Happy New Year!

From Vernon it was back to Kelowna, Martin's last hometown. Rather than having to hook everything up (phone, water, cable) at Martin's parents' place we took Don and Nicole up on their offer of their spare room downstairs in their beautiful mansion house. It was a fun time and we were made to feel very welcome. Their two girls, Karleigh (is 5), and Jocelyn (is 6), were a lot of fun and we loved spending time with them. (They really took to Michelle!)

On New Year's Eve Don and Nicole had a huge party which was a great success, especially after a few boozey shots after midnight! We all went to bed around 5 in the morning; even the girls managed to stay awake till then! Needless to say we were all pretty zonked the next day.

Finally, our 10 days were up and it was time to leave for Big White. We were sad to leave Don and Nicole, and the girls, and Mac the dog. The girls clung to our legs and didn't want to let us go and told us that we could "stay forever if we wanted to. They didn't mind". *Mush

With the Butter's, Vernon, BC

On our way back from Calgary, we almost made it back to Kelowna, but stopped in Vernon to visit the Butterworths. Dave is a good friend, but has been living in the US (most recently Savannah, GA), but was up for Christmas to see the family. So we had some fun times in the snow both in town and up at Silver Star Mountain. I even managed to get out on the slopes for a couple of runs and Angie was finished for the day and loaned me her pass. First time out in 2 years, and on a snowboard at that!! I 'ripped' it up with Dave and Little Butter (Darren).
Special thanks to Don and Joyce for being such welcoming and gracious hosts for putting us up for 2 nights and feeding us like Kings and Queens!! We miss the Butter's. *Stub

Christmas in Calgary, Canada

Friends Rob and Nat stayed on at Fairmont for Xmas, but very generously let us stay on at their house in Calgary for the rest of our trip. Christmas Eve we went snowshoeing/cross-country skiing with Martin's friends Jeff and Alana, and Stella and Steve, Jeff's parents. It was great to see them all after so long. We spent a quiet Christmas Day mostly watching my absolute, favourite movie - Elf (I always laugh my socks off at his first time up the escalator), and on the phone to our families in England, Toronto, and Mexico. Where would we be without Skype!

Later that evening, Martin's friend Mark Nielsen (also Jeff's brother) flew into town from Toronto, with Cathy and her son Nathan. We spent the evening goofing around at Jeff and Alana's. Mark decided that Martin's hair (being quite long for him) looked like Sonny Bono. Then, out came the burnt cork and a new moustache!! It all went from there! Double click the pic for some more arty-farty shots and the redneck Donkey look! * Mush

Christmas Holidays at Fairmont Hot Springs, BC, Canada

.

The build up towards Christmas was great with a spontaneous trip to see Martin's friends in Calgary. We saw Rob and Natalie and their little girl Abby. Nat's family had rented a condo at Fairmont Hot Springs in the Rockies and we were made super welcome by Nat's Mum and Dad. We felt very lucky and it was a great few days chilling out, eating, drinking and doing jigsaw puzzles. We did do some snowshoeing and it was good to get out in the fresh mountain air. Here we are at the natural hot spring - a bit of a chilly walk down to it though.
Of course, it wasn't long before the boys were up to mischief. They found a logging road and using a strong branch stump and rope, they made a makeshift ski rope, and went car skiing! It was just like water skiing except instead of a wake, there was a road and ditches. They came back looking very pleased with themselves as they had managed to get some good speed up!* Mush

Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria, BC, Canada

After Michelle returned from Portland, we spent another enjoyable night with Lisa. Michelle loved the time as she and LT went to get a Christmas tree and we spent the evening decorating - getting into the Christmas spirit. The next day, we hopped on a ferry and cruised over to Victoria on Vancouver Island to stay with our good friend Bernie!!
The weather in Victoria was again unseasonably cold and windy, but we came at a good time as Bernie had just finished his semester at UVic, working towards his MBA. That meant we had time to sightsee with him. He treated us to a few good meals and toured some of the rainforest greenery the Island is famous for. The salmon run had just finished but this meant that there were still many fish corpses in the stream - a little eerie!!! Also, the downtown was all dressed in Christmas lights and the Parliament building looked exceptionally impressive with lights outlining it all.
One highlight for us was a trip to the stunning CraigDarroch Castle. Built in the 1890's by Canada's richest man of his time (Robert Dunsmuir), the exterior was ornate and the interior was decorated in wood to great detail. It took some time to circulate as there was plenty to see and lots to read.
We also managed to take a trip up to Mill Bay to visit our friend from Cambodia - Ron - at his eclectic house in the country. We had to leave in a hurry as another major windstorm was expected and we didn't want to get stuck at the ferry. A long day landed us back in the Okanagan in Penticton after driving through whiteout, blizzard conditions on the Hope/Princeton Highway. *Stub

Back in Portland, Oregon, USA

A trip down to Portland was on the cards and we were very excited about seeing old friends and good old Portland again. However, what happened next was to be our worst border crossing of our trip so far. Being British, I had to go into the US customs office to get a visitor's permit. Martin had to join me inside, and while I'm filling out the forms, Martin got asked lots of questions. Since we have been away so long, and without a current job or fixed address in Canada, after 3 hours of waiting they came to the conclusion that he was wanting to resume residence. Suddenly, he was fingerprinted and promptly refused entry! Boom! Nothing could have been further from the truth, but what could we do?!!!

I ended up going to Portland on my own a few days later. It was a hectic week, catching up with friends, and then having friends help move all our stuff to John Tomlinson's basement for storage. I managed to sift through our stuff to bring back some of Martin's things - he is still living out of his backpack. All in all, it was a fast week, and it was great to see some good old faces. The city seemed to have developed quite a bit since we left. It was great to see old faithful Mt Hood and St Helen's still there. It was great to be back no matter how short the visit. * Mush

A Brief Stop in Vancouver

Four and a half hours of driving through the beautiful mountains landed us in Vancouver. This is supposed to be the mildest city in Canada but we were greeted with a surprise sight of a large blizzard, and one that left 6 inches or more of snow on the ground for at least a week. Very weird for Vancouver. The city was at a standstill for a couple of days at least!
We stayed with a high school friend of Martin's - Lisa (or LT). She has a great little apartment across from Kitsilano Beach, so it is an excellent location in a cool and funky neighbourhood. Well, LT had a little surprise for us - a crab and shrimp feast to celebrate missed birthdays, and boy was it good.
We toured the town a little, caught up with some friends we met traveling and enjoyed a few drinks (Paul/Tracy, Andy). Spent some good nights catching up with Kelowna friends Geri/Eric, Pam/Jeremy, also a couple of Brampton friends - Sharon (with boyfriend George) and Tina. We even had a fabulous roast dinner with Michelle's old university friend Nadia and her family. They had a surprise for us too as they pulled out a bottle of Veuve champagne to celebrate our engagement.
We did even manage to do some sightseeing and getting to know Vancouver a little more as we have talked about moving there. One of our stops was the Museum of Anthropology, at the University of BC on Point Grey. A very interesting museum showcasing some of British Columbia's native culture and artwork including totem poles, masks and other artifacts.
Very cool. *Stub and Mush

With friends, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

So it was time to leave family and friends behind. All in all we had spent 6-8 weeks in Toronto and although we were sad to leave Martin's sister and family, we were not sad to leave the flat, sprawling 'burbs! Kelowna, B.C., made for a refreshing change with its rolling hills and huge lakes! Mega thanks go to Martin's parents for lending us a car - it has been a godsend and definitely made getting around seeing people and doing our chores way more easier in the short period of time that we've had.

In the two weeks we have been here, we have seen Martin's Aunt and Uncle, and his grandparents who are now almost 90! (His parents winter in Mexico, remember). Since I last saw Martin's grandparents, they moved into assisted living - a move they are very reluctantly coming to terms with, but the best in terms of help being on hand for when Nanny falls down. It has been great too to see all of Martin's friends that are still here. We have enjoyed doing some hikes in the hills pictured here above Kelowna, and just hanging out. I'm certainly getting to hear lots of stories as Martin and his friends reminisce over years of mischief and adventures!

Our short term plans -- there aren't any long term plans yet! -- have been forever changing, but we've finally made plans to head to Vancouver and Vancouver island to see friends tomorrow, and then south into the States landing in Portland for the month of December. Then back up to Kelowna Boxing Day and in time to get our ski legs on for the New Year. * Mush

On Top of the World Again, Toronto, Canada

No, not Everest this time, but the CN Tower - the highest building in the World. We had to splurge a little as it is one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World! Around 4 PM, we took the speedy lift up to the first viewing platform, 342 m (1,122 ft) above the ground. Here, there is an outdoor viewing area, and a glass floor!! Even though you see everyone else standing on them, it is still a little frightening stepping out onto the glass. We managed to take the obligatory pics laying down on the glass with the ground far below. There is also a revolving restaurant on the next floor up, for some great dining views.

