HEADING WEST

Reunion en Estambul//Meeting in Istanbul

2006-11-22T02:06:00.000+10:30

Nuestros dias con Marta, Fede y Naiara que se animaron a visitarnos en Estambul, se resumen en esta foto: muchas risas y charletas, cansancio (vaya caretos que tenemos) por no parar de visitar sitios y mucha Efes!!!(sino a quien se le ocurre sacar una foto asi?)

Our days with our Spanish friends who visited us in Istanbul can be summarised in this picture: loads of laughs and talks, tired faces from all the walks we did and litres and litres of Efes (otherwise why would we take a photo like this?).

Una leccion de moda irani//A lesson on Iranian fashion

2006-10-27T23:25:00.000+09:30

Chador: Manto que cubre todo el cuerpo, obligatorio en todos lo sitios sagrados (mezquitas, etc). Generalmente negro, excepto el que dan a los guiris en recepcion, que tiene tonos de sabana de la tia Juani, dicese para que el guiri de la nota todavia mas.

Hijab: (ref. la foto de abajo). Bufanda en la cabeza y camisa 10 tallas mas grande de lo normal (necesario que cubra el trasero). Obligatorio siempre que se este delante de hombres (excepto hermanos o padre). Nota: no se debe olvidar cuando se abre puerta del hotel a quien llame, cuando se va al bano o cuando recien levantado se abre la cortina del hotel para ver si hace sol.

Chador: The Chador covers the entire body and is compulsory in all sacred sites (mosques etc.) It is generally black, although all tourist reception offices hold floral table cloths for those that have left theirs at home. Perhaps it is so tourists are easily identified?

Hijab (refer to the bottom photo): The dress code that require all women to hide all of the curves. It is generally comprised of a scarf that covers the head and long baggy shirts. It is compulsory to wear the Hijab in front of men, except amongst blood family. Eider complains continuously about having to wear it because it takes her five minutes longer to get to the toilet in the morning.

Teterias en Iran///Teahouses in Iran

2006-10-21T20:21:00.000+09:30

Cuando por fin llega la noche y se puede "romper" el ayuno de Ramadan, las teterias se llenan por todas las calles de Iran. En esta foto estamos haciendo algo solo permitido a los turistas y totalmente prohibido e ilegal para los Iranies: fumar delante de una mujer.

When the sun sets and in Ramadan time Iranians can break their fasting, all the tea houses of this country get full of people drinking tea, eating sugar and smoking apple pipe. In this photo we are doing something illegal for all Iranians and just allowed to tourists: to smoke in frnot of a woman

Adios Uzbekistan///Goodbye Uzbekistan

2006-10-13T20:02:00.000+09:30

Despues de tantas aventuras en las fronteras, esta es una que no nos habia pasado antes. Despues de horas de espera y de que unas cien personas nos miraran el pasaporte al pasar de Uzbekistan a Turkmenistan, unos militares se acercaron a nosotros cuando ya creiamos que habiamos acabado con toda la burocracia. Primer pensamiento: Socorro! Seguro que quieren mirar de nuevo nuestro pasaporte, mirarnos la mochila, pedirnos dinero...!!!!Malpensados!Con cara de avergonzados, nos pidieron a ver si se podian sacar una foto con nosotros...por supuesto!

After our passports had been checked for the millionth time, we thought we were home free to enter Turkmenistan. Wrong again! Three gaurds approached us for what we though was going to be another security check, bag search or a kind request for a personal donation. To our surprise however, these gaurds merely wanted a snap shot with some foreigners. So, this is us just about to enter the 'Wonder World of Turkmenbashi'.

Dinero Uzbeko///Uzbek money

2006-09-28T17:54:00.000+09:30

En Uzbekistan el billete de mas valor es de 60 centimos de euro!!!...andamos que no sabemos ni donde esconder los fajos de billetes. Los cambiamos en pequenas cantidades y aun asi, esto es lo que nos dieron en el Banco el otro dia...

In Uzbekistan de highest note is of $1AUSD!!!We don't even know where to hide the notes. We try to exvhange small amounts, but still...This is what they gave us in the bank the other day.

Montes de Kyrgyzstan////Kyrgyzstan's mountains

2006-09-14T16:00:00.000+09:30

Acabamos de llegar a Osh, la segunda ciudad de Kyrgyzstan, despues de 9 dias de trekking (con guia por supuesto) por los maravillosos montes de este pais. Llegamos a subir un pase de 3,600 metros y luego anduvimos unos 100km por la zona, haciendo diferentes tresmiles....impresionante. Esta foto esta sacada despues de subir un glaciar. Eso si, ahora estamos echos polvo y tenemos una capa de mugre que rascar...Ni que decir queda que la s agujetas nos duraran semanas y las ampollas meses!
We have arrived in the city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second biggest city. It took us 9 days to get here trekking over mountain passes in excess of 3,500ms. This photo was taken straight after climbing a small glacier and just before a painful 1,500m descent. We survived the expedition and are now left with some amazing photos, dirt from head to toes and a number of large blisters (Eider). We are just going to enjoy a bit of R&R here for a couple of days before heading off to the city of Mayluu Suu, another Soviet nuclear hotspot.

y tambien melones...///and also melons....

2006-09-14T15:42:00.000+09:30

!Y tambien tienen melones riquisimos!!!!!!!....
They also have the best melons ever....!!!

2006-08-30T18:47:00.000+09:30

Shashlijk!: Yes, this is our dayly diet since we stepped in central asia...Yummy!!

Shashlijk (increibles pintxos morunos), es nuestra dieta diaria desde que llegamos a Asia Central...como veis, seguimos sufriendo...

