Home sweet home

Well here I am, back in Blighty.
It's nice to see not much has changed in the 10 months I've been away - ie the kitchen my dad had started to install the Xmas before I left, is still not finished! ;)
It was odd that I'd completed 11 flights and had absolutely no problems until the final 2! St Petersburg Airport, bless them, do not have computers at their check-in desks. They also force you through the security section before you get to said check-in desks. So when you arrive with a ticket that has a different date on it to the day you're traveling on, they send you back out to the ticket office in the waiting area (regardless of the fact you have an email confirmation print-out of the change of date), only for you to get a sticker placed onto your original ticket. Then it's back through security.. again.
Then Heathrow airport in London, have decided in their infinite wisdom, to only allow one piece of hand baggage per person for flights leaving the airport. I had two - complete with fragile objects and valuables that I did not care to part with into the checked-in luggage. I was told I either had to check one bag in, or squeeze one bag into the other. This I did, although I've no idea how I managed it (let's just say thank God for large combat pant pockets). I was forced to do this, despite the fact that: I saw many people with 2 items of hand luggage at the gate; my two items of hand luggage combined were not as large as your allowance for one piece of luggage; I saw two Japanese gentlemen in the gate waiting area both traveling with massive double basses! Now if that's not over the bloody one piece of hand baggage size limit, I don't know what it! This country has descended into an over-cautious, paranoid society since I've been away.
And then my flight back to Manchester was delayed by 30 mins. Ah well, can't win them all. ;) Let's just say I was glad to get home.
So I'm now settling back into home life again. It was very strange at first. It was odd to brush my teeth with tap water rather than bottled water; it was odd not to shower in flip flops (or thongs to you Ozzies out there ;)); it was odd to throw toilet paper into the toilet again; it was odd being driven on the left side of the road again; and it was odd to see my parents!
The weather has been pretty naff since I returned too, sadly. I must have brought it with me from St Petersburg as apparently it was gloriously hot before I returned. Shucks. Still, I think I've seen enough sunshine to last me the next decade... I've certainly seen a hell of a lot more than I normally see anyway.
The only thing about a lack of heat is that my skin has dried up like a prune again - now if that's not a reason to migrate to warmer climes, I don't know what is. I'm looking for any excuse now...;)
So, here is a brief low-down of my excellent adventure:

Favourite countries: Japan; closely followed by New Zealand; Laos (north) and Vietnam.

I survived: Skydive; the Tongariro Crossing mountain trek; surfing; the Canyon Swing; Laos public buses; crossing Vietnamese roads; Vietnamese buses & their kamikaze drivers; Cambodian roads on the back of a motorbike; a monkey attack; being ill; and the thousands of miles of air travel.

Highlights: Paul & Hiroko's wedding in Japan; Skydive; Tongariro Crossing; Elvis in concert; seeing whales in Kaikoura (New Zealand); surfing; Uluru & The Olgas; sailing with dolphins near Adelaide (Oz); Siam Paragon shopping centre and cinema in Bangkok; Luang Prabang (Laos); Tam Coc and Hoi An (Vietnam); photography course in Phnom Penh (Cambodia); Angkor temple complex (Cambodia); ger camp in Mongolia; Moscow; and of course all the FAB people I met along the way (too many to list).

Total number of countries visited: 10

Total distance traveled: 36, 609.93 miles (or 58, 905.38 km)

No of flights taken: 11

No of times visited a doctor while away: 7

No of Doxycyline (anti-malarial) tablets ingested: 135 (roughly - over 5 months)

No of antibiotics have ingested: Lost count

No of photographs taken: Lord only knows and He ain't telling! ;) (rough guestimate is around 12,000 snaps, possibly more).

New fave food combinations discovered while away: peanut butter and honey on toast; muesli and yoghurt; Laughing Cow cheese triangles sandwiched between sour cream and chive Pringles; banana and chocolate on anything - especially in pancakes and croissants.

No of good friends made: Again, lost count - a priceless number though.

