he turned to see a massive eel chasing him, and probably trying to eat his inviting toes. To say he exited the water quickly is an understatement!
written by  chrischarly on January 30, 2012 from Haast, New Zealand

Moving house...
Chris swimming
Today we moved our things into our new luxury palace! We swam in their pool for the majority of the day before taking their two jack russels on a walk in the evening.
Rafi and Kiki
Their dogs had never been on a walk before and they were shaking so much they were petrified, so we had to carry them to the beach! Eventually they got used to it, and loved it; they're our new best-friends!

3-1 to Spurs
Ukunda, Kenya
Lizard eating a Cricket
Today we went on the search to find somewhere for Chris to watch the Spurs game he desperately wanted to see and luckily 40's was showing it, a local beach bar so we walked down there with the dogs and Chris bribed me with a milkshake to keep me quiet during the game.
written by  chrischarly on September 18, 2010 from Ukunda, Kenya

Fox Glacier...
Fox Glacier, New Zealand
We drove to Fox Glacier in the rain and gloom, and went for a coffee and to get some info, hoping the weather would clear. It didn’t and we found that the access to the Glacier was limited due to a car size rock falling onto the main access road. We decided to go for a walk on the other access road to try and see the bottom of the Glacier.
River
Chris hugging a cardboard man
We got to the point where the road was closed and a taxi (who was allowed to go on) gave us a lift to the Glacier terminus (face).
River at the bottom of the glacier
Glacier
Stood near Fox Glacier
Fox Glacier
Me looking at Fox Glacier
We had a nice walk and then he gave us lift back to our car, and didn’t ask for any money, strange! We drove to Franz Josef and checked into a paid campsite hoping the weather would clear and we could go on a guided walk the next day. The camp didn’t have a kitchen but did have a yummy Indian next door.
written by  chrischarly on January 31, 2012 from Fox Glacier, New Zealand

Franz Josef Glacier!!
Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
Today was certainly a memorable day for 2 reasons. 1 Franz Josef Glacier and 2 for mosquitoes…
We woke up this morning in our little campsite to see the sun trying its hardest to break through the clouds, so seeing this as a perfect opportunity to climb a glacier we drove straight to the booking
The glacier
office in Franz Josef to see if they could squeeze us in on a tour today. Unfortunately the 12pm slots were all
Chris getting emotional
taken so the 3pm time looked the best option, although we wouldn’t return until at least 8pm. But the lady behind the counter noticed that there were 2 places left on the 10:30am tour and being 10:15am already
The glacier before we went on it
we thought we would just book it and go straight away, less chance of backing out that way. So Chris ran off to find some parking
Walking through thin walls of ice
whilst I ran to the supermarket to grab us some quick breakfast/lunch to wolf down before collecting all of our gear and getting on the bus.
We chose to go on the ½ day tour which took about 5 ½ hours of walking both to the glacier and on it, with 2 hours on the ice itself. It was an
Blue ice
absolutely fantastic experience but one of the most tiring things I have ever done in my life but so worth it! I could write for ages about it, but just look at the photos and you will be able
Hot and tired
to see just how beautiful it was. When we got back it was about 4:30pm and as mentioned before we were knackered and went for a well-deserved drink
In a ice cave
with a friendly couple we went on the tour with before going and sitting in some hot pools to soothe our aching muscles.
Steep climb
Then thinking an early night was in order we drove to a DOC campsite and found a lovely spot underneath some trees at the far end of the site, made some dinner, chilled out for a while, jumped into bed,
Climbing down and down
watched a film and heard some buzzing… The west coast of New Zealand is mostly famous for 2 things, 1, its outstanding beauty and 2, sandflies.
Chris looking gorgeous
And although sandflies are a right pain and there are literally swarms of them, they are easily killed as they are just so stupid.
Miles and miles of pure ice
Mosquitoes however are far more difficult to control and I think we undermine them as the clever creatures they are.
Loads of ice
So anyway, we thought that the sand-flies would be the things that would break us here, but no, it was in fact the mozzies, that are in fact way worse than in the whole of Africa and SE Asia,
Franz Josef Glacier
which we never would’ve thought possible.
Climbing down
After over 2 hours with the light on and head torches we must’ve squatted over 100 of the buggers with no idea whatsoever where they were coming from.
The fantastic blue ice
I know it sounds unbelievable, but it isn’t.
We were exhausted and completely fed up, but by 1am we gave up, thinking we had killed the worst of them, wrapped up in covers,
Walking through a cave in the ice
sweated so much due to the humidity but determined to ignore the buzzing and get some sleep.
After over an hour of trying and failing to get some sleep,
Climbing up the glacier
Chris turned back on the lights to check just how many there were and we were shocked to see our beige carpeted ceiling the colour black with hundreds and hundreds of them just sitting waiting to attack.
It was now 2:30am and we just had enough and outside our windows we could see hundreds more just waiting to get in, so the only option left was to get dressed and get the hell out of this place and find the next open petrol station to buy some insect spray.
So we decided to drive north and drove and drove and drove through thick fog on windy roads for 3 hours before we got into Greymouth and finally found a petrol station at just gone 5:30am,
Didn't know ice could be this blue
bought some bug spray and then tried to work out somewhere we could finally sleep. Of course everywhere was closed so we drove in circles for almost another
Getting the ice ready for us to walk on
hour until we found a back street away from houses that we prayed we wouldn’t get a fine for parking up, sprayed the whole van, stood outside shivering until the smell disappeared and finally went to sleep!
written by  chrischarly on February 1, 2012 from Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

Eating in
Ukunda, Kenya
Out walking the dogs
Today I went for a walk along the beach whilst Chris was cooking dinner for Dave and Mo as they finished work early on a Sunday, and although it was a lovely walk, one guy tried to steal one of the dogs off me whilst another one declared his love for me.
written by  chrischarly on September 19, 2010 from Ukunda, Kenya

Ukunda, Kenya
Kiki and Rafi
Chris and Kiki
Today was another relaxing day enjoying the gorgeous Kenya sun and beaches, pretty uneventful but relaxing.
written by  chrischarly on September 20, 2010 from Ukunda, Kenya

Relaxing day
Greymouth, New Zealand
Thick fog
At about 10:30am we reluctantly woke up sleeping a lot longer than intended and the only thing we could face doing was to drive and find a campsite with a TV room or something similar where we could just sit and relax on sofas all day. Luckily being in a town we easily found this, and that was precisely what we did all day, doing nothing but watching day time telly, a bit of laundry and cleaning up the dead mosquito carcasses from all over the van. Perfect day and just what we needed!
written by  chrischarly on February 2, 2012 from Greymouth, New Zealand

A lovely walk around Pagudpud
Pagudpud, Philippines
Big smiles!
Today we decided to make the most of our own private beach as there is yet to be any tourists still in Pagudpud so we took a lovely long walk to the end of the beach.
Blue sand, white beach, what more could you want??
Taking a stroll along the beach
The gorgeous beach at the far end
From looking at our end it really didn't look that far but it in fact took ages and by the time we made it to the end we both had pretty sore feet from the stones along the way so couldn't face walking the beach way back.
Charly likes to walk several yards behind Chris
So instead we found a road and navigated ourselves back.
Goat and Kid on long walk back from beach
It was one of the most beautiful walks as just behind the beach is countryside, pady fields and many little villages with friendly locals.
We must've walked Miles and Miles but it was so worth it even though our legs were killing and we had popped and bleeding blisters to show for our hard work! The Philippines is just so beautiful it is simply breathtaking...
written by  chrischarly on March 10, 2011 from Pagudpud, Philippines

Rocks that look like pancakes
Punakaiki, New Zealand
We had a few things to do in Greymouth in the morning and early afternoon, and then headed up the coast and took a nice walk to see a seal colony.
How far we are from everywhere
A seal
Pancake rocks
After this we headed a bit further to Pancake rocks, which are a strange layered rock formation.
Coastline
We then headed inland to a DoC campsite by the Buller River, which is supposed to be good for fishing.
A weka
After getting to the campsite Chris went for a walk to find an access point but couldn’t, so no fishing, or “ing”, was done. We just chilled and had another yummy Chris creation for dinner, fought off the sandflies for as long as we could take it then retired to bed.
written by  chrischarly on February 3, 2012 from Punakaiki, New Zealand

Too much sunshine...
Camels on the beach
Today we stupidly decided to take a long walk in the midday sun and unsurprisingly I got a severe head-ache and felt pretty sick :( so the rest of the day resulted in chilling out in the pool to cool down and an early night.

In the back country
Hanmer Springs, New Zealand
High up
River by our camp
Once again, sick of the sandflies we headed off to cross the Southern Alps at the Lewis Pass, which was a really nice drive. We ended up in Hanmer Springs which was ultra-busy so after a refuel and a visit to the Doc Office we chose to take an adventurous route through Molesworth Station – the biggest farm in NZ. The road was rough, so slow going, but the views were great and we got to Accommodation House by mid-afternoon. This was another Doc campsite at an old cottage, used by trekkers. The site was really nice and near a River, so of course Chris went off “ing”, returning unsuccessful.
Chris cooking
Gorgeous countryside
Wild flowers
Walking through the Cobb Valley
After dinner we took a nice loop walk around the campsite to take in the amazing views and then Chris went for another “ing”, nearly fishing, as he did get a bite, but still no fish, very frustrating.
written by  chrischarly on February 4, 2012 from Hanmer Springs, New Zealand

African Pot
A monkey
Today was again a gorgeous day. Howver, I think bad weather is pretty non-existant in Kenya anyway. We went for a tasty curry at a local place called African Pot and although the staff didn't speak a word of English it was a lovely evening, the staff evening washing our hands before and after we'd eaten.

Dodgy Sport's Bar
A pretty Lizard
This evening we thought we'd try a new place to go drinking and headed opposite to where we're staying for a drink. However we didn't stay long, as the wine tasted like vinegar, the toilets, although I needed to go were vile, and i got chatted up by a local lady so we got scared and again ended up in Lymington's, our favourite spot for the evening.

Molesworth Station
Molesworth, New Zealand
Scary-looking cow
We headed off up the gravel road across the Molesworth Station, taking in the bumps and amazing views before coming to the further DoC campsite. It was quite early so we stopped for lunch then headed on, after being advised of a free camp just outside of the station.
Amazing view
It was a long, bumpy and slow drive but finally we found a really nice free campsite with very few sandflies. This was paradise! Chris went off for an “ing” and came back with a big smile on his face after fishing, yes he actually caught one. It wasn’t the biggest, but cooked up with some pasta in a carbonara style it was simply delicious.
Chris and his catch
Well done Chris, keep it up!
Some other campers were off to try and catch eels, so Chris joined them and returned well after dark, as he didn’t have his torch and had to wait for them.
written by  chrischarly on February 5, 2012 from Molesworth, New Zealand

A load of seals
Kaikoura, New Zealand
Seal on the rocks
Seal pup feeding
We left our campsite this morning and headed south for a while to Kaikoura as we had read that you could go on a whale watching tour which you could see, well whales obviously, as well as dolphins and other animals as well. On the way we stopped briefly at a lookout point from where we saw many seals playing really close up this time which was fascinating to stand and watch for a while.
Seals playing on the rocks
Seals
A seal
Seal swimming
Seals on the rocks
We then drove a little further and stopped at a little shack called ‘Nin’s Bin’ which is famous for it’s crayfish/lobster, but at ranging at $45-$96 for just one crayfish tail that would never in a lifetime fill us up we ran away from the tourist trap and continued to Kaikoura.
Chris' tiny trout
As today was in fact a public holiday, but the reason for this we have no idea, the town was crazily busy jam-packed with other tourists, such as ourselves though I suppose we made a quick drive around and called into the booking office for the tours, but at $145pp and all we would be likely to see were sperm whales, and of course that is not guaranteed either we solemnly turned back around, did a little shopping and went back to the campsite we stayed at last night as it was so lovely, and of course free, and even more importantly, on the way back North. Oh yeah, and Chris successfully managed to catch another trout, albeit a small one!
written by  chrischarly on February 6, 2012 from Kaikoura, New Zealand

Rongi's restaurant...
A sea Urchin
This morning we went for a lovely walk along the beach, never getting enough of the lovely sand and sea and in the afternoon we thought we'd experience another local restaurant, however, the term 'restaurant' is used very lightly!
Perfect Beach
The food although basic was pretty tasty but a little off-putting was the flea ridden cats and dogs sitting under the table. On the way back, Dave drove us around all the local markets, which were amazing albeit a little scary.

The day of the Tsunami..........by Chris
Pagudpud, Philippines
The day started off like any other………..We slept in late. Then had breakfast at our nice little guesthouse. Met our new neighbours, a Canadian couple, plus their cousins, two Filipinos. Then, we ventured to the beach for a swim in the beautiful, clear, aqua blue water. After splashing around in the very still water for an hour or so, we headed back to the resort to chill out after our tough day.
Blue sand, white beach, what more could you want??
When we got back, about 3pm, our Canadian friend Ryan came and knocked on the door and said there were rumours of an Earthquake in Japan and a Tsunami on its way.
I figured it was best to take a quick look online and checked out the news channels. I quickly found reports of an earthquake and Tsunami on Wednesday (2 days ago) and decided that TIP (This is Philippines) and that it takes some time for news to travel here. At the same time of checking, Joel senior sent me an email sending a warning of Tsunami. This seemed a little strange as he usually has his finger on the pulse and thought it odd to be two days late with such an important warning.
Me being confident my few minutes of internet research must be accurate I proceeded to inform our neighbours as such, and started to draft an email to dad explaining my undertaking and if required, we will strap ourselves to some pieces of wood. After I had finished writing, I had a nagging feeling that this was so unlike dad that I better double check. So I went online and looked up some more scientific websites. I happened upon the PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre) and figured that this had a good name to hold such relevant information. There I saw again the Wednesday warnings but below them was a warning from an hour or so ago and upon reading I found that there was a new report, much like the Wednesday ones, that gave a full Pacific warning listing countries and estimated impact times. I used my limited knowledge of the Philippines geography and calculated that the estimated time our peaceful beach would be prime for surfing would be in about 30-60 minutes.
A photo of the resort in case it wasn't there after.......
I gently urged Charly to chuck what she could in a bag and then went and told our neighbours the news and asked Alberto, the manager, to organise some transport to higher ground. Whilst we were waiting for the van, (as nothing here is as quick as you would like it to be) we actually had time to fully pack, other than our wet clothes that we had just washed, figuring they were wet already, what was a little more water going to do? Also, we had time to send a quick email to the folks to say we were moving. We also saw a passing Dutch couple (Thomas and Ellen) heading back from the beach and offered them the news and exit strategy. At all times keeping one eye on the beach for signs of the sea disappearing……
Ready to leave with 30 mins before predicted Tsunami hits
Our rescue chariot
All smiles as we fled for the mountains
Once the van arrived, we crammed ourselves in, and quickly headed about 6 km inland and up the closest mountain to a very nice mountain resort. Whilst on the way, we saw many locals packing their whole lives into small tricycles in attempt to get as far away from the beach as possible. At the resort, we had a lovely view of the coast to watch any impending disasters.
Our Tsunami retreat in the mountains
We had a good view of the sea 6 km away
After a small hike, we found ourselves a little garden cabana and settled in. Over the next few hours, several people arrived and the resort that probably didn’t see many customers was full to bursting. I know they couldn’t have planned such a thing, but they had no food in, and for some reason wouldn’t head down to the store on the coast?!
Our Canadian/Filipino Tsunami team
Thomas and Ellen from Holland
Entertaining ourselves with beer, crisps and travelling stories we quickly got to know our newfound friends. The more beer, the more amusing the stories, especially Ryan’s OCD with flashlights (owning over 30) and permanently having one on his head.
Ryan and his flashlight OCD
We also got visited by an older German fellow, who was a little bit crazy and from suspicious heritage, coming from East Germany and having parents who named him Adolf ?! He was a little annoying, but harmless, and after a few beers, Thomas and I took great pleasure in winding him up, without him even knowing.
Our Dutch friend Thomas and the crazy German
It was growing late, I’d managed to get online and emailed everyone, and check my new Homepage – PTWC, only to find that the Tsunami had struck the Philippines and we hadn’t even noticed, the size of the wave a massive 0.25m! After this, at around midnight, I was ready to head back but our van driver had decided to go home, so we were stranded. Ryan managed to negotiate with the resort owner for a pretty small double room for 1000 Pesos (started at 2500). We managed to cram ourselves in covering bed and floor, only by moving all the non-essential furniture to the balcony. However, we had an issue, the water wasn’t working so we reported it to the manager who remembered she needed to turn the valve on which was under the balcony. Let’s just say that Ryan couldn’t wait and it was a matter of luck that whilst relieving himself off the balcony managed to finish just seconds before she appeared to turn the valve! So, as you do when sharing a small room with 6 strangers, we shared some toilet humour and more amusing stories from Ryan until attempting to sleep.
Sleeping on the floor at Tsunami Escape Resort
Us and our new 6 friends all squeeze into one double room
We managed a few hours of broken sleep on our hardwood floor before emerging to a beautiful day and finally headed back to our beach for a swim in our perfect, clear, calm ocean.
Exhausted and looking very miserable!
written by  chrischarly on March 11, 2011 from Pagudpud, Philippines

Lazy Sunday
Chris Chillin'
Yet another lovely relaxing day enjoying doing nothing... However, did a little reading up on Uganda and I've decided I'd love to go there next week, Chris needs a little more persuading though as he's loving Kenya but I've got itchy feet...

A nice shower...
Blenheim, New Zealand
Pigs getting friendly
Got up and left the campsite and headed straight for a much-needed shower at a campsite down the road in Seddon which they kindly let us use for $3pp. Then we headed North for a while into Blenheim and then headed west and stayed camped up for the afternoon and night especially enjoying Chris’ delicious trout he caught last night.
written by  chrischarly on February 7, 2012 from Blenheim, New Zealand

Peninsula Walk
Saint Arnaud, New Zealand
A very rare tree
The view from our walk
We headed to St Arnaud today, camped out in a café and caught up on the blog. We had a delicious lunch then went to the lake for a walk, only to find Charly only had one trainer. We drove back 25kms to last night’s campsite, to luckily find it sitting on the grass.
View of the lake
Back on track we took a nice 1.5hour walk around the Peninsula of the lake spotting rare trees and wildlife, but unfortunately no Kiwis, even though this is a great place to spot them. We then went out of town to another free campsite and went for a nice walk to the River, did some fishing before returning back for dinner and bed.
written by  chrischarly on February 8, 2012 from Saint Arnaud, New Zealand

We're going to Uganda!
Me walking the dogs
After quite a lot of persuasion, I managed to convince Chris that we MUST go to Uganda, and eventually he gave in so we can't wait. One last country before heading to Nairobi before the U.K. Where has the time gone?

Productive Day
Bricks made out of Coral
Our Place
Today we managed to book a snorkeling trip for tomorrow, We can't wait- so excited! We also looked into going to Uganda further and tried flying but it's so expensive, so we're going to take an over-night train to Nairobi and then a bus to Kampala. Feel like we've achieved quite a lot in one day!

Thru the drive-thru
Motueka, New Zealand
Enjoying a nice ice cold pint
We headed North to Motueko stopping for a nice coffee enroute. The café owner told us that there was a cheap local campsite by the sea pool, however upon checking it we saw that it was only for self-contained vehicles. We had some breakfast there and then headed to the cheapest paid campsite in town at $20 per night, and it was really nice.
What NZ is famous for
We did all our washing before taking a nice stroll into town for a few beers. Chris had been told to go to the Sprig and Fern as they did all local beers. They did and Chris did his best to try as many as possible. Several pints later and a wee bit tipsy we staggered home via McDonalds (not our usual choice but nothing else was open), where we tried the door it appeared locked up so we assumed it was only drive thru. Chris thought it was hilarious to walk through and try and order at the drive thru, whilst I actually found a door that was open and saved him from his embarrassment.
written by  chrischarly on February 9, 2012 from Motueka, New Zealand

Cool caves and 2 fishies
Takaka, New Zealand
The weather was a little gloomy but we headed off towards Golden Bay regardless. As we climbed up a massive hill we met the clouds and it got very grim so we decided to pull in and have a coffee at a caves attraction. It actually looked a pretty nice cave trip so we decided to give it a go.
Chris excited
Ancient marble
Climbing down and down...
About to go in the cave
Chris getting friendly with the cave
Stalactites and Stalagmites
Moa remains (bird that's now extinct)
Scary ladder
Kiwi remains
Moa remains
It was pretty awesome and we found out that they filmed some of Lord of the Rings 2 here and also recently some of the Hobbitt. After leaving The Caves we decided to head to a free DoC site in the Cobb Valley.
So high up in the clouds!
We thought it would be a tough drive and we weren’t wrong, lot of twists and turns and rough gravel with sheer drops off the side. We went very slowly and carefully especially as we were in the clouds again.
Happy Chris!!!
We finally reached the Cobb Reservoir a decided to give it a fish before setting up camp. We found a nice spot at the end of the water by the River entrance. We tried a few different areas with no luck then we caught 1 and then a second. Officially Chris’s best fishing day in NZ. We headed to the camping area just in time to see two blokes stripping off and jumping in the River for a wash.
Dinner time
A nice big fire to keep the bugs away
Chris setup the van and collected some firewood whilst I watched the two naked men scrubbing their muscly bodies. Chris made a nice fire and this helped deter the sandflies. It was a clear night and it got pretty cold but I had Chris as my personal hot water bottle to snuggle up to all night.
written by  chrischarly on February 10, 2012 from Takaka, New Zealand

Snorkelling
Shimoni, Kenya
The Dhow
Today was fantastic...
Where we snorkelled
Snorkeling is so beautiful I simply didn't imagine how much I'd enjoy it.
Chris Free diving
Thumbs up
Pretty fish
Chris snorkelling
Fishies
Beautiful
A Bridge
Coral Garden
We were also very lucky to see a turtle. It swam right up to me I could have touched if I wasn't scared that it would bite me!
The Boat we were on
Me trying to crack open the crab
Chris relaxing
We also had a fantastic sea-food lunch on the island before going on a beautiful walk where we saw a coral garden.
Lovely Beach
A 500 year old tree
Coral
However, I was stupid and forgot to put sun-cream on the back of my legs and I couldn't sit down all night. It really hurts!
written by  chrischarly on September 29, 2010 from Shimoni, Kenya

Back on the beach...
After an exhausting night sleeping on a cold wooden floor we were delighted to be picked up and taken back to our comfy hotel after hearing that it was perfectly safe to do so.
Chris waving to me
Chris' hand-stand
Chris jumping out of the water
Chris playing dead
So after a power nap we headed to the beach where Chris went swimming for a while and we found a palm tree growing in the wrong direction...
The strangest yet gorgeous palm tree
Chris enjoying the view
Me after climbing my first ever tree!
And finally we saw another amazing sunset...
Yes another amazing sunset
Very arty sunset shot by Chris

Day 78
Tiwi, Kenya
A Dung Beetle
We hired a 4x4 off a local friend Mark who we met and it was the pefect chance to do a little exploring.
A Huge Tree
We found a few local villages to have a drive around and it was so beautiful.
Cows blocking the road
In the evening we drove back to our House and the maid, Benta was leaving so we offered her a lift home. I don't think she'd ever been in a car before as she couldn't open the doors, She was so grateful that she invited us into her home and showed us a couple of pictures of her family. It was a lovely experience going into a local home, it wasn't at all what we'd expected.
written by  chrischarly on September 30, 2010 from Tiwi, Kenya

Walk through The Cobb Valley
Cobb Valley, New Zealand
The river
Walking along the Cobb Valley
We woke to a partially cloudy morning, but along the valley seemed not too bad, so after a yummy trout brekkie we decided to head off to walk the valley, well at least some of the way.
Fast-flowing water
A little hut
It was really pretty and we made a pretty good pace, all in all walking around 12 kms in about 4.5 hours.
Chris tried for more fish but was not so successful. Instead we cooked some potatoes on the fire and had them with baked beans and franks. Then we went to bed and watched Little Rascals which is a terrible film, unless you are 5.
written by  chrischarly on February 11, 2012 from Cobb Valley, New Zealand

A stunningly beautiful beach and a cabaret...
Wharariki Beach, New Zealand
Wish we could've had a swim
A little info...
We went to Takaka and checked out the DoC info to find out the best stuff to do before going to ‘Pupu springs’, the largest in Australasia and one of the clearest in the world.
Beautifully clear water
So pretty
Chris on the walkway
The water was amazingly clear and if only you were allowed to swim in it, but in fact you can’t even touch it. We then went to the Mussel Inn for a yummy lunch and beer before going to the most amazing beach up at the very North of the Island where Chris entertained us both by rolling down sandunes.
Chris collapsed at the bottom
He fell over
Hidden cave
First look at the beach
We walked about half way up the beach and we both ran straight for the water.
Almost low tide
High rocks
Walking along the beach
Beautiful
A seal pup
Such an awesome beach
The water was cold but bearable and we splashed around for nearly an hour before spotting some big jellyfish which scared us off. We continued walking along the rest of the beach seeing a baby seal pup and some amazing views before looping back another route to the car.
The caberet
Circus performers
Dunno his name
Our friend, Neil
She is so tall it's intimidating
Swallowing a whole balloon!
We then raced back to the Mussel Inn to watch a cabaret; well I watched it, whilst Chris, as usual, found a couple of drinking buddies to drink the night away. And by the way, the cabaret/circus performers were awesome and Chris truly missed out especially when I recollected that there were in fact some very ‘raunchy’ acts on stage.
written by  chrischarly on February 12, 2012 from Wharariki Beach, New Zealand

BBQ
Auntie Mo
This evening Lymington's had a huge BBQ with a band and we had a fantastic evening drinking a little too much and eating a little too much food.
Jacob Cooking
I was in charge of selling raffle tickets, managing to sell 45 which was quite an achievement which helped pay for the band :)
Big John Dancin'
written by  chrischarly on October 1, 2010 from Ukunda, Kenya

Ali Barbour's Cave
Enjoying our romantic evening :)
Me chillin' at the Cave
Today was our last day in Diani and we went in the evening to the famous 'Cave' restaurant.
The ceiling at the Cave
It was amazing!
Candlelit dinner
The Cave
The setting was so beautiful-
Chris' dinner
Chris at the Cave
A completely natural coral cave.
written by  chrischarly on October 2, 2010 from Ukunda, Kenya

The Labyrinth
Takaka, New Zealand
A hobbit-sized hole
Chris trying to squeeze through
Having a rest
After waking up and leaving the pub car-park that we camped in for the night we went for a walk in Takaka called ‘The Labyrinth’ with amazing rock formations that you walk around and around in getting lost a couple of times and with some tight squeezes to fit through. Then, with Chris feeling sorry for himself we headed back to our previous camp in Motueka, to chill, shower and then in the evening went for a yummy curry before early to bed to continue to sleep off any remaining alcohol.
written by  chrischarly on February 13, 2012 from Takaka, New Zealand

Valentine's
Nelson, New Zealand
Chris rescuing the cat
We left Motueka to head for Nelson after Chris helped to rescue a cat stuck up a tree, as we were advised of a cheap camp nearby. We diverted through Richmond and had a lovely lunch, me – sushi, Chris – Chicken Laksa. We also bought supplies for a nice Valentine’s dinner. We found the camp, and although ok, the sites were pretty rubbish and the guy was pretty annoying. We finally found a nice spot after negotiating the fact that the one selected for us was pants and after chilling for a while Chris cooked up some amazing fillet steak (mine blue of course), with smashed cannelloni beans cooked in garlic and rosemary, flat mushrooms and a delicious salad. The sand-flies were pretty bad which of course they are most nights here in the south Island so we headed to bed early to escape them.
written by  chrischarly on February 14, 2012 from Nelson, New Zealand

From Mombasa- Nairobi
Nairobi, Kenya
Mombassa
Today we left Diani and had a guided tour around Mombasa. It was surprisingly a very small city and quite beautiful in places.
Fort Jesus
Jammed in
Unlike many of the other cities in Africa, the people were very friendly and helpful and didn't hassle us.
Waiting for our train
After the tour we waited for our train to arrive at 6pm and it left on time. The train was quite similar to the Tzara but with smaller compartments so we didn't have to fight for our own cabin this time!
Our train
Meals were also included which were basic yet tasty but only 3 fans worked on the whole train and it was so hot. But apart from that- it was a very enjoyably journey.
written by  chrischarly on October 3, 2010 from Nairobi, Kenya

A trip around Pagudpud
Today we had a friggin' awesome day, going on a trip around Pagudpud with our new-found tsunami refugees...
Great view on trek to the falls
Our guide to the falls
A turtle the locals had caught, dinner me thinks !
Kids playing in river
Trecking back from the falls
The highlight of the day had to be swimming at the base of a 30m Waterfall!
Kabigan Falls
Charly looking good at the falls
The team at Kabigan Falls
Ouch again !
Chris getting a serious head massage
Such a hero !
Ouch it hurts !
Us taking a romantic moment at the Kabigan Falls
Then we went to a place called Aqua Grande
Agua Grande
This was via an amazing road attached to the side of a Cliff which was overlooking a shipwreck
Amazing viaduct road built around the North Luzon Coastline
Ship Wreck on North Luzon Coast
We then went to
Bantay Abot Cave, not really a Cave, more a hole
But I didn't like it, so Chris went solo
Bantay Abot Cave with Thomas
Charly waiting as we go to Bantay Abot Cave
Chris in Bantay Abot Cave
Before finally ending up at The Blue Lagoon- a lovely beach with some cool surfing waves that Chris and the boys enjoyed...
Blue Lagoon
Then, dinner in the evening!
Dinner back at the beach after the Tsunami scare

Non-stop travelling
Kisumu, Kenya
Our 2nd 1st class cabin
The train arrived in Nairobi on time and we took a taxi straight to the bus-stop to book our bus in the evening.
Just arrived in Nairobi
When we got there, there was a couch just about to leave, so we jumped straight on it so it meant we didn't have to hang around in the city.
Tortoise crossing the road
The coach left at 10am and was supposed to arrive at 6pm, but after having a tire change, being stopped by the police and our bus driver almost arrested for playing music and a lady having a fit in the restaurant when we stopped for a break, oh yeah, and having officially the slowest driver in the world, we arrived in Kampala at 2am!
written by  chrischarly on October 4, 2010 from Kisumu, Kenya

Waterfalls
Pelorus Bridge, New Zealand
Where Chris went for a dip
After getting ready to go for a nice shower, we realised we had left our towels in Motueka, oops! So back we headed 40 mins each way to collect them. After this unplanned detour we went to Pelorus Bridge campsite, which was lovely,
and whilst more expensive than other DoC sites we have been to, it did have a great kitchen and hot showers. After setting up camp we went on a nice walk to see 2 waterfalls; challenging ourselves to get there in
½ the estimated time, which we surprised ourselves by succeeding over very rough terrain, up and down. He did beat me with his super-fast and long legs and I arrived to find him bathing in the small pool at the bottom of the falls, in his boxers! He exited freezing and quickly dressed so we could walk back to go rock hopping along the River, to try and fish. We then hungrily used the camp kitchen to cook up a nice healthy veggie curry.
written by  chrischarly on February 15, 2012 from Pelorus Bridge, New Zealand

Mussels
Havelock, New Zealand
Tucking in to some mussels
We went to Havelock for lunch, which is supposed to be the Green Lip mussel capital of NZ. Chris was excited so we had a nice lunch of fresh local mussels, even though we both agree that we prefer the smaller black mussels that we get at home, and here.
A green lipped mussel
For some reason the Kiwis like the big ones?! After lunch we headed into the Marlborough Sounds and as the sun was shining, and sky blue, we enjoyed the amazing views all the way. The road was probably the windiest we have been on and my mussels kept repeating on me, making me feel rather ill by the end of it.
Nice...
Mussel farming
Chris and his spotties
We chose to go to the furthest DoC camp, Waimaru, to try and get away from the crowds, and we weren’t disappointed. The camp was in a lovely bay and only a short walk from the water. As usual Chris got chatting to some other campers, an English guy Andy, from Doncaster, and his kiwi better half Tracey. Andy advised Chris on a fishing spot and method, so he trotted off rod in hand and a few hours came back with two tiny fish, but fish nonetheless. When he returned we went over to see Andy and Tracey, and Chris had a few of Andy’s homemade whiskeys whilst we chatted about our travels. We then returned and Chris made some yummy Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice) with the little fish chucked in. We went to bed and opened the moon roof to see the amazing starlit sky. Another amazing paradise we have found in NZ.
written by  chrischarly on February 16, 2012 from Havelock, New Zealand

My God, it's good to have a shower!
Kampala, Uganda
Huge Ants
Luckily when we arrived at Red Chilli's Backpackers this morning at 2:15am there was a night guard who found a room for us and we instantly fell asleep. In the morning it felt incredible to have a shower!
written by  chrischarly on October 5, 2010 from Kampala, Uganda

Another day of Travelling
Para, Uganda
One of many tire changes
This morning we woke up seriously early to get ready for our trip to Murchison Falls.
Where we are
Still stuck!
Pushing the matatu
L-R, Chris, Margaret, Aicha, Jaclyn, Me, Jess and Sophie
A Stuck Matatu
Another Road blockage
After our 3rd or 4th tire change on the way we eventually made it.
Chris' Catch
A Nile Monitor
A huge Truck
In the evening there was an incredible electrical storm that completely drowned us and made puddles in our tent!
written by  chrischarly on October 6, 2010 from Para, Uganda

Lots of tasty seafood
Waimaru, New Zealand
Chris almost stranded on a rock
Another absolutely glorious day, which made the sounds look better than you can imagine. We packed up and went to Chris’s fishing beach which was all ours. Chris went off rock climbing and brought back a huge bag of mussels, before quickly grabbing his rod and heading off across the rocks again to try and catch some fish to go with our shellfish friends.
Gorgeous
I got on my new swimsuit and headed to the clear blue water to cool off. He returned after nearly getting cut off by the rising tide, with only half a spotty (small fish), the other half used as bait in search of a monster snapper or blue cod. We decided to try and take the coastal route back, 1) to avoid the steep climb up the hill, and 2) to see if we could find anymore fishing spots.
Lots and lots of jellyfish
We had to be quick as the water level was rising and making the rocks harder to cross. Although it was a tough scramble, having to avoid lots of jellyfish we made it safely around then walked the length of the bay before returning to camp.
Stupid jellyfish
Upon return we stopped in on Andy and Tracey, who had also been fishing but the other way, and had managed to get a small bag of mussels, 2 blue cod and a handful of spotties. They were planning to cook up some chowder and crumb the blue cod. Chris suggested we both cook something and share our fare together.
Rock climbing
We then returned back to the car and Chris tried his best to make something, with nothing. The result was an amazing Moroccan couscous salad with mussels and he also managed to make some damper bread with rosemary to complement the chowder. I don’t know how he does it! We had the chowder and bread to start, then blue cod with couscous for main. It was all delicious and Chris helped Andy knock bag a fair amount of his home made whiskey. All in all great day and night.
written by  chrischarly on February 17, 2012 from Waimaru, New Zealand

Such a gorgeous free campsite
Robin Hood Bay, New Zealand
Where we camped up for the night
We decided to leave our campsite this morning so went to find Andy and Tracey to say goodbye before heading out of the sounds and towards Picton.
Nice view of the beach
We got our bearings in town in preparation for catching the Ferry on Monday, and refuelled, re-gassed and went food shopping.
View from our campsite
We then headed south to check out a couple of DoC sites, the first White’s Bay was packed full of people soaking up
the good weather and thus didn’t really appeal so we moved on along a very windy, steep, rough, gravel road to reach Robin Hood Bay. The bay looked amazing on our decent, and was free nice spot and Chris went sea “ing” before returning empty handed, blaming his lack of sea tackle. As usual, we had a yummy dinner then retired, looking forward to another sunny day tomorrow…
written by  chrischarly on February 18, 2012 from Robin Hood Bay, New Zealand

Shoe-bill!
Para, Uganda
Giraffes
Strange Antelopes
Today we went on a game drive around Queen Elizabeth National Park not exactly expecting to see a great deal.
Elephants
Flying Bird
A Purple Headed Stork
Elephant with a little trunk
However, we did see lots of elephants, some with missing trunks due to snares :(
2 Lions
Lions again
6 lions,
Lion
and the elusive shoe-bill!
A shoebill!
A Baboon and her Baby
A Baboon's ugly Bum
Murchison Falls
A Hippo
Later, we went on a river cruise to see the Murchison Falls.
A Buffalo
An African Fish Eagle
We saw lots of other wildlife including hundreds of hippos, lots of crocodiles and birds, such as the African Fish Eagle. Amazing day!
written by  chrischarly on October 7, 2010 from Para, Uganda

Poorly Chris and stupid, stupid virus makers
Local children playing
Chris was up all night feeling really poorly, so although our plan was to leave today we decided it would be best to post-pone until he was well enough to travel.
Rice Farmers house
It turns out that it was the right decision as we turned the laptop on a little later to discover that a virus had hacked its way in! Why do people even create them in the first place?! So, so selfish! So most of our day consisted of trying to fix the problem...
A cock

Murchison Falls
Masindi, Uganda
Us on a rock
This morning we went on a lovely walk along to see the Murchison Falls, they were so powerful it's incredible, then we took a slow drive back to Kampala.
Us and the falls
On the way the matatu started making strange noises so we pulled over fearing the wheel was about to fall off!
The Nile
We stopped in a tiny village with lots of children who we gave balloons to and little balls after witnessing a fight between some locals that got really vicious involving a huge Machete! It was pretty scary.
Children playing with Balloons
Children
When we finally got back we moved into a dorm with our new friends and met up with a girl, Mel who we saw in Zanzibar!
written by  chrischarly on October 8, 2010 from Masindi, Uganda

What a shitty day
Picton, New Zealand
A very pregnant cow
After such a gorgeous day yesterday we woke up with rain and lots of it. Hoping it would clear a bit we waited at the campsite sitting in the car but soon gave up and drove to Picton in search of a warm place to sit for a while supping on coffee. Then, after drinking way too much coffee (which we later regretted when trying to sleep later) we found a free place to camp up for the night just outside of Picton, not particularly great, but like I said, free, so we would be close to the Ferry for tomorrow.
written by  chrischarly on February 19, 2012 from Picton, New Zealand

And onto the North Island
Wellington, New Zealand
The Bluebridge ferry
Waving goodbye to Picton
Drove the 10kms to Picton before going to the harbour for a shower, and then a coffee followed by checking in to the Ferry bound for Wellington.
Bye bye south island
Leaving the south
It was a huge Ferry with lots of comfy seats to relax in for the 3 hour journey which we soon camped out in before waving goodbye to the south Island. Had a great time there but now excited to see what the North Island is like in comparison.
First sighting of the north island
Almost there...
As soon as we arrived and finally drove off the Ferry, we exited Wellington and drove to the nearest free camp site outside of town driving down a gorgeous windy road.
written by  chrischarly on February 20, 2012 from Wellington, New Zealand

We've booked rafting!
Kampala, Uganda
Our dormitory
Today we finally booked our rafting trip for tomorrow! Pretty excited, yet petrified at the same time.
written by  chrischarly on October 9, 2010 from Kampala, Uganda

Rafting!
Jinja, Uganda
My God rafting was scary,
I thought I was going to drown!
We flipped over at a rapid and I got stuck under the boat.
I don't think I've ever been more frightened! However, at least we can say we've finally done it!
written by  chrischarly on October 10, 2010 from Jinja, Uganda

And then the rain came down
Woodville, New Zealand
Red-sky-at-night-shepherds-delight...not
Free camp spot
Woke up and left our free camp, drank some coffee, did a bit of driving and found a place we could secretly freedom camp alongside a River. Enjoyed the brief amount of sunshine there was by Chris going fishing and by me soaking up as much vitamin D as I possibly could before the rain hit.
written by  chrischarly on February 21, 2012 from Woodville, New Zealand

Boring day, sorry...
Hastings, New Zealand
Well it was predicted to rain today, and yes, rain it did. So we went and hung out in a café, and then another before going to find a paid camp just outside of Hastings which is the ‘driest’ place currently in NZ even though it is still raining here. So we just chilled, caught up with a few things e.g. washing and Chris went for a fish. Apologies- another boring day to both write and read about…
written by  chrischarly on February 22, 2012 from Hastings, New Zealand

Last day in Jinja
Jinja, Uganda
The Nile
The nile
Today was our last day in Jinja and we spent the majority of it recovering from rafting!
Where we were staying had a fantastic view over-looking the Nile it was gorgeous.
written by  chrischarly on October 11, 2010 from Jinja, Uganda

From Pagudpud-Vigan
Laoag, Philippines
This morning after starving Chris all day yesterday feeding him only water he was back to being his usual self, so we decided to move on to Vigan.
A local shop
Shacks by the river
This was actually a lot easier than we thought it would be, taking a tricycle to the highway and then a bus came almost instantly!
Our bus ride to Vigan
The bus was so comfy the ride didn't seem that long.
Entering Vigan
A Jeepney
We found accomodation quite easily in an old House extended into a hotel.
The room we could have had if we weren't backpackers!
Chairs at the hotel, not made for Charly
Our hotel, Grandpa's Inn
We then decided to go walking around the town for a while surprised at just how modern Vigan is.
Unesco Heritage city with old Spanish buildings
written by  chrischarly on March 15, 2011 from Laoag, Philippines

Staying in a true African House!
Naivasha, Kenya
Donkeys
Today we took another bus back to Naivasha intending to spend the last few days of Africa relaxing by the lake. By the time we had arrived it was already dark and we got dropped off what seemed to be the middle of no where at a petrol station. So we took a walk up and luckily found a 'taxi-driver' who drove us around to find us somewhere to stay.
Elsie and Nelly
After 3 failed attempts at accommodation I jokingly said to him that we'd stay with him, which he responded saying he'd love to have us stay with him!
Our new home!
So off we went to stay in his House to experience the real Africa!
written by  chrischarly on October 12, 2010 from Naivasha, Kenya

A 660m wharf
Gisborne, New Zealand
The 660m wharf
The wharf
Driftwood
Today we headed up the east coast, stopping a few times for coffee before going to Gisbourne to try and find some cheap or free camps. We had been told there were loads of free places to camp on the east coast, but it was all lies. Same old same old, you can camp if you have a toilet on board, even in places with toilets, go figure! We ended up in Tolega Bay which had a nice long wharf to go down and then to a paid campsite for the night, hoping for better weather soon, anytime soon!
written by  chrischarly on February 23, 2012 from Gisborne, New Zealand

A wharf, a church and a big tree
Opotiki, New Zealand
The sea from the wharf
The old and falling-apart wharf
Weather was nice today so we had a nice explore up the east coast, stopping at some nice beaches and wharfs for walks.
An old wharf
We then went and checked out an old Mauori church, trying to fit a bit of culture into our trip. It was nice with lots of cool carvings.
Inside the church
Maouri church
We then scooted around the NO FREE CAMPS OR DOC SITES coastline till we got to a place near Opitiki that had a DoC camp, and a free one at that. Problem was the directions were really bad, and unsure if we were going the right way, we managed to somehow find it.
A massive tree
The huge tree
Oh yeah, and we saw an awesome huge tree with a 19m spread! It is very famous around here apparently and the Maouris used to use it for it's healing properties. It was a really interesting drive, down a little track, with a few stream crossings. When we finally got there, it was a cool little camp right next to a stream with lots of Boulders in it, hence the name “Boulders”. Chris went for an “ing” but after all the rain the River was running pretty rapid and not suitable for fishing – another excuse I’m sure. We had the place to ourselves until a nice French fella turned up and we got chatting and got some good info from him.
written by  chrischarly on February 24, 2012 from Opotiki, New Zealand

Exploring Naivasha the local way
Naivasha, Kenya
Catherine and an Electrical Engineer
Today we went exploring Naivasha as true locals would.
A Stork
Illegal fishermen
We went to all the hidden gems of the town away from touristy areas and ate some amazing food at amazing prices!
Elsie and Nelly
We also went to visit Samuel and Catherine's daughters Nelly and Elsie at their school where they pretended I was their Auntie!
Chris and Stacey
Stacey and my Breakfast
What was also interesting is that in Kenya, men can have as many wives as they wish, Samuel only had two which is rare, so we visited his other wife Monica and tiny daughter Stacey.
Nelly and Elsie
It is apparently a great honour to have 'wuzungu' in their House, and they all made us feel so special, especially the two girls who said a kind prayer to us before they went to sleep.
written by  chrischarly on October 13, 2010 from Naivasha, Kenya

Carnivores!
Nairobi, Kenya
Samuel, Catherine and I
Today was unfortunately our last day in Naivasha with our new friends and it was such a shame as we loved being a local we just wished it could've been for longer!
Monkey
So we did a little more exploring of the lake and fed a few monkeys bananas before going for a local lunch.
Kenyan Oven
5* Kenyan Restaurant
We had fried fish that cost less than a £1 and fed three of us! We then caught a matatu into Nairobi for 30p after saying a sad goodbye to Samuel and Catherine.
Denys and I
Chris and Denys
Where the food was cooked in Carnivore
Carnivore Menu
In the evening we took another matatu across town to meet Chris' god-father Denys at Carnivore's restaurant where we ate crocodile and ostrich!
written by  chrischarly on October 14, 2010 from Nairobi, Kenya

