Down under!

I've finally escaped the clutches of the Asian continent and made my way down under to Brisbane in Australia. From Samui I stopped off in Singapore for a couple of nights which proved to be immensely humid and in the midst of one of its many public holidays. When you have large groups of Indians, Malays, Chinese and others there's invariably someone wanting to celebrate something. The typical result was that everywhere was busy, the places I wanted to use were closed and there was a big concert opposite the road from the hostel where I was trying to get some kip in. Aside from this Singapore is a pleasant enough spot to spend a little stopover time in, even if it is rather dull if the truth be known. The mix of cultures combined with a fine colonial district do make it a reasonably interesting place to stroll around at least.

Cheap tickets were disappearing fast when I was booking my flight to Australia, so I ended up going via Melbourne, and as it turned out also via Adelaide, although I only stopped in each place for an hour or so, meaning I only had time enough to check out the view and the interior of the airport before continuing on my way. I arrived in Brisbane at lunchtime local time yesterday in time for some birthday celebrations with an Aussie friend who I'd met some months earlier in a hostel in Kyoto. It wasn't a late one though as all the travelling caught up with me and I slept like a log last night. Actually I still feel as I could sleep for a week but for now I'm going to force myself to set off out and see a bit more of Brisbane.

Brisbane seems like a good place to relax, with parks, river, even a city-centre beach which is an unusual feature. There's also a park on the edge of the city where you can see Koalas and various other indigenous animal inhabitants of this continent. Towards the sea there's the Gold Coast and Surfers Paradise which I assume is good for some sun, sea and sand. Yes, I think I'll be able to while away a few days here without too much trouble at all.

One thing that struck me on arriving here is that for the first time in months I can actually understand everything. All the signs, all the people, it's all in English. I'd more or less trained myself to blanking out what others were saying as generally I could never understand a word of anything, but now it's back to normality, albeit in an Aussie flavour. It's great though, being able to converse, chat, joke with everyone. You do miss that when everyone around you tends to only have a fairly basic grasp of English.

The hostel I'm staying in is great, a real backpacker's place and apparantly it even has a pool which I'll get around to exploring in a little while. It seems to cater for the backpacker perfectly though with a travel desk, internet, lockers, and a line of laundry machines. Although I've stayed in some decent backpacker hostels here and there when you end up somewhere good it makes you realise just how good it can be when the owners know what they're doing and know the sort of guests they're catering for. I suppose it shouldn't come as any surprise that it's the Aussies, that great backpacking nation, that gets it right.

I'm off now for a late breakfast and to check out Brisbane a little more. Perhaps I'll pay a visit to the Koalas at some point too!

Holidaymakers

Being in a real international tourist destination you see an entirely different clientele to almost all the other places I've been to. Especially having moved to the tourist hub on the island of Chaweng it's particularly noticeable that there's a class of tourists, holidaymakers really, which I'd more expect to see lining the playas of the Spanish costas and the Balearics. However flying is cheap enough these days that jetting off to the likes of Thailand isn't at all as exclusive a thing as might be thought.

I suppose hanging around all these trendy backpacker hostels over recent weeks has made me snobby. You become used to everyone being on some semi-epic trip, if not circumnavigating the globe then they're cycling, climbing or generally going out of their way to reach into realms of the adventure, or so it often seems. In contrast coming to a beach resort, not bucket and spade but still very much open to the masses has come as quite a shock; that an entirely different type of traveller can exist. In fact on thinking about it there's something about Thailand on the whole that attracts those of a different ilk, even within the confines of the backpacker fraternity. Those I came across in Chengdu, generally getting their things together for the push into Tibet seem to be almost entirely apart from the tanned and extensively tattooed folk that can be found in and around the backpacker mecca of Khao San road in Bangkok.

I suppose different destinations establish their own cultures and lure a clientele to match. Here there's a definite element of drinking and clubbing but there's a wider range of visitors too. In the cheap and perfectly cheerful place I'm staying in by the beach there's everyone from young backpackers to older Australian couples and no doubt many shades inbetween. There are wide range of services to cater for this diversity too: on the beachfront alone you can take your pick from bars pumping out club beats to some particularly refined high class dining, although I've yet to indulge in either just yet.

Oddly, tourist destinations in this part of the world seem to breed large numbers of tailor shops, although I can't for the life of me see why. Picture the scene: you're walking down the main street of the resort in your shorts eyeing up the dining options or similar; is this really the moment you're going to be considering getting a nice suit done up cheap? Yet someone must do otherwise all these south Asian tailors wouldn't have set up shop here. As a backpacker though the very thought of having a suit made is preposterous and predictable efforts by the shop owners to get me to take a look at their business, be it an attempt at a handshake or one of a variety of tired opening gambits are given the disrespect they deserve. Suits indeed! I don't think I've worn a suit in over two years and (no pun intended) that suits me just fine.

