Dear Blog readers; we have moved on!! We've been in Australia since Sunday and since we've been having such a great time we've neglected you, our dedicated followers. Our hearts go out to you from this 35 degree climate next to the sea!!!
Leaving Nepal was sad. After seeing Chitwan and travelling amongst these great people and even putting up again with the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu we were sad to leave. I have felt such a great deal of respect for the Nepali people, as they say 'the people are great but the government is useless'- I entirely agree; they have been so warm to us, considerate, helpful, smiling, giving (when they have nothing) and demonstrate the strength and most positive aspects of human beings; something you don't see a great deal of in the west (apologies to anyone who feels they have much better people around them and therefore disagrees).
Our travel back to Kathmandu saw another monumental bus ride which took 7 hours. Catherine turned to me at the end and said 'it look loads longer than they said'. I reckon we have been due for a long one as all the rest of the bus journeys turned out to be an hour or so shorter than publicised. It was fairly pleasant in terms of the bumpiness of the road but there was the maddest driver who decided to overtake everything en route around hairpin and blind corners; it was pretty terrifying especially since we saw one 'tourist' bus crashed on the side of the road. Unlike the UK this doesn't make drivers slow down... Anyway, we got back in one peice and got the welcome to Kathmandu we could expect; loads of touts wanting money out of worn out tourists. I am proud to say we were the only ones who resisted their efforts even though what they were offering, a taxi ride, was of great appeal. Catherine got the bit between her teeth on this one and told them over and over again we didn't want what they wanted and were going to walk- that we did carrying 40Kgs between us in the heat. I've done this before many a time whilst being in that position; the only thing you realise is, you don't know where you're going!! I asked the taxi drivers which way Thamel was- the tourist area we were heading for; they gave us mixed answers showing they were lieing and therefore we headed off in one direction with one thing in mind; to avoid giving anymore touts what they wanted. Well, we headed the wrong direction but finally got into Thamel- the main tourist area of Kathmandu. With back packs on our back and sweat on our brow we were like an advert to locals - 'COME AND SELL US A HOTEL ROOM!!!', more touts later and a little bit more of a walk we got to 'The Sacred Valley Inn' Kathmandu. I bartered hard and we got a discounted hotel room for a price I won't disclose as they had a good fellow on the front desk.
We had a very relaxed time in Kathmandu; two days of seeing friends we'd met on the way, eating nice food and generally organising ourself for leaving. We went to the 'Garden of Dreams', the only chilled out spot in Kathmandu - highly recommended - the ancient Kathmandu Durbar Square, and caught up with Philip who arrived the day before we left. We had a great dinner with Deborah and Philip and Luke (friend of theirs from Bangor who had come out to do electician work on a hospital Nepalis were building) as well as Deborah's brother Paul (their next visitor), on Friday night before our departure on Saturday. We were given great advice by Philip and Deborah to get to the airport three hours before departure. We were given a surprise lift from our relatives in the morning and broached Kathmandu airport. 7 scans, frisks, opening of bags, filling in of forms whilst going between one queue and another, three hours later we got to our final frisk which was actually just before we got on the plane- they were even opening up bags! It was an experience of true disorganised, overly enthusiastic security which emphasised the ease of breaking through it by the ineptitude of the staff conducting searches.
Mumbai arrival was good and so was the flight- we are getting good at sitting on flights and watching films; 127 hours was pretty traumatic when you're sat on a plane eating a curry and watching a man cut his arm off!!! Hit up Mumbai without a clue where we were staying, sorted quickly near the airport and headed in a taxi into Colaba- the tourist district. It was clearly wedding season with overly decorated stainless steel horse drawn carriages adorning every corner with bright lights in central Mumbai. Cath was quite taken with the place; a step back in terms of craziness and there was the Indian service to be experienced. Both with slightly dodgy stomachs we dined in Leopolds- the infamous cafe from Shantaram - and relaxed by walking along Baju beach; it was a pretty idillic spot for the stop we had after the first of three flights each being 5 hours each.
Next day to Singapore; uneventful flight with another film covered and another curry served- Cath is now pretty tired of Curry!!! We walked into the most civilised airport we've seen yet and had an $8 icecream each. Short stop before hitting up our flight to Perth- our last push in terms of travel- we were knackered and less entertained by the 'Quantas experience'.
