tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90522274698836310102024-03-13T03:44:29.383+01:00Chris and Rosi go Around the WorldPoppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-16103714094001291212014-10-12T16:00:00.001+02:002014-10-12T16:00:48.177+02:00More Stuppas, Pagodas and Buddhas in Myanmar (and wine)Our last update was in Pyin U Lwin, where we boarded the train to Hsipaw. It was pretty busy at the train station, with all the locals waiting for it and also some tourists who wanted to do the same as we. Once on the train, we noticed that it is slightly different from the trains back home, well, the train was ok (good seats and lot's of space) but the track is rather bumpy. This sounds a bit strange since a train ride is usually not bumpy as a road, but this was! The train moves quite slowly through the hills around Pyin U Lwin, the coaches of the train shake from left to right and sometimes it feels like a roller coaster when train drops over some uneven parts of the track... So there is a reason why the train is slow and it takes 6 hours to Hsipaw. But after about 3 hours, we stopped at Gokteik where we had a great view to the viaduct over an about 111m deep canyon, definitely worth to see it! After it, the train continues through the hilly areas and you can pick up some food every now and then when the train stops at a station.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GmS7DEHuEnE/VDkPe5_SVHI/AAAAAAAAHog/vyK32QAJaEo/s1600/IMG_3146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GmS7DEHuEnE/VDkPe5_SVHI/AAAAAAAAHog/vyK32QAJaEo/s1600/IMG_3146.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Train station</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JA4fW8MNykk/VDkO0jzqZkI/AAAAAAAAHkc/jHrp1OzrU3g/s1600/P1010989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JA4fW8MNykk/VDkO0jzqZkI/AAAAAAAAHkc/jHrp1OzrU3g/s1600/P1010989.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posing local</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-grXB7vVBGyM/VDkO_uZ_d-I/AAAAAAAAHlg/bMc5ZkSOBiQ/s1600/IMG_3202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-grXB7vVBGyM/VDkO_uZ_d-I/AAAAAAAAHlg/bMc5ZkSOBiQ/s1600/IMG_3202.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Viaduct (no pictures allowed!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YtD7O2pbxuc/VDkPTbfO5uI/AAAAAAAAHn0/J5VrGc3vZNs/s1600/IMG_3214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YtD7O2pbxuc/VDkPTbfO5uI/AAAAAAAAHn0/J5VrGc3vZNs/s1600/IMG_3214.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting lunch at a stop</td></tr>
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Once we arrived in Hsipaw, we got a lift to our accommodation where we planned our next days. The area around is a nice place with small villages, rivers and waterfalls, so we hired bicycles and explored it a little. But you have to be careful with the directions and maps given by the locals since they sometimes are not as accurate as you might expect, so we got lost some times on the road, but there is always somebody to help, finding the main road again. We visited 2 nice waterfalls (both with a short hike) and we also visited a place called little Bagan due to some old clustered stupas. Hsipaw is also known as a good place for longer hikes but it was too warm for us so we decided not to do any longer hikes into the hills, we rather spend another day on the bicycle to drive around and had nice drinks at Mrs. Popcorns garden (everyone goes there once!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I6Fsde9IsD8/VDkPd16vqAI/AAAAAAAAHoY/kUCZLAxzjTs/s1600/wasserfall_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I6Fsde9IsD8/VDkPd16vqAI/AAAAAAAAHoY/kUCZLAxzjTs/s1600/wasserfall_03.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterfall in Hsipaw</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kt6DqxNKZow/VDkPRqoqkyI/AAAAAAAAHno/I-nTGjzmCz4/s1600/P1020012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kt6DqxNKZow/VDkPRqoqkyI/AAAAAAAAHno/I-nTGjzmCz4/s1600/P1020012.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiding Buffalo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L3Fn6HGWU3Q/VDkPMef7IHI/AAAAAAAAHnA/IzHONGwjDF8/s1600/IMG_3308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L3Fn6HGWU3Q/VDkPMef7IHI/AAAAAAAAHnA/IzHONGwjDF8/s1600/IMG_3308.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Bagan</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XS5Tvgn1zIw/VDkO4sxnw8I/AAAAAAAAHk8/YzQ-re7LI94/s1600/IMG_3233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XS5Tvgn1zIw/VDkO4sxnw8I/AAAAAAAAHk8/YzQ-re7LI94/s1600/IMG_3233.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mini Monks</td></tr>
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The last highlight was the visit of the Shan Palace in Hsipaw, which is an old british style manor house. This was the place where the last Shan prince lived with his wife (from Austria) and their daughters until he got arrested by the military in the 1960's (and most likely killed as well). The house itself is not very spectacular, but the wife of the last prince's nephews, takes a lot of time to explain all the historical connections and pictures in the house. Very friendly and interesting!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YBVCz_bMA60/VDkO-gvZgoI/AAAAAAAAHlc/J5ryWb7uyic/s1600/IMG_3315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YBVCz_bMA60/VDkO-gvZgoI/AAAAAAAAHlc/J5ryWb7uyic/s1600/IMG_3315.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shan Palace</td></tr>
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So after this morning stop, we had to wait for our night bus down to Inle lake. If you want to travel by bus in Myanmar, make sure that you have some warm cloth with you (yes, it's 35 degrees outside but the temperature in the bus can drop to 14 degrees!). Instead of changing the air-con, they actually distribute blankets to the people as well :-) so, we had a freezing trip to the Inle lake which took a bit longer than expected, since the bus driver did not know the way (we had to turn several times on the way). But finally, a bit stiff from the night, we were at Inle lake.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eWXFk6Mzn6k/VDkPQ4Vv5EI/AAAAAAAAHnk/Ka_SEHMa_l0/s1600/lake_inle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eWXFk6Mzn6k/VDkPQ4Vv5EI/AAAAAAAAHnk/Ka_SEHMa_l0/s1600/lake_inle.jpg" height="173" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View to Inle Lake</td></tr>
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So, what to do here? We had a hotel which features the only pool in Nyaungshwe (8km away from the lake) which was very nice to have. Besides this, it's a good place for hiring bicycles to explore the area (left side of the lake, right side of the lake) so pretty relaxed. And even better, just about 4 km out of town, there is a winery (Red Mountain Estate) which is producing fairly good wine (and which has a superb view into the valley).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZE5WqyW4pM/VDkFB9haz1I/AAAAAAAAHgo/3_vvVnEfx2Y/s1600/IMG_1473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZE5WqyW4pM/VDkFB9haz1I/AAAAAAAAHgo/3_vvVnEfx2Y/s1600/IMG_1473.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Pool</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YvUpqlKuDwA/VDkPHAjkmWI/AAAAAAAAHmg/CMODsWY7m38/s1600/IMG_3689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YvUpqlKuDwA/VDkPHAjkmWI/AAAAAAAAHmg/CMODsWY7m38/s1600/IMG_3689.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Mountain Estate View</td></tr>
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But one of the main attractions is Inle lake itself, with the local villages surrounding it. Since it was around full moon, we were even able to visit a festival that takes place in October where they bring some holy statues out of a pagoda and transport them on a boat to all the villages around the lake with a biiiig ceremony and lot's of boats (tourists and locals). Some of them use the traditional "one leg rowing technique" to move the ship forward. It's very colourful and interesting to see, but it starts early in the morning. After the early start, we visited some of the villages (some are very touristy, others are nicer to spend some time) and there are the unavoidable stops at all the local manufacturing places (silk and lotus weaving, cigarettes, silver jewellery, ...).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yo34adYld6o/VDkPCKruGFI/AAAAAAAAHlw/NMzCNZwmuwo/s1600/IMG_3370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yo34adYld6o/VDkPCKruGFI/AAAAAAAAHlw/NMzCNZwmuwo/s1600/IMG_3370.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ceremony at Inle Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UbMv9JQh3WA/VDkPUThL2mI/AAAAAAAAHn4/ucmDkJ-_YYM/s1600/IMG_3408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UbMv9JQh3WA/VDkPUThL2mI/AAAAAAAAHn4/ucmDkJ-_YYM/s1600/IMG_3408.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One leg rowing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_CnqIIbnGV4/VDkOw6w7yqI/AAAAAAAAHj8/hbo7H4IexO4/s1600/IMG_3447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_CnqIIbnGV4/VDkOw6w7yqI/AAAAAAAAHj8/hbo7H4IexO4/s1600/IMG_3447.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ship with the statues</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-91rT_HgiloQ/VDkPMxCCStI/AAAAAAAAHnM/UeALTa5dkYg/s1600/IMG_3455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-91rT_HgiloQ/VDkPMxCCStI/AAAAAAAAHnM/UeALTa5dkYg/s1600/IMG_3455.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">iMonk? taking pictures</td></tr>
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The silver place was one of the better ones since we could see how the melt the silver right in the shop!<br />
We also stopped at the pagoda where they take the statues from (except for the smallest one that has to stay at home!) and it's funny to see it, since it has no buddha shape any more at all due to all the gold leaves donated to it... it looks more like a golden snow man (somewhat). Also worth a visit was the stop in Inthein, where the host about 1'000 little pagodas on a small hill (and yes, there is about as many shops to buy souvenirs as well!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-crsEh3LkBBg/VDkPLhyArII/AAAAAAAAHnQ/-VzPGQeCK0s/s1600/IMG_3520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-crsEh3LkBBg/VDkPLhyArII/AAAAAAAAHnQ/-VzPGQeCK0s/s1600/IMG_3520.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden buddha statue</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VSVYsqNUs7Q/VDkPGatJP8I/AAAAAAAAHmY/vUWl6kiEjac/s1600/inle_pagoden_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VSVYsqNUs7Q/VDkPGatJP8I/AAAAAAAAHmY/vUWl6kiEjac/s1600/inle_pagoden_02.jpg" height="125" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inthein pagodas</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-piE4GDa2LiQ/VDkOz1OofuI/AAAAAAAAHkU/ywW19aD7w8k/s1600/IMG_3467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-piE4GDa2LiQ/VDkOz1OofuI/AAAAAAAAHkU/ywW19aD7w8k/s1600/IMG_3467.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local village</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MKaQfqlxtD4/VDkO8Fv2uII/AAAAAAAAHlQ/GF-g4jkG0G0/s1600/P1020026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MKaQfqlxtD4/VDkO8Fv2uII/AAAAAAAAHlQ/GF-g4jkG0G0/s1600/P1020026.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">river shopping</td></tr>
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So, we spent one day on pleasant day on Inle lake, with lot's of different impressions.<br />
We expected to take another freezing night bus to get back to Yangon, but fortunately, there is now a day bus as well which we prefered to take, so we could stay one extra day in Nyaungshwe (which means another stop at the winery!) before we left for Yangon. The ride was equally cold, but the bus was equipped like an air plane with tv screens in every seat, so we could watch some movies in the mean time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9oBrP87tIX0/VDkPJF_mCfI/AAAAAAAAHms/FdGetRMc4KM/s1600/IMG_3340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9oBrP87tIX0/VDkPJF_mCfI/AAAAAAAAHms/FdGetRMc4KM/s1600/IMG_3340.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional fishermen</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4e62kNygMJo/VDkPKN-BApI/AAAAAAAAHnY/ozUY-OiROOs/s1600/IMG_3637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4e62kNygMJo/VDkPKN-BApI/AAAAAAAAHnY/ozUY-OiROOs/s1600/IMG_3637.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monestary in Nyaungshwe</td></tr>
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Back in Yangon, we had one major task to do: visiting the biggest pagoda in Myanmar, the Shwedagon paya. It sits on a hill not far from the city centre and it is a massive construction, surrounded with many small temples, pagodas and other holy things so it's an really impressive site (and full of people as well). So, we spent some time there before we changed the location for some night pictures of the pagoda (impressive as well) and we went for dinner at "Sharky's" which is run by a guy that worked 20 years in Switzerland (the desserts were just perfect! And there was good, real bread as well). After dinner, we went back to Shwedagon paya again, which was a good decision since it looks different in the night and it's less busy in the night.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cRoEBSrjxi0/VDkO229_weI/AAAAAAAAHks/b5LbTp6R4Eo/s1600/shwedagon_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cRoEBSrjxi0/VDkO229_weI/AAAAAAAAHks/b5LbTp6R4Eo/s1600/shwedagon_03.jpg" height="268" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shwedagon at day</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtO_QRrMKVA/VDkO2eqTNDI/AAAAAAAAHko/kgEp7ZAqoSM/s1600/IMG_3739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtO_QRrMKVA/VDkO2eqTNDI/AAAAAAAAHko/kgEp7ZAqoSM/s1600/IMG_3739.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shwedagon at dawn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tsQ4UgEkiBU/VDkO5gux39I/AAAAAAAAHlA/LWY2Be5JmWU/s1600/IMG_3764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tsQ4UgEkiBU/VDkO5gux39I/AAAAAAAAHlA/LWY2Be5JmWU/s1600/IMG_3764.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shwedagon at night</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eCnKXnWIqDU/VDkO7OeYOhI/AAAAAAAAHlM/QbryHhz3y1k/s1600/IMG_3833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eCnKXnWIqDU/VDkO7OeYOhI/AAAAAAAAHlM/QbryHhz3y1k/s1600/IMG_3833.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buddhas at Shwedagon</td></tr>
