Author: petitfilula

It’s hard to believe that Graham and I set off on our big adventure a year ago today! It almost feels like it was a lifetime ago, but at the same time feels like only yesterday that we were hopping on the first train of many at St. Pancras station. Life in Wellington has been great and we feel really at home in our cute little house! We survived a New Zealand winter, which is pretty important and we’re looking forward to exploring NZ in the Spring and Summer.

There were some amazing moments throughout our trip and its really hard to pick out highlights. We visited countries that have been at the top of our travel wish list like Japan, Russia and Vietnam, travelled the longest railway journey in the world, dipped a very cold finger in the world’s largest freshwater lake, climbed volcanoes, cycled around islands, drank banana wine, explored Vietnamese caves in kayaks, swam in bioluminescent water off the coast of Cambodia and then to top it all off we set up a whole new life in NZ!

 

In total, we travelled approximately 20,370 miles (32,782 kms) in 141 days across 16 countries. We visited around 47 cities/towns/villages on our way and attempted to order food in multiple languages as we went (thank goodness for Google Translate). Our mode of transport was mainly train, with the occasional flight in the second half of the journey and a couple of ferries thrown in for good measure 🙂 I have over 4000 photos on my phone and goodness knows how many more on Graham’s camera! And rather importantly, we didn’t kill each other, and both realise that we are extraordinarily grumpy when tired, hungry and in need of a shower. Here is a little compilation of selfies, in case you forgot what we looked like!! 

It has been nice to settle down and to get back to normality for a while, but we’re also looking forward to more adventures here in NZ, where there’s so much to explore. We’re back in Ireland and the UK for Christmas, which will be very different from our eco-Cambodian adventure with no electricity last year, but can’t wait for all the Christmas festivities that we’re used to! We’ll pop up the odd blog post or two when we’ve explored our new home, but currently, brunch, coffee and running are keeping us very busy….as well as sometimes working! 

Xx -F

After a few months of public transport, I was very excited to pick up our rental car! It was an automatic, so it’s pretty much like driving a go cart, but was perfect for our east coast mini road trip. We managed to get out of Sydney without too much hassle, just one slightly dodgy u-turn required! We were off to Newcastle for a couple of nights and took the scenic route along the coast, stopping at Tuggerah to check out the lake and for lunch and a walk along the beautiful Blacksmiths Beach. 

Newcastle is a really cool city with some fantastic cliffside walks and beautiful colonial architecture. We headed to the cliffs to enjoy the sunset and popped down to check out the Bogey Hole! Sounds rude, but its actually a sea bath that was constructed by convicts in 1820 for the Commandant of Newcastle, and is a really cool little spot for a swim!

I was excited to head back to Nelson Bay, having remembered it as a beautiful spot with a cute lighthouse and fantastic beaches. It didn’t disappoint and after a great lunch looking out at the beautiful water from Nelson Bay lighthouse, we plonked ourselves on the beach and had a dip in the freezing cold water!

The next day we drove along the Lakes Way to head to Forster, my incredible home for 6 months back in 2013. It’s a beautiful drive as you head into the rainforest and then suddenly hit the coast again in Pacific Palms, a surfers Mecca! We couldn’t resist a game of catch and a walk on Boomerang Beach, bringing back memories of my attempts to learn to surf 5 years ago! We continued on to Forster and stayed at a cute Airbnb at Bennett Head. We were keen for a run and headed along the cliffs where I conquered the massive hill that had been my nemesis when I lived in Forster. Graham’s highlight of the evening was definitely running down a scarily steep sand dune onto One Mile beach. 

 

We stayed with Greg(my old boss) and his lovely wife Deb and even took a trip into the place I used to work. It was so great to see old friends and felt like I had never left. I showed Graham the sights of Taree and Forster and I think he probably wondered why I ever left to go back to the UK! It’s a tough life when you wake up and have to decide which beach to go to; One mile, Black head, Red head, Elizabeth, Old Bar, Diamond Head. We changed it up a bit and headed inland to Ellenborough Falls and hiked down to the bottom. Coming back up in near 40deg heat wasn’t the easiest! 



