tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59955451505709557192024-03-05T09:46:37.253-08:00Sez bot & Hectic Lee take on the EastAustralia, New Zealand, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Nepal, India and Sri LankaLee Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01663512254040546286noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-19525530250353585212019-06-17T10:56:00.002-07:002019-06-17T15:41:21.971-07:00Scotland, Isle of Skye, Highlands, Edinburgh and Glasgow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This year we decided to take a trip to Scotland, we booked a weeks holiday, and knew about half of the places we wanted to stay. We didn't book any accommodation, but had a tent in the car just in case, and didn't have any specific sights in mind, but we had a lot of friends with great suggestions! As such we are hoping to pass on a little bit about what we did in 7 days, so you can choose what you want to do too!<br />
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Don't forget to drink some Irn-Bru, try some whisky, eat some vegan Haggis, Scones, and your weight in shortbread, or empire biscuits! Donate some of your change to a bagpipe player too and take some time to enjoy their tunes.<br />
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We started our trip with a 7 hour drive from Hampshire to Glasgow we left at around 4am and arrived at lunch time on the Sunday. We were very lucky that one of my University friends now lives in Glasgow, and said we could stay in their spare room, they even cooked awesome dinners for us!</div>
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We spend day 1 & 2 exploring Glasgow by foot, and subway, getting a guided tour of the city.<br />
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First stop was the botanical gardens which was a lovely way to spend an hour, some amazing and exotic plants! There were two huge glass buildings each with little pockets of plants in different rooms. One of the rooms was humid, hot and wet, watery mist being sprayed constantly. Some giant plants looked like something from jurassic park, or made you feel like you had been shrunk as the leaves were so massive in scale. </div>
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Then we headed up the 'Lighthouse' in Glasgow center, which had a few art and architecture exhibitions on the various floors. The curved stairs were also great to admire. From the top we got to see some great views of the city from above. </div>
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Next stop the GOMA, Gallery of Modern Art, with this famous and always comically well dressed sculpture of the Duke of Wellington out front. Inside I saw some work by Warhol, a selection of installation art, and some very Scottish art. Around the city there is some amazing street art, with the theme of Robins. </div>
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Seems to be a theme here. </div>
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Last stop of the day was the Kelvin Grove Art Gallery, with it's interesting floating head sculptures in the foyer. Inside was a collection of work by the Glasgow Boys, French Impressionists, Mackintosh furniture, and the Scottish colourists, </div>
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On Day 3, we then headed up north to <u>Loch Lomand </u>and the <u>Trossachs national park</u>, stopping at <u>Luss</u>. On our route north, through the lovely scenic roads, our car exhaust fell off!! In all fairness, it was a bit rusty and needed changing, luckily we called the breakdown service and they patched it up with some wire, a cola can, and some jubilee clips, and that helped us for about another 4 days until we were in a city again. </div>
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On our way we made a slight detour to see Kilchurn castle, lovely ruins to walk around, doesn't look like you're in the right place, but there is a walk around the back, and they're doing some kind of building work, possibly for a train line. The views from inside and up high were great. </div>
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On the walk back from the castle to the car we saw a highland cow, he walked up towards us, there is a note on a fence to not interfere with the cows, but he walk towards us then went off to the side. </div>
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Next up on our route was <u>Castle Stalker,</u> which was a lovely and photogenic castle, the view being uninterrupted by modern buildings, there was a little cafe nearby and we were a bit behind schedule and in need of a tea and a toilet break, so stopped here around 4-5pm. We decided against walking right down the hill to the castle, but I think you can get a boat over to it at certain times of the day. </div>
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Second to last stop of the day was <u>Glen Coe</u> which was spectacular, we did a loop around this beautiful lake, from the nearby car park. Be warned the midges come out at dusk, so bring your midge spray. We only had a short walk around this one area but it was beautiful. Would pencil a bit more time to explore this site, nearby Fort William.</div>
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Arriving in the evening in Fort William (home of Ben Nevis mountain), we stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast (the most common accommodation type around this area). </div>
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Day 4 and that morning, after a lovely breakfast including freshly baked scones, we had a walk up, the cloudy Ben Nevis. It was fairly busy on the route, we met lots of folks going up and a few coming down. we did a strange relay with some folks, as we would go slow and they would rush and then rest and visa versa, we would stop to take photos. There were loads of people with dogs, and a lot of families with kids too. We walked about a third of the way up, conscious of time, as we were heading to Skye, and knowing we were not going to have a view at the top.<br />
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Afterwards we ate brunch in a cute cafe in the town, called Wildcats, and set off with our journey.</div>
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Views were amazing when the sun peeped out to see us. </div>
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We made our way to Isle of Skye, choosing the road bridge over the ferry, we stopped briefly to admire the Castle Dornie, which has a big visitors center not pictured, and they were constructing another building when we arrived. However for free you can have lovely shots like this and enjoy the view not far from the car park. </div>
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That evening after cooking our dinner on a camping stove, we went for a short drive to see Dunvegan Castle, and explore the coastline near Dunvegan.<br />
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That night we had booked cheap accommodation, sleeping in our camping pod on the Loch. It was really cold the first night, and not too bad the second night, we saw no-one else was camping those days, possibly a bit on the cold side. However the pod was dry and comfy and a break from the wind.<br />
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Around the campsite was lots of small birds, some bright yellow and some blue and light pink coloured, the most amazing thing was watching them jump to take off, they almost hover in the wind, as it was so strong it kept them at a stand still until they put a bit more effort into fly forwards. </div>
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The next day we did a big tour around Skye, possible a bit too much to do in one day. </div>
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<u>Old man of Storr</u>, which was peeping behind the cloud, as such we walked for about 30minutes to get a good view, but it was windy, rainy and he kept hiding in clouds. </div>
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<u>Kilt Rock</u>, more of a photo opportunity that a nice place to chill out, but still worth a quick stop. </div>
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<u>Uig harbour,</u> very pretty view from a far, and there is a beer shop here. </div>
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<u>Fairy Glenn</u>, which is just the most enchanting little area of random shaped mounds and rocks to climb into and admire the surrounding views. We felt really at peace here and enjoyed exploring the little hidden aware area for a while. </div>
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<u>Portree</u>, is the main city in the center of the island, and a good place to stay if you're looking to drive around, there are B&B's all the way leading out of town. It is a town, so not very exciting, but has a nice view if you walk up above the harbour. Camping shop, and a Co-Op, restaurants and pubs. </div>
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<u>Silgachan</u>, this was a cool 5 minute stop on the main road between a few areas on the south of the island. Really cool old bridge, with a mountainous background and some moody cloud. </div>
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<u>Fairy Pools</u> were lovely, you could spend a good 1.5 hours total trip here, walking from the car park to the main pools, but you can see the first pool within about 30 minutes. Definitely one for the walking boots. </div>
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Day 5 and we were leaving the Isle of Skye, we visited <u>Plockton</u> on our way east in this sleepy little seaside town we had lovely lunch walk around and did a boat trip to see seals. We would have liked to venture to Applecross too, but time didn't allow for it. </div>
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Our second stop of the day was <u>Fort Augustus</u>, home to the Loch Ness...and it's monster. We had previously visited in February 2013, and the sunshine made quite a difference, possibly there have been some modernisations over the years too.</div>
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Along the road we saw a big tourist attraction of <u>Urguhart Castle</u> on the Loch, we just stopped and had a look but didn't go into visit.<br />
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To finish the day, we drove to I<u>nverness</u> for a dinner and to admire the architecture of the city.<br />
So many churches, lots of lovely little bridges, and a castle to admire in the moody sky!<br />
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Day 6, started by dropping the car to get the exhaust changed, eating pancakes in the town centre and visiting tourist information. I had seen info about the <u>Cairngorms</u> in the B&B, and learned that it is the biggest national park in Britain, twice the size of the lake district. We were a bit unsure at what to do with just a few hours to spare as there were so many walks and activities to do and see. </div>
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We decided to visit the <u>RSPB Osprey centre</u>, where we saw wild Red Squirrels eating from the bird feeders, lots of birds also, and learned about the history of Ospreys in the UK and in the area. After the visit we decided to go on a walk nearby from <u>Loch Garten</u> to <u>Loch Mallachie</u>. I loved seeing all the tree routes which have become exposed. The woods was very quiet a few dog walkers, and other tourists.</div>
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On Day 7, our last full day we spent in <u>Edinburgh,</u> a beautiful city, we had less than 24 hours here, as we have previously visited the city for an extended time. It was lovely and strange to see the city again, the sunny weather a welcome change to our previous February trip.<br />
Our trip to the modern art gallery was one of the highlights, including the free zero emissions bus to and from the gallery.</div>
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On route home, and only about an hour and a half from Edinburgh was <u>Bamburg Castle</u>, a beautiful landmark, rising up from the surroundings, built in the 11th century, and on a base of volcanic rock, this site may have been used as a fort before hand; around the year 400-500 before becoming a castle. You can walk all around the castle and to the beach for the best views.<br />
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Another stop on the way home, right off the A1 motorway in Gatehead was <u>The Angel of the North</u>, very famous landmark, that I had never seen. A sculpture by Anthony Gormley which can we seen from some distance but you can also park and go right up to it. There was a lot of information about the construction and planning that went into such a huge scale piece of work.</div>
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We briefly stopped in Newcastle for a bite to eat, and arriving home around 1am, very tired. We haven't yet visited newcastle, so will pop that on the list for northern England adventures. </div>
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Hope you enjoyed our week long trip of Scotland, we have been inspired for a follow up trip and dedicating more time to certain areas. We would love to go see some Puffins off the Isle of Mull. We would love to have more time to explore the Cairngorms too, it's huge! We still need to see north Scotland too!<br />
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If you would like any more info, please comment below.<br />
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Or if you have any amazing recommendations, let us know! </div>
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SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-44989524231150739922012-10-20T09:54:00.002-07:002012-10-20T10:11:00.655-07:00Varanassi - India - May 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got over the border from Sunauli
with a few tiny problems, but they were soon sorted. It appeared we had not got
our exit stamp from the Nepal side, so we had to go back to Nepal (only 300
yards away) and get our exit stamp, so the Indians could stamp us in, in India,
yay. Probably the most relaxed border known to man, with people just walking
back and forth with no one stopping them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We looked for food but people were only
serving sweet and tea, so while looking for the bus to Gorakhpur we stopped at
the Soda shop and got a lovely ice cold soda pop each. We then headed off to
get the bus. On the bus we were at the front and had the heat from the engine
but got to keep an eye on our luggage. The drivers were really lovely as they
made sure they stopped us near the train station and hotel area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After looking at some bad rooms for high
prices we settled on a shabby room for 350INR and settled in after some diner.
The next day we tried to get sleeper tickets from a special booking office but
they had no tickets so we had to get 2<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>nd</sup> class seated (unreserved)
for the trip. We left later that day at 3pm for Varanasi.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After leaving
Gorakhpur we traveled via train for 5 hours in 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> Class seated and
it was not that busy so was quite comfortable. We arrived in Varanasi and had
to negotiate with the tuk tuk driver and when we had reached the price we
desired we left for Assi Ghat and the driver took us to a hotel and we checked
the price and looked for more hotels. The only problem was the fact the driver
would not leave our side as he was waiting for his commission at the hotel we
went to. After searching many hotels we settled on the first one we came across
as the price was right and it had air con. The driver after we settled had left
presumably with his commission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As it
was getting late we had dinner at the hotel and slipped of to get some much
needed rest.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On our first
day we decided to just explore the area and we realised that we were not
staying in Assi Ghat, but just a little above that, but we were happy with our
hotel and the comfort of our bed, for the price we paid. While walking through
the waterside of the River Ganges we saw some great graffiti and some people
and animals bathing in the river. While walking towards the burning Ghats some
guy tried to attach himself to us, giving us advise and trying to be our guide.
We politely said </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">that we didn’t need a guide and said we would not pay him so please
leave us alone. Eventually he left us alone. After a while of walking we
seemed lost, however found our way back to an internet cafe that served food and
drinks. We then navigate our way back to our hotel through the many back
alleys. When we arrived back at the hotel we had a nap and rested for the
remainder of the day in our air con room, as the heat outside was very hard to
take.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The next day
we decided to buy an Indian sim card, to allow us to call hotels and to aid in
using the Cleartrip website (that allows you to book our train tickets online).
We decided to head to the Ramnagar Fort and did this on foot, in the hot summer
sun, stopping along the way to buy water and rest. When we arrived at the river
side we had to cross the pontoon bridge that looked very unstable. Then we walked to the fort and went inside. There were many different things inside, from lovely old cars, finely
crafted weapons and regal carriages it really was quite lovely. We then carried
on following the signs and got to the place were you had a very lovely view of
the Ganges. After this we stopped for a limca and a fanta then left and headed
back over the bridge. Once over the bridge we decided to get a cycle rickshaw
back to the hotel. However the man riding this cycle rickshaw was out of breath
after 3 or 4 meters, so we paid him and walked until we found an auto rickshaw
and haggled a price, and got a ride back to our hotel. Again we rested in our
air con room to recover from the heat and later that afternoon we headed to
Assi Ghat and found a very nice soda shop selling pump soda for 20INR per cup
and it was lovely and refreshing. We carried on to the water side and found
this pizza place recommended in the LP Guide and we ate there and the pizza was
very lovely. After this we slowly made our way around to the waterfront where many
different people tried to sell us a boat tour around the Ganges. We haggled and
haggled and finally got our boat ride. We set off down the river in daylight
and then came back in the darkness. The ride was very lovely and seeing things
from a different view was most awesome. After boat ride we made our back to the
hotel to relax for the remainder of the evening. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The next day
we woke up and feeling a little worse for wear and having packed some stuff
ready to send home, headed to the post office to send it back to England. We
found the Post Office ok and a gentleman helped us and gave us all the details
we needed to get our parcel sent, that included goin to see a gentleman who
wrapped up our parcel in cloth and sealed it with sealing wax. It really was a
funny experience as the parcel looked like a sack with red wax all over it (not normal looking). It
cost 2700INR to have the parcel send direct via air, the other option was
by sea and air, but someone said that often they split stuff up into bigger or smaller
packages and this can cause things to go missing, so we went with direct air
deliver. After this we headed back to the hotel for some rest and later headed
out to Sarnath just 13 km up the road. We got a tuk tuk there and made our way
around the place where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon. The place was very
small but still very lovely and before we knew it we were at the local Tibetan temple and after
getting some drinks were back in Varanasi resting and sleeping the rest of our
day away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The last day
in Varanasi was very chilled and we slept in a little, then went for a walk
around the place again along the Ganges and back to the burning Ghats, but we
decided to see how far the Ghats went and they went on for a long time. While
trying to find our way home, we decided not to get a tuk tuk and seemed to get
lost. While finding our way back we saw lots of people holding a body that was
on a wooden style stretcher but wrapped in shiny orange cloth ready for burning
at the Ghats. While in Varanasi its a very common sight that makes you realise
how much the Indian people face death. Its very in your face but death is as
much part of life as anything els is and they understand that. We found our way
back to the hotel and rested and packed our bags ready for our train ride the
next day that would take us to Gaya. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-14905656193510170772012-10-19T06:03:00.002-07:002012-10-19T06:03:58.396-07:00Arga - India - May 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We arrived at Agra Fort Station after the worst and possibly one of the best train rides we had in India. We didn't get confirmed seats from the website www.cleartrip.com so had to buy tickets at the station in Gaya. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We managed to stay in sleeper class and then tried to upgrade to get a bed in any other class with no luck for about 6 hours out of 13 hour journey. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-SXG4Ix6gri0sp5EtZlWc_RwmxVSpGsAToN2x9fYXG8IH6inrgcnPjur_Ds7h7OoSuj1lNGWq2Cq0lIJZY3fgfxJ35BKQu5Z8mdnoHChy3jMw0io7g2N4IO6UZcnPQ92RGfEFfgJSLE/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-SXG4Ix6gri0sp5EtZlWc_RwmxVSpGsAToN2x9fYXG8IH6inrgcnPjur_Ds7h7OoSuj1lNGWq2Cq0lIJZY3fgfxJ35BKQu5Z8mdnoHChy3jMw0io7g2N4IO6UZcnPQ92RGfEFfgJSLE/s400/1.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new friends...the first of many, at Agra Fort</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We had lots of people on the train telling us that we could
sit on their bunk and many of them were very very friendly and by the time we
got into Agra Fort Station we had a crowd of people who came off the train and
wished us a lovely trip around India. It was quite moving that people who we
met on a train would give us a send off at the station like this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next problem was getting to the place where the hotels
were, we were picked up by some guy and his mate in a tuk tuk who said he would
take us to where we wanted to go. Instead he took us to a place where he wanted
to take us to, where the hotels look amazing but totally out of our price
range. We argued with the driver and went off on foot to find the area we
wanted. After a while say 20 minutes we arrived where we wanted to be and
checked a few hotels and settled on one called Kamal Hotel as the guy on
reception was really funny and most of all the air cooler actually worked well.
