willrob

Xi'an and Juizghou National Park

willrob — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

So I say goodbye to Om in Hohhot...with the idea of meeting up again in Chengdu...

and my farewells to Hohhot and the Anda Guesthouse...and board my second train in China, an overnighter to Xi'an, the home of the Terracotta Warriors...!

I'd seen pictures and documentary by Dan Cruickshank in his 'around the world in 80 treasures' series, (recommend watching). From what I remember they looked about a meter tall and pretty cool...
I arrived in Xi'an with a bit of time to kill before meeting up with Yuan (my host)...you could say I liked Xi'an from the off with it's bustling city center, food market, Bell and drum towers and pagodas and not forgetting it's nightlife...

Half way through the week I met up with another CS Leon who along with Yuan made my experience in Xi'an pretty awesome...! Enjoy...!

The Warriors turned out to be much more than I expected...after walking around the huge excavated pits the final (pit 3) below was most impressive...i didn't realise the warriors would be almost life size and that there would be literally hundreds of them accompanied with horses...!

Xi'an and the traditional Bell tower dancer/musicians...

some afternoon groovers in the park...

Some restaurants would have staff relay races as means of 'team building' mmm...how would that go down in the UK...?!

The Big goose Pagoda...

a brilliantly funny tranvestite street entertainer...even though I couldn't understand him/her, he/she was hilarious...! and kinda cute...?!

a song to ponder...

Jiuzhaigou national park...

I'd read about Jiuzhaigou in my guide book and seen some unreal pictures of marine and turquoise coloured still lakes with lush surroundings...it was on the way from Xi'an to Chengdu and so I thought...

why not..?!

That question has often led me to some problems along the course of this trip...however fun and exciting the outcome turned out to be...!!!

So I planned to get the overnight train to Guangyuan then a bus which I was expecting would take a few hours at the least...
To summerise...the journey turned out to be one of the best surprise routes of my trip... The train from Xi'an to Guangyuan was as always, relaxing and enjoyable...
So...I get off at Guangyuan, and make my way to the bus depo...some how managed to get my ticket...I met this lady, who went out of her way to help me...only she was speaking Chinese the whole entire time..! pointing and showing money was my only form of comunication....!
So I'm waiting on the bus which looks pretty run down, the everyone nods at me and exchanges a few words amongst themselves to acknowledge that yes I am a foreigner and that I speak no Chinese... but this doesn't bother me as I've come to realise language is just one form of communication and as a result I have become a master of reading body language and gestures...or so I think...

we set off and as always in countries where there are a bazillion people, people frequently boarded and got off the bus all along the way...The road starts to deteriorate and this is where it starts to get interesting...I have no fear as the 40-50 year old driver is a pro and has probably driven this route his whole life...we rise and fall on snake like roads swooping in, out and around the valley floor, through crumbled old villages with residents who have probably never seen cities like Beiijing and have lived in this remote valley their whole life...at one point we stop when the narrow single lane road is congested by oncoming traffic...a work man looks up and with complete shock mouths the word laowai (a derogatory term for a foreigner), I smile and wave to him, hesitantly he responds...

(I'm always shocked to see that multi-coloured tracksuit bottoms can be worn by the youths of today even in the most remote parts of the world...!)

Down below is an intro to the mysterious blue waters I'd be seeing in Jiuzhaigou Park, with odd shaped boats and locals going about their business, fishing and farming...

(check out some of the pictures in 'photos' for this).

The road begins to flatten out and we start to approach a town near Jiuzhaigou in the dark, it's 11 hours since I left Guangyuan, nearly there...
The driver says goodbye and mentions something, but what I don't understand is that I'm still about an hour from where I want to be...I try to explain my situation to the car park attendant who is there with his wife and two very cheeky but adorable daughters...as I tell them it should be a short taxi ride costing around 2 pounds they tell me it's more like 12 pounds...I gesture with my hands that the journey and should be short and that what their suggesting is a 'looonnnngggg' journey...I say the word long in this way...as I do the two girls start giggling and repeat this word with the hand gesture over and over again...each time it gets funnier and we re all laughing at the absurdity of the situation I've got myself in...
I walk into town to confirm and get some clearer info and directions...meanwhile the girls follow me and blurt out all the broken English they know from movies and things they've herd...I walk back with them, giggling along the way...this takes my mind of the fact that I m totally knackered from the two days of traveling...their father calls me a cab and as I pull away...with the window down, hands waving the little girl in the yellow jacket starts crying and tells me she doesn't want me to leave (or something similar)...after the day I've had I start as well...a very special moment, one of many I was so fortunate to have on my journey...

As for the park words can't describe as I seem to prove in the video below...check out how times I say the word 'Amazing'...ridiculous...!

Mongolia

willrob — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Ok, Mongolia was never planned but as always the best experiences never are...It was down to Om, (That handsome chap I met in Hohhot) why I had such a precariously awesome time in a country full of wonder, tiny horses, beautiful women, a harsh climate and once home to the great Genghis Khan and of course V O D K A…!

So I managed to get the fastest ever Visa (30 minutes) for 2 weeks…our route was a bus to Eren Hot a smallish border town then catch the Trans Mongolia-express which starts in Beijing and ends up in St Petersburg…! Along the way met some interesting characters…from the dodgey men in the 4x4 that ripped us off at the border crossing to the strange drunk who followed us to our cabin on the train and demanded money from us...to Suhne and Baggi who were the best drinking partners anyone could have hoped for…!

