After numerous requests for more photos......
Friday, 30 April 2010
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
A'hoi An
Our return to Hanoi heralded some wet and windy times which saw the two of us staying close to porcelain. Was not exactly a highlight of the trip but luckily it didn't linger too long and we did make our day trip to Tam Coc and even managed some cycling. Was amazing scenery and we loved cycling and high fiving the little kids as we cruised through the village. Also did a boat ride through rice fields and some caves - became a slightly captive audience for our paddler who proceeded to open a grey box full of goodies that she was very keen for us to buy, not cool.
Caught an overnight train from Hanoi to Danang and both of our faces dropped as our compartment companions - a couple and a four month old baby joined us just as the train was pulling out. Have to say though it was a much easier travel companion than some of our Indian friends and there was not a problem. He was most fascinated with Colin, much to his fathers (a 60yr retired army officer) amusement, maybe this was the reason for him buying colin a beer at 8am in the morning!
Was beautiful scenery as we made our way down the country and we could start to see the calibre of beaches in store for us. Arrived Danang (home of China Beach - Janet I was thinking of you!) and caught a taxi to Hoi An.
Arrived at the Hai Au, in Hoi An to a very enthusiastic welcome from the reception team (Anna, Yemmi, Souw and Minh) who were amazing throughout our whole stay. Hoi An a very cute little town with a pedestrianised old town (well no cars - cycles, mopeds and motorbikes allowed)
Spent a couple of days cycling to and from the beach as we hadn't seen proper sunshine since India and had been having slight withdrawals. Beautiful white sand, lined with palm trees and clear blue water - just what the Doctor ordered.
Made the decision to get some clothes made as Hoi An is home to the majority of Vietnam's tailors (basically you can't move for Tailors shops). Colin got a suit and a jacket made and Anna decided that it was time for some clothes with a little extra give as the bump seems to have decided it is time to start growing. Really happy with the end result - Colin looked very dapper, now just needs a job in banking. Crazy how quickly they can get it all done - particularly as Anna ended up sending hers back a couple of times as she wasn't quite happy - think a hot day and raging pregnancy hormones probably didn't help.
Young Mr Redfearn celebrated another year on earth whilst in Hoi An and we decided to spend the day ar Redbridge Cooking School. Splashed out and decided to do the whole day course which ended up seeing us as the only students - private cooking class, what more could you ask for. We started with a trip to an organic herb/vegetable garden in the country and then a country market to get bits and pieces for our cooking. Made four traditional Vietnamese dishes - Pho (Beef noodle soup), Cha Ca (Fish Hot Pot), Shrimp, Lemongrass and Chili in Banana Leaf and Chicken Vietnamese Salad. We even learnt how to make our own rice noodles. Also got full use of the schools swimming pool, free bar (great for birthday boy), boat ride home, recipe book and apron and everything we made to eat! Was a great day and we can't wait to try out our new recipes and skills - any volunteers?
The birthday was topped off by the lovely ladies in reception who welcomed us back from our day out with a beautiful birthday cake for colin.
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Good Morning Vietnam!!!!!!!
So far Vietnam has surpassed all culinary expectations! It feels like it has been an eating tour of Hanoi thus far, but with so much on offer and so cheap and tasty - plus feeding an extra how can we say no. The lowest point of any dining experience has been the seating. The time of day has had a factor on just how close to the ground Anna's seat can be (full bladder and lack of warm muscles).
Has been an easy city to navigate, they actually have road signs and obey traffic lights unlike India, and it is a lot more friendly than reported. Have had several days in Hanoi, all very cultural - Ho Chi Minh Mauseleum and Museum, Water Puppets, Literature Museum, Vietnam History Museum, Night Market and of course lots of sampling of local cuisine.
