BROADCASTS.com

\nWow! It\u2019s been a long\ntime since the last post, but we have been going strong and there is a lot to\ncatch up on! Casey and I have enjoyed our time in both China and Tibet and have\nventured forth into the unknown of Mongolia! I have a lot of information to\ncover, so I\u2019m taking a slightly different tack and writing about location\nrather then day-by-day. Welcome back and enjoy! \n\n
\n\nTo listen to our more\nthen overdue podcast click here!\n\n
\n\nVientiane & Luang\nPrabang, Laos - Mar 28th to Apr 3rd \n\nAfter enduring\nVientiane in all is \u2018grandeur\u2019 (or incredible lack there of!), we decided to\ncontinue on to Luang Prabang, the popular pinnacle of Lao tourism. Luang\nPrabang was a truly beautiful town, isolated from the majority of\nwesternizations. The town was very laidback, making it easy to lose track of\ndays. With the sites of the town consisting of a mighty 32 wats, the Pak Ou Buddha\ncaves on the Mekong and the magnificently formed Kuang Si waterfall, it was\neasy to see why Luang Prabang was a highlight for anyone venturing into Laos.\nWe joined a tour to see both the Buddha caves, which were naturally occurring\ncaves consisting of Buddhas of all shapes and denominations, and the waterfall.\nThe waterfall and associated pools were a truly majestic sight. Deposits of\ncalcium had created a tiered waterway while simultaneously making the water an\nintricately deep turquoise. Casey enthusiastically photographed the landscape\nbefore we both relished the opportunity to swim in the beautifully temperate\nwater. \n\n
\n\nFeeling that we were\nfinally ready to farewell South East Asia, we organised a bus to Kunming in the\nYunnan province, China, but not before I had the displeasure of joining Casey\nin the age bracket of the mid-twenties.\n\n
\n\n\n
\n\nKunming, China - Apr\n4th to Apr 9th\n\nAfter successfully\nentering China with near to no issues we reached our first point of call,\nKunming. Kunming was our first real reintroduction to the western world in two\nmonths! Tempted by Maccas, KFC and a Chinese fast food chain, Dickos, we needed\nto employ self-control to avoid blowing our budget and maintaining our semi-authentic\ncultural experience. This was also where we fruitlessly tried to satisfy our\nhunger for fried dumplings, which in hindsight aren\u2019t as common in china as\nAustralian Chinese restaurants depict. An hour and a half from Kunming is a\npopular local tourist attraction that Casey was desperate to see, The Stone\nForest. As the name suggests, the attraction was in fact an impressive forest\nof stone. Unfortunately, the forest was partially ruined by the sheer number of\ntourists and the attempt to convert the natural beauty of the site into an\nartificial amusement park, a more then common occurrence around China. The\namount the Chinese government was involved in controlling the population was\nslowly becoming evident as we discovered we were blocked from accessing\nFacebook and our blog, and the number of police had multiplied since our time\nin parts of South East Asia where we didn\u2019t even know what a policeman looked\nlike. We then continued on to Guilin, only a torturous 24-hour seated train\nride away. \n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nGuilin, China - Apr\n10th & Apr 11th \n\nGuilin was a quaint\ntown that we were using as a gateway to the awe-inspiring town, Yangshuo. We\nstill enjoyed Guilin; where you can find a plethora of differing and exotic\nChinese foods including self-selected skewers fried in a chilli sauce that\nreally stimulates the taste buds!\n\n
\n\nYangshou, China - Apr\n12th to Apr 16th\n\n\nYangshou is the town\nthat inspired the floating mountains in the blockbuster movie Avatar. It was\nincredible to see landmasses rising from the flat surrounding terrain in such\nclose proximity to buildings as if the locals were oblivious to this formidable\nbackdrop. The main tourist street, West St, was saturated by Chinese tourists\n(that included all nightclubs), which was refreshing, having recently escaped\nthe tourist demographic of South East Asia. After seeing bike rental businesses\nall around town, Casey and I decided that would be the best way to see the\nincredible landscape. We, of course, needed to do this in style so we hired a\ntandem bicycle. We inevitably were a spectacle, as people did not see two large\nbearded westerners riding a tandem bike regularly. Yangshou was a truly magical\nlocation and it was easy to see why this was such an iconic site.