dicky and dobber's diaries.

Last Day.

2007-06-03T05:47:28Z

Well, it's now less than 24 hours until we leave Thailand and start the mammoth journey home via the far east!
The last few days in Bangkok have been really good though and a definite eye opener!
On friday we went to the famed "MBK" shopping centre to stock up on Jeans (Sho) and numerous cd's and dvd's. The place was absoloutely massive! At the end of the day we went to see Shrek the Third in the cinema there. Is it out in the UK yet?? Anyway, it was pretty funny and We'd reccommend it.
Yesterday we went to the weekend market, the size of which I have never seen before. Imagine Hull city centre, under cover with 100,000 (actual figures) people and thousands of stalls in 35 degree heat. It was excellent but really tiring. We only lasted maybe four hours, maximum, before we had to retire to the air conditioning of our hotel.
Shonah decided that she'd like a suit made for job interviews when we return so we found a reallly nice little tailors shop near to our hotel which seemed really genuine, and a far cry from the dodgy ones you read so much about in the Lonely Planet. She's decided on it all and has had her 2nd fitting, with today being the collection day! I have to say, it looked brilliant! In addition, I had another two shirts made up (as did shonah), which I hadn't intended on doing, but the prices are unbelievable and the quality is top notch. I figured I might as well do it now before im even poorer at the end of my masters and need shirts for interviews etc.
Anyway, today I'm noty sure what were doing. One big task is trying to figure out how to pack all the stuff we've bought and accumulated. I think a new cheap bag might be needed!
Can't wait to see everyone. Even max!! haha.
See you all soon,
Rich and Sho

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In Bangkok

2007-05-31T15:58:29Z

Today we travelled from Koh Tao to Bangkok after a long 3 weeks on the beach. We were certainly ready to move on and what we have seen of Bangkok so far looks really interesting. We are staying in the main backpacker area called 'Kao San Road' which is full of stalls selling all kinds of things. Think I will have to be careful with my purse strings!!!!

Tomorrow we are heading to a shopping centre called "MBK' and apparantly it is one of the best in Thailand. It's more of a big indoor market we think.

Not alot more to say really, but we are looking forward to home soon. Only 3 days left... I can't believe it!

Hope all is well

Love Sho and Rich
xxxxxxxxxx

P.S : Mum Tulip - Did you manage to get my car MOT'd. Would be a great help!

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103 days gone

2007-05-25T06:16:20Z

Well, I'l be honest, this is a kind of retrospective look back on what we've done so far (and I hope it doesn't come across as really cliche, and patronising and sickly), as today, for probably the first time, the realisation that we now have under two weeks left of our trip has really hit home. It's not in any way that we're not wanting to come back - of course we miss our parents, friends and brothers and sisters, as well as sausages (proper sausages, not little orange things full of gristle), beds with duvets, (not blankets full of bed bugs and the now familiar, and admittedly, quite comforting, fusty smell), pillows with no lumps and pillow cases, and being able to cook our own food without having to pay for it every evening. But would we have changed any part of it? Not a chance. Would we have done anything different?No way. But why? When we consider that we've both been really ill - shonah really really ill, and have been on some horrible journeys, eaten some absolutely foul (but enlightening) food, we have both had such an amazing time that we wouldn't change one thing. Not even eating that fateful curry in India that gave me gastroenteritis, or Shonah eating that doomed Tuna Sandwich, which resulted in me having to pull her off the floor, unconscious, of the dirtiest bathroom floor in India, or even having the migraine which crippled me with blinding pain for 36 hours in Sri Lanka. Not even losing our backpacks as the train we arrived at the malaysian border on left as soon as we got off to sort our visas. Why? Because it's all been a massive part of the trip, and these, as well as the beautiful beaches, trekking amongst 8000 metre peaks, seeing the burning ghats in Varanasi and not to mention the dozens of people we have met, some of whom I hope we will keep in touch with for a long time to come, are just as valid memories, and in a way, high lights of our trip. It was easy at the "bad" times to think, "oh shit, this can't get any worse, why are we even here?", but in retrospect, every crap day, was proceeded by a day where we saw something that we'd never seen before, or had only seen as pictures in books and they completely blew us away. In a sense, making all the shit that we'd been through the day before, the haggling for train tickets or whatever it was, was definitely worth it.
Again, this probably all sounds sickly and typical traveller waffle, but we both agree that it is the best thing we've ever done.
Working 70 hour weeks in Halfords? Well worth it! Missing out on a night in the pub to save a few quid? Not even a chore now!

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Another escape from the heat!

2007-05-23T07:26:52Z

We have just had to come to use the internet for bit as it is sweltering outside. Think it's one of the hottest days yet. Nothing much to say as we haven't really done very much since I wrote the other day!

Rosa: It's a shame about your interview! Can't you try to get them to interview you on another date? I'm sure they would understand with you having a final exam? Not long now till you are hitting the beach! All that hard work for your exams will be worth it when you get on that plane to sunny Spain. Did you and Barry buy a new car? Love Sho xxx

Jim: Have a fab hol and good luck in your exam Pleased the jacket fit you! We went round nearly every shop in Pokorah trying to find a decent one. So you failed in your challenge to drink the box of wine! you lightweight you! Did you fall asleep in the garden like I did at Rich's B'day? lol! Love Sho xxxx

Mum Tulip: Is there any chance you could get my car M.O.T'd for me at the end of May. There should be no problems with it. Perhaps it could go to Gowlands? Just that I want to insure it as soon as I can when I get back and it's gonna be quite hectic as the peas start in June.

Dad: I will call you. Will you be in tonight or at Grans? I'll text you anyway ! Lots of love. Hope Gran is a bit better!

Loads of love from Shonah and Rich
xxxxxxx

Messages from Rich: -
Jim - There is no fight to be won regarding the double bedroom! I went out and bought the decorating stuff, and helped to strip it. Therefore for this summer the double room is mine!! Also, whilst I was at uni, i had to use the single room when i was back over summer etc, this means that you have to follow suit im afraid! You'd best get used to a single bed! Lol.

