Despite not having finished my Thailand/ Malaysia entry I want to try to not get too behind with Laos as there's lots to tell.
We arrived into Vientiane airport at 10 am local time, after a heinous early start at 3:30 in KL. The flight with Air Asia was fine as usual and arrived on time. On arrival in the tiny airport we had to fill out a visa application which cost $35 for a month's visa and an arrival card for immigration, but the Lao officials were friendly and chilled out and it was all pretty smooth. We then passed through into the arrival area and gathered ourselves before jumping in a cab bound for the city centre. This turned out to only be a 5 minute ride as the city is small, onl;y 20,000 people. We had a few names of guesthouses but couldn't communicate them successfully and ended up getting dropped off at a strip of guesthouses on the bank of the Mekong river in town. We met a western guy wandering by who recommended the place he was staying, as it was only $6 a night and places we'd been seeing were $28 a night, way more than we'd expected. So as we were shattered and starving we decided to check in there for our first night and get on with unwinding from our journey. The rooms were averagely sized but quite grimy and basic and smelled pretty awful, we were all a bit depressed and thought that Laos was going to turn out to be either hellishly grimy or overpriced, but we got ourselves up and out and had a lovely lunch by the river of Lao Laap ( minced meat and mint salad) and fried rice.
We had a wander round town and found a charming little cafe which gave us an hours free internet for a glass of OJ, and looked up some things to do and better places to stay in Vientiane. We then wandered up further into the city, and were gradually charmed by the laid back french/oriental hybrid vibe and the beautiful temples and old french villas. We passed some very ambient looking coffee shops and bakeries and started to understand why people stay in Vientiane. It was fiercely hot, hotter than anywhere we've yet been, easily in the mid to high 30s. We came across a cool old stupa and the main avenue of the city and then decided to head back for a shower and a lie down.
We headed out for dinner and had a delicious meal at a place called Sticky Fingers- the best western food I've had since NZ- We all went for the pesto and mozzarella burger with wedges, divine! We went to bed tired and a bit disorientated by the bizarre conbination of deepest Asia and european fine foods. Just before bed we discovered that the smell in our room came from the sewer out the back and decided we would definitely move the next day.
The following morning we enjoyed a very continental brunch of pastrama, cheese and mustard mayo on 7 grain bread, washed down with iced lao coffee at the Joma bakery. Feeling good we moved across the road into a lovely guesthouse, a big french villa with high ceilings and air con and a balcony, nicknamed the 'seriously social guesthouse' in contrast to our previous abode 'poo-pong'. Very happy with our new quarters we set off to find the biggest temple in the city, via the big market. We ended up getting snarled in a consumer frenzy for 2 hours but made some lovely purchases of hand sewn bags and purses from the Hmong hill tribes near Vientiane. Colours and patters here are great, very soft geometry and sensitive use of colour, not as brash as some chinese design. Silk and coffee are the main specialities here, very civilised! The big temple and its giant golden stupa centrepiece were very tranquil, and we were feeling very lazy in the heat after a long walk so took a tuk-tuk back to our rooms for some air con and a shower. That evening we couldn't resist going back to Sticky Fingers, to enjoy a roasted veg and feta salad and a tortilla stack. Mmmm.
We booked tickets to Vang Vieng for the next day, and so were up and about to check out by 11:30 and then had breakfast. The boys enjoyed vietnamese style baguettes at a place called PVOs on the river, and I ended up back in Joma Bakery for another excellent brekkie! We were collected from our guesthouse by a 7 seater minibus which then proceeded to stop off at 3 more guesthouses, until 13 farang and a driver where bumbling along on each others laps the short distance to the actual bus station. Here we got into something resembling a 60s school bus and set off more or less on time, hot and cramped. The scenery on the drive to Vang Vieng was really breathtaking and we drove through several rural Lao villages and caught glimpses of family life. People seemed to be spending lots of time hanging out together in the shade and playing games, or swimming in rivers and tending fields and livestock. We stopped once on the way for a toilet break (small surcharge applied) and then arrived into the stunning sunset in Vang Vieng.
As the sun dropped behind the awesome limestone mountains we made our way to the guesthouse Thavisouk where \Greg's sister and her friend were staying. It turned out to be pleasant and not dissimilar to the place in Vientiane, but a steal at 40,000 kip (12,000 kip to the pound) a night for 2. One hitch was the water seemed to stop working for a bit but was soon back on and we got out cool shower. We headed next door for a bite to eat, enjoyed a yellow curry and the company of a baby monkey named Smeagle (Greg renamed him Jasper, and became a foster parent. The monkey fell asleep on him in an incredibly sweet manner and was genuinely devastated at being separated from him.) After dinner we had a wander round the town, looking for the mysterious MayLyn guesthouse for which Ben had received an emphatic recommendation when he was on Ko Lanta in Thailand. We couldn't find it anywhere, all we did find was lots and lots and lots and lots of same same bars crammed with young gap year tourists all pissed up from a day on the tubes. We went to bed feeling a bit unsure that Vang Vieng wqas really the place for us. But the next day it was all so different, and the real Laos emerged to greet us... tbc
Friday 24 April 2009
Tuesday 21 April 2009
Thong Nai Pan Yai, Thailand
Well, I'd never have thought we'd end up spending three weeks on Ko Phangan, but we did! We found ourselves a perfect little beach paradise with a really special community to match- out of the tacky debauchery and madness of the Full Moon crowd, Ko Phangan has some lovely gems to offer and my view on it changed alot whilst I was there.
Before finding TNP, we spent 2 nights at the Power Beach Resort in Ban Tai on the southern side of the island, a very manicured and pciture perfect resort with no soul- it could literally have been in any country on any beach. The gaggle of Brit 'Laaayyyyyds' at the bar playing the verve and oasis on repeat all day and necking beers sealed the deal for us and after enjoying the Black Moon Party and spending a day recouping lost sleep, we took a tuk tuk over the mountain to the other side of the island, where both Kim and a friend of Ben's had been urging us to go since they heard we were visiting Thailand.
The Black Moon Party was essentially a quite cool and fairly standard Psytrance party on the beach. Very commercial, cost 6 quid to get in and drinks not cheap. We only had one or two each as we;d arrived at the end of a long day's mission from Railay. The crowd was pretty good- a couple of slightly sordid Thai girls and the odd ladyboy cracking on to Ben and Greg, but otherwise a nice mix of travellers and thais and not too crazy or crowded.
