just a couple of thai photos

The waterfall that Leo DiCaprio jumped off in the beach isn't looking as good as it did in "The Beach" but at least I got to see it which is some consolation.

Thailand

Hey guys, well I am a week in Thailand now and things are going swimmingly. Its a really cool country. Bangkok was amazing. Its just like an American city with Asians everywhere. The tuktuks there are brilliant. They are like drag racers flying down the street, and they sound like one too. Khoa San Rd where all the backpackers go is madness. There are bars and parties and street food vendors everywhere. One sign that I saw was all the drinks promotions and at the end of it was "we don't check IDs". Fantastic!! One of the street vendors was selling roasted water beetles, crickets, worms, cockroaches, and other nasty stuff. Before I leave this country I will try one of them. I said I'd try the local cuisine and I'm going to stick to that, even if it kills me. You'll be glad to know that I didn't cause another international relations disaster by dancing to the Thai national anthem in the airport. Everywhere here is so clean and ordered. The food is great, thank God. The women in this country are gorgeous. They all are, not just a few. Sorry mam :) Colin flew back to see his girlfriend so I've been going solo for nearly a week. It not too bad. I think i would not like to do it for too long on my own though. It can get a bit lonely at times, sob sob. its still grand but with Colin is the best way. Well hopefully I'll get some photos up in the next week or so. Thats it for now. chat later.

Thailand

Hey guys, well I am a week in Thailand now and things are going swimmingly. Its a really cool country. Bangkok was amazing. Its just like an American city with Asians everywhere. The tuktuks there are brilliant. They are like drag racers flying down the street, and they sound like one too. Khoa San Rd where all the backpackers go is madness. There are bars and parties and street food vendors everywhere. One sign that I saw was all the drinks promotions and at the end of it was "we don't check IDs". Fantastic!! One of the street vendors was selling roasted water beetles, crickets, worms, cockroaches, and other nasty stuff. Before I leave this country I will try one of them. I said I'd try the local cuisine and I'm going to stick to that, even if it kills me. You'll be glad to know that I didn't cause another international relations disaster by dancing to the Thai national anthem in the airport. Everywhere here is so clean and ordered. The food is great, thank God. The women in this country are gorgeous. They all are, not just a few. Sorry mam :) Colin flew back to see his girlfriend so I've been going solo for nearly a week. It not too bad. I think i would not like to do it for too long on my own though. It can get a bit lonely at times, sob sob. its still grand but with Colin is the best way. Well hopefully I'll get some photos up in the next week or so. Thats it for now. chat later.

End of Sri Lanka (Thank God)

And so it comes to my last blog for Sri Lanka. By Jaysus it were a tough two weeks. We had lunch and it didn't just taste shit, it actually tasted OF shit, literally. You gotta love the ole rice and curry. Well I'm really sorry to say it but I'm absolutely delighted to be getting out of this country. It sure doesn't lend itself to tourism. People are ignorant, unhelpful, the sights very ordinary and massively overpriced and the food ... well see above for details. To be perfectly honest both myself and Colin have been counting down the hours until we leave here. Thank God it was only a two week stay or we would have cracked up altogether. May I categorically say that not only will I never return to this country but I would also recommend each and all of you to stay as far away from here as possible and don't even think of contemplating coming here. You will only be disappointed unless you actually enjoy getting ripped off. So goodbye Sri Lanka. I hope you win the cricket World Cup because it may be the only thing you've got going for you.

