Censorsed!

Its five weeks since the last blog update and no this hasn't been down to laziness, lack of internet cafes or that I've fallen off the face of the earth..... but China, for all its glitz, Olympic aspirations and high rise cities, is still not totally part of the free world... however, it is quite fun to know that my little blog with tales of travel poses such a threat that its worthy of censorship!! :-)

China in brief then: The first two weeks I spent at a language school a stones throw away from the IBM building in the business district (I never did go and check that IBM really was that close but my tutors insisted on reminding me often and it featured in many a lesson from "directions" to "occupations") it was a great challenge, especially for someone who's never tried to learn a language before...and chinese certainly isn't easy, with 4 tones plus neutral the syllable "ma" can mean either 1) Mother 2) Hemp 3) Horse 4) To get angry with 5) a yes or no question... its very easy to make some quiet funny mistakes! Equipped with the my new language skills, able to order 2 beers, ask where the toilets are and buy train and bus tickets, travel buddy Shelley arrived 2 weeks later and we began our journey zig zagging our way through China.

What stands out most looking back is just how different the culture was from anywhere I've been before. On the one hand it was easy to label the people rude with the constant spitting on the street (and in restaurants, on trains and pretty much everywhere else) letting small children wee in public places and the constant pushing and shoving rather than queuing. Other bizarre traits include individually rapping pieces of fruit, but happily walking along the street carrying a dead chicken! and the women who never close the door in public toilets! However, in every city we visited we met some of the most friendly and helpful people in the world.... the girl in the yellow jacket who spoke no English yet offered to help us and spent over 15 mins ensuring we got to the train station on time. The train guard who sat with us for over an hour trying to make conversation using my Chinese text book (fine until he reached the "relationships" section!!) a second train guard who has ensured Shelley and I have become minor celebrities on the Chinese rail network and Mr Cheng of Tankou who we would probably have never survived without. In short a unique place, not a culture I particularly gel with but an amazing experience and some amazing people.

A few highlights for those who like that kinda thing:
- The Great Wall
- Terracotta Warriors (nope their not all in London)
- Summer Palace
- Temple of Heaven
- Forbidden City
- S'Silk restaurant in Beijing (possibly the best Lamb dish in the world)
- Huang Shan mountain
- Wine in Wuhan (there really isn't much wine!)
- Cycling through rice paddies

Reading material - Various economics books from my flat mate in Beijing (thanks Jake)
iPod tunes - Morrissey, Buddha Bar, Tree 63

Wot no Yak attack?

After 5 days on a train crossing Siberia on a diet of cuppa soup and instant noodles reaching Ulaan Baatar was utterly delightful...and for those who have been to UB, you will realise I am referring to being able to shower at last and not the city itself which pretty much lives up to the guide books comment "a scar on the Mongolian countryside"..... however that said, Mongolia has far than exceeded my expectations, especially the countryside miles away from UB. I arrived during the day time and it was already -16 degrees (yes minus 16) and has kinda just got colder ever since....really pleased for the last minute purchase of M&S thermals before I left London!!! It was all OK until I decided to go horse riding yesterday afternoon, which was a fantastic way to experience the Mongolian countryside, I even managed to have some fresh cows milk yogurt with a real live nomad family in their ger! But, by the time I got off the horse my feet were even more icy than the ground we had been riding on... an experience, but probably not one I would recommend at this time of year. In fact, speaking with a local guide it sounds like there are only about 100 tourists in the country at the moment, most (and its not many even in high season) pick the summer months to experience the amazing countryside which is Mongolia.

If the food in Russia was a disappointment, then Mongolia again has far exceeded my expectations.... hearty fish soups, Mongolian BBQ, dumplings and lots of fresh eggs. After 5 days of artificial, far too salty junk food on the train its been a welcome relief; and very cheap... beer only 25p a can (oh dear...) and a decent evening meal for 2 pounds. Also a welcome relief after the ridiculous prices in Russia.

