20th May 2010 - 30th June 2010 - Amsterdam, Belgium, France, UK

Consumption…

Looking at the dates above I realise I haven’t posted in a long time and after receiving so many requests to reignite this travel blog from our long list of devoted fans (Chris, Clare and Janette) it’s time to write another chapter of this epic journey of wonder!

Landing in Amsterdam the first thing we felt was short… The Dutch are giants! Besides feeling like a smurf due to our vertical inadequacies, we also felt happy and content (not unlike a smurf) as it wasn’t long before we emerged from our extremely comfortable hotel room and were gobbling cones of frite coated in globs of traditional mayonnaise, wandering the streets of idyllic Amsterdam (of course Sheena googled “best frite in Amsterdam”). Throw in a Heineken or two after a visit to my favourite café the Dampkring and we were well adjusted to the relaxed lifestyle that seems to accompany one of my favourite cities.

Canals & Bikes

Amsterdam isn’t all drugs and sex, and although a short visit wouldn’t be the same without a quick wander through the red light district where drunken hoards of English men on stag dos dare each other to go for it with the goods on display, the real beauty of Amsterdam comes from the amazingly green parks and the canals that ring the city, and the amazing galleries that have ignited a new found interest and respect for art that neither of knew existed within us (that Rembrant fella was quite handy with a brush). Add to the fact that literally everyone cycles everywhere, the place has a sense of vitality and a relaxed vibe that made it such a nice place to visit after spending months in Asia.

Giggling in Vondel Park

We only spent a few nights in Amsterdam and we could have easily spent more if it weren’t for the massive price hikes that occur over the weekend, so instead we jumped on a train to Belgium and decided to spend a few nights in Ghent of all places…

Ghent is kind of like a slightly less beautiful version of Bruges but was still worth a visit for once again it’s pretty canals and old medieval buildings (even though all the medieval buildings weren’t built during medieval times, they were built much later when everyone thought medieval buildings were cool). Ghent also had the best tasting waffles on the planet…

We had arranged to stay in a hostel located on a house boat in Ghent… or so we thought… the owners stuffed up and when we arrived late at night there wasn’t a room for us! So instead we were greeted by their neighbour and were taken aboard his house boat which we got all to ourselves! It had a funky retro designed interior with a big music system and great CD collection and the trusting neighbour left us to our own devices! It’s cool when things like that happen on your travels.

This photo makes us happy... and sad

“If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn’t, so it doesn’t…” - So Bruges wasn’t to the taste of Colin Farrells character in the film “In Bruges” but it did actually impress us. It really is like a magical fairy land! Made even more magical by 13% Alc Belgian beers that make your head spin. Oh and chocolate… lots of chocolate!

Bruges - Like a magical fairytale

13.5%

After our Belgian experience, we spent 2 weeks in France. 1 week driving around the country side almost killing each other due to navigational differences, eating cheese and drinking wine in Normandy and the Loire Valley. The enormity of the D-day beaches was incredible and you could really picture what it must have been like during WWII.

D-Day Beaches

Mont St Michel

We stayed in a bit of style whilst we had the car, whether it was our stylish cabin in a pretty campsite or our extravagant châteaux (vineyard included) in the Loire valley. Having a car made all the difference to the trip, it wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

Carefree in our cabin

Robot dancing at Chataeu D'Amboise

This is the sort of accommodation we

stay in whilst "backpacking"

Our own château with vineyard

Unexpectedly painless, we drove into Paris, ditched the car and started researching where we should eat during our week in the gluttonous capital of the world. And eat is pretty much all we did really, coffee and croissants every morning from the local brasserie or boulangerie, baguettes and a glass of rose for lunch, then more rose in the afternoon, then a hearty French dish and some more rose in the evening! That pretty much sums Paris up besides watching the French protest as they tend to do and an outing to the fantastic Pompidou Centre where we saw Picasso’s, Kandinsky’s and films of crazy naked women from the sixties cutting heads off chickens in the name of feminist art! (sorry if that offends).