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This was the last stop in Myanmar and we took once more a plane to KL, where we stay in the same hotel as the last times, but this time in a "theme room" which is very pleasant. Now, there is just some days left in KL (shopping, what else?) before we hop on the biggest passenger plane A380 for our flight back (upper deck seat)!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--2Ef80GIlug/VDkPEskErEI/AAAAAAAAHmI/ZYXaCZqF3tI/s1600/IMG_3865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--2Ef80GIlug/VDkPEskErEI/AAAAAAAAHmI/ZYXaCZqF3tI/s1600/IMG_3865.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flight to KL</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-42iHnY1ZRTI/VDkPO2PaWwI/AAAAAAAAHnU/UeGaiL3llvY/s1600/zimmer_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-42iHnY1ZRTI/VDkPO2PaWwI/AAAAAAAAHnU/UeGaiL3llvY/s1600/zimmer_02.jpg" height="159" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Theme room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Some more impressions:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RT6QKaBo0C4/VDkPJzACInI/AAAAAAAAHmw/6xzJhQb8f04/s1600/P1010991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RT6QKaBo0C4/VDkPJzACInI/AAAAAAAAHmw/6xzJhQb8f04/s1600/P1010991.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the train</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KB1JEu9ngHI/VDkPD9K1DtI/AAAAAAAAHmE/iI1W7hK3nA4/s1600/IMG_3191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KB1JEu9ngHI/VDkPD9K1DtI/AAAAAAAAHmE/iI1W7hK3nA4/s1600/IMG_3191.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gokteik Viaduct</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HTd4FADJ-5Q/VDkPkj42gGI/AAAAAAAAHow/8Xiw-TWkEUA/s1600/P1020001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HTd4FADJ-5Q/VDkPkj42gGI/AAAAAAAAHow/8Xiw-TWkEUA/s1600/P1020001.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterfall in Hsipaw</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W1bnLjf-imo/VDkPEJ7Yv6I/AAAAAAAAHmA/67yHsWji7NM/s1600/IMG_3286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W1bnLjf-imo/VDkPEJ7Yv6I/AAAAAAAAHmA/67yHsWji7NM/s1600/IMG_3286.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting Buffalo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gGH2oR62yaM/VDkPhdCHIYI/AAAAAAAAHoo/HGwAoOC3IkI/s1600/P1020013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gGH2oR62yaM/VDkPhdCHIYI/AAAAAAAAHoo/HGwAoOC3IkI/s1600/P1020013.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch in Hispaw</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hAUO-uzyYcA/VDkPz_NxyaI/AAAAAAAAHo4/8rUR5OrBunw/s1600/IMG_3359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hAUO-uzyYcA/VDkPz_NxyaI/AAAAAAAAHo4/8rUR5OrBunw/s1600/IMG_3359.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional fisherman</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cJcW0_22jXs/VDkOzcAsErI/AAAAAAAAHkQ/hhui9B37Wp0/s1600/IMG_3367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cJcW0_22jXs/VDkOzcAsErI/AAAAAAAAHkQ/hhui9B37Wp0/s1600/IMG_3367.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Souvenir sellers on Inle Lake</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5gBHSlDahYk/VDkPGm2vaNI/AAAAAAAAHmc/58sOwdO722g/s1600/P1020017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5gBHSlDahYk/VDkPGm2vaNI/AAAAAAAAHmc/58sOwdO722g/s1600/P1020017.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local drug store</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h3wlz6Dvsv8/VDkPcYMj1NI/AAAAAAAAHoQ/D0ajhMmu9qM/s1600/IMG_3531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h3wlz6Dvsv8/VDkPcYMj1NI/AAAAAAAAHoQ/D0ajhMmu9qM/s1600/IMG_3531.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lotus leaves</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4kepLlXmSvg/VDkPBNFI4gI/AAAAAAAAHls/uOynXvIYnZ8/s1600/IMG_3627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4kepLlXmSvg/VDkPBNFI4gI/AAAAAAAAHls/uOynXvIYnZ8/s1600/IMG_3627.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nyaungshwe</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UjAI4C1Dclw/VDkPWzUF7XI/AAAAAAAAHoA/GbbeD4mT5MY/s1600/IMG_3649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UjAI4C1Dclw/VDkPWzUF7XI/AAAAAAAAHoA/GbbeD4mT5MY/s1600/IMG_3649.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monestary in Nyaungshwe</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oquX4d3iAzs/VDkPaH9U-cI/AAAAAAAAHoI/5qDQO9uUiCc/s1600/IMG_3657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oquX4d3iAzs/VDkPaH9U-cI/AAAAAAAAHoI/5qDQO9uUiCc/s1600/IMG_3657.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monestary in Nyaungshwe</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6vvc2ClaPSE/VDkO0HzMAsI/AAAAAAAAHkY/qnkh0SVfvUs/s1600/IMG_3668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6vvc2ClaPSE/VDkO0HzMAsI/AAAAAAAAHkY/qnkh0SVfvUs/s1600/IMG_3668.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buddha in Nyaungshwe</td></tr>
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<br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com1Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia3.1390377471253266 101.71041727066043.1370557471253266 101.7078957706604 3.1410197471253265 101.7129387706604tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-44551613512657242132014-09-30T18:28:00.001+02:002014-09-30T18:28:53.250+02:00Stupas, Pagodas and Buddhas in Myanmar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We cached the night bus on mainland Malaysia (a comfortable one, but freezing cold!) and arrived in the early morning in the town connecting the islands with the mainland. It's just a bumpy boat ride (45 min) and then you arrive on the small island. As it is small, there is not much to do except for sunbathing, swimming, snorkelling, eating, etc. so we had another relaxing days there. But after some days, we had to leave again since we had the 25 USD flight back to KL (special offer from Malaysia Airlines) and we went back to our hotel in KL. We didn't do much in KL, we just had to stock up on brand new USD for Myanmar and the laundry was due to as well, so after 2 days, everything was set up to head to the Airport again (luckily in the afternoon since it takes about 1 hour to get to the airport).<br />
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We arrived in Yangon and had pre-booked a room which was right in the city centre. The centre is nice, so we spent one day exploring it, visiting some Pagodas and exploring some parts of it by foot. But since we will be back in Yangon, we did not visit the big and famous pagoda in Yangon so far, we'll do it on the way back.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PMOz8i8zWnc/VCleJTM-PRI/AAAAAAAAHXw/IoeIb2am4aA/s1600/IMG_2285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PMOz8i8zWnc/VCleJTM-PRI/AAAAAAAAHXw/IoeIb2am4aA/s1600/IMG_2285.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freedom statue</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WSTvjmGNHys/VCldoEvHfgI/AAAAAAAAHXM/vg2n2SQWr3Y/s1600/IMG_2294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WSTvjmGNHys/VCldoEvHfgI/AAAAAAAAHXM/vg2n2SQWr3Y/s1600/IMG_2294.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Train crossing the street in Yangon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ihfWHZnni68/VClkSL60kZI/AAAAAAAAHYw/ZM2UTqd2y1M/s1600/gold_wall_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ihfWHZnni68/VClkSL60kZI/AAAAAAAAHYw/ZM2UTqd2y1M/s1600/gold_wall_01.jpg" height="320" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold covered inside of the pagoda</td></tr>
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So we left Yangon for Bagan, which is known for it's thousands of pagodas and stupas from former kings of Myanmar. It was an enjoyable bus ride of about 10 hours and we found a nice local guest house to stay in. In the evening, we also visited one of the high-lights in Bagan, the big Shwezigon-Stupa. It's a massive building which looks great at sunset!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zOitzp0vMxM/VClZqkIfK6I/AAAAAAAAHVo/Qt3-UZq0GNE/s1600/bagan_goldpagoda_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zOitzp0vMxM/VClZqkIfK6I/AAAAAAAAHVo/Qt3-UZq0GNE/s1600/bagan_goldpagoda_01.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Shwezigon in Bagan</span></td></tr>
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Next morning, we rented some bikes to explore parts of the temple fields. It is actually amazing, how many stupas were built there over the last few hundred years, and most of them are in a fairly good state. Well, a lot of reconstruction work was done and not all of it matches the former style of the buildings, but nevertheless it's very nice. Usually, you get a very good view for sunset, if you climb one of the pagodas, but since a thunderstorm was approaching, we went back to town quickly and luckily made it before the heavy rain started! It was a very pleasant day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2AZ7PxiOmFM/VClpV8uZBgI/AAAAAAAAHZM/2dIEHlEhS0c/s1600/IMG_2355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2AZ7PxiOmFM/VClpV8uZBgI/AAAAAAAAHZM/2dIEHlEhS0c/s1600/IMG_2355.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of Htilominlo Pahto</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qi-RjlwMJeY/VClqNwCan0I/AAAAAAAAHZU/4SZEVP5q7gQ/s1600/IMG_2368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qi-RjlwMJeY/VClqNwCan0I/AAAAAAAAHZU/4SZEVP5q7gQ/s1600/IMG_2368.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing buddha</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c3hCDkCwoNs/VClk8bAAAhI/AAAAAAAAHY4/gj_jKSMrpu4/s1600/IMG_2370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c3hCDkCwoNs/VClk8bAAAhI/AAAAAAAAHY4/gj_jKSMrpu4/s1600/IMG_2370.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ananda Pagoda</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y_S2gNM7n6U/VClfodfOxXI/AAAAAAAAHYI/DJbjZQGQgds/s1600/IMG_2380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y_S2gNM7n6U/VClfodfOxXI/AAAAAAAAHYI/DJbjZQGQgds/s1600/IMG_2380.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gawdawpalin Pahto</td></tr>
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The day after, we did exactly the same as the day before, but this time, we targeted the buildings a little bit further down the road. All buildings are within 10 or 15 km so you can do it by bike although it's very hot during the day, so it's not the best time to visit Bagan, but since it is before high season, there is not too many tourists around and you don't have to book hotel rooms in advanced and there are not too many others visiting the temples. So it's pretty relaxed at the moment.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lVHLYp7PdJA/VCld3cjZCzI/AAAAAAAAHXU/a7x1tXrdj6M/s1600/Sulamani_pagoda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lVHLYp7PdJA/VCld3cjZCzI/AAAAAAAAHXU/a7x1tXrdj6M/s1600/Sulamani_pagoda.jpg" height="290" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sulamani Pagoda</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DQFrRrAnT1Q/VCleG_5HhSI/AAAAAAAAHXo/Iuhg7ZyVdnc/s1600/IMG_2459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DQFrRrAnT1Q/VCleG_5HhSI/AAAAAAAAHXo/Iuhg7ZyVdnc/s1600/IMG_2459.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking for directions</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5bSA88xoJJA/VCmINk7BHrI/AAAAAAAAHbI/OLiEVOQZGJ8/s1600/IMG_2474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5bSA88xoJJA/VCmINk7BHrI/AAAAAAAAHbI/OLiEVOQZGJ8/s1600/IMG_2474.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farmer at work</td></tr>
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On the last day in Bagan, we rented an e-bike to explore the areas a bit further south of bagan (you can do this by normal bike as well, but they have these funny bikes, so we had to take one) and we set off quite early in the morning. Unfortunately, one of the e-bikes had a flat tire after about 2 km, so some friendly guy called the owners and they showed up with the repair kit and fixed it within some minutes. After this unexpected break, we were able to visit some of the major pagodas in Bagan and once we arrived at the southernmost part of it... we had another flat tire... same bike... so we had to call the company again and after a little while, they showed up again and fixed it for the second time. And after some issues starting the bike again (third call to the company) we were able to visit the rest of the temples. So, after 3 days of visiting buddhas, stupas and pagodas, we continued to Mandalay, a 5 hour bus ride away.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XpcDL1o92bM/VClbiGomAKI/AAAAAAAAHW0/jdfVXj7Kc84/s1600/IMG_2498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XpcDL1o92bM/VClbiGomAKI/AAAAAAAAHW0/jdfVXj7Kc84/s1600/IMG_2498.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pagoda field view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YV6_2_7hRzI/VCla1O5JOBI/AAAAAAAAHWI/II_pUNiZXtY/s1600/IMG_2525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YV6_2_7hRzI/VCla1O5JOBI/AAAAAAAAHWI/II_pUNiZXtY/s1600/IMG_2525.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View to pyramid pagoda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GyBqXJ5YKiI/VCl7JKacd4I/AAAAAAAAHZg/hWCzNXyryU4/s1600/pagodas_view_07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GyBqXJ5YKiI/VCl7JKacd4I/AAAAAAAAHZg/hWCzNXyryU4/s1600/pagodas_view_07.jpg" height="109" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TiybE3c-zMs/VCmDV7dXojI/AAAAAAAAHaw/y-DAZxFTzWY/s1600/IMG_2628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TiybE3c-zMs/VCmDV7dXojI/AAAAAAAAHaw/y-DAZxFTzWY/s1600/IMG_2628.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Racing home on the e-bike</td></tr>