On arrival in Perth we were welcomed by Drew (my mate from Uni who had holiday for a week to join us) and a dutiful cousin, Rachel, who welcomed us into the land of my relatives by picking us up at no less than 1:30am in the morning. We were happily delivered to Julia Malet (my auntie)'s flat by Rachel who demonstrated a high level of tolerance for boys beating each other up in the back of the car whilst maintaining a conversation with Cath, a real skill I think that can only be demonstrated by a mother of 4! We retired into the heat of Oz and Perth happily.
After two nights in Perth we have come to see Harry and Julia in Gracetown (my uncle and aunt), a beautiful coastal town in Margaret River, famed for wine and surfing. With a surf board attached to our roof (kindly lent by Ben) we arrived after stocking up with some beers and wine (one Perth evening saw Drew and I getting back after seeing relatives and going for a long walk looking for a bar but failing horribly!) 3 and a half hours later. We settled in, went for a swim in this lovely bay and discussed our activities for the next few days; they included going out on the boat fishing, snorkelling and fishing for abalony, going to a Winery, playing bridge and having evenings in which we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. Harry and Julia have looked after us very well indeed!! We've done everything we wanted to in this fantastic climate of Gracetown; a gentle wind, clear skies, turquoise water, 30 degrees temperature and joyous company.
Our funniest moments have included: Trying to pull the plug out of the bottom of the sea (an anchor that looks like a plug under a pontoon) and getting a photo of it- although now unable to figure out why blog insists on showing it sideways and will not flip it round.. A wine tasting session that included 3 wineries in which we tried pretty much everything in the place but only walked away with 4 bottles. Evenings of long walks and talking with Drew whilst looking at the stars. Being taught to play bridge by a master (Julia) and delivering just about adequate ability. Enjoying endless conversations with our Aunt and Uncle overlooking one of the most beautiful bays in the world I've/we've ever been to. Eating fantastic seafood and simply enjoying life (oh, and Cath had her first ever swim in the sea!).
Leaving Nepal was sad. After seeing Chitwan and travelling amongst these great people and even putting up again with the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu we were sad to leave. I have felt such a great deal of respect for the Nepali people, as they say 'the people are great but the government is useless'- I entirely agree; they have been so warm to us, considerate, helpful, smiling, giving (when they have nothing) and demonstrate the strength and most positive aspects of human beings; something you don't see a great deal of in the west (apologies to anyone who feels they have much better people around them and therefore disagrees).
Our travel back to Kathmandu saw another monumental bus ride which took 7 hours. Catherine turned to me at the end and said 'it look loads longer than they said'. I reckon we have been due for a long one as all the rest of the bus journeys turned out to be an hour or so shorter than publicised. It was fairly pleasant in terms of the bumpiness of the road but there was the maddest driver who decided to overtake everything en route around hairpin and blind corners; it was pretty terrifying especially since we saw one 'tourist' bus crashed on the side of the road. Unlike the UK this doesn't make drivers slow down... Anyway, we got back in one peice and got the welcome to Kathmandu we could expect; loads of touts wanting money out of worn out tourists. I am proud to say we were the only ones who resisted their efforts even though what they were offering, a taxi ride, was of great appeal. Catherine got the bit between her teeth on this one and told them over and over again we didn't want what they wanted and were going to walk- that we did carrying 40Kgs between us in the heat. I've done this before many a time whilst being in that position; the only thing you realise is, you don't know where you're going!! I asked the taxi drivers which way Thamel was- the tourist area we were heading for; they gave us mixed answers showing they were lieing and therefore we headed off in one direction with one thing in mind; to avoid giving anymore touts what they wanted. Well, we headed the wrong direction but finally got into Thamel- the main tourist area of Kathmandu. With back packs on our back and sweat on our brow we were like an advert to locals - 'COME AND SELL US A HOTEL ROOM!!!', more touts later and a little bit more of a walk we got to 'The Sacred Valley Inn' Kathmandu. I bartered hard and we got a discounted hotel room for a price I won't disclose as they had a good fellow on the front desk.