A great campsite down a cute permit road
Kawerau, New Zealand
Lots of sheep heading my way
Went from Opotiki to Kawerau to check out another off the track DoC site. At the information office they said we could go on a private road with a permit. It seemed like an adventure so we headed off and found the site pretty easily. It was a nice camp on the side of a lake with a River outlet. There was a walk down the River to a Waterfall, but it was a few hours, so we decided to save it till Sunday. Chris made friends with some Kiwi neighbours and we joined them for some drinks and banter.
written by  chrischarly on February 25, 2012 from Kawerau, New Zealand

An under-ground river that changes into a waterfall
Kawerau, New Zealand
Fast-flowing river
Lovely clear water
Rapids
Very violent falls
Underground waterfall
We got up and had some energy brekkie before our walk. It was really nice, down the River to a few small Waterfalls and then the River disappeared underground before emerging half way down a Cliff in a really spectacular Waterfall. It was a nice 8km walk, a little bit tough, and I even beat Chris after he slipped over and stretched his leg badly and we managed to venture off into some ‘out-of-bounds’ areas to check out some of the good bits. But Shhh don’t tell the DoC people we went there.
The collapsed bridge
Sneaking past the 'no-go' signs
It was only one collapsed bridge! We got back and had a good feed and chilled out in the sun just as everyone disappeared from the camp and we had it to ourselves.
written by  chrischarly on February 26, 2012 from Kawerau, New Zealand

Last day in Africa :(
Nairobi, Kenya
A Millipede
Today is our last day in Afria and we were both feeling really sad :( we just couldn't believe it had been 3 months already! We checked out of our hotel early and headed to the airport 10 hours before the flight was scheduled to leave feeling unsafe walking around Nairobi with our bags. Once there I was feeling pretty rough managing to be sick 4 times; once in the departures lounge, (hopefully not on anybody) resulting in Chris having to buy me a new t-shirt!
written by  chrischarly on October 15, 2010 from Nairobi, Kenya

A day of alternative public transport
Vigan, Philippines
Today we went exploring around Vigan.
Us in tricycle sidecar
Us squeezed into a tricycle sidecar
Firstly we went to a place where they make traditional terracotta pots crammed into a sidecar on a tricycle.
Guy making pots, very quickly
Guy making pots old school
Lots of pots
Arty shot of clay pots
50m kiln built in 1823
Inside the 50m kiln which was built in 1823
Kevin the clay trampling Karibu
Then we decided to get a horse-and-cart to go around the old town.
In the carriage
Our horse and carriage
Our driver
Locals playing cards
Passing another horse and cart
Vigan Cathedral
What we really wanted to do was go through the MacDonalds drive-through whilst we were on it.
Chris' new church
Chris with Reverend Ronald
But due to our inability to speak Ilocano or Tagalog (the two local languages) we failed and instead went back to our guest House! We still had an awesome day though
written by  chrischarly on March 16, 2011 from Vigan, Philippines

Waking up back in the U.K
After a long flight which surprisingly not too bad as I slept the majority of the way we arrived back in the U.K. It is so cold! Just have to sort out a few things, getting Chris a new passport, selling his car and arrange our India visas before we fly again on the 7th November! Cannot wait!
written by  chrischarly on October 16, 2010 from Rayleigh, United Kingdom

Almost ready...
Oxhill, United Kingdom
Attempting to sell Chris' car
Chris' new passport has arrived, it only took 3 days! Went to visa embassy and received our India visas in the post this morning... So after a couple of last minute items and a fancy dress party at Neil's this Saturday we're almost ready for India! How friggin' exciting!
P.S, Anyone want a Mercedes SLK 350??
written by  chrischarly on October 29, 2010 from Oxhill, United Kingdom

Thermally active town
Rotorua, New Zealand
Thermal pools in a park
Natural thermal hot springs
We had a lazy morning before packing up and we moved out towards Rotorua which is a very thermally active area around a lovely lake. The town itself was very touristy but we did manage to find somewhere for Chris to get his head shaved. After this we went for a walk around a local park that had lots of bubbling thermal pools. It was nice to see but very smelly due to all the Sulphur. After this we headed down to a DoC site on a lake which was very nice. Chris went for an “ing”, but to be fair to him he nearly made it into a “fishing”, but as usual… IT GOT AWAY!
written by  chrischarly on February 27, 2012 from Rotorua, New Zealand

Chris on a kayak!
Rotorua, New Zealand
On the hunt for fish
We woke up to a nice day and made friends with our neighbours, Ian and Candy. Ian had a kayak and was keen into fishing, but he hadn’t EVER successfully landed a trout. Maybe it’s not just Chris! He went out for a paddle and when he returned offered Chris a go. He was in it in a shot and although said he was only going for a paddle close in, it wasn’t long before we couldn’t see him. Sometime later he returned but without any fish. He had a break and then was off again, it started to rain but that didn’t stop him and he only returned when it got really grotty.
The hook stuck in my finger (not the big one)
We retired to the car to escape the weather but it only got wetter and colder. But when we got back, Chris did actually manage to catch something... my hand in one of his hooks which has been dangling from our mirror in our car. It hurt, a lot and took a lot of pulling. Of course, Chris thought this to be hilarious, but of course he had the third degree for leaving it up there! We went over to Ian and Candy’s for a drink and then Chris made dinner in the rain before an early night.
written by  chrischarly on February 28, 2012 from Rotorua, New Zealand

Halloween Party
Coventry, United Kingdom
Neil our bestest friend held a Halloween house-warming party this evening which was a perfect opportunity for us to say goodbye to some friends before India.
A monster
We had a fantastic time...
written by  chrischarly on October 30, 2010 from Coventry, United Kingdom

Playing with Lucy and Jack
This afternoon we took our lovely niece and nephew Lucy and Jack down to the park, enjoying as much of them as possible before Sunday. We will miss them soooo much :(
written by  chrischarly on November 2, 2010 from Rayleigh, United Kingdom

San Juan
San Juan, Philippines
Leaving San Juan on the bus
Having felt we had made the most out of our short trip to Vigan we left early this morning after breakfast and travelled to San Juan.
View from our balcony
Where we stayed
This is predominately aimed towards surfers, which obviously we are not, as the sea is pretty rough but that didn't stop it from being a lovely stop-off on our way to the mountains.
Amazing sunset
Another amazing sunset
written by  chrischarly on March 17, 2011 from San Juan, Philippines

Another typical NZ summer's day
Taupo, New Zealand
The most active volcano in NZ
Surprise Surprise, woke up to grey skies but not too much rain, was still pretty cold though. Went “ing” for a bit then packed up and headed to Lake Taupo. Well after driving 50kms in the wrong direction (I of course was blamed as navigator), before finally turning around and going the right way and finding Taupo. Went to the town centre and found a well needed shower before checking out the info centre and finding a free camp not too far from town. Weather still pretty shocking so just chilled and rode it out. Did camp next to a really nice River though, which is the only outlet from Lake Taupo but unfortunately our fishing licence didn’t cover us to get some free dinner.
written by  chrischarly on February 29, 2012 from Taupo, New Zealand

Some imaginary tourist attraction
Turangi, New Zealand
Fast-flowing water
Huka Falls
After a night of rain, woke up to find the River at least 1 metre higher than the night before. Packed up and headed downstream to Huka Falls. They are seriously powerful, especially after all the rain. The amount of water flowing can fill 20 Olympic pools every minute. After this we headed south around the very windy and rainy lake before making our way towards a free DoC site and checked out ‘The Pillars of Hercules’. Still have no idea what they were about as we couldn’t see anything that looked like pillars, in fact, nothing interesting at all, apart from a swing bridge which made me dizzy after Chris kept jumping up and down on it.
Imaginary Pillars of Hercules
Swing bridge
I hope the weather gets better soon so these blogs might be more interesting!
written by  chrischarly on March 1, 2012 from Turangi, New Zealand

bbq and fireworks
Tonight we had a bbq and enjoyed having a few drinks in the uk for the last time in 15 months. We had a great night wiv Neil and hazel coming down. I don't know about Chris but I'm pretty sacred now ...

A great walk, and some way too hot, hot pools
Tokaanu, New Zealand
View on our walk
We woke up cold and damp, so headed straight off. We made our way to the Tongariro Park, even though the weather was grey it wasn’t raining, and in need of some activity we decided rain or not we should do a walk.
Silica Rapids
The main crossing (20km) was closed due to the weather, so we would have to miss that one. We did go on a nice walk though, up to Silica Rapids, around 7.5kms (2hrs).
Chris on the bridge
A bit hot and bothered from the climb
It was a very muddy walk
It managed to stay
Chris in the hot pools
dry until about 30mins before we got back. A nice walk with some great scenery and amazing gold and yellow rivers, due to the Minerals in the water. After this we made our way to a nice paid camp in Tokaanu, it had free hot Mineral pools. We had a lovely dip in the supposedly therapeutic waters before Chris got too hot and had to get out. There was a serious storm hitting the North Island with winds reaching 150kmph in the night so we huddled up in our car to ride it out.
written by  chrischarly on March 2, 2012 from Tokaanu, New Zealand

Back in a comfy bed!
Pyes Pa, New Zealand
Checked out of the camp this morning, found some tasty coffee, did some shopping and then headed to Pyes Pa to visit and catch up with Ian and Candy again at their beautiful House in the country. Had a great evening with a few drinks and a tasty Indian in town with Holly their daughter before retiring to a nice comfy bed.
written by  chrischarly on March 3, 2012 from Pyes Pa, New Zealand

McLaren Falls
Tauranga, New Zealand
Ian having a fish
Chris having a fish
Me having a fish
Chris and Ian decided that their luck would be in today to try out some fishing. They of course were wrong, but regardless of this we still had a great day at McLaren Falls walking up and down the canal and onto the lake. It was a gorgeous day with bright blue skies but quite strong winds and after a few hours came back, drank some beer and bubbly and chatted all evening.
written by  chrischarly on March 4, 2012 from Tauranga, New Zealand

A chill out day
San Fernando City, Philippines
As we arrived pretty late in San Juan yesterday afternoon, Chris just wanted a chill day relaxing on the beach, watching the surfers.
A guy with only 1 leg who was surfing - amazing !
Watching the surfers wishing we could do the same
So we took a break and did very little except taking a short walk along the beach.
A walk along San Juan beach
written by  chrischarly on March 18, 2011 from San Fernando City, Philippines

Chris' sea fishing expedition
Turangi, New Zealand
The boat
Chris just about to go out fishing
Woke up this morning to hear Chris and Ian’s excited plans to go sea fishing on Ian’s boat! Thinking this sounded like an awesome idea, I was soon informed that unfortunately this was a ‘boys-only’ trip and due to our car only having 2 seats in, I was out numbered and thus left behind to have some ‘me-time’ to catch up with things, which suited me just fine!
A little island
They came back quite a few hours later with 4 fish between them, 2 snapper and 2 kahawai ( a silvery kinda sea trout), which of course meant fish for dinner.
Fish number 1
Fish number 2
Fish number 3
Rescue mission
Chris and all the fish they caught
They had a great time out on the boat but their fishing was impacted including having to rescue some guys that had run up on the rocks due to steering failure. In fact that boat had gone to pick up a snorkeller who was spear fishing and a shark attacked his fish. He got spooked and asked them for a ride back and then they broke down. A double rescue really!
written by  chrischarly on March 5, 2012 from Turangi, New Zealand

Baby trout
Dickey Flat, New Zealand
Pretty river
River bed
After leaving Ian and Candy’s we headed up towards the Coromandel, finding a Doc site at Dickey Flat. Chris went for a fish, catching two trout but only babies so he returned them.
The little fish Chris set free
Thankfully Ian was kind and gave us the smoked kahawai that they caught yesterday, which we used half of and made into a lovely warm salad with poached eggs.
written by  chrischarly on March 6, 2012 from Dickey Flat, New Zealand

A nice long walk
Dickey Flat, New Zealand
We awoke to nice weather so decided to go on a nice walk from our Doc site along the River to Karangahawke gorge. Our plan was to see how we felt and if up for it, take a longer harder walk back.
Gorge
The views down from our walk
The walk was really nice following the River and through some tunnels made during the gold mining days. There was lots of interesting mining history and rail tracks which we followed through more tunnels.
At the gorge we stopped for a coffee and then headed back across the tougher route.
Check out the view!
It was pretty much uphill for a good hour; the views being spectacular, then along and down for a while.
Chris' new look
He found his sunnies, luckily
We reached a stream crossing that required a bit of boulder climbing, Chris went ahead and then waited to help me. As he did he managed to drop his sunglasses into the water. After I made it across he got a stick to try and fish them out, but in the process managed to slip on the rocks and land square on his arse and sliding down the rocks into the running water, ouch! After getting himself together he stripped off to his boxers and jumped in the water to finally get his sunnies back. After this long break the rest of the walk seemed very hard and we were pleased to see camp again. We had a good feed of Kedgeree using the rest of the smoked fish, plus plenty leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
written by  chrischarly on March 7, 2012 from Dickey Flat, New Zealand

A day of truly nightmare public transport!!
Baguio, Philippines
This morning we left San Juan very early for us and took a walk up to the main highway. From there we took a jeepney to San Fernando where there was a huge parade going on through the town.
Street Parade
Street parade
Therefore, it took quite a while to navigate our way through the town and find an ATM and then a bus to Baguio. Once we finally found a way out and a bus to Baguio it was only supposed to take 1 1/2 hours. However, due to the parade and the bus refusing to leave until it was full, meaning that it took twice as long to arrive there, which wasn't good as we had another long journey of 7 hours ahead of us!
Rice and plenty of it
Once in Baguio it was really hot and humid and we had to navigate our way to the other side of town to find a bus to Sagada. Luckily, there was one just about to leave, so we begged them to take us as well fearing it may be the only bus that day and after a bit of persuasion the conductor said there were only two seats left, so gratefully we took them.
Feeling delighted that we made it with only seconds to spare we climbed on the bus and we didn't see any seats at all. Thinking they had made a mistake we spoke again to the conductor and showed us our allocated seats, fold-down ones in the centre aisle right at the back!
Not only were they broken so every time we turned a corner they snapped into place; we were going to be driving through the mountains on tiny, bumpy, windy roads. I swear the journey only got worse and worse though.
Only got centre seats, comfy !
To my left, there was a newborn baby fast asleep that I had to try not to bump into and as I was squished this proved difficult. To my right there was a diseased person who was coughing constantly. Behind a guy sneezed on my back, and yes, I could feel it. Then finally, in front a poor child vomited the whole way. NICE! Also, why do Filipinos get so cold when it is boiling hot? The windows were closed the whole way and as we were in the middle, there was nothing we could do about it apart from drip with sweat.
On the bus thru the mountains
So much for taking this journey to witness the beautiful scenery around us when we couldn’t even see a window and why have all of our short journeys have been in comfortable coaches. So unfair!
Charly with new friend on the bus
About 10 minutes before it was our stop, finally 2 people got off so we grabbed seats quickly and forced open a window and finally saw some of the amazing mountains that friends have told us about!
The mountains of Sagada
One of the many amazing views
View from bus enroute to sagada
So when we finally got off the bus we were truly ecstatic! Sagada is a cute town and we found some fantastic accommodation for the cheapest yet. Think we may just stay here for a few days!
written by  chrischarly on March 19, 2011 from Baguio, Philippines

Quick sand
Hikuai, New Zealand
The frog I almost stood on
Nothing much to say today, we moved to another nice DoC site, went for a "ing" after a nice long walk through the countryside and Chris nearly got swallowed up into some semi quick sand, then had some feed and off to bed.
written by  chrischarly on March 8, 2012 from Hikuai, New Zealand

Another successful day's fishing!
Pauanui, New Zealand
We had a flat battery this morning so Chris had to go and find a friendly camper with jump leads. After getting going we went to Pauanui , Chris bought some sea fishing tackle and we went for a fish off the beach and then the pier.
Killing dinner
He had just bought a spinner and some hooks, thinking of giving it a little go, but after chatting to some other locals they kindly left us with the rest of their pilchards for us to use as bait.
Chris setup off the wharf and we had a good afternoons fishing, including catching 3 kahawai, but unfortunately it should’ve been more but some got away,
Chris and another fish!
and I was even there to witness it this time. It was all very eventful. As the tide came in about 4 stingrays came swimming in under the wharf, they were massive and very elegant in the water and we heard that just 2 weeks ago they saw some killer whales in the harbour and I am gutted we weren’t there to see them! But the fish was tasty nonetheless!
written by  chrischarly on March 9, 2012 from Pauanui, New Zealand

Hot Water Beach
Hot Water Beach, New Zealand
Cathedral Cove
We went to Hot Water beach today, which as the name suggests a lovely beach where there are hot freshwater springs under the beach. This brings literaly 100’s of people at low tide with spades in hand to dig their own hot pools.
A load of tourists
We chose to observe from a distance thus avoiding the crowds instead taking a lovely long walk the stretch of the beach and back.
A bird, I think from the seagull family
Nice beach
After hot water beach we headed to Cathederal Cove, which is ‘The Highlight’ of the Coromandal. On the signs from the carpark it said this walk was ‘Easy’ and takes 50 minutes each way. So we set-off from the car thinking we would make it there and back in under an hour if we were quick, stupidly without water or sun cream. We stopped at the first point, Gemstone beach which was a long way down off the track.
Me walking on the beach
Wanting to remove the climb back up we decided to rock hop around to the next place to see Stingray Bay – this took a lot longer, well over an hour and was a lot harder considering I was wearing my useless $1 flipflops. We then walked up to the track tired and thirsty before continuing on to Cathedral Cove, which was well worth the walk as it was beautiful, although we had a long steep climb back to the car. After this we decided we needed something to eat and somewhere to camp up for the night after our long 4 hour walk. So we treated ourselves to a paid campsite and a nice shower for $25.
written by  chrischarly on March 10, 2012 from Hot Water Beach, New Zealand

Batt Flattery
Coromandel, New Zealand
Woke up, packed up and got into the car… Click Click… nothing… Flat battery. Great. This isn’t the first time either, over the past week we’ve had to suck up to 3 other campers to help us jump-start the car. So first stop today will be to buy a new car battery. Not ideal to spend money on a car we will only have for a couple more weeks. Plus it is a Sunday so no Breakers will be open to buy a second-hand one. But we did find one for a reasonable price of $99. After this, we decided to head across the Coromandel and see what the weather was doing. It was raining, Surprise, so decided to keep moving towards Auckland, finding a camp about 1 hour from the city in a nice park. In between showers we did manage a quick walk up the beach, but other than that it was pretty much a dull afternoon hiding from the rain.
written by  chrischarly on March 11, 2012 from Coromandel, New Zealand

Trekking!
Sagada, Philippines
Starting the days trek
Today Chris and I got up bright and early and decided to go trekking! I know it sounds unbelievable and we almost couldn't believe it ourselves but we did!
Hanging coffins in Echo valley
Our first stop was to Echo Valley to see some hanging coffins. However, we soon got lost following Lonely Planet directions. Refreshingly, we weren't the only ones and we found Sophie, a lone traveller from Switzerland with the same problem. So together, we finally found our way.
Sophie our new Swiss friend
View across Sagada
Then, still feeling adventurous, we headed out Lumiang Caves to see some more coffins, this time on the ground.
Looking down into the cave
Some of the coffins here were over 500 years old! Very impressive! We did however find it very strange to only see small coffins, thus concluding that there were many children in coffins or seriously short people, shorter than myself.
Chris with the 100's of VERY old coffins, spooky !
Later though after doing some further research we discovered that when the bodies are placed into the coffins, they are put into the fetal position; therefore leaving the world the same way they entered. Although the cave was amazing, as we didn’t take a guide with us, we thought it would be sensible not to wander through, as we didn’t know what scary things might be inside.
Up from the coffin cave
Alter the cave we decided to find some more hanging coffins (and thinking about it now, it sounds pretty morbid trekking after coffins all day). Signs in The Philippines are non-existent so finding them proved challenging, but by talking to a friendly local he pointed them out to us, right behind his own house hanging off a cliff!
Hanging coffins
They were even his ancestors!
Two local kids with their ancestors behind in the coffins
We found out from him that the reason why they are hanging instead of being buried so their spirits could roam around the valley and that way they can watch over them I suppose.
After our trek, all three of us were exhausted. Sagada has no flat ground and is surrounded by mountains but we were in fact very proud of ourselves!
View whilst trekking around Sagada
Old bug
written by  chrischarly on March 20, 2011 from Sagada, Philippines

Anyone want to buy our van???
Huia, New Zealand
Forest walkway
We figured that in order to be able to sell our car before flying out to Fiji that it would be best to get a WOF done which is a New Zealand version of an M.O.T. We were taking some risks by getting this done as it doesn’t run out for another month and the chances are that there are quite a few things wrong with it, but who would buy a car without one we thought. So we booked it in, kept our fingers crossed and luckily it passed after adjusting and replacing a couple of lightbulbs! So we were really happy. Now for selling the car! So we hit McDonalds to drink lots of coffee and use their free Wi-Fi and to start advertising. We then headed west to stay in another nice beachside campsite, and yes you guessed it, it rained, so we did bugger all once again. But does anyone reading this want a Toyota Estima ???
written by  chrischarly on March 12, 2012 from Huia, New Zealand

THE BIGGEST TROUT IN THE WORLD!
Kai Iwi Lakes, New Zealand
We were so excited today to get our first text about the car! So we went and found a café to sit and email them, only for it to dawn on us that this is an obvious scam. What a waste of time. Idiots.
Chris going for a swim
No other emails or phone calls for the rest of the day, but I suppose there’s still time. So we got in the car and drove for about 4 hours North of Auckland in search of a campsite and managed to find a great one alongside a beautiful lake where Chris went for a swim.
Chris' monster of a trout
After dinner he decided to try his luck at a bit of fishing although the water was Crystal clear and very shallow. I have to say that I did doubt his luck so waited behind tidying and washing up. Then just before the sun set I heard footsteps walking towards the van and was amazed to see Chris holding something huge. OMG it is a fish! The biggest trout I have ever seen and Chris was so happy it was hilarious. Shame we had just eaten, but with a bit of re-organising and pushing managed to fit it inside our chilly bin. Look forward to breakfast in the morning!
written by  chrischarly on March 13, 2012 from Kai Iwi Lakes, New Zealand

Yummy brekkie
Rawene, New Zealand
Brekkie
Chris cutting the fish into steaks
Rainbow trout and scrambled eggs… What a perfect start to the day! And there is plenty more trout for another few meals yet. Probably get sick of it by the time we’ve finished it! Spent far too long sitting in a library trying to post adverts about the car everywhere we could in the hope that someone might want it. Then we headed to a free campsite to eat yet more tasty trout, this time in a curry.
written by  chrischarly on March 14, 2012 from Rawene, New Zealand

The tip of New Zealnd
Cape Reinga, New Zealand
Chris driving on the beach
Driving on 90 mile beach
We decided to drive to the top of mainland New Zealand today and luckily the weather was nice. On the way we took the car for a quick spin on 90 mile beach before driving as far as we could to Cape Reinga and had a nice walk to the lighthouse, and whilst not the furthest point North, it was pretty close.
Coastline
Views from the lighthouse
Lighthouse walkway
Lighthouse
The view down
The top of mainland NZ
Then we found a really nice campsite, which is supposed to be the most Northern one followed by a nice walk on the beach and yes you guessed it, more trout for dinner.
written by  chrischarly on March 15, 2012 from Cape Reinga, New Zealand

Day 2 of trekking
Sagada, Philippines
Our washing
This morning we woke up and I literally couldn't move! My legs hurt so much I couldn't face getting out of bed. However, after a little attention seeking I got up after Chris rubbed my calves back to life.
Feeling optimistic and wanting to get the most out of the day again, we decided to go trekking once again, thinking a little pain didn't really hurt anyone. So, we met up with Sophie at 9am and found a lovely little cafe to have breakfast before we went on our way.
The view from our hotel in Sagada
Our early start to leave and go trekking though didn't go as planned and we made a few friends there and we chatted away the afternoon where we watched the staff make civet coffee.
watching them roast their own coffee
grinding the beans
civit coffee beans
Cat poo coffee half full
This is famous coffee all around the world and supposedly costs $50 in the USA. Wild civet cats eat the coffee plants selecting only the finest beans and the poo them out. The poo is then collected and made into coffee! It sounds pretty disgusting but Chris loved it.
Feeling guilty about not making it further than the cafe we reluctantly waited until it cooled down a little and headed off at 2pm, taking a new friend Jonjo with us as our tour-guide.
It was an exhausting yet very rewarding high up in the mountains and through a forest. Completely beetroot in the face and doubting that we would ever be white-skinned again, the heavens opened and it poured down with rain. Surprisingly though, in the middle of nowhere there was a shack built in the forest that we ran to and Jonjo pulled out some beers from inside his bag, we were secretly delighted to have the chance to cool down!
Enjoying a beer after finding shelter amazingly from the rain in the middle of nowhere!
Once the rain stopped, we made it to the viewpoint and were amazed at just how high we had climbed and the view beneath us.
Chris as usual ahead of me!
Just look how high we climbed!!!
Chris 'wowed' by the view
More rice terraces
Admiring the view
Rice terraces full after the rain
An amazing view of rice terraces
The view in the mountains
Trekking is hard, but very rewarding even though it is seriously tiring!
written by  chrischarly on March 21, 2011 from Sagada, Philippines

Nurse Chris
Te Hapua, New Zealand
Sand dunes
Beautiful beach
Beach
River inlet
I have a stinking cold, and everything aches and hurts, so Chris is busy looking after me and doing a great job of ‘playing nurse’. We headed out of our campsite and straight to another, with an equally nice beach to walk on, which we did.
written by  chrischarly on March 16, 2012 from Te Hapua, New Zealand

Purple jellyfish
Maitai Bay, New Zealand
From our campsite to the beach
Nice coastline
Jellyfish
Enjoying the camp we are in and the sunny weather, we decided to stay another day and did bugger all except another walk on the beach. We were planning on a swim but the beach was covered with purple jellyfish so decided against it, so just plain sun-worshipping it was.
written by  chrischarly on March 17, 2012 from Maitai Bay, New Zealand

Another huge storm...
Kerikeri, New Zealand
Once again we woke to pouring rain, packed up and headed out. Found refuge at a café in Keri keri and worked on our onward travel plans for a while before driving to Paihia to find a campsite with a lounge and a kitchen inside away from the weather. We found a nice one slightly outside of town and settled in for the storm.
written by  chrischarly on March 18, 2012 from Kerikeri, New Zealand

A T.V. and sofa day
Paihia, New Zealand
Relaxing from the rain
The big storm hit overnight and was very wet, we left our cool box outside and open and when we got up it had around 25cm of water inside. Glad we chose the camp we did, as the one below us on the River was flooded and everyone had to leave! We settled in front of the TV and didn’t move all day.
written by  chrischarly on March 19, 2012 from Paihia, New Zealand

Secluded Mainit
Mainit, Philippines
This morning we left Sagada to head to Mainit. It was quite a hard decision to make, as we really loved Sagada but there's just so much to see in The Philippines!
Chris squished in
A little girl, 'May' wondering what to make of the ginger man who is taking her photo
The lady wit the stick suspiciously looks a lot like yoda
To get there we had to take a jeepney to Bontoc and then we took another to Mainit. However, there was an annoyingly 4-hour wait between the two but we filled it with a long lunch.
Sophie and I
The Jeepney was planned to leave at 3pm but we got there at 2.15pm, and it was a good job as the Jeepney was pretty full with people and goods. Well at least we thought it was full, but apparently not to Filipino standards as it continued to be loaded up until 3.15pm. Once we finally got the Guinness Book of Records approval for most people, rice, veg, and beer in and on top of a Jeepney, we set off on our hour-long trip up a steep and windy mountain track.
On route, we found out that we were travelling with the owner of the two guesthouses in Mainit, and so we had our rooms sorted before arrival. We got off and carried our bags on a little track through the tin houses until finding our little tin house.
Our guest house
It was basic but had a nice view and a little pool fed from the hot springs.
The view from where we stayed
The pool outside with water fed from the hot springs, aka a bath
Our crazy land-lady Gesto
Geston, our eccentric if not better described as a little crazy host, took us through the village so we could see the hot springs and also all of the pig stys along the way adding that little extra flavour to the spring stream.
The pig stys right by the springs, with waste running down, yuck.
Children playing
You could literally feel the heat
Bubbling Hot springs
Outside our guest house
Hot springs
Mainit village
Children eating sweet potatoes freshly boiled in the hot springs
There was also two communal baths, male and female, where all the locals were happily cleaning themselves.
The women's and baby's bath
The men's bath
We returned to the guesthouse and Geston made us some rice, which we enjoyed with a selection of bread that we had picked up along the way.
Our a-la-carte meal of bread and rice... tasty...
For dessert, we had a lovely piece of Belgium chocolate thanks to Sophie and then retired early before our early start the next day to repeat it all in the opposite direction.
written by  chrischarly on March 22, 2011 from Mainit, Philippines

Severe flooding
Northland, New Zealand
Still bad weather, did nothing once again. The whole of the North Island has been hit really badly, especially where we are in [[New-Zealand/Northland]], severe flooding and roads closed everywhere. So we are stuck where we are for the time being! Which, to be fair is a good excuse for us to do nothing as no one wants to face the outdoors in this weather.
written by  chrischarly on March 20, 2012 from Northland, New Zealand

....
Paihia, New Zealand
See Tuesday 20th March!
written by  chrischarly on March 21, 2012 from Paihia, New Zealand

SUNSHINE!!
Haruru, New Zealand
Haruru Falls
View on the walk of the river
OMG, woke up to Sunshine! What a lovely Surprise! So I got straight up and took a walk down to Haruru falls which due to all the recent rain were flowing super-fast and then took a 5km walk down one on the tracks alongside the River and sea before coming back pretty exhausted as I stupidly didn’t take any water with me and although the temperature of the day was just 24 degrees the humidity was 85%. The rest of the day Chris and I didn’t do a lot, made a couple more calls to a few people to see if they would be interested in our car and chatted to some other people staying at our campsite.
written by  chrischarly on March 22, 2012 from Haruru, New Zealand

Slim Chris!
Paihia, New Zealand
Slim Chris
As it wasn’t raining again today Chris decided to head off fishing and came back empty-handed, of course! Had someone interested in the car and so came to have a look at it, but unfortunately they wanted a manual. What a pain… But check out how much weight Chris has lost! We have been carrying this T-shirt around with us since Chris' mum brought it with her to Sri Lanka and now he can finally fit into it and comfortably! So proud of him! :)
written by  chrischarly on March 23, 2012 from Paihia, New Zealand

The Eighth Wonder of the World
Banaue, Philippines
This morning we were awoken to Geston our crazy landlady loudly giving us our unrequested 6:45am wake-up-call by bursting into our rooms shouting, "it's 15 to 7, get up!” ...
That was a shock to the system at stupid-o-clock! So we grumpily got up, dressed, and made our way to take a jeepney to Bontoc at 8am in order to catch a 9am bus to Banaue. There was only one jeepney a day leaving for Bontoc and the last bus to Banaue was the one we were hoping to make it in time for and considering it takes over an hour to get there, we were cutting it fine!
The driver's seat
The jeepney from Mainit-Baguio before it fills up
The jeepney wasn't very full so although it was a bumpy ride it was relatively comfortable. We arrived in Bontoc dead on 9, jumped out the back of the jeepney to see our bus driving straight past us. Feeling gutted that we had missed it; our jeepney driver took pity on us, told us to get straight back in, and followed it to the next stop. He then parked in front of it to prevent it from leaving again so we made it! What a nice guy!
The journey to Banaue was a little over 2 hours but it was a nice change to get a comfy bus again!
Nice saw
Banaue is famous for its rice terraces and is considered to be the Eighth Wonder of the world. It truly is amazing here and the rice terraces are spectacular as they are over 2000 years old, with fantastic irrigation systems made out of bamboo, thus water can flow freely from the rivers and rain to the terraces. Even the bus journey to Banaue was spectacular!
Rice terraces
The land-slide road we're about to drive onto
A cute village
Just outside Banaue
Lush green rice terraces
And again, rice terraces
Entering Baguio- the view from the jeepney
So we got ourselves booked into a nice guesthouse with perfect views and there we chilled for the rest of the day planning our next few days and trying to get rid of hasselers that just wouldn't quit and leave you alone. Something we hadn't experience in The Philippines so far and we had forgotten just how irritating it is...
Rice terraces in Banaue - the 8th wonder of the world
Banaue village
The view from our room
written by  chrischarly on March 23, 2011 from Banaue, Philippines

A load of rain, again.
It poured and poured and poured with rain today, so we did nothing again.

11+km walk
Waitangi, New Zealand
The walkway
Chris stood by Haruru Falls
A fish and chip restaurant
Somebody else called about the car today! So we excitedly rushed around tidying it and again he wasn’t interested and instead wanted something bigger. Not long ‘till we fly out now, so better get something sorted, quick. But it was a gorgeous day today so we went on a 11+km walk on the same track as the other day but to the end to Waitangi and back the road way. Which was great and gorgeous but exhausting, then had a tasty dinner before enjoying having the campsite to ourselves once again. It’s like our own private House.
written by  chrischarly on March 25, 2012 from Waitangi, New Zealand

Another headache from trying to sell our van
A bird
A few days ago we had an offer of $1500 for our car from a dealer just down the road where we are staying. Rubbish price, but it is now low season so no one is buying and the dealer is obviously clearly aware of this so is going to hold out and sell it in a few months when it is high season again so will more than double his money. Cheeky, but understandable and if I were in his position I would do the exact same.
A load of birds on a little island
So Chris went off to go and see him this morning as it is now our last option as no one else seems interested but he wanted to check it over as well, which is a pain. He found that the brake pads are seriously worn down and the bushes which affect the suspension need replacing and he is baffled as to how they ever passed the WOF. So, of course he haggled us down even further but luckily just to $1400 before having the cheek to ask us to leave him with enough petrol so he could run around in it. Yeah right, as if that is going to happen!

Car= sold, finally!
Whangarei, New Zealand
Walkway
We actually had a busy day today! Woke up at the crack of dawn (8am) and quickly got ready and drove to Whangarei as I had a doctor’s appointment. It took about 1 ½ hours to get there and I was in and out pretty quickly. We then had to do some shopping for the Pacific Islands, which included buying a new pair of shorts and swim shorts for Chris and a pair of trousers for myself as all mine have holes in! We then went and searched out some bargain snorkels and fins as well as some reef shoes for 4 months of snorkelling and a new day bag as ours has a gaping hole in, which Chris managed to get the guy to knock $25 off (with him thinking it was $15 as he couldn’t add up properly! Haha!) Then, just time for a quick hair-cut for me before driving back to seal the deal with the car sale. When we got back, Dick the owner of the campsite we’ve been staying in said he has another friend interested in buying the car and was coming to have a look at it in 5 minutes so we hurriedly emptied and tidied the car and he came, seemed interested, left and later text us offering us just $1300 for it. No way. So Chris replied saying he wanted $1700 followed by an hour’s wait before he responded with $1500 and not a penny more. So of course, Chris tried his luck one more chance and said $1600 and we would have a deal and we were in a stalemate with him for a few hours before Chris finally caved in and accepted $1500, cash and he sorts all the paperwork. So the dealer has some bad news! Oh well, he shouldn’t have messed us around! The rest of the afternoon consisted of us unpacking the contents of the van into our backpacks, involving many items to be thrown away to make this task possible. Then, at about 9pm we had 1 text and 1 email enquiring about the car! How irritating! Why couldn’t they have just asked us earlier or yesterday! But it is done now and I have had enough thinking of this car. So much hassle and stress, time to just enjoy our last couple of days in New Zealand now before going to Fiji!
written by  chrischarly on March 27, 2012 from Whangarei, New Zealand

Hapao Rice terraces
Hungduan, Philippines
Me and our tricycle driver
This morning we went to Hapao to see more rice terraces. These are supposed to be the best in the area at this time of year as they were 100% green. To get there we took a tricycle and the bumpy journey took a little over an hour. We had supposedly paid for a tour guide but once we got there the driver just pointed us in the direction and said, 'Enjoy!' so we found our own way around.
Rice terraces
This probably was for the best as we could make our way and daudle along at our own pace.
Fantasic views
Unfortunately the weather wasn't great and not far along the walk it started to pour down with rain. It was great to walk amongnst the terraces and we had the place completely to ourselves.
Cable system for taking goods and people, across
The Hapao rice terraces
Enjoying the view
Hungduan rice terrace sign
Hapao rice terraces
More rice terraces
More rice
Rice
Rice terrace adventurers
River running through and watering the terraces
View from the terraces
Is she lost ?
Luscious green terraces
Yes more rice!
Tour guide Charly finding the way
The steps up from the rice terraces
Nice view walking in the terraces
Rice Terraces
A river through terraces
After around 2 hours we took the steep walk back and headed back to our hotel. As it had been raining though the road was really bad and as most of it was made out of mud due to recent landslides we got stuck countless times and had to get out and walk. Chris even had to push it a few times.
The road which we got stuck on
The Tricycle stuck in the mud
Local taxi
So by the time we got back we were filthy and very wet! We were glad we had booked our room for an extra half day so we could get showered before our long but journey.
So for the rest of the day we met up with a couple of friends and at 8pm we took another tricycle to catch the bus.
We had paid a little extra to get a luxury bus to Manila as it was 10 hours long and over-night, but the driver was truly a selfish idiot. Throughout the night he kept switching the air-conditioning on and off, on and off despite people coming up and complaining and it was FREEZING! At 2am he also got a little bored and whilst we were trying to sleep he decided to put a CD on loud! I got so annoyed, I found his CD player and switched it off, but two hours later he worked out how to overcome this and started playing the radio... It was a very long night!
written by  chrischarly on March 24, 2011 from Hungduan, Philippines

Hello Public Transport and Bye Down Under Blog...
Auckland, New Zealand
On the bus to Auckland
Did a final tidy-up of the car and packed the rest of things before Rick came at 11am to collect his new car and give us $1500 cash. Will miss that little car! Katie, the manager of the campsite we were staying in kindly gave us a lift to the bus stop for our 4 hour journey to Auckland to meet up with Sam, a girl we met travelling in Borneo. The bus journey was pretty painless but no chance to keep yourself occupied reading books as he drove too fast around the tight corners so I felt a little sick. When we arrived in Auckland it was a bit of shock as it was pretty chaotic and busy as it was the last of rush-hour but we found a bus pretty easily to Sam’s although we did get off a couple of stops too early as Chris was a little keen. Then, just a short walk to Sam’s where we were delighted to take off our heavy backpacks as they are so crammed full of stuff and we are just not used to carrying them anymore! After a quick catch up with Sam we went for a few drinks at her local before eating some tasty food at a Mexican down the road before retiring to bed at 10pm as she unfortunately had to get up early for work. Super-comfy bed and it was nice to not shiver to sleep! This is the end now of ‘Chris and Charly Down Under’ as we are off to Fiji tomorrow for some much-needed Sunshine!
written by  chrischarly on March 28, 2012 from Auckland, New Zealand

Tired us from travelling
Cabanatuan, Philippines
We finally arrived in Manila at around 6am, a little later than scheduled due to some major road works on the way, but then we weren't in any rush.
Although the bus driver was an idiot throughout the journey, he did kindly drop us off right at the bus terminal which was a little out of his way. So it was in fact really easy!
We were also in luck that a bus was leaving for Batangus Pier as soon as we arrived so from one bus to another in a couple of minutes.
The journey wasn't too long, around 2 hours and it dropped us off just outside the pier, which reminded us more of an aiport with all its security and regulations.
The boat to Puerto Galera
There were many boats to choose from with twice as many sellers trying to infuence you which ticket to purchase. We took pot luck and selected the once with that was supposedly leaving first (which it didn't).
Us knackered on our last leg
On the boat
Once on the boat, all the locals put on life jackets that we thought to be unnecessary and annoying, but the journey was very choppy and a little scary with the engine breaking down on numerous occasions.
Unhappy about wearing life jackets
The Ferry dropped us off on White Beach which was hectic and very loud so after a drink we quickly caught a tricycle and escaped and found a secluded beach and resort a few Miles out of town.
written by  chrischarly on March 25, 2011 from Cabanatuan, Philippines

Meeting some crazy Brits abroad...
Manila, Philippines
Chillaxing reading a book
Today we decided to have a nice chilled out day doing some reading and relaxing. The reason why we chose this beach was due to it being a lot quieter than the beach 5km away.
Guess who Chris loves more??
However, then some other Brits checked in, Zack, Skippy and Shaun... We soon realised that peace and quiet were not on the agenda for them!So we hung out with them until the early hours at our hotel.
written by  chrischarly on March 26, 2011 from Manila, Philippines

My new Tattoo!!!
Batangas, Philippines
Wow today was certainly crazy!!! Having enjoyed our new frinds company last night, they persuaded us to go to White Beach with them for a pizza... To get there I had to overcome my phobia of going on a motorbike ever since falling off my own 5 years ago, and jump on the back of one of theirs, it sure was scary! But we both thankfully made it in one piece! The plan was to meet them in 1 hour at an Italian but 3 hours later we were still waiting! Eventually they called us to say they had lost one of their friends and were waiting for him in a bar down the road, so we went to join them for a quick drink but that was where we stayed... all night! It was definately fun, but the pictures tell the Story better...
Skippy, Zack and Chris
Chris and I with our new friends
Chris dared me to get a tattoo with his name on my neck... so I did!
Showing everyone my new look
Chris loving my new tattoo
Chris a little tipsy
Chris unable to cope anymore
P.S...
It's only henna Mum. Don't worry!
written by  chrischarly on March 27, 2011 from Batangas, Philippines

Recovering...
Puerto Galera, Philippines
The view from our place
This morning we both felt a little tender so we woke up early to say goodby to Zack and Skippy, (Shaun somehow went home last night??) and at 8am found them wide awake starting the day agin with a beer! How they do it we don't know!
Chris trying repeatedly to ring his mum to wish her a happy birthday
We went back to bed for a couple of hours, then watched a film before finally making it out of bed to get our pizza we were supposed to have 24 hours ago..
Eating authentic Filipino cusine
The day was pretty uneventful apart from that...
written by  chrischarly on March 28, 2011 from Puerto Galera, Philippines

A day of walking and exploring the lovely beaches around
Puerto Galera, Philippines
Happily taking a stroll
Today we went for a lovely walk along the 3 beaches around here.
A river crossing on the beach
Our beach
To get there we had to do a Little Rock climbing and running to avoid some big waves!
Some of the rocks we climbed over
Chris climbing on the rocks
Clambering over rocks
Upset that I just grazed my knee
It was a lovely but challenging at times walk.
A log that looks suspiciously like a crocodile
Walking along the beach
The view of white beach on the rocks
White Beach
When we got back to our resort they were amazed we made it, saying it was pretty dangerous, but we were blissfully unaware. Maybe the trekking and walking we've done recently has done us some good?! Chris' clothes hardly fit him anymore they are so big!
Wearing our head torces and a candle due to a power cut
written by  chrischarly on March 29, 2011 from Puerto Galera, Philippines

A productive day...
Puerto Galera, Philippines
Walking back quickly as rain looks on its way
As it is our last full day we decided to make it as productive as possible. It was really windy today so a perfect day for drying our clothes. We must've washed our whole, albeit small, wardrobe. Then Chris trained me on how to sew better, it's amazing how quickly our clothes etc. get ruined whilst you are away as you use them all the time.
Being all demesticated and sewing up our day bag
Then we went for a walk along the gorgeous beach one last time.
A dog swimming up to a boat desperate to get in
The dog safely on the boat
written by  chrischarly on March 30, 2011 from Puerto Galera, Philippines

Last day in The Philippines
Manila, Philippines
One last look back at Mindoro
One last look at where we were staying
This morning we woke up early, packed and had our last Filipino breakfast before taking a walk to the Ferry back to Batangus.
Our ferry to the mainland
It was a lot smaller than the one we caught over and the sea was pretty rough making us instantly regret breakfast.
Chris and Jiri on the ferry
Chris and I on the ferry
I forgot to say previously, that on the way over to Puerto Galera, there were loads of dolphins swimming next to our boat but they were far too quick for a photo unfortunately. Once we got to the pier, many locals advised us that there weren’t any more buses to go back to Manila for the rest of day. Usually Filipinos are trustworthy so we almost believed them and took an extortionate taxi, but refusing to pay the prices quoted to us, we decided to search for a bus ourselves and just around the corner, there must’ve been about 20 waiting to go. Why do people lie all the friggin’ time?! It’s so irritating, especially when you start trusting people! Anyway, so we got onto the bus and it was nice as it was almost empty. However, half way to Manila it broke down and our bus conductor had to stop another bus to take us.
Waiting for another bus to arrive
Our bus conductor flagging down another bus for us
Once we arrived in Manila, it was just a short taxi ride to the airport and a 4 hour wait for our flight back to Kuala-Lumpur at 9pm where we bizarrely bumped into a few people we know!..
written by  chrischarly on March 31, 2011 from Manila, Philippines

2 ferries, 4 buses, 2 flights, 1 taxi and a great deal of walking
Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
Chris showing me where we are going
The view of Manila at night
Chris enjoying his extra leg room seats to himself
Me peeking through at Chris
Our flight left on time for KL and once there we had a 7 hour wait for our next flight to Johor Bahru near Singapore. Although the flights were really cheap it would’ve better in hindsight to just catch a bus as there would’ve been less waiting around as the flight was only 45 minutes long.
A very sleepy Chris and Charly on our 45min flight
Transport as usual was easy, we got straight onto one bus, which took us to another and then a Ferry across to Tioman Island.
Chris stood outside our bus in Johor Bhuru
The ferry we took from Mersing to Tioman Island
Our first sighting of Tioman off the ferry
We are amazed just how hot Malaysia is now as walking around finding accommodation was hard, sweaty work but we did find a bargain room for around £8 a night. Then after taking 2 ferries, 4 buses, 2 flights, 1 taxi and a great deal of walking we could finally relax and get a little sleep!
written by  chrischarly on April 1, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