When we arrived at TNP we were a bit tired and cynical about Ko Phangan and it's slightly trashy vibe, but as we stepped on to the beach and saw the breathtaking sweep of crystal clear aquamarine water, I nearly wept- it was exactly the island paradise I'd been dreaming of for years. We asked around a quickly found Bamboo Bungalows as recommended by Kim. A super friendly and perky Thai guy called Eddie runs it with great success, so much so that there are a hard core of people who have either been coming back for up to 15 years or even those who spend 6 months of every year staying there. For 7 pounds between 2 a night, we got a lovely bamboo bungalow with a balcony, a minute from the beach, with a good fan and clean functional bathroom and a huuuge super king sized bed. We hurried down to the beach as soon as we could for our first flop into the crystal waters. Sooooo warm and so beautiful, could see perfectly clearly to the bottom and a few little zebra striped fish go scooting past your feet every now and then. I could have stayed in that water forever just floating around like a hippo.
Sorry, bad day to start this large and important entry, 2 hours sleep in 30 odd hours, a plane trip and a new country (arrived in Laos today)! Will carry on soon as I want to get everything in and am too tired to concentrate today xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Before finding TNP, we spent 2 nights at the Power Beach Resort in Ban Tai on the southern side of the island, a very manicured and pciture perfect resort with no soul- it could literally have been in any country on any beach. The gaggle of Brit 'Laaayyyyyds' at the bar playing the verve and oasis on repeat all day and necking beers sealed the deal for us and after enjoying the Black Moon Party and spending a day recouping lost sleep, we took a tuk tuk over the mountain to the other side of the island, where both Kim and a friend of Ben's had been urging us to go since they heard we were visiting Thailand.
The Black Moon Party was essentially a quite cool and fairly standard Psytrance party on the beach. Very commercial, cost 6 quid to get in and drinks not cheap. We only had one or two each as we;d arrived at the end of a long day's mission from Railay. The crowd was pretty good- a couple of slightly sordid Thai girls and the odd ladyboy cracking on to Ben and Greg, but otherwise a nice mix of travellers and thais and not too crazy or crowded.
When we arrived at TNP we were a bit tired and cynical about Ko Phangan and it's slightly trashy vibe, but as we stepped on to the beach and saw the breathtaking sweep of crystal clear aquamarine water, I nearly wept- it was exactly the island paradise I'd been dreaming of for years. We asked around a quickly found Bamboo Bungalows as recommended by Kim. A super friendly and perky Thai guy called Eddie runs it with great success, so much so that there are a hard core of people who have either been coming back for up to 15 years or even those who spend 6 months of every year staying there. For 7 pounds between 2 a night, we got a lovely bamboo bungalow with a balcony, a minute from the beach, with a good fan and clean functional bathroom and a huuuge super king sized bed. We hurried down to the beach as soon as we could for our first flop into the crystal waters. Sooooo warm and so beautiful, could see perfectly clearly to the bottom and a few little zebra striped fish go scooting past your feet every now and then. I could have stayed in that water forever just floating around like a hippo.
Sorry, bad day to start this large and important entry, 2 hours sleep in 30 odd hours, a plane trip and a new country (arrived in Laos today)! Will carry on soon as I want to get everything in and am too tired to concentrate today xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Friday 27 March 2009
Railay, Thailand
I arrived at the Thai border at 9am on the train, and after a rather cursory flit through both borders, and a slightly tense wait for our train to come back from wherever it disappeared to for half an hour, we were on the way to Hat Rin and the end of this leg of the mission. It was cool and slightly surreal watching the bamboo huts and jungle go by.
On arrival in Hat Rin, I teamed up with a group of icelandic peeps and after a rather hectic half hour of figuring out what on earth was going on and being hassled by numerous vehcle drivers, we got in a songthaw (kind of pickup with a roof and benches in the back) to the bus station. Without too much difficulty we located a bus to Krabi for only 167B (50B to the pound).
After a long and tiring bus ride, I arrived into Krabi bus station in the rain, but quickly forgot it when I fell into Ben's arms! We headed off swiftly in a taxi to the pier in Krabi, where we met Orlando and Greg and hopped on a longtail boat round the coast to Railay, it took about an hour and was a bit gruelling in the pouring rain but fun. On arrival at Railay we waded ashore and corssed the peninsula with our bags to get on another boat round to Ao Tonsai- a smaller and slightly cheaper resort with a more laid back vibe and lots of climbers.
The first night we just had some lovely dinner and found a cool bar, Viking, to hang out in and have some beers. The next day we went on a little exploration to Railay West (the nicest side of the peninsular) to get some cash out and have a look round. We came back to Tonsai for some lunch (duck curry my fave) and then hung out in hammocks for the afternoon. We had a nice dinner out and chilled in Viking bar for a bit- played pool and connect 4 with Nam and Kim the outstandingly decent and chilled out barmen while a tropical storm raged and rain poured. Came home to a rather rude awakening, our bungalow and 3 others had been broken into during the storm. All our stuff had been ransacked but we had only lost my camera and a huge number of things were left which was really surprsing. Only time I've ever left it in a room- that's a lesson I guess! Everything important is always kept on our person so really wasn't that bad but understandably shaken on my second night in the country!
We moved bungalows and considered movibng resorts for a while but everyone was so helpful and friendly and even long time western residents were shocked and said we had just been fiercely unlucky as it almost never happens. We decided that hopefully lightning never strikes twice and so stayed put and actually ended up having a really lovely week in Tonsai. We went sea kayaking round the coast and found some lovely private beaches, did some great snorkelling in the crystal waters, clambered up the hillside and watched some fantastic climbing, had lots of a hammock time and iced tea, and my pool and connect 4 got alot better too! We also made some great friends, and will be looking to go back there again, so all's well that ends well. The food was delicious and despite a few dodgy stomachs we ate really well and pretty healthily. We were sad to leave, but leave we did in a longtail boat to Ao Nang, and then on a bus from Krabi to Surat Thani--- from east coast to west coast and on to the next adventure!!
On arrival in Hat Rin, I teamed up with a group of icelandic peeps and after a rather hectic half hour of figuring out what on earth was going on and being hassled by numerous vehcle drivers, we got in a songthaw (kind of pickup with a roof and benches in the back) to the bus station. Without too much difficulty we located a bus to Krabi for only 167B (50B to the pound).
