If anything the roads in Malaysia are even better than in Thailand, and being based loosely on the American system, there are proper junctions on the motorways and no u-turns and unexpected traffic lights. With the ease of travelling we decided to drive on for most of the day and see just how far we could get. We flew past Penang and were looking good for making it to Kuala Lumpur that evening. However for once our luck was not in and we were not going to make KL that evening. The reason; we had our first mechanical breakdown of the trip, which looking back now is not bad after forty thousand kilometres, but at the time it was very frustrating as we were only a hundred kilometres from KL. The problem was a broken fan belt, something we were planning on changing in Australia, which made it even more annoying.

As we were planning on what we were going to do a tow truck turned up and offered to take us back to a garage and fix the fan belt. Great we thought, as since we had a spare belt we would be able to fix the problem nice and quickly and get back on the road. Now we come to problem number two. The garage, when we finally got there, was no more than a tin shack and the guys did not really know what they were doing despite their best interests. In the end they fitted one of their belts, as it was easier to do, and sent us on our way. Low and behold after another twenty kilometres the water temperature went through the roof, and the warning lights came on. Pulling up once again on the side of the road we found that the fan belt they had fitted was broken already. Now we were back to square one again, except that it was now coming up to eight pm and things were not looking good for fixing the truck and finding somewhere to sleep for the night.

Down the road there was an SOS telephone box, so Matt wandered over and pushed a few buttons and came back with out much hope. However, after about twenty minutes a motorway patrol car appeared, with a bloke dressed up in reflective clothing and little flashing blue LED’s all over his jacket. He came over and had a look, and then got on the phone to another mechanics shop and told us they would be here soon. We were ready to get settled down for a long wait but the tow truck turned up in under thirty minutes, very impressive. From there it was an hour tow to the garage, not pristine by any standard, but still definitely far and beyond the earlier workshop we were in! Now finally our luck was beginning to turn, as not only did the guy know how to fix the fan belt properly, but he was prepared to start work straight away, at nine pm. So we went off for some dinner at a roadside fry up place whilst the bloke got on with fixing the truck. He was a great guy and we had a lot of fun chatting to him whilst he was working on the truck, talking about all sorts of things from life back in the UK to the state of the Middle East and the lives of Muslims here in Malaysia. He was a very bright and knowledgeable bloke and the time with him just flew by. The truck was finally ready at eleven thirty pm and then the mechanic was even kind enough to show us to a hotel that was still open at that time of the night and had room for us.

If that was a bad day then the next day certainly made up for it. We had been given the address of a shipping agent in Port Klang, but we had no maps of the area and no real idea of how to get there. So we did our usual, and just drove around until we thought we were in the right place. When we saw a sign for a KFC we decided it was time for lunch and parked up. Low and behold when we asked someone if he knew where Port Klang was, he told us we were in it. When we then asked him if he knew of the street the shipping agent was on, he just smiled and said it was the next street down! How lucky was that? Mind you it was only fair after the torment of the previous day. So it was off to the shipping agent, to see if it would be possible to ship the truck to Perth and how soon it could be done. They were great and really helpful and promised to get back to us as soon as they had the details and a quote for us. Due to our experiences in India and Egypt we were a little more clued in as to how things were done and were able to give the agents a lot of the information that they needed right away, to make life a bit easier for both of us.

It turned out at first that we would not be able to ship the truck for three weeks, but this was soon sorted out when we said that was not acceptable, they came back with a date that had the truck being loaded in four days. That gave us a bit of time to sort out our last few bits and pieces and then to get the truck cleaned ready for Australian quarantine. The truck had to be absolutely spotless for the quarantine people and we ended up going to a couple of places and spending pretty much most of the day cleaning the truck. When we were finished there was not a speck of dust or mud on the whole truck and the engine bay was completely spotless, not even a trace of oil to be found anywhere. Surely they would not be able to find fault with it and let us through without too much of a delay.

Anyway a container was found for us and we had it fumigated too, another ploy to appease the blokes in quarantine. It was not possible to load the truck in that night so it had to stay outside, something I was not entirely happy about as it was threatening to rain that evening and we did not want the truck getting dirty all over again. However, we need not have worried as when we turned up the next morning the shipping guys had put a tarpaulin over the truck to stop any rain from getting on it. This really was a change from Egypt and India and it was great to finally see something going our way with regard to shipping, and so with the truck loaded into the container and locked up we headed up into Kuala Lumpur to sort out our flights to Perth.

Kuala Lumpur’s biggest attraction is the Petronas Towers, the tallest twin building and the fourth tallest building over all in world. We got a taxi right up to the front of the building and stepping out and looking up was awesome. Had to crane my neck and look up so much that I nearly toppled over backwards! It is possible for tourists to go up the tower, but they can only get to floor forty two of the eighty eight floors, where the connecting bridge is between the two towers, but despite this it is still a hundred and seventy meters up. We took one of the turbo lifts up there and it was that quick that I could actually feel my ears pop. Stepping out onto the bridge we were had a great view of the whole city, and despite being given only ten minutes up there it was still an incredible experience. The view from the top office block must be utterly incredible; the people down on the ground looked small enough from where I was looking. Now when Matt told me he had done a bungee jump whilst he was in South Africa and told me that it was two hundred and sixteen meters, I had been impressed. However, now looking down at the ground from a height of a hundred and seventy meters and seeing how high up it was I had to tell him that he must have been absolutely crazy to do it, and that now I was really impressed, especially as he is sometimes afraid of heights!

We then had only a couple of days to waste, which was mainly spent by watching more of our cheap DVDs from Thailand, before our plane was due to leave for Perth, where we were going to be met by one of my mates from back in the UK who has emigrated out to Perth, with the promise that he was going to look after us! So now we were definitely coming to the end of our trip, and it was with mixed emotions that we got on the plane and left. For one thing there was no turning back and running away from it all and hiding in small village up in the mountains of Laos, yet there was also the feeling that at last we had finally reached our ultimate destination and from now on, however, far we get in Australia we had made it, we had driven all the way from North Wales to Australia.

Our first hurdle to overcome in this sprint was the Thai border. This time they made sure that we were not able to get into the country until we had purchased our insurance. The problem with that though was that the office that issues the insurance is in a town that is forty five kilometers inside the Thai border, which was going to be a bit hard for us to get to without being able to get the truck into the country in the first place. Yet again our luck was in though as the first person we managed to find who was able to speak English was the head of the entire border. He was sympathetic to our cause and sent off a girl on a scooter with all of our details to go and get the insurance for us. It can be a bit of a nervous moment when you give over all of your paperwork to a complete stranger but we are used to it by now and also Thailand is one of the more dependable countries that we have visited. After about a three hour wait, nothing is ever done quickly in Thailand, we finally cleared the border and headed out across the country as quick as we could in order to make up some time.

For the rest of the day we made great time, despite being stuck in rush hour traffic on the outside of Bangkok. However it was still dark as we arrived at our intended stop, and after finding the hotel we settled down for a well earned beer. The next morning we were up at seven in the morning in order to beat the rush of tourists, as we were off to the visit the Bridge over the River Kwai. This bridge was built by prisoners during the Second World War and along with the rest of the railway it took the lives of over one hundred thousand soldiers. Despite the early hour, there were again lots of tourists there and sellers’ trying to make money out of them, and it was hard to find a quiet spot and take time to reflect on the sheer scale and magnitude of what we were seeing. The best place was actually out on the bridge itself and it was here that we spent the most time, looking at the structure of the bridge and also watching the tourist train that takes people across the bridge. So after a short time we headed back, past the tourists and the shops selling tacky t-shirts and various other items of kitsch, and got back in the truck ready for another long day of driving.

That day we managed to make eight hundred kilometers and ended up in a small town called Trang. But before reaching the town we were pulled over by the police for speeding, despite them having no obvious equipment to record what speed we were doing and the fact that we were only doing five kilometers over the limit. The officer in charge wanted us to drive back up the road for forty kilometers and visit the police station there to fill out the paperwork and pay the fine, something we were not willing to do. Matt in his usual style politely told the officer this, despite the officer not understanding a word of what he was saying. In the end another officer came over to sort the issue out, and we finally came to the agreement that we could pay the fine to him, which was about ten pounds sterling, and he would sort out all the paperwork. We all know what was going on, that he was going to pocket the money, but we did not care as it meant that we could be on our way. Back in Trang, we went out for a nice dinner and then it was back to the hotel, and for Matt, time for probably the toughest phone call a bloke ever has to make, asking his future wife’s father for her hand in marriage. In the end all went well and he seemed very happy to hand over his only daughter to Matt.

