Aidan & Karen’s Travels

We arrived in Sydney after a tiring flight overnight from Shanghai. I had a total sense of humour failure as we were pushed aside in the race to get on the flight and then found that there was no more room in the overhead baggage containers. Safe to say I went into strop worsened by the fat fella in front of me pushing his chair as far back as it would go. However, the mood was lightened by Karen swopping seats with me and my discovery that there were loads of films on for me to watch. I must have had withdrawal symptoms because I didn’t sleep at all through the flight and I watched 4 (and a half) films.

On arrival in Sydney we made straight to our hostel. The heat was staggering after Russia, Mongolia and China but it was great to see the sun shining. On arrival at our hostel all the staff were all talking about a guy who had to go to hospital because he punched a bus stop when he was drunk and broke some bones in his hands. They then went on to talk about the drunken antics of the previous evening. It was strange to be in a city in which most people were English or English speaking again. It also felt a bit like I was back at University.

Having dumped our bags we went straight to the hospital to get a new plaster for Karen’s arm. We really hit lucky because the hospital that we went to specialised in hands. The doctors and nurses were really kind to us all and the hospital itself was in a great location. The physio that was sorting Karen’s arm out put a fibre glass plaster on it - perks of the job - so that it was lightweight and she could swim with it on. All in all it was a much more pleasurable experience than Mongolia.

Being in sunnier climes we needed to ditch our winter wardrobe and get some summer clothes instead (and of course the sun cream for me). It was nice to wander aroudn Sydney’s shops but we felt that everything was ridiculously expensive after China. Of course it wasn’t but it was hard to adjust. With all our new kit on we packed off our thermals and ski jackets to NZ to pick up later. To be honest we had worn those thermals so much they probably could have got up and walked to Auckland!

In the evening we headed down to Sydney Harbour bridge (as did the rest of Sydney by the looks of things) and enjoyed a drink over looking the harbour. From all the travelling and hospital visits it was nice just to relax.

We had inadvertently timed our visit to Sydney with Mardi gras which is the biggest gay festival that takes place in Austalia. Rather than jump into the all in one cat suit Karen and I retreated to the Botanical gardens and spent most of the day there. It was a strange sensation to be able to sit outside in a t shirt and shorts without feeling cold or needing to move around. Karen was immediately soaking in the sun to build the tan, but when you have my skin type (white to red to white again) it is just nice to sit in the shade. The botanical gardens were beautiful and had some great views of the harbour from them. It was also interesting to see the wildlife of the parks - parrots, bats, spiders (massive spiders).

Taking full advantage of the fact that we are in a country that has some decent wine we had a few drinks in the evening and settled nicely into the swing of things.

On Sunday, when the MArdi gras hangover was kicking in for a lot of Sydney we took a bus to Bondi beach. It was awesome to be swimming in the sea and just to lie on the beach without a care in whe world. Bondi beach is full of surfer dudes and it was pretty busy - but it was just a warmer version of Whitley Bay really. Obviously I immediately blended in with the locals and didn’t stand out liek a sore thumb at all - any whiter and I would have been an albino.

We arrived back in Sydney and walked to teh local pub for a beer. From there we watched the most terrific thunder and lightning storm. It absolutely threw it down with rain and when time came to brave it outside it was as if we had been in a shower. It felt very refreshing though. The next few days were punctuated by spells of rain. It made little difference to us but I was expecting uninterrupted sunshine when we got to Australia.

We made arrangements to travel down to Melbourne on a bus route that allowed us to get on and off when we liked. We decided to spend about 2 and a half weeks to get to Melbourne and to stop off regularly - thus avoiding the long haul bus rides. With our MP3s fully charged it was time to hit the road again.

It had been a while since we had been to a major city and Shanghai hit us like a tidal wave. There seemed to be millions of people and any thought of the holiday season coming to an end showed no signs of happening in this city.

Our hostel was two minutes from the Bund and an excellent location for exploring the city. In all the guides that we have read and all the people we spoke to said that the place to visit in Shanghai was the Bund and so that is exactly what we did. Unfortunately, every other tourist in China had the same idea. The Bund is the river side street that was the centre of Shanghaio commerce in the 30s and 40s. On one side of the river there is a street of magnificent 30s buildings such as the Peace Hotel - where anybody who was anybody stayed in when they visited Shangai, and on the other side of the river is the modern commrecial buildings of Shanghai. Both buildings face each other and it is a neat metaphor for what Shangahi is like as city - old and new facing off each other (you could extend it to the whole of Shanghai).

