Ok, we're a bit behind with the blog entries but we're having a great time! We've made it to Sydney, the overland bit is over and we've finally done it - London to Sydney overland, 8 months, 30 people and a 6x6 truck YAY!!
Our internet connection is rubbish here so wecan't post photos but suffice to say it has been great. We will update very soon with the Australia entries, some photos and a summary. Thanks for reading, for being interested in what we're doing and for all the email support (especially the toon reports, even though we're obviously still in desperate need of a decent back 4 as usual!)
We're on our way home soon via Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York and Dublin. We'll be back early December and if you fancy a pint and being bored by our stories and photos - drop us a line and we'll meet up - Beamish Mary on the 8th anyone? Email addresses below.
All the best, and thanks again,
Nick and Christine.
nickyboy@gmail.com
cpflee@hotmail.com
Monday, 26 November 2007
Changi again, what a shame!...
Yay, back in Changi again. We had a few hours to kill so it was time for a pint in Harry’s bar, a walk through the orchid gardens, a coffee in the sushi bar and then time to meet half the EOE guys. As most of us were getting to Darwin on the same flight we had a great time catching up on our weeks off, comparing tans and betting on who would get stuck with excess baggage charges.
What can we say about Changi that we havent said before? If you ever get the chance to travel that part of Asia and have to transfer, make sure its there.
This will be the last of civilisation for a while – we’re off to Oz (and nobody prepared us for how primitive the NT would be!)
What can we say about Changi that we havent said before? If you ever get the chance to travel that part of Asia and have to transfer, make sure its there.
This will be the last of civilisation for a while – we’re off to Oz (and nobody prepared us for how primitive the NT would be!)
Hong Kong Phooey...
The ferry was a laugh from Macau, nowhere near as bad as the Langkawi one in Malaysia but a lot more civilised with waiter service and safety briefings. We arrived at 5pm and met Aunty Bing who drove us over to Chiwai’s place in Shatin. Therefore, our first view of Hong Kong island was in the back of a MPV during rush hour. Another amazing Asian city was our first thought and the next week did nothing to dispel this thought. Shatin is out in the New Territories and is not on Hong Kong island so we had to travel in by MTR if we wanted to be in the centre.
Almost as soon as we arrived, Chiwai had us ready and out the door heading for a restaurant and then the national day firework display – no matter how good you think a firework display has been back home, it is nothing compared to what the Chinese can do! For nearly an hour the sky was lit with the most spectacular explosions we have ever seen, all the buildings on the Island and the Kowloon waterfront were lit up and lasers fired from the roofs on to the harbour water. Retiring to Chiwai’s apartment around midnight, we were happy to see our bed and get ready for a week of experiencing the best this amazing place could offer.
We bought an Octopus card at the local train station and were ready to go, Octopus is a pre-paid card that you can use for public transport, shopping, cinemas, McD’s – almost anything. You just swipe it over a reader and the amount is automatically deducted, when you run low you top up at the ATM, over the phone, in a shop or on the net – saves carrying cash and speeds everything up. Over the next few days we realised why HK has so many restaurants, everybody eats out, all the time! We must have eaten at Chiwai’s once in all the time we were there, the rest of the time we ate out, either with family, friends or on our own. Food from every country, culture and religion is available in HK so we could have bacon and eggs for breakfast, yum cha for lunch, a light tea of sushi and Turkish kebabs on our way home from a night on the town drinking German beer. Yes, we put weight on here!
Travelling round on the MTR and Star Ferry was great fun and really quick, clean and efficient. We travelled up the peak at night to see the sun go down and the lights come on across the island and NT, we visited Ocean Park to see dolphin shows, we sipped coffee and watched the worlds bankers hurry by in the CBD, wandered around designer label shops, visited ancient Hakka shrines, walked along the avenue of stars – it’s fair to say we got around a lot and only returned home to sleep!
On Friday we took everyone out for dinner and met our extended family, the dishes kept coming, red envelopes kept appearing and cameras flashed all night long. We had a great time and agreed to do it all again the next night when we would meet up at Grandad’s for a big BBQ. Grandad lives a fair way out, so far in fact you can see China just a mile away from his garden. This was a part of HK many people don’t see – rolling countryside, deserted villages and fishing ponds. To go from the intensity of the city to the peace of the village was brilliant. We relaxed with a beer listening to the cicadas and breathing in the smell of the gardens and fields. We stayed over that night and then had a big lunch in a local town before heading off back to the hustle and bustle of the city.