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We passed our test!

2007-05-20T07:51:51Z

Hello,

We passed our 'Open water Padi diving course'! The exam was pretty easy I must admit as you can tell from our marks (97%). The last day diving was awesome as we did 2 eighteen meter dives amongst some amazing reef. The second dive was cut short as Rich seems to go through his oxygen quicker than most people (think he must have huge lungs). The instructor was even surprised as he had never seen a tank go down so quickly. I had 90 bar left in my oxygen tank, the instructor had about 80 but Rich only had 17 by the time we reached the surface.

Is this the same course as you did Dave?

We had a few well earned drinks that night to celebrate. The beach bar here has a happy our from 4 till 7 so that suited us a treat. We ended up going straight from sunbathing to enjoying cocktails and watching the sun go down. It was lovely!

Yeasterday we hired a quad bike and we went exploring the rest of the Island. It was great fun but I'm so pleased we had a quad and not a normal bike as the roads (mud tracks) were terrible. We went to the south of the Island to discover some of the beaches. One of these beaches is called 'Shark Bay' and we did actually see some sharks swimming there. Scarily only about 10 meters away from a couple of snorkellers!

Today we are back on the beach sunning it but it's seriously hot so we had to get into the internet cafe for an air con fix.

Hope all is well

Love form Shonah and Rich

xxx

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Diving in Koa Tao

2007-05-16T12:39:38Z

Hello

Today we finished the second day of our diving course which has been fantastic so far. We did 2 twelve meter dives today and saw some amazing fish!!! Bright yellow, Blue, multi coloured even! Tomorrow we do 2 eighteen meter dives then we have our final exam which is meant to be really easy! It's strange using our brains again though. We will let you know if we pass!

Love from us xxxxxxxxx

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Koa Tao

2007-05-13T11:07:38Z

Last night we caught the overnight ferry from Railay.
Railay was a pretty cool place, although the weather was pretty crap as storms seemd to be lingering over Thailand for a couple of days. We did get some breaks in the cloud and the sun did shine which made it a really beautiful place. The surrounding area is predominantly limestone cliffs which have (the vast majority anyway) been bolted up to cater for the hoards of people who come here to try climbing. Anyway, we managed to find a pretty nice little bungalow right at the top of a cliff, although in the end we decided only to stay for 2 nights as we both really wanted 3 weeks on the beach to end our trip with.
This meant we had to get the ferry at 11pm from surat thani on the east coast to Koh Tao Island. It's lovely here and there is a fab beach with white sand and really clear turquoise water. The boat trip was pretty auful (Rich didn't mind it though as he drank 8 beers and fell asleep). The sleeping arrangments were pretty dire!... in fact, they were slave ship like. It was literally about 100 single matresses laid out in the hull of the ship. The journey took from 11pm till 6.30am this morning so we are pretty tired as you can imagine!

Hope all is well

Love Sho and Rich

Dad: Is Gran out of hospital... send my love
xxxxxxxxx

Rosa (fellow Dobber): Thank god you are not hurt after the car accident. I'd have cried till I died if anything ever happened to you. Can't waiot to see you XXXXX. Come and stay at our house.

Mum: Hope you had Fab hol!

Love from us!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Leaving Ko Phi Phi tomorrow

2007-05-09T08:21:01Z

Hi people

Shonah here! How is everyone?. We leave Ko Phi Phi tomorrow to go to a place called Railay north of here and on the main land. It's a coatal town and is meant to have lovely beaches. It's raining today...CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!!!!! Last night we got the boat over to the main town on the island to get some food. AJust after we had finished eating, these huge black clouds came across which looked really really black and evil!... and they were. Unfortunatly for us, no boat men would take us back to our beach because of the storm so we had to walk... for 45 mins and in a torrential storm, through a jungle and with only Rich's mobile as a light!

All is well anyway

Love 2 all

Shonah

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Ko Phi Phi

2007-05-07T10:13:56Z

Since the lat entry we've moved from Koh Lanta to Phi Phi. This was largely because Koh Lanta was absoloutely dead, which was nice in a lot of ways, but limited us to eating in the same restaurant ever5y night. Anyway, Phi Phi is the sterotypical , jaw droppingly beautiful tropical island. The sand is pristinely white and the sea an incredible turquoise.
There are no roads on the island so pollution and traffic noise is not a problem. We had to get to our beach via a long tail boat which gives the place quite a remote feel.
We're currently staying in a bamboo hut right on the beach which is more than adequate for our needs.
Since we arrived we've spent all day just lounging on the beach planning our next move, although never actually deciding on anything - it's really difficult to make any decisions to leave when you're in the perfect setting!!
The islands of Phi Phi were devestated by the Tsunami in 2004 and it's still really evident how scary and completely destructive it must have been. There are trees everywhere with masses of ribbons tied around them which serve as a memorial to the 8000 people that lost their lives. There is also still lots of rubble and derelict buildings around which also lends the place quite an eerie feeling. Shonah says it reminds her of Pompei.
We are considering (no set plans yet) moving in a few days to a beach called Railay near Krabi which is a bitr of a climbers retreat apparently? We'll see anyway!

Hope all is well!

Rich and Sho
xxxxx

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Koh Lanta

2007-05-02T08:57:06Z

Not sure what we had detailed in the lasty entry? Anyway, we've now left Krabi and got a couple of ferries to the Island of Koh Lanta in the Andaman Sea. It's all very nice, except it seems to be the end of the season , meaning everything is realy quiet and pretty dead. Stil, our hotel is serving beer stil and they have fires on the beach at night which makes for a really good atmosphere. We al ended up swimming last night at gone 1 am, after what some might deem to be a "skin full". Excelent night anyway!
Tomorrow I think we're going to move on to Ko Phi Phi, which by all accounts is a bit busier and a whole lot prettier. (although it been busier might not be such a good thing?!) Plus, I can do my diving course here more easily if theres more people about. I'm desperate to get it done and then hopefully we'l both be able to spend the remaining weeks exploring the world of our sub-marine counterparts. I can't wait and I reckon Sho is too, although at present she seems too laid back to get worked up about much!! Haha. I think we're definitely getting back in to "Goa mentality", where we dont wear watches, and eat and drink and sleep as and when we want to! It's such a good way of life.

mike J - Good to see you've joined our little group of followers! Hope the newbies at work aint too spastic like. I'm sure you can give em a boot up the arse if needs be? Ask Jez if he wants any fags for us will ya? If so il get em on way back!