We headed up to Halong Bay for a 2 day, one night tour. The weather was a bit grim but it did manage to clear in parts to allow us to enjoy the scenery and take some good pics. We were very lucky with our tour as there are soooo many to pick from and all seemingly doing the same thing all for different prices. Our boat the 'Poseidon' was actually one of the nicest that we saw and we were thankful that there were three likeminded young brits onboard that kept us entertained, cheers Toni, Tim and Matt. Did a tour of the limestone caves and a little bit of kayaking around the floating villages. Evening entertainment consisted of a not so successful attempt at fishing for squid and a laugh a minute karaoke marathon. Must admit Anna had to call it quits when the rice wine came out and the singing did deteriorate somewhat - only so much a sober person can cope with!
Back in Hanoi for a day or so - a day trip south to Tam Coc planned for tomorrow and night train for Hoi An in the evening.
Monday, 12 April 2010
bye bye Bangalore
Bangaluru last stop on our India part of the tour. Again arriving in the cover of darkness we fended off hordes of taxi drivers to make our way to the airport shuttle and started the 40km journey into town.
The conductor oh so kindly let us off at our stop - about 3km away from where it actually should have been. Lucky the locals seemingly knew where we were going (quite unusual in India) and pointed us in the right direction - again inundated with taxi and rickshaw drivers insisting on taking us and it being very cheap (particularly if we just stopped at their cousins sisters brothers shop for a look!).
Brindavan Hotel appeared in the distance and we gratefully dumped our bags and headed off on the search for some dinner. As it was Saturday night it was really quite busy and Bangalore appears to be a bit of a party town. Lots of people out and about and plenty of drinking going on, more so than any place we had been so far - locals drinking that is, have seen plenty of trashed foreigners (from a very pious albeit very jealous enforced non drinker)dinner and drinks at Coco Grove and then back to crash.
To be honest we didn't really see a heck of a lot of Bangalore apart from the square mile from our hotel. Spent the next day on a technology trip, getting a new camera - so photos to start again soon, and a handy wee mini laptop. Headed to the movies, unfortunately all Bollywood films not in English or subtitled but still was a laugh. (no sweets for sale though, most disappointing and an intermission, most annoying).
Last day has been tidying up bits and pieces ready for our departure to Vietnam. An interesting sojourn to the Bangalore Central Post Office and a day full of testing Indian bureaucracy - full ID and DNA for internet use, pick product at one point - pay at other - collect at another for simple statue purchase, parcel has to be sewn into special Indian cotton blanket before it could be sent and of course we had to pay for the privilege - at a different counter of course....and breathe.
Needless to say we are a little relieved to be sitting at the airport waiting for our flight. Have enjoyed our time in India, has been interesting but trying at times, magical and totally unforgettable.
The conductor oh so kindly let us off at our stop - about 3km away from where it actually should have been. Lucky the locals seemingly knew where we were going (quite unusual in India) and pointed us in the right direction - again inundated with taxi and rickshaw drivers insisting on taking us and it being very cheap (particularly if we just stopped at their cousins sisters brothers shop for a look!).
Brindavan Hotel appeared in the distance and we gratefully dumped our bags and headed off on the search for some dinner. As it was Saturday night it was really quite busy and Bangalore appears to be a bit of a party town. Lots of people out and about and plenty of drinking going on, more so than any place we had been so far - locals drinking that is, have seen plenty of trashed foreigners (from a very pious albeit very jealous enforced non drinker)dinner and drinks at Coco Grove and then back to crash.
To be honest we didn't really see a heck of a lot of Bangalore apart from the square mile from our hotel. Spent the next day on a technology trip, getting a new camera - so photos to start again soon, and a handy wee mini laptop. Headed to the movies, unfortunately all Bollywood films not in English or subtitled but still was a laugh. (no sweets for sale though, most disappointing and an intermission, most annoying).
Last day has been tidying up bits and pieces ready for our departure to Vietnam. An interesting sojourn to the Bangalore Central Post Office and a day full of testing Indian bureaucracy - full ID and DNA for internet use, pick product at one point - pay at other - collect at another for simple statue purchase, parcel has to be sewn into special Indian cotton blanket before it could be sent and of course we had to pay for the privilege - at a different counter of course....and breathe.
