A taste of the middle east

Came back recently from a 3 week jaunt around Egypt and Jordan with Pommy - fascinating sites and really glad we did it, though neither of us will be heading back to Egypt any time soon. I guess one reason is that we covered a lot of ground in our 2 weeks there, we saw all the main sites and probably all the not-so main sites. Cruised through Cairo and the obligatory tourist attractions like the sphinx, pyramids, Egyptian museum (very cool!) Citadel, bazaars, Coptic Cairo - basically all the usual destinations you see when you head to Cairo. It was nice but we could never shake the feeling of being stared at (and not in a nice way!) plus the hassling just drained us out.

Next stop was Luxor, pretty little city. The definite highlight here was our 4.30am wake up call for a hot air balloon ride to see the sunset. The setting for some gorgeous sunrise photos. Now for those of you who have seen my photos, you know I have a thing for sunrise and sunset. This particular sunrise left me gobsmacked.

In Luxor we saw the usual temple sites which have all blurred in my mind. I remember the Karnak and Luxor temple, though can't tell them apart in photos now... From there we made trips to Abu Simbel (this one I remember, gorgeous setting by the sea), Edfu, Isna, Kom Ombo - these ones blur too...

We then headed to Aswan, my favourite Egyptian city bc it was low-key and easygoing. We saw some cool things like the Philae Temple (which was moved piece by piece from it's underwater resting place to a nearby island), and some other stuff...how vague do I sound? it's only been 2 weeks since I've been back and I've forgotten lots of the little details already!

One thing I do remember was our trip out to the desert - what an awesome experience! We camped overnight on xmas eve literally under the moon and stars, cocooned under 5 layes of blankets. I couldn't bear to poke my head out during the night bc the temperature dropped so dramatically, but the night sky was just so gloriously lit by the full moon and myriad twinkling stars that it was worth the cold I got the next morning.

From the White Desert we headed to the Sinai region to climb Mt. Sinai. We definitely did not take the easy relaxing route! So yet another 2.30am wake up call for a summit to Mt. Sinai for the sunrise! I can't say it was a worthwhile sunrise given how cold we were but it was pretty cool to say we were on the same mountain that Moses (apparently) received the 10 commandments...

We then took a well-deserved break at a resort in Sharm El Sheik, it was nice to relax but come the afternoon I was bored silly and just couldn't wait to leave. Our next destination was to Jordan via the ferry. It took us the entire day to take the 1hour fast ferry from Egypt to Jordan - typical Egyptian efficiency! But we finally got to Aqaba port and from there to Wadi Rum desert.

Now that was another incredible desert experience! From the early morning sunrise over our tents (we actually had a roof over our heads, what a surprise!) to the amazing desert scenery, Pommy and I were absolutely hooked!

We got to experience a Bedouin style make-over with some red scrapings from the mountain, we had tea in the middle of the desert with desert mint picked from the nearby mountain. We got to bump along on makeshift seats on the back of a ute, it was so much fun!

Next stop was a few days in Petra, of the rose-city fame. The famous rose building was actually part of an entire city, so much more extensive than I expected! Pommy and I spent the day exploring all the amazing sandstone buildings and rock formations, it was the best way to spend new years eve.

Now on to New Years Day - we spent that floating on the Dead Sea...what a great way to start 2008 :)

So that was our trip in a nutshell, oh I forgot we had to head back to Egypt after Jordan (was quite heartbroken by that) and we spent another day in Alexandria...which was a nice enough port city but after Jordan, it just couldn't compare.

Gimmelwald - living in a milka ad

I lived through a milka ad over the long weekend in a timeless little village called Gimmelwald in the Swiss Alps. It was the perfect hiking trip with fresh air, snow-capped mountains, alpine meadows, waterfalls and stunning scenery at every turn. I loved it so much I could have stayed there forever and become a cowherd.

I first read about Gimmelwald on the net, the more I read, the higher it jumped on my must-do list. The reality of it did not disappoint. It's a tiny village of about 130 people, without any cars or streets, you could walk through the main street in 5 minutes, slowly. I fell in love as soon as I stepped off the cable car (the only way to access this village, unless you like to walk for long distances).