But this was not high enough! We had booked to go up to the SkyPod, which is the World's Highest Public Observation located at a dizzying 447 m (1,465 ft.)!! What a view, and we had a clear day to boot! Tiny ants below driving miniscule cars! You can easily see over all the skyscrapers in town, and in the picture you can see the shadow of the CN Tower on the right hand side. We managed to spend about 4.5 hours up here, enjoying the sunset and watching the city lights come on. Our usual picnic up tall structures this time consisted of some really great stinky bleu-brie cheese freshly bought from the Kensington Market. I'm surprised we didn't stink out the whole SkyPod as it is not a large space!!

Of course, the Tower is higher than this. At a height of 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches), it is Canada’s National Tower, the World's Tallest Building, and an important telecommunications hub.

It's purpose: The CN Tower was built in 1976 by Canadian National (CN) who wanted to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industry by building a tower taller than any other in the world. The construction boom in Toronto in the 1960's transformed the skyline characterised by relatively low buildings into one dotted with skyscrapers. These new buildings caused serious communication problems. With its microwave receptors at 338 m (1,109 ft.) and 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches) antenna, the CN Tower swiftly solved the communication problems with room to spare. As a result people living in the Toronto area now enjoy some of the clearest reception in North America. *Stub

Take Me to Niagara Falls, Canada

.... that's what I said to Martin ! Although Ontario has been home to Martin before, for me this was all new stuff, and in my mind, no trip to this part of the world would be complete without a visit to one of the most famous waterfalls in the world - Niagara. I have to say I was very excited about seeing Niagara Falls for the first time. Sadly, the commercialism surrounding it is a sorry sight to behold with poor planning and lack of thought for the actual nature of the attraction. I did not care too much for the numerous tacky tourist attractions of wax museums and casinos right at the falls. But inspite of the tacky stuff, I was not disappointed with the Falls themselves! They were breathtaking!

For those who have never been, the Niagara river (which is relatively young at 12,000 years) straddles the border between America and Canada. An island splits the river in two giving rise to waterfalls on both sides of the border. Officially it's made up of three falls - Bridal Veil Falls, American Falls (not surprisingly, on the American side!), and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side. Although the American falls are 9ft taller at 176ft in height, Horseshoe is the most impressive being much wider. It is - yes, you've guessed it - horseshoe-shaped! About half a mile long (2600ft) at the rim, Horseshoe has an average volume of 600,000 gallons of water flowing over its crest ... per second. Crazy! I'm very glad we came to visit at this time of year even though it was pretty cold. Apparently, Niagara receives 12 million tourists a year, and thankfully there weren't too many today, apart from the usual Chinese tour bus groups that we are now so accustomed to after our travels in China. I was shocked and relieved to see there was not much spitting going on! - something we are not accustomed to!

If it hadn't been for Martin's friend, Mark, lending us his car we would never have been able to see Niagara or explore the local area. The drive along the river passing large wine estates to the charming town of Niagara-on-the-lake was quite picturesque. All in all it was a great day out - pity we didn't have time to sample some of the fantastic wines the region is famous for! * Mush

At Earl and Joy's Cottage, Ontario, Canada

You meet so many good people when you're on the road, that you just have to go and see them in their natural habitat when you get back. Our good travelling friend's Earl and Joy live in this part of the world too. They picked us up from the Neilson's cottage and took us over to their place on Four Mile Lake near Coboconk, still in Ontario.

It was a relaxing few days and it was great to see them. It rained quite a lot, but it was cool to hear the pitter-patter on the roof and feel cosy in their cottage. We got spoilt by Joy and her good food, we took the odd trip into town and played Euchre every evening. And while Joy got me hooked on crosswords and a game called SkipBo, Martin helped Earl on his computer. When the weather was nice we went for walks, played horseshoes in the garden, or took the 'Snooz-cruze' paddle boat out on the lake. Sometimes, it was nice just to sit on the swinging chair overlooking the glass-like water and enjoy the peace and quiet, only interrupted by the occassional squark of Canada Geese overhead. It was a nice few days of chilling out, and great to see Earl and Joy before they took off for Asia again. We were disappointed that we wouldn't be criss-crossing paths with them again on those same roads. * Mush

It's Snowing! Ontario, Canada

One morning at Mark's cottage I awoke to find Michelle missing from the bed. I eventually found her with a big grin on her face outside, dancing and whirling around in the huge snowflakes falling to the ground. We haven't seen snow fall since we left Portland. So I guess she's missed snow!

We don't have very much in the way of warm gear with us as we sent what we had to B.C. after we left Tibet, so the jacket that Michelle has on is Mark's and is about 10 sizes too big for her! * Stub

Neilson's Cottage, Cottage Country, Ontario, Canada

Mark and Cathy managed to fit some relax time into their busy schedule and took us up to the family cottage on Dickie Lake, just East of Bracebridge (which is about a 2 hour drive North of Toronto). As you can see, the weather was turning a bit, but what better place to be in a snow storm than huddled up warm and cosy by the fire in the cottage.

First night on arrival into Baysville, we had a good meal at the local dive - the Pav! Not much happening there this time of year though, so it was off to the cottage for some evening games and a little wine!

Mark took the role of chef for the weekend and cooked us up some delicious meals (I had no idea he was such a good cook!). After a hearty brunch, we went up to Algonquin Park to do a 4-hour hike along the Track and Tower Trail. Unfortunately, we missed the Fall colours in the trees, but it meant we could enjoy the colour on the ground as all the leaves had fallen and created a bed of yellowy-browns and rusty-reds, and see more through the trees! A good hike, with a beautiful lookout over some of the lakes at the top of the cliff. We didn't manage to see much wildlife though. It was back in the evening for some more tasty warm grub and relaxation enjoying the good company and some good laughs.*Stub

Canadian Thanksgiving

Well, we hit it good for Thanksgiving. Knowing our passion for food as you all do, think of three turkey dinners in a row!!! We loved it!

Thanksgiving Dinner #1. Starting on the Friday Oct 6th, we cruised up to Keswick,Ontario, to Colin and Shona's place. It was time to get together with the best friends from High School. We each brought our significant others and some kids, and a dish to add to the feast. It was great to spend the day and evening together because it is very seldom that we all get together in a group like this. The turkey was great too, succulent and juicy.

Thanksgiving Dinner #2. We borrowed a car from Mark and made our way up to Midhurst (near Barrie) also in Ontario, to visit Michelle's cousin Anna, her husband Andrew and kids Seb and Dom. Michelle's Auntie Alda and Uncle Umberto were visiting from Portugal too which made the visit even better. She hadn't seen them in about 10 years. We were also joined by their friends from when they lived up in Yellowknife. Once again, the turkey dinner was fabulous and the hospitality was great.

Thanksgiving Dinner #3. Back at my sister's place, we enjoyed some of my Mum's cooking. As usual, it was fantastic, although we all chipped in a bit. A beautiful Fall day was spent outside in the garden with the kids, a good meal and some fun games in the evening.
We were available for a turkey on the actual Thanksgiving Monday, but no offers came in. We did manage to have turkey soup for lunch though. I think the turkey hangover lasted the rest of the week, but it was great while it lasted. Roll on Christmas - we're ready for the next turkey! *Stub

Birthday With Family and With Friends

October 4th was my 36th birthday. I was lucky enough to have my entire immediate family in town to celebrate with. My Mum and Dad were visiting from Kelowna. Of course, my sister Lorraine, brother-in-law Marshall, nephew Spencer and little niece Jayden live in Brampton. We went out to lunch to an all-u-can-eat buffet with roasts, pasta, seafood, salads and desserts! My celebratory lunch was courtesy of my Dad, who had a big surprise sale on E-Bay of an old Indian money order which fetched about $1700 - sweeeet! He had no idea!! It was nice to spend the time with family, although we missed my nephew Spencer, who had to be at school!