Fortunately though, unsolicited approaches here are largely limited to tailors, beachfront restaurateurs, massage parlours and taxis, oh and after a certain time in the evening Thai ladies in bars. Now this is another thing I fail to understand: here you see masses of Western guys with Thai girlfriends or wives, but to be honest I really can't see what they see in them. I suppose it's an eye of the beholder thing or maybe the locals are any easy pick-up, I can but speculate and to be honest I'd just as rather not know. It's all part of what goes on in Thailand, and it is certainly all going on, if in a pleasantly tranquil off-season sort of way.

Beyond Samui

I'm still on Samui at the moment, having endured a rather less than enjoyable case of food poisoning or similar a couple of days ago and now gradually getting over it. I've just relocated today from the peaceful but for the solo traveller rather uninteresting Maenam to the much busier and happening Chaweng Beach. I'm not going to be jumping into the fray just yet though, I still need a bit of time for things to right themselves, but there's a lot more people around here I can potentially chat to, which is the main thing.

The island pace is proving just fine. This place has it's quirks, such as the ubiquity of mopeds which I've even seen children driving about, the funny flatbed converts which comprise the island's privateer-style bus service and that nearly every travel agents doubles as an internet cafe, which suits me, and from one of which I'm industriously at work online right now.

While in developed Chaweng Beach the tourist and local businesses are very much separate, in the much smaller Maenam village they were side by side and it proved interesting to note the constrasts between similar services for locals and their equivalent for visitors. Nowhere is this more stark than in eating places. Throughout Asia locals can be found in austere white interiored places, unfiltered fluorescent strips glaring down upon them, wolfing down a bowl of whatever the local noodle or rice based meal might be on seating that features such an absence of ergonomic design that only a hardy posture could withstand anything more than a short stay. Not so the tourist venues though which just like at home clearly spend considerable time, money and effort on the appearance and ambience of the venue. Homely for the likes of me, but curious that such details are deemed unimportant in this part of the world.

Now it's time to look forward, and to be honest despite the semi-restful time I've been having here, I'm still feeling little increase in enthusiasm to tackle any more of Asia and am looking now to go one step beyond and head down under - I am in the neighbourhood after all. I'll see what I can see between now and Christmas and weigh up a the option of a full on downunder trip in the near future, as pricier than Asia they may be, the comments from fellow travellers couldn't have been more positive. Furthermore I think being in an altogether familiar sort of place after getting on for six months on the road in some very foreign climes could be an absolute joy and more the sort of change I've been hankering for.

This reminds me of an particularly un-PC joke told by the 7-or so year old daughter of an Aussie told to a group of us having dinner in Tibet. It goes along these lines: There's a Chinaman, an Aussie and an Irishman in a plane. The pilot calls out that the plane's in trouble and unless it loses some weight it might crash. The Chinaman says: I'll throw out the rice as we've plenty more of that back in China. The Irishman says I'll throw out the potatoes as we've plenty more of those in Ireland. The Australian goes and throws out the Chinaman.

Make of that what you will about contemporary Australia, lol!

Island in the sun

Thank god. Five and a half months of carting my bloody great rucksack around largely overpopulated Asian cities and I can finally put it down and hit the beach. It's R&R time and not a moment too soon. I'm on the island of Ko Samui, which despite its off-season prices has thus far proved to be high-season in its weather. Much lazing has been done and I've got a good deal more to do before I reckon I'll be finished.

I'm staying in a 'bungalow'; that's Thai resort speak for a hut by the beach. Bungalow is probably a better description than hut though as it's nicely appointed with a comfy bedroom and a decent bathroom. After some of the accommodation I've stayed in during recent weeks it doesn't take much to form an image of luxuary for me, but this place does just fine. It's right by the beach and has a restaurant and bar keeping me fed and watered as my heart desires. Worryingly it all goes on the room-tab, but everything is reasonably priced enough that I'm not expecting too big a shock at the end of it, and besides it would have all been worth it! It's very much a Westerner orientated area. Yesterday for instance I breakfasted on boiled eggs and soldiers which was bliss, but before any culinary afficionados start criticising I've been trying the local food too, even if I do avoid the curries.

The area is very much equipped for visitors; I don't think I've ever seen a place with as many ATMs per head of population. There's also no shortage of travel agents, internet cafes, bars and restaurants on the main road within an easy walk of where I'm staying to provide sufficient variety should the cooking of the resort's accommodation start to wear thin. I suppose most of this is absolutely de rigeur to those who frequent the beach holiday scene, but having not really done one myself in about ten years I suppose it all comes as something rather new and unexpected. It's fun though, and I think I can manage the arduous schedule of relaxation, swimming and eating for a little while longer yet...

