Read about our visit to Selous in Tanzania, where we stayed at Lake Manze Camp here. To see even more photos, click the image below:

It’s a short 20 mins flight across to Zanzibar where we were met by our driver who drove us around 40 minutes to the coast and our resort, Matemwe Beach Village. The resort sits within a very poor, rustic, meagre village but does employ some of the villagers. There is a laid-back and relaxing vibe to the lodge, with a lovely pool and bar area and an excellent restaurant. On our last night we were treated to dinner on the beach, within a secluded hut, underneath the stars, which was a real treat. Our room was fairly basic and could do with a freshen up but on the whole the communal areas of the resort are very nice.

The pretty pathway through Matemwe Beach Village.

The long white stretch of sandy beach is inviting, with fishing boats moored on the beach and local women picking seaweed to sell at the town markets. You are advised not to give money to hawkers or children but we were only encountered by 1 guy trying to sell us a snorkelling tour, which we declined, so we felt relatively safe strolling along the beach. Women should be respectful of the local Muslim customs and should try to cover shoulders and knees out of respect.

The beach next to Matemwe Beach Village, Zanzibar - gorgeous!

Relaxing outside our room at Matemwe Beach Village. One of the cheaper rooms but still decent enough.

We arranged a diving trip within the resort, which was very good – plenty of wonderful, colourful fish. We saw several dolphins from the boat but sadly not under the water – too quick. We were happy to be guided during both dives, within a mixed ability group of 6, and our guide was good at pointing out the various underwater delights. The diving was excellent – up there with the great barrier reef.

The two-level pool at Matemwe Beach Village - really peaceful

Stone Town, Zanzibar

Our last afternoon and evening was spent in the capital of Zanzibar, Stone Town. Our accommodation, Kisiwa House was absolutely stunning and lay claim to being the oldest town house in Stone Town. The boutique hotel was decadently decorated with Arabian and African ornaments and furnishings and is situated right in the heart of the city.

The doors of Stone Town are a key attraction here. The metal studs were to repel elephants.

Luckily we arranged a walking tour with our driver who’d driven us to Stone Town from Matemwe, as I doubt we would have been able to navigate around the tiny, pedestrian-only lanes, on our own. Walking around the city you get a feel for the numerous different cultures that have come to form modern-day Zanzibar, including Arabian and Indian architecture, particularly prevalent on ornate doors, which depict scenes to indicate the trade of the person living at that house as well as the occupant’s ethnicity. Despite being a World Heritage Site, several of the town’s houses – made from coral stone – are in a state of decay, some having collapsed completely and with only a few being faithfully restored.

An ancient door within the town of Stone Town, Zanzibar, with some unexpected guests on the door step!

An English colonial buiding in Stone Town, Zanzibar

Stone Town was used as a trading port for many things, such as spices, but it was also used as a slave market, with slaves being sold primarily to Asia. There is a slave museum which includes some of the original holding rooms, which are dark, claustrophobic and stifling.

Entering the slave chambers

Our guide informed us that 50-70 men, women and children would be chained together within these rooms, with barely any room to move and only tiny windows to provide fresh air. All rather sobering. On the site also stands an Anglican church which was built after the abolition, and a monument within the grounds, which uses some of the original slave chains.

The slave monument, at East Africa's stave capital- Stone Town Zanzibar

The brutal shackles of slavery in Stone Town

Next we visited the Darajani Market, which was hectic, vibrant, fragrant (and fishy!) and loud – selling all types of food, especially spices, as well as clothes, ornaments and gifts. There were also several historical buildings that we stopped by, including David Livingstone’s house, The Palace Museum, The Old Fort and Tippu Tip’s house, who was a former slave trader.

Summary of Zanzibar
We felt we had a perfect balance of relaxation (beach-time), activity (diving), and culture (Stone Town) at Zanzibar and loved every minute. In conjunction with the safari trip to Lake Manze, this was a great week in Tanzania. A real treat – expensive but great value for money!

A lonesome hyena relaxing in the last sunlight of the day

After a short drive we were in the tiny 1950’s style airport and 20 minutes later we were walking across the runway to board a 12-seater plane to the Selous Game Reserve – no ticket, just a tick next to our names on a clipboard and a big smile – we marvelled at the Hakuna Matata (No worries), laid-back approach to travelling. The way it should be.

The tiny 4 seater plane that flew us back to Dar again - yes, that is the runway!

A short flight later we were landing on the bumpy, dusty ‘runway’ in the middle of the bush. A jeep, containing our driver Emmanuelle and guide Samuel, awaited our arrival and within seconds we were on safari, winding our way through the undergrowth and spotting our first wildlife – still wearing jeans and jumpers from cold London!

Our driver Emmanuelle (left) and guide Samuel. They helped to make the safari experience as special as it was.

We stayed at Lake Manze Camp, a smart, mid-market ‘camp’ nestled nearby a series of lakes, including the biggest, Lake Manze. There were 10 ‘tents’ and a communal restaurant and bar area, where, each evening, you can chat over the day’s activities with your fellow travellers.

This photo was taken from the dining area at Lake Manze Camp. Elephants wandering past was common but always special.

Camping in the bush
The full-height tents included a patio area with table and chairs, a double-bed and simple wardrobe, and open-air en-suite with flushing loo and running water. Our impressions of the tent were of smart comfort while maintaining the sense of camping in the bush. Nice touches like candles, oil-lamps, mosquito cream and the sculptured towels add to the privileged affect. The through-draft was mostly sufficient to keep the sticky nights comfortable, although a solar-powered fan was available too.

Why do zebras have back and white stripes? No one knows for sure!

The tents were not fenced off from the rest of the game reserve and elephants were a common sight in the camp – one strolled right in front of our tent and others came to visit as we enjoyed morning coffee. Aggressive looking buffalo, nervous impala, and playful monkeys were all frequent visitors nearby.