Beautiful Tioman Island
Johor Bahru, Malaysia
We were still pretty tired after travelling so today we didn’t do a great deal apart from going on a nice walk the whole length of the beach. Tioman Island is really beautiful with clear gorgeous blue sea and loads of wildlife. We saw many monkeys, which look like they have beards,
Monkeys running away from us
Monkeys and one in the background drinking beer??
A very hairy monkey
A monkey climbing a palm tree
A monkey which looks like it's about to sneeze
Monkeys
a few water monitor lizards,
Monitor Lizard on the Beach
Monitor Lizard on the Beach eating something
Monitor Lizard in our Garden
A tiny baby monitor lizard
A litte monitor lizard
lots of birds, and there’s apparently 26 different species of snakes, which thankfully we haven’t come across yet.
written by  chrischarly on April 2, 2011 from Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Snorkelling for 4 ½ hours
Mersing, Malaysia
ABC Beach
Yesterday we made a new friend called Rob who is a scuba diver instructor. Although neither Chris nor I quite have the courage for scuba, yet we went out snorkelling and Rob said he would show us around and come with us. It was great actually; as he spotted some things that, we would’ve never seen and taught us a lot about different species of fish and coral.
Tioman Beach
I wish we could remember everything we have seen, but here is some of the things, a huge parrot fish that was about the same size as me, 3 blue spotted stingrays, a dead shark, thousands of beautiful sea urchins, lots of nemo fish, bat fish, angel fish, loads of soft and hard corals, a couple of crisp packets, 1 plastic fork and a million other amazing creatures! We didn’t realise just how long we had been out, as when we came back I realised that my legs were pretty sore and burnt and it had been 4 ½ hours since we left the beach! A long swim but fantastic!
written by  chrischarly on April 3, 2011 from Mersing, Malaysia

A very long walk to tekek
Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia
Rob and I walking
Today we decided to go for a walk to the next beach along from ABC beach, which we are staying on to Tekek.
Tekek beach
We thought it really wouldn’t be that far but it was about 3 Miles away and it was blisteringly hot so it was hard work! Tekek is the main place where you can buy supplies and duty free but apart from that there isn’t much to see.
Tekek marina
However, we did manage to buy some bread that isn’t full of sugar and some brie and Camembert so the walk was definitely justified!
The airport run way
A plane about to land
A plane landing in Tekek
By the time we walked back, we were exhausted and thankful that we wore hats and sun cream and enjoyed a few gin and tonics and some music with Rob on his balcony.
written by  chrischarly on April 4, 2011 from Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia

A nothingness day
Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia
Me taking in the scenery
We had a great relaxing day today taking a nice long walk along the beach and just appreciating just how beautiful this island truly is.
My delicious boyfriend!
Chris in fact doesn't ever want to leave it is that chilled and idyllic here!
written by  chrischarly on April 5, 2011 from Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia

Another last day of snorkelling
Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia
A house which looks like it's collapsed
Today is our last full day on Tioman Island so we decided to make the most of it and go snorkelling one last time. It wasn't however as enjoyable as the previous trip as there were lots of stinging plankton in the water which is apperently unpredictable and changes with the tides so we didn't as much time as we did before.
The river outside our place
We swam to a marine park another beach along and this is where they feed some of the fish. It is basically a tourist attraction for non-swimmers with life jackets, but we decided to go along as well. So, you swim into it and there are lifeguards throwing bread into the water whilst you are swimming. It was actually pretty good as it was just like being in a huge fish tank. However there was one lone barracuda in amongst the other fish- which wasn't supposed to be there which was a little scary!
A tioman bird
written by  chrischarly on April 6, 2011 from Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia

Back once again to KL
Today we sadly left Tioman Island and went back to Kuala-Lumpur in preparation for the Grand Prix. Travelling was easy but took some time and arrived in a huge thunderstorm and then headed out to the city to a bar with fantastic views of the city...
written by  chrischarly on April 7, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Chilling in KL
Today was the practice day of The Grand Prix but we decided to miss it and instead sort out our visas for Vietnam and Indonesia. However this was a little more difficult than expected so intead we achieved virtually nothing all day and went out for dinner in the evening with a group of guys from the U.K we met.
Chris helping the lamb kebab chef
written by  chrischarly on April 8, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Qualifying
Sepang, Malaysia
After taking a lazy day Friday, we decided we would head down to watch the GP qualifying with our new friends, seven 50 year old blokes from UK out for a beano.
We took the Monorail to Sentral where we picked up the Air Asia Skybus special to the Sepang circuit. The trip was pretty easy and we were entertained by our friends team T-Shirts that had Malasian GP (spelt incorrectly) on the back - Oops !
On arrival we we advised that no food or drink could enter, so downed a couple of litres of water before going in. We found out that this was a way to make you buy the overpriced rubbish they had inside. Or in our case, how we could come up with ideas to smuggle in the next day.
Charly enjoying the zoom zoom
At the main enterance we left our new friends to head around the other side of the track to our stand, this was trickier than expected as there was no direction or signs on where the shuttle buses run from, after asking, and getting blank expressions, from about 6 people who apparently worked there, we found our own way.
The stand had a good view of a number of corners and first on was Malaysian Super Series - a mixture of cars ranging from Ferraris, Lambos, Astons, Porches plus a random mix that even inclued a Fiat 500 Arbath, much to Charly's pleasure !! It was a 10 lap race that consisted of a car stalling at the start, another rear ending it, 7 laps with the safety car then 3 where one Lambo and one Porche had a little race of there own.
Little accident in the Super Series
After that we had a short break then the GP qualifying. That was when we really understood the necessity of the earplugs as the noise was intense. Unfortunately we only had one pair and I wore the noise reducing headphones, that are not made to reduce such loudness, but did manage to cut down the bleeding from my eardrums.
All in all it was pretty predictable, and Vettel cruised into Pole.
After, we headed back to the city which took about 2.5 hours and was very hungry so went straight out to food street and visited our favourite Chinese, yummy !
GP tomorrow, bring it on !
written by  chrischarly on April 9, 2011 from Sepang, Malaysia

GP day!
Sepang, Malaysia
After a night of trying to sleep with ringing ears, we awoke, got ready and met the team to head to the circuit. On the way there we devised our smuggling plans to get some water and food in, due to the poor security we didn't have to try too hard, and really only needed a sacrificial bottle filled with tap water to give them a sense they had found and confiscated illegal contriband. However, Charly still insisted in putting a banana down the back of her trousers just in case !?
Camera heli coming back in
Heli
Another cheesy C and C photo
We saw the second Super Series race, which was slightly better than the first and then the JK series which were smaller Formula cars, pretty average. We did find out that we could pick up radio on my phone so we could listen to the Circuit Radio station, pretty useful to work out what was going on. Another way to find out what was going on, was to take a photo of the TV screen and zoom in, especially useful during the F1 race.
How we worked out what was going on in GP - zoom zoom !
All the flags before the race
Grass hill stand
Nice circuit view from the heli
Starting grid before the race
Zoom Zoom
Zoom Zoom Zoom
The race was pretty predictable, and we were hoping for rain to mix it up a bit. All in all an awesome experience to see it, hear it and get the great atmosphere.
Zoom
Vettel on victory lap
From our stand at the GP
After the race we decided we would try and walk back to meet the guys at the main entrance, which was a bit of a mission taking an hour up and down hills, the whole way we saw no shuttle buses, and then just before the end realised why, when we saw them all parked up not being used !
All the shuttle buses parked up, thanks !
We met the guys, got some pics at the entrance then headed over the where there was a free concert by some Asian superstar called Rain, we entered and immediatly where given vouchers for a free Chivas Regal and Coke in return for contact details. Don't worry we didn't use all our friends !:-) We did however work out that we could exit, rip off our wrist band, and re-enter to get more tickets. I figured that they wouldn't notice the 6ft, ginger big bloke keep coming in and I was right, making 3 circuits, twice with 2 tickets (one for Milko). The free whisky passed the time and we watched a beauty contest and they kept promising Rain, but as per the race, it/he never came, so we all got bored and decided to head back.
At the GP entrance with the gang!
Concert stage at GP
Stuck up bueaty contest runner up
At the free Chivas area after the GP
When we got back, we took the gang out for a very late Chinese at 12:30am (yes same place) and enjoyed a few beers.
Chris helping the lamb kebab chef
Enjoying our favourite Chinese after the GP
All in all, a great day !
written by  chrischarly on April 10, 2011 from Sepang, Malaysia

The King of Fruit
Night market in KL
Carrot cake stir fry - strange but nice
Food on a stick, boil, fry or grill all in a custom built truck
This evening the owner of the guest House we are staying at, Christine took us to a night market.
Charly and Christina at night market
Food, food and more food, Chris was happy !
It was great and Chris was in his element trying all the tasty treats Christine advised us to try.
Genius food van - would it work in UK ?
Fresh Fruit Juice at the Night Market
Quail eggs on a stick - genius !
Food stand at night market - yummy !
Yummy peanut pancakes at the night market
Then after we were all stuffed she took us to a durian restaurant where we got to try something completely different.
Lots of stinky Durian Fruit
L-R Anna, Eva, Me and Chris eating durian
Charly and Eva enjoying some Durian
Durian is called the 'king of fruits' renowned for smelly foul but tasty delicious! It is hard to describe the small, almost like gas I suppose, but locals around Asia love it! It is like their drug. Once you are their for a while you kind of ignore the smell and it isn't that bad and to us it tasted like creamy leeks and very rich.
Chris at the stinky Durian Fruit shop
Durian rubbish
Then again it really isn't that bad as they say our blue cheese smells a great deal worse and I suppose I agree with them.
written by  chrischarly on April 11, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Cheap £4 a night accomodation
Kuantan, Malaysia
Our KL to Kuantan bus
Mosque in Kuantan
On the bus to Cherating from Kuantan
Today we left KL and headed to Cherating with lovely beaches, chilled atmosphere and seiously cheap rooms for £4 a night. Bargain! Admittedly they aren't the nicest and with shared bathrooms but it's clean enough!
written by  chrischarly on April 12, 2011 from Kuantan, Malaysia

Bed Bugs!
Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia
Our place
Our guesthouse in Cherating
After a shocking night's sleep constantly itching, we checked under our sheets and found many bed bugs stains on the mattress! So we went and spoke to the owners and kindly they moved us to another room a little nicer for the same price without any itchy friends in the bed. I suppose we can just consider ourselves lucky that we haven't come accross them sooner on our travels, or maybe we have but just never noticed and written them off as mosquitoes.
Ours is first left
The chalets in Cherating
We then spent the day on the beach at a cute beach bar completely chilled.
written by  chrischarly on April 13, 2011 from Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia

Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia
'Don't Tell Mama's' Beach bar
Chilling and reading
James and Harry playing pool
Nothing entirely memorable happened today but it was roastingly hot, so a good excuse to spend the day in a beach bar!
written by  chrischarly on April 14, 2011 from Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia

And another chill day on the beach and in the sea
Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia
Chis and James far out but still not deep
An evil looking cat called one foot
The dog that followed us home
Chris' shadow and a motorbike on the beach
Full after our dinner
Our last day on Cherting beach so once again we made the most of it and enjoying the sunshine and the marathon walk out to deep water.
written by  chrischarly on April 15, 2011 from Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia

To yet another island...
Marang, Malaysia
This morning we met up with Graham, Harry, and James our new travelling buddies for the next week and left Cherating to go to Kapas Island, where we are hoping to swim with sharks!
Us in the car from Cherating to Merang
To get there we took a car to Marang and then a Ferry across.
Graham, Harry and James
Getting wet on the boat
The island looked a little like a smaller version of Tioman. Once there Chris and Graham left Harry and James and myself in a restaurant whilst they went searching for some accommodation. Of course, they took about 2 hours longer than they should've stopping for obligatory beers along the way. They found us a lovely little place right on the beach just a little over budget but worth it, and straight away we found some snorkelling gear and headed off to enjoy the lovely warm water!..
written by  chrischarly on April 16, 2011 from Marang, Malaysia

Snorkelling but so far no sharks...
Pulau Kapas, Malaysia
The beach where we snorkelled
This morning we woke up and walked 2 beaches away apparently with the best snorkelling. And to be fair it sure was fantastic, with some amazing coral and fishies. Ther are supposed to be loads of ssharks swimming around and we are desperate to see one, if not more, but as yet our luck hasn't been with us. Everyone else that seems to be going out finds at least one, but not us just yet!..
All smiles after snorkelling
written by  chrischarly on April 17, 2011 from Pulau Kapas, Malaysia

Poorly Chris
Pulau Kapas, Malaysia
Poor Chris woke up today with bad stomach cramps, so we didn't do a great deal today as I wouldn't let him go in the sun or sea whilst he wasn't feeling well. So we instead chilled and read books whilst dosing Chris up with the tasty rehydration sachets listening jealously to all the tales once again of people seeing many sharks, but not us :(
The view
But then again, I can think of worse places to be chilling and reading!
written by  chrischarly on April 18, 2011 from Pulau Kapas, Malaysia

A 6 or 7ft shark!!
Pulau Kapas, Malaysia
Nice sunset from our beach on Kapas
Our lovely beach
More Kapas Beaches
Today Chris was feeling a lot better so we went out snorkelling again determined this time to see a shark... We were in fact in luck and we managed to see the back of one swimming away from us! Unfortunately, we never got the chance to see its face but it was unquestionably a shark either way! But it was so quick so we didn't have time to be scared, just happy that we had finally seen one; even if it was just its tail!
written by  chrischarly on April 19, 2011 from Pulau Kapas, Malaysia

Bye Kapas
Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
Another amazing Kapas beach
Our private beach on Kapas Island
This morning we woke up, packed, and took the Ferry back to Marang before catching a bus to Terengganu before catching another bus to Kota Baharu.
Leaving lovely Kapas
El' Capitano
Clear water just off our beach
Gemas Island off Kapas
We decided to go to Kota Baharu to get on the jungle railway the next morning, even though we would be flying straight back up there in a few days when we have met Haze, Neil, and Reggie. Then again, it seems we just love travelling around everywhere, and by looking at the map of Malaysia that we have travelled so far on this blog; it seems like going in circles seems to be our preferred route!
written by  chrischarly on April 20, 2011 from Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

The Jungle Railway
Kota Baharu, Malaysia
Here it comes
All over the internet everyone had raved about 'The Jungle Railway' that you can take from Kota Baharu straight through to Singapore, including many travellers who claimed it was the highlight of their trip to Malaysia, so we were determined not to miss out!
Charly waiting for the train
So we woke up at stupid-o-clock and caught a taxi to the train station. We decided not to go all the way to Singapore though as it would've been pointless and get off at Gemas as we would have gone through Taman Negara already which is the famous jungle in Malaysia.
On the Jungle Railway
It was a 10-hour journey but to be honest was an anti-climax; very over-rated! Pretty much all you could see was dense forest and yes, it was luscious green everywhere, but that was pretty much it and we did get a little bored and as everyone except us slept pretty much the whole way, we think they felt the same!
Another rock in the jungle
Another brown river
A bug that chased Charly
Nice brown jungle river
More jungle from the train
Nice view from train
The jungle view from the train
Once we arrived in Gemas, we had to take another train to Tampin.
A nice simple map of Malaysian penninsula
This wasn’t a long journey but I did however manage to break a new flat screen T.V by putting on my backpack whilst leaving managing to co-inside with the same time the train decides to break, so I fell backwards on to it hearing a loud, 'POP' sound. "Oops" was all I managed to say in response and myself and Chris quickly jumped off the train and ran around the corner! After a speedy 10-minute walk to find a bus to take us to Melaka, we got on easily and without hassle on an ultra-cheap local bus ride. However, things obviously weren't going to be that easy as half way the bus driver chucked us and the 3 other passengers off the bus in the middle of nowhere at a bus stand saying the bus wasn't full enough for him to continue, so he was going home! We couldn't exactly do much about that so we did as he asked and waited for another! Around 20 minutes later another local bus did arrive and we were so pleased to arrive in Melaka, but not where we hoped it would drop us, so after looking for yet another bus, we gave up and paid for a taxi. Accommodation wasn't cheap and after looking around a few, we chose to splash out and stay in one for £10 a night, which is in fact luxury for 2 nights, and with air-con! Then finally, after 14 hours of travelling we went exploring around Melaka.
written by  chrischarly on April 21, 2011 from Kota Baharu, Malaysia

Exploring around Malaka
Melaka, Malaysia
Today we went sight seeing around Melaka.
Old Portuguese ship
A Famosa Fort
Chris showing off his cannon
Not sure what she's trying to do here ?!
A' Famosa in Melaka
Christ Church since 1753
Funky rickshaws
Our lovely guesthouse
She was late to setup, but pushed through the crowds
Jonkers Walk
And Chris finally decided to get his hair cut!
Chris after his haircut - nice look !
Good Friday celebrations in Melaka
Melaka at night
Famous Jonkers walk in World Heritage city Melaka
written by  chrischarly on April 22, 2011 from Melaka, Malaysia

And back once again to KL
Today we headed back to KL to stay over just one night before we go and meet the others and the airport tomorrow morning!! We are so excited about seeing them, we cannot wait!! So we just spent another night in KL wandering the streets...
Chris wondering what is between his legs ?
Chris and Charly strage shadows

Seeing Hazey, Neil and Reggie again... YAY!!
Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
OMG we woke up so excited this morning; me especially could hardly contain myself, I was that excited!! We woke up bright and early and caught the monorail into Sentral where we caught a bus to the airport. It was quite a long journey at that time of the morning, but we could hardly complain as the other had been travelling for practically forever to get here. We arrived just as Reggie got off the plane and after a BIG hugs and blocking everyone else from getting out Haze and Neil weren't far behind to deafen the crowds and KLIA with shreaking. We then caught a bus to the other airport about an hour away in preparation for our next flight to Kota Baharu- even though we have only just left there.
Neil, Chris and Reggie
Haze is obviously very excited to see me!
Then after an hour's flight we then did the same in a taxi to catch a Ferry to Perhentian Islands!
The ferry
Neil, Chris and I
Me, Daisy and Reggie on the ferry
We found our accomodation relatively easily which is set back away from the noisy beach but is to be fair, a mission to hike up with your bags and chatted the night away...
Our huts
Our balcony
Haze's first Malaysian dish
written by  chrischarly on April 24, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

A lovely day on the beach
Kota Baharu, Malaysia
One of the many anchors on the beach designed to trip you up
This morning Chris woke up before 7am and was so excited to have everyone with us he was like a little boy!.. Thus it took a great deal of persuasion to stop him from waking the others. Neil however wasn't so lucky as Chris snuck off and started banging on his door dragging him down to the beach for an early morning swim.
Perhentian Island
The gorgeous beach
We got Haze and Reggie up at about 10am and then we all had breakfast and headed to the beach for the day finding a lovely shaded spot to base ourselves before splashing in the sea and taking Haze snorkelling for the first time.
The lovely sea
Shade
Yet us girls weren't as lucky enough to find sharks as the boys were!.. Plenty of time left though and an awesome snorkelling trip we are planning for a couple of days time!
written by  chrischarly on April 25, 2011 from Kota Baharu, Malaysia

Beach Party
Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
Table and chairs on the beach
Today we spent the day on the beach again, snorkelling, swiming and Haze of course sun-worshipping, and then went back up to our resort to chill out, drink beer and gin before heading back down to the beach for a beach party!
The beach bar
It certainly was a late night, ladies got free drinks which of course was a bonus even though they were pretty strong and not that nice. But it was quite entertaining especailly when the bar got raided by local poilce officers stealing all the alcohol.
Haze, me and Chris
Fire dance
Reggie
Chris and Neil
Yet 30 minutes later they miraculously found a lot more beer and spirits stashed away somewhere!
Monkey juice!!
The monkey drinking monkey juice
The boys drank monkey juice which are served in buckets (that are traditionally used to make sand-castles) which is a whole bottle of rum with a can of lemonade.
Love is in the air??
4 monkey buckets later it was 4am and Chris decided to go for a late night swim resulting in me wrestling him on the beach the whole way down...
The night ended hazily at around 5am somehow back at the hotel... Good and messy night!
written by  chrischarly on April 26, 2011 from Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

The day after...
Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
The morning after...
Although the plan was to go on the snorkelling trip today, none of us actually felt up to it understandably, so we decided to hit the beach again and have a chill day...
Chris getting ready for a swim
Haze laughing at Chris
The walk down
Contemplating going in...
Chris finally making it to the sea
A romantic milkshake for 2
A restaurant on the beach
Chris laughing
Chris laughing even more!
Neil looking good
Nel looking like he's just been slapped in the face
Chris seriously enjoying his snickers milkshake
Eating out- Haze as usual laughing at Chris
written by  chrischarly on April 27, 2011 from Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

Snorkelling in Perhentian, or not !
Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
A ghecko with it's tail missing
We woke up bright and early and had breakfast at our hotel before picking out snorkels and fins for our snorkelling trip. We were all really excited about the prospect of seeing both sharks and turtles as they are pretty much guaranteed so hurried to get ready. However, just as I left our hut with Chris just slightly ahead, I somehow managed to slip backwards as I was wearing my stupid croc flip-flops that have zero grip and I should've binned them both ago. I'm unsure exactly how I managed it, but as I was falling backwards I managed to rip a huge chunk out of my knee even though I landed on my bum?? All I could feel was excruciating pain and I started screaming especially when I looked down to see blood everywhere and fat hanging out of the sides with leaves, dirt, sand and stones buried deep inside. Neil, Haze, and Reggie weren't in any rush to come over, as they said that when they heard me screaming they just thought it was Chris winding me up!
Obviously, I needed to get it cleaned and stitched up, so the guy we were supposed to go snorkelling with called a water taxi to take me to the other side of the island to go to the clinic. The guys thought it would be really funny if they put me in a wheelbarrow to transport me to the beach but I wasn't convinced it would be the best plan. So with Chris on one side and an Aussie friend Dave on the other side, they helped me hop down to the beach leaving a lovely train of blood behind me. The water taxi guy was in fact really nice and pulled the boat right out of the water for me so I wouldn't get wet, and tried to make jokes with me the whole way, which was about 10 minutes away although it did feel like forever. Bless Haze, she refused to go snorkelling and instead wanted to stay with me, but I managed to persuade Neil and Reggie to go.
Someone must've rang ahead as when I got off the boat and to the jetty there was another wheel-barrow waiting for me although I still hadn't plucked up the courage to go in it. The clinic was empty which to be fair isn't surprising as it's a tiny island and to be fair I swear it is a lot cleaner than anything you would get back in the U.K and the staff were really friendly.
A baby monitor lizard
As soon as I got in, they laid me down onto the bed and started taking the bigger things out of my knee, whilst I had Chris on my right and Haze on my left squeezing the life out of their hands. The nurse kicked Chris, the doctor and the water taxi driver out of the room whilst she gave me a tetanus jab in my bum. Chris used this as a perfect opportunity to go outside and have a cigarette as I think deep down he couldn't take much more. The taxi driver was also the same; throughout my time there he acted as a translator for us and the clinic staff and helped pin my feet down and it would've been a great deal harder if he weren't there, but he kept having to run out of the room, as he kept turning green. However, he did find it very amusing as did everyone else to hear my constantly swearing as they must never have heard a woman swear before as they kept giggling like little girls!
Palm trees
Eventually they got me cleaned up and although I kept begging for a general anaesthetic, they gave me a local one. I was feeling optimistic and thought that it would be just the same as the previous injection they gave me, but I was wrong. The local anaesthetic was probably more painful than cutting my knee open in the first place! I swear I screamed the whole of Perhentian Islands down, I have never felt anything like it as it's supposed to be a pain killer! Then then had to stitch me up, 7 in total, but at least there wasn't any pain, but the feeling was still really weird, I just wanted to throw up everywhere! Then finally, it was all over once they bandaged me up. I then had to sign a declaration to say that I am willing to let them operate on me and stitch me up, a little late now though. Then they gave me some hard-core painkillers to use only when the pain is unbearable, and only for 3 days, no idea what they were, but they worked, 8 anti-biotics to take a day, anti-inflammatories, iodine, bandages and some gauze pads. All this for 15 ringgit, which is £3! That includes all the treatment, stitches injections and everything! We were expecting to pay a fortune! Not even worth claiming on my travel insurance! The three of us then went outside and waited for Neil and Reggie to arrive for their lunch from their snorkelling trip and we were right near to their stop.
Haze and Reggie when they were out snorkelling
Haze
Hazey and Reggie snorkelling
I then managed to persuade Haze to go and join them for the last little bit so she didn't completely miss out, so Chris and I went back to our resort and I passed out on the sofa in the bar...
Charly after her traumatic day !
Even though these aren't our photos from snorkelling, it was our camera bag and this is what the others saw...
Turtle!!
A turtle!!
Coral
Fish
Sharks!!
Fishies
Clams
Underwater
So anyway...
If you are squeamish it would be best if you didn't look any further down this blog entry as there are photos which Haze dedicatedly took whilst my leg was been stitched up etc. But for those of you who like a bit of gore...
Jus after falling over
At the clinic
Cleaning it
Putting the stitches in
One I'd been stitched up
Me high off any the drugs they gave me
written by  chrischarly on April 28, 2011 from Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

Delayed...
Kota Baharu, Malaysia
A tractor on the beach??
Chris' little friend
Monkey guiding the boat
Monkey gathering the rope together
Monkey lifting the engine
The monkey pulling the boat in
This morning we sadly had to leave the Perhentians and catch the Ferry back to the mainland before taking an hour's taxi ride to Kota Baharu to catch a flight to Penang.
The reason why we decided to fly was to save time, yet as the flight was delayed by 3 ½ hours it really wouldn’t have made much difference. Then again, you cannot really expect these kind of things.
So we all just chilled out in the airport; Neil bringing out his 7-in-1 board games he brought in Heathrow on the way over and competitively played Ludo until we were called.
Once in Penang we already had somewhere booked and had a stroll around in the evening ending up in a delicious Chinese restaurant.
Hazey and I
written by  chrischarly on April 29, 2011 from Kota Baharu, Malaysia

A stroll around Penang...
George Town, Malaysia
Today we decided to make the most of our day by eating our way slowly around George Town in Penang tasting all of the tasty treats this city has to offer.
Chicken and Egg Roti
First we took a stroll around Little India...
Budhist Temple
Then we went to an Old Mansion which Chris, Neil and Haze wandered about whilst Reggie and I chilled at the bottom not wanting to face all the stairs...
Neil diving on the antique bed in the Chinese Mansion
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We then went to Fort Cornwallis!
In the evening we found a British pub where had a couple of drinks (soft drinks for me unfortunately) and chatted the night away.
written by  chrischarly on April 30, 2011 from George Town, Malaysia

From Backpackers-Flashpackers
Taiping, Malaysia
Ever since we have met up with Haze, Neil and Reggie it is as if we have been morphed it Flashpackers aka, no longer on a strict, tight budget. You would be amazed at just how much money we have spent being with them! Soon, we will forget our backpacking routes and want to live they high life again as we are getting far too comfortable and used to it! Today Chris and Neil woke up bright and early to pick up a lush 7-seater hire car to drive to take a slow drive to Taiping in preparation to go to the night zoo in the evening. Taiping really isn't geared up for tourists and we were throughout our stay there the only Westerners we saw.
We did manage to find a hotel eventually after looking at some seriously run-down places and managed to get one with quite a nice view of the city. We then went out for something to eat and ate amongst the locals at a very rustic restaurant. At 8pm we left and made our way to the night zoo and the lady behind the counter was so happy to see us there that she literally screamed in excitement, 'Where you from?!' The zoo was really cheap and included within the price was a train ride around the whole park, which as great as it was huge, although the commentry wasn't in English so we had to work out ourselves in the darkness what was there.
They had so many different types of animals there including tigers, lion, elephants, rhinos, kangaroos, orangutans, zebra, crocodiles and so much more it was a great evening. After the train ride we then walked around some of the park so we could take a few photos, although it was dark and without a flash proved quite difficult!
We left at midnight when the park was closing listening to the orangutans banging and screaming refusing to go inside which was quite scary!
written by  chrischarly on May 1, 2011 from Taiping, Malaysia

A 3 hour drive taking 9 hours?!
Tanah Rata, Malaysia
On our way from Taiping
This morning we made a quick stop off to get some local breakfast before leaving Taiping and heading to The Cameron Highlands. Chris suggested we take the scenic route there so we didn't have to stay on the main highway the whole way, we all agreed this would be a good plan so off we went...
Nice rockface in Cameron Highlands
However, about 2 or 3 hours into the journey the scenic route soon turned into more like a dirt track with landslides along the way, but we continued on certain that it would get better.
Landslide
It didn't though. We came across a very dodgy piece of road that was full of wet sinking sand/clay and we all got out and planned the best proposed route through.
We then decided to walk over it ourselves to reduce weight in the car and all got filthy whilst Chris drove through.
We didn't get far though and soon got stuck and being a real-wheel drive sank further and further resulting in Chris getting out and Neil then taking over the driving with us all pushing from behind. But there was a wall right beside us and we slipped and managed to wedge the car right up against it. Now we were truly screwed and didn't know what to do as we were risking stractching the hire car more than we have done already.
Whilst trying to come up with a better solution, a member of the indigious tribe from the mountains came down with his son on a motorbike and came to see if he could help. Somewhere on his bike he had a huge machete hidden and then started hacking against the wall so we could push again.
Luckily it worked and we got through, but with plenty of spray-back clay hitting us in the process. We gave the guy some money (equivelent to £10) and he was over-the-moon constantly thanking us and we both went our separate ways.
We then continued on with a tiny bit of help using the guys directions even though he didn't speak a aword of English. About an hour later we came across an even worse part so decided that instead of getting stuck once again we would just turn around and go back and take the highway.
Whilst we were discussing this, 2 4x wheel drives came along and said they would follow us in case we got stuck again and off we went. But with a bit of speed and this time going down hill we made it without any problems and finally went on the right track to Cameron Highlands, working out that we took a turning too soon which was why we got stuck.
When we arrived in Cameron Highlands, we had already booked accomodation so checked in and then went out to get some food and relaxed whilst it poured and poured down with rain.
written by  chrischarly on May 2, 2011 from Tanah Rata, Malaysia

A day exploring the Highlands
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Today we went for a drive and many stop-offs at The Cameron-Highlands. Although it was really cloudy so the views weren't fantastic but still a great day. We saw many hill stations and although they weren't as great as in India they were still impressive and it was the first time Neil and Haze had seen them so it was well worth it.
We then we to a tea factory that was unfortunately partly closed before going to a strawberry farm to eat some tasty strawberry treats.
At the Strawberry farm
Then in the evening we stayed at our guest House and had some beers whilst chatting the night away.
written by  chrischarly on May 3, 2011 from Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Monkeys!..
Bukit Fraser, Malaysia
This morning we woke up, it was still cloudy and raining, and we had breakfast before hitting the twisty turny roads.
Hazel enjoying the scenic drive
There were many landslides on the way, which made life difficult for Chris driving. Especially as he hilariously pointed out that every stream of water was a Waterfall, however we did find an awesome Waterfall mid journey where we saw.
Waterfall in Cameron Highlands
On the way, we saw many monkeys playing on the side of the road so we decided to stop to take some photos. However as soon as we stopped a massive one came jumping on our car and looking through our window and Reggie even opened the window but soon closed it again when we started yelling at her to close it quickly!
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The journey ended in a really roller coaster in a single-track road whilst everyone else tried their hardest not to vomit. Upon arriving in Fraser’s Hill, we started the traditional dance of flitting in between many different types of expensive and disgustingly run-down accommodation ending up back at the first bungalows we first looked at, which frequently happens.
Our apartment in Frasers
We then had a few relaxing beers brought from some seriously miserable staff overlooking the clock Tower roundabout.
Bukit Fraser aka Frasers Hill
written by  chrischarly on May 4, 2011 from Bukit Fraser, Malaysia

And one again, in KL
After waking up, we went to a little food court for breakfast before everyone except me went on a walk.
The Wild Ginger
Nice flowers by Haze
Millepede, we think !
Centipedes doing it !
Neil in the Jungle
On the trek in Frasers Hill
They had a great time and poor Chris even found a leech eating his ankle having made it through his socks!
The smallest Leech in the world on Chris' ankle
We then gathered up our things and left Fraser’s Hill heading to our second home, KL.
It was a nice drive and it was amazing at how the temperature slowly creeps up the closer you get to the city. The hottest we saw it was at 43 degrees when we arrived and it was stifling, but stupidly we forgot to take a photo of the temperature gage, remembering only later when it had dropped to 42.
42 degrees, after just dropping from 43
Looking down the mall
We were checked in before going to the Petronas Tower to grab something quick to eat before going to the Aquarium.
Stingrays
A turtle
Jelly fish
Underneath a shark
A scary shark
My leg was hurting and as it was a huge place they gave me a wheelchair to go around which was nice. Everyone seemed to love the Aquarium and unfortunately, we were quite late entering so we missed all the feeding times, but it was still worth the visit. We then headed back to the hotel before going to a night market similar to the one we went to before but in a different location and this time, Chris was tour guide.
Food
The food court where I had to scramble through to get to the bathroom
Bless Haze isn’t used to foreign food yet so struggled to eat most of it, but Chris did manage to find her a ham and cheese crepe to eat instead that smelled just like pizza, so she was happy!
written by  chrischarly on May 5, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Manic day
Kuala Selangor, Malaysia
At the breakfast food court
Chris and Christina
The food court where I had to scramble through to get to the bathroom
Christina took us for breakfast this morning at a Chinese wet market not too far away. We ate like locals trying new things but unfortunately some of it was really spicy and I somehow got some on my finger and then rubbed my eye. Chilli in the eye is painful and trying to navigate my way through the full street with tables and chairs everywhere and into a bathroom to wash, it out when I couldn’t see or walk properly was a mission. After, we went to a place that sells loads of local chocolate with many free samples, yummy before Christina took me to her local doctor to get my stitches out. Unfortunately, only 3 of the stitches were ready to come out and the other 4 had to stay for an extra 4 days. The doctor also had to pick all the scabs off to get to them and he wasn’t as gentle and the other in the first clinic. My knee was then tender for the rest of the day and bleeding.
An explanation into Pewter
Things made out of pewter
We then went back to our guestHouse for a while before going to Royal Selangor where they make Pewter, which was really interesting before the others climbed the Batu Caves and I sat and waited at the bottom.
The furthest I got to seeing Batu Caves
Looking up
Looking down at the hundreds of steps
A temple
Haze taking over the job as receptionist
We then went on a lovely drive through the forest and saw some huge waterfalls and some fantastic scenery before heading to Christina’s House before all going out to dinner at an Indonesian restaurant.
A waterfall
Everyone and the Indonesian Restaurant
Haze enjoying some Indonesian food... pasta
We then went to one last stop, which was at a lookout point not too far away where you could see the whole of KL lit up including the Petronas and Sky Towers before the lights went off at midnight.
KL at night
Kuala lumpur at night
Me and my oober gorgeous sister
Neil and Reggie looking cute!
written by  chrischarly on May 6, 2011 from Kuala Selangor, Malaysia

Another crazy day in KL
All dressed up and looking good
Neil and Daise
One of the stops on the Heriatge Walk
A mosque
A tortoise
Lizard
Today was our last full day in KL for a while and everyone except me went to the Heritage Walk, which was about 2 hours long before Chris came back to meet me and the others went up the KL Sky Tower.
The view from the sky tower
We decided not to go as we had been already and we met them at the Pavilion for something to eat before heading back and meeting Christina and some of their friends to continue exploring. As we had a hire car, it made sense to explore some other places instead of just staying in the centre.
Reggie looking like she's loving the durian
The beloved durian
Durian
Eating durian
Our first stop was to get some durian for the others to try and Neil seemed to quite like it, whilst Reggie hated it and Haze slept in the car.
Neil and his new friend
Monkey with a HUGE tail
On the train to see the monkeys
A monkey with it's baby, a different colour when under 2 weeks old
Reggie
Haze petrified at the monkeys trying to grab food
We then went to Kuala Selangor to see some tame monkeys to play with and feed before going to a tasty seafood restaurant for dinner and to watch the sunset over a pretty river.
A lovely sunset over the river
A cute boat
At the breakfast food court
Houses on stilts
A man and cute child
We then took a further drive to go and see thousands of fireflies.
Chris squeezing into a life-jacket!
The best photo we could get of the fireflies... aka nothing
Apparently, there are only 2 places in the world to see fireflies in huge groups and we went to one of them at about 10pm at night taking a rowing boat along the river to see them in groups on trees. It was pretty incredible to see them all together and flashing in unison 3 times a second. Then after the fireflies, we took the long drive back, exhausted, and then packed to leave tomorrow before finally going to sleep at around 2am. Another long day.
written by  chrischarly on May 7, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Bye bye Daisy xxxxxxxxx
Mount Kinabalu
Today was a really sad day as Haze left… We woke up at 6, were showered and then drove to KLIA. Chris and Neil then dropped Haze, Reggie and myself off to get Haze checked in whilst they took back the hire car. Checking in was pretty easy and then we sat and waited for the guys to show back up so Haze could say goodbye to them before she went. I walked Haze as far as I could before security and guided her as best as I could in what I thought to be the right direction hanging over the balcony waving for as long as I could until she eventually disappeared. As soon as she was gone, I missed her loads. It would be so quiet without her and a long time until I saw her again. We then took a bus to LCC terminal in preparation for our flight to Kota Kinabalu, which took 2 ½ hours.
The market with lots of lovely fresh fish but too much blood
Once there we took a short taxi, ride to our hotel, and instantly fell in love with the place and the town. This side of Malaysia is so different; you would think you were in a different country if you didn’t know any better. It is nowhere near as built up as the Peninsula and seems a lot poorer but in spite of this, we love it even more. We once again feel like we are travelling again!
Bloody vigin shots!!! Yummy!!!
In the evening, we walked around a huge night market full of locals selling fresh fish, vegetables, and cooked foods. We decided to eat there for dinner and then went to a cheesy locals bar called ‘BED’ afterwards.
written by  chrischarly on May 8, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

And the last of the stitches
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Outside our lodge
Neil and Reggie woke up early to head to an island just off from Kota Kinabalu making a brief stopover at the dentist as poor Neil’s Wisdom tooth is coming through whilst me and Chris enjoyed a relaxing lie-in! The reason why we didn’t go with them was because I had to once again go back to the clinic and it’s pointless us all going. The clinic was nice and the doctor was friendly and spoke amazing English so it was pretty easy. I finally got the remaining 4 stitches out of my knee and it wasn’t as painful as I expected it to be, luckily. I do however have 2 holes in my knee where the stitches have moved which isn’t good. The doctor also wasn’t too pleased about it and considered putting in more stitches, which thankfully he decided against. He then contemplated gluing my knee back together, but it wasn’t clean enough to do so, so I now have to keep it covered again and rest it as much as possible as well as keeping it straight. Exactly the opposite to what we all thought would be best, which is probably why the stiches have moved. Not exactly ideal with Neil and Reggie here and trekking that we’ve planned to do this coming week, but never mind.
The food court where I had to scramble through to get to the bathroom
We then went back, chilled at our hotel, and got chatting to some other travellers especially a NZ girl called Justine who is a crazy ass traveller who is now planning to meet us in Sepilok once the others have left.
written by  chrischarly on May 9, 2011 from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Off to Sepilok
Sepilok, Malaysia
Neil pointing at a flying squirrel
This morning we woke up from a pretty rubbish night’s sleep due to a group of British teenagers partying late at night and then coming back and making so much noise outside our paper-thinned bedroom. Due to this I struggled to get back to sleep as I was so irritated and then got up to go the toilet almost tripping up over a girl who had passed out outside our door and then saw the reason why as there was sick all over the shared toilets. Nice. And highly respectful in a Muslim country. No wonder we have the bad reputation as ‘Brits Abroad’! At 7:30am, we met Neil and Reggie downstairs to have breakfast before making a brief stop off at the ATM before catching a taxi to the bus station.
On the bus to Sepilok
Chris had already booked the bus in advance through the hotel and when we turned up it was an ancient old rickety bus, not ideal and the most comfortable for our flashpacker friends! So Chris being clever went up to the ticket master and said, ‘You told me on the phone it was a V.I.P. bus’ which they didn’t and they gave him a full refund! Next to this bus was a super luxury one with tickets the same price but with more than double the room so we got on there instead! Hehe… So off we headed to Sepilok! The journey took around 7 hours and when we arrived; we were picked up and taken to our lovely guesthouse in the middle of the jungle.
Our dormitory
Chairs we dare not sit in
Once there we spent the evening sat in the bar, relaxing before retiring to our 12 bunk bedded dormitory.
written by  chrischarly on May 10, 2011 from Sepilok, Malaysia

River cruise
Sukau, Malaysia
About to go on the boat
Where we stayed
After a surprisingly perfect night’s sleep we awoke to the sun blaring down on us as our wake up-call before having breakfast and waiting for our pick up to take us to Sukau at 11:30am. It was quite a long drive about 2 ½ hours over a bumpy road. However, when we arrived, it was gorgeous to be in the jungle by the side of the river. We had booked a package which included 2 river cruises, 3 meals, tea, and coffee all day and accommodation for £30pp. So we settled into our rooms before having lunch and then we went on a 2-hour river cruise along the river hoping that we would see orang-utans, elephants, proboscis monkeys and so much more.
A probiscus monkey
The lovely river
Our place we stayed
Excited about our trip
Moi
2 probiscus monkeys
A croc
A crocodile's head
A very shocked expression!
A white-crested hornbill we think
2 pig-tailed monekys at it and looking straight at us!
We weren’t so lucky with the elephants and orang-utans but did manage to see loads of monkeys, proboscis, long and pig-tailed masques, kingfishers, a water monitor Lizard and loads of pretty birds. It was really nice and peaceful out there it was great. In the evening, there was an optional night cruise as well, but we decided to give that a miss figuring there wouldn’t be much to see in the pitch black, so we just relaxed and drank the night away!
written by  chrischarly on May 11, 2011 from Sukau, Malaysia

2nd river cruise at stupid-o'-clock
Sukau, Malaysia
Way to foggy to see anything decent!
The foggy morning cruise
We had to get up this morning at 5:30am to be in the restaurant ready to leave on our early morning cruise at 5:50. However, when we got into the bar, over the river was thick with fog, so pointless to leave. So we waited an extra half hour when the fog began to disperse praying we could have spent that extra time in bed instead of waiting.
Us on the boat
Another hornbill
One of the many kingfishers we saw
A hornbill
This river cruise was really nice as well but mostly the animals awake were birds and considering we are not ‘twitchers’ we can’t say it was as enjoyable! But still well worth it. Then we came back and showered quickly before our transfer back to Sepilok.
Another ginger photo!
We then had lunch before taking a free shuttle to the Rainforest Discovery Centre, which we walked around for 2 hours. There is an opportunity to see lots of wildlife there but to be fair we saw virtually nothing except a few pretty birds, a black squirrel, and a bright green Lizard.
On the canopy walkway
A lizard
A Black Squirrel
In the rainforest, it was so humid it was literally unbearable, it was actually a relief when the minibus came and picked us up at 4pm!.. In the evening, we all just relaxed and played cards before going back to our dormitory. This time before checking into our dorm, Chris picked the one furthest away and luckily we were the only occupants!
written by  chrischarly on May 12, 2011 from Sukau, Malaysia

A shed load of photos of orang-utans
Sepilok, Malaysia
Outside the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center
Today we woke up after yet again an amazing sleep in a dorm, had breakfast and met Neil and Reggie, who slept in a room instead of choosing the dorm option due to Chris’ snoring! We then got into a minibus to go to the Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre. There are 2 feeding times there, one at 10am and one at 3pm. We decided to go to both to make the most out of our ticket and it was awesome!
An orangutan hiding!
An orangutan holding on tight
An orangutan holding on by it's legs, whilst eating... impressive
Orangutan
Eating
Gorgeous orangutan
Monekys at it yet again....
Monekys at it again...
And again....
Monkeys once again....
Orangutan eating
Orangutan disgusted by the monekys in front of him
An old orangutan with a disgusting moneky's arse
Neil and a monkey
Basically, the centre is for rescued orang-utans either saved from being captured and then kept as pets or orphans alone in the jungle, and their aim is to eventually release them back into the wild when they are fit enough and able to do so, taking around 10 years to accomplish this.
An orangutan
Swinging
He looks like he's about to sneeze!
That pose looks painful
A very thoughtful expression
Poser
Nice bum shot
A hanging orangutan
The orang-utans themselves are 96.4% human, according to the facts and they are just fascinating to watch.
A posing monkey
3 orangutans
The guy feeding the orphaned orangutans
We actually got really close to them at feeding times, but the wild masque monkeys scared them away after about 10 minutes, which was irritating.
Orangutans scared of the monkeys
Orangutans
Full-on kiss
Ahhh...
Orangutans comforting each other from scary monkeys
Kissy kissy
2 Orangutans
Bestest friends
CUTE!!
You wouldn’t think they would be scared of them considering they are 3 times the size of the monkeys! At 4pm, we took a transfer back and relaxed in the bar for Reggie and Neil’s last night with us…
written by  chrischarly on May 13, 2011 from Sepilok, Malaysia