As soon as I dropped off my backpack at the local b&b, I set off on a hiking trail. I walked along a path that seemed nestled between mountains. Looking right I could see the alpine meadow, on my left a flowing stream. The trail took longer than expected because I kept stopping to pick my jaw off the ground. The scenery was vivid and beautiful.

It was the same throughout this long weekend, I walked the flower trail, the mountain trail, I ventured up to Shiltorn where they shot a Bond movie in the 60's. The summit of Shiltorn is a revolving restaurant, though why revolve when you could walk the perimeter and experience the crisp cold air? I took one of the steep descent trails and was amused by the 2 signs I passed along the way warning people not to hike in heels.

My last hike of the trip was to Sprutz, a large waterfall. It was very cool, especially being able to go through the waterfall. On my way back to Gimmelwald, I sat on a little bench to 'savour the moment'. Out of nowhere a cat appeared and sat herself next to me and kept me company. As I was ready to get up and leave, she put a paw on my foot as though to stop me and then rested her head on my foot and promptly dozed off. Why fight it? I decided to join her and took a nap myself. When I woke up, she led me down the trail back into town. What a perfect send-off.

J'aime Paris!

I love Paris.

City of light and dog poo. Well since the fines came into force, not so much dog poo anymore. Dwayne and I went on a weekend where we experienced all four seasons, but it was glorious all the same. I really do love Paris and a little pidegen French went a long way in making contact with the cheeky french locals.

We walked all weekend and feasted on pate and all things french. We toured the Eiffel from all angles; in the rain, in the sunshine, during sunset. My favourite was when the lights were turned on a night and the entire structure twinkled like a giant xmas tree.

I think what remains with me most about Paris was the incredible architecture, walking along the Seine was like passing a conveyor belt of beautiful buidings, churches and museums. I won't bore you all with all the landmarks as I'm sure you've all been there and done that. Suffice to say, 2 days was definitely not enough and I am itching to go back already! Ah so many destinations, so little time...

Soaking up the sunshine at the Amalfi Coast

Spent a fabulous sunshine-filled 5 days at the Amalfi coast with Ivan and Fumiko. Escaping the wet, cold English summer was very high on my list of priorities and southern Italy certainly did not disappoint. I have come back gloriously (by my standards!) tanned and itching to go back for the best Italian food of my life. Ok, a little backtracking is in order here...

We stayed at the Sorrento Palace, taken over by the Hilton, with a lovely view across the water to Mt. Vesuvius. Unfortunately that was not the view from our hotel room but it was the view from the buffet breakfast area, and oh what a buffet spread it was!

For the first day there, we managed to walk up the trail to Mt Vesuvius after a rather hair-raising van ride up the mountain. I believe the only way we avoided any accidents was by the timely tooting of the driver around hairpin curves to let cars driving in the opposite direction know we were taking no prisoners and they better stop for us or they would be pushed off the side! Serious game of chicken there.

Vesuvius was cool, nice walk up. We peered into the crater, lots of dirt around. Took obligatory photos. Luckily Ivan is an avid photographer so got lots of photos of myself walking up the path....how vain am I?

After Vesuvius, we took the train to Pompeii. That was one of the highlights for me. I didn't realise the scale of the town and how much tragedy the blow-up caused. I kept walking the empty ruins imagining what it must have been like teeming with people, carts, market stalls. There were so many buildings intact, we even went into the brothel and there were still fairly fresh looking frescos of erotic acts....

That night we went to a fantastic Italian restaurant and had the best Italian meal of my life. Seriously it was the best pasta I have ever had, and the dessert...my mouth is watering just remembering it right now. So after an unforgettable meal, we walked back to the hotel and passed a group of senior citizens dancing the night away in a makeshift outdoor dance hall. They invited us along and we thought, why not? I had an absolute ball dancing with these octogenarians (well they looked it....) they sure knew some cool moves! I did the tango and some fun Italian numbers. I couldn't stop laughing as I got twirled around the floor. More fun than the clubs in London I reckon!

