Vietnam - Welcome to SE Asia

After another truly wonderful overnight 12 hour flight (I have never seen so many movies in my life!), and a short jump we landed in Ho Cho Minh City, Vietnam. And a big shock from Europe it was too. Its hot, its humid, its cheap and its the middle of the monsoon, making it wet too.

The reunification palace in the city is quite a surreal place to wander around. Its a great piece of architecture, grand and open. There are replica tanks in the grounds (the ones that smashed through the gates). We really liked it. The War Remnants Museum was a great experience too, even if they do leave you feeling a little physically sick. The Cu Chi tunnels were squeezy and hot, and portrayed by the locals in an odd fashion. A bit like 'we were this little oppressed people, weren't we so great at using ingenuity and traps to defend ourselves'. When in reality they had Russian AK47s. Don't get me wrong, the Americans did some utterly, utterly despicable things, but the South Vietnamese Army doesn't seem to have ever existed.

We wondered the streets for ages trying to find a little place that has famous Vietnamese Pancakes. We were not disappointed. We sat down on little blue plastic chairs, knocked back our ice cold Saigon beer, rolled up our pancakes with fresh herbs and cooked our pork on coals (our hands dripping with chilli and fish sauce). All to the soundtrack of monsoonal rain hitting the tarp above our heads. This country can do good food!

Crossing roads is an experience in itself. This country is the reason Japan's major motorcycle companies are profitable. Their scooters are absolutely everywhere! And to cross a main road takes faith and luck. Just walk slowly and allow the tide to flow around you. Do not show fear, do not move suddenly - fatal mistakes.

Upon arrival in the Mekong Delta, we organised a homestay and proceeded to have a couple of days with our own boat driver. We saw a floating market, sweet making, an old house and a bonsai garden. At one stage we went on a row boat back to the homestay............ in torrential rain! The food was great and we got a good look at Delta life, with working boats all around (and rubbish, my god!)

From here we are heading out to our next stop, Phu Quoc island.

Italia! Italia! Italia! Italia! Italia! Italia! Ita........

After a quick word on Gatwick Airport security "utterly ridiculous, they scanned our thongs for gods sake" we managed to arrive in Pisa and make it to Tash's Aunts place in Tuscany for a few days of R&R. Its a beautiful house with a great view over the tuscan valley. We lazed, ate very well and the weather was great.















She has a dog called Tasha, I kid you not. Tash thought this was unfortunate.... Greg on the other hand.... (thanks Aunty Mairi)

We made our way to Florence to see one of Europe's most beautiful cities. This was introduction to Italy, not a bad way to start. We found a local bar overlooking the river Arno and enjoyed a free (and massive) buffet of apertizers (the latest trend).

We went on to see the towers of San Gimignano (beautiful 2000 yr old town), the famous piazza of Sienna being prepared for the 'Palio' horse race, camped in Assisi under the watchful eye of St Francis (saw the Saint's Tomb and Basillica), and wandered the cobbled streets of Roma for hours on end. We could rabbit on for hours, but that would be very boring, so here are some photos.

I think the real message from Italy, with the food (Pizza, Pasta, Proscuitto, Pecorino chesse, Wild Boar Sauce, Lamb scallopini, Gelato), the cathedrals (Sistene, Florentine Duomo, St Peters Basilica), the art (the Ufizzi, Vatican Museum) , the vatican itself and the Roman ruins, is that Italians have a lust for life which is enviable and infectious. We walked for hours just drinking in the whole atmosphere. It was sad to say goodbye to a place that I have fallen in love with. We'll be back.....

London! Sunny?! Come on.....

Yes dear friends, and we have the pictures to prove it. The English weather was glorious, with a beating sun. We decided to be real tourists and see the sights that London in the sunshine has to offer. Tate Modern, the Thames, the Parliament,Big Ben, Buck Palace (changing of the guard takes forever!). A great picnic in the park beautifully catered by Sarah. The Winston Churchill War Rooms Museum was really interesting. Churchill himself sounds like a real character, staying in his PJ's for most of the day.

But we cannot stay, Italy awaits!

What happens when a 4WD is driven by a Malian?

Some very sore heads, that's what happens. We started out with a couple of 4WDs. Our Mission: Make Timbuktu before the day ends. The road to Timbuktu was long and badly in need of a grading. But I was surprised to hear that it was in pretty good nick for this time of year, and that in the wet season it is an absolute nightmare. Scary. It was OK for a while........ until someone passed us. Then all hell broke loose. Our driver was NOT to be passed, under any circumstances! He made sure he got back past, and to him there was nothing else. Tash hit the roof so hard that it brought tears to her eyes. But we got there eventually........... butt sore and dusty as hell.