Deciding to have a couple of nights in a hotel so that Chiwai could concentrate on her upcoming exams, we booked into a boutique hotel in Kowloon. This place was great, totally high tech, we had a huge LCD tv in our room that you used to control everything from the lights and temperature to room service. You could access the net, watch movies and listen to CD’s from a library of thousands – there was even a tv in the shower! If you went swimming you could plug your ipod in and hear your tunes through speakers above and below the water.
We shopped in the markets, bought counterfeit goods, fresh food and Chinese sweets, all in all, this is a shoppers paradise. It was good to not feel like an overlander for a while and be normal again. Unfortunately, like every city on this trip, it was soon time to move on. Before we left though, we had tol walk along the avenue of the stars, like Hollywood but all the HK actors over the years – Jet Li has tiny hands!
Oh well, off again (shame we have to connect in Singapore again!!!)
Almost as soon as we arrived, Chiwai had us ready and out the door heading for a restaurant and then the national day firework display – no matter how good you think a firework display has been back home, it is nothing compared to what the Chinese can do! For nearly an hour the sky was lit with the most spectacular explosions we have ever seen, all the buildings on the Island and the Kowloon waterfront were lit up and lasers fired from the roofs on to the harbour water. Retiring to Chiwai’s apartment around midnight, we were happy to see our bed and get ready for a week of experiencing the best this amazing place could offer.
We bought an Octopus card at the local train station and were ready to go, Octopus is a pre-paid card that you can use for public transport, shopping, cinemas, McD’s – almost anything. You just swipe it over a reader and the amount is automatically deducted, when you run low you top up at the ATM, over the phone, in a shop or on the net – saves carrying cash and speeds everything up. Over the next few days we realised why HK has so many restaurants, everybody eats out, all the time! We must have eaten at Chiwai’s once in all the time we were there, the rest of the time we ate out, either with family, friends or on our own. Food from every country, culture and religion is available in HK so we could have bacon and eggs for breakfast, yum cha for lunch, a light tea of sushi and Turkish kebabs on our way home from a night on the town drinking German beer. Yes, we put weight on here!
Travelling round on the MTR and Star Ferry was great fun and really quick, clean and efficient. We travelled up the peak at night to see the sun go down and the lights come on across the island and NT, we visited Ocean Park to see dolphin shows, we sipped coffee and watched the worlds bankers hurry by in the CBD, wandered around designer label shops, visited ancient Hakka shrines, walked along the avenue of stars – it’s fair to say we got around a lot and only returned home to sleep!
On Friday we took everyone out for dinner and met our extended family, the dishes kept coming, red envelopes kept appearing and cameras flashed all night long. We had a great time and agreed to do it all again the next night when we would meet up at Grandad’s for a big BBQ. Grandad lives a fair way out, so far in fact you can see China just a mile away from his garden. This was a part of HK many people don’t see – rolling countryside, deserted villages and fishing ponds. To go from the intensity of the city to the peace of the village was brilliant. We relaxed with a beer listening to the cicadas and breathing in the smell of the gardens and fields. We stayed over that night and then had a big lunch in a local town before heading off back to the hustle and bustle of the city.
Deciding to have a couple of nights in a hotel so that Chiwai could concentrate on her upcoming exams, we booked into a boutique hotel in Kowloon. This place was great, totally high tech, we had a huge LCD tv in our room that you used to control everything from the lights and temperature to room service. You could access the net, watch movies and listen to CD’s from a library of thousands – there was even a tv in the shower! If you went swimming you could plug your ipod in and hear your tunes through speakers above and below the water.
We shopped in the markets, bought counterfeit goods, fresh food and Chinese sweets, all in all, this is a shoppers paradise. It was good to not feel like an overlander for a while and be normal again. Unfortunately, like every city on this trip, it was soon time to move on. Before we left though, we had tol walk along the avenue of the stars, like Hollywood but all the HK actors over the years – Jet Li has tiny hands!