We both really enjoyed our time in Paris, wandering around the different arrondisments such as the Marais and the Latin Quarter, however there is quite a dirty side that doesn’t allow me to buy into the romanticised city of love it claims to be. The financial divide between black people and white people is so stark, it is clear there is a big social gap and there doesn’t appear to be any integration between people of different coloured skin. The closest interaction we would see is when the white person standing behind the bar in a brasserie would tell the black or Indian chef what to cook. It is also not possible to walk 300m down the street without coming across a poor beggar usually from Eastern Europe, and that is not an exaggeration. Besides that negative aspect, France was a lot of fun, I especially enjoyed not having to communicate with anyone and watching Sheena really earn our pastry goods from the boulanger who probably could speak perfect English but just didn’t want to… typical French :p

Crepes, Rose & Buskers in the Marais

The view from our room in Paris

More robot dancing...

Some random structure

Sheena looking French

London was like London always is, and our time was spent catching up with friends and family and watching a lot of football, drinking a lot of cider. It was really nice to spend some time with my sister Katherine and my Uncle David whom we met in Oxford. A special thanks to Geoff and Amanda for keeping us in their house for what was I’m sure a lot longer than what they expected!

Geoff reconsidering his idea of watching

Australia play Germany in a German Pub...

I just like this photo for some reason - East London

Glastonbury was surprisingly stinking hot, but at least the rain stayed away for the entire 5 days! Unheard of! Of course we had a great time, with the Flaming Lips being my highlight… mind blowing! However Glastonbury tends to throw up some more crazy stuff, such as, I dunno… flaming towers crawling with contortionists surrounded by men with lazer whips and dudes with electric tesla sparks coming out of their heads… you know, the usual..

Late night fun at Glastonbury!

So now we’re in Sardinia lying on the beach… I’ll save that for another blog, but that will pretty much be it anyway…

Hope it hasn’t been too long!

Ciao!

Simon and Sheena

30th April 2010 - 19th May 2010 - Turkey

What do you want for dinner? Kebab?

So we’ve been in Turkey for just under 3 weeks now and are about to fly to Amsterdam tomorrow morning. Turkey really has felt like a transitional country due to the fact that the food and people would appear to be Asian, but the scenery, lifestyle and cost is much more European! This cross continental mix really adds to the charm of Turkey which is already filled to the brim with attractions such as beautiful Mediterranean beaches, magnificent ruins and architecture and an ancient and modern history that would rival that of any other country in the world. (I have clearly been reading the Lonely Planet a lot, as that spiel sounded like something from a guide book.)

Since writing that first paragraph we are now in Bruge having been to Amsterdam and Gent… I guess I just got lazy… anywhoo back to Turkey…

There’s no real need to go into too much detail about our trip through Turkey, mainly because it all went so smoothly and if you want to read anything historical about the place just use google or visit your local library.

Olympos (not Olympus)

Backgammon - what we did in Turkey

We’ll give a brief run down of our itinerary though. We started in Antalya on the south coast of Turkey on the Mediterranean and made our way along the coast stopping off at various towns along the way. Generally we just spent our time swimming in the sea, drinking tea, eating kebabs, playing backgammon, and eating more kebabs. Olympos was a stand out for me, as it was just a place to not do much at all except relax and swim, however I believe the place would be a nightmare in the summer when hoards and hoards of British pack backers swamp the place. All we had to deal with was the remnants of a large New Zealand Anzac day tour for one night.

Sheena (and sunburnt Brits) on a boat

to Kekova Island

Kekova Island

The Gozleme Boat!

So other than the Mediterranean (where I jumped off lots of boats), we also visited ancient Epheseus with it’s amazing ruins and undertook the mandatory solemn pilgrimage to Gallipoli, (we skipped Troy as from all accounts there is nothing there!).

Sunset in Selcuk - Notice the stone temple above

Sheena's head? That's the last remaining column from

the Artemis Temple, one of the original 7 Wonders of the world.

Epheseus

Anzac Cove, Gallipoli

We stayed in the trendy new area of Istanbul, Beyoglu, rather than the old town where all the sights and the majority of accommodation are. This was not only due to the dirt cheap yet fantastic new hostel we found but also because we were nearer all the night life and restaurants. This worked well for us as we thoroughly explored many restaurants and cafes at night having spent the day a short tram ride away visiting all of Istanbul’s fantastic historic sights such as the Blue Mosque and the amazing Aya Sofia with it‘s stunning mosaics.

Sheena's Baklava photo, Istanbul - possibly the best

photo taken on our trip!

Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Mosaics in the Aya Sofia, Istanbul

The Aya Sofia, Istanbul

So we finished our Asian portion of the trip in Istanbul where the prices are very European. We would definitely like to go back to Turkey as we feel there’s more exploring to be done, especially in the eastern portion of the country where the scenery and outdoor activities are meant to be awesome. We also have a bit of regret having not made the effort to go to Cappadoccia or Gaziantep (180 baklava shops in one town!). Oh well, we can’t do everything…

So now we’re in Europe where we feel like big dags wearing our rumpled clothes with holes in them… Time for a beer.

Cya!

The Blue Mosque as seen from

the Bosphorus

15th April 2010 - 30th April 2010 - Bahrain, Jordan and Syria

The land of meat

Arriving in Bahrain, Sheena really didn’t know what to expect, and I kind of expected a little Dubai. A little Dubai is pretty much it, and although Bahrain doesn’t have a plethora of tourist sights, we still very much enjoyed our stay. This was because we stayed with Sheena’s masi (aunt) and uncle. Deepa masi and Tony uncle spoiled us with food and drove us around over the few days we were there (even chucking a sickie to get some time off work) taking us to the F1 track, and all the way over the causeway to the Saudi Arabia border.

One of the interesting things about Bahrain is the influx of Saudis that flood there over their weekend (Thursday and Friday) so as they can do all the things they’re not allowed to do back in their home country. Masses of men come in their fancy cars, drive really fast, drink lots of booze, and womanise, and it’s for this reason that the Saudis don’t seem to be looked fondly upon. Standing at a viewing tower at the border looking into Saudi Arabia, Sheena and I had the heebie jeebies and it made us so glad we don’t live in a country where such strict and to be honest ridiculous rules apply with horrendous punishments to those who “break” the law. Saudi Arabia will not be on our list of countries to visit anytime soon.

Deepa Masi & Tony Uncle on

the Saudi Arabian border

On the contrary, Jordan is a country that everyone should have on their “must visit” lists. Those who do make it over to Amman, Petra and around will be continuously having the same conversation that goes something like this.

Random Jordanian man: “Where you from?”

Uneasy tourist overly scared of being in a Muslim country: “Australia”

Random Jordanian man: “WELCOME TO JORDAN!”

Then again, if you happen to stay at the Abbasi Palace in Amman, where the owner Nijma treats you like her long lost child she hasn’t seen in 20 years, you will definitely get used to Jordanian hospitality very quickly.

Drenched by the waterfalls in Wadi Mujib

Simon's bowl cut and the obligatory float in the Dead Sea

We visited some fantastic sights in Jordan, such as Wadi Mujib, a fantastic “valley” (really actually a crack in two big rocks) filled with a flowing river and waterfalls and we had the obligatory float in the Dead Sea. Petra of course was well worth the 2 days of exploration, with the sheer size and magnificence of the Treasury being something to behold. Our only problem with Jordan was the transport (or lack there of) and taxi drivers demanding ridiculous amounts a problem found in Syria too. Our only other commentary on Jordan is that we both found it slightly more conservative religious wise than what we expected, and I also found it a little less developed than what I envisaged.

On the contrary, Syria was a lot more developed and lot less conservative (in most parts) than what we expected. With Jordan to the south and Turkey to the north, Syria on initial glance sits somewhere between the two, culturally and development wise.

The Treasury - This is where we totally kicked

some Nazi ass, fought a crusade knight but eventually

lost the Holy Grail when we tried to take it over the sacred seal.

Shame really.

Sheena looking out over the ruins at Petra

Arriving in Syria relatively late, we were just glad to arrive at all, not knowing whether immigration was going to let us in. We had read many stories and heard conflicting information. In the end we got through with relatively little problems, although at a price… We heard so much about the unbelievable hospitality of the Syrian people, however it took us a fair while to experience, with a lot of people treating us with nothing more than indifference with a little bit of hostility (taxi drivers!!!). However upon leaving Damascus, we came across some extraordinarily warm and helpful people whom proved the stories correct.