An impala. You'll see hundreds of these at Lake Manze, including in and around the camp.

A team of Massai ‘body guards’ escort you from your tent to the restaurant in the hours of darkness to protect you as lions and wild dogs do stroll through on occasion. Food served up included beetroot, pumpkin, chicken stew, Tanzanian pastries and salads – wonderful flavour combinations and a real delight. The accommodation, service, peaceful and professional vibe at Lake Manze Camp comes highly recommended by us.

Ben with one of the Massai body guards at Lake Manze Camp

Your safari options are…
Selous is one of the largest game reserves in Africa and we were not disappointed by the abundance of animals we saw. The safari options, which were talked through with us each evening by the staff, were a drive, a boat or a walk. All in all we managed 4 drives, 2 boat trips and 1 morning walk – including the 2 drives back and forth to the runway. Full day trips to local hot springs may be a good option if staying more than a few days to see more variety of scenery; we didn’t have time, staying 2 nights. It sounds quite a short visit – and maybe an extra day would be nice – but you’re up at 6am each day and pack a lot in to a short period.

On the early drive you stop in the savanna and have a breakfast picnic. Special times.

Crocodiles are a common sight at Lake Manze and happily co-exist with the hippos.

As we were on our first safari we weren’t seeking out any particular animals and we loved every minute of spotting another elephant, giraffe or hippo – all abundant around Lake Manze. Other notable animals were wild dogs, hyenas, lions, crocodiles, buffalo, wildebeest, zebras, impalas, warthogs, monkeys, baboons, eagles, vultures, and dozens of other beautiful birds. One day, an elusive leopard was heard to be in the area but we couldn’t track it down – the only minor disappointment.

A group of giraffes by the water of Lake Manze.

Some first impressions from our safari:

You really see natural selection in action:

• a wounded wild dog will hamper the team effort of the next hunt, maybe undermining the whole pack
• a lame female buffalo, cut adrift of the herd, looking starving hungry and soon to be picked off

You really see the inter-dependencies of the eco-system in action:

• The birds feeding off parasites on the back of buffalos
• The vultures circling above, ready to feed on a lion’s fresh kill below
• The scarce rainfall resulting in poor grass growth resulting in thin and weak impalas

You see the harsh realities:

• Bones and skeletons are EVERYWHERE

There is a huge variety of birdlife that gather around the abundant waters of this part of Selous.

OK, so some of these impressions listed may seem pretty obvious. But a safari is about observing the natural world. It’s a delicate, inter-dependent and wondrous world out there.

Chilling in the hot afternoon.

Batu Ferringhi beach, Penang. Pretty.

Islands of Malaysia: Langkawi vs Penang

Accommodation
Langkawi: We first stayed at the Malibest Resort, at Pantay Centai, which had lovely bungalows on the beach, although we were right next door to one being renovated, so we were awoken to the sound of building works. We were also without water for a few hours in the evening due to the works, so overall it wasn’t a successful stay. At equivalent of £28 a night, it was a bit more than we had been spending, so for the next 3 nights we chose the AB Motel, which was a decent sized, clean and modern room (and a lot cheaper at £16 a night).

Penang: The PP Island Hotel, Georgetown, is a modern hotel which seems to have walls and windows made of paper. At night you can hear the warbling of a near-by karaoke club, which goes on into the wee hours; in the morning, you can hear prayers from the near-by mosque; and at any time of day or night you can clearly hear your neighbour doing whatever in their rooms! So sleep quality was fairly poor.

Accommodation winner = A tough one to objectively compare…for us it was Langkawi

Food & Drink
Langakwi: There are several Malay and Western varieties to choose from and we enjoyed good pizza, mee mar (flat noodles) and Mexican. The alcohol is tax free but it’s still fairly expensive and there are very few bars and pubs around. All a bit sleepy.

Penang: Good Thai, Chinese, Malaysian and Western food here, which is indicative of Penang’s cultural heritage. The food in Malaysia is meant to be particularly good and it really lived up to expectations. Wonderful. The alcohol is extremely expensive so we had a good dry spell and gave our livers a chance to recover!

Food winner = It really was very good. Penang

The buildings of Georgetown, Penang are a delight

Sights
Langkawi: We’re glad we got to explore some of the natural beauty that is an offer on the island, as the town area of Pantay Cenai isn’t the most charming location. We grabbed a scooter and headed off to:

• The main attraction is a multi-stage Cable Car (not recommended for those with vertigo) – soaring impressively upwards, sweeping over dense jungle towards the Langkawi Sky Bridge. It’s a C-shaped suspension bridge at the top, 700 metres above the sparkling sea below, which afford you stunning, if slightly hazy, vistas of the entire island. Stunning.

• The Telaga Tujuh waterfall is pretty but not as spectacular as some that we have previously visited. There is a gruelling 200-odd stepped climb up to the top, where you are rewarded with a dip in one of the natural pools, which are best appreciated in the wet season, when they are fairly deep (mind you’re footing, as the rocks can get very slippery!)
  

Telaga Tujuh waterfall

Penang:

• Georgetown has a plethora of beautiful buildings from the colonial era, dating back to the late 18th century, which have a distinctive Meditteranean feel – lots of brightly coloured paint and quaint shutters. The most impressive buildings are the Town Hall, the Museum and the Government buildings. In amongst these grand British designs are several ornate mosques, most impressive of which is the Kapitan Keling Mosque; as well as Chinese (Khoo Kongsi temple), Buddhist and Hindu temples; and the distinct shopping and food districts, such as Little India. Walking through the streets, you can see the several strands of society and the wonderful cultural mix that has been present in Penang for centuries.

• Fort Cornwallis, originally built in 1786 after the British bought Penang, is a little lacklustre in appearance although it conjures up a historic air and the remaining, original buildings house some historical information. The cannons are fairly impressive.