Mongolia was by far one of the best 'off route' countries I visited and mainly because we had to be on the look out for most of it...! We spent quite a bit of time in the hostel in fear of our lives as the Capital is ‘no place for old men.’ Pick pocketing happened on a regular basis, drunks and taxi drivers who pulled a guy out of our hostel and beat him up...plus it was minus 0 C for most of the time…However I don’t want to paint a bad picture…it’s just with a harsh climate life is hard and it proved to be for many of the Mongolians at that time…well the ones we encountered...!

Approaching the border crossing...was the best Introduction to Mongolia we could have hoped for...literally as we made it to the border between China and Mongolia a huge sand storm greeted us...along with a giant artificial rainbow...! (you can't make this stuff up...)

I ve tried to let the videos do most of the explaining...although the train into Ulaanbaatar was definitely one of the highlights....!

We soon hooked up with Suhne and Baggey who offered Vodkha, arm wrestles and were such great company...thank you guys...!

Beginning of our little expedition into the Mongolian countryside...We teamed up with Canadian Chris...who we met at the hostel...he also managed to survive the Vodka..! cheers !

As you can see in the Pic below we enjoyed ourselves but it was exhausting...I have to say nothing happened to us...we weren't robbed and and I survived the most amount of Vodka my body has and will ever consume...EVER...
The only injury I incurred was running into a post when a wolf/dog growled at me and I got scared and ran from it...(check the scar-wound on my forehead in th epic below) other than that not a scratch...

Beijing & Inner Mongolia... 8th Mar to 20th April

willrob — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Towards the end of my time in Beijing I visited the 'Summer Palace' (above) and the 'Temple of Heaven,' they were great places to walk around and discover...but I just can't fit it all in...!
(I've choosen to mention the Summer Palace as more happened for me there...although the Temple of heaven is a must if you go to Beijing...!)

...around the grounds of the Summer Palace there is a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures...otherwise known as the "Gardens of Nurtured Harmony" it is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake. The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kilometers was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. The Hill of Longevity is where the video below was shot...

Dancers from the Summer Palace...Check out that Moustache...! male or female..

While wondering the Summer Palace I was in search for the Mable boat which sits on the water almost like any other boat would only it s made from stone...! i asked a random kite flyer who ofcourse didn t know what I was talking about...and then a hansome young Chinese dude, David...who like me turned out to be a tourist and spoke good english (although he would probably disagree...!) We found out the rough direction and headed towards the boat checking out all the sites on the way...he turned out to be great company and not such a bad singer too...! (marble boat in the background)...

As I was running short on time I didn't get to see the Temple of Heaven that day, however I took up Davids suggestion of vistiting the Central Contol Tower (CCT) which was a few metro stops away...we sang, laughed and had a blast...!

on another cold and snowy day...

HOHHOT...!

And if i can squeeze it in...
From Beijing I said farewell to the steamed dumplings... the friends I'd made and ofcourse Fei...THANK YOU for having me...!
...and so onto 'Hohhot' the Capital of inner Mongolia...about a 10 hour train ride West of Beijing... interestingly it is nationally known as the home of China's dairy giants Mengniu and Yili, and as a result was named the "Dairy Capital of China"...! by the China Dairy Industry Association and the Dairy Association of China in 2005...mmmm?!
Anyway...I was greeted with open arms by the staff of the Anda guesthouse who really coloured my experience in Inner Mongolia...I can t say how much I appeciate everything you did for me and sincerly thank you for your hospitality...especially the tradional songs you sang for us on Om s birthday...beautiful and effortless...I think we both had a tear in our eye...truly memorable.

And ofcourse I can t forget it was to be here at the Anda Guesthouse that I was to meet one of the key figures of my travels in China...my good friend and travel companion Om...AKA...Ommy the hommy from the U S of A.

With money you are a dragon; with no money,a worm 8th Mar to 20th April

willrob — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

nǐ hǎo...! Everyone...!

That was to be my first word in what turned out to be my favourite country. I hope over the next few blog entries I can show you why..!

There's a lot to the China blog entries...but...I promise they'll be of interest...! So lay back with a Jasmine T and let me transport you to the wonderful world of the orient...

First up...It was March when I arrived...which meant my T-shirt and vest was a bad choice of atire on arrival and would get me about as far as a Panda on Valium...it was about sub zero or felt like it outside the airport...!!! burrrrr

For most of my stay in Beijing (1 week) I stayed with Fei who was a great host...!(and I'll be expecting you in Edinburgh at some point within 5 years...I'm counting the days!!!) A big thank you to Leng as well... cheers for all you help and the Intro to Beijing!)

First stop...The forbidden City...!

Managing to avoid the Chinese T scam where attractive local girls come up and say they want to practise there English in a T house where the cup of T ends up costing anywhere between 50 and 80 pounds...! they bring out the bouncers if you don`t pay up...!

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Located in the middle of Beijing it now houses the Palace Museum. (which in itself was a spectical!) For almost five hundred years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government. Its also where they filmed ´the last emperor´

Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms[1] and covers 720,000 m2 (7,800,000 sq ft). The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture,[2] and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. It also has the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Afterwards I walked staight out of the Forbidden city and into Jingshan Park... a very layed back park that had a great viewpoint back over the Forbidden city...The park was dotted with mucians and interesting groups of Jianzi players...some of whom were easliy in their 70's and were arguably more skillful than Ronaldo...! (doesn`t matter which Ronaldo!)

And then onto the Great Wall where I was to be Scamed...! bloody taxi drivers...!