Elephants rock

My faith in Sri Lanka is restored somewhat. We went to the elephants today and it was fantastic. Man, elephants are the coolest ever. What a day. We saw them all feeding and bathing and there was this abay one which was just one and a half months old and you couldn't help but think it was the cutest thing in the world. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a man and think manly thoughts but shucks it was so cute. This has difinitely been the highlight for me. The rest of Sri Lanka can go to hell for all I care. Elephants rock

I'm having my doubts about this country

Not too many blogs for Sri Lanka because the internet service here is a joke. Well its a weeks and a half down and unfortunately thinks have not gone as I had expected them to. We had a good few days hiking and even climbed a really big mountain in the middle of the night. I know that sounds crazy but Iit was absolutely worth getting up at 2 in the morning to see the sunrise. I guess you just had to be there to appreciate how beautiful it was. Anyway apart from that things have not been as good as hoped. This country it seems is only interested in one thing, totally screwing the tourists. Its incredible, for entry into a national park, which consisted of a field, a bit of a hill and a waterfall, we had to pay $40 while 2 natives would pay 60 Cent. Something wrong there I think. It was the world's greatest rip-off. the whole country is the same. Honestly, I wouldn't mind paying the money if the sights were worth it. They are absolutely not worth it. You constantly feel as though you are being royally screwed every way you turn. II don't really know if we are missing something but we both feel that the country is not that great. The people are generally ignorant pricks, with the exception of a few, the food is muck and the sights are less than ordinary. I am sounding like a real moan but its the way I feel. This country is crap so far and I would not be recommending it to anyone. We are heading to an elephant orphanage ina couple of days so hopefully that will lift the spirits. Chat soon

First impressions of Sri Lanka

Hi everyone,
so this is my first blog from Sri Lanka. My first impressions are really good. There are a couple of differences from India that are obvious from the off. First is the lack of rubbish all overr the place. It is so clean here. Also the fact that all vehicles, cars and lorries, have both wing mirrors. Such a strange sight coming from India. The thrid thing that struck me is that all the people on the motorbikes wore helmets. I mean everyone, even the children. I have a feeling that this country is going to be enjoyable. A really embarassing thing happened to me in the ariport when we arrived. We were heading to the baggage reclaim and I heard music playing and started doing a little dance (as you do). Only then did I realise that everyone in the entire hall was standing to attention. They were playing the Sri Lankan national anthem. I nearly died. I then started giggling and couldn't stop. Colin was the same as me and couldn't dare look at me or he would have burst out laughing. I sure know how to make an entrance. When we arrived in Colombo city the amount of security was unreal. I wasn't expecting it at all. On our way into the city our bus was pulled over by the police and everyone was ordered out and their ID checked. We didn't know what was going on but we were told to stya in the bus. Then this guard with an uzi climbed into the bus and asked to see our passports. He was really friendly. We were walking around the city and every 100 metres or so there was a police checkpoint. We were not allowed to photo the parliament building or anything but again they were all seriously friendly. We got chatting to this retired Navy officer who seemed a bit crazy but a nice guy. We went for a beer with him and he was offering to send tea home to the folks back home. We gracioously declined his offer. The place we stayed in was a YMCA. yes, yes, I can see you all laughing now but it was the cheapest place we could find in a short space of time. We giot exactly what we paid for. It was the worst place we have ever stayed in. i got eaten alive by mosquitos (no mosquito net) and the size of the cockroaches was wicked. THey must have been at least an inch and a half long. His death was quick and painless. Never again will we be staying in a YMCA. Roll on the rest of this country

The end of India

So this is it. The end of my 7 week stint in India. I can't believe that its over already. But thats the way it is I guess. Instead of writing a long story of my arrival and how I survived India I'm going to just list some of the things I've encountered, experienced and seen on the trip. In no particular order ... People bathing in ponds and lakes; orange looking bananas; people breaking stones on the side of the road using primitive hammers; an entire village turned white from the local stone-crushing factory; beggars; invalids pushing themselves around little wooden carts; absolutely vividly coloured saris; palm trees; spice gardens; people staring; people delighted when you smile at them; scams; schemers; crazy tuctuc drivers; overloaded trucks and tractors; traffic police being totally ignored by everybody; tea plantations; lots and lots of hippies; fantastic looking Bollywood actresses; roadside shanty villages; absolute filth like nothing you could ever imagine; some of the friendliest people i've ever met; caves hewn from mountains; numerous temples; Taj Mahal at sunrise; paradise beach; stoned Indian (very funny) lots and lots and lots of rats at train stations; people puking out moving buses; piss corners (well I've smelled them more than saw them); beautiful Indian food. There is so much more that I can't put in because if I did I would still be writing next week. The best and the worst of India was seen. I have to say that it won't be forgotten in a hurry. Well now it is time to head south to Sri Lanka. We are going to live it up this evening and eat in a really fancy restaurant and spend loads of money ($20) on delicious food. So I'll be chatting to you all soon. Bye for now :)