• Batu Ferringhi is a built-up resort with several hotels, restaurants and bars lining the main road. On the beach, however, if you pick the right spot, it isn’t too crowded. There is the constant stream of jet-skis, paragliders and banana boats whizzing by, but that didn’t bother us. Also, compared to other SE Asia beaches, there were no hawkers – hurrah! So you feel pleasantly relaxed.
  

The Sights Winner = A close one, but the town of Georgetown wins it for Penang

Langkawi Sky Bridge - the highlight of a visit to Langkawi

Summary
So Penang wins overall – better food, better sights and a cleaner beach. If you have a spare few days in the region then Penang is well worth a visit. The history of Georgetown is fascinating, an intoxicating mix of Western colonialism, Asian heritage and Chinese immigration.

On the whole we were less impressed by these two islands of Malaysia than we have been by other places in SE Asia, mainly the islands of Thailand. The cultural mix and the food were big plus points, with plenty of natural beauty too but on the whole it is a more expensive country with greater tourist infrastructure. Would we do it again if in the same situation? Yes, if you haven’t been then head to Penang and give Langkawi a miss.

We headed out for a slap-up dinner of crispy Peking Duck during our visit to Beijing and it turned out to be as much about the ‘show’ as the food and taste.

>> Read all the tasty details of our Peking Duck meal

Peking Duck - Delicious!

We recounted the story of our special peking duck meal in Beijing as a guest post over on fellow travel blogger Marc Wiens’ site.

>> Read all the tasty details of our Peking Duck meal

Marc blogs as he travels round the world with a strong focus on food. We recommend you check out his site via the above link!

A warrior in armour

Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an, China

It was raining non-stop for two days when we arrived in Xian, so we were happy to be in the undercover buildings housing the Terracotta Warriors for a day. We took the public bus from the main bus station in Xian, which snakes out through the city suburbs before dropping you a good 10 minute walk away from the tourist entrance.

The warriors were positioned in order of military status

There are thought to be over 8000 warriors in total and you get to see their exquisite detail at close range in the glass cabinets. On display are all forms of warriors complete with armoury and weapons, standing in combat poses. There is also a bronze chariot and horses, which you have to push your way through the hordes of tourists to catch a glimpse of.

You can see the exquisite detail at close range in several glass cabinets

Pick a Pit

The site is split into 3 pits and it is advised to see the pits in reverse order so that you save the most spectacular until last. We didn’t. There were very few signposts pointing the way for you and no signs in front of any of the buildings, so we were unsure which pit was which. We picked a building and went in. It was Pit 1 (the one you’re supposed to save for last).

Pit 1 is enclosed in a huge aircraft-hanger type building. It’s enormous. After cutting our way through the hundreds of other tourists – all blindly herding along in their tour groups, not caring or minding for anyone else along the way – we were treated with the spectacular view of hundreds of terracotta soldiers standing to attention, facing eastwards.

Row upon row of Terracotta Warriors in the air-craft hanger of Pit 1

The warriors stand, facing east, protecting the Emperor's tomb

Life-size horses accompany the soldiers

The darker and less excavated Pits 2 & 3 provide an insight into what the site must have looked like before the warriors were uncovered. The warriors here are mostly damaged, some headless, but others still have their original colour, giving a glimpse of how resplendent the warriors would have looked when they were built centuries ago.

Headless statues in Pit 3

The City

Xian is a massive, contemporary city but with its ancient roots still firmly in place. The impressive city walls are 12 metres high and 14 km in circumference, encircling the hectic and vibrant centre. A ride on a bicycle on top of the walls is a must-do – you can pick up and drop off the bikes at each of the four sides of the wall but if you’re fit enough you should make it all the way round! They helpfully rent out the bikes to you with just enough time to rush around. The views are great and you really see the enormity of the whole city and the clash of modern vs historic.

The 13m high city walls

Cycling the ancient wall with the modern city in the distance

More things to do in Xian

• Other great sites in Xian are the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower, built during the Ming dynasty, standing in the heart of the city centre. Years ago, the bell from the Bell Tower would be struck at dawn to signify the beginning of a new day and the drum in the Drum Tower would be struck at sunset, for the end of the day. Both buildings are very impressive and house a collection of ancient bells and drums spanning several dynasties.


The view from the Bell Tower of the Drum Tower standing in the rainy distance



Musicians perform with traditional Chinese instruments in the Bell Tower

• There are several impressive market areas in Xian, including the Muslim Quarter, which is a maze of small lanes and alleyways, all full of an array of Chinese souvenirs – it’s fairly touristy, but you still feel the gifts are authentic and well made. We stocked up on chop-stick sets in pretty wooden cases and beautiful silk table runners.
• We also bought some paintings on Art Street and some delicious dim-sum (20 pieces for about £1!) in the Muslim Quarter. It’s lovely to wander around the different areas and soak up the atmosphere even if you’re not looking to buy anything.
• There are also a huge number of modern, gigantic malls which house all the usual designer names you would expect in a shopping centre anywhere in the world.

Bustling vibrant Xi'an city

Xian summary

Given that the terracotta warriors – one of the most popular tourist attractions in China – is near Xi’an it is still not that simple for a tourist to visit. Hardly any shop keeper, restaurant waitress, bus driver, market stall owner or hotel staff can speak English. It makes being understood difficult. However, we still had an amazing time there enjoying all the contemporary conveniences and ancient spectacles on offer.

We found the country to have staggering natural beauty and wildlife which wowed us and kept our cameras buzzing.

• Firstly, we headed to Melbourne, the Red Centre to check out Uluru (Ayers Rock), before driving up the west coast and on to the tropical Darwin.

  Click the picture below to see more photos from West Australia, Darwin, Red Centre and Melbourne:
  

• Secondly, we went diving on the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns before hiring a campervan and following the coast all the way south down to Syndey, where we chilled on Bondi beach for a few days.