Mum and Dad - Glad to hear you're both ok. Il try and get to a phone before wednesday but they seem to be pretty few and far between on this island. Maybe Phi Phi will have some more.

Nan - hope you're enjoying your company! I would have liked to have seen them both - maybe next time hey?! Hope max is loking after you!

Jim - Yeah jacket is pretty smart - similar to my North Face one, but a heavier material. Should do the job anyway. My job still aright for when I get back to newcastle?? You found out what you're doing at Birdseye yet?

Love to All,
Rich

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Thailand!!

2007-04-30T13:14:33Z

Hello!

We left Koala Lumpur last night at 8.45pm and have reached Thailand finally!. We got to the coastal town of Krabi (West coast) today at about 5pm. The night on the train was very long. Rich slept a bit but i couldn't sleep till about 4am (and then only for 1 hour!). The train took 14 hours and the bus from Hat Yai took 4 so as you can imagine we are pretty tired!. However, we have just tried our first Thai beer - 'Chang' which is excellent but quite strong. We decided that we deserved a beer though after the journey!. Off to bed soon.
Tomorrow we have booked to go on the boat to the island of 'Ko Lanta' for some sand, sea and sun!

Note to Jayne and James:

We sent you an e-mail as we are now in Thailand. We head to Ko Lanta tomorrow (1st May). If you are around would be fab to meet up!. We are staying at 'Lanta Garden Home' on 'Klong Dao Beach' for 2 nights initially (North West of the Island). If your phone is working give us a text. Sho: 07921003369. Rich:07709348108.

Hope all is good!
Love Sho 'n' Rich

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Heading for Thailand

2007-04-29T05:00:34Z

Today is our last day in Malaysia. We had originally planned to go to an Island off the north-west coast called Langkawi, but decided against it as it's a malaysian public holiday until thursday and so will likely be heaving. Definitely not what we want. So anyway, our plans have changed somewhat and we're now getting a train tonight for a 14 hour trip to Hat Yai in Thailand, where we will board a bus for another 5 hours travelling to the coastal town of Krabi, on the West Coast. We've booked some accommodation here for a night and hope to catch a ferry in the morning to Koh Lanta, a small island near to Phi Phi, south of Phuket. It looks really nice, and even if it turns out to be not what we're after, we can shoot to Phi Phi on another boat if needs be!
We're both looking forward to the beaches and reckon we'll find it pretty easy to slip back into our "beach bum mode" again. Jayne and James our friends we met in India are also in the area at the moment so hopefully we'll be able to catch up with them at some point.
We both intend on learning to dive at some point along the line as well, which should be excellent. Hopefully the courses wont be too expensive. (although we've been led to believe that it's one of the cheapest places in the world to do it?!)

On the down side, the bed in Kuala Lumpur (on rich's side at least) seems to have been infested with millions of invisible little flesh easting bugs, as I'm now sporting about 15-20 bites on my arms, back neck and shoulders. They're super itchy little bites and a real pain in the arse. On the plus side, Shonah, with her tough, North-Eastern blood doesnt seem to have any!!

Today we are just wandering around K.L. but we have been able to leave our bags at the backpackers. We hope to get up to the walkway that joins the 'Petronas Twin Towers' which are really spectacular! Our train leaves at 8.45 tonight.

Note from Sho - Well done on finishing ur dissertaion Ro! Am very proud! What a relief. You certainly deserve a few large cocktails me thinks!. We will have one for you as well. Love Sho Po xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Have a great holiday Mum, Dave, Andrea and Steven (and Bonnie). Will call you when you get back (I have the dates written down).
I sent a text to your old mobile mum, nothing important, just saying have a nice time. You should give me your new mob number when you get back.

Rich writing again - Last night we realised that my favourite shorts (I'm sure everyone at home knows which ones - the animal ones that Iv'e had for about 5 years now) have only been washed once since leaving England and I think i've worn them just about every day (excluding Goa where I lived in Swimshorts). Theyre starting to acquire some funny looking marks although still don't look dirty and I can't smell them yet?! They certainly have character anyway!

Love to all,
Rich and Sho
xxxx

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Singapore!

2007-04-26T11:34:03Z

Well, my migraine eventually passed and I reckon it was easily the worst iv'e ever experienced!!
The flight to Singapore was uneventful and passed really quickly, with both of us buried in books at the moment that are making us laugh out loud. Theyre buy a guy called Irvine Welsh who wrote trainspotting - we'd reccommend them to everyone!
Anyway, Singapore is absolutely brilliant, if a little humid. Everything is unbelievably clean and efficient and largely air conditioned.
We got an excellent hotel room in a backpackers place - it's a little small but really clean, with air conditioning, balcony and a super comfy bed - with a proper duvet!! A real luxury. The room looks like something out of an ikea brochure!
Yesterday we spent wandering around the hundreds (literally) of shopping malls - even the smallest of which is massive compared to Princes Quay!!
Today we've been to Singapore zoo which was pretty cool. The animals all seem pretty happy which was something I was worried about.
Last night we went to Raffles and had the obligatory Singapore Sling which we have to say were excellent! (If a tad over priced)
Tomorrow we head to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on bus which should be cool.
Sorry the entries a bit quick today - the meter on this web session is ticking down quickly.
Hope you all like the photos. If you haven't checked them yet, then what have you been playing at?!
Love to all,
Rich and Sho

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Rich is feeling better!