The nicest family I've ever met

i feel really bad that I don't have any photos of Shashi and the famaily that we stayed with in Kanpur. Sorry about that. Well I guess its better late than never. So here are just a couple of photos of the nicest, friendliest family on God's green earth. I cannot speak highly enough about them They were a life saver. I really wasn't enjoying myself in India up to then but this family renewed my belief that people can be good and helpful and not everyone is talking to you just to try sell you something. God bless this family. I'm not really that religious but i believe Heaven was made for people like these.

Tea plantations of Munnar

Arriving into Munnar was worth the bus fare alone. Toi see all the tea plantations with all the women picking the leaves was really something. Munnar is pretty high up and so wasn't the warmest of places. We checked into our room and straight away went to book a trek through the mountains and plantations. We knew of these treks from a few guys we were talking to on our Backwaters tour who had just come from Munnar. We booked a two day one night trek which suited us because we were not looking for hardcore trekking, just a relatively easy trek so we could take in all the sights of the plantations and anything else that was to be seen. The rest of the day was spent just taking in Munnar which was not a lot. We tried some homemade chocolate which was horrible. give me Cadbury's any day. Our first day of trekking was a good one. We were doing it with another couple who we realised were more into the hardcore trekking. We found out that they were looking to do min 8 hours trekking every day. Needless to say they were mental. I sure had no intention of doing that and dying in a foreign country up the mountains. Our guide was of the same opinion as me, thank God, and so the pace was doable. The views going through the plantations were fabulous. The greenery was amazing. It was pretty hot and I was sweating buckets, but it was worth it for the views. Its so peaceful up there. We camped out up the mountain that night and sat round the campfire and sang Kumbaiya. Ah no only messing. There was a fire but no singing. Col and I had a couple of beers. THe next morning we were awake at half 6 to see the sun rise over the mountains. Beautiful sight. So beautiful that I fell back asleep after it for a few more hours. The homeward trek was pretty misty so we couldn't see a lot. We did come across some fresh tiger tracks which had us all a little on edge but nothing came of it. There was also elephant poo everywhere. Don't ask me how elephants could get that far up mountains, because it was really high uo and very steep. We got a public bus back down into town. It was the most memorable bus jourbey so far. The driver was uber-impatient and while trying to overtake a lorry which was parked our bus smashed the lorry's wingmirror. No stopping for our man though, just keep on going. Next we got a flat trye. It was one of the inner tryes at the back but not even that could make our driver stop. He did have to go a bit slower though. Drivers in India have this need for speed. Even when driving on a tiny road that is teetering on the edge of a cliff they bomb it down the road and only break if absolutely necessary. So on we went. Then came the woman that was puking out the window. The poor woman couldn't even get of the bus. Luckily there is no glass in these windows so there was no problem throwing up out the window. What a wonderful sight. Never a dull moment in India.