I loved the 30s’ architecture of the bund and it was easy to imagine what the city would have been like in it’s 30’s peak. However, the Bund at night was spectacular simply for the views across the river to the modern skyscrapers and neon lit buildings. It looked all the world like something out of ‘Blade Runner’ and we were mesmerised by it. The neon light show continued as we headed into the shopping district of Shanghai. The Nanjing Road is where everybody goes to shop and by the time we had got to the end of the shopper’s paradise we had been offered fake anything you could name - as long as it was Rolex, North Face, Dolce & Gabanna… We did go to a market in Shanghai for a bit of retail therapy but it proved to be much harder work than Beijing. The difference in Shanghai was that the sellers were much more aggressive and actually followed you around the amrket. They literally would not let you out of their sight. It was all a bit too much for us and we left (although I bought a pair of Puma trainers for 7 quid - they have since fallen apart).

The highlight of Shanghai was the noodle bar at the end of our road. It only had about 8 tables, the restaurant was tiny, there was nothing to shout about in terms of decor and the stafff found it hilarious that we were eating Chinese food - with chopsticks, but it cost about 3 pound for both of us to eat like kings and the crab steamed dumplings were the nicest thing I have ever tasted. We kept going back as often as we could - just writing about it now makes me feel hungry!

The other nice thing about Shanghai - as with almost all of teh Chinese cities that we have visited was that thre were so many gardens to wander around. We went wild and paid to get in to a garden (it was recomended) and we were really glad that we did. It was in the centre of the city and it was one of the smallest gardens that we have visited but it was designed to block out the noise aroudn it and also to appear to be much larger than it did. It was stunning and well worth the entry fee.

And so our trip around China came to an end. Of course the ionly way to get to the airport was by train. Not any train though - the quickest train on the planet (imagine how excited Karen aka the train spotter was about that).

China was great and the real surprise so far on the trip. We had no idea what to expect and we really enjoyed it. There was so much to see and do and we would both love to return one day. The staring by the Chinese at us got a little waring, but as I explained to Karen life in the public eye is not easy and sometimes you just have to roll with it - just like Brad and Angelina.

Hangzhou is a city that is on the West lake, south west of Shanghai. It is a big tourist destination for the Chinese and sure enough when we arrived there was millions of people walking around the lake and of course seeing two westerners (one in plaster!) was as big a tourist attraction as anything Hangzhou had to offer.

Our hostel was literally on the shore of the lake and it was possible to walk all around the lakes. However, with it being the holiday week that meant there were loads of other people and it was a bit overcrowded. However, the trickiest part of the walks were avoiding the electric buses that drove tourists around the lake. They basically saw pedestrians as mocvng targets and the only warning sign you had that they were coming was an incredibly annoying tune they continually played over their loud speakers - it was the death song!

The West Lake was beautiful and there were Chinese gardens constructed all around the shore that we explored. We were there for 3 nights and most of our time was spent wandering around the gardens. The gardens were intricately designed and many had temples or pagodas situated in them. The weather was really good so we took the opportuntiy of relaxing around the gardens and people watching - getting our own back and generally enjoying the break from city life that we had experienced in Shanghai and Xi’an.

We did venture further out and visited a tea plantation. Tea making is taken very seriously in China - it is known as tea art. The tea plantation had a museum for us to look round and it was interesting to see how all the different teas are made. The only problem was that buying tea is exorbatant. We thought that it would be as cheap as chips but no such luck. Of course being on a budget (or rather saving our money to buy Chairman Mao watches) we didn’t have any tea in China. One person in the hostel was telling us that you shoudn’t buy tea from the licensed tea sellers and buy it from the black market as it is loads cheaper - unfortunately we never found those illusive black market tea sellers.