In the afternoon, we met up with Sacha and headed down to the Beaconsfield Bar in Toronto. It was great to catch up with old friends Sacha, Mark, Greg, and Kimmy D. All good friends from my high school days at Brampton Centennial. There was also an additional guest - Leigh Wingfield - who I had not spoken with or seen in at least 13 years. Great to catch up. Also good to spend time with new friends - Mark's girlfriend Cathy and her 8 year old son Nathan who spent some time up at the bar by himself, chatting on a Blackberry, ordering Coronas. Kids grow up so fast these days! Plenty of beers of course and a few surprise shooters courtesy of Kimmy D. We managed to spend the night down at her place near High Park, and enjoy a morning with her before getting back to Brampton. Good times. *Stub

With Niece Jayden, Brampton, Canada

Well, I am back on home turf, but still 3000 miles from 'home'. On Sept 16th, I made my way to Toronto, or Brampton specifically (a suburb of Toronto). Time to visit my friends and family, and to finally meet my cute little niece, Jayden. She was already 14 months old by the time I met her. I also got to see my nephew, Spencer, who was approaching his 6th birthday already.

My sister and Marshall graciously let me stay on their couch for a few days between visits to my other friends. But with my parents and Michelle arriving just a day apart (Sept 26th and 27th), there was simply no room for us at the house so we are now camped out at my good friend Mark's apartment since he has somewhat moved in with his girlfriend. It is nice to have our own place for the first time in over 18 months. It is amazing how you miss having your own space and somewhere you can just chill out without someone bothering you, or you bothering them. Being without wheels we spent a lot of time catching up on our movie-watching thanks to our 8-movies-in-1 DVD specials that we bought in Burma for about 1$.

It was wonderful to see my parents again after so long. They decided to visit Brampton during our time here as they head to Mexico every winter and would have been gone by the time Michelle and I made it to Kelowna B.C. We did plenty of family things and even managed to celebrate Spencer's 6th and my 36th birthday with everybody while we were all together. *Stub

Farewell Dinner, England

So it was time to say goodbye to England. All in all the last few months have been great (after the intial shock of being back), but have flown by. It was great to see my family pictured here - left to right - my brother Richard with my niece Christina, my dad, my mum, sister and her husband (remember they got married in Italy over a year ago?), and nephew Dylan and my brother's wife. My family were exceptionally generous to us in so many ways and Martin and I could have not have transitioned back without their generosity and help. Thank yooou.

It was also brilliant to see lots of old faces of friends from all my previous 'lives' in England. And Martin's too. So many of them made such an effort to come and see us, or just put us up.. and just put up with us!! Thank you to everyone for just making the time - we loved seeing you all.

I stayed on a few days after Martin left, to go to a good friend's wedding. An excellent laugh with great people. Then it was time to say goodbye to my family (yes, my mum let me go!), and onto the next chapter... Oh, Canadiaaa. * Mush

I Amsterdam, Holland

In what seems to be a city wide promotion, this huge sign was just outside the famous Rijksmuseum. A beautiful building, famous for housing one or two million Rembrandts. Unfortunately, as with most of the museums, it was under renovation. We did manage to spend a few hours at the Van Gogh Museum, which we loved; it was an interesting exhibit with some of his best works on display (The Bedroom, Wheat field and crows, Sunflowers).

We loved the atmosphere of Amsterdam. It seemed very relaxed with tons of bikes around, just cruising along. It didn't feel like a big city, but along with all the canals and bridges, there were flower boxes everywhere. The beautiful canals were lined with narrow, wonky houses of all different shapes and sizes with fancy architecture and gables. The buildings have a distinct lean forwards towards the street with a pulley at the top of the gable deliberately designed to move and hoist furniture into the building. One day strolling the streets, it was pretty cool to watch a huge fridge being hoisted in through the window.

Of course, no trip to Amsterdam would be quite complete without seeing the infamous red light district. Being a native to Amsterdam, Stiffler had no desire to see it, but as we strolled towards the area we encountered it by accident. Actually, it's really quite a picturesque area being in the older part of town. It is also the 'coffee shop' district - where shops sell 'wacky backy' in a somewhat legal fashion! Not our cup of tea, or even 'coffee', but it had a cool vibrant atmosphere even though very popular with tourists. We strolled around the red light district later at about 9pm and it didn't feel as seedy as we expected. Of course, it's hard to miss the girls in each window and the Erotic museums along the road. We did get offered various stimulants by people selling on the streets and bridges though, but no different from other parts of the world, I suppose. * Mush

Reunion with Stiffler, Amsterdam, Holland

Since we had been apart for almost 2 months, it was time to see Stiffler again. We originally met her in Vietnam and travelled with her for about 2 months through Vietnam and China. The last time we saw her, she was reluctantly heading back to China after some fun times in Hong Kong with us and friends.

We flew over to Amsterdam from Birmingham and she picked us up at the airport. It was great to see her again, and as always, was weird to see travel friends in their 'home habitat'. We saw plenty of sights around Amsterdam, and enjoyed some evenings at various pubs around town. This old pub called Hoppe was actually where Stiffler's parents met, and frequented with her after she was born. I think she had her own table in the back corner to play at. Pretty cool to return to your roots so to speak.
We spent four quick days in Amsterdam before heading back to England but it's always great to catch up with old travel friends. *Stub

Keswick, The Lake District, England

We had wheels for the week thanks to Michelle's brother, Richard and sis-in-law Nicola, so we buzzed up to the Lake District, stopping in Liverpool for a night on the way up.
Michelle's friend from Portland, Vida, and her husband Jay live there on the Wirral with their cute little girl Bronwen. We spent the day walking around town before having a nice meal, some wine and a good rest.

The next morning, we did a whirl wind trip of the two impressive cathedrals in Liverpool. The Anglican Cathedral is absolutely massive with a surprisingly simple stone design inside, and the Catholic Cathedral which locals call Paddy's Wigwam from it's shape, looks like a bit of a disco inside too - lots of coloured lights and colourful stain glass windows. We then had a lovely drive through the Lake District, finishing up in Keswick. Our friends Claire and Ralf from Bangkok had recently moved back here. They were staying with Claire's Dad, Tony, who gratiously put us up in the spare room for a couple of days, even with all the construction going on. Keswick is a beautiful little town, one of Michelle's favourites, with lots of character - and great Cumberland Sausage!

The Lake District is all about walking, so that's what we did. A ramble through the farmers fields led us up to Castlerigg Stone Circle, with great views around the valleys. Passed many sheep and cows in the fields on our way up there. Would have been a surreal place up there in 'druid' days, but today, far too many tourists and kids running around. I guess we did get up here at the end of Summer holidays. Ralf joined us on a quick hike up Latrigg before dinner, which had stunning views over Derwent Water and Keswick, but was dwarfed by larger Skiddaw beside it. Had some amazing sun beams breaking through the clouds on our hike down. It was just nice to be outdoors and get some fresh air. Of course, we came back to the aforementioned Cumberland sausage that was literally 10 feet long.

Our time in the Lake District was great and loved seeing old friends. It's also Michelle's favourite place in England and she was excited to have the chance to show me this pretty part of the world. Our brief trip culminated with a visit to see Colin and Flo, friends Mush knows from Scotland, and then a stop to see her good friend from secondary school, Becky and her husband Karl and new baby Max. *Stub

Pub Crawl at Bury St. Edmunds, England

A spur of the moment visit to Bury St. Edmunds. Good ol' Sarah (on the right), who we traveled with for 3 months, lived there, and also my Mum's best friend Barbara along with her husband Philip and son Joseph (2nd from L). We found a cheap train ticket up there - only 5 quid, and Sarah agreed to drive us back to London the next day.
Joseph met us at the train station and we spent the afternoon with him, Barbs and Philip. As usual, Barbs loved feeding us, and we loved eating her great food - mmmmmm shepherds pie! After some puzzling moments (Michelle and Philip love to do puzzles), we headed off with Joseph to meet Sarah.
Of course, what better way to catch up with Sarah than to join her on a pub crawl of her home town, where she seems to be well known in all of the local establishments. A couple of other friends of hers joined us for the night and after plenty of pints, a nights sleep on the floor at her Mum's place, we were back in London ready for our MegaBus back to Birmingham. *Stub

6 Days in London

A necessary trip to London was in the cards for the month. I have many travel friends in London, and Michelle has a few of her own and some family too. So, the trip was not so much about being tourists, but visiting everybody. We did however manage to cruise the sights a little as everything is just so close. This picture is of the Millenium Bridge with St Paul's Cathedral in the background.

My buddy Biscuit was nice enough to let us crash on his 'pallet' as he calls it - a well used futon in their living room. Nice base for us though as it was in the Camden Locks area - Chalk Farm, and easy for us to hop on the tube into the heart of London.

We managed to catch up with some friends from Tibet, Iain and Liz, who we toured the Courtauld Art Institute with, as it was free! A 'business' dinner of some great Thai food with Steve, an old friend of Michelle's that same day. A quick visit with Rachel, Pierre and Adrien near Kew Gardens, who had just driven over from Paris. A lovely dinner with cousin Isabel and Mark, with a surprise visit from Uncle Manuel and Aunt Rachel. Isabel and Mark gratiously let us stay the night at their new flat. A night on the piss with Biscuit, Bartlett and Cranky, who Martin traveled around New Zealand with in their van called 'Bill the Disco, Dingo Bus'.

