Thanks to Adam for this piece of magic we came home to.
I have yet to come up with a good way to add up the total distance.
Saturday 28 November 2009
A Most Authentick Mappe
We're Home
A 32 hour journey door to door and we've made it back.
Because of the route (through Hong Kong and London) our flight back weirdly took us past all of the places we have come through on the way to HCMC. Three months to get there. 32 hours to get back.
Vietnam photos now up. From Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh via Halong Bay, Sapa, Hoi An, Hue and Mui Ne.
Oh, and the weigh-in? Looks like I now weigh 10st 5. I assume this has more to do with being ill for a few weeks than the healthy lifestyle.
Time for a hair cut.
Sunday 22 November 2009
This is the end...
A long time since our last post back in China.
A lot has happened.
Good things
-----------
- Arriving in Vietnam to the bustle and familiarity of Hanoi
- Breakfasting in Tamarind in Hanoi (one of our haunts from our last visit here)
- meeting up with my uncle Steve and Shane for our first few weeks in Vietnam
- two days cruising around Halong Bay, kayaking and swimming in the sea
- Trekking in Sapa, making spring rolls with the locals and getting drunk on Rice Wine
- Drifting around the old streets of Hoi An and buying our first real piece of Art
- Splashing about in the waves at Mui Ne
Bad Things
----------
- Border crossing into Vietnam in the middle of the night
- breaking my camera on the train
- Getting ill in Sapa half way through our trek
- Everyone else getting ill
- Having to fly from Hanoi down South because of illness/time/availability
- The overnight train ride South in soft seat class
- Soon having to leave
Vietnam has been great but a bit more up and down than the rest of the journey (and we thought it would be the easiest bit). We've seen a lot and its been very mixed - Sea and Mountain, City and Village, Hot and cold, Dry and wet, Comfortable and not so comfortable. One of the smallest countries we've visited has provided us with some of the biggest extremes.
We've just checked out of our luxury beach resort we've stayed in for a couple of nights and it's felt like a real break from the craziness. One more day tomorrow in Ho Chi Minh City and then we fly home. We'll be sad to leave, but are now really looking forward to seeing everyone, sleeping in our own bed, stroking our cat and, strangely enough, even excited about going to Tescos.
See you soon!
PS Unfortunately, due to a virus I have to leave posting the last 3 weeks photos until I get home - not worth the risk losing them.
A lot has happened.
Good things
-----------
- Arriving in Vietnam to the bustle and familiarity of Hanoi
- Breakfasting in Tamarind in Hanoi (one of our haunts from our last visit here)
- meeting up with my uncle Steve and Shane for our first few weeks in Vietnam
- two days cruising around Halong Bay, kayaking and swimming in the sea
- Trekking in Sapa, making spring rolls with the locals and getting drunk on Rice Wine
- Drifting around the old streets of Hoi An and buying our first real piece of Art
- Splashing about in the waves at Mui Ne
Bad Things
----------
- Border crossing into Vietnam in the middle of the night
- breaking my camera on the train
- Getting ill in Sapa half way through our trek
- Everyone else getting ill
- Having to fly from Hanoi down South because of illness/time/availability
- The overnight train ride South in soft seat class
- Soon having to leave
Vietnam has been great but a bit more up and down than the rest of the journey (and we thought it would be the easiest bit). We've seen a lot and its been very mixed - Sea and Mountain, City and Village, Hot and cold, Dry and wet, Comfortable and not so comfortable. One of the smallest countries we've visited has provided us with some of the biggest extremes.
We've just checked out of our luxury beach resort we've stayed in for a couple of nights and it's felt like a real break from the craziness. One more day tomorrow in Ho Chi Minh City and then we fly home. We'll be sad to leave, but are now really looking forward to seeing everyone, sleeping in our own bed, stroking our cat and, strangely enough, even excited about going to Tescos.
See you soon!