\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n\nShanghai, China - Apr\n17th to Apr 21st\n\n\nAfter another\ngrueling 24-hour seated train ride we arrived in westernized Shanghai. Now,\nShanghai is an amazing city and is definitely one of my favourite cities we\u2019ve\nvisited thus far. Casey having visited China twice before was able to act as my\ntour guide around some of the \u2018cultural\u2019 sites such as the main shopping street,\nEast-Nanjing rd, and a local electronics market where sales people were\nruthless for a sale. Not only were we targets for people trying to lure us to\nteahouses, but Casey is convinced he was offered \u2018services\u2019 by a guy in the\nmale toilets. It was also in Shanghai we decided to obtain visas for Mongolia,\nwhich ended up being incredibly easy and falsely foreshadowed what we would\nexpect from our next country, but more about that later. The highlight of\nShanghai for us, and inevitably the people that have to look at us, was the\nshaving of our beards. I bravely opted for full facial hair removal where as\nCasey decided to only trim his facial monstrosity. As we farewelled our\nhomeless look and welcomed back a small amount of class, we prepared for the\njewel of our Chinese adventure, a tour in Tibet.\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n\nLhasa, Tibet - Apr\n22nd to May 2nd\n\n\nOur visit to Tibet\nhad been an impromptu decision whilst we were in Luang Prabang, and even though\nwe had to join an intensively organised tour to see this mysteriously isolated\narea, the organisation of permits and payments still added complication to our\nvery fragile plan. Whilst in Shanghai everything had finally come together (except\nmonetary issues with the company that continued into our first few days in\nLhasa, involving calls from our travel agent \u2018Debbie\u2019 whilst we were inside sacred\nBuddhist monasteries...). We had organised to catch two 48 hour trains to both\narrive in and depart from Lhasa after our eight day tour of Lhasa and the Mount\nEverest Base Camp (EBC).\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nWe boarded the train\nin Shanghai and both got comfortable in our hard sleepers on the highest level\nin our cabin of six beds. This was an interesting train ride for numerous\nreasons, not only did the train reach an elevation of 5000m while we ogled the\nbeauty of the Tibetan Plateau, but we also had to adjust to having about 50cm\nbetween our beds and the ceiling of the cabin. Elated to have arrived in Lhasa,\nwe were welcomed by the sight of extremely heightened security. We were\ncollected by a guide holding a sheet of paper garnishing our names and taken to\nour three star hotel, which was possibly the nicest we had stayed in thus far.\nLhasa was exquisite! As we drove through the streets for the first time, we\nwere met by a strange mixture of present day domineering China fused with the repressed,\nyet courageously prevalent, Tibetan culture, all on a formidable backdrop of\nsnow capped peaks. Every Tibetan person we met was so merry and friendly,\nsolidifying our opinion of the Tibetan people as the kindest and warmest we\nhave encountered thus far.\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nThe following morning\n(whilst I was battling with a slight level of altitude sickness) our freshly\nformed tour group visited the oldest Buddhist temple in Lhasa, the Jokhang\ntemple, and the surrounding Barkhor st, a remnant of old Lhasa. This was\nfollowed by a visit to the Potala Palace, the rightful residence of the exiled\n14th Dalai Llama. The Potala Palace was magnificent, a structure\nthat commanded respect by its sheer position above the town and the deep religious\nsignificance the palace held to each and every Tibetan. The intricacies of the\npalace were a marvel in themselves as we caught a glimpse of the spiritual\nideologies that form the cornerstone of Tibetan culture. Throughout the\nfollowing days we saw a multitude of monasteries such as the Drepung monastery,\nthe Sera Monastery and the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. All the monasteries we\nvisited were unique in so many ways, differentiated primarily by the founding\ndenomination of Tibetan Buddhism or the particular focus of worship.