We did do some sights walking around Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, and a quick hour at the British Museum where we saw the Rosetta Stone, and the Parthenon Marbles. We also managed to catch a show at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre - A Comedy of Errors!

And finally, we spent some time with Martin's Grandad, who had recently suffered a stroke. For 89 years old, he is remarkably resilient and shows no ill effects of the stroke. We wish him many more years of exploring London. *Mush and Stub

Bourton-on-the-Water, The Cotswolds, England

In Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, we met Lydia. She was a good laugh and we enjoyed a few drinks with her, and she showed us the institution of Mike's Burgers at about 3AM one night. What a great late night burger! One of our favourite burgers on the trip (yes, we did miss those things). Well, a few months later, we bumped into her in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. After that we kept in touch and met up with her and her friend Jim (Painer) traveling throughout Vietnam for about 3 weeks together.

Lydia and Painer both live in Cheltenham, a short 30 minute drive from Bromsgrove. So, a trip to visit them in Cheltenham turned into a day trip to Bourton-on-the-Water in the heart of the Cotswolds. The town is very charming and quaint with lots of cute shops and oldey-worldey pubs and so was was very busy with tourists. Later, Jim joined us for dinner and it was great to see him. A nice day all round catching up with them again. * Mush

Packwood House, Solihull, England

Whilst in England, we've been spending a lot of time with Michelle's family, staying with her sister Jacqueline and brother-in-law Mark in Bromsgrove. Just around the corner is her Mum and Dad, and a few miles in the opposite direction is her brother Richard, his wife Nicola and her nephew and niece, Dylan and Christina. So, being this close, we see a lot of the family and have some good laughs and also loads of good food and tons of good wine!!!

We spent a nice day out at a 'National Trust' property just east of Birmingham, with Michelle's Mum and Dad. The 'National Trust of England' preserves old heritage properties all over the UK. Packwood House is originally a 16th century house much altered over the years, but still a really fine house with some great 16th century artifacts and furniture, and the gardens are famous for its 30 large and immaculately clipped yew trees which apparently take some maintenance. Pretty impressive. *Mush

Return to Blighty - Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, England

Well, it is with some sadness that we bid farewell to the Asia part of our journey. For us though, it was time to come back and we had been looking forward to it for a couple of months. There is only so long that you can live out of a little backpack, and keep moving all the time.
Michelle arrived back in England about 3 days before me, as she wanted to get back in time for her Mum's birthday. Her Mum asked if she wanted to go out for Sunday Roast lunch, which Michelle promptly declined. We have eaten out for 3 meals a day over the last 14 months - one thing we really missed was HOME COOKING. So, Michelle managed to tell me all about her amazing home cooked roast beef dinner while I was still eating rice and noodles in Bangkok. No worries though, I was soon back for fish'n'chips, curries and meat pies along with some tasty roasts too.
We did experience culture shock on returning!!!! Mainly due to the incredibly high prices of everything. We could live on £25 ($50) a day easily in Asia. That includes food, accomodation, transportation, drinks, entertainment, etc. Now, all that buys is a meal in the pub. Needless to say, we haven't been eating out much.
It's was really good to meet up with Michelle's family again, and they are as hospitable as ever. Staying again at her sister Jacqueline and brother-in-law Mark's lovely house in Bromsgrove. It's hard to believe that it was a year ago that we were meeting them in Lake Como, Italy for their wedding! *Stub

Tub Tim's on Koh Samet , Thailand

You all know we love our food, and of course always have a favourite restaurant, but how about this location??
When we arrived back in Bangkok from Myanmar, we really felt like we needed some beach time to finish off our trip. After some gift shopping at the massive Chatuchak market with friends Scott and Nina, we decided to visit another friend Paul in Jom Tien Beach, near Pattaya. Now Pattaya is the sex capital of the biggest sex industry country in SE Asia. A place we had absolutely no intention of going to on our trip, but wanted to visit Paul who was finishing off his diving instructors course there. He did take us on a whirlwind tour of the famous 'Walking Street', complete with pubs, go go bars, strip clubs, and toy bar (full of lady boys). After one night walking 'the street', it was time to get to a proper beach!!!
Local buses to the pier of Ranong, where we took a rough boat ride over to Koh Samet, the first island we visited in Asia 11 months ago. We knew where we wanted to go, and made our way to a beach front bungalow on Ao Phudsa, and quickly went to our favourite restaurant - Tub Tim - to get some BBQ squid and relax on the beach.
As you can imagine, our last few days were spent totally relaxing and eating. Quick swims to cool off, sitting on our sarongs on the beach watching the crabs dig holes and ball up the sand, eating some of the local seafood, and enjoying some drinks at sunset whilst relaxing on the comfortable triangle cushions at the bars.
Then it was back to Bangkok for some last minute shopping and sending some packages and just enjoying Bangkok for what it is. Michelle flew back to England a few days earlier than me, to make it for her Mum's birthday. I stayed around and enjoyed time with our local friends and even got treated to a dinner out with our travel agent of the last 11 months, Mr Thai and his brother. It was a really nice send off!! *Stub

Goodbye Burma!

With great sadness it was time to say farewell to Burma with its lovely people and many beautiful sights. We were going to miss its quirkiness with its kids on the street wanting photo after photo, people talking about Rooney as soon as you say you're English, women spitting red betel nut juice from the bus, being jammed elbow to elbow on trucks with the locals, seeing major car repairs performed on the side of the road, watching the sport of chinlone, changing money on the black market, traveling in trishaws and horse carts, having clean toilets (yes, way more cleaner than any we saw in China!!). We most certainly were going to miss the people with their happy welcoming demeanour and their great sense of humour. We loved the places we visited too - the spectacular and immense ruins of Bagan, the tranquility of Inle Lake. The capital Yangon (formerly Rangoon) was busy and chaotic, while in Mandalay we got templed-out amongst the greenery.

There are very strong views on both sides of the fence about visiting Burma - within the country itself and overseas. Due to the dictatorial government many areas are still off-bounds to tourists, and prices are artificially high in the more controlled areas where the $$ go almost straight to the government. For us, we thought long and hard about coming to Burma because of this and certainly we tried to minimise any benefit to the government by avoiding government-run transport, staying in de-regularised guesthouses, and buying food at local restaurants and on the streets. Infact our Bangkok Airways flight back to Bangkok got cancelled and instead of taking Myanmars Airways - the Government airline - we insisted on waiting 3 more hours to take Thai Airways. I wonder if avoiding countries unfortunate enough to be ruled by such dictatorships helps anyone. If anything, we are definitely less ignorant and we hope to promote awareness of Burma's plight generally, aswell as to people in office. Burma is a great country with amazing people, and we are certainly glad we went. We wished we had had more energy and time though, and given the chance we would go back tomorrow. It was a wonderful experience. *Mush

Local Street Bar, Yangon, Myanmar

After our great time in Inle Lake, we hopped on another internal flight and we were back where we started - Yangon. This visit was a little more casual, and we found that we spent a lot of time shopping for gifts in the amazingly huge and cheap Bogyoke Aung Sun Market, along with the myriad of stalls and vendors along the local streets. We did find time to stop for a drink along the way at a pretty typical street side eatery - I love the chair hanging from the awning. At one street vendor, I managed to have a bird crap in my meal from a bridge above!

We had planned to take the Circle Train around the town. It is just a local train, not for tourists, but apparently it was a good way to see the real life of Yangon. Unfortunately, we really got screwed around trying to buy tickets and eventually got sent on the wrong train by the conductor. He was trying to do us a favour as the Circle Train was not due to run until later, but we were upset as he should have just told us. We did still manage to meet some great kids on the train, and see what strange things the locals were selling. Pretty uncomfortable seats though - just wooden planks. Great city life views from the windows, but we saw the same things twice as our train was an out-and-return train.