Esta vez la historia es triste////A sad tale

2006-08-21T14:59:00.001+09:30

Llegamos a Semey hace una semana. Esta zona, desafortunadamente no es conocida por su belleza, sino por su tragica historia reciente. Rusia durante la epoca sovietica exploto nada mas y nada menos que 467 bombas nucleares (esto son, recuerdo, 467 Hiroshimas) en el llamado "Poligono", una zona vallada a 300km de esta ciudad. Cuando Rusia dio la independencia a Khazakstan, dejo en esta zona una herencia de un paisaje desolado, un medioambiente totalmente contaminado de radioactividad y una poblacion enferma, que trae a este mundo una nueva generacion con enfermedades inexplicables. Visitad, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semipalatinsk_Test_Site para mas informacion en este tema. Visitamos el hospital oncologico que se cae a trozos y no puede dar a basto con los enfermos que les llegan todos los dias. Entrevistamos a gente que vio con sus propios ojos varias pruebas en las puertas de sus casas. Camiones militares aparecian en su puerta y les "evacuaban" sin explicacion alguna durante 2-3 dias a lo alto de un monte a 2 km de sus casas, mientras sus animales se quemaban vivos y las ventanas de sus casas explotaban. Rusia se fue, dando compensaciones de 30 euros (si, no me he olvidado de ningun cero) a los testigos de los "test". Nadie quiere tomar responsabilidades para todas las enfermedades que aparecen ahora, los ninos enfermos que nacen ahora, los pueblos olvidados que a duras penas siguen en pie. Hace 6 anos, el hospital oncologico no podia ni alimentar o dar te a los pacientes, mientras el presidente de este pais esta en la lista de los hombres mas ricos del mundo.
Estas son las fotos de una de las familias que entrevistamos en un pueblecito y nos acogio con los brazos abiertos y la del monumento a las victimas de las pruebas militares que yace en Semey. Esto se tiene que conocer.

A SAD TALE
We finally made it to Semey, a town that sits on the fringes of the infamous Soviet 'Polygon'. Some 200kms from the city 467 nuclear tests the size of the Hiroshima bombs were carried out. Sad tales can be told by many of the city's residents. On the first day of our arrival we visited an oncology clinic, where we were told the story of how little treatment and compensation the 'Polygon' victims receive. In Soviet times many patients had to provide all of their own bandages, medicines and food. They were allowed tea, but only of they paid for boiling water. Compensation paid to victims varies, but many receive as little as $50 AUS.

On the second day we visited a typical Kazak village. Many of the people in the village witnessed mushroom clouds from the tests. Many of the villages around the epicentre were merely asked to not look at the light, or don't stay indoors at the time of explosion. Some were removed from their villages to return to collapsed homes, burnt livestock and pets, or visible toxic fallout when it rained.

The people in Semey have been the most hospitable to date (refer to photos). They were all happy to tell us of their tradgic stories; brothers / sisters, parents and children that have been diagnosed or died from cancer. One of their worst fears however, is that they are conscious that this will continue to run through generations to come. As stated before, a sad tale.

If you want to know more visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semipalatinsk_Test_Site

desde Rusia////From Rusia

2006-08-14T13:22:00.000+09:30

Como muchos sabeis hemos pasado 2 semanas construyendo un camino a traves del Lago Baikal con una ONG local. Tienen intencion de cubrir mas de 1.500km y en dos semanas nuestro proyecto consiguio acercarse 700m mas....Estabamos en un grupo de 20 personas, 10 extranjeros y 10 rusos...Nos lo hemos pasado como enanos y a pesar de los dolores y la capa de mugre despues de dos semanas de camping y trabajo duro (para variar) esto ha merecido la pena. Visitad www.gbt.com.ru para ver el pedazo de trabajo que estan haciendo aqui. La tele nacional Rusa vino a visitarnos durante el proyecto para un documental y nos entrevistaron a los dos, fue risas.

No signs of Gulag camps here. Nothing but siberian thunder storms and magnificent vistas. We've shared an unforgettable experience with a group of 20 (50% Russian : 50% Internationals) over the last two weeks. In a great combined effort we have contributed to around 700ms of the Great Baikal Trail - it will eventually be over 1,500kms! There's been plenty of sweating, sore muscles, mosquito bites and Russian porridge and we'd recommend anyone to participate. Visit www.gbt.com.ru if your interested. One of the funnier things that happened on the camp is that we were interviewed by Russian National TV about being an 'odd couple'.

Caballito de triana...///A story about horses....

2006-07-17T19:25:00.000+09:30

Se nos ocurrio un dulce dia de verano la feliz idea, sin nunca habernos montado en un caballo, de hacer un tour de 5 dias en caballo por la estepa mongoliana. El tour era baratisimo y prometia aventura (de camping por lugares nunca visitados...) y alli nos dirijimos dos amigos belgas que conocimos y nosotros dos. El primer contacto con nuestros caballos fue de puro miedo...los alquilamos de un granjero y esos caballos salvajes no habian visto a un guiri en su vida...Luego fue la sorpresa de que la silla de montar no es de cuero blandito como en casa sino pura madera de pino de Mongolia, sin tela para ablandar ni nada!Ingenuos de nosotros pensamos que nos darian una clase en "doma de caballo salvaje, primera leccion-como frenar-"...pero en cambio nos encontramos con un "ala!subid ese monte y nos encontramos dentro de 5 horas en la siguiente granja...no provoqueis al caballo que pueden correr mucho...". 5 horas mas tarde mis muslos son los de esta foto. El resto de las fotos estan censuradas, pero los moratones aparecieroin por todas partes. Nunca, repito, nunca, he experimentado un grado de dolor tal...eso si, por lo menos nos echamos unas risas de campeonato viendonos andar los siguientes 5 dias. Ni decir queda que los 4 dias suiguientes los dedicamos a la vida comtemplativa y NUNCA EN MI VIDA QUIERO NI VER UN CABALLO DE NUEVO

I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANOTHER HORSE AGAIN IN MY LIFE!
Over a few (too many) beers with some new strangers we decided that we should do a 5 day horse riding tour. Three hours from the Ulaan Bator we were aquainted with our horses, who were to be our graceful mode of transport to the supposedly beautiful 'Blue Lake'. Unfortunately, we never made it.

Five hours into the trip both Eider and I could bare the pain any longer. We did not mount our horses for the remaining four days. Eider has bruises that run from the top of her thighs, all the way past her knee (refer to a section in the photo) and I have swollen 'parts', which I will not mention here.