PS Unfortunately, due to a virus I have to leave posting the last 3 weeks photos until I get home - not worth the risk losing them.
Saturday 31 October 2009
Yulong Calm
Yesterday was fantastic.
We couldn't top it so I've tried to get caught up on our photos so you can see how beautiful the area is. The Yulong River is the highpoint of China for me.
Friday 30 October 2009
Last Days in China
Hi everyone,
I'm sitting in yet another hotel lobby, this time in Yangshuo in Guangxi Province.
You know the place (if you are from the UK) - its the area in the HSBC advert where the fisherman uses Cormorants to catch fish in the river and the background is a stunning maze of limestone peaks.
This has always been my top destination in China so I was excited to arrive in Guilin after another overnight train - from Shenzhen on the Chinese mainland side of the border with Hong Kong. We didn't expect to be in Guilin for long before taking the boat down the river to Yanshuo, but it had a lot of charm about it.
For a start, as busy as it was, things have been (on average) getting smaller and quieter and more sedate as we head further South. It was lovely to be able to spend a few days around the lakes and rivers of the city as well as arrange a tour to the Dragon's Backbone rice terraces a few hours North of the city. We're getting a bit tired of organised tours in China - the herding and the noise. If I were to visit the terraces again (which were pretty nice) then I'd try to do it independently and stay the night in the villages to avoid the "rush hour". Of course we also booked the boat down the Li River from CITS and actually, once we were onboard, it was alright. To be honest you could have floated down the river tied to a fairground with lunatics whipping you with bamboo and you'd still be happily distracted by the amazing scenery. Suffice to say I ran through memory cards like someone with DTs in their trigger finger. I was sure you couldn't take a bad
photos of the rocky karsts decorating the meandering river on both sides but on reviewing mine later on I found this is not the case.
The boat (or fleet of boats) finished its tour in our present location - Yangshuo. It is so easy to be in this town as a tourist. Plenty of good food and easy to access scenery and a buzzy sort of place. I'd love to see what it was like 10 years ago - probably a bit more laid back - many of the Chinese tourists here seem to be into very loud music and partying. I fear that in 10 more years this place will no longer exist but will turn into Blackpool (visitors from years ago may say this has already happened).
But it is easy. So on day 6 we are still here. A few days of cycling around the Yulong River and a Bamboo raft ride down the river from Dragon Bridge were just brilliant and peaceful - you really felt like you had got away from everything. We also went to see a show "Impression on Sanjie Liu" by Olympics ceremony director Zhang Yimou - it was fantastic - hundreds of people, amazing lights, and the karsts lit up in the background - the whole performance was on water.
Anyway, some more difficult decisions today about where to get lunch so I shall leave you now. Tomorrow we begin our journey to Hanoi and our last month in Vietnam...
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Monday 26 October 2009
China photos coming...
Its been tricky getting enough time at a computer and we are on our last week in China. But, in an attempt to catch up here are the first photos from our first stop in Beijing.
Monday 19 October 2009
Time is flying
Hello everyone,
Thought we should catch up while it is easy in Hong Kong (not as restrictive as Mainland China - I still don't get this split). Unfortunately, no way to post any China photos yet.
We finished up in Beijing by having a wicked afternoon at the Summer Palace with some friends we met at the Great Wall who made us a lovely picnic. The sunset over the lakes was a real "moment" - you can really understand where the inspiration for certain styles of Chinese painting comes from. The bridges and the lines of Willows were stunning.
Unfortunately, we had to leave Beijing so after a day of drifting around the Hutongs - the narrow streets (we were staying in one) and buying postcards, we reluctantly got on the sleeper train to Xi'an, home of the Terracotta Army.
The train was a lot more modern than the majority of those we'd travelled on so far. Unfortunately, our language skills were not up to much and we failed to entertain our co-traveller such that she was in bed 20 mins later.
