Settle-Carlisle. One of the worlds top ten train journeys.

New years rolled around and most of our friends had headed out of the country to celebrate. We were just getting into the swing of income coming in and didn’t really have the chance to book any flights anywhere. Having read about one of the top ten train journeys in the world being the Settle-Carlisle we thought we might as well use this time off to see a little bit more of the countryside. So we booked a train trip to cover this journey. It involved a day right up almost to the border with Scotland, a couple of hours look around Carsile and then a couple more hours down to Settle to spend the night. A true old person’s holiday.

A cup of coffee meant we missed our 830am train. Watching the train pull away panic struck in as to what we would have to flog out for last minute new tickets. Luckily for a sympathetic platform man (who wrote we had missed it due to connections) we were on the 930 one without extra cost.

The weather was cold and foggy and by the second leg of our journey rather wet too. So the views were somewhat hindered – as one part we could barely see out the window. Arriving in Settle on New Years Eve we checked into the B&B and headed out for dinner. There was only a couple of places open and they were all booked out, so we ended up buying some cheese and crackers and drinking a bottle of French wine (we had from Paris) in our room before heading for a late dinner of Indian.  The night was somewhat a disappointment. But the little town was beautiful (if only it was freezing and wet as). A great way to see a decent chunk of England. An a tasty breki at the B&B J

In the afternoon after a day of walking around in the rain and struggling to find much open being new years day we headed home. After a few hours stop over in Leeds on the way home we finally made it back, cold, but pleased to say we have seen a bit more of the country before we leave.

Paris - the city of love

Early December we decided to take a trip ‘across the ditch’ being we are still living in London this referred to a weekend in Paris visiting our Friend Je, who we met while travelling through Myanmar. Much to our appreciation he agreed to put us to for the two nights and even spend a bit of time showing us his favourite parts of the famous city.

The weekend started off with a late arriving flight from Heathrow, and in true European style no early night – rather some mulled wine at the corner bar.

After a decent sleep we woke up to a treat of pasties and baguettes before being armed with a map book and set off into the sity. Though we visited the Eiffel tower the weather (being winter) was a nightmare and the highest parts were closed, so we opted not to go up. It was pretty disappointing not to get to climb, but that is the way sometimes – for one of many possible reasons you don’t end u doing something on many peoples ‘must do lists’ in various occasions. We also visited the biggest street in Paris with heaps of designer labels etc (forgotten its name) and the Arc that it descends from. And of course we went and saw the Louvre, again with our limited time we didn’t want to spend it wasted standing in line so only saw the outside. For anyone who does visit, it is highly recommended to hit this an hour or so before it opens to reduce your waiting time. I imagine it would have been at least 3 hours lining up to get in.

We hooked up with Je on the Sat evening to be directed towards a fantastic show – “How to be Parisian in one hour”, it is a one man show in English that he had seen himself and found great, a definite highlight of our short time in Paris. In my mind this would be the thing most recommended. So so funny and a real good sport about all the sterotypes of Parisian people (including the infamous attitudes!). It is shown in a small theatre of about 200 odd people and is on most nights. The star was told he would be unsuccessful by a number of theatres and no one would have him, but now he has done over 300 shows and is taking a one man act to the world. I have no doubt it will be a great success. He gets the audience involved too, which is a bit of fun. You can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2fkM9VhE50

In true Parisian style we headed for a late dinner after the show (well it started out as a late dinner for us – about 9:30pm), however we were about 15mins late to the restaurant and our table was given away. Je was determined we eat there and at some crazy time later (around 11 I think) we finally got a table. It was well worth the wait. So much wine and cheese and fondue. Fantastic time.

Sunday we headed to Montmarte for a crepe brunch (something not very Parisian – but I really wanted crepes before we left). Great views, food and company.

Before we knew it was time for Eurostar home (the train system is a lot better in Paris than London, the trains don’t muck around closing doors etc.) But not without a trip to the supermarket to stock up and wine and cheese and the patisserie for some tasty treats (including the best pastries ever). Before we knew it the weekend was over. It was one of those times we reflected on to realise our favourite parts were when with/directed by Je – the impact of having a friend to stay with when you are travelling is huge. Your experience is completely different. There is no way we can repay him for such a great weekend (until he decides to take a trip to the southern hemisphere that is!).

The city of love. Dirt. Cheese. Wine. And anger J

Argos experience

Anyone who has lived in the UK or is familiar with moving to a new country will know that once you arrive somewhere new there is a never ending list of things you need to do, arrange and buy. One of the most obvious initially is your lack of homewares. Sheets, towels and all the basics of life.