After a long and tiring bus ride, I arrived into Krabi bus station in the rain, but quickly forgot it when I fell into Ben's arms! We headed off swiftly in a taxi to the pier in Krabi, where we met Orlando and Greg and hopped on a longtail boat round the coast to Railay, it took about an hour and was a bit gruelling in the pouring rain but fun. On arrival at Railay we waded ashore and corssed the peninsula with our bags to get on another boat round to Ao Tonsai- a smaller and slightly cheaper resort with a more laid back vibe and lots of climbers.
The first night we just had some lovely dinner and found a cool bar, Viking, to hang out in and have some beers. The next day we went on a little exploration to Railay West (the nicest side of the peninsular) to get some cash out and have a look round. We came back to Tonsai for some lunch (duck curry my fave) and then hung out in hammocks for the afternoon. We had a nice dinner out and chilled in Viking bar for a bit- played pool and connect 4 with Nam and Kim the outstandingly decent and chilled out barmen while a tropical storm raged and rain poured. Came home to a rather rude awakening, our bungalow and 3 others had been broken into during the storm. All our stuff had been ransacked but we had only lost my camera and a huge number of things were left which was really surprsing. Only time I've ever left it in a room- that's a lesson I guess! Everything important is always kept on our person so really wasn't that bad but understandably shaken on my second night in the country!
We moved bungalows and considered movibng resorts for a while but everyone was so helpful and friendly and even long time western residents were shocked and said we had just been fiercely unlucky as it almost never happens. We decided that hopefully lightning never strikes twice and so stayed put and actually ended up having a really lovely week in Tonsai. We went sea kayaking round the coast and found some lovely private beaches, did some great snorkelling in the crystal waters, clambered up the hillside and watched some fantastic climbing, had lots of a hammock time and iced tea, and my pool and connect 4 got alot better too! We also made some great friends, and will be looking to go back there again, so all's well that ends well. The food was delicious and despite a few dodgy stomachs we ate really well and pretty healthily. We were sad to leave, but leave we did in a longtail boat to Ao Nang, and then on a bus from Krabi to Surat Thani--- from east coast to west coast and on to the next adventure!!
Friday 20 March 2009
Over the sea and far away to Malaysia! The epic transit.
The flight from Auckland to Melbourne took 4 hours and was all very pleasant, a bargain at 50 squid! When I got to Melbourne things got a little bit hairy as it turned out I DID need a visa even for transit and had been misinformed. So my bag was in Australia and I was in international airspace.... The immigration guys were very kind and said they COULD grant me entry but only on the airlines approval as would fine them 5000 dollars! The air hostess who I cornered about it looked freaked and 'went off to find out' - never to return. Feeling a bit bummed out by this point, I was wondering what to do for the best when a kindly immigration officer came and took me upstairs to the departure lounge, telling me to contact the airline about my bag and go on my way to Malaysia.
Just as I was going through security ( and being frisked and scanned for explosives- just my luck!) my mobile rang (thanks god I gave them my UK number when booking!). Pacific Blue had my bag and they offered to check it on to my Air Asia flight to KL for me. I was doubtful as to whether I'd see it again, but thought it was the best option.
The next thing was to wait for 7 hours til they started to board my flight and then try to get a boarding card- I was told this would all be fine. After a supper of potato salad and Werther's Original and some paracetamol for my stress headache, I booked a train from KL to Thailand online and then settled down to try and sleep. Sleep did not work out well at all and felt grim by the time 1am rolled around. The Air Asia crew rocked up and were very helpful, they had my bag and my boarding card in tow which was a great relief.
The flight to KL was very comfortable- I had 3 seats to myself and a window which was great! The flight was all very professional and friendly, couldn't believe the value for 150 quid! I can't recommend Air Asia enough. Managed to get a little bit of kip which was a bonus.
On arrival at the Low Cost Carriers Terminal in KL I was hit by a wave of humid heat, despite it only being 7am! I spent half an hour wandering round feeling very confused, trying to get in taxis but being shooed away to get a coupon. I finally found out where to buy a taxi voucher (12 pounds) and then got in a cab. The driver assured me he knew the place and we set off. After a while he started to sound unsure, so I called Gopala who talked him through the directions. To cut a very long story short, we ended up driving around KL for a good 2 hours and making at least 20 quids worth of phone calls to Gopala from my mobile. I got so fed up and the guy finally admitted he was new to the area and very apologetic. So I jumped out and into another local cab who got me there in 10 minutes for 3 quid. Woohoo!!
I spent 2 days in KL- sorted out my visa for Thailand (super easy and turned out they are issuing them for free at the moment! Bonus!) and a few last minute bits and bobs, enjoyed some lovely Indian and Malay meals, and tried to adjust to the heat and the spices. I think I did pretty well and enjoyed staying with the Gopalas again, brought back some lovely old memories.
I also met a really interesting swiss girl called Sonja at the Thai Embassy. Turned out she know Raphael, a swiss guy I met at Boom last summer. Small world! We sat in the park by the Petronas towers and chatted for a bit, may meet up with here again when she comes into Thailand.
On the evening of the 3rd day I boarded a lovely sleeper train to set off for Thailand....
Just as I was going through security ( and being frisked and scanned for explosives- just my luck!) my mobile rang (thanks god I gave them my UK number when booking!). Pacific Blue had my bag and they offered to check it on to my Air Asia flight to KL for me. I was doubtful as to whether I'd see it again, but thought it was the best option.
The next thing was to wait for 7 hours til they started to board my flight and then try to get a boarding card- I was told this would all be fine. After a supper of potato salad and Werther's Original and some paracetamol for my stress headache, I booked a train from KL to Thailand online and then settled down to try and sleep. Sleep did not work out well at all and felt grim by the time 1am rolled around. The Air Asia crew rocked up and were very helpful, they had my bag and my boarding card in tow which was a great relief.
The flight to KL was very comfortable- I had 3 seats to myself and a window which was great! The flight was all very professional and friendly, couldn't believe the value for 150 quid! I can't recommend Air Asia enough. Managed to get a little bit of kip which was a bonus.
