Closed for Christmas

Seasons greetings

I wish you and yoru family an extremely exciting Merry Christmas and a fabulous Happy New Year.

I will be closing down the blog for the remainder of the year and start it up again early next year when I travel to Las Vegas.

Take care and be wonderful to everyone you meet.

Peace, prosperity and understanding

Dickon

Lloyds Bank Misery

I have a bus going to the Honduras capitall Tegucigalpa tomorrow at 5:30am local time, and then after a 4 hour ride I had planned to take a bus down to San Salvador, but if the money isnt there then I will be forced to take a flight back home and sort this out, I just can't let it go any longer.

My wifi doesnt work, my cellphone doesnt work, they want to renew one of my credit cards, I cant access any of my banks or credit cards online or via phone and now with this Lloyds fuss over charging me and stealing over 3,000 pounds of my much needed funds its just one financial crisis too many.

Either I spend 800 pounds, which I don't have spare, and cause merry hell when I get back or ask some one to go through all my stuff at my sisters, find all my other credit cards and call them pretending to me, reset all the telephone banking codes and then transfer funds from them cards to ones I can use, then wait a few more days while someone posts over a few credit cards to my hotel when I should be able to carry on, albeit minus a few cities.

At least if I were in Europe I could hop on a cheap flight and be back again in less than a day, but out here the flight across will be at least 8 hours each way and then I have to get to my branch and kick up enough fuss til they give in or I cancel all my accounts with them.

I thought in this modern technological age things were suppose to be easier, but still in the end the only thing I can do is turn up face to face and scream and shout til something gets done ... some progress.

I can't believe that with all the preparations and arrangements that I made something as mindless and petty as my bank refusing to transfer money between two of my accounts - that the same bank and branch holds - will be the straw that breaks my RTW trip's back - and before I even got half way through as well.

Argh!

Enough of rain

Ok

So now I have had enough of this poxy rain and I am officially putting in a request to get some proper day after day of sun please.

I am few up of Trench foot, photos that look grey and gloomy, having to change socks and shoes twice a day, having to get my laundry done twice a week cos so much of it is wet, having to watch endless movies cos everything else costs money and you cant leave the hotel or hostel cos of the rain and I don't even have many friends that are prepared to meet me that I can go visit to break the boredom and strengthen the friendship.

I have dreamed of this trip for years, having saved for months and made many sacrifices and its so bloody unfair that the fucking
weather is killing it and making me miss so much that everyone else who has been travelling that I met have been able to enjoy.

I did not leave a house, a family, a job and all my friends to sit in a hostel reception surrounded by strangers for weeks on end watching whatever movies AXN decide to show in English that day.

I've had enough of rain, I've had enough of trying to speak Spanish without lessons, I've had enough of mud slides that delay my bus for over two hours, I've had enough of lugging a 10 kilo rucksack from pillar to post and I've had enough of meals that defy recognition.

If I wanted all this I would have joined the army, at least they get paid and when the stress gets too much they are allowed to blow shit up, all I get is another letter from my bank saying that they are charging me 20 pounds a day for their cockups.

Enough is enough is enough, and if things don't change pretty soon then I am going to skip cities, fly to Cancun for Chichen Itza then directly on to Australia and save about a month off my trip and escape this horrible depressing weather.

Dead WiFi Dongle

I have a few posts to come up, and they are all typed but until I get a new WiFi dongle I cannot send them from my computer.

My main problem however is my bank, lloyds, who seem to be doing their best to screw me over, charging me for things they should not, then charging me overdraft interest and charges when i should have over 1,000 in my account.

It is a nightmare and all of their own making!

Crazy Times

I caught a couple of news clippings when I was checking my emails and I have seen that there are quite a few changes going on that I just wanted to say that I am aware of.

Barak Obama was voted as the first non white US president, and I still say that the TV show 24 was in some way not so much  responsible for this but was more a king of litmus test to see how the US public would react to the notion.

The continuing credit crunch which started in the US is still rippling through the world, its effects still reducing confidence, stock markets and house prices around the world.

For the first time in I don't know how many years the UK tax VAT rate will be lowered from 17.5% to 15%, which will reduce the affordable price of many things and should encourage spending, but will also be a mini headache for every accountant, book keeper and tax employee in the country.

A number of terrorists in Indian are apparently targetting western and european travellers and businessmen in kidnappings and shootings.

Letter home

Hiya, how are you all?

I am fine here, there are a few decorations out wherever I go, but at 30 plus degrees and surrounded by palm trees and sand it is hard to image that Christmas is so close, it will not be the same this year, not unless I can find a traditional English Pub in Dominican Republic to spend it in.

I called my sister for her birthday, it was a nice surprise for her and I realised that I could have / should have called home on other birthday, but I just dont like the phone and also with the time difference it is very hard to arrange, not to mention the cost.

I am dreading what will have happened to my garden by the time that I return, and I feel in mixed sorts as a part of me loves to travel and meet new people, but I am really getting bored of bad hostels, restaurants serving things that I dont recognise or like and bedrooms that are either too hot or too cold and having to hide under thin sheets to hide from mosquito's or other flying insects.

In my house I have a quiet fan for the heat and a radiator plus blankets for the cold, but here it is almost always too hot and my bedroom fans here is so powerful that I think they stole if from a wind tunnel experiement and even with ear plugs I still have problems getting to sleep.

I won't be doing much Christmas shopping today, as the cost to send stuff back to the UK from here is astronomical, but I will be thinking of you all of course.

Please ensure that you get the most of carol singers, snow, christmas turkeys, crackers, chocolates and movies, I'd like to share them all with you so please keep me posted and send me photos as often as you can.
This trip has been one I will never forget and the people I am meeting are great and I have met a few that I would like to see more of, a lot more of, but equally I have arrived in some cities and been totally unimpressed from arrival to leaving, so its upps are even higher because of the downs.

Colombia does have a lot of history, but it does not seem to advertise its pre-columbian roots very much, so I will be looking forward to central America and Mexico, when I should be able to visit not only Chichen Itza but other stuff from the Aztecs, Mayans and Tultec cultures, which means lots more photos from me too.

I seemed to have travelled through the home sickness stage now, as I no longer suffer the nervousness, the emotional episodes or the mild panic attacks of being alone and equally now when I get lost through being all turned around or find myself in a place that I do not recognise I just see it as a waste of time and an inconvenience rather instead of a problem that needs to be overcome.

Likewise I think that I have got used to the food and the water, as I have not had a bad case of food poisoning or anything since leaving Cusco, although being fair I have lost a bit of weight since I first left the UK but this is through just not finding enough stuff to my palate, as even when I do eat I don't eat til I am full but just enough to starve off the feeling of hunger and then carry on with the day.

Without chocolate spread, strawberry jam, cornflakes or a proper fried breakfast in any of the places that I visit, I tend to find that I am skipping breakfasts more and more these days, but then I just dont like eating large rolls or giant mutated bananas first thing in the morning.

Staying in hostels means that often I am meant to be bringing my own food but as it is heavy to carry and cumbersome ( not to mention that your not allowed to fly with foods or drinks ) so this is another reason for this.

I still have not used most of the setting on my camera, although I have used it a few times as a digital camera but only really for wide panoramic shots when one photo just cannot capture it all no matter from what angle or viewpoint I chose.

I do seem to be spending a bit of time watching tv now, but part of that is to hear someone, anyone, speaking fluent english, and the rest is that I do not really know what to do with my time after 8pm when the rain starts to pour down and I am trying not to spend my money like it is water.

I guess that I could grab a taxi each night and ask me to visit either a billiard hall, a cinema, a bar or a night club but any of those would still involve spending money and I have tried many times to take photos at night and my camera is just not up to it, apart from it being more unsafe and much harder to navigate around a place, especially as I rarely have a decent map to guide me around.

Well I have to go now, I need to pack and try to find out how to get to Cartagena while the morning is still here that way I can reach my hostel while it is still light as the bus journey is meant to be abour six hours long and I still don't know where it leaves from or when just now.

Love and hugs

My Ideal Hostel

During the last couple of months I have stayed in many places, met lots of people and resided in everything from a friends couch to a medium size hotel, and I have come to appreciate what is important and what is not important in a hostel, and I think that this is as good a time as any to write down a brief document about what I think.

First off, before you I think about what a hostel should offer I need to first identify the market that it is in, and there is a difference between those who chose to stay in a hostel against those who chose a cheap or expensive hotel, and this also varies slightly from which country the hostel is in.

Europe is the playground of other Europeans, Americans, Australians and those from the far east. Financially it is the most expensive region to visit, but flight wise it is easy to visit from just about anywhere and it is extremely easy to go from one country to the next by train, bus or car without having to worry about too many border patrols.