So...for the following four days Eider and I were driven around the endless Mongolian Steppe looking out of the window with our non-English speaking driver. He called it ' a big picnic', which I suppose is what it turned out to be.

Mongolia es unico///Mongolia is unique!

2006-07-09T11:55:00.000+09:30

Definitivamente estamos en el pais mas rural que hemos visitado hasta ahora. Durante el Festival de Nadaan en Mongolia, en las afueras de las ciudades se celebran los deportes nacionales de este pais. En uno de estos acontecimientos vimos esta sucursal de Banco...no tiene perdida.

We are definetly in the most rural country we have visited until now. During the Festival of Nadaan in Mongolia, outside the main cities they set up camps where the ppractise the main sports of this country. In one of these events we saw this Bank branch...amaizing!

Chapter 5: China is....////Cap. 5 en China es....

2006-06-19T16:29:00.000+09:30

En todas las ciudades de China hay paneles donde pegan el periodico de hace tres dias para que todos lo puedan leer sin pagar (con retraso pero gratis)...parece ser el pasatiempos favorito de todos los juvilados (equivalente a las obras en Espana) y suele haber filas de gente leyendo noticias de hacer tres dias!!!Curioso, no?

In all the cities in China you can see panel in every corner where the stick the 3 day old newspaper so everyone can read it for free (late, but free)....it seems to be the favourite hobbie of most of the retairees and we have seen lines of people reading old news in the street. Amaizing, isn't it?

Chapter 4: dinner at a Chinese Rest.//Cap.4: cena en un Rest. Chino

2006-06-14T08:36:00.000+09:30

Se ofrece banquete en un Restaurante Chino a quien adivine que es lo que cenamos este dia (nosotros todavia no sabemos)....Entramos en un restaurante y por 2.5 euros te daban 10 platitos de degustacion....lo unico que identificamos fueron la patas de gallo (unas incluidas...)....

A free banquet in a Chinese Restaurant for whoever guesses what we ate at this banquet - we still don't know. We followed the eating survival rule of 'go where it's busy', paid our 5 bucks and received 10 plates of oriental suprises. All we could identify were the chicken's feet (nails included!)

Capitulo 3...en...China is different///Chapter 3...in... China is different

2006-06-10T23:39:00.000+09:30

Esta semana en "China is different. Cap 3".....
"El Te"
En China se bebe te a todas horas y en todos los sitios...algo impresionante. Cada uno se lleva una taza y su propio te (te verde o de jazmin son los favoritos) a todas partes. Se sirve agua hirviendo (gratis) en todos los hoteles, trenes, estaciones de tren, restaurantes....Y en nuestro animo de querer ser uno mas en este pais lleno de sorpresas fuimos al mercado a comprar el ultimo modelo en tazas (por favor observad el motivo esparrago-pimiento verde y rojo///y pececitos en el mar) y nuestra bolsita de te.....y tan agusto!

This week on "China is Different. Ch. 3"

Tea in China
Tea is the national past time. You drink it day and night and no matter where or what you are doing. Everyone takes a tea cup (>500ml) or a thermo full of their favourite tea with them at all times of the day. They fill the cup full of tea and then continually fill it with boiling water all day.

You find boiling water everywhere; hotels, train and bus stations, restaurants etc. To blend with the locals we brought a couple of tea cups. I think we look more Chinese, although some people are not convinced. I think we may be doing something wrong though, as when we pull them out we get strange looks. It might be the bright colours and the traditional style cups we purchased.

Who knows?

Quien quiere un viaje a China gratis? / Who wants a free trip to China?

2006-06-02T16:26:00.000+09:30

Un viaje gratis a China para quien adivine que anuncia este cartel. Sigue conectado con nosotros para el siguiente capitulo de "China is different".

A free trip to anyone who can tell us what they are advertising. Stay tuned for further episodes of "China is different".

####Para participar en el concurso hay que donar 5000-$ a nuestra cuenta corriente###
####To participate in the game you need to donate 5000$ into our savings account####

China...is different!

2006-06-01T17:26:00.000+09:30

No llevamos ni 48 horas en este pais...pero es el tiempo que se necesita para saber que CHINA IS DIFFERENT!
Os resumo los dos dias que acabamos de pasar:
- Entrada al pais a traves de Vietnam: al pasar por la parte de China, el policia le pide a Andrew que abra su mochila. No os creais que estaba interesado en saber si llevabamos drogas o armas nucleares, su unico interes era investogar el contenido de nuestros libros, que reviso uno a uno, mirando todo sobre la guia que llevabamos de China para saber si llevabamos material subversivo. Increible...
- Las dos horas de espera para el autobus que nos llevaria a la capital de la provincia nos dejaron boquiabiertos. nos habian contados que la gente en este pais escupia mucho, pero lo que hemos visto en las ultimas horas ha sido increible: la gente escupe dentro del autobus, dentro de un restaurante, en la sala de espera del hotel....asi que imaginaros las calles, andamos con continuo terror de que nos caiga algun misil en el cuerpo...Ademas, no os imagineis cualquier escupitajo... el ritual comienza con un aclarado de garganta (cuanto mas alto mas viril) que se puede describir como una arcada fuerte, despues se moldea el misil en la boca durante un buen rato y luego se escupe donde sea, sin mirar si hay alguien cerquita. La cosa no acaba ahi: si no se esta en un lugr abierto y el escupitajo se echa dentro del autobus o el restaurante, se pisa el escupitajo con garbo, cual colilla de cigarro (para que no se note??????). Un asco, en serio, pero es que es indescriptible lo frecuente que es.
- Cuando nos montamos en el autobus a las once de la manana nos dijeron que para las 8 de la tarde stariamos en Kuniming...bueno, 9 horas para hacer 450km no esta mal...La realidad fue que llegamos a las 5 de la manana senores...si, si, 18 horas de autobus para hacer 450km (Asier creo que hemos roto record!): el viaje me podria llevar horas describir (he dicho que el autobus no tenia aire acondicionado?), pero os lo resumo en algunas frases:
- Barrizales en los que nos quedamos estancados
- Un Accidente un km (que se cobro la vida de un ninito), que nos dejo casi 5 horas inmobilizados en medio de la carretera
- En una de las mil paradas que hicimos (para hacer pis, para comer, para hacer pis una hora mas tarde....), el conductor se olvido a un pasajero y tuvimos que volver a por el

El resto lo dejo para mas adelante porque hemos pensado en venderle la historia a Almodovar para una pelicula...y es que si algo hemos aprendido es que CHINA IS DIFFERENT!