We woke up to Xi'an and MAnchester weather (which lasted 2 days). The hostel was gorgeous if grubby but we instantly missed how easy everything (apart from food) was in Beijing. We walked the city walls in the drizzle and it was actually pretty romantic (for a change). The city appears to be mostly about shopping so we looked forward to our Terracotta Army tour the following day. Unfortunately, the tour also seemed to be more about shopping than culture. The soldiers were pretty impressive but the 2 hours we got was not worth the additional 4 1/2 we spent on the tour.
We decided to move on quickly as the weather was not getting any better. Next stop, Hong Kong...
30 hours of train to Shenzhen and a border crossing later we've seen a lot of the countryside through a train window and things have changed. A lot. Gone are the plantations of crops and the dusty atmosphere and in their place are lush tropical foliage everywhere and humidity - lots of humidity.
Hong Kong is amazing. Within the first day we knew this is somewhere we could live (if you could afford it). We've seen the skyline against the lush peaks and a city that just keeps going and going into the haze, but still allows you to be on a beach in half an hour. We've been up on Victoria Peak, taken the Star and many other ferries, walked Avenue of the Stars, been tempted by "too good to be true" phone offers, eaten great food in Soho and drank beers at Scandi(lously)navian prices. We've hit St Stephen's Beach at Stanley on the South of Hong Kong Island, and are now holidaying it up on Lantau Island. Our first day off tomorrow - no thinking involved!!
We've still got a week or more back on the mainland before heading into Vietnam where we're looking forward to hooking up with the Aussie Crew for a while - woohoo!
Talk later!!
Thought we should catch up while it is easy in Hong Kong (not as restrictive as Mainland China - I still don't get this split). Unfortunately, no way to post any China photos yet.
We finished up in Beijing by having a wicked afternoon at the Summer Palace with some friends we met at the Great Wall who made us a lovely picnic. The sunset over the lakes was a real "moment" - you can really understand where the inspiration for certain styles of Chinese painting comes from. The bridges and the lines of Willows were stunning.
Unfortunately, we had to leave Beijing so after a day of drifting around the Hutongs - the narrow streets (we were staying in one) and buying postcards, we reluctantly got on the sleeper train to Xi'an, home of the Terracotta Army.
The train was a lot more modern than the majority of those we'd travelled on so far. Unfortunately, our language skills were not up to much and we failed to entertain our co-traveller such that she was in bed 20 mins later.
We woke up to Xi'an and MAnchester weather (which lasted 2 days). The hostel was gorgeous if grubby but we instantly missed how easy everything (apart from food) was in Beijing. We walked the city walls in the drizzle and it was actually pretty romantic (for a change). The city appears to be mostly about shopping so we looked forward to our Terracotta Army tour the following day. Unfortunately, the tour also seemed to be more about shopping than culture. The soldiers were pretty impressive but the 2 hours we got was not worth the additional 4 1/2 we spent on the tour.
We decided to move on quickly as the weather was not getting any better. Next stop, Hong Kong...
30 hours of train to Shenzhen and a border crossing later we've seen a lot of the countryside through a train window and things have changed. A lot. Gone are the plantations of crops and the dusty atmosphere and in their place are lush tropical foliage everywhere and humidity - lots of humidity.
Hong Kong is amazing. Within the first day we knew this is somewhere we could live (if you could afford it). We've seen the skyline against the lush peaks and a city that just keeps going and going into the haze, but still allows you to be on a beach in half an hour. We've been up on Victoria Peak, taken the Star and many other ferries, walked Avenue of the Stars, been tempted by "too good to be true" phone offers, eaten great food in Soho and drank beers at Scandi(lously)navian prices. We've hit St Stephen's Beach at Stanley on the South of Hong Kong Island, and are now holidaying it up on Lantau Island. Our first day off tomorrow - no thinking involved!!
We've still got a week or more back on the mainland before heading into Vietnam where we're looking forward to hooking up with the Aussie Crew for a while - woohoo!
Talk later!!