We then settled in for the night and got some much needed rest.</span></div>
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We decided we wanted to wait another day to see the Taj Mahal, as we couldn't cope with the early start. So we went to explore Agra's other attractions including the Fort.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8V2-Rr8mnIcO9v53LexyNskTsvB-WoaaX1N58k8ZOfh8U7EzhStDCQlw_vhdGr-hOlXSJETGqh8H5qR99Usum3qEJFkDJV_o0gHM2CV0nPYfH7WKsfZkMCFbvQrj4PUHNEdGaFQkh70/s1600/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8V2-Rr8mnIcO9v53LexyNskTsvB-WoaaX1N58k8ZOfh8U7EzhStDCQlw_vhdGr-hOlXSJETGqh8H5qR99Usum3qEJFkDJV_o0gHM2CV0nPYfH7WKsfZkMCFbvQrj4PUHNEdGaFQkh70/s640/01.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Agra Fort</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Agra Fort mix of old and new</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkqdjz5E-cAmtVCetZAFfIVCu-herLNToaWi8hob_hz3rmhb6SViw3MQj88igVox5-3QNkFR_li8fXKHJwd11OVUZGbtphcIvxWLl0p4eZ0UdCSESc4nzWSqDBMy3MQ4JfY7K-GdWR1A/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkqdjz5E-cAmtVCetZAFfIVCu-herLNToaWi8hob_hz3rmhb6SViw3MQj88igVox5-3QNkFR_li8fXKHJwd11OVUZGbtphcIvxWLl0p4eZ0UdCSESc4nzWSqDBMy3MQ4JfY7K-GdWR1A/s640/2.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
Health and safety at Agra Fort<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the morning we headed out to check out the area and the prices for the tickets to the Taj Mahal and the price was 750 INR not too bad really. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We then went on foot (to the complete amazement of many of the locals and drivers) to the Agra Fort, it was a very hot day but we were on a tight budget and we like to see places and enjoyed the exercise. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The fort was pretty large and the price wasn't too bad (much higher than Indians of course) but we went inside and enjoyed all the fort had to offer while getting a sneaky peak at the Taj Mahal. One thing that is very apparent in Asia in general, not just India is that health and safety is never the primary concern, as you can see in the picture below a pretty deep hole in the ground with no fences around it to prevent accidents. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a while of hanging at the fort we decided to leave and walked back to our hotel to get a little rest and got lost walking back but it wasn’t too bad and we were soon back on track. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We went to a veggie restaurant for some food later that day, just up the road from our hotel and the food there was pretty good. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We decided to go and buy our tickets for the Taj Mahal for the next day. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kMMNJFaMsosMl5y-2yG6ytiNWoiB-rYOOeXSLmXhH5h_svL3UhT3WjRloShlBynHmja5cyHIeqekCWsBXoqzp4cFYoQBDw98LLS0XWhs0m_5MrLDP89lHzBhx9Sc8aflH5CPwXUehug/s1600/4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kMMNJFaMsosMl5y-2yG6ytiNWoiB-rYOOeXSLmXhH5h_svL3UhT3WjRloShlBynHmja5cyHIeqekCWsBXoqzp4cFYoQBDw98LLS0XWhs0m_5MrLDP89lHzBhx9Sc8aflH5CPwXUehug/s640/4.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teddy bear shoes on Army man</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We woke up early the following day to get into the Taj Mahal for 5:30am, when the sun is at its sweetest and when not many people would be around. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We jumped in the queue and Sarah had to join the ladies line and me the men’s line. We got told our banana was not allowed in, so Sarah and I scoffed it down pretty quickly and proceeded to the main gate. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At this point the inside of the complex was really really clean in contrast to the outside of the complex that is messy and smelly.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As you walk through the amazing main gate, the Taj Mahal can clearly be seen through the arch way and it really is mesmerising, one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIfjaFG_ZczzSLIY2HXQlCtPKJsQfQdmdrtTUwlA4_iECTybTXY14Dj0S4cOWzUQzQZhnKKPKH27In9RCQOGOrsJvRixJAizb4v9JvISUPqJ1X68LBAaCfW2NZ8v6udXol_qgT7TI_O0/s1600/5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIfjaFG_ZczzSLIY2HXQlCtPKJsQfQdmdrtTUwlA4_iECTybTXY14Dj0S4cOWzUQzQZhnKKPKH27In9RCQOGOrsJvRixJAizb4v9JvISUPqJ1X68LBAaCfW2NZ8v6udXol_qgT7TI_O0/s640/5.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Beautiful Taj Mahal</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After getting through the main gate people are queuing for a photo with the Taj in the background and we waited a little while for our chance and it was totally worth it. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teapot Taj with well timed bird</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSeKsNUCvaqIgv6QAK4H_5hyphenhyphenORi9KOIZxN3bvNQb-woLkLLFw-ri4hi92_3_RdFKwzobLBR_DsLsMvkP9NZfz4QYt8x8uRg5tlD90h4HBArOODOV8_6yGunOSdMOAzUBBmEP33jSYXhg8/s1600/8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSeKsNUCvaqIgv6QAK4H_5hyphenhyphenORi9KOIZxN3bvNQb-woLkLLFw-ri4hi92_3_RdFKwzobLBR_DsLsMvkP9NZfz4QYt8x8uRg5tlD90h4HBArOODOV8_6yGunOSdMOAzUBBmEP33jSYXhg8/s640/8.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opposite the Taj</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We carried on and looked around the Taj, inside and out and found that you could not take shoes inside, even around the temple. Baring in mind that the Taj is made of marble and the floor was very very hot. Most people had special slippers given to them but not us. Luckily I had thick socks on and Sarah was left running around and staying in the shadows to avoid burnt feet. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise at the Taj Mahal</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After looking around and getting some pretty amazing photos we left the complex and headed back to our hotel for a sleep, and sleep we had. We went to the same veggie restaurant for some breakfast then went for a well deserved sleep. We spent the rest of the day walking around the local area and bought some nice postcards from a small shop keeper. We enjoyed our cool room and got an ealry night and packed our bags ready for the train in the morning to Delhi!</span></div>
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SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-72023740611132339192012-10-19T06:00:00.001-07:002012-10-19T06:00:13.205-07:00Amritsar - India - June 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We arrived after another 13 hour train journey from Delhi, in sleeper class with some more lovely people. We tried to sleep a lot during the journey and at one point a group of begging girls hassled Sarah and me for a while, tugging on her clothes for well over 5 minutes. When they had gone and we had a chance to chat, we started talking with a Sikh girl, who was on the upper sleep bunk with her sister. Her English was not to bad but then again our Hindi and Punjabi was way worse. We talked for a lot of the trip, when we left the train we said goodbye and were later told to follow them and not to get a tuk tuk. It turned out that there was a free bus to the golden temple so we piled on to the very packed free bus and smiled as we had now made new friends.</span></div>
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</span>When we arrived the Sikh family told us to leave our bags at
the free accommodation and to leave our shoes in the shoe drop point. We did
this and the Sikh family showed us around the Golden Temple guiding us
around everything. We drank the water around the temple, fearing illness but respected
their customs and was fine the next day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Somehow I managed to get out of the bathing in the temple water, but Sarah did not and had to go into the ladies area and bath with them. We then drank lychee juice and went inside the temple, being shown all the customs required when in the temple. It really was lovely and everything was made of solid gold. We then went on to sit for the prayers and then went to have a free meal with all the other people. It was lovely to see all types of people sitting and eating as complete equals. There was many people cleaning and dishing up the food and it was great to see so many volunteers. We then said a very warm farewell to our new friends that gave us one of the most amazing experiences we had in India.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhajYeS-Xk1v5cko4iRXsXcc4tQu41sb4jgbrUIj09SmTlNz0lGamfqYaQxlQDeKf6POk30ih1mFTmUTvVGtG_clHtJQoY-FTMQYdOiLcvavNnwiQKgzFpZ-Z5_0XJUmk745t_kdOKTj2k/s1600/1355+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhajYeS-Xk1v5cko4iRXsXcc4tQu41sb4jgbrUIj09SmTlNz0lGamfqYaQxlQDeKf6POk30ih1mFTmUTvVGtG_clHtJQoY-FTMQYdOiLcvavNnwiQKgzFpZ-Z5_0XJUmk745t_kdOKTj2k/s320/1355+(2).JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We went back to collect both our shoes and bags and went on the look for a hotel to get some rest after our very long day, as the free accommodation was full. We stayed in this nice hotel with a very cold air con system that could not be changed only turned on or off. While collecting our bags, before going to the hotel, a girl said that H.H 14<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Dalai Lama was doing teachings in Dharamsala before going to England. After talking it through with Sarah we decided that we would leave for Dharamsala on day 3 in Amritsar. This meant we needed to do lots in our last day. We decided to look around the Golden Temple on our own again and in the afternoon we went to see the changing of the guard at the India Pakistan border.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We jumped in a very
old jeep style car with no air con and drove to the border after picking up
some other Indian teenagers. We arrived and got stuck in the queue or mass of
people pushing and shoving and it really was a very unpleasant time as we had
very little water and people were touching us at all sides. When the gate was
opened people pushed and people got hurt, but once through the small gate we
had to spate into ladies and men and at the end of the line I found Sarah
waiting for me. We then went to the area for tourists and got our seats and we
had lovely seat and a good view. When the celebrations started the ladies got
up and danced and Sarah decided to do this and she had a lovely time. The
ladies really take a front row in this event, as on the Pakistan side the
ladies are not allowed to do many things due to the Muslim rules. The Indian
ladies would run up to the border with big flags to show the freedom they have
in India, and it would appear that this is a lot of fun for them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then the soldiers started their special foot stamping parade
around the gates of the border with the Pakistan side doing the same. The
soldiers really do seem to take this very seriously and their faces are very
stern. The end of the whole experience is when the flags are lowered at the
same time and the gates are opened and closed very quickly, as quickly as that
the whole experience is over!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the end of the parade we posed for pictures at the gate and made our way back to the Jeep taxi and were dropped back at Dominosin Amritsar for a nice cheese and tomato pizza. After this we went back to our hotel and packed ready to leave for Dharamsala the next day. </span></div>
SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-55208239091612216372012-02-27T22:23:00.001-08:002012-02-27T04:10:48.648-08:00Mekong Delta Vietnam-Cambodia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRh-luZdgQ5QXk76R1mrViiRV5tDs96R1p1Fhsc_CuWVyNeMJSi9ca-mVG8AyA-CfpWggyvURtFHCU4QGSQtGQY1YVL9EynYjLK1oeCTUxMe0OjEru1rKgQSIAE-XaxclghGaLby08nc/s1600/Lee+2+678.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRh-luZdgQ5QXk76R1mrViiRV5tDs96R1p1Fhsc_CuWVyNeMJSi9ca-mVG8AyA-CfpWggyvURtFHCU4QGSQtGQY1YVL9EynYjLK1oeCTUxMe0OjEru1rKgQSIAE-XaxclghGaLby08nc/s320/Lee+2+678.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713786721676924674" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkOst1LQJkBXZ16KleCcpvpfWhAi3tNs2-CE9xGBtV1ZaLffMaaTR7pqLQg5AWzHT1-iOXqvN-5ez-4bJ2PSNExVqscVj0UOPJMrLJbAx6XEgqC09yTVaRpJDkRNHz7fA3YziVLwcfpk/s1600/Lee+2+709.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkOst1LQJkBXZ16KleCcpvpfWhAi3tNs2-CE9xGBtV1ZaLffMaaTR7pqLQg5AWzHT1-iOXqvN-5ez-4bJ2PSNExVqscVj0UOPJMrLJbAx6XEgqC09yTVaRpJDkRNHz7fA3YziVLwcfpk/s320/Lee+2+709.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713786713108782674" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsXs675-LILZJtpKGLvPAFJQkZ7exNmjHL9IZ-BWzle358ei_vEQqiQWx1n-WYN-EndXFo4XsCp0pPmOA_wPztz8ZjI6Ndcfpn3HfqMD0fTEBBXWvBRKuJLgnnM4ql-ZSGJhahrryGgM/s1600/Lee+2+558.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsXs675-LILZJtpKGLvPAFJQkZ7exNmjHL9IZ-BWzle358ei_vEQqiQWx1n-WYN-EndXFo4XsCp0pPmOA_wPztz8ZjI6Ndcfpn3HfqMD0fTEBBXWvBRKuJLgnnM4ql-ZSGJhahrryGgM/s320/Lee+2+558.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713786732525191378" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoE8i0DYX1o-dfdF0SwF8bPdBds2tQV7Oy5hST-_vlDG5sGIO_mHMvDmQOfMwfhhB2L6yV7vjfiZ-ag_nUZ6k53nxPVmmgVlnWX0-iadIt_fW8IHjAfgvNnmiFzjkM4Svs03uEApWZgs/s1600/Lee+2+616.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoE8i0DYX1o-dfdF0SwF8bPdBds2tQV7Oy5hST-_vlDG5sGIO_mHMvDmQOfMwfhhB2L6yV7vjfiZ-ag_nUZ6k53nxPVmmgVlnWX0-iadIt_fW8IHjAfgvNnmiFzjkM4Svs03uEApWZgs/s320/Lee+2+616.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713785685145845890" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31-TxQAxVMaE3yQeez4txaGpbBRkYxYP5_bQfKiPAqgnx2oGnXDCK91mVrw5GkyxbTeTS2jGem_qsykDZblFyC_H9l-pLmOsEt6MttdG_RT5EmnziKfTZEZx0IKDrfv7Vd90mhgO200E/s1600/Lee+2+621.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31-TxQAxVMaE3yQeez4txaGpbBRkYxYP5_bQfKiPAqgnx2oGnXDCK91mVrw5GkyxbTeTS2jGem_qsykDZblFyC_H9l-pLmOsEt6MttdG_RT5EmnziKfTZEZx0IKDrfv7Vd90mhgO200E/s320/Lee+2+621.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713785696409142946" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4P78MCPcLtrqz3F6bjozbAi72rxAO2N4PZrr8nkdlQSO0J3WDZZjenMzBZZPThTob0tWu8aLCGPBcG41kMbBNmMA1e6AAtalD5qjP86WxqyjhLD-46sB-qToRq3r6C6RHweurMbR-ew/s1600/Lee+2+772.