La foto es donde estuvimos parados 5 horas en el viaje del autobus.

CHINA IS DIFFERENT
We've now been in the country for 2 day and your powers of observation do not need to be strong to notice that China is different.

Here's the story so far....

- Upon entry I am asked to remove the contents of my bag. I was afraid that my weapons and drugs had been discovered! However, they were only interested in the type of literature I was taking through. A brief look at the China LP and the Da Vinci Code and I was through no questions asked.

- Here-a-spit, there-a-spit, everywhere-a-spit-spit! The Chinese love a good gorby. They spit in the train station, on the bus, in the reception of the hotel. It's not just the spit however, it's the lead up. First, they gargle and bring forward anything from the nasal passage or deep down in the throut. They then fire the projectile with amazing accuracy and force. Men, women and children paticipate in this perculiar cultural past time. On a peronal level, I hope the public education campaign to put a halt to this prior to the Olympic Games; somone could get hurt.

- 450kms in 18 hours, it must be some kind of record? We travelled from the Vietnam border to Kunming travelling through mud, as well as up and down amazing mountain passes. There was a five our stop due to an accident were a poor boy lost his life and numerous stop overs for the sake of having a stop over (which means we had completely no idea what was going on). We also had to return to one of the villages after the bus driver left a passenger behind after dinner. Needless to say, swollen limbs and a sore arse were the result of this epic journey.

The photo is a picture of the luxurious 5 hour stop over en route to Kunming.

- Stay tuned for more adventures in the People's Republic of China.

no te iras a la cama sin saber.....///you won't go to bed without knowing...

2006-05-22T00:12:00.000+09:30

Sabias que.....? en Vietnam hay un festival que se llama TET que se celebra en Enero (depende de la luna) donde TODOS los Vietnamitas celebran que son un ano mayores? Esto significa que si naces en Diciembre, el 1 de Enero ya tienes 1 ano!!!!Increible!!!

Did you know....?????In Vietnam there is a festival called TET, celebrated sometime in January (depends on the lunar calendar) when everyboday celebrates being a year older....This means that is you are born in December, by January you are allready a year older!!!!!Amaizing!!!!

Manjar en Vietnam....////Goddies in Vietnam.....

2006-05-20T18:18:00.000+09:30

Esto es un manjar en Vietnam. Lo llaman feto de pato, o mejor dicho "embrion de pato". Es el huevo de pato, justo antes de que nazca el pobrecillo. Tiene pelo y todo, y los comen cual gambillas!!!
Para los mas curiosos, si, acabamos probandolo. Aqui la bocazas del reino, pregunto a los de la mesa de al lado que es lo que estaban comiendo y generosamente nos ofrecieron uno de los huevos. Rechazar un gesto asi es de muy mala educacion aqui...La verdad es que no estaba tan malo...

Anyone feel like duck embryo for dinner? While drinking at a hostel we were invited to try this local delicacy. Eider went for the feathered wing, while I dug into the stomach; it wasn't a pleasant experience. As Eider says above, the Vietnamese absolutely crave these little snacks and eat them like the Spanish getting stuck into a plate of fired prawns. I don't think this fad will take off in Australia.

The Barber of Saigon///El barbero de Saigon

2006-05-15T22:50:00.000+09:30

I'ts the first time in 2 months Andrew had a shave and a shower!!!! He came out all shiny and 10 years younger!!!!

La primera vez en dos meses que Andrew se ha afeitado y duchado!!Vino del barbero brillante y diez anos mas joven!!!!

Amaizing Cambodia///La increible Camboya

2006-05-07T22:51:00.000+09:30

Our arrival to Cambodia was a bit of a shock to the system as we arrived in the wild west city of Poi Pet. It's dusty and full of shady characters. We had decided, as detailed in earlier blogeries, to try and avoid the scam bus from BKK to Siem Reap. I am proud to say that this was achieved as we arrived in Siem Reap in about half of the time and at half of the cost most travel companies had quoted us. This includes the Thailand Tourism Authority, which I believe good have their fingers in the scam bus pie. Siem Reap is hot, damn hot. The magnificent temples of Angkor are mind boggling, not just for their architecture and size but also for the architectual and planning elements of the world's largest religious buildings (Angkor Wat). We spent two days exploring the temples with Penny, who has been travelling with us since Bangkok. We then travelled down to Phnom Penh stopping at a few spots not really worth mentioning here. PP has a great feel and is yet to be littered with all of those establishments the west knows so well, such as McDonalds and 7 Eleven. The esplanade faces the Le Sap River, which joins up with the Mekong River. We had a couple of beers here each night and while watching amazing sunsets. Security Prision 21 is a sombre reminder of the terrors that occurred throughout the Khmer Rouge's time in power some 30 years ago. The regime of the day murdered and tortured around 2 million of its own people. Our brief encounters with Cambodians showed that although they are friendly and optimistic about the future, many of the horrific memories still remain. Thank goodness that those days have passed.

The photo is from the Ta Prohm Temple in Angkor Wat.

La llegada a Camboya nos dejo un poco perplejos. La ciudad fronteriza de Poipet, ala que llegamos desde Tailandia, es como un pueblo del lejano Oeste lleno de polvo y gente de mala reputacion.Como ya habiamos mencionado en otras entradas de la blog, hay un famoso timo de la estampita cruzando la frontera de Bangkok a Siemp Reap (en Camboya), pasando por este pueblo fronterizo- autobuses que son asaltados por el camino y dejan a la gente sin equipaje, autobuses que nunca llegan al destino y te dejan tirados en hoteles de mala muerte...- .Podemos decir con orgullo que conseguimos evitar el timo, haciendo el viaje por nuestra cuenta, llegando en la mitad de tiempo y por bastante menos dinero de lo que algunos autobuses pedian. Ja!