Saturday 10 October 2009
More photos
We are now in China, but thought we should catch up a bit on the photos so this is Finland all the way through Russia and Mongolia.
China will have to wait as we've got a LOT of photos from our week in Beijing including the Forbidden City, The Great Wall and the Summer Palace.
As you can tell, Beijing has a lot to offer and we're slightly sad to be leaving. But lots more to see...
He he.
We're about to get the sleeper train over to Xi-an to look for some Terracotta Soldiers and then deeper into the South.
See you there...
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Beijing Birthday Blog
Jo would firstly like to say thankyou for the birthday cards that are sitting on the hotel room table. I know we didn't want to carry stuff with us but I think it was worth smuggling a couple in.
What a way to spend a Birthday morning! We visited the Great Wall at Mutianyu and it surpassed our expectations. We were there early enough to beat the crowds (us up early?) and the scenery was amazing. Apparently the most popular spot at Badaling you cannot see the wall for people at the moment.
In case you hadn't gathered, we're in Beijing during the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic, coinciding with the week long National Day holiday. Our timing is always this good. We've never seen so many people. I think the whole of China is here this week.
We arrived on Sunday after more long border crossings (at least this time they have an excuse as they have to change the train bogeys on the Chinese side by lifting all the carriages up in the air). This completes what is considered the Trans-Mongolian journey and the rest of our travels are more or less unplanned and unbooked.
So far Beijing has been an adventure. The first evening we braved the crowds and walked around the outside of the Forbidden City moat the wrong way and then nipped to Tian'anmen Square to see the floats and the people and feel the excited atmosphere. We also walked along the Night Markets where they sell everything from noodles to Scorpions on a stick.
We hired bikes and did a tour on Monday along some hutongs and lakes around the centre and went up the hill in Jingshan Park for views over the dusty city.
Yesterday we spent the day in the Forbidden City which is humungous. In fact, a lot of the city is on an unbelieveable scale. I don't think the photos will do it justice.
The weather is still stunning although its supposed to change tomorrow. Still no tans though. This may waylay our plans to see the Summer Palace.
Communications are a bit restricted. Access to blogger from China is blocked so thanks to Martino for hooking up this email. We won't be able to see your comments for now but please still say hello. Also, our phone no longer works. We've bought a Chinese sim card but no one seems to be able to get through. We'll keep trying.
At least email works :)
Bye for now.
Thursday 1 October 2009
Mongolian magic
Hello all
Sorry its been a while but we have been busy.
Since Yekaterinburg we have seen the ballet in Novosibirsk, had a Banya (a Russian sauna) in Listvyanka at Lake Baikal, taken a ski lift with views over the lake and snowy mountains beyond, spent 7 hours sitting at the border and we are now in Ulaan Bataar (the Capital of Mongolia) until tomorrow when we head to China.
Whilst in Mongolia, we've been out into the countryside on a 3 day, two night trek with two British girls and our 4x4 driver Jay. We've slept in gers (yurts as some people know them), falling asleep (sporadically) to the sounds of the wild - including camels, dogs and howling wolves. Met lots of travellers and nomadic locals including a Mongolian cowboy who took us horse riding through the vast landscape.
Vegetarian food is great (unlike expectations).
So are the toilets in the wild (not!).
Really looking forward to Beijing - hope we miss the madness of the 60 year celebrations. Will let you know in our next blog.
Nick and Jo
Sorry its been a while but we have been busy.
Since Yekaterinburg we have seen the ballet in Novosibirsk, had a Banya (a Russian sauna) in Listvyanka at Lake Baikal, taken a ski lift with views over the lake and snowy mountains beyond, spent 7 hours sitting at the border and we are now in Ulaan Bataar (the Capital of Mongolia) until tomorrow when we head to China.
Whilst in Mongolia, we've been out into the countryside on a 3 day, two night trek with two British girls and our 4x4 driver Jay. We've slept in gers (yurts as some people know them), falling asleep (sporadically) to the sounds of the wild - including camels, dogs and howling wolves. Met lots of travellers and nomadic locals including a Mongolian cowboy who took us horse riding through the vast landscape.