Kochi

It was really hot when we arrived in Kochi. We got a room and crashed. Bizzarely we bumbed into a girl we had met up in Khajorao and she told us of some festival happening in town. So Col, myself, Louise (Irish girl) and the crowd we met in Mysore (2 Brits, Canadian, Dutch and Argentinian) all headed in to the festival. There we saw a load of Elephants marching down the street with horns blowing and loads more going on. It was great fun. The group really gelled and we had agood laugh. The next day I couldn't get myself out of the bed. I was still really tired. I reckon all the travelling and sleepless nights on overnight busses were catching up with me. I didn't get up till 1. We bummed around town looking for business cards for ourselves. every tom dick and harry seems to have business cards so we thought we might as well get in on the act. Easier said than done. Nobody could tell us where we could get them made. Some day!! In the evening we headed to a Katakali performance. Its a dance thingy where there asrer no wors but only facial expressions and hand movements. It was fine for the first half hour but got tedious after that. I was glad when it was over. We met Louise and went for dinner. For dinner we went to a place where you can buy your own fresh fish and bring it to a shack to get it cooked. BBetween us we got a massive plate of shrimp, a crab and a pretty big Red Snapper. It was delicious. We were all stuffed afterwards. The good eating in India continues :) THe next day we went on a Backwaters tour where we take a canoe ride through small streams and rivers and see the how the locals live. We saw rope being made from the fibres of old coconut shells. That was really amazing to see the women do their stuff. Also one of our guides limbed a coconut tree, using only a small bit of rope, to collect some coconuts so we could drink the water from them. Colin tried to climd the tree the same way but failed miserably. I on the other hand was smart enough not to make a holy show of myself and refrained from attempting to climb the tree.. It was a really nice day. So relaxed. while on the water we saw an old skin of a snake that had molted, a few kingfisher birds with their fantastic colours, a number of jellyfish and a water snake speeding through the water. Altogether a good day and highly recommended. That night we said our goodbyes to all the other travellers because we were heading south and the others were staying in Kocji a bit longer. The next day was a bus to Munnar to see the tea plantations.

mysore

Right guys, so after nearly serering my foot and thumb off at a really cool party on a deserted beach we headed for a town called Mysore. It was going to be our first overnight bus and we were both really excited to see what it would be like. things didn't start out the best because when we reached the bus station we realised that we had forgotten our packages that we were sending home so we had to rush back to the beach on a tuc tuc and collect them. When we got back to the station we found out that there was a political rally going on and nobody could tell us where our bus was goping to be pulling in at. We decided to plonk ourselves on a wall and hope for the best. An hour lateer than expected our bus arrived, slowed down but didn't stop and myself and Colin had to jump on. I have to say it was fairly exciting but what followed certainly wasn't. Sleeper busses are and invention of Satan himself. THey expect you to sleep on these things but don't tell you that you wiill be thrown around in them like rag dolls. We didn't get a wink of sleep for the whole 10 hour journey. We eventually made it to Mysore and crashed in our hotel. It was realy nice and had a tv and everything. Far too posh for us. We were pretty lucky that we arrived on the Sunday because there is a palace in the city that is lit up by around 97,000 light bulbs every Sunday. We headed down to check it out and it was such an amazing sight. THe whole place was lit up. A real carnaval atmosphere around the place and it was there that I tried Jack Fruit for the first time. Its hard to describe it so I won't. Suffice to say it was very tasty and I shall be having it again soon. There isn't that much to do in Mysore so the next day we just walked around the town and met a few interesting locals. Christopher we met in spice market where he told us his life story about how he was in Kent for 14 years and thought all religion was a just bullshit (his words). We also met a guy called Max who was a proper dodgey character but in fairness to him he showed us some really cool places. He brought us to a cigerette making and packing sweat shop whhich was amazing. The speed at which the fags were being packed was incredible. we also went to a massive market where everything was being sold from frui and veg to flowers for the women to spices and dyes. The colours of the dyes were so brilliant. We must have stayed in the market for a few hours just taking in all the sights and sounds and chatting to a load of vendors. It was a great day. We were both wrecked and we had to get another dreaded sleeper bus down to Kochi. While waiting for the bus we got talking to a group of travellers who were going our way. They seemed a sound bunch and so myself and Col decided to stick with them when we arrived in Kochi. As expected the bus was horrid. Didn't sleep great at all. Oh well, thats India for you, highs and lows.