We had a very relaxed time in Kathmandu; two days of seeing friends we'd met on the way, eating nice food and generally organising ourself for leaving. We went to the 'Garden of Dreams', the only chilled out spot in Kathmandu - highly recommended - the ancient Kathmandu Durbar Square, and caught up with Philip who arrived the day before we left. We had a great dinner with Deborah and Philip and Luke (friend of theirs from Bangor who had come out to do electician work on a hospital Nepalis were building) as well as Deborah's brother Paul (their next visitor), on Friday night before our departure on Saturday. We were given great advice by Philip and Deborah to get to the airport three hours before departure. We were given a surprise lift from our relatives in the morning and broached Kathmandu airport. 7 scans, frisks, opening of bags, filling in of forms whilst going between one queue and another, three hours later we got to our final frisk which was actually just before we got on the plane- they were even opening up bags! It was an experience of true disorganised, overly enthusiastic security which emphasised the ease of breaking through it by the ineptitude of the staff conducting searches.
Mumbai arrival was good and so was the flight- we are getting good at sitting on flights and watching films; 127 hours was pretty traumatic when you're sat on a plane eating a curry and watching a man cut his arm off!!! Hit up Mumbai without a clue where we were staying, sorted quickly near the airport and headed in a taxi into Colaba- the tourist district. It was clearly wedding season with overly decorated stainless steel horse drawn carriages adorning every corner with bright lights in central Mumbai. Cath was quite taken with the place; a step back in terms of craziness and there was the Indian service to be experienced. Both with slightly dodgy stomachs we dined in Leopolds- the infamous cafe from Shantaram - and relaxed by walking along Baju beach; it was a pretty idillic spot for the stop we had after the first of three flights each being 5 hours each.
Next day to Singapore; uneventful flight with another film covered and another curry served- Cath is now pretty tired of Curry!!! We walked into the most civilised airport we've seen yet and had an $8 icecream each. Short stop before hitting up our flight to Perth- our last push in terms of travel- we were knackered and less entertained by the 'Quantas experience'. 
On arrival in Perth we were welcomed by Drew (my mate from Uni who had holiday for a week to join us) and a dutiful cousin, Rachel, who welcomed us into the land of my relatives by picking us up at no less than 1:30am in the morning. We were happily delivered to Julia Malet (my auntie)'s flat by Rachel who demonstrated a high level of tolerance for boys beating each other up in the back of the car whilst maintaining a conversation with Cath, a real skill I think that can only be demonstrated by a mother of 4! We retired into the heat of Oz and Perth happily.The next few days have been a combination of swimming and catching up with family. We've seen Mary Jane Pickering (my other Aunt), CEM and Rachel as well as Tabitha, Matilda, Eloisa and Arabella (their children- who gave us a rendition of 'be my guest' from Beauty and the Beast when we went over for dinner) as well as Ben and Jen. It's been a delightful chance to see our family in Perth whilst having the opportunity to swim in crystal clear water and enjoy pleasantly warm evenings.
After two nights in Perth we have come to see Harry and Julia in Gracetown (my uncle and aunt), a beautiful coastal town in Margaret River, famed for wine and surfing. With a surf board attached to our roof (kindly lent by Ben) we arrived after stocking up with some beers and wine (one Perth evening saw Drew and I getting back after seeing relatives and going for a long walk looking for a bar but failing horribly!) 3 and a half hours later. We settled in, went for a swim in this lovely bay and discussed our activities for the next few days; they included going out on the boat fishing, snorkelling and fishing for abalony, going to a Winery, playing bridge and having evenings in which we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. Harry and Julia have looked after us very well indeed!! We've done everything we wanted to in this fantastic climate of Gracetown; a gentle wind, clear skies, turquoise water, 30 degrees temperature and joyous company.
Our funniest moments have included: Trying to pull the plug out of the bottom of the sea (an anchor that looks like a plug under a pontoon) and getting a photo of it- although now unable to figure out why blog insists on showing it sideways and will not flip it round.. A wine tasting session that included 3 wineries in which we tried pretty much everything in the place but only walked away with 4 bottles. Evenings of long walks and talking with Drew whilst looking at the stars. Being taught to play bridge by a master (Julia) and delivering just about adequate ability. Enjoying endless conversations with our Aunt and Uncle overlooking one of the most beautiful bays in the world I've/we've ever been to. Eating fantastic seafood and simply enjoying life (oh, and Cath had her first ever swim in the sea!). 
At the weekend we returned to Perth for a BBQ with the family there (special thanks to Ben and Jen for hosting a lovely evening) - we had a ball. It was great to catch up with Sam and Cynthia as well on Monday before leaving Perth. This morning we flew to Darwin and tomorrow are off to Alice Springs on the world-famous Ghan railway. It's fair to say we've retired ourselves to the slow life of Oz which is a refreshing change to the hecticness and physical strain of Nepal!!!
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