Bye Neil and Reggie, and Hello Justine!
Sepilok, Malaysia
Lets offroad !
We waved a sad goodbye to Neil and Reggie today when they got picked up outside our lodge to be taken back to Kota Kinabalu before flying back to KL for their last night. It sucked to see them go especially after spending time with them for the past 3 weeks but I’m sure it won’t be too long until we see them again, possibly in New Zealand or South America, or more likely, both. So, all of a sudden, it was quiet again, and the 2 of us had to make conversation with each other again. Luckily, Justine came and rescued us a few hours later by rocking up in her 4x4, tiny hire car and we spent the day and night chilling out with many other backpackers drinking gin and beer.
written by  chrischarly on May 14, 2011 from Sepilok, Malaysia

A little off-roading
Tawau, Malaysia
Borneo 4WD tours Ltd
We checked out this morning heading to Tawau over some pretty dodgy roads in the 4x4 driving slowly and enjoying the scenery of Borneo, as it really is beautiful out here.
Nice smooth road
Jungle storage
If the road can break them what hope do we have !
On the jungle route
More jungle passing us by, literally
Once in Tawau, we found a really nice hotel to stay in for the night being the cheapest as well as the best so we settled in and chilled out for a while before taking a wander about enjoying being the only tourists around and receiving special treatment from the locals.
written by  chrischarly on May 15, 2011 from Tawau, Malaysia

In the middle of nowhere
Keningau, Malaysia
Lost at the end of the road
We got up early today leaving Tawau heading towards Maliau Basin (Sabah’s lost world) Conservation Area, trying our luck getting in without a prior reservation. It is basically a circular basin with pristine forest inside, has only been open to the public since 1981, and receives very few tourists. It was really pricy but the chance to stay in the middle of a rainforest in the middle of nowhere and nobody else around us was too good an opportunity to miss, so we decided to go for it!
Malau basin was open but no car to drive us in, poo !
In order to get inside, someone had to pick us up, as our little 4-wheel drive wouldn’t make it, so we sat and waited… and waited… Eventually Chris went to go and find what was going on and we discovered that the owner of the place had left with the car keys to Kota Kinabalu, which is about 300km away from here! This was the only vehicle insured to take tourists so we had no choice but to continue on our adventure.
There goes some more virgin Borneon jungle
Roadside cafe, Borneon styley
We then made our way to Sapulut to try our luck with somewhere to stay. Once there we realised that we were once again in the middle of nowhere and stopped at a random shop to grab a drink, which was dirt-cheap and sat surrounded by indigenous locals trying to work out our next plan. A trucker came along after a while who luckily spoke a bit of English and acted as translator for us so we could ask where would be best to stay. He told us there was a missionary just down the road and we could stay in the Catholic Church, but apart from that there was nowhere except to stay with the shop owner and we could negotiate staying at her house. But as she didn't speak any English and quite possibly lived in a tiny shack with all her family and not wanting to offend anyone if we turned up there and it was horrible, we made a quick getaway.
Elephant poo, we were on the trail
All we can say is, not often !
We waited, and waited!
Wee stop #1
Then we headed towards Keningau, which was the closest city in search again of finding somewhere to stay. So after about 11 hours of driving on some very dodgy rounds, written in the Lonely Planet as virtually ‘impossible to travel to on your own’ and only if you were ‘a proficient 4 wheel driver’ you could give it a go, we made it and found a great place to stay for really cheap.
Keningau stop night #2
We then wandered around once again no tourists whatsoever amazed at how happy everyone was to see us in their city, pointing, giggling, and wanting to be our friends.
written by  chrischarly on May 16, 2011 from Keningau, Malaysia

Satu Kopi Susu!!
Telupid, Malaysia
Very local town
Gravel, not bumpy at all!
Boat building
This morning we woke up, found a cute local roti restaurant sitting with locals who spoke not a word of English so we got the chance to practice speaking the local language (Satu Kopi Susu= 1 coffee with milk) as well as just pointing and luckily, we got what we wanted! The locals all loved us and the pretty Muslim girls all wanted to have their photos taken with us especially enjoying the novelty of being with a pink and yellow haired Justine!
Car lost for a while we think !
Deep Borneon jungle
Strange insect, we discovered it !
We then checked out of our hostel and started our next adventure going around in circles due to getting seriously lost before doing some mega off roading and driving through a fast-flowing river, all of us being quite surprised that us as well as our car made it.
There was a road but then it rained
Lets just go for it and dont stop, whatever !
Nice offrad track
Roadside cafe, Borneon styley
We then made our way to Sabah Tea Gardens in Ranau to work out where we could stay the night from talking to the locals, before finally finding somewhere to sleep in Telupid, with dubious stains on the bed and cockroaches running about. Nice.
Amazing skies
written by  chrischarly on May 17, 2011 from Telupid, Malaysia

Finding plenty of untouched places
Pitas, Malaysia
Justine watching the Roti maker
Tea plantation
Through a rough track then we fing a bus stop ?!
We found an awesome roti restaurant again this morning, but didn’t really get anything we ordered but it still tasted good! Once again, as we were in a really small local town not even mentioned in the Lonely Planet so virtually non-existent in the eyes of a tourist, we got a load of attention from the locals before once again setting off for our next adventure.
Black squirrell eating bananas
Offroad adventurer!
Palm fruit off to the refinery
Another end of the road, great navigation Justine !
Extreme !
Offroad adventure
Getting a bit tricky
Palm workers suprised to see us
Justine leaving car whilst moving ?!
We drove on a windy road up North towards Pitas and then got lost, yes, again as we planned to do some 4-wheel driving and managed to find some pretty exciting roads before finally finding the right way and headed in search for a beach.
Beach at 2nd tip of Borneo
On the 2nd tip of Borneo
Amazing beach middle of nowhere!
We found the beach !
We did manage to find it after asking for many directions and ended up driving through a palm Plantation to get there!
Through a palm plantation to the beach
It really was simply beautiful as well as being untouched.
So much so that there was nowhere even remotely close to staying so we relaxed and splashed our feet for a while before driving almost to the tip of Borneo to finally find somewhere to crash for the night in Kudat driving through massive thunder storms with practically no visibility of the road ahead. Scary!!
written by  chrischarly on May 18, 2011 from Pitas, Malaysia

Staying with a lovely Muslim family
Tuaran, Malaysia
Off on our 4WD adventure
Crazy Justine off across the swingy bridge
The river of browness
So confident, look 1 hand !
Slowly slowly
Difficult passing move
On the swing bridge
Coming down from the swing bridge
We woke up early this morning and had a curry breakfast before heading to Tuaran to stay with a Muslim family Justine has stayed with before. Of course, along the way we got lost once again but arrived not long after 2pm.
Cooking at our private retreat
Cooking out our private retreat
Although it was a guestHouse, it felt a lot more like staying with the family at their own House as we were made to feel so welcome.
Amazing sky before the storm
Amazing skies on our last night with Justine
In the evening, we cooked at made dinner for them, and it was amazing to have mashed potato again, and chatted the night away.
Justine chewing on beetlenut... yuck
Justine, Annie and her mum
written by  chrischarly on May 19, 2011 from Tuaran, Malaysia

Bye Justine!!
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Nice local bridge
Today was Justine’s last day and the kind lady (I’ve forgotten her name) made up Nasi Goreng Kampong (fried rice with salted fish) for breakfast before we drove Justine to the airport and dropped the hire car back off. It was sad to see her go as well, but we made plans to spend Christmas with her in NZ so it won’t be long. We then checked back in to the place we stayed previously in Kota Kinabalu and prepared ourselves for leaving Sabah and heading to Brunei tomorrow!
written by  chrischarly on May 20, 2011 from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

2 ferrys and a bus to Brunei
Kampung Sagoking, Malaysia
Me early morning waiting for the ferry to Brunei
We woke up far too early this morning to ensure we got first dibs in the showers and toilets as there’s only 2 per floor so we wouldn’t have to queue. We then skipped a vile breakfast before taking a taxi to the Ferry terminal and taking the Ferry to Labuan where we had to wait a couple of hours for the next one.
The ferry port
The second ferry we went on
Chris outside the first ferry
Once in Brunei, we took a bus into town and then found accommodation relatively easily and then decided to go for a wander in the smallest capitol city in Asia, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the smallest in the world!
Another photo of the mosque
The mosque at almost sunset
It takes pretty much no time at all to have a walk around and it’s pretty expensive here, so don’t think we will be spending loads of time here. But nevertheless it’s still a nice place to go and visit.
A crazy Manakin
written by  chrischarly on May 21, 2011 from Kampung Sagoking, Malaysia

Walking around BSB
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
The mosque over the river
Today we had a bit of a lie-in and then met our friend Laura to go for a walk around Bandar Seri Begawan.
The pretty village
Water village
Walking around the water village, the biggest in the world
It was a really hot day and even more humid but still a great day. We took a walk around the water village which the locals nickname it as ‘South East Asia’s Venice’ and it is apparently the largest water village in the world. It was huge and has been there for over 600 years so was great to get the chance to walk around there. We then went to the Sultan’s Museum to have a look around, this was mainly due to it being fully air-conditioned so we could dry off before rushing back to a café as it started to rain.
Our driver
Me enjoying passing through the water village
A shell garage
Filling up with petrol on the river
Local boys going for a late night swim
A fire station on the water
Early evening we decided to go on a boat trip around the river managing to haggle the trip down to 15 ringgit (£3) and saw probiscus monkeys, fireflies, the Sultan’s Palace and went through the water village again. Photos didn’t however turn out great as it was dusk but well worth the trip.
The River Brunei
A firefly that landed on Chris' hand... Look closely and you can work it out
A tug-of-war game we randomly came across
When we got off the boat though, the skipper tried to rip us off by saying that it was 15 ringgit per hour and as we were gone two, it was double the price and certainly NOT what we agreed, so basically just laughed at him and walked off, which was a shame as we thought he was lovely.
written by  chrischarly on May 22, 2011 from Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Scary lady!..
Miri, Malaysia
A waitress in training
Today we left Brunei after our short visit and got onto a bus at 7am to go back into Malaysia this time visiting Sarawak. The journey was ok taking only 4 hours and that included crossing the border. Once there we waited ages for a local bus to take us into Miri city centre as many locals told us it would arrive, but ‘soon’ was the only time scale they could offer and not in a very friendly way either. So, we eventually gave up waiting and met our next ‘friendly’ person, a taxi driver. He was so miserable with us acting as if it was a massive favour by him taking us somewhere. He dropped us off with a bit of persuasion at a guest House called ‘The Highlands’ and after climbing what seemed to be a million stairs we were greeted by the most eccentric Asian lady we’ve ever met. In fact, eccentric may be a tad too polite and politically correct, possibly a full-on psycho would be more precise. However, we realised this once we had already checked in and paid, unfortunately.
The cutest girl giving me change
She was supposed to be a tour guide as well and this was supposed to be like a tourist information centre as well as a hostel, which was why we decided to choose this place in the first place. However, if you need to ask her a question, she pretty much mocks you and says the exact opposite of the correct answer. Very irritating! So we soon ran away to the beach with our new friend Jess for the night to watch the sunset and came back to find us no longer speaking to us, laid in silence watching the T.V. which I was secretly glad about, but trying to book a tour for tomorrow was difficult. Then, into our beds for the night, completely exhausted, to find that the mattress has no springs, like a thin cushion sinking through the thin and hard slabs. ‘The Highlands’ is definitely a top pick for travellers!
written by  chrischarly on May 23, 2011 from Miri, Malaysia

A 'trip' to Niah Caves
Niah, Malaysia
At the entrance
Well the scary lady that we stayed with only got more scary and irritating today but I cannot be bothered to list all the reasons to why today as it would take too long and make for a huge blog entry, but I’m sure I’ll include some of the highlights.
Dreading the 8.2 km walk
We woke up prepared to go on our trip this morning to Niah Caves about a 1 ½ drive away. They found 40,000-year-old human remains and artefacts here that are the oldest found in SE Asia, so quite impressive! We managed to eventually book our tour through ‘scary lady’ and we were really looking forward to going although it would be a lot of trekking, 8.2km to be precise and as my knee isn’t completely healed I was a little worried. Once we got outside we were expecting to see a mini bus to take us considering it was a tour, but no a miserable taxi driver was waiting outside to greet us with a disgusted look on his face and said, ‘You’re late’ and so the drive continued in silence... Thus the tour we had booked was in fact just a taxi ride and with no tour. Anyway, we were determined to not let it dampen our day so found our own way to the caves once we arrived and the driver sat and waited for us in his car.
Us about half way to the caves
Along the side of The Great Cave
The beautiful walkway to the caves
Vines hanging down from the trees
Inside The Great Cave
Me, sweaty and exhausted, yet not even half way!
A pretty bird
An pretty plant
Just inside the entrance of a cave
The entrance to one of the caves
Climbing up a shed load of steps
A bright red centipede hiding
A very spiky plant
Lighting up the way with our head-torches
Finding some light
About to go into pitch black
Inside a cave
Looks like the cave was being held up by just 1 stick!
Me 'wowed' by the tree
Amazing roots from a tree
It was a long trek but most of it was shaded and on a slabbed platform outside the caves but inside it was quite dark and slippy as the ground was just layers upon layers of bird and bat poo. However, we did have a great yet tiring day; as it was so humid, so on the way back after getting some much-needed lunch I just passed out in the back of the car. Chris also was exhausted so decided to find himself a quick beer when we got back and I walked to our room to chill for a while. I unfortunately left the key with him, so had to ring the doorbell to get inside; something ‘scary lady’ was not happy at all with and glared at me in such a way, I’m actually surprised she didn’t punch me before telling me off as if I was 6 years old! By this time I had had enough so made a vow with Chris and Jess that we would be checking out first thing in the morning!
written by  chrischarly on May 24, 2011 from Niah, Malaysia

Arriving in the delightful Mukah
Bintulu, Malaysia
Chris looking deep in thought
This morning we checked out, which I was delighted about and took a taxi to the bus stand to go to Mukah which one of the locals was very excited about us going and said that it ‘has beaches like Hawaii’ and although we doubted that he had ever been to Hawaii we appreciated the gesture! So we were pretty excited especially as it didn’t seem like an area tourists generally visit. The bus journey was a little bumpy but we managed to book front seats having 2 to ourselves so it was a comfortable ride. After 7 hours we arrived and got dropped off in the outskirts of town but without a taxi insight, map and anybody who spoke decent English we were unsure of which direction to head in so finding accommodation was a challenge.
Jess chillin'
After about 40 minutes walk though we came across a little gem that was really cheap, free Wi-Fi and in a good location close to the river, although we had yet to find the beach?!
The river branching out to the sea
In the evening, we took a little walk a found a nice restaurant with friendly staff overlooking the river, which served really cheap beer- 3 for £2, so Chris, was in his element and there we stayed for the night.
Boats on the river outside a tasty seafood restaurant
written by  chrischarly on May 25, 2011 from Bintulu, Malaysia

Finally finding the beaches like Hawaii???
Mukah, Malaysia
The very over-rated beach :(
Today we woke up determined to find the beach. So, we asked the manager where we were staying for directions, and decided to just walk until we found it and he also said that we would love it and it is one of the nicest beaches. We packed light, as we knew it would be quite a walk and planned to find a nice little restaurant to camp out in once we got there. After about a 45-minute walk in the baking sun and leaving civilisation completely we found it! It was nothing like we imagined it to be. We heard many reports that it was gorgeous and had loads of palm trees we could sit under, but as soon as we got there, it seemed that all of these had been sadly chopped down. So the sand was pretty much covered in logs to climb over and there wasn’t anywhere we could see to stop for a quick drink, which sucked, as we brought no water. We decided to walk for a while to see if we would come across one, but no, nothing at all there so we found a different route to walk back along the road praying we would come across a shop soon. No, was the answer.
A refreshing drink/ice-cream treat after a stupidly long walk!
So after about 2 hours of walking we made it back into town and downed as much fluid as our bodies could take and although we were wearing sun cream we were burned and a little dizzy from the heat. Also, just to prove how hot it was, when we got back we jumped straight into the shower and my bikini bottoms elastic had melted and stuck to my skin! Later, after it had cooled down a bit, Jess and I took a walk around town for an hour or two leaving Chris back at the hotel as he wasn’t feeling great to check out flights before going back to the riverside restaurant for some tasty seafood in the evening.
written by  chrischarly on May 26, 2011 from Mukah, Malaysia

A 11 1/2 bus journey to Kuching
Sibu, Malaysia
Us at the back of the bus
We left Mukah first thing this morning and got on a 7:30am bus to Kuching in preparation for our flight to Indonesia in a few days time. It sure was a long journey with us arriving at 7pm but at least it got all the travelling out of the way. When we arrived at the bus station there were only 2 seats available and they were right at the back, but as this was the only bus going directly to Kuching we decided to just get on, ignoring all of our previous experiences travelling right at the back of old bad suspension buses. It was a ‘luxury V.I.P. bus’ though so only had 3 seats across so we had tons of leg room and the chairs were huge so it wasn’t too bad.
A view of the bus
But as soon as we got going, every bump ensured we left our seats so it was not very comfortable, but we could see the funny side as I almost landed in Chris’ lap a few times and he in mine! When we arrived in Sibu, which was about 4 hours into the trip, we had a 20-minute break and as this was a main stop, many passengers got off, so Chris went and used his charm to get our seats changed to 4 seats up the bus, so just behind the middle. We were both so grateful! However, as soon as we set of, we realised that the air-con unit was leaking just above my head, so just like Chinese water torture apparently. So I continuously was dripped on with ice-cold water for the rest of the journey, and as all the seats had once again been sold, I had no choice but to put up with it.
Chris relaxing
Once in Kuching we tried to get a taxi into town, but they refused to give us a decent price so we went and found a local bus stop to take us, although no one told us there were no buses running in the evening! After about 30 minutes waiting during a thunderstorm, a mini bus pulled off dropping some passengers off so we climbed in, not knowing that he had finished his rounds for the night and was only a private bus, but he kindly took us to town anyway. Then we had a short walk, somehow managed to strike lucky, and find our hostel and we were absolutely drenched through! It was a really nice place though and we had booked 2 dorm beds and when he checked us in, there were only bizarrely 3 beds per dorm room, and it was just the two of us, much much cheaper than getting a double room but just the same! Bargain!
written by  chrischarly on May 27, 2011 from Sibu, Malaysia

Junk, junk, junk
Kuching, Malaysia
Sarawak Parliament Building
Not sure what this is
Where we are staying
Today we decided to go exploring around Kuching and planned what we would do for the next few days here. So we went walking around enjoying the city marvelling how they could have huge streets with shops next to each other selling identical junk! Right at the waterfront there must be almost 50 souvenir shops and on the back street there must be the same amount of jewellers! How these people stay in business we’ll never know especially as there were never any customers! Must be a SE Asia thing…
written by  chrischarly on May 28, 2011 from Kuching, Malaysia

Sarawak Cultural Village
Kuching, Malaysia
Men picking up huge wooden things with their teeth!
Chris looking out a window in a traditional Malay house
Today we woke up early and caught a shuttle bus to Sarawak Cultural Village in Damai. We had heard great things about it and as they were celebrating their Harvest Festival this weekend we thought it would be a great time to visit.
Chris walking along a mission of a bridge
Climbing up very thin steps made out of a tree trunk
It wasn’t however how we expected it to be.
A mask
A statue
I had heard wrong and thought it was a real longHouse village from years ago, but really it is so touristy and they had built replica longHouses from the different tribes.
A typical bedroom
Inside a longhouse
It was a great chance though to see what a real long House looked like even if it had never been lived in.
A long house
A Long house
Some figurines
An iron-man competition
Me looking at gongs
An old-style bed
Ladies making cakes
But there was very little to do and it was very pricy to Enter at £12pp and for Malaysian standards that is high.
Chris and I waiting for the dances to start
Another Mr. Joel staying at a longhouse...
There was an iron-man competition going on which was weird in such a setting with loud music blaring all day, so it didn’t make the whole experience life-like.
Dancing
A traditional cultural dance
Impressive!
A man balancing on a stick
But what we did see were a few cultural dances which were impressive from different tribes around Sarawak.
Ladies in traditional clothing
Shooting blow-darts
However as we were sitting right at the front we noticed they were all the same dancers dressed up differently for each dance, which was also a great disappointment considering it was advertised to be tribes that were dancing.
Ladies dressed up as they would in tribes years ago
There's something not right about this picture??
Nevertheless we did have a good day and did manage to see the funny side and were pretty tired once we got back.
written by  chrischarly on May 29, 2011 from Kuching, Malaysia

A nice stroll around Kuching
Kuching, Malaysia
A statue outside a Chinese temple
Today we went for another walk around Kuching and wandered around some of the museums before finding a few back streets to take a walk aimlessly down. It was a pretty easy-going day!
A tasty Lebonese Restaurant
Oh and finally the scab fell off my knee, now a month later I'm left with a big hole in the middle and a rank scar!
My knee a month later, with a hole and scars all round... yuck!!
written by  chrischarly on May 30, 2011 from Kuching, Malaysia

Last full day in Malaysia!
Me eating tradional Malay food... Chris was soooooo proud!
As it was our last day in Kuching, and well our last full-day in Malaysia we decided to go out and try some of the local foods that Sarawak is famous for. Chris had a ‘Sarawak Laksa’ and I had ‘Tomato Keow Taow’ which is fried noodles cooked in a tomato sauce with other bits in which were tasty but I have no idea what they were.
????
We then went back and did last minute preparation for tomorrow, as we still haven’t worked out what we should do once in Jakarta.
Staff
And now that it is the evening we are going to have a few drinks to toast Malaysia!
The lounge in Wojia Lodge
Probably not the best plan before a day of flying, but we'll deal with that tomorrow! :)
Our German friends, David and Tanya

A long, long day
Changi Airport, Singapore
Queing up
Well today was certainly a long day! We woke up bright and early after a rubbish sleep due to our neighbour watching loud films on his laptop until 2am! It took ages to work out where the noise was coming from, as we didn’t know there was anyone staying there! So I went walking around the whole hotel checking that no T.Vs were left on and getting the manager to check. We just couldn’t work it out, as there were thick concrete walls into the other room next to us, which we thought were the only other people staying on our floor. Very irritating! In the end, I worked out that part of the wall was just thick cardboard basically, so hammered on there for ages, but it didn’t help until I banged on his door continuously until he shut up! I then found out that it was a staff member who was being so noisy, so I was even more wound up! So after 3 hours sleep, I wasn’t really prepared for the day ahead.
The pilot of our plane reading his newspaper
We took a taxi to the airport as there were no buses running that early and the flight left for Johor Bharu at 9:30am. Easy. We then took a bus to the main bus stand before getting on another through into Singapore airport. Then, from there we had to just and wait for our flight. As we were 4 hours early we couldn’t drop our bags off which was a pain but as there is very little to do in the budget terminal, it wasn’t a big deal. There were huge storms in Singapore as soon as we arrived so we were praying our flight wouldn’t be cancelled, which luckily it wasn’t, just delayed by 30mins.
Chris very excited about going on a plane in Singapore
When we got onto the plane, we somehow managed to get the extra legroom seats, which was great as we didn’t even pay for them, or even ask. Maybe the lady took pity on us at the counter. Once we arrived in Jakarta is was manically busy, but there was a great bus system operating just outside the airport so caught a bus really easily into Jln Jaksa, which is the main backpackers street, right next to the train station. The bus took about an hour and just looking out the window we were amazed at just how busy as well as huge Jakarta is! Phenomenal is the only word to describe this place! Java is apparently the most populated island in the world for its size, amazingly beating India, which we didn’t think possible, so as soon as we arrived we tried to plan our escape route, by walking to the train station and trying to get any train out of there as quick as possible, not caring about the destination.
Our mosquito-ridden room
This however wasn’t possible as we just missed the last train as it was already 9pm. We then tried to book tickets to leave for Yogyakarta in the morning but they were unfortunately fully booked! So it seemed that we would be stuck here. So we then went on a mammoth walk (well so it felt) to Jln Jaksa not realising just how far it is and tried to find decent accommodation. After over an hour of searching in complete shit holes (and there is no other way to describe the places here) with having people constantly coming up to us trying to sell us things and places to stay when all we wanted was to be left alone, we eventually found somewhere with friendly people and gave up and stayed there.
This photo doesn't really capture the filth
Chris swears that it was by far the worst place we’ve yet to stay in and absolutely hated it, and maybe he was right but I think some places in India were worse though, but then again I may have been a tad bit optimistic. We then didn’t want to face the people, the hassle, and the streets there so although we were hungry we stayed in too scared to leave again.
written by  chrischarly on June 1, 2011 from Changi Airport, Singapore

Quickly escaping from Jakarta
Jakarta, Indonesia
This morning after a surprisingly good night’s sleep, but covered in mozzie bites, we woke up at 6am and decided to make a run for it and leave Jakarta. Although we went to the train station last night and tried to book tickets to go to Yogyakarta, we decided to not take ‘Full’ for an answer! So we jumped in a tuk tuk to the station and Chris managed to blag his way onto a luxury train. Prices weren’t cheap at all, but as soon as we got onto the train, the money was instantly justified, as it was so comfy, clean, and spacious with air con and unbelievably plug sockets! Perfect!
The lovely comfy train
Leaving Jakarta
An over-flowing bin just outside of Jakarta
The scenery along the way was great as well. There were just miles and miles of rice terraces and cute little villages to look out at.
On the way
Rice paddies with a huge mountain or volano in the background
However, just over half way the power was cut off, thus no electricity and worse, no more air-con! My God, it was simply like being in a sauna, it just got hotter and hotter, and as it was an air-conditioned train, none of the windows would open, so no breeze so we were left to bake for the next 3 hours! I felt so sorry for a local family trying their best with 3 young children to keep cool, using everything they could to fan them down even though sweat was literally pouring down them!
Rice paddies
farmland
So, we were relieved when we finally arrived! Finding accommodation wasn’t as easy as we thought, as most of the nice ones were full already. But after about walking in and out of 10 of them, we found a nice little place for good value but unfortunately, we forgot to check the bed! As soon as we sat down on the bottom right corner, Chris almost fell through! So we lifted up the mattress and found a huge chunk of wood missing! It was very funny though, but it didn’t matter as long as we avoided that area of the bed! In the evening after having one of the most refreshing showers, we went out for something to eat and got chatting to a friendly English couple, Nadia and Sam who gave us loads of great tips on what to do in Indonesia until late at night.
written by  chrischarly on June 2, 2011 from Jakarta, Indonesia

A walk around the bustling, hectic Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Chris sitting on the balcony
After having a lovey lie-in this morning, we went for a walk around the streets of Yogyakarta. It was so hot and humid today, which didn’t help the stinky smells of the city. It is also so loud here with all the mopeds and cars driving around honking their horns. I swear I have never in all my life seen so many motorbikes in such a confined area, it’s literally crazy here. It is like being back in India again for so many reasons. We can’t walk more than 10ft without people coming up to us and asking us a zillion questions and by lunchtime, I was already exhausted.
Chris and I sat in a cute restaurant
However, the majority of people are really friendly though, but it doesn’t make it any easier to keep your smile plastered on your face!
written by  chrischarly on June 3, 2011 from Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Buddhist vs Hindu build-off
Borobudur, Indonesia
This morning we woke up at 4:30am to get ready for our trip to Borobudur, Mendut Temple, and Prambanan.
Firstly, we took a minibus to Borobudur, which is an amazing Buddhist temple constructed in the 9th century AD.
We took a guide and learnt all about the symbolism of the temple and in short, it shows the journey of Buddha from birth through to enlightenment, sharing the guiding principles along the way.
This monument was actually lost and destroyed by various volcanic eruptions and only rediscovered and renovated after 1814.
It’s like the biggest, most complex jigsaw puzzle ever attempted. Plus, it took 10 years and they still have several 10,000’s pieces left over.
Also, every time Merapi erupts, quite regular of late, it is buried in ash and they need to clean it all! Don’t fancy that job!
Afterwards we went to Mendut Temple, which houses a 3m tall Buddha. Some believe it was supposed to be put on top of Borobudur, but they couldn’t work out how to get it up there. I can see them scratching their heads and saying ‘Oh Bugger’, all those years ago!
Finally on our thoroughly cultural day, we went to Prambanan, which is a massive Hindu temple complex, built, would you believe it, in the 9th century AD.
Once again my cultural mind could see the Hindus and the Buddhists having a build off, the Buddhists finishing first but the Hindu’s saying 'you ain’t done till you get that big Buddha fellow on top, suckers!'
written by  chrischarly on June 4, 2011 from Borobudur, Indonesia

To the nice cool climate in Kaliurang
Kaliurang, Indonesia
Today we left Yogyakarta and made our way to Kaliurang in preparation of climbing Mt. Merapi Volcano tomorrow, which is currently the most active Volcano in the world. So to get there we had to catch a local bus to the main bus station and then change buses. However, once we were on the bus, it emptied out, the driver and conductor said they would take us all the way there for a cheaper price so we wouldn’t have to change! Perfect and extremely nice of them!
However, I think it was an excuse for them to have a drive and thus enjoy some lunch and time off! When we arrived in Kaliurang they unfortunately as well as 3 other locals gave us incorrect directions for Vogels, which is the guesthouse we were staying in. So we wandered around and around for ages before working out that it was right where the bus had dropped us off! As soon as we checked in, we instantly fell in love with the place and the owner Christian and enjoyed a chilled evening in the restaurant.
written by  chrischarly on June 5, 2011 from Kaliurang, Indonesia

Merapi- Mountain of Fire
Kaliurang, Indonesia
It’s 0320am and we awake earlier than planned full of excitement of going to see Merapi. A few facts, to get you warmed up:-
1) It's rated currently as the MOST active volcano in the world…
2) It’s been in a near-constant state of eruption for 100s of years; last major eruption was November…
3) It wiped out a staggering 10 Million hectares of forest and land…
4) It destroyed 22 villages…
5) It killed 300 people (found), another 100 never found…
6) 30,000 people evacuated some of which can never go back…
7) It erupts clouds of rocks (some as big as houses) and gas all at about 1500 degrees C that travel down the side of the mountain at 150kmph. It looks like traditional lava, but it’s actually the rocks crashing into one another and exploding into flames and sparks…
8) Only Christian (a legend in these parts) can lead into the danger zone (3km from peak), which is exactly what we did!..
We get ready and go the restaurant to meet Richard, another trekker, and Christian our incredible guide and have our first of apparently 3 breakfasts before being briefed on how dangerous this is!
We then set off through town guided by the stars and up a dark path and steps into a forest.
Getting to the top of the ridge is about 30 mins before the sun starts to break.
We wait here and as the sun creeps up and the stars disappear, we can see the silhouette of Merapi smoking in the distance. As it lightens, the sheer magnitude of the devastation is revealed. Chris tries his best to capture it on the camera, but it was impossible to reflect what we saw. Basically, massive hardwood trees have been smashed just like a domino effect all along the slopes down, and on the slopes in the distance there WERE villages. Some people are still believed to be buried under the 2m of volcanic ash!
A house that had a tree landed on it
Up Merapi volcano
Walking
The climb up was pretty slow, as it was more scramble and climb than actual walk, but we made it through without any significant damage. It was only 3.5kms but it was tough and very rough and some of the ridges drop off several hundred meters. You don’t want to slip, so you go very slowly.
Merapi
Happy tpo be in the danger zone
Entering the danger zone- hence red flag
We retuned back and saw some of the damage to houses in Kaliurang, which was mainly protected by a hill. We then had a second local breakfast (soyabean burgers, sticky rice with whole green chillies, yummy) and returned to the guesthouse for a full breakfast. Chris got double as he recognised the smell of the Cinnamon leaf on the tour. So much for all the exercise.
A TRULY AWESOME DAY and it was only 10am.
written by  chrischarly on June 6, 2011 from Kaliurang, Indonesia

Back to Yogy
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Outside our accomodation
Chris chatting to his Mum
We spent most of the day before leaving Merapi trying to get our flights confirmed for the following day understanding that flying in Indonesia is really not that easy as many airlines don’t accept U.K credit cards so you have to book through a travel agent online, which is a real pain. Once we had finally finished we left to go back to Yogyakarta so we were close to the airport in the morning. Unfortunately where we stayed before was fully booked, but we still found somewhere nice to stay. We chilled out for the rest of the evening taking an early night after strolling around eating some cheap street food.
written by  chrischarly on June 7, 2011 from Yogyakarta, Indonesia

To gorgeous Flores island
Denpasar, Indonesia
Sitting in the waiting room waiting for our flight
Our Garuda flight
We woke up really early today and took a taxi to the airport, which wasn’t far, about 30mins away. It was a tiny airport so we checked in and made our way through departures really quickly.
Chris and I enjoying our free plane food
Mount Merapi from the air
We flew with Garuda Airlines to Bali which is a great airline to travel with and a nice change from low-budget airlines.
View from the plane
Mount Bromo from the air
Once in Bali we checked straight in to fly with Merpati Airlines to Maumere in Flores noticing a nice 2-hour delay but at least it wasn’t our first flight and our second that was running late.
The plane
Kelimutu lakes
Merpati has a reputation of cancelling, delaying, and even crashing planes, which we discovered after booking it, so Chris for once wasn’t that excited about flying. In the airport, we made 2 new friends, Rod and Isa who were also going to Maumere so we decided to travel with them once we arrived.
The view of Flores
A view of Kelimutu lakes from the plane
But it was quite a surprisingly long journey there as the plane stopped off on the way to another island, Sumba, to drop and pick up more passengers, so we all had to get off and wait for a while, but a good excuse for a quick cigarette break!
About to board our Merpati flight
Walking to Bali airport
Then, in Maumere airport, we took a taxi to 25kms away from the city to stay on a lovely beach at Sunset Cottages just in time to watch the sunset, which was gorgeous!
View of the sunset when we arrived
Rod passed out on the floor after waaaay too much arrack!
After this, we had a great evening with our new friends whilst Chris and Rod especially got drunk on local Arrack.
It got a bit messy!
written by  chrischarly on June 8, 2011 from Denpasar, Indonesia

Enjoying the lovely local village 25km out of Maumere
Maumere, Indonesia
Maumere beach
The beach we stayed on 25km outside of Maumere
Today was a great do-nothing-day but enjoy the peaceful and practically empty beach and sea, and going for a walk around the village for a couple of hours.
Fishing boat
First we met a local diver who had caught an octopus and some other delights.
The local guy proud of his catch
An octopus
After this we trekked through some swamp until coming across a small family living and working on a coconut farm.
Picking the coconuts for us
A guy climbing a tree
Cutting open the coconuts for us
The village
They were lovely, gave us the biggest coconuts to drink/eat, and showed us how they make the coconut milk. Very impressive.
Coconut mincer
Where we got the coconuts
Chris drinking a coconut
Local guys digging
We also saw some local women weaving in the traditional way.
A happy guy
Weaving
Then back to Sunset Cottages to sit, relax and enjoy a beer whilst watching another fantastic sunset and have a beer.
written by  chrischarly on June 9, 2011 from Maumere, Indonesia

Waterfalls and Hot Springs
Gunung Kelimutu, Indonesia
Where we stayed
On the beach
Today we woke up, packed, and walked to the end of the road to catch the bus to Moni. It was a small mini bus, so a little cramped but it was nice to take local transport.
Walking to the main road
Locals
A fish stall
Ojeks
A view on the bus
Cocoa beans drying on the road
Digging on the road
Locals on a van
Rod and Isa at the back of the bus
When we arrived in Moni we walked around for a while before finding some cheap accommodation which we had to haggle hard for before going for a nice long walk in the early evening for a few hours to a Waterfall and then to some hot springs.
Preparing to walk the bridge
A cow
Windy road
Rice paddies
Local children
The hot springs- aka- a burst pipe
The waterfall
Rice fields
Hot springs- aka baths
Cute kid
They weren’t exactly what we expected them to look like, considering all the locals were bathing in them and they didn’t look that hot either?!
Local woman
In the evening we went for a local dinner (Mountain food), the ingredients had to be gathered from the Mountain in the afternoon. It consisted of local rice cooked in a strange leaf, Banana flower and other Mountain vegetable mixed and an amazing vegetable soup, which was smokey as the veg, had been roasted on a fire beforehand. VERY tasty and nice to have something different.
written by  chrischarly on June 10, 2011 from Gunung Kelimutu, Indonesia

Kelimutu Volcano
Ende, Indonesia
The sunrise
Chris and I waiting for sunrise
Today we woke up at 4am and quickly got ready to meet Isa and Rod outside to get in our bemo (minibus) to take us to Kelimutu volcano. It was about an hour’s drive listening to loud old pop music from the 90’s. Bit too much for first thing in the morning! Once there we had to climb the rest of the way to the top, which was a mission climbing what seemed to be never-ending steps but at least we managed to warm up as it was freezing outside and we were all wrapped up in fleeces. The reason we got up so early was to watch the sunrise come up and if it is a clear morning, the views are meant to be spectacular!
Chris drinking un-filtered local coffee
We were unfortunately unlucky as it was a foggy and cloudy morning so we saw nothing!
Our first sighting of the black lake
Cloudy day
But it did have a nice eerie feeling to be able to watch the fog and clouds slowly disappear once the sun came out.
Just as the clouds were lifting
The black lake still a little foggy
An explanation of the lakes
At the top of Kelimutu there are three crater lakes to see which all change colour at different times in the year, one even going a burgundy colour, but not while we were there.
'Fanch' means fence by the way
Coffee
Rod taking a closer look
The blue lake
Chris, Isa and I
Local children on our walk down from Kelimutu
Nice blue sky finally
Very cloudy
The black lake
Beautiful view
us really cold!
Then we walked back 13Km to Moni, taking an off-road walk with a few wrong turns before ending up on a banana farm, but one of the kind barefoot ladies working there led us back to the path, it was quite rough going but we finally made it!
Monkey checking out the view as well
Coconuts
Rod and his new friend
Chris walking over a waterfall
Local man also cold
The guy who served the coffee
Local woman
Local man also cold!
As we took ages to get back to Moni, the owner of the guesthouse we stayed at was pretty annoyed with us for checking out late, especially as we didn’t pay him any extra! We then grabbed something quick to eat as we were famished and took a bemo to Ende as we missed to bus to Riung.
On the bus
Chris and his new buddy
Ende is a really dusty city and everyone avoids it as it’s not the nicest of places, but we really enjoyed it there. Chris and Rod finally found some Bintang (beer) which was not easy, we sat outside the shop we brought it at, and a cow soon gathered to look and chat at the Westerners!
Local man
Locals
We counted at one time almost 40 people surrounding us and most of them children, who were so funny and friendly.
Cute kids
Check out the youngest posing with her hands on her hips!
It was a great evening, great day and seriously long, but so worth it!
Us eating at a local place
written by  chrischarly on June 11, 2011 from Ende, Indonesia

Helpful local information
Riung, Indonesia
Market
Well we were really achy this morning. It was such a struggle to get up and out of bed, but we had no choice as we still had to find out times for the bus to Riung as we couldn’t face getting up for the 6am bus. The locals all told us different times:-
‘There is only 1 bus and it is at 6am’
‘Only 1 bus at 7am’
‘No buses in the afternoon’
‘Yes there are buses in the afternoon’
‘There are many buses’
‘The only bus in the afternoon is at 12pm’
‘The only bus in the afternoon is at 1pm’
And finally, ‘the only bus is at 2pm’.
grafitti
So with all of this reliable information, we decided to just get there and see what happens. We arrived at 12pm and we were lucky as just at that time one bemo arrived! I could see why the locals get confused as we had to wait over an hour for it to leave, and yes there was only one bus in the afternoon so we just had to wait until it decided to leave! We also were over-charged by the bus, and we knew the real price but arguing proved pointless as they knew they had won as it was the only way to leave Ende so we were so annoyed!
A nice road
It was such a bumpy and uncomfortable journey but it was nice travelling and chatting to the locals along the way. When we were half way we stopped for what we thought would be a quick break, but after waiting 1 ½ hours for the bemo driver to appear Chris and Rod went to find him discovering him sitting in a restaurant drinking Bintang! He was planning to stay there another hour, but the boys compromised with him, saying they would join him for a quick beer as long as they left straight afterwards, and luckily he agreed as we were sooooo bored!
Local woman
Local man
When we arrived we found a nice place to stay infested with millipedes and woodworms, but apart from that, it was perfect, with clean crisp white sheets, something we haven’t seen in a long time!
written by  chrischarly on June 12, 2011 from Riung, Indonesia

Impossible Riung...
Riung, Indonesia
2 local guys
It felt like today we were just banging our heads up against a wall. Trying to book or get anything sorted here in Riung feels like it’s impossible! We wanted to go on a snorkelling trip for tomorrow but it was so difficult to organise! We met 4 other travellers yesterday who also wanted to go snorkelling so we went to the market in the morning before meeting up with them to find a trip.
Chopping up a coconut for us
After a lot of haggling we got what we thought to be a fair price, but with everything else an extra price, it still wasn’t a bargain. We then had to go and find snorkelling equipment to take with us and they only had 3 masks and snorkels, that weren’t great, no fins and considering there were 8 of us, it wasn’t enough.
After about 2 hours we finally got it all booked and sorted, but it wasn’t easy as we thought it would take 10 minutes, tops. We then got ready and tried to find transport to the beach, which is 14km away, this again wasn’t easy.
House on the water
There were no bemos around as the market had closed, and the only way to get there was to take an ojek (motorbike). You could either hire one or rent your own, but watching the way they drive with no helmets and dodgy bikes we didn’t want to get on the back with someone else driving, and neither Chris nor I could drive a geared bike, we were stuck again for 2 hours, trying to work something out.
House
Isa and Rod hired their own as they often ride bikes, so we told them to go ahead without us whilst we tried to work something out.
Man with a big gun
Eventually we managed to find a car to take us, and we haggled the price down from £22 to £3.50 after ages of negotiation yet again.
Us being given coconuts
So finally, about 5 hours later than planned we made it to the beach, which was amazing!
Goats on the beach
It wasn’t white sand and perfect turquoise water but still great.
Fish
A sea urchin
We found some locals who cut us down some coconuts to eat and drink and we shared biscuits with the local children whilst Chris played football on the sand/mud with some older kids and we played in the sea.
My new-best-friend after feeding him biscuits!
Cute boys
Chris playing football with the local kids
After a mud fight
The beach in Riung
Lovely day in the end...
written by  chrischarly on June 13, 2011 from Riung, Indonesia

Snorkelling in Riung...
Riung, Indonesia
Lovely beach
On the boat
Nice straight jetty
Entrance to the 17 islands
We got up at 7am to have breakfast, before walking to the harbour to go on our snorkelling trip, stopping off at 3 places along the way to pick up snorkelling gear that we had reserved with different people.
Unfortunately, the other 4 travellers we were going with took all the best gear from the town, so we were left with the not-so-great equipment.
Flying foxes
Me and Isa
Rod
Our first stop on the trip was to see hundreds of flying foxes, flying from tree to tree which was an amazing sight before going to our next stop to do some snorkelling in the middle of the Ocean. It was a really windy day though so it was really wavy, and as there were no fins small enough to fit me it was so difficult to swim against the current. My mask and snorkel also both leaked so I soon gave up and slowly made my way back to the boat highly disappointed to wait for everyone to come back. The next stop on the trip was a lot better though.
We stopped at a small island and went snorkelling from the beach, which was amazing, and the coral was beautiful so we had a great time there and Rod was kind enough to lend me his mask and snorkel so I could appreciate it as well.
Swimming in the sea
Isa and Rod
Fish
Star fish
Coral
Beautiful coral
Rod trying to catch a lobster
Rose coral
We stayed there for a few hours having a tasty fish BBQ on the beach before going back to Rihon late in the afternoon.
Fish BBQ
written by  chrischarly on June 14, 2011 from Riung, Indonesia

Cultural villages...
Bajawa, Indonesia
Today we got up and caught the bus at 6:30am to go from Rihon to Bajawa. The journey was only 4 hours long but it is supposed to be the worst road to travel on in Flores so wasn’t great but luckily, it wasn’t that long! We arrived in Bajawa at about 11am, found accommodation, and then hired Ojeks (motorbikes) to go to 2 cultural villages just outside the town after Rod taught Chris how to ride one.
Me and Rod pulling over
Chris and Isa all smiles :)
Me on the back of Rod's bike
Local children
I am in fact so proud of ourselves for finally plucking up the courage to do it! Rod and I went on one, and Isa and Chris went on another and neither of us fell off! The cultural villages were nice to walk around, but it was quite set up and the first on we went to, all the young children kept shouting, ‘GIVE US MONEY!!!’
Cultural village
Not looking very happy!!
An old man
An old lady
Buffalo horns
Kids playing in the fog
Me holding vanilla pods
Me standing next to where they sacrifice
This was really irritating and upset us quite a bit, you had to give a donation to enter which we didn’t mind so much as long as it went to the community, but we also had to pay the locals to take their photos and with children asking us for extra annoyed us and didn’t make it feel so natural. So, we left and found another village that wasn’t in the Guidebook hoping that this one would be better. We did have a far better time here and we met with one of the villagers who had learnt English from speaking with tourists so she was great to speak to so we could learn about the culture and the history from her. She also gave us coffee, roasted sweet corn and some local spirit to try, which was kind.
Inside a local home
inside a local's home
inside a local home
She also didn’t ask for any money, although we did offer, so we instead brought a couple of souvenirs from her. On the way out, the chief’s wife asked us to sign the guest book and to give a donation, which was fine, but you had to write down the amount you were going to give and hand it to her personally instead of putting it into a box, like the one before. So we all put an amount together and gave it to her, and then she just said, ‘More’. We were so disappointed and we were then forced to give her double and as it was a donation and not an entrance fee, it made us realise just how places like this have been destroyed by tourism, so we left there quite disheartened and decided to just go back and leave the rest of the villages.
Laughing
Kid firing a sling-shot
written by  chrischarly on June 15, 2011 from Bajawa, Indonesia