The countryside round here on the southern Thai peninsula is beautiful and the beaches are supposed to be amazing, some of the best in the world, but we had no time to stop and take it all in as we had to make the border that day, and by now we were on a mission, having driven a few thousand kilometers and been through three countries in just a couple of days. So next country on the list was Malaysia, our last country in SE Asia, and from there it would be Australia, the last county on this trip.

Now I mentioned that the roads in Cambodia were not of the same quality as those of Thailand. This would be an understatement. When there was tarmac, which was rare, it was badly rutted and almost not driveable. Most of the road was just a dust track, and we were back to sharing the road, with all sorts of other users, trucks, cars, scooters, cyclists and pedestrians. One comical moment was being undertaken by a scooter which had two live pigs strapped on their backs to the back of the scooter. The photograph I got of the scene is a little blurred as it was hard to hold the camera steady due to my laughter. There is some work being done to the road, but it looks as if it has been going on for a few years and not much has been done.

Despite this the drive into Siem Reap was an enjoyable one, as the views of the countryside were breathtaking. It was a lot flatter than I thought it would be and there were a lot of trees, although it was not until we got closer to Siem Reap that we started to see jungle vegetation again. All the people in the towns and on the side of the road were again friendly, stopping what they were doing and giving us waves. As we approached Siem Reap and got to the airport there was all of a sudden a massive change on the road. We were back onto good quality tarmac again. The reason for this we assume is that the government does not want the tourists driving on poor roads, and there were certainly a lot of tourists here, with virtually every other building being a hotel or guest house. Due to this we plumped for a guest house on the edge of town and were rewarded with a lovely little place, off the beaten track that was nice and quiet and a great place to relax and unwind, in preparation for our day out wandering round Ankhor the next day.

However, all was not to go well the next day. I woke up at five in the morning with gut wrenching stomach pains, and vomiting. This was only the second time I have been ill on the trip, with Mat being ill just once, so on reflection I can not complain too much. Due to this we decided to give Ankhor a miss for the day and instead settled down to a day in air con watching DVDs, which we had purchased on the cheap in Thailand. The next day we were both in good health and sprits, so we set off for the great temples of Ankhor. The city of Ankhor is very spread out and covers a massive area, with each temple complex being a sort of town in its own right. In between the temples is nothing but jungle, and in many of the temples the jungle is still present, having not yet being cut down by the people. This definitely adds to the mysticism of the place and it due to this that we did not get our first site of Ankhor Wat, until we were pretty much right on top of it.

Getting out of the car we were immediately assaulted by hoards of kids selling anything from drinks and food to guide books and locally made scarves. It was quite an effort to get rid of them, and we were only truly free when we had crossed over the causeway and entered Ankhor Wat properly, as the hawkers are not allowed inside the temple. From the start of the causeway we could see right through the arch of the outer wall and on to the Temple itself, probably the most photographed temple in Cambodia, due to its fame after appearing in many films. From here we had a walk of about five hundred meters to the Temple itself, which gave us plenty of time to take in the grandeur of the place. The Temple is deceiving as it does not look very high from a distance, due to the large width of its base. However, when we got up close we could really appreciate how big it was and also how steep the sides of the Temple were. We like many others decided to climb to the very top, and were rewarded with some breathtaking views back down through the grounds of the Temple. Further out beyond the Temple, all that could be seen was the green of the tree tops and the jungle. If it was bad climbing up to the top, it was even worse coming down due to the very steep sides and the irregular steps, with the only support being an old rusty hand rail that had definitely seen better days. At some points the legs had even come out of the concrete supports and were hanging loose. Due to this and the amount of people up there it took some time to get down, but that was not a worry as it gave us more chance to gaze at all the stone work and the different areas of the Temple. Pretty much all of the Temple is accessible to people, which is great, and it is also still used today as a place of worship, so we got to see the monks and religious pilgrims amongst the main throng of the tourists.

From Ankhor Wat we headed off down the road again to the other major temple complex, Ankhor Thom. The entire complex of Ankhor Thom is surrounded by a large wall, and the entrance here is through a narrow arch, completely covered in the trademark carved heads, which are a feature of Ankhor Thom. However, before getting to the wall you have to cross another moat, via a bridge that is lined along its whole length with statues. It is an impressive sight and I am sure that was the intention when it was first built, to give people entering the feeling that they were definitely entering an awe inspiring place. We stopped in the arch to get a few pictures and then headed down to the Bayon, the main centre of the complex and the temple that is renowned for the carved heads.

This temple, if anything, is even more impressive than Ankhor Wat, with most of the surfaces being covered with the carved faces and heads, reportedly being in the image of the King who ordered the Temple built. Again there were many tourists here, and with the narrow passages it led to quite a few blockages in the passageways. At one point it actually got too much and I stupidly felt as if I had more of a right to be there, considering that they had just flown in and got a bus up, whilst we had driven all the way here from the UK! Despite the amount of people walking around it was still a very powerful and moving experience, especially as it was not uncommon to walk round a corner and be met with a two meter high carving of a face set into the wall! We then spent a bit of time wandering round the outside of the Bayon, taking in the scale and the design of the building, and enjoying a bit of piece and quiet. From there we then wandered round a few other temples, taking in some of the history and the size and scale of the place.

Due to the heat and the humidity of Siem Reap we decided to finish the day early and head back to the guesthouse. It was great to be driving around the place in the truck. Everyone else there is on a tour, so they were in either in buses or tuk-tuks so when we drove past we got plenty of looks. As we were leaving Ankhor Thom, coming back over the bridge, we were driving nice and slow to get one last look and all of a sudden we realised that we were the centre of attention for all of the photographers. Apparently our truck looked great just in front of the arch on the bridge, so we willingly stopped for a while so people could take snap shots for their albums back home, and when we got chatting to a few of them, they could not believe that we had driven there all the way from the UK.

So after that it was back to the guesthouse and then an early night, as we were heading back out to the border the next morning and we already knew how bad the road was! As we expected, nothing had changed in the few days since we had last driven down it and it was still as bumpy and as dusty, and it was a very tiring three hour drive until we once again got back to the border with Thailand.

Another thing we realised as soon as we got into driving in Thailand was the amount of development in the country. The roads were of excellent quality, probably the best we have driven on since Europe. Also there are plenty of road signs, making it very easy for me to navigate. Something that Matt was very quick to point out to me! The other delight was the first fuel station we pulled up into. Again it was like being back in Europe again, there was so much on offer in the shop, we could not help ourselves and went a little mad, buying far too much junk food, but it just tasted so good!

Then it was down south into the country, with the aim to get as close as we could to Attuthaya, before fining somewhere and pulling over for the night. As it turned out the roads were so good that we were able to make the six hundred kilometer trip in just over six hours and rocked up in the late afternoon. I can’t remember the last time we were able to make six hundred kilometers in a day and it felt great. Attuthaya is one of the main pilgrimage places in Thailand, and after struggling for a while to find a hotel we settled down for the evening with a cold beer or two, ready for the next day of more temple visiting.

Getting up early in the morning I decided to take a stroll through the market of the town, and was rewarded with seeing a bit more of the real Thailand, as not many of the tourists were up and about at that time of the morning. It was great to be walking through tiny streets, surrounded by people and the smells of herbs and spices, and closing my eyes I could see myself back in Africa again. There were all sorts of things for sale, ranging from all the fresh meat and fish you could want, right down to plastic buckets and kids toys, and it was great just to wander round and watch the locals haggling for good deals and chatting about their days, not that I could understand a word they were saying. I was also something of an attraction there, as I don’t think they get to see to many six foot four red heads in Thailand, especially walking around the market at seven in the morning. Another nice touch I was witness to came at eight in the morning, when the whole town stopped as the national anthem was put out across a public address system. Even the cars stopped in the street, and it reminded me of being back in England on the eleventh of November.