On arrival at the Low Cost Carriers Terminal in KL I was hit by a wave of humid heat, despite it only being 7am! I spent half an hour wandering round feeling very confused, trying to get in taxis but being shooed away to get a coupon. I finally found out where to buy a taxi voucher (12 pounds) and then got in a cab. The driver assured me he knew the place and we set off. After a while he started to sound unsure, so I called Gopala who talked him through the directions. To cut a very long story short, we ended up driving around KL for a good 2 hours and making at least 20 quids worth of phone calls to Gopala from my mobile. I got so fed up and the guy finally admitted he was new to the area and very apologetic. So I jumped out and into another local cab who got me there in 10 minutes for 3 quid. Woohoo!!
I spent 2 days in KL- sorted out my visa for Thailand (super easy and turned out they are issuing them for free at the moment! Bonus!) and a few last minute bits and bobs, enjoyed some lovely Indian and Malay meals, and tried to adjust to the heat and the spices. I think I did pretty well and enjoyed staying with the Gopalas again, brought back some lovely old memories.
I also met a really interesting swiss girl called Sonja at the Thai Embassy. Turned out she know Raphael, a swiss guy I met at Boom last summer. Small world! We sat in the park by the Petronas towers and chatted for a bit, may meet up with here again when she comes into Thailand.
On the evening of the 3rd day I boarded a lovely sleeper train to set off for Thailand....
Last few days in NZ
After a night in the lovely Downtown Backpackers in Welly, I took a flight up to Auckland with Air NZ- only 30 quid so seemed worth avoiding the 12 hour coach! All very relaxed, so relaxed that they let me on with my penknife which I'd stupidly left in my hand luggage, there's always one!
After getting into Auckland airport I got the bus straight into the city and enjoyed lunch from my fave classy Auckland joint- Burger Fuel! I then lay on a bench and read my new book- The book of secrets by Deepak Chopra- v good. After a couple of hours the bus came to take me back to Warkworth, where it all began!
I was picked up from the bus by Conny- a friend of Michelle's who had agreed to take me on for a few days. She was chatty and super friendly. Her place is right in the sticks surrounded by some gorgeous hills and great scenery. She has a little complex of cabins for wwoofers/ her teenage children to sleep/cook/hang out in, but I was honoured with a room in the house, and a very nice one too! We had a lovely roast dinner and watched Mama Mia down in the shack with 3 scottish wwoofers and an irish wwoofer who had arrived that day in camper vans.
My work there was pretty chilled. The first day I just made curry and cakes, then caught and burshed the horses. The second day I learned to make chapatis and collected some pine cones. The third day I just made pumpkin soup and that was it!!
I go to ride Maiti, a lovely Appaloosa belonging to Conny's daughter, and went out on a lovely little trek in the hills with Conny and her gorgeous Palomino Amigo. Maiti is ridden in a bitless bridle and mostly using seat aids, it was great to learn to ride in this more natural and communicative way and he was a great teacher.
Most afternoons I was just napping and chilling out making jewellery, and then on the last morning of my stay I went to see Michelle and co again which was great. Blue and Rex have really grown so much, becoming gorgeous little dogs, and the foals were doing really well and playing together really happily. Elise and I spent some time hanging out with them which was lovely.
The next day Conny's son Cody dropped me off in town and I took the bus back to Auckland to start the next big stage of my adventure- onwards to Asia!!
After getting into Auckland airport I got the bus straight into the city and enjoyed lunch from my fave classy Auckland joint- Burger Fuel! I then lay on a bench and read my new book- The book of secrets by Deepak Chopra- v good. After a couple of hours the bus came to take me back to Warkworth, where it all began!
I was picked up from the bus by Conny- a friend of Michelle's who had agreed to take me on for a few days. She was chatty and super friendly. Her place is right in the sticks surrounded by some gorgeous hills and great scenery. She has a little complex of cabins for wwoofers/ her teenage children to sleep/cook/hang out in, but I was honoured with a room in the house, and a very nice one too! We had a lovely roast dinner and watched Mama Mia down in the shack with 3 scottish wwoofers and an irish wwoofer who had arrived that day in camper vans.
My work there was pretty chilled. The first day I just made curry and cakes, then caught and burshed the horses. The second day I learned to make chapatis and collected some pine cones. The third day I just made pumpkin soup and that was it!!
I go to ride Maiti, a lovely Appaloosa belonging to Conny's daughter, and went out on a lovely little trek in the hills with Conny and her gorgeous Palomino Amigo. Maiti is ridden in a bitless bridle and mostly using seat aids, it was great to learn to ride in this more natural and communicative way and he was a great teacher.
Most afternoons I was just napping and chilling out making jewellery, and then on the last morning of my stay I went to see Michelle and co again which was great. Blue and Rex have really grown so much, becoming gorgeous little dogs, and the foals were doing really well and playing together really happily. Elise and I spent some time hanging out with them which was lovely.
The next day Conny's son Cody dropped me off in town and I took the bus back to Auckland to start the next big stage of my adventure- onwards to Asia!!
Thursday 12 March 2009
Scurry round South Island
South Island was absolutely stunning- people told me that the scenery would step up a gear and I didn't really get it at first, but as we sailed into the Tory Channel approaching Picton I was stopped in my tracks and absolutely glued to the crazy dramatic hillsides, cloaked in native bush and rolling down to the sea. I could see what captured the imagination to film Lord of the Rings there!!
After a lovely sailing which I spent up on deck just being by the sea and feeling the wind and working through all my feelings and thoughts, we arrived in Picton and were met by lovely cheery Norrie and driven back to the gorgeous little house that he and his wife Alison share. It's up on the hillside overlooking the Tory Channel and when we arrived there was a yacht race going on. They are up high with a big glass front and a lovely big deck with almost panoramic views of the breathtaking Marlborough Sounds. We settled in to our mezzanine loft in the garage, beds like clouds! We enjoyed a lovely veggie chilli that Alison had ready for us and chatted over a glass of wine as the the light faded the gorgeous views outside. We slept so well that night it was lovely.
The next morning we woke to a lovely breakfast and spent the morning catching up on washing, playing with Alison's grandson Victor (3) and looking at maps for our day's adventure. We headed off in a borrowed Toyota Corrolla (old school- wing mirrors out on bonnet!) and met some friends of Kim's for lunch in Blenheim. A wierd little town with little to recommend it and now clear idea of what it's about, but interesting to pass through there. Bit of a commercial hub really.