When we got to Timbuktu, I was hoping for something of a mystical place. The sort of place that the name conjures up in the mind. The reality is unfortunately quite different. I think I can be safe in the assertion that.... ITS A HOLE! Its dirty and ugly and our walking tour was something of a disaster. We were followed incessantly by toutes, taken to the wrong restaurant, wrong museum, wrong t-shirt guy, wrong everything by the kickback taking guide. Couldn't wait to get out of there.

Time to move on!!

A city name for the ages

After what was reportedly the fastest border crossing into Burkina Faso ever (its amazing what guys will do when its 15 minutes before break time) we headed to the capital city. What a great name! Ouagadougou (wagadoogoo). Just rolls off the tongue don`t you think? After being in the truck and bush camping for about a week, the beautiful pool and air conditioned bar were places to haunt at our rather plush camp site (attached to a hotel). After a couple of days of rest, recuperation, swimming and beer, we set off again for Mali and the next major stop - The Dogon Trek.

The Dogon people are an indigenous tribe who live at the base and on the top of an escarpment on the edge of the Sahara 200km long. They have a fascinating culture that includes amazing dances (if we tried what they can do, major doctors bills) with costumes and ornately carved wooden masks. Wooden carved doors and locks. After being sat in the truck for a while, it was good to stretch the legs again. The escarpment itself is beautifully picturesque. Unfortunately the Sahara is beginning to encroach on their land and the Hamattan, the wind that blows from the desert, produces a haze of dust. We slept out under the stars and drank river cooled beer and soft drinks. It was great to be out and walking again.

We all headed back to the truck (with some of our companions struggling a touch) to camp again on the hostel roof and rest some tired legs. Soon we head off to Timbuktu.

Accra, Ghana and a Truck called Madge

As we are major fans of red eye flights (no really), we arrived into Accra at 3:30am with a pickup arranged. But due to a miss-communication (I communicated-they missed) we were left stranded. It always amazes me how many helpful people there are at airports, ready to be your friend. A couple of guys were very keen for me to use their mobile phone (I want to help you!). After being advised by airport staff it was too dangerous to leave the airport in the dark we decided to go back inside and wait till light and get some much needed sleep. After some Tash heroics (I was utterly useless) we eventually got to our hostel.

Ghana is a very hot and muggy place that was quite a culture shock for me. Dusty dirt lined streets, people and cars heaving through the streets, getting hassled to buy or give. But the smiles are huge and the welcomes warm and friendly. The kids are great too. We met up with our truck group and met Madge. Madge is a Mercedes Benz truck (it gets shirty if called anything other than truck apparently) with a passenger cab on the back. Its quite comfortable, with everything unpacking out of compartments in the body.

Upon leaving Accra, our first stop was lake Botsamtwi which was caused by the striking of an asteroid. Beautiful camping spot. From there we rumbled up to Ghana's second largest city of Kumasi, where we checked out a huge busling market, and spent the night in a Presbetyrian church guesthouse under massive lightning strewn storm clouds.

We were heading for Burkina Faso, and spent the next night bush camping under the stars at a place called Fuller Falls. A nice little place. As Ghana is a God fearing nation, on the path down to the waterfall there were constant signs asking us if we were going to up (heaven) or down (hell); and were we really sure? Near the border I spotted some grey shapes moving to the side of the road: A massive herd of elephants! My first time seeing them in the wild. Next stop Burkina Faso

Essouira, coastal Maroc

We spent our last few days in Morrocco in the lovely coastal town Essaioura (that's essa-weera to you and me) . Not alot to do in this little town, but's its great place for a relaxing wander - alot more chilled than Marrakech. We visted the spice markets, got a henna tattoo and ate local fish. We also figured we couldn't leave Morocco without experiencing a traditional hammam. A little man turned up at our hostel and weaved us through the back passages of Essaioura until he pointed at one door for Greg and another door for me (aka ladies and gents). I wondered into a small dark room full of local women. A semi-naked women looked at me and indicated for me to take my clothes off (i'd already received strict instructions to keep my knickers on!) and then she escorted me into another room full of mostly naked women scrubbing each other down and dousing each other with hot water - welcome to a hamman! While the experience is slighlty different for men and women, the semi-naked and scrubbing bit is there (you should see the dead skin come off YUK). All in all a great experience, we came out clean and relaxed.

Now we head to our truck trip from Accra, Ghana. Where a very different Africa awaits us.