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We arrived in the afternoon and we stayed in a fantastic hotel in Mandalay, with a roof top terraces, nice rooms and very friendly service. Due to the early time, we decided to have a walk around the royal palace in the city centre (which we thought is not too far away). So we started walking and kept walking for quite a while until we noticed, that the royal palace is rather big; it has a 2 km long wall on each side and since we had to walk to the other side of it, it was more than 4 km walking in the city. From the end of the palace, we climbed Mandalay Hill, the sun set view point for all tourists. Besides tourists, some local students show up there as well for practising English with the tourists, pretty funny though! Unfortunately, we could not get a taxi once we were back down the hill, so we had to walk back the whole way, but we squeezed in dinner so we did not have to leave the hotel any more once we were back!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YiJfAevtGwI/VClbFsR6X5I/AAAAAAAAHWU/QSdi9QEoBLo/s1600/IMG_2649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YiJfAevtGwI/VClbFsR6X5I/AAAAAAAAHWU/QSdi9QEoBLo/s1600/IMG_2649.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pagoda on Manalay Hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pbWCzFCfNE/VClZouhBObI/AAAAAAAAHVg/yYQcTFDbtTU/s1600/IMG_2657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pbWCzFCfNE/VClZouhBObI/AAAAAAAAHVg/yYQcTFDbtTU/s1600/IMG_2657.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manalay Hill view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After our breakfast on the roof top, we got a taxi to the royal palace (we learned from the day before) so we could visit the inside of the palace this time. It was completly destroyed during WWII so it is just a replica but nice still. Since it serves as an army base, you can just visit a part of it and the rest is guarded by soldiers (which seems a bit strange). Next to the palace (3 km walk) there is some more pagodas to visit and some more buddhas to see (you notice that we have seen a LOT of buddhas and pagodas in the meantime). One of the nicest ones it close to Mandalay Hill and contains the "Buddhist Bible" written on stones. Each stone is covered with one stupa and it's therefore pretty amazing. In the afternoon, we were able to get a taxi which drove us down to the gold leaflet factory area. In this area, they produce very thin gold leaflets (by hammering them for about 6 hours) which are used to cover buddha statues and pagodas and even local people buy them to donate the gold leaflets to a holy statue or place. It's hard work to flatten the gold and even more difficult to cut them into squares and pack them... pretty nice to see.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hlXOtic5jt0/VClj4EABm3I/AAAAAAAAHYo/IK_8f3YfbT4/s1600/mandalay_pagoda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hlXOtic5jt0/VClj4EABm3I/AAAAAAAAHYo/IK_8f3YfbT4/s1600/mandalay_pagoda.jpg" height="194" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pagoda close to Mandalay Hill</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kzBdJbgikKk/VClbRLstOfI/AAAAAAAAHWk/PuCgedD6NJ4/s1600/IMG_2717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kzBdJbgikKk/VClbRLstOfI/AAAAAAAAHWk/PuCgedD6NJ4/s1600/IMG_2717.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting gold squares</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XlBm1-AtK_4/VCleeXvTCfI/AAAAAAAAHYA/c-kjdTcTlBE/s1600/IMG_2720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XlBm1-AtK_4/VCleeXvTCfI/AAAAAAAAHYA/c-kjdTcTlBE/s1600/IMG_2720.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flattening the gold</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e6SYDdLzhdQ/VClb027DU7I/AAAAAAAAHW8/bstRY8gYKz8/s1600/IMG_2682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e6SYDdLzhdQ/VClb027DU7I/AAAAAAAAHW8/bstRY8gYKz8/s1600/IMG_2682.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preparing lunch in a bamboo stick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The distances are big in Mandalay, so we hired a driver for the next day do drive us to some other sights in the surroundings. This included the most holy buddha statue in Mandalay where people donated so much gold so far that the statue does not look very nice any more. We also visited some carving workshops and weaving shops (no, we didn't buy anything) and continued south with a visit of a monastery where about 1300 monks live. Luckily we were late for the "feeding" of the monks (they just eat once a day and queue for the food, so a lot of tourist go and visit the "feeding" to take pictures of the monks, which seemed a bit odd to us...) but we could still chat to some of them. Later, we went up a hill in Sagain where you have some more impressive Pagodas with buddhas and a very good view over the surroundings. One nice stop was Inwa, where you hop on a horse carriage which brings you to the interesting places nearby (yes, more stupas, pagodas, monastery's, buddhas). At the end, we stopped for sunset at the famous U-Bein (or U-Pein) Bridge, a wood bridge that crosses a shallow lake. It's a very nice spot for pictures, but not if there are too many people and there were too many people this day!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DivPgbQhpk0/VCmCpzLtswI/AAAAAAAAHao/S5KHCSXtQak/s1600/IMG_2734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DivPgbQhpk0/VCmCpzLtswI/AAAAAAAAHao/S5KHCSXtQak/s1600/IMG_2734.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold buddha in Mandalay</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6CZfgmQYvlY/VCl7Y778hsI/AAAAAAAAHZw/h53or5q9r3U/s1600/IMG_2786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6CZfgmQYvlY/VCl7Y778hsI/AAAAAAAAHZw/h53or5q9r3U/s1600/IMG_2786.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buddhas in Sagain</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whT-C2p-nD4/VClizzORrvI/AAAAAAAAHYY/TpoJ0QmMzMU/s1600/IMG_2824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whT-C2p-nD4/VClizzORrvI/AAAAAAAAHYY/TpoJ0QmMzMU/s1600/IMG_2824.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buddha in Inwa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our last full day, we organized a boat ride to Mingun, where some of the kings wanted to build the biggest pagoda in the world. He finally managed to build the biggest pile of bricks in the worlds (50 m high) which is an impressive pile of brick and you can actually climb it! It gives a good view to a very nice white pagoda and in between, there is one of the biggest bells in the world. It just takes half a day to see the main sights there but it's very relaxed and if you don't want to walk, you can catch a local taxi if you like to... And in the afternoon, we went to a bank to change some money. This would not be of interest at all but how the locals bring money (or get it?) was rather special. They unpacked a pile of money right in the entrance hall and stuffed it into some plastic bags... (we estimated about 100'000 USD in cash!!)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ipGpFa2Axw/VCld51YWVzI/AAAAAAAAHXc/jS2no9LHClk/s1600/IMG_2932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ipGpFa2Axw/VCld51YWVzI/AAAAAAAAHXc/jS2no9LHClk/s1600/IMG_2932.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mingun Paya (brick pile)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SNRMVDEAJrM/VClbISIb69I/AAAAAAAAHWc/9f3xJ3AN9EQ/s1600/IMG_2954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SNRMVDEAJrM/VClbISIb69I/AAAAAAAAHWc/9f3xJ3AN9EQ/s1600/IMG_2954.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Bell</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ID_n7wHcfIY/VClZofinCNI/AAAAAAAAHVc/_hiiH9YNNcI/s1600/white_pagoda_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ID_n7wHcfIY/VClZofinCNI/AAAAAAAAHVc/_hiiH9YNNcI/s1600/white_pagoda_1.jpg" height="202" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White pagoda</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Weyl5Sil-DQ/VCldWZTJrgI/AAAAAAAAHXE/oh0uV7hNyAo/s1600/P1010966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Weyl5Sil-DQ/VCldWZTJrgI/AAAAAAAAHXE/oh0uV7hNyAo/s1600/P1010966.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local Taxi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kgu9bSvk5qY/VCrQc9kw_mI/AAAAAAAAHbU/JejM_qF7T6I/s1600/IMG_1434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kgu9bSvk5qY/VCrQc9kw_mI/AAAAAAAAHbU/JejM_qF7T6I/s1600/IMG_1434.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cash in bank</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next day, we left Mandalay in the afternoon for Pyin Oo Lwin, but before, we visited the U-Bein bridge in the morning and this time it was much nicer since there were hardly any tourists; so if you go there, it's better to go in the morning.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lNN-Dw5oMzg/VCmCHgS457I/AAAAAAAAHaU/SYeRXYPN7sU/s1600/IMG_3014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lNN-Dw5oMzg/VCmCHgS457I/AAAAAAAAHaU/SYeRXYPN7sU/s1600/IMG_3014.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U-Bein Bridge</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h9oqqc9k57U/VCl9UBKgIVI/AAAAAAAAHZ4/o4aM-IqWBzo/s1600/IMG_3022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h9oqqc9k57U/VCl9UBKgIVI/AAAAAAAAHZ4/o4aM-IqWBzo/s1600/IMG_3022.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree next to bridge</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-po5WgGhgqpo/VClgpa0CnkI/AAAAAAAAHYQ/ZgJ4pGUWifk/s1600/IMG_3042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-po5WgGhgqpo/VClgpa0CnkI/AAAAAAAAHYQ/ZgJ4pGUWifk/s1600/IMG_3042.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monk is passing the bridge</td></tr>
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Pyin Oo Lwin is a small town with colonial background in about 1'100 m altitude so it's not too hot up there and it looks a bit like England. The main attractions here are the botanical garden (which you can reach by horse carriages), which was very green when we visited it and they have some smaller waterfalls in the surroundings, so we rented some more (old) bikes to visit them. Since the temperature is lower, the bike rides are more pleasant (but we had another flat tire). One of the water falls is not very high but it is used as a swimming pool for the locals (which is used heavily on the week end) and opposite they build a big pagoda (for a big buddha). Very nice.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-p-wdz4kBA/VClZ3AJrQJI/AAAAAAAAHVw/vxpa8jbxDB8/s1600/IMG_3058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-p-wdz4kBA/VClZ3AJrQJI/AAAAAAAAHVw/vxpa8jbxDB8/s1600/IMG_3058.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horse carriage</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2j8JC0ac2qA/VClonxOk7pI/AAAAAAAAHZE/7FF8KXJD4o8/s1600/IMG_3079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2j8JC0ac2qA/VClonxOk7pI/AAAAAAAAHZE/7FF8KXJD4o8/s1600/IMG_3079.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pagoda in Pyin Oo Lwin</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--FUDN8jRKIE/VCmEARRBUKI/AAAAAAAAHa4/IpCkF0MZtQQ/s1600/IMG_3088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--FUDN8jRKIE/VCmEARRBUKI/AAAAAAAAHa4/IpCkF0MZtQQ/s1600/IMG_3088.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Botanical garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BVBXZcRBFdM/VClaB8zCWiI/AAAAAAAAHV4/4XuZuOyYxIs/s1600/IMG_3100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BVBXZcRBFdM/VClaB8zCWiI/AAAAAAAAHV4/4XuZuOyYxIs/s1600/IMG_3100.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monks collecting donations</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So now, we plan to take the train to Hsipaw, where we will cross a big bridge which is supposed to be the star of the train ride, before we continue to Inle Lake in the south. As we had some issues taking trains in other countries, we hope that everything will work out nicely! So we try to do another update either in Yangon or with a better internet connection in KL!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--uQHyc0I6bc/VCmCKdBsbYI/AAAAAAAAHac/HbVNooymKXY/s1600/IMG_2311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--uQHyc0I6bc/VCmCKdBsbYI/AAAAAAAAHac/HbVNooymKXY/s1600/IMG_2311.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slippery ground...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vyQZCjjniQk/VCleY5nxIpI/AAAAAAAAHX4/v7cu4VhRdWw/s1600/IMG_2452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vyQZCjjniQk/VCleY5nxIpI/AAAAAAAAHX4/v7cu4VhRdWw/s1600/IMG_2452.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Construction site in Bagan</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jkn2ZQjMZa8/VClbcIv2B3I/AAAAAAAAHWs/UjE-K9FCRnQ/s1600/IMG_2677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jkn2ZQjMZa8/VClbcIv2B3I/AAAAAAAAHWs/UjE-K9FCRnQ/s1600/IMG_2677.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monastery in Mandalay</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e7g273epwhw/VCmByc_9E_I/AAAAAAAAHaM/xDh-dZAbDd8/s1600/IMG_2755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e7g273epwhw/VCmByc_9E_I/AAAAAAAAHaM/xDh-dZAbDd8/s1600/IMG_2755.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Budda carving</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUZ5xl5Ef0k/VCl7QGM-fGI/AAAAAAAAHZo/hkwpciJLfTE/s1600/IMG_3115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUZ5xl5Ef0k/VCl7QGM-fGI/AAAAAAAAHZo/hkwpciJLfTE/s1600/IMG_3115.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monks collecting donations</td></tr>
