The trip starts now

It was to be a protracted start to the trip. Our first flight was on the double decker A380. Although we had pre-selected upstairs seats these were changed to downstairs at check in. This ended up working well as the flight of stairs gets cordoned off at the top. So I spent a good 20 minutes going up and down stairs to stretch my legs, ignoring all the looks that suggested I was a crazy person. We had a fairly long wait in Singapore so made good use of the foot and calf massages that were on offer. The next leg was supposed to be the sleeping leg and drugged to the eyeballs we both dropped off quickly. Unfortunately we were awake 5 hours later, and that was the end of any decent sleep. Arriving in Munich at 5am we took the opportunity to at least go outside the airport, although as the temperature was literally freezing, we didn't last long before retreating to the temperature controlled airport world. From a grey, misty snow covered Munich we had a short hop to a stunningly blue and green Copenhagen. From the plane we could see the patchwork fields below some white with snow, others green, or red roofed houses. Lines of windmills paraded across the ocean. We only had time for a quick bite to eat before we headed back into the sky for the final leg towards Stockholm. So with 36 hours of travel and 5 hours of sleep under our belts the trip starts now.

Resurrecting the blog

As our next trip fast approaches it's feeling more and more similar to the 'big' trip, than to any of the intervening holidays, so I thought it was time to resurrect the blog.  Welcome back!   In a time not so long ago we decided we could not go on another round the world adventure until we had finished the photo albums from the first one.  Well, you'll be pleased to know they were finished at the end of last year, and the contents of this blog were incredibly helpful in reminding ourselves not only what happened, but how we felt about it.  The notable lack of blog posts for the last 3 months of our trip led to many "do you remember where we went next?" discussions.  I must confess that the final photobook is slightly more fictional that the first two!

As the current trip will involve a rather diverse range of activities I have resolved to regularly write updates.  Over the next 2 and a bit months we will be:

• Dogsledding in the far north of Sweden (hopefully under the aurora borealis) 
• Canyoning in the middle east
• Marveling at the ancient city of Petra
• Sleeping under the stars in the dessert
• Attending the wedding of a dear friend
• Snorkeling in the Red Sea 
• Hiking along the Italian coast
• Catching up with friends and family who live in that part of the world and most likely meeting aunts and cousins I didn't know existed a month ago.

We are currently remarkably unprepared, and I'm not even sure what we need to do before we leave in less than two weeks.  Suspend internet connection, redirect mail, inform our banks of where we are going, do a practice pack, book the first night's accommodation in Jordan and a million other little details.  I have at least started to compile the clothes I'll need together.  The pile on the right is the clothes that are needed just for Sweden, the pile on the left is the rest of the clothes I'll be taking.  Sweden is really challenging my pack light philosophy!!  Any ideas for packing light when traveling to the Arctic in winter?!

And back where we began...

After Chaing Mai we spent our last days of the trip in Hoi An, Vietnam resting and having a holiday before coming home.  We luxuriated in the joy of knowing I would soon have an income so we spent money in reckless ways (having mango shakes for $1, rather than water for 30c) and other similar extravagances. We also went shopping for the first time in 18 months getting clothes made and buying a bag to put our new wardrobe in.  Other couples in Hoi An on two week trips were mailing their clothes home as they had 40kg of luggage for two weeks – it was fun seeing their faces when we explained we had only had 15kg of luggage (between us) for 18 months so could happily shop away without excess baggage worries. 

We are now, however, back in Sydney and nearly home… it won’t quite be home until Lily is able to jump up on me and lick my face when I get back from work.  We are living in a youth hostel for the first month as my job started before the tenants lease on our flat ended.  We’re catching up with family and friends and being asked awkward questions.  The worst of which is “What was your favourite country/best experience?” There is no answer to that as how can you compare the Tower of London to trekking Gorillas in Rwanda… for that matter can you rate learning about the genocide in Rwanda as a good experience?  Yet, it is something that touched us and learning about the world (the good and the bad) is part of what this trip was all about.

But here is an attempt at answering that question, or a variety of it.

The best places to relax: 

• Zanzibar – amazing beach, beautiful snorkelling and we went there at a time we needed it more than anything. 
  
• Myoka Village – this is the place we stayed on Lake Malawi.  Crystal clear water, with a pontoon floating in the middle of the lake for sunbathing, friendly social place, great food.
  
• Croatia – The coastline was amazing, the water beautiful and people friendly.  Our favourites were Hostel Adria near Split and Mijet Island.
  

Best animal encounters:

• African safaris – We loved every one we did.  Self driving in Kruger was amazing, but not something I would recommend if you haven’t done a safari before.  The northern Tanzania circuit was great, but we also loved South Luagwa…. As I said we loved them all!
  
• Galapagos – If you want to go, you will love it.  If you can’t see the appeal, you really won’t. 
  
• Elephant owner in Thailand – just for one day I became a mahout to Nui and washed, rode, swam with and had my pocket ransacked by an elephant.
  
• Simien Mountains – Ethiopia.  Standing surrounded by a troop of Gegelda baboons is intimidating, thrilling and amazing all at once. 
  
• Walking with lions – and more importantly having adult lions play fighting around you whilst you’re on foot.
  

Best adrenalin hits:

• White water rafting the Nile in Uganda – of course they’re planning on flooding the area so get in quick before the opportunity is gone.
  