Next day we did some island hopping to Capri. We hired a little boat and powered around the gorgeous island and saw an amazing coastline. The highlight here was sailing to the green grotto and being able to swim in the crystal clear, cool, green water. It felt so serene inside the cave, I was on my own for a priceless few minutes and found myself treading water and admiring the beautiful green walls of the cave. Then a bunch of brazillians swam by and we proceeded to conduct a conversation about how great Sao Paolo and Sydney beaches are! Ahhh my patriotism surprises me sometimes.

Unfortunately I got quite seasick halfway through our sailing trip, our little boat got bullied on the seas by all the ferries and big boats and I felt icky for the rest of the day. Might be the reason why I was in such a pissy mood when we visited the Blue Grotto, what a tourist trap! We had to cough up 9 euros to be rowed into the grotto, was in there for 2 minutes. Ok so the blue blue water was cool to see, but after being able to swim in the green grotto, this was just disappointing. Then the oarsmen had the decency to demand a tip! He wouldn't let us out the boat until we gave him something. Gah! I hate tourist traps!

Following day was more island hopping, over to Positano, my favourite town of the coast! I loved it! Every step I took I wanted to stop and take a photo. It was all so picturesque! We caught a ferry over to Amalfi town and then caught a bus up to Ravello, a little town perched high up the side of the mountain. We made it to Villa Cimbrone where they had a lovely garden with gorgeous marble statues lining the view to the sea. Lovely.

On the last day we went to Naples, the big dangerous city with the mafia! It was a city alright, a little dirty and rough around the edges but typical city to me. I'm not a city girl as you can probably tell. So we spent the entire day just walking the streets, watching our bags and trying to find a place to rest our weary feet and sample pizza in the city where pizza was born. The pizza was certainly divine, and so cheap too after the expensive coastal towns of Amalfi!

So my five days in glorious sunshine came to an end. But, the beauty of London is its close proximity to more sunshine! Going across the channel to Paris this weekend!

Cinque Terre

Spent the best Easter weekend away in Cinque Terre. There was glorious sunshine, delicious seafood and lots of hiking to burn up all those calories!

I stayed in the last village of Cinque Terre in Monterosso. Woke up bright and early and thought I would catch the train to Levanto and hike back to Monterosso on a trail that wouldn't be overrun with tourists. I got caught up with a hardcore Austrian hiking family when I lost my way up a mountain ridge between Levanto and Monterosso. The patriach of the family was training for his 6 week solo hike through Corsica, yes that type of hardcore! He insisted I take a shortcut with the family. Alarm bells should have been ringing when he traced a non-existent trail on my map. So off I went, slipping and sliding down the valley with the path being cleared by said patriach wielding pruning shears. Must say it was exhilarating not following the usual tourist path. So after 4.5hours, I finally made it back to where I started in Monterosso! I grabbed a quick bite to eat on the train and thought I would go to the first town and walk through as many of the villages as possible. After another 4.5 hours I walked the trail connecting Riomaggiore (first town) to Vernazza (fourth town) and called it a day. It was so nice to be outdoors, soaking up the sun and Vernazza, the most picturesque of the five villages was the best place to stop for the day and watch the sunset whilst having dinner in an outdoor cafe.

The next day was likewise beautiful, I finished the rest of the trail between Vernazza and Monterosso and explored another trail to Levanto and ended up at a look out point where I could see all 5 villages along the coast. It was gorgeous.

So I finally put up some of my snapshots of my travels. Yes it's taken a while and I would have kept procrastinating if not for my impending move. My new place won't have internet connection set up yet so am making the most of it right now =)

So here is the link if you want to browse my snapshot collection -
http://web.mac.com/paulinebanh/iWeb/Wanderlust/

Going medieval and oxonian

I've been keeping busy whilst waiting for my new job to start. Took myself off on a day trip to see Warwick Castle, incidentally on the coldest day of the month. The castle was indeed medieval and well preserved with towers and state rooms, a dungeon in the corner and beautiful gardens. I found the highlight to be the peacock garden, was tempted to take photos of the absurd faces people made to entice the peacocks to fan their tails. Here's a tip: bird noises and ga-ga faces don't work. I spent most of the day ducking into cafes and drinking copious amounts of hot tea lest my fingers and toes freeze off from the cold. It was so cold that day it snowed.

