The big island, Hawaii

The little 50 seater jet from Honolulu to Hilo was great fun. I couldn't stand upright. It took off what seemed like vertical then banked steeply squashing you into the seat. The weather was stormy which delayed us 30 minutes. The flight to the big island only took 45 minutes. You NEED to hire a car on the big island - it's more Polynesian than American, and public transport is minimal. The conversation with Avis went something like this;

Me: Hi! I'd like a car for 3 days - what's the cheapest you have?
Avis: We have a special right now - for $90 a day you could have that;
          *points to bright blue convertible Mustang*
Me: *wide-eyed* ooh, I'll take the Mustang!
Avis: Great! You won't regret it!

 So there I am - sitting in a purring, left-hand drive, automatic Mustang in the pitch black airport car park. I've not driven a car in over a year. I change from park to drive, release the handbrake and cruise out of the airport - ill prepared but ready for adventure - I know Volcano village is about 20 miles south-west. It's raining hard, then clears quickly leaving an incredible vista of the stars through the windscreen (shield?). I take it easy, I have no idea what this car's capable of - I notice that the traction control is on and sports mode is off - I think I'll leave it like that for the moment.

Volcano village is tiny - one general store, the lava cafe, a Thai restaurant, a petrol station and some tourist accommodation. My hostel was called HoloHolo and was hard to find down some tiny dark roads. The hostel is deathly quiet, and quite cold. In the dorm room were two US geologists studying the volcano - they were getting up at 3am the next day to go to the lava lake - something that's off-bounds to tourists. I asked if I could join them, but special permits were required.

My reason for coming to this Island was to see some lava. The geologists said that the walk from crater drive was now 7 miles over old lava terrain, and impossible if you didn't know where to look for the lava. They suggested going from the north side, but it would require a guide as it would be on private land - costing $300 on your own, or $150 in a group. Also the rain was a factor - it was constantly raining heavily. As time went on I didn't find people willing to shell out $150, and I wasn't prepared to pay $300 - so the lava idea faded.

I took a drive in the rain down crater drive, where you pass various dated lava flows. The road winds down a huge hill to the sea and then the road stops abruptly, where a 2003 lava flow decided to cross! It's from here that you can hike 7 miles to the active flow if you so wished.

Lava says no to road

A flow from early 2000

I spend the last night before flying out in Hilo at a little guest house slightly out of town, called the Hilo tropical garden hostel. I meet up with two gnarly Alaskans who'd fled to Hawaii from the oppressive cold - as they (and many Alaskans) do every year. We drive up to the observatory at Mauna Kea. An interesting drive that steadily climbs and climbs and climbs, seemingly never-ending. The only indication that you're getting higher is the car using more and more fuel. We hit the clouds and heavy rain for 10 minutes then pop out into brilliant sunshine, and the observatory at around 13,000ft. From base (at the bottom of the Pacific) to the peak (33.000ft) it's twice as high as Everest (base to peak) We're not able to drive to the summit in my muscle car - this is only accessible by 4x4. There's some great little walks around the area on the red martian landscape but the wind-speed is incredible!

Puerto Princessa, Philippines

Palawan is a big island but only has two main roads; one going north and one going south - I like this simplicity! The capital, Puerto, is in the middle and is a fairly big city, but nothing on the scale of Manila. I stayed in a place called the Badjao Inn - recommended on wikitravel. There were, however, no other western tourists here - as soon as they land in Palawan they're whisked off in minivans to the beaches. I'd decided to spend a few days here - how bad can it be? Any westerner here seems to have a young Filippino girl on his arm - I looked particularly out of place not having one. I went to a busy restaurant hoping to meet some people. It was an odd place, staffed by hundreds of people with a projection TV showing the comedy show "Just for laughs" - everybody was staring at it while eating. They had a DJ supplying the (very loud) sounds. While eating my pork adobo my ears were treated to the song that goes "my neck, my back, lick my pu... and my cr..." - no-one in the restaurant batted an eyelid. At 8pm a band came on containing 3 Filippino dudes and their instruments and 4 Filippino girls dressed in pretty much nothing. They were bad, and I left as soon as they'd finished the first song!