Needless to say we are a little relieved to be sitting at the airport waiting for our flight. Have enjoyed our time in India, has been interesting but trying at times, magical and totally unforgettable.
you have a lovely coconut
Managed to pick up a German travel friend, Annika, for our train journey to Varkala. Made it that much more interesting trying to find space in sleeper class (No AC/open tickets) with three as opposed to two. Squeezed our way into a compartment that was already probably too full but had a lovely accommodating family that made room for us and kept us entertained. Was a beautiful scenic trip along the coast - amazing lush greenery and lots of water inlets. So much to keep us occupied that we almost missed our stop - was a last minute dash off the train with our friends carrying baggage and passing it out the door to make sure we made it out in time.
Took a ride in an Ambassador (standard all Indian car - white exterior, fully carpeted interior, Indian made), the only way to travel to our new home for the next week or so - New Heaven, North cliff, Varkala.
Varkala - little beach town with a resort perched along the cliff of the beach. A strip of restaurants and shops along the cliff top path all seemingly selling the exact same thing. Strangest thing was that the majority of souveniors/shops were selling and run by Tibetans or Indians from other parts of the country - not really any local goods or food around, which is a shame as lovng the keralan food.
Spent just over a week here - standard beach activities, swimming, reading, sunbathing, sleeping, ice creams and lots of sweating. can tell you that it was spectacularly hot and exceptionally humid. Got treated to a fine array of tropical thunder adn lightening storms over the course of the week - monsoon approaching! The beach was nice, (no hawkers!!) but had an incredibuly strong rip - anna not really prepared to go over waist height as if youlost your footing you popped up twenty metres down the beach. There were however Indian's answer to Baywatch with two guys in beautiful blue safari style shirt adn shorts that petrolled the beach - that were soon on hand to blow their whistle at you and point to get out or move back up the beach if you looked out of control. They also did a fine job of trying to disperse the groups of indian guys 'walking' up and down the beach taking photos of the white girls in their bikinis on their mobile phones.
Was a treat to indulge in the seafood delights - again a welcome reprieve from the curry. Calamari, prawns, and all manner of fish - grouper, snapper, shark, king fish, butterfly fish, tuna. YUM!!!!
Varkala was also a reunoin of sorts for us with random meetings. Caught up with different people we had met in Goa, Kannur and even little old NZ. The NZ reunin was with the son of a good famiy friend of Anna's mum. Would be at least 16years since i had seen Clayton and was definately a little spinny - i knew that mum had ssaid him and his girlfriend Vanessa were in India, but what are the chances.... Made for lots of good dinner companions over the course of the week.
Little sad to be leaving the beach but excitement is building for Vietnam. Colin well adn truly embracing the travel vibe. Loved the comment - 'this is now officially the longest travel stint ever and think I am coping alright actually'.
Note: in reference to the title, a lovely little girl trying her hardest to sell us some particualrly crappy trinkets while we were trying to eat, was referring to colins bald head - needless to say he didn't buy anything!
Took a ride in an Ambassador (standard all Indian car - white exterior, fully carpeted interior, Indian made), the only way to travel to our new home for the next week or so - New Heaven, North cliff, Varkala.
Varkala - little beach town with a resort perched along the cliff of the beach. A strip of restaurants and shops along the cliff top path all seemingly selling the exact same thing. Strangest thing was that the majority of souveniors/shops were selling and run by Tibetans or Indians from other parts of the country - not really any local goods or food around, which is a shame as lovng the keralan food.