Later on in the day we both headed out into the temple area to see what we could find. This is yet again another place that Dan Cruickshank has visited on his travels and it was great to read up a bit about the place first before we went exploring. This area was the old capital area of Thailand, before it moved to Bangkok, and as a result there are a few tombs of the old kings here. We were able to go down into one of the tombs, but there was actually not much to see, as the coffin and also all of the precious artefacts have been removed. One of the good things about the area was that we were able to wander where ever we wanted, studying all the different views of the stuppas and chedis. There were also lots of trees and shady spots for us to take a break in. As we had travelled due south quite quickly, and our bodies were still used to the cold of China, it was a struggle at times in the heat. The most sacred spot in all of the town, and also one of the most sacred spots in all of Thailand is actually one of the smallest things. It is the head of a Buddha that at some point was left up against a tree. Over time the tree has grown around the head, completely surrounding it and making it look as if it part of the tree itself. Most Thai people in their life will come to this spot, to make an offering and pray in front of it. It was quite moving just to stand there and watch these people arrive and make their offering, obviously moved by the power of their religion and the importance of this site.

We left Attuthaya the next morning and headed out south again, not to Bangkok, but to just outside Pattaya, where we were going to go and spent a few weeks with my god parents, relaxing and re charging our batteries, before the final push down through SE Asia and then sorting out the shipping of the truck to Australia. This is something both of us have been looking forward too for a while, especially myself, as I had not seen my god parents since they emigrated out here. Well within about twenty minutes I was in my board shorts, in the pool with a gin and tonic in my hand. Oh what bliss! We spent most of the first afternoon out in the garden and the pool, chatting about our trip and also their lifestyle here in Thailand. I have to admit that I could not find fault with it at all and it might be something that I would be interested in doing later on in my life.

The next few days were generally spent relaxing and getting to know the area, and then on the first weekend we were taken out for our first trip, a day out to the local islands by boat with some of Flick and Graham’s close friends. It was again a very relaxing day, with some fishing and plenty of swimming and one or two bottles of beer! It was really nice to be able to relax and socialise with English speaking people, something we had not been able to do since Dahab. The islands and beaches were beautiful and the water was lovely and warm, just the perfect day, and with everybody bringing their own speciality food with them, there was plenty of choice when it came round to lunch time.

Whilst we were in Pattaya we also spent time taking in the local sights and there were quite a few of them. The first one we went to was The Sanctuary of Truth. This is a structure made completely out of wood that has been in continuous construction for over thirty years. The thought behind it is to have a place that celebrates all of the religions of Asia, and promotes the idea that there is no need to life a material life in a material world and at the same time keeps the traditional skills of woodworking alive in the area. It is the brain child of a local businessman and he has put a lot of his time, energy and money into the project. The building itself is stunning and some of the carvings are incredible. At the moment it is not even finished but there are literally hundreds of carvings, all over the outside and the inside of the building, all of which are held in place with wood fittings, as there is not a single nail in the entire structure. Also, due to the building being made by hand, nothing fits exactly together and that can be seen in all of the fittings. We spent a few hours there immersing ourselves in the grandeur of the place and studying some of the more intricate carvings. After the building it was also possible to go and have a look at the people doing the carvings and see them at work. This again was interesting, more so for Matt as he got to have a good look at the type of tools they were using, so that he could report back to his dad.

Next on the agenda for us was another giant Buddha. It is located a few miles outside of Pattaya, in the park that was built for the celebration of the Kings fiftieth anniversary on the throne, and again is another breathtaking feat. They first started off with a hill, and then using explosives sliced the hill open to give them a roughly flat vertical piece of rock to work with. Then, from two miles back, they shot a laser at the cliff face and etched an outline of a sitting Buddha that is one hundred and thirteen meters tall. Finally they then filled in the etching with gold, using over forty tonnes to give it its golden outline. In front of the Buddha there is a park with immaculate grass lawns and trees, where you can relax and take in the view. They even have a yellow circle on the ground to mark where the best place for you to take a photograph from is. Apparently this is the tallest carving of a Buddha in the world, and although it is fantastic and well worth a look, for me it still has to be the Giant Buddha in Leshan. The fact that it was carved by hand, instead of laser and it is three dimensional as well as taking over ninety years to create is what, to me, gives it the edge over this Buddha.

The other side of Pattaya of course is the sexual side, and there is plenty of that all over the place, in whatever form you wish to have it. There are a few major centres and on a couple of evenings we went for walks down there to take in the night life, and we weren’t the only ones! There were plenty of people out and about enjoying themselves, although I have to say I was a little concerned to see lots of adults taking their young kids down the streets. We ventured into a couple of the places to see what the crack was, and at one of them e even took in a show. The less said about that here the better, but for anyone wanting to know more then just get in touch! On one of our last nights there we went to one of the musical shows, Tiffany’s, in which the cast are all Katoys. If you don’t know what that is then you will have to use Google to find out. Flick and Graham had spoilt us yet again by getting us front row seats so that we were right in the thick of the action. The show went on for an hour and a half and was truly amazing. They sure did like their glitter and costumes and there were many changes of these as well as scene changes and I am sure that it must have been chaotic backstage. All in all they do three shows a night, seven days a week and all credit for them, as it must surely take its toll on them.

After the show we went for another gorgeous dinner. There are many fie restaurants in Pattaya and we were lucky enough to be able to sample some of them. Mata Hari is a modern stylish sleek restaurant seriving European food and it was excellent, however it was usurped in the end by Cabbages and Condoms and the Sugar Hut. Both of these served traditional Thai food in a very Thai setting, with the Sugar Hut actually being a massive Thai house on stilts. Along with the fine dining there are also plenty of other dining choices and Matt and I were both delighted that for one lunch time we were able to have traditional British food in a pub named the Queen Vic. What was even better was that they served John Smith’s bitter, now we really were getting a taste of home!

Whilst we were in Pattaya one afternoon we met up with one of Flick and Graham’s good friends, Dr. Iain, who writes for the local Pattaya Mail. He wanted to see us and have a chat about our trip, and decided that he would like to publish an article about us and our adventures. He is a great guy and we actually spent most of our time there talking about cars and the different types he used to race in. I am actually doing him a disservice as he is still active in the racing scene. He gave us the article to read a few days later, and he seems to have both of us down to a fine t, as well as including much of his Antipodean’s wit!

However, before we knew it, time had left us and we prepared to move on from Pattaya and head for the Cambodian border and the long time secret temples of Ankhor. Our time with my god parents had been great. Not only had we been able to relax and unwind fully after our mad dash across India and China, but we had expert guides on hand all the time to show us some of the best places around and to help us with all our needs. I am sure we would not have got even half the stuff done that we did had it not been for Flick and Graham, and we owe them huge thanks for that. Oh and for letting us crash in their house, taking it over, getting them to do our laundry, cooking for us, taking out to the Polo, introducing us to all their friends, showing us the best drinking places and the best shopping places in town. So not much really!

Both Matt and I, having seen all the pictures in books were also of the notion that the wall was the same all the way along its length. Due to this, when we finally saw the Great Wall we were a little disappointed, in fact I was very disappointed as one of my dreams is to get up and walk along the top of the Great Wall, and this was no longer going to be possible. Not to worry though as it gives me a reason to go back to China, and that time I will be able to do the east coast, the area we were not able to do on this trip. Despite this initial disappointment the sight itself was great. At the end of the wall is a massive fort and it was there that our attention was turned to. Who ever designed the fort, and I wish I could remember his name, was a military genius. The whole place is set up as a killing field so that a minimal amount of defenders can keep at bay a far, far larger force. It really is a piece of art. One of the best bits is an enclosed area between two gates, where they can lure the enemy in and then just decimate them, with no chance of escape.

After a night near the wall we headed off for the ancient city of Xian. We paralleled the wall for ling periods and at one point we actually drove through the wall. A lot of the wall no longer actually exists, but for this crossing they had actually removed a section of the wall. A bit sad, but that is progress I suppose. Our arrival in Xian was yet again in darkness, something we seem to be doing a lot of in China with the long days of driving, and so it was not until the next morning that we had chance to wander round a get a feel for the place. The old city of Xian is surrounded by a wall that is fourteen kilometres long all the way around. At about twenty five meters high and well over ten meters high it is a very impressive site. Seeing this made me think of what the Great Wall of China should look like, and in some ways went a way to satisfying the desire to see it. Access is possible up on the wall and many of the local were there as well as tourists, all having a good look around. There were also people running around the wall, not a bad view for a morning jog, despite the amount of fog meaning it was only possible to see a couple of hundred meters. Inside the wall the buildings are closely packed together, but it was not always the case. During the time of the Emperors, this entire area housed just the Emperor, his family and the royal guard soldiers, the rest of the common people living outside of the walls. Inside the city there are two large pagodas, each containing a bell, one being rung in the morning and the other in the evening. The morning bell is now situated in the middle of the busiest roundabout in the city and with the fog and pollution that morning was quite an eerie sight, with the top not even visible, even from fifty meters away.