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4P78MCPcLtrqz3F6bjozbAi72rxAO2N4PZrr8nkdlQSO0J3WDZZjenMzBZZPThTob0tWu8aLCGPBcG41kMbBNmMA1e6AAtalD5qjP86WxqyjhLD-46sB-qToRq3r6C6RHweurMbR-ew/s320/Lee+2+772.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713780782150408162" border="0" /></a>room for one more?<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTOxndBWA3U5h7CajxEmBOuVb9GitaV6I_ZrvNe42LcSyxzhlf0GFRVYLY2Td6DcdAFodpA_ecv9BYKVfwHhwQblMo4LCjS5StbMMVOWaAnJriTi6oMlmzKI0erCMn-hSX_il9mJSlFM/s1600/Lee+2+755.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTOxndBWA3U5h7CajxEmBOuVb9GitaV6I_ZrvNe42LcSyxzhlf0GFRVYLY2Td6DcdAFodpA_ecv9BYKVfwHhwQblMo4LCjS5StbMMVOWaAnJriTi6oMlmzKI0erCMn-hSX_il9mJSlFM/s320/Lee+2+755.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713780391186268930" border="0" /></a>You lot wont fit in that van!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipnW-elje-Pw5uH2HC1-M0fbtjPF_pgYUk2F7lQf32Ze1uz_VDqC2NBTyWERoM3BOGpz9cQeqRiZ356kzPtSLqt8NVbkMxD_lm8wUg_2bt8LiXn32bzKEZfyE0kkDgaZcdw0hCSdDlEI/s1600/Lee+2+719.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipnW-elje-Pw5uH2HC1-M0fbtjPF_pgYUk2F7lQf32Ze1uz_VDqC2NBTyWERoM3BOGpz9cQeqRiZ356kzPtSLqt8NVbkMxD_lm8wUg_2bt8LiXn32bzKEZfyE0kkDgaZcdw0hCSdDlEI/s320/Lee+2+719.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713779196625450306" border="0" /></a>Boat load of people<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeuB5etK8J4iTDpPzxPFbbBStzjnMp5HQX2ks3DwND1lUhx41aXXnppqWXZLFl1GDaU1st48FnzO5xBvBH1EKqvZyUpI0KYQWszX2X5mjFNbEQDXIjGd1-rljd2o5r7dYi_ZtZyiAYXvc/s1600/Lee+2+602.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeuB5etK8J4iTDpPzxPFbbBStzjnMp5HQX2ks3DwND1lUhx41aXXnppqWXZLFl1GDaU1st48FnzO5xBvBH1EKqvZyUpI0KYQWszX2X5mjFNbEQDXIjGd1-rljd2o5r7dYi_ZtZyiAYXvc/s320/Lee+2+602.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713778837581537474" border="0" /></a>Pineapples<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqv7P1-GrQ6cFpq5XRu7aObgxZX12om9H1hQ4Yz7ArIeu14FDJE_QUwGM6sKEccjtBaL8atpdVPWXdHSMQbuilcrEjaWFGtG_-kCYYzxX-zsbyv1XHjcj1gIJuFSyfIjAjLT3G362l8jg/s1600/Lee+2+573.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqv7P1-GrQ6cFpq5XRu7aObgxZX12om9H1hQ4Yz7ArIeu14FDJE_QUwGM6sKEccjtBaL8atpdVPWXdHSMQbuilcrEjaWFGtG_-kCYYzxX-zsbyv1XHjcj1gIJuFSyfIjAjLT3G362l8jg/s320/Lee+2+573.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713778017893027042" border="0" /></a>Breakfast<br /><br />We booked a 3 day trip from Ho chi min city over the border to Cambodia on a boat.<br /><br />The first day we were taken from Ho Chi Min to the Mekong where we were rowed on skinny boats down a small waterway filled with boats and narrow twist before being allowed to taste different drinks, honey, see Bees a snake. then we were taken to see coconut candy being made, tried the strong coconut wine (like vodka). we were then taken for lunch, where they had a crocodile enclosure. in the afternoon we were taken to Chau Duc we saw the beautiful Sam Mountain temple before being taken to the hotel and having a delicious dinner by the river including spring rolls, yum!<br />The second day we got up early and went to the floating markets where we had boats hook on to our boat to sell us coffee and fresh pineapple, then we saw how rice paper was made and went to a tropical orchid where Lee watched our guide playing Chinese Chess. We then headed to Cantho, there was a funeral in the shop front next door to our hotel, which was really odd to see, more like a 2 day wake with drummers a band and monks and nuns.<br />The next morning we went to a fish farm and caught a boat to the Cambodia border, where we had our visa's stamped at the smallest border office Ive seen so far, but a friendly border gaurd who actually smiled! we saw cute kids dive bombing into the water and waving as we drove past.<br />After a boat ride we were unceremonious hoisted on to a muddy bank with bemused white buffalo's onlooking then 16 of us (with luggage!) were squeezed with luggage onto a 12 seated bus and dropped in a random spot in Phnom Penh, where we negotiated with a tuk tuk to takes to the hotel area again 6 of us (and luggage) crammed into a 4 person tuk tuk cart.<br /></div>SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-19195139971317527232012-02-27T02:21:00.000-08:002012-08-13T17:28:12.857-07:00Hue, Hoi an, Nha Trang, Mui Ne - Vietnam<u><b>Hue</b></u><br />
We arrived really early with no hotel to go to, so we decided to just look around for a nice place to stay. We crossed the river and walked around for a short while and found a place that looked nice and we settled down.<br />
We decided to go for a walk and found a cool park with Bonsai trees on display. After this we decided to find some veggie restaurant to eat at. At first it looked quite bad but after seeing them cooking the food and bravely eating it we were pleasantly surprised with the results. <br />
The next day we headed out to the Citadel where we saw the ruins and a water puppet show and got to see the tools and materials they were using to renovate parts of the Citadel. On our way out we saw some old captured US military vehicles, so Sarah and I stopped to have a look. That night we decided to walk around the river side and saw some cool lights on the bridge. We also found a bookshop that had a cafe attached to it, where I had what will forever be the best iced coffee of my life!! It was really thick and the ice made it like heaven. The next day we hired bikes and took to the streets to see as much as we could! We saw some small temples and ate at a lovely restaurant on the ground floor of a hotel that was all veggie yay!! We tried to go to the Ho Chi Minh museum, but it was closed. Instead we headed to the Pagoda quite far away but it was well worth the trip even if we did have to ride our bikes against oncoming traffic and cross a busy train line. The pagoda was huge and the temple inside was really well maintained making for a very lovely warm experience. They had a car that was used when a monk set himself on fire (could be the same Monk on the cover of Rage Against The Machine album). The monks at the temple even said hello and talked with me about football. <br />
On this day the weather seemed to pick up as the following morning we were off to Hoi An the suit making capital of the world.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonsai park Hue</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0z12LFldPtjyvZBNWdNGhcg9B8g_QulSKRRT4pJcsxXP-binL0CwqCwLrovQMae7GowoA4zAqzswDqXPXILhuOlhQyLtOcy7zAJ8B_Bp_OrfIh87EPLmFUDeRoLnXEbfYY2KeuXS2IzY/s1600/Lee+2+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0z12LFldPtjyvZBNWdNGhcg9B8g_QulSKRRT4pJcsxXP-binL0CwqCwLrovQMae7GowoA4zAqzswDqXPXILhuOlhQyLtOcy7zAJ8B_Bp_OrfIh87EPLmFUDeRoLnXEbfYY2KeuXS2IzY/s320/Lee+2+040.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piggy Hue</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-nCv8sHG5Fjtnx1tu5jCxsQ8PmNtOvSB9tTvi2Y1J7PNlzH1NlLHjNViiUCgXiDNR9td5cBCAx0cElHg3JyAI7Rms5WLv92nIDE8Cr0AAm1cBnWko3ri2RbEQpv_xtTorjtDHbkoqZc/s1600/Lee+2+041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-nCv8sHG5Fjtnx1tu5jCxsQ8PmNtOvSB9tTvi2Y1J7PNlzH1NlLHjNViiUCgXiDNR9td5cBCAx0cElHg3JyAI7Rms5WLv92nIDE8Cr0AAm1cBnWko3ri2RbEQpv_xtTorjtDHbkoqZc/s320/Lee+2+041.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Citadel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1jlrN6kXNGHFmjRDuxGCWhPGAGnFLlwTMTHN517oRABc9tquku-33RakDqm-K_CD-iTRERppb84EbFlY-W7x0Da0i35v-8hnJbgbH2JOttV0Ooln3XKySIYTgR2POid5RqtI2bsth54/s1600/Lee+2+058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1jlrN6kXNGHFmjRDuxGCWhPGAGnFLlwTMTHN517oRABc9tquku-33RakDqm-K_CD-iTRERppb84EbFlY-W7x0Da0i35v-8hnJbgbH2JOttV0Ooln3XKySIYTgR2POid5RqtI2bsth54/s320/Lee+2+058.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Citadel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Health and safety Hue</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKumse26oRH8vpJ3vioCGbnvN7_-u9IGbykqpTNRFJFzepx6YpRJo3ruOjbsAgoG9Wa8sklOtmEb-l3l0utXipQkFwCDF4k2l3eMsnfnRxJBKzRKTiUlJR0bTiC1f4TnYM-LlXBc-Jk0c/s1600/Lee+2+067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKumse26oRH8vpJ3vioCGbnvN7_-u9IGbykqpTNRFJFzepx6YpRJo3ruOjbsAgoG9Wa8sklOtmEb-l3l0utXipQkFwCDF4k2l3eMsnfnRxJBKzRKTiUlJR0bTiC1f4TnYM-LlXBc-Jk0c/s320/Lee+2+067.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hue</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Helicopter Citadel grounds Hue</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0JKhqdo7FNT4xFuz-tbLoSL2L8dXDznjw3QKirw1p_w1QoyWkahOJRfrc9DgLiyTDaj9XZ1OovxhrAH3TuWu45oTHyu_RickfJa5ScgvPmuItdOvS-JWLUqd3lVTOnQOuxSJ11VDEc30/s1600/Lee+2+092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0JKhqdo7FNT4xFuz-tbLoSL2L8dXDznjw3QKirw1p_w1QoyWkahOJRfrc9DgLiyTDaj9XZ1OovxhrAH3TuWu45oTHyu_RickfJa5ScgvPmuItdOvS-JWLUqd3lVTOnQOuxSJ11VDEc30/s320/Lee+2+092.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Renovations Hue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinozo1m5ErtVoW6ejx52GzXtQuiV0ApKAwEcoq0LZjKGTlg8loyyiqBH4UHEugC7LVYZKS3YshttM02W9rUVFG73OqSprWJafUP9qPkpR1nV5MnXR3LLBxwZYiG2s-BkCZfh3aUtcFZAo/s1600/Lee+2+094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinozo1m5ErtVoW6ejx52GzXtQuiV0ApKAwEcoq0LZjKGTlg8loyyiqBH4UHEugC7LVYZKS3YshttM02W9rUVFG73OqSprWJafUP9qPkpR1nV5MnXR3LLBxwZYiG2s-BkCZfh3aUtcFZAo/s320/Lee+2+094.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Citadel - Hue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh911OLS6xOTpYUjDwVsPV0pSqvTG-eaybKZucS6rAIfPCJo6aLePfGgDecbxnkUCqmy9ioqc_CaPby9O2Zwxa7uNMiWnkHx4byySB7HKvTU36_a75nWO4YmxUadFOCtNSHdj7bw30hOEI/s1600/Lee+2+147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh911OLS6xOTpYUjDwVsPV0pSqvTG-eaybKZucS6rAIfPCJo6aLePfGgDecbxnkUCqmy9ioqc_CaPby9O2Zwxa7uNMiWnkHx4byySB7HKvTU36_a75nWO4YmxUadFOCtNSHdj7bw30hOEI/s320/Lee+2+147.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beginning of Lee's Vietnamese Coffee addiction</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifzW2b9b-hvERC4Q5Fk7GjsDA8z15Bp7NnfMsLb4uAtNsRgw3dRy-PiPHBkZfBusVLtV3z5ULtKvhpxPJUjm17Rv-r_iHdd4q7zffF2fgZ6d25kVf2op6O6cQpM2zs8hIccSQEbltOtYg/s1600/Lee+2+164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifzW2b9b-hvERC4Q5Fk7GjsDA8z15Bp7NnfMsLb4uAtNsRgw3dRy-PiPHBkZfBusVLtV3z5ULtKvhpxPJUjm17Rv-r_iHdd4q7zffF2fgZ6d25kVf2op6O6cQpM2zs8hIccSQEbltOtYg/s320/Lee+2+164.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBKtDpYhvQVRCY8rM4AVpfO9oJSUuOIqyv_bFgM6PDqGXFIrWSvOIwsGyicv5jhsJu04Js96IiJ5_BvTkkW78pWgWXdF9JN-J1SFa9AiJwJntQMKOh3wco2bIcUJ6z11I6MBm8K-Ru_Q/s1600/Lee+2+179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBKtDpYhvQVRCY8rM4AVpfO9oJSUuOIqyv_bFgM6PDqGXFIrWSvOIwsGyicv5jhsJu04Js96IiJ5_BvTkkW78pWgWXdF9JN-J1SFa9AiJwJntQMKOh3wco2bIcUJ6z11I6MBm8K-Ru_Q/s320/Lee+2+179.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Action shot Hue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOqoJ5TJvXFsXPDeLbX1cHHtdNJ4IGLC2st2VRoKNvjKPDrdfUJkosd0c0m-pJZYoakWzv-LocXfR0f75JhAQxs8SaQ-3_o9g9q16x2azklkcvzWBHjO8tdN5EDrrJDZ1Lh6gpJpdZKA/s1600/Lee+2+187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOqoJ5TJvXFsXPDeLbX1cHHtdNJ4IGLC2st2VRoKNvjKPDrdfUJkosd0c0m-pJZYoakWzv-LocXfR0f75JhAQxs8SaQ-3_o9g9q16x2azklkcvzWBHjO8tdN5EDrrJDZ1Lh6gpJpdZKA/s320/Lee+2+187.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cycling around Hue (near veggie restaurant)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmWMz_cx54qxbb-BblJ51YFy2sDySSiA9FZzLPI0zJ-TI34cKXPkWHlsNHOac0Q792lizwmwTIC9L_qwQAxcNknXK5SKnu_OhSm6JFTGbEYgqrbKDTiTc5kKRw38aH-QHGnqsv5p4GFw/s1600/Lee+2+243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmWMz_cx54qxbb-BblJ51YFy2sDySSiA9FZzLPI0zJ-TI34cKXPkWHlsNHOac0Q792lizwmwTIC9L_qwQAxcNknXK5SKnu_OhSm6JFTGbEYgqrbKDTiTc5kKRw38aH-QHGnqsv5p4GFw/s320/Lee+2+243.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pagoda Hue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><b>Hoi An</b></u><br />
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The suit making capital of Vienam is cram back with tourist and due to Da Nang up the road being the business center, Hoi An offers a lot of options for spending your money.<br />
We couldn't resist updating our wardrobes while we were there especially as my holey leggins and no longer white top. Lee got a grey suit jacket and trousers made for $60, and 2 shirts. Sarah got a pair of shorts, trousers and 2 tops, and picked up a nice flowery dress too.<br />
As we were still in the Tet holiday period there were lots of locals on holiday and as well as a lantern exhibit and a carnival there was folk games being played like 'smash the clay jug' blind folded with a stick, Vietnamese Pinata. <br />
We bough an old town ticket, but the sights were very hit and miss, the museums were tiny and usually included a shop, and some temples were a little unwelcoming to tourists, though one of the assembly halls had a beautiful garden and well kept alters. <br />
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Most of Hoi An is tailor shops</div>
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making adjustments</div>
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Cycled to the beach, past rice fields</div>
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Scooter</div>
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Ladies working</div>
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Shave and ear clean</div>
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<u><b>Nha Trang</b></u><br />
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On our first day in Nha Trang, we arrived from the night bus about 7am and saw many people on the beach exercising. We spent a long time looking for our hostel, till eventually I sat with the bags while Lee looked. <br />
We had a morning sleep, (especially as Lee resided to sleeping on the floor of the sleeper bus as it was less cramped) then we hired a motorbike and went to see the sights, first off the beach then a hill top Buddha with a second lying Buddha and a vegetarian restaurant in the grounds! Then we made our way to a Black and White photography exhibition by a Vietnamese Artist. <br />
We then met up with our Chilean friends and visited the Mud baths, where we showed before sitting in a freshly poured water mud bath, after another shower, and jet shower and soak we went for a swim, it was getting late an the mosquitos were on their way so we headed back to the city..<br />