\nUnfortunately, due to the number of monasteries we visited, it became\nincreasingly difficult to distinguish them from each other, however, this did\nnot subtract from their individual majesty. \nWe did have the privilege of seeing monks debating in a courtyard, which\nthey use as a method of revising their teachings. This was a very impressive\nsight as we were able to see monks in their natural environment.\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nTravelling from Lhasa\nto EBC was incredibly impressive as we skirted the beautifully vibrant Yamtso\nTso Lake and scaled vastly steep mountain ranges whilst enduring frequent\npolice checkpoints and permit checks. After staying a night in the very\nauthentic Tibetan Rongpuk Monastery, which is the first EBC, we were taken to\nthe second and third Tibetan EBC. Mount Everest was a spectacular sight! Casey\nand I were truly mesmerized by the beauty of the peak and the highest point on\nEarth, a sight that makes you ponder the magnificence of nature. We had reached\nthe pinnacle of our tour, so we then began the decent back to Lhasa and\ninevitably our return to reality outside of Tibet. We boarded another 48-hour\ntrain, this time to Beijing, continuing to gestate the experiences we had\ngained and the memories we will forever cherish. I cannot mention our time in\nTibet without mentioning our German friends Thomas and Hanna. It was more then\na pleasure to meet them both and a definite highlight of the tour and our\ntravels thus far.\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n\nBeijing, China - May 3rd\nto May 8th\n\nArriving into Beijing\ndemonstrated that our time in China was drawing to an end before we departed to\nMongolia. We were determined to be proactive and visit the Kazakhstani embassy\nto obtain visas for our distant arrival; we, unfortunately, were met by about\nfifty well-prepared Chinese nationals, which ruined even the slightest chance\nof obtaining even the forms required. Determined to make sure this day of\nenthusiasm was not in vain, we continued to the train station to buy tickets to\nthe Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. We were again met with disappointment as\nwe were told that they could not sell international train tickets at the train\nstation and we would have to visit the \u201cInternational Hotel\u201d. After visiting\nsaid hotel and refusing to pay the $200AUD for a ticket, we determined that we\ncould reach the border town by train and, at the insistence of our hostel manager,\nwould still be able to leave the country before our visa expired, which is\nprofoundly frowned upon by Chinese customs officials. \n\n
\n\nWe booked a tour to\nsee the Great Wall of China, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. As amazing\nas the Great Wall really is, the highlight of the day was getting to toboggan\ndown after walking the steep incline of the wall. The construction of the Great\nWall is truly impressive and it\u2019s hard to believe that it stretched as far as\n6000km. As Casey had already seen the Forbidden City, I ventured to the\nwell-known sight solo before meeting Casey at the Chinese national museum. The\nForbidden City was amazing and is definitely a testament to the Chinese\ndynasties of the past. However, I must admit that the number of security personnel\nand cameras around the Forbidden City and Tiananman Square was a true spectacle\nin itself and took away from the whole experience. Casey and I were able to use\nour time in Beijing to not only decide on our plans for the next few months, but\nalso book some flights to ensure our continued world journey.\n\n
\n\n\nWe were both ready to\nsay our goodbyes to China and boarded the train to the tiny border town,\nErlian, the only point where tourists can cross from China to Mongolia.\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n\nZamin Uud, Mongolia -\nMay 9th to May 11th\n\nWaking up in Erlian\nstill in possession of all our belongings was a good start to the day that,\nunbeknown to us both, was only going to get longer. We fortunately met a nice\nDutch couple that we decided to accompany across the border. Now, the border\nbetween China and Mongolia can only be crossed by car, and only certain cars\nare allowed to cross. So after an hours walk to the first border checkpoint we\nhad to pay for a jeep. After paying a guy and getting into his vehicle we\nwaited by the side of the road waiting for him to drive before another vehicle\npulled up that we were ushered into. This new vehicle crossed the first\ncheckpoint, but the driver was then abused by a solider and made to turn back.