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<br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com0Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar22.039821650237034 96.509399414062521.922096150237035 96.3480379140625 22.157547150237033 96.6707609140625tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-43387497473115450482014-09-07T08:27:00.000+02:002014-09-07T08:27:29.365+02:00Highest Mountain (4'095 m) and biggest noseIt's a long way from Brunei to Kota Kinabalu (KK) but not because the distance, more because of the borders you have to cross. Since Brunei consists of two unconnected parts, and since there is a border within Malaysia, we had to stop at 8 Check-points to do all the migration (Brunei exit, enter Sarawak; exit Sarawak, enter Brunei; exit Brunei, enter Sarawak; exit Sarawak, enter Sabah). But finally, we arrived in KK. The Borneo Island is known for it's rainy weather (it rains 2 out of 3 days) and so we arrived with a thunderstorm. Luckily, our hotel was not too far away.<br />
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Next morning, the weather has cleared up so we could explore the city and checked the options we had there. Not surprisingly, climbing mount Kinabalu was very expensive (around 300 USD per person) so we firstly decided that we're not climbing it (furthermore we were told that it is fully booked most of the days) but rather just have some walks in the national park which surrounds the mountain.<br />
So, after a very nice sea-food dinner, we left for the mount Kinabalu National park. It's a 3 hour ride into the mountain area and we arrived shortly after lunch. Our place was nice and had some very cute cats to play with, but unfortunately, it started to rain again, so we did not see much of the surroundings. Nevertheless, we went for some walks in the park, but it's not much fun when everything is soaking wet, so we headed back to the little cats...<br />
The following morning, it had cleared up a bit, so we could see the surroundings but we still wanted to continue to Sandakan, to see some more monkeys (Orang Utans).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GtAY91syj6E/VAvrUDwreWI/AAAAAAAAHKc/283ZzKw1j3A/s1600/IMG_1416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GtAY91syj6E/VAvrUDwreWI/AAAAAAAAHKc/283ZzKw1j3A/s1600/IMG_1416.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitten in the lodge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZXvH8xYYPnk/VAvrDM-iqeI/AAAAAAAAHJE/eOotZJXwYnU/s1600/IMG_1430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZXvH8xYYPnk/VAvrDM-iqeI/AAAAAAAAHJE/eOotZJXwYnU/s1600/IMG_1430.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cats in the lodge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gl0H361Zhl0/VAvq-HZXjpI/AAAAAAAAHI8/wnSf4IiAc9c/s1600/IMG_1424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gl0H361Zhl0/VAvq-HZXjpI/AAAAAAAAHI8/wnSf4IiAc9c/s1600/IMG_1424.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning view</td></tr>
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In Sandakan, we found a very friendly backpacker that helped a lot in organizing the following trips. The first one was the visit of the Orang Utan sanctuary which was worth a visit. They raise orphans and injured Orang Utans and try to bring them back into the wild, but they can come back for a feeding if they want to. At our feeding, about 8 Orang Utans showed up which was a great experience. After the feeding, we changed location and went to the sun bears sanctuary (just across the road) where we could see some of the smallest bears in the world and we furthermore saw 2 more Orang Utans with a bad mood there, so we had to run quickly to be in a save distance from them (but most of the other tourists rather try to take pictures instead of moving away when a Orang Utan shows up and the guard shouts: "Run! Run! Run!"). We also attended the afternoon feeding (with less tourists and less Orang Utans) before going back to town.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eu2rW6v6slE/VAvrp3wk4OI/AAAAAAAAHME/GM8OwhfSlBA/s1600/IMG_1433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eu2rW6v6slE/VAvrp3wk4OI/AAAAAAAAHME/GM8OwhfSlBA/s1600/IMG_1433.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orang Utan at feeding place</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VAY1pBfEA8w/VAvrTiqxOCI/AAAAAAAAHKY/zaEmuZ8-mnY/s1600/IMG_1490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VAY1pBfEA8w/VAvrTiqxOCI/AAAAAAAAHKY/zaEmuZ8-mnY/s1600/IMG_1490.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy with bananas</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sxyXiT_1C-0/VAvqvCAlM3I/AAAAAAAAHIM/6A573Z1zRo4/s1600/IMG_1659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sxyXiT_1C-0/VAvqvCAlM3I/AAAAAAAAHIM/6A573Z1zRo4/s1600/IMG_1659.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afternoon feeding</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JrwcbBb_vaM/VAvrWq0WUyI/AAAAAAAAHKk/p0RXVRGFx3s/s1600/IMG_1588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JrwcbBb_vaM/VAvrWq0WUyI/AAAAAAAAHKk/p0RXVRGFx3s/s1600/IMG_1588.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sun bear</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JhtcXmnDyP8/VAvrXsxFjeI/AAAAAAAAHK0/DKJ302MTexM/s1600/IMG_1593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JhtcXmnDyP8/VAvrXsxFjeI/AAAAAAAAHK0/DKJ302MTexM/s1600/IMG_1593.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sun bear</td></tr>
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Besides the Orang Utans, there is a second type of monkeys there, the Proboscis Monkey, which you can recognize easily: they have a big nose (the alpha males at least!). It's nice and funny to see them (they look really special), but sad to know that they only live there since all the rain forest around has been chopped down for palm oil trees; so the small part that is still there is there only refuge. In comparison to the Orang Utans, they are much more "civilized" since they finish all the food that is given to them whereas the Orang Utans are very selective on what they it (most of the food they just try and drop it after).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wdgwHst5a9M/VAvrNW6QkYI/AAAAAAAAHJw/25MibNAsxxs/s1600/IMG_1686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wdgwHst5a9M/VAvrNW6QkYI/AAAAAAAAHJw/25MibNAsxxs/s1600/IMG_1686.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big nose monkey</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5TYw-2nlEZM/VAvquslVBLI/AAAAAAAAHII/4RSGyH2qBJA/s1600/IMG_1739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5TYw-2nlEZM/VAvquslVBLI/AAAAAAAAHII/4RSGyH2qBJA/s1600/IMG_1739.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bachelor group of Proboscis monkeys</td></tr>
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After the 2 monkey stops, we changed our location to a small island close to the Philippine border where they raise sea turtles. To get a room there its a bit difficult: if you call the owner, they tell you it's fully booked but you can try to call a travel agency they may have some beds left and yes, they did! So we got picked up in the morning and a fast boat drove us to the island. In the afternoon, there is not much to do but only relax and sleep since the action is in the evening when the turtles arrive on the island. At 9 p.m we were called to visit a turtle that was just about to lay eggs. It was nice to see this, (but too many tourists were around) and it was very special moment when they released some small, just hatched turtles into the sea. Furthermore, our guide told us to get up early next morning so we may see another turtle nesting on the island and we were actually lucky so we saw another one (you are not allowed on the beach between 6 pm and 6 am and there is military police and rangers patrolling). So we had seen 2 turtles and many small ones and we were brought back to Sandakan.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nKYx1Q-i3-0/VAvrlw2bJdI/AAAAAAAAHLs/jPUXkBjDl7k/s1600/IMG_1376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nKYx1Q-i3-0/VAvrlw2bJdI/AAAAAAAAHLs/jPUXkBjDl7k/s1600/IMG_1376.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turtle island</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m5P2WCLFNjw/VAvrMu-1yvI/AAAAAAAAHJ0/KG8XigdFjek/s1600/IMG_1846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m5P2WCLFNjw/VAvrMu-1yvI/AAAAAAAAHJ0/KG8XigdFjek/s1600/IMG_1846.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hatching turtles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lzQjmrexeLY/VAvq4UHNOJI/AAAAAAAAHIs/g2u_P-EX4EI/s1600/IMG_1385%2B(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lzQjmrexeLY/VAvq4UHNOJI/AAAAAAAAHIs/g2u_P-EX4EI/s1600/IMG_1385%2B%281%29.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turtle in the morning</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WHSO5FMK_WU/VAvrS4guldI/AAAAAAAAHKQ/oSo9Ybi7tFk/s1600/IMG_1830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WHSO5FMK_WU/VAvrS4guldI/AAAAAAAAHKQ/oSo9Ybi7tFk/s1600/IMG_1830.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water village at Sandakan</td></tr>
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The same day, we left for Kinabatangan River which is one area that has not been transformed to palm oil plantations. On the way, you just see palm oil trees but once we arrived, it's different, with rain forest and a lot of animals. The best thing in such surroundings is the river cruises were we could see lot's of different birds (especially horn bills with they remarkably large beak) one wild Orang Utans, many proboscis monkeys and the ubiquitous Macaque monkeys.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K2NAQSFeKmk/VAvrhSZaQiI/AAAAAAAAHLc/1BJE1LRf500/s1600/IMG_1979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K2NAQSFeKmk/VAvrhSZaQiI/AAAAAAAAHLc/1BJE1LRf500/s1600/IMG_1979.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proboscis Monkey</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t2I1bXYQDj8/VAvrdKoWFXI/AAAAAAAAHLI/tVIGE7GyB6Y/s1600/IMG_2013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t2I1bXYQDj8/VAvrdKoWFXI/AAAAAAAAHLI/tVIGE7GyB6Y/s1600/IMG_2013.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New born baby</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e723Al_UgzA/VAvrgG5sndI/AAAAAAAAHLU/Zhn6yiUJwY8/s1600/IMG_2081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e723Al_UgzA/VAvrgG5sndI/AAAAAAAAHLU/Zhn6yiUJwY8/s1600/IMG_2081.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horn bill</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t6t_OT4mJvs/VAvqyuWgGcI/AAAAAAAAHIc/-8eR3e5tBcw/s1600/IMG_2099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t6t_OT4mJvs/VAvqyuWgGcI/AAAAAAAAHIc/-8eR3e5tBcw/s1600/IMG_2099.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macaque Monkey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Besides those animals, there were lizards and snakes and we also saw a small crocodile in the evening. So the river cruises were very nice, the jungle walks were rather disappointing since you don't see many animals there (except for leeches!) so after two nights, we left the lodge.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fuO5ohbf9Qk/VAvrjsurQPI/AAAAAAAAHLk/W7iQx7fPFUk/s1600/IMG_2059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fuO5ohbf9Qk/VAvrjsurQPI/AAAAAAAAHLk/W7iQx7fPFUk/s1600/IMG_2059.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lizard</td></tr>
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In Sandakan, we saw an offer to climb Mt. Kinabalu for "only" 200 USD plus some nights staying with "Jungle Jack" so we took the opportunity and went straight to him. It's a strange place up in the mountain, build with shipping containers, very cheap beer (1 USD per can) free food and the cheapest climbing permit by far! How does it work? He does book you a bed in the mountain lodge, but not food and he tells you just to go to the buffet and eat there "for free" and it actually works! :-)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tgzPcaXfqFQ/VAvrndDg4oI/AAAAAAAAHL8/xYiaAdF2Kcc/s1600/IMG_2133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tgzPcaXfqFQ/VAvrndDg4oI/AAAAAAAAHL8/xYiaAdF2Kcc/s1600/IMG_2133.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View to the mountain</td></tr>
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So the first day, it's 6 km climbing quite steep uphill (1'500 m) followed by a short night and an early wake up. After "free" supper at 2.30 in the morning everybody starts to climb to the summit (and there is PLENTY of people doing this!) so you wait at various places until you can pass the very slow ones and finally, you reach the summit just before sunrise. It's a strange summit, firstly because there is a lot of people on it, trying to get a summit picture and secondly the surrounding is very special, it like one big rock with no vegetation at all.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ypuwXqgwZuc/VAvyicHy_cI/AAAAAAAAHMM/tKEZSlHZH6w/s1600/mt_kinabalu_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ypuwXqgwZuc/VAvyicHy_cI/AAAAAAAAHMM/tKEZSlHZH6w/s1600/mt_kinabalu_01.jpg" height="112" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit sunrise</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TrBjlo_7oHw/VAvrmcwT81I/AAAAAAAAHL4/9bgzlM04Jss/s1600/IMG_2165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TrBjlo_7oHw/VAvrmcwT81I/AAAAAAAAHL4/9bgzlM04Jss/s1600/IMG_2165.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit picture</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k8m3h0whwag/VAvqyGdAXJI/AAAAAAAAHIY/h3YQhltO5rs/s1600/IMG_2137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k8m3h0whwag/VAvqyGdAXJI/AAAAAAAAHIY/h3YQhltO5rs/s1600/IMG_2137.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The summit...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-elEn8VBudok/VAvrYMG_LqI/AAAAAAAAHKw/mglZE3EUFmw/s1600/mt_kinabalu_03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-elEn8VBudok/VAvrYMG_LqI/AAAAAAAAHKw/mglZE3EUFmw/s1600/mt_kinabalu_03.JPG" height="192" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from summit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The summit is on 4'095 m above sea level and therefore it's pretty cold and quite high since you start on 1'700 m. As usually, some of the people walk just to fast and end up with severe headache (typically altitude sickness) so we distributed a lot of our Aspirin on the mountain to ease their problems. On the way down we also met some of the guys we met before so it took us a while to get down since we stopped quite often, talked, distributed some more Aspirin and finally, we reached Jungle Jack's again.<br />