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We also went for a snorkeling trip, which was again really different to our previous experiences, it was really shallow and we worried about hitting the coral with our flippers, but both sites were really pretty. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hill top Buddha Nha Trang</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laying Buddha Nha Trang</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise Nha Trang Beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snorkeling!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snorkelling at Nha Trang</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little dive</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQxJmUtn4q6Pm_2owRjXBPToy2Zk_lr8fheesbpgbY7xwnHOYlsGAmYqYD45Ycr22v16LmpzYnuqABQvOQ-datpwqNFUT6t1FCGDK01UC3OWTdKLNfTHiQJIIuN151SfYC7yEMMT55NE/s1600/402152_10151333690265599_506965598_23420758_1676024056_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQxJmUtn4q6Pm_2owRjXBPToy2Zk_lr8fheesbpgbY7xwnHOYlsGAmYqYD45Ycr22v16LmpzYnuqABQvOQ-datpwqNFUT6t1FCGDK01UC3OWTdKLNfTHiQJIIuN151SfYC7yEMMT55NE/s320/402152_10151333690265599_506965598_23420758_1676024056_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Guide 'Bruce Lee' and Lee being violated</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgbQwwnLK-zG8qWFZpgg3xzBnh41DRYDkp-MZnaiiBltUQASrfTIQgTG4ad08DWjFj_qVHggnBAprfMWF7UFIOAfTnc2w5eafgNbPDwdHaHMN-eG5QJxE76TJgNjrEgA8MJvU0BYsXo4/s1600/429847_10151333691485599_506965598_23420771_1667518952_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgbQwwnLK-zG8qWFZpgg3xzBnh41DRYDkp-MZnaiiBltUQASrfTIQgTG4ad08DWjFj_qVHggnBAprfMWF7UFIOAfTnc2w5eafgNbPDwdHaHMN-eG5QJxE76TJgNjrEgA8MJvU0BYsXo4/s320/429847_10151333691485599_506965598_23420771_1667518952_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirty Backpackers</td></tr>
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<u><b>Mui Ne</b></u><br />
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We booked a trip with Easy Rider to see the Red and Orange Sand Dunes at Sunrise (cooler time of day) and the trip got started slowly as the Jeep ran out of fuel twice before we got their, but we made it up the dune to see some beautiful cloudscapes, we also rolled down the sand slope accidentally filling our pockets with sand. The trip also included a visit to the fishing village and Fairy Stream a long water way you can wade through with steep red and white sandy cliffs overlooking- which really reminded me of Fraser Island in Australia.<br />
The rest of our days were spend chilling on the beach and watching the Kite Surfers doing flips.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-d5knGywzoOG0vqopauCTmkGeuIZJ_zISnjQpaSMLxNYbob5upyR5YTBObbVgIdvmImiS5PAhBbWi9OjJPwIm03U1lMxrDwCR_nA4IYFRC5Am25tePSjAJzLWjPHbD6Of6AiC81RTKEE/s1600/Lee+2+447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-d5knGywzoOG0vqopauCTmkGeuIZJ_zISnjQpaSMLxNYbob5upyR5YTBObbVgIdvmImiS5PAhBbWi9OjJPwIm03U1lMxrDwCR_nA4IYFRC5Am25tePSjAJzLWjPHbD6Of6AiC81RTKEE/s320/Lee+2+447.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand Dune at Mui Ne</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUkdefMBU0tEqSfuk0M41q7rw3dE7mkdcbtsOKIjYWp1p0VkrpBN43iO6PdTbjUoXu_IasJteeumf-Ha_ElgWJVWI7rcSwALKRzIPQvL4csxcKixRwumq7fItwxMwyHNCZnM0fce1M7g/s1600/420357_10151333702795599_506965598_23420874_1862597229_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUkdefMBU0tEqSfuk0M41q7rw3dE7mkdcbtsOKIjYWp1p0VkrpBN43iO6PdTbjUoXu_IasJteeumf-Ha_ElgWJVWI7rcSwALKRzIPQvL4csxcKixRwumq7fItwxMwyHNCZnM0fce1M7g/s320/420357_10151333702795599_506965598_23420874_1862597229_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Racing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-5Ci0LC84zZuoD1CQmnbfwsyFTbzOtoN_Fc3vEi6RepFmWaSHEPXugheeclMcz_G8XxxaA8q7exm1l6SvcHCUJ-cCTbH8OxWdMjwTvJ5OZi13NStWGGg0vcOda2p7hAsVHr5w2JeKUI/s1600/407519_10151333704885599_506965598_23420898_1393643737_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-5Ci0LC84zZuoD1CQmnbfwsyFTbzOtoN_Fc3vEi6RepFmWaSHEPXugheeclMcz_G8XxxaA8q7exm1l6SvcHCUJ-cCTbH8OxWdMjwTvJ5OZi13NStWGGg0vcOda2p7hAsVHr5w2JeKUI/s320/407519_10151333704885599_506965598_23420898_1393643737_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach bums with fresh Coconut</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishing Village, Mui Ne</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fairy Stream - Mui Ne</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmPU226OvojHPqIymnalJcwB_96IQf1NycUYQ_DD4Uvz5Ly4kZRNQZj4gjPhvxUJ-_I_iqEhaImet0osTFuwmzE71GRCg9BkJS0q_1wWQjzQXwxD_JrzJjzOT2NtFcFAfEOvKI9zmHKQ/s1600/Lee+2+525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmPU226OvojHPqIymnalJcwB_96IQf1NycUYQ_DD4Uvz5Ly4kZRNQZj4gjPhvxUJ-_I_iqEhaImet0osTFuwmzE71GRCg9BkJS0q_1wWQjzQXwxD_JrzJjzOT2NtFcFAfEOvKI9zmHKQ/s320/Lee+2+525.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super Sarah at Mui Ne kite surfer beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqk0Of2eL4oNM04R4uHoGWaepgGEcpv9N_t4JFEyE-k_BMfTlWn79OcVsOsEu9vcAw0FOcms8gKjgkYED1tCF-hblSXAlBt8rurjRzkoRor7h0nXWnidC_RsgivjMjK0hCr0BwLHZd58/s1600/Lee+2+411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqk0Of2eL4oNM04R4uHoGWaepgGEcpv9N_t4JFEyE-k_BMfTlWn79OcVsOsEu9vcAw0FOcms8gKjgkYED1tCF-hblSXAlBt8rurjRzkoRor7h0nXWnidC_RsgivjMjK0hCr0BwLHZd58/s320/Lee+2+411.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand Dunes - Mui Ne</td></tr>
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Lee Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01663512254040546286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-69830389300398048642012-02-26T23:21:00.000-08:002012-02-26T21:23:10.187-08:00Halong BayWe left our hostel at about 8 in the morning and slept in the bus along the way. When we arrived at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Halong</span> Harbor we saw James from our train ride, he was doing a day trip, the Harbor was full of people, boats and was really hectic. When we boarded our boat we were given our cabin key, then went back to have lunch on the middle deck, we were seated with the other vegetarians on the boat, they were from Belgium and we spent a lot of the meal discussing vegetarianism and our trips, they were heading to Australia, America and Hawaii.<br />
The lunch on the boat was delicious and mostly vegan, Lee enjoyed the eggs.<br />
After lunch we went to the “Surprise cave” with our tour guide, and looked for interesting shapes in the rocks, much like cloud shapes.<br />
We got back on the boat and headed to a floating island and decided despite the rain we would go kayaking and donned some warm clothes and paddled out to a cave and a rock with a door like hole in it, only 4 people in our group went out kayaking.<br />
In the evening we chatted with lots of the other people on our tour and had dinner with the Belgium veggies again, our operator tried to teach us a bit of Vietnamese, but we were all pretty useless. Then they switched on the Karaoke (national obsession?) and our tour guide loving poured his heart into a scary rendition of “killing me softly” most of us where in hysterics by this time. Lee joined in and sang a few lines. Then a Swiss guy on the boat sang some John Lennon.<br />
We encouraged the Vietnamese boys working on the boat to sing us a Vietnamese song, and he did a great job singing and we loved the upbeat style of the song an got some people dancing in their seats. Eventually the karaoke broke down, much to our tour guides disappointment. So we had a few drinks and chatted more, then went outside to get a few pictures of the boats lit up at night, the other boats were all anchored in the same area.<br />
The next morning we had breakfast before 4 of us left the boat for day 2 of the tour, we jumped on one boat, then onto a luxury boat with other 2 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">dayers</span>. We met a nice couple from Quebec the French province of Canada.Firstly we went to Cat Ba island and did a cycle tour around the paddy fields, seeing people living on the island and growing vegetables and the cows too.There were lots of dogs on Cat Ba island, living in peoples houses, but we think these dogs are not pets, but live stock and will one day be food.<br />
We loved the cycling, then we did a trek to a small cave where local Vietnamese used to live. We saw a huge black and yellow spider and some angry goats along the path. Lee had a go at climbing the vines outside the cave. We cycled back to the jetty and got on our transfer boat.<br />
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We went to monkey island on the smallest boat with over 13 of us squeezed in, the monkeys were really cute but one of them was a bit of a beer addict, we were told not to get too close especially to the pink faced monkey. The adventure continued when we tried to get off the island, the boat pulled up by a rocky jetty and we all climbed in, the boat was in too shallow and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">couldn</span>’t use the propeller, so one of the French guys on our tour jumped in to try to push us while the other guys used sticks to try to get us off the sand. Eventually the guide jumped in, fully clothed and got all the other guys on our boat, including Lee to jump in and push. although the boat rocked a lot, the waves washed over either side and we were scrambling to keep bags dry and shoes <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">on board</span>, eventually we got going! The crew of our main boat were laughing at our struggle once we got nearer.<br />
We stopped for lunch about 3.30 on the island where we were spending the night. Only 4 of us were staying on the island in the bungalows, the others were off to a hotel.<br />
The cabins were so beautiful, it was a bit cold and the generator would only be on for a few hours to provided electricity, talk about back to basics. We had an awesome Tet (lunar new year) dinner with the Canadians and I brought a long a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Banh</span> Chung cake of rice with fake spicy pork inside wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed, a traditional Vietnamese Tet food.<br />
there were only a few beach huts on the small private island and our beach hut sounded like we were sleeping in a washing machine as the tide came in during the night.<br />
In the morning it looked so beautiful with the tide in so we took some photos before breakfast and waited for our boat, another small boat took us to the bigger boat, where we had some cooking lessons in making Vietnamese rice paper spring rolls and we sailed on to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Halong</span> Harbor to end our trip and head back to Hanoi.<br />
The scenery as so beautiful and as long as you don’t mind a bit of chaotic boat hopping its a really great experience!SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-72827573333943118392012-02-26T23:07:00.000-08:002012-02-26T21:24:17.259-08:00HanoiWe arrived in Vietnam on the 19th of January, one month since we landed in Beijing. The soft sleeper train from Nanning china was comfortable and we shared it with a nice family, whose young daughter was learning English . we didn’t get much sleep as you have to get off the train twice at border controls, one of these times taking all your luggage. We arrived in Hanoi at 4.30-5am and with our new friend James from the train we embarked on finding the Old Quarter, though we were staying in different hostels. <br />
Lee had researched how to get from the train station to a closer train station, our hotel advised us to get Taxi’s only from 2 companies, neither of which were to be seen at the station. So we walked (lonely planet book in hand) to the bus station nearby and got on a bus going near to the other station. In fact they dropped us near the bridge over the water, from here we negotiated a few streets and were in the old quarter! We said farewell to James and he went to find his hostel, and we walked down a few very quiet, dark streets until we found our Kangaroo hotel at about 5.30am.<br />
They let us straight in our room and we had a few hours sleep before our first day in Hanoi. When we ventured outside, the quiet, dark streets had transformed in a hustle bustle all day and night New Years market that lives along the whole street, selling fake flowers, and red and gold New Years decorations. Also the amount of westerners was a real shock, in China outside of hostels, we were used to be the only whities in the supermarket, on a bus, in a waiting room or on a train.<br />
We walked to the Lake nearby , we were getting hungry, but were money less as we didn’t bring any Dong into the country. I had read online about an ATM which will let you withdrawal more than the standard 2,000,000 which includes a 40,000 fee, not to mention fees from the bank at home. We found a HSBC that would limit up to 5,600,000, but then found the famous branch of ANZ which says it will limit to 10,000,000/ 10 Million Dong with the same fee.<br />
Along the way we were accosted by some fruit sells, (never make eye contact, such a mistake) who though not only did we want fruit but we wanted to have a picture holding the stick with baskets they used to carry them, so in our first few hours I found myself ducking/running away from becoming a Vietnam fruit seller, we smiled but had to walk away quick to convey the message.<br />
We stopped from dinner/breakfast/lunch over looking the water and the busy moped traffic on a 3rd floor cafe, the prices were crazy expensive, but we hadn’t really worked out how money converted yet and as we were almost at the point of passing out, so decided it was worth it. Lunch for 2 at 250k Dong.<br />
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Our second day we spend organizing our Ha Long Bay tour over the free hotel breakfast, from here we went to the nearby indoor market surprisingly quieter than street markets but still busy. We then went to find the Quan Thanh temple, only to get distracted along the way by an early lunch at a branch of Loving Hut, vegan chain that was set up to follow the Supreme Masters Religious ideology. The place looked very clean and quaint and had a lot of locals inside. I ordered the classic Vietnam dish, the famous Pho, my first Pho, a rice noodle based soup! <br />