\nWe, again, waited at the first checkpoint until we saw our first driver exiting\nfrom the second checkpoint guard station. We then successfully managed to cross\nthe second checkpoint and were dropped at Chinese immigration and the vehicle\nentered the line so we would be met on the opposing side to continue our\njourney. We crossed immigration, relieved to know our visas were still current\n(with only four hours remaining), and continued to wait for our driver. After\nwaiting 45 minutes we came to the upsetting conclusion that we had been left at\nthe first immigration stop and would need to find another ride to continue.\nThis was quite an issue as most cars had people hanging out the sides at any\nrate and luggage on the roofs and bonnets. Luckily, a jeep was just about to\nleave the third checkpoint and saw an opportunity to make some money and\nwelcomed us in, there were now nine people crammed into the jeep. With Casey\nsitting on my lap and both our packs unsecured on the bonnet, we arrived at\nMongolian immigration before repeating the process and arriving in our first\nMongolian town, Zamin Uud. \n\n
\n\nWhen arriving in the\nbarren wasteland that was Zamin Uud, we headed straight to the train station to\nsecure train tickets to Ulaanbaatar that night. We discovered that there is no\norder in the train station, after waiting two and a half hours in one line,\nCasey had moved, yet it was possibly a metre in the wrong direction whilst\nbeing sandwiched between two Mongolian women. I, joined by my Dutch friend, was\nlucky enough to reach the front of the line where after waiting for two hours\nwas told that the tickets were sold out and that we were unable to buy tickets\nfor the following day until morning. Leaving the train station incredibly\nfrustrated we eventually found an incredibly overpriced hotel that had a shower\nbut no water. We then ventured to a restaurant and managed to consume a very\noily meal that was supposed to resemble a steak.\n\n
\n\nThe following morning\nwe again went to the train station to try and secure tickets for that night.\nThere were four police officers present that had managed to form three almost\norderly lines in front of the three ticketing booths and were stopping people\nfrom joining at any point. Casey and I, each with one of our Dutch friends,\njoined two separate lines. The police presence was great until they decided to\nleave when I was still ten people away from the window. This caused an abrupt\namount of both pushing and general chaos. Luckily, the police returned and we\nwere able to buy four tickets to the capital. Whilst on the topic of chaos, I\nhave almost been hit by cars twice since our arrival in Mongolia. My theory is\nthat no one needs to drive properly because the police are busy maintaining\norder in the train station\u2026 We easily jumped on the train and arrived in Ulaanbaatar the following day, but I\u2019ll leave that for the next blog. Our opinion of\nMongolia so far is not great, but we are hoping that the border town is not a true\nreflection on the remaining country. We have found this to generally be the\ncase in other countries and still have high hopes for the remainder of\nMongolia. \n\n
\n\nThat brings us to\nnow. There was a lot of time to cover and I\u2019ve skimmed over some truly amazing\nexperiences and locations, but it\u2019s a pretty good overview of what we\u2019ve been\nup to. Our time in China and Tibet was amazing, the people and the landscapes\nare truly incredible, and I feel lucky to have been able to see so much of it\nin such a small amount of time.\n\n
\n\nTo keep you all in\nthe loop, Casey and I have booked a few flights for the next few months for:\nAstana, Kazakhstan to Tbilisi, Georgia; Casablanca, Morocco to Amman, Jordan\nand Cairo, Egypt to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Also, Casey has enrolled to do a\ntwo week course in intercultural experience in Germany and I have enrolled in a\ntwo month long intensive French course in Lyon, France. So we definitely have\nsome pretty exciting things to look forward to in the coming months. As always\nour love goes to our friends and families and we hope everyone is well and\nenjoying their own adventures. We are now back on the radar and have\nunrestricted access to Facebook and the blog, so we\u2019ll make sure we don\u2019t leave\nit too long.\n\n
\n\n\nKeep posted.\n
\n
\n\n\n