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We could have staid another night but we had fight next day, so we were looking for some transport down to KK and luckily, a guy with a big car just gave us a lift down to KK for free :-) very nice chap!<br />
Our next stop was Penang / George town on the west cost of Malaysia, so we had a flight with AirAsia. The bording was a bit special since it was raining when we had to board the plane and they didn't use finger docks, so you get an umbrella and walk to the plane :-) quite funny!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-smNj4GopSg0/VAvrFvWM_pI/AAAAAAAAHJM/BRSP2HKtDpI/s1600/IMG_1387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-smNj4GopSg0/VAvrFvWM_pI/AAAAAAAAHJM/BRSP2HKtDpI/s1600/IMG_1387.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boarding AirAsia flight</td></tr>
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We stayed two days in Penang, so we had time to visit the historic centre of George town itself, with it's markets, shops, restaurants etc. and one day we took the cable car up to Penang hill (we could still feel climbing Kinabalu Mountain in our legs) which offers a view over the city and has some temples on top of it, and we spent some time in a big Chinese temple close to Penang hill. The temple is not old, it was rather built by rich Chinese and they are still expanding it!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9BS4PzqZq_k/VAvrGuc7UjI/AAAAAAAAHJU/wjXlVe4RATM/s1600/IMG_2179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9BS4PzqZq_k/VAvrGuc7UjI/AAAAAAAAHJU/wjXlVe4RATM/s1600/IMG_2179.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church in Penang</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KbJIlYO5scI/VAvrQ1zqwVI/AAAAAAAAHKE/oqp7yLbNYYg/s1600/IMG_2184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KbJIlYO5scI/VAvrQ1zqwVI/AAAAAAAAHKE/oqp7yLbNYYg/s1600/IMG_2184.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clock tower in Penang</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t6fjOfN_W50/VAvrQPsAWSI/AAAAAAAAHKA/oXfGCUruHig/s1600/IMG_2190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t6fjOfN_W50/VAvrQPsAWSI/AAAAAAAAHKA/oXfGCUruHig/s1600/IMG_2190.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hindu temple on Penang hill</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UBmG7UHpSD0/VAvratq_2NI/AAAAAAAAHK8/93zxDSXU7Uc/s1600/IMG_2197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UBmG7UHpSD0/VAvratq_2NI/AAAAAAAAHK8/93zxDSXU7Uc/s1600/IMG_2197.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JMXYCNReRdg/VAvrJSQ8BeI/AAAAAAAAHJc/PZSSz5c3d9Y/s1600/IMG_2203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JMXYCNReRdg/VAvrJSQ8BeI/AAAAAAAAHJc/PZSSz5c3d9Y/s1600/IMG_2203.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the temple</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IPXwbel_AR8/VAvq2uWBayI/AAAAAAAAHIk/lKKFZIKWHKA/s1600/tempel_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IPXwbel_AR8/VAvq2uWBayI/AAAAAAAAHIk/lKKFZIKWHKA/s1600/tempel_01.JPG" height="186" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temple inside</td></tr>
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After Penang, we left for some day of beach (and duty free) to Langkawi. We had booked a room, but the directions were completely wrong, so we could not find it and we stayed in a different place. We thought it's going to be difficult to find a room for the week and as it was a long week end, but it was luckily no problem to get one.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-htKm4rWHYX0/VAvq6yYIH9I/AAAAAAAAHI0/UXLcbMg_VhU/s1600/IMG_1391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-htKm4rWHYX0/VAvq6yYIH9I/AAAAAAAAHI0/UXLcbMg_VhU/s1600/IMG_1391.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach (after they cleaned up)!</td></tr>
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After 3 days beach, we wanted to leave again, but instead of leaving, we were asked if we want to participate in a Bollywood movie (Roy). They told us: 200 RM for 5-6 hours shooting (well, they did lie on that...) + free accommodation. So we agreed, moved our hostel and were ready next day. After 2 hours of waiting to be picked up, we were driven to a golf resort where the shooting took place. Firstly, the guys were angry since we did not bring any shirts, long pants or high heels (well, nobody told us to do so) then we got somehow dressed, we did our own "make up" since they did not have any an then we started shooting the scene. After about 6 hours we were told that there is another scene to shoot but we first had dinner, followed by a long discussion about our wage (we finally got a bit of a raise) and we continued shooting until 6 am... (18 hours) for 400 RM per person. So it was definitely an experience but we would not do it again since they did not tell us the truth about the expected shooting time and salary. But we had some fun with the other western guys doing the shooting (e.g. with a Scottish couple who complained as well) and with one of the real actors (Valentine Cawley) who was fun to talk to as well!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5V27_CagUjY/VAvrK8yBdlI/AAAAAAAAHJk/IAV1d4ciIZ0/s1600/IMG_1398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5V27_CagUjY/VAvrK8yBdlI/AAAAAAAAHJk/IAV1d4ciIZ0/s1600/IMG_1398.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shooting the auction scene</td></tr>
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Now, after some more days of beach we finally arranged our night bus to Perhentian Island (there is only night buses from here) for some more beach and snorkelling, before we go back to KL (cheap 25 USD flight per Person with Malaysia Airlines!) and before we go to Myanmar. Depending on the connectivity in Myanmar, we will try to do an update there as well.Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com1Kampung Lubok Buaya, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia6.2831357331207123 99.7296810150146486.2752442331207119 99.719596015014645 6.2910272331207127 99.739766015014652tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-48412628968844207482014-08-14T11:36:00.000+02:002014-11-13T16:07:16.106+01:00Welcome to Dryland!No, it's not Dryland from the bad movie, it's the 'dry' country Brunei. This means: strictly NO alcohol in restaurants, shops, hotels or somewhere else in the country! (therefore 'dry' but it still rains!)<br />
<br />
With the afternoon flight, we left Bali and arrived in Makassar on Sulawesi in the evening, and leaving the airport feels like being a rock-star! As soon as you get out of the arrival hall, there is a rumour and noise as if someone important is around, but after a few seconds you notice, that it's the taxi drivers calling for you to take their taxi! They are all lined up in small stalls and everyone wants to sell you the ticket to get to the city centre.... It's not a long ride and we were glad that we found a very nice hotel in the centre.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x8BUBCX4P1Y/VGTGnQSGgSI/AAAAAAAAHts/vgIWuF9mWSI/s1600/IMG_1189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x8BUBCX4P1Y/VGTGnQSGgSI/AAAAAAAAHts/vgIWuF9mWSI/s320/IMG_1189.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Makassar harbour front</td></tr>
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Makassar itself has not too many things to visit; there is a colonial fort which includes a museum as well; the harbour area is quite pretty and there is some parks, but all in all nothing spectacular during the day, but for dinner, they have some interesting stalls where you choose your fresh fish which is served with rice (as usual) and with some very tasty sauces! Good and not expensive! But since we wanted to reach the Togean Islands, we had to leave early to make it to our morning flight to Poso (with Wings Air) which is a very small airport in the centre of Sulawesi. Once landed, we tried to find a car to the city or direct to Ampana, but there was just one guy offering transport from Poso "airport" so he could make the prices! Luckily, there was a French couple which had the same plan so we could share the (overpriced) ride to Ampana. The road is very curvy all the way, so it took us about 5 hours to finally reach Ampana (including 45 minutes to change a flat tire) where we had to stay one night to get to the ferry next morning. Ampana is nothing special but the hotel we stayed was reasonably good and we noticed, that we were not the only one having the same plan to "sit out" the end of ramadan (Idul Fitri) on the islands. Together with quite some other tourists we left on a fairly overloaded ferry the port of Ampana. According to the information we had, we should arrive in Malenge around 18.00 in the evening; but nobody told us that there is a slower ferry and a faster ferry (actually, they told us that the faster one is already full) so it took us about 11 hours to arrive in Malenge (at 20.00). And since it was dark and late, no resort was there with a boat to pick us up; so we could have stayed at a losemen (a homestay) but we were lucky that another couple had booked a resort and they were able to organize a small (very small) boat which took us to the Sifa Cottages resort. So we took the opportunity and hopped on and drove through the dark night for one hour to finally arrive there. One very interesting thing was, that there is plankton in the water that starts to shine as soon as it moves, so it looked pretty amazing on the dark boat with the glowing points in the water and finally, around 22.00 we arrived in the resort.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QVl-TxJzAq8/VGTG73wMMYI/AAAAAAAAHt0/TSrCy_4eKHE/s1600/IMG_1204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QVl-TxJzAq8/VGTG73wMMYI/AAAAAAAAHt0/TSrCy_4eKHE/s320/IMG_1204.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat on the river</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7clpCaNHGbw/VGTHB7F88vI/AAAAAAAAHt8/zTSmr2S5VXM/s1600/IMG_1209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7clpCaNHGbw/VGTHB7F88vI/AAAAAAAAHt8/zTSmr2S5VXM/s320/IMG_1209.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loading the Ferry</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LHNZQoQBoTM/VGTHJHRgpWI/AAAAAAAAHuE/YZiq0qkru0Y/s1600/IMG_1291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LHNZQoQBoTM/VGTHJHRgpWI/AAAAAAAAHuE/YZiq0qkru0Y/s320/IMG_1291.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our ressort</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The cottages are located on a lone beach on an island and there is not much options to do. You can do snorkelling / diving, you can relax at the beach and you can read books but not much more. The cottages are pretty basic as well (bamboo cottages, 1 bed, 1 mosquito net) but sufficient and there is full board (you get a LOT of grilled fish every day! So after a while you get really keen on something differently!), so you get up, eat breakfast, go to the beach, have lunch, go back to the beach, wait for dinner, have dinner and a beer and finally go to bed :-) . So this is how we spent an entire week on this small isolated island; To be fair, one has to say that during the two days of Idul fitri, there is no ferry at all and therefore, you can not leave the islands... The stay was nice but after we left the island, we noticed that somebody must have gotten into our room because we were missing about 100 USD ... :-(<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nrl9GPtgVlo/VGTIB-pVhzI/AAAAAAAAHug/zyFT_AAyjog/s1600/island_09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nrl9GPtgVlo/VGTIB-pVhzI/AAAAAAAAHug/zyFT_AAyjog/s320/island_09.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9YjDLIKX5u8/VGTHxLEKNeI/AAAAAAAAHuQ/oBr2GcQW65k/s1600/IMG_1240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9YjDLIKX5u8/VGTHxLEKNeI/AAAAAAAAHuQ/oBr2GcQW65k/s320/IMG_1240.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our View</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4-0LPHwkvQU/VGTHxA5U67I/AAAAAAAAHuU/1D06rpXzGUY/s1600/IMG_1263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4-0LPHwkvQU/VGTHxA5U67I/AAAAAAAAHuU/1D06rpXzGUY/s320/IMG_1263.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Sunset</td></tr>
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As we left, we took the morning ferry which crosses to the northern part of Sulawesi, where we had to change for a Bemo (a local bus). Normally, there is quite a few people offering taxi services to Gorontola, but this time, all cars were already full (all locals travel around end of ramadan) so we had to squeeze in with some others in a blue Bemo. The 5 hour ride to Gorontola was ok and we were lucky to get a room in a hotel in the centre. Gorontola is not very nice (at least not the parts we have seen) so we did not bother to stay long there but rather left next morning. Unfortunately, the "taxi" service that we booked the evening before had some difficulties to find enough cars so we had to wait about 3 hours until we could leave Gorontola, squeezed 6 people into a small car (and what a surprise: all travellers do have luggage! The taxi drivers always looked very surprised) and the ride takes about 10 hours to get there... but finally, we arrived in Manado, in the very north of Sulawesi.<br />