En Siemp Reap hace un calor de justicia, pero de verdad, algo insoportable que nunca antes habia experimentado. Nos organizamos para que un tuk tuk nos llevara dos dias consecutivos a ver los Templos de Angkor Wat, el mayor complejo religioso del mundo. Lo vimos en dos sesiones de 6-7 horas, y nos nos dio tiempo a ver la mitad. El estilo arquitectonico es impresionante y las historias de emperadores tiranicos y odios y amores entre paises y sus gentes te hipnotiza en ese ambiente de arboles centenarios que lo han visto todo. De aqui fuimos al lago Tom Le Sap, donde entrevistamos a los habitantes de un pueblo flotante para el proyecto de Environmental Memoirs. De ahi, despues de un par de paradas llegamos a la capital, Phnom Penh, una grata sorpresa. Esta ciudad mantiene gran parte de su caracter al no haber sido tocada por ninguna multinacional (ni McDonalds, ni bancos, ni na de na) y sus calles polvorientas, olorientas y llenas de sonrientes motoristas que te quieren llevar a todas partes se dejan querer. Nuestra visita al museo del Genocidio (la carcel S21) fue un obligado recuerdo del horror en este pais que parece querer olvidar su pasado sangriento. Las barbaridades cometidas por los Gemeres Rojos hace 30 anos eliminaron en 3 anos un cuarto de la poblacion Camboyana y, han dejado como recuerdo una generacion joven (50% de la poblacion tienen menos de 18 anos) y huerfana que habla con dolor del pasado. Yo sigo esperando que algun dia podamos demostrar que aprendemos de los horrores de nuestra historia.

En la foto podeis ver unos de los templos the Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm.

Pero donde se mete Andrew?////How did Andrew get himself into this?

2006-05-04T18:59:00.000+09:30

Esta es la foto de Andrew en una procession budista. Nos vimos metidos en jaleo tremendo en una de las entrevistas que hicimos en Tailandia. La gente del pueblo organizo las entrevistas para que llegaramos el dia de la fiesta de ano nuevo budista. Un dia tambien en que se celebra la diversidad etnica de la zona. Todo consiste en beber , comer y bailar...y todo mezaclado con una procesion religiosa....en teoria, como cualquier fiesta en un pueblecito valenciano....
Fueron tan hospitalarios que por hacernos sentir especial, Andrew se vio obligado a llevar una de las banderas a la cabeza de la procesion budista. !Las risas que me eche! Ademas le pusieron al frente de la procesion, con los ancianos honorables del pueblo. Para colmo, se dice por aqui que en el ano nuevo hay que lavar los malos pensamientos, y lo simbolizan calandose de agua. La procesion estaba acompanada por camiones de bomberos mojando a todo el mundo con sus mangueras. Por lo menos, despues de todo, puedimos conseguir unas entrevistas muy buenas con el profesor de "viejas tradiciones" del pueblo y un granjero. Gente muy especial y generosa, que nos hicieron sentir como en casa.

The interviews in Thailand were coupled with a unique experience. Some how, some way, I ended up a flag bearer in a procession in the province of Saraburi. The festival was celebrating the ethnic diversity of the region along with the Buddhist new year. The drinks people were running around providing us with beer and water as we walked down the main street of the town leading the Governor and the other dignitaries. At the same time we were soaked to the bone by the local fire authorities, who were spraying us all with their fire hoses. After all of the days events were also lucky enough to meet some fascinating people who provided great subjects for the EM interviews.

Holidays with Rob and Bianca///Vacaciones con Rob y Bianca

2006-04-20T16:27:00.000+09:30

Si, parece que hemos tenido vacaciones de entre nuestras vacaciones. Durante una semana hemos dicho adios a las cucarachas, ratas y sanguijuelas (ni siquiera eso ha sido tan malo como suena...no os creais, las echamos un poco de menos) y hemos dado a la bienvenida a la piscina, aire acondicionado, el buceo, las cervecitas y marisco (como sufrimos, eh?).
Hemos estado 5 dias de lujo en Ao Nang, una playa al Sur de Tailandia y ayer nos despedimos con pena de Rob y Bianca desde Bangkok (mas ellos, que son los que vuelven a trabajar). Bangkok es una ciudad intensa, con puestos de comida en todas las esquinas, centros comerciales de 7 pisos en cada calle, olores constantes a especias y hierbas que nunca sabremos descifrar, gente de todos los tamanos y colores... Me encanta!!!!Ahora estamos a la espera de Penny para dirijirnos a Cambodia, adaptandonos a la vida de esta ciudad sin problema: desayunamos sopas y cerdo con chile y albahaca, nos tomamos un te cha en alguna esquina donde podemos observar a la gente sin que se den cuenta del efecto que causan en nosotros y por la tarde cuando con el calor cuesta respirar vamos a un centro comercial a sonar con todo lo que podriamos comprar...

The week with Rob and Bianca flew. First of the rank was of course a Singha, followed by a couple of Tom Collins in the bar pool. Tough, real tough.

Activities over the next couple of days were as you can all imagine not too strenous. They included snorkling, drinking, eating, swimming, eating, drinking, eating, drinking.

As bizarre as this may sound to those working 9 - 5, it really was a holiday, within a holiday. R & B put us up in the same resort they were staying, which meant plenty of lounging around catching up on details of the trip, life back in Melbourne and general chit chat. - Thanx a bunch!

Our time in Bangkok was brief and bizarre. Mega 'MBK' shopping centre was our gracious host for most of the day, while the regulars of some obscure Karaoke bar in China town will be telling the story of the 4 'Farangs' for some time to come. The photos of this memorable night are not included here, needless to say the experience was surreal and that I am in serious need of some singing lessons.

Penny has now arrived and we are off to Cambodia tomorrow. We have tried to avoid the 'Scam bus' due to the high number of 'traumatic' reports we hear from other backpackers. Tales we have heard include the general 'straight to a commissioned hotel' and 'sorry, bus full...you must pay extra'. However, we also heard that a bus load of Germans and their luggage went missing. Oh well, they're only Germans. He he.

