Buddha Head, Wat Phra Mahathat, Ayuthaya, Thailand

Buddha Head in Roots, Ayuthaya
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

Our day trip to Ayuthaya Historical National Park was fantastic. We visited six ancient temples all with varying sizes of Buddhas in different positions which indicate the health of Buddha through his lifetime. A Buddha standing upright symbolises a healthy Buddha in the earlier stages of his life. However, most Buddhas we have seen are in the sitting position - mid way through life. And finally, representing the last dying days of Buddhas life, we saw one or two in the reclined position (double click photo to see one of the biggest ones ever!).
A highlight of the day is pictured here at the ancient ruin of Wat Mahathat where only the Buddha's face has survived entwined by the roots of a tree. It was very cool!

The other highlight of the day was 'talking' to a group of young Thai school children at one of the temples. They loved having their picture taken and were absolutely adorable 'showing off' their English and drawings. We in turn, made them laugh because we of course, could speak only a little Thai. The children here are exceptionally cute and friendly. * Mush

Canal Bus, Bangkok, Thailand

Canal Bus
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

I feel like I have to blog this picture as although we'd seen some really cool things in Bangkok like 20 foot Buddhas made out of solid gold and beautiful temples, the canals of Bangkok were an absolute highlight!! They are so much fun.. We basically used the canal boats to travel to and from the business parts of the city where the Canadian Embassy (for Martin) and the Chinese Embassy (for our travel visas) were located. The experience was just crazy. We would scramble alongside the locals in the limited time we were allowed to hop on the boats, trying our best to not fall in the water below. On our journeys we would always want to look at the view of the city and see how people along the canals really lived, but the boats would drive really fast creating huge wakes, and we soon discovered what the obtrusive tarps on the side of the boat were really for: protection from the huge sprays of disgusting, chocolate-brown water!! But even so in my opinion - this is the only way to travel in Bangkok! * Mush

Banyan Tree Roof Top Bar, Bangkok, Thailand

Banyan Tree 62nd Floor Roof Top Bar
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

We managed to catch up with a couple of friends in our first few days in Bangkok (double click for photo album): a friend of mine from Portland - Nina and her family moved here about 2 months ago. Then, we met up with friends of Martin's (Claire and husband Ralf) who he met on his last travels in Thailand. We dressed up and went to a very posh hotel for a drink at the rooftop Vertigo Bar on the 62nd floor. It had the most fantastic view overlooking the city. Notice the lack of railings around the outside - and at a BAR!! I don't think this would pass code in North America. Really cool! *Mush

Khao San Rd, Bangkok, Thailand

Khao San Rd
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

While Martin was off galavanting in Frankfurt, I, meanwhile, was trudging through 90 degree heat with an 18kg pack (we had acquired more stuff that we had asked my family to bring for us) looking for our first night's accommodation! Not pleasant at all! Anyway, for those of you who have never been to Bangkok, for want of a better description it is crazzzy - pretty cool - but crazy. Because it has been very sticky and hot, we have been taking it easy trying not to cram a lot of stuff in. Our initial days were spent hanging out with a few occassional, intermittent chores - embassies, visas , laundry, internet, and Martin finally got a much-needed hair cut ! - cost about 80p (about $1.50)! On our second day we founda better room and we paid 400 Baht - about 5 quid ($10). I also found the latest Harry Potter second hand at one of the market stalls too, so took to reading that in the mornings beside the hotel's most appealing feature - the rooftop swimming pool which, admittedly, was not quite Villa d'Este, Italy, standards, but a far cry from our 'delightful' murky green pool of Penzion Podzamak, Spissky Pohradie, Slovakia (if you remember that blog).