I had the Hanoi style one, Lee ordered a Pho style salad with rice noodles, and we had some rice paper spring rolls too. After China I has somewhat lost my faith in fake meats, not the biggest fan anyway, but the beef and chicken in our dishes was amazing, Lees beef had a lemongrass twang to it and a lovely thin texture. They both had rice noodles, my Pho had thick rice noodles and such a great flavour.<br />
It was delicious, and I’m so glad that despite being Vegan and Vegetarian we can still enjoy real Vietnamese food, which I find to be fresher and lighter than Chinese and love all the lime being used. This kept us full for most of the day, with only one small stop for a few squares of chocolate in the afternoon. <br />
We walked to the Ho Chi Mi Mausoleum, unaware that it is closed Mondays and Fridays, as is the museum. We got chatting to a friendly motorbike driver who was looking for business but chatted to us about English football and didn’t pressure us into anything. <br />
Then we went to the QuanThanh temple, which was very pretty, we were confused about which religion it was referring to, but learnt it was the temple of the Snake and Tortoise. There were a few locals giving offerings and we saw offerings of money, fruit, cake, ice tea powder and cigarette.<br />
We decided to go full circle walking back to the Mausoleum on the way to the Fine art Museum, which I initially thought was just full of ceramics and textiles, but read that it was also a home to lots of Vietnamese contemporary painting. Lee said that he thinks Art Galleries can really show you the differences in countries. It turned out the gallery was actually mostly paintings and had a huge volume of work spanning a few decades. The stone works and paintings were wonderful and a really enjoyable way to spend an hour or so. The style of engravings and gold paint used was really different to what I usually see in art galleries, and was being used in fairly contemporary work as well as older pieces. <br />
The gallery was quiet and mostly for tourists I think, costing 20,000 each, and a tour bus arrived just before us but is a haven away from the hustle bustle of the scooter filled streets, which could still be heard out the windows in the corridors.<br />
On our way back to the Hotel we made it our mission to get a picture of a scooter with an orange tree on the back (New Years Tradition?), having seen 3, in quick succession. We also saw a lot of babies with parents on scooters. The English standard to health and safety is totally redundant here.SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-65517729426567138222012-02-26T21:41:00.000-08:002012-02-26T21:41:25.940-08:00Chengdu Sichuan China<div style="text-align: center;">We really loved Chengdu in the Sichuan province, which neighbours Tibet. The Hostel Lazy bones was amazing, probably the best in all our china travels and the resturant served cheap vegetarian food too.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">During our stay we went on a free walking tour of the city where we ate a 5 Kwai (50 pence) lunch at a nunnery where they sang and chanted after the meal. We also saw Mao's statue, saw people dancing and practicing Tai Chi in the peoples park, visited the Wenshu monestary and ate some amazing vegetarian food at a resturant around the corner from our hostel. We went to the famous Sichuan Changing Faces Opera, which was a really cheap night out and really entertaining (I still dont know how they do it). </div><div style="text-align: center;">On our last morning we went to see the famous Panda's Breeding centre, and I realised panda's are just like Po from Kungfu Panda, playful and a little clumsy, we also saw baby pandas and Red Pandas too. </div><div style="text-align: center;">We met a couple from Chile, who we have become good friends with, for the first time here, who we later found out where also in the same hostel at the same time (New Years) in Beijing.</div><div style="text-align: center;">We had a sleeper train to Kunming, though we wish we had more time to see the giant buddha in Chengdu, a place we definately want to re-visit.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTrz9j9eWYcRjzS6hx-L6AAGu826xaqpIBy2oAudYWM-A-djNlTF-PcRO4rW-PUgWstXhZnwgEvfEb27IVWzwZjHnRdqpH0UaCca84HKW2HFn9f9aEumIzHfV2B9ECwBPmAVUhOrzA3s/s1600/sarah+439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTrz9j9eWYcRjzS6hx-L6AAGu826xaqpIBy2oAudYWM-A-djNlTF-PcRO4rW-PUgWstXhZnwgEvfEb27IVWzwZjHnRdqpH0UaCca84HKW2HFn9f9aEumIzHfV2B9ECwBPmAVUhOrzA3s/s320/sarah+439.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
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Hand shadow puppets at Sichuan Opera</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cold view from our train</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mao being cleaned</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese Charlie (Webster)</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRCHKl0Tz8562RpGS9BCZ6lzC4hmhSmqppztw3P2k509OqqTZnuBn77LqwG-zLLQ7fgeqJpbjc2N46vbke9GjfiVY0mohHcnmN1AOUV2tvfLfpOJOLv8dkqyT6w_bDYn7D_og-kr8kL8/s1600/sarah+276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRCHKl0Tz8562RpGS9BCZ6lzC4hmhSmqppztw3P2k509OqqTZnuBn77LqwG-zLLQ7fgeqJpbjc2N46vbke9GjfiVY0mohHcnmN1AOUV2tvfLfpOJOLv8dkqyT6w_bDYn7D_og-kr8kL8/s320/sarah+276.jpg" width="240px" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is China...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wenshu Monestary</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese Chess!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_tsAUhafWFIO8zXx4WuGQme9kvx4BZhRiyBd3H9Bg9GvlnFYHdHRNcoDUJR8J-KHrV4TZz_1NKfGfFYzv_ngCIRn8jY491g3QLwUzVtwjLm6HsFncpym2Lcvcxsd2tbCT5vWfYaV7Ec/s1600/sarah+436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_tsAUhafWFIO8zXx4WuGQme9kvx4BZhRiyBd3H9Bg9GvlnFYHdHRNcoDUJR8J-KHrV4TZz_1NKfGfFYzv_ngCIRn8jY491g3QLwUzVtwjLm6HsFncpym2Lcvcxsd2tbCT5vWfYaV7Ec/s320/sarah+436.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opera</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjws6Q4Nl6ZqYeAkmW0_fSdKiPYB7up1YW4Sv0-b_qirMy6LRUV4B3sPNjWZ4tMnRltY_0JPIXwBR8LogatJ8KMaAbExzUPDHoIguLXgBNwJQy_HPhI6KiZwJ2sspH9ZxbPDTVzfxTE198/s1600/sarah+394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjws6Q4Nl6ZqYeAkmW0_fSdKiPYB7up1YW4Sv0-b_qirMy6LRUV4B3sPNjWZ4tMnRltY_0JPIXwBR8LogatJ8KMaAbExzUPDHoIguLXgBNwJQy_HPhI6KiZwJ2sspH9ZxbPDTVzfxTE198/s320/sarah+394.jpg" width="240px" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTpbQzaGau7NYHzg8EapKRJbgp9ghldEgnax0qaE9DQjBOpK84au1jeYh6TxWF9KtdzUMJVp_qyPkrVqt9vT_Y51KyjZndiPNTql0_6SscS1JwMvWtEPCg9W-Va1mUPMCPgp4JKN3PBEk/s1600/sarah+387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTpbQzaGau7NYHzg8EapKRJbgp9ghldEgnax0qaE9DQjBOpK84au1jeYh6TxWF9KtdzUMJVp_qyPkrVqt9vT_Y51KyjZndiPNTql0_6SscS1JwMvWtEPCg9W-Va1mUPMCPgp4JKN3PBEk/s320/sarah+387.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese Dentist</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lee Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01663512254040546286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-63363047155508998962012-02-25T00:18:00.000-08:002012-02-25T00:18:23.919-08:00Xian China<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlna_YizxoX9eE6UtRR1jsTSHUhRaeZ1k62_NtY_ZoBab09hk0Lqrw_vrIMyWmMDscKrRgtYuNFLv1pzfitJq7guJOi2ULNK_Wa3OvO6HU52FSLUqTPBjge54VtwuHcmudFw5ikuSB0sY/s1600/sarah+137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlna_YizxoX9eE6UtRR1jsTSHUhRaeZ1k62_NtY_ZoBab09hk0Lqrw_vrIMyWmMDscKrRgtYuNFLv1pzfitJq7guJOi2ULNK_Wa3OvO6HU52FSLUqTPBjge54VtwuHcmudFw5ikuSB0sY/s320/sarah+137.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild Goose Pagoda</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zjKF-rcj206NnW-HcsiZELWzmltGk40qGWtkslndQgJAIDdO9lPxqPOe0_gMwofo3sTFPKkvDizoa3ORdSV3PB7qYPCj9HIzf75DmpHhQmre_21_JgRjTp5F79MKXjnzVWXQXQcaGRg/s1600/sarah+144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zjKF-rcj206NnW-HcsiZELWzmltGk40qGWtkslndQgJAIDdO9lPxqPOe0_gMwofo3sTFPKkvDizoa3ORdSV3PB7qYPCj9HIzf75DmpHhQmre_21_JgRjTp5F79MKXjnzVWXQXQcaGRg/s320/sarah+144.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water set to music</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbxsdbjm40f2SnHEJDAOCU6GPFF_NFbgpMMNHNHXhb69FN0JbA9s-_VpUwpEzW0fYKO-ajhkUOk3NKVfOQXkd-wvMlEhp0xJK8U5LXyuQxkGZxvk00cyeSBGE0qdc1RXE7vDRLIb30Jmg/s1600/sarah+152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbxsdbjm40f2SnHEJDAOCU6GPFF_NFbgpMMNHNHXhb69FN0JbA9s-_VpUwpEzW0fYKO-ajhkUOk3NKVfOQXkd-wvMlEhp0xJK8U5LXyuQxkGZxvk00cyeSBGE0qdc1RXE7vDRLIb30Jmg/s320/sarah+152.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BOfMY_NSTdZd-6G8sV_d72DxxV7hz8dYCmWfjgMwGykoLZfUoWndIvsjTzx6PX7cCDDuKfD58UO6PBQXwM7nvObQJX59ANX7YcRlPTwEE3qFQcOGW6M8ueJ6yLJv5MKJgbcwKMTxWKs/s1600/sarah+166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BOfMY_NSTdZd-6G8sV_d72DxxV7hz8dYCmWfjgMwGykoLZfUoWndIvsjTzx6PX7cCDDuKfD58UO6PBQXwM7nvObQJX59ANX7YcRlPTwEE3qFQcOGW6M8ueJ6yLJv5MKJgbcwKMTxWKs/s320/sarah+166.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqwq1Uv8yiTcqO_9bx31p5Gw__4sWhIaJ_Kh36iCPiN2VNjjtK5lWs-FicMbSi1vuhcJ4iu-TkG5UT8TTShDSzgR716HUy2ticVLCIWGpjGfDSE_qd24ujuFWGc4O2xo4mYRpWx1oauI/s1600/sarah+167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqwq1Uv8yiTcqO_9bx31p5Gw__4sWhIaJ_Kh36iCPiN2VNjjtK5lWs-FicMbSi1vuhcJ4iu-TkG5UT8TTShDSzgR716HUy2ticVLCIWGpjGfDSE_qd24ujuFWGc4O2xo4mYRpWx1oauI/s320/sarah+167.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loving our Christmas hat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFrxG0lkthykERBHeg6iW_Tdi6PIIq0Ymn2AVrxW637ia9wugwU991ecPibo-QnVmpudPfMbN1IlQQavN9wrSy5E3WCWiMqyI-Ekx3B1f84QkBEMOHvLOT0Lb7WnRSy5dob4JUa0UyNQ/s1600/sarah+182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFrxG0lkthykERBHeg6iW_Tdi6PIIq0Ymn2AVrxW637ia9wugwU991ecPibo-QnVmpudPfMbN1IlQQavN9wrSy5E3WCWiMqyI-Ekx3B1f84QkBEMOHvLOT0Lb7WnRSy5dob4JUa0UyNQ/s320/sarah+182.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">China happened to your cat?</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQWYuaIVl1vnfXDAnjkYFBDWojurEKZtyG8rr71Lz_LEn8dzZYi68A9e_dMhi3WzWUl4poT7KFpMyeAQgQdmQ-3LEEXOT8aA1FQdinyo_iIieG4JiIbPoevn57KZO9FdYyY2f524mxTY/s1600/sarah+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQWYuaIVl1vnfXDAnjkYFBDWojurEKZtyG8rr71Lz_LEn8dzZYi68A9e_dMhi3WzWUl4poT7KFpMyeAQgQdmQ-3LEEXOT8aA1FQdinyo_iIieG4JiIbPoevn57KZO9FdYyY2f524mxTY/s320/sarah+010.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We DIY's our trip to the Terracotta Warriors using the local bus system and it was so much cheaper than a tour. The complex is split up into 3 'Pits'. They are huge trenches that you look down into; Pit 1 the most famous had a lot of intact warriors and horses and chariots, all with different faces and their hair and costume denotes their status in the army.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFRgyMgeTipZeRtiyGnmWherVRDrysHNoo6PNbyu_pSvJROuSSArvl7nzIvcLG7g7nEK9MrZrLkkW1B2Tr1GRWr79Up6DObE-a1B1qo5OPlPNheD8oEoARA2Fv8IA8sacu3NGTra6tCeQ/s1600/sarah+012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFRgyMgeTipZeRtiyGnmWherVRDrysHNoo6PNbyu_pSvJROuSSArvl7nzIvcLG7g7nEK9MrZrLkkW1B2Tr1GRWr79Up6DObE-a1B1qo5OPlPNheD8oEoARA2Fv8IA8sacu3NGTra6tCeQ/s320/sarah+012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijinbPipH0pur2sIE2tuMrTjGqEJ5TGd8SQ8hP1hMNMfVH92s0xH229_y3puQu_70aS6sIL-lqxJTmmEJ2Gum-xPqecDUT2EktGo_DUv2r32gwCDlfzDY3Oriv4cxZKJqLF1Sj9Nk1QD8/s1600/sarah+015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijinbPipH0pur2sIE2tuMrTjGqEJ5TGd8SQ8hP1hMNMfVH92s0xH229_y3puQu_70aS6sIL-lqxJTmmEJ2Gum-xPqecDUT2EktGo_DUv2r32gwCDlfzDY3Oriv4cxZKJqLF1Sj9Nk1QD8/s320/sarah+015.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBmpWP8ZZkm72iVm74uoFb96-zgLZjS2LeDsz4GWaNldwV0POCbq_sg6r5KF7Q9i8ZHZPphigYw9moGZf_KzjJQCtiSJxr1BeCCYDFsgbXeVjV8vKvbpdQkXLDyOqv0Kcxa5TZVUUAE0/s1600/sarah+037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBmpWP8ZZkm72iVm74uoFb96-zgLZjS2LeDsz4GWaNldwV0POCbq_sg6r5KF7Q9i8ZHZPphigYw9moGZf_KzjJQCtiSJxr1BeCCYDFsgbXeVjV8vKvbpdQkXLDyOqv0Kcxa5TZVUUAE0/s320/sarah+037.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pit 2 shows you more of the structure of the original pit, which was accidentally ruined by people using the site as a cemetery themselves and cave in's on the structure. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEU1PmXaWe2yCTPnPsXZ74tIzUBtUxzebtztlK1nQRpAmBRJyehTG-PHs8QhyphenhyphendaPnbhU240_3gx03sTabg59iJ0NT0M2-YYAuTchRCBXYZO5of-tIZ_xdRoFr6sh2f7PAAznRGDwrSn_U/s1600/sarah+044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEU1PmXaWe2yCTPnPsXZ74tIzUBtUxzebtztlK1nQRpAmBRJyehTG-PHs8QhyphenhyphendaPnbhU240_3gx03sTabg59iJ0NT0M2-YYAuTchRCBXYZO5of-tIZ_xdRoFr6sh2f7PAAznRGDwrSn_U/s320/sarah+044.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This included the best preserved figures.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tw3UelRu7vRRY239meZPisXL9M0qMVjY0XqLwLgVVEoz6XO_jtU4U20-uz5_9x4hKp88-5ur9GGEublOf8hO2NuQVGZ2CuaVmqw8BwHqkBhH4YbiyoCJ9vl_MW1w4lGh2LkzpDZkQzA/s1600/sarah+083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tw3UelRu7vRRY239meZPisXL9M0qMVjY0XqLwLgVVEoz6XO_jtU4U20-uz5_9x4hKp88-5ur9GGEublOf8hO2NuQVGZ2CuaVmqw8BwHqkBhH4YbiyoCJ9vl_MW1w4lGh2LkzpDZkQzA/s320/sarah+083.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">and an art exhibit by someone heavily influenced by the Terracotta warriors</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0M8a-AwOlS7KMyn58N5CcQXjdMoc1TJKGD9XhiJAh1akxlVX523IXT3s7_fxisTNKJMGaALuoj16uGpGd67lO3rT3rYvcSBlPpirrFx9A8wyy9PBFB9AasgVpPbk77GZYlEULUD74aE/s1600/sarah+108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0M8a-AwOlS7KMyn58N5CcQXjdMoc1TJKGD9XhiJAh1akxlVX523IXT3s7_fxisTNKJMGaALuoj16uGpGd67lO3rT3rYvcSBlPpirrFx9A8wyy9PBFB9AasgVpPbk77GZYlEULUD74aE/s320/sarah+108.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dYSXFElxlAswyjT-554qtaKeEM4p6Q9HGz5TQixuLNJ4GqIDIRohV4OTHqFuqeDqptTI-ZSqmlyxdbdJTHzKfZ7Vi1_opHT7MT2S9o4QkNgPpY7yLG5BMru28KhhiG39TTEaeXEIWTw/s1600/sarah+113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dYSXFElxlAswyjT-554qtaKeEM4p6Q9HGz5TQixuLNJ4GqIDIRohV4OTHqFuqeDqptTI-ZSqmlyxdbdJTHzKfZ7Vi1_opHT7MT2S9o4QkNgPpY7yLG5BMru28KhhiG39TTEaeXEIWTw/s320/sarah+113.