  Click the picture below to see more photos from the east coast of Australia:
  

The wall climbs up steep mountainous peaks where you need both hands and feet to climb up the large stone blocks. It slopes up and down, weaves in long curves, with some parts in total disrepair while others have freshly relaid bricks. Every few hundred metres there are large towers, which would house the troops stationed there. Today they each house someone offering you an over-priced can of coke!

It almost seems unbelievable when visiting the Great Wall, the magnificance of it, the human endeavor that built it.

Taken from the entrance tower at the Jinshanling section of the wall

Watch your footing, it's a long way down!

We visited it from Beijing and there are a few tours to pick from, basically close by or far away: Badaling or Jinshanling. We picked Jinshanling, the far away option with a very early coach pick-up and late drop off. A long day but if you’re going to visit one of the most incredible man-made wonders on Earth you might as well get up a bit early to see the best of it.

The reason we picked Jinshanling was because we wanted to escape the tourist crowds and it’s the quieter option. Even the brochure photos of Badaling are over-flowing with people on the wall.

The views are worth every step!

The coach had around 25 people on it and took 3 hours to drive out to Jinshanling. Once there you can either walk up the steep slope to the wall (this part of the wall is literally on the top of a mountain range) or take a cable car (at extra cost). You then have 3 hours to walk along the wall as far as you like – or rather up to a certain tower that is the end of the tourist section – and back again. Walking at our own pace meant the crowds thinned out and we had large sections of wall to ourselves. It was one of the best hikes we’ve ever experienced.

The towers in the wall are clearly visible stretching off into the distance

Inside one of the towers with it's internal staircase

Seeing the wall snake into the distance for mile upon mile you realise what an amazing achievement it was to build such a mammoth and imposing structure. It was built, re-built and added to over 2,000 years, up to the 16th century. Goodness knows how many people lost their lives in the super-human effort to complete it.

Some sections are a tough climb, steep and uneven

Another long climb ahead...

It was such a fantastic day working up a sweat trekking along The Great Wall that we would say it’s worth coming to Beijing just to experience it.

A renovated section of the wall, restored to its former glory

As it turned out our visas were genuine (or at least accepted!) and the speed and efficiency of entry into the country was astounding. There was no queue in the modern and airy immigration hall. It took under a minute to be stamped in. They even have a little electronic display asking you for feedback on how they’re doing. I gave them 5 out of 5.

So, into Beijing. Beijing is a massive, sprawling mega-city housing almost 20 million people. After the easy streets of South East Asia it’s a big difference: there is universal use of Chinese script and virtually no one speaks English. We found it much more difficult to travel than South East Asia.

First Problem: Leaving the Airport

We were advised to print out the hotel name in Chinese script to give to the taxi driver at the airport (they can’t read the western alphabet names). Apparently for the 2010 Olympic Games the Beijing taxi drivers were asked to learn 15 different English phrases to help tourists. We certainly found no sign that they knew any.

We found the taxi stand and our turn arrived. A taxi pulled up and the lady driver jumped out and started arguing vehemently with the airport staff and waving her hands everywhere. Basically, she did not want to take us – thanks! Welcome to China!

So we jumped into the next one, with a driver who seemed more open to the idea of ferrying tourists from the airport into the city. Crazy concept for a taxi driver! He didn’t speak a word of English. We handed over the hotel name in Chinese script and away we went through the sprawling city. The taxi driver stopped several times to ask for directions but we got there eventually.

Cheap Accommodation in Beijing

We firstly stayed at the Jade Youth Hostel which was tucked down a hutong (alleyway) in a fairly residential area, but very close to core tourist attractions and a walk away from the big shopping district. The location was fine but without many food options near by, it felt a little cut-off. Maybe that’s just something we immediately missed about Hanoi? The guy at the front desk barely spoke English and couldn’t offer us a city map (or anything in fact, he was quite enthusiastic but of little actual use) but on the first night he managed to point us towards a restaurant…just.

We then moved on to Beijing Forbidden City Hostel because Jade Youth Hostel would only let us stay on the rack rate basis, rather than the rate we’d secured online (massively discounted). Jade is simply not worth the money on a rack rate basis, only stay there if you get a good online deal.

Beijing Forbidden City Hostel was better with a good vibe and cosier ambience. Cheap food, useful tour desk and a bedroom with a giant, red, heart-shaped bed. Very romantic!

The hutongs

The maze-like hutongs, a warren of tiny streets and alleyways wedged between the major highways, provide a welcome balance from the grid-like 4, 6 or even 8 lane highways through the vast city. They provide a hint of the traditions of the nation, of the real Chinese going about their business. We enjoyed a stroll through some of them, weaving through the maze and then ending up (roughly!) where we thought we’d be!

Beijing City Sights

• Tiananmen Square
  The world’s 3rd largest square and a must-see, if only to check out the Tiananmen Gate (aka Gate of Heavenly Peace), which displays the iconic picture of Mao Zedong above the huge archway. The archway leads in to the Imperial City and the Forbidden City at its heart. Also check out the security forces ready to pounce – apparently someone threw eggs at the picture and served 17 years in jail!
  

  Tiananmen Square

  

  The Gate of Heavenly Peace, which faces onto Tiananment Square. Go through the gate and you arrive at the Forbidden City

• The Imperial City & the Forbidden City
  The Imperial City is the old Beijing city centre for the Ming and Qing dynasties. Within the Imperial City is the complex of palaces and administrative buildings used by the Emperors, known as the Forbidden City. Forbidden because no one could enter or leave without the Emperor’s permission.

  The Forbidden City is a never-ending series of courtyards and palaces that stretch as far as the eye can see, or rather as far as you can walk before your legs give up. Well-maintained and colourful gardens surround palaces of varying sizes, but predominantly displaying the same architectural style. High-walled walkways that stretch for hundreds of metres link up the different courtyards.

  

  The grand design, the ornate decorations, the huge tourist crowds, the Forbidden City in Beijing has it all!