I wanted to go to Sabang, and the UNESCO underground river. If you don't do it in a tour you have to go to the office in Puerto and get a permit. Then I hired a motorbike for the fantastic 70km trip. The roads are winding up, down, in and out of hills, through smiling villages and along mangrove beaches - truly beautiful - I have about 10 minutes of great video! Once there you're assigned a slot (they limit visitor numbers) - mine was 9:30am the next morning. I found a cheap beach hut and threw my bag in, then the rains came - HEAVY! There's nothing to do when it's raining in Sabang (there's not much to do when it's not raining!), so I read, and played sudoku. Eventually they stopped and I had another lonely dinner on the seafront - most people just come here for the day in groups, then go back to Puerto.

I was woken at 1am by a cockroach walking on my face! Oddly this is the first time this has ever happened to me, in all of my travels - or at least the first time I've woken up. I'm not sure how it got in, as I was under a mosquito net! I brushed it off and away - I actually don't mind cockroaches, anything that doesn't bite me is fine by me. I killed two mosquitoes who were also inside the net (wtf) and went back to sleep.

Next morning I went to the registration place and showed my permit. I paid the 400 Pesos fee and the 40 Pesos tax - then had to pay 200 Pesos as I wasn't in a group - they then bolted me onto a group of Filipinos. Getting on the first boat is crazy! Imagine 20 boats, all with outriggers, trying to get to one little badly made concrete dock, while rough sea waves are battering the dock! Tip: wear flip-flops - you get very wet just trying to get in the boat. I was wearing my walking boots as I was on the motorbike and they were socked through in seconds (they're still wet now). One on the boat it's a rough ride around the coast to a secluded beach, when you walk a little through the jungle, then get on another boat (more feet wetting) that takes you into the cave.

The cave is a monster - you can go 1.8km on the boat (it goes 8km in total). I sat at the front so had to hold the torch with the camp Filippino man shouting where to point it, in not-very-understandable English. Thankfully the Filippino girl behind me could see I was struggling to hear and translated. I wanted to point the torch at what I wanted to look at (cute hanging bats mostly) - but was told to move it, and point it a the rock that looks like "Sharon Stone" or the one that looks like "Jesus" or the one that looks like "Mary" or "the last supper" - seriously - can we have some useful information? Does anyone care that that rock looks like a carrot?? Tour over, my feet got a little wetter and I got on the bike and made the lovely rolling journey back to Puerto.

On my last day in Puerto I still didn't meet anyone. Traditional Filippino food is ok but just essentially just seafood or meat, in a sauce with rice. Vegetarians would have a nightmare - on one menu, under the "vegetables" section there was "vegetables with pork". Unfortunately American style diners selling burgers, fried chicken, hot-dogs, shakes, pizza and all that jazz are taking over, and it's not even good junk. I ordered some fried chicken and chip from a major Filippino chain, and got a tiny piece of dry chicken with five (count 'em!) undercooked chips!

I'm going to sound like a moaning tourist git now (and I probably am, especially as I'm a little travel weary at the moment). The people are friendly, the diving and snorkelling is world-class and the beaches are amazing - but I just don't get a spark from this country like I have with others, something's missing for me - that cultural high that gets inside you and makes you feel fuzzy and excited about a place - it's just not there for me - however there are another 6998 islands to explore :)

I'm now in the airport, drinking an Americano from "Seattle's finest", while the latest news and basketball from the US is on the TV. I await my plane to Borneo.

Hong Kong

In Seoul airport the clerk at Jeju airlines told me that I need an onwards ticket to board the aircraft - I had none. I said that I didn't think I did need one, and I get 180 days to stay. After already waiting for ages behind hundreds of people who all seemed to have 20 suitcases each she made me wait longer while she checked with her Hong Kong connection. Finally she said it was OK (yes I knew!) and I could go through. Security was packed - it took an age. I made it with minutes to spare - I was literally the last person on the plane, through no fault of my own. But after this I vow to arrive at airports THREE hours before the flight leaves - I can't be doing with the stress of running about  

I love Hong Kong! It's got all elements of almost everywhere I've been so far, plus a welcome Englishness in the buses, the traffic lights, the police, the signs - I even saw a black cab! I felt quite at home immediately. I stayed at the Hong Kong hostel in Causeway. The not-so-friendly staff put me in the "welcome mansion" - another building over the road. It was like having my own apartment as there was no-one else there, apart from a Russian guy who spoke pretty much no English. I have no idea why he was there. although he did say "shops" to me and he was out from 11am to 11pm, every day! He insisted on having the windows closed and locked (despite being on the 8th floor with bars on the window), and the room door closed (despite being behind 5 levels of security), meaning the room was ridiculously hot - I moved to the sofa most nights, which was comfortable and cool.

