The Classic Inca Trail, Peru

Spending a little more time in Chile than originally planned, my schedule was pretty tight with only a week or so to get a taste of Peru. Luckily at the last minute, I found a vacant spot with the tour group WAYKITREK and took on the challenging 4 day trek to the ancient Inca site of Machu Picchu from Cusco.

THE INCA ALBUM

Last days in Santiago

My last Sunday in Chile was spent cycling the Santiago 10km. Victor, the father of my homestay was participating and I joined Marcela in supporting her Papa.

10km Start line

Marcela

Victor made it across the line in 00:53

My Homestay, Miriam and her daughters Marcela & Veronica & Nelmar the dog

The family hamster and I

Nelmar the friendly and intelligent family dog

Cute picture of my Chilean friends

My fun Spanish Class

Santiago Central Market

Santiago Central Market

Santiago Central Market

Muchas Gracias a Miriam, Marcela, Veronica, Victor y Nelmar para experiencia fantastica.

Valparaiso & Viña del Mar

Pictures of some weekend excursions

while in Santiago

Santiago, Chile

I've put some roots down..temporarily mind you, in Santiago the bustling capital of Chile. I arrived over a week ago and signed myself up for a 2 week Spanish course in ICHIL. I'm lodging with a fantastic family in the Republica quarter of the city, just off Ave Bernardo O'Higgins (Jeez..The Irish AGAIN!;-)) What I know about the man: Señor O'Higgins was an illegitimate son of Ambrosio O'Higgins (Once a Viceroy of Peru) who brought Chile to Independence by defeating the Spanish at The Battle of Chacabuco on February 12th 1817. He held the power here for 6 years before being deposed of by a coup as his reforms were thought too liberal and radical..probably on the beer too much ;-)

I'm lovin' Santiago though, it's always sunny and happening with some form of entertainment on the streets. The city is elevated to 510m and is surrounded by the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range. It appears to be modern with shopping centres, cafes and bars everywhere but it's the old Spanish architecture that gives the city it's charm. The student area of Republica where I reside is alive and vibrant with colourful most of the time, except for Sunday when the place looks like a ghost town. My course is great fun with 2 Brasilians, 1 Indonesian, 1 India and an American. My professor is a typical crazy Chilean who sometimes gives physical punishment if our homework is wrong, 5 push-ups per error...I'll have a 6-pack before I leave this country! The family I am staying with have made me feel right at home. It can get confusing sometimes as their English is non-existant, but as the days go by my Spanish slowly improves and I begin to get my point across in some form or another. Although I'll be honest by admitting that their dog Nelmar still understands more than me, no kidding!

I'm enjoying life here in Santiago so much that I have decided to extend my Spanish course 2 more weeks before heading to Cuzco in Peru to take on the Classic Inca Trail.

Pix @ Santiago Album

Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

My dream had come true, I found myself standing in The Navel Of The World!

It wasn't long after I checked into my hostel when a bunch of Irish (You just can't escape us!!) made themselves known and we were all out on the town (Thursday night being the party night on the island) with every inhabitant on the island. All I'll say is it was an eventful night with a free flow of Escudo Cervezas, Pisco Sours and me always confusing the signs in Spanish for Ladies & Gents..ahumm! Anyways on a more serious note, about The Moai...JUST AMAZING!!! No picture can do these structures justice. The staggering size, the craftmanship and the beauty, the only way to truly appreciate them is to see them with your naked eye. All the sites with standing Moai (except one - Ahu Akivi) face inward with their stone eyes on the people of the Island. To touch any Maoi or stand on any Ahu (The platforms)is to be cursed for an eternity, or so the locals informed us after several pisco sours.

On an organised day tour to the East of Hanga Roa, we visited Ahu Tongariki the biggest Moai of the island destroyed in 1960 by a tidalwave and now reconstructed, The Fallen Moai of Ahu Akahanga, The Sacred Navel & Magnetic Stone, breaktaking Rano Raraku Volcano & main quarry used by the Moai and ending at Akenana Beach for a quick deep in the ocean. I took so many pictures that by midday day my battery was flat. Luckyily I met a great English couple (Cheers Mel & Steve!) who just happened to have the exact same camera as me and kindly lent me their spare battery..I think the Moai were watching over for me ;-)

I also got my hands on a scooter and took on the Islands dodgy dirt roads, exploring for myself the beauty of the island. Hanga Roa, Orongo and Rano Kau a flourishing crater and lake, Ahu Vinapu with Inca like craftmanship, The Moai Hats at Puna Pau and Ahu Akivi the only Moai facing to sea. But my favourite time and place on the island had to be around sunset at Ahu Tahai when the sky erupted in splendid colours behind the towering dark Moai, it had to be nature at it's best.


Pix @ Rapa Nui Album

Tahiti & Moorea

Paradise! French Polynesia here I come!! To get to Easter Island, a place sitting top of my list of destinations, I had to fly via Tahiti..I could think of worse places ;-)
My original stay was only for 4 nights, in the end it was a 10 day stay. After crossing the International Date Line, living the same day twice and easing myself into a tropical island lifestyle, I missed my outbound flight by a day! Yes, I found myself stranded on a South Pacific Island screaming "WILSON"! Luckily enough my open jaw ticket was flexible enough to catch the next flight out, 5 days later. So my first 5 days were at Taaroa Lodge in Punaauia, the owner, the friendly and way too modest longboard surfering champ, Ralph Sanford. It was here I met some cool Swedes touring the world, Hannes from Brugge obsessed with the Polynesian Tattoo method of tapping, and Sandra a funny German gal who turned into a good traveling companion for the rest of my stay. We were all in awe each eve as we watched the sunset over the neighbouring island of Moorea. Each beautiful and colourful moment was enjoyed with a tasty Tahitian beer called Hinano. On Tahiti I rented a car and drove with Sandra around the island taking countless amounts of pictures and visiting the world renowned surf location of Teahupoo. We also caught a Polynesian Dance show at the Intercontinental Hotel (I got out of the backpacker gear and scrubbed up a little) and enjoyed a fantastic all you can eat buffet meal (The clothes were off but I ate like a scabby backpacker). On another day I caught a ferry across to the island of Moorea where I took on dirt roads through pineapple plantations in a Bugster, mega fun but I always had to remember not to park on a hill as the handbrake didn't work.