A few facts for you: Chinggis Khan ruled Mongolia from 1162-1227 he could be described as the man of his millennium, at that time Mongolia was MASSIVE..... from Lake Baikal to the Great Wall, the entire of SE Asia, much of modern day Russia & central Europe, as far as Turkey and Bulgaria... he even had his sights sets on Egypt, asking the french of all people to help him, and a letter was found not so long ago in the vaults of the Vatican telling the Pope that he was to become a Mongolian subject!! Today Mongolia is still pretty massive really, although suffers from lack of population, there are only 2.5 million Mongolians, half live in Ulaan Baatar, about half a million live abroad and the rest still live the traditional nomadic lifestyle, living in Ger tents. Hum, maybe I was paying attention in the National History Museum :-)

Mongolia is definitely a country I want to come back to.... a fascinating past and definitely an interesting future ahead and with so much to explore, including the Gobi desert which place deserves more than a few days.

Next stop - Back on the train tomorrow, only one night this time and next stop Beijing.

Current ipod tunes: 10,000 Maniacs / Juliet Turner

Current reading Material: Oops.. ran out of books!

Dragons in Moscow...

So, final post before its all a board the trans Siberian railway tomorrow for 14 days of cold weather, train food and thousands of miles of watching the world go by from the window. Moscow is BIG. About half an hour outside of Moscow train station the tower blocks started....and its nothing like coming through Clapham Junction on the way to Waterloo; these tower blocks are massive and there are thousands of them. Its a weird sight, makes you feel very small and must give the inhabitants the feeling that they are part of something big but maybe not very individual - or was that the point?

I am not one for pointless bureaucracy so I knew there would be things about Moscow that would annoy me, and there has been, but the overwhelming feeling is that this is a city and a country in transition, trying to find its way post communism without loosing its culture and identity. Today I saw the dead body of Lenin, there are plans to bury him sometime soon but there are mixed feelings amongst the Russian people so it wont be without a fight I'm sure... it felt like the Russian version of the pyramids, their way of creating a "god" out of their dead leader....actually the whole experience has left a rather bad taste in the mouth. Dragons in Russian culture are a symbol of evil and in Victory Park late last night with the moon and the mist hovering over the top of the WW2 memorial the dragon was enough not just to remind of the horrific nature of war and mans evil but still had the ability to scare anyone who walked close by (there are photos..) Moscow is a living muesem, with every building, square and street name telling a story and its one BIG story!

How to make your own St Basils Cathedral blue peter style...... all you need is a shoe box, 8 toilet rolls, 8 onions and some bright coloured paint.... get your mum to help you cut the 8 toilet rolls into different sizes, glue an onion on the top of each, stick the toilet roll onions towers onto the shoe box in a random order then paint the whole thing with bright colours and swirly patterns.... and there you have it! Alternatively go to Red Square where there is one they made earlier. Crazy place but kinda cool in its own unique way.

Books/Ipod - No time, serious site seeing to be done!!

The "new" europe...

Having totally enjoyed Vilnius, Riga (Latvia) was just not such a pleasant experience, the old town itself is beautiful, cobbled streets and amazing archetecture dating from all periods of Latvia's diverse history...however the place as maybe predictable, was full of english/irish yobs and the whole town seemed to cater for them, with large american fast food restaurants and theme bars in abundance - To be honnest they might as well paint the town orange and change its name to EasyRiga....

Next stop Tallinn (Estonia) where I still am... for a few hours at least. A superb town, possibly one of the least unspoilt medieval towns I have ever been to... and a great bunch of people in the hostel (bunch of ex-pompey Uni students!!) which made for some long and entertaining evenings! In Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn I spent time in the Museums of Occupation which in each case tells the story of their fight for independance from both the Germans and the Russians... It provided a fascinating insight, infact I think I learnt more from the 3 museums than I had in years of school history lessons - for the first time I feel I have an appreciation for what the Iron curtain meant in reality to the people living behind it and a better understanding of the day to day reality of communism - happy to share further thoughts for anyone interested!!