Horrible bus journey... but with arrack
Labuan Bajo, Indonesia
road blockage
This morning we woke up at 5:40am and caught the bus we had booked to go to Labuan Bajo. Things didn’t start off great as the bus was over ½ an hour late, which annoyed us as we had gotten up so early!
On the bus
Once on the bus, 5km down the road the bus parked up and we sat and waited for almost 2 hours before the driver finally decided to leave! He said to us, that he would not go until the bus was completely full!
Chris and the bus conductor
We were so angry as we knew it would take 10 hours anyway! Eventually though we all persuaded him to go and it really was the bus journey from hell! (Well for me anyway as the boys really enjoyed themselves though as they started drinking arrack, which is a local spirit at 9am with the bus conductor!)
Isa and Chris looking exhausted!
But I have the stinkiest of colds and was feeling really sick, so just after half way I ran off the bus to throw up in small forest. Yuck. The journey was so bumpy and up and down mountains and on a small bus seriously uncomfortable!
Waiting for the road to clear
We finally arrived at Labuan Bajo at around 7pm to then start to look for accommodation and there were loads to choose from thankfully.
Chris with bintang!
But here is nowhere like the rest of Flores as it is so touristy and many people hassle you to book tours with them and from around 30 companies to choose from we didn’t know where to start so decided to leave it until morning and finally got left alone.
written by  chrischarly on June 16, 2011 from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

Excited about going to see Komodos tomorrow!
Labuan Bajo, Indonesia
A local man
Today we spent a few hours walking around Labuan Bajo finding the best company to book our Komodo trip with.
Local house
Gorgeous scenery
We eventually found a nice woman to book through who was flexible so we managed to make our own tour hopefully avoiding many of the other tourists who will be going to Komodo and Rinca Island as well… can’t wait!
written by  chrischarly on June 17, 2011 from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

KOMODO DRAGONS!!
Rinca, Indonesia
Choppy sea
me on the boat
trekking
Today we went and met the captain of our boat at 5:45am to go on our boat trip for 2 days. We were so excited about seeing the Komodo dragons we couldn’t wait! Our first stop was to Rinca Island, which is the first of 2 islands to see the dragons.
Komodo Dragon
We were the first ones to arrive as we left 2 hours earlier than the other tourists and on Rinca, we had the best chance to see the dragons but as they are wild animals it wasn’t guaranteed so we had our fingers crossed.
Trekking
A baby Komodo
wild buffalo
A wild pig
As soon as we got off the boat and walked to pay for a guide, there was one walking towards the ranger’s station and 5 sitting outside the kitchen where the rangers were cooking their food, as they could smell it! So we had already seen 6 before we even started the trek!
Where a buffalo once sat
However, we still wanted to see some out in the wild so we went on a 2-hour trek around the island and there we saw one baby one and a large female. When we got back to get on the boat, there were loads of other tourists getting off so we had timed it just right!
Komodo National Park
A Komodo on Komodo!
We then made our way to Komodo Island, which took a few hours on the boat, also when we arrived there the everyone else had already left so again we had the place to ourselves!
When we got off the boat, there was one Komodo dragon walking down the jetty from the boat so again we were so lucky as we had spoken to many travellers before going on this trip and they didn’t see any at all on Komodo Island!
Me and a Komodo
We also went on a trek there, but this time just for one hour, as we wanted to spend some time snorkelling in the evening.
Komodo
We didn’t see any on the trek, but again when we were about to leave we walked past the ranger’s station where they were cooking food and there were 3 dragons sitting outside the kitchen.
This did however make us wonder if the rangers feed them, which they swore that they didn’t, but then it doesn’t make a lot of sense as to why the dragons would be sitting outside? So maybe they are not completely wild after all.
Wild deer
On both of the islands, though we did see wild deer, pigs and buffalo, which is the dragon’s diet, but I suppose we will never know for sure whether they are fed or not.
Orange moon
After Komodo Island, we made our way to Red/Pink beach to do some snorkelling, which was in fact incredible! We were lucky enough to swim with 2 turtles as well as see some amazing coral and other pretty fish.
On the boat
This is where we stayed over the night, which was perfect as no other boats slept here, but instead off another island to watch some flying foxes, but we saw them a few days before in Riung, so we chose to sleep here so it felt as we had the whole place to ourselves!
The sun about to set
In the evening just after eating some delicious barbequed fish we watched the moon come up slowly over the sea which was a lovely orangey red colour, the end to a perfect day before our captain, Matt brought us some mattresses down so we could sleep on the deck underneath the stars.
written by  chrischarly on June 18, 2011 from Rinca, Indonesia

The best snorkelling in the world!!!!!!!!!!
Komodo, Indonesia
Fast asleep still
We woke up this morning excited about a whole day’s snorkelling ahead of us. At 6am, we had breakfast before heading to Manta Point, which is the place where we would have the best chance to see Manta Rays.
Isa
Beautiful Coral
We all had our fingers crossed, as there was still no guarantee at all that we would see them. When we arrived at Manta Point, the current was really strong, so Matt dropped us off, and we had to follow the current back to the boat. We were so glad he dropped us off as it was impossible to swim anywhere but where the current took us, we travelled about 1km every 10 minutes so that’s how fast it was.
Huge Sting Ray
A Manta Ray!
After about 20 minutes in the water, right at the bottom we saw a huge manta ray! We were so excited! However, it was about 15 metres deep so too far for us to dive down and see with the current flowing but still amazing! Then, after we saw this one, there was 7 more just lying on the bottom all different sizes, we were all so happy! When we climbed back into the boat, we told Matt that we saw them, but unfortunately, they were all just still and not swimming. So, he told us that we would wait an hour until slack tide when they will all be moving and we would go back in again, so we went to another point not too far away where we snorkelled for ½ hour before going back and on-route we saw one even jump out of the water!
Chris with a manta!!!
He was right about waiting, and although we only saw 2 this time, they were huge and one swam right up close to us before it flipped over and swam away! Amazing!
Amazing!
Gorgeous, massive turtle
Rod with a turtle
Then on the way back to the boat we saw a huge turtle swim right past us, swimming so fast, we didn’t think it could be possible, so it was a fantastic spot and we were all so delighted.
Chris going very deep
A puffa fish
Chris diving deep
Hundreds of fish
A Napolean Fish
When we got back, Matt then took us to another spot, which is supposed to be the best snorkelling point in the region and to be honest it was spectacular.
It is just a huge rock and it is covered in coral surrounded by loads of big and small fish, and definitely the most beautiful spot we have ever snorkelled. So we spent about an hour swimming around and a 1 ½-meter white tipped reef shark swam just underneath me!
Chris and Rod
Me!
We then went to 2 more spots before going back, but we had definitely been spoilt, as they couldn’t compare to what we had seen previously today, turtles, manta rays, and sharks in one day! We were so happy and glad we picked carefully before writing and picking our tour. Then when we got back to Labuan Bajo we booked our bus and ferry tickets for tomorrow, sad that our 2-day trip was already over as it had gone by so fast!
written by  chrischarly on June 19, 2011 from Komodo, Indonesia

A very long journey...
Sape, Indonesia
Our first ferry from Flores
We woke up early yet again, seems to be a habit with our Flores adventures, to head to the ferry for our epic journey.
On our first ferry
We boarded our luxury liner fully decked out with hard metal chairs and flat screen TVs on which were shown whatever the captain felt like watching. The journey of 9 hours was fairly uneventful although I did get to spend a few hours with Rod getting many hints and tips on our further destinations.
Team Flores, on the roof of our bus
On arriving in Sape, Sumbawa, we waited for the crowds to disembark and then made our way off in search for our bus. This was a mistake. See our nice 40 seater bus, ok acceptable bus, was not here, but 2 hours away and awaiting us was a 25 seater minibus. Most people buy this trip as a package and therefore most of the 40 passengers were here for the same minibus! I peeled away the metal lid and peeked inside only to find as expected about 35 people crammed inside. In previous similar situations like this there would have been some shuffling and squeezing and we would have got in, but this was beyond full. We asked our driver if there was a second bus and he chuckled and pointed to the roof. Hmmm, options here, get on the roof, or miss our bus……
We're not scared , honest
Passing through a village from the roof of the bus
Photo from roof of our bus
We climbed the ladder and the four of us setup camp sitting on our bags on top. It all started off fine, we had great views and the locals thought it highly amusing requiring us all to wave continuously like the queen on a tour.
Charly holding on tight
From our bus roof
We weaved round the mountains and all was well before we got stuck behind a banana truck on a dusty section, we got clouded in dust and couldn’t breathe.
Passing banana truck causing lots of dust, yeh!
After passing said truck we went through some villages that had some lovely trees lining the streets, only problem was that the low hanging branches had never come across big European travellers on the roof and we had to continually shout “Canard” and dive for the surface. We made it through, with only a few scratches and a nice fake tan from the dust.
View from top back seats
We waited at the bus station for 2 hours before getting underway for our night bus adventure……..To be continued.
written by  chrischarly on June 20, 2011 from Sape, Indonesia

Our epic journey cont...
Lombok, Indonesia
More roof travellers passing us on Sumbawa
Lucky as we are, Charly and I ended up with back seats on the bus, 3 seats wedged in where there should be 2 and right next to the toilet. Isa was nice enough to donate me a sleeping tablet, Charly, well she can sleep anywhere, this, was going to be easy.
The locals on the bus all must have been saving up for the trip, as they ALL decided to go to the toilet just after departure. The problem was my big legs were in front of the door, so everytime someone wanted to get in, or out, I had to move. I was not happy! Anyway, I soon settled into a slumber, the pill working its magic before being awoken by boxes of crisps, drinks etc, being shoved in our face and shouts of “Buy Mister”. I politely (well maybe not) declined, ushered them out of the back door and closed it in their faces. A few minutes later, the door opened again and I was about to kick off when I saw a scooter being lifted in. They kindly wedged it in front of us and tied it around some seats and the door handle, nice fellas.
We started underway and I started to dose off as the scooter started to roll back and forth, trapping Charly’s legs and banging about. I considered this for a moment, knowing that sleep was impossible until this problem was solved. Option 1 – I quietly untie it, open the back door and on a sharp bend re-inact a scene from the Italian Job; or, Option 2 – secure it better, thus ensuring it didn’t crush us and avoiding arrest. I took the latter and using my noggin, something the previous fellas had not done, decided to tie the brakes on. It worked a treat and sleep was back on the agenda. Shortly after we stopped for dinner, or was it breakfast – 3am?!
After floating into the reststop, eating and making it back to our cosy back seats we finally slept until reaching the ferry at Poto Tano.
Inside the ferry
A short trip of 1.5 hours entertained by some locals singing 1 verse badly then coming around with their hats, they really need to think about their audience more. I woke Rod up as we approached Lombok, to show him sunrise and the Rinjani mountain, that he and Isa were planning to climb. Good luck guys.
Our fine ferry to Bali
After hugs etc, we boarded the bus again and after 30 mins the guys jumped off to make their way up to Base Camp. They were great travelling friends who pushed us hard and we had some amazing times. Hopefully see you in Oz!
Sitting on the last ferry
We continued across Lombok to Lembar for our final ferry journey to Padang Bai, Bali. No seats on the ferry meant we sat on hard metal deck for the last 4 hours of our epic 36 hour jouney. All in all not that bad really!!
written by  chrischarly on June 21, 2011 from Lombok, Indonesia

Off to Ubud
Padangbai, Indonesia
Outside our place
Our lovely place in Padang Bai
Me about to leave Padang Bai
After sleeping like babies, we got up at 8am to get packed before catching a bus to Ubud. It was a small mini bus but as there was only 4 of us it was really easy journey lasting only 1 ½ hours, but transport is so much more expensive on Bali than anywhere else we’ve been in Indonesia about 3x more. We decided to stay just outside Ubud so walked about 1km North and found somewhere cheap to stay which is in fact really nice, so we had a great chill day sorting through over 2000 photos of the past few days…
written by  chrischarly on June 22, 2011 from Padangbai, Indonesia

A 25km long walk!.. Exhausting!
Ubud, Indonesia
Hard work
To escape the intensely touristy centre I thought a nice walk around the rice terraces and villages to the North of Ubud was in order. Using the ever accurate Lonely Planet map, I planned a walk of around 10km………
Rice paddies
We started off across the rice paddies and it was very nice, the weather was fine but not too hot, the views pleasing to the eye. Only, whats this up ahead, a tourist shop, and then another, and another. Ubud really is saturated.
Living amongst the rice terraces
We marched on up asking for directions to Keliki (LP said it was about 5km), we kept going and going and we arrived in……………….Tegallalang?!
Rice terrace workers
Looking at the map and the road signs we were about 9km outside Ubud. Oh well, we took on some refreshments and got some new directions and headed up this hilly road for 3 km until we finally found Keliki.
A house with only the door finished
We were starting to feel the burn now and the constant up and down hill was not helping, but we powered through, thinking of our friends probably struggling up Rinjani, this was a breeze!
A cute house
There is nothing in Keliki, it just looked a nice distance to walk, so upon arrival, we left.
The sun decided that it was time to come out as we worked our way back around 12km to Ubud, via the Campuan Ridge walk.
The ridge walkway
Getting tired now!
Along the ridge walkway
Outskirts of Ubud
By the time we got there we were fairly exhausted but pleased with ourselves. We showered, and headed out for some dinner and a well earned Bintang!
written by  chrischarly on June 23, 2011 from Ubud, Indonesia

Chill day
Ubud, Indonesia
Temple
A temple
After our walk yesterday we were quite surprised that we were not too achy. Maybe we are a lot fitter now than before! We didn’t do a lot today, walked around Ubud for a few hours which although touristy it’s a nice place to walk about.
written by  chrischarly on June 24, 2011 from Ubud, Indonesia

Another walk around the bustling streets of Ubud
Ubud, Indonesia
van blocking other transport
Anything can fit onto a vehicle here
Not much to say about today... just another nice walk around the busy and slightly chaotic Ubud... Still a great day though!..
written by  chrischarly on June 25, 2011 from Ubud, Indonesia

Dead sealife and hidden local transport
Jimbaran, Indonesia
Chris outside our place
Today we lazily got up and ready to travel to Jimbaran. As Ubud is mega touristy, it was difficult to find cheap transport as everywhere has rip-off tourist shuttle buses and ‘Tourist Information’ here doesn’t mean anything as no one offered up any information on local transport.
So as usual, we worked it out for ourselves, as if you look hard enough and walk to the market area and haggled hard to the local bimo drivers to take us to Batabulan using our limited Bahasa (Indonesian lingo)to try to give the impression we had been here a long time so knew the correct fare.
A very strange statue?
Once in Batabulan, we once again had to haggle hard to get local transport to Jimbaran. It took about 3x as long to get there, but it was over ½ the price it would’ve been if we took tourist transport, so we were happy when we finally arrived. The bimo driver did however drop us off quite far out of town, to save on fuel,
Wavy sea
so we had a long walk to find somewhere to stay, where we had to negotiate our butts off to find somewhere cheap. Bali sure is hard work if you are a stingy backpacker! We did find somewhere though in a kind family’s home along a backstreet alley, but it was lovely
Me finding a dead baby dolphin, sad!
and good value. We then walked down to the beach and walked almost the length of it trying to find some cheap and tasty seafood for dinner, which was unfortunately not possible, so we ate in a local backstreet restaurant instead. All over the beach, there are dead fish carcasses, which
Dead dolphin :(
have been thrown away by the fisherman so walking along the beach was like an obstacle course dodging dead fish guts and bones. Yuck. But what was even worse was that we saw a dead dolphin lying on the end of the beach,
A blue marlin's head!
which we think must’ve been caught by a fisherman by mistake, as not far away from it, we saw the remains of a blue marlin’s head. Very sad.
written by  chrischarly on June 26, 2011 from Jimbaran, Indonesia

Last day in Indonesia
Jimbaran, Indonesia
Looking back at the beach
Sadly our last day in Indonesia. 28 days is so not enough time here. It was not the nicest of days raining on and off and very grey and cloudy, but a nice temperature to walk about, so that’s what we did all day; walked aimlessly along the streets and beach of Jimbaran.
Just landing
Just before sunset, Chris wanted to walk to the far end of the beach right by the runway of Bali airport to watch some of the planes taking off to help build up his excitement about flying tomorrow.
The airport from the beach
Air Asia flight just landed
written by  chrischarly on June 27, 2011 from Jimbaran, Indonesia

To Thailand...
On flight to Hat Yai
We got up at stupid o’clock (3:45am) this morning to catch a taxi to the airport about 10 minutes away and then checked in quick and easily for our Air Asia flight returning once again to KL before flying to Hat Yai in Thailand. We arrived in Thailand at around midday (2 hours behind of Indonesia) and booked a shuttle bus to take us to the bus station in Hat Yai. That was the plan but the bus driver dropped us at the train station. We wanted to go to Satun and there is no train station there.
On rickshaw to Hat Yai bus station
We were touted to take a minibus for 700Baht, when we knew the price should be about 180Baht. We then tried to get a taxi to take us to the bus station and even they were trying to overcharge us. Damn them all!
Our amazing bedroom
After getting a bit pissed off, and very hot, we decided best thing was to walk away from the train station, aka tourist rip off area, and after walking a few minutes got a taxi to take us for the right money. We immediately managed to get a minibus for the right fare. Rip-off Touts 0: Chris and Charly 1
Our nice cheap noodle place
We arrived in Satun a few hours later and found a really nice guesthouse that we had seen on LP-online and Trip advisor. They only had an AC room for 550Baht, but we were too tired to care and it was really nice and we managed to get it for 500Baht. They had free super-fast Wi-Fi so we made the most of it and chilled the afternoon away before going out for our 1st Thai meal. We were not disappointed and even Charly liked it, Thai food 1: Charly 0.We headed back to our room thought about watching a film, realised we couldn’t be arsed so fell into a deep sleep.
written by  chrischarly on June 28, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

Did nada
Satun, Thailand
Got up late, went for a walk and lunch, read our books, surfed the net, went out for dinner, went to bed.
Huge bathroom at our hotel
Cool bar
Funky decor at our hotel
View from our hotel
written by  chrischarly on June 29, 2011 from Satun, Thailand

Satun to Krabi
Krabi, Thailand
We decided to leave Satun today and move on to Krabi. We took a rickshaw to the bus station only to find out that the next bus wasn’t for 2 hours. Oh well, we were in no rush. There was a little shop selling food and got some fried rice with squid (think this was the cause of tomorrow’s bad stomachs!).
A frog in the restaurant
We were about half way to Krabi when an Aussie lady came running down the bus screaming for them to stop, and something about a door open. We thought someone had fallen out the back. It soon became apparent that the luggage door had opened (at 90kmph) and 2 bags had fallen out. Ours were quite near the door so I had a moment of panic, before running outside and seeing ours still there. Phew! There were a Swiss couple who got on later than us and they were not so lucky! They got a moped to go back and pick up the slightly scratched and ripped rucksacks. Note to self: always make sure the bags are well inside the luggage hold.
Got to Krabi and found a really nice guesthouse for £4 a night, went out with 4 Swiss to get some yummy dinner at the night market.
Thai fishing boat
written by  chrischarly on June 30, 2011 from Krabi, Thailand

Feelin' pretty sicky :(
Krabi, Thailand
Eating yummy sandwiches after our dodgy bellies
Today we didn’t actually leave the hostel until 6pm. I spent the whole night last night and day today running from the bed to the shared bathrooms so I suppose quite an active day after all. It’s typical though that the one time we are ill we pick a place where there is no bathroom inside the room and it would’ve been lovely if we could’ve afforded air-con and a bed that didn’t feel like a slab of wood! Anyway, by 6pm I was desperately craving a nice ham and cheese Sandwich; something plain and reminded me of home, so we slowly and weakly went on the search remarkably Chris found me a cute café that served my dream dish and put a smile back on my face!
written by  chrischarly on July 1, 2011 from Krabi, Thailand

Railay Firedancing
Railay, Thailand
Our longtail boat
Waiting for more passengers for Railay
Feeling quite a lot better this morning, we decided it was time to venture to Railay (or Rai Leh), an isolated beach area a boat ride away from Krabi. We went to the long-tail boat harbour at 11am and had to wait until there were 6 passengers, about 90 minutes. But it was nice to just sit and watch the world go by.
Captain
On our longtail boat Krabi to Railay
Charly struggling up the steps to our bungalow
We took the boat along the coast and came up to East Railay with amazing limestone cliffs surrounding a very mediocre beach.
Nice view from beach
We disembarked and took a walk along to the end and up some steep steps to find Railay Garden View resort. Chris had already researched and found this place on the web with great reviews. Chris went to have a look and the chalets were nice but they wanted 600Baht (£12) a night for them. Chris, using his best skills, managed to negotiate them down to 350Baht (£7) which was within our budget.
Beach at low tide
Mudflats and mangroves
Long Tail Boats on East Railay
Very scenic
Cliffs around the Beach at East Railay
Interesting new boat?!
High tide
An American couple who also took a chalet joined us and we all went out later for dinner and to watch the 11.30pm fire dance that actually started at 1.30am.
The whole stage on fire!
firedance
Still performing the fire dance even though it's raining
It was awesome and we all had a great night.
written by  chrischarly on July 2, 2011 from Railay, Thailand

Beautiful Thailand!
Railay, Thailand
Going for a swim
After getting in a 2am and then messing around on the computer for a while we didn’t wake up until 12.00.
We then wandered out for some brunch and then over to Phra Nang Cave beach.
The beach was amazing with warm, clear water and beautiful scenery all around.
I was completely ‘Wowed’ by the sheer beauty of this beach.
We spent the afternoon chilling then went back for a few hours before going out for some scrummy Thai food.
Cute monkeys
A monkey about to rip down the posters
The walk to the beach
So beautiful here
Perfect beach
Amazing beach!
Enjoying a swim
Lovely beach
written by  chrischarly on July 3, 2011 from Railay, Thailand

Swam, read and sunned ourselves...
Railay, Thailand
West beach
Chris reading
Got up, went to the West Railay beach, swam, read, and sunned ourselves. This was also a gorgeous beach, but I think any place will struggle to top the scenery of yesterdays.
Me enjoying a swim
The lovely west beach
After feeling the effects of the sun headed back via a little noodle bar (yummy), and then went back, showered and went out for the evening.
written by  chrischarly on April 4, 2011 from Railay, Thailand

Back to Krabi to go to Koh Lanta
Krabi, Thailand
The ferry
Today we sadly left Railay as it was so lovely here, but we wanted to find somewhere a little less touristy but equally as nice for Chris’ birthday tomorrow, so headed to Koh Lanta. We took a long tail boat from Railay to Krabi but it dropped us off somewhere different to where we took the long tail boat a couple of days ago.
A ferry like the one we were on
As it wasn’t high tide, we had to wade through the mud and the sea, which at points I sank almost to my knees in the mud, so I was drenched by the time we walked to the edge. Not exactly ideal for the start of the journey. When we booked the transfer to Koh Lanta, the lady told us that once we got off the boat, a mini bus would be waiting for us to take us straight there.
Enjoying a nice Chang beer
This of course wasn’t the case and thinking about it, transport is never that simple, efficient, and easy in Asia! We were picked up by a mini bus, but only to take us to an office on the outskirts of Krabi.
Happy days
There we sat for 30 mins before being told we needed to get on a pickup truck to another office in town. We then waited at office number two for 1 hour before departing, this did mean Chris had time to go to buy some rolls and cheese and made lovely cheese rolls.
A frog outside our door
Eventually after the minibus left, it took about 2 hours including 2 car Ferry crossings to get to Koh Lanta and the lovely Long Beach Chalets.
Long beach on Koh Lanta
We then took a walk down to the beach about 5 minutes’ walk away and although it wasn’t as nice as Railay, we had it practically to ourselves apart from 4 other travellers walking by, so was great!
written by  chrischarly on July 5, 2011 from Krabi, Thailand

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!!!
Ko Lanta, Thailand
Chris' birthday present from the staff
Chris’ birthday! Chris had a great day today especially loving the fact that I was practically his personal slave for the day unable to say no to him today as the response would be, ‘It is my birthday though’…
Chris and I in the pool
No, I’m only joking, it was a fantastic day! We got up, had breakfast and everyone say ‘Happy Birthday’ to him and the staff gave him a decorated flower piece, which was really pretty, and a great touch.
Enjoying a nice swim
Nice handstand Chris!
Happy Chris
Blinded by the sun
Our pretty towels
Wondering how our tapas lunch could be this expensive!
Then they gave us a lift to another resort, which had a swimming pool so we chilled out there for a while before having a small tapas lunch before walking back to our place on Long Beach. It was a mission of a walk as we underestimated just how far it was, we had to climb over rocks for ½ an hour before we finally came to the beach.
Having a break midway on the rocks
Camp Chris
Chris' birthday cake
Enjoying white wine out of a tumbler with ice, nice!
At the end of the walk every part of our bodies were sweating so we jumped straight into the sea, which is in fact warm so didn’t cool us down a great deal but it helped! We then went back, showered and found some gin, tonic and wine to have with our special Surprise dinner cooked by the 3 Mum’s of the place, who sang Chris a 'Happy Birthday' for the 2nd time today...
Us about to go to dinner
Eating durian for dessert
Enjoying a G&T
Chris happy with all the food in front of him
Chris happily tucking into some crab
Perfect day, but unfortunately we ran out of time for Chris to have his massage, but can save that for tomorrow!
written by  chrischarly on July 6, 2011 from Ko Lanta, Thailand

Exploring Koh Lanta and Chris' painful massage from a tiny Thai lady!!
Ko Lanta, Thailand
Us on our nice pink bike
A beach we had a break at
Today we got up and hired a scooter for the day to drive around Koh Lanta. It was a lovely hot day so perfect to be on the bike!
Matching helmets!!
Hot and thankful to stop for a quick coke
Terminal Point
Terminal Point (the most southern point in Koh Lanta)
Chris really did looked funny though in his pink helmet that was too small for his head, driving on a cute pink bike! But he was still happy and loved riding around!
Taking a photo of us riding along
In Asia you can do anything with a moped!
When we came back, Chris quickly showered and headed of for his Thai massage. About 1½ hours later he returned, feeling so sorry for himself, having never had one before and didn’t realise it was more like GBH than a massage he has had before! I actually felt quite sorry for him as he said he had to stop himself from screaming pretty much throughout it all! I’m glad I gave it a miss!
written by  chrischarly on July 7, 2011 from Ko Lanta, Thailand

Bye Koh Lanta and Hello Trang!
Trang, Thailand
One of the chalets
The restaurant
Long Beach Chalets' reception
Today we left Long Beach Chalets in Koh Lanta, which was a shame as we loved this place, the staff and pretty much everything about the place! But time to get backpacking again and back to being on a budget!
Trang clock tower
So we made our way to Trang to optimistically get straight on a train to Bangkok.
Boy happily sitting in the back of a pick-up
The trains were completely full so we decided to just spend the night in Trang and catch the train tomorrow evening. So we looked around and found somewhere really cheap to stay for about £2.50 a night!
Our budget room
Our very small double bed
But it was a shock to the system having staying in luxury for the past 3 nights! We were really glad we did though as we found an amazing night market with some delicious street food that was remarkably cheap and very local compared to the touristy food we have been munching on recently, so we were delighted!
Awesome meat stand
Tasty sausages!
Chris enjoying his soup
A market stall brought on a moped
Chris was quite in his element trying weird and wonderful treats and we spent ages walking up and down, up and down!
But we came back to find another lodger in our room, who wasn't very welcome...
Our new lodger
written by  chrischarly on July 8, 2011 from Trang, Thailand

Over-night train journey...
Surat Thani, Thailand
Kung-fu panda eyes Chris
Cramped in a seat for 1 to watch a film
We woke up, checked out, had some nice lunch, wasted a few hours in a coffee bar with free Wi-Fi and then headed to the train station at 5pm for our overnight train to Bangkok. At the station the night market was just starting to get going so we got lots of tasty treats to eat on the train. The train journey was in fact really comfortable but we both had top bunks to sleep on, which normally would be fine as you get more privacy that way. However, for security reasons they kept the lights on all night so it was really REALLY bright, so pretty irritating, but apart from that, great journey!
The train
The strange cafe on the train
written by  chrischarly on July 9, 2011 from Surat Thani, Thailand

An exhausting first day in the bustling Bangkok
Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand
Waiting for the underground
After an ok’ish night’s sleep we arrived in Bangkok. Chris was adamant not to stay in the backpackers area of Khao San Road so we ended up getting the metro to Lumpini, where we searched out a guestHouse and found a nice one with AC for 400 Baht (£8).
The super-fast and scary escalators
We got ourselves showered then headed off to see the weekend market at Chatuchack. At the hotel they told us a taxi should be 120Bahtr, but when we got in we soon found out it was going to be more like 190Baht, by the time the driver
Chris enjoying an authentic kebab
realised we didn’t want to go for that much he kindly said sorry and let us out, just short of the metro station, result!
Tasty prawns
We took the nice AC metro for 40Baht each all the way to the market. It was huge with over 10’000 stalls and probably 10x as many people.
Karaoke in the market
We strolled around for a few hours savouring some nice food and soaking up the atmosphere, whilst also soaking in sweat.
The underground
It soon became too much and feeling tired from the night on the train we decided to head home. We made it back to the guest House and ended up having some yummy Thai noodle soup before crashing out for the night.
Long queue for the tickets
Charly was very annoying and kept 1) demanding that the AC was turned down and 2) stealing the duvet. Chris did not have a good night…….
written by  chrischarly on July 10, 2011 from Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand

Cheap transport
Bangkok, Thailand
A water-monitor lizard in the middle of Bangkok???
Today we woke and went for a walk around a huge park near where we are staying. For a massive city such as Bangkok, it was a nice find.
Walking along avoiding the main streets
We then tried to find our way to the sky train but it wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be and ended up bumping into a local who gave us some friendly advice on the cheapest way to Siam Square.
The nice park
He advised we take a tuk tuk for half the price, so optimistically we went to haggle one, the driver having none of our suggested price so the local bargained for us, stopping off briefly to pick up a free map on the way.
We then walked around Siam Square for ages until the heat became too much.
Manic Bangkok
We then tried to negotiate a tuk tuk back home and worked out that if you agreed to let the driver take you to a shop and you walk around inside of it for a minimum of 7 minutes he gets a great commission and only charges you 30p for a 40 minute drive home! Bargain!
Chris really blending in with the locals
So that’s what we did!
Stationary in the middle of Bangkok traffic
Well it was all great until he broke down in the outside lane of a 4 laned highway and Chris had to push us for a while.
Chris pushing the tuk tuk
So we ended up walking the rest of the way and didn’t pay anything! So we think we have got travelling finally sussed in Bangkok!
written by  chrischarly on July 11, 2011 from Bangkok, Thailand

Crazy Asia
Bangkok, Thailand
Chinatown
As there is just so much to see in Bangkok so we again went for a walk around, first catching the underground into China Town where we walked around and around in circles, well so it felt anyway.
Locals drying chillis which are the pigeon's dinner
Then we walked to the India quarter and it was amazing just how much it did resemble India.
Room for a small one
In China Town there were just markets everywhere down tiny alleyways and we were just totally overwhelmed by it all.
Market alley
You just had sections that seemed to last forever with the market-stall holders selling exactly the same things, or more accurately, junk.
One section would be handbags, and for about a 20 shops in a row this was pretty much all they sold, well with a couple of food stands in amongst them, then a HUGE sections selling girly things, like bracelets and hair accessories.
Woman who kept abusing Chris with Peacock feathers
Then a huge section of florists, jewellery, chillies, you name it; it was probably there in the masses.
Crazy market alley
However, saying that, you could probably walk around for miles and miles but most of the items sold were so random and the shops so compact you wouldn’t know where to start!
Pretty flowers
We just had no idea at all why they couldn’t spread themselves out so they weren’t selling the same as their neighbours?
Outside one of the many florists
It was just crazy!
Chillis
We have also learnt a lot about Asia, and I know this is pretty much the same in the whole continent when it comes to markets and cities especially…
It all got a bit much for this guy too!
It all got a bit too much
1. As mentioned above with every shop in a mile radius selling the same stuff
2. You can never walk in a straight line, whether its avoiding pedestrians, pedestrians carrying what you believe to be ridiculously impossible as the item is so huge, or anything with wheels, and this includes motorbikes, driving down a tiny alleyway you think only 1 person walking can fit down.
3. Every one of your senses is either abused or fulfilled every second of the day.
4. People are continuously shopping, shopping shopping! Every shop seems to be full of customers and you have no idea where they came from!
5. Nobody ever stops eating.
6. You sum up whether it is more dangerous to either walk on the road with all the traffic or on the pavement, which is so uneven, wobbly, and with tons of holes you can fall down.
written by  chrischarly on July 12, 2011 from Bangkok, Thailand

Another day sweating in Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand
Another temple we think
Nice smoked duck
And again we walked around Bangkok soon becoming exhausted by walking for so long in this heat and humidity and we realised that we have in fact covered a lot of ground in the past few days, ticking off many of the main tourist sights and things to do.
Memorial bridge monument
Indian food stall
(Even if it meant just peeking over the wall into palaces as we weren’t dressed appropriately).
Nice old houses
Making our tasty spring rolls
We decided to go and see Th Khao San (road) which is the main backpacker’s street, which reassured us that where we are staying in Lumphini was the perfect choice away from the scams and hassle in a local area.
Temple
A sneaky photo of monks from behind
One of the many busy streets
A temple
Inside one of many temples
The train station waiting area
To get there we took the underground, which is our favourite mode of transport for efficiency in Bangkok, the sky train and then a Ferry and in between all this, a lot of walking.
The skytrain
Inside the skytrain
Just set off
Chris and I on the very cheap ferry
Another boat
A river boat
A house on the water
Wat Arun (Dawn Temple)
Outside the entrance to Th Khao San
A bridge
It was a nice day and although we have yet to see some Thai Boxing and a Ping-Pong show, we’ve decided to leave that for our next visit here and went to the train station and luckily managed to book the last 2 train tickets to Chang Mai for tomorrow evening.
The train station
Just managed to cross the road in time
written by  chrischarly on July 13, 2011 from Bangkok, Thailand

Day 366 of our travels
Phichit, Thailand
Chris and Graham playing chess
We had to check out at 12pm today and as our train wasn’t due to depart until 6:10pm we had a lot of hanging about to do with our bags until then. So we decided to make a brief stop-off at an internet café to search for some accommodation in Chang Mai, but a heavy downpour of rain, so heavy you could hardly see through it meant we stayed there for 3 hours as we were unwilling to get ourselves and all of our belongings drenched.
Kyra and Chris' legs
Eventually the rain did ease off so we missioned it to the underground and then onto the station where we brought some cheap market food before boarding the train… Again, on the train we had top bunks, and yes that also meant that the lights were left on throughout the night. We did however make 3 new friends so time passed quite quickly whilst we played games with them until gone midnight (well until a moody British lady told me to ‘shut up’) whilst the rest of the train was sleeping…
Everyone tucked up in bed
On another note, it is exactly 1 year ago today that we left Essex and got on a plane headed for South Africa! We can’t believe it’s been a year already, it seems to have gone so quickly yet I suppose we have seen so many amazing things since then including visiting 14 countries in that time (not including going back to the U.K. for 3 weeks). Fingers crossed our money is able to stretch for another amazing year!
written by  chrischarly on July 14, 2011 from Phichit, Thailand

Exhausted us
Lampang, Thailand
A tuk-tuk driver fast asleep
After a 16 hours train journey, we arrived in Chang Mai only 2 ½ hours late, but as it was still morning it didn’t matter. We had already booked somewhere to stay, C.M Blue House so we had made our lives pretty easy, so it was just a tuk tuk ride away.
The pretty river
It’s actually a really nice room for the price, so after a quick shower we happily went for a walk around Chang Mai.
Chris excited about his dinner
We were actually surprised, but more disappointed just how touristy this city is.
Tasty food
We were hoping to escape this by travelling up North, but we have found that the whole of Thailand is very much this way.
6 mouths in jail ???
But saying that, it was quite nice walking about for a while before the temperature got too much and every single part of our bodies were caked in sweat, it was quite disgusting, so back to our guestHouse for shower number 2 before some dinner, closely followed by shower number 3 and then an exhausted sleep…
written by  chrischarly on July 15, 2011 from Lampang, Thailand

Chiang Mai invaded by tourists
Chiang Mai, Thailand
One of the many temples
A huge wall
Nice gold temple
Another day of walking about Chiang Mai, possibly seeing more tourists than locals…
Also, another thing we’ve noticed is how many temples there are here for one city?!
Chris guesses about 50.
I gave up counting and taking photos of them.
Good day though; just uneventful to write about…
written by  chrischarly on July 16, 2011 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

Last day and night in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Lots of tobacco
Lots of stuff I have no idea what it is though
Nice unbrella to cover the hole!
We decided today would be our last day in Chiang Mai. The main thing to do here is to go on one or more organised tours but we haven’t exactly heard many positive things about them.
Enjoying a G&T
Firstly, they are far too pricey; geared mainly for package tours but there is one,
The bar
which did in fact sound really good as you could go and visit the tribal villages and people in the jungle.
View from the bar
However, by reading up about it a bit further outside of tour agencies, we heard that many of the tribal women are captured Burmese refugees made to live in these villages.
Chris chatting to his mum
So, Chiang Mai, apart from the tasty food is a bit boring if you don’t go on these trips, hence why it’s our last day. But we did have a great evening, enjoying a nice Chang Beer and a G&T in a roof-top bar, before wandering around the busiest market, we think, in the whole world! It was CRAZY!
Bustling, chaotic, insanely busy market
Jam-packed market
Lots of people getting a foot massge
Ancient Ice-cream? Yuck...
written by  chrischarly on July 17, 2011 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

Hitchhikers guide to Thailand
Fang, Thailand
Moving on is something that we are quite accustomed to now, after a year of travelling it’s one of the constants. Unbeknown to us this was going to be yet another interesting journey………….
The bus
We set off for the bus station by Tuk-tuk, it wasn’t far, but 2km with backpacks and the humidity of Chiang Mai made it a worthwhile £1 spent. On arrival at the bus station, our very nice driver toured around until he found the bus to Tha Ton – the Indian tuk-tuk drivers should take a leaf out of the Thai book of tuk-tuk service. The conductor was there and waiting to take our bags and load them under the bus that was plastered with Chiang Mai to Tha Ton signs,so we thought to ourselves, this is really easy, but wait….
He then directed us to the ticket counter and using my best English I requested two tickets to Tha Ton, the response I got was not eligible, but I could have sworn she said something about Elephants?! A kind lady behind got involved, and translated that what I heard as “Elephants” was in fact “Only Fang”. Still slightly confused I grabbed the Lonely Planet and realised that Fang was in fact a town 30km short of Tha Ton, it all becomes clearer….. The kind lady said that she was also going to Tha Ton and she would help us get the right sawngthaew (a covered pickup truck with two benches in the back) onwards to Tha Ton. All good, I purchased the tickets.
On the bus
The bus ride was pretty standard and we immediately got a sawngthaew on to Tha Ton. We spoke more to “kind lady” and told her our ultimate destination was Mae Salong. She told us that we need to get another sawngthaew from Tha Ton, no problem we thought. When we got off at Tha Ton, we spoke to some sawngthaew drivers who said that we needed to get a sawngthaew to a junction 13km from Mae Salong and then another up the side of the mountain to the village. Ok we thought, maybe we might break the record for the most sawngthaew trips in one day, but at least we would get there.
In the sawngthaew
As usual, I requested a price from the driver and got back a response of 130Baht, or I thought and gave he some bemused abuse that it was too much, only to realise that he actually meant 1 person = 30, oops, he seemed ok – or so we thought – and we got on our way. He stopped at a layby by a junction with a sign to Mae Salong and as driving away smiling said ok, sawngthaew here……
A really cute kid
We again spoke to some drivers and people, none of whom could speak English, but the general laughing and shaking of heads was not a good sign – NO more sawngthaew to Mae Salong – oh bugger. After 10 minutes or so, some crook offered to take us for 400Baht and I politely laughed at him, and decided it was time in our travels to try hitchhiking. We set off up the steepest of hills with our bags and 13 km of mountain ahead of us, showing the internationally recognised (I hoped) sign of a thumb out. Car number one, two laughing people.
Crammed in the back of the pick-up
Finding this very funny!
200m in to our journey, Charly had nearly passed out and requested a stop, it was going to be dark in 6 hours, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. At that moment a chariot was sent from the skies to rescue us, I say a chariot, more like a mini pickup with about 15 kids in the back. They pulled up and asked us where we were heading, and quickly got all the kids to move up to fit in all our clobber and us. We travelled about 8 km and it started to rain, why wouldn’t it, no problem they pulled over and told us to wait in a shelter while they run the kids back to their home village, promising they would be only 10-15 mins.
Chris drenched from the rain
Waiting for our lift to return
Loads of locals behind us travelling like us
As they said, they came back sans kids, and loaded us up and drove us all the way to Mae Salong, and to the doors of the guesthouse we wanted. I’m pretty sure they weren’t even heading this far, but were extremely kind and generous people, who would not take 1 Baht from me for their trouble. We thanked them profusely and they were on their way. The guesthouse was lovely with the friendliest happiest owners and once again realised that getting away from the tourist hoards is definitely the way to go!
written by  chrischarly on July 18, 2011 from Fang, Thailand

A very surreal day and night spent with some drunkeds
Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand
Charly had a bad night with upset stomach and in the morning was still bad. I was a little rough but my consistency is a tad stronger, must be all the beers and chilli I eat that kill everything.
Pretty nice smelling flower
After nursing her for a while, she told me to go for a wander and I did, heading along the undulating road through the village to the day market – not much here, but some nice stalls selling veg and many local teashops. It started to rain so I ducked into a local coffee shop and enjoyed a nice brew with 3 Italian ladies who were passing through.
Nice produce at the local market
Heading a little further down the road, I was called over by a crazy looking German fellow, Ulrich, who asked me to join him for a beer, hmm, tricky decision. I went and sat down with his crazy drunk Thai girlfriend (Pim) and he disappeared on his moped, returning 5 minutes later with a crate of Leo (an ok local beer). I chatted with them for a while and enjoyed some beers and after a while a French guy, Sebastian, who had spent the night there after too much beer and whiskey, joined us. (Exactly my kind of people!)
After an hour with them I realised that whilst very nice people they were complete pissheads and a bit crazy too, so offering the excuse of needing to check on poor Charly I decided to head back. My offerings of some money for the beer was turned down with a simple, “you come back later, drink more beer!”
Local tribal village
I strolled back and checked on my poorly sick girl who was very much ‘getting it out of her system’, and had no intention of being further than 10m from the toilet. After a few hours of more nursing she told me to go out and have a good time, so I made my way back armed with a big bag of Leo’s. We spent several hours chatting about travel, Germany, France, England and anything else that semi-drunk people ramble about. Pim made some tasty soup and Uli made a fire and some pork BBQ. It was very basic but helped soak up the beer.
Crazy German and Thai couple Chris met
Time flew by, and soon I realised it was nearing pumpkin time; I made my excuses and left returning to cuddle up to my poorly girl for the night.
written by  chrischarly on July 19, 2011 from Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand

Still recovering...
Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand
View from our guesthouse
Our nice room
Charly chilling outside our room
Nursing a slight hangover and with Charly still recovering we had a day of doing absolutely nothing. We made it as far a 7-11 to buy some yoghurt, cheese, and Gatorade – essential recovery ingredients - and got some bread from a local baker to make cheese sarnies. We watched some Apprentice and played some Angry Birds. We headed down to the restaurant so I could have some yummy pork with Thai basil, Charly stuck to cheese sarnies. It was a tough day!
P.S Happy birthday Victoria!! xx
written by  chrischarly on July 20, 2011 from Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand

718 steps to a temple
Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand
Tom Set - like tom yum but with pork
It rained most of the morning so we chilled in the room a little restless having not done or achieved much in the last couple of days...
At about 12pm the rain finally stopped and feeling better all the time, we headed back to the local bakers for lunch. Charly still recovering had a, no you guess… whilst I had a yummy NE Thai soup with pork, similar to Tom Yum but called Tom Set.
Afterwards, we went to the market and then headed up the 718 steps to the temple and amazing views.
718 steps to temple
View from the start of our climb
View from Temple, nice!
Temple and Charly
Temple
Temple guards
Arty shot from within Temple
In fact, it was 718 steps after 10 minutes of steep hills. Absolutely exhausting especially as we weren’t still feeling a 100%, but we took our time and eventually made it. Well done Charly! We took our time looking around at the amazing temple and beautiful views and on the way back took pictures of the many different types of caterpillar and insects we saw.
Me and Patricia
In the evening we went out with a nice Swiss couple for a couple of drinks before finding the most expensive local place to eat in Thailand as all the other were closed but nevertheless still had a great time.
P.S. Happy birthday Nan!! xx
written by  chrischarly on July 21, 2011 from Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand

Ice-cram pasta...
Mae Chan, Thailand
No idea which direction= accomodation???
It was a struggle but we managed to leave Mae Salong this morning and the reason as to why it was a struggle was due to the nice cool temperature it is here and the amazing bargain room we had a Little Home Guesthouse. But it was time to once again go somewhere new and a little closer to the Laos border. So we caught 2 sawngthaews to Chiang Saen and were dropped off by the Mekong River overlooking Laos without a map or anyone close by who could speak English… We did strike lucky though and find Chiang Saen Guesthouse, which was written in The Lonely Planet. But to be honest is run-down and has what we call as ‘Lonely Planet Syndrome’ (aka as soon as they are listed, the owner cannot believe his/her luck and stops looking after the place) and could do with a smiley face, but it’s ok for a night or 2.
My ice-cream pasta... vile!!!
Absolutely starving we then went out to find something to eat and came upon a small restaurant that had what looked to be a tasty menu and as my tummy still wasn’t great, I ordered some mushroom pasta, thinking it would be bland and simple, so basically just what I needed. It didn’t however come out like this and instead the richest and possibly most bizarre and disgusting thing I have ever eaten, or tried to eat. They had obviously seen a photo how mushroom pasta looks like and cooked it looking like a carbonara, but it had a very strange taste and after a couple of mouthfuls we worked out in the sauce
Wendy the Wok lady
they used vanilla ice-cream! Chris thought it was hilarious and kept winding me up about it resulting in me gagging loads until I eventually moved it as far away as possible from me! Yuck. So completely put off food I continued to be hungry until the evening when we went out to the market and had 2 courses of tasty Thai food for both of us all for just over £1. Bargain!
written by  chrischarly on July 22, 2011 from Mae Chan, Thailand

The Golden Triangle...
Chiang Saen, Thailand
Our transport to the Golden Triangle
We headed to the Golden Triangle centre today in Sop Ruak, this is where the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos connect along the Mekong. It’s a pretty touristy spot but we had a nice time wandering around and visiting the Opium Museum that was very interesting, and gave a history of Opium and the Golden Triangle.
Click to enlarge and read
Very life-like model of a guy smoking opium
A photo of a photo of a lady smoking opium
A photo of a photo of a tribal lady
Funny drawing pof a guy smoking opium
Photo of a photo of a lady from the Karen tribe
Statue of Buddha
Burma=left Laos=right stood in Thailand
The Golden Triangle
After we returned, the heavens opened and it rained pretty hard for a few hours, so we missed out the night market and headed to a local Chinese restaurant. It was surprisingly good and even Charly enjoyed her Cabbage and Bacon dish. Early to bed before moving on to Laos tomorrow.
written by  chrischarly on July 23, 2011 from Chiang Saen, Thailand

And yet another painful journey!..
Chiang Khong, Thailand
Us in our shit ponchos
At 7am, our alarms went off to see torrential rain outside; great start to the day… So, considering we had been carrying our yellow ponchos around for 3 months we decided to give them a try so we wouldn’t be drenched all day.
Chris really not happy!
Well, they weren’t exactly ponchos, and more like yellow thin carrier bags, so before we had even left the guesthouse Chris had managed to rip a huge hole down the back,
Chris on the bus with a monk
and the same happened to me as soon as I put on my backpack.
When we got to the bus stop we were happy to see a sawngthaew waiting, but the bad news was that the
Crammed in the tuk tuk
driver refused to leave until it was full. As there were only 3 of us there waiting we knew this would take a while as ‘Full’ for them is 16 people!, which we thought was impossible to cram that many people inside until 2 hours later when we finally left he achieved it!
Monks in the rain
What a squeeze! I can’t say it was the most comfortable ride I’ve ever been in but it wasn’t too bad. We hit the border crossing at Chiang Khong and passed through easily into Laos,
Crossing into Laos
We decided to change our plans and head direct to Luang Prabang. We waited in the bus station for 4 hours and were on our way. It was supposed to be a VIP bus but it was pretty uncomfortable and not helped by really bad roads; it was a painful night that even the sleeping pills purchased by a 10yr-old local boy didn’t help…
written by  chrischarly on July 24, 2011 from Chiang Khong, Thailand

After 28 hours of travelling... we made it!
Louang Namtha, Laos
Me stood by our broken-down bus
Trying to fix the bus
Well the bus journey continued to get worse during the night as we guessed it inevitably would and we broke down about 2 hours short of Luang Prabang and we had to wait for a sawngthaew to take us the final stretch.
First view of Laos
Our bags on top, but no room for us!
Worst of all was our bags got loaded on the first one and there was not enough room, so we had to wait 1 hour till the next, with our bags on their way. Very worrying.
The mekong
Beautiful Laos
In the beer garden
Local kids stole a boat!
Locals jumping in the Mekong
An old bomb made into a plant pot
But after 28 hours of travelling, the rest of the day did brighten up as we found a cool guesthouse with a lovely room for a bank breaking £6.15 a night and Luang Prabang really is a nice place to be!
written by  chrischarly on July 25, 2011 from Louang Namtha, Laos

Hon Lai !!! (Very Hot!!)
Luang Prabang, Laos
Team pool
Its a hard life
Pool chill
View
As it was another gorgeous sunny day, we decided to hit the swimming pool just outside of town! We did try and find bicycles to ride up there, but as it was already midday, trying to find a cheap one was impossible as all of the early-rise tourists had already grabbed them, so we haggled a tuk-tuk to take us the 3km out of town. Once there we met up with some other people staying at our guesthouse, splashed in the pool and played cards all afternoon.
Behind the temple
The Mekong
All of the tourists enjoying sunet too
Gorgeous!
Almost sunset
Crazy clouds
View of Luang Prabang
The sunset
Me with a big bomb behind me!
Amazing from from hill
Dinner at GH
Then at 5:30pm we headed back and walked up a huge hill with 300+ steps to watch the sunset with a hundred other tourists who decided to do the same. Then in the evening, we all went out for a few drinks and food at the market and stayed up chatting the night away.
written by  chrischarly on July 26, 2011 from Luang Prabang, Laos

Teaching English to the local children...
Luang Prabang, Laos
Easy stuff
Up to the bar of plenty
We go on that ?
Had a great day today and decided to continue hanging out with the people from our guesthouse, Kara and Pierre and walked about Luang Prabang until we got too tired and caught a boat across the River to a bar with amazing views, but more importantly cheap cocktails! But we couldn’t stay too long and drink loads as we wanted to get back for 6pm to go up to a local village just outside of town to teach English to the local children.
Crazy Ken
Teaching team
School class
Kara and Pierre had already done this a couple of times and we thought it would be a great opportunity to go along too and hope to make a difference, if only a little to some of the children there. It was in fact great fun and I have never seen children so excited about going to school! When some of the younger girls saw us pass in the back of our tuk tuk, they all shouted after us and started running to school! Complete contrast to how I remember my feelings about school!
Teaching the local kids
We revised the alphabet with them, something they had learnt previously, colours and how to spell them and some group games, great fun and very rewarding!
written by  chrischarly on July 27, 2011 from Luang Prabang, Laos

And now to somewhere with a little more of a local feel...
Nong Khiaw, Laos
Hmm, me thinks no
Getting a wash by GH mum
Returm from the river
Been Swimin'
Mekong
Theres caves in those hills
Main St
The mekong
Gay boys
Teaching team
Today we headed up to Nong Kiew with Kara and Pierre. The journey was fine and we found a really nice guesthouse with bunglows for 40,000Kip (£3’ish). Due to the heat we sat in the bar consuming lots of cold beer and playing cards. We headed out later and had a lovely meal at a local restaurant.
written by  chrischarly on July 28, 2011 from Nong Khiaw, Laos

Charly's Birthday Eve!
Nong Khiaw, Laos
Standing in the shade for a min or 2
Walking in Nong Kiew
A pink cow?!?!?!
Wavy river
We woke up and it was again a scortcher, so we decided to head out for a long walk to the local caves where the locals hid during the bombings. It was sweltering and although not far, felt like a long way.
I think not
The mekong
Tricky crossing
Entrance into the caves
Caves
Chris crossing the river
We made it, crossed the River, and went up into The Caves. It was pretty interesting to think of the community that used to effectively live in here, so not to get blown up by US bombs.
Boy swimming
Locals trying to cross (and falling) in river
Mmmm Turkey
We headed back and about half way stopped at a restaurant. It was pretty local, but the lady was nice and the food edible. After our feed, Charly seemed to be kidnapped to help the lady write her new sign for her guesthouse, and we asked if there was anywhere to swim nearby. Surprisingly, she said yes and led Pierre and I down through the woods and to a stream that was nice and brown. We decided that as we were really hot this was ‘good to go’ and Pierre headed back to get the others. I made my way in and just got through the VERY strong current to find a nice pool the other side. Kara turned up, and then Pierre informed me that Charly was busy at work on the sign!
Cooling off
We enjoyed the cool off and running the rapids until I collided with a big rock and got a dead leg. Charly finally made it and recalled the events of her kidnapping and slave labour. We all splashed about for a bit longer before deciding to head back. When we got back to the restaurant we met Andy and Steve who asked us to join them for a beer, who were we to say no, so we had a refreshing Lao Beer before headingback for showers.
My first candle on Birthday Eve!
We went back to the nice restaurant from the night before and consumed several Lao Lao (local fire water made from Sticky rice) Mojitos and some more yummy food and Charly got her first birthday candle (as it was her birthday in The Easter Island and Japan already!) Big day tomorrow!
written by  chrischarly on July 29, 2011 from Nong Khiaw, Laos

Eeeeekkkkkkk.... It's my birthday!!!!
Luang Prabang, Laos
Our busy tuk tuk
Charly’s birthday was finally here and it started off with a bang at 5am as a massive thunderstorm hit our small town and probably half of Laos. After a late night drinking Lao Lao Mojitos, it was not a welcome surprise and so we started off the day feeling pretty tired. We finally got out of bed around 7am to get ready to leave for Luang Prabang, it was still raining so we opted for a Minivan to the bus station – it was only 1km or so, but 10 minutes in the rain would have been enough to soak us. The minivan came and was surprisingly expensive but there were a lot of us, and all anyone seemed to be interested in was getting there so we paid and head off.
About to be puked on!
At the bus station there was a distinct lack of a bus, but after purchasing the tickets we were informed that we would be going on a sawngthaew – oh joy 3 hours on a wooden bench seat. The sawngthaew was licenced to take 15 people so we were surprised there was only 22 on board plus a basket full of chickens on the roof of course. We head off in the rain and a few km along came across the first land slide with a rather substantial rock sitting in the middle of the road.
Drenched on the tuk tuk
Oh well we thought, if our luck was out the chickens would surely take the brunt of the impact! We saw maybe 20 more land slides of varying degrees of scariness, plus several villages where everyone was either watching the raging rapids, which were once little streams, or watching people bailing out their flooded houses. This from only 4-5 hours of rain shows how they get serious floods here.
I could tell that Charly was thoroughly enjoying the start to her birthday and it got better when the young French girl sitting opposite projectile vomitted covering the floor, some feet and a local’s bag. Surprisingly and thankfully this did not cause domino puking event!
After a joyful 3 hours we arrived and took a tuk-tuk back to the guesthouse, it felt like coming home with hugs from Ken and co.
Iced coffee to start!
My yummy Pizza!
First drink of the day!
They were really busy so we only managed to get a twin room, but this was quickly rectified by a bit of furniture moving. We got settled in and headed out to a touristy restaurant so Charly could have pizza. We then moved on to get some beers and to start off the celebrations. After a few, we decided to head back to the guesthouse for a break and reconvene at 6pm. At 6pm we headed down to reception and Ken kindly informed us that he had got the “surprise” cake I had asked for (with of course Charly standing right beside me) – you gotta love him.
Pierre and I
It was once again pouring with rain so we cracked open a beer and waited for Pierre to be ready and Gill (an Ango-Ozzie we met) to arrive. We headed out to the Lao Lao bar just up the road and negotiated Lao Lao (local fire water made from Sticky rice) Mojitos for 2 for 1, so they worked out about 75p each, bargain! A few of the staff joined us and we managed to polish off 20 Mojitos in a few hours. Then the staff went and told us to come back in 10 mins.
Gill and I
Ken, Pierre and the manager
Me, Gill and Pierre
Pierre
At the GH
My tasty birthday cke from Pierre!
About to make a wish!..
Lovin' my birthday!
Chris chillin'
B-day suprise
We went back to find ‘happy birthday’ playing and we got out the cake and Charly made a wish! Very yummy cake eaten as a starter, we headed to the night market for a baguette and some sticky rice.
B-day girl
Some Mojitos soaked up, we headed back to the bar for a few more and then feeling pretty merry called it a night.Charly was keen to receive her surprise present from me, so I set it up and she happily watched the Eastenders Omnibus. I couldn’t say it grabbed my attention so drifted off to sleep about 1 episode in. All in all, an interesting day, but we all had fun and Charly was happy. Only Birthday Boxing Day to go!
written by  chrischarly on July 30, 2011 from Luang Prabang, Laos

Charly's Birthday Boxing Day...
Yummy
There really is rubbish collection in Asia!
Crazy water baby
Our GH
You count !
At the GH
Nice bar with baby
We had a lie in and then went across to meet Gill for lunch at a nice Café overlooking the Mekong. Whilst there we also saw Andy who was sitting in the restaurant next to us. After lunch we went for a stroll to the Dara market where we bargained hard for an “original”, hmmm, North Face backpack finally getting it for 50,000Kip or (£3.75’ish). We went back, chilled at the guesthouse in the afternoon, and then went to meet Andy for a sundowner over the Mekong. After a few beers, we headed for the night market for yet another scrummy baguette.

Last day In Luang Prabang
Nice!
Part of the Palace
I had to borrow a smelly shirt to enter
Strange light decorations
Very strange
The monks' washing line
Looking out of the mammoth window
As Luang Prabang is so chilled and simply just a lovely place to be and visit, we just had to spend one more night here! You can so easily get sucked into ‘The Laos way of life’ here and just never leave. For a city it is so tiny, admittedly with a ton of tourists, but in a good way and with a so many happy smiley faces, tasty and ridiculously cheap filled baguettes almost anyone who planned a flying visit with have to change their plans. So we decided to just be tourists today, and do go and visit the sights that we should’ve visited days ago, a few temples, and a palace. Then, we met up with a friend, Andy and went for cocktails in the evening. Great day. But we really must leave tomorrow, and we will go to Phonsavan to see ’The Plain of Jars’, which is one of the main reason as to why we came to Laos in the first place. Will be hard to get up and leave though I’m sure.
A monk cleaning up
Monksclearing up
Tuk-tuk
Pouring down with rain
written by  chrischarly on August 1, 2011 from Luang Prabang, Laos

Heading towards The Plain of Jars...
Phonsavan, Laos
It's the end of the road for our green bag :(
After finally arriving at the correct bus station, which should’ve taken 5 minutes, but instead took 30 as the driver of our tuk tuk pretended he understood what we were saying, so after another huge tour of Luang Prabang we just managed to jump on the bus to Phonsavan as it was leaving, luckily!
Changing a tire
The drive wasn’t too long, only 9 hours, and considering we only broke down once due to a flat tire, we considered it a good journey, well for Laos transport anyway. Finding a guesthouse was far too easy as well, as we stayed in the first place we checked out, as it was clean(ish) and cheap(ish), but more accurately,
Watching with dismay at our broken bus
it was pouring down with rain so couldn’t be bothered to look anymore! In the evening we simply relaxed, chatted to a few tourists who also decided to come here, which we were surprised that so many (8 people) had as it is Miles and Miles away from anywhere and a mission to get to and leave from! This was one of the reasons as to why we came here as no one we have met so far has managed to make it this far out, and as I had read up quite a bit on The Plain of Jars, which is the main attraction here, I was desperate to come!
written by  chrischarly on August 2, 2011 from Phonsavan, Laos

The Plain of Jars
Phonsavan, Laos
Happy to finally see the Plain of Jars
A huge crater caused by a bomb
Early-ish start for us this morning trying to haggle down a tour as much as possible, but as usual, we didn’t have much luck and the cheapest we could find was about £30 including everything. Too much for stingy backpackers on a budget! So we took a motorbike instead although the weather was not on our side and instead bucketing it down, so armed with a stolen umbrella from the guesthouse and a poncho kindly given to us from Gill our friend we hung out with a few days before, we headed on our way.
Cows and the jars
Luckily, the rain did ease up a little by the time we made it to Site 1 of The Plain of Jars so we could walk over half way round before it started again. It was in fact a really nice and peaceful place with great views and the jars themselves are very bizarre.
Looking at the cave
Me very wet
No one really knows why they are there, many suggest they were for keeping ‘Lao Lao’ in, which is a local whisky, but to me it just reminds me of a huge gravesite and when reading up a little more on them when we came back, there are many theories that agree.
A jar, partly broken from a bomb
Lots of jars
They are estimated to be about 2000-2500 years so no one really has a clue. Nevertheless, it is pretty impressive just to walk around and see them, and even more impressive to see that so many of them survived when Laos was bombed severely in that area.
Cow in the bomb crater
Jars
You cannot even walk everywhere in the site as some of the areas haven’t been cleared and checked for old bombs, but we stayed between the white markers (safe areas), so we were ok. We spent about an hour walking around but made a run for the shelter when the rain got too much where we waited for another hour for it to die down a bit before we went on our way to Hmong village (Bomb village) about 40km away.
House
A tied-up pig
Pig
Kid feeding banboo to Bull
Cute kid
A monkey tied to a bomb
The local children
Another house made out of bombs
This village is famous because the villagers there made the most out of the old American bombs and used the remains to help build their houses!
Collecting water
A monkey???
Hmong Village
The only phone in the village
Nice family
It was quite clever and very resourceful we thought! It was a really cute village, and we think it they don’t see many tourists there as it had such a nice local feel to it, really basic and yet everyone seemed so happy and smiley although they didn’t seem to speak any English or even Laos, but seemed to have their own local dialect.
An adorable local
A bomb plant pot
A house with bombs making the base
A tired, tied up pig
Our bike
Local house
After the village, we decided we had had enough of riding around and being wet so we took the bike back having ridden over 80km today.
The effect of the war
The effects of bombs...
In the evening we went to the local MAG (Mines Advisory Group) office who show videos about the bomb clearance, it was very sad to see the effect the bombs have on the local Laos people and they weren’t even involved in the war?!
Bomb something at our guesthouse
An old soldier's hat
Guesthouse armory
Bomb fireplace
A bomb cafe???
More US bombs
Bombs at entrance to our GH
MAG Office
written by  chrischarly on August 3, 2011 from Phonsavan, Laos

Locals munching on Live Stuff...
Vang Vieng, Laos
Our room key (a bullet)
We took a very long bus journey to Vientiane, arriving at 10.30pm. Along the way, we broke down with a flat tyre and while they were changing it, Charly wandered off to find a suitable loo spot. A minute later she shouted me to come as she had found them selling weird live larvae, we only assume to eat. There was a lot of trade and they were soon nearly sold out. Sure, it’s delicious!
Moving Larve, that the locals eat!!!
Yet again, broken bus...
Local root vegetable
Catapult head
Local village
Cute children
Lots of mountains
A cute house!
Beautful scerery
A truck full of people
When we finally arrived all the guesthouses we checked were either too expensive or full, in the end we found an ok room, with no windows and walls made of cardboard, plus it was boiling! All this for 60,000Kip, what not a bargain! Hey-ho, we can’t always be lucky…
written by  chrischarly on August 4, 2011 from Vang Vieng, Laos

Walk around Vientiane
Vientiane, Laos
Arc de triomphe Lao style
View from top
Monument
View from Arc de triomphe
After a very tasty lunch of Noodle soup with Crispy Pork, we went out to explore Vientiane and walked to the Laos version of the Arc de Triomphe. It was ok but nothing special, we then headed back to the Mekong to take in sunset in a rooftop bar.
Enjoying suset
We enjoyed a couple of beers and then headed to a bar across the road for us. (Un)Fortunately, it was happy hour and cocktails were half price. We had one from the menu and then I asked the barman to make a Lao Lao Mojito. They were very scrummy and very strong! We had 5 between us, were fairly drunk and the bill was £2, bargain! We then headed to another Indian, had a beer, and then a feast before heading back to pass out in the room.
written by  chrischarly on August 5, 2011 from Vientiane, Laos

Hung-over and travelling...
Ban Paksan, Laos
Today we awoke with hangovers after our unplanned drinkypoo’s the night before. Originally, we had planned to head to Kong Lo caves but when we emailed a guesthouse, they told us that due to flooding The Caves were closed. So instead, we left Vientiane to head to Tha Khek.
Henry and Anya
As usual with Laos, the journey was eventful with a bus as old as the arc and a crazy driver. We had fun just watching the world go by and got chatting to two Germans, Henri, and Anya. The bus surprisingly didn't break down, and we have no ide how, but our tuk tuk did instead...
Broken down tuk tuk
We arrived in Tha Khek and went to the Lonely Planet’s “Our Pick”. It was pretty poor for the price and once again the Lonely Planet let us down. In the evening, we played Yatzee with a French couple and had a boring meal. Think we will leave tomorrow…
written by  chrischarly on August 6, 2011 from Ban Paksan, Laos

From one over-priced place to another...
Ban Tha Khek, Laos
Cute girl
We left our rip-off accommodation in Tha Khek and took a tuk tuk to the bus station preparing to head to Savannakhet. But when we got to the bus station, we changed our mind, as there really wasn’t much point in going there apart from breaking up another long bus journey, so we took the hit and instead went straight to Pakse about 7 hours away. The bus though was a complete laugh. It must’ve been older than me! Not to mention uber smelly and very fragile. About 30 minutes into our journey, the seat next to us collapsed off the rail and landed with a loud thud, so the passengers sitting on it were sitting lopsidedly the whole way. We then checked our own seats as well as the others on the bus and they all looked in the same state, and sure enough, ours collapsed before the journey was over. But the driver was a speed freak so at least our misery didn’t last forever. When we arrived in Pakse, we searched in vain for cheap accommodation for well over an hour and once again ended up with rubbish, over-priced find, as all the cheap ones were full already. So another bus journey it is again tomorrow until we find somewhere worth staying and cheaper than £7!...
written by  chrischarly on August 7, 2011 from Ban Tha Khek, Laos

Violent waterfall
Pakse, Laos
View from our place
After a not-so-early start, as neither our friends nor us could be bothered to get the first bus, we took the second at 11am to Tad Lo. The journey was 90km and should’ve taken a maximum of 2 hours, but due to our driver mistaking himself for a snail, stopping everywhere, and reversing often, it took considerably longer. However, the bus itself was ok, although packed with locals, rice and other junk; at least we had a seat that was relatively comfortable.
View of waterfall from balcony
Upon arriving in Tad Lo we had the usual tuk tuk negotiation and decided amongst ourselves that the correct fare should be no more than 5000kip; certain he would eventually agree to our price all 4 of us stood our ground until he surprised us all by driving away! Well, we never thought that would happen!
The violent river
Gutted, and as he was the only tuk tuk driver around we shamefacedly began to walk the 1.8km into town due to a 20p extra in fare we didn’t want to part with. After walking about ½ a km the tuk tuk driver reappeared and we finally got a ride for 5000kip. Then we meandered around town to find somewhere cheap to stay and found somewhere beyond basic but with great views of a very violent Waterfall.
written by  chrischarly on August 8, 2011 from Pakse, Laos

An amazing find...
Tad Lo, Laos
On the balcony at our 1st place
Our nice, but messy room
After a rough nights sleep in our £2 bungalow, we decided to move to another place we had seen and whilst away from the River was really nice and chilled overlooking rice paddys.
Our view
Later in the day Henry and Anya decided to move too, and took a really funky bamboo hut were each visitor leaves something behind. It was very cool and original with an eclectic mix of travellers' unwanted stuff. We checked into the most expensive room at about £4, but it was huge with our own bathroom and large Terrace.
Balcony of 2nd place
Our hut
We chilled the rainy afternoon away and then helped make a nice Laos dinner of Pumpkin Soup, Laap, Laos salad and Sticky rice. We all sat down and enjoyed it with the family.
Bon Apetite
Eating all together
written by  chrischarly on August 9, 2011 from Tad Lo, Laos

A small walk around Tad Lo
Tad Lo, Laos
Enjoying a juice by waterfall
We awoke to heavy rain so decided to stay in bed, might have had something to do with the beer the night before too! We got up about lunchtime and headed out for a walk to the other side of the River.
Stood at the base of Tad Lo waterfall
We found a nice, if overpriced, restaurant right next to the falls. We then crossed back and walked up to a resort that has elephants and where you could see the upper Waterfall, the actual Tad Lo Waterfall.
After this we wandered back to the guesthouse and planned a tasty western dinner of pasta, fried Chicken, salads and garlic bread.
Another guest, Eleana from Scicily, and I prepared most of it and more people kept getting added to the party.
Tad Lo waterfall
In the end we had to cook for 16. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and it was nice to have some Western food. After dinner a group of us retired to the bamboo hut balcony for more beer, and Lao-Lao. We ended up telling stories, playing games and listening to tunes until about 3am.
written by  chrischarly on August 10, 2011 from Tad Lo, Laos

Chris going bald...
Tad Lo, Laos
We did nothing, so nothing to write about. We truly are becoming a true Laos citizen!.. Oh... Apart from Chris finally getting himself a haircut!
Before
1/2 bald
Now bald
Chris' hair
written by  chrischarly on August 11, 2011 from Tad Lo, Laos

Waterfalls
First sighting of the waterfall
To the waterfall....
Feeling bad about doing nothing for a few days the 4 of us planned to go on a 4km walk to a big Waterfall, the weather was hot so we took it slow. We walked 3km to the village nearby and stopped for refreshments. After this some local kids decided to guide us to the base of the falls.
The water pump
The local bath
We started off on a slippery mud track that soon got hilly and very slippy. Henry and Anya had flip-flops but soon discarded them for bare feet. We had our trainers on but to no avail as once they were clogged up with mud it was like skating.
Chris drenched with sweat
Sweaty and exhausted
We made it nearly all the way there and gave up, the barefoot Germans did the last stretch and then we all walked back in heavy rain and two rainbows.
2 rainbows
At the base of the waterfall
After a shower we went for another yummy dinner and some beers.

Last day in Tad Lo
Locals fishing
Along the river
In the rice paddies
Our hut
A local village
The steps to our place
Well it's our last day today in Tad Lo and the 4 of us decided we would do what we do best and do nothing. Just chill, play some games, have a few beers and watch the world go by before helping cook dinner at night.

To the 4000 islands
Ban Dondet, Laos
The tractor
We left our guesthouse in the back of a tractor to the bus stop and then caught a bus to Pakse. It was really easy and not much waiting around and the bus moved surprisingly quick. When we got to Pakse we then caught a huge tuk tuk to Ban Nakasang.
Climbing on the tuk tuk
It was supposed to take about 3 hours but with the speed we travelled we made it in 2. We got dropped off right where the boats left and it was just a quick boat ride to Don Det.
Inside our big tuk tuk
Chris unfortunately banged his head on the top of the boat and took a small chunk out of his head but managed to be brave about it. :)
On the boat ride over
We found acomodation for so cheap it was ridiculous, quite possibly the cheapest we've had yet at £1.70 a night, but it was very basic, just a shack, with nothing but a bed, but with great views of sunset and the River. So we chilled in a hammock for a few hours before we went and found some food at 7:30pm as we hadn't eaten for the day and were starving!
written by  chrischarly on August 14, 2011 from Ban Dondet, Laos

A catch-up day...
Ban Dondet, Laos
A massive tree
Sunset from our balcony
Not much to say today... just tried for hours upon hours of catching up with this blog but only managed to waste time as the internet is so slow even in internet cafes here on Don Det.
written by  chrischarly on August 15, 2011 from Ban Dondet, Laos

Rain rain go away
Ban Dondet, Laos
Raining so hard you couldn't see
Raining so hard
Busy day of achieving not a lot due to the rubbish weather. We need an umbrella...
written by  chrischarly on August 16, 2011 from Ban Dondet, Laos

Lazy day again...
Loving the hammock!
Small kid trying to get back on his bike
Sunset from our balcony
Sunset in the bar
End of sunset- strange colours
Henry and Anya were planning to go for a bike ride to the other Island but only made it as far as their hammocks, another one of those days! We, once angain, enjoyed a day chilling and having a few beers with them before they depart to Cambodia.

Bye Henry and Anya...
Fishing from a hammock
Chris happy
Chris' HUGE fish
The curry was even too spicy for Chris!!!
Henry and Anya left today to head to Cambodia. We surprised ourselves by managing to get up early to say goodbye to them! Impossible to do a lot today due to the terrential rain that didn't let up all day, so we instead drowned our sorrows in a bar, and once again had an Indian! :)

Stupid rain...
Tiniest kitten in the world
Small kid trying to get back on his bike

An expedition...
Leading the way...
We awoke to sunshine so decided it was time to stop chilling and go on an expedition. Charly nominated herself as expedition leader (EL) and chose the mode of transport as foot, the other option being bicycle. Our itinerary was to walk down the sunset side of Don Det then cross the bridge to Don Khon to see the waterfalls.
The bridge to the other island
We sunscreened up and set off along the track that follows the riverside, although the sun had dried out most of the mud, we soon found ourselves up against a small lake where once was a path.
2 fishing boats
Our fearless EL, went off in to the bush to create a new path around this obstacle. I followed on behind, unworthy……
Trying to avoid the mud
We soon had crossed several obstacles including a large slab of beef and had reached the end of the path along the water. We decided to ask a local guy who strangely offered us a massage (in the middle of nowhere) and then once we declined he asked our ages.
Ducks
Our form of communication was to write in the dirt and we soon learned that this very athletic local guy was 62?! We gave over our ages and he then drew a large clock type thing in the sand and proceeded to tell our fortune. Amused by this we were until he wrote down 10,000Kip or $1. We politely excused ourselves from Mystic Meg and headed inland to find the main road.
Oops
I was quickly reminded of the fact that I was just a lowly “expedition reporter” as I lead us down a path through the rice paddy to a dead end. Under a dark cloud cast by EL we headed back to the junction and took the other choice.
2 Local kids fishing out of a big pond
A little way along we found an old bridge and could see the road, but the paddy had flooded across the road and it was a rather large lake. Whilst EL made her strategy of attack we were joined by Meg who gestured for us to follow him across the lake. We de-shoed and EL headed off guided by Meg and I hung back to watch and enjoy.
An outside oven
I was pretty sure they were going through a deep section when Meg pointed to the water were EL should place her foot. She placed it down, and then down further and further until, oops, there she goes straight in up to her waist.
A bull in our way
Meg dragged her out and once again I had let down the expedition by not having the camera to hand, and by laughing too much to get it.
Locals boys leading a bull
I made my own route and made it through only shins wet, EL was covered in mud and wet. No problem, Meg led us to a nearby guesthouse and took EL to the back. EL came back looking violated, after apparently Meg was very, maybe too keen to give her bum a good wash with hands and hose.
Me after I'd just fallen in
This concluded our expedition and after a short break we walked, EL squelched back to the guesthouse and a nice shower……………………..

Messy night...
Road repair?!
Last day in Don Det today after spending 8 days here. It was nice just spending a while in one place and not travelling continuously so the chances are we will forget how to do it! The reason why we spent so long here was that we couldn’t Enter Cambodia any earlier or we would over-stay our visa before making our way back to KL to fly to Australia.
Just before the cat weed&stained my trousers
We went for a nice walk around again in the baking heat, of course a nice change to rain, but wow, it was hot!
Scary-looking clouds
In the evening we went to Adam’s bar expecting to watch a film there and have a quick drink before calling it an early night. This however, didn’t happen.
Adam's bum
When we turned up, Adam,
Adam dancing on bar
the owner and his friend John had been on a heavy session all day and invited us to join them, involving many shots of vile local whisky and many beers. Not sure when we stumbled home, but it was a great night and we didn’t even spend a Penny as Adam was adamant he was paying! Bonus!

Robbing bastards...
Stoeng Treng, Cambodia
Leaving don det
Woke up this morning still drunk from our impromptu piss up at Adam’s bar. What better way to be crossing the border?Then, made our way down for our 8am boat which finally left about 9.15. Once we crossed onto the mainland we were ushered to an office where we were given visa forms and told that the cost of the visa would be $28 if we did ourselves, or, $29 if we gave to the tour company to arrange. The actual price of a visa should be $20 but this border is known for its ‘extras’ that obviously make the officials very rich men.
Monk using free wifi
Obviously, we decided we would do it all ourselves, which upset the organiser, meaning that he refused to speak to us from then on, or anyone else for that matter. Hey ho! Finally got on a minibus to the border and went to the Laos departure office, here started the fun….. They requested $2 per passport for the exit stamp. We politely told them ‘No’, and then requested a receipt but to no avail, it’s simple, no $2 no stamp. Robbing bastards!
Huge fishing nets
Then when we walked across to the Cambodia side there was a health check point, that seemed random as several people walked past, but obviously they stopped us. They asked us to fill out a little yellow form then asked for a $1, we politely said no. They then asked for yellow fever certificates, which we had at the bottom of our main bags, we fished them out but were told they had expired, they hadn’t as they last 10 years and not 1, so again told them no $1.
Gorgeous!
Then they aked us if we had a gonorrhoea vaccination, do they even exist?! At this point, we told them that under no circumstances were we paying them, (well maybe involving a tad bit of shouting in a less polite way than stated) picked up our bags and walked away, they did not protest. Next stop our visa on arrival, $23 not the $20, but we just argued a little then paid.
Huge beautiful storm in the sea
Then when we went through the checkpoint they requested $2 per passport for a stamp, argued a little then paid $1 as a compromise to get it over with. So we made it through for $26, but pretty sure that $6 was all falling into back pockets. If we want to ever get work whilst travelling we will definitely try and get an immigration job. With the 100’s or maybe 1000’s of people crossing this border each day, they must be very rich men! We then found our bus and it was nice and we soon left for Kratie. When we arrived we checked a few guesthouses and found an ok one for $5 close to everything. We went for a nice walk along the river and had the most amazing fruit Smoothie consisting of banana, pineapple, apple, dragon fruit, avocado, condensed milk and ice, amazing!
written by  chrischarly on August 22, 2011 from Stoeng Treng, Cambodia

Irawaddy dolphins
Kratie, Cambodia
Excited about seeing the dolphins
We spent the morning walking around Krati to see if we could find anyone else to join us to see the Irrawaddy Dolphins in the afternoon, but without any luck, which would’ve helped drop the cost a little.
The mekong from the top
We went regardless though stopping off beforehand to climb 360 steps to the top of a Mountain to see some great views of the Mekong River.
Lovely view from the top
When we arrived at the dock to go the boat, we were lucky enough to find Andy, a solo Chinese traveller, so he joined us to save us a whopping $4.
Lots of steps
We were out in the boat for just over 2 hours and we were lucky enough to see many dolphins during this time and some pretty close.
Buddhist monk statues
Irrawaddy Dolphins are mainly freshwater dolphins and there are about 70 in this area, with a total of just 200 left in the world,
Little house on the water
meaning they are seriously endangered and are sadly expected to be extinct within the next 10-20 years. In the morning we put our camera battery on
Off to see the dolphins...
charge to ensure we could take loads of pictures and videos whilst we went out for the morning. Unfortunately we didn’t realise that as soon
Dolphins!!!
as the guests leave the guesthouse they switch all the power off in the rooms! So we were ½ way through our trip and the battery run out, just as the dolphins came closer! So upset!
Dolphins
Unfortunately the photos we took didn’t come out that great, one due to our limited battery life, and two because they move so fast! But still an amazing afternoon and a great chance to see them before they sadly disappear.
written by  chrischarly on August 23, 2011 from Kratie, Cambodia

Garden party
Kampong Cham, Cambodia
Bus arrived, then broke down...
Got up bright and early (well 7.30am) and had a quick coffee before checking out and making our way to the bus stop heading to Kampong Cham. The bus did surprisingly arrive in Kratie on time, but broke down as soon as it arrived?! But after just ½ an hour’s wait another bus showed up,
The supposedly impressive lighthouse
so as sheep we were promptly ushered onto this bus and straight into the remaining seats at the very back, nice! Shortly into the journey, due to the bumps and eating just before getting on the bus, I started to feel very sick, so Chris playing nurse gave me a nausea tablet and I passed out for the rest of the journey awaking only when we arrived, perfect!
Outside Mekong sunrise guesthouse
Kampong Cham is a bit of a sleepy town, and as we had seen the dolphins yesterday, there wasn’t a great deal to do, but an ideal stop-over to break up the journey to Kep.
Where we stayed in Kampong Cham
We found a nice guesthouse easily called Mekong Sunrise that had $4 rooms overlooking the River, and we met up with 4 other travellers, Jo, Johnny, Claire and Neil and enjoyed a few drinks with them in the evening after going to a garden Party for dinner.
Our massive terrace
This is basically a place where they cook spit-roast beef, I know it sounds strange, but it tasted good, and it is a real local thing to eat when in Cambodia. Unfortunately, they tried ripping us off with the bill at the end, charging almost double the price on the menu, which left a slightly bad taste in our mouths after a great meal.
written by  chrischarly on August 24, 2011 from Kampong Cham, Cambodia

Yummy yummy seafood with Kampot pepper
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
View from our balcony at tree tops
The owners of Mekong Sunrise guesthouse were kind enough to arrange free transport for us to the bus stop, and then we were able to get straight on the bus, easy travelling once again. We took the bus to Phnom Penh then had to wait for 1 ½ hours for the next bus to Kep.
Restaurants on the water
It didn’t take long to get to Kep and as Chris had already had a look at places to stay, our life was pretty easy! After chatting nicely to a local on the bus, he spoke to the bus driver on behalf of us at dropped us off at the bottom of the drive to ‘Tree Tops’ and from there just a 700m walk where we got a nice hut with views of the sea for just $5. Perfect.
Delicious prawns...
The most awesome crab dish!!
As well as Kampot, Kep has some amazing seafood so in the evening we gorged ourselves on crab and prawns cooked with green Kampot peppercorns, delicious and very decadent for us backpackers!
written by  chrischarly on August 25, 2011 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Exploring Kep
Kep, Cambodia
We decided to explore around Kep today, firstly going to the crab market and then a walk around the coast.
Lady getting out the crabs
Bringing the crabs in
Lady cooking our prawns
Making our sugar-cane juice
Then we decided to go a bit further afield and as there were 4 of us, it was cheaper to hire a tuk tuk for the day instead of hiring 2 bikes. So after some hard negotiating we were on our way. First stop was to some caves about 30km away from Kep and it was a great disappointment.
The caves
Limsestone cliffs
Entrance to cave
Walking up to caves
As it is rainy season, The Caves are completely flooded, but of course no one was willing to tell this when planning our adventure, especially not the tuk tuk driver, or when paying The Entrance fees when we arrived.
Just inside the entrance of flooded cave
Cannot go inside cause of flooding
So we could only go just inside The Entrance and even though we said countless times that we didn’t want a guide, 7 children joined us adamant that they would offer their guide services to us.
Inside the cave
Inside cave
As far in as we could go
But I’m sure they are great to look around during the dry season, but during wet season it is a waste of money for both transport and entrance fees. But then again we have seen many caves, so I’m sure we didn’t miss much. After this, we went to a pepper Plantation was which in fact really interesting.
Green peppercorns
Peppercorn vines
Kampot pepper is really famous and quite possibly the best pepper you can buy and we even got to try some.
Lychees
Huge papayas
Me though, hating anything spicy or very peppery embarrassingly had to spit it out. Then in the evening, back to Kimley’s restaurant for the tasty crab dish again!
written by  chrischarly on August 26, 2011 from Kep, Cambodia

Hanging out
Kep, Cambodia
A very big crab
The gecko before Becks grabs it
A tree growing sideways?!
Becks holding a BIG gecko with BIG teeth!?!?
Had a nice chill day today hanging out with some other travellers.
Went down into town about 1 1/2 km away, nice walk. But on the way back it was pouring down with rain and as there were 5 of us decided to call a tuk tuk. The price should be 1$ but he quoted $2 so we refused to pay it and walked back in the pouring rain, all of us soaked through, literally. So now we have no dry clothes as we just did all our washing, and they are just as wet as when we first did them. All this for refusing to pay $2 between 5 of us. Such cheap-skates we are, but it was the principal of the matter, you know?
written by  chrischarly on August 27, 2011 from Kep, Cambodia

Yucky day...
Kep, Cambodia
Enjoying the sea breeze
We woke up and it was still pouring with rain, it didn't stop at all during the night, so everywhere was so muddy and disgusting and our clothes were soaked, so we put on wet clothes and spent the day pretty much waiting for the rain to stop… yucky day…
written by  chrischarly on August 28, 2011 from Kep, Cambodia

Kampot, Cambodia
In Asia, always lots of motorbikes
Today we left Kep, our clothes were pretty much dry and we decided it was time to move on and stop eating the most delicious seafood and go back on a budget and the best way to do that would be to leave. So we caught the 1st bus to Kampot. It wasn’t far, just an hour bus journey. Finding accommodation was easy as well, and cheap. There is a whole street with $5 rooms and they were all ok, so we picked the best of a bunch and checked in to Pepper Guesthouse. I was feeling a bit rough today so didn’t feel like doing much, but Chris successfully managed to persuade me to go next door to Blissful Guesthouse for happy hour. From then on, we stayed for 8 hours, ate some Comfort food with REAL Cheddar cheese and our bill grew a bit too much. Chris got chatting to the owners and they discovered our previous experience working in bars etc. and instantly offered us both jobs, and then wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer. So even though we went away adamant we wouldn’t work anywhere (except in the Philippines) as we went away to escape work, and for me, especially work in bars or restaurants, here we were agreeing. We are weak people…
written by  chrischarly on August 29, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

Joining the working masses in Cambodia...
Kampot, Cambodia
Dick, someone? and Ezzer
Well after a night of drinking, we woke up and remembered what we agreed to last night, so thought we better talk it through a little more with alcohol in the system… So we headed next door and met a sober Dick and Ezzer and spoke about what would be required of us if we did decide to work, and we found out that basically we wouldn’t have to do much, so we thought we would give it a go. We could only work for 13 nights as we still want to do a little more exploring, and in return for working, we wouldn’t get paid, but we would get free accommodation, free alcohol, as much as we like (Chris loved this part), free food, as much and whatever we want, free laundry (yay- a break from hand-washing!) and even free cigarettes!
Ezzer and Chris in the 'Royal Chair'
So we thought, why not. It’s raining pretty much every day anyway so we are limited to what we can do, so why not have a free 2 weeks! So had a free breakfast and then got ready to start work after some chatting… 4-12pm are our working hours, and tonight it was pretty quiet, complete opposite of last night, so our 1st shift consisted of not a lot of work, a lot of sitting and chatting. Chris being ‘King of the Bar’ in his royal chair behind the bar keeping an eye on the ‘till’ and over-seeing everything (aka nothing) and I just had to take a few orders and take out some food- something I can do with my eyes closed… So a good night, Chris managed to consume about 8 pints and I had a couple of glasses of wine… Think we’ve got it made here! But better not speak too soon, will keep you updated!
written by  chrischarly on August 30, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

Poker Night
Kampot, Cambodia
Poker night
Went for a stroll around Kampot today. Not a great deal to see, but nice to see some sunshine again! Very hot! Then came back, showered, changed and got ready for our 2nd night’s work. Compared to yesterday it was really busy from 6-10pm, didn’t stop at all!
Chris however, is getting quite used to his chair behind the bar and is reaching distance to pretty much anything… hmmm… think I picked the wrong option working out front?!?!.. Then, to top it off, it was ‘Poker Night’ so from 8pm- midnight he played poker and drank beer with a group of other customers, so that was his ‘work’ for the night… Yep, definitely picked the wrong role…
written by  chrischarly on August 31, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

It's a hard life... :)
Becks, Ana and Rhie
Woke up pretty tired from running about working, so was fast asleep until 11am when Chris started banging on the door, he had already left and eaten breakfast before I even surfaced! Hard life I know! Just chilled the afternoon away trying to fix the laptop- no idea what’s wrong with it, but very irritating! Then, started work at 4pm- very quiet to begin with, but a little crazy from 7:30pm when the customers started to flock in. I forget just how tiring running about a restaurant is, especially in this climate, the humidity just kills you!
written by  chrischarly on September 1, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

All keeping our fingers crossed for Darran xxx
A kid escaping the playground
The bar was ridiculously quiet all day and night. So didn’t really have to do much, just serve a couple of people. So, we locked up at 10pm, a nice change from the usual 1:30am. Chris and Dick went out to another local bar with local music and didn’t resurface again until gone 3am and I sat outside for 4 hours being eaten alive by mosquitoes trying to keep updated on my poorly sick brother… So hope he pulls through and is better soon… We’re all thinking of you and praying for the best xxxx
written by  chrischarly on September 2, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

Same, same... But different
A bright blue gecko
Another pretty gecko
Not a lot to report about today finally dragged myself out of bed at about 1:30pm after a rubbish sleep due to Chris’ snoring and fidgeting all night. The bar got pretty busy for a while in the evening, full of fussy and impatient customers which reminded me of working back in the U.K. with a forced smile plastered on my face. But closed up early at 11:30pm as everyone left early.
written by  chrischarly on September 3, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

Work...
It's a Sunday, so roast dinner for me!
Dick and Chris eating Chris' home-cooked steaks
Working again today, and again not much to say about it as most of you back home are also working, so don’t really want to read about it.

Quiet day
Local houses
River dividing Kampot in 1/2
Seriously quiet at work today.
Tried to keep ourselves busy as much as possible.
So, ended up sitting at the end of the bar with a glass of wine in hand…
Can’t complain.

Long day
Fruits of Asia roundabout
Long day today.
Stayed pretty much glued to the computer as I have done for the past week awaiting news on Darran.
Got an update that he is now critical.
So have been worried sick and praying all day.
Oh yeah, work was boring.