Off to the beach

As nice as Bangkok is, I've been yearning for the beach for weeks if not months and today I should finally get there. I'm off to Ko Samui, one of the main beachy islands of Thailand. The weather may not be 100% great as it's the wet season of sorts, but if Bangkok's anything to go by this tends to last for a couple of hours and there's generally sunshine for the rest of the time, while it hardly matters if it's raining if you're in the sea or pool. There's also the benefit that I get to enjoy low season prices, so rock on I say. The place I'm staying has internet so I shouldn't be out of touch, although I will be doing my best to put a good many things 'out of mind' for a few days! The plan is to do little other than lounge around and swim and at some indeterminate period when I'm done with that I'll see where takes my fancy next.

Of interest to the frequent flyers among you, I've booked myself on a prop flight over to the island. Although jets also do the route at the same price I've never flown in a prop before and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a go. I'm hoping it will be quite 'seat of the pants', buffetted about by winds and tubulence more than the bigger jets. It may sound weird but that's my idea of fun! Next blog, from the island!

Headlong for the beach

After what seems like a near eternity in China I've finally escaped, doing so even more quickly than I had expected. The day began in Tibet, briefly saw China around lunchtime and welcomed Thailand by night. I can now say what I like, surf what I like and generally enjoy myself away from the noisy, inconsiderate, personal-space-unaware Chinese. What a joy. Sorry, did that sound a touch negative? It is certainly true to say that China and the Chinese that so successfully populate the country do wear you down. One traveller I spoke to estimated that an experience in China puts about 50% of Western visitors off from ever coming back. I can see that, although I'd hopefully not place myself in that group. I've certainly had my fill for now, but I could theoretically see call to return, although it might require some mates, a lot of alcohol and a nice all-encompassing tour to stave off the ravages of negotiating what is China. Seriously though in the time I've had I reckon I've done a reasonable job of getting around the sights and its therefore difficult to gauge whether I'd have much call to come back again or not. Post-2008 it's likely to be all the more pricey too; the country is making much of it already, goodness knows what it will be like after the event. You can be sure they'll not do a low-key and modest job of the Olympics.

However for about ten days I'd been far from this mainland madness and in Tibet. It hadn't proven to be quite the escape I had hoped for with the Tibetans if anything more set on accumulating money off the tourists than the Chinese, which is fairly saying something. I'm not entirely sure where Communism plays a part in all of this. It seems to be the case that the government are happy to let the cash grabbing go on so long as no-one questions their legitimacy to rule. Well you'd be a brave soul to do that in Tibet or so I've been told. Yet both the experience of mainland China and the Tibet province grind you down and I finally reached the point where, irrespective of how fascinating the monasteries I have yet to visit are, my enthusiasm for any more of it had evaporated. I'd had good times with the people I'd met both in China and Tibet and I had seen some great sights, but on those grounds alone I could do the same in a place that's far more welcoming and accommodating.

And thus we come to Thailand. Having awoken at 6am two mornings ago in order to pack and breakfast before my flight to Chengdu it wouldn't be until 4am that I would finally be done travelling for the day. I'd arrived mid-afternoon at the hostel in Chengdu, checked in and gone straight to the travel agency there. After some calling and looking up flights and prices it transpired that by far the cheapest option for me would be to fly for the second time that day, from Chengdu to Bangkok. Well what was I to do? Back to the airport at 9.30pm, making some 6 hours use of the hostel room I'd paid for, and away.

Having slept for a good deal of yesterday, managing only to drag myself up and down Khao San a couple of times before the rains came, I've finally achieved somewhat more on the sightseeing itinerary today. I must say I currently have little energy for any sightseeing of any variety, however the museum and the palace I visited were worthy of my reduced attention-span nonetheless. My real target however is undoubtedly the beach (that is to say any decent beach, not necessarily the one from the film of the same name) and fortunately reaching the sandy shores and hopefully warm waters doesn't appear to be a difficult proposition with daily runs by buses from hostel town to the various beach areas. The sole thing I wish to get done in the meantime is visit the Bridge over the River Kwai, which although possible as a DIY trip sounds so much easier on a day-long tour, especially when it only costs a few quid. I'm not entirely sure what to expect but having seen the film with Alec Guiness film not long ago it can't be overlooked!