So there you have it folks. That's it. Finito. It's over. I can't believe it all went by so fast. I've had such a blast and loved every minute of it (well, most of it, apart from being ill obviously).
So it's back to the real world and the grindstone for me (when I find a job). Obviously my blog won't be anywhere near as interesting from now on, but hey, I hope you'll still drop by to see what I'm up to...
You never know when I'll start planning the next excellent adventure.. ;)
Adios til then. x

'Ra Ra Rasputin'.... all together now, sing along! ;)

Zdrastvuytye (hello in Russian).
And so we entered Russia around 09.00am on Friday 11 May. We were stuck at the border station for a good 4 hours or so while yet more forms were filled in, passports checked, cabins searched and customs declaration forms were stamped. We had to stay in our cabins this time, although there was a friendly Mongolian guard who let us disembark to use the station toilet. And the enterprising ladies in the station toilets were selling everything, from loo roll to toothpaste! The guard even let us brush our teeth on the train tracks - seeing as he was freely spitting onto the rails, we thought why shouldn't we?! ;) I wish we'd gotten a photo of me, Laura and Becks brushing in unison. That would have been one for the album.
And so the train rolled on, with another 4-5 hour stop at the border town in Russia! I didn't need the loo there, thankfully, because you needed Russian Ruebbles, and of course we didn't have any. Some of the girls forced their way into the lavs, but others opted to wait until the train was moving again.. plus the Russian guards did not look quite as accommodating as the Mongolian ones so we thought best not to disturb them.
We arrived in Irkutsk (which I actually thought was still in Mongolia until someone pointed out we'd be going over another border crossing when we boarded the train in UlaanBaatar) around 07.00am on the Saturday and were promptly met by our new honcho, Eugene. He had his team leader with him who supervised our drop off at a local hotel to use the ATM and money changing facilities. There are only around 50 Ruebbles to the British Pound, so that was a lot easier to work out than Mongolian Tukrig, or whatever it was).
Then we were wisked off Lake Baikal: the world's largest freshwater lake (and the deepest too). A few of the gang ran into the Vodkatrain group which did this trip the other way around in Beijing and they'd said the lake had been frozen and they'd been hovercrafting out on it. That sounded like fun! Sadly it was no longer frozen - still very pretty though with snow-capped mountains on the far side (when you could see them through the haze).
Our bus pulled off down this track through some very traditional houses to get to our accommodation and we all wondered what we were going to be deposited into, but it turned out to be a very comfortable Swiss-style chalet! It was a sprawling place and even included a sauna, which several of the team tried out later in the day - although the thought of being beaten by birch twigs and then being covered with freezing cold water was not really my poor chest's idea of fun, so I passed.
The rooms were really nice - complete with own toilet, but there were only 2 showers to the entire annex of around 7 rooms in which we were all staying. Plus they didn't stay hot for very long either - especially on the last day when the owners turned off the hot water while everyone showered and prepared to leave! People were not happy - especially when they said all meals cost 250 Ruebbles each and then charged 300 for one of them. They did the same for laundry (which of course we were all in dire need of by that stage): 250 R per bag, but people with large bags got charged a lot more! Of course you have no choice as you're stuck in the middle of nowhere... the cheek of it.
The food was nice though - always 3 courses and there were vegetarian options too - and we even had karaoke! We walked up to the (closed) observatory on top of a hill that afternoon (it was cold and blustery around the lake but up the hill it was scorchio) which offered some nice views of the lake. After dinner some people went to a local bar, while others settled down in the communal dining/lounge area to do some karaoke. Of course, as we were in Russia, I had to do Boney M's Rasputin - a disco classic! Sadly this quickly highlighted my age in the fact that only one of my travel companions kind of knew the chorus: no-one else had heard of it! Sacrilege. Still, I let rip without caring and it was excellent fun. Michael did a wonderful rendition of German band Scooter's techno classic How Much is the Fish?. We were all in stitches - it fast became his theme tune and a running joke.
Other highlights of our stay here included a nippy boat ride across the lake and a trip to Taltsy Museum of Wooden Architecture, which was essentially a traditional Russian village taken from Peter the Great's time. Fascinating. There were some nice stalls selling Russian dolls and all kinds of handicrafts too, which made it more interesting. Nice woodwork.