The other world famous attraction near to Xian is the site of the Terracotta Warriors, and again it was something Matt and I had been looking forward to. Situated about forty kilometres outside of the city, the overall site is huge, with only a few sites having been excavated. The area visible to the public is housed in three buildings, one of which being the museum. The two other buildings contain the warriors themselves, although one of them is much larger than the other, and it was to this one we headed first. Our first sight of the warriors was impressive, row upon row of them disappearing towards the back of the building. However, it is not possible to get very close to the warriors and the lighting in there is so dire that it makes photographing them very difficult, even with Matt’s powerful flash. Also a lot of the area has yet to be excavated, in order to wait for more technological advances in the future and also to prolong the viability of the site. The other building housed some more warriors but was no where near as many as the first and a lot of the pieces here were broken as well. The museum had some good pieces inside, the best of which being the two bronze chariots that were built to be housed alongside the Emperor. The detail of the craftsmanship is excellent, even down to the reins for the horses, and must have taken years to produce. Even though it was a great place both Matt and I, again, left feeling a little disappointed. It was hard to put our finger on exactly what it was, maybe it was a combination of the amount of people there, the incredible sights we have already seen, the fact that we could not get close to the warriors and the fact that television and books make it seem far more brilliant than it actually is. Despite our reservations if anybody can get the chance to go there, then snap it up, it really is good and with time and the opening up of more sites, it will only get better.

With our time in Xian over and with our heads now recovered from New Years Eve, we set out again, this time heading south, and to what would hopefully be warmer times. The north of China had been great and held many secrets which had been opened to us, but we were looking forward to getting warm again, and not having to wear our down jackets all of the time. However, before that we had a mountain range to cross, and the weather still held a few surprises for us. Our first day of driving south, took us through some incredible gorges, whilst we slowly started to climb again, and it was not long before we were in snow country once more. Driving in the snow is always good fun, although better in the dark as the path of the snow flakes as they come at you is very reminiscent of Star Trek, travelling at warp speed. Although here we also had the added issue of having to deal with ice on the roads as well, so maybe not as much fun for Matt. At one stage just before the steepest part of the climb, people were putting snow chains on their trucks and were pointing out that we should do similar. However, we were still only in 2WD and made it over the top of the pass without a problem. Then we started to drop down, only a little though, and arrived in Chengdu, the home of the Giant Panda Research and Breeding Centre.

The Panda Centre in Chengdu is the only thing there and we headed off there as soon as we could the next morning. The Giant Panda likes to make life hard for itself. They are very particular about their choice of partner and even fussier about their choice of food. Bamboo you might think is everywhere in China and in this region it is. However out of the three hundred or so different types of bamboo they only like to eat three of them. No wonder they are in decline and almost extinct. At the centre they have about thirty Giant Pandas, and they literally spend most of their day eating, or sleeping. One of them we were watching gathered up a load of bamboo and then it sat down and pulled it all up onto its chest so it could literally shovel it down its throat. They really have minimal effort down to a fine art! Also at the centre was the Red Panda. We probably spent more time watching these animals, mainly as they were far more active than their larger cousins, spending most of the time running around or play fighting with each other. The star attraction at the centre had to have been the baby Giant Pandas. Not only are they high on the ‘cute’ factor, but due to their young age they have very little co ordination and like to fall over a lot. All of which is very entertaining. They are all in one big play pen, usually all over each other sleeping. When they are awake, and you have to see this to believe it, they like to try and get on the small rocking horses that are in the pen with them. They are usually unsuccessful at this, which is entertaining in itself. However, occasionally they do get on top but the rocking of the horse sends them straight off again! Yet again we were unable to take pictures or to film them so you will just have to trust me on this.

Chengdu was also the place where we were told that we would be able to get hold of new tyres for the truck. However, after going to the biggest dealer in town, and falling some way short of the size needed we gave up on the idea and decided to use the extra day to head off to somewhere that was not on our itinerary, Leshan. This is the home of the worlds largest carved Buddha and it is set in a cliff face on river bank on the far side of town. The story goes that at that point in the river there was a dangerous current on the bend and many people were dying. In order to stop this happening they decided to carve a Buddha out of the cliff face so that he could protect the river users. The carving took ninety years to finish and all of the material carved out was dumped into the river. This material silted up the river on the bend and stopped the dangerous current, thus resolving the problem. It’s funny the mysterious ways in which Buddha works! In order to get to the Buddha itself you have to park at the back end of the cliff face and then slowly make the walk up the trail to the top, and it was there that we were confronted with the awesome spectacle. The first thing we were to see of the Buddha was its head and that was big enough. However when we got to the edge of the cliff and saw the whole carving I had my breath taken away. The word gargantuan comes nowhere near close enough to describing how big this thing is. The carving itself is set back into the cliff face and this encloses the carving and makes it seem even bigger than it is, with the people at the bottom resembling ants. The walk down to the bottom of the carving is by narrow steps that are cut out of the cliff face next to it. They are very steep and due to the rain we had, very slippery. However, we made it down successfully and were able to take in the view from the bottom up. It literally towers above you and it is down here that you really appreciate the amount of work that went in to making this. To give you an idea of the scale, when stood by the foot I came to just above the big toe and the big toenail is big enough to be able to have a picnic on it, the overall height being seventy one meters. The attention to detail on the carving is also incredible. Every single detail is included even down to the earlobes and the knuckles on the fingers and toes and it has to rate as one of the best things I have seen on this trip.

From Leshan, and after a little debate with our ‘minder’, we headed off to Lijang, however, all was not to be that easy. Firstly we had to do our little ‘detour’ as we were not allowed on some roads, basically because the government did not want us there. After that we were misinformed as to how long the road would be and how many kilometres on dual carriageway. It took us two days of driving for fifteen hours, through roads that at some point were impassable before we finally descended down the mountain side and reached Leshan, yet again in the dark. Driving in this country is a nightmare and even worse than India, if you believe that is possible. The main reason is that the vehicles here can drive a lot faster and so they do, and the second reason is that basically they are all arrogant and believe that the are the best thing on the road and that they deserve to have all of the road if they want. This includes driving on the wrong side of the road round a corner doing over eighty kilometres an hour. Then when they come face to face with an oncoming truck they simply drive back onto their side of the road, regardless if there is something in their way, like say a four tonne white Toyota Landcrusier. Then, after they have driven into the side of the Toyota, and broken one of their tail lights, they deem it fit to get out and scream and hurl abuse at the two occupants in their own language so that they can not be understood. All the while the so called guide is hiding in the back mumbling to himself that the police will now have to get involved and how he is not happy about the whole affair. Oh well, things seemed to calm down a bit when Matt and I, got out and stood, looking down at them, and said a few polite greetings back to them in English. This did not seem to work, so we decided that best course of action was to be on our way and so carefully drove off around them. Oh what fun!

Lijang is what you would expect of a village if someone asked you to picture the quintessential Chinese community. It is the perfect conception of a Chinese village, with old houses, each decorated with architraves on the roofs in their own style and design. There are pleasant little canals and waterways that criss-cross through the town, with a large water wheel at the top of the village. All of the streets are cobbled and no cars are allowed into the old town at all, and in the main square local Naxi Chinese to the area march out and dance their own tribal displays for all to see. Due to this it is obvious that it is all a fake and there for show. Yes the original town would have looked something like this but the numerous earthquakes the have had here over the years has meant constant rebuilding, and on closer inspection it is possible to make out the plaster that has been used and all of the new wood as well. Despite this, it is still a magnificent place and the backdrop to the village is the incredible Jade Dragon Mountain. This peak, over five thousand meters high and covered in snow sits behind the village and can be seen from most places. The day we had there was crisp and fresh, almost spring like and with the sky blue and sun shinning the snow on the top of the mountain seemed to gleam. We spent a bit of time in the village wandering around, but it was not until you got off the main streets and into the back did you finally start to loose the tourist shops and get into the real heart of the place. There were workshops here and people going about their daily lives oblivious of the amount of tourists who have flocked to come and see them. Again due to the time of year that we were passing through we were lucky that it was not too busy, and it was possible to grab an outside table at a restaurant and just watch the world go by.