So, finding myself stranded for another 4 days, having seen the sights of Papeete (Chaotic town for an island, traffic jams were a common phenomenon!) and of the island I decided to join Sandra on Moorea and try my hand at some water activities. We joined an excursion given by a local lady, cruised along the lagoons, swam & snorkeled with Stingrays and Reef Sharks (The theme tune to Jaws was in my head the whole time I was in the water) and fed Moray eels. We were invited to their stunning Tahitian home to enjoy some fresh fruit and snorkel in their lagoon. The following day I braved the water once more and dove with Moorea Fun Dive. As a beginner and not the most confident in the water, I need not have stressed as my calm and collective instructor Cedric made it my most enjoyable marine experience ever. At the depth of over 6 metres, the different types and colours of fish were amazing and the sight of spotted rays gliding by us made we totally forget my anxiety. On my last day on Moorea, Sandra, Hannes and I rented scooters and took on the island once more. My first time on a scooter and I was told I was a natural (Others could say a Speed Junky!). After tearing up the roads for the day I made sure I was on a ferry back in time for my flight out of Tahiti that eve. It was farewell to Sandra, Hannes and the tranquilty of Moorea and it was on to yet another continent, South America. The thought did cross my mind once or twice that day to miss/extend again and enjoy the serenity of Moorea but with time working against me, Easter Island was a calling.

Pix @ Picturesque French Polynesia Album

New Zealand by Campervan!

After Oz it was on to it's neighbour and rival, New Zealand.Delighted to catch up and stay with Eleanora and Marco who I met on my travels in Laos and who recently moved to NZ in search of a better quality of life.My 1st night in Auckland was spent on the town celebrating the birthday of Eleanora´s colleague.How else would I start a new adventure, only by having a good taste of the local beer.My visit was brief, a stroll around the city and a visit to Skakespear Regional Park.

It was off to the airport to collect the campervan (eventually christened Jucy and loved like a loyal friend) and pick up Jenn (My good oul´ Yankie traveling buddy!)who was flying in from Sydney and joining me in a 3 week escapade. We hit the road to Rotorua on the Bay of Plenty to hook up with Hannah (My good oul' drinking buddy from Delhi) who was celebrating her 30th Birthday (with plenty of bubbles) with cousins in Te Puke. After the bubbles wore off we paid a visit to Rotorua and The Maori Buried Village, where Mt Tarawera erupted and destroyed many years ago. We put the foot down and head north on the North island to Cape Reinga, the Northernwestern most point of New Zealand and where The Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. We done a day tour and drove the 90 mile beach where we went sandboarding. A tip for sandboarding, never put your hands out while hurling yourself down a sand dune! A tourist learnt the hard way and broke their collarbone...with such an injury your days as a backpacker are numbered!

Heading south once again, we popped into Hell's Gate, a mud volcano consisting of dark boiling mud and sulphur baths. After the stench got too much we joined Hannah and her cousins once again in Okere falls, went fishing on Rotoiti Lake, enjoyed the hot thermal pools and sobering dips in the freezing lake! A huge thanks goes out to Lol, Mark & Paddy for making us feel very welcome and showing us a fantastic time on the North Island...SWEET AS!! ;-)
On our way to Wellington we stopped at Waitomo Caves to try our hand at some Black Water Rafting. What you basically do here is, you put your bottom in an inflated inner tube of an old truck tire and you throw yourself off waterfalls in a very dark underground cave whilst admiring the Glow Worms above and trying not to think about the repulsive eels slidering below...YEEEEK!!! After recovering from the chill we were off to Wellington to catch some of the city sights before taking the ferry across to the South Island. Sights visited were The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the city´s beautiful Botanical gardens, Mount Victoria Lookout with a great panoramic view of the city, Karori Sanctuary an interesting conservation project) in the hope of spotting a Kiwi...no such luck on the day!! We did however catch a glimpse of a frog native to New Zealand called Pepeketua, these tiny little fellows you would miss with a blink of the eye!

Up before the crack of dawn, we drove Jucy on the ferry and crossed to Picton on the South Island. A quick visit to the wine region of Blenheim where we stopped off a Allan Scott's vineyard and indulged a little. After which was a long and sobering spin down the west coast to Fox Glacier, a very windy and twisty route with countless one way bridges over scary cliff drops...I thought we´d never get there!!! It was worth the pain though...fitted with crampons and accompanied by guides with ice picks we climbed the glacier the next day..another chilling yet amazing adventure!!!

Next up was the adventure capital, Queenstown. After a fresh dump of snow I spent 1 great day on the slopes of Cardrona improving my turns or should I say performing my notorious wipe outs!! I missed my good ski buddies that day...calling 21 on your own ain't no fun ;-)
It was also in Queenstown where I was a little reckless by performing a Bungy Jump AND a Tandem skydive on the same day. The Original AJ Hackett Bungy with a 43m drop was ok but I much more enjoyed the 15000ft jump with NZSkydive from a tiny flying tin can over some stunning scenery...freefalling is a fantastic sensation also. From Queenstown we also took a day tour to Milford Sound where we cruised along the waters and were in awe of the towering rock faces, dolphins and seals.

Across the South Island and through it's stunning landscapes to the East coast and to the town of Dunedin, a Scottish Settlement. We cruised with Jucy (The fridge in serious need of a good cleaning at this stage) along the Penisula and wandered among sheep through the countryside. What followed was a well deserved visit to Speights Brewery where we had a free bar and could pour your own...Ivan would have sent the place into liquidation! Our last stop was Christchurch where we just hung about and met up with Hannah once again for a few jars. We did manage to take a spin out to Akaora, a French settlement and rent a kayak for the day..am beginning to get the hang of this rowing malarky...thanks to Jenn!!!

After 3 incredible action packed weeks, Jenn and I were sad to say farewell to Jucy and to one another. Where did the time go??? New Zealand is just a stunning country, I could see myself being quite content living this slow pace yet adventurous lifestyle.. the whole trip was, as the Kiwis say themselves...SWEET AS!!!

Pix @ New Zealand Album

Aussie Aussie Aussie!

A taste of Oz!

Queenstown, New Zealand 11/10/2008 (Afternoon)

A day of complete madness Part II

Still can't believe I done it all!!!

Queenstown, New Zealand 11/10/2008 (Morning)

A day of complete madness Part I

OR View the Video

Stay tuned for Part II :-))

Footy update

Hi Miss Byrne, sounds like you're having a ball over there. Speaking of balls (cos I know you're fond of them), here's a footy update (you asked me to keep you appraised of the Ireland results/fixtures). We drew 1-1 with Norway on Wednesday. Robbie Keane scored for us 1st half and they equalised after an hour. We played well but it pissed rain in the 2nd half and no good football could be played. On September 6th we play Georgia away in a qualifier, K.O. is 17:00 Irish time. This however could change as there is the small matter of the Russians invading the country, shooting everyone and bombing the shit out of the place. A neutral venue has been mooted but a final decision will be made next week. On September 10th we play Montenegro away, K.O. at 18:00 Irish time. So there you go, get down the launderette and make sure your lucky green knickers are clean for those games and hopefully you'll find a bar with Sky/Setanta. Enjoy!