The time went far too quickly on our little road trip and soon it was time to head back to Sydney to drop off the car. A visit to Forster will be needed again soon, particularly to spend time with the beautiful Denyelle, who managed to land herself in hospital just before I arrived! We were staying with Graham’s cousin Joanne in Sydney and had such a great few days. We ate some giant burgers, went to the beach, ate frozen custard, had an amazing steak on the barbie (cooked by Jo’s hubbie Richard) and hung out with the coolest kids ever, Grace and Thomas. It was a wonderful farewell to Australia!

Graham and I were nervous about our flight to Wellington. It meant that this part of our adventure was coming to an end and also we didn’t know if anyone would give us a job and a visa when we arrived! Fingers crossed….. 

-F xx

Our flight to Sydney included a 5 hour stop in Darwin, so when we arrived in Sydney at 6am, we were a little worse for wear! We also happened to arrive on Australia Day, so Sydney was absolutely buzzing! After breakfast and a nap at our hostel, we walked from Potts Point, next to all the naval boats through the botanic gardens and along to the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Having both been to Sydney separately before, it was so nice to enjoy the sights together! Feeling hungry we headed to the Rocks to enjoy some street food and live music, a spot in Sydney that never disappoints!

We continued our walk along to Darling Harbour where the pre show for the evening fireworks had started. We had lost all steam at this stage, so it was back to the hostel for an early night. The next few days involved many hours wandering around the shops, looking for clothes for interviews as most things we own have an air of homeless chic about them! Luckily for us, it was also Chinese New Year, so as we wandered about the city, there were lots of colourful Chinese sculptures around. We also had a lovely catch up with Graham’s friends Ruth and Ryan to see what they had been up to since Graham was last in Oz in 2008. 

A trip to Sydney really isn’t complete without a ferry ride , so with the sun shining, we headed off to Manly. It’s such a beautiful ferry trip and it only felt right to treat ourselves to some frozen yoghurt on the beach when we arrrived! We timed the ferry back perfectly, as the sun set behind the harbour bridge as we came into Sydney. It’s such a beautiful, vibrant city and reminded us that we both would love to live by the water. It seems to give added energy to a city. 

We rented a car near our hostel for our little road trip up the coast. It was time to head north and see the beautiful New South Wales coast and some wonderful friends 🙂 

-F xx

The second part of our mini holiday was to Koh Samui. Graham’s parents flew from Bangkok but Graham and I were in backpacker mode. We had booked ourselves on the overnight train (of course!!) from Bangkok to Surat Thani, a bus to the port and then the high speed ferry to Koh Samui. It was a totally different train to any of the others we’ve been on, as they were open carriages with the beds laid out in bunks on each side. They were surprisingly comfortable and relatively quiet, despite one extremely loud voice of a girl from London travelling from the end of the carriage. 

After what felt like a few days travelling, we arrived in a rather flooded Koh Samui, but feeling very lucky that it hadn’t been the week before, when the water level was knee high on the Main Street in Bo Phut village. We settled into our lovely accommodation, the Fisherman’s Cafe and Gallery, and enjoyed some amazing local coffee while we waited from Graham’s parents to arrive. After we had dinner, even more rain fell, so we had another beer to pass the time 🙂

The next day, despite the threat of thunderstorms, we walked to visit the Big Buddha and on our way back took shelter in a lovely cafe as some heavy rain started. Having to eventually leave, we practically swam back down the hill and waded our way along to our accommodation where we spent a couple of hours playing our new favourite game, Bananagrams!

We moved accommodation from Bo Phut Fisherman’s Village after a few days to Bang Po beach near Maenam Village. We happily passed our time between the beach, our kayaks and the swimming pool on the balcony over the next few days. The Beer ‘n’ Banangrams tournaments were a daily occurrence and if you haven’t played Bananagrams before, you need to! It’s like scrabble, but better 🙂 

We were really sad to say goodbye to Graham’s parents after such a brilliant holiday, but it was time for us to board a ferry and then a bus and hopefully end up back in Bangkok for a night in the airport. Bali next 😀 

-F xx

I’m not a big New Year celebration fan, but was excited to spend New Year in Cambodia. Having never been to Siem Reap, we didn’t know if New Years Eve would be a quiet affair or if there might be a good pub where we could kick off 2017. Well, it’s not a quiet affair, that’s for certain. Siem Reap has a street full of pubs, funnily enough called Pub Street. When we arrived, the stage and speakers were being set up for the street party. The speakers were bigger than me and blasting some suspect dance tunes from early in the day. After some dinner at one of the many Italian/Mexican/Cambodian fusion restaurants we attempted to make our way down pub street, but it was just too busy with happy western and Cambodian revellers. The night draws huge crowds of Cambodians from the surrounding countryside and they looked like they were having a blast! We counted down the New Year with a cold beer at the Yellow Sub bar just off Pub Street and then joined the crowds on the slow shuffle back to our hostel. 