As one of the oldest if not the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world with fantastic architecture, old streets, and a bustling souq, Damascus and it’s cosmopolitan inhabitants made for a fascinating stay. We stayed in a converted old house with a beautiful courtyard and spent our days wondering the old city eating sweets and occasionally sitting down for a Turkish coffee and a puff on a nargila (shisha). The streets are filled with young girls wearing designer clothes and tight fitting tops walking next to older more conservative Muslims who don’t seem to mind, and amongst everyone are hoards of Iranian pilgrims in very conservative attire who make a pilgrimage to Damascus to visit the mosques where shrines to a specific relative of Mohammad are. We witnessed the power of religion observing the Iranian women uncontrollably weeping around the shrines and kissing everything from the floor to the door handles. We don’t understand that level of devotion, however for them it is obviously an extremely powerful influence in their lives.

Turkish coffee, nargileh, the sounds of prayer

- pretty much sums it up

Fresh strawberry juice on every corner. Yum!

More sweets in damascus.

Famous Bakdash ice-cream

Sheena in her new hoodie

The souq in Damascus

Pretty photo overlooking the Umayyad

Mosque - Damascus

We also visited many ruins in Syria such as Palmyra and Apemea, along with a fantastic castle, Crac de Chavilliers. I won’t go into details because now we’re in Turkey and there a many more Roman ruins to come.

So now we’re in Turkey having withstood an epic 21 hour bus journey from Aleppo (another really old city similar to Damascus) to Antalya, and we’re ready to relax in what could be described as a much easier environment. We have eaten tonnes of tasty food (mainly meat) in the Middle East and drunk plenty of coffee, now it’s time for some Mediterranean beach side relaxation!

Bye!

Ruins at Palmyra

More ruins at Apamea. Pretty wildflowers.

Stuff of Disney dreams. The Crac Des Chevaliers castle.

14th March 2010 - 14th April 2010 - Vietnam, Cambodia & Hong Kong/Macau

Indochina

Sigh, this is a little daunting to write because I’ve waited so long to write this and now it’s really freak’n hot here in Phnom Penh. Anywhoo, here goes, I’ll try and keep it a little briefer and more succinct in an attempt to relieve the boredom of anyone reading this and also to suppress my illusions that I’m such a creative and humorous writer that the New York Times themselves should be printing my blogs.

Entering Vietnam we weren’t sure what we would be in for, as literally all reports we had heard from travellers we had met along the way indicated that Vietnam was a place full of awful people who are just out to rip you off, steal your stuff and do much worse! Some described it as a hell they couldn’t wait to get out of. Fortunately not a single one of these reports were true, at least for our stay anyway. It’s true the Vietnamese are more forth coming and self assured, which may be interpreted as aggressive, however if you talk to them, you will find they’re some of the nicest people on the planet. I think people perhaps experience problems when saving money becomes the most important thing as most of the Vietnamese people we met don’t bargain much or appreciate it much either. Once you learn this, everything is cool, and as long as you keep a smile on your face you’ll receive a smile back at you.

Our time in Vietnam was spent in a few places; Dien Bien Phu, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoian and Ho Chi Minh city and in writing that I just noticed that everywhere we stayed except for Dien Bien Phu started with H.. isn’t that interesting.

I’ll skip Dien Bien Phu because it was crap, Hanoi on the other hand was magnificent. Definitely our favourite city we visited in SE Asia. Considering just about every tree lined street is packed full of people sitting on the side of the road chowing down on some kind of tasty Vietnamese delicacy and washing it down with cheap Hanoi Beer, it is no surprise that Sheena and I spent many a day just walking around and of course eating! We have since realised that Vietnamese cuisine is incredibly under rated, and has some of the best street side food available in SE Asia… such a pleasant surprise. We ate a fair few dishes such as Hanoi’s signature dish Bun Cha (grilled pork served with vermicelli noodles with greens and bean sprouts), Banh Xeo (prawns, greens, and bean sprouts in a crispy fried crepe and wrapped with rice paper), Cha Ca (fried fish served with dill and other greens over vermicelli noodles, we ate along side a film crew making a doco about Cha Ca at our restaurant which is always a good sign!) and of course Bit Tet which is essentially Vietnamese steak and chips… just writing about these dishes makes me sad and makes my tummy rumble. In writing about these dishes I have essentially written about Hanoi!

Cha Ca & a film crew

The streets of Hanoi

Tasty Ban Xeo

Halong Bay was pretty but the weather was ordinary and Hue didn’t live up to expectations so I’ll just move on to Hoi An, a well preserved ancient town filled with old style buildings and tailors on mass.