We then drove round and did a mini wine tasting tour in the gorgeous baking sun. The corrolla did us proud and i tasted with my mouth and not my tummy given the responsibility of driving yadda yadda- still fun tho and Kim got her no money's worth. She found herself freaking out drunk in a bead shop later in the day. Testament to wine thoroughly tasted. We went to Seresin- who do organic wines, Hunters- big and famous and snooty, and Grove Mill- very nice wines indeed and patient friendly lady.
That evening I cooked a fish curry (mushroom for kim) and kim made her legendary plum and cinammon cake, and we enjoyed a bottle of Seresin Sauv Blanc- all very civilised and delightful.\
The next day we set off down to Kaikoura about 12 after a lie in ( the heat and the wine!). It was about a 2 and a half hour drive which was incredibly scenic and windy (rubbish for the driver as couldn't goggle at the views without driving off a cliff!). The last bit was down the coast which was gorgeous. We stopped about half an hour out to look at a seal colony but having very full bladders and very empty tummies we couldn't linger long. On the outskirts of Kaikoura we stopped at a fish and chip shop and ate our weights in greasy fried foods while drinking fizzy anf reading trashy mags. We felt much better after this and made the last 10 minute push to Top Spot- the hostel that Kim's friend Charlie is managing.
Top Spot was really cool - a nice chilled out hostel, and Lou and Charlie have a sweet manager's flat. The first night Charlie rigges us up with a room which was great. We settled in and hung around a bit having dinner and drinks and doing an hour of intensive crafts! Then we headed down to a neat little pub in town called the Strawberry Tree. There was a chilled out band and we chatted to some interesting folks. We sang happy birthday to an absent random soldier and chatted to some Maori dudes who were working on road signals. They got a bit overfriendly in the end so we buggered off to another pub for a swift cider and then trotted 2 minutes up the hill back to our hostel and passed out.
The next day Kim and I wandered down into town and sat on the beach awestruck. The bays on both sides of the peninsula and the massive mountains which form the backdrop on the land side were cloaked in an ethereal mist and the surf was high. The power of the sea and the size and texture of the mountains were just so intense we sat for a couple of hours, intermittently beach combing for driftwood and greenstone (jade/pounamu). We wandered back to the hostel and cooked some veggies and feta with cous cous for lunch. In the afternoon we wandered around the shops a bit and chilled out some more by the sea. We spotted what we were convinced were penguins but turned out to be very penguin-like diving seabirds- still v cool. We had some dinner (beer battered sea perch caught fresh that day by some backpackers on a fishing trip- divine) and were mooching around waiting for Lou to get back from work when I saw out the window a madly coloured sky. The sun was setting behind some seriously dramatic clouds. Charlie suggested we drive up to the lookout at the tip of the peninsula which we did. I think it must be up there in the top 5 sunsets I have ever experienced. We couldn't stop gawping at the amazing 360 view. Beautiful bays on each side, the pacific out behind us and a stunning mountain range and undulating peninsula in front.
I've had a few moments on this trip where I have remembered putting up a screensaver picture of an idyllic beach location, when I was planning my trip. I've found myself realising that now I'm in the picture and it's an awesome feeling. I'm so lucky to be able to do this.
After squeezing every bit of enjoyment out of the sunset we went home to chill out and had a few beers with some of the backpackers, mainly a really interesting cornish dude in his 40s called George.
The next day we drove round to the seal colony on the peninsula and took a little cliff walk, you could really see the shelf of rock which surrounds the peninsula, and then drops away to over 1000m- this meeting of currents and depths is the reason why there is so much wildlife in Kaikoura sea- Orca, Dolphins, Sperm Whales passing through, tons of seals, crayfish, paua, albatross. We had been supposed to go on a fishing trip in the hope of seeing some cool sealife but Kim's friend Sian was coming up to meet her and we didn't want to bugger off after she'd driven up from Christchurch. That afternoon I went into a gallery on the main street full of jewellery by local artists and bought some gorgeous bone carvings. I got chatting with the lady and she was interested to see some of my jewellery so I went back and started madly crafting. When Lou got back from work we took a barbecue up to the look out and had venisojn steaks and home made feta burgers, and pasta and cous cous. We watched the sun go down ( not so dramatic as not a cloud in the sky but still really lovely) and were joined by a couple of surfer girls from the cafe Lou works at. Good times.
The next day, our last in Kaikoura, I went down to the gallery and the lady loved my paua shell stuff but thought it would compete with one of the owner's work and she'd get in trouble so couldn't buy lots, but she very sweetly bought a piece for herself because she liked it so much, that was really cool. We wandered the beach in the morning and then Sian came in the afternoon and we drove out to the seal colony again and then mooched around town. We went our seperate ways about 4. Sian and Kim off down to Christchurch and myself off back to Picton in the love machine. It was a lovely evening and the drive was pretty chilled. I was pretty sad to leave Kim and starting to feel a bit angsty about the next phase of my journey but the drive sorted me out.
I got back to Norrie and Alison's and told them all about what I'd been up to, then had the most heavenly bath. I'd not bathed since leaving Oxford in Jan and it was a lovely bath with candlelight and essential oils- just what I needed! I then slept for 12 hours! First lie in in a while really. The next morning I helped out with clearing some bush tracks on their land, which are all named after their grandchildren. After lunch they drove me to Governor's Bay- an incredibly idyllic beach. It's a gentle golden curve of sand, with a steep hill of native bush behind it and a view out over the Marlborough Sounds- probably in the top 5 beaches I've ever been to!
At 6pm my ferry sailed back over to Wellington. I passed the journey making necklaces, really inspired by the gorgeous south island, and treated myself to some chips and gravy! I'm sorry I didn't allocate more time to the south island really as it's so amazing, but a definite draw to come back before my visa is up if at all possible. Michelle and Nick have invited me to housesit in dec/jan and I know Ben's relatives would love to see him, maybe we can work something out. If not then another time but I know it's really worth coming back to.
After a lovely sailing which I spent up on deck just being by the sea and feeling the wind and working through all my feelings and thoughts, we arrived in Picton and were met by lovely cheery Norrie and driven back to the gorgeous little house that he and his wife Alison share. It's up on the hillside overlooking the Tory Channel and when we arrived there was a yacht race going on. They are up high with a big glass front and a lovely big deck with almost panoramic views of the breathtaking Marlborough Sounds. We settled in to our mezzanine loft in the garage, beds like clouds! We enjoyed a lovely veggie chilli that Alison had ready for us and chatted over a glass of wine as the the light faded the gorgeous views outside. We slept so well that night it was lovely.