So I thought I would learn from that lesson, but I went to Oxford last Friday on another sunless day but luckily for me, Oxford doesn't need sunlight for me to appreciate it's beautiful architecture. The colleges were grand and old. I went on a working tour and was thrilled to be in New College (incidentally, not all that 'new') where they filmed some scenes of Harry Potter. The college and it's chapel were gorgeous. I managed to trespass into Merton College, quite by accident as one of the gates to the garden was open. I didn't realise I was trespassing until I crossed the garden and entered the college grounds and there was a huge sign there. I figured I made it that far...might as well check out the rest of the college =) It's not considered trespassing if you pay the entry fee...which I find quite cheeky, imagine paying to walk onto UNSW campus!

I spent quite a bit of time walking around town with my head craned up. There were some really bizarre gargoyles (or 'grotesques' for a better term as they are not used for drainage) on the buildings. In New College, the grotesques were actually caricatures of fellows of the college! Call me geeky but I really liked Oxford.

It's a long weekend this week! It doesn't make too much difference for me since the past few weeks can be termed one looong weekend for me...but I am heading to Cinque Terre in Italy over this 4 day weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing the gorgeous Italian coast, hiking between the 5 villages and generally soaking up some mediterranean sun! After which, I shall again join the gainfully employed.

My Thinkpad T40 - may it rest in peace

I am going to blame my lack of emails and posts on the untimely death of my laptop. I know it's a poor excuse but it's been strangely liberating not having a laptop and internet connection at home. Not so good when I want to research holiday destinations and read interesting tid bits from family and friends, but that's what the work internet connection is for, right?

Since my last update, I've had a brief foray into the eating habits of the Milanese. Watching the locals down shots of espresso and loading up on yummy pasta, Matt and I literally ate our way through Milan. We only had a weekend but managed to see all the tourist sites including the Last Supper which was awesome, climbed the Duomo (likewise awesome, though Da Vinci wins hands down) and also had fun bothering the sales assistants in the Armani superstore after walking in completely drenched from the rain and proceeding to try on their clothes (me) and not buying anything (me).

Was in Edinburgh for New Year's Eve. It was so disappointing, cold and miserable, I don't even want to talk about it. Suffice to say, street party and fireworks for the Hogmanay festival got cancelled due to gale force winds and rain. Not happy. On a good note, the year can only get better.

I'm still dividing my time between Amsterdam and London, which basically means not being able to properly appreciate either city. Am trying to remedy that situation by staying in Amsterdam this weekend so I can see the canal city in daylight, which believe it or not, I haven't had the chance to do. After that, it's time to be a proper local in my newly adopted city. Not sure what it entails, lots of afternoon teas at swanky hotels would be a good start. I'll go from there...

- PB 4.58pm - hard at work in the office

The Focker 50 and other sound bites

Have been very lax in updating on my whereabouts, not because I have been lazy but bc so much has happened! I'll break it down into palatable sections and try not to bore you all...

The Focker 50
This is the plane I fly every Monday to Amsterdam. I fly back on a twin Focker 50 back to London every Thursday. It's my job, not the flying but the being in Amsterdam bit. Since it's a job, it's not all that much fun but has been nice to see the canal city, albeit only by moonlight. Oh yes, for the unobservant - I got a job! Started a month ago and quite possibly going for a few more months. I would like to be in London more often, in the past month I've only managed to be here for 1 weekend - which conveniently segues to...

First Weekend Away
Was in Nice and Monte Carlo for the weekend with Colin and Ness. Nice was lovely; sunshine, blue skies, the snooty French leading pure bred poodles to poop all over the cobbled streets. Monte Carlo was deliciously decadent, it was dizzying to see just how the other (better) half lives. We were lucky to be there for their National Day so was treated to a huge fireworks display at the port and pictures of Prince Albert adorning all the stores.