We returned to Irkutsk to catch the train to Moscow on the Monday. Thankfully we visited a really nice, modern supermarket to stock up on noodles, Pringles and the like for the 3 night and 3 day train marathon ahead of us! A stable diet for the train included: bread, Nutella, peanut butter, Pringles, nuts, noodles, pot mashed potato, and of course, chocolate. ;) All good, healthy stuff...
Moscow proved to produce our best honcho yet: Anastasia. She was right on the ball with any info we needed and she had a list of top ten things to see in the city - you see, it's not hard! The only drawback was the hostel: us girls were plonked in an 8-bed dorm and the boys were in a 4-bed dorm (not very fair on the couples after 3 days and 3 nights on a train!). And there was only one shower per floor too, and we shared our floor with at least 4 other rooms. Plus the hostel was in a little bit of a building site state while we were there. Still, at least some of the showers were hot!
We ate at a really cool Russian buffet place the first night - lots of choice of delicious food and loads for veggies too! Bargain. Other highlights of our 2 days in Moscow included: Red Square (again, not how I imagined it would be) and St Basil's Cathedral; Tretyakov Gallery; the very swanky Moscow subway with its marble walls, statues, stained glass and mozaics; the elaborate/ wooden toyland-esque flea market; and of course, the Kremlin. Sadly the armoury in the latter was sold out so I didn't get to see any real Faberge eggs. :( But I did buy a faux Faberge egg for my mum from the market.. ;)
One of the downsides to the trip were the pricey club entrance fees and the fact we saw some guy smack another guy on the subway: not a pleasant sight (or sound). There are also police everywhere checking tourist passports. You have to register your passport every 3 days (traveling on the train does not count) with the police - usually your accommodation does this for a fee. Prices vary: it cost us 240 Ruebbles in Irkutsk and 400 R in Moscow, but it was free in St Petersburg?!
I could really tell we were back in Europe in Moscow. It was really nice. Large, old, colourful buildings, expensive clothes shops. There was even Oasis, Accessorize & Top Shop in one of the malls. It was good preparation for coming home I guess, in terms of the prices, as well as the shops.
The journey to St Petersburg was only an overnight train hop - our last leg of the Trans-Mongolian Express. It would have been a poignant journey, if it had not started at 00.50 and ended at 08.48, ie we were all asleep for most of it...
St Petersburg was a real mix of different European cities. Apparently Peter the Great wanted to turn it into Venice - I didn't realise that the city would boast that many canals! Parts of the city reminded me of Rome, parts of Venice, and part of Paris. It is certainly European. Many of the old buildings are bright, vibrant colours (mostly yellow).
Our honcho for the final leg of the journey was tiny Olga. And bless her, she wasn't really cut out for this kind of job. She didn't really know how to handle a large group and she was really too quiet. I had to feel sorry for her, but when I thought about how much I'd spent on this trip, I kind of changed my mind..
Particularly when we wasted our time on a boat trip on the Sunday morning after arrival, when we could have spent a good 3 hours at The Hermitage - Olga failed to mention it was closed the following day. In the end we only got to spend 1.5 hours there - nowhere near enough sadly.
We did, however, get to see the ballet at the Marinsky Theatre. It was in 3 acts - the second was my favourite: Rubies - lots of bright red, sparkly costumes. Tha last act was very pagan and there was not much ballet, just a lot of stomping around, although the music was good. The funny aspect was the Russian gentleman sat next to me: he knew which female dancers he liked and he was heard to shout 'brravo' a fair few times.. ;) It kept us entertained. I'm glad because it cost us 2000 R each - around £40! One of the dancers in the first act was not too hot though: she fell over once and then failed to keep up with the other 2 females dancing around the male who represented Apollo.
We took in the Petrodvorets (a very grand palace an hour's bus ride out of St Petersburg, where we managed to lose half of the group for an hour after they went to find the toilet!), the exterior of the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood and climbed the colonnade of St Isaac's Cathedral. The Grand Palace was quite spectacular, with cascades of fountains in the sprawling gardens, which reminded me of Versailles - the building was certainly easily as large. Just not quite as impressive.
And so it was on Tuesday, May 22 that I bid farewell to Russia and the rest of my 10-month trip! I couldn't believe it was over. Beck, Laura and Mike were all on the same flight as me to Heathrow so that was great cos we could share a taxi. But more of that on my next entry...
Spasiba (thank you in Russian) to whoever has been keeping tabs on my blog for almost a year. I hope it's kept you all entertained and has inspired you to plan adventures of your own to see this weird and wonderful world that we live on for such a short time!
Ciao for now. CJ x