The next morning we woke to a lovely breakfast and spent the morning catching up on washing, playing with Alison's grandson Victor (3) and looking at maps for our day's adventure. We headed off in a borrowed Toyota Corrolla (old school- wing mirrors out on bonnet!) and met some friends of Kim's for lunch in Blenheim. A wierd little town with little to recommend it and now clear idea of what it's about, but interesting to pass through there. Bit of a commercial hub really.
We then drove round and did a mini wine tasting tour in the gorgeous baking sun. The corrolla did us proud and i tasted with my mouth and not my tummy given the responsibility of driving yadda yadda- still fun tho and Kim got her no money's worth. She found herself freaking out drunk in a bead shop later in the day. Testament to wine thoroughly tasted. We went to Seresin- who do organic wines, Hunters- big and famous and snooty, and Grove Mill- very nice wines indeed and patient friendly lady.
That evening I cooked a fish curry (mushroom for kim) and kim made her legendary plum and cinammon cake, and we enjoyed a bottle of Seresin Sauv Blanc- all very civilised and delightful.\
The next day we set off down to Kaikoura about 12 after a lie in ( the heat and the wine!). It was about a 2 and a half hour drive which was incredibly scenic and windy (rubbish for the driver as couldn't goggle at the views without driving off a cliff!). The last bit was down the coast which was gorgeous. We stopped about half an hour out to look at a seal colony but having very full bladders and very empty tummies we couldn't linger long. On the outskirts of Kaikoura we stopped at a fish and chip shop and ate our weights in greasy fried foods while drinking fizzy anf reading trashy mags. We felt much better after this and made the last 10 minute push to Top Spot- the hostel that Kim's friend Charlie is managing.
Top Spot was really cool - a nice chilled out hostel, and Lou and Charlie have a sweet manager's flat. The first night Charlie rigges us up with a room which was great. We settled in and hung around a bit having dinner and drinks and doing an hour of intensive crafts! Then we headed down to a neat little pub in town called the Strawberry Tree. There was a chilled out band and we chatted to some interesting folks. We sang happy birthday to an absent random soldier and chatted to some Maori dudes who were working on road signals. They got a bit overfriendly in the end so we buggered off to another pub for a swift cider and then trotted 2 minutes up the hill back to our hostel and passed out.
The next day Kim and I wandered down into town and sat on the beach awestruck. The bays on both sides of the peninsula and the massive mountains which form the backdrop on the land side were cloaked in an ethereal mist and the surf was high. The power of the sea and the size and texture of the mountains were just so intense we sat for a couple of hours, intermittently beach combing for driftwood and greenstone (jade/pounamu). We wandered back to the hostel and cooked some veggies and feta with cous cous for lunch. In the afternoon we wandered around the shops a bit and chilled out some more by the sea. We spotted what we were convinced were penguins but turned out to be very penguin-like diving seabirds- still v cool. We had some dinner (beer battered sea perch caught fresh that day by some backpackers on a fishing trip- divine) and were mooching around waiting for Lou to get back from work when I saw out the window a madly coloured sky. The sun was setting behind some seriously dramatic clouds. Charlie suggested we drive up to the lookout at the tip of the peninsula which we did. I think it must be up there in the top 5 sunsets I have ever experienced. We couldn't stop gawping at the amazing 360 view. Beautiful bays on each side, the pacific out behind us and a stunning mountain range and undulating peninsula in front.
I've had a few moments on this trip where I have remembered putting up a screensaver picture of an idyllic beach location, when I was planning my trip. I've found myself realising that now I'm in the picture and it's an awesome feeling. I'm so lucky to be able to do this.
After squeezing every bit of enjoyment out of the sunset we went home to chill out and had a few beers with some of the backpackers, mainly a really interesting cornish dude in his 40s called George.
The next day we drove round to the seal colony on the peninsula and took a little cliff walk, you could really see the shelf of rock which surrounds the peninsula, and then drops away to over 1000m- this meeting of currents and depths is the reason why there is so much wildlife in Kaikoura sea- Orca, Dolphins, Sperm Whales passing through, tons of seals, crayfish, paua, albatross. We had been supposed to go on a fishing trip in the hope of seeing some cool sealife but Kim's friend Sian was coming up to meet her and we didn't want to bugger off after she'd driven up from Christchurch. That afternoon I went into a gallery on the main street full of jewellery by local artists and bought some gorgeous bone carvings. I got chatting with the lady and she was interested to see some of my jewellery so I went back and started madly crafting. When Lou got back from work we took a barbecue up to the look out and had venisojn steaks and home made feta burgers, and pasta and cous cous. We watched the sun go down ( not so dramatic as not a cloud in the sky but still really lovely) and were joined by a couple of surfer girls from the cafe Lou works at. Good times.
The next day, our last in Kaikoura, I went down to the gallery and the lady loved my paua shell stuff but thought it would compete with one of the owner's work and she'd get in trouble so couldn't buy lots, but she very sweetly bought a piece for herself because she liked it so much, that was really cool. We wandered the beach in the morning and then Sian came in the afternoon and we drove out to the seal colony again and then mooched around town. We went our seperate ways about 4. Sian and Kim off down to Christchurch and myself off back to Picton in the love machine. It was a lovely evening and the drive was pretty chilled. I was pretty sad to leave Kim and starting to feel a bit angsty about the next phase of my journey but the drive sorted me out.
I got back to Norrie and Alison's and told them all about what I'd been up to, then had the most heavenly bath. I'd not bathed since leaving Oxford in Jan and it was a lovely bath with candlelight and essential oils- just what I needed! I then slept for 12 hours! First lie in in a while really. The next morning I helped out with clearing some bush tracks on their land, which are all named after their grandchildren. After lunch they drove me to Governor's Bay- an incredibly idyllic beach. It's a gentle golden curve of sand, with a steep hill of native bush behind it and a view out over the Marlborough Sounds- probably in the top 5 beaches I've ever been to!
At 6pm my ferry sailed back over to Wellington. I passed the journey making necklaces, really inspired by the gorgeous south island, and treated myself to some chips and gravy! I'm sorry I didn't allocate more time to the south island really as it's so amazing, but a definite draw to come back before my visa is up if at all possible. Michelle and Nick have invited me to housesit in dec/jan and I know Ben's relatives would love to see him, maybe we can work something out. If not then another time but I know it's really worth coming back to.