The bus was to take 2 hours to a small town where I would then take a bus costing 15 RMB (1.5 pounds) to the wall...What actually happened was after about an hour the bus stopped, a random guy came on and pointed to me to get off...I must also add the driver agreed with this gesture...! having to put my shoes on as I`d taken them off for comfort...and tidying up my lunch which was a desginer ´pot noodle´ with tubs of sauces...nightmare...! I stupidly got off the bus where I was confronted by a swarm of taxi drivers (quite literally buzzing all over me) giving me different prices....! B#$&*+s!!!
I had to take one of them in the end feelling cheated I payed him half as much as they had originally offered...I Later met some American guys who I climbed part of the wall with...one of them could speak chinese...and translated what the driver was trying to tell me...

"there aren´t any buses for your return jounrey so I´ll meet you back here at 6pm"?!

This was a lie..! again...! could you believe it...! anyway the Wall turned out to be more than worth it...!

The Great Wall of China "long fortress" is a series of stone and earthen fortifications, located in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups.
Several walls have been built since the 5th century BC that are referred to collectively as the Great Wall, which has been rebuilt and maintained from the 5th century BC through the 16th century.
One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains; the majority of the existing wall was built during the Ming Dynasty.

The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has recently concluded that the entire Great Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851.8 km (5,500.3 mi). This is made up of 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 mi) sections of actual wall, 359.7 km (223.5 mi) of trenches and 2,232.5 km (1,387.2 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.

Ofcourse I remeber all the figures above... I started and ended at the `Sumatia´ gate one of three...although I really didn` go that far...I could appreciate just what a Marvel this man made structure is...the surrounding lanscape was truly blissful...

(it cannot be seen from space for those of us (me) that thought it could...)!

Japan 24th Feb - 8th March

willrob — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

And so onto Japan…but first I must tell of my departure from Sri Lanka….

So I turn up at the airport in time and queue up…I tried to get the remaining Rupees changed so I could get something to munch on but everyone keeps changing their money before I get the chance to ask..!

Anyway…I’m next in line at the check in and have become pretty used to the procedure by now…a Sri Lankan girl calls for me and I present my passport after a while she stops fumbling through and looks at me unsure and say’s:

‘and your Visa for Japan…’
I say: Em…?! I’ll pick one up when I get there…?! (first thing I could think of…?!)

She looked at me with the same blank expression and then back to her computer…
Meanwhile I’m thankful Sri Lanka hadn’t given me the farewell runs as I would have had no hope in hell of stopping them…! you know that feeling when, when you’ve been caught red-handed doing something you shouldn’t or missing some event that is too important…! It feels like your organs have turned to lead and you could easily be pulled down to the floor with the weight…!

Half a minute passes and I think I even began to sweat a little thinking what the hell am I gonna do in Sri Lanka for god knows how long…?!

And then she brings out the stamper…! Ha ha…boy was I relieved…!

My arrival at Narita airport (Tokyo) was the most effortless I had on the trip…most of the staff were wearing those little face masks to prevent the spread of flu and reduce the effects of hay fever from the cherry blossom (maybe). It does not mean that Japan has highest number of Doctors (as I was later told…!)

So as always I look at the prices of the vending machine and a Mac d’s coffee to gauge if the countries gonna to take a huge bite out of my wallet…turns out I was going to get eaten alive by Japan…(I was told by some brits in the Narita area where I was that the cheapest place they could find to stay was 60 pounds…!)

So I get my bearings…everything’s well labeled, tidy, clean and I don’t have much problem finding where I need to go…I head to the subway as it’s about lunchtime and I have until about 5pm before I meet up with my host.

As I’m getting my ticket for Narita Temple on the (subway) where I planned to do a spot of sightseeing…a Japanese man in his 40’s asks me if I need some help with the ticket…turns out we were heading the same way and we chatted for a while before boarding the train together…His name was Nobu and he was in the area visiting his parents (who didn’t speak any English). It must have been about 15 minutes before I got off…I thanked him for his help and went on my way…

The streets were spotless…the air was cooler…the prices off the chart…and all this alien food…strange smells…it couldn’t of been further from Indian life… It really was a joy just being there walking around and although I couldn’t understand the symbols and conversations…it didn’t matter I was in JAPAN…! YES…!

Narita-san Shinshō-ji (Narita-san = ‘Narita mountain,' Shinshō-ji = 'New victory temple') was quite simply out of this world. It is a Shingon Buddhist temple located in central Narita, the suburbs of Tokyo. It was founded in 940 by Kanchō Daisōjō. It comprises of a large complex of buildings and grounds, and is one of the best-known temples in the Kanto. I was fascinated by the good condition of the temples their colors and appearance…many of them had scripture carved somewhere and the designs were so elegant and impressed me no end. I later found out that it would be the surrounding gardens or grounds that were the marvel I'd come to see…just a perfect balance wherever I looked. Simple. Beauty.

On my way out of the temple I’m walking back up the road (around 4pm) when I hear this cry of “ha I found you…!” I turn around and see a very out of breath Nobu who looked like he'd just run a marathon…! My first though I have to admit was get the hell out of there…a crazy Japanese man wants to eat me…!!!(or something similar!)

Nobu finally caught his breath back and told me that because I was new to Japan he should take care of me (his Mother and Father had asked him to). What can you say to that…I’d met him briefly at the airport and now he’d probably been running around the temple grounds for a good hour or so trying to find me so that he could welcome me to his Country…
I could feel my eyes welling up and was blown away by his generous offer…of course I said yes….