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So what can you do in Manado? Well, there is another island (Pulau Bunaken) which is known for it diving and snorkelling activities, but in Manado itself, there is not much to see or to do. But since we had to relax one day, after the 2 days of travelling, we stayed two nights before we took the public boat crossing to Bunaken. The annoying thing in Manado is the fact, that people stare at you all the time and lot's of people are calling "hey Mister, where do you go" so you feel quite exposed there...<br />
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Pulau Bunaken is small and we could stay in a lovely resort for 3 nights, doing the same as on Togian islands (snorkelling, reading, eating, enjoying the sun) and after this, we had our last inland flight back to Bali (always good for a beer for sunset!) before we left Indonesia with the Royal Brunei Airline.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eJOU-VY9vHA/VGTIPmWhAjI/AAAAAAAAHuo/9Zt9x8tnt4k/s1600/IMG_1323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eJOU-VY9vHA/VGTIPmWhAjI/AAAAAAAAHuo/9Zt9x8tnt4k/s320/IMG_1323.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beer time in Bali</td></tr>
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Once we landed in Brunei, we had a look at the capital (Bandar Seri Begawan, BSB) and we noticed, that there will be the birthday celebration of the Sultan in just 2 days time. So we decided to stay a little bit longer in Brunei than expected. In BSB everything was getting ready for the birthday celebration (his 68 birthday was during ramadan, so he postponed the celebration) so they put up all the flags and lights and it's impossible not to notice that he is the king of this land. There is just a few sights in BSB itself, one is the "water village" which are built in the river and about 30'000 people live there, another one is the huge mosque in the centre of town which you can visit as well, but you have to put up an appropriate dress...<br />
We furthermore booked a day trip to the rain forest where we could see some monkeys and some horn bills and we even got a free "fish spa treatement" at a waterfall in the forest...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-srdNTuJn7Co/VGTIYVr8L9I/AAAAAAAAHvI/yLBqvPs121c/s1600/IMG_1305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-srdNTuJn7Co/VGTIYVr8L9I/AAAAAAAAHvI/yLBqvPs121c/s320/IMG_1305.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting the main mosque in BSB</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M2dBb0nK1H0/VGTIYaHF-NI/AAAAAAAAHu0/IHABXQjkOxA/s1600/mosche_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M2dBb0nK1H0/VGTIYaHF-NI/AAAAAAAAHu0/IHABXQjkOxA/s320/mosche_03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main mosque in BSB</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jR0XOq9D0JQ/VGTIZIsyz1I/AAAAAAAAHu4/FkUluE_5frM/s1600/mosche_04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jR0XOq9D0JQ/VGTIZIsyz1I/AAAAAAAAHu4/FkUluE_5frM/s320/mosche_04.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main mosque in BSB</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5sFYtKDsvOo/VGTIYVyiN5I/AAAAAAAAHuw/g--FRBi_lpw/s1600/IMG_1311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5sFYtKDsvOo/VGTIYVyiN5I/AAAAAAAAHuw/g--FRBi_lpw/s320/IMG_1311.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting the main mosque in BSB</td></tr>
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And today, the celebration of the sultan's 68th birthday took place, so there was a lot of police around (mostly guarding the cars of the important people). It was actually smaller than we expected, they basically drove to the stadium in the city, had a military parade including helicopters and after one hour, the sultan left again (he's the last to arrive but the first to leave :-) ) and then it was all over :-)<br />
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So tomorrow, we drive further north to Malaysia and see what happens there!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sMe_POMKQUA/VGTIwxgB_pI/AAAAAAAAHvQ/EwfxjWhSMU8/s1600/IMG_1346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sMe_POMKQUA/VGTIwxgB_pI/AAAAAAAAHvQ/EwfxjWhSMU8/s320/IMG_1346.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BSB mosque</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YCsbUKXy6Ps/VGTIw_3mSjI/AAAAAAAAHvY/YWQGToYTWXw/s1600/IMG_1354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YCsbUKXy6Ps/VGTIw_3mSjI/AAAAAAAAHvY/YWQGToYTWXw/s320/IMG_1354.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BSB mosque</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sf03yxlH-M0/VGTIxFPGsXI/AAAAAAAAHvU/BXk0ZgydIgw/s1600/IMG_1356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sf03yxlH-M0/VGTIxFPGsXI/AAAAAAAAHvU/BXk0ZgydIgw/s320/IMG_1356.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bush walk in BSB</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LpcoLWtiHVk/VGTIyFfXuQI/AAAAAAAAHvg/vLIZNTRsZyI/s1600/IMG_1357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LpcoLWtiHVk/VGTIyFfXuQI/AAAAAAAAHvg/vLIZNTRsZyI/s320/IMG_1357.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View in BSB</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1zbGq0IcFmU/VGTIx9sbkpI/AAAAAAAAHvw/aBokpmgnliA/s1600/IMG_1370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1zbGq0IcFmU/VGTIx9sbkpI/AAAAAAAAHvw/aBokpmgnliA/s320/IMG_1370.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the sultan himself</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbcIuUqm19E/VGTIyG3dhdI/AAAAAAAAHvk/FEH4fqYolXo/s1600/IMG_1388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbcIuUqm19E/VGTIyG3dhdI/AAAAAAAAHvk/FEH4fqYolXo/s320/IMG_1388.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BSB stadion for sultan's birthday</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G1c6H8Dda40/VGTIy9CvOqI/AAAAAAAAHv0/UAgdaOvS1oE/s1600/P1010951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G1c6H8Dda40/VGTIy9CvOqI/AAAAAAAAHv0/UAgdaOvS1oE/s320/P1010951.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing in the fish spa</td></tr>
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<br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com1Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam4.890278 114.942222000000024.763714 114.78086050000002 5.0168420000000005 115.10358350000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-80544500792869858182014-07-24T16:32:00.000+02:002014-07-24T16:32:15.159+02:00Bali and LombokAfter the stay in Bali and our trip to Lombok, we have now reached Sulawesi so we do our update from Makassar.<br />
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The first thing you notice in Bali is the temples and statues on this island. Basically every second building is a temple (or at least looks like one) and there is hundreds of statues beside the road, guarding bridges or temples. Before we left the bus station, the driver had to get the blessings from one of the Hindu gods (so we stopped quickly for this) and it worked: we did not have any accident on the road, so we reached the tourist town of Seminyak in the south of Bali. The first people you meet there are "ripping off" taxi drivers that want you to take an overpriced taxi and after we finally reached our hotel, we were shocked about the masses of tourists there! Well, actually this place is crowded with Australians and French speakers and the locals you meet are asking: "Massage?" followed by "Transport?" or "Taxiii?" :-) so a happy place! But since the Indonesian Government only grants you a 30 day stay with the Visa on Arrival, you have to extend your Visa somewhere and Seminyak is a place with lot's of tourists and therefore with lots of agencies doing this hassle (you would have to go at least 3 times to the immigration office in Denpasar to do this or just pay somebody else to do it!) so we handed over our passports and hoped that we will receive them back :-)<br />
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But the south of Bali has more to offer than a beach (although its a looong beach down to the airport) so we rented a scooter to visit the Bukit peninsula with it's fish market in Jimbaran (very interesting) had lunch in a seafood restaurant on the beach there, drove further south to a temple (Pura Luhur Ulu Watu) with some monkeys close to a cliff and we finally experienced the funny traffic jam close to the airport around 5 in the afternoon (everyone is just pushing into the round about but it actually works pretty well)! The traffic jam is not a big surprise, given the thousands of tourists in this area, renting motor bikes and given the locals also driving their motor bikes at the same time, so you could call it quite "busy" .... :-) And finally, we headed down to the beach where we enjoyed a cool Bintang (Beer) at the beach while watching the sun set on Bali! Nice day!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IcVXkcu7I0c/U9ERu35ScpI/AAAAAAAAGrQ/gg56oba_do8/s1600/IMG_0851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IcVXkcu7I0c/U9ERu35ScpI/AAAAAAAAGrQ/gg56oba_do8/s1600/IMG_0851.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh fish at the market</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zlxVchyotKQ/U9ERt7FQllI/AAAAAAAAGrI/Mb3pyuVOmAQ/s1600/IMG_0853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zlxVchyotKQ/U9ERt7FQllI/AAAAAAAAGrI/Mb3pyuVOmAQ/s1600/IMG_0853.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaning the beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mn84w-nLx5A/U9ERwdb9rRI/AAAAAAAAGrg/s59NoDXqujU/s1600/IMG_0889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mn84w-nLx5A/U9ERwdb9rRI/AAAAAAAAGrg/s59NoDXqujU/s1600/IMG_0889.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkeys at the temple</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VEzbxuzfrNs/U9ERwHbKfFI/AAAAAAAAGrc/N74a71RUy9c/s1600/IMG_0872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VEzbxuzfrNs/U9ERwHbKfFI/AAAAAAAAGrc/N74a71RUy9c/s1600/IMG_0872.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guard statue</td></tr>
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Besides this area, you can visit some more sites in Bali, so we went to Ubud (the cultural centre of the island) where you also have quite some tourists. In Ubud, we firstly visited the "dangerous" monkey forest, which we survived without being bitten! I think not all tourists can tell this from themselves ;-) ! The monkeys are very funny and cute and they know when someone is hiding a banana or other food, so the start jumping on those peoples and all others start to take pictures of it :-) and the statues in the park are interesting as well...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-idO2QkemjLw/U9ERz5N7pDI/AAAAAAAAGr8/1iwcW6Kt46I/s1600/IMG_0949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-idO2QkemjLw/U9ERz5N7pDI/AAAAAAAAGr8/1iwcW6Kt46I/s1600/IMG_0949.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkey forest</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ubJE3GZLsoE/U9ERz4tzlwI/AAAAAAAAGsA/SBzQadakKRA/s1600/IMG_0970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ubJE3GZLsoE/U9ERz4tzlwI/AAAAAAAAGsA/SBzQadakKRA/s1600/IMG_0970.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkeys at monkey forest</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hWWQIgoiLMc/U9ERypWqMFI/AAAAAAAAGrw/zOJDq7NLMv8/s1600/IMG_0942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hWWQIgoiLMc/U9ERypWqMFI/AAAAAAAAGrw/zOJDq7NLMv8/s1600/IMG_0942.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Park statue</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Add-lJVZQ5Q/U9ESBO8kWCI/AAAAAAAAGuM/iaBXFcPbfcQ/s1600/IMG_1235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Add-lJVZQ5Q/U9ESBO8kWCI/AAAAAAAAGuM/iaBXFcPbfcQ/s1600/IMG_1235.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkey with ice cream</td></tr>
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We stayed 3 nights in Ubud and the food there was really good, especially the "speciality" called "Bebek Betutu" which is a slowly roasted duck in banana leaves! Awesome! And since we were lucky with the scooter in Seminyak, we rented another one to drive up to the temples in the north and to the rice terraces close to Ubud. The temples are fairly nice to see: the first one (Goa Gajah) is a cave with a spectacular entrance and some more temples surrounding it; the second one we visited was Tirta Empul where the Hindus take a bath in the holy water and wash away their sins (incl. some tourists also taking the bath there) and the last one was Gunung Kawi which you reach after climbing down some hundreds of steps, passing the souvenier stalls to finally reach the rock-cut shrines at the bottom of the valley, close to the river.<br />
We continued our little trip, passed some villages, got a bottle of fuel and finally ended up at the world famous rice terraces close to Ubud. You can hardly miss them since ALL tourist cars stop there and therefore you see the big jam of cars immediately! But nevertheless a nice view is granted once you see the terraces.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iKZDG2XkPeo/U9ER1VlNcaI/AAAAAAAAGsI/6HeTlfgC5jY/s1600/IMG_1002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iKZDG2XkPeo/U9ER1VlNcaI/AAAAAAAAGsI/6HeTlfgC5jY/s1600/IMG_1002.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rice terraces close to Munduk</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kvNHy56su64/U9ER6PyQNDI/AAAAAAAAGsg/hm3f0wbqzsQ/s1600/IMG_1029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kvNHy56su64/U9ER6PyQNDI/AAAAAAAAGsg/hm3f0wbqzsQ/s1600/IMG_1029.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cave entrance</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HwkzsqtmROs/U9ER9Wp0AGI/AAAAAAAAGtE/1wLkZN_JaXY/s1600/IMG_1054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HwkzsqtmROs/U9ER9Wp0AGI/AAAAAAAAGtE/1wLkZN_JaXY/s1600/IMG_1054.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gunung Kawi</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LIhXXLocM-Y/U9ER95N8d8I/AAAAAAAAGtM/3zk8JL0wUHY/s1600/IMG_1058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LIhXXLocM-Y/U9ER95N8d8I/AAAAAAAAGtM/3zk8JL0wUHY/s1600/IMG_1058.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gunung Kawi dragon</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_8sFLRDvzJ8/U9ER8fQVGKI/AAAAAAAAGs4/x_klwLi_en0/s1600/IMG_1042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_8sFLRDvzJ8/U9ER8fQVGKI/AAAAAAAAGs4/x_klwLi_en0/s1600/IMG_1042.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tirta Empul</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oa_93me1XJw/U9ER-AzsjyI/AAAAAAAAGtU/jd-fUQ6jsBE/s1600/IMG_1081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oa_93me1XJw/U9ER-AzsjyI/AAAAAAAAGtU/jd-fUQ6jsBE/s1600/IMG_1081.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Other rice terraces</td></tr>