  The red and gold fanned roofs, displaying the classic Chinese architecture, are surrounded by pristine white-stone squares and framed by luscious green gardens – you can see why this winning formula was replicated time and time again.

  There are various displays of artefacts from the Qing & Ming dynasties – some dating around 400 years old (although some of the signage was a little bit vague: ‘Piece dated between 1650-1850‘!).

  

  One of the palaces at the Forbidden City, set amongst courtyards and trees

  You have to push your way to the front to peer in through the windows to see the exhibits – the thousands of Chinese on bus trips, moving around like herds of sheep with little regard for others, did get a little tiresome to be honest. We hired an audio guide which was very helpful but the amount of information given was overwhelming – our brains felt slightly fried by our 20th palace!

• The Summer Palace
  The Summer Palace, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, was used as a peaceful and serene city getaway for the Emperors and it still retains its tranquil charm, despite the thousands of visitors. The grounds are vast with Kunming Lake in the centre and several palaces, pavilions and temples dotted around the undulating hills. It’s a welcome break from the urban centre and nice to escape the crowds and just get lost wandering along the paths, surrounded by nature.


One of the pavilions within the pretty grounds of the Summer Palace, Beijing



The marble 'boat' at the Summer Palace, seated in Kunming Lake

• Temple of Heaven
  Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Temple of Heaven is a collection of temples alongside the actual Temple of Heaven, set within pleasant parklands and gardens. We hired the audio guide again. All very clever as it’s GPS activated – i.e. it knows where you are standing and hence what to talk to you about. Or it’s meant to work like that…our ones went a bit haywire and told us all about one temple while standing in front of another.

  The Temple of Heaven was slightly underwhelming. It’s a long way from Beijing central (we walked…we definitely recommend a taxi instead). The main temple is very old and photogenic, but lacks something special, hard to put your finger on…we ended up enjoying the parkland more. Overall though, worth a visit if you have time.

  

  The Temple of Heaven, Beijing

  

  Rose garden in the park around the Temple of Heaven

• The Great Wall
  Along with the above sites, The Great Wall of China is probably the reason you come to Beijing. It doesn’t disappoint and is worth all the effort to get there – to actually walk along the wall on top of a mountain range. There are parts of the wall only a hour or two drive away. Our visit to the wall is covered in a separate post.

From the palaces of Beijing, to the Terracotta army near Xi’an and the pandas of Chengdu, there are plenty of wow moments.

Oh, and don’t forget to check out the Great Wall of China, probably the star attraction.

Click the picture below to see more photos of China!

Compared with South East Asia, we found Malaysia to be more expensive and more exploitative of tourists, in terms of a more developed tourist infrastructure and economy. However there was still enough to keep our cameras clicking away, from the charm of Georgetown to the stunning sky bridge of Langkawi.

Singapore was also an excellent experience, with a world class zoo, shiny skyscrapers near to white-washed colonial-era homes, and the opulence of Raffles Hotel.

Click the picture below to see more photos of Malaysia & Singapore!

Budgeting – A Good Idea?

It was no surprise. We’d traveled on budget by carefully monitoring our spending along the way. The last thing we wanted when facing up to reality back home was a nasty surprise in our bank balance.

This article goes through the 5-step process we followed to stay within budget for our gap year travels, and assumes you’ve decided having budget is a good idea…even if you’re not sure exactly where you may end up or how long you may stay there.

Your money will go a long way at 4,000 Islands, Laos.

Travel Round The World Within Budget: The 5 Principles

Here are the 5 basic principles we followed when it came to planning and controlling our budget, both before we set off and while we were on the road.

Before you go
• 1) Do personalised research
  Read a few travel blogs and you’ll quickly come across a ‘Cost of a RTW trip’ type of post, full of numbers and costs of things – see example screenshot below. These are a great guideline but may be misleading.
  - A 20 something will travel differently to a 30 something
  - Countries may suffer disasters which affect the strength of the local tourist economy, prices change
  - A backpacker, flashpacker, or tourist will travel differently. Which are you?
  - Do you have specific interests that will incur high costs?
  - Numbers you find may be out of date and exchange rates will have changed too

  We collated a few price estimates from various sources and found some middle ground. We read blogs from travelers who seemed similar to us. We also went on hostelbookers.com and other similar services (airlines, trains) and found what it costs for a hotel in Phnom Penh, for a train from Hanoi to Hue, for a campervan in Australia etc etc.



• 2) Choose the right tool for the job
  We used a spreadsheet as it’s the only way to organise numbers in electronic format properly. You could get by with a pencil and paper if that’s more your style…but a Google doc can never be lost or stolen.
• 3) Structure your budget
  You can break out a budget by place (region, country), by time (day, week, month), by category (food, drink, travel, etc.). There are lots of ways to do it…and depending on how much time you want to invest in updating it the choice is yours. Imagine updating a spreadsheet like the one pictured for each day of your travels…we couldn’t face that.

  Simple is best. We went for a total daily spend per person per region.

  - $50 per day in SE Asia
  - $100 per day in Australasia
  - Other places where we were spending less time (Fiji, US, Singapore, China etc) would just have to fit into either of these broad categories

  These figures where based on the information gleaned from point 1 and the fact we wanted to be able to spend money on doing cool things as/when they cropped up, so we over-estimated slightly to give ourselves some flexibility.

  Being realistic on your spending will help – we met a Canadian girl in Laos who sat in the hostel all day and could barely afford to eat. That doesn’t sound like too much fun.

  That was our budget done, a figure each day clearly in mind.



We headed off on a boat trip to the Similan Islands, Thailand. Well worth it.