Spent just over a week here - standard beach activities, swimming, reading, sunbathing, sleeping, ice creams and lots of sweating. can tell you that it was spectacularly hot and exceptionally humid. Got treated to a fine array of tropical thunder adn lightening storms over the course of the week - monsoon approaching! The beach was nice, (no hawkers!!) but had an incredibuly strong rip - anna not really prepared to go over waist height as if youlost your footing you popped up twenty metres down the beach. There were however Indian's answer to Baywatch with two guys in beautiful blue safari style shirt adn shorts that petrolled the beach - that were soon on hand to blow their whistle at you and point to get out or move back up the beach if you looked out of control. They also did a fine job of trying to disperse the groups of indian guys 'walking' up and down the beach taking photos of the white girls in their bikinis on their mobile phones.
Was a treat to indulge in the seafood delights - again a welcome reprieve from the curry. Calamari, prawns, and all manner of fish - grouper, snapper, shark, king fish, butterfly fish, tuna. YUM!!!!
Varkala was also a reunoin of sorts for us with random meetings. Caught up with different people we had met in Goa, Kannur and even little old NZ. The NZ reunin was with the son of a good famiy friend of Anna's mum. Would be at least 16years since i had seen Clayton and was definately a little spinny - i knew that mum had ssaid him and his girlfriend Vanessa were in India, but what are the chances.... Made for lots of good dinner companions over the course of the week.
Little sad to be leaving the beach but excitement is building for Vietnam. Colin well adn truly embracing the travel vibe. Loved the comment - 'this is now officially the longest travel stint ever and think I am coping alright actually'.
Note: in reference to the title, a lovely little girl trying her hardest to sell us some particualrly crappy trinkets while we were trying to eat, was referring to colins bald head - needless to say he didn't buy anything!
Monday, 5 April 2010
Allepey Backwaters
From Kannur we arrived mid afternoon to Allepey. It is the northern access to the Kerala Backwaters. It was also the hottest place we have been so far - think melting!
Cruised around to try and figure out what cruise we wanted to do as anyone and everyone offering the same thing. Sorted a canoe tour for the next day and then missioned to Thaff for dinner - our favourite place so far on the tour for food (so good we went back the next night and i think we would have again if we stayed longer). Masala fish and chili paneer, curry fish and aloo gobi - all very spicy, flavoursome and so cheap. Both nights two mains, drinks, ice creams, rice and chapitis for 3.50 pounds.
Early morning start on our backwater canoe. Cruised for six hours through both main highways and smaller local water roads where you could see all manner of village life going on - all centred around the water. People washing clothes, themselves, dishes, fishing, diving for mussels, praying at mobile boat temples, brewing local booze. Canals surrounded by neverending rice fields. Both had a go at paddling to help our wee man out - was very hot v ery quickly. Turned into a three ice cream day with no trouble (and i wonder why i keep dreaming about ice cream!?!?!)
Headed to the beach in the afternoon for a swim to cool down and watched the sunset - lovely. Did both remark on the fact that although Indians seem to share every body function under the sun (spitting, nose picking, urinating, defacating, washing) that holding hands or kissing in public is a no no, you figure it out.
Decided to move on to the next location the next day as needed to be close to the beach in the stiffling heat, so hot we were struggling to breathe, talk about rivers of sweat - oh so attractive. So next morning saw us head to get some spices from the market, some snacks from the buhja man and sit in the shade until our train in the afternoon. Kept thinking how one of my lovely friends from work kept reminding me that when you are pregnant your body temp is 2degrees higher than normal - loving that in 39degree heat and very high hunidity - thanks christine!!
Cruised around to try and figure out what cruise we wanted to do as anyone and everyone offering the same thing. Sorted a canoe tour for the next day and then missioned to Thaff for dinner - our favourite place so far on the tour for food (so good we went back the next night and i think we would have again if we stayed longer). Masala fish and chili paneer, curry fish and aloo gobi - all very spicy, flavoursome and so cheap. Both nights two mains, drinks, ice creams, rice and chapitis for 3.50 pounds.