We had all sorts of suggestions as to where to head to full our needs. From the supermarket to various outlet and department stores. The most interesting worth a note is Argos. Argos is a store you walk into and first think “there is nothing in here” but low and behold in reality there is more than your can imagine. Step one, head to a catalogue and leaf through pages and pages of homewares etc. Step two, locate your desired products, grab a pencil and sheet and write down the catalogue number or numbers. Step three, had to a cashier or pay station and pay. Step four, wait for your number to be called and collect from the assigned counter. It’s pretty cool really. There just get it from the warehouse right there. Generally cheap and crappy stuff, but it does the job J

It‘s kind of like university again, but there is no friends and family to get free house stuff from. Doh. We are back in a flat, sharing bills, bathrooms and kitchens. If I am being honest that is a pretty depressing part of this whole experience. Space sharing again. Along with the general lack of funds and no current income. And that fact we have to find a flat again in three weeks (we were lucky enough to score somewhere while a friends flatmate is away travelling with a couple of cool chicks).

I job hunt here involves finding a few agencies to get out there and find you interviews. To date I have three agencies on board and fingers crossed for some interviews soon. Recruiters are generally really nice and so far they seem to be putting a lot of jobs in front of me and being generally helpful with CV advice etc. No complaints there. It seems to be quite a good system.

Other than that I am truly enjoying the generally cheap food, hating the expensive transport (but loving how easy it is), liking the ‘summer’ (better than the weather was when we left NZ) and can’t wait to have an income again.

I'm leaving, on a jet plane.

So I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again...

Well that is only partly true. We might not get jobs and could be back in no time at all and Spikes brother is getting married in March which defiantly warrants being in New Zealand. So who really knows. But one thing we are pretty sure of this time is that it is farewell to Aotearoa as our home for a significant length of time. If not London then Sydney, or who knows where. But it is time to get our lives restarted again. The essence of the journey has changed significantly now.

Stop one is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A short time to gather our thoughts, eat some good food and possibly a spot of shopping in preparation for the full on job hunt once we hit London.

Oh how I love you Dhal and roti

KL is a fantastic city. It is a strong mix of modernism and traditional culture. Everyone speaks English, which obviously is always a big up for making life that bit easier. There is a large proportion of Muslims, which means beautiful outfits and rich culture. And the food. There is no end to the food in Malaysia. The Indian influence runs strong here and we enjoyed a $1 breakfast of “Australian Dhal” as they called it (a more watery, easier to make Dhal) and rotis. Awesome, awesome, awesome. It is a lot cleaner than other places is South East Asia we have visited and when caught fresh the food is nothing short of the best.

The shopping is also fantastic. You are never more than a short monorail, walk or train ride away from one of Malaysia’s huge shopping malls. Sogo, the biggest department store in Malaysia has outfitted us with some treads required for the job hunt we are about to head into full steam. Great quality, great prices and helpful staff.

Sogo department store sale floor

Dragon at the tower

The only real sight seeing we did while in KL was a trip up the KL tower. It is 5 metres taller than the sky tower. We got a pretty cool view of the city and got a free “F1 simulator”, which turned out to see some crappy computer game which looked like something from the early 90’s. The tower, as a lot of KL is surrounded by rainforest. It is quite a pretty city.

The taxi driver who took us to the airport reflected our general experience of the Malay people, chatty, kind and open. He told us all sorts of stories about his travels, driving and even political views. I think my general knowledge on Malaysia increased 50% at least during that 45 minute journey.

As we prepare to land in Stanstead the flight attendants were instructed and consequently sprayed the plane with something in aerosol cans as required by UK health regulations... I don’t remember this experience last time I arrived here? Maybe those who flight Air Asia are high risk entrants?

We headed into our accommodation for the night, a housewarming/birthday party. It was a long time without decent sleep and a pretty intense couple of days. But we had finally arrived at what we now call home.

The journey between backpacking and 'real life'

Since we made the decision to go to London there have been a lot more decisions to be made, a lot more things have happened and there have even been a doubt or two.

So lets start at the beginning. Step one was the flights, which were all done while we were still in Asia. It worked out cheapest to take two seperate one way flights, Auckland to Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Lumpur to Standstead. No frills, no food, nothing fights.

Step two was attaining Visas for the UK. This process turned out much easier than anticipated. We did the whole process ourselves (to save money) and had our passports back in hands within 10 working days.

Spike and I with Manly in the backgound

Next we headed to Sydney for 6 days to catch up with Spike middle brother Greg and his girlfriend. we ended up being stranded by the ash cloud and almost two weeks later we made it back to NZ just in time for me to make it to a 21st on less than four hours sleep. We learnt on this trip that we have one trip only insurance. So basically I paid for a whole year, but as soon as I hit NZ shores it became invalid. What a nightmare. And f course, Jetstar didn't give a toss that our Sunday evening flight couldn't be rebooked until the following Friday (how two days of not flighing equals 5 days of delay I will never understand).

Keg & Spike looking at the lack of surf at Curl Curl

Syndey brought back to live the orginal plan to move there rather than London. The money, the weather and the lifestyle. Needless to say it is still sitting in our minds as a possible next step. Have to get a head somehow.