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9JXC9dXXdhXk1D8x9daE6XXfjAsQWyIypvixdVpeSUNt3bB2Ux4EPZbstdwx4IgsxCD9pbI58GGL7XS4egSM48xve4oVDk6fIifynswez__B1E0jo8-Rcd-0Txzh_BHuyyJoycEW6X4/s1600/sarah+119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9JXC9dXXdhXk1D8x9daE6XXfjAsQWyIypvixdVpeSUNt3bB2Ux4EPZbstdwx4IgsxCD9pbI58GGL7XS4egSM48xve4oVDk6fIifynswez__B1E0jo8-Rcd-0Txzh_BHuyyJoycEW6X4/s320/sarah+119.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Variety of hair styles.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lee Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01663512254040546286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-41508726340989581402012-02-24T21:27:00.005-08:002012-02-26T22:31:04.675-08:00Beijing - China<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBjrXB7EKA8xpLVJcp6r3xHQSPOlrAh-99MNqCmSFK2ZFKbAi_Jzk-mrVJJJQqKa4bDk_ZySKOKIrfYg9kgSjEQ-Zraz3jfjGL1P9CAn9vrlVabqP0i_amlest2W2nofN6Ij4CagIRpM/s1600/395521_10151339561205599_506965598_23452202_1873126463_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBjrXB7EKA8xpLVJcp6r3xHQSPOlrAh-99MNqCmSFK2ZFKbAi_Jzk-mrVJJJQqKa4bDk_ZySKOKIrfYg9kgSjEQ-Zraz3jfjGL1P9CAn9vrlVabqP0i_amlest2W2nofN6Ij4CagIRpM/s320/395521_10151339561205599_506965598_23452202_1873126463_n.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Wall Tabogan guys</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0q6I77VQLNlqj5AP-fkBRSK3G8Iu50LP0sq0vHAVz-SPMYdbR2kYi9L-IUSRcV3f40FubACL0aPA76pG8MAd-TOIt5xDkFDtKeS7ORj_WH8gsVK2aD-CA7o4UyQLHxgI4l61bigHibuM/s1600/395808_10151339582115599_506965598_23452378_582521881_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0q6I77VQLNlqj5AP-fkBRSK3G8Iu50LP0sq0vHAVz-SPMYdbR2kYi9L-IUSRcV3f40FubACL0aPA76pG8MAd-TOIt5xDkFDtKeS7ORj_WH8gsVK2aD-CA7o4UyQLHxgI4l61bigHibuM/s320/395808_10151339582115599_506965598_23452378_582521881_n.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tienamen Square</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer Palace frozen lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forbidden City</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">798 Art District</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3r2HBgCXTycmGFATYbJjjzhQMxFrCtVg7tXoj4WCNuVQms5-mZNCFgkBCS0Y5wbGjRelxOxEon9I-9CA4iU1ITlVCPyl-4QaT25KZ4hiXgKwW2aPawDXT6cSYl-cifHMNnF-9yx0aB6Q/s1600/426876_10151339599610599_506965598_23452531_935216781_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3r2HBgCXTycmGFATYbJjjzhQMxFrCtVg7tXoj4WCNuVQms5-mZNCFgkBCS0Y5wbGjRelxOxEon9I-9CA4iU1ITlVCPyl-4QaT25KZ4hiXgKwW2aPawDXT6cSYl-cifHMNnF-9yx0aB6Q/s320/426876_10151339599610599_506965598_23452531_935216781_n.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0eqakTyhZBV90OPh7FnkvNwN8EoIZ_pCm43iB4tl2yjE3WIqNsaJMu6jIRuUKDjZdIvp0Yvs_zRB2RYz9k5gztioziiQGJaZ1IFmkgTCN-afaAx0_Rn5SELPr8tzd-ou1Br1hdgvv5pI/s1600/429362_10151339526465599_506965598_23451962_422591680_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0eqakTyhZBV90OPh7FnkvNwN8EoIZ_pCm43iB4tl2yjE3WIqNsaJMu6jIRuUKDjZdIvp0Yvs_zRB2RYz9k5gztioziiQGJaZ1IFmkgTCN-afaAx0_Rn5SELPr8tzd-ou1Br1hdgvv5pI/s320/429362_10151339526465599_506965598_23451962_422591680_n.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olympic Stadium</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCgsAGi-vvK2Tnt3SAtuL7KurfylJ-4elUSzZJbcXkAS7r56gQsNITTTaCwx71oQTYH7wI0Wal9e82Dvnffx9Ip7fHdyH4P1nivh7Bst-tjx9eSqvo-9tOC5Mj4hmn2nv-u9C3KxM-fk/s1600/430617_10151339598065599_506965598_23452525_621660041_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCgsAGi-vvK2Tnt3SAtuL7KurfylJ-4elUSzZJbcXkAS7r56gQsNITTTaCwx71oQTYH7wI0Wal9e82Dvnffx9Ip7fHdyH4P1nivh7Bst-tjx9eSqvo-9tOC5Mj4hmn2nv-u9C3KxM-fk/s320/430617_10151339598065599_506965598_23452525_621660041_n.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Wall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>First few hours in china and we had a problem, when we booked at STA, the prices weren't held and the cheap seats were sold out, so instead of a direct flight we could take a flight to Shanghai, then another to Beijing, so we left New Zealand about 11pm arrived in shanghai china at 7am local time.<br />
We waited till 9 to check in for our flight at 11, then when we tried to check in we were told we needed to be at the other shanghai airport, Pudong which was an hours taxi ride away, we explained we had flown into this airport a few hours earlier from NZ. They told us to get a quick bus to the next terminal and ask then if they can help us, so we went to the China Eastern Airline and they cool as a cucumber said they could put us on a 2.30pm flight to Beijing. Phew! Disaster averted, we arrived at Beijing domestic airport (not made for westerners) and tried to explain to the taxi driver what hostel we were staying in, he eventually phoned the hostel and drove us. When we first arrived at the Sunrise hostel we went to buy some food and drink from around the corner before we went to sleep and were warned of a few scams, we were told not to get into Rickshaws they will rip you off and if people approach you and say they want to practice their English on you and want to take you to a tea house/ coffee, it is scam to get money from you for the tea, they will take you to a place they know and charge you lots.<br />
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We had 2 weeks in Beijing and hope that we managed to do just about every tourist activity. <br />
<br />
On our first day we went to the forbidden city which was a short walk from our hostel, and opposite Tienanmen square. We took lots of photos of the interesting architecture, <br />
We had to stop for a tea, simply to warm my photo taking hand up,<br />
The next day we decided to buy winter clothes. we went to Walmart and bought jackets, hats and gloves. then in the afternoon we went to the Crows nest to see the sun go down and the place light up. I had a photo with a Chinese lady, because im a westerner...for dinner we went to the Veggie Table an all Vegan restaurant down a hutong near the Lama Temple.<br />
Day 3 Summer palace, saw an old and young man preparing to swim meters away from the frozen lake in the icy water, a lady fishing by the arched bridge in a hole dug into the frozen water, the seenteen arch bridge which takes you to a small island in the lake was beautiful ad we walked in the frozen lake near whrere children could go on mini sledges or skate on the ice, while we heard it cracking sometimes. We spent many hours walking around the plance which has been heavily restored for the Olympic games in 2008. The walls were beutifully paitinted with scroll like images of birds and plants. We walked to the highest point in the palace, and to the left you could the city scape and on thr right mountains and country side. We met a nice chinese man who worked there he told us he had been to England and seen Biringham, Nottingham and London. <br />
From the tube it had been a really long walk, so we tried to get a bus back to the centre, the bus system was beyond confussing and we decided to avoid all the illegal rikshaws and walk aimlessly, mapless. not far down the road we saw a starbucks and pizza hut and just around the corner a metro station, much nearer that the one we had come from (curse that missinforming website) that evening our hostel offered a free Dumpling making party where we met 2 Americans Tyler and his sister Megan, he worked as a teacher in the Shizz in China and his family had come to Beijing to spend Christmas together! The dumpling making went well, initailly they looked terrible but after 15 attempts we had some symetircal (mini cornish pastie looking) dumplings! A chinese girl also made dumplings with us and we learnt how to say a few things, such as Jiao-ds, dumpling and a few other words to expand our vocab beyond Ni hoa!<br />
The next day we did our laundry and went to Tiennaman Square, before trying to find a place to buy our ticket out of Beijing which open 10 days before you want to leave. the lady in the office, simply said May-yo (dont have) when we showed her what ticket we want so we took a tube and walked to the west train station where they have an english speaking counter, only to be told the tickets wouldnt open til the next day. feeling pretty tired and having wated a few hours I left lee and his bad back and went to the night markets around the corner with Tyler, Megan, his girlfriend Emily and friend Byron. Tyler and Byron ate silk worms, which looked and apparently tasted disguseting! the market also had snakes, frogs whole cooked birds on a stick and a few normal foods like dumplings, noodles and candied fruit.<br />
Christmad Eve, we sussessfully got our train tickets and went to the Capital Museum opposite Tienamen Square, where we sat accross from a small boy with his parents who shouted "whats your name" at us, then became really shy. It was so funny and cute! We did some last minute christmas shopping and decided to buy presents for each other. the only shops near by were souviner shops, but we decided to get cheap presents, that wouldnt take up too much room in our bags!</div><div></div><div>Christmas day, </div><div>We both work up at 7 to swap presents before the fun packed day. We got each other exactly what we wanted- scarfs! also a Santa hat and some chopsticks. </div><div>we decided, what would be the best and most memorable thing to do in China on Christmas Day, our conclusion; see Moa's dead body in state! So along with our new american friends; Tyler, Emily, Byron and Lauren we waited, then walking single file we shuffled silently through the moseleum. alot of chinese people where buying yellow flowers from the front to deposite outside the mosoleum (which then are moved back to the selling point tp be sold again) We werent allowed camera's or bags, and the place was heavily guarded and had security checks. </div>SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-21902148580645969322011-12-13T01:25:00.000-08:002011-12-13T01:48:27.065-08:00New Zealand Highlights Photo's<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP547NCsmJbiWsTAwFN-MPmmlrUGTQWzH56NPPlBkAxiWEIVvYKQYyerAkq8i-YydDJyVznR1XedhEs-DFnRCBvozy33_G2lbLz4tVQSs80WE5lBkeAsdlpEvLVPm6693UzoizeCCxXyA/s1600/377121_10150994616770599_506965598_22082870_1071200653_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP547NCsmJbiWsTAwFN-MPmmlrUGTQWzH56NPPlBkAxiWEIVvYKQYyerAkq8i-YydDJyVznR1XedhEs-DFnRCBvozy33_G2lbLz4tVQSs80WE5lBkeAsdlpEvLVPm6693UzoizeCCxXyA/s400/377121_10150994616770599_506965598_22082870_1071200653_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685543903770664322" border="0" /></a><br />Fraggle didn't find it too cold in Franz Josef!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQ0HYWNqi0Q5aqkNsTHCB8Jp-ebeeDgWeMLHy86nCcrTyEhWPojLSqwAo4LczCw0DzUBb6mvR8EkopRmczP9flCh1OH2ZymQPWfkC4X-DlmRrIeYaJAuHDXmTOrzJXYJP-BgSsxyCjQ8/s1600/390366_10150425459472319_515522318_8231610_373883674_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQ0HYWNqi0Q5aqkNsTHCB8Jp-ebeeDgWeMLHy86nCcrTyEhWPojLSqwAo4LczCw0DzUBb6mvR8EkopRmczP9flCh1OH2ZymQPWfkC4X-DlmRrIeYaJAuHDXmTOrzJXYJP-BgSsxyCjQ8/s400/390366_10150425459472319_515522318_8231610_373883674_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685543850075451890" border="0" /></a><br />Wanaka from our Hostel<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgrSVDXBRo23_7SdNK3jA_6v1YCiBjKizoUYuT8b6yF-GtUcmXBToKpTy6UKXuo5AzZRSBQ_A7Pd0m1xzXse1JVK4t5yCagXzBOPb6rwy_LdxM0lb7-1CddudismoO2cZhvW6T6PlEP8/s1600/381854_10150425459997319_515522318_8231619_51763948_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgrSVDXBRo23_7SdNK3jA_6v1YCiBjKizoUYuT8b6yF-GtUcmXBToKpTy6UKXuo5AzZRSBQ_A7Pd0m1xzXse1JVK4t5yCagXzBOPb6rwy_LdxM0lb7-1CddudismoO2cZhvW6T6PlEP8/s400/381854_10150425459997319_515522318_8231619_51763948_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685543789195081922" border="0" /></a>Lee getting a bit messy at Ferg Burger (check out the que)!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNxhcbk4Ko8MyNuIM5RP1DVPjcpC813g2gdpCpIXwCCNCcyDOfejtXXT5bRE4SVgduABcUbcfUWdSbyfRPOVdfTKhmvdmddFexnOypHJl94zEXJy6GbruBvJUQs4Y-t7f7vkHeeqsMOo/s1600/386430_10150425460632319_515522318_8231624_1036778828_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNxhcbk4Ko8MyNuIM5RP1DVPjcpC813g2gdpCpIXwCCNCcyDOfejtXXT5bRE4SVgduABcUbcfUWdSbyfRPOVdfTKhmvdmddFexnOypHJl94zEXJy6GbruBvJUQs4Y-t7f7vkHeeqsMOo/s400/386430_10150425460632319_515522318_8231624_1036778828_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685545270858797186" border="0" /></a>One of the two waterfalls we backed into on the Milford Sound Cruise<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhtOtvorU9q08DNT0zpqgm5XaB1Ezd5JV1_beGINN6aTzTnxc1w4OjuJyL6NCFV1iPwUNaffjoCoUaTuqZjfK-ywKl8KojQAQUZAyE77p3xLoD4lGolnVgIx8ovsdprkyduCvbSlo9b0/s1600/377471_10150425455977319_515522318_8231575_1424331122_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhtOtvorU9q08DNT0zpqgm5XaB1Ezd5JV1_beGINN6aTzTnxc1w4OjuJyL6NCFV1iPwUNaffjoCoUaTuqZjfK-ywKl8KojQAQUZAyE77p3xLoD4lGolnVgIx8ovsdprkyduCvbSlo9b0/s400/377471_10150425455977319_515522318_8231575_1424331122_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685543617455667410" border="0" /></a><br />Milford Sound Able Tasman Sea.