We spent an extra day in Lijang and then it was the final push towards the border. By now the weather was definitely getting better, with a lot more sun and even the temperature was starting to warm up. We drove through gorgeous valleys all manicured into perfect terraces, and at one point Matt got to see one of the things he had most wanted to see in China. A water buffalo, ploughing a rice paddy, up to his hind quarts in water. By now, despite all of the amazing wonders we had seen we were definitely more than ready to leave China. Some of this had to do with the guide, who had become more of an annoying passenger by now, some to do with the length of time we had been there, but for the main part it was that we just wanted to be off on our own again, in charge of our destiny and being able to go wherever we wanted to. So after a few hours on the border, clearing up paperwork and generally waiting around until the officials could be bothered to clear us, we finally made it out of China and we were on our way into SE Asia, and to what would hopefully be a great beginning of a new year for us.

For as long as we have been planning this trip, China has always been on the agenda. At first it was deciding whether or not to go through China, due to the cost and logistics of the country. When we finally made the decision that it would be worth while, we then had the constant worry of the deadline at the back of our minds. This obviously was not so much of an issue back in March in the Sahara Desert, but by the time we were finally in India it was definitely a major factor. The final reason for China being in our thoughts a lot was that psychologically it was a major turning point of the trip. Once we were through such a massive country we were pretty much on the final straight, as arriving in Australia would be very much like arriving back home, due to the western culture. Oh yeah and it has some of the most amazing sites on our trip, our route through it was just over 7000km and we had twenty six days to do it in.

Enough about planning; lets move on to actually being there. Getting into China was a mission in itself. First we had to cross the Friendship Bridge with Nepal and spend two hours going through quarantine. Up until now nearly all of the borders had been very straight forward and at no point had we really being checked, apart from engine and chassis numbers. However we were told all that was to change here. There was a lot of paperwork to be filled out and presented to lots of very official looking people, but luckily our minder dealt with that. The truck had to be treated, just to make sure that no nasty bugs were able to get across into China. Something I thought was a little pointless considering the bridge spanned a river that was only a fifty yards wide at best. We actually got in trouble at one point as Matt, with out knowing, drove over the red line marking the border before we had the “right clearance”. There was lots of shouting but finally it was all peacefully resolved. So, welcome to China then!

After this it was a two hour drive up a broken track with rocks falling down nearby us, steadily climbing from about 600 meters above sea level to nearly 2500 meters above sea level. The air was noticeably thinner here already, and both Matt and I were intrigued to find out how it would be as we climbed up over the four and then magic five kilometre mark. However, we were going to have wait a while for that; as we had not actually officially entered China yet. There was still the small matter of the customs check and the immigration clearance before we could drive through the big steel barred gate that was blocking our path. This, however, was going to be tricky. The person who was meant to be on duty to check our truck, and apparently the only person in the entire area qualified to inspect it, had disappeared for the day and would not be back until tomorrow. Something which we were only told after sitting around for about four hours. Eventually a comprise was finally found and we were allowed through the gates to stay in the border town overnight, although we were not allowed to take the truck or our passports with us.

Well there was nothing else we could do and there was certainly nothing to do in the border town, so we grabbed some food and changed some money and headed for the hotel. A hotel I might add that is firmly in the Himalayan mountain range, at a height of two and a half kilometres and also one that does not have any sort of heating, despite it being the middle of winter and only a few days before Christmas! It was an interesting night and Matt and I were both glad of the extreme down jackets we had bought back in Pokhara, as the temperature outside plummeted to about fifteen degrees below by around ten in the evening. The next day, itching to get going we headed back down to the border and got ourselves comfy as we prepared for the long haul with this border. Our worst fear was that customs would want to search the whole truck and this meant emptying everything out of it and passing it through an x-ray machine. Very tedious! However, our luck seemed to be in this morning. Well we had to wait another three hours for the official to turn up, but when he did everything seemed to go smoothly and in the end we only had to take two boxes out of the truck and put them through the x-ray machine. Not too much hassle and maybe this was their way of saying sorry for the delay, but somehow I think not. More a case of not being arsed to do it!

So finally we were off, and it was not long before we were climbing again, well actually we began to climb even whilst driving through the town, and we just kept on climbing. Now we were really getting into the Himalayas. Looking back down the valley we had just climbed was an incredible sight, but what lay before us as we popped up onto one of the plateaus took our breath away. The mountains were towering above us, with their snow capped peaks gleaming in the sun, most of the peaks being up over 6000 meters with some well into 7000 meters. The landscape however, was not what I expected. It was more like a lunar landscape. There was not much snow, only on the peaks of the mountains, but there was a lot of ice around, and most of the rivers were full of it, although some of them were running. There is no grass up here either, most of the ground being dusty brown rubble, but I was told that in the spring it does become lush with grasses.

At this time we were up around 5000 meters and we came to one of the highest passes on the Tibetan plateau road at 5120 meters. At the pass the Tibetan people have set up a shrine to the god that lives in the mountain, actually all mountains in Tibet have a god that lives in them. The experience was quite moving, especially as it was now pretty hard to breathe up at that altitude, and I was feeling very light headed at the time. When you get up over 2500 meters you are only supposed to climb about 300 meters a day and after every 1000 meters you are supposed to take a day off to acclimatise. We however, decided to climb 2500 meters in about half a day, not the best thing to do, but then again we were driving not climbing, thank God! That evening we spent another night in an unheated, overpriced hotel. At one point we were both in thermals and fleeces, inside our sleeping bags, with two duvets each over us and a hot water bottle and were still cold. This night was also the night that Matt fully succumbed to altitude sickness. He spent most of the night with a screaming headache, bent over the toilet, vomiting. Not his finest hour, and I was my usual sympathetic self, I slept through all of it and did not hear a thing, even the part where he confessed that he thought he was about to die, and he really meant it!

Fortunately for Matt he managed to make it through the night, but he was still not very well the next morning. This meant that we regretfully had to cancel our planned trip up to the Tibetan Everest Base Camp. This was a big pity, as we had both been looking forward to getting there, but looking back on it now neither of us regrets the decision. That night the temperature really plummeted, and our temperature gauge showed us that it had gotten down to minus thirty degrees. In fact when we got up at seven o’clock the temperature was still minus twenty degrees. At that moment we realised why we had the Webasto engine heater fitted. Without it we would had to have resorted to trying to heat up the engine with a blow torch. A few days later the temperature actually got so low it broke the temperature gauge, which was rated to go down to minus forty degrees and it took over an hour to get the truck started.

Over the next two days we continued across the Tibetan plateau in order to reach Lhasa, the home of the Deli Lama. The scenery up on the top was just stunning, with plenty of mountains and bright blue skies. As we were still up at 4500 meters there was still a fair amount of ice and snow around, which was great as for once in our lives it meant we might actually have a white Christmas. However, before Christmas came Lhasa, and what a town that was. The history around this town is huge, as it has been a pilgrimage place ever since the Deli Lama has been here, and even more since he went into exile in the 1950’s. We arrived there late in the afternoon and were lucky enough to get a glimpse of the Patala Palace up on the hill before it got too dark. It looked magnificent, but we were both a little apprehensive about having to climb up all the steps, after all we were still at 4500 meters, and although we were no longer ill, we were both still light headed and got out of breath easily. That night was a lovely one too, as for the first time since we arrived in China we actually had heating and hot water in the hotel. Being nice and refreshed the next morning, we headed off in high sprits for the Patala Palace. The building was even more impressive from up close, and apparently has over a thousand rooms inside.