2007-04-22T15:48:41Z

Rich is alot better. The tablets seem to have worked and I went to the supermarket and prepared a feast for him.
Just thought i'd let u know. I put pics on - so have a look!
Love Sho

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Sri Lanka

2007-04-22T02:52:23Z

Hi all,

We made it to Sri Lanka after a couple of days in the hotel room in Delhi after Rich getting what I had when we got to India first time round. He had really bad diorrhea then started vomiting through the night so i called the emergency doctor out to the hotel. The doctor said he had food poisoning which had led to Gastro Enteritis and so he was prescribed strong antibiotics and we spent the day resting in hope he would feel better for the flight. Thankfully the antibiotics seemed to have worked and he felt a lot better for the flight but just weak though not being able to eat.
The flight was good but 2 hour delay (actually a schedualed time change but we diidn't ring Emirates to check). Got to Sri Lanka at 4am ish so didnt get into bed untill 6am ish and so we spent the morning asleep till lunch time when rich filled up on Pasta feeling much better. The beach is ok, but i'm sure there are much nicer ones further from Columbo. This is where our next problem startred. Rich developed a really bad headache on the beach although he sat in the shade for the whole time drinking water. We had to come back to the hotel so he could lie in the dark as it had developed into a seriously bad bad bad migrane. So yesterday afternoon he spent in the dark hotel room in agony. The 'Brufen 'didn't work so we went to the chemist and they recomended Panedine (Paracetamol and Codine). Rich has not improved throughout the night and seemed the most ill i have ever seen him. He was writhing around in agony so i decided to call doctor again only to find out they won't do home visits in Sri Lanka but managed to get some advice from the doc who recomended 'Diclofenac Sodium' as a strong pain killer. Ihave been up since half 5 and and am waiting for the chemist to open at 8.30 am (it is 8.15 now). The owner of the hotel has been exceptionally helpfull and came and gave Rich a head massage with some herbal oil which claims on the bottle to cure "all kinds of headache and Brain problems". He pummeled this into Rich's head with his hands. Rich has now fallen asleep and i'm off to the chemists and to buy some Bananas.
So that's the news for now. I hope these new tablets work. Will keep you updated.

Love Sho
xxxxxxxxxxx

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Delhi once again

2007-04-18T12:28:36Z

Well that was Nepal!! We're both pretty sure that it's been amongst the best parts of the trip so far and we'll definitely be heading back again at some point!!
Anyway, we're now in Delhi, which we were initially dreading but now doesn't seem half as bad as we'd remembered. I think it was being sat amongst the mountains and thinking about the place whilst surrounded by such amazing scenery that filled us with dread. However, we've booked into a nice hotel (not the 5* we'd originally planned on - damn budget - but a pretty smart, middle of the road air conditioned little number which is pretty cmfy) and have been eternally grateful for the air conditioning as the Indian hot season is well and truly on its way - temps today have been at 33 degrees, although this is with a pretty strong wind, so god knows what it'd be like with no breeze!! Tomorrow we're just going to take it easy and have a stroll around the city - you don't seem to get hassled half as much as in the "backpacker area" which is a definite blessing. Maybe it's too hot for all the hawkers?!
The flight from Kathmandu this am was pretty excellent - a company called Druk Air, affiliated to Royal Bhutan Airlines, I think - we got free drinks and a pretty nice meal!! Anyway, thats it for this entry as its so hot and the keyboard is crap!!

Love to all,
Rich

Notes from Sho -

Andrea- pleased you managed to sign up again! can't wait too meet Brambles!

Love us
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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In Kathmandu

2007-04-15T12:10:17Z

Hello all!

Hope all is well. Fab 2 read all the comments and to hear what you are up to. Last time we wrote we were in Pokorah but we decided to get on our way to Kathmandu on wednesday. This was a 7 hour bus journey but was pleasant. Was nice to just relax, reading our books and watching out the window!.
Kathmandu is a great place. Alot cleaner than we expected and with loads of nice restaurants. We often meet with our Californian friend for dinner that we met on the Trek. He has invited us to California to stay with him which sounds awesome! We are already lining up where to go next!
We booked a couple of days white water rafting down the Bhote Kose river which is meant to be one of the best places in the world to go rafting... and OH MY was is good!. The adrenaline sure did get pumping! We were on the trip with a sweedish couple (who were fish trawlers), an Israeli couple (that were constantly stoned) and one really geeky English man who had emigrated to Australia. (who was weird). The first day we drove to our camp (3 hours) and unloaded all our stuff. The camp was amazing!. Swimming pool, beautiful gardens and tents which overlooked the river and a beautiful gorge. As this was the first day the rapids were fairly easy as it was more just a training day. Was still fab... but we all wanted MORE, BIGGER, FASTER rapids. Sure enought this is exactly what we got the next day. It really was edge of your seat stuff, although to Rich is was often 'out of your seat in the rapids
action'!. Most of the rapids were scale 4-5 (the highest you can get is 6). We spent 3 hours careering down the river, often backwards or sideways crashing into huge rocks. Rich actually got stranded on a rock by himself at one point. We were approaching a massive rapid. It was a churniing mess of white water and huge rocks. We basically ended up going head on into a massive boulder. The front of the raft pushed up the rock and we just had to hang on. I was ok until I looked behind and saw that the back of the raft was filling with gushing white water and I saw the look on the guides face "Get to the front... quick" he shouted. It was likethat scene from the titanic where they all end up on the top off teh boat!. The raft was getting more and more vertical and so i decided i was getting out... onto the rock. We all ended up on the slippyest rock ever in the middle of the rapid. The raft was near vertical. The leader manged to pull the raft so it was floating downstream and he held it with a rope. He insisted he could hold it while we all jumped in. The water was pulling the raft so much so Rich ended up holding the rope with him. The 3 girls were in first and i was shoutng " Paddle forward". Think i went into survival mode as i was just picturing the raft breaking away with only us in it and us been washed down the gauntlet. Now everyone aws in the raft except Rich and the Nepalese leader. The couldn't hold us any more. The rope was slipping! and so were they. So they let go of us and away we went in a torrent and carrered into a cliff. The leader had jumped into the rapid and swan after us leaving Rich looking helpless on the rock. We managed to pull the leader in... then Rich jumped!. I was so scared, thought he was going to get sucked under but he was fine in his life jacket. We pulled him into the raft and finally we 'all aboard' once again!