JetStar is really out to get me. Happens that we had the first leg of the trip to London also booked on this challenging airline. When I finally managed to get hold a person to upgrade my already purchased luggage 5 more kgs I was informed I couldn't do that. Although I could when I first booked, and I can at the airport. I could go on for quite a while with all the details, but you get the basic idea that they are retarded. I plan on doing my very best to aviod them in the furture.

Upon returning to NZ we had less than three weeks before take off. Rearranging and repacking of things, a weekend out a Bland bay catching up with friends and now I am back packing my bag again. I have no idea what to take with me this time round, it feels a lot harder than packing for backpacking. Not totally sure why.

We have somewhere to live for a month, which is nice and in a matter of a week the job and flat hunts will fully be underway when we settle into the next step. Living in London.

A small reflection

Over the last few months of my time away I put together a list of interesting things (highlights and lowlights from the trip)...

At the airport

• Hottest location - Bagan, Myanmar 45+ degrees
• Most stylish people - young Vietnamese women
• Most overweight locals - Bolivia
• Coldest location - London
• Most humans on a moto - 6
• Best tour guide - Maxi, horse riding in Cordoba, Argentina
• Worst toliet - on the bus from Nazca to Cusco
• Highest location - 4400 at the top of the death road in Bolivia
• Friendliest people - Koh Throng Islanf, Cambodia
• Cutest children - Cambodia
• Most useful gadget - sea sickness bands
• Heaviest package home - 12.4kgs, suits from Vietnam
• Single most expensive activity - Paragliding, Cordoba, Argentina
• Best 'freebie' on a tour - holding a snake in Vietnam
• Scariest activity - Teaching in Cambodia
• Best new drink - Iced green tea with honey and lemon
• Best new food - Indian - Masala bread
• Worst Accident - Tom crashing off this moto into a ditch in rural Laos and knocking himself out food and propper
• Best Mountain - Machu Pichu
• Worst tour guide - Mario on the salt lakes in Bolivia. We were promised an english speaking guide and he didn't speak a word.
• Dirtiest place -Santa Cruz, Bolivia
• Biggest mear - Not getting our Visa's pre arranged for Vietnam and paying a fortune at the airport.
• Worst place - Tie between Puno (Peru) and Santa Cruz (Bolivia).
• Itichest bites - Ant bites all up the back of my legs in Samipata, Bolivia
• Biggest rip off - Hoi An cooking class, we made basic food and the dude skipped two things we were meant to see
• Most expensive contry - Brazil (by a long shot)
• Cheapest place - Bolivia?
• Best beer - Beer Lao!
• Food I missed the most - Good dairy products
• Best purchase -New shoes in Peru (I kept falling over in my other ones!)
• Silliest located town - Hoi An, it floods every year because they are 100m too close from the river
• Favourite article of clothing - Black summer dress
• 1 thing I never used - battery charger
• Least sleep - none, from BA to Floripa. Awake for over 40 hours
• Most nights in one place - Hanoi, a total of 8 nights (in two different blocks)
• Worst journey - Siem Reap to Kampot. Were told it was direct overnight bus, but were in a bus station from 4-8am
• Longest journey - 19 hours from Hoi An to Saigon - Train
• First time I ate a whole tube of pringles - Samipata, Bolivia
• Best hostel - Backpackers Sunset, Floripa, Brazil - Great food, awesome spot, good fun.
• Favourite river - Nam ou, Laos
• Tme taken to hack into facebook when in a blocked location - 2 days, Vietnam
• Proudest language moment - When Spike was sick in Bolivia and I managed to get some orange juice off a vendor and take it back to spike and return the galss
• Number of times without power - too many to count
• Worst internet - Samipata (Bolivia) or Don det (Laos)
• Most tourist friendly detination - Thailand (the whole place!)

Until next time...

The home straight

Checking in... we had to get suitcases for all the presents

It all started with a flight from Inle Lake to Yangon (via Mandalay), followed by Yangon to Bangkok, Bangkok to Sydney, then finally Sydney to Auckland. A decent trip home that’s for sure. Followed by a nice dose of jetlag (which I seem to suffer from on any long haul flight). 

There was a crazy amount of people taking photos on the Yangon to Bangkok flight, it was really weird. Cameras and video camera all round. 

On the way to Bangkok airport

In Bangkok I got sick, so that was a great way to start the journey home. In fact I am only just coming right now. A week after being home. It meant for a non eventful last meal in Asia.

Spike and I were on different flights to Sydney, but I managed to get mine changed, which was nice. I also got a first class meal because they lady changing the tickets didn’t change my meal over to vegetarian. It was awesome!

It felt weird to be coming home, more like any other long flight. Packing up piles of things and a little nervous. Nothing different really. I guess it just doesn’t sink in. And now we are home it feels like we haven’t even really been away. Nothing changes much here.