Oh well, off again (shame we have to connect in Singapore again!!!)
Friday, 9 November 2007
Vegas with no gangsters (that we could see)...
1am, always the best time to arrive in a strange country. Macau was no different, clear customs and immigration, find a taxi, check into hotel and sleep. Rising late the next morning we went for a stroll around the old part of town to check out the old colonial architecture and grab some street food. We were down bynthe harbour so wandered around checking out the fish and squid drying in the sun – smells we’ll never forget. Macau seemed like a very laid back place compared to the rest of Asia, nobody seemed to be in a hurry, the traffic was reasonably sensible and the streets narrow and quaint.
Christine was eager to get shopping again as we needed to buy gifts for our relatives in Hong Kong with whom we’d be staying next week and there is always the need for some upgrades to the kit in our backpacks, we needed toiletries, gifts, a new pair of shoes, socks – the list goes on. One good thing about shopping here is you can be confident that the stuff is real, Nickm got some North Face walking shoes, Columbia trousers and a Berghaus top for 40% of the UK price. The shop assistants were great, even if we did have a language barrier, Nick kept trying to get discounrt and Christine tried to get free gifts, we had a ball, even if we didn't get everything we wanted.
One of the main things Macau is famous for is it’s casinos, there are loads of them and one, the Venetian is the biggest in the world, bigger than its sister in Vegas. Well we had to go there and check them out. We went to Sands first as you then get a free shuttle bus to the Venetian. Sand was brilliant, huge gaming floors, entertainment, food and drink – even a branch of McDonalds and KFC. Everywhere was polished brass, chrrome and glass, huge chandeliers hung in every room and it was heaving. There were thousands of Chinese there, they come from Singqapore as we had, from over the border in Guangzhou and on the ferry from Hong Kong – all for one reason, to gamble. The noise was incredible, the sound of roulette wheels, men and women shouting, bets being slammed down and poker machines going wild paying out money. A little strangely, you could only use HK dollars and not Macau ones here.
We decided as time was getting on that we’d get over to the Venetian as we’d heard so much about being the biggest, the best, the flashiest in the world – it didn't disappoint! Coming across the river you see the light pollution before you see the building. Styled on Venice (obviously) it has huge screens outside, terraces with Roman statues intespersed with palm trees and red carpets leading you in over highly polished marble floors. There is a shopping centre, restaurants representing every type of cuisine, bars from all around the world and even a canal with gondolas to take you from the shops to the restaurant and vice versa!
We didn't get to the tables as a lot of the games were in Chinese and a lot of them were too high stakes, just being there was enough. We left at midnight intending to get the free shuttle bus back to the city but decided against it when we saw the queues. If we thought Sands was busy, it was nothing compared to the Venetian, while we thought the entire province of Yunnan was inside, it seemed that the whole population of Hong Kong was outside! We got a taxi.
We left later that day on the ferry bound for Hong Kong and a week with family Nick had never met and Christine hadn’t seen in years, fingernails were being chewed on that ferry crossing and not just because of the waves....
Christine was eager to get shopping again as we needed to buy gifts for our relatives in Hong Kong with whom we’d be staying next week and there is always the need for some upgrades to the kit in our backpacks, we needed toiletries, gifts, a new pair of shoes, socks – the list goes on. One good thing about shopping here is you can be confident that the stuff is real, Nickm got some North Face walking shoes, Columbia trousers and a Berghaus top for 40% of the UK price. The shop assistants were great, even if we did have a language barrier, Nick kept trying to get discounrt and Christine tried to get free gifts, we had a ball, even if we didn't get everything we wanted.
One of the main things Macau is famous for is it’s casinos, there are loads of them and one, the Venetian is the biggest in the world, bigger than its sister in Vegas. Well we had to go there and check them out. We went to Sands first as you then get a free shuttle bus to the Venetian. Sand was brilliant, huge gaming floors, entertainment, food and drink – even a branch of McDonalds and KFC. Everywhere was polished brass, chrrome and glass, huge chandeliers hung in every room and it was heaving. There were thousands of Chinese there, they come from Singqapore as we had, from over the border in Guangzhou and on the ferry from Hong Kong – all for one reason, to gamble. The noise was incredible, the sound of roulette wheels, men and women shouting, bets being slammed down and poker machines going wild paying out money. A little strangely, you could only use HK dollars and not Macau ones here.
