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Bali – Ubud, rice terraces, temples and monkeys
So now we are in Bali, short ferry ride from Ketapang, Java to Gilimanuk Bali. Then a 5 hour taxi to Ubud, the cultural and spiritual centre of Bali. Our home for a few days is tranquil and overlooks rice fields yet just a short walk to an array of bars and restaurants. This is Bali, a place of beauty coupled with mass tourism, will we like it? Only time will tell. We have now seen two sides of Ubud, Bali. The first was a quick stop at the famed Tegallalang rice terraces. (Couldn’t bring myself to take photos here) Once a place of beauty, now more of a theme…
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Indonesia – Jakarta, Java
We have just spent a few days in Jakarta, Java, the capital of Indonesia. A sprawling city with a handful of interesting places to visit, however the traffic is unbelievable and with a useful metro system still under construction, travelling between areas is extremely time consuming by taxi, tuk tuk is marginally quicker. Anyway Kota Tua (old town) is dominated by Dutch colonial buildings. Its square is full of life, colourful bicycles to rent, live music and happy people is the theme and as usual we (rather me) are stopped by locals for selfies on numerous occasions as usually happens in Asia (I guess its the blonde hair! 😆) other…
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In The Land Of The Incas: The Secrets Of The Sacred Valley
There’s no way we want to rush through El Valle Sagrada, the Sacred Valley, in the way that many seem to do. Some call in briefly if opting for the bus/train combo rather than the full length train journey in order to speed up the journey to Machu Picchu, and, much worse, it’s even possible to do a one-day excursion from Cusco which, given the distances and the number of sites involved, must be both a long day and a rushed agenda. Rather than either of these, we decide that after first embracing Machu Picchu we will take a few days to explore this magnificent valley which was the spiritual…
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Caves, Carts & A Cartoon Character: Our Time In Battambang
Considering its status as Cambodia’s third largest city, Battambang is a modest and quiet place, feeling more like a provincial town than how a bustling Asian city normally feels. The Sangker River flows lazily between its steep banks, in dry season anyway, while the traffic moves slowly through its docile streets which are noticeably free of beggars and hawkers, tuk-tuk drivers wait to be stirred rather than tout for business, and incredibly a car will sometimes even stop at a red traffic light. Battambang’s modest collection of restaurants is dotted around the city rather than centred on one area, there is nothing to compare to Siem Reap’s Pub Street here,…
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Halong Bay-Hanoi-Tam Coc: Towards Stunning Scenery
The look and sound of a wet road and the repetitive whine of windscreen wipers are inextricably linked to my memories of childhood Saturdays, and as we make our way back to Hanoi from Halong Bay in the “limousine bus” this particular Saturday is doing its best to trigger those memories. We knew to expect inclement weather during this spell, it’s that time of year here in the north. No visit to Hanoi is complete without a trip to Train Street, so, given that we are passing back through the city at a weekend when there are more trains scheduled than at other times, we play the game of grabbing…
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Just one person from around the world
We have previously shared our experience in Sri Lanka with you but we are now reposting this story as our contribution to Just one person from around the world by Cadyluck Leedy The story of Mangala As we ventured out on our first walk around the village, Mangala was brought forward as the tuk-tuk owner with the best English of the drivers gathered together under the tree, and for our remaining days in Sigiriya he ferried us around, giving us a terrific insight into Sri Lanka and its people which was to develop into a show of Sri Lankan hospitality and friendship and give us plenty of memories which will stay…
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The Difference A Year Makes
It’s not always easy to stay positive and optimistic during this COVID lockdown, a mood not helped by an extremely dreary English winter as our weather does its absolute best to justify its bad reputation. Whilst some parts of the UK have witnessed significant snowfall, our South East corner has been deluged with what seems like incessant rain, borne out by this detail: January brought 151mm of rainfall when the historical average for that month is 50mm. Three times normal, and it feels like it, too. Many days have been simply too wet to take a walk, and the countryside is now so saturated that the fields and footpaths are…
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Northwards to Chiang Mai
The evening flight from Krabi brings us to the 700-year old city of Chiang Mai, over 900 miles north of our previous location and some 3,000 feet higher. With a domestic flight and an airport so close to the centre, it’s a satisfyingly quick transfer and we get from aeroplane seat to hotel room in record time. From Koh Lanta to Krabi, the road trip by minibus, or minivan as it’s called here, had its own dramas, the driver continually pulling off the route to pick up more passengers and luggage even though we seemed already full to bursting. Each time we felt there wasn’t another inch of space, on…
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Time In Bangkok: Our Review
And so after three full days and four evenings in Bangkok, we are moving on to our next destination. It’s been something of a whirlwind start to our Asian adventure but a more chilled spell is on the near horizon. So here’s a resume of our time in the capital and our recommendations for coping with Bangkok… Bangkok is….. Vibrant, lively, energetic, peaceful, devout. Shiny new, immensely ancient. Respectful and religious; iniquitous, rebellious and debauched. If those words sound contradictory, then they are meant to, because this place has just about everything. Whilst it is a bustling city full of life and full of contradictions, we wouldn’t really describe Bangkok…
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Bangkok: The Adventure Begins
It was the novelist Alex Garland who christened Bangkok “the centre of the backpacking universe”, and, by reputation, several other universes ranging from sex tourism to lady boys to diverse cuisine, are centred here. However, on the City Line train and MRT from the airport to the centre, it seems to us that Bangkok has become the centre of the face mask universe. Most likely the propensity of Asians for wearing protective masks in city atmospheres has been intensified by the Coronavirus scare, but whatever, most of the passengers are sporting one. An overnight flight from the UK means that it is late afternoon as we check in the hotel,…
