As promised, here is a list of the places that have booked to stay in:
Bangkok, Thailand
Macau
Beijing, China
Sunday, 29 July 2007
Sunday, 22 July 2007
Travel inspiration
I've been using this photo as a wallpaper on my computer at work. It's a photo of one of the many temples in Bagan, Myanmar which I found it on the internet one day. It'd be fair to say that it gets a few comments from my workmates, as it is such a fantastic shot.
Saturday, 21 July 2007
Two weeks to go!
Not long now, only two weeks until we take off. Needless to say, we are very excited!
We're basically sitting around twiddling our thumbs now. We don't have much more to do in order to get ourselves ready, so it's just a matter of biding our time. Good things come to those who wait I guess.
We were initially worried about how our cat Madison would handle living with the Muttons, but she seems to be fitting in well, taking a liking to Zoe especially. She's still her crazy freaked out self usually, but she's getting better.
We're basically sitting around twiddling our thumbs now. We don't have much more to do in order to get ourselves ready, so it's just a matter of biding our time. Good things come to those who wait I guess.
We were initially worried about how our cat Madison would handle living with the Muttons, but she seems to be fitting in well, taking a liking to Zoe especially. She's still her crazy freaked out self usually, but she's getting better.
Tuesday, 10 July 2007
Sore arm no more
We got our vaccinations last Thursday, and my arm is finally not sore any more. We got two injections in each arm, Tetanus & Hepatitis A in one arm, Polio & Typhoid in the other. Our tetanus arms had a dull residual pain for a number of days, but it's worn off now, thankfully.
We've picked up our malaria pills from the chemist (6 months worth for only $3!) and only have an E-Coli vaccination to go (we've been told that this will be an oral vaccination, so no more needles for the foreseeable future).
Our departure date's drawing closer, and we're both getting really excited about it. Have been trying to work out what to do in China for our first 2 months. It's such a massive country, so we can only do so much. At this stage the plan is relatively similar to what I've posted before, but once we get on the road that all might change. =)
We've picked up our malaria pills from the chemist (6 months worth for only $3!) and only have an E-Coli vaccination to go (we've been told that this will be an oral vaccination, so no more needles for the foreseeable future).
Our departure date's drawing closer, and we're both getting really excited about it. Have been trying to work out what to do in China for our first 2 months. It's such a massive country, so we can only do so much. At this stage the plan is relatively similar to what I've posted before, but once we get on the road that all might change. =)
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
Au Revoir 2/17
We've just finished moving out of our flat, spending this morning cleaning it from top to bottom. It's sad to be moving out of 2/17 Zealandia Street, as it has been a great little flat (and cheap to boot). We've managed to find places to store all of our stuff (thanks to the parentals and Jennie) and will spend our last month at the Muttons before heading off. We decided to move out a month before we go to avoid the hassle (and stress) of moving out closer to our departure date.
Our other good news is that our Chinese visas came in the courier yesterday. We're allowed to stay in China for 60 days from our day of entry, which should be the extent of our journey (barring any unforeseen circumstances!). It's the first time either of us has had to get a visa stuck into our passport, and we're wondering why we had to send in our photo, because it doesn't accompany the visa. We came to the conclusion that they just want to know what we look like in case we commit some sort of crime!
Anyways, only 1 months to go now until we fly out. Our Chinese visas were the last major thing we had to get sorted, so we're pretty much ready to go as of today. It'll be nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the next 31 days without having to worry about a) getting all our stuff ready, and b) moving out of our flat.
Our other good news is that our Chinese visas came in the courier yesterday. We're allowed to stay in China for 60 days from our day of entry, which should be the extent of our journey (barring any unforeseen circumstances!). It's the first time either of us has had to get a visa stuck into our passport, and we're wondering why we had to send in our photo, because it doesn't accompany the visa. We came to the conclusion that they just want to know what we look like in case we commit some sort of crime!
Anyways, only 1 months to go now until we fly out. Our Chinese visas were the last major thing we had to get sorted, so we're pretty much ready to go as of today. It'll be nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the next 31 days without having to worry about a) getting all our stuff ready, and b) moving out of our flat.
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
A Successful Weekend
Well we've got less than 2 months to go now (this time in 2 months we'll be sleeping in a guesthouse in Bangkok!).
We made the most of the long weekend (thank you Queen Elizabeth) by spending most of Saturday and a little bit of Sunday down in Auckland stocking up on equipment and clothing for our trip. We got some fantastic deals, most notably our packs from Kathmandu (they used to be $400 each, we got them for $160 each!). We also came back with some new rain jackets which breathe really well (great for the sweaty monsoons of South East Asia), thermals (for those trips into the mountains), and a few other things.