South East Asia (Part 4)

Vietnam (The Land of a Million Motos) 14/07/2008 - 29/07/2008

I was a little weary about traveling in Vietnam, most of the stories I'd heard from travelers on the road were negative. I was told if I thought Cambodia was soul bashing and toot infested, wait until I got to Vietnam! For me, my experience was au contraire..I absolutely adored the country! I will no doubt revisit for it's cheap Bia Hoi beer, for the friendliness of the natives and their cheeky smiles but most of all for their playful yet crafty ability to squeeze a Dollar out of you at any given opportunity. Oh and not forgetting their traditional dish of rice noodle soup called Pho, it's to die for.

Being the only westerner and sitting at the rear, absorbing every bump during the 9hr ride to Hoi Chi Man City (HCMC), I got acquinted with the locals. Even though none of them spoke a word of English, they kept talking to me, feeding me with God knows what and handing me cigarettes! By the end of the trip the back of the bus was alive with locals singing their hearts out and insisting I joined in...I had no idea what I was singing but I didn't care, I was having a great welcoming party!

Arriving in HCMC I couldn't believe my eyes the amount of motorcycles on the streets! Crossing the street was somewhat of a challenge, I soon mastered the technique of putting my foot out, holding my breath and just praying they scoot around you. I stayed in the Pham Ngu Lao Area of the city, a backpacker area pretty close to all the main sights. In a day or so sightseeing I done the Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum (Not for the faint hearted!) and the Museum of HCMC. A day trip to Cu Chi tunnels followed where I crawled through a small part of the 200km narrow tunnel network made by the Viet Cong in the American War. For something like $5 I got the opportunity to fire an AK47 machine gun. However, I did totally miss the target but thankfully no one was in the vacinity to be wounded ;-)

It was in HCMC where I once again hooked up with my good traveling and card playing buddies, Jenn and Paul. We set off together to the Mekong Delta for 2 day/1 night tour. By boat along the Mekong we visited local villages making rice paper and coconut candy and experienced the fruit and veg floating market on the river. We stayed 1 night in Can Tho which has a great statue of Ho Chi Minh himself and some pretty decent bars and restos. It was also on the Mekong Delta that I overcame my snake phobia for 5 seconds and held a Phython around my shoulders...my skin is still crawling when I think about it! It was back to HCMC and onto a night bus bound north to Mui Ne. Arriving after 1 in the morning, accomodation was hard to find. We did get sorted in the end with the help of a passing motocyclist, shouting "Cheap Hotel" surprisingly enough. We took a tour to the fishing village and the magnificant red and white sand dunes where we all had a go at sand sledging...fun but somehow I just couldn't gain speed and always ended up stopping due to the mountain of sand I'd created in front of me.

The Central Highlands was on the cards next, Dalat the City of Eternal Spring. The higher altitude, cooler tempature and bizarre sights were what brought us to this charming little town. We visited it's old Cog Railway station, Datana Falls where you could take a mini rollercoaster ride to get to, took a 2.3km cable car ride with stunning views of the area, paid a visit to Hnag Nga Crazy House with it's bizarre Alice in Wonderland architecture and not forgetting played cards a lot.

Our first experience of a Vietnamese night bus was from Dalat to Hoi An. Comfy seats which fully reclined, a good night's sleep was had by all. Around Hoi An you have My Son, spectacular ruins of an ancient Cham empire and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Also you have a fantastic white sand beach called Cua Dai Beach which we paid a short visit. The Old town of Hoi An itself is charming with it's historic architecture and narrow streets. It's also known for it's affordable custom-made clothing. We managed to fit in a local Dance and Musical show in the old part even after discovering a bar by the river that sold beer for 4,000 Vietnamese Dong, that comes to about 0.16 in Euro terms!

Via another comfy night bus we found ourselves in the fast capital Hanoi. After arriving and burning my leg off the exhaust of a motorcycle, Jenn and I had booked a 2day/1 night cruise to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. This has to be the most beautiful place I've been to in Vietnam. 3,000 islands and another UNESCO World Heritage Site, on an old yet charming wooden cruise boat we visited caves and done some kayaking in the South China Sea. Just a few sights in Hanoi were done, weather hindering plus cheap beer and card playing got addictive. A walk or two around Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple, Hoa Lo Prison home to Senator John McCain during the American War and we supposedly had The Best Pho in Vietnam in a tiny resto, I'm not so convienced myself! We also were regulars in The Finnegans Irish Pub where the owner is a good mate of Paul. It was in Finnegans on my last eve that my great Irish traveling buddy and talented musician Paul performed a live gig, a calm evening that turned into an all-nighter!

Sadly after 2 weeks of great laughs and adventures it was time to say goodbye to Vietnam and my traveling co. I had to get back to Bangkok as I'd arranged to hook up with an Irish Traveler I'd met in Hippy Pai and to go see a Thai boxing match. From there I was on a cheap Air Asia flight out to Macau.

Some pix @ VISIONARY VIETNAM

South East Asia (Part 3)

Cambodia (A World of Treasures)
30/06/2008 - 14/07/2008

Crossing the Mekong by car ferry (i.e. an unstable wooden plate carrying vehicles secured by rocks lodged under the wheels), we made our way to Voen Kham on the Laos/Cambodia border. We had a slight disagreement with the Laos passport control when we each refused to pay a $1 admin fee for the exit stamp, they retaliated by refusing to stamp our passports. Our 2nd attempt was successful, incognito (we switched rain jackets and went singular) and a crisp $1 bill discreetly tucked in our passports, we were greeted with a smile from the official and each were punched with a fresh ink stamp. After a change of mini-bus and visas sorted, we were over the border and on our way to Kratie, where we were told we would need to change bus once again. This turned into a total mess as the bus company had overbooked, some American guys were having none of it and started a full blown argument with the bus driver. Eventually one generous guy gave up his seat and the Americans called it a truse. We got moving, roughly 30 of us squashed into a 25 seater bus bracing ourselves for another painstaking, limb numbing, back breaking 10 hours before we got to Phnom Penh. I don't think there's much rules or regulations in Cambodia for how many continuous hours one can drive, as towards the end of the trip the bus driver appeared to be fast asleep and swerving off the road. Several strikes to the shoulder by the front passenger seemed to do the trick and we were soon back on the road again!