Early morning start on our backwater canoe. Cruised for six hours through both main highways and smaller local water roads where you could see all manner of village life going on - all centred around the water. People washing clothes, themselves, dishes, fishing, diving for mussels, praying at mobile boat temples, brewing local booze. Canals surrounded by neverending rice fields. Both had a go at paddling to help our wee man out - was very hot v ery quickly. Turned into a three ice cream day with no trouble (and i wonder why i keep dreaming about ice cream!?!?!)
Headed to the beach in the afternoon for a swim to cool down and watched the sunset - lovely. Did both remark on the fact that although Indians seem to share every body function under the sun (spitting, nose picking, urinating, defacating, washing) that holding hands or kissing in public is a no no, you figure it out.
Decided to move on to the next location the next day as needed to be close to the beach in the stiffling heat, so hot we were struggling to breathe, talk about rivers of sweat - oh so attractive. So next morning saw us head to get some spices from the market, some snacks from the buhja man and sit in the shade until our train in the afternoon. Kept thinking how one of my lovely friends from work kept reminding me that when you are pregnant your body temp is 2degrees higher than normal - loving that in 39degree heat and very high hunidity - thanks christine!!
Calming Kannur
Caught the overnight train from Goa to Kannur - was not the most restfull of sleeper trains as unfortunately Indians seem to be very short and the sleeper beds in the train don't fit tall people. This combined with the fact that our beds were next to the door of the carriage, and therefore it kept hitting our feet, made for a crap nights sleep.
We got on a rickshaw seemingly to the middle of nowhere to Kannur Beach House. It was another little oasis of calm, a stones throw from the beach which at this stage only has three homestays using it. Was long stretches of beautiful golden sands and noone else in sight 90% of the time - bliss. Our hosts Rosie and Nizhir, there three children and two dogs were lovely and served us amazing food. I was suprised to find all the dishes i kept asking about appearing on the menu - colin did tell me a day or so later that Rosie had told him it was Indian tradition to give a pregnant woman any food she asked for! I stopped mentioning things at that stage much to colins annoyance as he was keen for some crab!
Again lazy days on the beach, reading, walking and entertaining the nutty dogs - coconutty and curly as we named them.
Did manage to get to a Theyam - not all the bells whistles and fireworks as apparently can happen. We saw a somewhat lacklustre early morning ceremony which was all a little bizarre - was something to be seen though and colin even got a blessing from Vishnu. Hopefully some photos will follow. The costume was very elaborate though and the guy did have his arms above his head for a good couple of hours.
Had few issues with sorting trains for our onward journey - got to love the indian rail system. Ended up at the train station and seemingly got told one thing which was then wrong, brought back up tickets but should have had faith in our original booking as it came through in the end. Saw us leaving Kannur a little sooner than anticipated but with Easter and holidays thought best to go with it.
We got on a rickshaw seemingly to the middle of nowhere to Kannur Beach House. It was another little oasis of calm, a stones throw from the beach which at this stage only has three homestays using it. Was long stretches of beautiful golden sands and noone else in sight 90% of the time - bliss. Our hosts Rosie and Nizhir, there three children and two dogs were lovely and served us amazing food. I was suprised to find all the dishes i kept asking about appearing on the menu - colin did tell me a day or so later that Rosie had told him it was Indian tradition to give a pregnant woman any food she asked for! I stopped mentioning things at that stage much to colins annoyance as he was keen for some crab!
Again lazy days on the beach, reading, walking and entertaining the nutty dogs - coconutty and curly as we named them.
Did manage to get to a Theyam - not all the bells whistles and fireworks as apparently can happen. We saw a somewhat lacklustre early morning ceremony which was all a little bizarre - was something to be seen though and colin even got a blessing from Vishnu. Hopefully some photos will follow. The costume was very elaborate though and the guy did have his arms above his head for a good couple of hours.
Had few issues with sorting trains for our onward journey - got to love the indian rail system. Ended up at the train station and seemingly got told one thing which was then wrong, brought back up tickets but should have had faith in our original booking as it came through in the end. Saw us leaving Kannur a little sooner than anticipated but with Easter and holidays thought best to go with it.
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