Once again in Hangzhou we failed miserably to find anywhere decent to eat. The first night we were there we went to a restaurant in which the waitress wouldn’t let us order anything that we wanted and we ended up with what I can only describe as pork scratchings and pig bones in a sweet and sour sauce and a beautifully cooked fish. The only problem was eating the fish with chopsticks was a Herculean task that neither Karen or myself were up to. On the final night we found a restaurant with pictures on the menu and this was heaven - we could finally see what we were ordering and as a result we ate like kings!

From Hangzhou we headed for Shanghai. We went on the bullet train from Hangzhou. It didn’t go as fast as we thought it would but it was more like an aeroplane than a train and now that Karen is officially a train spotter many photos were taken!

Xi’an is the old capital of China and according to our fellow passenger on the train - the most important city in China (he would say that though). Basically we came to Xi’an so that we could visit the Terracotta Army, although there is lots to see in Xi’an too. Our hostel was a real result - it was set out like an old Chinese pagoda and our room was in the middle courtyard. It was better than some of the hotels that we stayed in on the way.

The first thing that we were told to do was sort the train from Xi’an out because it was New Year and everybody would be travelling. Unfortunately for us that was the case and all the trains we wanted to get on were booked up - flying to Hangzhou was the next best option (Trains, planes and automobiles or what - not sure who is John Candy and who is Steve Martin yet). Anyway, with that sorted we got down to the more serious business of sight seeing.

We took a public bus to the Terracotta Army site rather than a tour - basically being cheap skates and not wanting to get up to leave at 7am. When we arrived we had to walk miles through a shopping arcade that was built around the complex. This was an immediate put off as it was all fake terracotta warriors or animal furs (don’t know why). By the time we got through to the actual site I was quite tempted to buy a full size warrior - a nice gift for my brother’s new house or an even better companion for the cardboard cut out of Elvis.

Anyway, by the time we got through to the actual complex it was well worth the walk. The soldiers are really well preserved and there are three pits. The main pit is huge about the size of three football pitches and the detail of the statues is so intricate. There are archers, spearman, cavalry, generals - basically a whole army. I felt a bit like Indiana Jones and could only imagine how exciting it must have been to uncover the army.

Back in Xi’an we spent the rest of our time exploring the city. It was so busy with it being New Year and that meant the roads were even more treacherous than ever. Basically in China pedestrains are fair game and it is kill or be killed when crossing a road - pedestrian crossings mean nothing. It is all a leap of faith.

From Xi’an we decided to head to Hangzhou which is built around a lake and is a holiday resort for the Chinese. Hangzhou is known around China as one of the most picturesque places to visit - we’lll have a bit of that, we thought.

Apologies for the lack of entry to the website recently but we’ve been to busy to find the time and when we have the time it seems the computer or the internet access hasn’t been up to scratch. Anyway enough excuses.

We arrived in Beijing and immediately realised that it was Chinese New Year. Essentially the celebrations consist of setting off as many firecrackers or fireworks as you can as often as you can (even in day time) and as dangerously as you can. It was absolutely ridiculous! Anyway, our hostel was immediately opposite the railway station so we dropped our bags off and then headed into Beijing.

We learnt another immediate lesson - there is no queing system in China and the administration goes beyond ‘red tape’. It took us an hour to change some money at the bank. Another lesson learnt but by this point we were so tired we got something to eat and then rested up for the next day.

Beijing has totally cleaned itself up for the coming Olympics and it is a really beautiful city. We immediately headed to Tianemen square (albeit in the wrong direction because I read the map wrong). The square is massive and people tend to just hang around, flying kites or trying to sell Chairman Mao watches - naturally we purchased one of these complete with waving arm. We then went into the Forbidden City which was very impressive but left both Karen and I cold. It is hard to say why really but it might be because it is in such pristine condition and almost appears unreal. Having said that the gardens at the back of the city are worth seeing and exploring.

We spent the rest of our time in Beijing exploring the public parks which are huge and very tranquil. It was here that we got our first tase of being celebrities. People would stop and stare, point at us, and laugh at us. At first I thought that my flies were open or I had something on my face. But no it was because we were Westerners and that is tsill something of a novelty. Fame at last! As our trip around China continued we became used to it and even the request to be photographed didn’t seem too weird by the time we got to Shanghai.