It was about 1 in the morning before we got to the capital and were greeted by the usual toots I had by now become well accustomed to. "Hey Lady!", "Tuk-Tuk Lady?" or "Cheap hotel Lady?" are phrases you just cannot escape from in this part of the World! We eventually gave in to the toots and stayed 2 nights in a cheap hotel in the Boeng Kak area with a great view of the lake. Our 1 day sight seeing in Phnom Penh consisted mostly of familiarizing ourselves with the dark history of the Khmer Rouge. In Tuol Sleng Museum, once a school then turned into a Security Prison by Pol Pot's regime, you have rooms where only a rusty bed stands and hovering over it a disturbing picture of the torture carried out on a prisoner. You also have mug shots of the many prisoners and the security forces (men, women and more disturbing, young children). I read some testaments on why the people took part in the Khmer Rouge regime, lack of food and shelter were the main reasons. It was then onto the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek where most of the prisoners were executed. It can only be described as a mass grave! On the grounds there's a tall Stupa with glass windows served as a memorial. Through the glass you can see about 9,000 human skulls piled which were excavated from the graves.

To be honest I was not a big fan of Phnom Penh, I felt bad vibes! I have no doubt I picked up on it's dark history with the Khmer Rouge, I could not wait to leave the place. There were some good points to the city though, it's Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda are beautiful and the Khmer cuisine is pretty good. After our grim sightseeing we watched The Killing Fields movie in our Hotel and ended our evening by sharing a Happy pizza (An ingredient used in a lot of the Khmer cooking and all too often found on menus in Phnom Penh restaurants!).

The town of Siem Reap was up next! Housing The Eight Wonder of the World, seeing The Temples of Angkor was my main reason for coming to Cambodia. This is also the place where I saw the toots at their best! As our bus pulled into the local bus station, the tuk-tuk drivers and hotel reps woke from their midday nap and stormed towards the bus. If you've seen the movie I am Legend, I felt like Will Smith's character when he was trapped in his basement with nothing but glass between himself and the zombies! After wiping out 10 toots whilst swinging my backpack onto my back, we followed one guy who promised us "Cheap hotel"! From there we rented a tuk-tuk driver and a guide and spent two and half days exploring the vast area with it's countless temples. One stunning temple had to be Ta Phrom, with huge tree roots strangling it's structure. For the movie lovers, this temple was filmed in one of the Tomb Raider movies. The highlights had to be experiencing sunrise over Angkor Wat itself and seeing the temple of Bayon, a structure with 216 faces of Avalokiteshvara, a representation of compassion in Buddhism. We also caught a performance of traditional Cambodian dance while we were in Siem Reap, a beautiful mesmerizing and seductive show. It was at Siem Reap where I bid farewell to my Italian companions and made my way to Battambang.

On the bus I found myself another great traveling companion, Jenn from The States! In Battambang we both took a course together at the Smokin' Pot. Aha not what you think my friends...it was a Thai and Khmer cooking class! Before sweating over a stove, we were brought to the local market where we had to buy our ingredients. Our tutor gave us some explanations on all the strange produce for sell. We also had the pleasure of seeing our fish being killed by several sharp blows to the head with the back of a knife and got to taste some fresh ants...yups Cambodia is not for the squeamish! I forgot to mention that while I was in Bangkok I tasted some fried crickets, they tasted like crisps to be honest...they were good! Jenn and I were then off to Sihanoukville to hit the beach and do some trekking in Ream National Park. Our day trekking was a washout as it rained the whole time but we did meet 2 more great traveling companions, Irish Paul and Dutch Amit. We pretty much chilled for a few days on the beach, eating BBQ fresh fish, drinking cocktails and being constantly bothered by locals selling bracelets, manicures, threading (a strange form of ridding leg hair with common sewing thread.) or massages. This place done nothing for your self esteem, their selling technique was quite direct by telling you that your nail polish was last season, you looked stressed or your legs needed a good seeing to. Nonetheless I did love the place for it's tiny little huts come restos/bars along the beach and it's stream of cheesy music. It was onto Kampot with Jenn from there to visit some Pepper plantations, the bat infested caves of Phnom Chhnork and also a reservoir built by the Khmer Rouge. Both of us done the whole tour on the back of one motorcycle with a guide who looked like he was part of Khmer Rouge regime. I think we got a little sunstroke after the tour as we were both glowing and drunk after 1 Angkor beer!

Sadly Jenn and I took different paths from there (We'd planned to meet up in Vietnam again), she moved on to Phnom Penh (there was no way I was going back there!) and I to the small town of Kep to get a boat to the desert Rabbit Island. This place is another paradise! Fantastic beaches with only 1 or 2 huts selling food and drink and hammocks dotted along the shore, my day was spent swinging and reading in the shade. From there I decided I had enough of Cambodia and it was time to move on again....Vietnam here I come!! It was like a motorcycle relay getting from Kep across into Vietnam. First it was a motocycle to just inside the border, there I transferred to another motorcycle to get across to Ha Tien. Once across I was put on my third motorcycle which brought me to a small dirt town called Ba Hon where I jumped onto a local bus to Hoi Chi Man City...I felt like I'd just been smuggled across the border!

TO BE CONT...

Some pix @ CHARMING CAMBODIA

South East Asia (Part 2)

Laos (Land of a Million Elephants)
17/06/2008 - 30/06/2008

I was on my way to South East Asia's most laid back and relaxing country to travel in. Befriending a great group of backpackers (Irish, Canadian, American & English) on the bumpy ride to the border and during a very quick overnight stay in Chiang Khong, we all got our passports stamped and visas sorted and then crossed the border into the Laos town of Huay Xai. The Slowboat bound for Luang Prabang awaited us, but not before a visit to the local shop to stock up on provisions for the bum breaking 2 day trip.

We were the last to board the long 'seen better days' wooden boat. With no seats to our avail, we made ourselves comfortable at the rear using the piled luggage as a lounge area. The deafening engine noise was filtered out by the iPod (speakers brought by a fellow Genius traveler) and of course by the consumption of provisions ;-) Going to the bathroom was a challenge to say the least. As the boat was chockablock, the only way to get to the charming hole-in-the-floor-restroom located in the centre of the boat was to do a Spiderman impression. The trick was to cling to the side of the boat as much as possible and pull yourself along the narrow edge..after a jug or 2 full of BeerLao, one's balance is a little off..from personal experience I wouldn't recommend mixing both alcohol and doing an extreme sport!