I didn't do much high-up sight-seeing as most of the time was rain and fog. I did go to the peak, you have to when In HK! The view was zero; it was paying to go to an extremely expensive, high shopping mall. Most of my time I enjoyed walking about, soaking up the busy streets, dipping into Chinese cafe's and galleries. I caught up with my good Russian friend from Malaysia, who now lives there, and we celebrated Halloween with some friends from his Uni - arriving home at 7am - I've not had a blow out like that in a long time!

Live blog from Hong Kong!

I'm *almost* up to date with the blog, just a few more items to add to Korea. And I thought I'd treat you to a live update, which has never occurred before! It's not going to be particularly interesting as I'm just sitting here doing nothing; I shall go out after posting this - I'm not really a sad individual!

So it's now 8pm Hong Kong time (1pm UK time) - I'm in the Causeway area on Hong Kong island and - how can I put this - it's like hot London with lots of Chinese people. The double-decker buses are here, the pavements, the tree-lined streets, the signs and traffic lights... you get the idea. The most noticeable thing though is the lack of overhead spaghetti wiring everywhere; it's tidily underneath the streets - where it should be!

Me, live now! Notice the odd cat pictures

Halloween weekend - this weekend

Childish I know ... but funny ... c'mon!

Everest trek - Day 10 - Everest base camp

5170m to 5300m (+130m)
5 hours

Up at 5:30am. I was already wearing most of my clothes in bed so I put my boots and jacket on and headed out into the freezing morning with Helen and Dave. The forecasters were correct - the weather had completely cleared and we were surrounded by incredible snow-covered peaks, tinted blue in the early light - quite a sight! We decided to have a walk part way up Kala Patthar for a bigger glimpse of Everest, as you can only see the summit from Gorak Shep (you can't see it at all from Everest base camp). Coming down were Tom and Verena - they'd started at 4am - Verena said she was sick in the night but took a diamox, and this morning felt fine to go even higher - hardcore German lady!

We didn't spend long up there today - tomorrow we were going for the summit. Once the sun was up we went back for some food, and to say goodbye to Tom, Verena and Martin (who was still sick). After a quick breakfast and some take-away cheese chapathi's we set out for the camp. Just out of Gorak Shep is a memorial for Rob Hall, the legendary climber who died trying to rescue members of his group in the ill-fated 1996 expedition.  

After these memorials Dave said he was feeling a little odd and had to sit for a while. Soon he had a splitting headache and nausea - the morning Kala Patthar trip to 5270m had tipped him over the edge. We sent him back to the lodge and told him to take diamox and paracetamol. Altitude sickness is closing in - and me and Helen look at each other, wondering when it's our turn! We continue without Dave just have a look at the path to base camp, It tidily follows the ridge on the edge of the glacier. We come across another altitude casualty sitting on the ridge looking pale - he was with his friends and they'd just decided to turn back. The route's easy until you step onto the glacier, where it suddenly becomes hard to make out - you snake between huge green lakes of melt water and ice cliffs, in parts there's shale on ice shale and you find yourself slipping about! Rocks balanced on top of each other (cairns?) and yak dung are the best clues as to the path. In the spring the hundreds of tents extend almost to where you set foot on the glacier but now, with minimal climbers, the camp is far away at the base of the ice fall. While crossing you can hear creaks and groans, invisible underground rivers and (by far the most nerve-wrecking!) huge rumbles from avalanches high above. The landscape looks like the moon - only grey rocks and ice as far as the eye can see. It took about an hour to cross the glacier to the camp then the clouds moved in and it started to snow - no views of any mountains! There was a Korean team, a large Japanese team (who didn't want visitors so they wouldn't get sick) and a friendly Polish team who were climbing Lhotse. Some of the tents are perched so precariously above crevasses they look completely unsafe! We gather some souvenir stones, speak to the Polish team, get some pictures and start the clamber back, ecstatic that we'd actually made it! The snow is heavy now and we shelter behind a rock on the ridge and eat the cheese chapathi's.