The Greatest Train Journey in the World (TM)

Hello!
I just spent 21 days on the Vodkatrain. Wow, you may be thinking, that's a long time to spend on a train, but fear not dear readers, I was only on the train for 3 nights and 3 days at the most in one stretch.
I joined it in Beijing. There were 12 people in our group: 2 Scots (Gemma & Karen); 2 Brits (Elizabeth & moi); 1 Polish/Australian (Michael); 3 Australians (Beck, Christie & Dave); 2 Kiwis (Laura & Mike); 1 American (Greg); & 1 German (Anna). Our first Honcho in Beijing was Mark: a bit of a worrywart and not the most organised person in the world; he delighted us to the culinary treats of a restaurant around the corner: twice. It would have been 3 times if we had not complained...
He was good at writing down tourist destinations in Chinese for taxi drivers (when they could be bothered to take you), so we utilized this skill and took in the Temple of Heaven and The Forbidden City before our departure on Saturday morning (May 5). Mark never joined us on any of the trips - we kind of split off into groups - and he never offered info as to where was good to see, he asked us what we wanted to see - is it not his city?
The Forbidden City was nice, although I didn't really have enough time to see it all. The living quarters of the Emperor's concubines were really picturesque. It would be easy to get locked in after the gates closed at 17.00 - I was tempted! ;)
After yet another failed attempt at grabbing a taxi (they just ignore you or say no - I gues my money is just not good enough!) I ended up in a rickshaw - a Chinese cyclo if you will. It was almost twice the price of a taxi, even though I haggled him down somewhat. He was hellbent on giving me an informative tour of the hutongs though (little historic alleyways), however, I just wanted to get home. I think he was a little disappointed, bless. However, he dropped me off a good 10 minute walk from the hotel and then had the cheek to say I could tip! Not bloody likely mate! ;)
The hotel was really nice. I was in a twin room with Anna (from near Munich) and the bathroom and beds were so comfy. It was certainly one of the nicest rooms I'd stayed in around SEA, and it was a YHA!
The Trans-Monoglian Express train was far more comfortable than I imagined it was going to be. The 4-berth cabins were quite comfortable and we got linen, towels and hot water (at a small price). The only downside were the stern-looking porters - almost as scary as the nuns at the Angkor temples. You didn't want to meet them in a dark corridor late at night, I tell you...
There were 2 toilets (Western-style, hooray!) at either end of the corridor (one male and one female), although no shower. We were only on the train for one night the first trip, so that was not so bad.
The one drawback on the first few legs of the train journey are the border crossings: not because they are long and tedious, but because they lock the toilets... The border crossing from China to Mongolia tookaround 4 and a half hours: they have to change the bogies on the train (no, not someone with a bad cold: the wheels). You can stay on the train for the 2 hours in which they do this or you can sit and wait in the station at Ullan Ude (which has toilets). We did the latter. We all met up with Michael there: he had not managed to obtain a Mongolian visa because the embassy in Beijing was shut as a result of the Golden Week holidays. He had to leave 2 days before us to get to the embassy at Ullan Ude. He was sorted by the time we hooked up, so that was good (there's always one ;)).
After various disturbances once back on the train (fill out forms, let officials search cabins, hand over passports, etc), we finally got some sleep. We woke up to clouds of dust filling the corridors as we passed the Gobi Desert.