R.I.P to my brother Darran :( xxx
Sadly my brother, Darran passed away today. So a very sad and emotional day for everyone who knew and loved him, especially Sharon, his wife and Bridget, his mother and I know myself and my Sisters and Stuart my brother. Many people grieving today. It’s really hard being away from home when all this is happening. Glad I have Chris.

Chris Dancing
Haha... look closely
Think I finally dragged myself out of bed at 2pm.
Had the worst night’s sleep ever.
Quiet again.
Locked up at 10:30pm.
Nothing much occurred.
Apart from the biggest cockroach in the world landed on Chris.
Highly amusing watching him dancing behind the bar trying to shake it off.

Back to being busy
Kampot town
Lee, Dick and Chris... 'advertising'... or, slacking
Yay the bar was actually pretty busy today, so actually did a few hours of work with a glass of wine sneakily hidden at the end of the bar at all times.

Something's been eating my clothes...?
Chris hard at work, watching cricket and beer in hand
Bungalows outside
I currently own 3 pairs of trousers. Put 2 of them in the wash yesterday and 2 of them have come back with holes down the left leg. Gutted, they won’t last much longer and they were good ones, can’t buy decent clothes out here like that, and no way can afford the same in Oz. Think a rat might have eaten them, or the stupid washing machine. Either way not good. Busy day at work again.

Stupidly messy night...
Old building
Had a nice roast Chicken lunch today, well shared one as they are huge. Had a pretty busy evening and enjoyed a few beers throughout the evening , and some very tasty Mongolian vodka, courtesy of Clement, an old Blissful barman who returned today.
Ezza was on top form as Clement was back and we all ended up pretty pissed by close-up and then headed to Madi’s bar on the River,
before making our way to Bar Red. It was pretty busy and we ended up drinking heavily including beer, G+T’s, shots of various description.
An old building
We staggered home at about 5.30am to discover we didn’t have our keys. Tried climbing over the gate unsuccessfully but the barbed wire scared us. We then staggered back to Bar Red to see if we had left our keys there. Nope. So Chris thought it would be the perfect opportunity for yet another beer. Then phoned Ezza who reluctantly got out of bed to let us in just as the sun was rising. Found our keys, Chris had left them behind Blissful bar when working. What a muppet… Top night!

Hungover
Old picture of a bridge
Ouch! What happened last night. Had many ice coffees, Royal D’s (vitamin isotonic drinks) and Comfort food. Oh and no beer. Had another fairly busy night, glad to get to bed…….

Day 2 of hangover
The bar
Monks
Day 2 of the hangover for old man Chris. Managed to get out for second round of the pool championships between Chris and Ezza. Chris lost 5-4 so now 1 match each, decider scheduled for Saturday. Had a fairly quiet night and a few beers then early night.

Again... poker night
Poker night
Poker night again. I spent 2 hours teaching a very hung-over Olly (another traveller) how to play before I started work as he had never played before as he was
desperate to play.
Olly passed out
But after all my hard work playing teacher, to make him feel better and get rid of his hang-over,
Dieke dancing on the bar
he drank 5 shots and 7 beers and managed to pass out by 6:30pm, and pass out is literally an understatement as we worried a few times if he were still breathing! He managed to sleep solidly for 6 hours so missed poker unfortunately. But many other travellers showed up and the bar was packed out. Very busy night.

12 days of work originally, now 3 weeks...
A 5yr old candle
Well, we were supposed to absolutely leave today, after delaying it day by day and finally go and see Ankor Wat,
Blissful bar
The killing Fields and S21. But we decided instead of rushing it, we would just have to come back again… one day...
Mr. Tith (waiting staff)
Dick and Ezza want us to come back and work here again,
Almost closing, J snoozing
so you never know what might happen in the future?! But either way, we have been useless tourists missing out 3 major things to see and visit. As everyone always says when trapped in Kampot and find themselves wasting away the days… ‘Next time’…

Another quiet day
Scrappy
Fat Boy (yep, that's his real name)
Very quiet and boring day. Very few customers, so the night dragged slowly by. But we did finish up early which of course is a bonus.

Oh dear...
Flaming sambuca from 1 glass to another
Well it is our unofficial last day at Blissful and as tradition goes, Ezza, Dick and co planned to get us wasted! First off we had the big pool final, previous matches had been won by Chris 5-4 then Ezza 5-4, so this was a big deal, so we headed off to Wunderbar at 11.00. We started without a beer, but after 3 games realised it was time. The match was a whitewash and Chris won 5-1; this started Ezza’s downwards role. After a few in Wunderbar, we strolled into Rusty’s for a few more and then it was apparent that we were getting slightly pissed, well Ezza was anyway. As I knew I was getting tagged teamed with Ezza on the early and Dick on the late, Chris thought it best to take Ezza out of the game.
Drinking the fumes of sambuca
On his last two beers, he gave him a shot of vodka in the bottom and he didn’t even notice. We staggered home well past when we were supposed to and Ezza disappeared to bed about 6pm. Another victory to Mr Joel. After this point it all went decidedly down-hill, many shots were poured and drunk and after several hours of this, including some dancing on the bar, and some Sambuca fires on the bar it all becomes a blur for Chris. The details are best left for the night, and only remembered over beers in the future. All in all a good night if slightly too drunked!!

Last day at Blissful...
Blissful
Well now it is our official last day at Blissful and we spent it hungover and trying to recover. Nice to spend a day the other side of the bar, watching rugby and nothing not a lot else. Nice early night!

And now back to Thailand...
Krong Kaoh Kong, Cambodia
Our bags hanging ot of the back, drenched
We said our fond goodbyes to everyone. The kitchen staff responded by saying, ‘Charly we love you!’ That was so lovely. Will miss their lovely cheery smiley faces. Even Ezza, J and Tith managed to surface to say goodbye at the early hour of 8am! Made us feel nice and appreciated! Then caught a local minibus for a long drive to the Thai border, which was tiring and long. Passed through border easily, no hassle coming out of Cambodia compared to coming in, which assured us that they were rip off ********. Then caught a minibus into Trat, which was easy peasy. Decided against taking a tuk tuk, they said it was 3km into town, we thought they were lying so walked. After going 3km we were exhausted and sweaty and wished we were more trusting but found a nice place to stay for 200 baht. Then chilled there in the evening, quite enjoying Trat.
written by  chrischarly on September 19, 2011 from Krong Kaoh Kong, Cambodia

And now, back to KL...
Trat, Thailand
After a brief stop-over it was time to move on, so, checked out at 8am and caught a tuk tuk to the bus station and the bus left promptly on time at 9am. Nice bus and very good journey, really fast driver and arrived dead on time at Bangkok airport at 2pm. The wait was way too long, but it was our easiest transport option with no messing around so we didn’t mind. Flight was also fine and left at 8:20pm to KL. Arrived in KL at 11:30pm, ran through immigration, got bags as quick as possible, then ran to get tickets for last bus to Pudaraya, which is the closest place to Sarang Vacation Homes, our favourite place in KL. So happy we made it to the bus as didn’t think we would. Then found the bus, relieved and then had to wait for about ½ an hour, maybe longer for it to actually go. They said it was direct, they lied of course. Went via the other airport. When we arrived in Pudaraya, decided again to walk instead of getting a taxi, took us about 20 minutes to get to Sarang Vacation Homes. Then had to wake up Terry to let us in. When we got upstairs realised it was 2am and we told them we would get there just gone midnight. Oops, exhausted, sleep time!
written by  chrischarly on September 20, 2011 from Trat, Thailand

Arriving in KL at 2pm, perfect start to the day... almost like being home:)
Blagging our way through into convention
Andrew's birthday cake
The highest counter in the world!
Pretty coffee
100% chocolate
Back in KL, of course happy, it feels like coming home we have been here so much, went to see M&C in their office after having breakfast. Then they told us about a foodie convention that was on, Chris was excited until he found out he had to wear trousers and shoes to get in, another sweaty day in KL. When we arrived, we lied and said we still owned a pub so we could get in for free. Haha. Walked around for about 4 hours having loads of tasty free food and drink samples. Awesome. Then came back far too stuffed for dinner and had an early night chilling out.
written by  chrischarly on September 21, 2011 from Bangkok, Thailand

Lady making fresh noodles
Chef cooking our yummy pork
Woke up, didn’t have breakfast as Michael said he would take us out again. Chris had gotten up before me and done a little shopping whilst I slept. Then went to a local noodle place, advertised as one of the top 10 things to eat ever in KL.
The yummy pork
Yummy noodles
So we thought we must try this too! So we did and it was so delicious! Completely stuffed and thinking we couldn’t possibly eat anything else, Michael said we must try this belly pork that is also famous here. So reluctantly we agreed and went to have some too. This was also great but I was about to burst and made him stop taking us places to eat so we went back instead for a rest for 1 ½ hours before we met up with him again. As soon as I got in I passed out and fell fast asleep, completely unplanned and Chris woke me up an hour later saying we must meet up with them again. Then we did and Michael took us to a super market where we brought groceries for Chris to cook dinner for later and I got my hair cut. Stupid guy only cut half my fringe, so one side in 2 inches longer.
Chris cooking
Chris busy cooking
Then went back and Chris cooked roast lamb dinner, had an awesome night before taking a taxi back home.
All sitting around the table
Chris' lamb roast dinner
written by  chrischarly on September 22, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Bye SE Asia blog... off to Australia!!!!
Perth, Australia
Weird porridge and intestine dish?!
It is our last day now in KL for I don’t know how long. Would love to go back again, and to be honest, pretty damn sure we will. Christina and Michael are like family to us now and once again we spent the day with them. Went out for breakfast at Imbi market, the place where I painfully got chilli in my eye a few months back. Then came back, did a little shopping, packed our bags up and went out for an Indian for dinner. Then said tearful goodbyes before they dropped us off at KL sentral to catch the bus to the airport. We planned it a lot better this time so didn’t have a painfully long wait before boarding at 11:30pm, fingers crossed our 700+ cigarettes manage to get smuggled through security into Australia!..
written by  chrischarly on September 23, 2011 from Perth, Australia

Fish in the cave pool

The cave pool

Neil cooling off

Would be fantastic views if no clouds

Our home in Apia

The roof's made out of flip-flop remains

The ford we didn't pass through

Neil checking out depth of ford #2

Lots of rain

Choppy sea

Table in the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum

Old photo in Robert Louis Stevenson Museum

Neil about to have a nap

Inviting bed

Check out how long the grass is!

We fed the hungry dogs whilst waiting for ferry

Neil and the boy's guide

Chris having a little break

Rock hopping

Random bit of tarmacked road

Banana flower

Our fale

On the flight to Samoa

Admiring the blowholes

Huge blowholes

Blowholes

Coconut man

Lovely day

Stacks of coconuts

A natural pool

Our beach fales

View from Neil's fale

Hermit crab in a snail's shell

Nice sunset

Old church affected by tsunami

View from the crater

Warning

Pidgin English

Our little mozzie-eating friend

Lava fields

Corrugated iron melted by lava

Old church destroyed by the lava

Virgin's grave the lava missed completely

Richard demonstrating the umu

Explaining the ingredients and how to make

Big bowl of 'ava for the 3 of us

Inside our fale

View from our fale

Coastal road

Day fales

Our new ride

Enjoying a cocktail

Our drinks and food

Firedance

Traditional ladies dance

Fiafia show

Local buses

Practicing for the boat race

Neil and I

Chris enjoying a Vailima

Shipwreck

Clock-tower in centre of town

In town

Livingstone Apartments

No smoking sign

Beautiful sea

The stupid chainsaw

Neil chillaxing

Nice beach

Where Chris and I spent most of the day

The cannibal pot!

Neil and his little scary-looking friend

Our bure

Chris in our room

Frozen coconuts

Leaving Bobo's...

Walking down to catch the boat

The long walk down

Bobo and kava

Commiserating their loss

Fans celebrating

Rugby Match

The oldest hotel in the Pacific

Levuka town

Me and a couple of locals

A fishing boat

Local market

Market stands

Chris, Bobo and I

Neil and his new mates

Neil looking good in his sulu!

View down to Levoni crater

Chris and Bobo climbing

Break time, thankfully

Cooling down

My nice ripped trousers :(

Coco

Chris and coco

Neil and Chris

Our place at Bobo's

The bridge to get to the pigs

The pigs kissing!

Chris and Bobo on the farm tour

Nice tree

Dragon fly

Chris on our balcony

Karin's lizard

Neil having some down time

On the way to Bobo's

Road to Bobo's

Replacement tyre with a chunk out of the side

Check out their jack!

Changing the tyre

Shops

Traffic

Traditional canoes to sail the Pacific

Chris wading through

The restaurant

The front entrance/exit

On the plane to Fiji

Leaving NZ

Outside our room

On the bus to Auckland

Slim Chris

Haruru Falls

Relaxing from the rain

The walkway

A bird

Chris stood by Haruru Falls

View on the walk of the river

Walkway

A load of birds on a little island

A load of tourists

Me having a fish

Ian having a fish

Chris having a fish

Awesome

First sighting of the north island

Almost there...

Bye bye south island

Leaving the south

Waving goodbye to Picton

The Bluebridge ferry

Chris rescuing the cat

Cray Pot Cafe

Fiordland Crested Penguins

Chris enjoying his Fish 'n' Chips

The lovely beach

Gorgeous countryside

High up

River by our camp

Pancake rocks

A blowhole at high tide

The fantastic blue ice

Walking through a cave in the ice

Franz Josef Glacier

Miles and miles of pure ice

In a ice cave

Blue ice

Walking through thin walls of ice

Chris getting emotional

Getting the ice ready for us to walk on

Didn't know ice could be this blue

Climbing down

Loads of ice

Chris looking gorgeous

Climbing down and down

Steep climb

Hot and tired

The glacier before we went on it

The glacier

Glacier

Stood near Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier

Chris hugging a cardboard man

Me looking at Fox Glacier

Tired after our walk

Lovely blue lake

Amazing view after our hard walk

Mel and me far behind

The walk we went on

Moeraki Boulders

A cracked-open boulder

Driftwood

The game

Ice hockey game

New Zealand team

Before the game

Too expensive, what a rip-off!

Fossilised forest

Penguin trying to get out of river

Yellow-eyed penguin

The river and snowy mountains

A wall of snow

Heaps of snow

Snow tunnel

A Kea parrot

A kea doing what it's famous for- destroying cars

Thick snow

Waterfalls coming off the mountains

Nice view of snowy mountains

Finally a sunny day to take some photos!

Milford Sound

Views

A load of snow

Snowy mountains

Snow

A fish

The Underwater Observatory

Eggs

Chris' jacket works

Captain

Satan's spawn

Drenched

Seals on the rocks

About to go on the Milford Sound cruise

Dusky dolphins! Awesome!

Dolphins by our boat

Our new car! Name=Lucy

Storage space

Storage

Gravel?

The back packed

The back of a car

Chris fishing in Diamond Lake

Admiring Paradise

Our first adventure in our new car

Camped up

Diamond Lake

Beautiful!

Awesome views from a lookout point

So gorgeous!!

Crossing a river

On the 4X4 trip

Steve

Drinking cocktails...

Our cars at the bottom across lake!

Having a quick break

Waterfall in the mountains

Views from Justine's car

Off-roading

So pretty

Me and Justine relaxing

A guy trapped in the sofa

Planking

Practicing paragliding

Outside Justine's place

Chris setting up the tent

Justine

Sunset in Frankton

Barbie zip-lining

An awesome road

Queenstown

The pretty lake

Mason

Manakin we dressed up

Another manakin we dressed up and laid next to Justine whilst she slept!!

Mason breaking into the site opposite

Chris preparing the turkey

Mine and Chris' creation

Manakin modelling Justine's cast

Freaky

Justine enjoying the sunshine

Chris with a beer

Cleaning the BBQ

Makumba just before he goes to Oz

A baby fallen through the roof

Justine's pad

The most gorgeous place

Driving to Q'Town

The pretty wild flowers and blue lake

Stunning

Leaving Christchurch

Having a stop-over

The New Brighton Pier

A Building Sight aka our hostel

A segull

New Brighton

New Brighton Pier

Chris chillaxing in libray

The snowy mountains from plane

Awesome view from plane

About to fly...

Control tower in Auckland

Eamann, Phil and I

Our plane

Chris' delicious pork belly dish

Yummy pate

The engine of Puffing Billy

On the puffing Billy

On the bridge

Eamann and I

The lake

Nice view from train

Puffing Billy

The switch room

Chris and the captain

Leading the way

Chris cooling off

Putting up our new home

Our new home

Chris and I in our tent

The camp kitchen

12 apostles

The arch

The Koala at our campsite

Chris collecting firewood

Mother and joey!

Campsite

Driving along the Great Ocean Road

The coast

What an amazing road!

Entering the Great Ocean Road

Penguin chick

Norman Beach

Penguins

Wilson Prom

Chris squeezing through

About to cross the tidal river

Tidal river

Lovely beach to ourselves

Entering the 'Prom'

Setting up camp

Pretty parrot

Very bad weather

Just need to see a wombat!

Completely destroyed tyre

Chris finding the spare

Koala!

Lovebirds

We've got a flat

Sleeping Koala

Koala

Such a cute koala

Mother and baby Koala!

Koala having a nap

2 koalas up a tree

Me as a koala

To go to Koalas

A blind dog on the back of a bike

Koala sign

Black swan

Chris looking for gold

Cookaburra

Our van

Our camp site

Chris walking to get fuel

Kangaroos

Baby joey getting in pouch

Mother and joey

Red octopus

Black swans

Rocks

Waves

beach

Playing on the swings

Blowhole

Chris' dinner he cooked

Dog with the bone Chris gave her in her mouth

Where we went out for lunch

Out for lunch

Erin, Mark and I

Anne

Me and Peter in his Porche

Home and Away beach

On Home and Away Beach

Freshwater Beach

Near the harbour

Where Chris used to live!

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney Harbour and Opera House

Chris on the harbour

Where Chris used to live

Such a gorgeous road!

Peter and Anne's house

Amazing lightening

Chris' 4th carp

Chris' 3rd catch

Chris' 2nd catch

Chris' 1st carp

Huge lizard up a tree

Awesome view

really clear water

Huge storm clouds

Really black sky

Lightening storm

Such black sky

Near Byron Bay

Gold coast

Such a nice place to swim

Walking along the sand

Mother and baby kangaroo

105 different pies to choose from

Chris tucking in

Somerset Dam lake

Australia Zoo hospital

Having a close look at a Koala

Joey feeding off it's mum

Me and a Koala

Koala having a snooze

Me and my bird friend

Chris and Steve

Feeding a Kangaroo

Kangaroo

Kangaroos having a sleep

Feeding a croc!

Feeding a kangaroo

Balancing act

A massive tortoise

A big tortoise

Croc

Chris and the Irwin family

Chris with a massive croc

Otters

Cute sign

Gorgeous beach

Chris' catch

Now a dead flathead

The pretty river

What a great fishing spot!

Chris cleaning his fish

Cleaning the fish

Where we were fishing

Chris and his catch

The monster flathead

Platypus

The platypus' home

A turtle

2 turtles

A platypus swimming

A platypus

Turtle friend

Airlie Beach

Stinger nets

View from the hill

The lovely water

Windy but gorgeous beach

The boulders

Chris sitting on the boulders

Skyrain

View from skyrail

Skyrail

On the skyrail

A bush turkey

What a cassowary is...

The skyrail

Chris by the train

On the tarin

Nice view!

The train

Going in a tunnell

The carriage

Loads of people waiting

The station

Nice look

Bubbly and prawns

Such a lovely beach

Great view

Such gorgeous scenery after the red centre

Bottom feeders!

A big lizard

bottom feeder turtles!

Turtles

A turtle head

Turtle swimming

Turtle

How the curtain fig tree was made

Curtain fig tree

Pretty plants

Malanda Falls

Really nice waterfall

Having a quick stop over

A load of cows

The view out of the back window. aka nothing

Miles and miles of nothing

Stupid bloody donkey

Donkey

A great water hole

Fantastic cool off

Kings canyon

lizard

Walking

So amazingly beautiful!

Kings Canyon

A little bird

Getting pretty tired now!

Another nice view

King Canyon

Standing on the edge, or at least close to it!

So amazing!

Fantastic view!

A lost hat

Over looking the Canyon

Cooling off!

Chris climbing up

Dunno what this is?!?!?

Ayers Rock sister

Kata Tjuta

The olgas

The Olgas

Me a little behind

The mighty Ayers Rock

Stupid people climbing in the midday sun

A scary-looking spider

Ayers Rock

Walking around the base

Enjoying a beer and the view

Chris enjoying a beer

The view from our campsite

The view

Tropic of Capricorn

Huge bush fire

Driving through clouds of smoke

Devils Marbles

Thick smoke

Chris trying to push the marbles off

Chris pushing

Devils marbles

Everything all black from the fire

Me having a swim in Edith Falls

Crocodile warnings

Chris swimming in Kakadu

Maguk in Kakadu

Lots of fish

The floodplains

The little lake

Aboriginal rock art

Chris moving trees out of the way

Awesome views

Ubirr views

The views from the top

Checking out the views

Ubirr

A croc in the river

Road train driving through the flowing water

Road train about to cross bridge

A croc hiding on the bank

Kakadu

Climbing

A tree's long roots

Balancing act...

Flying bird

Birds having a swim

Floodplains

Sniffing the meat

HUGE croc

Enjoying the boat ride

Little croc jumping

Croc's belly

The boat we went on

Croc right next to our boat

Boxing croc

Flying eagle

Jumping croc

Head sticking out

Ginger Princess

Chris picking some mangoes

G.P

Feeding G.P

Chris carrying her properly

Carrying G.P

Struggling to carry her

The reason I have pulled muscles!

Trying to catch her

A tiny calf

Chris doing some work

The fence we built

A massive cane toad

Brendon

Becks, Daniel and Brendon

The falls

The pools we swam in

Me and Becks

Magnetic termite mounds

Chris filthy after mowing the lawn

Dirty Chris

Mowing the lawn

Baby wallaroo

Playing with the goats

Wallaroo playing by my feet

Taking the wallaroo out to play

he lives in a shopping bag!

Duck in a bird cage

Piccitto the baby wallaroo

5 river lookout

Huge Croc

Lake with locals fishing

Forest fires

Huge road train overtaking us

5 rivers lookout

forest fires

Me driving

Inside Geike Gorge

Impressive balancing rocks

White line= previous flood lines

Geike gorge

Crocodile rock

Geike Gorge

Tiny bird's nests

Crocodiles

Chris and I on the boat

Finally in some shade!

Boab tree

After a nice swim!

broken down :(

Digging out the sand

Big jellyfish!

Chris having a swim

Lifeguards

Salt Plains

Chris hiding from the flies

Views looking back over park

Strange but pretty tree

Karijini National Park

Circular pool

Pigeons with Mohicans

Standing by a huge ancient rock

Where we went

On the walk from falls to pool

Chris standing in the middle of the gorge

Hiding behind a rock

Chris after his swim

Chris having a wash in Fortescue Falls

Lizard number 2

Falls

Rock face

Flowing falls

Walking along

Driving along a rough road

Scenic driving views

In the park

Driving through a lot of nothingness

Sandy Beach

Lots of sheep wool

Our tent

Lamb and emus who live together

Beautiful Coral Bay

Overlooking coral bay

So beautiful

On top of sand dunes

Our food cooking away

Our shadows

Chris making fire

A very windy campsite

Memorial site

What the pink lake should've looked like!

The pink lake

It did look more pink than this

Pink lake

Nice coastline

Very windy

The leaning tree

Leaning tree

Me driving!

A huge eagle

A lovely beach

Lovely clear water

A bright orange crab

The huge sand dune we ran up and down

Climbing up the dune

View from the top of dune

So much sea weed

Chris making bacon sarnies

Stramolites

2 parrots

Pinnacles

The pinnacles

Perth city

Bye Perth

Spot the muppet at the bottom

Another awesome beach

Amazing blue sea

'The Gap'

The Natural Bridge

Kangaroos playing in the field

A very friendly horse

Seagull island

Me jumping in Chris' photo

Standing by a ting ting tree

A fallen over ting ting

A drawing of the biggest ting ting

The trees

ting Ting trees

The last stop before Antartica

Fishermen right by the dolphins

Dolphin!

2 dolphins, 1 a tiny baby 1!

A dolphin

A dolphin!

A fin and a head of dolphins!

The old battered waterwheel

As close as we got!

The lightouse

Footprints in the sand

Dead Blue Bottle jellyfish

The old jetty

Entrance to a vineyard

Early morning walk

Haha...

Our first BBQ

Chris on the bridge

Our yummy feast!

Awesome beach!

Our first winery

Standing by the natural bridge

Rocks we climbed

The bridge

The car park below

Huge waves

Chris at the top of the rocks

High up and enjoying the view

Climbing up

Rock climbing

Dead whale

The lovely sea

Pathway to the sea

Sad Chris after spitting out his wine

Ching ching

Grape vines

About to blag our free tasters

Our camper

Standing outside the winery

View first thing in the morning

Our little friend

Tucked up in bed

View from the camper

Chris happily driving

Driving into a rainbow

SO HAPPY!

A dog that loves walking like humans

Big smiles!

Chris and I after just buying the van

Just got back to Gill's

Enjoying a cuppa by the sea

A guy who made his bath mobile

The busy market

Gill and Jo

Jo as DJ

Jo

Chris and Gill dipping their feet in the icy water

Chris' lamb roast dinner

All sitting around the table

Chris busy cooking

The yummy pork

Weird porridge and intestine dish?!

Chef cooking our yummy pork

Yummy noodles

Andrew's birthday cake

Lady making fresh noodles

The highest counter in the world!

Pretty coffee

100% chocolate

Our bags hanging ot of the back, drenched

Blagging our way through into convention

Dieke dancing on the bar

Poker night

Olly passed out

Drinking the fumes of sambuca

Flaming sambuca from 1 glass to another

Scrappy

Fat Boy (yep, that's his real name)

Blissful bar

Almost closing, J snoozing

Mr. Tith (waiting staff)

A 5yr old candle

Blissful

Monks

Old picture of a bridge

The garden outside

Bungalows outside

Blissful logo

An old building

Old building

Restaurant

Chris hard at work, watching cricket and beer in hand

Dick and Chris eating Chris' home-cooked steaks

It's a Sunday, so roast dinner for me!

Another pretty gecko

Lee, Dick and Chris... 'advertising'... or, slacking

A bright blue gecko

Becks, Ana and Rhie

Dick, someone? and Ezzer

Ezzer and Chris in the 'Royal Chair'

A kid escaping the playground

Kampot town

Fruits of Asia roundabout

Local houses

Haha... look closely

River dividing Kampot in 1/2

In Asia, always lots of motorbikes

Becks holding a BIG gecko with BIG teeth!?!?

The gecko before Becks grabs it

Huge papayas

Lychees

As far in as we could go

Peppercorn vines

Green peppercorns

Just inside the entrance of flooded cave

Inside the cave

Entrance to cave

Inside cave

Lady getting out the crabs

Cannot go inside cause of flooding

Walking up to caves

Limsestone cliffs

The caves

A very big crab

A tree growing sideways?!

Restaurants on the water

Making our sugar-cane juice

Lady cooking our prawns

Bringing the crabs in

View from our balcony at tree tops

Enjoying the sea breeze

The most awesome crab dish!!

Bus arrived, then broke down...

Delicious prawns...

Where we stayed in Kampong Cham

Our massive terrace

Outside Mekong sunrise guesthouse

The supposedly impressive lighthouse

Huge fishing nets

Off to see the dolphins...

Little house on the water

Dolphins

Dolphins!!!

At the bottom of the hill

Buddhist monk statues

Lots of steps

Lovely view from the top

The mekong from the top

Excited about seeing the dolphins

Huge beautiful storm in the sea

Leaving don det

Adam dancing on bar

Adam's bum

Scary-looking clouds

Road repair?!

Just before the cat weed&stained my trousers

A bull in our way

Me after I'd just fallen in

The bridge to the other island

Trying to avoid the mud

Locals boys leading a bull

An outside oven

2 Local kids fishing out of a big pond

Oops

Leading the way...

2 fishing boats

Raining so hard

The curry was even too spicy for Chris!!!

Raining so hard you couldn't see

Fishing from a hammock

Chris' HUGE fish

Tiniest kitten in the world

End of sunset- strange colours

Chris happy

Sunset in the bar

Sunset from our balcony

Small kid trying to get back on his bike

Loving the hammock!

A massive tree

On the boat ride over

Inside our big tuk tuk

Climbing on the tuk tuk

The tractor

2 rainbows

At the base of the waterfall

The local bath

Chris drenched with sweat

Sweaty and exhausted

The water pump

To the waterfall....

First sighting of the waterfall

The steps to our place

A local village

Tad Lo waterfall

A little boy fishing

Stood at the base of Tad Lo waterfall

Enjoying a juice by waterfall

Eating all together

Bon Apetite

Balcony of 2nd place

Cute girl

In the rice paddies

Our view

Our nice, but messy room

Along the river

Locals fishing

On the balcony at our 1st place

The violent river

View of waterfall from balcony

View from our place

Now bald

Chris' hair

Shaven

1/2 bald

Before

Nice sign

Henry and Anya

Broken down tuk tuk

Enjoying suset

View from Arc de triomphe

Monument

View from top

Arc de triomphe Lao style

Monk using free wifi

Chris busy typing

A truck full of people

Beautful scerery

A cute house!

Lots of mountains

Cute children

Local village

Catapult head

Local root vegetable

Yet again, broken bus...

Moving Larve, that the locals eat!!!

Our room key (a bullet)

A bomb cafe???

The effects of bombs...

The effect of the war

Bomb fireplace

MAG Office

Bombs at entrance to our GH

More US bombs

Guesthouse armory

An old soldier's hat

Bomb something at our guesthouse

A tired, tied up pig

A house with bombs making the base

A bomb plant pot

An adorable local

A monkey tied to a bomb

Another house made out of bombs

A monkey???

Hmong Village

The only phone in the village

Collecting water

Nice family

The local children

Our bike

Local house

Cute kid

A tied-up pig

Pig

Kid feeding banboo to Bull

House

Me very wet

Looking at the cave

Jars

Cow in the bomb crater

Lots of jars

A jar, partly broken from a bomb

Cows and the jars

A huge crater caused by a bomb

Happy to finally see the Plain of Jars

An ugly bug

Watching with dismay at our broken bus

Changing a tire

A huge butterfly

Strange light decorations

There really is rubbish collection in Asia!

Monksclearing up

A monk cleaning up

Pouring down with rain

The monks' washing line

Very strange

Looking out of the mammoth window

Tuk-tuk

I had to borrow a smelly shirt to enter

Part of the Palace

Nice!

Yummy

B-day girl

Pierre

Chris chillin'

Lovin' my birthday!

About to make a wish!..

My tasty birthday cke from Pierre!

Me, Gill and Pierre

Ken, Pierre and the manager

Pierre and I

First drink of the day!

My yummy Pizza!

Iced coffee to start!

Drenched on the tuk tuk

About to be puked on!

Our busy tuk tuk

My first candle on Birthday Eve!

Chris crossing the river

Locals trying to cross (and falling) in river

Boy swimming

Entrance into the caves

Wavy river

Walking in Nong Kiew

A pink cow?!?!?!

Standing in the shade for a min or 2

Main St

Been Swimin'

Teaching the local kids

At the GH

Teaching team

Nice bar with baby

You count !

Our GH

Crazy water baby

B-day suprise

Cooling off

I think not

Dunno

Caves

Tricky crossing

Theres caves in those hills

Getting a wash by GH mum

Hmm, me thinks no

Gay boys

Dinner at GH

School class

Crazy Ken

Up to the bar of plenty

Easy stuff

We go on that ?

Pool chill

Yuk

Its a hard life

Team pool

Amazing from from hill

The sunset

View of Luang Prabang

Chillin'

Crazy clouds

The Mekong

Almost sunset

All of the tourists enjoying sunet too

Behind the temple

The swimming pool

View

Locals jumping in the Mekong

Swimming pool full of tourists

Local kids stole a boat!

An old bomb made into a plant pot

In the beer garden

Me with a big bomb behind me!

The market

Beautiful Laos

Me stood by our broken-down bus

Our bags on top, but no room for us!

First view of Laos

Crossing into Laos

Crammed in the tuk tuk

Monks in the rain

Chris on the bus with a monk

Chris really not happy!

Us in our shit ponchos

The Golden Triangle

Burma=left Laos=right stood in Thailand

Statue of Buddha

Click to enlarge and read

Photo of a photo of a lady from the Karen tribe

Funny drawing pof a guy smoking opium

Very life-like model of a guy smoking opium

A photo of a photo of a tribal lady

A photo of a photo of a lady smoking opium

Our transport to the Golden Triangle

Wendy the Wok lady

No idea which direction= accomodation???

My ice-cream pasta... vile!!!

Me and Patricia

Fuzzy catapillar

Yellow catapillar

Ugly catapillar

Another catapillar

Strange insect

Catapillar inside something

Very furry catapillar

Cocoon

Flutterby or Moth ?

Cheeky catapillar

Deadly catapillar

Yummy catapillar

Green catapillar

Odd catapillar

What is it ?

Stripy catapillar

Nice pic catapillar

Very ugly catapillar

Temple and Charly

View from Temple, nice!

Arty shot from within Temple

Temple guards

Scary spider

718 steps to temple

Big ant

View from the start of our climb

Pretty nice smelling flower

Local tribal village

Nice produce at the local market

Tom Set - like tom yum but with pork

Charly chilling outside our room

Crazy German and Thai couple Chris met

Our nice room

View from our guesthouse

Yummy Yunnan food

Enjoying the nice views in the back of the pick-up

Loads of locals behind us travelling like us

Chris drenched from the rain

Waiting for our lift to return

Finding this very funny!

Crammed in the back of the pick-up

A really cute kid

In the sawngthaew

The bus

Ancient Ice-cream? Yuck...

Lots of people getting a foot massge

Jam-packed market

Bustling, chaotic, insanely busy market

View from the bar

Chris chatting to his mum

Enjoying a G&T

Lots of tobacco

Lots of stuff I have no idea what it is though

Nice unbrella to cover the hole!

The river Ping

Everyone tucked up in bed

Nice gold temple

6 mouths in jail ???

Tasty food

Chris excited about his dinner

A tuk-tuk driver fast asleep

A huge wall

One of the many temples

Kyra and Chris' legs

Chris and Graham playing chess

The train station waiting area

Inside one of many temples

One of the many busy streets

A bridge

Outside the entrance to Th Khao San

Wat Arun (Dawn Temple)

A house on the water

A river boat

Another boat

Chris and I on the very cheap ferry

Just set off

Inside the skytrain

The skytrain

Bottom level=cars, next level= pedestrians, next=sky train

Just managed to cross the road in time

The train station

A sneaky photo of monks from behind

Another temple we think

Making our tasty spring rolls

Nice old houses

Indian food stall

It all got a bit too much

It all got a bit much for this guy too!

Locals drying chillis which are the pigeon's dinner

Chillis

Outside one of the many florists

Pretty flowers

Memorial bridge monument

Crazy market alley

Woman who kept abusing Chris with Peacock feathers

Market alley

Room for a small one

Chinatown

Nice smoked duck

Arty photo by Charly

Noodle soup lover

Our local Thai restaurant, all for £2.60

Our broken down tuk tuk...

Chris pushing the tuk tuk

Stationary in the middle of Bangkok traffic

Chris really blending in with the locals

Manic Bangkok

The nice park

Walking along avoiding the main streets

A water-monitor lizard in the middle of Bangkok???

The super-fast and scary escalators

Long queue for the tickets

Karaoke in the market

The underground

Tasty prawns

Chris enjoying an authentic kebab

Waiting for the underground

The strange cafe on the train

Cramped in a seat for 1 to watch a film

Kung-fu panda eyes Chris

Our new lodger

A market stall brought on a moped

Chris enjoying his soup

Tasty sausages!

Awesome meat stand

Trang clock tower

Boy happily sitting in the back of a pick-up

Our budget room

Our very small double bed

Long Beach Chalets' reception

One of the chalets

In Asia you can do anything with a moped!

Taking a photo of us riding along

Terminal Point (the most southern point in Koh Lanta)

Terminal Point

Matching helmets!!

Hot and thankful to stop for a quick coke

Us on our nice pink bike

A beach we had a break at

Us about to go to dinner

Eating durian for dessert

Chris' birthday cake

Chris happily tucking into some crab

Chris happy with all the food in front of him

Enjoying white wine out of a tumbler with ice, nice!

Our pretty towels

Having a break midway on the rocks

Camp Chris

Wondering how our tapas lunch could be this expensive!

Chris and I in the pool

Nice handstand Chris!

Blinded by the sun

Happy Chris

Enjoying a nice swim

Chris' birthday present from the staff

A ferry like the one we were on

Enjoying a nice Chang beer

Long beach on Koh Lanta

Happy days

The lovely west beach

Me enjoying a swim

Chris reading

West beach

Miserable-looking Chris

High tide

A frog outside our door

Enjoying a swim

Amazing beach!

Perfect beach

So beautiful here

Going for a swim

A monkey about to rip down the posters

Cute monkeys

The walk to the beach

Still performing the fire dance even though it's raining

firedance

The whole stage on fire!

Charly struggling up the steps to our bungalow

Beach at low tide

Interesting new boat?!

Cliffs around the Beach at East Railay

Very scenic

Long Tail Boats on East Railay

Nice view from beach

Mudflats and mangroves

On our longtail boat Krabi to Railay

Waiting for more passengers for Railay

Thai fishing boat

Our longtail boat

A frog in the restaurant

Eating yummy sandwiches after our dodgy bellies

On flight to Hat Yai

On rickshaw to Hat Yai bus station

View from our hotel

Our amazing bedroom

The cill out area

Funky decor at our hotel

Cool bar

Our nice cheap noodle place

Huge bathroom at our hotel

Looking back at the beach

Air Asia flight just landed

Just landing

A very strange statue?

Dead dolphin :(

A blue marlin's head!

Wavy sea

Chris outside our place

Me finding a dead baby dolphin, sad!

The airport from the beach

Outskirts of Ubud

Along the ridge walkway

Making our dinner

Getting tired now!

The ridge walkway

A house with only the door finished

A cute house

Anything can fit onto a vehicle here

van blocking other transport

Rice terrace workers

Living amongst the rice terraces

Hard work

Me about to leave Padang Bai

Inside the ferry

Our lovely place in Padang Bai

Outside our place

The boat approaching Padangbai

Our fine ferry to Bali

More roof travellers passing us on Sumbawa

Sitting on the last ferry

Photo from roof of our bus

Passing through a village from the roof of the bus

From our bus roof

View from top back seats

Passing banana truck causing lots of dust, yeh!

Charly holding on tight

We're not scared , honest

Team Flores, on the roof of our bus

On our first ferry

Our first ferry from Flores

Chris with a manta!!!

Me!

Chris and Rod

A Napolean Fish

A puffa fish

Chris diving deep

Chris going very deep

Hundreds of fish

A Manta Ray!

Beautiful Coral

Rod with a turtle

Gorgeous, massive turtle

Amazing!

Isa

Waiting for the road to clear

Me on the back of Rod's bike

Me and Rod pulling over

Chris and Isa all smiles :)

Riding along the beautiful countryside

Isa and Chris looking exhausted!

Beautiful coral

Rod trying to catch a lobster

Rose coral

Our table on the beach

Fast asleep still

Orange moon

The sun about to set

A deer with one antler missing :(

A wild pig

Wild deer

Komodo on Komodo!!

The choppy sea

A wild buffalo

Trekking

A place where a buffalo once sat

A baby Komodo

wild buffalo

Komodo Dragon

An island

Isa and lots of local kids

Inside a local home

A 80 something year-old lady

Kids playing in the fog

An old lady

Kid firing a sling-shot

Laughing

An old man

Not looking very happy!!

Local children

Cultural village

A volcano

Chris with bintang!

A local man

Gorgeous scenery

Entrance to the 17 islands

Fish BBQ

Swimming in the sea

Star fish

Rod

Flying foxes

Nice straight jetty

Komodo

Me and a Komodo

Komodo National Park

A Komodo on Komodo!

Rod???

Where a buffalo once sat

trekking

me on the boat

Island

Chris and the bus conductor

road blockage

the conductor

inside a local home

inside a local's home

Me standing next to where they sacrifice

Buffalo horns

Me holding vanilla pods

Isa and Rod

Me and Isa

A sea urchin

The beach in Riung

Chris playing football with the local kids

After a mud fight

Cute boys

My new-best-friend after feeding him biscuits!

Goats on the beach

Us being given coconuts

Man with a big gun

Chopping up a coconut for us

2 local guys

House on the water

A nice road

grafitti

Local man

Market

Us eating at a local place

Chris walking over a waterfall

Moni

Local man also cold!

The guy who served the coffee

Local man also cold

us really cold!

Blue lake

Hot springs- aka baths

Cute kids in Ende

Cooking our tasty but simple dinner!

Check out the youngest posing with her hands on her hips!

Cute kids

Chris and his new buddy

Beautiful view

The blue lake

Huge Sting Ray

The black lake

Very cloudy

Coffee

Rod and his new friend

Coconuts

An explanation of the lakes

A lovely sunset

Nice blue sky finally

Chris, Isa and I

Rod taking a closer look

The black lake still a little foggy

Monkey checking out the view as well

'Fanch' means fence by the way

Just as the clouds were lifting

Local children on our walk down from Kelimutu

Cloudy day

Our first sighting of the black lake

Chris drinking un-filtered local coffee

Chris and I waiting for sunrise

The sunrise

A pig

Rice fields

The hot springs- aka- a burst pipe

The waterfall

A cow

Preparing to walk the bridge

A view on the bus

Digging on the road

Cocoa beans drying on the road

Ojeks

A fish stall

Waiting for the bus

Touchdown!

Awesome photo me thinks

Almost touching the coast

Weaving

Sitting on the beach waiting for sunset

Almost setting

A happy guy

Local guys digging

An octopus

Where we got the coconuts

Coconut mincer

Chris drinking a coconut

A guy climbing a tree

Cutting open the coconuts for us

The village

Picking the coconuts for us

Fishing boat

The local guy proud of his catch

The beach we stayed on 25km outside of Maumere

Rod passed out on the floor after waaaay too much arrack!

Maumere beach

View of the sunset when we arrived

About to board our Merpati flight

Chris and I enjoying our free plane food

Mount Bromo from the air

View from the plane

Sitting in the waiting room waiting for our flight

Entering the danger zone- hence red flag

Happy tpo be in the danger zone

Up Merapi volcano

Merapi

View from the train

Chris sitting on the balcony

Chris and I sat in a cute restaurant

farmland

An over-flowing bin just outside of Jakarta

Rice paddies with a huge mountain or volano in the background

On the way

The lovely comfy train

Leaving Jakarta

This photo doesn't really capture the filth

Our mosquito-ridden room

Chris very excited about going on a plane in Singapore

The pilot of our plane reading his newspaper

Queing up

Our German friends, David and Tanya

The lounge in Wojia Lodge

Staff

Me eating tradional Malay food... Chris was soooooo proud!

A tasty Lebonese Restaurant

A statue outside a Chinese temple

My knee a month later, with a hole and scars all round... yuck!!

A Long house

A long house

Chris looking out a window in a traditional Malay house

Ladies making cakes

An old-style bed

Climbing up very thin steps made out of a tree trunk

Inside a longhouse

A typical bedroom

Chris walking along

Chris walking along a mission of a bridge

Me walking along a bridge

A statue

A mask

Me looking at gongs

Some figurines

Another Mr. Joel staying at a longhouse...

A man balancing on a stick

Impressive!

Shooting blow-darts

A traditional cultural dance

Dancing

Men picking up huge wooden things with their teeth!

There's something not right about this picture??

Chris and I waiting for the dances to start

An iron-man competition

Ladies in traditional clothing

Ladies dressed up as they would in tribes years ago

Sarawak Parliament Building

Not sure what this is

Where we are staying

Us at the back of the bus

A view of the bus

Chris relaxing

A refreshing drink/ice-cream treat after a stupidly long walk!

The very over-rated beach :(

Boats on the river outside a tasty seafood restaurant

The river branching out to the sea

Chris looking deep in thought

Jess chillin'

A 40,000 year-old skull!!

Waiting for the shortest boat journey ever!

At the entrance

Vines hanging down from the trees

An pretty plant

Amazing roots from a tree

A very spiky plant

Me 'wowed' by the tree

A bright red centipede hiding

The beautiful walkway to the caves

Along the side of The Great Cave

Finding some light

Lighting up the way with our head-torches

About to go into pitch black

The entrance to one of the caves

Just inside the entrance of a cave

Climbing up a shed load of steps

Inside The Great Cave

Me, sweaty and exhausted, yet not even half way!

Looks like the cave was being held up by just 1 stick!

Inside a cave

Us about half way to the caves

Dreading the 8.2 km walk

Local boys going for a late night swim

A tug-of-war game we randomly came across

A waitress in training

A firefly that landed on Chris' hand... Look closely and you can work it out

Me enjoying passing through the water village

The River Brunei

Filling up with petrol on the river

A fire station on the water

A shell garage

Our driver

The cutest girl giving me change

Justine, Annie and her mum

The mosque over the river

Walking around the water village, the biggest in the world

Water village

The pretty village

The mosque at almost sunset

The second ferry we went on

A crazy Manakin

Chris outside the first ferry

The ferry port

Justine chewing on beetlenut... yuck

Me early morning waiting for the ferry to Brunei

Another photo of the mosque

Amazing sky before the storm

Cooking out our private retreat

Lost at the end of the road

Cooking at our private retreat

Coming down from the swing bridge

On the swing bridge

Difficult passing move

Slowly slowly

So confident, look 1 hand !