Vegetarian food is great (unlike expectations).
So are the toilets in the wild (not!).
Really looking forward to Beijing - hope we miss the madness of the 60 year celebrations. Will let you know in our next blog.
Nick and Jo
Saturday 19 September 2009
Bye bye Europe
Hello everyone.
Just before we pulled into the station yesterday we passed the Europe/Asia border (nothing's really changed yet though). We arrived in Ekaterinburg, Russia's 5th largest city last night and with help from our overnight train buddy Oslo we hailed a random Lada that took us to our hotel where, to our surprise, they checked us in.
Bliss.
The surprise was due to the fact that in Moscow we had similar (worse) problems than in St Petersburg with our hotel. Suffice to say that we spent a day of our short stay with rucksacks on wandering around the city looking for a place to stay. We've now been in two separate hostels so are feeling proper hardcore travellers. I think we were lucky - Moscow is notoriously difficult to find accommodation and supposedly the most expensive city in the world.
Red Square, the Kremlin and St Basil's were all great as was wandering through GUM - the posh designer shopping arcade. Moscow is unbelievably busy with traffic. It can slightly spoil some of its charm - but I suppose this is true of many Capitals - of which Moscow is identifiably one.
We've met some really lovely people who've been really helpful. Still surprised about how few Europeans or other foreigners are here - only heard English spoken a few times - although more than St Petersburg. More Americans, Japanese and French than English (although there was a lady from Kent we overheard in the Kremlin while we waited for one of the stunning Cathedrals). Its mostly "older" people on tours here.
The train was well above both our expectations - I think it was brand new - the bedding seemed untouched and Jo was happy with the state of the toilets. Our unhealthy picnic of peanut butter (Emma - we crumbled in the end) and crisp butties was supplemented by lots of tea and coffee - perhaps the reason for a late night reading.
Ekaterinburg is a quick stop. Nicer than we expected, but we're really just passing through (Sorry Oslo). Another night on the train tonight and Novosibirsk tomorrow...
Just before we pulled into the station yesterday we passed the Europe/Asia border (nothing's really changed yet though). We arrived in Ekaterinburg, Russia's 5th largest city last night and with help from our overnight train buddy Oslo we hailed a random Lada that took us to our hotel where, to our surprise, they checked us in.
Bliss.
The surprise was due to the fact that in Moscow we had similar (worse) problems than in St Petersburg with our hotel. Suffice to say that we spent a day of our short stay with rucksacks on wandering around the city looking for a place to stay. We've now been in two separate hostels so are feeling proper hardcore travellers. I think we were lucky - Moscow is notoriously difficult to find accommodation and supposedly the most expensive city in the world.
Red Square, the Kremlin and St Basil's were all great as was wandering through GUM - the posh designer shopping arcade. Moscow is unbelievably busy with traffic. It can slightly spoil some of its charm - but I suppose this is true of many Capitals - of which Moscow is identifiably one.
We've met some really lovely people who've been really helpful. Still surprised about how few Europeans or other foreigners are here - only heard English spoken a few times - although more than St Petersburg. More Americans, Japanese and French than English (although there was a lady from Kent we overheard in the Kremlin while we waited for one of the stunning Cathedrals). Its mostly "older" people on tours here.
The train was well above both our expectations - I think it was brand new - the bedding seemed untouched and Jo was happy with the state of the toilets. Our unhealthy picnic of peanut butter (Emma - we crumbled in the end) and crisp butties was supplemented by lots of tea and coffee - perhaps the reason for a late night reading.
Ekaterinburg is a quick stop. Nicer than we expected, but we're really just passing through (Sorry Oslo). Another night on the train tonight and Novosibirsk tomorrow...