We arrived in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, mid-afternoon and all raced to get some food in the rather nice restaurant next to the hotel, and then it was a race to have showers (hence the hot water did not last long) before we all met up again half an hour later to see a traditional Mongolian show. They have throat singers here. It's fab: rather like a cross between a yodle and gargling, it is a talent (?!) which must take years to master. There were times (especially when the notes that came out of one of the singer's mouths was far lower than we anticipated) when it was funny. The contortionists and the dancers were good.
Then it was off to a club after dinner, which I have to say looked more like a working men's club from the outside! We ended up doing Karaoke, which was excellent fun - they seem to love it all around SEA as much as Japan.
The following day we saw the centre of Buddhism in Mongolia (a temple with a large Buddha that you weren't supposed to turn your back on) and encountered our first brush with the Monoglian criminal underworld when Greg got his wallet stolen. Thankfully they only took his Mongolian money and left his cards and US dollars.
In the afternoon we headed out to the Ger Camp. For those of you who don't know, a ger is a traditional Mongolian tent. They were surprisingly comfortable too: a large tent with 4 beds per tent and a large stove/fire in the middle. And we needed it as it was rather nippy when we got there. Again, there were no showers and toilets were far from Western-style (I thought I'd done well to avoid them up until now... ;)) with a lovely 3 foot drop for you to deposit your 'waste' through the gap in the floor. You have to be particularly alert during the night when you could easily take a wrong-footing and plummet to your demise in a load of crap! Nice...
The food in the restaurant ger was again surprisingly palatable with dumplings and a fair range for vegetarians (which I was for the duration of this trip). While we were there we watched a Mongolian film called The Weeping Camel, it won awards at one of the Cannes Film Festivals I think. It was a sweet tale about this camel who had no bond with its baby so it charted the Mongolian people's attempts to bring them back together. It was very sweet.
While we were at the ger camp we visited a traditional Mongolian farming family and scared them to death (or made ourselves look very stupid, probably the latter) by singing English nursery rhymes to them. We split into girls and boys teams. The girls sang Old MacDonald's Farm (Mongolian-style, ie including camels) and the boys sang Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. They fed us Mongolian food which was very fatty - lots of butter and lard and stuff. Not the nicest food, but you make the most of what you have I guess.
We also did a trek to a deserted monastery and some people did horse riding and camel riding. We also played a game which involved flicking chicken and sheep anklebones together to win: I was teamed with our Honcho OJ and we won! Tiny fingers rule!! ;) OJ was such a kidder and she looked as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. She told one joke too far though and no-one believed her when she said she had a strip card game to teach us. Many people ended up naked - I'm glad to say I left before that moment. ;)
It was back to the city of UlaanBaatar to get the train to Irkutsk on Thursday, May 10. The city is exactly how I imagined it would be thanks to watching Ewan McGregor Charley Boorman on his trip The Long Way Round - thanks Ewan & Charley! ;) They are at it again I think - The Long Way Down this time from Scotland to South Africa - should be interesting. Good luck guys. UlaanBaatar is about 30 years behind the times and full of concrete buildings. And taxis that are just anyone looking to make some extra money - you just flag anyone down! There are no licence laws! Probably rather dodgy if you're on your own - thankfully I never was...
The rest of Mongolia is rather flat, apart from the Terelj National Park where our ger camp was - that had some hills and rocks. We climbed through a hole in a turtle-shaped rock and were 're-born', although I was re-born with a dodgy knee cos I banged it! ;)
So it was back on the train for 2 nights and over the border to Russia... more about that next time.
Dasvidanya (goodbye in Russian). x