At the end of the 1st day we reached our overnight stop at Pak Beng. This place was a tiny little village with just a few guesthouses catering for the daring Slowboat passenger and with electricity for about 4 hours per day. We had dinner overlooking the Mekong river and as soon as the clock hit 11pm the power went out and we were left to drink our BeerLao in the dark. It was incredible how the dark night came alive, the moon peeking through the clouds, the croaking of frogs (at least we hope they were!) and the bombardment of insects (creatures I have never seen before!) whilst Ghost stories were exchanged around the table...I don't think many of us slept that night! The trip the following day consisted of much the same, consuming of provisions and several heroic visits to the bathroom. At 6pm we finally made it safe and sound to Luang Prabang.

Another favorite of mine so far has to be the UNESCO protected World Heritage town of Luang Prabang. A charming place with French influence, where one can stroll along tiny old streets and admire the French Mansions and buy local items from the Handicraft night market. The little town is also dotted with many beautiful Wats, my favorite being Phu Si. It took a little effort to climb to but the views of the town and it's surroundings were well worth it. I done a day biking in the countryside around Luang Prabang and visited a local hand weaving silk factory and went to the multi-tiered waterfall of Tat Kuang Si with it's many shades of turquoise pools.

From Luang Prabang I made my way to Phonsavan by local bus where I met a great German couple (Eva & Martin from Berlin). My reason for visiting this place was to see The Plain of Jars. I was not expecting to step into the twilight zone and feel like I was living in a kind of warzone! Every restaurant and hotel in the place were decorated with war scraps, be it shells, bullets, grenades, mines, tanks, guns or missiles..you name it, they had it! My hotel was even located at the edge of an old airfield. I came to know that this province has the most UXO's (Unexploded Ordinance), gifts left during the secret war. About 30% of the whopping 260 million ordinance dropped between 1964 and 1973 failed to explode and still scarily threaten to detonate, maiming and killing many of the local people. MAG (The Mine Advisory Board) still work hard to clear the land to make it safe for locals to cultivate and live off it.

Thankfully MAG had already cleared the area of The Plain of Jars and walk paths were well marked out. It was incredible to see thousands of huge jars scattered around the countryside. Their true origin and purpose are unknown, some say they were used as ash urns and others say they were used in the brewing process of the local rice whiskey called Lao-Lao..I prefer to go with the brewing story myself! Not only is Lao-Lao lethal but I also tried the Snake and Gecko drink. How can I describe it..it's a drink with a terrible sting to it!!! A delicacy with snake, gecko and scorpion stewed in the alcohol..I was grateful for the BeerLoa at hand to wash the nasty taste away...definitely not for the faint-hearted.

By local night bus it was onto the capital of Vientiane. I did get a bit of a fright as I woke up on arrival to only see a local disembarking holding a machine gun! It was a quick 1 night stop with a stroll around the Wats and to see it's Arc de Triomphe, Patuxai. The victory monument and it's surroundings which commemorates the Lao people who died in pre-revolutionary wars, make you feel like you're on The Champs Elysee in Paris. That evening Martin, Eva and I enjoyed a few BeerLao's on the riverbank and the cocktail Happy Hours in the centre of town. Yet another local night bus (onboard karaoke inclusive) took me south to Savannakhet where I enjoyed sitting by the riverbank and visiting the Dinosaur Museum. A strange place to have such a museum I thought but apparently the Savannakhet province has 5 dinosaur and archeological sites. Then it was on to Pakse and from there to the once capital of Lao, Champasak. On my way I met another great couple from Italy, Eleanora and Marco. We hired bikes and cycled to Wat Champasak for the day. The Wat, once Hindu and was later converted into a Buddhist temple. It was a great taste of what was yet to come in my travels, the mother of all temples...Angkor Wat.

From Champasak, together we made our way to Si Phon Don (Four Thousand Islands) in the hope of catching a glimpse of the rare Irrawaddy dolphins. After many debates with the locals and fellow travelers about it being low season and whether we would get to see one or not, we decided to take our chances nonetheless. While we stayed on the main island Don Khong (where we always had to wake the locals to get any service!), we rented a boat for the day to take us south to Don Khon to do some dolphin spotting. It was incredible how many different colours of butterflies we saw hovering over the Mekong, it felt like we were in a fairytale. And the amount of kids on the banks waving to the tourists, I read somewhere that nearly 50% of the Lao population is under the age of 15. On Don Khon island, we cycled around and then jumped into a small (and may I add leaking!) boat to take us further south and across the water to the Cambodian border. Luck was with us that day, we were only 5 seconds in the area when our captain pointed and shouted 'DOLPHIN!' and there they were popping up for air...it made our day! That night was a bit of a late one with the local BeerLao, while we watched the Euro 2008 final with some French and Spanish. With miraculously clear heads early next morning, we were mini-bus bound to a new country, The Kingdom of Cambodia, home of Angkor Wat.

TO BE CONT...

Some pix @ LOVELY LAOS PICTURES

South East Asia (Part I)

Thailand (The Land of Smiles) 05/06/2551 - 16/06/2551

Next up was South East Asia, first stop Bangkok, Thailand! It was great to be back in a city with a western feel after a long crazy month in India.
In The Land of Smiles, the moment I landed at Suvarnabhumi International Airport I felt the warmth and positive energy of the Thai people. Wherever I went I was welcomed with a heart warming smile, whenever I needed help with directions people were more than happy to stop and assist.

During the few days of acclimatization in Bangkok and finally realizing I hadn't time traveled 540 odd years into the future but that Thailand lived by the Buddhist calendar, I set myself another challenge! That being to explore 4 countries (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam) within the 7 weeks I had roughly planned for SEA, this continent was new and unknown territory to me and I wanted to squeeze as much as possible in. Once I'd seen The City of Angels countless extra-ordinary Buddhist temples, it's fast skytrain, mammoth shopping malls, curiously good looking women/men (still very confused about that one!) and not forgetting the notorious backpacker area of Khao San Rd, I packed my freshly washed clothes and headed north, to Chiang Mai.

I had no idea how I was going to accomplish my given challenge but with the Thai positivity rubbing off on me, I was pretty sure it could be done.
I tasted the real Thailand once I arrived in Chiang Mai. In the old city surrounded by a medieval moat, I spent hours getting lost in the many markets and the night Bizaar, tasting different types of Thai food (BTW, their pineapples are to die for!!) and getting off on the friendly and hospitable atmosphere. OK I'll be honest, I did spent some time in the UN Irish Pub as the weather was a little rainy at times ;-)
I visited a native Karen village, a Hmong village and sat and spoke with the natives and watched them weave scarfs. I also done some Elephant riding (nearly feel off several times) and bamboo rafting..now this was an experience! Some of you may or may not know that I am not the World's strongest swimmer and won't be winning any Olympic medals in this lifetime! I nearly cr@pped myself when I first caught glimpse of the semi-floating vessel and it's incredibly hyperactive captain! Expecting to die a very wet and suffocating death, the whole experience was a total blast! Our captain/rower who was just plain crazy, kept looking for trouble with passing rafts by splashing and crashing into them whilst heading down stream on mildly strong rapids. I survived the whole thing but not without been drenched to the core.