South America seems to be more populated by tourists from neighboring countries, Americans and the occasional European.

Since arriving in Brazil I have not met any Australians or Asians in any city except in Cusco, which was mainly for Machu Picchu.

The other travellers I have met have been all ages from early twenties to late fifities, but the majority seem to be late twenties and early thirties. Possibly because they have the most flexibility in their lives and are not yet too constricted with diets, family commitments, health issues and can always find jobs upon their return home.

Possibly because of their cheap and cheerful image, or just because of the lack of facilities, but I have not met any seriously handicapped or disabled people in any hostel that I have visited, and neither have I met any honeymoon couples, businessmen / women, retired or semi retire people, couples with new born children or stag / hen parties.

So, very broadly speaking, the type of person that I have encountered again and again are the young / semi young travellers, city tourists, sports enthusiasts and backpackers, be they single, with their significant other or ust with a group of friends.

Often I have met small groups of people that met up in other cities and decided to pool resources and ideas and travel as a bigger group, which shows time and time again the friendliness and openness of the travelling community, and the willingness to exchange ideas and cooperate.

This is one of the reasons why I think that most people should do some travelling in their youth, as it helps teach you about trust, cooperation and the ability to talk and understand people from different backgrounds rather than just your own private group of peers. It encouraged people to come out of their shell in order to maxiumise their experiences and helps to build character and confidence.

So the next thing to decide is how big to have the hostel, as too few guests will be neither profitable nor have many chances for people to meet each other but too many and you can feel that it is safer to stay by yourself or with the people you already know than try to make new friends, and for this reason I think that rooms for 16 to 20 guests is the ideal number, as that way it is confortable and still managable either half full or completely booked up.

As as a guest you want to know that you can have a lilttle quality time both alone and with someone who actually works for the hostel without having to take a number and join the back of a queue to see them.

To enable a variety of travellers with differing lodging preferences to stay in the same place at the same time I feel that the ideal size dorms are 4 bed per room complete with large lockers in the rooms, so that you can store your stuff near your bed and you can keep the place still tidy and secure. I feel that 1 or 2 x mixed dorms, 1 x all female dorm, 1 x all male dorm and a couple / few twin private rooms is the best format for maximum flexibility to cater for a variety of different groups without having to require too large a house.

If people are comfortable to stay in mixed dorms then it follows that they will probably be happy to use shared bathrooms, toilets, but I feel that the private rooms would benefit from having an en suite bathroom if the buildling can ammodate it.

Having identified that majority of people who regularly stay in hostels, it became clear that most of the guests do not spend much time in the hostel during the daytime or evenings, and few spend much time there at nights excepting if the weather is bad, as most use the hostel as just a base to leave their stuff someplace safe and go venturing forth to see the places that they really came to visit.

Thus entertainment, luxuries, sports and games are not really necessary for a hostel as very few of the guests will have the time to enjoy them, preferring to set out and visit whatever it is that the region / city is famous for rather than for just bumming around the hostel and killing time.

The busiest time of the day by far is the early morning and breakfast time, as this is when most people meet up to discuss what they are going to do that day, check in after just arriving or check out in order to move on to the next city / return home.

For this reason, and for the reason of helping people meet up and exchange ideas and plans, I think that a single large breakfast table is ideal as it means that it encourages people to sit next to each other and engage in conversation, and has proved much better for this than a few small tables where everyone is able / forced to eat seperately.

The other busy time is at night once all the tours are over and all the restaurants, bars and clubs have closed, and as many tours / activities can be physically demanding all group dorm rooms should be a place of quiet refuge with no drinking, parties or loud music allowed after 10pm.

All rooms should also be fairly well sound proofed from outside revellers / traffic, have adequate blinds / curtains for a good nights sleep and also heating or air conditioning depending on where the hostel is located.

Allowing friends and locals of guests into the rooms is often frowned upon as there is always the grey area of trying to prevent drugs / theft or prostitution going on in the hostel, and thus non paying guests should also be restricted in their movements and times when they are allowed to enter / remain in the hostel while still giving guests the option of meeting / entertaining friends in the hostel for a short time at least.

Security is always an issue that is preferred but not essential, so some form of intercom, gate or front reception open 24 hours a day that can allow entrance to guests quickly yet with a measure of control is the best option.

So now with the layout and most frequent guest identified, and their needs assessed, it just now requires me to give a list from most to least important of many of the features that I would think a good hostel wants / needs in order to be a success and good business venture.
:-
Free breakfast and coffee, tea and milk throughout the day

Free linen and bedding

Bilingual staff that are happy, willing and eager to help and assist you in even the most bizarre request and are familar with the local transport, cinemas, musuems and shopping complexes

Free wifi access in reception area and private rooms at least, if not all rooms

Use of communial computers, with a time limit of 30 minutes to one hour per guest. Webcam and headphones are a luxury and thus is not necessary, but might be a nice touch

Location in a safe area that is near at least one method of public transport if at all possible

Location near the end of a road or near a clearly visible landmark, as often you will be arriving early or late at night and the last thing you want to do is have trouble finding the place

Similarly a large sign or post that is on the outside of the building to guide you in from a distance

Maps and tour information of the city / surrounding area, including the best times to visit and how to get there

Lots of plug sockets in all rooms, as several guests are likely to want to charge their camera, phone, ipod and / or laptop at the same time

Additionally International plug adapters for use / sale would be a nice touch in case a guest has lost theirs or was unaware that they would need one / which one they would need

A good website with local maps, travel information, accurate and easy directions of how to reach the hostel and the ability to make online reservation bookings

Notice board with details of local events, up to date travel information, local tour guides, great places to eat, drink or dance and nearby cities hostels

Satalite / Cable TV in a communial tv room away from the breakfast room, complete with a DVD player and a variety of movies that can be borrowed, viewed

Use of kitchen and fridge by guests during the daytime and fliers / adverts of local restaurants that will delivery to the hostel

Information on language courses and volunteer / paid working options for travellers who decide to extend their stay beyond a long weekend / week stay

Vending machine / bar where juices, fizzy drinks, beers, chocolates and crisps can be bought cheaply and easily

Depending on the local weather / insects, etc, a variety of umbrellas, rain boots, sun cream, towels, insect repellent and other similar items should be either on offer to buy, or be near a shop where such items are possible to purchase

A storage room where people that are checking out but not leaving the city til later on during the day can leave their stuff while they go visiting during the dayday

Investment in Colombia

Having been through Cali and speaking to Mikkel, and then arriving here in Manizales and talking to Christina in the hostel here, and a couple of the tourists who have friends over here and been speaking to other European who have married and moved over here, now is the perfect time to invest in Colombia.

Ten years ago the attitude and image of Colombia was considered one of the worst in the world, but having been there last year and again this year I would say that the reality has changed very much and the image is now out of date and in drastic need of catching up.

I have found that while Colombia maybe one of the more expensive places in South America, but overall it has better housing, shopping centres, cinemas, roads and public transport systems than the rest of the continent.

For US $50,000 an American bought a entire coffee plantation, complete with buildings, house, staff, fruit and the land itself was so huge that they are not even sure where it ends of what other fruits are on the plantation, and when you think about it, that is not a lot of money for an entire business that is already established, running and turning a small profit and if with western investment, ideas, advertising and personal trade links back into Europe it is almost worth a punt and if it all goes down then it is not the end of the world.

Of course, non nationals cannot buy the land directly themselves, just like in many other parts of the world, but if you are able to marry into the country or find a trustworthy local that can be a reliable business partner then it would be a viable opportunity and right now I would prefer to risk losing £25K on a business over here than starting up another in the UK.

Travelling Recap

Well so far I am about a quarter of the way through, having made just under 2 1/2 months out of a planned 9 months, so I thought that this would be a good place to do a recap for myself as much as anyone else.

Currently I am in Cali, south Colombia and this is my last country in South America before I travel to Central America and go up through it, finally reaching North America for a few weeks before I start coming back down again through the Pacific.

So far I have travelled through over 25 cities in 12 countries and covered about 20,000 kilometers, crossed the Equator twice, the furthest north was my starting point in London of 51 32 North and the furthest south was in Rio de Janeiro at 22 57 South.

To reach new cities I have taken 1 x Ferry, 14 x Flights, 18 x Trains and 8 x Autobus's ( including mutiple flights and multiple train connections).

I have slept on a plane, on a boat, on a train, on an autobus, at an airport, on couches, in hotels, in hostels and in friends spare rooms.

I have made some friends, luckily no enemies ( that I know of ) and have managed to avoid the attention of the police, pickpockets and guerrilla soldiers.

I have spend about £5,000 if you include only the flights used so far and not the total booked in advance ( more than half in Europe in the first month, but I am slowly regaining my original estimate of costs as life in South America has been good to me ) and thankfully as far as I am aware I have not lost more than 3 socks, one modem extention cable and a small black padlock.

I have travelled from sea level to above 4,000 feet above sea level on more than one occasion, and I have been through rain, snow, hailstones, thunder, lightening, cloud, fog and blistering heat.

I have tried many local delicacies and traditional meals, though most I cannot pronounce the name of and so far the food has been good but not outstanding, but then that might be my fault of not choosing the right places to eat.

Thankfully I have only suffered two bouts of home sickness, had no episodes of Altitude / Travel / Flight or sea sickness, only had to suffer one attack of food poisoning and only experienced one week of being eaten alive by more mosquitos than I could count.

Approximately I have taken over 3,000 photos and wrote around 100,000 words on my blog.

I have visited Beaches, Bars, Museums, Discotecks, Night Clubs, a Casino, Cinemas ( including an Imax ), Restaurants, a Volcano, Red Light Districts, Rivers, Mountains, Lakes, Temples, Castles and two of the seven new wonders of the world - being Manchu Picchu and Christ Redeemer.

( The complete list of 7 is as follows :- Manchu Picchu - Peru, Petra - Jordan, Taj Mahal - India, Chichen Itza - Mexico, Christ Redeemer - Brazil, Colossium - Italy, Great Wall of China

The following were the other finalists that somehow didn't get enough votes, as these were all voted on instead of being dictated by a panel of experts.

The Acropolis - Greece, Alhambra - Spain, Angkor Wat - Cambodia, Statues on Easter Island - Chile, Eiffle Tower - France, Hague Sophia - Turkey, Kiyomizu Temple - Japan, Kremlin / St Basil - Russia, Neuschweinstein Castle - Germany, Pyramids of Giza - Egypt, Statue of Liberty - USA, Stonehenge - UK, Sydney Opera House - Australia and Timbuktu - Mali.

Of the other finalists I have already visited 4 in my life, and of the actual seven modern wonders on previous trips I have been to the Great Wall in China, though it is impressive enough for me to want to visit it a second time.

For more details of the new 7 wonders and the runners up visit this site - http://www.new7wonders.com/classic/en/n7w/results/ )

News Updates

Channel flicking in my room before I fell asleep for the last time in October was weird.

There were the usual films either half way through or in Spanish, the obligatory games of football ( it seems that Brazil isn't the only country madly in love with the beautiful game ) and regretably enough coverage of the US presidential elections to bore me to tears, but it was the other news articles that caught my attention.

Despite being in the end of 2008, and supposedly in a more peaceful and civilized world, there were bombings in India, naval battled between the Sri Lankan goverment and the Tamil Tigers, a holding temporal ceasefire in the Republic of Congo, ongoing battles in Iraq and the Indonesian government was preparing for a backlash following the imminent execution of two convicted terrorists of the 2002 Bali bombings.

There was also a story about a high ranking Japanese official who is having to resign after publicing an article stating that he felt Japan was not an aggresive participant in WW II, which of course has greatly angered China, both North and South Korea and a number of Pacific Island nations.

This is a bit like some German professors stating that the Holocaust never happened and is all a huge Western post war conspiracy made to damage the Germany's public image.

But the article that put a smile on my face was about the fact that the guiness book of records has just had another of its records broken by the recent successful additon of the worlds largest pair of jeans.

It is so large that it requiring a construction crane to lift up one end, and a pair of large inflatable tubing pipes running down each of its legs, and judging from the look I would say that it is of average proportion and not a drainpipe or flairs style.

It is sad to think that there is still so very much aggression and violence in todays society and it's the main reason why I chose not to watch too much news coverage these days as its always so depressing.

Book in advance

I have just learned that even the long and medium buses between cities have to be booked as far in advance as the agent will let you, less you find that the bus is full and you are unable to board it.

As I had already pushed my trip forward by a few days I cannot now change the dates back again, as the reservations are cancelled, so I have had to instead purchase a flight that will get me into Piura at the same time as the bus would have done, at a cost of about ten times the cost, thus the advice is if you have a long distance journey of any description, book it or visit the terminal and buy it in at least three days advance if at all possible.

A different homesickness

It is weird to sit here, in my friends house, surrounded by happy smiling people and say that I am still a little bit lonely and homesick, and what is weird is that having been scared and in a panic to get home in Brazil homesick, this isn't even the same kind of homesick.

Perhaps it is looking at all the photos of other peoples family and being so far away from my own, perhaps it is the time difference that means that most of the time when I am awake all my friends are asleep and so out of contact, or maybe it is just that I was not prepared to be away from home for months at a time, or maybe its a little bit of all of them.

It is not a depressive or regretful blackness like the last time, as I am still happy, cheerful and eager to get on the bus bound for the next destination, but there is definetly something small nagging at my ease and comfort, like a thief that has stole the cherry on top of the icing on my cake.

It is hard to find the right words, as I do not want to give the wrong impression and I do not want to cut my trip short and come home by any means, but I am just thinking that perhaps a solo RTW trip would have been better if I had somehow managed to slip in a week each month back in the UK with my family and friends.

I guess I just want the best of everything, the travel, the adventure, the new friends and the comfort of home and my old friends and family, which of course is impossible, but then humans are just breathing wish making machines and so I guess I have got to get used to it.

I have enjoyed my time in Lima and the friends I have made here I feel I will keep or years to come, and I have made a promise to myself that, asuming I am back in the country myself, if they were to ever visit the UK then they would have the best guide that I can be for them for the duration of their visit.

But for now, I have to plan for a new city and a new journey ... ever onward :o)

Review of Loki Hostel

To get to the hostel from the airport just grab a taxi, but remember to haggle as it should be around PES 10 or 15 max but they will try it on and say 20 or more, saying it is a long way, but it isnt that much in the car.

It is up at the top of a hill, so getting to anywhere is easy as you just have to go downhill, but after a long day you might want to get a taxi back up again from the main plaza, that taxi fare should be around PES 5 or less, as it really isnt a long drive at all, just all up hill.

The hostel has lots of europeans, canadian, australians and americans so almost everyone in the hostel speaks English, as do all the receptionists and bar staff, but they speak better Spanish as its their native language.

The rooms are dorms of 8 to 10, with large lockers under your bunk beds enough for anything and also small mini lockers in the reception if you dont want to leave it in your room, but bring your own padlocks to save having to rent or buy them here.

They have free linen and a basic free breakfast, but the more luxurious ones you have to pay for, and you also get to run up a bar tab for everything so you just have to pay at the end for all you have used.

There are plenty of places to have your laundry done just down the hill and the small local shops do very cheap food and drinks.

Apparently some people have said that they have had bad problems with the food, but then milk and cheese are not very good for non-locals and the high altitudes can also muck up the digestion a bit too, so plan for that and be prepared.

The hostel also has hot water showers all day long, a bar, a mini restaurant, a pool table and 6 computers that are free to use, though they limit you to only half an hour.

Cusco centre is filled with tourist places, so if you have time and are a little adventurous, dont bother to book any activities here and just turn up and then take a stroll near the main centre and play them off against each other for a much better deal, also don't forget that a great haggling tool is to seem half interested and then walk away saying its still too much and see if they come after you, if not you can always go back after or if not then there are still tons of other ones to chose from.

In cusco you can arrange flights, train and bus tickets, tours to the various places ( but dont think you can do more than one in a day cos they are all over the place and it takes hours to reach each place by car or bus ) water rafting, climbing and even paragliding.

If you need extra money and can speak good english there are often adverts up for bar staff in the irisih bars in town, as there are in the hostel itself.

Hope this helps and I hope you end up loving Cusco as much as I do.

Kidnapping in Brazil

It would appear that a few days ago in the town of Damanhua a girl and her male friend visited her ex boyfriend at his request, in his apartment high up in an apartment block.

Once there the ex boyfriend became jealous, enraged and taking out a gun threatened them both before holding them hostage, while a forth person a female, was also in the apartment block.

Once the police got involved it all gets a little complicated but the other female was seen at times at the window trying to calm down the police and requesting food, then sent down a rope made of twisted blankets to have the food pulled up.

The ordeal lasted around 100 hours and in the end someone starting firing their weapons, no one yet is confirming who started it, and then finaly the police were able to break in and video footage can be seen through a partly open doorway of a policeman pummeling the gunman before he was fully arrested and removed from the building.

Stretchers were brought up for the girl and the boy who turned up and the other female was also detained for questioning. Sadly the girl was dead upon arrival at the hospital and the boy is in critical condition so it could be a double fatality.

The press is screaming for answers, all the politicians are trying to claim an advantage by suggesting new reforms for handling such situations and the public are questioning why the food given was not drugged to put the man to sleep or why crack marksmen did not take him out when he appeared at the window beside the other woman during talks with the police.

It is a dark day for anyone who knows either of the victims and certainly an image of Brazil that I cannot help but take away with me, even though I only witnessed it through the media and, thankfully, not personally.

Tailor Your Trips

I had this morning an epiphany and I now know that the whole problem with me not enjoying Brazil is my piss poor planning and high expectations.

When I think of travelling to South America I still dream about mountain trekking, climbing and rediscovering ancient ruins of cities that it takes awhile to get to and come back from while battling against the elements and wildlife.

I also think of the women, the discos and the beaches but I forget that alone a beach can be a boring place, especially when you cant leave anything around and take a dip, and of course I can't dance so going to a disco is pointless especially as it is dangerous for a single white guy to walk the streets at night.

Now this is all well and good and I had a good time in Salvador going around on a tour bus and visiting the turtle farm, but I had not done anywhere near enough research and just expected it all to be laid out on a plate when I arrived in Rio for a tourist like me to pick up at the hostel.

However Rio and Sao Paulo are not ancient and historical ruins, but modern bustling third world metropolises with no wildlife to spot, no flora to wade through and the only element I need to fight off is the constant burning heat.

I suppose if I had taken a proper booked tour to the rain forests of the Amazon then I would have loved it, but being alone in the middle of a city that cannot compete with London for attractions, safety, familiarity and the ability to get in touch with friends and family at the drop of a hat, I was always onto a loser really.

My fault entirely, and I no longer blame Brazil for me not liking it, that is all my fault for not correctly tailoring my trip to what I enjoy doing.

I came about this sudden realisation when I was looking at what I was wanting to do in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, and realised that I could also do all those things in Brazil if only I had chosen to visit the right towns and either booked or at least found out about what kind of tours are available.

It is true that being kicked out of my Rio hostel and missing on a trip to see the dude and watch the football match in the worlds largest stadium put me onto a downer and was only a tiny bit my fault for posting my comments too early, but I should have picked myself up a lot sooner and not wasted any time feeling sorry for myself.

So, although I have a full 48 hours before I arrive in Peru and I doubt that I will have enough time to do everything that I want to do there, at least I have got a proper heading and not just a "third star on the right and straight on til morning" approach to the next few cities I will be visiting.

Today I managed to sort out my laundry, post another package back home and took a nice long stroll to a few places to try and find a nokia charger and my old one has bust, but sadly I could not find any. Oh well, win some lose some.

Homesick in Brazil

I am not the worlds best traveller and no matter how many countries I visit or how long I stay away from home will not change that fact.

I do not enjoy sleeping alone, breakfasts that I cannot decribe or identify, trying to guide myself about using jedi force and blind luck, hopping on and off buses and metro stops because I am afraid that I will get lost if I chose to walk, music that I cannot sing along with, tv that is so wholy strange I cannot tell where the adverts end and the programs begins, restautants where flies buzzing over the food is just a daily thing to get past, showers that are either constantly hot or cold, sun that is so hot I am diving from shop to shop just to hide from the rays, time zones where everyone is asleep when I am awake and being so far away from my friends that I cannot share a joke or a thought with a familiar face.

It is no wonder that the armed forced enforce a strict busy daily routine, and it is little wonder than on their off hours many soliders just kill time before their next shift by gambling, drinking or searching for a bit of TLC.
I have a new liking for all inclusive package holidays where the reps do all the work for you and all you have to do is go from one amusement to the next and tip a little here and there to oil the wheels.

When I first thought of going travelling I liked the idea, but it was a bit like namedropping with Cities. If I was to mention that I saw Brad Pitt and had a long conversations with him then a lot of people would ask more about it, but other than the fact it was Brad Pitt it is unlikely that any of the conversation itself would be remarkable or worth retelling as a story.

So when I thought about travelling I chose lots of cities that seemed cool, that I had heard lots of good things about and a few that had people I knew of there, but not always good friends. I forgot to include that the people who went there did not do so on a shoestring budget, that they did not go alone, that they could speak a lot more of the local language than me and that they were only going for a couple of weeks as a break from their normal lives.

Whereas I am doing everything the opposite, and it would be nice to find a place that I fitted in and could stay for a week or two to escape from the hassle of travelling without it feeling like I am pulling my nails trying to get through the day without actually spending vast amounts of money or watching movie reruns.

A few people said that this trip was likely to get travelling out of my system and I would say that it has already, at least in countries where I can't converse with any of the locals, where I am alone and where I have nothing that I really want to see.

I can already say that I am looking forward to Peru only because I have an interest in Inca history and culture, but also because I have a few friends that I am sure will not let me down and we can share some good quality time just hanging out and socialising.

Looking at my itiniary I am getting a little nervous about various weeks in the trip when I can already see that I will have no one around to talk with and by the middle of the week I will be feeling a little sorry for myself.

I would not say that going travelling around the world was a mistake, as it was something that I did enjoy, and something that when it is done right I still do enjoy, but after this I think that I will be on the lookout for a new hobby that does not involve spending thousands of pounds and taking me so far out of my comfort zone.

Attempted Theft

Well I had been warned, so it wasn't a real surprise when it happened, although to be honest there is still a slim possibility that it is my paranoi making up stories.

So to tell the story, there I was in the hotel lobby towards the rear of the main entrance with my laptop surfing for something to do and minding my own business and only in the reception cos they are too cheap to install a good enough wifi server to get to the rooms above.

What is more the photos of the outside and the rooms are totally different from the ones that they have on their website, and if it was any more expensive I would try and have them done for trades description act, but that's another fight for anoher day.

Anyway, I would not have said that anything or anyone was out of place and of course then theives don't wear signs telling you who they were, but every now and again you spot some one that to you has shifty eyes or is acting suspicious to your mind which switches your senses on red alert, and right then a guy came round with a baseball cap and did just that, he got me all on edge.

Eventually he wandered off but a few minutes later the telephone goes in the hotels main reception and then the check-in guy comes over telling me that I have a phone call. Now, I hadn't told anyone what my phone number of the hotel was so it was very unlikely to be for me, but then I had been trying to reach the travel agents to change a flight booking and that was top of my mind at that second, so I fell for it and went up to answer the phone, but chose a phone nearer to my laptop than the one in the main reception.

Once I had the checkin guy put it through it was someguy speaking portuguese and all I got was something about a restaurant before I knew it was a scam and withouth hesitation I slammed the phone down and spun round like a whip. Although my laptop was still there, the guy had returned and was still acting shifty to my mind and I would bet anything that had I fallen completely for the trap, used the main reception telephone and stayed on the line to try and understand the call with possibly the help of the receptionist then by the time I would have gone back to my seat both the laptop and the shifty eyes man in the baseball cap would have been gone.

For me, there is only the tiniest doubt that it wasn't a real attack and just my paranoia acting up and the only serious doubts that I have are a) was the hotel in on it, b) could I prove their involvement and c) how long would it have been before I could get an insurance payout if at all, and finaly d) would I have had to remain here for another week or so while it all went through the system.

All in all I am happy to have my paraoid fears and my laptop than be happily at ease all the time right up until the time when I have it stolen.

Waiting to Exit

I had a thought that I could change my flights or cancel and get a different earlier flight to Peru but it would appear that this is not only an unpopular choice but one that I cannot accomplish either over the phone or via the internet.

My only chance now is to try the internet one more time tomorrow morning when the offices will be open again or to actually go to the airport and try to talk to someone there, although that has problems as I cant speak Portuguese and I have had experience trying to book something here before, its not as easy as it looks.

So the alternative is to try and use the time in Sao Paulo the best to ensure that the rest of my time in South American goes more smoothly and better prepared than my time here in Brazil.

A lesson learned the very hard way!

A Latin Lifestyle

I woke up early, or what would be early anywhere in Europe, and set out to do a little bit of early morning investigating. The second I stepped out from my hostel and looked left I saw the amazing statue of Christ the Redeemer high up on the hillside. Thats right, I saw the Dude himself the second I got outside, what an auspicious start.

I already knew in advance that it would be a hard time to find a bank that accepted European cards, I just didn't realise how hard or how far I had to walk in order to find my nearest citibank branch.

Although this place is big with tourists, and certainly the hostel though almost empty had only Americans and Europeans guests, but nobody around here speaks much English, which means that unless you speak Protuguese I now fully recommend either doing a whole lotta research before you go, book everything up with the internet before you arrive and / or go fully inclusive with a 3 or 4 star hotel and let the tour guide do all the legwork for you.

The place is a mix of modern and falling down, and there are cheap stalls to get food or a drink just about everywhere you look, so you shouldn't have to feel that they will direct you to all the most expensive places in town, and I know that with a local speaking guide around here to keep things honest a person could have a really nice time.

Thing is, that I am finding just like in southern europe only moreson, that south america really has a twin lifestyle that I am still desperately trying to grasp. The day scene is completely different from the night scene and you will have to chose which you want to focus on or face going without sleep in order to get the best of both worlds.

Most day places are closed on a Monday, seem to be dead or closed between 1 and 4 and then close up at 5 or 6 anyway, regardless of how many hours they were actually open, so you can find youtself trying to cram in a lot unless you give yourself enough days to see them all.

Then the day sort of dwindles and nothing can be done in the hours of dusk except a few restaurants and then once it gets to about 9pm then it all starts up again only the night version. This means that if you are meeting friends you have no rush to get home from work to take a shower as its all good bro, take as long as you like, the place wont open up for hours but once it does it will stay open til 2 or 3am.

I guess I never really spent long enough in London as a purist tourist to appreciate all the differences, but I am thinking that 3 days in each city is both too much AND too little, as being alone with no partner or friends I am already spending too much dead time where I can find nothing to do but also when the places are open I have not got enough time to see all or even most of them !

A familiar saying that it is quality not quantity comes back to my mind, and I have to remind myself that I chose to do things this way so that I can get a taste of each place and not become a local anywhere, so I should not really complain about things when it ends up like this.

What I do feel a tiny bit upset about is that, despite having the longest notice period of any of my world wide contacts, so far my native Brazilian contacts are really showing themselves up to be unreliable, and with only a few days left for them to prove otherwise things look pretty much like a complete no show in all three cities!

I would not have changed my route however, as reaching South America is far cheaper via Brazil than jumping to any other country here, and I have enjoyed my stay here so far, just a little more contact could have made all the sweeter.

The people I've met

Brazil may be a dangerous country, but then so is London and more teenagers killed each other in London this year than in any city in Brazil over the same period.

In other entries I have mentioned that I was staying with a friend while I was in Spain, but I didn't mention that her mother was a well respected scientist in her field and that her boss is one of the worlds leading experts.

Neither did I mention that she works alongside people stationed in one of the three largest antenna arrays in the whole of the world, being the one in her home country of Peru and of which she is supremely proud.

Well I may have only been in Brazil for two nights, but already I have met up with a guy that owns three of the apartments in the hotel block and he is equally as interesting and educated.

If I understood him correct he was Spanish by birth but married a Brazilian when he was young and spent his life in Spain as a leading Dental technician, until he moved to the UK about four years ago and set up his own practice that he has only just sold due to retiring at an early age of his mid fifties.

I won't bore you with all the details, but he is an extremely clever, sociable and enthusiastic chap that just loves the UK for it's organisation and openness and the second he learned that I was from the UK he could not do enough for me, helping me with the language barrier and also suggesting some great places for me to stay and to visit.

Like my Colombian friends back home feel about their home country, he is a little upset that Brazil has such a bad reputation, but says that that will all change and that Brazil is on the verge of being the next big place for European tourist to visit as a) the current government is pushing a massive drive of money and education for all, education which includes teaching English and b) because a lot of the other ills can be resolved through money, which he intends to pay through trade of the recent discovery of an untapped oil field that is larger than the UK right in the middle of one of their rivers.

He is also very enthusiastic about his dentistry, saying that he was one of only three technicians working in the UK using a new technology and approach to dental implants that made the old technique seem both barbaric and very prone to error.

In a nutshell, using a cat scan to form a model of the jaw they can now also design and create a guide for the dentist to drill that will give the least chance of hitting a nerve and the best possible location to place a implant for maximum strength and stability.

So no more opening flaps of skin and hit or miss hoping that there is enough bone to fit the implant, anyone no matter how little bone they have can have an implant to replace lost teeth, including advanced knowledge of if the other teeth will need reshaping, cutting back or if and how the gum will need padding to fit in with the rest of the face.

Not really about travel this entry I admit, but when the fact that my travels have introduced me to two very sociable, helpful and intelligent people then I would say that travel has at the least broadened my network of friends if nothing else.

So my advice again is, to travel, to be prepared to spend a little time talking to people and you never know who you might meet or what you might learn next.

I am not lost

I am now firmly staking credit for a new catchphrase that I am now directing at myself.

"I am not lost, I am merely in a unfamiliar location after travelling in a random direction from one that is!"

Lost often implies a certain amount of panic or emotional distress and it also normally assumes that the person has no clear idea of how they got there or in what direction to take to get back to familiar surroundings.

Even without a map and compass to guide me, If I chose to walk along the beach for ten minutes and then do a quick circle of the block to see what is around the next corner, I might be unsure what I will find but I am far from lost.

Considering that I have been labelled by the locals here as the only Englishman for 30 miles, and despite a bit of sunburn I am still the palest person you can find for about 60 miles I think that if anyone is lost then it is the car driver who recently pulled over to ask me directions, while speaking in Portuguese!

The beach is glorious, the sunshine brilliant and hot enough to melt my factor 30 right off my face in under an hour and the prices are so cheap as to be incomparable to those in London, but without a friendly face who can understand me and I them it is not my perfect location for heaven.

As for dangerous, well I guess that I must be extremely lucky then, as I have been here two full days and the closest I have come to being harmed was when I got too close to the beach barbeque.

I still leave my valuables in my room locked, I still only take enough money out of the bank to last a couple of days, but with the friendlyness of the people I am having a hard time keeping up my guard as the way of life is so relaxed here.

Outsmarting myself

There is no wifi in the hotel where I am staying at the moment, but they do have a computer in the main reception.

So I spent a long time in my room this morning, avoiding the burning hot sun, typing out a long email and saving it to my memory stick only to forget that not every computer accepts USB2 memory sticks.

I have four special bits of advice for Brazil.

Bring with you some suntan lotion and use is a.s.a.p.

Buy yourself a floppy hat, a pair of flip flops and some sunglasses, dont worry about bringing them with you as you can buy them here very cheap.

Remember that not all banks in Brazil will accept european credit or debit cards, so be sure to bring at least a little currency or exchange some at the airport and if your here for awhile it is wise to spend a little time locating the nearest ATM machine that will accept your card.

Finally, when you too decide to enjoy a nice breakfast on the beach under a cosy sun lounger and over looking the rolling white waves lapping at your toes, stick to things that you know and be prepared to wait, or else you too could find yourself eating two whole roasted baby chicks, salt covered chips, bread biscuit sawdust with accompanying salsa pepper fire sauce all washed down with a kiwi/vodka/rum cocktail that is thick enough to eat.

People might consider me boring by sticking to coke whenever I go out, but rest assured I can be adventurous, I just hate wasting money on drinks I can stomuch, especially if the service is slow and I am already dying of thirst.

Oh, and one more thing, never go walking for more than a few minutes in flipflops unless you are very used to them or like have blisters the size of golf balls all over the soles of your feet.

In factor 30 sunblock I walked for about an hour and a half and now I cannot even stand without being in some amount of discomfort.

Travel Writing

First vindication, then felt cheated before finally comes understanding and an epiphony!

With today being the first say off work, I spent most of the day at home sorting out bank stuff, cameras, mobiles phones and my sisters photo gallery { as she is unable to download the stuff onto her own PC due to it being second hand from Noah's Ark }.

At around 4pm I sorted out myself, got some last minute bits of shopping for tomorrow and then left to meet up with some friends in London who were having a reunion / leaving party / returning party and early double birthday celebration all rolled into one.

In all the world I have never seen as nice a sight as Paula and her friends all dressed up to thrill and dancing in tight formation to some banging club tunes. I cursed myself a dozen times as my new phone camera { 5 mega pixels but no zoom and a flash that isn't worth squat } was incapable of taking even a half decent photo and thus I have nothing to show for one of the best nights I have had in a long time.

The night went well and as I hadn't had much to eat I was drunk before I knew it, after which I switched back on soft drinks by about 10pm so as to be semi-sober for the train home instead of trying to not throw up each time the train lurched one way or the other.

During the train journey back to GIllingham I happened to be sitting along side a couple of women, and with no one else doing much talking it was impossible not overhear some of their conversation. One was in her early forties, full of figure and looking like she would not be out of place in the Caribbean, the other was in her early to mid thirties, of Indian background and of a mild and modest demeanor.

About half way through the hours journey their topic of conversation somehow meandered onto travel and I was shocked, surprised and elated to overhear the Indian lady say that when she was only 25 she herself went on a solo round the world trip, starting in Japan and covering many parts of the far east and Australia.

The first thing that went through my mind was that this was yet another example of someone who went away, did it and came back alive and well, thus proving it can be done and that all the horror stories should not put me off.

The next thing that occurred to me is that as she had done it, and on her own, as a slim and single woman this made her trip even more hazardous and potentially dangerous than my own, and if she had not chose to write about her trip then what makes me think that anyone will want to read mine. The fact that she had not booked and planned it in half as much detail as I have, meant even more than she was travelling by the seat of her pants and thus my effort is tame and controlled by comparison.

Luckily just before anger, frustration and depression at my efforts being poo pooed by this woman without her realising it I suddenly realised the error of my logic and found reassurance.

About 5 years ago I also travelled to the far east for about 18 days without a plan and without a fixed itinerary, and upon reflection I felt that a lot of my time could have been better spent and I could certainly have done it a lot cheaper too.

Realising that I have managed to organise some cracking deals on flights and accommodation, I came to the conclusion that her idea was more chaotic and thus without any formal structure as long as she came back alive and in one piece it could only be viewed as a success. However she probably wasted a lot of time looking for cheap accommodation, she probably did not make the best use of her time in each city and she could also probably done it cheaper had she given it more forward planning.

Now far from trying to diminish her mighty effort, which was of course both brave and successful, I am taking on board her comments but also it has finally helped crystallize in my mind who I am writing this book for and how.

In a nutshell I am writing this book for everyone that has an interest in travel.

It is for all the people who have already travelled around the world and want to compare their adventure to mine { for better or worse }.

It is for all the people who have yet to pluck up the courage to go it alone and ask their boss for a year sabbatical.

It is for all the people who have decided to go away travelling but have no idea of where to start looking for tips, suggestions and practical advice from someone who has already done it, and recently.

It is for all the people who know of people who are about to go around the world and want / need reassurance that it can be done and done safely.

It is for all the people who, for one reason or another, are unable to go travelling themselves but who can at least slightly live out their dreams through me vicariously.

It is for all the people who love reading epic stories where the little guy says "up-yours" to the big corporations and goes it alone - and succeeds.

My travels, and my book, do not have to be bigger, bolder and more life threatening than any other writers. I am not trying to say that my trip is great and everyone else's is naff when compared to mine, and of course there will be some people for which a book on travel holds no interest.

All I have to do is to keep it realistic, make sure that it's entertaining first and foremost and then just cram in plenty of helpful tips and facts, plus some good photos, and I should have all the makings of a book that although it might not be an overnight best seller of Harry Potter proportions, could find a happy home in most well stocked libraries, be they private or public.

Forget using Nationwide

An earlier blog entry said that I have finally found some good news about using Nationwide.

 

Forget it, I was wrong ... lied to ... time wasted ... the internet banking, telephone banking and branch banking is so crap that it isn't even worth the hassle of trying to use.

 

I have never had as poor customer services as I have with these people, I have NEVER entered a branch and had anyone resolve a query to a satisfactory level and I would now rather close the account than keep it going any longer.

D-Day minus 3

D-day may be just the other side of the weekend, but the start of my life starts right here right now.

I have not just officially left my work, but even the extra tempt work in the final run up to leaving the UK has now finished.

I have collected my P45, I have emptied what was my desk, I have wiped what was my computer, I have said my goodbyes, I have had one last meal with the faces that I have come to know as well as my own and I have signed myself out for the very last time.

- No more early commuter runs to a city miles away, to work for a job that is neither exciting nor inspiring.

- No more fussing with suits, ties and wondering how I can ever make it to lunchtime without going out falling asleep.
- No more pathetic office one-up-manships and office politics to bore me to tears.

But it was not all bad, or I would never have put up with it for so long.
- No more sharing lunches with my friends in the park.

- No more free broadband internet and landline calls.

- No more regular income, free health care or additional pension contributions.

From now on I have just my forward planning, quick wits, previous travelling experience and occasionally the added guidance of a friendly face, to navigate me from the safety of my home town to the further reaches on the planet and back again, spanning ten potentially glorious months.

It will sure be an adventure to remember, and though the idea may have formed many years past it really and truly only started a few hours ago.

So giddy I can't sleep

Maybe it was the drink, maybe it was the company, maybe it was saying an emotional "Au Revoir" to some great friends, maybe it was the thought of yet another injection or maybe it was even a combination of everything coming to a head, but I really couldn't get any sleep last night.

My local friends all banded around, some at very short notice, to make my last free weekend in the UK go with a bang, and thank to a house a few roads up we even had he odd firework go off in my honour ... well, after a few drinks that what I convinces myself was going on.

We had some laughter, some food, some drinks and some good conversation, and I even got to get some more practice in with my camera.

My Hostels

Well, plenty of people seem to want to know more about the route that I am taking, specifically where I am staying.

So at the risk of leaving a very obvious trail for any stalker-minded-person to follow, I have spent a good few hours compiling this list of accommodations in the order that I will attempt to visit them in.

The added bonus is that later on I can just mention a place or a hotel and you can easily find out which one it is and if to go there, or to avoid it in future.

Please consider that many of the weblinks are not official, just a page with the most information that I could find from the online booking agent websites.

Also be aware that some of the websites may have pop-ups or music. I am not affiliated with, or sponsored by, any of the websites or hotels with links below and I only provide them for the interest of anyone who is curious.

- - -

Amsterdam - Shelter Jordan
Berlin - Backpacker Berlin
Dresden - Lollis Homestay
Prague - Atlas Hostel
Vienna - Wombat's City Hostels
Zurich - Hostel Suisse
Bern - Bern Backpackers
Geneva - Geneva Youth Hostel
Lyon - Le Ville Des Lumieres
Toulouse - Albion Hotel
Barcelona - Catalina Hostel
Valencia - Purple Nest Hostel
Madrid - Ole International Hostel
Salvador - Hostel Pousada Planeta Itapua
Rio de Janeiro - Ace Backpackers Youth Hostel
Sao Paulo - Hotel Rojas
Cuzco - Loki Hostel
Arequipa - Misti House
Lima - Magdalen House
Piura - Hostal San Jose
Guayaquil - Casa de Romero
Manta - Villa Monica
Quito - Centro del Mundo
Cali - Hostal Santa Rita
Medellin - Black Sheep Hostal
Manizales - Mountain House
Bogota - Anandamayi Hostel
Santa Marta - Sun City
Cartagena - Casa Viena
Panama City - Hospedaje Casco Viejo
David City - Purple House International Backpackers Hostel
San Jose - Costa Rica Backpackers
Managua - Managua Hostel
San Pedro Sula - Los Molinos B&B
San Salvador - Hotel Villa Luz
Mexico City - Hostal Amigo
Morelia - Hostel Allende
Cancun - Casa Mexico Tipico
Orlando Florida - Palm Lakefront Resort
Santo Domingo - Plaza Toledo Bettyes Guesthouse
Santo Domingo - Hotel Freeman
Las Vegas - AAE Todd's Las Vegas Hostel
Hawaii - Seaside Hawaiian Hostel
Nadi - Nomads Skylodge
Sydney - Backpackers Headquarters
Brisbane - Bunk
Cairns - Cairns City Backpackers
Darwin - Melaleuca on Mitchell
Singapore - Axis Hostel
Jakarta - Wisma Tujuh
Surabaya - Sahid Hotel
Kuala Lumpur - Red Palm
Penang - Hutton Lodge
Hat Yai - J.B. Hotel
Phuket - Anchalee Inn
Phuket - Southern Fried Rice
Bangkok - Asha Guesthouse
Bangkok - Stable Lodge
Pattaya - Chaiyapoon Inn
Bangkok - Cozy Bangkok Place
Prachin Buri - Kao Yai Grandview Resort
Siem Reap - 13th Villa
Phnom Penh - Sunday Guesthouse
Ho Chi Minh City - Bich Duyen Hotel
Ho Chi Minh City - Luan Vu Guesthouse
Da Nang - Hello Vietnam Hotel
Hanoi - Vien Dong Hotel
Nanning - Wanxing Hotel
Guilin - Guilin Flowers International
Guilin - Guilin Oasis Inn
Guangzhou - Mei Yi Hotel
Hong Kong - Hong Kong Budget Hostel
Manila - Green Mango Inn
Manila - Southern Cross Hotel
Cebu City - Palazzo Pensionne
Hong Kong - Calton Hostel
Shanghai - Shanghai City Central International Hostel
Tokyo - bAKpAK Tokyo Hostel
Osaka - Hotel Raizan South
Hiroshima - J-Hoppers Hiroshima Traditonal Guesthouse
Hakata-Fu - Japanese Ryokan Kashima Honkan
Busan - Zen Backpackers
Seoul - Golden Pond Guesthouse
Incheon - Airport Backpackers Guesthouse
Beijing - 9 Dragons Hostel
New Delhi - Smyle Inn
Dubai - San Marco Hotel
Cairo - Wake Up! Cairo
Athens - Aristoteles Hotel

An Embassy that Rocks

If you ever decide to do some real backpack travelling in the Far East then I really strongly suggest that you pluck up the courage to take a trip to Cambodia.

Sure, it may have lovely countryside, beautiful women, Ankor Wat, cheap prices and religion practices that don't involve starting jihad's on anyone that has a shorter beard than they have, but the best reason is that you have to get a Entry Visa to go there.

What ... an Entry Visa being a good thing .... this is insanity I hear you cry.

Well no, not exactly, for aside from the fact that too many countries let in just anyone willy-nilly, the best thing about the Cambodia is that they are streaking ahead so to speak by allowing you to purchase your own visa online via their embassy website.

The form was incredibly easy to use, so easy that I only mucked it up three times from pure eagerness to complete it in record time, and another superb part was being able to send ANY decent solo head shot photo jpeg to attach to my application, instead of one of those sterile damn-i-wished-id-put-on-a-better-shirt-and-shaved-this-morning passport photos.

And what could make it even better, was that the embassy website had this lovely asian melody drifting through my speakers while I was doing it, so I got a real brief taster of being there before I even set out towards the airport.

In short ... it was a great experience and I'm now starting to think that a visa is a good idea once more, instead of continuing to liken them with a lawyers subpoena.

Inoculations

As I am barely a week away from my trip I decided that the time had come to make the long walk { spiritually at least } down to my local doctors to get some potentially-life-saving travel vaccinations.

Using the net I was able to get the telephone number and called up to see when the nurse was in the surgery to give the injections and also hopefully book an appointment. As luck would have it, they were in the next day both in the morning and in the afternoon, and so being a fully flexible part-time temp these days it took all of 2 seconds to decide that it was best to get it over and done with and get the all clear from my boss.

Sauntering down to the surgery wasn't a bad thing, as it was only a few minutes from my sisters and the weather was good, but my mood dampened somewhat when I was slipped the news that the nurse wasn't in this morning, but at least she would be in later, say at about 4pm.

Thus it was that for a few hours I made hay while the sun was shining and then at around 4pm, when it just so happened to start lightly raining, I paid my second visit to the house of pain. This time the news was slightly more promising in that, although the nurse was in, as the doctor wasn't that I would have to wait a bit longer.

However when it finally was my time, I spend more time chating with the nurse, { who was a delightfully little old Irish woman with an amazing daughter by all accounts } and deciding which countries I should visit than it took her to actually perform the tiny pinprick and push.

The only downside was the I had to purchase anti-Malaria tablets from the chemist down the road { at £15 per box, and I needed two } and the yellow fever jab has to come with a certificate and you have to go to specialist clinics to get one.

10 Days To Go

Hiya

 

Just a quick email to keep in touch as I am still awake and I have a few minutes before I can't keep my eyes open any longer.

 

Well, as it is now Friday morning { albeit very early as I haven't been to sleep yet from Thursday night}, I can now say that the real countdown is on as there is only 10 days to go before the start of my life's biggest adventure.

 

First thing when I wake up tomorrow I have to go down to my doctors in order to receive my travel vaccination jabs, and then its back home for more bashing of the keyboards in a frantic effort to re-confirm that I have booked everything that I possibly can.

 

After that I will probably complete a trial packing of my rucksack to ensure that it is big enough, yet light enough, to store all my travel belongings - something I could not really do before as I have made lots of last minute purchases specifically for this trip.

 

Take care,keep in touch and more soon.

 

~ Dickon ~

Reworking my route

With the shocking recent events in the news { namely the Russians continuing to fight despite them offering a cease fire to the Georgians }, and the continued dilemma of trying to get an urgent Mongolian and Russian Visa in China, I have finally decided against trekking back across from Vladivostock, instead favouring a more indirect but culturally interesting route.

I have not paid for all the flights yet, as it is still too early to so and I am hoping to get some good deals slightly closer to the time, but I have booked the flight out of China { as the Chinese are a bit fussy about foreigners coming in with no proof of their intention to leave again} and thus my current best guess is that the final journeys are likely to be as follows :-

- - -

Beijing, China > Delhi, India > Abu Dhabi, UAE > Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt > Cairo, Egypt > Istanbul, Turkey > Athens, Greece > Achai, Greece > Bari, Itlay > Napoli, Italy > Rome, Itlay > Milano, Italy > Dusseldorf, Germany > Aachen, Germany > Brussels, Belguim > Brugge, Belgium > Oostende, Belgium > Ramsgate, UK > Kent, UK { home }

- - -

This route, of course, relies on the assumptions that I won't have already exhausted all my personal reserves of funds, that I still have a desire to travel, that I am still healthy and fit enough to travel, that I have not already thrown in the towel and flown back and that I have not already feel hopelessly in love with some other location and vowed never to return to the UK { that final assumption is a very unlikely scenario in my opinion, but one that still a small handful of people seem keen on trying to hang round my neck ! }.

There is even the possibility that the last home stretch, being the return from Dusseldorf, might be made much more enjoyable if my friend there does indeed manage to sort out their own travel arrangements and is still able and willing to drive me back home from there, via a ferry from Belgium, however knowing how crazy life is I am still prepared to complete this part by train alone if needs be. 

Joys of Blogging

There was a time when no one I knew had even heard of a blog let alone was the author of one, including my good self.

Then over time a few people plucked up the courage to brave the world of cyberspace and laid bare at least some of their lesser secrets for entertainment and a way of telling their story.

When it was my turn to let my fingers dance across a keyboard, I was glad that I had some prior touch typing experience to help me speed up the process of turning chaotic thought into legible writing.

Months drew by and even as I was beginning to wax and wane through the lows of self enforced regular postings most of my family began their own, some in great earnest.

Then with the seeds of my travel plans firmly planted I decided that it would be much more convenient for me to restart the blog that attempt to email everyone, both home and abroad, I dusted off the old password and began to write again.

Which brings me up to date, and now that I am almost back up to speed I have looked back at the blogs of my family to find that most have not posted anything new recently, some seemly having given up the ghost more than two month previous.

Russian Conflict

Hmmm - this whole recent turn of events is unsettling, dissappointing and not to mention potentially dangerous to my health.

After visiting China I was strongly considering travelling across Russia and into Poland, but with them waging war against the Georgians it is giving me pause to think, and I may very well reconsider.

The alternatives are many, but with China being strict on proving incoming and outgoing routes it is not the kind of thing that I can leave to the last minute.

I may still fly to India and then the Middle East before going on to Greece, or alternativelty return to a city I have already been to should I have met and made a special contact with someone.

Weddings and Holidays

I have had enough people telling me about the horrors of travelling to not only become immune to it, but also to realise that in this way Travel is a lot like marriage.

 

1) Millions of people are doing it every day

2) Everyone has an opinion about it

3) Everyone can tell you a scary story about a horrific incident they once overheard

4) Even people that have done it will tell you not to do it carelessly, yet they are still likely to redo it again themselves

5) It costs a lot of money and preparation

6) It is very stressful and often best enjoyed looking back as posterity

7) Entire agencies are set up to take the hassle and stress away and to help you find the best deals ( all the while taking a hefty hidden markup )

8) Fashion and the media tell you what you should be doing and what you should be wearing while your doing it

9) The cost seems to go up and up each year, getting more and more extravagent

10) A, B & C list celebrities are happy to sell their photos and stories to make money and inflate their feeling of self worth

11) For more people big ones are once in a lifetime experiences, but for the select few they occur quite frequently

 

The bare fact is that travel is not for everyone, just like marriage is not for everyone, but travel is the kind of thing that you can get a taste for if you like it and thankfully its legal to do it again and again.

 

I do not begrudge or bemoan anyon who spends £60K on their "special day" if they have it, yet almost everyone seems to think that me spending £20K for an entire years worth of memories is pure insanity.

 

Some people spend more on a car every year than I will on this trip, and noone calls them lunatics.

Internet and Contacts

I had a bit of a rude awakening the other day when I learned that even though my laptop was wifi ready that I would still need to get a modem before I could access a wireless network { unless I was actually sitting on top of the bloody router !!! } and also that as the rest of the world was very sparse with wifi servers and routers that I would also probably need a modem from one of the mobile companies in order to have access.

 

I was even more shocked when I looked at the prices of the overseas internet costs and found that the cheapest was £10 for 30 days of the lightest email contact in existence or for more routine websurfing I could be charged anything from £4 per day upward.

 

Realising that I have already spend hundreds on the laptop and that I am trying to spend under £10 per night for accommodation, it is totally unrealistic for me to spend half as much on web surfing as on providing a roof over my head for the upcoming trip.

 

If I had realised this at the start, I would have made a bit more of an effort to book into accommodation that offered free wifi in their rooms, and I am only glad that I still have a few weeks left to check the facilities of my booking and rebook the odd reservation to include it I find myself suffering a long stretch without internet access.

 

Following my old computers giving up the ghost and my buying my new laptop, I did not appreciate how much I would lose in the way of not only photos, music and programs but also in contact information. Thus it was that I found myself spending at least a couple of hours, again, searching all through my emails and various websites that I frequent for the details of friends and family in order to ensure that I had the latest information on my phone, my gmail account and my outlook.

 

I had planned on spending the rest of the weekend emailing my friends around the world, however one email stopped me cold and had my nerves and doubts in a stranglehold of fear and panic.

 

It seemed innocent enough, being a minor flight time change from one of the many airports that I am due to fly with, however that fact that that send shivers down my spine was that it was for a flight on the wrong date. Quickly finding the original email confirmation I noticed for the first time that it too was for a completely different date than the one I needed and had scheduled.

 

A few minutes { and a AUS$20 processing fee } later I was now back on track with the right flight on the right day, but knowing that I had booked most of my itinerary late at night, accepting that this error was mine and not there is and also that I had not picked up on it before, now all my earlier doubts returned to haunt me and I knew that the only thing to alleviate my fears was that in the cold light of day to go back through all my bookings one by one, ensuring that no more Dickon errors had crept into the schedule undetected.

Friends

With less than four weeks to go before my big departure I have been doing my best to catch up with everyone from back home, and I can say that I don't think that I have never been this in-demand before in my life.

It is not that I am popular, or that anyone wants to get in the act of being mentioned in any post travel blog, but I get the impression that people are half thinking that this will be the last time that they might ever see me.

People I haven't spoken to for ages are coming out of the woodwork and making a lot of noise about meeting up before I go, asking how long it is left, and one person even half joked that he thought that I had died as he had not seen or heard of anything from me in months.

Thanks to the staff at my old { and still current } company, I have been furnished with a compact digital camera and so its no surprise that I have been snapping away whenever I have got the chance to, especially with my old friends, and then posting them on my facebook profile.

However I was not expecting that just because I met up with a female friend on her own, and took a photo of the two of us together, to have many of my online friends suddenly jump to conclusions that we were not an item, and with this realization I have now decided that from now on I will have to be more selective with my postings.

It is a shame, but although there are potentially a small handful of people out there that I am hoping to meet that I would be happy for something romantic to happen between the two of us, I will have to keep all my rendezvous secret or else I will be spending more time explaining the past than enjoying the present.

Belgian Fruli Strawberry Beer

My friend David invited me up to his local for a long overdue chat and a drink.

I have never been much of a heavy drinker, not even in my younger days, but he had been subtly raving about their Strawberry Beer called Fruli that apparently I just had to try.

The bar itself was great as it had a real open place fire and comfy sofas to sit on, but it was the long awaited Fruli beer that realy stole the evening for me.

Fruli was very strawberryish, yet still tasted like a beer and not just a fruit drink and by the end of my second I was 'happily merry' and freed of my inhibitions and coordination that only alcohol can bestow upon a person.

As I staggered back towards the tube station the fog in my brain and the smile on my face left me in no doubts that Fruli was going to be a drink that I was going to enjoy drinking a lot more of in the future.

Live Air Broadcast

This weekend I travelled down to the south coast of England to meet an old friend of mine, which was pretty cool.

 

In typical Springate fashion, despite several phone calls over the last week to confirm things, changing plans at the last minute led to a flurry of phone calls before I ended up at my destination alone and having to let myself in and amuse myself, as they were out at a DJ function.

 

Watching a complete series of House M.D. was good, especially as I have always loved watching them and there was nothing else really to watch on the box, and this quality time alone gave me just the opportunity.

 

However the fact that the next night the solo entertaining had to be repeated was not so much fun, as by then I was going stir crazy in an empty house in the middle of nowhere without even my own computer { with programs, music and Internet free to use as I saw fit } and thus I ended up going to the end of another Wedding function just to alleviate the boredom.

 

The Sunday was much better as I got to go down with him to the local radio station where he had a bit of a regular guest status, and I even managed to get in on the act with a few comments as the microphones in those places are very sensitive if your facing them even over a meter away !!!

 

As I haven't got a clue about my travel book yet, and I didn't want to talk even more about my upcoming R.T.W. trip yet again, I totally sidestepped the chance to drop a blatant plug on it, which even in hindsight I feel was for the best.

 

Seeing the studio and the modern rig that they were using was impressive and interesting, and I took a few photos which I will put up later when I can connect my phone and PC together. I chose to to take down my new digital camera as I still have not got used to all the functions yet, and downloading seems to take an eternity.

 

Being part time, I can take as much or as little time off as I like, so I have let my friend twist my arm into staying another morning at least, so we can go play a bit of golf, which involves me swinging wildly and missing every other ball, and him making my successful hits seem limp wristed by comparison.

 

Later I will catch a train back home, sad to be saying goodbye til after my return, but happy to be leaving a town so sleepy that it has no nightclubs, the pubs are closing themselves down, and the only way in or out via public transport is by bus and even that stops for the night around 6pm, week or weekend!

Base camp Kent

Things here in base camp Kent are going swell and I am happy to report
that everything is pretty much still is on schedule, even the savings
are as high as I could have asked for or wanted without my having
robbed a bank first.

After a few nervous and emotional conversations with friends here I
have my paranoia pricked enough to for me to splurge out on buying
myself a few extra gizmo's and gadgets that should ease every ones
worries and fears.

I have also renewed writing on my blog and I realised that I have got
very rusty, for two reasons but both are my own fault.

Firstly I am now spending so much time writing emails and msn chatting
with various people around the world that in an effort to help them
understand me I have severely cut back on the use of my own unique
writing style and most of the time kept myself to very simple
sentences and phrases that do not rely on a full English background
growing up watching the same stuff that I was into as a child. However
I have got so much into the habit that I find it quite hard to adjust
back into "Dickon-Speak" which is my normal vocabulary and brand of
subtle and clever humour.

Secondly, possibly through not having the internet at home for such a
long time, I have become lazy and instead of writing at least an hours
worthy writing, I have been settling for just a few dashed emails
before watching a bit of late night television and then bed.

This laziness has also crept into my diet and exercise routine. Again,
I could try and make up a while string of honest excuses as to why my
weight has crept to around the 13 stone mark { around 80 kilo's for
the metric lover ), but the bare fact is that I have been enjoying too
much good food, almost no rigorous exercise at all and far to many
fizzy drinks and candy sweets, as I have such a sweet tooth its
unreal.

The double shooting of a wedding couple from Britain who were
honeymooning in Antigua has not put me off visiting anywhere, as even
though I was never actually due to visit that particular island even
if I was they were rich, in a luxury resort and they were the fist
killings of tourists for over a decade, so the chances of two in such
a short space of time is remote ... also there were signs of a
struggle in their hotel room so it is likely that they were shot for
trying to act the heroes and fight with the twilight robbers.

Over the last few weeks I have been making a real effort to visit and
spend time with as many UK based friends and family as I can, as I
know that I will be missing them a lot on my long voyage. I will be
taking a few photos with me to put up in my room on the few occasions
when I have booked a solo room, or for if the shared room is empty of
other guests.

Like most people, I have never been away from home alone for more than
a few weeks at a time, so despite my past experiences this trip will
really test me in more ways than I might first imagine. But on the
upside, I have now ripped all of my CD music collection, and that of
my sister, onto my laptops hard drive and so wherever I go I will at
the least have my tunes to keep me company, plus with my mini portable
dictaphone and digital camera I can hold interviews with a variety of
people to get their funniest travelling stories down for the record.

Being a temp for my old company for these last few weeks should of
been the greatest coup that I could have pulled off, however the work
is not there for me and so instead of getting paid for doing my old
job they have got me doing the most boring, dullest and mind numbing
chores that everyone has been avoiding for years.

There are stacks upon stacks of documents that are so ancient that
they even predate my joining the company six years ago that they have
been recently pulling out of hidden corners and asking me to file in
date order, and to cap it all off the sun has been shining brightly
outside for days now, yet I must remain strong for just a little while
longer in order to maximise my current earning potential.

There are a few films currently doing the rounds in the local cinemas
that I am half interested in watching, but I can probably watch them
in either Holland or Germany, and as I didn't find time to do this in
either country on my visit this could prove to be the perfect
opportunity to correct this blip, and it might even give it an extra
tang of authenticity when watching Kung Fu Panda by having to read
the subtitles, even if the film is in German and not Chinese or
Japanese.

As yet I am still undecided as to what my return to the UK plans will
be, and so it is still at the moment left floating in Beijing from the
12th May 2009 onward, but I had better come up with a plan before I
get there, as the Chinese are one of the few truly sticklers for visas
being obtained in advance and strictly adhered to at all costs.