I'm still alive - just! ;)

Nee-shiow (hello in Chinese - I think, or something that sounds like that anyway!).
It's been a while since you heard from me. I've been rather busy... being ill. I'm now in the capital of China, Beijing. But more of that later... let me first update you as to what's been happening since Cambodia.
After last updating my blog I had a minor panic with my camera: a virus got into the memory card from the computer I used to download my Angkor images onto my blog. The following morning my camera flashed up 'np pictures' when I tried to take one. You can imagine the panic in my stomach at losing over 1,000 photos, 400-odd of which were of the Angkor temples. Thankfully I remembered that wonderful photo shops usually have programs which can retrieve images off memory cards (one good thing came out of me accidentally deleting Tracey's card in Airlie Beach!) so off I went (well, sprinted) to a camera shop. Even in poverty-stricken Cambodia they can work miracles and I got everything put onto CD. Thank God for modern technology! ;)
So with that crisis over we hopped on a bus to Battambang. If you ever come to Cambodia I really recommend that you DON'T go there. There's nothing really there. It was more of a means to an end to reach the border with Thailand at Poipet. That said we still managed to make 2 nights out of it. There are 2 (3 including the hotel) restaurants that cater for tourists. It's very local, ie not really set up for tourists. Shari did a cookery class and then I joined her on a moto tour of the surrounding area, complete with 'Cambodian snow' (ie road dust). We saw a fruit orchard and lazed in a couple of hammocks, saw fruit bats in a monastery and saw the foot of the killing caves. Angkor it wasn't. Again, not really worth visiting....
After crossing the border at Poipet we got on a PROPER COACH again! Hoorah. Comfort! With DVD movies too. Ah, this is the life. We arrived back At Home (our guesthouse, which was indeed a home from home) in Bangkok on the Wednesday and settled in for a week.
During that week we obtained our Mongolian visas. This was no mean feat as you're very lucky if you can find the emabssy. I think it's one of those magical places that only appears at certain times during the day and then disappears into an other-worldly kingdom. This mean feat included a Keystone Cops-style race against the clock to reach the place before 16.00 on the Monday to collect them. All modes of transport were used; Skytrain, tuk tuk, taxi (for 100 metres) and moto - hilarity ensued - AFTER we made it with 5 mins to spare! There was one sign from the road and then you got lost in a maze of very plush houses in which people lived who didn't seem to know what was in their immedicate vacinity (my moto driver asked a lady in one of the gardens and she had no idea where it was). Fascinating.
Also during that week I got chatted up by a young man with blond dreadlocks called Finn. I was sat in a restaurant reading after a meal and he asked if he could join me. I think he was only 22 or so, bless. Seemed like a nice enough lad but really we really didn't have much in common, apart from liking the band Fall Out Boy. Ah well. It was flattering and boosted my confidence a tad and there's nothing wrong with that. :)
Then things turned slightly wonky: literally. On the Saturday, me and the guys headed to a very plush shopping mall to see a film - yes a cinema! A lovely treat it was going to be. It was a very plush cinema too: very comfy reclining seats etc, cheap and a free fridge magnet of a forthcoming film with every ticket purchased!! It was cold tho - the air-con was on full blast. And sadly the film we picked - Sunshine - did not shed any warmth on the situation (rather naff I thought). I started to feel a bit funny. By the time we'd had something to eat after the film, I really was feeling ropey. I was really light-headed, had sollen glands, a cold and really wobbly legs. I thought I was going to collapse.
Shaz and Andy got me back to the guesthouse, bless them, and raced off to Boots to get me some tablets. They came back with antibiotics which made me feel a bit better. I spent the next day pretty much in bed. I had booked a tour of the ancient site of Autthaya for the Sunday but nothing could be done and I was better off in bed. I felt better a couple of days later and did the tour on the Tuesday - kind of like a mini Angkor but nowhere near as spectacular but I got my shot of the Buddha head in the tree roots, which was my reason for going. ;)
So then we boarded an overnight bus to the Thai island of Koh Samui. Sadly the visions of a tropical beach paradise we had imagined were shattered as it was pelting it down with rain when we got there at lunchtime the following day (we'd set off at 18.00 the night before and got the ferry at 08.00 that morning).
We were very lucky to find cheap chalet-style accommodation fairly close to the beach straight away as it's mostly expensive beach resort and the odd expensive hotel (well, not expensive if you're on a 2-week holiday, but it was on our budget).
Then I spent the next 24 hours hiding in my room because it was the Songkran New Year Festival (yes, the third time I've seen 2007). I spent it hiding because you just get drenched with water wherever you go. And I mean drenched. There were buckets of water every 500m or so on the main street and people with water pistols everywhere. The tradition is that people flick a little bit of water at you to purify you for the coming new year - note I said a little bit. Of course the tourists - more than likely the Brits - always have to take it a little too far and behave like total tossers. Some people had ice cold water and were just depositing buckets over people. Now ordinarilly I would have joined in the fun but as I was still not feeling quite right I didn't want to risk my chest getting bad again, therefore wanted to avoid getting damp. Now when you say 'no' to people when they look like they're going to drench you, they should respect that. But they don't. I was not happy. So I hid. Thankfully the beach was a water-free zone (apart from the sea obviously). I managed to make it to the 7/11 for food! Shaz and Andy bought water pistols. ;)