Not sure if this is a worldly view other countries have of foreigners from Britain but Nobu thought we should go have Dinner in an Irish Pub…I told him I was up for sampling the Japanese culture and wasn’t into that ‘Britain away from Britain’ idea. However within half an hour we were sat with a Guinness (6 pounds!) and a plate of fish and chips…it was memorable…!

We chatted all evening and I soon came to be very found of Nobu he was a great man and I couldn’t wait to meet his parents again and thank them for their kind offer…They were quite simply the loveliest people and went above board to make me feel at home…

Ok a bit of Japanese culture shocks I found…

Toilet seats are furry and heated…and I’m sure if you tried hard enough you could have a conversation with the toilet while sitting there.
The ‘TV Times’…yep its part porno mag.
Coffee in a can from vending machines is WARM. Not cold as it is everywhere else.
You feel like a total outsider if you cross the road without the green man showing.
There are people with white gloves that ‘Push’ people onto the trains when they are nearly full.
Everything is on time…trains quite literally TO THE SECOND…!
Everything’s packaged…!

So the four of us sit at Nobu’s parents house sipping T and watching the Winter Olympics…supporting ‘Mao’ Asada the Japanese entry for the female ice-skating…I was getting well into it…!
Nobu was interested in lots of British music including the Beatles and we chatted about our interests and general stuff…I was lucky enough to hear him play and sing ‘Imagine’ which was enough to move anyone…here it was my first day in Japan what an impression…I was moved to tears and this was day one….!

I woke to a Japanese style breakfast...mmm...Nobu and I headed off to the train station where we met his mother who had cycled there with my backpack..! She was a wonderful women with a great concern for making my short stay as comfortable as possible...I was a bit upset waving her off...

We headed into the centre of Tokyo which I should mention is huge..it's got a population over 13 million and is spread out over a fare distance to Narita...

We walked around and it was pretty much what I imagined and one of the first really 'big' cities I'd seen since I'd left the UK...we saw some interesting naked toys...and visited one of the infamous maid dreaming cafe. It's a popular new trend from 2006 in Tokyo's Akihabara district. It's a manga-stocked cafe where girls dress up in french maid outfits and act more submissive than usual. It's supposed to be a dream world for nerds who live for manga and video games, otakus. The girls say things like "i put extra love in your coffee today" and similar.

We took the elevator up a few floors where we were confronted quite literally with 'human' cartoon everything seemed plastic and superficial...a girl who must of only just of entered her teens...grins wildly at us shows us to our table, talking the whole time. We order a slice a of cake and a coke each...she brings out the coke...just as I'm about to take a sip she stops me and says something in Japanese...Nobu translates this for me...turns out we have to make a wish before we drink or eat anything..this involved making a heart shape with your hands and bobbing them from side to whilst saying a little jingle...! I couldn't make this up if I tried...there was also a do's and don'ts list...you must not touch the girls or take photographs..>?! it was a bizarre experience one I'll never forget...below is the picture they took for us...a very memorable moment and one never forgotten...!!!

We continued to Shibuya crossing...a famous crossing used in such films as 'Babel' and 'Lost in translation'...it was somewhere I really wanted to visit while i was in the city centre...

We chilled out in this area for the rest of the day, before Nobu sent me on my way helping me experience my first Bullet train...Smooth...lightening fast and like no other form of transport I'd experienced...I can't thank Nobu and his family enough...I really hope I can repay the favour one day in the UK...Thank you friend.

My next step was Aino...Shizouka...I had an awesome time with Yoshi and Sergul...excellent food and even better company I saw the local area and made a new friend...

Plum blossoms in Aino...

Kyoto...big thanks to Hitomi...who helped me out with writting my name in Japanese and kaito for being a dude...!

Towards the end of my time in Nagoya (before I moved onto Kyoto) I quite literally ran out of money...(ok I hadn't exactly told my bank I was in Japan using my card, however they did know I was away for at least 3 months...and...they allowed me to withdraw 3 times while I was in Japan...! anyway) I ran out of cash.

This really was an eye opener to how much you pretty much can't do anything without having a little bit $. So there I was about an hour’s walk from the centre of the city, raining (of course) the evening before I was leaving to Kyoto...not a cent...
I tried asking everywhere (for use of a phone), car companies, anyway where I could think...(problems with the dialing code) I ended up stopping a random guy on the street...John C from Kentucky (that's what his name badge said) we spoke for a while...I explained my situation...(I wasn't into begging at that point)... he walked me in the direction of town...and started down some stairs to the subway...I immediately said I couldn't afford a train in...he offered to get me a ticket...and gave me the change for some food...(which ended up being some prawn crackers...the cheapest filling food I could find for around 5 pounds...!)

...it doesn't sound like much but 'John C from Kentucky' was quite literally my life line at a real time of need...!

From here I headed into town with a tear in my eye and some hope of sorting the situation out...! I recreated some scenes from 'Lost in translation' while speaking to locals for directions to ATMS before finally finding my salvation in the form of an 'Irish bar' run by Japanese who gave me a phone card...when I heard the customer representative on the other end say...'well...it's going to take around...ten minutes?!

I knew it was over...

The video below is my withdrawal...a momentous point of the day...I must of walked about 10 kms over the city...and nearly fell asleep into my soup as a result...it was now 2am...I spent that night on the street outside the train station waiting for the bus to Kyoto...leaving at 7am...what a day. (but BIG thanks to 'John C from Kentucky')

slot machines in Kyoto...

And finally to my departure of Japan...I'll let the Video do the talking...

Until my next up date which I hope will be pretty soon...Take care...everyone...!

Rob x
NZ

India's little island in the south

willrob — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Hey Bloggers...