The river of browness

We found this swing bridge whilst lost

Crazy Justine off across the swingy bridge

Off on our 4WD adventure

Nice local bridge

Lets offroad !

We found the beach !

Amazing beach middle of nowhere!

Justine leaving car whilst moving ?!

On the 2nd tip of Borneo

Through a palm plantation to the beach

Beach at 2nd tip of Borneo

Dead snake on our 4WD adventure

Through a rough track then we fing a bus stop ?!

Getting a bit tricky

Palm workers suprised to see us

Justine turned the dead snake over for a better pic

Offroad adventure

Black squirrell eating bananas

Extreme !

Another end of the road, great navigation Justine !

Palm fruit off to the refinery

Offroad adventurer!

Tea plantation

Justine watching the Roti maker

Boat building

Car lost for a while we think !

There was a road but then it rained

Very local town

Lets just go for it and dont stop, whatever !

Amazing skies

Deep Borneon jungle

Nice offrad track

We waited, and waited!

All we can say is, not often !

Malau basin base camp

Gravel, not bumpy at all!

Strange insect, we discovered it !

Wee stop #1

Elephant poo, we were on the trail

Roadside cafe, Borneon styley

There goes some more virgin Borneon jungle

More jungle passing us by, literally

On the jungle route

If the road can break them what hope do we have !

Jungle storage

Nice smooth road

Borneo 4WD tours Ltd

Marmite chicken, yummy !

Keningau stop night #2

Me high off any the drugs they gave me

One I'd been stitched up

Putting the stitches in

Cleaning it

At the clinic

Jus after falling over

Outside the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center

A Black Squirrel

An orangutan holding on tight

CUTE!!

Bestest friends

2 Orangutans

Kissy kissy

Orangutans comforting each other from scary monkeys

Ahhh...

Full-on kiss

Orangutans

Orangutans scared of the monkeys

Eating

3 orangutans

Swinging

The guy feeding the orphaned orangutans

A posing monkey

A hanging orangutan

Nice bum shot

Poser

A very thoughtful expression

Orangutan

That pose looks painful

He looks like he's about to sneeze!

An orangutan

Neil and a monkey

Gorgeous orangutan

Monekys at it again...

An old orangutan with a disgusting moneky's arse

Monekys at it yet again....

Orangutan disgusted by the monekys in front of him

Orangutan eating

Monkeys once again....

And again....

A pit viper!!!

On the canopy walkway

A lizard

Our place we stayed

A white-crested hornbill we think

Haze petrified at the monkeys trying to grab food

A probiscus monkey

Another probiscus monkey

On the river

The foggy morning cruise

Us on the boat

Way to foggy to see anything decent!

2 pig-tailed monekys at it and looking straight at us!

Another hornbill

A very shocked expression!

One of the many kingfishers we saw

2 probiscus monkeys

Moi

A hornbill

Excited about our trip

Neil pointing at a flying squirrel

Trees

The best photo we could get of the fireflies... aka nothing

Reggie

Chris squeezing into a life-jacket!

A monkey with it's baby, a different colour when under 2 weeks old

Neil and Daise

A mosque

A happy monkey

Kuala lumpur

Me and my oober gorgeous sister

Neil and Reggie looking cute!

Looking down at the hundreds of steps

Looking up

Kuala lumpur at night

42 degrees, after just dropping from 43

A cute animal

A scary shark

Another ginger photo!

Neil and Chris drinking coke floats

A crocodile's head

About to go on the boat

Chairs we dare not sit in

Outside our lodge

Bloody vigin shots!!! Yummy!!!

On the train to see the monkeys

The beloved durian

KL at night

A waterfall

Haze enjoying some Indonesian food... pasta

Food

A cute boat

A man and cute child

A lovely sunset over the river

Monkey with a HUGE tail

Houses on stilts

Neil and his new friend

Eating durian

Durian

Reggie looking like she's loving the durian

A tortoise

The view from the sky tower

All dressed up and looking good

The furthest I got to seeing Batu Caves

Everyone and the Indonesian Restaurant

One of the stops on the Heriatge Walk

An explanation into Pewter

Chris and Christina

Things made out of pewter

At the breakfast food court

Jelly fish

Underneath a shark

Stingrays

Looking down the mall

Scary Monkeys

Waterfall in Cameron Highlands

Budhist Temple

Neil in the Jungle

Nice rockface in Cameron Highlands

Hazel enjoying the scenic drive

Chicken and Egg Roti

On our way from Taiping

Neil diving on the antique bed in the Chinese Mansion

Charly after her traumatic day !

View in the jungle

The smallest Leech in the world on Chris' ankle

Chris contemplating the day ahead

Centipedes doing it !

Bukit Fraser aka Frasers Hill

Our apartment in Frasers

Scary Monkey

Millepede, we think !

Another waterfall on our drive

Landslide

At the Strawberry farm

Nice flowers by Haze

On the trek in Frasers Hill

The Wild Ginger

Palm trees

A baby monitor lizard

Hazey and I

The monkey pulling the boat in

Monkey lifting the engine

Monkey gathering the rope together

A tractor on the beach??

Me, Daisy and Reggie on the ferry

Neil, Chris and Reggie

Haze

Haze and Reggie when they were out snorkelling

Fishies

Underwater

Clams

Sharks!!

A turtle!!

Turtle!!

Eating out- Haze as usual laughing at Chris

Chris seriously enjoying his snickers milkshake

Neil looking good

Nel looking like he's just been slapped in the face

Chris laughing

Chris laughing even more!

A romantic milkshake for 2

The morning after...

Chris finally making it to the sea

Contemplating going in...

The walk down

Haze laughing at Chris

Chris getting ready for a swim

Me trying to stop Chris going for a 4am swim...

Fire dance

Haze, me and Chris

The beach bar

Love is in the air??

The monkey drinking monkey juice

On the beach at night

Monkey juice!!

Our huts

Perhentian Island

The gorgeous beach

One of the many anchors on the beach designed to trip you up

Shade

A ghecko with it's tail missing

Haze's first Malaysian dish

A restaurant on the beach

Table and chairs on the beach

Neil, Chris and I

Funky peddle rickshaw

Amazing tandoori!

Great Pakistani meal in Melaka

Famous Jonkers walk in World Heritage city Melaka

Chris and Charly strage shadows

Chris wondering what is between his legs ?

Good Friday celebrations in Melaka

Jonkers Walk

She was late to setup, but pushed through the crowds

Our lovely guesthouse

Funky rickshaws

Christ Church since 1753

A' Famosa in Melaka

Charly chilling in the shade

Chris showing off his cannon

Not sure what she's trying to do here ?!

A Famosa Fort

Chris after his haircut - nice look !

Old Portuguese ship

The jungle view from the train

Melaka at night

More jungle from the train

Nice brown jungle river

A bug that chased Charly

Another brown river

On the Jungle Railway

Here it comes

Charly waiting for the train

A nice simple map of Malaysian penninsula

Gemas Island off Kapas

Leaving lovely Kapas

Clear water just off our beach

El' Capitano

Our private beach on Kapas Island

Another amazing Kapas beach

More Kapas Beaches

Our lovely beach

Nice sunset from our beach on Kapas

The beach where we snorkelled

All smiles after snorkelling

Getting wet on the boat

Graham, Harry and James

Full after our dinner

The dog that followed us home

An evil looking cat called one foot

'Don't Tell Mama's' Beach bar

Chris' shadow and a motorbike on the beach

Revitalising

James and Harry playing pool

Sat at a river view rubbish restaurant

Chilling and reading

Chis and James far out but still not deep

The chalets in Cherating

Ours is first left

Our guesthouse in Cherating

On the bus to Cherating from Kuantan

Our place

A mini in KL, taken for Mark

Chris at the stinky Durian Fruit shop

Mosque in Kuantan

L-R Anna, Eva, Me and Chris eating durian

Our KL to Kuantan bus

Yummy peanut pancakes at the night market

Lots of stinky Durian Fruit

Fresh Fruit Juice at the Night Market

Charly and Eva enjoying some Durian

Durian rubbish

Genius food van - would it work in UK ?

Food stand at night market - yummy !

Quail eggs on a stick - genius !

Food, food and more food, Chris was happy !

Night market in KL

Charly and Christina at night market

Food on a stick, boil, fry or grill all in a custom built truck

Carrot cake stir fry - strange but nice

How we worked out what was going on in GP - zoom zoom !

Enjoying our favourite Chinese after the GP

Chris helping the lamb kebab chef

At the free Chivas area after the GP

Stuck up bueaty contest runner up

Concert stage at GP

At the GP entrance with the gang!

Stewards celebrating the work being over

All the shuttle buses parked up, thanks !

From our stand at the GP

Vettel on victory lap

The cranes got some action at least

Zoom

More crane action

Another cheesy C and C photo

Grass hill stand - only 60 Ringet (£12) for 3 days

Starting grid before the race

Nice circuit view from the heli

Grass hill stand

All the flags before the race

Heli

Charly enjoying the zoom zoom

Camera heli coming back in

Zoom Zoom

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Little accident in the Super Series

A plane landing in Tekek

A plane about to land

Tekek beach

The airport run way

A tioman bird

Rob and I walking

The river outside our place

Tekek marina

A house which looks like it's collapsed

Monkeys

A monkey which looks like it's about to sneeze

A monkey climbing a palm tree

A litte monitor lizard

Tioman Beach

A tiny baby monitor lizard

My delicious boyfriend!

Me taking in the scenery

A very hairy monkey

Monkeys and one in the background drinking beer??

Monkeys running away from us

ABC Beach

Monitor Lizard in our Garden

One last look at where we were staying

Monitor Lizard on the Beach eating something

Monitor Lizard on the Beach

Our first sighting of Tioman off the ferry

The ferry we took from Mersing to Tioman Island

Chris stood outside our bus in Johor Bhuru

A very sleepy Chris and Charly on our 45min flight

The view of Manila at night

Chris showing me where we are going

Chris enjoying his extra leg room seats to himself

Me peeking through at Chris

Waiting for another bus to arrive

Chris and I on the ferry

One last look back at Mindoro

Our bus conductor flagging down another bus for us

Chris and Jiri on the ferry

Our ferry to the mainland

Being all demesticated and sewing up our day bag

Wearing our head torces and a candle due to a power cut

Walking back quickly as rain looks on its way

White Beach

A dog swimming up to a boat desperate to get in

The view of white beach on the rocks

Our beach

Chris climbing on the rocks

A river crossing on the beach

The dog safely on the boat

Walking along the beach

A log that looks suspiciously like a crocodile

Upset that I just grazed my knee

Chris unable to cope anymore

Chillaxing reading a book

Some of the rocks we climbed over

Happily taking a stroll

Clambering over rocks

Eating authentic Filipino cusine

Chris loving my new tattoo

Chris a little tipsy

Showing everyone my new look

Chris dared me to get a tattoo with his name on my neck... so I did!

The view from our place

Chris and I with our new friends

Chris trying repeatedly to ring his mum to wish her a happy birthday

Guess who Chris loves more??

Skippy, Zack and Chris

The boat to Puerto Galera

Unhappy about wearing life jackets

Us knackered on our last leg

The Tricycle stuck in the mud

The road which we got stuck on

The Hapao rice terraces

A river through terraces

Rice Terraces

Nice view walking in the terraces

The steps up from the rice terraces

Tour guide Charly finding the way

Yes more rice!

Luscious green terraces

Is she lost ?

View from the terraces

River running through and watering the terraces

What a tour guide she is !

Rice terrace adventurers

Where is the rice ?

Rice

More rice

Cable system for taking goods and people, across

Hapao rice terraces

Hungduan rice terrace sign

Enjoying the view

Hapao Rice Terraces

More rice terraces

Tourist office collecting money for entry

Local taxi

Fantasic views

Yet again, more rice terraces

Rice terraces

Me and our tricycle driver

The view from our room

Banaue village

Rice terraces in Banaue - the 8th wonder of the world

Entering Baguio- the view from the jeepney

Nice saw

Lush green rice terraces

Just outside Banaue

A cute village

The land-slide road we're about to drive onto

And again, rice terraces

The jeepney from Mainit-Baguio before it fills up

The driver's seat

Our a-la-carte meal of bread and rice... tasty...

Bubbling Hot springs

The men's bath

The women's and baby's bath

Children eating sweet potatoes freshly boiled in the hot springs

Our crazy land-lady Gesto

Pork being cooked in the hot water in pans

You could literally feel the heat

Children playing

The pig stys right by the springs, with waste running down, yuck.

Mainit village

Hot springs

Outside our guest house

Our guest house

The pool outside with water fed from the hot springs, aka a bath

The view from where we stayed

Sophie and I

The lady wit the stick suspiciously looks a lot like yoda

A little girl, 'May' wondering what to make of the ginger man who is taking her photo

Chris squished in

The view from our hotel in Sagada

The view in the mountains

An amazing view of rice terraces

Rice terraces full after the rain

Admiring the view

Chris 'wowed' by the view

Just look how high we climbed!!!

Chris as usual ahead of me!

Enjoying a beer after finding shelter amazingly from the rain in the middle of nowhere!

Cat poo coffee half full

civit coffee beans

grinding the beans

watching them roast their own coffee

Our washing

Two local kids with their ancestors behind in the coffins

Hanging coffins

Up from the coffin cave

Sophie our new Swiss friend

Looking down into the cave

Chris with the 100's of VERY old coffins, spooky !

Coffins at the cave

View whilst trekking around Sagada

Old bug

View across Sagada

Hanging coffins in Echo valley

Starting the days trek

View from bus enroute to sagada

One of the many amazing views

Charly with new friend on the bus

The mountains of Sagada

On the bus thru the mountains

Only got centre seats, comfy !

A view from the bus after finally getting a decent seat

Rice and plenty of it

Street parade

Street Parade

Watching the surfers wishing we could do the same

A guy with only 1 leg who was surfing - amazing !

Another amazing sunset

Amazing sunset

View from our balcony

Leaving San Juan on the bus

Ouch again !

Kids playing in river

The room we could have had if we weren't backpackers!

Passing another horse and cart

Locals playing cards

Unesco Heritage city with old Spanish buildings

Shacks by the river

A local shop

Entering Vigan

A Jeepney

Our horse and carriage

In the carriage

Vigan Cathedral

Kevin the clay trampling Karibu

Inside the 50m kiln which was built in 1823

Chris with Reverend Ronald

50m kiln built in 1823

Arty shot of clay pots

Lots of pots

Guy making pots old school

Guy making pots, very quickly

Us squeezed into a tricycle sidecar

Chairs at the hotel, not made for Charly

Us in tricycle sidecar

Our hotel, Grandpa's Inn

Chris' new church

Charly on the bus playing Bejewelled

Big arena for Cock Fighting

Our bus ride to Vigan

Blue Lagoon

Chris in Bantay Abot Cave

Charly waiting as we go to Bantay Abot Cave

Bantay Abot Cave, not really a Cave, more a hole

Bantay Abot Cave with Thomas

Ship Wreck on North Luzon Coast

Amazing viaduct road built around the North Luzon Coastline

Agua Grande

Trecking back from the falls

Kabigan Falls

Us taking a romantic moment at the Kabigan Falls

Ouch it hurts !

Such a hero !

Chris getting a serious head massage

The team at Kabigan Falls

Charly looking good at the falls

Crossing a river on the way to the falls

Rice Farmers house

Our guide to the falls

A turtle the locals had caught, dinner me thinks !

Great view on trek to the falls

Dinner back at the beach after the Tsunami scare

A cock

Yes another amazing sunset

Very arty sunset shot by Chris

Local children playing

Me after climbing my first ever tree!

Chris enjoying the view

The strangest yet gorgeous palm tree

Chris playing dead

Chris jumping out of the water

Chris' hand-stand

Chris waving to me

Our Tsunami retreat in the mountains

Exhausted and looking very miserable!

We had a good view of the sea 6 km away

Us and our new 6 friends all squeeze into one double room

Sleeping on the floor at Tsunami Escape Resort

Ryan and his flashlight OCD

Our Dutch friend Thomas and the crazy German

Ryan eating a grasshopper, not really!

Even the insects were fleeing

Huge Grasshopper

Thomas and Ellen from Holland

Our Canadian/Filipino Tsunami team

Ready to leave with 30 mins before predicted Tsunami hits

A photo of the resort in case it wasn't there after.......

All smiles as we fled for the mountains

Our rescue chariot

Goat and Kid on long walk back from beach

Charly likes to walk several yards behind Chris

The gorgeous beach at the far end

Taking a stroll along the beach

Blue sand, white beach, what more could you want??

Our room before we made it messy

Kehana resort

Relaxing with a buka juice

Loving Pugudpud

Trev, Max and the 3 fire departments

Can yoelieve this tiny vehicle is the state fire engine???

The Eatern Hawaii Fire departments volunteers

After the fire was put out- time for photos

The size difference between the state fire department and the volunteers vehicles

Impressive fire hose

The pretend fire at Jotay

About to call the 3 fire departments with the chief

Nice jacket!?

Mouldy chips

And then, the prawns cooked... I practically licked the plate clean!

Yummy food

Carlo and GeeGee

Trev and Jo

The Staff by the pool

Front of House Staff

Mayette, Anna, Carl, Mary-Jane and Fender

After training Mayette how to carry a tray of drinks

Then Mary-Jane...

Mayette pretending to lay up a table

Mayette pretending to wash-up

Prentending to look in the fridge

And then cooking

Predending I'm a happy customer

Predending to clean a mirror

The messy staff quarters !

Happy at work!

At the bar

Pretending to make beds

Pretending to work on reception

Tiger prawns freshly caught and about to be prepared

Cold Max

Puppy-dog eyes

Clothes day

A cute boy with a bag almost as big as him stuffed full of clothes!

Queue of people waiting to get in and pick clothes

Before opening

Waiting to get in

Busy, busy, BUSY!

Carla and I

Carlos and GeeGee admiring Carla's back!

Chris and Carla- perfect couple!

Carla's first glamerous outfit- made out of a curtain!

Locals playing in the sea

Happy little boy

Locals all swimming in their clothes

Having a swim

Chris still fishing

Chris patiently waiting

About to cast

Admiring his rods

Walking in once again having lost his bait

Almost tripping up

The further he walks out, the better his chance??

At the Jai alai

Mid-game

The only spectators

Playing jai alai

The commentator has obviously lost interest!

The score board

The court

A horse disguised as a buffalo

Max over-looking the river

Max

Glad he's not doing that stood by me

L-R Anna, Chris, Jarret and Mary-Jane

Once I sorted out the fridge, nice and organised!

The view from the lighthouse

fantastic view

The island

Blue sea

The lighthouse

lighthouse

The cliff

resting after our mammoth climb

mini islands

the lighthouse from the boat

the island

good balance

Jordy, Melissa, Jill, Chris and I

The kitchen staff

Locals playing basketball outside the resort

Pigs in the back of a trailer!

Trev and Sister Irene

Me, Chris and Sister Irene

Absolutely no idea how they fitted this jeep in a tiny room!

The sisters are so tiny, cannot imagine them using this!

Chris, Pearla and I (you would never guess Pearla was a guy!)

Eating maize from the sisters

Wide load

Authentic and O'Natural!

Staff at Jotay

Cora and Mary-Jane

Burying Cora

Our speed boat

Making it a little more realistic

Cora

White sand, perfect blue sea!

Paradise

Trev and I outside our hut on the beach

Our boat tied up

Jo playing with Max

Jo and Max

Sunset at Jotay

A truck on a little boat

A boat

Playing basket ball

Chris untying his fishing line

An extended motorbike

One of the many extended vans used as buses

A local bus/truck driver stood proud infornt of his pimped-up rides

A motorbike with a carriage attached to the side

The busy street of Aparri

Relaxing and reading

Yucky rain clouds

Chris casting

Chris preparing his bait

Local fishermen bringing in a huge net. 2 1/2 hours total they were at it!

My valentine xx

The bar at night

Ugly fish

Yes, it's small but at least he tried :)

A boat in the making

A guy posing with his cute little kid

Kids playing basket ball...

The bar on Valentine's Day

The pool at night

Enjoying a glass of wine

3am in the bar

Trev, Jo and Me

Chris and I very sleepy on the plane to Santa Ana

Chris all squished in

Our tiny plane

last ones on the plane

Our plane run on propellers

Happy about having extra-leg room seats from KL to Manila

Our customary on flight photo

Our plane to Manila

Our messy little room

Our kitchen

Our living room

KL monorail

The outside of our flat

Rustic, but very clean inside

Ais kacang

Fountain outside Pavillion

Chris dribbling his dessert

Chris enjoying his strange Ice dessert

Chris excited about his not-so-delicious dessert

Chris breathing in Curry Laksa, yummy !

My first Malaysian dish

A very small crocodile

Don't look mum

Is it dead ?

Iggy

Is he trying to escape or something else ?

Kermit

It could eat you Charly, don't look mum !

A very big snake, don't look mum

Mini croc

A very strange monkey

Big tortoise

Monkey magic

Blink and you'll miss it

Ahhhh, run away

Charly at top of KL Tower, well nearly the top

Anyone remember Dusk till Dawn ?

Our apartment viewed from KL Tower

Our apartment block is on the right

City skyline

Shangri-la doesn't even have a pool on the roof !

Check out the rain coming !

Petronis Towers and the rain coming

Petronis Towers from KL Tower

Charly finally gets her audio guide working

Niah Caves viewed from KL Tower

Another view from KL Tower

If you could only see the sweat !

Reflection View of KL Tower

Bird eating its way into a cage !

Charly under the waterfall

Lizard running up a tree

Red bird

Nice view of flamingos

Flamingo

Not sure, like an Emu

Peacock arse

Emu up close

The bird is the word !

An ostrich

Charly and a chick

Charly and a duckling

fishies

A big hornbill

Some flamingos

A strange looking hornbill

A peacock

Some chciks

Two lovebirds

A pigeon, no really it is !

Hmmm, lets call it white bird !

An upside down lovebird

Bluebird

Two birds

Another blue bird

Charly in the rooftop pool at night, its tough here !

Yellow bird

Swimming

Our roof-top pool

View from top of our apartment block

Closer...

Closer

Train coming...

Where Chris' dad said we should be staying

A huge bunny

The largest twin towers in the world

Walking around the lovely KL park

Everywhere we go we have the twin towers in our photos they are that huge

Chris and the towers

Me and the towers

Beautiful and clean KL, complete opposite to India!

Our first sighting of the towers

Sitting in a cafe in a nice air-conditioned mall to cool down

Malls all decorated for Chinese New Year

A Dragon

Beating one of the many good luck drums

Outside the Pavilion

Chria and a bunny

Luxury trains

Our plane we just came off next to a highly decorated other plane

Very very sleepy but excited

So happy to have the extra leg room seats... Air Asia makes Ryanair leg room look spacious!

Me, Chris and Steve squeezed into a tuk-tuk! Very cosy!

Chris and our super-friendly waiter

Mo, Chris and I

Shark teeth

Fish market

Alive crabs back home

A crab fighting back!

Massive crabs

Tying up the crabs

Dinner...

Yummy Sri Lankan curry for breakfast... tasty gorgeousness

Our pool

Pig roast dinner

The back of Rohan's head

Our spit-roast pork

Hundreds of day-old turtles

Stupid rain storms spoiling our sun-bathing

The turtles walking to the sea after we let them go

A swimming little turtle

A huge turtle at the hatchery

About to set my turtle free...

A poor turtle unable to be set free as he has a broken back! :(

Chris' mum and Maisie on their balcony

Enjoying a beverage in the pool

A very friendly turtle

A HUGE turtle

Modelling the sarongs for us

Reading books in the pool

Denushka up a tree picking coconuts!

Nope, you'll never catch me doing that!!

Bentota beach

My gorgeous boyfriend

Lovely beach yet dead deserted

Chris tucking into his breakfast

Admiring the pool from a distance as it's raining :(

Posing with a banana...

raining in paradise

Me with short wet hair...

rain rain go away

Chris still eating his breakfast

Chris looking silly eating a mango

Chris and his mama...

Me and Steve

A pretty pond!

Monkey!

Elephant on a main road!

Locals playing volleyball

A necklace made out of a flower!

Bloody early starts...

Yummy arrack cocktails!!

Monkey in the trees in our garden

Cute monkey

The road down to our guest house

Hot and flustered

Me after a swim

Lunch...

Off for a swim...

Karen and Rohan

A land turtle

Us at Esscofier

Mark dancing with Bobby

A palm tree at moonlight

The land turtle

Chris bringing out Mark and Karen's 50th birthday cake

Mark and Karen blowing out their candles

Some fireworks set off from the balcony

Champagne!

Chris in his element cooking

Our table

Me enjoying a champagne breakfast!

Birthday morning

Chris reeling in his big catch!

Waiting for the fishies

Big fish!

Sunrise

The huge toad

Steve and Mark before Steve goes green!

Chris' massive catch !

Gaffed by skip

Fighting the monster

Prepped and raring to go

Sunrise from the boat

Don't look too interested boys !

Steve's head replaced by a fish

The snake hiding in the massage room!

A wine bottle put behind the toad to show just how big it was

The toad

1st night in Sri Lanka

Mmmmmm, Lion beer... first one for 2.5 weeks!!

Charly and her 1st drink for 2.5 months!!

The pool ready for our swimming challenge

Charly and Mum chilling

Our lovely bathroom, for 1 night, till we get moved !!

Our lovely bedroom, for 1 night, till we get moved !!

On our flight Chennai to Colombo

1st on the plane !

Happy to be in Pondicherry!!!

Along the beach-front

The Gandhi statue

The view from our little hut

Charly climbing up the ladder

Our neighbours

Chris having a lie-down

Our first-class cabin!

A little bit of luxury on our last journey

Lights to tell you when the toilets are being used!! How clever!!

Me, Bhavesh and Chris

Our bedroom/ living room

The beautiful tigress we saw

A spotted dear and a stork

A male sambar deer

The beautiful landscape at Bandhavgarh National Park

The tigress looking at us whilst I am coughing

Walking away

Walking towards us

Tigress

Coming right up close to our jeep

The scratch marks made by a tiger to mark it's territory

The tiger looking around

Walking down a dried up river

JUst got up after a rest

Tigress having a rest

Gorgeous animal

Beautiful tiger

coming out into the field

walking straight toward us!!!

Another Lesser-educated stork

A pretty butterfly

A wild boar

In the jungle

A 1000 year old temple at the park

3 monkeys by the side of the road

A bat

Loads and loads of bats

B2 climbing down rocks for a rest

Almost thought he was going to slip

B2 walking around

B2 walking infornt of us just after sunrise

Just after B2 walked straight passed us!

At 14 years old- an elderly male he still looks beautiful

The gorgeous tiger

The most amazing animal

Walking straight in front of us

The first spotting! A close up tiger walking straight at us from out the jungle!!

A happy Indian family

A Lesser Educated Stork- apparently

Our first tiger!!!

A kingfisher

An Elephant family

Mother and 2 babies

Little elephant

Cheeky Bastards

Pug Prints, yet still no tiger

As snug as a bug in a rug

Our safari Jeep

Elephant rides in Bandhavgarh NP

Jackal

Scary spider in our bathroom

1 of 2 owls hidding in a tree

Chris and Charly on the hunt for Tigers

Spotted deer

Cheeky monkey

Monkey arse

Amazing views in Bandhavgarh NP

Spotted deer looking out for tigers

In the back of our Gypsy Jeep

More amazing views at Bandhavgarh NP

Spotted deer eating

Male spotted deer taking a break

More tiger food

Sambar deer

Pugmarks, they do exist !

Tala Zone 1 entrance at Bandhavgarh NP

Lucky hat, or not so it seems

Ready to go see the tigers

After a mamouth climb, Charly on train top bunk !

Chris with his new Inida friends

Some bloke stuck red dots on our head

Chris and his dot

The train, 2A, easy to get lost

Charly chilling on the train

Charly with a big smile

Varanasi hotel family and Yoda

Puja on Varanasi main ghat

New Years Eve celebration, with NO BEER !

This little guy shocked by Puja

Puja on main ghat

Nice hairstyle

Armed guards after bombing in December

Sunset from the roof of our hotel

Hindu God painting on the Ghats

Lookingh along the ghats

Poo cakes collected from ghats

Buffalo on the river Ganges

View along ghats

Hand painting by girl selling

Water fountain or bust water main ?

Near Main ghat

Old temple on the piss in Ganges

Some of the many cows

More ghats

Our lovely room ?!

Chilling in our lovely room with mice, rats, lizards and mozzies

Bathing in the Ganges, nice !

Boating on the Ganges

More pollution on the Ganges

The cow that followed us into our hotel, honest !

Charly freezing on train from Agra to Varanasi

Agra train station, jobs going for rubbish collectors !

Charly' interview smile

Station retirement rooms

Camel rides

Sunset at Taj Mahal

Taj

Charly on Princess Diana bench

Parrot feeding chicks

Male parrot protecting the tree

Taj queue to get inside

Evil squirrel

Millions of Inidans queing for inside

Us at the Taj

Charly posing at the Taj

Taj close-up by Chris

Inventive photography by Chris

Chris posing at Taj

Charly posing at Taj

Hasn't she grown

1st sight of Taj

Man taking a break to look at train

Taj entrance gate

The queue to enter the Taj

View from train

Wonky house in the fog

More poo cakes

Village under road

On the train at last

Chris and Charly and a Christmas Tree

Charly in her new Punjabi Suit next to our Christmas tree

Charly in her new Punjabi Suit

Sanjay fixing a new kite

Sanjay flying a kite

A parade for a famous Hindi priest

Is that guy carrying horse hair?

The local rubbish collection in Jaipur

Chris' Christmas pressie

Anu and Lakshita opening pressies

Anu, Lakshita and Sanyay on Christmas morning

Our Christmas tree stacked with presents!!!

Water Palace Jaipur

Fish in the Water Palace lake

The Gorgeous Water Palace in Jaipur

View of Nargarh Fort from Amber Palace

View within Amber Palace

View from Amber Palace

A clear day where we can see for miles

Charly getting up close and personal with elephant taxi at Amber Palace

Elephant taxi at Amber Palace

Chris and Charly at Amber Palace

Charly and Amber Palace

Amber Palace

Chris sitting right at front of bus on way to Amber Palace

I think he is leaning away ?!

Our Indian Christmas tree

Annu, Sanjay and Me after we finished decorating the tree

Making us feel like home by having a tree although we're living with a Hindu family

Jantar-Mantar, very old astrology/astronomy centre

Rubbish just dumped in a beautiful place

A straight to the point sign!

Entering the Hawa Mahal

Amber palace over-looking Jaipur city

The bustling streets of Jaipur

Hawa Mahal

Me and a little Indian girl

View from top of Hawa Mahal

Touching the top of the palace

Our first proper long stay in a city- Jaipur

Top of Hawa Mahal

Chris posing for the Indians to take photos of him!

Standing in a pretty window

Chaotic traffic

Inside Hawa Mahal

Entrance to Hawa Mahal

Hawa Mahal from street

Entrance to the City Palace was 300rps each!

So instead we took these 2 photos off of post-cards to pretend we saw it!

A pedal rick-shaw! What a work-out!

Massive monkeys taking over an Indian home

Cows in the middle of the highway

Oytside our home in Jaipur

The moon at sunset taken from the train

Chris at Bandra Train Station in Mumbai

Our first sleeper train.......very long !

Still our first sleeper train....still very long !

On the sleeper bus from Goa to Mumbai, very cosy !

Charly relaxing on the sleeper bus

Chris trying to set timer on camera, not very well !

Chris chilling on Calangute beach

Chris, Del and Becky

Calangute Beach

One of many, many beach bars on Calangute beach

Puppies sleeping at Dolphin Bay Cafe Gokarna

Chris and Charly enjoying last meal in Gokarna

Chris' big fish

A cow on the beach

Me taking a walk along the beach during sunset... lovely !!

climbing along the rocks about a km away

our lovely beach we're staying on

Chris sitting on the rocks unaware that he's lost his bait, weight and hook!

Chris having a swim...

..then having a wash!

Chris now shaven and having a massage

Chris looking rugged and unshaven...

Our crazy bar-man with a seriously high-pitched laugh!

me cuddling one of the puppies who wasn't eating poo yesterday!

Chris happy with all the fish they'd caught

Looking for the fish they'd caught

bringing in the net

Chris seriously excited at thoght of night-net-fishing !

The sun vanishing!

lovely sunset

sunset on Om beach

Our place from the boat

the palm tree where it's perfect to spot dolphins!

only 1/4 of where we climbed

Dal fast asleep after our walk!

Me loving the sunshine

Paradise beach

Becks pretending to be a pirate

Dal and Becks posing

The boat we caught back

An Indian tribal man watching the world go by...

The view on our walk

a sunset on Om beach

the beach

the lovely Om beach

Where we are staying right on the beach

Me and our 2 new friends Becks and Dal

the toilets and bucket showers

our little bargain room

outside our huts

a zoom in on the fish so it looks bigger

Chris killin' the fish

Chris proud of his catch

then decides it's lunch!.. Yuck

then the puppy finds some cow poo on the beach

a cute little puppy

digesting his food before it tries to lick my feet later!

the sunrise

early morning

a very calm morning on Om beach

taking a walk

just as the sun was rising

where we were in the empty restaurant

quiet beach

the view from our little room on the sleeper coach

before the journey began- hence why we're smiling

all of the other compartments down the bus

our room right at the back of the coach

me working hard on this blog

Ginger asleep

the boulders

boulders

where we are staying

the awesome bar/ restaurant

Sharmilla our landlady

the courtyard

where we stayed in Hampi

made it!

getting there

almost there

Our friend Adrian climbing the boulders

Goan Corner

lovely views

The boulder

monkeys playing

Hampi

again, lovely views...

up on the boulders

rocks that look like they will fall off!!!

One of the 4 frogs found in our room

sunset

gorgeous view from this high!

the rocks Mum thinks look like ducks!

our accomodation in Hampi

so peaceful up here

The rocks look like they will fall off!

view from our room

our back garden

a sloth bear

trying to re-start the bike

Pushing the very heavy bike up the hill

putting a very expensive&very heavy bike on a small boat- only way to cross!

the ferry crossing

the view from the 675 steps

Half way there- already exhausted!

A monkey admiring the view with us

all hot and bothered looking like a beetroot after the climb

the not-so-amazing temple at the top

another nice view

the steps we climbed

a seriously erotic stone monument

children begging me to take their photo

one of the many photos taking of the children- obsessed with having their photo taken

being blessed by an elephant

giving the rip-off elephant 10 rupees

the elephant giving his owner my money

a monkey scavenging inside a bin

2 sloth bears

a bear licking honey from a rock

giving a local school boy a lift

a man having a wash in a fast-flowing river

women washing their clothes and theirselves

a relatively clean river in Hampi

us driving through a shallow river

some of the many men desperate for our photo- we took one of them instead

a photo taken of a film set before we got thrown out!

the temple at the top of the hill

a scary-looking monkey

one of many monumenets we've seen

the snake climbing towards us!!!!!

a chariot

the snake blocking our path

getting closer...

me attempting to hide from Chris

me stood in a doorway in an elephant's stable

the elephant's stable

another religious building

and another...

a squirrel having a munch

'Quality ice-cream

an ancient stone monument

climbing over rocks to see yet another temple

and to see another...

the dead snake

Queens bath

2 boys and a tiny kitten

the kitten sniffing our shoes

monkeys

the view from our place

the walk down to the ferry

in the middle of no where

the car that took us from Mysore- Hampi

Chris negotiating the 10 rupees payment for a photo

the palace gates in the day

the palace

a tiger monument

Mysore palace

sweet children

the sacred bull

a temple

me and a rick-shaw driver

a hindu statue

The palace at night

the palace entrance all lit up

the main gates to the palace

a close up to the 90,000 lights

a side view

thousands of lights

this photo makes it look like the palace is floating???

the facinating palace

the band playing

A huge craft shop

Cows munching on rubbish

Chris imitating a statue

A pretty bridge

Our new friend Ragina and her camera

A lovely Mangrove walk, but too many Mozzies

Cows on the road

A heron or a stork ??

A man showing off his catch to us!

Local Boys

Local boys

2 men fishing

Us walking through the fort

The Fort

A View from the top of the fort

A British Cannon

Me surrounded by a local school

Local school children

A lighthouse

3 men fishing with rubber rings!

A lovely view

Graffiti on leaves

Our footprints on the beach

Me and Reggie in the sea

Me and Reggie

Schoolchildren waving at us

More schoolchildren

Chris and our safari driver

Us pushing the bus as it was too close to our jeep

Our safari driver weariing Chris' lucky hat

An elephant, unfortunately with chains around it's neck

A monkey far away

Tiger footprints!!

our safari jeep

a deer a lot like bambi

a tree passageway

the cutest little girl we played peeka-boo with on the bus

the scenery from the train

a cute little village

loads and loads of trees

going through a tunnel

our 2nd class carriage with a random man waving in the distance

our train

a pretty waterfall

me and reggie

a stream high up in the clouds

the stream high in the mountains

having a break off the train

monkeys attempting to break into the train

the view blocked by clouds

the blue mountain railway

the steam train

the bridge we crossed across

the front of the steam train

Our home in Munnar

3 Indian wild elephants!

The baby elephant feeding

Walking towards us!

2 elephants, baby is sleeping

The hill where we spotted the elephants

Chris having a sneaky wee...

A powerful dam

A huge landslide

The view from 'Top Station'... disappointing

A 'normal' monkey- as quoted by our guide

Tea plantations

Our rick-shaw

Gorgeous views

Chris photo shop work

Me by the lake

More gorgeous views

The mountains

Wild honey on a tree

More tea plantations

Chris holding a pretty Indian girl

Me with Tea

More tea...

Tea being picked

Cows bocking the main road

The bus drivers view is restricted by clouds

Ernakulam bus station

The bus driver's seat, looks comfy!

Us getting the best seats first on the bus!

Sunset at Fort Kochin

Chinese fishing net

Hello Friend

A rat loving the India trash

Yummy Ice-cream

a transport boat?

Chris pointing at our accomodation

A Mosque

Our balcony at Clafouti

Our bargain room

Compromise- A ferry along the backwaters

A house-boat

The houseboat I wanted to go on...too much money

All the white people rushing to get the best seats

Haha, me and Chris stole the best seats!!

Chris' dream woman

A guy fishing

Chris about to order some munch

a fishing boat

A man washing his bits

Us on the ferry

A man fishing

Hundreds of ducks

Chinese fishing nets

A nie photo!

A man inhis fishing hut

A lady washing her clothes

A lovely sunset on the water

Us on a seriously crowded bus

Santa Cruz Cathedral

Ship yard

Beach covered in rubbish

Oil storage

Me surrounded by an Indian family

Sunset at Fort Cochin

3 men fishing

2 men rowing

Boys swimming

Chris waiting to buy some munch

Another big bird

Fishermen

over-taking a rick-shaw

a rick-shaw ride

our rickshaw driver

our fish dinner

drenched by the rain storm

chris in our rick-shaw

the view from where we're staying

Chris drenched by the rain

sitting on our balcony

the north cliff

chris busy working

our bacony in kovalum

a restaurant in Varkala

an internet cafe

steve irwin

view from our hotel

our hotel room in kovalum

inside the crocodile enclosure !!!!!!

beautiful scenery

the crocodiles right by our feet !!!!!

amazing views again

the dam

the lake we went on

chris seriously unimpressed with having to wear a life jacket!

crammed like sardines on a bus

a lioness

on the boat

male lion

lion

more beautiful views

standing at the back of the boat

a lovely sunset

a lizard

the beach at night

crammed on 2nd class

kovalam beach

the train we went on

another picture of the lions

beautiful sunset

me eating the true indian way

enjoying a lovely walk

The head light-house keeper

The lighthouse we climbed

The term and conditions

A bin ??

The millions of stairs we climbed

2 temples

Our delhi friends

Amazing viwe of Kovalum

Lovin' the lighthouse

More amzing views

Check out the hair!

me on the lovely beach

Gorgeous secluded beach

Pretty butterfly

The beach front

Early evening walk

Me in the restaurant

The restaurant we went to didn't have a licence to serve alcohol- thus Chris had his beer in a mug so it looked like coffee!!

Mumbai Domestic Terminal at 5am

Charly resting in Mumbai airport

Our Boeing 777 to Mumbai

Chris snorkelling

Pretty fish

Thumbs up

Chris Free diving

A monster

Chris' dinner

Just arrived in Nairobi

Our 2nd 1st class cabin

Fort Jesus

Enjoying our romantic evening :)

Waiting for our train

Attempting to sell Chris' car

Our train

Jammed in

Mombassa

Candlelit dinner

The demise of the fave flip-flop :(

Chris at the Cave

The Cave

The ceiling at the Cave

Me chillin' at the Cave

Me and the 2nd Baby

Chris' culinary delight!!

Us out for dinner

A Millipede

The Busy Bus

Us waiting for the ferry

Enjoying some cocktails

Auntie Jan

Bridge

Sara and Lilly

Haze, Amba, Stu, Georgia and I

Amba, Haze Stu, Georgia and I

Princess Daisy

Jan, Haze and Bridge

Where the food was cooked in Carnivore

Carnivore Menu

Chris and Denys

Denys and I

5* Kenyan Restaurant

Kenyan Oven

Nelly and Elsie

Our new home!

Samuel, Catherine and I

Illegal fishermen

A Stork

Catherine and an Electrical Engineer

Elsie and Nelly

Stacey and my Breakfast

Chris and Stacey

Donkeys

Relaxing in Jinja

The Nile

The nile

Our dormitory

Children

Giraffes

Elephants

Pushing the matatu

Still stuck!

An African Fish Eagle

A Buffalo

A Hippo

A Purple Headed Stork

Children playing with Balloons

Tortoise crossing the road

Murishon Falls

Us and the falls

Murchison Falls

Huge Ants

Drinking a Nile on the Nile

Us on a rock

2 Crocs

A Nile Monitor

Chris' Catch

A Baboon's ugly Bum

A Baboon and her Baby

A huge Truck

A Stuck Matatu

Flying Bird

L-R, Chris, Margaret, Aicha, Jaclyn, Me, Jess and Sophie

Elephant with a little trunk

Lions again

2 Lions

Strange Antelopes

Where we are

Another Road blockage

One of many tire changes

A shoebill!

Big John Dancin'

Jacob Cooking

Auntie Mo

Bricks made out of Coral

Cows blocking the road

A Mosque Beach

A Huge Tree

Lovely Beach

Coral Garden

A Bridge

A 500 year old tree

The Boat we were on

Reminants of the crab

Me trying to crack open the crab

Where we snorkelled

The Dhow

A Dung Beetle

A Crab with a huge claw

Another Crab

Chris Chillin'

A pretty Lizard

Our Place

Me walking the dogs

A sea Urchin

Perfect Beach

A monkey

Camels on the beach

Out walking the dogs

Chris and Kiki

Kiki and Rafi

Lizard eating a Cricket

Our new palace!

Chris swimming

A Huge Spider

Rafi and Kiki

Market shop

Jason, Joyce, Erin, Mark, Me and Chris

Titanic and bar staff

The luxury bus

A Spider!

Collecting seaweed

Erin and I sunbathing

Keys B&B

Our cabin

The Tazara

People selling food

Chris' head!

3 boys dancing

First-class-lounge

3 Chickens in a basket

Victoria Falls

Chris and the Falls

A day-time rainbow

Victoria Falls and Me

The Great Panorama

Lunar Rainbow

A Vulture

Lion cubs

Mother and baby buffalo

A giraffe and it's tongue

3 elephants

Mother and baby rhino

A baby hyena

A monkey family

A lion cub

A black-backed jackal

Chris cooking on the Braii

A hippo yawning

A honey badger

A young male lion

A poo bird

A very colourful bird

3 rhinos

3 warthog and Chris' sandal

Buffalo

A leopard!!!

Another Zebra

How high up are we!

A dam

Women having to transport things through the water!

Menu at Black and Whites. Very simple!

Chilli's- the deli

a boat

swimming pool

another boat

Our front garden!

Chris testing the head- torch

Aquatico Beach

Tofo Beach

A Boat

My Poorly Foot

A Swaziland Airport!- Honest

A Lorry refusing to move out of our way!

Pot holes twice the size of our car

Mozambique public transport!

Hut in Siteki

A dwarf Chameleon

A Croc

A Giant Kingfisher

Hippos

A Mangrove Kingfisher!

A WILD Giraffe this time!

Blue Wildebeest

Nyala and Impala having a drink

Warthog Family also having a drink

A WILD Giraffe this time!!

2 Wildebeest in the distance

A Warthog

A Goliath Heron

A Bush Pig!!!

A White Rhinoceros' Bum

Impala's kissing

A Pretty View

A Cheetah!!!

1 Zebra

2 Zebras

A Hyena regurgitating his food!

Our holiday home in Margate

A Crocodile!

Chris Casting

Me Swimming

One and only catch for the day

Chris' first fish!!

Breakfast

The Crab that kept Attacking the Line

Crayfish Catching

Our first wildlife encounter

Chris, Little dog and Chloe

Kia Picanto

Our mini 4x4

A Big Bird

Simples

Simpler

Giraffagus

Cheetah

Chris n Giraffe

Meerkat

Lion licking a bogie

Me, Chris and Baby Lion

Mario, Sanette and I

Spur

Sanette Snr, Johan and Chris

Myself, Sanette and Mario

Me n Neil