http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/ Get away en-us 2005-01-25T10:13:18+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007804.shtml Landed to Irish weather in Christchurch - raining cats & dogs. Same as Auckland. Got booked into a hostel and tried to go for a walk but the rain was torrential so used the Irish solution - went for a... New Zealand billymcn 2005-01-25T10:13:18+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007803.shtml Landed to Irish weather in Auckland - ie raining cats 7 dogs. It cleared up later and went for a walk but even the TV tower was shroude in clouds/mist. Decided to hire a car and go to the South... New Zealand billymcn 2005-01-25T09:45:56+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007658.shtml Due to the late night Xmas day started late with packing and getting ready for a sleeper train that night. We got on board around 11 pm and went immediately to bed. Up early to the train noise and off... Vietnam billymcn 2005-01-21T07:15:45+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007657.shtml Breakfast and onto a bus for a three hour journey to Hulong Bay. This is an area similar to Yangshou in China with huge limestone karsts jutting majesticially out of the sea. We got a overnight boat and left the... Vietnam billymcn 2005-01-21T07:06:37+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007656.shtml Day three and breakfast before getting on the move around 8 am. There were quite a few homemade suspension bridges in this area which probably would not pass some H&S requirements.After a few more hours walk up and down dirt... Vietnam billymcn 2005-01-21T06:59:14+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007655.shtml Early start to cockerals again with breakfast outside this time. After collecting our kit (not a lot as we were travelling light) and more water plus loads of goodbyes we set off down a small path out of the village... Vietnam billymcn 2005-01-21T06:54:39+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007654.shtml A few days after arriving in hanoi it was time to go on a three day trek to see hll tribes in the jungle west of Hanoi. There are over 53 different tribes in Vietnam with different dialects spread over... Vietnam billymcn 2005-01-21T06:34:15+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007653.shtml Landing in a new country and city I was interested to see the differences between these two asian cultures. The first difference was the immense number of motorbikes in Hanoi. The streets in the old quarter where i was staying... Vietnam billymcn 2005-01-21T06:21:20+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007652.shtml End of China and many regrets because there is so much more to see. Hongkong was bustling and hot. Hordes of people and the streets colourful with signs and shop fronts.We went down to the main streets and pushed our... On the road billymcn 2005-01-21T06:05:04+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007363.shtml This is really a bit of a tourist and westernised area. Accessible from Hongkong it is well know for hte scenery provided by the huge limestone karsts protuding up into the skyline from the flat rice paddy fields. Also the... On the road billymcn 2005-01-14T04:50:15+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007362.shtml Well this is not really on the road but a river. We got to Chongqing which has the reputation of the most polluted city in China. Well not a lot of difference. Built on a steep valley and for a... On the road billymcn 2005-01-14T04:34:40+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007034.shtml En route to Emai we stopped to see the giant Buddha at Leeshan. It was 70 - 80 metres tall with steps down to the base and back up through tunnels. The story was that the area was at the... On the road billymcn 2005-01-03T15:16:42+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007033.shtml Got to first monastery late evening and checked in. Sounds like a hotel but definately not. Very peaceful with some prayers going on and a very serere atmosphere. Went down to village for supper but as we were under a... On the road billymcn 2005-01-03T15:08:18+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/007030.shtml Got to Chengdu on a bus which was crowded, had chicns , dogs and travelled over roads like some of our building sites for about 9 hours. As you could guess it was good to get there even though the... On the road billymcn 2005-01-03T14:46:23+00:00 http://blogs.BootsnAll.com/billy/archives/006595.shtml Got to Xian after a long overnight train hard sleeper which means opens bunks three high at right angles to the train corridor. it always seems busier when you are trying to sleep. Crack was good and there was a... On the road billymcn 2004-12-18T02:19:42+00:00