Sorry I've taken a very long time to write this entry I've been caught up in the world...(Literally).

When I left India, I was given the best leaving present I could of wished for...the runs...Let me just say having the runs when in transit is about as fun as eating blue cheese...(I don't like blue cheese).

So on to Sri Lanka...I loved my time in Sri Lanka very much and it will always hold a special place somewhere deep inside. For me it was a down scaled India on a more manageable scale...with beautiful and friendly people, hot weather…and lots of interesting sites to see…

Getting there…
I tried to book a bed in a hotel at Delhi airport before departing and thought it was sorted. On my flight over I started chatting to a lovely guy who's name will be lost forever as I never wrote it down and we never exchanged emails, for arguments sake, lets call him Mr S Lanka. He was a boss in a pharmaceutical company and told me many interesting places to visit while in his country…

He offered to give me a lift from the airport to the hotel along with his co-worker/driver…on the way, we found the Hotel I’d booked was full and I had to find somewhere else…between Mr Lanka and his driver they phoned around and sorted another Hotel out in Colombo City which, was a fair drive from the airport…on the way we dropped Mr Lanka off at home where his wife made some tasty Sri Lankan Tea and sent me and the driver on our way with a pack of Tea…Sri Lanka apparently has some of the worlds best Tea… After about 40 minutes we arrived at our destination (I transferred to a taxi)…and arrived at the hotel knackered but beaming from the hospitality and generosity of the Mr Lanka and his driver.

India was in the past and I was recharged and ready to take on this smallish island even if I only had 5 days…! (I never intended to visit Sri Lanka…it was a free stop over with my flight to Tokyo… so I took it…!)

First Stop after Colombo (capital) which I didn't really see much of was Galle...
After a speedy bus of a couple of hours, snaking from side to side with blasting music I arrived into Galle. Galle was the main port on the Island before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century.
However, Galle is unfortunately best known for the massive Boxing Day Tsunami in (2004), the Indian Ocean earthquake that occurred a thousand miles away, off the coast of Indonesia. Thousands were killed in the city alone. It was hard to realise this even though I remember seeing the pictures on the news. The Galle that I had now arrived in was a very picturesque seaside town with the largest remaining fort in Asia by European occupiers and cricket ground...(below).

Cliff Diver’s of Galle

From Galle I caught a brilliant little train to Kandy, a town in the heart of the Island…the videos below show some of the surrounding scenery as the train passes through the Kandy valley mountains.

The Journey to Kandy 'the hilltop capital of Sri Lanka' was excellent the train managed to keep a sluggish pace up through the Kandy valley surrounded by tropical plantations mainly Tea... Kandy itself was set in a valley surrounded by hills overlooking the town...Some with beautiful gardens and the pretty impressive white Bahirawakanda temple Buddha statue...below.

And lastly I have to comment on the beauty of the women in Sri Lanka...
I remember waiting at Kandy station for my train back to Colombo...I was drying my socks in the sun (as you do when your backpacking...?!) and making a few friends with a group of school boys who thought I was 'cool' tried on my sunnys and practiced their English etc...this caught the attention of a girl on the opposite platform...she was amused by the whole thing and when her train came she mouthed the word 'bye' smiled with the brightest white teeth and disappeared...I melted instantly and took a long time to come round, it left a lasting impression on me...many of the girls/women in Sri Lanka had this same trademark smile...it was hard for me to leave...!

Me and the Buddha.

The Taj Mahal

willrob — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

You can’t really visit India with out seeing the wonder that is ‘Taj mahal.’ From Jaipur I hopped on an over night bus to Agra, with help from Girish, of course… I managed to sleep a little…woke up and we’d arrived in the dark around 6am…with hope of catching the sunrise…after waking up some more from a sweet cupper, I boarded a rickshaw and off we went…I’ve got to say I was excited…I remember seeing the Taj ever since I was little in picturesm TV etc…but here I was on my way for real…!

For some reason they didn’t less us into the grounds before sunrise which was disappointing…around 7am a group of about 50 tourists including myself made our way to that classic gate way viewing point where you climb a few stairs full of expectation and there it was a magical building with faultless symmetry, white marble pillars reaching up into the sky and a presence unlike any man made building I’d ever seen, magic.

The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Sha Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal and apparently they used 100 elephants to transport the white marble stones! It’s, one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture, style that combines elements from Islamic, Indian and Persian architectural styles.

While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. Building began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen.

I was amazed by how many additional buildings were in the grounds. On either side of that classic postcard photograph lies two identical red stoned buildings with wonderful arches and intricate design’s…it really was something special, I’ll never forget my visit to the Taj.

2 Day Train To Jaipur and Jaipur City

willrob — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Me and a friend

The Train back up to Jaipur was a couple of days and as there were no 'Sleeper' tickets available my only option was a first class one...as traveler I've learned that these random set backs or 'problems' are often the best experience's you have and the ones you remember...! as it happened I ended up sharing a carriage with Abraham (dude) and was looked after by Loken and his team...(pictured) These guys were awsome company and made the journey memorable...! Thanks Guys! :-)

The train journey up was fantastic and showed me just how beautiful India's countryside is...with farmers, Villagers and children playing there were lots of thoses 'Zen Moments'...

(Videos below)
Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan, (to the west of Delhi), the city is marked for its grand palaces, massive forts, museums and lush green gardens. In 1853, when the Prince of Wales visited Jaipur, the whole city was painted pink to welcome him during the regime of Sawai Ram Singh.
When I herd this I had to see this for myself...! Although the pink wasn't as 'pink' as I had imagined... Jaipur's many street's and avenues were a joy to walk around and it definitely changed my opinion from Delhi...!