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNPQCQ7xcrrRGMtaRZQYyPemC2UNhUCo9icEyIxtl3C9_QkmZHbqlzVp5J8zvPfbz3orBW7G7NrkMqx19HQ5fn56IeB22B75cN440_y2k1ys48B33mwqk_WMQ3JgeDJq_uS9dYq8QyOc/s1600/376453_10151040350130599_506965598_22232514_524581630_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNPQCQ7xcrrRGMtaRZQYyPemC2UNhUCo9icEyIxtl3C9_QkmZHbqlzVp5J8zvPfbz3orBW7G7NrkMqx19HQ5fn56IeB22B75cN440_y2k1ys48B33mwqk_WMQ3JgeDJq_uS9dYq8QyOc/s400/376453_10151040350130599_506965598_22232514_524581630_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685543527114243938" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Gary when our Kiwi Bus broke down (temporarily)<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHlMRyCVwBZnTziyLnGFdE2JJi2D8FHpIDZayAw8mwUsaHQPg48aslLVYj1VM9x4qPsvNU85Oasf04kRIAM1TF-0A7ebr7eR5ea7Ap2Mh8O9MneQYnS6FHLV8Aub_iwWLVpjG32q4pmA/s1600/384678_10150444340472319_515522318_8281053_2124801108_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHlMRyCVwBZnTziyLnGFdE2JJi2D8FHpIDZayAw8mwUsaHQPg48aslLVYj1VM9x4qPsvNU85Oasf04kRIAM1TF-0A7ebr7eR5ea7Ap2Mh8O9MneQYnS6FHLV8Aub_iwWLVpjG32q4pmA/s400/384678_10150444340472319_515522318_8281053_2124801108_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685547119660848738" border="0" /></a><br />Lee just before jumping out of the plane<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSH6KRd77YdR4lNWghpJEw6r4TBKUTkoUbObWetu-Y0w85exq_C6twlAOYZrZiTBskI4dsVm2LsJLpCKUnLpavSQALbBoDhlESSFHo7yQL6u9rtsuaW4NSzhmBsqhy64bpGGpX7y7BCs/s1600/381533_10150444351632319_515522318_8281102_2117052749_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSH6KRd77YdR4lNWghpJEw6r4TBKUTkoUbObWetu-Y0w85exq_C6twlAOYZrZiTBskI4dsVm2LsJLpCKUnLpavSQALbBoDhlESSFHo7yQL6u9rtsuaW4NSzhmBsqhy64bpGGpX7y7BCs/s400/381533_10150444351632319_515522318_8281102_2117052749_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685546803279997090" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Sarah when the parachute is released<br /></div>SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-16531621581877445422011-12-13T01:03:00.000-08:002011-12-13T01:24:04.164-08:00New Zealand HighlightsFirst we saw Christchurch, there isn't much happening here, lots of the city is still shut off to tourist, but they have one small set of shops which are build out of sea shipping containers, with glass fronts and stacked with balconies, very interesting architectural project, worth checking out.<br /><br />From there we went to Kaikoura where we stayed in a hostel named The Dolphin Lodge, which has a hot tub, and went whale watching, we saw 3 sperm whales, and I have a really great video of one diving and its tail in the water, they were unbelievably big, especially compared with Orca whales we saw in Vancouver a few years ago.<br /><br />Then to the Abel Tasman national park, Westport, and Franz Josef, where Lee and I did the Full day hike, 7 hours of walking on ice, shimmying through ice caves, walking over crevasses and our guide carving out steep steps as we went.<br /><br />We stayed in Wanaka for only one night, but the lake with the snow topped mountains in the background were so beautiful and apparently they have a cinema there where the seat are all different and you can watch the films sat in a beetle car, and they bake cookies for the intermission!<br />Our Kiwi bus driver told everyone on the bus, that if they went to the Lake at 5pm with Peanut Butter sandwiches, they could feed the Dolphins, shockingly some people on the bus did turn up, and even started questioning locals about when the Dolphins would be getting there, the confused local told them, they must be thinking of Ducks, how can a Dolphin get into a Lake? (the power of the Microphone)<br /><br />After that we headed to Queenstown, the Adrenaline town, first day we went up the ski lifts, and went on the Luge (like go carting) and in the envening we decided to check out the infamous Ferg Burger, where we both enjoyed Fresh, Huge Falafel burgers and Lee had his with a Gluten Free Bun too!<br />The second day we spent doing a full day trip and cruise of Milford Sounds (a huge bay) beautiful, postcard worthy scenery and underwater aquarium, this included the cruise ship backing into a waterfall, while those of us on the front deck got absolutely drenched!<br />On our last day Lee and I decided in Tandem to step off a cliff into a canyon, after a 60 meter freefall we swung across the canyon before being hoisted back up. The locals refer to this as the Canyon Swing, and there are over 70 ways to jump/be pushes off the ledge, we went for a 2 pants scary rating out of 5, pretty brave I think! We heard that Orlando Bloom had just been in town for the filming of The Hobbit, darn, we must have just missed him.<br /><br />Next we were dropped off at Lake Tekapo, where during the day we scaled Mt John, exhausting ourselves before a coffee at the Astro Cafe, waiting at the top, along with some amazing views. In the night time sky observatory and saw the Moon, Jupiter and the southern cross as well as the closes stars (Sirius and Canopus) to earth through telescopes! Again, we found out the Hobbiton crew had been in town only a day before us, camped up near Mt John.<br /><br />We crossed over to the north island and went Sky Diving from 15000 ft, jumping out of a plane at Taupo, over views of the largest lake in New Zealand and (Lord of the Rings) Mt Doom!<br /><br />We have a few days left before we leave for china, but we have definitely enjoyed our time in the adventure capital of the world, let hope there is more excitement in store for these newly turned adrenaline junkies!SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-43309208459100461582011-12-04T01:49:00.001-08:002012-02-26T21:25:15.777-08:00Milford Sound<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeLYNmKRachOrdJcDE_GQ-aVB2dWbLmOFG2UKN7UzVOuJeSfFgP9FtsKPk_vNmMEABCiw5-Z6gyP29WIOzgb00j0R9uiLQXjRyRFBAHUfRgnRuAAIwqEBEOi9qvkdfePa_1Pvf4G7xms/s1600/DSC07806.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682510254214542642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeLYNmKRachOrdJcDE_GQ-aVB2dWbLmOFG2UKN7UzVOuJeSfFgP9FtsKPk_vNmMEABCiw5-Z6gyP29WIOzgb00j0R9uiLQXjRyRFBAHUfRgnRuAAIwqEBEOi9qvkdfePa_1Pvf4G7xms/s400/DSC07806.JPG" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 300px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 400px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVYApGzwXXf1RHigUCV2887oKlDKXCp2kRFn9FjOB_RrCcsIirC05jtoecw0SlhVnha5wVP433S_kuI5FW5JaWnyisVeAq2IC5J91gUACPwEdWx9H9lxjRCFB5KLCGdISRUDIBWoGr4U/s1600/DSC07834.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682510246804836274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVYApGzwXXf1RHigUCV2887oKlDKXCp2kRFn9FjOB_RrCcsIirC05jtoecw0SlhVnha5wVP433S_kuI5FW5JaWnyisVeAq2IC5J91gUACPwEdWx9H9lxjRCFB5KLCGdISRUDIBWoGr4U/s400/DSC07834.JPG" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 300px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 400px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">A 12 hour day trip 8 till 8 well worth it!</div><div style="text-align: center;">We left at 8am, on the Kiwi <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Milford</span> explorer. It was a beautifully sunny day despite weather warnings of rain. Along the way we stopped off for a few photo opportunities regarded as the appetiser to the main dish of Milford Sound, on the way to Te Anau, as well as a few drive by shots.</div><div style="text-align: center;">We learn a lot from the driver about the history of Milford Sound, being discovered, a hidden bay on the coast.</div><div style="text-align: center;">We went on a beautiful cruise of the Sound, including the boat backing into a waterfall, which was quiet funny for the couple whose photo I was in the midst of taken when they began to run towards me! The most famous iconic image of Milford sound is the most pointed Mountain.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-11820583226121051022011-12-04T01:02:00.001-08:002011-12-04T20:59:55.771-08:00Franz Josef New Zealand<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-y2LiCY1YbZkwmHP4LyL0sHFovLJ6_chzpJN3LqSvkwc3Jd1beVO8v_paKJM_9FkQlc5xnAN9a6ZjwtmZ5gskn5p4GyDihAksIkNbsxGolufuB0TnVh-xReLFOtDtUKg2hLCM-wUUgRs/s1600/384090_10150425456057319_515522318_8231576_1958006536_n.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682503947706286578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-y2LiCY1YbZkwmHP4LyL0sHFovLJ6_chzpJN3LqSvkwc3Jd1beVO8v_paKJM_9FkQlc5xnAN9a6ZjwtmZ5gskn5p4GyDihAksIkNbsxGolufuB0TnVh-xReLFOtDtUKg2hLCM-wUUgRs/s320/384090_10150425456057319_515522318_8231576_1958006536_n.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygctU4fXc-F1-j7PPUoZH_tE9YxjJ_xktkWIQ0s4hnCCyJvGnR94sL9VfzmaKQHOfxhPDizHnogmqIB_FwcvJTYJypFzOJ8ofyjSlI5P5vS0XXyXmWs6eQR8psr0YPmHNw0yJ8X2vZRs/s1600/384710_10150425458717319_515522318_8231602_1505499673_n.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682503555010936722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygctU4fXc-F1-j7PPUoZH_tE9YxjJ_xktkWIQ0s4hnCCyJvGnR94sL9VfzmaKQHOfxhPDizHnogmqIB_FwcvJTYJypFzOJ8ofyjSlI5P5vS0XXyXmWs6eQR8psr0YPmHNw0yJ8X2vZRs/s320/384710_10150425458717319_515522318_8231602_1505499673_n.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_cHC1GqtdhNMXSbljUoASwyltm4vng3WgLbuFnM87KzIMZHom6BpIFNRX-oRRAvB7CCNlApmjPkE1CHyEFKfEd1ubYfvvlm-FDHxMyS5w3y4dXmrEhq8piiQIeT5WnKiV9ZDt4GmwpU/s1600/387490_10150425456437319_515522318_8231578_1010740140_n.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682503543858291778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_cHC1GqtdhNMXSbljUoASwyltm4vng3WgLbuFnM87KzIMZHom6BpIFNRX-oRRAvB7CCNlApmjPkE1CHyEFKfEd1ubYfvvlm-FDHxMyS5w3y4dXmrEhq8piiQIeT5WnKiV9ZDt4GmwpU/s320/387490_10150425456437319_515522318_8231578_1010740140_n.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZNruBF4ktfbM31YsgcDTpbg_jPe92FslRTBQv0Ra_uBJpc9cClHvvYMAfhfb4PpT12sY4m_UrYodBWTf16Y5JmmGIOMZA_UCBObn7ZFGJ0qEjx8D0tC4eGFD_Axf7FEOMMudbT-P-i6Q/s1600/381260_10150425456987319_515522318_8231584_244477657_n.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682503543698716226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZNruBF4ktfbM31YsgcDTpbg_jPe92FslRTBQv0Ra_uBJpc9cClHvvYMAfhfb4PpT12sY4m_UrYodBWTf16Y5JmmGIOMZA_UCBObn7ZFGJ0qEjx8D0tC4eGFD_Axf7FEOMMudbT-P-i6Q/s320/381260_10150425456987319_515522318_8231584_244477657_n.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9cGdXHJ4Goo92dSZ-tutv-gFPUDyiwLyt6jxWDOB9u0-m17hetVRHTWUdtl0MZ61M1R7zS1m03t6zf70eVySG7y_x37HOxniMhdZYlt4o9sandcY1kBZU04iWsl5CQhAuN0cB_04LzA/s1600/375516_10150425457112319_515522318_8231587_52173299_n.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682503538318547474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9cGdXHJ4Goo92dSZ-tutv-gFPUDyiwLyt6jxWDOB9u0-m17hetVRHTWUdtl0MZ61M1R7zS1m03t6zf70eVySG7y_x37HOxniMhdZYlt4o9sandcY1kBZU04iWsl5CQhAuN0cB_04LzA/s320/375516_10150425457112319_515522318_8231587_52173299_n.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fDPlGwUqovELJ8g-OTG1NWpAAPXGowM1DDF5LWlicumUdGxV3nieZOxx46N9rmAgVciEUREIr-Qcbgj6WcWg3R5aaVrfHIXa_LZgLkINWBxE2wpLU6Heo-vrD3aevULZYGAIkxIvb2A/s1600/381260_10150425456987319_515522318_8231584_244477657_n.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center">We left Franz Josef kitted out with boots, socks, cramp-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">on's</span>, waterproof trousers and jackets, a hat and gloves! Its only a few minutes up the road, and when you get their it doesn't look far but then you see the size of people and realise its a long walk. In total we walked for 7 hours of the day, on the Ice Glacier and pick-axed steps smashed into the ice, we chose between the fast, medium and slow groups, ranging from 1-6, we were in group 2, in small groups of 11. We crawled through ice caves and walked over huge <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">crevasses</span>.<br />It was surprisingly warm, I was wearing Leggings and a Long top and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Hoodie</span>, and did have to wear the jacket at one point, as we were all freezing, a troop of blue jackets stamping in the ice.<br />It was really sunny during the day and apart from a few clouds creeping in, the views were amazing and the sense of achievement walking up the Glacier was amazing (there were some pretty steep steps and taken at a breathtaking pace) we had a great time, but needed the free <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Hot pools</span> included in the price afterwards!<br />Starting in the 36 degree pool, then 38, then the hot 40! was so relaxing...<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">OK</span> Sarah's legs still hurt a bit 2 days later though!</div>SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-36820330252447141892011-11-05T22:45:00.000-07:002012-01-28T07:43:10.252-08:00K'gari (Fraser Island)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXy9pENaPHokoBXu_0VF8NO53NsaAPBwRLLrasscCll4POCulPl6TUfVQjyIEGT_48GejA6ekzWTskA4OEYcjaFlHklvIplBVii-MStbdoIprkm6V8pmwUlSPhHJxWqImKw9tIRN0Awq4/s1600/390138_10150910172960599_506965598_21710755_557363760_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671757136203856322" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXy9pENaPHokoBXu_0VF8NO53NsaAPBwRLLrasscCll4POCulPl6TUfVQjyIEGT_48GejA6ekzWTskA4OEYcjaFlHklvIplBVii-MStbdoIprkm6V8pmwUlSPhHJxWqImKw9tIRN0Awq4/s400/390138_10150910172960599_506965598_21710755_557363760_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Lake Wabby<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlNhdsTrUXDICNnmI81-qDoMMQVObhzGjwiHKds7ZtLJuAQILl5RHqTx0kGDa5o4uKdxy5WykAlzSsyWSGgYUaN6H9Qk03sb0C5LNHdzig_HMl1Lq29ArkKpKGY_L1uqRpWblsJQr-vs/s1600/386168_2139818503635_1491352772_31838968_1588791456_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671757135693294930" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlNhdsTrUXDICNnmI81-qDoMMQVObhzGjwiHKds7ZtLJuAQILl5RHqTx0kGDa5o4uKdxy5WykAlzSsyWSGgYUaN6H9Qk03sb0C5LNHdzig_HMl1Lq29ArkKpKGY_L1uqRpWblsJQr-vs/s400/386168_2139818503635_1491352772_31838968_1588791456_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Human Pyramid at Lake McKenzie<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dPwjHiBPMrSR6nLtCaee83OeYMfkPu0f5IYtJojNKL5eqtjghr5FDPImBWzNwDAjGp47niYT3UPpZ36SP3jCWfWiR0gJXzeJQ78HiP2r6djGUk5CLC-bZVLkjYzdB-72aG5tpa4El_8/s1600/376422_10150910182345599_506965598_21710804_70771461_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671757129115550338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dPwjHiBPMrSR6nLtCaee83OeYMfkPu0f5IYtJojNKL5eqtjghr5FDPImBWzNwDAjGp47niYT3UPpZ36SP3jCWfWiR0gJXzeJQ78HiP2r6djGUk5CLC-bZVLkjYzdB-72aG5tpa4El_8/s400/376422_10150910182345599_506965598_21710804_70771461_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />group with the 4x4 "Never Bogged"<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKnDaRTozVvuWLzW-Kgjf5GORLuGfZGOAA0GCOS6d2cbZeU8GVbMeJ6UhNslvxW-qbomcuKykALisjURnVgrEV11NDUFiS-08ljq1FlH3ZjEDHcdPp2Vt3iQuH7u98OIeovKhlxR5pcns/s1600/393392_10150370194727319_515522318_8031396_20638980_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755830339397362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 88px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKnDaRTozVvuWLzW-Kgjf5GORLuGfZGOAA0GCOS6d2cbZeU8GVbMeJ6UhNslvxW-qbomcuKykALisjURnVgrEV11NDUFiS-08ljq1FlH3ZjEDHcdPp2Vt3iQuH7u98OIeovKhlxR5pcns/s400/393392_10150370194727319_515522318_8031396_20638980_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Champagne