The main reason for a visit to Siem Reap is to see Angkor Wat Complex. It is the world’s largest religious site and was constructed in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. It consists of several temples within the complex and we decided to go with a local guide to learn a bit more about the area. It’s popular to watch sunrise at Angkor Wat temple, and Rida knew a great quiet spot to watch the sun come up with the silhouette of the temple behind. It’s the symbol on the Cambodian flag and was beautifully reflected on the lake which lies in front of the temple. 


We didn’t spend too long in Angkor Wat temple before moving on to the huge Angkor Thom city which was built by Jayavarman VII. It was established as the state capital and was turned from a Hindu to a Buddhist place of worship at the end of the 12th century. At the centre of the city is the Bayon temple. It has over two hundred faces of Buddha which seem to be looking at you every way you turn! 

We then moved to Ta Prohm, which is one of the most popular temples to visit, due to its use in the Tomb Raider movie. It’s an impressive tangle of temple, tree and vines. Rida spoke about how the area was luckily not bombed during the Vietnam war and the Khmer Rouge regime, but there is evidence of bullet holes from some fighting in the area at those times. Having been through Vietnam and seeing how so many places were destroyed and rebuilt, it was a relief to see that Angkor Wat had been spared. 

After a morning of temple hopping we were very glad to see the cool water of the pool in our hostel and we got ourselves ready to head to Thailand. It’s only a 45 min flight to reach Bangkok by plane, which must be our shortest journey yet! Our introduction to 2017 has been pretty awesome so far and we’re very excited to see what the year brings! 

– F xx

I was worried as we arrived in Phnom Penh, as Duc our tour guide on the Mekong had told us not to bother staying even one night. But I figured that we should have an open mind and see what the place has to offer.
I think Duc was right. You don’t need to stay a night. The things worth seeing, you can see in half a day and then hop on a bus out of there. I felt uneasy walking about, which I haven’t felt anywhere else in Asia. There is a high possibility of having something nicked and the seedy bars with old men eyeing up younger girls left me with a nauseated feeling. We have rarely written negatively about a city on this blog, but I feel this one is warranted.

Luckily, our hotel was beautiful, with friendly staff who helped us out when we had a problem with our bus when we left. The problem being that I didn’t read the pick up time properly 😀 We visited the Wat Phnom on the first day, a Buddhist temple which is the tallest religious structure in Phnom Penh.

We were both keen to learn more about the history of Cambodia and our tuk tuk driver from the hotel took us on a half day trip to the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre (the Killing Fields) and Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21 prison). The tours of both include a very comprehensive audio guide which have a very good description of the Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot from 1975-1979. He killed, tortured and starved those he considered a threat, including teachers, academics, doctors, scientists and anyone with a connection to the previous government. It is estimated that up to 3 million people died, through either mass killings or starvation. The mass graves at this particular Killing Fields include women and children and in rainy season, more and more bones and clothes appear through the ground. There are over 20,000 mass graves throughout Cambodia.

 

The S-21 museum was even more shocking than the Killing Fields, which I didn’t believe possible. It had been a school prior to the regime and was transformed into a prison where they viciously tortured those they believed to be a threat to the regime. Walking through the rooms with the photographs of victims is a horrifying reminder that this didn’t happen all that long ago.

 

Pol Pot denied responsibility for the mass genocide up until his death and it was only in 2001 that a trial began to hold Khmer Rouge leaders responsible for their acts, a slow process that has only led to life sentences for 3 Khmer Rouge leaders. I know it’s not the cheeriest of blog posts, apologies!