Monday 2 March 2009
Wet and wild in Wellington
After 4 days in windy Welly we are waiting to go over the water to the south island. Have had a nice break from farm girling, although I'm not the biggest fan of cities in general, it was a nice change.
Our first day here, although exhausted from a 6am start, we walked all over town exploring for about 5 hours and did a teensy bit of v restrained shopping. Most of this revolved around dollar shops and op shops (charity shops) so didn't feel too bad.
We decided to go out for out first night on the town in ages and go as fairies in fancy dress. Found an astonishing long copper wig in the dollar shop and some sweet baby blue fairy wings and we were very excited. We went back to the hostel to shower and dress and shared a bottle of Cava then headed up to Courtenay Place to a bar/club called Sandwiches where the Trei gig ( a set as part of a student night it turned out) was being held. En route we had a kebab for dinner and danced in the street with some musicians, but we still managed to be among the first in the club. We had a great night but got completely obliterated. We must have had in the region of 12 glasses of sparkling wine each! The crowd were really young and bolshy but the music was good and really high energy. I enjoyed the opportunity to let loose on the dance floor and shake out all my new farm muscles! About quarter to 4 Kim suddenly decided she couldn't go on any longer (huge amounts of drink and a 22 hour day!) so we took a cab back to the hostel and passed out.
We emerged from a drunken sleep at about 2 feeling like absolute crap and to the rainiest windiest day eve. It was like waking up in a Douglas B&B. We whinged our way up to Burger Fuel ( a fabulous quality burger place) and ate a Beetnik veggie burger and some kumara (sweet potato) fries in silent misery. We then sloped over to funky grungy cuba st to a sweet little cafe at 178, Midnight Espresso, where we had chai and juice and things to try and mend our sorry selves. The most we could manage after that was to hobble back to the Hostel and veg out in the tv room. Off drink for the forseeable now!
The next day we felt a fair bit better and walked up through town to Cuba Street to meet Kim's friend Vic who is the press secretary for a cabinet minister in the NZ government. She used to be a tour guide in Asia and gave me tons of helpful and interesting tips.
After lunch we wandered down to Te Papa- the National Museum of NZ. It's a pretty cool museum, very modern and interactive. The first bit we went to was a media exhibition, it has a massive wall screen and then some smaller touchscreen booths where you can choose from thousands of videos and images form a media bank or take pics or videos of yourself, or add text. Then you upload it to these little menu buttons on the wall and use these huge cone things to point and drag images to different bits of the wall. So it's like a huge collaborative collage. Kim and I had a hoot playing with it. Then we wandered around some geological stuff and an earthquale simulator house, then on to the animal section where they have a collossal squid, the largest squid ever caught, from the antarctic. We saw the squid itself (gross) and a 3d movie of it's habitat (cool) and a movie about how they caught it (amazing). The next bit we wandered around was about Maori culture and the settlers from Europe and their stories, all v interesting. The Maori and Pacific Islander carvings and furniture and stuff were really cool and beautiful. We were getting zombie museum eyes by this point so we wandered back to the hostel via a supermarker where we spent 30 dollars on 6 meals worth of food, trying to be good! We then made dinner and monged in front of a couple of movies in the tv room. Then we went up to our room and had a late night craft session then hit the hay!
Yesterday was a beautifully sunshiny and hot day, so we took a cool old cable car up the hill out of Wellington to the botanical gardens, and then wandered down through the gardens over a couple of hours, bringing us back to the city. The gardens were gorgeous with collections of native and exotic trees and plants, including many kinds of fern, the emblem of NZ. We came across a wonderful 'Sun Dial of Human Involvement' which was a sundial which requires you to stand on todays date, with your back to the sun and your arms in the air in order to tell the time, it was really accurate and pretty cool.
We met a funny chinese dude there with an amazing hat covered in badges from all the places he'd been on his travels, it was a like a crazy party helmet and we were most impressed. So impressed in fact that I bought a shiny 3 dollar fern badge as my emblem of NZ and have begun my very own hat of badges! We enjoyed a little snooze under a tree in the flower gardens, took lots of pictures of some huge red butterflies, were amazed by the huge rose garden and delighted by the Frangipani and exotic waterlily collection in the greenhouses. We walked back through a memorial garden/ cemetery. It was sad to see whole families of children passing away in quick succession around the 1870s, when the migrant ship[s were coming in, probably due to some kind of epidemic.
After calling back to the hostel for lunch and watching some Oprah, we headed out for our second run at Te Papa. On the way we came across a rather thrilling school longboat race in the harbour and stopped to watch for a bit. We wandered around an art exhibition covering all different types and periods of art, really varied and interesting, and then we were done with Te Papa and felt quite proud. We couldn't resist a last play on the multimedia wall though!
On the walk back we 'bumped into' Mac's Brewery- a sweet pub with a brewery attached, which you can view from the bar area or a special platform. It's all organically brewed beverages and lots of informative wall art teaching you about how it's made. We shared a giant bowl of fries and slurped down a pint of Apple Macs cider each, v good indeed. As we left we noticed some kind of a carry on down under the quay. There were a bunch of thesps in mad costumes doing some kind of play and an audience in life jackets perched precariously on some old steps down into the quay. We watched for a bit but didn't have much of a clue what was going on so abandoned it and wound our windy way back to the hostel.
We packed up our belongings ready to move out and then managed to comandeer the tv room for Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters, after sitting patiently through Barclays Premier League, then had a couple of pints of cider in the hostel bar and chatted to a Dutch guy, and Italian guy and a Canadian guy about their plans and trips so far, all very jovial.
This morning we were up bright and early to check out at 10, and I booked a night here before my flight to Auckland on the 10th and booked my ferry back from south island so travel plans all in hand there.
Now we are just killing time before the ferry to the south island which departs in a couple of hours. I am really looking forward to the South Island. I've been so bowled over by the beauty of the landscapes and coasts in the North Island and I'm told that the South 'steps it up a gear in the awesome ratings' so I can't wait! Marlborough Sounds is a scattering of islands, inlets and peninsulas and one of the most famous regions for wine production, so I'm all over that. Kaikoura, where Kim's mates are, is a lovely little peninsula with a backdrop of snowtopped mountains, and Nelson is a chilled out artsy little town where I'm hoping to do a bone carving course, so v exciting all round, I'll let you know what it's like!