I met a fellow a traveler, a name obviously so complicated I can't recall it...?! We walked around the city and managed to see a couple of Forts and from Nahargarh Fort we just caught the sunset...! After demanding a biker loose two of his passengers and assist us in getting there before sun down...! the race was on but we made it...! Definitely a highlight of my trip in India... At sunset...this was the only city in the world where you could here the people even though they were so far away...!

I was Greeted in Jaipur by the infamous Girish...Who helped me around the City and took me to some Royal Weddings with whole families and friends marching through the city streets with the Groom riding high on horses or elephants...booming Music...Stunning dresses and stick lights it... provided a real spectacle...! at one point I got pulled in to the crowd... it was crazy and I loved it...! Thanks Girish, you the man..!

Fort Cochin, India

willrob — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

After Hampi, Randal and I left Hospet and headed south to Fort Kochin, Kerla...with a day spent in Bangalore...
I found Fort Kochin to be a colourful place with one of the main events for us watching the local fishermen bringing back the days catch...Kerla is an area made up of many small islands where the estuary divides up the land in the bottom South West corner of India.... Again miles of beautiful warm beaches, festivals...and a noticeable mark-up in the weather...extremely humid at times...!

just a little update

willrob — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Reading the weather forcast in the Central Control Tower Beijing

Hey everyone...!

Just a little reminder that I'm still alive and well...in Xian, China at the moment, I leave to Jiuzhaigou National Park today (5/4/10)...

as You tube and Fb are out until I get to Hong Kong I'll wait until then before I get back to the blog...good news is that India is fininished with...well the pictures anyway...

love to all and thanks for all your well wishes..it makes a difference, thank you.

R x

Next stop...Hampi, India

willrob — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

India continued...
Towards the end of my time spent in Goa I met Randal and luckily we we both had some time to travel inland to Hampi in the center of India.
We managed to sort our tickets out for the overnight sleeper bus from Margao near Colva. I stayed in Colva for nearly a week enjoying great sea food dishes and smoothies, the temperature was a guaranteed 25 C and the sun always shining... :-) I enjoyed the Joyce and the little rascals !!! they're pictured in the Hampi photos...
The over night bus to Hampi was a crazy journey...the driver who only stopped for half an hour on the 10 hour trip...speeded along at a speed impossible to sleep and as a result I became ill... we arrived in Hampi jet lagged and found it to be different from Goa...mainly because of the scenery...no beaches...huge boulders of various shapes and sizes and the Virupaksha temple in the center of the town, which gave the place a magical feel...however as I was beginning to discover the rickshaw drivers were more abundant than ever and the constant hassling to buy things was draining for me...
The videos below show the 'best of' Hampi and once again thanks to Randal for his great company.

India

willrob — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

India was in a lot of ways what I was expecting...but what you think and what actually happens is sometimes altogether entirely different...

My Flight to Delhi was delayed because of the 'Fog' (pollution) so instead of 9.45pm it was to be 6am the next day...I can't begin to tell you how annoying it was to be woken up by someone coughing in the 'sleeping room' every half an hour in Doha airport...

From the moment I arrived in India... one thing was apparent...PEOPLE...everywhere...masses of people... moving from terminal to terminal, crossing the street...where ever you looked...nose.
I take full responsibility for my negative first impressions of Delhi...I was unorganized and as a result spent the night in an expensive hotel which was horrible had a tour guide/taxi driver who should of been in hospital he was coughing so much and all together being royally ripped off at every step I made...

The best way for me to describe Delhi is:

Within 24 hours, I was in Goa hundreds of miles away on the west coast in the middle of India.

I soon settled and started to enjoy India and for a couple of weeks I REALLY enjoyed the people, the relaxed lifestyle, warms ocean dips, a brilliant sun with equally stunning sunsets...and of course that liberating feeling of packing up my things, loading my 'T1000' and heading off into the distance unsure of where I'd be sleeping that night.

I had a travel companion for a week or so, Randal, from the Netherlands who was great company and we shared a lot of great experiences in Goa, Hampi and Fort Cochin, (specially the overnight 'sleeper bus' to Hampi...where it was impossible to SLEEP! and I was nearly left behind in the middle of the night for stepping off for a pee...!)

Towards the end of my time in India I was reminded again of the poverty and the mess in which the place is in...On my 2 day train from Fort Cochin in the south, every meal was simply tossed out the window...because of the simple fact that in India there are no BINS!!! I never thought I would do this and it was very much against my nature but just common practice for the Indians I met.

There so many great Indian people I had the pleasure to meet...the many groups of young guys playing cricket on the beach in which I was quite happily envited to join...randoms on bus and trains...and especially to Prince Abraham, who was great company and kept me amused in our shared carriage for the two days back up to Delhi...

There is lots more to be said about India and it's a place I think will always be on my mind...was India such a bad place or was it my attitude...?!

I'll leave you with some videos from my month there...I’ll add more later, China has a ban on Facebook and YouTube so I’m just managing when I can...I've also uploaded more pictures of India...

missing everyone!!!

Bahrain

willrob — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings from Bahrain...!!!

Ok、 this Blog (in order to catch up with myself) will be short and sweet...

I arrived in Doha on Wed 20th and within a few hours I was in the great company of my Edinburgh Collage friend Omar...(after being frisked at the airport...`Welcome to Bahrain`!!!)

We studied together until 2005 until we graduated, Omar then went back to Bahrain to teach. I can`t say how pleased I was to able to meet and spend this special time with him...I was treated to great hospitality and shown many amazing sites of his country...!!!