Christmas was nearly upon us, so we found a cinema showing ‘Its A Wonderful Life’ to bring on the Christmas cheer. We were heading to Sihanoukville and Koh Rong Samloem for Christmas, so we said goodbye to Phnom Penh, perhaps with a sigh of relief!
-F xx

We took an overnight train from Danang to Ho Chi Minh City, which is actually called Saigon by locals and travellers alike! We booked our train a few days ahead, but as it was a weekend, all of the 4 berth compartments were booked. Instead we booked two beds in the 6 berth ‘hard sleepers’. The soft sleepers didn’t seem that soft in the first place, so we figured it wouldn’t be too much worse than that. The journey didn’t start too well, as I was shoved onto the train by the conductor, we headed to our compartment. Trying not to disturb the two ladies asleep in the bottom bunks, we attempted to get into the middle bunks we booked. Harder than it looks if you’re over 3 feet tall! Once we had our sheets, we somehow slid into the bunks. You can’t sit up and if you try, you head butt the bunk above you in the middle of the night 🙂 It was a bumpy, uncomfortable, noisy 17 hour journey but with some stunning scenery and a lively trolley lady who really wanted to sell me a morning coffee/rocket fuel! I couldn’t say no 🙂

Our Saigon hotel was right in the middle of back packer heaven. The street is lined with bars, restaurants, travel agents and massage parlours. Rather than asking me if I wanted a massage to ease my weary muscles, they only seemed to be interested in asking Graham…hmmmm! This was the first sight of the slightly seedy south east Asia I had heard about.

The highlight of Saigon was definitely the War Remnants Museum. It has had several names since opening first in 1975 under the name ‘Exhibition House for US and Puppet Regime Crime’. It’s a disturbing and graphic three floors that describe historical ‘truths’ and show the impact that both the B52 bombings and Agent Orange had on the Vietnamese people. According to the exhibition labelled ‘War Crimes’, approximately 3 .1 million Vietnamese died, 2 million of those were civilians. Over 300,000 are still considered missing. We left feeling drained, sad and angry, but also happy for a country that is now full of smiling, happy and resilient people recovering from their brutal past.

Amongst the madness of the traffic and street stalls, we found the Jade Palace, which was a welcome shelter from the torrential rain. It was quiet and peaceful and the air was thick with incense. We jumped from the old world of the palace to the new cosmopolitan world of the Vincom Plaza shopping centre, with Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Marks and Spencer’s! In preparation for the beaches to come, Graham doubled his shorts collection from one to two!

Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh/ HCMC, whatever you want to call it, it’s crazy. Next stop is the Mekong Delta for 3 days, provided the whole thing hasn’t flooded!
-F xx

The weather in Vietnam hasn’t been to kind to us lately. Although it’s coming into the dry season, we’ve had some really heavy rain. Our accommodation in Hoi An was on Cam Lam island, a quieter area away from the old town, but the heavy rain had flooded some of the roads. As our minibus wouldn’t drive onto Cam Lam island we plodded through the puddles to our accommodation. I’ve never seen my feet dirtier! Homestays are popular in the area and we stayed with the lovely Ni at Coconut Garden. We had a beautiful room with a balcony looking out over the coconut trees and water palms and Ni had two bikes for us to use so that we could get into the old town without getting our feet wet! 

The old town is a beautiful area next to the river with coffee shops, restaurants and more tailors than you could ever need! Hoi An is known for its fantastic food, great tailoring and beautiful silk products. The market has some food stalls, with each one having a particular specialty. We tried Cau Lau (noodles and pork) and Banh xeo (rice pancakes) and they were so good, we headed back the next day to the same stall for more! The laid back pace of the old town and multiple stops for Vietnamese coffee were just what we needed after a few busy months of travelling! We had a ticket that allows you access to some heritage sights in the town and it included a traditional folk show which was great, apart from the multiple go pros on sticks that obscured our view. I wonder how many people will actually ever watch back the footage they record!

We certainly got great use out of the bikes we had and cycled to An Bang beach to check out the coast. It’s a very popular area in the summer time with a beach that stretches up the coast to Danang. It was a windy, cloudy day and the sea didn’t look that inviting! Just as we set of from the beach to cycle to the nearby coconut groves, the heavens opened. We were completely drenched within a matter of minutes and headed back to our lovely accommodation for a warm drink to make us feel better 🙂 That evening, as the weather dried up, we headed to a bar by the river and had a cocktail, looking out at the candle lanterns floating on the river and hanging lanterns in the streets. A quick stop to a doughnut stall before we cycled home was a must! 