Saturday 12 September 2009
From Russia with love
Sitting in a hot internet cafe in St Petersburg on Novsky Proskpekt. I will not try to write in cyrillic as we are still trying to learn - pretty tricky understanding stuff here already.
So, where did we leave things?
We arrived in Helsinki, Finland after a noisy smelly night on the ferry on a deck somewhere under the water line (!) so not as bright eyed as we hoped. We drew many comparisons with Manchester but didn't really "get" Helsinki as much of a tourist town (even though it seems to have all the things you would expect). We spent the last day out on one of the islands, where there was an old sea fortress now a World Heritage site and a quiet spot to drift around (and sample the locally brewed White Beer).
An uneventful 8 hour train journey across the border meant we finally made it to Russia (with all the worries about visas, this was all incredibly smooth). However St Petersburg did not start well....
A very busy and hectic place (particularly after Helsinki) we were a bit overwhelmed with the unfamiliar signs etc and wandered about a bit in a daze. After getting to within walking distance of our "hotel" it took us 2 1/2 hours to find the place (after phoning for directions). It was weird. A single flat on the first floor of a very run down old residential block set back and invisible from the main road. Even better, after walking in to the un-signed reception we found they were overbooked and we spent another hour trying to find and get checked into their partner hotel in an even more strange location. But, we made it. Even got out to find great food at the Idiot's Cafe and checked out the more outstanding buildings in evening light.
St Petersburg is amazing in its grandure, but quite mad and tricky for English speakers. Starting to learn a few words out of necessity (had to buy tickets from the train station for the Moscow leg tomorrow - lots of queueing). Everything is just so big (including the art collection of the Hermitage Museum - Picassos, Van Goghs etc).
Spent the day as proper tourists - found the only English tour boat that takes you round the rivers and canals of the "Venice of the North" and wandered around (as per usual) to take in the hundreds of beautiful palaces (Palaced out now) and seen our first "Onion church" in Russia (to be fair there was one in Helsinki). Stunning. Weather has been amazing according to the guide - 30 days sun all year is the norm.
Lots more photos to post later.
Going back to the "boutique business hotel" on floor 7 in our funny building in a minute (at least we get a good view) and off to Moskva tomorrow lunchtime...
So, where did we leave things?
We arrived in Helsinki, Finland after a noisy smelly night on the ferry on a deck somewhere under the water line (!) so not as bright eyed as we hoped. We drew many comparisons with Manchester but didn't really "get" Helsinki as much of a tourist town (even though it seems to have all the things you would expect). We spent the last day out on one of the islands, where there was an old sea fortress now a World Heritage site and a quiet spot to drift around (and sample the locally brewed White Beer).
An uneventful 8 hour train journey across the border meant we finally made it to Russia (with all the worries about visas, this was all incredibly smooth). However St Petersburg did not start well....
A very busy and hectic place (particularly after Helsinki) we were a bit overwhelmed with the unfamiliar signs etc and wandered about a bit in a daze. After getting to within walking distance of our "hotel" it took us 2 1/2 hours to find the place (after phoning for directions). It was weird. A single flat on the first floor of a very run down old residential block set back and invisible from the main road. Even better, after walking in to the un-signed reception we found they were overbooked and we spent another hour trying to find and get checked into their partner hotel in an even more strange location. But, we made it. Even got out to find great food at the Idiot's Cafe and checked out the more outstanding buildings in evening light.
St Petersburg is amazing in its grandure, but quite mad and tricky for English speakers. Starting to learn a few words out of necessity (had to buy tickets from the train station for the Moscow leg tomorrow - lots of queueing). Everything is just so big (including the art collection of the Hermitage Museum - Picassos, Van Goghs etc).
Spent the day as proper tourists - found the only English tour boat that takes you round the rivers and canals of the "Venice of the North" and wandered around (as per usual) to take in the hundreds of beautiful palaces (Palaced out now) and seen our first "Onion church" in Russia (to be fair there was one in Helsinki). Stunning. Weather has been amazing according to the guide - 30 days sun all year is the norm.