The walk up the many flights of stairs to the entrance was not too bad, mainly because we took a lot of breaks with the excuse that we were taking pictures. Again my size was of interest to a lot of people and the staring was back in full force. One group of pilgrims actually got me to pose in a picture with them. Wander what is going to be the reaction of their friends when they show them that picture? When we finally reached the doorway, we spent a bit of time just standing there looking back down into the town. From this view we could see all of the town and most of the surrounding mountains. If I was not already of out breath I surely would have had it taken away by this view. Stepping into the building was just like stepping back in time. The building is still used by the monks there who look after it, and much of the building is shut off form the public. Apart from Matt and me we only saw another two or three tourists there, but despite this the place was packed, with thousands of Tibetans making their pilgrimage. In a way it actually felt as if we were invading their private moment and there were a few times where we stepped back and waited in order the local people to be able to perform their prayers and tributes. Inside the palace it is truly remarkable. The shrines and throne rooms of the previous Deli Lama’s are incredible and some of the tombs for them defy imagination. There is just so much gold, all over the place, and precious jewels too. One of the tombs has about four tonnes of gold on it along with hundreds of diamonds, pearls and rubies. Not bad for a religion that bases itself on lack of possessions and simple living. I know that might sound a little bitter and spiteful, but there were times when I found it hard to accept some of the beliefs with so much opulence around. A lot of the pilgrims have nothing and have prostrated for over five hundred kilometres to get here, only to give away their last few Chinese Juan to a shrine that is covered in gold. The good thing is that the money is then collected and used to help other less fortunate people. Another thing that was a little disappointing for me was the sheer amount of religious scrolls there that are not allowed to be touched. There are thousands and thousands of them and very few if none at all have been translated for us to be able to read. Just think of what could have been written in those scrolls, by some of the most revered religious leaders across the ages. There could be a wealth of knowledge there for us and yet we are not allowed to go near it.

Despite these hang ups the Patala Palace is truly an incredible sight and a must see for anyone who is lucky enough to go to China and Tibet. Every single room there has a treasure in it and there were many, many rooms that we could not go and visit. Even the architecture here is breathtaking, with most of the rooms being very small and full of decorations, with small low ceiling passageways linking them together. Most of the rooms also had a resident monk in it and his main job was to look after the yak butter candles that are there to provide the lighting. It seems very odd to use yak butter for wax, but it seems to work very well, despite the odd smell. This butter is also another offering that the pilgrims bring and give to the monks. Due to the twisting route we were sent around in the palace it was actually quite hard to work out where we were, and it was with some surprise that we popped out at the back of the palace and the tour was over for us. We then spent the rest of the day at the Jokhang Temple, the other major pilgrimage place in Lhasa. This temple is not as vast as the Patala Palace but it is possible to see more of it. We were even able to get up onto the roof and look down at the prostrating pilgrims at the front door of the temple. Inside the outer wall there is a passageway running right around the main temple and in this passage way are the traditional bronze scrolls which the pilgrims spin on their circuit. Again this was a very moving thing to watch, although again we both felt a little out of place, as if we had gate crashed on some ones very private party and we were just lurking in the corner trying not to be spotted. However the monks inside the temple were all very friendly and full of smiles for us, after all it had been a sort of pilgrimage for us to get here! One of the funnier moments in the temple came when we were trying to get out of the entrance to the inner temple. We stopped to let a few monks in and whilst doing so a mobile phone went off, and the younger monk of the group answered it! I thought he might be in for a little bit of a telling off, but no, he casually answered it and then passed it over to the oldest monk in the group, who was being helped by two other monks. He then carried on into the temple chatting away to who ever, a most surreal moment for me considering the religious importance of where we were, and also the strict beliefs of the monks themselves.

We left Lhasa on Christmas Eve, and it was very odd, as we saw probably more Christmas decorations in the town than we would in many English towns. Bit odd for a supposedly communist, non capitalist country. That again is a myth as there is more capitalism here than anywhere we have been to on the trip so far! However, we were not to be outdone, and with a plastic snowman hanging up in the truck and Christmas tunes banging out from the iPod we headed off to try and get down off the Tibetan plateau. It was not going to be a simple trip though. Although we were back on tarmac, it was not the best of quality due to the permafrost and the yearly freezing and unfreezing of the tundra. We were able to make about ninety km/h but occasionally we would hit a rut or an unseen bump and it would nearly throw us off the road, not the best of conditions. However for me it was a great road as the view out across the plain was, if anything, better than before Lhasa. The plains were starting to get bigger and the mountains more distant, and the main feature was the railway line that we were following. This is the highest railway line in the world and is an unbelievable feat of engineering. All of it is either built on columns or on raised earth in order to stop it from freezing. We actually followed the track on and off for two days all the way to Golmund which is down off the top of the plateau, and it was Golmund that was our target for Christmas Day evening. Christmas Day morning was our coldest to date, the below minus forty I mentioned earlier, but we were determined to get to Golmund that evening. So determined in fact that we did not stop anywhere for lunch, not that there were many places up here to get food from, or park up and set up the picnic table! We did manage to get some food down us, a little bit of beef jerky and a Snickers bar. Not the best Christmas Lunch either of us has ever had and there was lots of chat at the time of what our families would be eating back home. I know that Matt’s dad was especially mean to Matt, going in to great detail about how nice his breakfast tasted and how he could not wait for dinner, with all the trimmings. Both of us made a promise that we would be back in our folks’ homes next year and would over indulge as much as we could, really pig out and make up for our loss this year! Oh yes, one more thing, we did have a white Christmas!

Our arrival in Golmund signalled the end of the Tibetan plateau and although it was not a steep decent like the Nepal side of Tibet, we certainly dropped down a few thousand meters. However I would not be till after Xian that we would finally be down below a thousand meters. Our next big sight seeing mission here in China were the Mogao Caves. Unless you are knowledgeable about the Silk Routes or Buddhism you will probably never have heard of them. This is a shame as yet again we were astounded by the place. The caves, over a thousand of them have been carved out of a sandstone hill about five kilometres of the Silk Route and were a place of worship for all travellers and monks on the Silk Route. Most of the caves are yet again shut off from view but it was possible to take a guided tour of about ten of the caves, although photography was not allowed, much to the annoyance of Matt and me. In every single cave there is a shrine to Buddha, and they are all of different sizes and different representations. Of the ones we got to go and visit the finest was of a seated Buddha. This Buddha is actually behind a building that goes up for most of the cliff face, and the entrance to the cave is via a set of stairs at the bottom of the building. After going down the stairs you enter the cave from a narrow passage, and all you can see to begin with is the feet and legs, which are very hard to distinguish. All of a sudden you come out of the passage and in front of you the cave opens up to reveal a giant Buddha going right up to the top of the cliff. It is thirty five meters high and due to the enclosed space it appears to be even bigger, almost filling up the entire space of the cave. Truly a remarkable sight; one of the best things we have seen on this trip to date.

After spending most of the day there, we headed back to the truck and prepared to get on our way again, this time our destination was going to be the western end of the Great Wall of China, something we had been dreaming of since the very start of this trip. We were both very excited about this, mind you this excitement was probably helped by the fact that we were finally down at a reasonable altitude, and neither of us were suffering from any light headedness and our breathing was no longer as laboured as it had been just a few days before.

Nepal - Journal Entry 09/12/06

India - Journal Entry 08/11/06

Well arriving somewhere by air is definitely very different to arriving there by truck, as Matt and I have gotten used to.  First there is the massive change in climate.  I had left England on a cold November afternoon, arrived at night into a chilly Cairo, and then left again to arrive early morning in Mumbai.  The humidity was about ninety percent and the temperature was about 35 degrees and climbing.  Secondly there is what I like to call “the rabbit in the headlights effect”.  This is basically everyone at the airport knows you are fresh meat and therefore fair game for abusing.  You have absolutely no idea of where you need to go, how much anything costs and you have nowhere to hide.  At least with the truck you can get in, lock the doors and gather your wits before you decide what to do.

Despite this, we managed to change some money and get ourselves a taxi into downtown Mumbai, which coincidently we shared with about 100 mosquitoes.  Was this a sign of things to come for India?  Finding a hotel was a different matter and after calling in to about twenty we finally managed to get a local tout to get us a room.  Well I call it a room, it was more of a shoe box with a bunk bed, TV, air con and that was about it, not even a window.  If we knew then that we were going to be in that room for three weeks we might not have decided to stay there.  However the good thing was that as it was new, it was clean and also it was cheap, so it was all good with us.