Helen at the end of the ice fall - note the crevasse! 

Tents perched 

Polish team - and MonstaB

Melt water lake

The edge of the Khumbu, and the ridge back to Gorak Shep

Back at the lodge Dave's still feeling rough, but a little brighter. Me and Helen slump into the restaurant completely spaced out and exhausted, still expecting the altitude sickness to claim us any second! My appetite is enormous (a good sign that altitude sickness won't come) and I eat pasta (also finishing Helens pasta), 11 potato and cheese momos then another 10 buff momos that the Monks gave us! 

That evening is an incredible sunset. The colours are unlike any I've ever seen before. Reds, oranges, purples, blues. The blue is so blue that it looks unreal! Soon the sky is blacker than black and we head back in to get some sleep, ready for a 4am start.

Hue, Vietnam

After the mission getting to Phong Nha we wondered how to get out. Luckily there was a pre-booked minibus direct to Hue, from the farmstay. At 6am a swish mini-minibus dropped us to the decrepid main minibus. We were the only westerners on this loaded bus and had to bounce around at the back while the bus growled down the bumpy road, all windows open, melodic horn to blaring! I like these journeys as they're a lot more memorable than easy, comfortable ones. Talitha over-hydrated before embarking and half way through the journey desperately needed the toilet. We stop at a garage and the driver refuses to let her go, as it's a quick fuel stop. He informs her that we'll stop in five minutes time, to the sympathies of the other passengers. Fifteen minutes later we stop and Talitha bolts!
An hour later and we're at the Hue bus depot just out of towm. We ignore the motorbike taxis and hop on a crowded local bus, bags and all, prompting some discussion and pointing from other passengers. We squeeze off and sweat our way across the bridge to Hue backpackers; our home for the next few days.

The bus - once the crowds departed

Hue backpackers (they also have a branch in Hanoi) has everything the discerning MC Hammer-trouser-westerner could want: beer, grungy (grungie?) guitar music, burger and beer (beerger) nights, fish & chips nights, curry nights, drinking games, many flavoured vodka shots (one called arse), pretty barmaids and silly t-shirts for sale. We settle into the comfortable dorm, meet our new roomie, Ozzzie David, then scoot off down the road in search of food.

HQ

Our first culture stop was the citadel. Now pretty much flattened from the French then Americans it's not much to look at but has a fascinating history and some amazing carp in the entrance pond. Out the back entrance we carry on the walk around the city walls, grab a sweet coffee and stroll through the markets before heading back to western headquarters.

Work it... yea, more hips... MORE HIPS

David tells us that it's his birthday today so we have a burger and wash it down with a few Huda and festival beers (it is beerger night after all). We inform the staff and they very kindly sort a delicious cake and sing happy birthday as only the Vietnamese could. The cake gets munched by everyone in the bar and we continue with the drinking, buying David a shot of arse (vodka and fish oil) to really send him on his way! Hic.

I've been left partuicularly numb in the religion region since leaving India. Apparently only 20% of Vietnamese are active Buddhists but Hue is touted as the spiritual capital of Vietnam so i'm expecting to see something. We hire bicycles and head off in the specific direction of a temple & pagoda, to a complete fail (some issues with the Lonely Planet map guv!). But this is not an issue. My favourite days in cities have always been to go with no plan. In this case we found some hyper-local backstreets, giant Catholic graveyards, a huge warrior statue and a vegetarian restaurant that gave us some pork!

"vegetarian" restaurant (the food was delicious)

Waiting for the train...

When I pop my clogs I would like a statue of me - this size.

Where's Hoochie-Minh?

Breaking from the random cycle routing I could see a temple from a hill, so decided that would be our next destination. An hour later, and a bike race with some local kids, we find a deserted back-street leading to what seems like an extremely Buddhist area containing a Thai Monastery, a temple, some large Buddha statues, an incredibly lifelike waxwork of "Hoa Thuong Ho Nhan" (I hope I have that correct) and some plastic wild animals. I cannot find any information about it on the web. Maybe someone reading this might know?

Writing above the Monastery entrance

Hoa Thuong Ho Nhan & me. Same Same!

Many mini-Stupa'

Vietnamese kiss: day 3