I was then on the Hippie trail, to the Hippie town of Pai...what a buzz man ;-) This place had to be my favorite in Thailand. Surrounded by mountains and a haven for trekking, I was hypnotized by the laid back make love not war atmosphere and the countless little bars selling cheap beer ;-) My accommodation however had to be the most "challenging" yet! My bed for the night was in riverside hut on stilts (2 euro/night) made entirely of bamboo and leaves. I had to drink that extra bottle of Chang Beer to drown the thought of being rudely woken by a late visit from a reptile of the long and slithery kind. I done well to do a day's trekking along rice fields and waterfalls with a guide who was just the grooviest, by preparing our lunch in the jungle and serving it to us on plates freshly made out of Banana leaves. I also treated myself to my first Thai massage, a totally far out experience, Dudes they really do stand on you!! :-)

A friend and keen traveler had given me a hint about getting into Laos from the North of Thailand the hard way...yups am a glutton for punishment. I headed further north by minibus through the windiest, steepest and bumpiest roads yet to the small town of Chiang Khong were I was to cross the Thai/Laos border and board the Slowboat which would take me to Luang Prabang via the Mekong River...TO BE CONT...

Some pix @ A TASTE OF THAILAND

Werchter 2008 - The ultimate debauchery (!?)

Hóigh Dudie,

How are thingies ?

After weeks of working day and night, at last found some time to post a (small) report on this years Werchter party.
As the Werchter line-up was a bit disappointing for us, we decided to put the stress on beer this year ....

OK, here we go !
An early assembly was sounded on Thurs (7am) at Frans's place (yearly tradition).
Although my little girl was joining for one day, did not stop us from another tradition ... stop at the first petrol station to knock down our first booze
(Peter is lacking on this pic as he joined on Fri eve).









Traffic jams and slurping beer was effective ....














After we pitched our tent (for the first time since human rememberance, we managed to rope this thing together in less than half an hour), it was more than time to have our first Werchter beers. The place2b is our Werchter local : 'bij Valère'. Man, man, man, was this guy glad to see us ! Hist first and famous words 'den iesten is van maai hé' (English translation : the first one is on the house). Not so very surprising as the half of his turnover in the morning depends on 'de mannen van Kortrijk' :)

After levelling up the alcohol in our blood (or what's left of it), we headed for the holy ground to see 'Air Traffic'. My little girl was overwelmed by the atmosphere.

Apart from having beers and gorge ourselves with the gastronomical delicacies (aka burges and fries with mayo), we watched (as far as I can remember) :
- Air Traffic : disappointed this time ... but I was happy with my 'pintje'
- Mika : I do not know if alcohol had to do with it, but the pasture (including me :s) went crazy on the tones of 'Big Girl' ... sorry for that !
After this ordeal the next couple of hours were devoted on reinforcing ourselves (read : we had a couple one's ;).
- Lenny Kravitz : been there done that
- REM : same applies
- Chemical Bros : No thank ya, last year was enough .... BEEEEEEEEEEEER !

For some guys the drinking pace was too fast .... poor Mario


















Day 2 :
Major hangover ... SOMEONE must have put something in my beer last night ! :@
Oh well, after our traditional 'Bacon and eggs' spiced with coffee and a 'pintje', I reached the status 'NORMAL' again.
Will not bother ya with a report on all bands I've seen and how may beers we 'chopped' ... only 2 things
- Duffy : surprise, surprise, I rub my eyes ... Barbie lives and really can sing
- Slayer : Man oh man, they ROCK !!!!

Unfortunately Frans had some problems with his foot, and after mistreatment ... hehe.. of the Red Cross (thanks B. ), he had to leave us :(
In the meantime Peter had joined us, so the real 'swinery' started, beer fights included.














Day 3 :
Did not sleep ... too much noise : Who started shouting 'OERE' ?!? :@
Anyways : a shower, breaky and a fruit juice .... fruit juice .... NO, to healthy man : beer and nothing but ...

Saw 'Gossip' : Cruella Deville in XXXXXXXXXL version














Apart from the fact that the Hives think they are God and the 'Editors' and 'Kings of Leon' were TOP (!), we met some old skool Kortrijk guys at Valère's in the eve. Major bender ... and despite this we managed to attend the Radiohead act (headliner on Sat).
Only one word for this exciting band : BOOOOOOOORING !

Peter emphasizes this on the next pics





















Day 4 :
Ok, let's throw ourselves into the last day of major fun ...




















Counting down again ... only 11 months left ...

Hope to enjoy your company again next year !!! :)

Ahoj from the beer garden

Ahoj duderino

How's it hanging ?

Just a short message on yer blog to let ya know I'm having an absolute blast in Prague and it just seems to be getting better and better !
Man, I'm not even gone yet and I already miss this city.
And I sure do love the Czech beer, lighter than the Belgian beer so I can just keep going on the stuff. Haven't needed a shandy since I arrived here, haha.

May was wicked football-wise : Sparta Prague messed up completely in the end so Slavia needed just 1 point in their final game to win the league. Luck would have it their new Eden stadium (wich will also be used for international games) had just been officially inaugarated and they got special permission to use it for the decisive last league game (oh those Czechs : on matchday there were still guys working on some outer sections, cables and wires were hanging around, ...). I queued for almost 2 hours the day sales started but got me tickets and boy, was it worth it ! The game was crap but Slavia got the draw they needed (2-2) and I joined the celebrations in style after the final whistle : on the pitch ! Wicked :-)

Actually, June has been pretty mad football-wise as well : watched tons of Euro08 games with mates from all over the globe on the big screens in the big beer garden in the park a 5 minute walk from my place. Telling ya, was almost living there at certain points, had I brought me tent, they'd 've charged me rent :-)
But what can ya expect : hot weather and lovely cold beer at roughly a Euro a pint !

Not sure if you saw a lot of Euro08 but it's been pretty ok. Turkey became known as the comeback kids : scoring 3 times in 15 minutes when being 2-0 down against the Czechs (the last 2 goals in the final 5 mins) and kicking out Croatia with penalties (the Croats scored in the 119th minute but the Turks equalized in the 121st !).
Holland impressed but were surprisingly halted by new Russian stars Arshavin and Zhirkov (commonly referred to in the beer garden as Arse Shavin' and Jerk Off).
As for the final : Lineker once famously said something like 'football is a game of 90 mins and then the Germans win'. I had a sinking feeling I'd have to say : football is a game you watch in the beer garden for 2 weeks and then the Germans win. But nope, Spain finally pulled it off.