All in all it was a brilliant weekend. Managed to catch up with a few people too which was great. We still have a few other things to do before we leave, but it's all coming together nicely. It won't be long now before we're boarding the plane and saying goodbye to New Zealand for 6 months... exciting!
We made the most of the long weekend (thank you Queen Elizabeth) by spending most of Saturday and a little bit of Sunday down in Auckland stocking up on equipment and clothing for our trip. We got some fantastic deals, most notably our packs from Kathmandu (they used to be $400 each, we got them for $160 each!). We also came back with some new rain jackets which breathe really well (great for the sweaty monsoons of South East Asia), thermals (for those trips into the mountains), and a few other things.
All in all it was a brilliant weekend. Managed to catch up with a few people too which was great. We still have a few other things to do before we leave, but it's all coming together nicely. It won't be long now before we're boarding the plane and saying goodbye to New Zealand for 6 months... exciting!
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
Where we're going
We're not planning on having a fixed itinerary for this trip. We want to have the freedom to be able to go wherever we want whenever we want. However, we do have a general idea of how the trip could pan out, which is as follows.
On August 4th we'll be flying out of Auckland headed for Bangkok. From there we'll take a direct flight to Macau. From Macau we'll potentially explore Hong Kong before heading into mainland China.
From there we'll catch an overnight train to Beijing, where we'll stay for a while, taking in the sights (Great Wall, Forbidden City, and of course, the Chinese Circus!).
Following Beijing we intend to strike out west, exploring the remote western reaches of China, the ancient Silk Road, which linked the Orient with the Middle East and Europe. From western China we will head to the mountainous provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, where we'll catch glimpses of Tibetan culture, pandas, and hill-tribe peoples, as well as viewing the Himalaya and the upper reaches of some of the greatest rivers in the world.
We will cross from China into Vietnam via Kunming, following the Red River down to Hanoi. We'll travel the length of Vietnam, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, taking in sights such as Halong Bay.
From Ho Chi Minh City we will head up through the mighty Mekong delta to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. The highlight of Cambodia will most definitely be Angkor Wat, and we'll also explore the southern towns (Kampot, Kep & Sihanoukville) and Battambang, before following the Mekong River up to Laos.
The itinerary gets a bit sketchy from here. We'll probably follow the Mekong north through Laos, investigating many of the fascinating places along the way, including Luang Prabang and the Plain of Jars.
From Laos we'll cross into northern Thailand, heading towards Chiang Mai. At Chiang Mai we'll catch a plane across to Mandalay in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). We will explore Myanmar travelling roughly from Mandalay to the former capital Yangon (Rangoon), before flying back to Thailand, and spending our last few weeks on the beaches of Thailand.
I've attached maps outlining our rough itinerary below. You can click on them for a larger picture.
On August 4th we'll be flying out of Auckland headed for Bangkok. From there we'll take a direct flight to Macau. From Macau we'll potentially explore Hong Kong before heading into mainland China.
From there we'll catch an overnight train to Beijing, where we'll stay for a while, taking in the sights (Great Wall, Forbidden City, and of course, the Chinese Circus!).
Following Beijing we intend to strike out west, exploring the remote western reaches of China, the ancient Silk Road, which linked the Orient with the Middle East and Europe. From western China we will head to the mountainous provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, where we'll catch glimpses of Tibetan culture, pandas, and hill-tribe peoples, as well as viewing the Himalaya and the upper reaches of some of the greatest rivers in the world.
We will cross from China into Vietnam via Kunming, following the Red River down to Hanoi. We'll travel the length of Vietnam, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, taking in sights such as Halong Bay.
From Ho Chi Minh City we will head up through the mighty Mekong delta to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. The highlight of Cambodia will most definitely be Angkor Wat, and we'll also explore the southern towns (Kampot, Kep & Sihanoukville) and Battambang, before following the Mekong River up to Laos.
The itinerary gets a bit sketchy from here. We'll probably follow the Mekong north through Laos, investigating many of the fascinating places along the way, including Luang Prabang and the Plain of Jars.
From Laos we'll cross into northern Thailand, heading towards Chiang Mai. At Chiang Mai we'll catch a plane across to Mandalay in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). We will explore Myanmar travelling roughly from Mandalay to the former capital Yangon (Rangoon), before flying back to Thailand, and spending our last few weeks on the beaches of Thailand.
I've attached maps outlining our rough itinerary below. You can click on them for a larger picture.
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