Lots more photos to post later.
Going back to the "boutique business hotel" on floor 7 in our funny building in a minute (at least we get a good view) and off to Moskva tomorrow lunchtime...
Monday 7 September 2009
Waiting for the ferry
We're sitting in Mariehamn in Åland waiting for the ferry to arrive to complete our journey to Helsinki, Finland.
This was the stunning view from the back of the ferry last night which slightly made up for our sad departure from Stockholm where we'd spent the last couple of nights. My favourite place is still Stor Torget in Gamla Stan.
We spent today peacefully reading, drifting and playing crazy golf. A sarene day only punctuated by Jo's unfortunate union with a big piece of invisible window. We are hoping the bruise doesn't get too big - poor thing.
A night sleeping on the ferry ahead and we'll wake up refreshed and ready for Finland.
I've finally posted the first few photos
All Roads may lead to Rome...
This was the starting point for the journey. And from platform 0 (very Harry Potter-esque)
Saturday 5 September 2009
Scandinavia
A new definition of a late night for us - its 11:20 which is crazy late!
I'm at another hotel computer writing this. This one is on a boat - the Malardrotningen in Stockholm - which is where we're staying for a couple of nights before heading off into the Baltic archeapelago tomorrow.
We had another bout in Copenhagen - lots of walking and got to see the mermaid (which most people are generally slightly disappointed about). The weather had brightened up so it made it a lot nicer to stroll around randomly (as we are prone to doing). Found a vegetarian restaurant off the listings that wasn't in reality a steakhouse so we got fed something other than cheese butties :)
In the morning we were straight on the train into Sweden, past my old haunt - Lund - couldnät stop beaming as we stopped in the station and I now wish we'd set aside a day to visit the town I lived in for 3 months right after our wedding.
Arrived in Stockolm yesterday and it is gorgeous. It seems few Brits come here (maybe because of the expense or the distance) but it is stunning. The most waterfront of anywhere I've been, and a great mixture of Grand and cute, posh and relaxed. We are staying on the boat right on the island housing the old town - Gamla Stan - a miriad of little streets with shops, bars and restaurants - its gorgeous. I miss Sweden for being able to sit outside a bar in the evening wrapped in a blanket and watching the life happen around you.
Tomorrow we get a last chance at Stor torget and then off to the islands...
I'm at another hotel computer writing this. This one is on a boat - the Malardrotningen in Stockholm - which is where we're staying for a couple of nights before heading off into the Baltic archeapelago tomorrow.
We had another bout in Copenhagen - lots of walking and got to see the mermaid (which most people are generally slightly disappointed about). The weather had brightened up so it made it a lot nicer to stroll around randomly (as we are prone to doing). Found a vegetarian restaurant off the listings that wasn't in reality a steakhouse so we got fed something other than cheese butties :)
In the morning we were straight on the train into Sweden, past my old haunt - Lund - couldnät stop beaming as we stopped in the station and I now wish we'd set aside a day to visit the town I lived in for 3 months right after our wedding.
Arrived in Stockolm yesterday and it is gorgeous. It seems few Brits come here (maybe because of the expense or the distance) but it is stunning. The most waterfront of anywhere I've been, and a great mixture of Grand and cute, posh and relaxed. We are staying on the boat right on the island housing the old town - Gamla Stan - a miriad of little streets with shops, bars and restaurants - its gorgeous. I miss Sweden for being able to sit outside a bar in the evening wrapped in a blanket and watching the life happen around you.
Tomorrow we get a last chance at Stor torget and then off to the islands...
Thursday 3 September 2009
First Overnight train journey survived
Hello everyone,
I'm standing in a hotel in Copenhagen after having washed last night's journey off me.
We spent last night on the overnight train from Cologne to Copenhagen - a sleepy 12 hour journey with a lovely lady who was very quiet until she fell asleep(!)