Oh, by the way, a little fait-divers : that Burj tower in Dubai ? It's being constructed by the same company that's building my flat in Brussels ! How cool is that, huh ?

Right, matey, I'm off for now.
You keep enjoying your trip, yeah, and keep the posts coming (backpacked in some of the places you're going as well, so some of yer posts bring back memories).

Incredible India (05/05/08 - 05/06/08)

My first stop in India was Karol Bagh, New Delhi. Even though it was a whopping 35 degrees at 1 o'clock in the morning, I was never more happy to have 20 kg on my back with my feet firmly on the ground. My flight from Dubai to Delhi was a little traumatic to say the least. Due to stormy weather we circled the airport for over 1 hour, making 3 turbulent attempts to land. After listening to 60 minutes (it felt like a lifetime!) of most of the cabin screaming for their lives, the captain calmly informed us to brace ourselves as we were about to attempt yet another "safe" landing. Only after we finally touched ground did I truly know the meaning of the all too familiar phrase "I wanted to kiss the ground!!!"

Once that feeling and the terrible fear of flying had worn off, I caught a Kingfisher flight north to Srinagar in Kashmir. Kashmir's scenery and landscapes just took my breath away, it's heaven on Earth. My accommodation for the first few days was a houseboat on the Dal lake, where I befriended a charming Kashmir family, owners of many houseboats and other touristic establishments around India. The days were spent chilling on the roof with fellow backpackers and watching locals and tourists pass by in what they call Shikaras. It was amazing how many species of birds we spotted, especially birds of prey (Scott, you would have loved it!!), circling over head in search of dinner. I loved Dal lake with it's lotus flowers, water lillies, it's floating vegetable garden and many little islands where you can stop off for a picnic. I took a trip or 2 in and around Srinagar to see the 14th century Shah Hamadan Mosque (made entirely of wood) and the many surrounding colourful Mughal gardens.

After lounging around doing hardly anything for a few days I felt impelled to do something active so I signed up for a week's trekking in the Himalayas. The first night at base camp was with most of the backpackers from the houseboat, sitting around the fire playing cards and watching shooting stars. On the 2nd day I set off by myself with 2 young guides, 2 horses carrying all our gear and Abdul my chef for the week. This incredible man really made an impression on me. An elderly gentleman full of energy, able to function on 2 hours sleep a night, stamina of a young mountain goat skipping his way up the side of steep mountain faces (whilst chain smoking the entire time), and being able to cook a mean Kashmiri curry on just a tiny hob fueled by kerosene. Whilst trekking I froze when out of the blue, from no where a black bear appeared and walked straight across my path! Another incredible sight to see, I think my heart and lungs stopped functioning until it had scrambled out of our view. Some people do these treks for months on end, a week out in the wilderness and being cut off from the world was more than enough for me. This is something I would recommend anyone to do, the beauty and experience itself is mind blowing! Not only does it challenge your physical fitness, your mental strength is also put to the test.

I returned to Karol Bagh, New Delhi to see some of the sights but more to savour being back in civilization again. During those few days I found a good drinking buddy (coffee as well as beer) named Hannah and I also met another fellow traveler named Guillaume. Most evenings were spent in the QBA on Connught Place where we made good use of their Happy hour. One evening we had the opportunity to gatecrash a promotional party in a 5 star Hotel! What can I say but I could not pass on an opportunity to drink free vodka and orange by a pool and talk to drunk rich people for a whole night.

Once the recuperation process was once again complete I set off to Rajasthan (Including Agra) for 10 days with my own personal driver called Sunil. Sunil became another good friend along my journey. 2 nights were spent in Jaipur with a lovely Chilian lady called Sol, we done the City Palace and Amber Fort and we also had the opportunity to experience a true Indian Wedding and watch our 1st Bollywood movie (Taskan, recommend watching it, if only for the random burst of song in between some great action shots) in the local cinema. Next was Udaipur, a fairytale city full of marble palaces and lakes surrounded by hills. It has the largest City Palace in Rajasthan, built and added on by 22 different Maharanas. I also took a stroll through the Saheliyan Ki Bari, an 18th century queen's garden full of roses and lotus pools.
Then it was on to Pushkar, a pilgrim town of lakes and 400 temples where I got some henna done on my hand and then my final Rajasthan stop was Ranthambhore National Park where I done 2 safari's and saw a Tiger in the flesh from about 300m, give or take a few metres!

Because of the Gujjar situation going on in Rajasthan, Sunil and I had to turn back (while making our way to Agra) and stay an extra night in Ranthambhore. Our first attempt to escape was unsuccessful due to a burning truck in the middle of the road. Whilst hanging back (from a fair distance) to see if it would clear we befriended yet more local people looking for a free cigarette. Sunil & I made the most of the situation and took a spin back to the nearest town to grab a beer and past the time until the road cleared...we were out of luck that day...it didn't! Our second attempt the following day was a 200km detour on mostly dirt roads. Sunil was on a mission, he would not let me leave India without seeing the Taj Mahal..bless him! With Sunil's expertise is blind corner overtaking and playing chicken with on coming traffic, I think I had my fingernails in the car dashboard for most of the 10 days. The amount of funny stuff I seen on the roads...Indian buses with bodies hanging off everywhere, one hand hanging on for dear life and the other used to talk on a mobile phone, The Indian Spidermen as Sunil called them. Traffic going the wrong direction on motorways, cyclists catching a free ride off the back of speeding trucks and I even saw a guy on the back of a motorbike sitting on a huge milk drum...just comical! The detour was well worth the adventure and stress as I got to see India's most admired masterpiece, another thing struck off my list!

On my return to Delhi Sunil invited me back to meet his family and have some homemade food...again I could not resist! I found his family (To be honest my experience with all Indian people) to be so welcoming and warm, the wedding album was even taken out at one stage and I was given a full rundown of the Happy couple's special day.

Last stop was a trip to Bangalore to see my good friend Jose and his wife Carrie. I was pampered a little and even got my laundry done. It was so great to see them again and to see them happy with their move to India. No sight seeing was done apart from going to the Leela Hotel for their cheap (massive) buffet and of course I took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. I was sad to leave India after a month of madness, I was very tempted to extend my stay but my schedule is tight as it is..best to leave on a good note and on to discover new people and cultures.