pools<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoq5gF1nlKj6KKRn8LvqjD9GGGsbBRls1koUhjoYNzio4I4SMKV_Wrk2S364ISomQKprhyOaDnj__oPTAgPnSDmjLfrQrtalqny_s8tj4GP50ITTXGbUZvIuzf6CjrdMYQNuzHa9PB44/s1600/390282_10150370194832319_515522318_8031398_1948813011_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755822421811826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoq5gF1nlKj6KKRn8LvqjD9GGGsbBRls1koUhjoYNzio4I4SMKV_Wrk2S364ISomQKprhyOaDnj__oPTAgPnSDmjLfrQrtalqny_s8tj4GP50ITTXGbUZvIuzf6CjrdMYQNuzHa9PB44/s400/390282_10150370194832319_515522318_8031398_1948813011_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Sez and Lee on India Head<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiML_8vrc8Qfyk__pCA0VzsEHujZ6zOKKhercpBXqMfVSE1JS0dx8wqdr2e8xZfE_9jtgqvx086avkbMxAPKPELdyGHGB40o5jbQrllRjo8zD6Af17ETAJ59wm3n8YS3nQBlYG7VP2w3q4/s1600/387019_10150370193772319_515522318_8031380_1414287090_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755814970772306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiML_8vrc8Qfyk__pCA0VzsEHujZ6zOKKhercpBXqMfVSE1JS0dx8wqdr2e8xZfE_9jtgqvx086avkbMxAPKPELdyGHGB40o5jbQrllRjo8zD6Af17ETAJ59wm3n8YS3nQBlYG7VP2w3q4/s400/387019_10150370193772319_515522318_8031380_1414287090_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Sand Dune, Lake Wabby<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYn_j9a5boRA7s26kUHRdTCF28D4EtXGDRG-KpkZ3h9QXo2HYaNScHlUVVadsJsRg8TQOsfyZuKqwaFaWw6nLXHMCtmCkGg-W0-o5dbKYsDJ3isquTOUIn6kKAYnKNmV_kAWwI8H1f1CQ/s1600/385855_10150370195762319_515522318_8031408_1354318712_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755589162925154" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYn_j9a5boRA7s26kUHRdTCF28D4EtXGDRG-KpkZ3h9QXo2HYaNScHlUVVadsJsRg8TQOsfyZuKqwaFaWw6nLXHMCtmCkGg-W0-o5dbKYsDJ3isquTOUIn6kKAYnKNmV_kAWwI8H1f1CQ/s400/385855_10150370195762319_515522318_8031408_1354318712_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Maheno Ship Wreck<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaX8JOqxU-MLzaKPUmK4ha__538E-bjSY4tQx1HM6ef4dRtw_O41r2l39XvE3-SUM6cqyH0kr90Gec8yOPqi0iOK2HloSQyy_kjOQyWnjIaUmZmZbUu_PnP0uyFlxbKilsQymNQoclits/s1600/385082_10150370194197319_515522318_8031385_62065741_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755584490284306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaX8JOqxU-MLzaKPUmK4ha__538E-bjSY4tQx1HM6ef4dRtw_O41r2l39XvE3-SUM6cqyH0kr90Gec8yOPqi0iOK2HloSQyy_kjOQyWnjIaUmZmZbUu_PnP0uyFlxbKilsQymNQoclits/s400/385082_10150370194197319_515522318_8031385_62065741_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Sand dunes<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aHmanWufT5OvJ_q1B-IxVad2h3CgUNapw-pujpPA321-suaKHUmaR9lgLpjxMkFJRs25XTG0XMLcHPDEEHK-y-BrwHxIVYXQ0VVSWiMBE9x24zCE7cohHnTemxPhQexflshk0tUhBGU/s1600/384579_10150370196372319_515522318_8031415_1576631269_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755578673480610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aHmanWufT5OvJ_q1B-IxVad2h3CgUNapw-pujpPA321-suaKHUmaR9lgLpjxMkFJRs25XTG0XMLcHPDEEHK-y-BrwHxIVYXQ0VVSWiMBE9x24zCE7cohHnTemxPhQexflshk0tUhBGU/s400/384579_10150370196372319_515522318_8031415_1576631269_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Fraser Island beach<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkFYSdieO-J5mprgjtUSL1eZyjM3uDan2KNhz5rxVoQ3z-fylf7o-NRaNwdNdZV51pHFKCC2_0pdz7YoiQGDLGcSTKYS7wkNz7dYijzEKfdVmNm8jowYCvJfo9sBXZmZQt2o0ERjsl0s/s1600/321532_10150370195867319_515522318_8031410_1856040940_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755578377407570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkFYSdieO-J5mprgjtUSL1eZyjM3uDan2KNhz5rxVoQ3z-fylf7o-NRaNwdNdZV51pHFKCC2_0pdz7YoiQGDLGcSTKYS7wkNz7dYijzEKfdVmNm8jowYCvJfo9sBXZmZQt2o0ERjsl0s/s400/321532_10150370195867319_515522318_8031410_1856040940_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Lee Driving<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FJBgSUwLsRkAMPUAZqWJjLB3kVLIYVwJv0TcGa9wRxf42f5qyeuWOT7P6Pb2ILNSpMip_z1L9mqIbJ4q1GjlVWHpxTZSmIykkQvdDLcwV2anTmsN46xlKMUW7NVuZzaxZhk4dVX5pdE/s1600/315499_10150370194327319_515522318_8031392_255632594_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755570092921490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 88px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FJBgSUwLsRkAMPUAZqWJjLB3kVLIYVwJv0TcGa9wRxf42f5qyeuWOT7P6Pb2ILNSpMip_z1L9mqIbJ4q1GjlVWHpxTZSmIykkQvdDLcwV2anTmsN46xlKMUW7NVuZzaxZhk4dVX5pdE/s400/315499_10150370194327319_515522318_8031392_255632594_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Jenn and Lee at India Head beach<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lHP6GGt7xEpqhwThIZSj2GTgmOFcIoALl48ZorAuN5TAVTKxk_TQKqG19_rCVCvN8FViPizOYXujM5KipPi0kUduhNb7zXFPf1EJ6tmiUeeHmR0L4jyis5APl91Y4xaDb2Je7Im1vIQ/s1600/313227_10150370195172319_515522318_8031402_1674509555_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755080811880834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lHP6GGt7xEpqhwThIZSj2GTgmOFcIoALl48ZorAuN5TAVTKxk_TQKqG19_rCVCvN8FViPizOYXujM5KipPi0kUduhNb7zXFPf1EJ6tmiUeeHmR0L4jyis5APl91Y4xaDb2Je7Im1vIQ/s400/313227_10150370195172319_515522318_8031402_1674509555_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Group 2 clean up<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJsf4_NMEBlNxstj5iZ2vWOwLaRnFQcQIco4h8HhN_9HEGK8eVibZH3uJNErfIpBWlh5LgxWeKaSio14T8NiYIkSU7nYajJTIuqtcVsTqsxwbaGBflY3puOpMPpCPNIZLFbpwxQTCPc8s/s1600/308375_10150370194597319_515522318_8031395_334790358_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755083352955874" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJsf4_NMEBlNxstj5iZ2vWOwLaRnFQcQIco4h8HhN_9HEGK8eVibZH3uJNErfIpBWlh5LgxWeKaSio14T8NiYIkSU7nYajJTIuqtcVsTqsxwbaGBflY3puOpMPpCPNIZLFbpwxQTCPc8s/s400/308375_10150370194597319_515522318_8031395_334790358_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Getting Bogged<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIxIA1G2ZAwQVcpzPBNqXFsVlMDA50aSzxRF77vn_bJKNm1zzRv7x8YFvgwbf5V9alWohNYgk-dYL9GSDk156B30ymmsEgnekSGYcSu_a3r0zcEdh3htFoQ_0NDiQ7sy_1ApECEPdOkU/s1600/301914_10150370195347319_515522318_8031405_579269378_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755067942734722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIxIA1G2ZAwQVcpzPBNqXFsVlMDA50aSzxRF77vn_bJKNm1zzRv7x8YFvgwbf5V9alWohNYgk-dYL9GSDk156B30ymmsEgnekSGYcSu_a3r0zcEdh3htFoQ_0NDiQ7sy_1ApECEPdOkU/s400/301914_10150370195347319_515522318_8031405_579269378_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />campfire Digeridoo<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw17WuJ5YMotmspci1QKUiWHR9FIfHRqYLeqjLYwFesA2MOp73iMMcPnWgOtN9AgyKA-lRJcKrKfCycbfVEyKawygvBR6VHR51S7kWUFqsMVkNC7w1e0yUN2qIyAIQu0TlFQf7_zlcyro/s1600/300954_10150370194502319_515522318_8031393_609236949_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755071057749970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw17WuJ5YMotmspci1QKUiWHR9FIfHRqYLeqjLYwFesA2MOp73iMMcPnWgOtN9AgyKA-lRJcKrKfCycbfVEyKawygvBR6VHR51S7kWUFqsMVkNC7w1e0yUN2qIyAIQu0TlFQf7_zlcyro/s400/300954_10150370194502319_515522318_8031393_609236949_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Dingo on the Road<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjqqII1bEOGgeUY9icy-ZxcH9xpVB84NGVgD7N3Q999VbfL-BoIh2jJu4CdBmTyWm9KguQ_3XkAkLThtEn_Br1VC9369nUR1g0mpKnPIv9iAZWL5QleWFDkkmMB9Z72eOWE0PRa4ELI8/s1600/296307_10150370194987319_515522318_8031399_915678269_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671755065065785810" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjqqII1bEOGgeUY9icy-ZxcH9xpVB84NGVgD7N3Q999VbfL-BoIh2jJu4CdBmTyWm9KguQ_3XkAkLThtEn_Br1VC9369nUR1g0mpKnPIv9iAZWL5QleWFDkkmMB9Z72eOWE0PRa4ELI8/s400/296307_10150370194987319_515522318_8031399_915678269_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Red Canyon, Coloured Sands<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div>We booked our 3 day Tour from Pippies Hostel at Rainbow beach. The driving on the Island in a 4x4 is a very bumping ride! after the short ferry ride from the mainland our first stop was at Lake Wabby, which lies at the bottom of a huge dessert like landscape of Sand Dunes. The water was actually so clear, and so refreshing, most of us went for a swim and did some sunbathing before we had to walk the half hour back. Our guide Jen didn't some with us, perhaps because she has done it so many times or because to the native aborigines, this site was a mans place.<br />Lee drove us to the camp and really enjoyed dodging the waves and handling the 4x4.<br />That evening we all cooked dinner in the pre-set campsite and during this a huge spider fell from the ceiling and scared a lot of people! we had a massive campfire and went for a walk to the beach to look at the stars.<br /><br />Our second day was Halloween! After breakfast we went to the Champagne pools, named this because of the ocean waves breaking on rocks causes the water to flow with tiny bubbles, it was so hot on the beach, we kept going back in the water to cool off.<br /><br />Sarah then got to drive, feeling a bit nervous, but it was easy and I enjoyed the dodging bumps. I drove us to India Head, we went to eat our lunch up here and Jen spotted some whales in the distance, which swam a big arch around us, as huge gathering of different families of whales, as wel as later seeing some Rays and Turtles and Dolphins and on the walk down some girls on the tour nearly trod on a snake as well.<br /><br />Historically Indian Head hasn't been a good place for the tribal people as they would be shot on the edge to fall into the sea or as a punishment for a crime they would be thrown off the edge, if they survived they could not rejoin the tribe. Although Captain Cook sailed past the island in 1770 and named Indian Head, because of the natives he saw standing on the headline.<br /><br />We passed a Dingo on the road on our way to the coloured sand canyons, which were beautiful reds, oranges and yellows.<br /><br />We learnt how Fraser Island got its name and why local people call it by its traditional name K'gari. In 1834 Captain Fraser and his wife were shipwrecked and using their lifeboats accidently beached on the 'Great Sandy Island'. The original inhabitants were the Butchulla tribe.<br />No body truly knows what happened on the island, what caused the death of most the survivors, The captains wife was rescued after 6 weeks and spend the rest of her days in England telling many varied accounts of what happened on the island.<br /><br />On our last day we went to see the famous, fast deteriorating S.S Maheno shipwreck from 1935, and went to swim and sunbath at the beautifully clear Lake McKenzie. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>SarahBynghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11429382929135256568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-7185625162661846612011-10-22T17:46:00.000-07:002011-10-22T17:46:02.750-07:00Cairns, AustraliaWe arrived in Cairns on Sunday (local time) and stayed at Tropic Days Hostel, its a fantastic Hostel, outside of the town centre, but with a free bus to town regularly, the Staff are so friendly, and help with tour booking and advice. <br />
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We took a few days to get over jet lag, once we had we went Snorkelling! I was really scared of the whole experience to begin with and was practically hyperventilating, but after a second go I loved it! Saw so many pretty fish, giant clams, turtles and swam amongst the coral. <br />
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Lee even went further and did some diving in his snorkel kit, couldn't get him out of the water! Well with the weather as it was the boat was pretty choppy!<br />
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Got very sunburned, they call it snorkelers tan (all over your back and back of arms) so chilled out in the lovely Cairns hostel for a few more days.<br />
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I went on Uncle Brian's Tour, with Cousin Paul, Elmo, Gus the Bus and Bruce the Highway. I would highly recommend this tour, Cousin Paul had us all laughing with his crazy stories. <br />
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It was a bit rainy but we saw the "Mysterious Girl"/ hair advert Milla Milla Waterfall, had a swim and did the Clique Hair Flick...I had too!<br />
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We Arrived in Airlie Beach yesterday, its a beautiful setting, and there's a Reef Festival on this weekend, so free gig in the park and a funfair!<br />
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Sarah x<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqE430xqU7or0e118uOSJDLpON3RkFoPNzt1zAxcpfg9P_w_c_emxLDoFmNM5HAn8iAq9V3ieyZb0v4OzgToa-fIZ1Z3FxHxWQn7Fesh2dS9scb0vjzMXGCkIz2g6hEXG2g9kIE0xmMW4/s1600/DSC07604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqE430xqU7or0e118uOSJDLpON3RkFoPNzt1zAxcpfg9P_w_c_emxLDoFmNM5HAn8iAq9V3ieyZb0v4OzgToa-fIZ1Z3FxHxWQn7Fesh2dS9scb0vjzMXGCkIz2g6hEXG2g9kIE0xmMW4/s320/DSC07604.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Lee Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01663512254040546286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995545150570955719.post-52020930400372693982011-10-14T05:35:00.000-07:002011-10-14T05:35:30.726-07:0010 months of travels<div style="text-align: center;">In these bags is our lives for the next ten months!</div><div style="text-align: center;">We fly to Australia tonight, the flight is about 26 hours to Sydney and stops in Bangkok for about an hour, then we have a small flight to Cairns where the adventure begins!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-kq84GsTIvNgekN-sHpu_fZtCinxDeLvMQSlVWbc3A1Z8sJVgLK6Fp7ZO_jqJT1ySSbvcNukaVRZIWI3Cy4tab2BdjvpAnrU-OnlfFFsSdWMMLA-_vUYBp1TkIoPqnSOqRVfqzoev4w/s1600/292083_10150867881510599_506965598_21397454_605300695_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-kq84GsTIvNgekN-sHpu_fZtCinxDeLvMQSlVWbc3A1Z8sJVgLK6Fp7ZO_jqJT1ySSbvcNukaVRZIWI3Cy4tab2BdjvpAnrU-OnlfFFsSdWMMLA-_vUYBp1TkIoPqnSOqRVfqzoev4w/s320/292083_10150867881510599_506965598_21397454_605300695_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Lee Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01663512254040546286noreply@blogger.com0