We managed to bump into a British lady, Mandy, who we met in Inle Lake. She was on a business trip and treated us to drinks at her hotel later - sweet! On our final morning, we rode the elevator up to the 11th floor of the Sakura Tower for amazing views over Yangon. We wished we had been there for drinks the night before. *Stub

Wonky Stupas of Indein, Inle Lake, Myanmar

A long tail boat is essentially a long open canoe-shaped boat with a loud car engine stuck on the back with a prop-shaft and propellor protruding out a long way before touching the water. We had seen many of these before in Asia especially in Thailand, and it was in this that we enjoyed a long day trip across Inle Lake. It was a busy day and we saw lots of lake life - many amazing stilt houses and villages, floating gardens of tomatoes, lots of cargo of rice and veggies being shipped around to markets, and of course, fishermen doing their weird foot paddle. We went to a local market that wasn't too touristy. It sold everyday household items and homemade foods and veggies. The local people here were different and wore bright red towels wrapped around their heads. We were amazed at how many local crafts and trades they had as we jetted through the canals to silk and cotton weaving factories, black smiths, cheroot cigar rolling factories, printing presses and silver jewelry makers. We topped off our day with a trip to Indein - a popular spot with tourists and of course, souvenir sellers. We were lucky though, because since it was late afternoon, most of the stalls that line the path up to the top 9that seemed like miles) were all empty! Phew! At least that wouldn't ruin our visit (as we had heard from others) and it was one hassle were glad to have missed. The atmosphere of Indein is surreal, with its crumbly, wonky stupas (pointy monuments), and overgrown temple and paths. We even saw trees growing out of the tops of some stupas! There was even this UFO type bug that had clear circular wings and a glowing gold body underneath. It was seriously cool and we wished we had more time.

On the ride back across the lake, we took time to stop at the Nga Hpe Chaung Monastery, also known to foreigners as Jumping Cat Monastery. I guess monks get bored too, and these monks had taught their cats to jump through hoops placed about 1m (3 ft) above their heads. Weird but interesting. *Mush

Leg Rowing Fisherman, Inle Lake, Myanmar

Time to say goodbye to the jewels of Bagan, and we departed for the airport in our most different taxi yet - a horse drawn cart. Cool. Next stop: Inle Lake, and immediately we met a couple of other travellers - Burak and Seb from Turkey, to share one of our most expensive taxis yet from the airport. Inle Lake had an nice relaxed feel to it - lots of life on the water. Floating villages, houses on stilts, fishermen paddling in a unique way with their leg (as in the photo), freeing up their arms to put out traps or string out nets - I cannot believe they are able to balance on one leg on the end of a canoe! We took a canoe ride through some of the smaller canals amongst the reeds and watched how local life went -children hanging out by the water, playing football, feeding pigs, mothers doing laundry and dishes, people washing themselves etc etc. Along with it though there were lots of hellos and big smiles.

We met a few travellers in our guesthouse - some of them we'd met before in other places on the road, and we all ended up going to a small pizza restaurant called Min Min's. Well, Min Min's apparently had only been open for 2 months, and Min Min himself was a modest and generous (!) man - and very proud of his new brick pizza oven!! The pasta was good and eventually, when we tried it, his pizza was great, but the main attraction were his cheap and excellent cocktails! Capirinhas and Mohitos were just 80 cents (40p), and after a few very generous ones we were definitely all quite merry. The next morning most of us had stories to tell of either some drinking injury, getting lost on the way home, or feeling very ill with even a few of us throwing up! But it was an excellent night out. * Mush

Traditional Feast with Aye Aye Mar, Bagan, Myanmar

One of the local people we met during our time in Bagan was Aye Aye Mar (or we called her Emma). Whilst touring through the spectacular Ananda Pahto, we came across some vendors selling bamboo plates. The plates were made from circled bamboo strips, then lacquered with different colours. Emma was by far, the nicest lady of all the sellers and actually gave us a decent first price. So many vendors we encounter just ask for ridiculously high prices for their goods, and we don't even bother bargaining with them. But Emma was different. Her English was not too bad and we formed a nice rapport with her. It was a fun experience buying from her and we loved the quality of her things, so much so, that we returned to her the next day to buy some more. She even got her husband to deliver the plates to our hotel 4 km away on his motorbike with their son carrying the plates sitting on the back, just so we didn't have to carry them on our bicycles.

I think we spent a total of $17 USD on the plates, and as we were leaving her stall the second time, she called us back and asked us to dinner. How nice is that? We couldn't turn down the offer even though we were supposed to meet other friends for dinner. So, she took us to her friend's restaurant and provided us with an absolute feast of curries and sauces. Check out how many bowls are on the table. Of course, as soon as one bowl was looking low, her friend would top it up, so at the end it looked like we hadn't touched anything! Emma's English was not bad, so we had a good conversation at dinner and then came dessert. Michelle and I absolutely loved a sugary, fudge like substance called jaggery. It was made from plums! So tasty, she actually bought us some to take with us. At the end of dinner, she refused to let us pay and she spent probably about $3USD on us. Considering they don't make much money, this was a huge treat taking us out. She was an absolutely lovely lady, and is typical of the type of amazing people we met in Burma. *Stub

Tiny Doorways of Shwegugyi Paya, Bagan, Myanmar

.

Great views of other temples from the rooftop of the Shwegugyi Paya, including the tallest (at 61m/200 ft) in the area, Thatbyinnyu, pictured on the left. But were the people actually this small? All who know me know I am not that tall, and I've even lost weight for this photo and I can still only barely squeeze through. Crooked too!

This temple is in the heart of Old Bagan. We have heard about a horrible story of how the government approached the villagers of Old Bagan and demanded that they move within 48 hrs, to a 'new' Bagan nearby. The locals were given no compensation for the loss of property and land, and nothing to set up their new home. That's just how the government treats the people here. I'm surprised they are able to smile anymore!

More proof of the horrible, destructive government of Myanmar. This excerpt taken from Wikipedia "UNESCO has unsuccessfully tried to designate Bagan as a World Heritage Site. The military junta (SPDC) has haphazardly restored ancient stupas, temples and buildings, ignoring original architectural styles and using modern materials that bear no resemblance to the original designs. Likewise, the junta is planning to construct a golf course, a paved highway, and a 61-metre (200-ft) watchtower, which is believed to be completed by 2007."
The hideous watchtower has been built and is in use. It does not resemble any of the architecture in the area and is a complete eyesore. Of course, the government pockets the money from any tourist climbing up the tower. So, don't climb the tower if you go! *Stub

Sparkling Sunrise in Bagan, Myanmar

As we had lost a few valuable days while I was layed up sick in the room at Hsipaw, we had some catching up to do. We decided to do a few internal flights to make up the time. The first flight from Mandalay put us in Bagan, a famous area because of the sheer number of temples/pagodas/stupas all in a 41 sq. km area. There are varying numbers, but I have heard 3000, 4000 and 5000 ancient and new temples scattered across the plains. Of course, they all vary in size and shape from tiny little points to massive temples with gold topped roofs, and impressive Buddha statues lining the interiors. Most of the temples were built in the 1000's to 1200's, but there are still new temples being built today.

It is a rather surreal place to catch a sunrise. We would ride bikes to our favourite temple #394, also called Buledi, and relax with this scene as the sun rose over the pointed pagodas. To add to the peacefulness of the scene, we were the only ones there! We could stay there for hours, resting, reading and catching up on the journal.

After enjoying the tranquil morning, we would take on the heat of the day, and ride from temple to temple down the dirt roads between. Some amazing temples, from the gold topped Ananda Pahto, the largest temple Dhammayangyi, and the Indian style Mahabodhi to mention only a few. There were a some sites that had some secret entrances, that you could climb up tight little stairways and reach the rooftop for wonderful views - of course, difficult to find. We would eat at local little restaurants scattered throughout the temple areas and interact with the lovely locals. And of course, finish with a beautiful sunset on a temple, overlooking the Ayeyarwaddy River beyond all the stupas. Quite a special couple of days. *Stub

Mr. Book, Hsipaw, Myanmar

On my travels around town I came across several notorious characters. Mr Book is famous not for running his bookshop, but for speaking out against the corrupt Burmese government. The more time we've spent in Burma the more we've read about it's terrible history. The country is sadly reknowned for its military dictatorship and brutal repression of human rights: slave labour and devaluing their currency, to name a few. You may or may not be familiar with the name of Aung San Suu Kyi - this lady fought for a democratic government for several years. Apparently, although many Burmese may be a little disillusioned with her Party (apparently, she wasn't forceful enough in asserting her right to govern), there is little doubt that had she come to power many years ago, then the people of Myanmar would at least be living less brutal and repressed lives. Mr Book dedicates a lot of his time petitioning governments around the world to become aware of Burma's problem. He is a compassionate man and is very active in the community always helping families, donating school books and pens etc. I felt very honoured to have met him and hope our stories here help to further this country's cause.