While you’re on the road

• 4) Record your actual spend
  An important point when thinking about the budget structure is how you’ll actually populate it with data. How do you know what you’ve spent? We used CaxtonFX cards for cash withdrawals when on the road, rather than our normal bank cash card. Caxton FX give you a superior exchange rate and reduced withdrawal fees – we used them in every country we went to without issue. Plus, you are able to export a spreadsheet of your activity with them, so getting the spend into the budget spreadsheet was simple.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  After a little spreadsheet formatting, we could see by month exactly how much either of us had withdrawn (and also check our card hadn’t been compromised).

  We also used a credit card for one-off items and for this card we manually documented use of the credit card. Bit of a pain but only a few minutes work per month as cash generally rules. You’ll need some spreadsheet magic to organise things and present it the way you want it laid out.

  We were staying for long periods (5-6 months) in each region so we summarised spend by month. i.e.

  
  
  
  
  We also took notes on the big items so we knew why a certain month exceeded budget.

  Remember when accessing spend to always use your home currency figures (i.e. your bank account) rather than the local currency for where you are. (The above are our spend in GBP.) Spending $50 cash in Vietnam will cost you more than $50, by the time you’ve added in withdrawal fees, any conversion rates etc.

• 5) Self-control
  Having a daily budget in mind every day (see point 3) means if you’re in a country for a long period (i.e. a month) you can balance your spend across the whole period. For instance you can go crazy one day, well over budget, but know that in the following days you need to make up the shortfall. This gives you a good structure: enjoy yourself travelling but keep things balanced.

You Win

We always aimed to beat our daily budget which we achieved for the majority of our travels…but still ended up (marginally) over budget at the end. Why?

Because unexpected things come along you want to do, and going with the flow is one of the joys of travel.

Vang Vieng, Laos.

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• South Vietnam
  Ho Chi Minh, previously known as Saigon, was our starting point. It proved a hectic, thriving city with plenty to explore and some top tourist sights and smells. The day trips to the Vietnam war Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta was a mixed bag but worth taking a look.

  We boarded the bus and headed up the coast to the beach town of Mui Ne, where we loved the red and white sand dunes, the beach and a special B&B we stumbled upon.

  Next stop up the coast is the premier beach resort in Vietnam: Nha Trang. We weren’t sure whether to visit or not, and some people advised us not to bother, so it was a nice surprise when we found some ancient towers, a nice beach, and a few other things to do.



The Mekong Delta, near Ho Chi Minh

• North Vietnam
  The wow factor of Vietnam really kicks in from this point. First up was Hoi An. It’s where you can get clothes tailored on the cheap (we picked up a suit, two coats, shirts, and pair of leather boots). The town is a delight: small cobbled streets through crumbling colonial buildings, with a pretty river flowing alongside.

  From Hoi An we climbed aboard a motorcycle and headed off for our Easyrider Vietnam adventure. Getting off the beaten tourist track, meeting real locals and exploring the depths of the country really made this a tremendously special few days.

  We finished our bike tour in the old capital city of Hue and quite liked the ancient buildings but otherwise couldn’t really connect with the city.

  Another long bus journey finally got us into the northern city of Hanoi. We really liked Hanoi itself, with it’s traditional shopping streets and alleys.

  We used Hanoi as the base for visits to the breathtaking natural beauty of Halong Bay and the equally breathtaking man-made beauty of Sapa. Here the ethnic minority hill tribes have cut thousands of rice terraces into the mountain, with water systems that bring the mud to life and enable the green rice shoots to thrive.

The gorgeous Halong Bay, near Hanoi

It serves as the base for visiting the essential natural wonders at Halong Bay and also the well-worth-it rice terraces and hill tribes of Sapa.

For us it was sadly the last stop in Vietnam, having travelled up from Ho Chi Minh. The not-so-far-away Hoi An is also another reason you have to come to this amazing part of the world. What are you waiting for?

Like shopping? Come prepared!

It’s a shopper’s paradise with countless markets to be explored (where you can barely squeeze between overflowing stalls) – typically aimed at the locals rather than tourists, indeed the whole city vibrates with an authentic Asian buzz. There is a mix of Eastern and Western, but we think Eastern dominates.

Classic Asian streets and alleys dominate the maze-like city centre, with shops spilling out on the pavement – the pavements are blocked and the road is a death trap with scooters whizzing millimetres past you. It’s a genuine thrill. You have to go with the flow to enjoy it, leave your western worries somewhere else.

Fish Oil Alley

Each street is named after the traditional product or service that was sold there – hence sunglasses street, fish oil alley, rice road. Well…sort of…things like that, times 100. It’s wonderful to just wonder around and work it out yourself what that street’s speciality is.

It’s a great place to hang out. There are also a few tourist sites, (see below) but mainly we just soaked up the ambience while relaxing on the street with a beer. Indeed, they have Bia Hanoi here which is super-cheap draft beer, often served on a street corner where you sit upon a foot-high plastic stool – a great perch to take in the energy and rhythm of life as it pulses around you.

Tourist sights in Hanoi

- The island – the Ngoc Son Temple situationed on an Island on Hoan Kiem Lake is worth a look for it’s overflowing shrines but also the natural beauty of the trees, lake and views across the water.
- The university – or the Temple of Literature to give it it’s proper name, is a centre of learning and champions education over the years. Set amongst scuptures, ornate gardens and pretty buildings
- Bike taxi…or at least cyclo – other than walking the best way to get in the middle of all-things-Hanoi is to hire a bike taxi or a cyclo and become one of the crazy bikes yourself. Gets the adrenaline pumping but negiotiate hard before setting off.
- Shopping - give yourself extra time in Hanoi to search through the huge shopping potential of the city, there’s so much to see and plenty of amazing things to pick up

Options, options, options

Having come back from an awesome trip at Halong Bay, we genuinely weren’t sure where to go next, after Vietnam. Indonesia, Borneo, Bali? One exciting option was a trip northwards to China to see the sights and attend a wedding of a close friend.