Cute Spanish waiters
In Valencia, last weekend. Very cute. Great weather in the south of Europe (thunderstorms in London!) and lots of walking made it a relaxing weekend. I had to suppress a giggle when I heard someone on the street exclaim 'Ay Carumba!', it was to be the only time I would understand Spanish.

Home Sweet Home
Yes I have one. It's a lovely two storey maisonette that I don't see often enough.

Next weekend is Milan! Stay tuned.

I got "sarged"

Unsuccessfully. For those of you who have read the book, The Game, by Neil Strauss, you'll know what I am talking about. For those of you in the dark, maybe the rest of the book title will help: Undercover in the Secret Society of Pickup Artists.

It's an autobiography of a journalist who infiltrated this "Secret Society" and blows apart all the rules and tricks these wanna-be Pickup Artists use to try and pick up (sarge) women. I finished the book last week and distinctly remember shaking my head in wonder and laughing out loud at sections of the book that described in detail the techniques that these men would use to pick up women. 'Lo and behold, last night at the On Anon bar/club in London, Maria and I were the unwilling targets of these very techniques.

It all started with 2 men coming up to us, each was the other's 'wing'. One of them was 'peacocking' by wearing a white fedora mobster style hat. Peacocking is used to draw people's attention, often by looking outrageous, and it also acts as a good opening line to start a conversation. The particular 'opener' the guy who wasn't wearing the hat was, "Do you think my friend looks like Al Capone wearing this hat or does he look stupid?" I personally thought he looked stupid but was too polite to say. They then tried to establish some quick rapport by asking questions eliciting lots of yes responses,this is the 'yes-ladder' technique, "Do you speak English?" My response - "Yes". "High five!", followed by more stupid questions and more juvenile high-fiving action.

The next technique was to ask questions out of the ordinary, ie. not the normal pick up line gambits. The question the Al Capone-wannabe asked was, "What is the most difficult word you can think of in the English language?". "Err...I dunno", was my response. "What word rhymes with mouth?", "South?", "High Five!!"

It was around this time Maria pulled out the best defence of all against these pick-up artists, 'The Fiance'. Sam the Man saved us.

Mixed bathing...and london living

I should add, both mutually exclusive! I had a very eye-opening last few days in Japan. The first of which was at the gorgeous onsen in Takaragawa - Gunma prefecture... The onsen is supposedly the best outdoor onsen in Japan and I must agree it was very impressive. There were 4 outdoor baths, though as with all things steeped in Japanese tradition, the women baths were 1/4 the size and quality of the male baths, so what they did was open the male baths to the women bathers with the condition that women had to bathe with the bath towel on. This is fine in theory, I just wished they had the same standards for the men, who got these tiny little hand towels that either covered the front of back, unfortunately not both. And not even the front very well at that. Luckily men have no qualms strutting about with their asses bared for all to see.

I've always been curious about what a bunch of naked men do in onsens. Now I know. I was lucky enough to have the outdoor baths to myself, that was until a bunch of rowdy men came hooning across the rickety bridge, jumping up and down trying to shake each other off, slapping each other's butts with their little hand towels and taking photos of themselves. So I don't know whether that is normal onsen behaviour for men. I hope not.

It was definitely uncomfortable but the scenery certainly took my mind off all the nekid men there. The onsen was set right beside a gushing river, all around were trees that were just beginning to turn into fall colours, the stone statues and rustic lanterns that dotted the baths just made it all so picturesque and timeless.

The last onsen on my trip was all the way up north in Akita in a little village that seemed far from civilisation. The huts still had straw thatched roofs, the architecture and olden ways of cooking in an irori (fireplace) was still retained. The meals were made of fresh seasonal produce grown right in the valley. The baths were old but my last night bathing in the outdoor pool and lying under the moon and stars was magical.

So back to civilisation! London to be exact. I've been here for a few days and am feeling very comfortable here. I find it all very familiar but of course randomly coming out of an underground station and being confronted by castle walls or a palace here and there certainly make the experience purely British.

So it's my 2nd day of job hunting, a scary prospect being unemployed but luckily I have good friends to doss with (thanks Hung and Colin!) and I'm sure I'll settle right in.