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After Ubud, we continued the journey into the centre of Bali, where the mountains are, so we went to Munduk. This is a small town in the hills of Bali, surrounded by rice terraces and waterfalls. There are a lot of turns to take until you reach it, and you pass one of the most famous temples of Bali as well, which is situated close to a lake. Once we arrived, we did the check in and had a look around Munduk (very small). Next day, we wanted to do some short hikes and the weather actually shortened them even more! After we reached the first waterfall, it started to rain, so we had to head back to our hostel... but the rain did not stop anymore this day. Since the weather was still not as great as expected, we rented a motor bike and went north to the coast where the sun was shining and where we spent the day driving through remote villages until we reached the sea, had a wonderful lunch before we took another road back, passing the Sanak Retreat Resort (which is very nice and meets European Standards). One of the very interesting things in this area is the growing of cloves (Nelken) which smell very intensively!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7MuigLeS9FY/U9ER_RwyQcI/AAAAAAAAGtw/eGgaWtBLzMs/s1600/IMG_1088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7MuigLeS9FY/U9ER_RwyQcI/AAAAAAAAGtw/eGgaWtBLzMs/s1600/IMG_1088.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterfall at Munduk</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-inWQfpk-Fzk/U9ESEWSodJI/AAAAAAAAGu4/a8SJUUsfBCE/s1600/munduk_view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-inWQfpk-Fzk/U9ESEWSodJI/AAAAAAAAGu4/a8SJUUsfBCE/s1600/munduk_view.jpg" height="189" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Munduk</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EYt9giTPLiA/U9ESDBwSRsI/AAAAAAAAGus/uUblr_EIVRY/s1600/costal_view_north.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EYt9giTPLiA/U9ESDBwSRsI/AAAAAAAAGus/uUblr_EIVRY/s1600/costal_view_north.jpg" height="163" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea side lunch view</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O6fheX2s38Y/U9ER_Vq4-LI/AAAAAAAAGtg/cer60MzhGoQ/s1600/IMG_1115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O6fheX2s38Y/U9ER_Vq4-LI/AAAAAAAAGtg/cer60MzhGoQ/s1600/IMG_1115.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cloves drying</td></tr>
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From Munduk we wanted to go to Lombok but before we took the public ferry, we stopped with our private transport at the Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, the water temple which is on the 50'000 bill and since it was early in the morning (08.00) there were literally NO other tourists! Great!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D_BYnDuJKb0/U9ESAXbmTvI/AAAAAAAAGt0/Pp6zBjqKegI/s1600/IMG_1172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D_BYnDuJKb0/U9ESAXbmTvI/AAAAAAAAGt0/Pp6zBjqKegI/s1600/IMG_1172.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pura Ulu Danu Bratan</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LaKHXZV1qek/U9ESE6O_dYI/AAAAAAAAGvA/jLFmbGerjN4/s1600/pura_ulun_tempel_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LaKHXZV1qek/U9ESE6O_dYI/AAAAAAAAGvA/jLFmbGerjN4/s1600/pura_ulun_tempel_02.jpg" height="163" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pura Ulu Danu Bratan</td></tr>
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So we drove down to Padangbai to cross the ocean and arrive in Lombok. On the ride, we met 3 French guys which was good since we could share a taxi to Sengiggi; We also met a "tourist guide" which hopped into the car as well and started talking if we want to do a tour to Ringani and when we would like to start... he has a tourist agency which is organizing the tour and furthermore he has a hotel so we could stay there etc, etc,... this for about 2 hours until the french ones accepted his offer; we didn't! This was actually so annoying and the weather did not look very promising for great views, so we decided to not climb Ringani but rather spend some days in the south of Lombok (Kuta Lombok) at the beach. So after a day at the Sengiggi beach, we changed our location and found (luckily) a great new resort that just opened its doors, run by 2 Scottish guys setting up everything. And since it was a "soft opening" the price was reasonable as well :-)<br />
There is not much to see in Kuta Lombok itself except for splendid beaches in the surrounding. So, you rent another motor bike and drive around until you see a nice beach where you spend your time at! And sometimes you can even see some surfers trying to ride the waves there! Great fun! And the food there was quite good as well, so we enjoyed the time there (but since it was always beaches, we did not take many pictures there...).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dROxlO1-koY/U9ESAqwl9KI/AAAAAAAAGt4/6GSuy9usZeQ/s1600/IMG_1179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dROxlO1-koY/U9ESAqwl9KI/AAAAAAAAGt4/6GSuy9usZeQ/s1600/IMG_1179.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach 1</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7PgVB4l5Qik/U9ESBT4vGTI/AAAAAAAAGuE/l0asqhtS0GQ/s1600/IMG_1261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7PgVB4l5Qik/U9ESBT4vGTI/AAAAAAAAGuE/l0asqhtS0GQ/s1600/IMG_1261.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach 2</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HRGlzNiHMPg/U9ESD4JuIcI/AAAAAAAAGu8/r5F2sLiMCLY/s1600/kuta_lombok_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HRGlzNiHMPg/U9ESD4JuIcI/AAAAAAAAGu8/r5F2sLiMCLY/s1600/kuta_lombok_2.jpg" height="186" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach 3</td></tr>
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Last but not least, we had to go back to Seminyak to pick up our passports. So it was another day sitting in the bus or on the ferry, crossing back to Bali. The cultural shock was not as bad this time since we have been "acclimatized" now and our hotel was good as well. The only very annoying thing there is the taxi drivers which constantly try to rip you off; e.g. trying to charge a fix price which is 3 times higher than the normal price with meter! The standard answer is always: 10 USD! But sometimes you also meet nice drivers that switch on the meter immediately and explain, why they are taking a certain road :-)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1J7azpDri40/U9ESCkH4MUI/AAAAAAAAGuc/dFDpMGuuKkk/s1600/IMG_1289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1J7azpDri40/U9ESCkH4MUI/AAAAAAAAGuc/dFDpMGuuKkk/s1600/IMG_1289.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statue in Seminyak</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qm0qkWm5DZY/U9ESBwf_hHI/AAAAAAAAGuU/c55wB1olg7M/s1600/IMG_1286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qm0qkWm5DZY/U9ESBwf_hHI/AAAAAAAAGuU/c55wB1olg7M/s1600/IMG_1286.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petrol supply in Bali</td></tr>
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So after our flight to Sulawesi, we have 1 day in Makassar, before we fly to Poso and from there we try to reach the idyllic Togean Islands which are known for snorkelling and diving (and they are remote, so no cell phone connection, no internet, etc...). Therefore we will be off line for at least one week before we come back to the main land :-)<br />
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P.s. <a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togian-Inseln" target="_blank">This is Togean Islands</a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-behSuDdqCVs/U9ERttE7-LI/AAAAAAAAGrE/hDoPXoQ_bwg/s1600/IMG_0841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-behSuDdqCVs/U9ERttE7-LI/AAAAAAAAGrE/hDoPXoQ_bwg/s1600/IMG_0841.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimbaran beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SegNncw-Cwg/U9ERxeCLMGI/AAAAAAAAGro/nyWN0BQEJao/s1600/IMG_0894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SegNncw-Cwg/U9ERxeCLMGI/AAAAAAAAGro/nyWN0BQEJao/s1600/IMG_0894.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statue at temple</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c9QGO6ty2Rk/U9ER7Jl6_AI/AAAAAAAAGso/i2alQSlvRGc/s1600/IMG_1037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c9QGO6ty2Rk/U9ER7Jl6_AI/AAAAAAAAGso/i2alQSlvRGc/s1600/IMG_1037.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Offering at the temple</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z03otWgdXDE/U9ER8OIN7sI/AAAAAAAAGs0/NxCAp1jRAWs/s1600/IMG_1038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z03otWgdXDE/U9ER8OIN7sI/AAAAAAAAGs0/NxCAp1jRAWs/s1600/IMG_1038.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temple inside</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V_M5YwhbeJg/U9ER39el3gI/AAAAAAAAGsQ/b-fB6HxmnCE/s1600/IMG_1008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V_M5YwhbeJg/U9ER39el3gI/AAAAAAAAGsQ/b-fB6HxmnCE/s1600/IMG_1008.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rice terraces at Ubud</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l5nlwlTA_y8/U9ER40p-SXI/AAAAAAAAGsY/dgJjoBCNqtI/s1600/IMG_1017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l5nlwlTA_y8/U9ER40p-SXI/AAAAAAAAGsY/dgJjoBCNqtI/s1600/IMG_1017.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rice terraces at Ubud with ducks</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-03nJK8lUVSQ/U9ESD4OnbYI/AAAAAAAAGuw/i2F46AqTdpM/s1600/gunung_kawi_tempel_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-03nJK8lUVSQ/U9ESD4OnbYI/AAAAAAAAGuw/i2F46AqTdpM/s1600/gunung_kawi_tempel_01.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gunung Kawi</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TgDb5Dm7vI8/U9ER_gAsoBI/AAAAAAAAGts/eqmojUmF7NA/s1600/IMG_1122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TgDb5Dm7vI8/U9ER_gAsoBI/AAAAAAAAGts/eqmojUmF7NA/s1600/IMG_1122.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pura Ulu Danu Bratan</td></tr>
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Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-40210970101747059342014-07-14T02:20:00.001+02:002014-07-14T02:20:46.843+02:00Malaysia - Singapore - JavaThe world cup is over, ramadan has started and we've changed our location several times in between. We have arrived at Bali for the moment, where we are currently trying to extend our visa to 60 days (at the airport you only get 30 days) and we can do some blog update.<br />
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Kuala Lumpur is a "huge shopping mall city", so this definitely a highlight where you can get everything you need and much more you'll never need (there is one shopping mall which even has a fully grown roller-coaster inside!) and the other big thing is the Petronas Towers. It is amazing to see them during the day, but it's even better if you see them at night! The Petronas Twin Tower tour is ok, but rather expensive for just having a look around... Another place that can be visited is a bird park where you can watch a lot of birds from all over the world (including emu and ostrich from Australia) but no penguins (it's about 30 degrees here, so not a penguin climate).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mXb5XCEuyQ0/U8HtWcNbf1I/AAAAAAAAGbQ/_MdMpg3c494/s1600/IMG_9877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mXb5XCEuyQ0/U8HtWcNbf1I/AAAAAAAAGbQ/_MdMpg3c494/s1600/IMG_9877.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twin Towers</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0a5NSxZduY4/U8HtYqdK84I/AAAAAAAAGbg/H3PqxFtmTW8/s1600/IMG_9903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0a5NSxZduY4/U8HtYqdK84I/AAAAAAAAGbg/H3PqxFtmTW8/s1600/IMG_9903.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bird park</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0LGBzWfHFXs/U8HtnYtlfmI/AAAAAAAAGcs/l64149w15Ow/s1600/petronas_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0LGBzWfHFXs/U8HtnYtlfmI/AAAAAAAAGcs/l64149w15Ow/s1600/petronas_03.jpg" height="252" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twin towers @ night</td></tr>
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After some days in KL, we took a bus to the cosy town of Melakka (another shopping mall town) which also has some historic sites and and nice old town. Since it is close to the sea, you get fresh sea food and they offer a cruise on the small river as well (pretty touristic but nice thought). And, how could it be different, they also have some huge shopping malls which attracts all the locals since they are air conditioned ;-) (shopping is btw. the national sport of Malaysia I think...). A special thing is the rickshaws they have in Melakka, they are very colourful and a must!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-px69-f-fK7k/U8HtjUXRPYI/AAAAAAAAGcg/fV9KPWdRxjs/s1600/malaka_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-px69-f-fK7k/U8HtjUXRPYI/AAAAAAAAGcg/fV9KPWdRxjs/s1600/malaka_02.jpg" height="158" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosque in Melakka</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ef665m2-YPY/U8HsmOZk_SI/AAAAAAAAGYc/mfmk3shfg14/s1600/IMG_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ef665m2-YPY/U8HsmOZk_SI/AAAAAAAAGYc/mfmk3shfg14/s1600/IMG_0089.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smurph Rickshaw</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L9i6o8F43V8/U8Hsc40v8iI/AAAAAAAAGX4/dIUK8uqgq2g/s1600/IMG_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L9i6o8F43V8/U8Hsc40v8iI/AAAAAAAAGX4/dIUK8uqgq2g/s1600/IMG_0006.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River Cruise</td></tr>