We have a flight booked back to Delhi on the 18th April so a couple more days to spend in Kathmandu. We both want to go rafting again. It was absolutly amazing!

Hope all is well

Love Sho n Rich

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Shonah's addition to Rich's entry

2007-04-10T08:51:41Z

Hello,

Rich is writing an entry also at the moment so you will know what we have been doing. It's been fantastic!. Happy Easter everyone! I'm so jealous that you all get easter eggs.

Mum Tulip... I really want a massive THORNTONS EGG FROM THE SALES!. You could stock up and i'll eat it when i return (hint hint)!. Not long till Colonsay now!. I think i will call you tonight. I did try and call a couple of times but there was no answer.

Dad Dobson, i hope you have had a nice holiday, i heard that it snowed!. E-mail me to let me know all about it! Happy b-day for tomorrow. We will celebrate it when i'm back again. I'll take you for a pint... that's a promise. Then we can have a good old catch up!. It's a shame Gran went into hospital. I called her a couple of days after you had gone on hol and there was no answer so that worried me a bit then i spoke to Gran and Grandad on sunday and they told me what had happend. They will be pleased to have you around again i'm sure. Gran sounded very chirpy though so that made me feel a bit happier! She insisted she was o.k. You could e-mail me to let me know what is going on?

Rosa and barry,
Well done on your trek Baz! Sounds like an adventure! Am very proud of you! Happy Easter to you both. Eat some Haggi!

Andrea and Steven,
I keep buying nice baby clothes. Got a lovely little Nepalese baby Jacket. Sent u a letter but it will prob take a month. Hope your well!

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Rich Violated by big butch Nepali Man

2007-04-10T08:40:46Z

Well, since arriving back from the trek on the 6th April, the inevitable post trek stiffness still hadn't abated so we both decided a traditional 'Ayurvedic Massage' was required to soothe away our pains. We negotiated a pretty decent price for the both of us (Less than 5 pound for an hour each) and we both duly stripped off to our underwear and lay prone on the beds. I (Rich) had explained to the guy that my calfs and quads were in tatters and that even walking was a real test of my steel! No problems he assured me! Anyway, as he started working on my feet it all seemed brilliant - I was even starting to drift off into a semi-sleep! Alas though, this was not to be the case for the rest of the session. As he progressed further up my legs the pain became more and more intense. When his "healing hands" reached the middle of my calf, I felt like I was going to scream in agony! The pain as he seperated the muscles in my legs using his knuckles was something akin to having your legas run over by an articulated lorry! I was doing my utmost not to writhe around the bed like a little girl and instead made do with gripping the matress i was lay prone on, in a vice like grip, gritting my teeth and attempting to put this assault to the back of my mind. When he'd finished my calfs, he progressed up to my thighs - "Surely this can't be as painful as the lower legs" I convinced myself. How wrong a man can be!! As he started going to town on my quads the pain became so intense that at one point I thought I was going to wimper!! Again, I 'took it like a man' (haha) and just crunched the matress in my fists and tried to ignore it. Evidently though, I wasnt ignoring it as well as I thought I had been! I could hear chuckles and opened my eyes to see Sho and her 'massager' laughing at my misfortune! "Ahhhh, you feel a little bit pain here" my guy chirps in. "Hmmmm, a little i suppose yeah" i retort, just relieved that he'd ceased with his torture for a few seconds. HE carried on though, just as hard and as firm as before! By the end of the session I was so relieved to be able to get out of there!! On the other hand though, Shonah loved it!! Maybe she is more tolerant of that kind of pain. I'm sure it was more down to the fact that I had the nepali equivalent of a Geordie Miner/Trawlerman/Dock Worker, whilst she had the soft hands of the nepali equivalent of a big cuddly aunt or nan. Who knows. And to rub salt into the wound, in the morning I felt just as bad, if not worse!! Today though, I'm a different man! Full of the joys and spritely with all aches and pains banished! Im reluctant to attribute this to the massage though and reckon it's maybe natural recovery!? Who knows!!

Yesterday, we hired a motor bike ("WHAT!! On the roads of Nepal" I can hear all the parents and caring friends and relatives thinking) and rode to another lake about 40 minutes outside of Pokarah. It was absoloutely brilliant, and I actually began to relish getting "stuck" in traffic. This was one of the hi-lights of the bike trip, as weaving in and out of massive HGV's and buses who sit, stuck in traffic in the sweltering sun, became really really good fun. Basically, you can become a really selfish agressive dri ver and no one minds!! The more you honk your horn and swerve and get as close to the car in front as is physically possible, the more you look like a local! We had masses of fun! However, towards the end pf the day, the "3pm clouds" came in and we were being chased by a HUGE storm. As we belted down the highway all we could see in the mirrors were the black clouds starting to engulf us. It was like somethiong out of Twister, the film. In the end, the rain caught up with us and we turned round to face it - face to face, man to man. We decided to cut our losses and headed right into the eye of the storm.
Bearing in mind we were probably doing 30-40 mph, the force of the raindrops hitting us in the face was almost enough to bring tears! We were both laughing hysterically as we shot through the deserted streets, driving through floods that half covered the wheels, both absolutely drenched to the bone! We eventually reached the hotel, dumped the bike and ran inside, nursing red welts in raindrop sized circles! We both agreed that it was one of the funniest days yet!
Anyway, today we have been really really lazy - writing diaries and reading books and contemplating moving to Kathmandu tomorrow. Its about a 7 hour bus journey and we'll probably leave at 7"30 on one of the numerous buses that ply the route. We'll inform all of you when we get chance.

Happy easter by the way - We'd completely forgotten and neither of us got any eggs anyway!!! LOL.