To see just a few of the thousands of pictures I took you can click on the link below:

Incredible India Album

Hope you enjoy...I certainly did! :-)

Jordan and Dubai (28/04/08 - 05/05/08)

A brief post for 2 brief visits to Jordan and Dubai.
My main reason for stopping off in Jordan was to visit Petra, one of the new wonders of the world known as a rose-red city half as old as time. I took a 3 hour mini bus ride from Amman where I met 3 American students studying in Cairo who were traveling the Middle East on their mid-term break. An entire day was spent exploring the archaeological site, admiring each rock-cut structure and trying to figure out how each temple and cave came to be.






While in Amman I visited the Roman amphitheatre, a huge theatre which once could seat 6000 people. On the amphitheatre's grounds are 2 interesting museums: the Museum of Popular Tradition and the Folklore Museum. I found it an oasis of peace with not many tourists but plenty of people sitting down and reading a good book.

Dubai I experienced thanks to a very hospitable friend named Sara, who drove me around this crazily rich place which could also be described as an entire construction site. Imagine my horror when I was told that you had to have a license to buy alcohol, I soon calmed down after my friend informed me that she lived right next door to The Irish Village where alcohol was easily purchasable and plentiful. We drove out on one of the 3 man-made Palm Islands, a huge project to be finish within the next 10-15 years. A spin was taken down Sheikh Zayed Road and several strolls along Jumeirah beach admiring the many huge and expensive properties, only in my wildest dreams could I imagine myself living here!


I got a great glimpse of the Burj Dubai, tallest man-made structure on earth. The building is expected to be at least 162 floors high and at a height of 2,684 ft.
A few things I found amusing about Dubai were the lower your car license plate number and the stronger your window tint are the richer you must be! Oh and even the bus stops are air-conditioned!
The only thing that disappointed me about my visit to Dubai was my failure to meet any of the rich Sheikhs! ;-)

A quick update from India!

Hi All!

Just a quick message to let you all know that I'm alive, well and still very much kicking :-)

I'm in Pushkar, Rajasthan melting from the heat for the moment! I'm doing a typical tourist route of Jaipur, Udaipur, Pushkar and Ranthambhore National Park where I very much hope to finally catch just a glimpse of a feline predator, the tiger.

Incredible India has so far lived up to it's name, trekking in the Himalayas, lounging around on a boathouse in Kashmir, seeing Delhi by day and night and experiencing the magnificent cultures. You'll also be glad to hear that I'm working very hard at keeping my social tolerance at bay by drinking plenty of Kingfisher beers, indulging myself in spicy curries and meeting a lot of interesting characters along the way.

I hope to post a full update with tons of pictures very soon.

Áine xox

Back where we belong : FIRST DIVISION !

Hey Dudie,

At last, we're back in the Belgian football Walhalla :-)
After drinking rivers of beer and celebrating for more than one week, I kinda start to live normal (what's in the name) again.

Anderlecht, Club Brugge, Standard, ... have already 'shit' in their pants by the very thought that they have to face us next season, LOL ;-)

Anyways, hopefully you're back before these top games, so you can enjoy our victories and after-parties ... oh well, win or lose, we always party !


KVK CHAMPIONS ALWAYS !!!

Mucho Matza in Israel (18/04/08 - 28/04/08)

I arrived in Israel at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover, celebrating the Israelites escaping the clutches and enslavement of the Pharaohs and crossing over into Israel. Ironically enough I had just done the same trek, no doubt my crossing into Israel was much easier for those in the biblical times. My troubles only begin when I entered Eilat airport to catch a cheap flight to Tel Aviv. I had plenty of time to waste...well so I thought! Little did I know I would make my flight by the skin of my teeth. OK hands up I was ignorant of a few things. Firstly the airport was chocablock with people going home or traveling for the holiday period, something I hadn't taken into account. Secondly I was ignorant of the fact that Egypt had yet to put their clocks forward for day light saving time and Israel already had, for sure a topic one should think about brushing up on whilst traveling around the World. And thirdly and more importantly being a lone Irish female traveler has the tendency to raise The National Threat condition from a low green to a high orange, what can I say in my defense here?!

From the moment I had my backpack off my back at security until the moment I was escorted by security to my flight gate I felt like an outcast and for some unknown reason guilty of something or other. During the 2 hour interogation I'd given my life story a million times and amused them with my future travel plans, my itinerary they failed to fathom. I was told eventually I could go but that my belongings, which were entirely stripped of me in the beginning, were to be sent on the next flight out BUT to a different airport in Tel Aviv. Eventually onboard I befriended an Egyptian who was also interogated in the adjacent cubicle, he told me it was standard procedure here in Israel and that he was well used to being dragged through the mill.

My first experience of Israel aside, I found the country stunning and the people friendly and welcoming. I stayed with some good friends in Tel Aviv where I paid my board by walking their dog daily. I was pampered and fed kosher food, all meals accompanied by Matza a dry cracker traditonally only eaten during Passover. I could not get enough of their Houmous, at any given chance I was stuffing my face with the stuff. My visits and sightseeing were at a slower pace than the rest of my trip so far. It was good to have my backpack off my back for more than a day, so I embellished by becoming a little lazy. I took a trip to Caesarea, an ancient port, a Crusader and Roman city with a fantastic Roman theater facing the Mediterranean sea.

I visited Acre or Akko one of the oldest continously inhabited cities in the world with small alleys and streets full of remnants of the Crusader, Muslim and Ottoman conquerors. I walked through the Rosh Hanikra caves right on the Israel and Lebanon border, the Mediterranean coast here is the most beautiful I have seen yet. I paid a short visit to the city of Haifa to see the Bahai gardens and its fantastic panoramic view of the city and its port.

I also took a day's outing to the oasis of Ein Gedi on The Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, 400m below sea level. I relaxed, floated and took in the scenery of the surrounding Judean Desert. Closeby is the Judean fortress of Mesada, famous for the 1st Jewish-Roman war where the Jewish solders committed mass suicide when defeat was imminent. In Jerusleum I visited David's Tower and walked along the western wall and through the massive Muslim market.
A few leisurely strolls were done in Tel Aviv, along the Bat-Yam and Jaffa beaches where we stopped for lunch and tried some Lebanese food. After 10 days of lazing about I eventually packed my backpack and took off to the Jordanian border. It was a confusing and again somewhat troublesome crossing, 3 different buses and again questioning followed by the Jordanian police taking my thumb print..I might just consider changing my passport and its suspicious picture!

Because it was a leisurely stop on my travels I think a revisit to Israel is required to see Nazareth, the south and spend more time floating and covering myself with mud in The Dead Sea. I can just hear my Israeli friends screaming...NO NOT AGAIN!!! ;-)