We are staying in a very touristy area called Khao San Road, pictured here, which is kind-of funky and bohemian. We are loving the food! Thai curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Been to a few markets which are fun and crazy all at the same time. Saw lots of things that I want to buy, but of course, can't! But am making a secret list of stuff, so that when we pass through here on our way back at the end of our trip, I know exactly what I want to buy!! *Mush

Old Town Square, Frankfurt , Germany

Frankfurt Old Town Square
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

After a nice visit from Mush's Mum and Sister, who were nice enough to pick us up at the Luton airport and take us in to London. We spent overnight at our friend Jules' place in London, and then, for the first time on our trip, spent a day apart. As my flight was with air miles, and Michelle's was purchased, we flew different routes to Bangkok. Michelle through Abu Dhabi, and me with a 10 hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany. I was able to get into town and visit some of the sights around Frankfurt. It is a business city for sure, but does have a little charm in the old town square and around the opera house. A nice stopover, but on to Bangkok, for the next leg of our journey. *Stub

2004 Enzo Ferrari, Galeria Ferrari, Maranello, Italy

2004 Enzo Ferrari
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

Since I said that we were able to enjoy a walk around with no obstructed views, we were able to get creative with the digital camera. This is one of my favourite shots of the Enzo Ferrari.
Our wander first took us past 2 F1 cars that had been made into simulators. You are able to climb in and test one out. The bottom floor had a great display of F1 cars, from a 1952, for us Canadians a Gilles Villenueve car, and some of Schumachers recent F1 Championship cars to name a few. Upstairs were some impressive racers, a 360 Modena, 575, a 1984 GTO, the 2004 Enzo Ferrari, a 2005 Superamerica to name a few and not bore everyone. We spent about 9 hours in Maranello, walking to the test track and around the factory hoping to catch some glimpses of inside. I thought that one of the coolest things was seeing many of the cars being test driven around the neighbourhood streets. There was also a Ferrari restaurant in the neighbourhood, complete with a bush sculpted into the Prancing Horse! Quite the day for me, and Michelle managed to enjoy it too, but probably not as much as me!! I still want one when I grow up!! *Stub

Galeria Ferrari, Maranello, Italy

Stub in Heaven at Galeria Ferrari
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

I will preface this blog by saying that since I was a small kid, I always told my Mum that I wanted a Ferrari. It has always been my favourite and always will be. If some of you read back to our French blogs, we have considered our visit to Galeria Ferrari as my "Monet's Garden" (in reference to Michelle's trip to Giverny).
I was filled with excitement like a little schoolkid as the bus got closer to the town of Maranello, just outside Modena in Italy. Anxiously awaiting my first glimpse of one of these exotic cars.
At the Galeria, we arrived at opening time. Lucky for us as we had unobstructed views of the cars and this made for some great photo opportunities. One of the best parts of the Galeria were that there were no barriers around the cars. You were able to lean over and get real close, but asked not to touch. Quite the display in this room of old to new! *Stub

Holding up the Tower of Pisa, Italy

Stub Holding up the Tower
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

We reluctantly left gorgeous Cinque Terre and hit Pisa and it's infamous tower to see what all the fuss was about! Well, it was pretty impressive even on a wet day. We spent a long time laughing at all the tourists taking photos of themselves pushing over or holding up the tower. Then, not to be outdone, we ended up doing the same silly thing ourselves - I'm sure, giving other people the same amount of amusement! * Mush

Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italia

Picturesque Vernazza

All the villages in Cinque Terre definitely have their own individual personality, and we loved them all with their steep cobbled alleyways, quaint harbours, and boutiques and shop owners with real character. Out of the five villages our favourite was Vernazza with its picturesque harbour, charming streets and old castle tower. Our first view of Vernazza was this as we walked from Monterosso (the village farthest west) through terraced vineyards, olive trees and aromatic lemon groves (all farmed by the locals). It was a fairly challenging walk through the hillsides, but it was totally worth it for the stunning coastal views.

'Our' village - Riomaggiore - ran a close second to Vernazza. We stayed in a large apartment with a balcony with an excellent view overlooking the town. We met some really fun and friendly travelers there, and relaxed and hung out with them eating delicious proscuitto, sundried tomatoes and olives! This is the life! * Mush

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre, Italia

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

We love this place! Its just gorgeous! It's like taking a step back in time. Cinque Terre (Five Lands), is comprised of (surprisingly), five villages! Beautiful little farming and fishing villages along the rugged Italian coastline all connected by footpaths. No vehicles are allowed in the villages, and apart from quite a few tourists, the area is wonderfully unaffected by modern life and Western ways.