• Ziplining in the Amazon jungle, through the canopy at monkey height!
  
• Microflight over Victoria falls
  
• African buses – an adrenalin rush and cheap too, plus you can do all your shopping on board!

Best places to know you’re not at home anymore

• Kasawa Village – living like the locals in Zambia do.
  
• Ethiopia – trust me, just go there.  Fly don’t take buses (unless you’re a cheap backpacker, but do go there).
  
• Croatia – getting out to a small village and drinking the home brewed wine whilst we all talked in our own languages.
  

 For the history buffs

• Macchu Picchu – and the surrounding area too
  
• Krakow and really most of Europe
  
• Castles of gondor, Ethiopia
  
• Rwanda – not a pleasant history but what I saw there still brings tears to my eyes.
  

 Nature and getting away from it all

• Night sky in South America was unsurpassed.  Whether from a boat in the Galapagos or a bus in Bolivia we’ve never seen stars like it.
  
• Geyser fields near San Pedro de Atacama
  
• The African bush, particularly the Okovango Delta
  

There’s so many more amazing things we’ve seen and done but you can’t write them all down.  The other awkward question we’ve been asked is “How have you changed?”  Well, we’ve learnt to find joy in a hot shower, in a toilet that flushes, in a toilet that has a seat, in a bus that has working brakes and doesn’t proclaim “Speeding our way to heaven” proudly on the front.

But, seriously, yes we have changed.  I can see how Jason has changed and he can see how I’ve changed but maybe we’ll just let you figure out if you can see how we’ve  both changed.

29 countries, 6 continents, 75 weeks (I know, we didn’t make 80 weeks… but it still has a better ring to it), 2 hospital visits, 7 pairs of glasses and 15,000 photos.  So who wants to come to the slideshow?

 

Now if only we could take them home with us!

After a few days rest and relaxation in Chaing Mai swimming, being massaged and enjoying a few days in luxury we signed up for a day at Patara Elephant Farm.   Here you get to own an elephant for a day.  Not quite sure what to expect we were greeted by Ben who proceeded to inform us that unlike a lot of the elephant experiences in Chaing Mai we were not there to be made happy by the elephants, but were there to make the elephants happy!  The elephants were rescued from unsuitable working conditions and they are now trying to breed them.  After some history about elephants in Asia and instructions on how to interact with the elephants we picked up our basket of bananas and went to find out what mood the elephants were in.  The general principal was to hold up a couple of bananas and call out the elephants name, if they called back to you flapping ears and tail all was good and it was time to bond.... if on the other hand they stared back at you in stoney silence, well they let a maximum of 8 tourists come each day and they have 17 elephants - hopefully one of them will want to play.  

My elephant was 10 years old, called Nui and was a trouble maker.  She spent the day splashing me with water and mud at every opportunity and was never more than a few seconds without something to eat in her mouth.  Jason's on the other hand was a 34 year old matriarch called Kapor who was going to do things her way no matter what Jason or her mahout said.   After devouring the basket of fruit we offered as bribery to make them like us it was time to check on their health.  First - wagging ears and tail means a happy elephant, perfectly stationery probably means a sick elephant.  Secondly - we had to check for dirt patches on both sides of the elephant to make sure they were turning during the night.  Thirdly - we checked that the sweat glands were working properly, you find those just above the toenail.  Lastly - we checked the quantity and quality of the dung.  Reassured our elephants were healthy it was time to give them a clean.  We assaulted them with bunches of leaves to get rid of the loose dirt before heading down to the river (you lead an elephant by pulling on its ear and saying 'ma' for come - or in Jason's case the elephant leads you as you dangle from its ear) for a proper wash.  This was when Nui's personality came out as she liked to splash her trunk around, or just suck water and mud in and spray it at me.  The mahout would notice her starting and try to stop her, but sometimes he missed the signs.   

At the end of their bath things dissolved into (admittedly staged) waterfight.  We threw water at the elephants, then turned around to pose for photos whilst they showered us with water in revenge.  The elephants won.  

After a short break for the elephants to eat some more it was time to learn how to get on.  Option 1 - You ask your elephant nicely to bend it's leg, then you step on the back of the ankle, then the knee and somehow jump from there to its back.  Option 2 - You ask your elephant nicely to bend it's trunk, stand on it and get lifted to the top of the head where you have to turn around.  Option 3 - Ask your elephant to lie down and just walk up to the neck.  No one in our group went for option 3.  I choose to be lifted, whilst Jason clambored up.  The videos are very entertaining with different degrees of grace.

From there we walked a short way up the road before heading into the jungle and walking along an incredibly narrow path made our way up and down hills on the way to the waterfall.  Nui in particular did not like getting muddy, so rather than following Jason and Kapor we tended to go the route that the mahouts were walking which I'm sure were narrower than her feet and occasionally involved jumping over a gap!  We made it to the waterfalls were our elephants were swimming, with us still on their backs.  It was kind of disconcerting to be sitting on an elephant which was no longer visible and then a trunk would grab your foot and you wouldn't know whose trunk it was.   Wet and happy we ate a little lunch, but fed the majority of our food to our very hungry elephants.  We took the easy route back to camp  before walking along a river to the end point of the day.  

So today we are sore (arms from cleaning the elephants) (legs from the riding position) (shins bruised from the strength of the elephants ears) but happy.  

Getting onto Nui