We spoke at great length about the Omar`s religion. Islam was very interesting to me and I felt that one question only encouraged more...

I`ll leave you with some of the best Videos from my 4 days and there are quite a few pictures to look at too...they`re all tagged Manama although Omar was a Brilliant Host and took me just about everywhere...!

Also I`ve finally worked out the Map at the top of the page, so I`ll keep it up to date...!!!

Thank you to everyone and I hope your enjoying the weather...you`ll be pleased to know Japan is a cool 10 C...

Lots of love

Rob　：-)

Leaving South Africa

willrob — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Me and Mr Mandela...a very prominent figure in my life now...

Well that`s 2 months, 5 countries and most importantly some incredible experiences under my belt...
South Africa for me provided a pretty conservative beginning for my trip and as a result allowed me to `test the water` in a way that built confidence gradually and I felt that within my first week I had already made encouraging steps and adapted to my new surroundings as a back packer...
By the end of my time here in South Africa I really felt I had relaxed into a comfortable routine and was eager for new experiences...Questions such as `what are are you doing here boy?!` were now replaced with `where are you going next..?! I was ready to move on mainly because I had schedual to keep, but believed I could of stayed longer...
It is impossible for me to forget my experience here in a country with so much beauty both the land and it`s people...

I am leaving you with the image of Mr Mandella and I at the airport...It was very fortunate for me that this great man was here in Johannesburg to see me off...He`s become a hero of mine and and I strongly recomond that you read his book...

`A long walk to Freedom`

Thank you South Africa for all your love, I will not forget you.

Rob

Nelspruit and Krugar National Park, Mozambique

willrob — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

When I arrived in Nelspruit...the town close to The Krugar National Park, I was disappointed with my first day...My idea was that I would meet someone...hire a car and drive round the Park with more freedom than the over priced tours of Krugar...

I moved from my Back Packers 'Funky Monkey's' which to be honest wasn't Funky at all...and I certainly didn't see any monkey's...
At the new Back Packers I met two 'Ozy chicks' (I m sure they won't mind) Lea and her friend (sorry forgotten the name...! I know I'm terrible)...they had made other arrangements and had already been in the park for a week...! they loved it with a passion...!

I ended up going out with them for '1 beer' (why can it never be just 1..?!) in a restaurant not to far from where we were staying...we got talking to the owner of the restaurant the infamous 'Garth'... who then drove us along with others to a night club...there were moments where we feared for our lives driving at break neck speeds in a Subaru down dodgy pitch black lanes at midnight but we finally reached our club and had a night of shots...strange conversations and a mix of world music including 'I would walk five hundred miles...' I have to admitt I felt a little homesick...

Garth and Sarah-Marie invited us to come along with them to a lodge near by the Krugar Park where Garths parents were staying... We laughted about the previous night and the absurdity of what had had happened and how we came to be in their car driving off for a relaxing weekend...

I can't thank Lea, Garth, Sarah-Marie and Garth's Parnets, Phillip and Louise for a a trully special and memorable time...in their company I was fortunate enough to be taken into the Krugar Park 3 days in a row!!!, Sample Phillips Superb Braai's! (BBQ's), see 4 of the big 5 including wild dogs, (a very rare sighting, as Lea will agree..!) and the greatest day spent in Maputo, Mozambique, where we ate some of the best sea food platters I may ever...! and got pulled over and fined for doing a 'U'-turn in the road...corruption at it's best...!

I can't say enough about these people, their generosity and kindness made feel very privileged indeed and like I told them...they became my South African family away from home...Thanks you with all my heart.

Enjoy the vids...and I'm nearly in Bahrain...there's a thought...!

R x

Towards the end of South Aftica...

willrob — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Hello Peoples…

Sorry for the years I’ve taken to add Blogs to my Blog..! I’m now in Sri Lanker (arrived 20th Feb) and leave for Tokyo tomorrow (24th arriving 25th Feb)…excited or nervous…I’m still deciding…

Here’s hopefully the rest of South Africa...after the Drakensburg I headed down to Durban City…the 3rd largest community of Indians outside India (behind Birmingham, believe it or not…?!) I stayed here for a while, recharging my batteries and leaving my camera at the Back Packers every time I went out for a walk - whether it was broad day light or you were a local African - the likely hood was at some point you’d be mugged…as a pale tourist I wasn’t taking any chances…many times when I did venture out into the city among the lovely food smells I found I was the only white person on the many over populated streets I walked through…It quite literally felt like I was an ‘alien’ from another world…I loved that feeling…

After Durban I headed to St Lucia, 4 hours along the coast, east, to Hippo and Croc country…here on the first day I went on a ‘booze cruz’ and saw many Hippos and was amazed to find you could canoe along the river where Crocs the size of well… canoes were swimming along side you.

Guide: ‘don’t worry they can’t get you if you’re in the canoe’..!
Rob: and if you happen to fall out?!...
Guide: silence.

I didn’t go anywhere near a canoe in St Lucia.

However I did go to my first real safari park, ‘real’ in the sense that if you stepped out of your vehicle you’d most likely become someone’s dinner…and around the park in some places there was no fence…just a ‘natural barrier’ ie, an easily cross-able river…The video is of my first wild Giraffe…and the picture of the 'Big Five' I guess is a warning...?!?!
...hee hee

enjoy….

and so it continues...

willrob — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Well folks I've finally found myself grounded in India, Goa...can't say too much as it's all still to come...The slow internet connection's keeping you all in suspense whether you like it or not...!