The other highlight of Beijing was the silk market. It was here that you could buy anything - and mostly fake. We spent a great afternoon trawling through the many shops fending off the eager sellers and then bartering our way through our purchases. Two pairs of fake diesel jeans, two ralph lauren polo shirts and a cashmere ralph lauren jumper and 20 quid later we were ready for something to eat. The night market in Beijing is a street of food stalls selling all kinds of exotic food. Stuart, who we met on the Trans Sib, persuaded me to try some snake on a stick - I managed one bite (he finished the lot) and gave up. It didn’t taste of anything and the texture was like rubber. Following that though we had some great eats - Peking duck was a particular treat and so cheap.

It was time to say goodbye to Beijing and travel to Xi’an. Of course we were back on the train for this. This time it was on the hard sleeper overnight - hard sleeper rather than soft sleeper means that there is six rather than four beds in a compartment and no door to the compartment. The Chinese train was much more regimented than the trans sib - lights off on the dot at 10pm and back on at 7am. However, it was clean and on time and it got us to where we were going no problem.

It was abit surreal heading back to civilisation after the Ger camp but as soon as we hit tarmac road the horn honking and manic driving started and brought it all home. Narkie (our guide) got the driver to stop at one of the hospitals on the way so I could get my plaster changed only to discover that A&E only operates in the afternoon in Mongolia. interesting start to yet another hospital visit. We checked in to “mongolia’s top hotel 2005″ which has to be said wasn’t hard to discover why it wasn’t of 2006 as well and headed to the state hospital. Triage at the entrance was in the form of a very young police man, fag in hand and the waiting area was full of all kinds of injuries. Again, no one had any regard for patient care or confidentuality and we were like a show piece. A guy in a bright yellow vest with “emergency” on the back obviously loved himself took us into the plaster room and looked at my xrays (thank god i have some knowledge about them and that it wasn’t a major break). I was glad to have stuart with me as at least there was some compassion as this guy wrenched my wrist about and put the most riddiculous plaster on ever. (i made a mental note at that point the next hospital would be western and prayed the alignment of my wrist was still intact!) There was a young boy there who had what looked like an open fracture not making a sound so i felt like a right wimp complaining as the guy moved my wrist about. We are so lucky to have the NHS. The room was pretty minging, open bags with all kinds of rubbish stoved under the sink and some very interesting bits of plaster that didn’t really immobilise anything. Anyway i think the best show was for Aidan in the waiting area with 2 nurses, again fags in mouths, holding up a chest xray to the light and jabbering on about it. Thank god nothing major was wrong with any of us!

We were glad to get out of there even if a massive full, wet plaster of paris cast added a few kgs to my arm.

The driving was horrendous which made our trip around town quite limited as we didn’t want to cross any roads. people actually drive at you on the zebra crossings and it really wasn’t fun so we played it safe in an internet cafe and headed out with Stuart for dinner  - safety in 3s!

Such a contrast to the Ger camp but we were keen to get on the train the next morning just to be away from the cars and constant fear of crossing roads.

The drive out to the Ger camp seemed to go on forever. Suddenly we pulled off the highway and headed into nothing. There was a faint trace of a path but little else to tell us that we were on a road. Again the road to nowhere seemed to last forever but finally we came to the top of a hill and saw our first glimpse of the camp.

The camp was made up of about eight circular tents. Each one had four beds inside, a sink and a stove. Surrounding the camp were a range of mountains and snow covered plains as far as the eye could see. There were only four other visitors to the camp which meant that we had our own tent. From the camp the toilets were about 50 metres or so - the perils of outside toiletting faced us again!

When we arrived at the camp we were left to our own devices and we relaxed and got used to our new homes. The main worry that we had was that the cold would be too much for us but we needn’t have worried after the women sorted the fire on the stove out the tent turned into a sauna. Unfortunately for me she continually came into the tent and stoked the fire so that the temperature was unbearable - this even happened through the night. I tell you that it comes as a surprise to find a Mongolian woman stoking your stove at 2 o’clock in the morning (wahey!).