We decided as time was getting on that we’d get over to the Venetian as we’d heard so much about being the biggest, the best, the flashiest in the world – it didn't disappoint! Coming across the river you see the light pollution before you see the building. Styled on Venice (obviously) it has huge screens outside, terraces with Roman statues intespersed with palm trees and red carpets leading you in over highly polished marble floors. There is a shopping centre, restaurants representing every type of cuisine, bars from all around the world and even a canal with gondolas to take you from the shops to the restaurant and vice versa!
We didn't get to the tables as a lot of the games were in Chinese and a lot of them were too high stakes, just being there was enough. We left at midnight intending to get the free shuttle bus back to the city but decided against it when we saw the queues. If we thought Sands was busy, it was nothing compared to the Venetian, while we thought the entire province of Yunnan was inside, it seemed that the whole population of Hong Kong was outside! We got a taxi.
We left later that day on the ferry bound for Hong Kong and a week with family Nick had never met and Christine hadn’t seen in years, fingernails were being chewed on that ferry crossing and not just because of the waves....
Singapore Slings at Raffles...
Arriving at 8am, slightly sleepy but happy to be in a new country we left the train and went to find a taxi – our first experience of the amazing Toyota Crown and the even more incredible city of Singapore. The station is located in the south, just below Chinatown and as we sailed through it was coming to life, stalls were opening, the street cleaners were out in force and delivery vans were everywhere – the difference here was that there was no congestion, everything worked like a well oiled machine. Mickey D’s for a quick coffee, an introduction to Singapore from a brilliant taxi driver and we were ready to get on the net and then pound the streets looking for a nice place to stay. Raffles was slightly out of our price range but we found a charming boutique hotel round the corner and settled in there for a few days before our flight to Hong Kong.
Of course we did find time to go for the ubiquitous Singapore Sling but before that we needed to see the sights. Orchard Road is a feast of shopping where everything is available, from high-end electronics to designer clothing – costs a bomb though! Chinatown was the same as anywhere really and as we were going to Hong Kong in a few days we only really stopped in there for cheap eats. Further north was Little India wher you can get some of the best curries outsinde of India, or so they claim. An island to the south holds a massive theme park and out to the west is the Zoo and night-time safari. Everyrthing you could want is here and all withing a short taxi ride.
We were expecting the nightlife to be quite tame based on the city’s reputation but we were pleasantly suprised. Down at Merchant Quay we found loads of ex-pats sitting round drinking cocktails and German beers at a brilliant Brewhaus right on the river with seats in the sun and burgers as big as your head! As their menu meant that the beer got more expensive as the day wore on, we all decided to get there for a late lunch and stay for most of the day before heading home for a shower and a doze and then out to Ministry of Sound that night. MOS wasn’t to our taste (“it’s all just noise!”) but the club was something else, loads of different rooms with different themes and different crowds of people. This was the place to be to show off and spend money – the car park was all Lexus, Lotus and Porsche, the women wore little and the men were buying Champers and bottles of brandy.
As Singapore is such a safe place we decided to walk off the evenings excesses on our way back to the hotel at 2am. A good 30 minute walk along the river and we decided that a taxi was in order – a taxi that promptly did a U-turn and took us in the correct direction! He dropped us at the food market near our hotel where we had a mountain of Chinese food for a fiver and then off to bed aiming for a lie in the next morning.
The next day was spent ding little, we ate in a converted nunnery, had a drink on the 88th floor of a friends hotel overlooking the city at sunset and retired early to watch a DVD and pack for Hong Kong. Normally the thought of spending a few hours in an airport is viewed with mixed emotions – boredom, overpriced food, hordes of tourists heading to Spain etc. Changi, however is a different kettle of fish – winner of best airport in the world several times and full of great restaurants, free wi-fi everywhere, shuttle trains between terminals, brilliant staff, exotic gardens and free lounges with massage chairs – nope, spending time here is brilliant. We had a fair few hours where Nick downloaded lots of Top Gear episodes, Christine spent all day on facebook and we generally enjoyed being there. For once, being told that your flight was boarding wasn’t a relief.