Another extraordinary character I met was an Australian lady called Maureen. She has been in Myanmar for several years and married a local upstanding man in Hsipaw. He was apparently a highly influential man in the community and without reason was arrested and jailed. She is still awaiting his return. Throughout our travels in Myanmar we hear many stories like this of how the goverment treats their people so atrociously. It's heart breaking and makes us ever more eager to support the local people and tell the world of their plight. *Mush

Michelle's New Hat, Hsipaw, Myanmar

The World Cup final was on while we were in Hsipaw, and it seemed that the whole town had turned out to watch it at the local cinema where it was being played - at 1AM. It was an interesting experience especially with the locals spitting out remnants of sunflower seeds, and red betel nut juice all over the floor and seeing red streams of it pass by your feet - pretty gross. They are really into their football here and as Italy and France battled it out on our big screen the Burmese jeered and cheered, until it seemed someone was very happy with the result- they must have bet on France!
While Martin was ill, I explored town and the outer villages by bicycle with an Ozzie couple staying at our hotel. The village kids were as usual very excited about having their photo taken and then seeing it afterwards on the digitial screen. In town I searched for a local traditional hat and couldn't find one with character, so with lots of sign language and pointing I bought a hat straight off a lady's head selling mushrooms and vegetables on the side of the street near the market. It was perfect: well worn-in with lots of character. I offered her the equivalent of 50cents and she seemed happy until she saw other notes that I pulled out of my purse - and by pointing to these she got an extra 10cents! * Mush

Buddhist Nuns, Hsipaw, Burma

A 4 hour drive east of Mandalay is the town of Hsipaw (pronounced Sipaw). We shared Muireann's taxi again (she had hired one at the start of her trip) and stopped at a couple of places on the way... Pyin U Lwin, a cool Muslim town with old colourful horse drawn stage coaches for taxis. Another stop at Buddha Cave was a big mistake on our driver's part, as it was the start of Buddhist lent and the 2 mile road leading up to the carpark was absolutely choc-a-bloc with trucks and vans jammed full of people. Sitting in traffic was not enjoyable, so we got out and walked. We never got to see the cave as we lost Muireann and waited at the entrance for her so that we wouldn't miss her... We didn't mind too much as the best bit was walking along the road with the crowds and waving hello, 'talking' to all the people stuck waiting.

Hsipaw itself is a small riverside town known for its relaxing atmosphere and walks/hikes into the lush countryside. A boat ride and hike took us through pineapple and papaya plantations to different villages and monasteries where we got some great pics of young monks and locals. Unfortunately, it was unbearably hot and Martin later started suffering from heat exhaustion. Not very pleasant especially as the hotel was choosing to conserve electricity (it is low season here) and there were no fans or aircon for about half the day and night! Add to that a bout of food poisoning and he really wasn't well for a number of days.

Hsipaw's main attractions are its two markets: the one that starts at 4am(!) - the veg and produce market called the candle-light market; the second, is the day market selling food and everyday housewares and hardware. And that's it! One morning at 6am while Martin was ill I went to market and although I've seen more exciting markets before, it was a great time to be out and I loved watching lots of young novice monks collecting alms (food donations and money) (double click the pic for pics of these). Two Buddhist nuns dressed in pink were also out, shopping for herbs and veggies. Loved the shape of their hats. * Mush

They're Watching You: Lucky Owls, Mandalay, Burma

We took a day trip out of Mandalay with Muireann and Matthew visiting Sagaing, Inwa and Amarapura - three different areas teeming with temples. It was a full day! In Sagaing we saw many of them and climbed the hills to see many more stupas and temples dotted throughout the rolling green landscape. At the temples it was crazy and there was souvenir stand after souvenir stand with an occasional one selling Buddhisty stuff - everything from incense sticks and Buddha figures, to these lucky owls made of papier mache. They were very cute sitting row upon row, wide-eyed, side by side. We couldn't resist getting a couple of small ones for our Xmas tree (when we get one). We'll see if they make it home in one piece!

By the end of the day we were pretty 'templed' out! At Amarapura we watched many monks crossing its famous U Bein bridge over large Taungthaman lake - the longest teak bridge in the world, about 1 mile long (1.2km) with 600 teak supports. These were leftover from the Palace at Inwa when it got moved to Mandalay. In Inwa we had to catch a small boat to get to the temples and the only way to get around was by horse cart. We were not happy at this as it was quite expensive (even though we bargained them down), but we had no other choice... Still, it was a nice afternoon inspite of a storm and pelting rain. * Mush

Chinlone Festival, Mandalay, Myanmar

After a long day, we made a stop at Mahamuni Paya on our way home and discovered the Chinlone Festival. Chinlone is a sport that is played with a wicker-type ball and seems to be the national sport of Myanmar. It is however, not a sport so much as a demonstration as only one team plays at one time. There is usually one player in the middle doing a multitude of tricks, with the rest of the team just keeping the ball in play after different moves. The centre player is switched at times, so more than one player is the focus. The best players had money pinned to their backs, apparently tips from the audience.

Apparently we arrived at a good time as this young boy is one of the best known chinlone players in the country. He was simply amazing and could control that little ball unbelievably. It is hard to describe some of the moves he was capable of. Apparently there are over 100 named moves that are appreciated more when repeated. Here he is kicking the ball up with his left foot(only about 12 inches high), and circling his foot over the ball before quickly kicking it up again. He could do this move about 100 times in a row if he wanted. He also would do some weird no look hits off his knee tucked under his opposite shoulder over and over - can you picture it??? I didn't think so, that is why I said it is hard to explain. Check out http://www.chinlone.com/ to find out more about the amazing sport.

It was a treat to watch these guys and sit around the circle with the local men and many monks in attendance. Michelle and our Irish friend Muireann were the only women in attendance! *Stub

Hsimbyume Paya, Mingun, Myanmar

We attempted to bus up to Inle Lake, but the buses were full, so we caught an overnighter all the way up to Mandalay, changing our planned route slightly. After taking one of the tiny blue Mazda Pick-up truck taxis from the bus station to find a hotel, we started to explore Mandalay. After lunch, the rains started to slow down and we walked to the Palace with a new Aussie friend Matthew. The Palace itself is surrounded by a huge moat, probably around 2 miles on each side. The palace has recently been restored with forced labour from the locals. A truth we are getting too familiar with. The palace was called the Glass Palace because of the small pieces of mirror decorating the outside. The structure however is wooden and painted red and yellow - quite beautiful really.

On our first full day in Mandalay, we walked to the Ayeyarwaddy river and promptly caught a boat upriver to Mingun Paya. The stupa at Mingun was slated to be the largest in the world at 150m (492 ft), and still would have been today. But alas, King Bodawpaya died in 1819, and work ceased on the structure, leaving the largest pile of bricks I have ever seen. The base built entirely of brick was complete, but a recent earthquake has produced several large crack in the brick structure. There is also the Mingun bell, the worlds largest, undamaged bell weighing in at a cool 90 tons nearby. You are able to climb up the steps to the top of the base, for great views of the area and Ayeryawaddy River. You can also see Hsimbyume Paya from the top.

We recognized Hsimbyume from somewhere...... oh yeah - the cover of the Lonely Planet Myanmar. So Michelle, taking the place of a young novice monk in a red robe, recreated the step across the arches to give our version of the picture. Check out this link to compare:

http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/product_detail.cfm?productID=2789&seriesID=1&seriesname=Country%20Guides&

*Stub

The Moustache Brothers, Mandalay, Myanmar

While in Mandalay, we saw a couple of evening shows. On our first night, we visited the local garage of the Moustache Brothers. About 10 years ago, they were visited by a Lonely Planet writer, who enjoyed the show and wrote them up in the 'travelers bible'. So, now most foreign visitors to Mandalay who own a Lonely Planet go to see this show. It was their meal ticket for sure!

Now for some history on the show. Apparently, the repressive Myanmar Government banned the Moustache Brothers from performing in public to local people because of some political jokes they told. Brother #1 Par Par Ley (RHS) was actually jailed 7 years for telling jokes (there is actually a reference to this in the Hugh Grant movie 'About A Boy'). Ridiculous you might say, but that is how things are in Myanmar. So, the brothers went underground somewhat, and out of their garage they still perform the show to foreigners (apparently there is no ban on this.....yet!). So, they make jokes about how they are 'under surveillance' and hold up signs of all the different countries' secret agencies with photos of their customers!