Hope everything back home is well. Look after yourselves!

Rich

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Shonah's entry

2007-04-07T07:14:01Z

Namaste! (Hello in Nepalese)

How is everyone? I hope you are all good.
Well we made it back yesterday as you will have gathered from Dicky's entry and we had a few cocktails last night to celebrate!. The trek was fantastic and i certainly feel like i have worked the old muscles. Can't believe i managed to walk bout 100 miles with a 10kg backpack on! Am chuffed. One day i found it very very hard though when we had to ascend 1900m in about 6 hours... my little legs cained and i got in a bit of a grump but only for a min! lol!

Today in Pokorah they are starting the new year celebrations which is really strange! I didn't find this out till last night. New years eve is next fri i think.

Mum Tulip,
Yes the air does get thin but i managed to breath fine all the way.We didn't really notice the lack of Oxygen although at one point it was only 65%. You would love all the mountail Asses (i think they are donkeys crossed with horses?) Meybe this is called a mule... i don't know. They carry huge packs and climb up what are basically cliff faces! . Wow! a parade is going past the door with Elephants in it! The Elephant stopped out the door of the internet cafe and did the biggest pile of poo i have EVER EVER EVER seen and wee. Anyway... my face is fine, will get Rich 2 put a pic on soon I am wintering well as you would say! My legs are very strong after trekking so i can kick anyone in incase of an attack!
Your method of making pointing cement sounds good! I can just picture you rolling a bucket around the yard! .

Rosa and Ali Banter

Howe good 2 hear from u both! Sounds like come the end of the year we will all have real jobs! hopefully we will also have plenty of money then too and can afford to do lovely thingfs together! (like go out in Consett !! LOL hahahaha!) Like the old days, then go for hot hobs!. Meybe will be able to afford to do something more sophisticated? who knows! We havve put a deposit on a flat to rent in Newc starting in July so there is always a spare room there if you want to ever come and stay which i would love. You could both come together perhaps and we will throw Rich out for the night (send him 2 Wadders house?). That would be fun! Will b great having u back up North Ali!
Yeay
My love always to you both
Shonah
xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nikki!
You must be so exited now! I found some conditioner so my hair didn't snap off thank god! Send me the dates!
Love me

Gary,
Next time you turn on the T.V expect to see me with a towel ropund my head! Prob for punching some annoying Indian!
Can't wait to see how MASSIVE u are!
Love Sho nips

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Back from Trek.

2007-04-07T06:39:50Z

Well, 7 days, about 8000m total ascent and 140 km later, we've completed our trek. To say it was amazing would be a massive understatement.
We flew from Pokarah to the tiniest airport in the world (it consisted of two desks and little more than a ten metre long corridor) on the smartest plane we have ever flown on. With room for just 14 passengers, it was tiny. Getting in was a problem for me (rich) as the headroom must have been around 5 foot which meant I had to walk with a considerable stoop to my seat. Anyway, we managed to get on the right hand side of the plane which meant we got breath taking views of the mountains. It was easily the best flight of our lives!
We arrived in Jomsom, collected our bags and set off after having our trekking permits checked by the local police forces and army. The weather was perfect as we headed onwards and upwards towards Kagbeni - a little village at about 2000 metres. It was only a 3 hour walk, but we'd been advised to stay there a night, as having flown straight to 1000 odd metres, we might be susceptible to Altitude Sickness. As it was, we arrived in Kagbeni and had no problems at all, leaving us both thinking we'd have been able to shoot straight up to Muktinath at 3000 odd metres without too many problems - But who are we to argue with the mountains?! Neither of us minded the extra wait acclimatising in Kagbeni though, as again, the views were truly unbelievable. The next day was a massive uphill slog, covering around 18 km and gaining 1000 ish metres, eventually reaching the settlement of Muktinath. Again, we had no problems with altitude, (We were starting to think we could maybe challenge Alan Hinkes or Reinhold Messner for rapid ascents of 8000 metre peaks) and enjoyed a night spent with a group of Aussies on an organised trek. They were all nice guys and girls, but it felt remarkably like being on a school trip. Not one of them carried their own bags and they even had a guy to bring round hot water to the tables to wash their hands before they ate! Whilst we are on the topic of bag carrying, we've been amazed at the amount of people doing the route but who aren't carrying their own bags! We're talking about big, 6 foot plus, strapping russians waltzing along with a grimacing, contorted face carrying absolutely zilch, whilst their porters ( who, incidentally, were about 17, and no taller than 5 foot five) slog along with them, carrying two massive packs EACH!! Their fitness and strength is unbelievable.

Gary - you'd do well to pack the gym in, and get up here and be a porter for a few months, then you'd see the meaning of strong!!

In Muktinath, I saw a man who must have been pushing OAP status, resting next to a load that stood taller and wider than me! On top of this, he was carrying it (As all true porters do) on a strap around his head. Certainly a very humbling experience!
Anyway, back to the porter debate, - Me and Sho both started to develop a certain disdain for these kind of people, (the physically fit, non bag carrying wimp types) spurred on by the thoughts that if me and Sho can do it, then so can these guys!! Incidentally, Sho was carrying exactly the same weight as me and never moaned once!! She wouldn't let me take anything of her bag to lighten the load! I'm sure she has Sherpa/Porter blood in her! She put so many people to shame on the trek - was excellent to watch, and I had many a smug smile to myself as we overtook guys with nothing on their backs. We reasoned that the beer at the end of each day tasted better to us anyway after carrying our own bags!

The rest of the trek involved a few heavy, long uphill days at altitude again, and at times was incredibly hard, but we've both decided that it's been the highlight of the trip so far, and will certainly take some beating! The people we met (Dutch, german, Aussies, Canadian, American, French Canadian, Swiss and English) were all fantastic and the atmosphere in the huts at the end of the day all added to the experience. Next time we come though, we're going for Everest Base Camp - A slightly longer trek, but apparently well worth the slog!

Anyway, I'm going to leave it for now and will endeavour to put some pictures of the route on here for people at home.
I think Sho is going to add her entry at some point today so watch this space!