On our last day in Hoi An, the sun came out and Ni was keen for us to see the old town in the sunshine. We hopped on our bikes and had a lovely morning passing through the bustling streets with the fair weather vendors. We couldn’t leave Hoi An without some coffee, so we picked up some lovely ‘Weasel No.1’ coffee from An Phu roastery and a neat little filter too. 

With the sun shining, we were sad to leave Hoi An and Ni’s relaxing homestay, but we were off to Danang to see what was on offer there!

-F xx

So I’ll have to come clean. I didn’t know where Ha Long Bay was until I watched the Top Gear Vietnam special, but when I did, I really wanted to visit! So we booked a three day trip to Ha Long with Fantasea Tours through our hostel in Hanoi. We fancied a bit of kayaking so we booked 2 nights on a junk boat that allowed us a few hours of kayaking and some swimming. The bay is known for the thousands of limestone islands emerging from the sea, and became a World Heritage site in 1994. Local legend says that a family of dragons were sent by the gods to help protect against invaders and they stayed in the bay because they liked it so much. 



The bay is full of big junk boats ready to take tourists through the emerald waters and our boat luckily headed slightly further north, away from all the others. We stopped at Hang Dau Go, a huge three chambered cave with fantastic stalactites and colourful lighting that gets you seeing all sorts of things in the rock formations as you go. I definitely saw a lion, an elephant and a dragon that almost looked like they had been carved into the rock. We headed back to the boat for lunch, which seemed to be never ending, more plates of food just kept appearing! Fuelled, we hopped in some pretty old, battered, kayaks who’s paddles had definitely seen better days! As we kayaked, I was surprised to see a pretty rowdy family of small monkeys on the cliff face just jumping from rock to vine to foliage. It was amazing to see how fearlessly they moved, but I would like to know if they can swim or if they just stay on the one rock all the time. Dinner was another huge feast and after a little star gazing on the top deck, it was time to sleep. 

The next morning after, yes you guessed it, a massive breakfast, we visited Titop island which has a climb to the top for some spectacular views of the bay. We then hopped on a different boat to the rest of the group, as they were staying on Cat Ba island that night. We joined some other folks from different tours who had opted for some kayaking and swimming too. The boat sailed slowly further north in Ha Long and as we lay in the sun, we meandered through the tall rocks, each as amazing as the last. It was a really nice group, with a German couple, an American couple and a father and son from Ireland who were wearing green Irish t-shirts and no sun cream! Our guide headed off in the lead kayak once we anchored the boat and kayaked to a cave and a secluded beach where we left the kayaks and had a swim around. Then after a couple of hours kayaking, we headed back to the boat for lunch and a sunbathe. 

Our next stop was a pearl farm where we learned about the cultured pearls that are grown there. I always find it so fascinating to see how the oysters are carefully treated and cared for to create this beautiful product. We had a demo which included checking an oyster that had been implanted 18 months before and as the guide cut open the oyster, a little grey pearl popped out. It was what they consider ‘imperfect’ as it wasn’t completely round and would most likely be ground down into powder to be used in cosmetics. But, the girl from New York on the tour (who’s middle name is Pearl) wanted to buy it. The ladies working in the shop couldn’t understand that she wanted a pearl that wasn’t good enough to be made into jewellery, but she finally convinced them to sell it to her. She was so chuffed and we left the baffled shop assistants shaking their heads at the ‘crazy tourists’! 

We loved our trip to Ha Long and we’re so lucky to have beautiful sunshine, as it is the end of rainy season in Vietnam and there had been a big storm the week before, with all the tours cancelled! A few hours on the bus brought us back to Hanoi and we headed out for a walk around the lake before going to the station for our overnight train to Hué. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the manic lanes of cars and mopeds had been replaced by a pedestrianised area where a group called Love Hanoi had set up games for kids and adults. There were skipping ropes and chalk and a tug of war that Graham totally won 😆. It was nice to see people just relaxing and spending time with family. Maybe we should start having kids games in Ireland and the UK a bit more! 

Then it was off to the train station for our overnight ‘soft’ sleeper journey to Hué! 

-F xx