The boats and cliffs of Halong Bay

Another photo of me jumping off something

So besides riding bikes through the old town we got ourselves a new wardrobe consisting of a few suits, shirts and dresses. I won’t say how much we spent as it will seem like a lot but in reality it was ridiculously cheap for tailor made clothing in high quality material… and we look hot in our new clothes! A highlight of Hoi An is their signature dish called Cau Lau… once again a very simple concoction of roasted pork served over dry noodles with chilli and herbs. Being us, we set out to find the best Cau Lau in town, and we think we did and for less than $1 a bowl, it is probably my favourite dish in all South East Asia!! Mmmm Cau Lau….

Sheena eating Cau Lau in the market

The streets of Hoi An

Our favourite Cau Lau restaurant

Our favourite Cau Lau!

Squid stuffed with minced pork

Hoi An

So Ho Chi Minh City was spent visiting the regular sights such as the Cu Chi Tunnels and the gruesome War Remants Museum which details in pictures the horrors of the Vietnam War (only from the Vietnamese side only of course, a common trait in all museums).

Roadside seafood market -

the garlic clams were cheap and awesome!

A lot of modern history was learned during our time in Vietnam especially in regards to the French occupation and the American invasion. Both incidences are quite perplexing and very regrettable. It’s a shame the Americans didn’t learn from the French and how they got their asses kicked in Dien Bien Phu, and it’s even more incredible the Khmer Rouge didn’t learn from every body else’s mistakes and attempting a Vietnamese invasion themselves. One thing we’ve certainly learned is don’t fuck with the Vietnamese! They will kill you, and they will kill you good… the east coast of Indochina is their land and they will rule it however they see fit, the Americans, the French, the Japanese and not even the Chinese will tell them any other way… they tried… and they all failed.

Our trip to Cambodia was primarily for visiting the ancient city of Angkor however we also wanted to check out the capital city Phnom Penh. The three days spent wondering around the temples of Angkor were fantastic and extremely hot. I won’t delve into specifics about Angkor as that would be boring, however I will say that the ancient city was far greater than any expectations that I previously had, truly phenomenal.

Angkor

Phnom Penh is a fairly dusty city with a lot of poverty due to the countries horrific past that stems back way further than Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Having played the part of the rope in a game of tug of war between Vietnam and Thailand that lasted centuries, been carpet bombed by their “ally” the US during the Vietnam conflict, and undergoing a Mao like cultural revolution under the Khmer Rouge that resulted in the deaths of more than a million people during a 4 year period, it’s not surprising that Cambodia is faced with the problems of today. We saw the evidence of Cambodia’s torrid past at places such as S21 Prison where the Khmer Rouge interrogated and tortured their own citizens before taking them to Cheung Ek better known as the Killing Fields where men women and children were finished off and piled in mass graves. Problems such as an low skilled workforce due to the execution of the educated during the revolution and a grossly high percentage of amputees and disfigured people as a result of the thousands of land mines scattered all over the country by the US and the Khmer Rouge leave the impression that Cambodia (in Sheena’s words) doesn’t quite know where they are and what they want to be, unlike the Vietnamese whom appear to know exactly what they want and where they’re going (yes I know we have been in these countries for too short a period to create sweeping judgements on their inhabitants but we are opinionated people and there‘s nothing like a generalisation to create something interesting to say!). It doesn’t appear all bad for Cambodia though, the western world seems to have a fairly large presence in the country (perhaps out of guilt) with the agenda of helping the people rebuild the nation. This somewhat follows the trend of Cambodia’s fate being dictated by the actions of external forces.

The S21 Prison

And that’s the end of our trip in South East Asia and the end of this portion of the blog… I know I said I would make it more succinct, however as Sheena says I have written verbal diarrhoea and can’t help myself. Hope it wasn’t too tedious!

On to HONG KONG!

Sorry.. Haven’t blogged this yet and we are now in HK having also been to Macau… HK is like HK always is. We had a nice day eating Yum Cha with Spoon (not the utensil, Sheena’s friend from high school) and exploring HK Island a bit. We have also been to Macau where the highlight was eating Portuguese tarts and African Chicken and the lowlight was the casino (need I say more). I reckon the free drinks casinos supply are spiked with a splash of greed and served with a fresh slice of stupidity…

Now it’s on to BAHRAIN!

Bye!