Riomaggiore, one of the villages, was home for the next five days. And though we did some fairly strenuous hiking between the villages, this was chill-out time for us. So, we drank our share of local wines, and ate delicious seafood in the great little restaurants in town. *Mush and Stub

Varenna, Lake Como, Italia

Varenna
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

So it was time to leave the family and continue our journey. In Menaggio further up the lake, we met up with my friend Angie who I knew from Seattle and skiing at Whistler. It was great to see her since we and had made plans only by email and hadn't been in recent contact with each other.
Villa D'Este had been quite the place, and we had gotten used to soaking up the 5-Star lifestyle. Now, it was back to slumming it in the hostel scene! Fortunatley, our bedroom balcony at the hostel in Menaggio had top class views over the lake. Then we spent a couple of days taking ferry boats to the local towns perched on the water's edge. *Mush

Backpacking bums, Cernobbio, Italy

Mush and Stub
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

It was from geek to chic overnight! Martin was the snappy photographer with three cameras dangling from him at all times. And I had turned from backpacking bum to (somewhat) beautiful bridesmaid. Also to boot, the night before my sister's wedding I moved upmarket staying with her in her beautiful suite at the Villa d'Este. *Mush

Jacqueline and Mark's Wedding, Cernobbio, Italy

Wedding Group in Gardens
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

Thankfully the scary thunderstorms of the night before had passed and the day of my sister's wedding dawned bright and beautiful - a great start to what would be a thoroughly enjoyable day for everyone. It was fun to take the Villa's private boat to the main town of Como where Jacqueline and Mark were to be married. Of course, there were lots of onlookers and many people were bidding good luck to the bride as we passed through the streets. It was a small, intimate wedding and after the short beautiful ceremony at the town hall, the whole party boarded the boat back to the Villa to start the celebrations. In true Italian style we gorged on umpteen courses of such delicious food, I can't really tell you how good it was! As all of you know, Martin and I enjoy good food, and we were just ABSOLUTELY blown away!

Martin was the official photographer, which, he said was harder work than he expected. He was grateful for some down time and was able to relax as, quite unlike most weddings, we all grabbed our swimsuits and spent the afternoon chilling out at the Villa's 30metre swimming pool (which was kind-of cool as it floats on the lake). Later, all the family and friends spent the evening grooving the night away on the lakeside patio to the Villa's band. Everyone had a ton of fun, and most importantly, the bride and groom had a perfect day! The night culminated with a few of the boys, Martin, Nick and the groom doing a midnight naked run through the "5-Star" sprinkler system to the delight of some of the neighbours! *Mush

Venice, Italy

Typical Venice View with Gondolas
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

Destination: Lake Como, Italy.
This was another of those long travelling days where we caught a train to get a bus, to get another train, to get another bus, to get another train etcetc. All this got us across the border from Slovenia to Trieste, Italy. Then, because our train to Milan connected there and especially as Martin had never been before, we 'popped' into Venice for a couple of hours (as you do!). It was so worth it even though it was super hot and just jam-packed with people. Heading to the famous San Marco's square, Martin and I had fun getting lost in the labyrinth of alleyways and dead ends. But we got there with enough time to eat our 'picnic' lunch of bread and gorgonzola with salami and sundried-tomatos. Venice is just so cool. LOVE Venice! (An aside note for those interested: Venice, which apparently rests on millions of wooden piles pounded into marshy ground, is sinking faster than ever and in the last 100 years it has sunk a couple of feet).

We arrived at the hostel in Como at 8pm that night - a long day having left our B&B at 5am that morning. The day did not end there though.. after a quick scrub up, we made our way to the next town for a happy (and tearful) reunion with my family who had just flown in for my sister's wedding. It was really great to see them after being on the road for what seemed much longer than 6 weeks! *Mush