In the end we decided to go for it – why not? Why not pop over the border and attend the Chinese wedding of a close friend? Easier said than done, with a visa, flight, hotel, route, guide book to sort out…in just a few days…but we’d give it a shot.

Impossible?

First we had to sort out the troublesome Chinese visa, which online research led us to believe wouldn’t be possible from Hanoi. But after trekking around a few travel agents in town we found one that said they could do it, for a sensible price.

It should come back a day or so before our Vietnam visa ran out.

Pretty tight.

They seemed organised enough on first impressions so we gambled and handed over our passports, really not confident we’d see them again.

We had to wait a few anxious days to get the passports back so we headed off to Hanoi train station for the journey to Sapa. After a successful trip to Sapa, later that week we were back in Hanoi and nervously came back to the office.

Our passports had been back down to Ho Chi Minh and back up to the north of Vietnam in a matter of days – a huge distance that we knew wasn’t quick to traverse having travelled it. Had they really air-shipped our passports down there for the price we’d paid? We tentatively entered the office and asked about our Chinese visas…and they handed the passports over and there they were.

Sorted!

We gave them a kiss (the visas!) but…were they real? Would we be rejected entry at Beijing airport and thrown in some aweful prison due to a fake visa sticker?

We’d find out soon enough!

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Cruising on Baby Dragon Bay

The local legend is that a dragon formed the fractured landscape before crashing into the sea. Halong translates as Dragon Bay. Beyond the actual Halong Bay (which is the part nearer to the mainland) is Bai Tu Long Bay – Baby Dragon Bay. This is more of the same awe-inspiring scenery stretching out into the Tonkin Sea, with remote floating villages nestled between the craggy peaks housing communities of fishermen – more on them below.

We wanted to go to Bai Tu Long to get away from the hundreds and hundreds of tourist boats that clutter the main routes and we found just that with a 3 day 2 night trip on the Dragon’s Pearl III – part of the fleet operated by Indochine Junk, an upmarket operator at Halong.

The Boat – two staff per person

The boat has 11 cabins for a maximum occupancy of 22, supported by the 13 onboard staff. We got lucky – for our trip there were just 6 of us, looked after by 11 staff….almost 2 staff per person! The boat is modern (under a year old) with 3 decks:– at ‘sea level’ are most of the smart cabins with a generous double bed and shiny chrome en-suites; the second deck has an outside dining area with the air-con bar lounge inside; the upper deck squeezes in 22 sun-loungers on two levels, beneath sheltering parasols and the junk’s main sail and next to the captain’s quarters. So, accommodation-wise it’s fabulous.

Drinks – just add 10%

The food is all-inclusive in the price you pay along with water rations of a small bottle per person per day and refillable glasses of water at meal times (we boarded weighed down with bottles of water because we didn’t want to pay the ridiculous prices they charge onboard). Alcohol onboard is also pricey – double the price you would pay in a town for a small can of beer; cocktails, spirits and wine all cost the same as an upmarket wine bar in Hanoi. There is no happy hour! All drinks are subject to a further 10% tax on top…if you like a drink, like we do, then the pricey drinks menu did take the shine off things a little. Tea and coffee is included at breakfast but other times of day must be purchased.

Hungry? 9 Courses do?

Anyway, back to the food which is without doubt one of the highlights of the trip – fresh fish from the bay, silver service. Our first lunch consisted of 9 courses – albeit where they count the rice, vedge and fish which constitute the climax of the meal as individual courses. A creamy, light, whipped up soup; then salad; tiger prawns with explosive taste; curious oyster cakes that prove a winner; some beef; succulent fish; fragrant rice; crunchy greens, and then fresh fruit. I think that’s nine! A typical lunch, with dinner following the same format. Breakfast is slightly underwhelming in comparison with the main bulk coming from French toast, washed down with the inviting coffee.

Dining in the darkness

The food comes to a memorable climax on the second and final evening when you are whisked away from the comfort of the boat to a cave at the foot of one of the peaks. While you’re busy exploring the depths of the spacious and interesting cave – clearly shaped by the waves of the sea as well as water leaking in and dissolving the limestone – the crew buzz around preparing things and the barbeque that you’re promised beforehand.

As you’re called to sit for dinner you’re presented with a thousand lit candles marking out a path and a heart shape and the words I LOVE YOU spelt-out….all very romantic! The centrepiece is the candle-lit and rose-petal sprinkled table laid out on the pristine white table cloth with polished cutlery and sparkling wine glasses (if only the wine was affordable!). The soundtrack to dinner is the gentle wash of the waves lapping up to the cave entrance. It’s an incredible effect, even with the odd drip of water reminding us we’re in a cave, having dinner! The BBQ’ed fish, chicken, tiger prawns, squid et al are cooked to perfection and all gloriously fresh and flavoursome.

A Special Effect

During dinner they present an eagle the chef has carved out of a watermelon that looks fantastic with feathers fashioned out of little curls of the watermelon’s skin. As we’re admiring the bird, they bring a boat. Not any boat – it’s the Dragon’s Pearl III, a fruit-carved model of our floating home, anchored a few km away. This one is even more intricate with all the details of the real thing – windows, sails, decks. We didn’t eat the boat or the bird and at the end of the evening they seemed to dismantle them ready for the bin…but it was still a special effort that we all appreciated.

Home-brew Whiskey at 10 O’Clock

The other highlight of the trip was the visit to a floating village where the mayor, who governs over the 125 people who live there, welcomed us with a pleasant smokey green tea and then home-brewed whisky from a huge jar that contained ominous floating objects – we were told it was honeycomb. At 10.30 in the morning it wasn’t the easiest drink to knock back but given the chance to buy a bottle I would have done – I enjoyed its subtle warmth with a hint of honey. Upon emptying your cup the mayor instinctively refills it – there’s no stopping him! – until you beg that you’ve had enough! Hic!