Anyway, we spent the rest of the day relaxing - essentially the camp is liek a Mongolian Butlins. For dinner we had Mongolian barbecue which is meat cooked on a metal plate - nice but not very exciting. The next day we went to a Nomad family’s Ger. It was quite a walk but worth it. As we approached the Ger it was as if we had stepped back in time or rather that we were in some kind of Western. It looked like a homestead straight out of Shane. We were invited in to the tent for tea and biscuits. However, the tea was sakty and the biscuit tasted very peculiar but not wanting t be rude we drank it all (and complained later - the true English way). Stuart was convinced that the tour gides had set the Nomad family up for the tourists - equipped with fake cows and sheep.

After the salty tea we headed up a mountain so that Naki could get reception on his mobile phone to phone about placing another cast on Karen’s wrist. From the mountain top you could see in the distance a silver statue of Genghis Khan in the distance. He is everywhere in Mongolia - I don’t really think that they have another historical figure that they can idolise and as a result he is put on everything from rugs to vodka.

Stuart’s and my own fear of horses put pay to the prospect of riding in the afternoon. So instead we stayed in the Ger and played another Mongolian game using sheep bones again. Before sitting down to another plate of meat (obviously Karen had veggies).

The following day we had to say goodbye to the camp and return to Ulaanbaatar. It was a real shame leaving the camp as we had such a relaxing time there and felt totally at home, even the outside toilet didn’t put us off it. However, I think the diet of salty tea and barbecued meat might get to us after a while.

Ulaanbaatar beckoned and so did another hosiptal - I have made Karen promise me that we won’t visit a hospital in every country we stay in.

The train to Ulan Ude was delayed by a few hours so we spent most of the time people watching in the station and hoping that our train would turn up. We finally got on the train at 3.30am and found ourselves in a cabin alone. However, most of the other people on the train were drunk Russians so we pretty much kept ourselves to ourselves, especially when some of them kept calling me American.

We were picked up by our driver In Irkrutsk and taken to another homestay which was about two minutes from the city centre. We were given some time to relax before being picked up again and taken to a Budhist Temple, or Datsan. The drive out was again not the most comfortable - what is it with Russian roads? However, the Datsan (which was in the middle of nowhere) was well worth it and was serene. When we entered the temple we were greeted by a lama that was smiling and waving at us. I looked again and thought blimey that looks like the Dalai Lama, we’ve really lucked out here. However, on closer inspection it turned out to be a wax work model - c’est la vie.

As we drove back to Ulan Ude we stopped off at a Buryat village and had lunch in a Buryat home. The host was very friendly and gave us mounds and mounds of food. We also were given a traditional Buryat drink of green tea and milk. I thought it was OK, but Karen wasn’t impressed. The smell of the tea was still around two days later. Aftr lunch we played a Buryat game called knuckle bones which was a bit like subbuteo but played with sheep’s neck bones.

On return to Ulan Ude we were pretty much left to explore the city. There wasn’t much to see in Ulan Ude except a massive statue of Lenin’s head which totally dominates the square. Surreal is the only way to describe it.

Our next day in Ulan Ude again began with a visit to a Datsan - this time a much bigger monastery. There was more tourists at this one, albeit Russians and most of them were on their mobiles whilst spinning prayer wheels. I then had one of the most bizarre experiences of my life in the afternoon. We were given tickets to a puppet show which was a traditional Buryat show which depicted a folk tale from the Buryats. It was wierd. From what I could make out a tyrant terrorised a village and an old man told a younger man to go and kill the tyrant, but the young man kept turning into an owl. Admittedly I fell asleep (as did the little boy sat next to me) so I may have missed the most importnat part but it was still very strange.

Again we pottered round the city - although it was a bit bleak - and waited for our next train which would take us over the border into Mongolia.

A day here was not the most facinating but it snowed heavily which was beautiful. We took in some of the sights with Jean and had our photo taken by the Alexander III statue as a tribute as he completed the trans siberian railway so really with out him we probably wouldn’t have made it to where we were.

A 2nd trip to the hospital revealed pretty much nothing but i picked my xrays up and then Sergie made one last attempt at killing us on the roads when driving us to the station. As he somehow squeezed at speed between a bus and an on coming car with inches to spare either side we tried not to laugh/cry and the he exclaimed “I love driving”. Somehow i think his dream was to be a rally driver. The station was a great place to people watch and to be honest i think we were both chuffed to be getting on the train for a few hours away from any madness and be heqading west towards Ulan Ude.