We are Uncle and Untie!!Ya somos tio y tia!!!!

2006-04-13T19:08:00.000+09:30

Por fin Gorka ya esta entre nosotros. Nacio el 4 de Abril y es el sobri mas guapo del planeta. Solo contamos los dias que nos quedan para darle un gran abrazo. Zorionak Igor y Blanca.

Finally our nephew Gorka has arrived to this world. He was born on the 5th of April, and as you can see he is the most beauteful nephew of this planet. We are just counting the days to give him a huge hug. Congratulations Blanca and Igor!

Free passage to Singapore - if you're a cockroach///Billete gratuito a Singapur...si eres una cucaracha

2006-04-13T16:20:00.000+09:30

There are seemingly free tickets for passage from Jakarta to Singapore if you are a cockroach. However, their computer system does not reserve pre-booked human tickets. The 29 hour journey, which took 33hrs, was generously shared with our cockroach companions. They were everywhere. The toilet was no doubt the worst, as cockroach travel agents include a swimming option. I haven't included the picture for fear of having our blog censored by Google.

Our arrival to Singapore was welcomed with grins from ear to ear and a celebratory beer, or many and some mouth tingling Indian. So good! Clean sheets, hot water and shower that had a massage fitting were some of the luxuries that were enjoyed at the hostel. Did I mention that it felt so good!

We departed Singapore the next morning for Melaka, in the south of Malaysia. The town is neat and boasts a mix of Portugese, Dutch, Chinese and Malay heritage in architecture, food and culture. We took it pretty easy here as I fell ill and was going through a box of tissues a day - most people know what I'm like when I get a cold.

From Melaka we travelled north to the show piece city of KL. The city is organised, clean and easy to manage. Our primary reason for visiting KL wasn't for site seeing, it was more to establish environmental contacts for EM. We met with some people from Wetlands International, who were helpful and offered us assistance with interviews with the indigenous people of Tasek Bera. This was our destination for the next 2 days as we travelled and conducted a couple of interviews.

After Tasek Bera we went to Taman Negara, one of the oldest rainforests in the world. We camped in a 'Hide', which is a little hut located in the forest. It sits at about 20 metres in height and allows up to 12 people to view animals do their thing. The hike to the 'hide' went unrewarded as we saw no animals. In fact our prize for walking to the 'hide' was a sleepless night and countless number of rats raided our food supplies. The rats were up to 60-70cm long, tail included, and sported the motto of 'no fear'. At least four lost their lives that evening as one of the local guides who was also staying in the 'hide' had a big stick. It was incredibly humorous watching him chase the rats around all evening.

On the recommendation of fellow backpackers we departed Taman Negara for the Parentian Islands. Here we lazily sat around absorbing sun, swimming and eat fruit. We stayed away from the infamous 'Monkey Juice' that kept people up till sunrise.

We are now in Krabi (Southern Thailand) waiting for Rob and Bianca to arrive. My liver is already trembling with fear of what is to come over the next week.

Parece que si eres una cucaracha tienes pasaje gratuito de Jakarta a Singapur. Eso si, no les dan su propia cama, y se tienen que ajustar a dormir en la cama de los demas. En serio, hablamos de cientos de cucarachas por las almohadas, colchones, los banos (en el retrete habia marea negra de kukis dandose un bano...) en un viaje de 33 horas (oficialmente iban a ser 28) en el barco que podeis ver en la foto.

Pero llegamos sanos y salvos a Singapur, lo cual celebramos con cerveza y una buena cena. Recordadme que no vuelva a viajar en tercera clase en Indonesia. Singapur nos parecio por el cambio el lugar mas limpio del mundo y siempre guardare a esa ciudad en mi corazon por ese acogimiento.

al dia siguiente partimos a Melaka en Malasia, donde pasamos dos dias superando el trauma del barco ...Melaka es una ciudad con importantes restos de colonialismo dejado por los barbaros holandeses, britanicos y portugueses. Preciosa, y he mencionado ya que todo parece mucho mas limpio y moderno? De ahi fuimos a Kuala Lumpur donde nos entrevistamos con gente de Wetlands International y nos pusieron en contacto con una comunidad indigena del lago Tasek a donde fuimos de cabeza. Pasamos una noche muy interesante y entrevistamos a 3 personas del pueblo. Una experiencia unica.

De ahi fuimos a Taman Negara, una de las junglas mas antiguas del mundo. Pasamos tres noches una de las cuales dormimos en medio de la jungla (ya habeis visto las fotos, no?) en una caseta a 20 metros del suelo con literas (sin colchones...auch!) para 12 personas. Esto no impido que docenas de ratas de mas de medio metro se subieran a la caseta cuando entro la noche y el resto la noche la pasamos intentando proteger nuestra comida (un grupo de 4 alemanes tenia un guia malayo que dedico la noche a matar las ratas con un palo y un tiragomas....un espectaculo dantesco, pero entretenido en una noche en vela....y para contar a los nietos).Taman Negara es una jungla preciosa llena de animales y lo bonito es que es muy facil explorarla por tu cuenta.

De ahi fuimos a "descansar" (hey!esto de estar de vacaciones cansa!) a la isla Perhentian en el norte de Malasia. Frutas tropicales, arena blanca, sin electricidad ni telefono....he comentado que todo es mucho mas limpio en este pais????)

Ahora estamos en Tailandia, esperando a juntarnos con Rob y Bianca para 6 dias. Despues de la limpieza que hemos dado a nuestro higado (en dos semanas en Malasia no hemos probado una gota de alcohol - en pueblos enteros ni lo venden ), que ahora esta temblando, conociendo a Rob sabemos la que nos espera....

Tres dias de bus para viajar 1000kms? // 3 days of bus to travel 1000kms?

2006-03-28T18:13:00.000+10:30

Jakarta's reputation is well deserved. The city is absolute chaos, with millions of people seemingly driving no where at break neck speed or waiting in paralysing traffic jams. From what we have seen so far the city has very little to offer the 'mass tourist' or the 'backpacker', as the city does little to promote its heritage and main attractions. The city is serverly run down, overpopulated, noisy and in need of some Enyo products; it is insanely filthy and polluted.