Don’t Forget Your Camera

Given all these distractions, the star of the show was still the mind-boggling ever-changing views all around you. Mornings and evenings enhanced the views greatly as the light softened and the colours changed. We enjoyed them from our cabin, from the sun-deck, from the lunch-table – and from kayaks, which enabled us to explore the empty waters. For a couple of backpackers it was an expensive splurge of a trip (we paid $430, excluding the booze bill) but to see something so amazing, to be so far away from the tourist hordes, and to be so well looked after was special. Extraordinarily special.

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Rice terraces of Sapa

The scenery is special in itself, forget those rice terraces!

The Big Problem

The big problem is quaint, traditional village life plus thousands of tourists does not equal a happy balance. The Hmong and Dao ethnic minorities are mostly more interested in selling stuff to the tourists and getting rewarded for following you around as you set off for a walk – literally as soon as you stroll around town you get latched onto, asked where you’re from, where you’re going etc. They are friendly and pleasant and you really want to help them but the hard sell is kind of the opposite of why you came there in the first place.

The relentless persistance of the local children...some with babies on their backs

The tools of the trade

Welcome to our ‘home’

The home-stays are also some experience, to bed down in a basic property with your host family, share a meal with them, discuss and learn about their culture. We didn’t do a proper home-stay in Sapa (well not exactly, see below) but from what we saw they weren’t particularly proper anyway – only a step behind a hostel in a wooden shack, complete with pool table outside. Nice business to the industrious Vietnamese who managed to strike a balance between authenticity and western comforts to satisfy the backpacker crowd. I guess we’re officially flash-packers.

In one of the poorer village huts, this was the cooking area used to prepare animal feed

Our Luxury Homestay

We stayed at a tiny B&B recommended by some friends we’d met on the road – Sapa Garden Bed and Breakfast, #1 on Trip Advisor! It was a lovely place with pleasant gardens, although it was a fair stomp out of town – around 3km up the hill! It was the home to an elderly Vietnamese couple who spoke no English whatsoever but cooked-up a mean breakfast. It was only us staying there. Just their son spoke English but he lived somewhere else in Sapa! We got by with an occasional phone call to him but mainly big smiles and gestures and by the time we left we were touched by their friendliness and magnificent hospitality. They waved us goodbye cuddling their grandchildren as we climbed into the minibus.

Getting to Sapa

We took the overnight sleeper train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, the nearest town with a station to Sapa. It was a surprisingly decent night’s sleep – we opted for the soft-sleeper cabin with four bunk-beds (as opposed to hard-sleeper with 6 beds per cabin). A pair of friendly Vietnamese guys filled the other two bunks – they were off to some construction work at a town along the way.

The whole valley is used for the rice terraces

Stalemate

Once we stepped off the train, half asleep at 7am in the morning, we were bombarded by the keen locals trying to offer us a lift up the mountain to Sapa. We had pre-booked a pick-up with our accommodation and so stepped into a minivan fairly quickly. Unfortunately, the minivan drivers didn’t know where our accommodation was, so we had a quick tour of the main village of Sapa with them trying to fob us off with a few wrong places before they gave up and turned the engine off. We sat there and stared at each other in stalemate. We’d paid for door-to-door, you take us there please. This happened a couple of times before eventually they sorted it out and took us the 3km back down the mountain to Sapa Garden B&B.

The Silver Waterfall, near Sapa

Impossibly Cut

The main reason people go to Sapa is for the trekking around the amazing countryside, taking in local villages, stunning mountains and valley and terraced rice-fields that are seemingly impossibly cut into the steep hillside slopes. Many different ethnic minorities have villages in the region and you can choose from various trekking options to take them in. We weren’t really sure what sort of trek we wanted, especially as self-guided is tricky as clearly marked pathways don’t exist. After wandering round town you soon get to find out who offers what – everywhere is fighting to get your money! We opted to go into one of the dozens of tour shops and picked a reasonably-priced full-day guided walking.

Paddy-cam - a close up of the rice

Why don't they make them straight?

Hangers On

The next day we set off with a Vietnamese guide and 6 other tourists – immediately a large number of H’Mong village girls and ladies attached themselves to our group. Our guide said that they were just coming along for the trek back to their village. The local ladies made us flowers and jewellery out of near-by plants and told us about their village. They held our hands when descending a muddy steep section. There is always a slight sense of uneasiness, knowing that this level of guiding wasn’t going to be gratis.

A guiding hand down the mountain

But we happily rambled along taking in the amazing scenery, watching locals plough their rice paddies – some using buffaloes, but mostly tending by hand in the scorching heat. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly. We stopped for a break somewhere but unfortunately this wasn’t the best experience – lots of small children approached us, trying to sell bracelets and tat. You feel horrible saying No endlessly, but there were so many children that we couldn’t buy something from each of them. We felt this was far from a traditional ethnic village experience; they’re being brought up dependent on tourists.

Backbreaking work for the women in the fields

An apprehensive local girl - Carly's hair scared her off

A cute pet...or maybe a tasty dinner

It got worse at the lunchtime pit stop – our guide told us we were going to stop at a restaurant for lunch but that the ladies were going to head back to their villages. The negotiating started – “I helped you down the mountain, so you must buy something from me.” It’s so hard when, apart from being on a tight budget, we simply don’t want to carry round extra stuff that we don’t want and definitely don’t need. Do you give them a tip even though we’d already paid a hefty fee for the guide? To all of them?

Walking guides - yours free! (purchase necessary)

The Sapa kids take a break from picking fruit

Summary of Sapa

The scenery is stunning and worth making the effort to check out. The villages you can visit along the way are of interest, especially if you want to buy stuff – they’re heavily oriented to serving the huge influx of tourists. So, don’t go to Sapa for the authentic Vietnamese ethnic minority village or Vietnam home-stay. Go for the walks into the dream-like terraced rice fields. And chat to the locals – they’re friendly, but just watch your step.

Sapa - the face-off between hard-working locals and tourist hordes