Current reading material: The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield (thanks shelley!!)
Current ipod tunes: Alison Krauss & Union Station / Killers

One week in.

Weirdly (and this was totally unplanned) it is exactly a week to the minute (18:11) since I left London Waterloo..... 7 days, 5 trains, 3 hostels, several (!) beers, 1 new facebook friend and so many Ausies I've lost count already.... and here I am in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Expectations are strange things - For those in the UK, I don't know whether Michael Pailin has reached eastern Europe yet, and if he has maybe your expectations would be different from mine. Having read very little about Polish & Lithuanian history/politics my assumption was of a ex-soviet outpost with large concrete and rusting green buildings, nothing but stew and dumplings to eat and slightly scary looking women..... how wrong can a girl be!! This place is fantastic - bright and vibrant, full of colour and stunning architecture, flavoursome food. incredibly friendly hospitable people and an energetic nightlife.

Challenges - The biggest so far have been 1) trying to find my way out of Warsaw train station which although only has 6 platforms has eight million exits all of which seem to lead you to McDonalds.... 2) trying not to get dragged into political conversations with Americans.....3) Spending at least some time on my own (hostels are friendly places.... and 4) Remembering to take plenty of photos, there is always the delete button!

Thought for the day - Why is it that wherever you go in the world outside the UK people talk to you on trains? It was wedsnesday afternoon and I was a little confused as to why the train had stopped, a bunch of cleaners jumped on and scrubbed the whole thing down whilst an engine was attached to the back of the train, the cleaners jumped off and the car I was in promptly headed off with the new engine in the direction we had just come from.... noticing my suprise Lithuanian Mark suggested he come and sit with me as "its much more fun to have someone to talk with".... fine by me as not only did he help me get off at the right point and change onto the correct train, but also spent the following four hours in conversation ranging from his views of Russia to the global monetary system to sharing a bag of dill flavour crisps (v.good they are too!).... so next time you see a lost soul on a train....well, I leave you to decide!

Current reading material - The Gum Thief, Douglas Coupland.
Current ipod tunes - Bruce Springsteen / Medieval Babes / Killers

Simply why?

Anyone who knows me well will be aware that from a right young age I've been fascinated by the world with all its various countries and cultures - since friends moved to South Africa when I was about 8 years old (I was quite cute then!) I've wanted to go to Africa - my Mum & Sister both had to put up with piles of library books about the Continent stacked in my room (usually running up fines - good job you worked at the library back then eh Mum!) and writing slightly dubious poetry about sunsets and setting foot on African soil :-) It didn't just stop with Africa, from the first time I went Inter railing around Europe as a teenager I've wanted to travel. Mix all that with a passion for looking after the planet and using our time here on earth wisely, with a sense of adventure and a desire to keep the challenges coming....and I think you've probably got the makings of how this trip started life.

Often people build a trip around a list of countries they want to visit - for me it was about a bunch of things I wanted to do.
1) See how possible it is to travel the world without leaving too big a carbon footprint
2) Let the journey be the experience not just the A to B
3) Do some volunteer work but holding to the principle of "I can't build a house in England so what makes me think I can build one in Africa"
4) Learn how to make wine
5) Oh and the small matter of figuring out what the next phase of my life should look like :-)

So the plan is simple: Leave London Waterloo like every other day, but rather than ending up in hounslow end up in Australia without taking a flight...... for those who are now grabbing the atlas to confirm they are not going mad but there is water between here and down under... methods of transport will include trains, buses, feet and freight ship... Make the most of Ausie friends contacts spending time in the Barossa valley attempting to learn something about wine. Then take the first of 2 flights over to South Africa to travel up through Mozambique to Tanzania where I'll then be volunteering for 3 months in a centre for women teaching a bit of IT skills and some aspects of setting up a small business...bit of marketing maybe?! From then the plan is a bit less defined suffice to say 1 more flight to Morocco avoiding all the scary war torn central African countries and then train and boat back to the UK. Easy!

When does it all begin - train departs London Waterloo 18:11 friday 12th October..... keep in touch xx