The reputation and prior reading of Jakarta meant that we were going to avoid it at all costs, hence we arrived three mornings ago and went straight to the passenger shipping sales office. The first error committed was that we thought it was Monday, when it was Sunday. This meant that we sat at the base of an office building not having showered in 24 hrs and had not eaten in about in about 15hrs. After about 3hrs we concluded that the office was not open on Monday's, returned to the central train station and caught a train to the satellite town of Bogor. It was a nice town and while en-route we also figured out that it was Sunday! Doh!

While in Bogor we decided that rather than wait for the boat from Jakarta to Singapore (it only departs on Fridays), we decided to go back to Jakarta early the next morning and aim to get to the town of Bukitinggi in central north Sumatra.

We got up nice and early caught the economy train, big mistake as we couldn't even breath - peak hour on the train here means that people are hanging out of the windows and sitting on the roof of the bloody train. After this 2 hours ordeal we transfered to the appropriate bus station, bought our tickets to Bukutinggi and proceeded to wait for 2 hours in the bus station. We were hounded for two hours straight by touts and curious onlookers. The departure time arrived and passed and with our anxiety increasing we started to ask a number of questions, of which there were no soild answers; many Indonesians speak limited English although they all have problems distinguishing between am and pm and map reading. Through speaking in nouns and verbs we had concluded that the bus was stuck in traffic, but then talking to one of the touts we found out that it was a 3 day bus journey! The LP says it takes 24 hours! As expected both Eider and myself shat ourselves on the prospect of sitting on a bus with no toilet, about $1.50 in our pockets (we couldn't find an ATM) and a 3 day bus journey.

We then attempted to get a refund on the ticket on the basis that we had confirmed that it was a 24 hour trip upon purchase and a little fib explaining that we had to be in Malaysia in two days. Eider embarked on her mission and ended up being surrounded by about 15 people who were all screaming at each other. They were refusing to refund the money initially, then decided that a 25% fee was to be applied. We persisted and were finally able to get all the money back. So after 2 days of being in West Java and trying to avoid beining in Jakarta altogether, it seems as though destiny has decided that we spend the rest of the time in Jakarta and wait till Friday morning. The trip will take (I think) 24 hours and will arrive in Batam (Indo islands south of Singapore). We are sleeping in 3rd class with numerous others. I'm sure that a number of stories will emerge from the experience.

All in all though Indo has been great. Bali was definitely a highlight as we hired a motorbike and drove up into the central highlands visiting volcanoes, temples, rice terraces and villages. Bali is most certainly suffering from the bombs and the recent drug publicity in Australia. We didn't make it to Kuta, but the restaurants we were eating at (Ubud) were empty; every night we were the only ones dinning! The people have been friendly and very helpful, although the touts here a pretty full on. It's all smiles though and not intimidating.

Jakarta tiene la reputacion que se merece. Esto es un caos absoluto. La ciudad es increiblemente sucia y ni delante del Parlamento se puede andar 1 metro sin pisar basura y tratar de evitar agujeros en el suelo. Es impresionante. La polucion se puede saborear (no es de broma, masticas conitnuamente y polvillo negro), y hay gente deambulando por la calle en todas las esquinas. Es como que estan vivos pero no tienen vida. A pesar de todo esto, la gente es increiblemente amable (todos nos saludan y sonrien por la calle y los coches y motos nos pitan continuamente) y el pais sufre la caida del turismo enormemente y, excepto esta horrenda ciudad el resto del pais es un sueno lleno de volcanes, cultivos de arroz, pueblos encantadores y selvas. Una maravilla recomendable a todo el mundo que tenga el estomago duro para ver mucha pobreza y suciedad tambien.

Como os podeis imaginar nuestro plan no era el de pasar 5 dias en Jakarta. Todo estaba muy bien planeado: llegamos a la ciudad y nos montamos directamente en un barco para ir a Singapur. Ja! Despues de esperar durante horas delante de la oficina expedidora de los billetes (habiamos pasado toda la noche en un tren y fuimos directamente alli), nos dimos cuenta de que no iban a abrir la oficina (era Domingo y nosotros pensabamos que era Lunes...estar de vacaciones mola!). Llamamos a la oficina central donde nos dijeron que los barcos solo salen una vez a la semana, y el dia era el viernes. 5 dias de espera!!!!!!en una ciudad como Jakarta!!!!!!En seguida nos pusimos manos a la obra a pensar en diferentes alternativas:

Plan A: Fallido
La guia hablaba de un pueblo llamado Cipata donde habia aguas termales naturales. 50km desde Jakarta. Sin pensarlo fuimos hasta la estacion pricipal derca de Cipata (para entonces ya eran como la cuatro de la tarde), donde nos informaron en la oficina de turismo, que la Cipata a 50km de Jakarta no es la bonita idilica de aguas termales, sino que esta bastante mas lejos. Y esta Cipata por cierto, es un agujero. AHHHHHHHHH!
Tuvimos que pasar noche alli donde pensamos en el siguiente plan.

Plan B: Tambien fallido
Inspirada me levante por la manana y me puse a leer la guia. A 24 de autobus desde Jakarta se puede llegar a una ciudad preciosa de donde se puede coger un barco a Malasia. Le desperte a Andrew y en menos de una hora estabamos en un tren hacia Jakarta en hora punta (puertas abiertas y gente que colgaba desde la puertas, gente en el techo....). 2 horas mas tarde llegamos a la apropiada estacion de bus y compramos nuestro billete para ir a Bokutingi. Describir las 2 horas de espera en la estacion podria llevarme 1 dias entero, pero estuvimos durante todo el tiempo rodeados de unas 10-15 personas vendiendonos cosas, mirandonos, tocandonos...un calor de justicia.... y todo para descubrir despues de 2 horas que el autobus que ibamos a coger tardaba 3 dias (si, 3 dias para hacer 1000km) y no 1 como pensabamos. La odisea para que nos devolvieran el dinero de los billetes sin que nadie hablara una palabra de ingles, la dejo para vuestra imaginacion...