So far Thailand has felt such a good deal more welcoming and warm than China, helped no doubt by the language skills of the locals who for the most part can say a good deal more than just "hello money" and whether or not that's what's on their mind they prove friendly and helpful without an attached charge. As far as I've seen so far staff seem to know what they're doing too and can think for themselves, which is much more than can be said for China where much of the population seem to be allocated a job, perhaps at random for all I know, with scant regard of whether they have the first clue of what they're doing, and woe betide if you ask anything out of the ordinary. There are exceptions of course, but alas not very many. In comparison to the rigidness of the Chinese system, on arriving at 4am to the hostel in Bangkok I was all but stunned into silence when told that my charge for the room would actually cover the following night and that I wouldn't have to pay for what remained of that night. What a welcome - and one that would never happen in a million years in China I'm sure who like the colour of the yuan far more than providing good customer service. That did a lot to sell me to Thailand, and so far things are continuing to look good.

And finally, after around 6 weeks I can once again access BBC News Online in full and unhindered. That's worth defecting from China in itself!

Undertones of Yak

I've been in Tibet just over a week now; my 7 days in Tibet rather than the 7 years of the movie. It's been a thoroughly interesting experience but a draining one too, largely I assume to the altitude making normal sightseeing relatively hard work and tiring. While there are some astounding sights to see here the locals' focus on money, from begging to ripping you off at every turn does wear you down after a time. It certainly doesn't seem to be a very Buddhist way of going about things, yet money talks loudly here, even to the Monks, who on occasion can be seen begging while simultaneously chatting on their mobile phones.

Tibet is distinctly different from the rest of China, yet as the Chinese play such a role in this region the ubiqitous abrasiveness of Chinese cities is alas present here too. In fact it's rather difficult to distinguish what the particular facets of Chinese and Tibet cultures are. The Tibetans can be spotted by their appearance easily enough, but they seem to partake in hawking, noise and bad driving in no less measure than the Chinese. I had been hoping for something of a respite from these but it seems I'll have to move on before I find somewhere that's not so harsh to the Western sensibilities.

Fortunately Tibet is extremely large and escaping into the countryside does offer a difference of pace and attitudes to a degree although the phrase "Hello... Money" now seems to have been universally taught across the province and irrespective of your location you can always expect an outstretched hand in the direction of any foreigner. I've taken two trips from Lhasa, the first a day trip to a remote Monastery a couple of hours down largely rough dirt roads. The absence of people and noise so all pervading in the rest of China was nothing short of a joy, although the thin air at 4500m meant that animated celebrations were more muted than they might have other been.

The second trip and without doubt the highlight of my time in Tibet was a four-day, three-night journey to Everest Base Camp, or known as 'EBC' to those in the know, or those who wish to appear in the know. It involved an amount of driving I've never before encountered. I mean, in the UK there's only so far you can go before running out of the land or otherwise losing the will to live. Here the distances and sporadically rough road surfaces made for an entirely new journeying experience. We made our way through desert, one horse towns, arid valleys, arable lands, precarious mountain side roads and altitudes climbing from around 3600m in Lhasa to 5200m at Everest Base Camp. The journey was by no means universally joyous in nature, and the horse-drawn cart journey I took to and from Base Camp from the car park (the baggage I had made walking impractical) was a great rip off and slow to the point of torture. However irrespective of how blatant the locals may wish to scam you, the sight of Everest at close hand, or at least as close as any of us were willing to go, single-handedly made the trip. It was superb. Yes we stood for long periods waiting for the cloud to clear and reveal the greatest of peaks, but come the evening the most divine view of Everest in shades of yellow, orange and red successively were on show to all. It was all we had hoped for, and despite the two largely dull days spent returning to Lhasa we were undoubtedly satisfied by the experience. I wouldn't do it again, but it's one of those things in life that requires doing just the once.

Although being at Base Camp didn't leave me any worse for wear, unlike most others there who at the very least complained of headaches, on returning to Lhasa I'm finding myself pretty tired out, as are the others I discovered from dinnertime chat last night. I could certainly spend longer in Tibet but I've been in China a good while now, and as a result I've decided to return to Chengdu tomorrow and from there get myself into South East Asia.

It will mean farewell to the trusty Yak, pivotal ingredient of many a local dish here in Tibet. I begin the day by spreading the viscous cheese-looking Yak butter on my toast in the morning, Yak milk (and you certainly can taste the Yakness of it) in my hot chocolate at lunchtime, and for dinner take your pick from Yak Burger, Yak Sizzler, Yak Steak or Yak Chowmein, washed down with Yak Butter tea, with chocolate brownie made from Yak butter for desert containing a distinct 'undertone of Yak'. Several travellers have expressed a wish for butter or marg from home, with one coming up with the entrepreneurial idea of starting a new imported line in Tibet entitled "I can't believe it's not Yak!" A surefire winner.