The show itself was interesting. Brother #3 (Middle) was the MC and he was quite hilarious. He uses all the slangs of so many countries, and although it was sometimes quite hard to understand his English, he even spelt it out for us! They put on demonstrations of different costumes, local clothing, local dances with the help of wives and sisters, and local music. A good night out if you find yourself in Mandalay, and don't worry if you can't quite find the right garage, they will find you! *Stub

Rainy Trishaw Tour with Sammy and Tin, Bago, Myanmar

Upon our arrival to Bago, 2 hours North of Yangon, we were greeted by Sammy and Tin, who were local trishaw drivers. Trishaws are bicycles with eassentially a side car attached with one seat facing forward and one backwards. They assured us that they would be able to take us around most of the sights of Bago in the afternoon, despite the pelting rain. So we agreed to pay them the 3000 kyats ($2.50, £1.50) for the afternoon, and they started peddling us around. We tried to use our umbrellas to keep them dry, but after a while it was a lost cause. The streets were a swamp and the locals took to using canoes to transport people through the lower level streets.

First stop was visiting the happy cheeroot (cigar) rollers. They spend at least 10 hours a day rolling about a thousand cigars, all for about $1 pay. There were even some young kids there (3-4yrs) helping their mothers out, and one was using a pair of huge scissors that were bigger than he was!!!
As for the temples: if you hadn't guessed it yet, there are probably millions of temples in Myanmar - even more than other countries we had visited. We were able to avoid the $10 government fee, by waiting until the ticket checkers had left for the day. This allowed us to 'help' out Sammy and Tin with a little extra money that went directly to them and not the government. Bago had some wonderful temples and 90 m tall stupas, with the highlight being the 61m long reclining Buddha of Shwethalyuang. It is housed in a large building to protect it, but walking up to it, all you can see is a huge wall of torso, only to reveal the massive length of the Buddha at the end of the hallway. It's head was resting on some very ornamental pillows and the soles of its feet were elaborately decorated. Even it's baby finger was over 3m long. We visited more temples for the rest of the day, finishing with the tallest at sunset. Although the rain was still falling, the bright gold made for a neat contrast with the strange blue of the sky (double click for pic on Flickr).

We thoroughly enjoyed our day out, but mostly because of the drivers. Such nice men, and we were able to really 'talk' to them. There are so many things that locals won't and aren't allowed to talk about, but they seemed to open up to us a little. Recommendations to anyone heading to Bago! An excellent afternoon. *Stub

A Typical Bus Heading for Twante, Myanmar

Across the river by ferry, we managed to get inside one of these buses which are basically big pick-up trucks with narrow lengthwise bench seats. These buses DO NOT leave until full - including the rooftop!!! Little did we know that when full, not only do the people climb up on the roof, they then hang off the back - I think about 20 people were holding on for their lives on the tailgate as the bus tanked along. It was a fun ride inside jammed elbow to elbow with all the curious locals. 1 hour later we were in the small town of Twante (pronounced 'Twanty').

Greeted by more torrential rain, we were led to a local joint for a bite to eat, and then perused the market. I guess they don't see a lot of Westerners there, and were very curious about us, staring intently. Friendly though, as we had become used to in Myanmar. Of course, the market was filled with many strange and colourful sights, but not quite as smelly as many other markets we had been in. For the tourists, a local highlight is visiting the pottery shacks just on the outskirts of town. Using our newly purchased umbrellas, we strolled through the puddle-ridden streets to these thatched shacks and enjoyed watching one lady spinning the pottery wheel by hand, while the man molded a large pot on it in less than a minute! All the time, we had their kids jumping around us, wanting photos taken of course. Walking back to catch our bus kids were playing in the rain and deep puddles everywhere. Our journey back was another overloaded bus back to the river where we had fun on the ferry with the local vendors carrying their trays of things to sell - mostly kids sent out to make extra cash for the family. They were funny as they pretty much forgot about selling the gum and trinkets and were more interested in having their photos taken. An exhilarating and soggy day. *Stub

Formerly Rangoon, Burma

We've actually managed to find an internet in this wonderful chaotic city! Excellent! But email access is blocked! Not so excellent! The Burmese love football especially the Premier League and Man United! So we were able to find somewhere to watch the football. I realised that I was supporting England when I was disappointed about the bloody awful penalties! And Rooney and his red card!! All we had was Burmese commentary so not sure why he was sent off. So now, it's Portugal for the World Cup!!

Anyway, had a great first few days here. People are very friendly and we are pretty much celebrities, even though foreignors do come here. Burma was an English colony up until 1948, but people's English is still surprisingly good - even the younger generations'. It is raining season here too - pretty much raining all afternoon and evening which means we have to get up and out before 9am. It's the type of rain that's warm and refreshing, but soaks you in about 3 seconds flat! Possibly our best investment yet - we bought a couple of umbrellas!

Yangon, formerly called Rangoon during colonial times, is a multi-ethnic, frenetic city with lots of crumbling colonial buildings, gold glittering stupas, treacherous (for me, anyway!) wonky-slabbed pavements (sidewalks), and streets teeming with people, and markets with vendors and food stalls. Changing money is interesting here: since the government charges a tax for every transaction, you get more for your US$ on the black market - normally from touts on the streets or at the local tourist market. The men wear a sarong-type skirt called a Longyi, made out of a tube-shaped piece of fabric which they wrap around and tie in a knot at the belly. Business men dress a little smarter and usually sport a crisp white shirt with their longyi! Women and children wear a strange kind of face makeup called thanakha - a cakey creamy yellow that hardens and apparently protects them from the sun - even though there's only rain at the moment! * Mush

Sule Paya in Downtown Yangon, Myanmar

After a short flight from Bangkok, we were in Yangon (formerly Rangoon), Myanmar (formerly Burma). Things are different here. A very cool mix of cultures and people with smiling faces wherever you look. Unbelievable considering how badly they are treated by the repressive government.
They don't call it rainy season for nothing as we were greeted by torrential rain everyday. Sometimes the mornings would only be light rain, but by the afternoon, streets would be flooded and we were unable to ever get dry. So, we had to continue being tourists in the rain, because if we didn't, we wouldn't see anything!
The first thing you notice downtown is the main traffic circle, encompassing a huge, 2000 year old stupa called Sule Paya. Around the stupa are many colonial buildings from the British occupation up until the 50's. There is also a huge market area called Bogyoke Aung San, which houses loads of little shops and is also where we would get our US money exchanged to Myanmar kyat on the black market. All around the market, people would sneak up to you and ask if you want to change money. A little sly, but the only way to do it here as the 'official' rate of exchange is around 6 kyat to $1, where on the black market, you get 1300 kyat to $1. Not sure how that all works, all I know is I need to carry around huge stacks of 1000 kyat bills as that is the highest denomination they have. *Stub

Chatting with the Monks at Shwedagon Paya, Yangon, Myanmar

Our time in Myanmar/Burma was special. We hadn't planned to visit Myanmar on our trip, but too many people recommended it, so we squeezed it in at the end. Unfortunately, we only had 3 weeks and there is plenty to see in quite a diverse country. We were also quite tired after 13 months on the road, that we felt we weren't as adventurous as if we had visited earlier. Oh well, all good reason to return!

This photo is at Shwedagon Paya, the most sacred and impressive pagoda in the former capital of Yangon. It is over 100m tall, and is up on a local hill. The massive gold stupa has 4 long entrances, each from the cardinal points, with gold roofs and guarded by 2 huge chinthe (half lion, half dragon) statues. Around the main stupa were loads of other temples, some for each day of the week. In their culture, it is important which day of the week you were born, and you pray to that specific temple. Strangely, there are 8 temples, and so they divide Wednesday into AM and PM to create the 8 'days'. Just as we arrived, the skies opened up and the rains came. Loads of umbrellas, and some very slippery tiled floors circling the stupa.

It is typical of our time in Myanmar, as while we were waiting out the heavy rains, a group of monks came to talk to us. Their English was excellent, so they really didn't need to work on it, but just hung out with us for an hour learning about our lives and what we do. The people here are so curious about the 'outside' world because they are only told what the government tells them. They are genuinely friendly and our time in Myanmar was so good because of the people. Always greeted with a big smile and a friendly 'Minglava' (hello in Burmese). *Stub

Minglava! ---Hello!--- Myanmar

Hey everyone,
Just got back from 3 days in Macau - an ex-Portuguese colony, now part of southern China. Nice small city made up of 3 islands all connected by huge fancy highway-type bridges. Pretty amazing. Big chinese influence there and not much Portuguese apart from the odd church and restaurant.
In about 3 hours we will be on our way to Myanmar - what used to be called Burma. It's surrounded by Thailand to the East and India/China to the north. Apparently, the people there are lovely (although their government isn't!). We will be there for 3 weeks and fly back to Bangkok on Friday 21st July. During that time we will be incommunicado as internet access is pretty sparse apparently so don't expect to hear from us in that time..
We just hope that we will be able to watch the World Cup somehow... It's England vs Portugal next which is a tough one for me being Portuguese and English all at the same time.. who to support? .... Both!
Come on England! .... Come on Portugal!