Another nice touch was getting free sweeties from the immigration desk – altogether a pleasant experience. Off to Macau....
Of course we did find time to go for the ubiquitous Singapore Sling but before that we needed to see the sights. Orchard Road is a feast of shopping where everything is available, from high-end electronics to designer clothing – costs a bomb though! Chinatown was the same as anywhere really and as we were going to Hong Kong in a few days we only really stopped in there for cheap eats. Further north was Little India wher you can get some of the best curries outsinde of India, or so they claim. An island to the south holds a massive theme park and out to the west is the Zoo and night-time safari. Everyrthing you could want is here and all withing a short taxi ride.
We were expecting the nightlife to be quite tame based on the city’s reputation but we were pleasantly suprised. Down at Merchant Quay we found loads of ex-pats sitting round drinking cocktails and German beers at a brilliant Brewhaus right on the river with seats in the sun and burgers as big as your head! As their menu meant that the beer got more expensive as the day wore on, we all decided to get there for a late lunch and stay for most of the day before heading home for a shower and a doze and then out to Ministry of Sound that night. MOS wasn’t to our taste (“it’s all just noise!”) but the club was something else, loads of different rooms with different themes and different crowds of people. This was the place to be to show off and spend money – the car park was all Lexus, Lotus and Porsche, the women wore little and the men were buying Champers and bottles of brandy.
As Singapore is such a safe place we decided to walk off the evenings excesses on our way back to the hotel at 2am. A good 30 minute walk along the river and we decided that a taxi was in order – a taxi that promptly did a U-turn and took us in the correct direction! He dropped us at the food market near our hotel where we had a mountain of Chinese food for a fiver and then off to bed aiming for a lie in the next morning.
The next day was spent ding little, we ate in a converted nunnery, had a drink on the 88th floor of a friends hotel overlooking the city at sunset and retired early to watch a DVD and pack for Hong Kong. Normally the thought of spending a few hours in an airport is viewed with mixed emotions – boredom, overpriced food, hordes of tourists heading to Spain etc. Changi, however is a different kettle of fish – winner of best airport in the world several times and full of great restaurants, free wi-fi everywhere, shuttle trains between terminals, brilliant staff, exotic gardens and free lounges with massage chairs – nope, spending time here is brilliant. We had a fair few hours where Nick downloaded lots of Top Gear episodes, Christine spent all day on facebook and we generally enjoyed being there. For once, being told that your flight was boarding wasn’t a relief.
Another nice touch was getting free sweeties from the immigration desk – altogether a pleasant experience. Off to Macau....
What a shiny erection....
Malaysia, a Muslim country where you can still drink beer. Crossing the border around lunchtime we were sad to see the back of Thailand but the tropical island of Langkawi was waiting for us (it’s a hard life island-hopping), as soon as we entered Malaysia it started to rain – REALLY rain! Fortunately it didn’t last long and we were soon on our way, the roads were excellent once more and by 4.30 we were on the ferry. You know how every taxi driver in Asia is a failed F1 driver? Well the ferry captains obviously think they are F1 powerboat pilots! The 1 hour crossing was done at full speed, crashing through rough seas and allowing Christine to discover just how seasick she could be!
On arrival though, all was forgiven. Langkawi is a tax free island so everyone was busy stocking up on tabs, spirits and chocolate as soon as we docked. Another wacky races taxi got us to our hotel where there just happened to be beach on one side and an Irish bar on the other. Pints of the black stuff for a quid, why thank you, we’ll have some of that! Having had enough of the beach for the time being, we decided to move to the interior for a few days. We hired a log cabin in the forest and had a few days relaxing with the unique flora and fauna of this beautiful island. We took a boat tour to see some of the other deserted islands and see eagles feeding, swim in lagoons and have a picnic on the beach. The only downside to the day was when a monkey stole Nick’s Doritos and he chased it down the beach promising to do some serious damage to it if he caught it – fortunately for the monkey (and Nick probably) it was too fast and got away. Nick did get a round of applause from the other tourists though!