The reason we had to stay there for three weeks was due to problems with the shipping of the truck.  I could at this point go into a long winded story and bore you all to death with the finer points of it.  I am actually sorely tempted to, so that you could feel some of our pain, but no words would convey to you the hurt, disappointment, boredom, frustration and pain we went through in getting our truck from Egypt to India.  Let us just say that the shipping agent in Egypt messed things up royally.  It does help when you actually have the right number for the container you are shipping and also the right name of the ship it is being transported on.  I am actually very surprised they managed to get it to Mumbai at all.  At one point Matt and I did go through the discussion of what we were going to do when we finally found out where in the world the truck had ended up.  It was also during these darker moments that we both had thoughts of giving up on the trip altogether, not a bad option as it would have meant that we would have been home for Christmas.  However, looking back now at some of the things we have done since, we are both agreed that hanging on in there was by far the better choice.

So what can I say about the three weeks we spent in Mumbai?  Well we got to know a few restaurants very well, and the staff got to know us, and also what our favourite dishes were.  We also managed to watch a lot of football on the TV in the room, and for a time we were getting more live football than we could have gotten back in the UK, which was novel and something we are missing now.  Thankfully Matt’s dad has been a godsend with continuous text updates on all of the premiership results.  Mumbai for us was very much like all the other major cities we have been to, and we are definitely more in favour of the countryside and the people there compared to the cities.  However, there were a few tourist places we went to.  The first is The Gateway to India, a massive ach right on the harbour side, erected by the British at the height of the Empire.  It is a very imposing structure, both by day and also night, when it is lit up with an orange glow.  It is also a hang out for the locals, who come there to chill out and take in the view of the harbour.  Coincidently it is also where we got our ferries from, which took us over to the container port, when our truck finally arrived, but more on that in a minute.  There are also a few park areas in the centre of the city which are surrounded by some of the cities finest architectural examples.  These include the High Court and also Mumbai University.  The parks themselves are actually just large expanses of grass, which suits the locals down to the ground as from dawn till dusk there are literally dozens of games of cricket going on here.  The whole city and in fact the whole country is absolutely cricket crazy.  It was enjoyable to take a break from walking around and just sit back and enjoy the games going on, some of which were very competitive. 

One other area we went to, although not necessarily a major tourist attraction was the Crawford Market.  This is in the Muslim area, and as we arrived it was just at the end of Friday afternoon prayers. The streets were literally teeming with people making their way back to work and the whole area was a complete jam of people, rickshaws, cars, tuk-tuks, donkeys and cyclists.  It was absolute carnage, but wonderful to be lost amongst it and to go with the flow, not that we had much choice in the matter.  The reason for us going to the market was that we needed to buy a complete new set of tools for the truck.  By this time we had actually got to the truck and opened it up to find, to our dismay, that during the shipping process a load of the stuff in truck had disappeared.  This included every single tool we had, right down to the wheel brace, along with other numerous items, too many to mention here.  Crawford Market is a labyrinth of small streets, teeming with shops selling everything you could ever want, along with many market stalls which take up so much of the street there is barely enough room for you to walk down it.  Luckily there is actually some order to it! Most of the same types of shops are grouped together.  Once we had found the area selling bearings and machinery, we were only a right hand turn from the tool shop street, where we managed to find everything we needed to keep the truck up and running.

As I mentioned to you before we had to take a ferry to get over to where the container port was, as it was on the other side of the bay, and the taxis would not take us that far.  The ferries left from next to The Gateway to India, but so also did all the other ferries to numerous locations. None of these are signed and there is no indication of where to go to get your ferry.  Luckily for us the first time we went there we went to the first ferry we saw and amazingly it turned out to be exactly the ferry we needed.  Literally as soon as we stepped on board she fired up her engines and we were off across the bay.  I can tell you that the view looking back to Mumbai off the water, definitely puts it in a better light than being in the middle of it.  However, getting the ferry turned out to be the easiest apart of the trip to the container terminal.  We were dropped off in the middle of the port, miles from anywhere and by the time we had figured out where to go, the free courtesy bus had already departed and we had to wait an hour for the next one to turn up.  When this turned up they tried to charge us for the service and then we were told to get off in what seemed to be the middle of housing estate. From there, with some help from a few friendly locals and a lot of gesticulating to a tuk-tuk driver we finally managed to make it to the container terminal, albeit down roads so pot holed, that I am sure if the tuk-tuk was to drive into them it would be swallowed up whole, whilst at the same time trying to avoid the massive trucks that were literally driving us off the road.  This process of getting to the container port had to be repeated numerous times and by the end of it we were getting to be dab hands at it, despite the efforts of the locals to take us to the places that we did not wish to go to.  One funny one was that the tuk-tuk driver took us to the wrong ferry depot for our return journey, a detour of about an hour.  This was not a problem we were told as the ferry from this terminal would go to Mumbai anyway. What they failed to tell us was that the ferry was going to the fishing port of Mumbai, and not the Gateway to India terminal. We ended up being about five miles north of where we needed to be and then had to get a taxi back to the hotel, where as normally it was a minute walk.

Eventually though, the fun and despair of Mumbai finally came to an end and we got hold of the truck, got it up and running and were packed, ready and very thankful to be on our way.  So on a glorious sunny Sunday morning, after a hearty breakfast of bacon eggs we finally set off to drive up through India towards Nepal.  Our route and choice of destinations in India had been cut dramatically due to the delay in Mumbai and we decided that we would get to Nepal as soon as we could; so that if any other problems did arise we would not miss the deadline of meting the Chinese guide in Kathmandu.  This meant that we could only realistically visit the Taj Mahal.

However, as we have discovered, nothing is as easy as it seems.  We had heard and also read about the sheer lunacy of drivers in India, but nothing, apart from driving there could have prepared us for what was to come on some on the roads, if they could actually be called roads at all.  The fact that we did not have a major crash is an absolute miracle.  Our route took us up through the middle of India on Route 3, which at some points over the mountains deteriorated into no more than a track.  Add to this a constant stream of trucks in both directions, and you have a recipe for low mileage days.  We were usually driving for at least ten hours a day and were averaging about 350km at best.  Mind you not all of the traffic on the roads was trucks.  There was also a large amount of tuk-tuks, usually with about fifteen people crowded into them, fully laden ox carts, cyclists, pedestrians, scooters and also naked pilgrims making their way surrounded by a crowd of people.  When the roads finally got better and sometimes even turned into dual carriageways, things again did not improve as this just gave the traffic opportunity to use both sides of the roads in both directions.  It was not uncommon to be overtaking a truck that suddenly would overtake an ox cart coming the wrong way down the side of the road.  At this moment we would then be met with three cyclists abreast coming the wrong way down the inside of the road.  In the end we decided that cyclists, pedestrians, tuk-tuks and scooters did not count and the only thing we would give way for was trucks.  This led to some very close calls at times.  If any of you wish to experience driving in India, then please don’t try it, but ask me to send you the video clip we have, which actually shows some of the calmer moments that we had on the roads.  Even that will send make you go pale and give you nightmares.

After three days we made it to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal.  After giving ourselves the rest of the day off to calm our nerves, we headed off early the next morning to see another of the Great Wonders of the World.  We were not to be disappointed, but at first we wondered what we had let ourselves in for.  The Indians definitely have not got the idea of promoting one of the world’s best tourist attractions.  From abut half a mile before getting to the Taj Mahal, we had to walk through what could best be described as a shit hole.  Run down shops and hotels, and lots of hawkers peddling crap and useless items of tat.  However, after pushing our way through we finally got our first view of the Taj Mahal, and what a view. 

Looking through the massive South Gate we saw the main building and it took our breath away.  The scale of the building is just gigantic.  As we entered through the south gate we found ourselves in a courtyard, with two other gates entering from the east and west.  From there we walked across the courtyard and entered the through the only gate into the gardens that front the Taj Mahal.  From here we got the quintessential view of the main building and it took us a fair few minutes to drink in the view.  We then spent a bit of time walking around the gardens getting a feel for the atmosphere, and it was here that we were led by a local and shown all the best sites from which to photograph the Taj Mahal.  At first we were a bit sceptical, having been travelling for so long, but he really did take us to some of the best spots, and some of the pictures we have are just breath taking, including the one of me picking up the Taj Mahal.

