Having spent a great fortnight in Cambodia, with perhaps too long spent diving and windsurfing in Sihanoukville, we decided to make our way into Laos. We had been repeatedly warned against the bus border crossing and so considered the plane for $150. The problem with the bus crossing is, we understand, that the bus leaves at 5:30 am but needs to be at the Laos border before 4pm, when the Laos border guards cease work. If this happens, the bus company supposedly put you up at the border and then take you through the next morning. We subsequently spoke to two fellow travellers, one who suggested that the border could still be crossed if the guards were paid “overtime” and another who had caught the bus the day before we planned to and had been put up in the home of one of the bus company as they had not crossed the border in time. Read more…
On our two month trip around Africa with Acacia on the Ultimate Overlander, we made our way to Uganda for a Gorilla trek. The permit alone costs $500 but we felt that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and took the plunge. Problems with the truck on the way up to Uganda and with the roads meant that we had to leave our main truck (with most the gear) behind and spend a night without sleeping mats at Mbararu University camping grounds and then another slight change to our itinerary left us with the option of camping outside a hotel called the Little Ritz (perhaps more aptly “Little like the Ritz”) the night before trekking. Fortunately there was also the option of upgrading to a double room for about $6 each. As we had to get up at 4:20 before trekking, we chose the upgrade for two nights, which worked out very well because it gave us a good chance to sort out our gear, charge batteries and get a good night sleep. I had bought a £5 travel pillow for the camping and it proved very good value for money so I was also grateful for the proper pillow!
Rising through the mist.
We left for the trekking about 5:20, running a bit late after our guide slightly overslept. However, for Africa, that is quite a minimal wait! It was just over a two hour drive from where we were staying to the Bwindi National Park, otherwise known as the “Impenetrable Forest”. Sunrise is very quick in Africa, almost like the flick of a switch, and so it was dark for much of the start of the journey. However, as it became light and we ascended into the mountains we rose out of a mist and had the classic view of the valleys wreathed in mist with the mountains popping out of them. I was surprised by the amount of cultivated land on the hillsides, very much like English fields separated with hedgerows, giving the mountains a patchwork appearance but without a flat surface to be found! Read more…
I had wanted to dive pretty much since I had first dunked my head under the water (note, I apparently cried when my first swim instructor tried to get me to put my head under the water, but after that I was hooked and at five I was more paranoid than I am now…). I swam lengths underwater, learned to hold my breath (note, this came from my mum who never learned to dive) snorkelled when I could (including one ten foot pool in France, I don’t know what I was thinking or what the French around the pool thought of this mad Englishman…) but I had never learned to dive.
Until 2009…
- The floating markets – not as pretty as I had thought…
Having had a great couple of days in Ho Chi Minh City (see related post) we were fleeing the inflated prices of the Tet festival and going to Cambodia. We had read that the most scenic route to Cambodia was via a boat trip on the Mekong Delta, so we booked a trip through the STA travel office at the hotel for a two day tour of the Mekong Delta and the “slow boat” to Cambodia figuring that would give us more time on the river to enjoy the scenery. Read more…
Having convinced my famously sharkophobic (I’m sure there’s a proper word for this) girlfriend into bravely dunking her head under the water to do her PADI openwater diving course I found myself with two days in Sihanoukville with time to kill (I had also booked on a photography diving specialism course for the overnight trip where Anna would do her dives with Scuba Nation and will post on that when done). The beaches here are truly lovely, yet I can’t really bring myself just to sit still for that length of time.
Fortunately, after a couple of inquiries I found that a bloke on Otres beach apparently had a couple of windsurf boards and offered lessons. I had tried windsurfing once before, found it incredibly frustrating consisting of falling off the board repeatedly as I got the sail halfway out of the water.
I mainly did this activity because Anna (my girlfriend) was really keen to do it so I really did not know what to expect (I am not great at reading guidebooks in advance) other than a “walk with lions”. But, deep down, I was also pretty keen to see some lion cubs… Read more…
Having done my halfironman (see related post) which involved several half marathons in preparation I had concluded that I really did not like running.
Still, I’m quite stubborn and wanted to change this fact as running can be done anywhere (without hills in my case), with minimal equipment (suprising how much a good pair of running trainers, fluorescent top, mp3 player and water bottle can cost though) and without gym fees, so I signed up for the Paris marathon (again, not that cheap) having forgotten about the London ballot until about five minutes after it opened by which time it was full.
The theory was kill or cure, either get better at running and enjoy it, or get the desire well and truly out of my system.
My top tips for running, marathons, halfmarathons and Paris in particular: Read more…
I am not a big fan of running and find the gym tedious but need to get incentivised so, after realising that training for halfmarathons was tedious I decided to try a triathlon.
The idea was that the cross training would be good for my body, keep me interested and the fact that I like swimming and cycling would counter my dislike of/inability at running.
A good plan, but one that ultimately led to me doing a halfironman which raised over £3000 for charity. Read more…
I had always wanted to visit Vietnam so it was an obvious choice when planning our semi round the world travels.
However, after unexpectedly cold weather in India (ok, so it was their winter) and the threat of freezing conditions later on the trip in China, we decided to cut short our time in vietnam and spend more time in cambodia, Laos and Thailand which were supposed to be warmer than northern Vietnam. Read more…
We had a four night stopover in Livingstone which is focused around the Victoria Falls but has also become established as something of an activity centre with options ranging from white water rafting, elephant riding, encounters with Lions and scenic flights or bungee jumps.
After enjoying white water rafting on the Nile in Uganda I was keen to go again – particularly because I had heard that rafting on the Zambezi was the most terrifying experience available on the trip from several people who had done this, so I opted to go rafting (without Anna), have an encounter with lions (with Anna, see the report here) and take a day trip to Zimbabwe to see that side of the falls. Read more…
Tubbyman Tales 