Skojcan Caves, Skojcan, Slovenia

Skojcan Caves - Wet Cave
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

On our way to Italy, we stopped in the Karst Region of Slovenia. It is apparently like Swiss Cheese underground the whole area, so we decided to visit the less touristy Skojcan Caves. Now this was a day trip we would not regret as the caves were absolutely spectacular. The first section, silent caves, were stalactites and stalagmites but in some large caverns. Some excellent formations.
Now the second part was a cavern where the river has cut into. This was a massive cavern, probably 400 ft tall with the river at the bottom. I have never seen anything like this, it was amazing. We were perched on the cliff side, probably 200 ft up from the river on a trail cut along the cliff. The lights you can see on the picture mark the trail, and the light in the lower right is the river. Sorry about the poor picture, but you were not allowed to take photos and we had to sneak a couple in when the guides weren't watching. *Stub

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Lake Bled
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

As a result of late planning, we were unable to find accomodation in Bled and ended up just taking a day trip to the mountains and the lake. As you can see, we were disappointed that we couldn't spend more time there.
This picture is taken from the castle, perched on the cliffs at one end of the lake. You can row yourself out to the island in a rented boat and visit the church and ring the bell for luck. We settled for climbing up to the castle and seeing the picturesque panoramic views with the mountains behind. Our next journey was to Vintgar Gorge, only 2 km away. We had to walk through all these local houses, all colouful with flower boxes. Even the bus shelters in Slovenia have flower boxes!
The gorge itself was very scenic, although you have to imagine it without people! There is a wooden path built along the gorge wall and bridges across in 4 places. After the first km, most people had turned back so we were left to enjoy the scenery on our own as we walked over the hill and back to Bled. *Stub

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Ljubljana, Slovenia
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

After a soggy couple of days out of Hungary via a lovely town called Pecs, and via a brief connection in Zagreb, Croatia (where we spent the night on the train station floor), we landed in Ljubljana (pronounced Liubliana), Slovenia. Lovely city. A little expensive maybe, but clean, easy, relaxed. Friendly people too. We found our favourite restaurant here too - fantastic food (goulash) cooked by a great husband and wife team with lots of personality! * Mush

Ljubljana was very picturesque, but also very quiet. We are not sure where everybody went at night, but tons of cafes along the waterfront were basically empty. It also had a nice castle above the river, but it has been modernized for some reason. Good views, even in the rain! *Stub

Hungary

Baths in Budapest
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

Our last couple of days in Hungary were spent doing a day trip to a couple of towns near what is known as the Danube Bend - very picturesque inspite of the rain.

A must-do in Budapest is a trip to one of its many ancient Roman Baths. The Szechenyi Furdo baths pictured here, were fantastic with many indoor pools of lots of different temperatures. The architecture was phenomenal inside, until we discovered the ancient courtyard outside with three huge swimming pools, the warmest of which was 38 degrees C. Wonderful and definitely refreshing! Even on a miserable day all the pensioners of the city hang out here mostly playing chess.

Another highlight of our stay was a couple of nights at a Kert - essentially a warehouse with indoor and outdoor bars. Even though we were tired from our days, they were hip and funky even when the rain started leaking in! * Mush

Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest, Hungary

Parliament Again
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

Budapest consists of Buda - the hilly, old town of the city, and Pest the commercial, flat part of the city. We explored the Castle district in Buda which is stunning and has fantastic views of the city, but actually doesn't possess a castle! We thought the view of the Parliament buildings was particularly impressive.
My friend Brian, lived about 2 blocks from Parliament.
Once we came down off the hill, we dealt with a couple of friendly Hungarians (sarcasm), then headed off to Statue Park. In Hungary, instead of blowing up all the Communist statues, they decided to keep them and move them to their own park. It was a strange place, but worth an hours visit. At the front gate they sell the CD boxset "Best of Communism" and have it blaring out! Amusing, but it would be hard to imagine living under the Communist regime. *Stub

Vienna, Austria

The Gloriette in the Schonnburg Palace gardens.
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

Well, Lucie, Brian's girlfriend was going to Vienna for the day and she asked us if we wanted to come along... well, why not! Martin had never been to Austria and I have never been to Vienna. So off we went to the land of Strauss and Schnitzel. Our whirlwind trip took us to the old town with its beautiful old buildings, and then onto one of the Royal palaces not far out of the city. Of course, we also found time to consume some genuine schnitzel that were absolutley huge! Check it out on our photo album. * Mush