Michelle and Martin

Macau Tower and Bridge

On our only full day in Macau, and because it is so small, we did a walking tour around the city. This is where we could see the old Portuguese influence in churches, small alleys and the colonial looking Largo de Senado (main square in town). Lunch on the waterfront and up the hill to the historic Penha Church where we shot this view of the modern Macau Tower. AJ Hackett (originator of bungy jumping) has a cable freefall from the tower that is the highest in the world - 233m. Our traveler friend Earl (Over 60 and still going strong) took the leap of faith, but I don't need any more brushes with crazy heights after my bungy jumps in NZ.
Macau, being so dependant on the water surrounding it, has a good Marine Museum which was nicely air conditioned. So, we took a break from our walk. It had some very interesting displays and excellent models of old boats. While we were on the museum theme, we also made a visit to the all important Museo de Vinho (Wine Museum). Since there was such a Portuguese influence, of course there would be wine. History about wine making in Portugal, including Mush's parents home island of Madiera. Then it was on to the tasting!!! We haven't really had much wine recently and definitely not good wine, so this was a treat. Next stop was across the hall to the Grand Prix Musuem. Macau has had a Formula 3 race in town since the 50's I believe. It is a very popular weekend in town. There are some cars on display from previous winners including David Coulthard, Takuma Sato, Michael Schumacher's 1990 machine (complete with plenty of photos of a very young looking Schumacher), and even the car of the late Ayrton Senna - all of Formula One fame. There is also a bike race at the same time, so a few huge, powerful bikes with massive tires were on display. The oldest car was a 1950's TR2 from the first race, but I can't remember the drivers name.

The next morning, we walked up past the Ruins of Sao Paulo - all that is left is the crypt and the front facade - and up to the Fortaleza de Monte. It houses another interesting musuem, but also sports great views of the town from the fort's perch up on the hill. Busy mish mash of buildings all around, a lighthouse up on the hill, and the bustling harbour full of fishing boats. Of course, there was the many scaffolded skyscrapers/casinos that were under construction.
Off to Bangkok tomorrow for 'One Night in Bangkok' and then we've booked our flights to Yangon in Myanmar (formerly Burma). *Stub

Flashing Lights of Casino Lisboa in Macau

A short 1 hour high speed catamaran ride South of Hong Kong and we found ourselves in Macau. An ex-Portuguese colony, now part of southern China. It was returned to China shortly after Hong Kong was in the late 90's. A nice, small city made up of a piece of mainland with 2 islands (Coloane and Taipa) all connected by huge fancy highway-type bridges. Pretty amazing especially as a high percentage of land is actually reclaimed. Big Chinese influence there and not much Portuguese apart from the odd church and restaurant. Prior to it's return to China, Macau was the 3rd smallest country in the world (at 16 sq. km) behind Vatican City and Monaco (there may be a couple of Pacific Islands in there too).
It is however, the Vegas of Asia and there are plenty of elaborate and gaudy casinos with the typical flashing lights. The Casino Lisboa is probably the oldest and well known, and we went in there for a couple of hours - but just to watch. We're just budget travelers, so no room for gambling in our budget. There was an absolutely massive new casino under construction called the Venetian. I'm sure it will rival the Venetian in Vegas for size and extravagance.

We passed the Venetian on a local bus ride down to a very quiet little place called Coloane Village. Strange to imagine that this sleepy little place was only a few miles from the massive casinos. It was a nice break from big Chinese cities, but back to the city for dinner.

Our favourite place to eat was a little sushi place called Good Choice Sushi - a recommendation from Stiffler. Great sushi, 5 pieces for just over a dollar, and the people there were more than friendly. We would get take-away, and eat on the steps to the ruins of Sao Paolo church, watching the locals. Makes for a nice evening meal! *Stub

A Posh Brunch with Georgie and Alison, Hong Kong

So, we got a little spoilt when we were in Hong Kong. We met Alison way back in Oct in China. She offered us a place to stay in HK, even though she wasn't there the first night - how nice is that! A great little apartment with a fantastic view of the Hong Kong skyline. We met up with Alison and her crew on our second night. Thinking we were out for a simple drink with them, but we ended up staying out until sunrise, bar hopping our way around the Wan Chai district, watching the World Cup games (as they are live at midnight and 3AM here). Alison and her crew of friends are a blast and we had a great time with them, every night in Hong Kong.

We had told them about our recent engagement, and they were soooooo excited for us that Georgie and Alison took us out to the Conrad Hotel for Sunday brunch to celebrate. WOW!!! For us it was gastronomic sensory overload. We would have been happy with one of the items of the buffet but we were in for a treat with a massive buffet of foods we hadn't even seen let alone tasted in so long. Cheese, specialty meats, seafood, lobster, sushi, roast lamb/beef/ham, and the kicker was the flowing fountain of chocolate for dipping strawberries under (see pic on Flickr). Being the budget travelers, we got our fill for sure, making it our only meal of the day as we gorged ourselves and topped it off with the complimentary sparkling wine!!

We had also caught up with our Dutch friend Stiffler. We have been traveling on and off together for 2.5 months now! She joined in the festivities with our new found friends, and we also spent time at a local beach with her, chilling out for the day. We haven't seen a beach in a couple of months, so it was a real treat! We have thoroughly enjoyed Hong Kong again. Watching sunset from the Peak, overlooking the amazing skyscrapers below. Joining the ex-pat locals watching the football (Come on England!!), and hanging out in the local pub districts. It really is a vibrant city with tons to do! One of the only drawbacks are the many rules that regulate life here! Michelle and I joined a few friends at a hotel bar. The bar staff refused to serve me as I had flip-flops on, so our friends complained! After a few drinks and some silly, partying and dancing, the police were called by the management. Luckily, there was no real problem and the situation didn't escalate, but I said to Michelle "I can't believe I'm going to end up in jail for wearing flip-flops". *Stub

Back at School, Yangshuo, China

Eventually, we decided we should get out and explore the area so we rented out some bicycles and rode around the rice paddies and villages amongst the beautiful limestone pinnacles. Really stunning! Earlier in the week we had met some teenagers on the main street who wanted to practice their English, and they had invited us to their school. What a great experience! We disrupted things a bit, and were greeted to a class of 40-50 screaming, cheering and clapping kids. We talked to the class for a while so they could practice their English and then had a tour of the school (the dorm rooms sleep 14 people - some 2 per bunk!) Anyway, it was all a lot of fun. Next, we headed to the home village of Xiao Mo - the lady who ran the guesthouse that we stayed at in the Rice Terraces. It was a small village and it didn't take long for someone to show us where her family lived. It was a brief visit as her brother (and nosey neighbours) didn't speak any English so we 'talked' for a few minutes in my broken Chinese, then spoke to Xiao Mo on the phone, took a quick photo and off we went. I think she was pleased that we went to say hello to her family anyway.

We had a great time riding around that day. Unfortunately, it had a miserable end when I took a bit of a tumble going too fast on the gravel (and following Martin's bumpy route - which I knew was a mistake, but it was too late). And I still had 10 miles left to ride back! So, now I have some new cuts and grazes and soon-to-be scars on my hands and knees. I suppose, I have been bruise-free for a few months so I was probably due for some new injuries! Oh well. *Mush

Back In Yangshuo, China

We were excited to get back to Yangshuo (the town where we spent Martin's birthday back in October). Not only for the fantastic scenery, but also to have a break from speaking Chinese (the people speak English here), which means, of course, it's touristy ....but wonderful western food abounds! Mmm! Heaven! That first Red Star Burger with all the trimmings (including CHEESE) was pretty fantastic! So the next few lazy days we didn't do a lot -caught up on internet, went out for nice food, walked around town (which would get quite sticky as it was so hot). We did actually make it a couple of times for sunset at Monkey Jane's Rooftop Bar, but mostly we watched movies in our air conditioned room (very luxurious for us!) and not only did we have a TV, but a DVD player too -the height of luxury indeed! We had splashed out a bit and paid more than usual - about $9 (5 quid)!

We were sorry to see that the town had changed a lot in the last 8 months -with more neon flashing lights and more glitzy posh shoe and handbag shops. But inspite of this it is still a small town (for China, anyway) with charming streets and fantastic scenery, and all in all we ended up staying longer than we intended. This happened to us last time we were in Yangshuo, and we met so many people that this happens to: as soon as you hit Yangshuo you slow down, take it easy, walk around a bit, chill out a bit more etc etc.. therefore needing more time to explore the area and have to keep adding days to your stay - we call it the Yangshuo Effect! It's great! *Mush