Instead of getting on the truck for a 2 day drive to KL, we decided to fly direct instead. Tiger Airways took us on the 1.5 hour flight for less than a tenner and we were soon in the back of a taxi looking for somewhere nice to stay near the twin towers. If you think the traffic is bad back home, try KL for size – where Bangkok, Saigon etc had lots of mopeds, everyone in KL seems to drive a 4WD or S-Class so nobody gets anywhere very quickly. After an hour of sitting in traffic with the most irritating driver so far, we dived into Planet Hollywood for a beer and a bit of ringing round. We eventually caught up with everyone else and spent the next two days shopping for laptops and PSP games as well as lots of pirate games, DVD’s, music, watches and handbags. When the truck left for JB and the border we decided to have a couple of extra days here and take the sleeper train to Singapore.
Queuing up at 8am the next day we got our (free) tickets to go up the Petronas Twin Towers to see KL from the highest twin towers in the world. The views were amazing but the glass viewing bridge was not for the faint hearted. We returned that night to see the towers lit up and gleaming against the black sky. Huge flocks of birds circle ahead in the floodlights giving them an eerie as well as spectacular image. Once again it was cer6tainly a case of the photos not doing the view justice. As our time was nearly up, we headed to the station to catch the overnight train to Singapore. 2nd class sleeper bunks set us back less than $20 and would take from 10pm to 8am the next day at an average speed of 50km/h. Our bunks were basic but clean and comfortable and as usual food was hawked along the carriage for the first two hours, we then settled down with our new toys and eventually were rocked to sleep by the motion of the train. Rudely awoken at 5am, we had to cross the border at JB, brilliant system you simply get off the train walk along the platform to immigration, get stamped out of Malaysia and into Singapore then get back on the train for a couple of hours sleep before breakfast is served. See you in Singapore....
On arrival though, all was forgiven. Langkawi is a tax free island so everyone was busy stocking up on tabs, spirits and chocolate as soon as we docked. Another wacky races taxi got us to our hotel where there just happened to be beach on one side and an Irish bar on the other. Pints of the black stuff for a quid, why thank you, we’ll have some of that! Having had enough of the beach for the time being, we decided to move to the interior for a few days. We hired a log cabin in the forest and had a few days relaxing with the unique flora and fauna of this beautiful island. We took a boat tour to see some of the other deserted islands and see eagles feeding, swim in lagoons and have a picnic on the beach. The only downside to the day was when a monkey stole Nick’s Doritos and he chased it down the beach promising to do some serious damage to it if he caught it – fortunately for the monkey (and Nick probably) it was too fast and got away. Nick did get a round of applause from the other tourists though!
Instead of getting on the truck for a 2 day drive to KL, we decided to fly direct instead. Tiger Airways took us on the 1.5 hour flight for less than a tenner and we were soon in the back of a taxi looking for somewhere nice to stay near the twin towers. If you think the traffic is bad back home, try KL for size – where Bangkok, Saigon etc had lots of mopeds, everyone in KL seems to drive a 4WD or S-Class so nobody gets anywhere very quickly. After an hour of sitting in traffic with the most irritating driver so far, we dived into Planet Hollywood for a beer and a bit of ringing round. We eventually caught up with everyone else and spent the next two days shopping for laptops and PSP games as well as lots of pirate games, DVD’s, music, watches and handbags. When the truck left for JB and the border we decided to have a couple of extra days here and take the sleeper train to Singapore.
Queuing up at 8am the next day we got our (free) tickets to go up the Petronas Twin Towers to see KL from the highest twin towers in the world. The views were amazing but the glass viewing bridge was not for the faint hearted. We returned that night to see the towers lit up and gleaming against the black sky. Huge flocks of birds circle ahead in the floodlights giving them an eerie as well as spectacular image. Once again it was cer6tainly a case of the photos not doing the view justice. As our time was nearly up, we headed to the station to catch the overnight train to Singapore. 2nd class sleeper bunks set us back less than $20 and would take from 10pm to 8am the next day at an average speed of 50km/h. Our bunks were basic but clean and comfortable and as usual food was hawked along the carriage for the first two hours, we then settled down with our new toys and eventually were rocked to sleep by the motion of the train. Rudely awoken at 5am, we had to cross the border at JB, brilliant system you simply get off the train walk along the platform to immigration, get stamped out of Malaysia and into Singapore then get back on the train for a couple of hours sleep before breakfast is served. See you in Singapore....
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