De verdad que parece que Jakarta no nos quiere dejar ir!....y aqui estamos....esperando durante 5 dias a un barco....por lo menos la comida es buena y la gente acogedora. Un pais absolutamente recomendable.

La foto es de Andrew delante del volcan Bromo en la isla de Java, mientras una gente del pueblo pasaba en caballo.

Adios Australia/// Goodbye Australia

2006-03-21T23:44:00.000+10:30

Adios Australia. Parece mentira pero el momento ha llegado, y es ahora cuando parece de verdad que hemos empezado nuestro viaje. La visita a Darwin ha sido especutacular: mucha fauna y naturaleza y, (a los que conoceis a Brad no os sorprendera) alguna fiesta que otra. Hemos visto, ademas de Darwin, el Parque Nacional de Litchfield y Kakadu. Esta zona tropical de Australia esta pasando por la epoca de lluvias, y si tenia alguna duda de porque le llamas asi a los meses de Noviembre a Abril, se me ha borrado en un instante: que tormentas, gotas de agua del tamano de limones (le prometi a Andrew que no exageraria!je!), y que "frio" (aqui le llaman "frio" a 30 grados con 90% de humedad). Gracias Brad por ser un guia de lujo. Esta foto se la dedicamos a el ( y a todos a los que pidieron la foto de Cocodrilo Dundee): son unas pequenas montanas de termitas, muy comunes por toda la zona norte de Australia...

Over 80% of Kakadu was closed off due to the rains of the wet season and still we saw snakes, spiders, kangaroos, dingoes, birds galor, lizards, wild horses and water buffalo. This park, which is the size of Switzerland, is amazing!

Brad took us around in the mighty land cruizer, which meant that there was no river to deep to get to some of the amazing natural and cultural sites of the park. The picture of Brad and I standing near a termite mound is actually in Litchfield NP, an adjacent park. The NT is littered with them, which means that the termite population well and truely out number Teritorians by at least a billion to one.

Other pursuits while in Darwin inclued getting ropped into a strip tease with another 10 unfortunate male souls (I made it to the final!), having a few too many down the Vic (Brad's local watering hole) and the inevitable hangover, attempting to make swimming in amazing waterholes and under waterfalls and of course catching up with Brad. I can recommend him as a guide to anyone out there, except for any fathers that want to keep their daughter's sin free.

Sanwich de tomate y queso///Tomato and cheese sandwiches

2006-03-12T12:53:00.000+10:30

Pues si, no parece real todavia, pero ya estamos en Adelaide. Despues de 11 horas de viaje, hemos pasado una noche en esta sosa ciudad y ahora estamos esperando al tren q nos llevara a la humeda Darwin.
Despues de una semana de despedidas, fiestas pasadas por agua y cenas, tuvimos una triste despedida en la nueva estacion de Southern Cross.
El viaje de tren se nos paso muy rapido...sera la emocion digo yo!. Tenemos intencion de sacar fotos de todo lo que comamos en los proximos meses. Aqui podeis ver nuestra triste comida en el tren....la cosa mejorara en Asia (espero).
Un beso a todos.
Andrew y Eider

More tomato and cheese sandwiches will no doubt be the most exotic culinary experience for quite a while. This was lunch on The Overland, an 11 hour train ride from Melbourne to Adelaide, which will no doubt be reflected upon as a first class experience in the near future.

Good bye and good luck was received by all, along with a stern "take care of yourselves" and "take care of Eider" from Dad. Many tears were shed while departing from Melbourne's behind schedule Southern Cross Railway Station. Let's hope it is finished by the time we get back!

solo faltan 15 dias!

2006-02-24T08:50:00.000+10:30

Ultimo viernes de trabajo.....15 dias hasta que cojamos el primer tren de una larga lista, 5 dias hasta estar en el paro, 1 dia hasta la fiesta de despedida (por cierto, todos estais invitados!)....ahora todo parece que es una cuenta atras.
Gracias a la ayuda de nuestra amiga Virginia tema visados, seguros y demas estan ultimados y ahora solo queda que la pila de trastos que tenemos en una esquina de la habitacion entre en las mochilas...eso si que sera un reto!
El primer tramo del viaje son 3.500km de tren (una de las mas lasrgas de mundo!) de Melbourne a Darwin (3 dias de viaje), donde esperamos ver mucho desierto y....mucho desierto (no creo que las vistas nos den mucho mas). El 14 de marzo llegamos a Darwin, donde nos encontraremos con Brad, el hermano de Andrew que trabaja de guia en el parque nacional de Kakadu y pasaremos 4 dias con el. Probablemente la proxima entrada en el diario sera para entonces. No os olvideis de dejarnos notas en el blog y enviarnos emails....se agradecen.
un beso a tod@s

The count down

2006-02-21T14:21:00.000+10:30

The 'To do' list is getting shorter, but so is the time make sure that their all items are crossed off. We've moved into a friends place while we finish all the organising, so we've successfully been able to disrupt the lives of others. Living from boxes and bags will be the order of the day till we leave.

The emotions of leaving are already starting to set in with a sad good bye to the 'boys'. They're now residents of 'Greater Bendigo' running around on a quarter acre block. I doubt thy're missing us, as their daily menu consists of sardines for breakfast and beef stew for dinner. Certainly a far cry from the single serving of Pal and minced meat /vegie biscuits. Thanks Jo!

The backpacks are gradually filling, although we don't seemed to have packed clothes yet. We might have to cut down on the number of books and guides we had planned on taking. I'm sure that carrying the packs for a while will result in rationalising what is and isn't needed.

Just 18 days to go.

We are heading west

2006-01-05T14:42:00.000+10:30

We're off in March 2006, but we won't be gone for long!

Eider and I are off on our big trip heading west from Melbourne to San Sebastian. We're not too sure where we are going just yet, but, wherever the road takes us we're in for adventure.

We'll be updating this site as we go for the family, friends and anyone who's interested. Feel free to drop us a line.

Bon Voyage!