From there we went to the building itself and were blown away.  The whole building is covered in marble to retain the white colour and it literally dazzles in the sunlight.  We spent about half an hour walking around it, looking at the intricate design and the latticing all around, designed to let air through during the hot summer months.  Inside the tomb the craftsmanship again is unparalleled, and the intricate carving on the walls and the geometric patterns must have taken an age to craft.  It was a little crowded in the tomb, but what was nice to see was that the crowd was mostly made up of locals.  In fact we only saw four other western tourists the whole time we were there.  The sheer opulence and grandness of the place just blew us away, nothing like this ever gets built anymore these days and it is a shame to think that nothing like this might ever be built again.  Before we went outside again to face the rush we decided to take a bit of time to relax in the garden, and even with the amount of people there it still seemed quiet due to the size of the gardens.  One funny thing about the place is that nobody is allowed to smoke around the grounds, as the pollution is slowly ruining the colour of the building.  This at first seems like a good thing until you go there and see the amount of pollution being blown across the area from the town.  There is a continuous haze of smog that is surely having more of an affect than people smoking.  Despite this, I have to say that I think this is the best thing I have ever seen.  My decision was definitely helped by the long time spent in Mumbai and the tough drive up here but even without that it was simply stunning, and it was with mixed feelings that we got ready to leave for Nepal.

Leaving India though was not going to be as easy as we thought.  We tried to reduce the amount of days in India by driving for long hours, but the state of the roads and the idiocy of the drivers and road users seemed to get worse the closer we got to Nepal.  Our last two days in India could only be described as sheer hell.  Firstly we struggled for four hours to find a hotel in Gorakhpur, a city of 600,000 people, crammed into an area half the size of Chester city centre.  The traffic there was a continuous road jam, so it made it very interesting when I made Matt do several u-turns to check out hotels.  When we finally managed to find one in a slightly less crowded area, our troubles were not over.  On the outside the hotel seemed quite nice, although not the best we had stayed in, despite being the most expensive.  However, things began to take a turn for the worst when we tried to get to sleep.  At one o’clock in the morning they decided to carry on with the hotel renovation that was taking place and at two o’clock they were still at it, trying to fit a new door frame.  The hammering going on was so loud that there was no chance of us getting any sleep.  I finally had enough and went down and shouted at them, and got a look of sheer confusion.  Matt then finally managed to silence them by literally lifting the bed up and banging it down on the floor, I think they might have got the idea!

So after about three hours sleep we got up to make the final drive to the border.  However some other power was certainly playing games with us as we woke to find a fog so thick that we could not see more than twenty feet in front of the truck.  This made the driving very slow and also very dangerous, as the Indians have no regard for smog.  In conditions that can only be described as a London pea-souper from the Victorian times we were being overtaken by trucks doing about 50 km/h, and at one point, coming round a corner we were confronted by four people standing in the middle of the road having a chat.  Do people here have a death wish?  Luckily Matt managed to avoid them but his choice of language in which to remonstrate with them was a little blue.  Luckily the fog did manage to lift a bit and we finally made it to the border town and Indian Customs and Immigration. 

This was very simple and we were able to peruse the carnet log and see who had been across the border before us, whilst drinking tea that had been made for us.  Very civil indeed.  What was a shame was the records only went back to 2000 and we were not able to see the entry for my friends, Angus and Simon, who had been through in 1999.  After about an hour of this we were finally cleared to leave India and enter Nepal.  For many people India is an incredible experience and they love every minute of it.  For us, well we were just glad to be out of there.  The problem we have is that India has something of everything, but with the exception of the Taj Mahal, it does not have anything truly amazing.  Yes it has mountains, but we are about to go to Nepal and Tibet.  Yes it has amazing coastlines and tranquil beaches where you can hang out and smoke dope, but so does Egypt and Thailand, and the diving is far better in these places.  The place is crowded and the cities fit to burst, but so is Cairo.  If you want to go to a country that has something of everything then India is the place, but if you are driving round the world and seeing some of the most incredible and awe inspiring places, then as far as we are concerned, you are better off driving through as quickly and as safely as you can.

Dahab - Journal Entry 03/07/06

So just where to begin this entry?  So much time has passed since I last wrote something and so much happened that I am just at a loss.  I suppose I had best start at the beginning, with the drive down to Dahab from Cairo with Matt and Matt Chambers.  Nothing of real note happened on the drive but there were some fun things said, all of which have been recorded on the cam-corder.  So for anyone that wants to see it just give me a shout when I get back and I will let you have a look.  Be warned though, some of the topics discussed may offend the more gentle of hearing.  Eventually though we reached Dahab and managed to find a little piece of paradise in this crazy world.  I would highly recommend anyone to go there and see for yourself, but on the other hand I would like it kept a secret, so don’t go telling your friends.

Our original plan for Dahab was only to stay three days, but due to a few things we ended up staying four months there.  The first reason of course is that it is an amazing place.  Add to that the fact that we were not sure whether we would even be allowed through Syria as we still did not have our visas and you have a pretty persuasive argument.  Now add to this that Matt managed to fall in love with a lovely lady and I fell in love with scuba diving, and the decision was made.  After three days of being there Matt and I had both decided to do our PADI Dive Master, which meant a good long stay there, one which the both of us thoroughly enjoyed.  However, there were also rough times along with the smooth, and life was not always peachy. 

Well I might as well spill all the beans about Gill now, before we go on any further, as I know that those of you who don’t know anything are desperate to find out.  Well, she is a teacher in an English school in Cairo and has lived out in Egypt for a few years.  She goes to Dahab for the summer every year to go diving, as she is a dive master.  That’s all your going to get from me and if you want to know more then you will have to ask Matt.  However, I will tell you all about the time that they first met.  We had been in Dahab for about 12hrs, and for all that time Matt had been in the bar drinking beer with the other Matt and neither of them had been to bed.  We got talking to a nice couple who were breakfasting there, a couple who turned out to be Gill’s parents, but we did not know that at the time of course.  Well it appeared that not only did Matt make a good first impression with Gill, when she finally got out of bed, but also with her folks.  I thought the idea was to meet the woman of your dreams, get to know her, and then be very, very sober for the first time you meet the in-laws.  Matt sure does like to do things differently and successfully to.  So after that it was romance all the way, along with many interesting looks from some of the locals who regard themselves as Gill’s elder brothers and are very protective

Right moving swiftly on to the diving, as that was the main thing that Matt and I spent most of our time doing.  Learning to dive is great fun, and even more so when you get to do it in the Red Sea, surrounded by the coral reef and hundreds and hundreds of fish that inhabit there.  For me personally going under the water opened up a whole new world I had never really experienced before, and from the first minute I was hooked, if you will pardon the fish pun.  The feeling of weightlessness and the ability to move around in three dimensions whilst surrounded by some of the most colourful tropical fish in the world, and some of the most amazing dive sites was just too much for me and I spent most of my initial dives in a kind of trance.  Dahab has some of the best places to go diving in the world, but it is most famous for two particular dive sites, The Canyon and Bells to Blue Hole.  The first one, the Canyon, is a crack in the ocean floor at 18 meters that opens up as it goes down to about 30 meters.  The Canyon does go down deeper and opens out onto a drop off at 55 meters but we were not qualified to go down that deep.  For those of you who are more interested, the underwater picture in the postcards section is of Matt and Alison descending down into the Canyon.  The second dive site is a drift dive where you enter down through a chimney in the coral reef that comes out of the wall at 25 meters.  From there you follow the wall all the way across to the blue hole, which you enter over a saddle and then out the far side.  The most incredible thing about this dive is that if you were to look down, up and also to the left for the dive all you would see is blue as there is nothing there, just the sea.  It is an amazing dive and one time I was incredibly fortunate to be joined by a hawksbill turtle for about 10 minutes of the dive.  He was a friendly fellow who followed us around being very curios about us and what we were doing.  It was truly an experience I will never forget and one which I hope to repeat again soon, preferably with Matt as he still has not seen one, much to his annoyance.

Well I could go on about diving all day long, so if you do want to know more then just mail me, however for now I will move on to other things, otherwise I will never finish this.  What made the diving even more enjoyable was that for most of the time I got to do it with great friends, not just Matt and Gill, but also the instructors who taught me and some of the great friends we met whilst working on our dive masters.  My instructor Ahmed was great with me, patient when he needed to be and also tough when it mat