Much love and missing of all my people as always.
Lucy xxx
Our first day here, although exhausted from a 6am start, we walked all over town exploring for about 5 hours and did a teensy bit of v restrained shopping. Most of this revolved around dollar shops and op shops (charity shops) so didn't feel too bad.
We decided to go out for out first night on the town in ages and go as fairies in fancy dress. Found an astonishing long copper wig in the dollar shop and some sweet baby blue fairy wings and we were very excited. We went back to the hostel to shower and dress and shared a bottle of Cava then headed up to Courtenay Place to a bar/club called Sandwiches where the Trei gig ( a set as part of a student night it turned out) was being held. En route we had a kebab for dinner and danced in the street with some musicians, but we still managed to be among the first in the club. We had a great night but got completely obliterated. We must have had in the region of 12 glasses of sparkling wine each! The crowd were really young and bolshy but the music was good and really high energy. I enjoyed the opportunity to let loose on the dance floor and shake out all my new farm muscles! About quarter to 4 Kim suddenly decided she couldn't go on any longer (huge amounts of drink and a 22 hour day!) so we took a cab back to the hostel and passed out.
We emerged from a drunken sleep at about 2 feeling like absolute crap and to the rainiest windiest day eve. It was like waking up in a Douglas B&B. We whinged our way up to Burger Fuel ( a fabulous quality burger place) and ate a Beetnik veggie burger and some kumara (sweet potato) fries in silent misery. We then sloped over to funky grungy cuba st to a sweet little cafe at 178, Midnight Espresso, where we had chai and juice and things to try and mend our sorry selves. The most we could manage after that was to hobble back to the Hostel and veg out in the tv room. Off drink for the forseeable now!
The next day we felt a fair bit better and walked up through town to Cuba Street to meet Kim's friend Vic who is the press secretary for a cabinet minister in the NZ government. She used to be a tour guide in Asia and gave me tons of helpful and interesting tips.
After lunch we wandered down to Te Papa- the National Museum of NZ. It's a pretty cool museum, very modern and interactive. The first bit we went to was a media exhibition, it has a massive wall screen and then some smaller touchscreen booths where you can choose from thousands of videos and images form a media bank or take pics or videos of yourself, or add text. Then you upload it to these little menu buttons on the wall and use these huge cone things to point and drag images to different bits of the wall. So it's like a huge collaborative collage. Kim and I had a hoot playing with it. Then we wandered around some geological stuff and an earthquale simulator house, then on to the animal section where they have a collossal squid, the largest squid ever caught, from the antarctic. We saw the squid itself (gross) and a 3d movie of it's habitat (cool) and a movie about how they caught it (amazing). The next bit we wandered around was about Maori culture and the settlers from Europe and their stories, all v interesting. The Maori and Pacific Islander carvings and furniture and stuff were really cool and beautiful. We were getting zombie museum eyes by this point so we wandered back to the hostel via a supermarker where we spent 30 dollars on 6 meals worth of food, trying to be good! We then made dinner and monged in front of a couple of movies in the tv room. Then we went up to our room and had a late night craft session then hit the hay!
Yesterday was a beautifully sunshiny and hot day, so we took a cool old cable car up the hill out of Wellington to the botanical gardens, and then wandered down through the gardens over a couple of hours, bringing us back to the city. The gardens were gorgeous with collections of native and exotic trees and plants, including many kinds of fern, the emblem of NZ. We came across a wonderful 'Sun Dial of Human Involvement' which was a sundial which requires you to stand on todays date, with your back to the sun and your arms in the air in order to tell the time, it was really accurate and pretty cool.
We met a funny chinese dude there with an amazing hat covered in badges from all the places he'd been on his travels, it was a like a crazy party helmet and we were most impressed. So impressed in fact that I bought a shiny 3 dollar fern badge as my emblem of NZ and have begun my very own hat of badges! We enjoyed a little snooze under a tree in the flower gardens, took lots of pictures of some huge red butterflies, were amazed by the huge rose garden and delighted by the Frangipani and exotic waterlily collection in the greenhouses. We walked back through a memorial garden/ cemetery. It was sad to see whole families of children passing away in quick succession around the 1870s, when the migrant ship[s were coming in, probably due to some kind of epidemic.
After calling back to the hostel for lunch and watching some Oprah, we headed out for our second run at Te Papa. On the way we came across a rather thrilling school longboat race in the harbour and stopped to watch for a bit. We wandered around an art exhibition covering all different types and periods of art, really varied and interesting, and then we were done with Te Papa and felt quite proud. We couldn't resist a last play on the multimedia wall though!
On the walk back we 'bumped into' Mac's Brewery- a sweet pub with a brewery attached, which you can view from the bar area or a special platform. It's all organically brewed beverages and lots of informative wall art teaching you about how it's made. We shared a giant bowl of fries and slurped down a pint of Apple Macs cider each, v good indeed. As we left we noticed some kind of a carry on down under the quay. There were a bunch of thesps in mad costumes doing some kind of play and an audience in life jackets perched precariously on some old steps down into the quay. We watched for a bit but didn't have much of a clue what was going on so abandoned it and wound our windy way back to the hostel.
We packed up our belongings ready to move out and then managed to comandeer the tv room for Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters, after sitting patiently through Barclays Premier League, then had a couple of pints of cider in the hostel bar and chatted to a Dutch guy, and Italian guy and a Canadian guy about their plans and trips so far, all very jovial.
This morning we were up bright and early to check out at 10, and I booked a night here before my flight to Auckland on the 10th and booked my ferry back from south island so travel plans all in hand there.
Now we are just killing time before the ferry to the south island which departs in a couple of hours. I am really looking forward to the South Island. I've been so bowled over by the beauty of the landscapes and coasts in the North Island and I'm told that the South 'steps it up a gear in the awesome ratings' so I can't wait! Marlborough Sounds is a scattering of islands, inlets and peninsulas and one of the most famous regions for wine production, so I'm all over that. Kaikoura, where Kim's mates are, is a lovely little peninsula with a backdrop of snowtopped mountains, and Nelson is a chilled out artsy little town where I'm hoping to do a bone carving course, so v exciting all round, I'll let you know what it's like!
Much love and missing of all my people as always.
Lucy xxx
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