I've still got a heap of cool stuff to show you from South Africa...including my magical time in The Krugar National Park so please watch this space...I promise it'll get better...

I hope your all well, back in the distant UK. I really feel like I'm living on a different planet than the rest of you...it's the most bizarre feeling...

Below is some of the best from New Year time in the Drakensburg, an area in land from Durban, (a city on the coast, east of the middle of South Africa).

Also check the pictures as I'll add a few new ones and the Map at the top of the page for a more up-to-date of where on earth I'am now...!

Rob x

(Big thanks to Enno the infamous German who crossed the gushing river with me several times in order to complete one of my all time greatest adventures in the Amphitheater, Northern Drakensburg....!)

The Story of Bulungala...

willrob — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

If an ass goes traveling, he'll not come home a horse...

My Bulungala experience started in Coffee Bay where I was to catch my first local Taxi. These are usually packed full of locals like a tin of sardines and with whatever deafening sounds are coiming from the radio, swerve round potholes at lunitic speeds tooting there horns as and when they feel like it...
Luckly for me the one I climbed into was pretty quiet, I was given a note for the driver which read...'Lutubeni or no college' I had no Idea where this was and the driver was unable to give me any more help...after about half an hour we stopped on a corner where there were market stalls mainly selling vegitables with locals of all ages dotted about...the driver shouted something towards the back and I hopped off...I arrived i good time before 4pm just to be safe, which was when the shuttle was due to pick me up...they didn't come till 6.30pm.
After a couple of phone calls..."oh the drivers not there...?! ok he'll be there in half an a hour"...which meant he could be there anytime from half an hour to an hour an half...I later realised this was to become known as 'African time.'

This did give a chance to become more aquainted with the locals, the first were two old ladies their faces like leather boots...they spoke no English and I had a lot of fun communicating with them through smiles and gestures, although they managed to eat all my rusks (biscuits).
Then there was the boy of around 10 who thought it best to teach me some Xhosa the intersting 'clicky' language where in every sentence the Locals would 'click' like a horse trotting...it was bloody hard to get perfect and the locals who I tested it out on always just looked at me in confusion...
As time went by I did become slightly concerned with the prospect of sleeping on a corner with the local strays...however the driver did show up...he was 65 and named Rufus...as he stumbled over to me it was impossible for me to feel anything but joy that he'd made it in one peace....
He showed me the back of the truck where there was two other locals practically sittting on vegitables, I was preparing myself for the worst but ended up siting in the passengers seat next to Rufus...
We drove for about 3 hours through rolling green hills where the sun was setting into the darkness and where the road stopped being a road and became something undescribable...
While bumping up and down like the crazed loonie I was feeling for having decided to stay all the way out here, Rufus brought up the conversation of being thirsty...he must of repeated the word thirsty about hundred times in the conversation...and then came out with...'yeah so when the liver gets thirsty it needs to phone your brain to tell it so'...imagine this if you will please...pitch black, 65 year old who probably shouldn't be driving on tremendsley bumpy road's talking about you liver making a call when it's thirsty..."?!
At one point we drove into a field and the 'road' stopped...rufus then somehow managed to rejoin the 'road' and we continued for another 10 minutes before yup... we came stuck in the 'road.'
Rufus was on his hands and knees doing everything he could, I tried to help and so did the locals who we'd been carrying...after Jacking the jeep up and placing stones around the wheels Rufus decided he'd need to fetch the other vehicle from the Bulungala lodge this was a 20 minute walk in pitch blackness but for a little torch which Rufus was way up in the front hogging...as you can imagine I slipped a just few times...and so did the local women who I hadn't realised had a baby strapped round her back fast asleep...how this could be through that journey I ll never know...

Filled with mixed expectations...we finally arrived at the lodge not before we met a wondering american who was apparently 'going home'...?! I was too tired to really take anything in and pretty much went straight to bed...

The next moring and rest of my 5 days staying there at the bulungala lodge were very memerable...After my first day on the village tour which included talking to chief of the village, which has a 60%-40% ownership of Bulungala, tasting the beer, which is really milky cider (If you can imagine such a thing) made from maize...and experiencing the general culture and traditions of the Xhosa people...I become ill from a chill when it stated to rain on the tour...this resulted in a crazed fever which took hold of me for 3 days...Africa's not the best place to have a fever let me tell you....

On my last day I caught a fish from the sea and said my fairwells to that heavenly place with a beautiful sunset to top it off...

The next day, I sat in the back of the shuttle with a different driver who was much faster...being flung about like a pair of Y-fronts in a washing machine...I managed to avoid concusion...and it was amoungst all this that I had my first 'Zen' moment, the scenery was just breathtaking with little villages and huts scattered all around me and I swear that time stopped even if for a second...as I gazed down to a river snaking it's was round a steep slope and there almost as if it was especially for my eyes only this 'postcard' image with an eagle soaring so elegantly above our heads...I think it was down to my fever mainly but my eyes started filling up and it will always be a moment I hope I remember for as long as I'm alive...

Anyway back to backpacking and yes your right I'll be on a moped buzzing around Goa, India tomorow...!

Love to all

ROb x

At long last....

willrob — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hi people...

Happy new year...! I have done and seen so much cool stuff I'm beginning to feel like a slave to the internet in just putting pics and vids on, here is a taste of South Africa life so far...I have a great Story of my Bulungala experience so watch this space...

Hope everyones well...i know what you mean about the weather, it's been bad here also, some days going into the +30C's !!!

Love to all

Rob

so far...

willrob — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT