April 2010 Odyssey Expedition
And they are off... 40 people, from one side of the world to the other...
Australia and the end!
Ayers Rock is still another 500km from Alice, so abit more driving and a bush camp on the outskirts of the Uluru National Park before we get up and leave at 4am to catch the sunrise. The early wakeup was definatley worth it, clear skys and the rock appeared in front of us, showing us its famous deep red colour. At times we thought that we were the attraction with so much attention from others there wanting to know what we were doing in our big orange truck!
The rest of the day we spent at The Olgas, The Valley of the Winds, and the Cultural Centre before heading to the sunset viewpoint – has to be the best location for dinner on the whole trip! Australia has provided us with some very beautiful sunsets and the drive down towards Adelaide does not disappoint – we bushcamp just outside of Cooper Pedy and Adelaide, where people find themselves watching the sun go down and reflecting on the trip that is coming to the end.
A short stop in Adelaide for a look around, and down on towards the Great Ocean Road, a great coastal drive and the chance to see Koalas in the wild. Its also a short stop in Melbourne before driving to Wilsons Promontory where the weather decides to change and we the have rain with us for the next few days on the way to Berry, where the last night of the trip and we have a truck quiz after our last supper together.
Tents packed away for the last time and bags loaded into the truck, we embark on our last drive to Sydney, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House – 225 days, 44,000km, 40 people, 24 countries, 1 truck. The memories will live on forever...!
Bali and the Australian Nothern Territory
So far...
Bali greets us with some torrential rain, but we can still do everything we want to inbetween showers – some choose snorkeling, surfing, or just plain swimming and relaxing. We’re here for a couple of days then travel 2hrs up north to Ubud, a beautiful town amongst the rice paddies. There is plenty to do from this hub, lots of day tours, and again, more swimming and relaxing. This is our last stop of South East Asia!
Bali greets us with some torrential rain, but we can still do everything we want to inbetween showers – some choose snorkeling, surfing, or just plain swimming and relaxing. We’re here for a couple of days then travel 2hrs up north to Ubud, a beautiful town amongst the rice paddies. There is plenty to do from this hub, lots of day tours, and again, more swimming and relaxing. This is our last stop of South East Asia!
We catch the short flight to Darwin where the truck meet us at the airport (the flies and mosquitos are quietly waiting at the campsite!) A day spent in Darwin looking around and restocking the camping gear, we leave here in the morning for Kakadu National Park, where we spend a couple of days driving around and seeing Aboriginal Rock Art and the vast lands of the park, and some take the cruise along Aligator River, spotting lots of crocodiles and birdlife – some truely amazing sites here!
There has been alot of rain in the Northern Territory so Katherine Gorge is closed to swimming and canoeing due to the crocodiles, so walking along the gorge is the option here, we then drive south and stop at Mataranka Hot Springs where a swim and a shower are greatly appreciated! Tonight is Halloween so we’re celebrating with a bushcamp dress up party – in the camping spirit the costumes are all made out of Bin Liners!
More driving south towards the highlight of Austraila – we’re now in Alice Springs, where excitement is building about Ayers Rock!
Till next time...
Malaysia, Singapore and Java
And so we continue...
Leaving our beach haven on Koh Samui, we head into Malaysia, heading to Kuala Lumpur for a few days – thrown right back into the hectic city with stunning sights as the KL Tower and Petronas Towers, and a huge 7 story Mall right outside the hostel door!
Melaka is our last stop in Malaysia, where we do a final truck clean as we now won’t see the truck until Australia, and now having to carry all our our things for the next 2 weeks through Indonesia causes a few extra trips to the post office to offload excess gear!
Singapore brings us back to the western world in a hurry, adding to the western prices – a reminder just how cheap some of the other countries have been! The zoo is a massive attraction here, one of the best in the world and keeping the animal lovers entertained for the day!
We leave Singapore on a fast ferry to Batam, the first Indonesian island, for an overnight stay before getting on the big 30hr ferry that takes us to Jakarta. We’re somewhat of an attraction on the ferry with the locals – but we’re pretty used to being looked at by now!
Jakarta, the city of over 20 million, is busy. Some sightsee, some try and dodge the heat by staying in the air conditioned malls – going to the Cinema for £1.50 – that is nothing to complain about! We headed on the train to Yogyakarta for a few days, visiting the palace, the Dieng Plateau, and the famous temple Borobodur.
From Yogyakarta, all loaded into 3 mini vans that take us to Gunung Bromo, the still active (but luckily dormant for us!) volcano. A 3.30am start to head to the viewpoint for sunrise rewards us with the most amazing views, then to the volcano for a close up look at the crater. This is our last stop on Java before we catch the bus and last ferry to Bali.
Till next time...Cambodia and Thailand
And so we continue...
And the monsoon continues... rain most afternoons, but we can still see all that is to be seen here. Phnom Penh offers the Grand Palace, S-21 Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields Museum, a fairly sombre day for us to re-live the memories of this country.
Next we head to Siem Reap, for the main attraction of the Angkor Temples. One could spend days walking around the marvels of this place, a truely amazing place to see in ones lifetime.
And Cambodia brings on the discovery of the fish massage – where you can put your feet into a pool with medical fish to take away any dead skin – doesn’t sound too good, but it does prove to be very entertaining!
We’re into Thailand next, bushcamping before we get to Bangkok, managing to find a temple with grounds for us to camp in, the rains threatening the offer for us to camp in their community hall – and they had wi-fi as well as a shop the sells beers – the kind of bushcamp we like!
Some of us chose to go down to the Full Moon Party on islands, while the rest of us enjoyed Bangkok and Kanchanaburi for a few days, seeing the Bridge on the River Kwai, and the Tiger Temple also in the area.
Leaving the city behind, we take 2 days to drive down to the Islands (with a few Tesco’s stops on the way!) for 5 days of bliss on the beautiful island of Koh Samui. Plenty of relaxing, diving, reading and all things people do on 'normal holidays'!
This is our last stop in Thailand before we heading into Malaysia – we’ve got just 6 weeks to go on our worldly tour!
Till next time...
Laos and Vietnam
So far...
After a couple of days driving to get to the Laos border, we exit China with the same stringent formailities that we enter – lined up in number order, in 4 very straight quiet lines! Paperwork stamped, we’re free to take the short drive to Laos and start out next adventure in South East Asia.
After a couple of days driving to get to the Laos border, we exit China with the same stringent formailities that we enter – lined up in number order, in 4 very straight quiet lines! Paperwork stamped, we’re free to take the short drive to Laos and start out next adventure in South East Asia.
After a bushcamp we drop off some people in Nhong Kwai, so they can get the slow boat along the river down to Luang Prabang to meet the truck there where we spend a couple of days visiting temples and adjusting the palate to food that is not Chinese (beautiful French baguettes)!
We then drive to the Plain of Jars, a site that is funerary jars from 600 years ago and then carry onto Vang Vieng, where one of the main attractions is tubing along the river (where bars that are dotted every 2 minutes along the river) – a great day was had by all.
We then drive to the Plain of Jars, a site that is funerary jars from 600 years ago and then carry onto Vang Vieng, where one of the main attractions is tubing along the river (where bars that are dotted every 2 minutes along the river) – a great day was had by all.
The week in Laos quickly gone, we drive towards the Vietnam border where we say goodbye to the truck for 2 weeks while we’re in Vietnam. Joining public transport, we head down to Hue for a couple of nights and start to get used to being in Monsoon, managing to dive into restaurants or bars when the rain hits every afternoon for a couple of hours – things could be worse!
We could spend months in Hoi An getting tailor made clothes and shopping but we must press onto the beautiful beach of Nha Trang and Mui Ne for some much needed rest and relaxation, and cooling down when it gets too hot!
Ho Chi Minh City brings us back to life, with its hustle and bustle, and taking hours to cross the street in fear of getting hit by all the scooters, we can escape down to the Mekong Delta to see how live is really lived on the waterways of Vietnam.
We’re into Cambodia next!
Till next time....
China
So Far...
We arrive in Beijing early after the overnight train (after the unpleasant experience of standing the whole way), going straight to the hostel and hitting the sights straight away! Beijing has alot to keep us occupied over our 5 day stay – the Great Wall, Summer Palace, Forbidden City and Tiannamen Square. Alot of us indulged in Peaking Duck as well!
We head back to Xi’an on the overnight train and stay for the last chance to get to the Terracotta Warriors, then its on to Chengdu, where we spend a couple of days in this every growing city. The main attraction here is the Giant Panda Research Centre, Danny and Claire take up the opportunity to hold one of these cute cuddly animals!
Next we start the 4 day drive to Lijiang which takes us through some remote country side and villages, seeing some of the China that is yet to be touched by modification - and some even without electricity, taking us through forests , plains, mountains and lakes.
Lijiang is an traditional old town, where some take a trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge, and some, in traditional UKTOOZ style, spend alot of time at the New Amsterdam Bar! As well as the sights around town of course! Dali is the next stop just down the road, another traditional town on the edge of Lake Erhau, hiring bikes to visit the sights was a great way to stretch the legs after the last weeks drive.
From Dali we headed towards Kunming and the Stone Forest before driving out of China where we start our South East Asia in Laos!
Till next time...
Tibet
And so we continue...
We leave Kathmandu full of eagerness for the coming weeks in Tibet and China, our last stop is Borderlands, 20km from the China/Nepal border in the mountains and the rain. A few of the adventurous ones head straight for the last resort for their last chance to bungy or swing off the bridge there.
We enter China without any problems, just a number of checks by the Chinese Immigration and we are straight into the Pot Noodles! This is where we meet our guides, Pemba and Leon, who will help us through Tibet and China.
We begin our drive up to Everest the next day, the bright blue skies greet us after a hair raising drive up the pass to the Plateau. Within a few hours we are at altitude, and find a bushcamp with some spectacular views of the mountains, well, would have been if the clouds had cleared! The anticipation of seeing Everest tomorrow is in the air so an early night to start off on the drive up the Everest Base Camp road in the morning. The drive is slow, but we make it to the second base camp that night, unfortunately the clouds were not in our favour there either, but we are still happy with being at the 5200m Base Camp. A few hours drive in the dark to get back down to an altitude which we could sleep at, one of the major highlights of the trips ticked off now, we head to our first Tibetan town of Shigatse and the Zashilunpu Temple.
A short drive to Gyantse to the monastery and fort there, and we manage to time our visit with the start of the town’s local festival, the town is very busy and there are plenty of typical festival activities to entertain us – Tibetan style! We saw the horse racing but just missed the yak racing by one day – shame!
Next stop Lhasa where we are down at 3700 and are able to breath a little easier. The Potala Palace is the highlight here with other sights thrown in. This is our last stop before the big drive into Mainland China and the weeks bushcamping that it takes for us to get there so we lap up the luxuries of the hotel and showers!
After 8 days driving we arrive in Xi’an, were we're spending a day, we’re about to head up to Beijing on the train. It’s summer holidays here at the moment so it’s very busy!
Till next time...
Nepal
And so we continue...
We leave Varanasi for the long drive to Nepal, taking in the last bits of scenery India has to offer, and crossing over to Nepal later that day. The 1st night in Nepal bought us a reminder that it is monsoon season with the heavens opening up at 3am with a mad rush to put the flys on the tents!
Our first stop here is Chitwan National Park, with lots to keep us occupied with elephant bathing, elephant rides and canoe rides through the national park, after a couple of relaxing days here, we head for Pokhara, set amongst the Annapurna Mountains and along beautiful Lake Fewa. Quite a few of us took the opportunity to start their 2 week break here and head off trekking in the mountains, or just relaxing along the lake.
We also say goodbye to our travel companions Chris, Jake and John here as they go off to continue their travels elsewhere. A send off with a visit to the Steak House and a night out at the bars in Pokhara before they head off.
The rest of us head off to Kathmandu to spend the 2 weeks visiting the many temples and sights around the Kathmandu Valley, and a day trip up to the Last Resort for a day of jumping off bridges, rafting and Canyoning.
We’re now spending the 2 weeks break from the truck, doing our own activities and getting ready for our next stop - China.
Till next time...
Pakistan and India
And so we continue...
After exhausting every avenue, a lot of the group were still not able to obtain their visas for Pakistan due to the current political situation so they had to fly across and met the truck with the remaining passengers in Amristar when it entered India, but for those who stayed on the truck from Yazd we drove to the Pakistan border, endless hours of desert broken up by a few towns along the way. We stop at Bam, to visit the citadel which was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 2004. They are slowly rebuilding this to its former glory, but as all the mud bricks are made by hand, it will take many years to complete. An amazing site and a reminder of the damage nature can inflict on us.
Crossing into Pakistan, the change in culture and temperature change immediately, for the girls, we can finally take off the head scarves we’ve been wearing for the 2 weeks in Iran – a great relief with temperatures hitting 40 degrees and over!
Due to the unrest currently in Pakistan, the police put us under escort for the entire stay in Pakistan, and it was advised that we should drive straight towards the Indian border to be on the safe side so we quickly get used to having guards constantly around, even having someone with a gun escorting us to the toilet!
A couple of nights in Quetta and we start the drive east. Adam quickly gets used the the mad driving style that they have adopted here – more like playing a racing car game on a PS2 rather than actual real life!
The scenery along the way is amazing, changing from desert to green rivers, rice fields and then back to desert.
The next major stop was Lahore, where we spent a couple of days before we cross over into India, where we are anticipating cooler weather and a nice cold beer!
We enter India in a bright and animated fashion with the border ceremony at Attari Road, a famous parade made by the Pakistan and Indian border guards going back many years when the border was disputed. Great entertainment and a real change seeing the beautiful colours of the Indian clothing and music.
A couple of days in Amritsar to visit the Golden temple and others, then we headed up to McLeod Ganj, where the Dali Lama is in exile. Apparently we miss him by a couple of days, but the vibe and calmness of the area is a relief from the rest of India – and the weather is just about cool enough for a jumper! Temples, walks, cooking classes and museums fill in the time here before we take the 2 day drive down to Delhi.
Delhi is in operation Commonwealth Games mode, with just over 3 months till they begin here, so there is alot of building work and landscaping going on here to get the city ready – as if Delhi wasn’t busy enough already! A couple of days here to see the sights, and a chance to escape the heat at the cinema to catch up on the latest
movies!
Jaipur is next on the list, the Amber Fort, and City Palace the main points here, as well as a few more temples and an observatory, as well as an air conditioned ice cream parlour which pleased many!
Agra to the Taj Mahal and then to Varanasi to experience the final steps for many Hindu, the Ganges and its cremation Ghats, an early morning boat trip with our guide Mr Chapatti telling us about the day to day happenings on the Ganges.
From here, we’re driving to Nepal, hoping for some cooler weather, and some more amazing sites!
Till next time...
Iran
So far...
We left Turkey under blue skys and clear weather with perfect views of Mt Ararat to see us into Iran. We’re now dressed in our chadors, covered from head to toe which is required for our 2 weeks in Iran, the weather gets hotter, but we’ll get survive as we’re now in one of the friendliest countries in the world!
We left Turkey under blue skys and clear weather with perfect views of Mt Ararat to see us into Iran. We’re now dressed in our chadors, covered from head to toe which is required for our 2 weeks in Iran, the weather gets hotter, but we’ll get survive as we’re now in one of the friendliest countries in the world!
After the border which takes up most of the day, our first stop is Tabriz where we first experience the local hospitality, students wanting to show us around the town and also practice their English with us!
The we head up north to Babek fort for a hike up the mountain to get some exercise and some fantastic view. We then head down to the Caspian sea, bushcamping on the top of a mountain, looking out over the landlocked sea and the beautiful scenery – in awe that Iran is not all desert!
Mauslah is our next stop for a couple of days, some chill out time in the cafe’s with some Shisha Pipes or more hiking in the hills – whatever takes your fancy around here!
The next stop was Esfahan, a beautiful city with plenty to keep us occupied for a few days, visiting mosques and other sites around the city, lots of tea drinking in Imam Square and a few began the hunt for the perfect Persian carpet, in which some succeeded!
From Esfahan we headed to Persepolis, heading south to the desert and the heat, with the days heat getting up to 39 degrees. After a bush camp at Persepolis the days drive up to Yazd to a hotel and air conditioned rooms was eagerly received. Now out to explore the desert city, trying to escape the heat!
From here the truck now heads to Pakistan, Till next time...
Turkey
So far...
Turkey greets us with open arms as usual, and some blue skies which we are slowly getting used to again. The first job in Istanbul is to go to the Iranian embassy to apply for our visa’s there, good practice for us girls to get used to wearing head scarves and black chadors! After a morning there, the time was our own to wrap ourselves in this great city – mosques, bazaars, spice markets, palaces, and everything else on offer, the few days here passed quickly.
Turkey greets us with open arms as usual, and some blue skies which we are slowly getting used to again. The first job in Istanbul is to go to the Iranian embassy to apply for our visa’s there, good practice for us girls to get used to wearing head scarves and black chadors! After a morning there, the time was our own to wrap ourselves in this great city – mosques, bazaars, spice markets, palaces, and everything else on offer, the few days here passed quickly.
Followed by a trip down to Galipolli for the Anzac Day memorial service, an amazing experience for all that attend. From here we headed to the ruins of Troy and Efesus before heading to the beach for some much awaited sun and sand. A few rain storms didn’t dampen the spirits and we were able to break out the beach volleyball before!
From the beach at Selcuk down to the beach at Oludinez for more sun and sand for boat trips on the med and paragliding, then the drive along the beautiful coastal road to Olympos for a day of relaxing in the tree huts. Then down to the Ilhara Valley and Goreme for some beautiful scenery, lots of walking, quadbiking and hot air ballooning.
From Goreme we started our drive east towards Iran, stopping at Nemrut Dagi and Lake Van on the way. A day in Dogubayazit to get the Chadors for the girls and drink the alcohol on board and we’re ready for Iran!
Till next time...
Europe
We’re on the road! After lots of preparation and anticipation the 6th of April finally arrived and we’re all packed up and ready to go. After an early start the 40 of us head down to Dover under sunny skies to catch the ferry over to the continent, to start our big adventure.
The first couple of days we drove towards our first stop, Prague, the first opportunity to stretch the legs and see the city for a day, leaving here and heading down to Vienna, then Budapest and hitting Romania for a visit to Transylvania and Bucharest before travelling down to Bulgeria, stopping at an amazing campsite at Veliko Tarnova, the scenery is stunning and a great place to get out in the hills on feet, car or bike. A nice change from the cities and making the most of the great weather which has finally arrived to us
We’re off to Turkey, stopping at Istanbul first – an exciting city with something for everyone.
Till next time...
Singapore and Indonesia
So far...
After saying goodbye to the truck and James we headed into Singapore on local transport. Time for the long awaited Singapore Sling at the notorious Raffles Hotel, visits to the zoo/night safari and to take pole position at the Formula one track!
Leaving Singapore it was time to experience the less conventional transport that we had been used to. First off was the 45 minute journey on a catamaran to the ship building Island of Batam in preparation for our 30 hour ferry journey down the South China Sea crossing the equator to Jakarta.
30 hours of fun filled entertainment included jumping ‘Kinder’ spider competitions, coin football, keeping the locals at bay with our Karaoke attempts and Eoghan taking us into the early hours with his guitar playing and group sing-along’s.
Slipping quickly back into the developing world after a whirlwind of money and malls was strangely comforting. We took the train down central Java home to active volcano’s with the last couple of months being no exception. Unable to visit Mount Bromo as there was a 30km exclusion zone we decided to visit Mount Merapi still smouldering from last Novembers eruption. Surrounded by devastation we were reminded just how powerful and unpredictable nature can be.
Onwards to Bali, a feast of activity....... surfing and more diving was to be had including the Liberty Wreck dive, which lies just offshore from the village of Tulamben. Some decided to leave the tourist frenzy of southern Bali for a two day boat excursion sailing and snorkeling around the islands of Central Nusa visiting the notorious island of Komodo to see the dragons whilst others took in a mountain bike trip. Starting in Northern Bali with a stupendous breakfast view overlooking Volcano ‘Gunung Batur’ and lake Batur the trip took you through central Bali visiting traditional self sufficient homes and villages, coffee plantations and rice paddy fields.
Time to hit the Northern Territory of Australia and the last stretch of our trip! Are we really almost there?