I relaxed for a few days but my head was still not right: I felt pissed all the time, ie the world was not straight. So I visited the international hospital in Koh Samui - twice. Yes the doc there was useless and didn't know what was wrong. During the second visit he did a urine test (they fed me lots of water and had to be patient!) and established I wasn't pregnant - if he'd just asked I could have saved him time (and water) and told him that! He gave me some pills that didn't work. So I didn't see much of the beach sadly. Well, I spent one day there. And despite factor 30 suncream and a large umbrella, I still burned!
I bid a fond farewell to Shaz and Andy - I left them splurging and enjoying the luxury of a very nice beach resort for a few days to return to Bangkok on my tod. I splurged on an air-con room to try and feel better but it was the same resort, not a swanky one.
I got the overnight bus back to Bangkok: postponed by a few days cos I still wasn't right. I had planned to be in Hong Kong for a week but I thought it best to get my head sorted out first.
The bus trip was eventful - sadly. Some bastard went through my large rucksack while everyone was asleep (altho I wasn't, ironically). They got into my Pacsafe locks and everything - fat lot of use they are! I'd sent my Pacsafe metal mesh cover home the week before too: d'oh! It was an 8kg box: at least now I can lift my backpack and that's a novel feeling I can tell you. ;)
Thankfully nothing was taken (I kept all valuables etc in a small rucksack on me at all times). There was a weird guy at one of the food stops who showed me and some other girls a piece of paper that said please keep your valuables on you as the bus co cannot be held responsible for any losses, so they obviously know what's going on. He was probably in on it. Gits. Still, at least nothing was taken. I was lucky I guess, others may not have been.
So I got back into Bangkok at 05.30am - shattered from no sleep and still feeling wobbly. I applied for my China visa and checked in when a room became available At Home. I met a lovely Canadian girl called Stephanie who hung around with me round some malls on the Tuesday - she went shopping, I went window shopping! ;) I helped her to a taxi as she had so much luggage from the trip that her boyfriend had left with her. He teaches in Japan.
I visited the hospital in Bangkok on the Monday afternoon in the hope to get my head sorted once and for all. I saw an American doctor too: you have no idea what a relief that was, I tell you. It was at Mission Hospital. They asked me my religion on the registration form. Then I spotted the lovely paintings in the waiting room depicting Western doctors treating patients, with Jesus hovering over their shoulders and telling them what the problem is! I became slightly concerned they were going to convert me so I ticked Christian rather than writing agnostic! ;)
It only took the doc 5 mins to diagnose inner ear inflammation as a result of the infection I had - Labyrinthitis again (I had it a couple of years ago). So I got some pills (ironically ones that I take when my chest gets bad, that I'd had in my bag all along!) and it seemed to clear up pretty much. That was until Flew to Hong Kong on Saturday. I saw Shaz and Andy one more time before I left Bangkok, they hadn't realised the date and came back to Bangkok to get their China visas, so that was cool.
Hong Kong was interesting. Dirtier than I imagined but lots of posh shops again (designers). I was going to see the large Buddha on Lantau island or do a city tour (I only had one day/ 2 nights there) but my head was worse than ever again on Sat night so I ended up going to yet another hospital (I'm getting to know the Asis health care system well!) - Queen Elizabeth Hospital - to get checked out as had finished my tablets. I must say that the Chinese bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired!! The doc did not seem interested - well, none of them did. It was rather more expensive than Thailand too. They did a blood test and determined that I'm not anaemic, therefore it must still be residual infection that didn't quite clear up. It was probably the flight that set my ears off again. So I got yet more tablets. It's getting better and is now bearable. If it doesn't clear up once these tabs have gone I'll take my chest tabs again and see how that goes. Still, home in less than 3 weeks!!! Yay! ;)
So I hung around Kowloon around my guesthouse for the day. The guesthouse was not bad inside: clean and cosy - very cosy - like a cell!!! It was better than the outside of the building which looked like a bomb had hit it. It was on the 12th floor, there was a skanky shopping centre on the ground floor and the internet was hanging off the wall in a little corridor between rooms. Cosy! The location was fantastic - near all the major shops and restaurants. I even found a Nici shop in one of the posh malls (very cute and gormless German soft toys that I collect) - you've no idea how much that cheered me up! ;) It's the simple things.
So now I'm in Beijing and waiting to join the Vodkatrain tour. The briefing is at 17.00 today so am waiting to check out of my guesthouse. This guesthouse is better than the last and a bit more comfy. I had an airport pick-up too which always helps. The bus system into Hong Kong was fantastic but I don't think it would have been as easy to get here.
Sadly the location is not great: had to walk an hour to get to the main shops and restaurants and then walk back in the dark and rain cos there were no taxis - it's really busy here due to festival (May Day equiv I guess) and people were literally fighting for taxis. The one taxi I did manage to get into, the guy shouted at me irately, so I got out! I have to say that so far I've found many Chinese to be rather rude.
I did a Great Wall and Ming Tomb trip yesterday. The wall was much narrower than I thought it would be. Will have to go back another time to one of the less busy areas I think and get some decent photos (at the right time of day too cos the sun was in completely the wrong place). Sadly we couldn't see inside the tomb either, just the gates and surrounding areas. We saw a tea ceremony too altho it was nowhere near as intricate or as interesting as the Japanese one. The jasmine tea was nice tho.
Anyway, I'll sign off for now. I prob won't get internet access again til I get home (on May 22) seeing as I'm off to Outer Mongolia and Russia! So until next time,
Ciao. xxx