Rich

Gary - good to see you're reading up on our trip! I sent an email round to everyone with the adress - maybe I sent it to your old email?!

PS - it seems like we're starting to get a bit of a cult following from home?! Certainly makes posting our news more enjoyable!!

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Pokarah - Nepal

2007-03-28T15:22:33Z

As you will have gathered from reading Sho's post, we have safely arrived in Nepal! It is everything we expected and a whole lot more besides! We have both decided that even after only spending just 2 nights here, it is easily the highlight of the trip so far. The scenery is amongst the best we have ever seen (although admittedly on a par with Zermatt in Switzerland and the views from a perfectly clear Helvellyn summit), the people are incredibly friendly and the food is excellent!
Friday am, we get a mountain flight to the village/settlement of Jomsom, located at an altitude of 2.5 thousand metres for the start of our 10 day trek back to Pokarah. We're both looking forward to stretching our legs and hopefully finding some even better views of Annapurna and the surrounding mountains.
The lake (Phewa Tal) on which Pokarah sits, is remarkably like Ullswater in the lakes (a favourite haunt of Sho and I), although with higher mountains and much warmer weather! Yesterday, we took a rowingt boat out in to the lake for an hour - we had a really chilled out romantic day, with beers afterwards in the setting sun!
Today was spent (rather studiously) at the local "International Mountain Museum", a 10 minute taxi ride down some of the narrowest, bumpiest streets we've ever seen. Inside are housed various displays relating to the first ascents of the world's 14 highest peaks and the stories and gear behind them. However, in addition to this, they also have some pretty decent exhibitions detailing the geology of the area and also features that shape the environment such as Glacial Outburst floods (sorry to sound the boring geographer) and also fluvial patterns etc. We were both in our element though, and were able to test our knowledge on the aforementioned subjects, as a result of us both studying these processes at university. In addition, I was also ashamedly pleased to see detailed geological maps of the country! Sad hey!
Later on in the afternoon we spent a considerable time traipsing around the innumerable outdoor gear shops looking for a waterproof jacket for Sho, for our trek. Of about 30 shops, we have narrowed it down to one - the only jacket in the whole of Pokarah which is small enough to fit such a dainty little frame! Anyway, tomorrow we're going to go and sort it out, and are preparing to bargain hard. (Not like we need to - the gear here is unbelievably cheap even at their first price!!)
Anyway, there might not be internet cafes on the trek, so this could potentially be our last entry for a while,(10 days ish), but fear not! We will be updating when we get a chance, with photographs as well hopefully!

Look after yourselves,
Rich and Sho

Mum Holland - The text that you sent me whilst we were in Lumbini and i rang you about keeps getting sent to me over and over again. (must be about 40 times now). Maybe you should check that you're not getting charged for it every time?

Nan - Hope max is looking after you, and he doesnt mind too much the invasion of his second home by a cat? Sho was commenting today on her white linen trousers you took up for her - she reckons they look professional, and says they are a perfect length! Maybe you should charge her next time? Will ring you next time were at a telephone.

Sho's bit
Hi. Just to let you know how fab Nepal is. You should all come here. It is a million times cleaner and easier to survive here than India! I love it. The people are so unbelievably friendly and don't try to rip you off all the time. The climate is perfect... not too hot and not too cold, the scenery is breathtaking and the food is fantastic. Also the company (Rich ) makes it even more perfect! sorry 2 be soppy! lol (think it may be the Everest beer!)
We will DEFINITELY be coming back!

Love to you all
Dobber
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In Nepal

2007-03-28T15:23:27Z

Hello everyone!

Hope things are grand back in the U.K. I hear you have snow! I bet it is very beautiful.
Mum and Dave Tulip:- I'm pleased to hear that Alison is ok mum and is back home aand that things are good with you. Are you working both saturday and sunday yet?.

Dad: Not long till you go away to New York. It's the 2nd of April is'nt it?. Bet you can't wait. Will speak to you before then for sure.

Well we set off from Varanassi yesterday (sat) morning at 7am to head directly north to the Nepalese border. The crossing point is a small village called Sinauli. The journey was fine albeit a long way (11 hours). We just got on the government bus and so it was very cheap. It cost about 4 pounds for both of us!. We got to the border just as it was getting dark and made our way to the Indian Emigration office the under a big arch that stated "WELCOME TO NEPAL". We crossed the border by foot and went to the Nepalese Immigration Centre to get our Nepalese visa's sorted. This also went fairly smoothly and we managed to pay with English pounds (20 each).
Our aim is to get to a place called Pokarah which is North of the border crossing point and West of Kathmandu. This is apparantly a very beautifull town based around a lake and is the starting point of the Annapurna circuit (a famous trek around Annapurna). The journey from the border of Nepal to pokarah is another 8 hours so in order to break the jorney we have come to a village called 'Lumbini'. Lumbini is a 1 hour journey along the Border heading West. We managed to get a taxi from sinauli (the crossing point) after being in the middle of an argument between the taxi driver and a tout who had shown us to the taxi without us asking. He was demanding that the taxi driver gave him 200 rupees and as the driver would not do this he tried to get it off us by hanging through the window. It sounded like a chicken coup with all the arguing going on! Eventually we managed to set off... just driving away while the tout hung out of the window still which Rich was trying to wind up on him. All was well in the end though! In India you can't trust anyone to help you at all as it always comes down to them wanting money.
We are staying in a little hotel in the village of Lumbini which is really very very basic but great for what we need. Lumbini is said to be the birth place of Buddah and so is a very holy town where many pilgrims come to visit the holy site. We hired 2 bikes today and off we went to explore. 'Lumbini' is meant to stand for world peace and so many countries have built temples here as a symbol of their participation. These are all based in beautiful parks which surround the village.
Tomorrow we are getting a bus at 7am to Pokorah which is an 8 hour journey north. We are ready for the next stint of the journey after resting in this lovely peaceful village.
I just tried to buy some conditioner for my hair but apparantly "people in Lumbini don't use it". lol! My hair is really dry and will have prob have all snapped off by the time i get back home... never mind!
Take care people!