So far, since leaving Stockport, we have taken 11 trains by Jo's count. Pretty impressive for day 3. London was so gorgeous on Sunday afternoon - spent on my mum and Dad's boat on the Thames - that it was a wrench when we crossed the Channel to find Brussels was suffering from Manchester weather. That cleared up though and we found enough places to eat and drink that we soon warmed to its charms (particularly Mannequin Pis - Jo's favourite) The view from the Palace of Justice over the city in the sun on Tuesday was fantastic and we managed to eat cheese, chocolate, waffles and drink beer during our short stay. Highly recommend 'de la Morte Subite' bar !!
We've already lost the battle against the weather here and got drenched through. Jo is understandably taking some time to recover before we climb back into wet clothes and head out with ponchos to try to see the little Mermaid as we are only in Denmark for 24 hours. Then off to Sweden.
Better go and get sorted - time's a wasting. Will try to sort out photos soon.
Nick & Jo.
I'm standing in a hotel in Copenhagen after having washed last night's journey off me.
We spent last night on the overnight train from Cologne to Copenhagen - a sleepy 12 hour journey with a lovely lady who was very quiet until she fell asleep(!)
So far, since leaving Stockport, we have taken 11 trains by Jo's count. Pretty impressive for day 3. London was so gorgeous on Sunday afternoon - spent on my mum and Dad's boat on the Thames - that it was a wrench when we crossed the Channel to find Brussels was suffering from Manchester weather. That cleared up though and we found enough places to eat and drink that we soon warmed to its charms (particularly Mannequin Pis - Jo's favourite) The view from the Palace of Justice over the city in the sun on Tuesday was fantastic and we managed to eat cheese, chocolate, waffles and drink beer during our short stay. Highly recommend 'de la Morte Subite' bar !!
We've already lost the battle against the weather here and got drenched through. Jo is understandably taking some time to recover before we climb back into wet clothes and head out with ponchos to try to see the little Mermaid as we are only in Denmark for 24 hours. Then off to Sweden.
Better go and get sorted - time's a wasting. Will try to sort out photos soon.
Nick & Jo.
Tuesday 9 June 2009
It all starts now
Hi, welcome to our blog.
Later in the year we will be jumping on a train in Stockport and hopefully will keep on going until we reach Ho Chi Minh City three months later. Ideally, the whole trip to this point will be done without leaving the ground (or sea), taking in Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, Mongolia, China and Vietnam.
This blog will be a record of our journey and something to look back on when we're old and grey.
We'll be trying to find enough internet cafes to keep it up to date as we make our way East. I just wish we'd done one of these 9 years ago when we travelled round Australia for a year.
Its been hell waiting to be able to book the UK/Europe tickets (most of which couldn't be done more than three months in advance). We got our Eurotunnel tickets through a couple of weeks ago. That first step really felt fantastic.
And tonight I've just put in the request for the trans-siberian train tickets to RealRussia, so now it feels like we're really on the way to making the trip a reality.
I'll leave it at that for now. Lots more decisions to be made between now and September.
See you soon.
Nick & Jo
Later in the year we will be jumping on a train in Stockport and hopefully will keep on going until we reach Ho Chi Minh City three months later. Ideally, the whole trip to this point will be done without leaving the ground (or sea), taking in Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, Mongolia, China and Vietnam.
This blog will be a record of our journey and something to look back on when we're old and grey.
We'll be trying to find enough internet cafes to keep it up to date as we make our way East. I just wish we'd done one of these 9 years ago when we travelled round Australia for a year.
Its been hell waiting to be able to book the UK/Europe tickets (most of which couldn't be done more than three months in advance). We got our Eurotunnel tickets through a couple of weeks ago. That first step really felt fantastic.
And tonight I've just put in the request for the trans-siberian train tickets to RealRussia, so now it feels like we're really on the way to making the trip a reality.
I'll leave it at that for now. Lots more decisions to be made between now and September.
See you soon.
Nick & Jo
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