Not long now John and Nickie! Let me know your flight times to Singapore and dates. We arrive on the 24th. Need u to bring me some Aussi conditioning sachets!

Loadsa Love
Sho xxxxxxxx (dobber)

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Agra and Varanasi

2007-03-23T05:05:54Z

Finally managed to get ourselves to Agra for the Taj Mahal, although not without upset!
On the train from Delhi I managed to get a nasty bout of Diarrhoea, so had to resort to using the train toilets - quite a nasty experience. Basically just a toilet with no seat, and just a hole below straight on to the track!
As well as this, on the train, on the opposite beds to us, were an Indian couple - one guy and a girl, both about our age. Throughout the whole journey they were staring at me, constantly. I'm not normaly self conscious, but these two made me feel pretty uncomfortable. I tried to sleep and just ignore them, although i was still well aware of the attention. Anyway, as I ventured (sprinted) to the toilet they revealed their motives. Apparently they claimed I was "beautiful"!

Anyway, once we arrived in Agra, we both headed to bed, as a result of us both feeling crap. We had only intended to stay for one night, see the Taj at sunrise the following am, and then get a train to Varanasi, on our way to Nepal. However, with us both feeling totally drained and me needing to use the toilet every hour, we decided against it, and booked the room for another night. This meant changing our onward train but we figured it would be worth it. We ventured to the train station and managed to change it to the same train but for the following pm.

The next am we visited the Taj at 6am - in time for sunrise at 6:30am. It certainly didn't disappoint!! It was absolutely amazing, and certainly the most perfect example of architecure either of us has ever seen. (Even compared to the Humber Bridge!!) We were the first people in, and as a result managed to get some brilliant photos, although we haven't had chance to put them on to cd yet, so we're guarding the cameras like they're made of diamond! It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far. Another highlight was to greet us in Varanasi.......
After a 13 hour trip on an overnight train to Varanasi from Agra we stumbled into our hotel exhausted and starving. A quick bite to eat and 3 hours sleep and we were ready to venture out. We headed down to the River Ganges and wandered along passing all the pilgrims bathing and doing their washing in some of the most polluted water in the world. This was a sight in itself. However, the sight of bodies being burnt on funeral pyres on the river banks further up hit us really hard. The bodies were clearly visible, and the intoxicating, noxious smell of burning flesh hung heavy in the already warm, humid air. We had read all about this practice, but nothing could have prepared us for the realtiy of it. It was certainly an experience. Apparently this is the most auspicious place in all of the Hindu world to die, and to be cremated on the banks of and then floated down the Ganges means an escape from the Caste System that is such a massive part of Hindu life. The locals didnt seem to even bat an eyelid though - just metres behind, a massive group of young lads were playinmg cricket, cheering and shouting as if nothing was happening! Definitely one of the most memorable experiences of the whole trip so far, and probably, I would wager, of the trip as a whole.

Anyway, tomorrow we catch an early am bus to the Nepali border. I can't wait!! We're going to be doing a week long trek along part of the Annapurna Circuit so we'd better make sure our cameras are fully charged!! We're both looking forward to some fresh (if a little thin) air and are expecting breath taking views.

Love to all,
Rich and Sho

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Back to Delhi

2007-03-19T11:01:16Z

We have returned to Delhi today, travelling by plane from Southern Goa in order to reduce time, which would cut short our time in Nepal. The upside of this is that it only took us 2 and a bit hours to travel what would otherwise have seen us on train and bus for about 3 days! The downside being we're both now unbelievably tired as a result f having to get up at 3am this morning in order to cach the flight.
We arrived in Delhi and felt pretty confident as seasoned "Delhi Wallahs", striding into the train station with all the intent of a local. However, this is where our easy day ended, and Indian Beuracracy (Sp?) made a laughing stock of our intended plans.
Basically, we wanted to get a train from New Delhi station at 1:30 to Agra. Pretty simple we thought. Not a chance! The guy we spoke to in the foreign tourist ticket office appeared completely incapable, although obviously we believed him when he said that we could not book a ticket for travel today in this office. Instead we had to mix with the Indian massses in a scene reminiscent of a rugby match. So we lugged our packs downstairs and started to "queue" with everyone else in the exact location w were told to do so. After 20 minutes of scrummaging with the locals (In which Shonah exclled, managing to strategically block would be queue jumpers with her bag and, at times, with the use of elbows!) However, upon talking to the ticket guy, we were told that we could not buy tickets here either! At this point the heat was overwhelming and the sheer number of people made being in the station an awful experience. But we duly followed the ticket man's instructions and went to ANOTHER queue, even longer than the last and even hotter!! We "queued" here for another 20 minutes, amid the flurry of sweaty elbows, heads and ladies sat on the floor. We got served andmanaged to get a second class unreserved ticket - I would imagine this to be similar to the kind of transport they use in England to take animals to slaughter. Stil, at leas we had a ticket!! Just as we were about to leave the station, we met a french couple we had been talking to previously, before the whole ticket debacle, and she told us she had managed to book a seat via the aforementioned foreign tourist ticket office. We were not happy!! Marching up the stairs with conforntatiion on the mind, we entered the office only to discover a peacful, cool environment with air conditionng on. All thoughts of any confrontation diminished, we dumped our bags and sat down andexplained our situation to another ticket man. No problem he said, and proceeded to book a ticket for us in seconds! We paid our money and sat, relieved, sweaty, hungry and thirsty in the office. We'd done it! Haha.

Anyway, we get the train at 5:45 headed to agra, for a sunrise viewing of the Taj Mahal. Should be good! We're banking on getting some sleep on the train though, as neither of us can keep our eyes open!!

Anyway, hope all is well at home! Will update at some point with news and pictures of the Taj Mahal!

Mum Tulip - Did you get the mothers day mesage on the answer phone? Hope you had good day!

Love to all,
Rich and Sho

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