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So, after 2 days, we took another bus to Singapore. Singapore custom control is a funny thing. Since we entered Singapore from Malaysia, they have different restrictions on what you have to declare on customs. We had a bottle of wine (bought in Nepal with the leftover money) with us, but we did not think of this being a problem... well, it is! Since we did not declare it, it would have been "smuggling of goods" which normally would have costed a fine of 10 times the fee of the VAT tax. So, we should have paid about 95 S$ for a bottle of wine which costed about 20 US$ ...?! Luckily, we could convince them that we did not know this rule, so we got away with a warning, but we had to pay the 9.50 S$ fee VAT... welcome to Singapore!<br />
The city is similar to KL, but it has a F1 track and it has a harbour area which is amazing (and yes, it also has huge and expensive shopping centres!). After the devastating Swiss game in the night (3 am - 5 am) and a short night, we visited some sights in town including the waterfront (amazing) and due to our arrival, the armed forces held a parade (just for us!), including helicopters and a firework! Since it is a very international city, food is great and we spent our last dinner in a Brazilian restaurant (called: carnivore; serving meat!) before we took of to Yogyakarta (Indonesia).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g7ifGEeWwxQ/U8Htn8o5iMI/AAAAAAAAGcw/vk5syje4Ewk/s1600/singapore_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g7ifGEeWwxQ/U8Htn8o5iMI/AAAAAAAAGcw/vk5syje4Ewk/s1600/singapore_02.jpg" height="142" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Singapore @ night</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VxABadScs6k/U8HtTg9EqDI/AAAAAAAAGa4/qdFicYJMurw/s1600/IMG_1120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VxABadScs6k/U8HtTg9EqDI/AAAAAAAAGa4/qdFicYJMurw/s1600/IMG_1120.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fireworks</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pRAJoOgkMc0/U8HtbjGNF_I/AAAAAAAAGb4/Kg8iNs7kdL4/s1600/P1010910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pRAJoOgkMc0/U8HtbjGNF_I/AAAAAAAAGb4/Kg8iNs7kdL4/s1600/P1010910.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Singapore sunset</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kzOMoTCzf4o/U8HtbYqTX3I/AAAAAAAAGb0/Gbtbtj21Qsw/s1600/P1010907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kzOMoTCzf4o/U8HtbYqTX3I/AAAAAAAAGb0/Gbtbtj21Qsw/s1600/P1010907.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parade</td></tr>
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This time, the migration and the custom went smoothly, so we could enter Indonesia and we headed to our home stay with a taxi. In comparison to KL and Singapore, Indonesia is completely different, especially the traffic with all the motor bikes! We stayed in a house close to the Kraton (Palace of the sultan) from where we could easily walk to all places of interest. Besides the Kraton, we visited a puppet factory (unplanned). Some guy "offered" to show us the way to the entrance of the Kraton but since it was "too early" he showed us firstly the puppet factory (and disappeared after!). After seeing the process, we were also politely asked if we wanted to buy something (we didn't!) and we searched the entrance ourselves after :-) The palace is just opened in the morning and you can also visit just some parts since the sultan still lives in there. So, it was a rather short visit but nice. The food in Yogyakarta is good and there is a variety you can choose from and there is plenty of "warungs" where you can eat good and cheap! And they have colourful rickshaws as well, as you can see it on the pictures!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UdD8piGBawA/U8HsuB2XkcI/AAAAAAAAGY0/_DlT1utaaTY/s1600/IMG_0208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UdD8piGBawA/U8HsuB2XkcI/AAAAAAAAGY0/_DlT1utaaTY/s1600/IMG_0208.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rickshaw in Yogya</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FjEetWzA4E8/U8HsmQAQzEI/AAAAAAAAGYg/nLL131BQqmQ/s1600/IMG_0165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FjEetWzA4E8/U8HsmQAQzEI/AAAAAAAAGYg/nLL131BQqmQ/s1600/IMG_0165.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puppets</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uhQDNhJ14n4/U8HspGbjWAI/AAAAAAAAGYo/2Rkxk8t5A0c/s1600/IMG_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uhQDNhJ14n4/U8HspGbjWAI/AAAAAAAAGYo/2Rkxk8t5A0c/s1600/IMG_0207.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kraton dragon</td></tr>
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The "big thing" in Yogyakarta is definitely the two temples of Borobudur and Prambanan (Buddhist and Hindu temple). So we got up very early one day for the sunrise tour to Borobudur... It was a nice sunrise, but you don't see much of the temple itself since it is quite far away. After we left the view point (as all the other western tourists did) we headed to Borobudur itself (which costs 25 USD per person!). The temple is huge and so is the amount of people visiting it (it looks like hordes are fighting their way into a castle). Furthermore, there is plenty of school groups in Borobudur which, apparently, haven't seen western people in real live, so you feel a bit like a pop star! We were asked about 50 times for pictures, not counting the pictures being taken silently, and you don't have time to really appreciate the temple (especially on the top of it). Somehow, they are attracted to our "white" skin and you can see this also in the supermarkets, where you can buy a lot of creams for "a whiter skin", it's even in sunscreen (and we try to get brown).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jP0AMTBmn2k/U8Hsuh3JowI/AAAAAAAAGY4/AlAp4mjvdAQ/s1600/IMG_0219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jP0AMTBmn2k/U8Hsuh3JowI/AAAAAAAAGY4/AlAp4mjvdAQ/s1600/IMG_0219.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise view to Borobudur</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NA8UjtNh2p8/U8HtF7kE3kI/AAAAAAAAGZM/288MrJs2zEI/s1600/IMG_0264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NA8UjtNh2p8/U8HtF7kE3kI/AAAAAAAAGZM/288MrJs2zEI/s1600/IMG_0264.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarong for the visit </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jpghGf8ktDE/U8HtHJ63P7I/AAAAAAAAGZY/sUW5B_fgMtQ/s1600/IMG_0297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jpghGf8ktDE/U8HtHJ63P7I/AAAAAAAAGZY/sUW5B_fgMtQ/s1600/IMG_0297.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stupa on top</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uGb34AbGS9o/U8HtFxwcfYI/AAAAAAAAGZQ/XZ8zvpSZpzI/s1600/IMG_0295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uGb34AbGS9o/U8HtFxwcfYI/AAAAAAAAGZQ/XZ8zvpSZpzI/s1600/IMG_0295.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture please!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2T_XxC6ZCuw/U8HsSa5Qv3I/AAAAAAAAGXg/5Ae_xcjJhi0/s1600/borobudur_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2T_XxC6ZCuw/U8HsSa5Qv3I/AAAAAAAAGXg/5Ae_xcjJhi0/s1600/borobudur_03.jpg" height="253" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Borobudur temple</td></tr>
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The day after, we visited the other temple Prambanan in the afternoon. It is pretty amazing when you see the huge temples built here and it was a relaxed visit (most likely because we had a local guide with us). Unfortunately, the weather was not the best (a bit cloudy) so the sunset was not good, but it was worth a visit. Especially, besides the main temples, you can visit some more but you have to walk a bit. Therefore, you are basically alone once you arrive at the other temples :-) (nobody asking for "Picture???")<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pxBhAct1Rpc/U8HtIpKFm5I/AAAAAAAAGZs/rWbaXo1uqpE/s1600/IMG_0349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pxBhAct1Rpc/U8HtIpKFm5I/AAAAAAAAGZs/rWbaXo1uqpE/s1600/IMG_0349.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prambanan</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ao8Qy0ndDOM/U8HtJTLKvII/AAAAAAAAGZw/b1im8vH4pVg/s1600/IMG_0424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ao8Qy0ndDOM/U8HtJTLKvII/AAAAAAAAGZw/b1im8vH4pVg/s1600/IMG_0424.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side temple in Prambanan</td></tr>
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We were also able to watch the third swiss game in Yogya before we left for Solo, a town just about an hour away from Yogya. According to the guide books, there should be some more temples and a steam train... once we arrived, we asked in the hotel about the train. The answer: Which train? ... so we went to the tourist information (which was closed) and we tried another hotel for more information about the steam train. Answer: "Which train???" So we had to wait for the next day when we figured out, that the steam train is not running any more (only on request) but we could visit the temples in the country side of Solo and a waterfall with a lot of monkeys to see. Besides temples and trains, we also visited a dance theatre (we did not understand a word but it was funny anyway, especially the part where the orchestra gets food delivered from the warung outside!).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VTiisb0u3w0/U8HtKdJDRwI/AAAAAAAAGZ4/x_M2aUF9rWc/s1600/IMG_0485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VTiisb0u3w0/U8HtKdJDRwI/AAAAAAAAGZ4/x_M2aUF9rWc/s1600/IMG_0485.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foggy temple close to Solo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0U8Ln4_axYo/U8HtMufNozI/AAAAAAAAGaA/2kp6Ao2M7y4/s1600/IMG_0496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0U8Ln4_axYo/U8HtMufNozI/AAAAAAAAGaA/2kp6Ao2M7y4/s1600/IMG_0496.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fertility temple in Solo</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ug60nH4E_I0/U8HtO8hRYeI/AAAAAAAAGac/n0XIY_I8nYU/s1600/IMG_0563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ug60nH4E_I0/U8HtO8hRYeI/AAAAAAAAGac/n0XIY_I8nYU/s1600/IMG_0563.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkey</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LVtxqopJzc4/U8HtVcjdTkI/AAAAAAAAGbI/nQrF0PLPpDw/s1600/IMG_1199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LVtxqopJzc4/U8HtVcjdTkI/AAAAAAAAGbI/nQrF0PLPpDw/s1600/IMG_1199.JPG" height="209" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Theatre in Solo</td></tr>
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From Solo, we headed east and the ramadan started. In the guidebooks, it's written that it will be very difficult to find food during the day, but this is definitely not true in east Java! We had no problems and even with the bus from Solo to Malang we stopped for lunch... and in Malang it was neither a problem (luckily). The only thing we noticed was in one restaurant where they served "thousands of different tea's during ramadan" which means that you get your beer in a tea cup instead of a glass :-) who cares! Well, and besides eating and drinking, you can also visit some things in Malang. They have a small bird and small animal market (birds, rabbits, cats, dogs and other animals in very small, sad cages) a small old town and a tour that EVERY tourist does: the Bromo. We haven't seen many other western tourists in Yogya or Solo and even in Malang, you don't see many, but once you arrive at the sunrise view point for Bromo, they all show up! It feels like a million tourists are keen on seeing this sunrise and after it, you head back to your car and into the crater to be dragged to the next tourist attraction, a horse ride to the staircase to the top of Bromo. Fortunately, we did not have to take the horse ride so we could walk there and have a look a the enormous crater and the surrounding (and be aware that the nice crater you see is NOT Bromo cone). Except that there were too many tourists, it was a nice view up there.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fZ38yNiuMEo/U8HsQOjAs9I/AAAAAAAAGXY/nuEdWIl8NHc/s1600/bromo_04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fZ38yNiuMEo/U8HsQOjAs9I/AAAAAAAAGXY/nuEdWIl8NHc/s1600/bromo_04.jpg" height="186" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise view to Bromo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MlzQ5qncaeI/U8HsK5illRI/AAAAAAAAGXQ/mED-bPk0hOA/s1600/bromo_08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MlzQ5qncaeI/U8HsK5illRI/AAAAAAAAGXQ/mED-bPk0hOA/s1600/bromo_08.jpg" height="120" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the crater</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHNW7pCVHx0/U8HtPtZdYbI/AAAAAAAAGag/-Da1yUhuwEs/s1600/IMG_0652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHNW7pCVHx0/U8HtPtZdYbI/AAAAAAAAGag/-Da1yUhuwEs/s1600/IMG_0652.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not Bromo but nice though</td></tr>
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From Malang, after the game between Switzerland and Argentina :-( we went to our last stop on Java (yes, Java is also an island!) to visit the sulfur workers on Mount Ijen. It is a bit similar to Bromo since almost all the tourists are doing this tour, you see a lot of western people hiking up the slope to the crater and you see also a lot of people selling stuff up there and on the way. But the view on top was definitely worth the early start and the way up to the crater! And as soon as you walk away from the main path, there is no others any more and you can enjoy the views without being asked: "Buy?? Yes?" or "Very cheap price" :-)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RcsJDZrK6_A/U8HsXqvEofI/AAAAAAAAGXw/SG1VzFmy74A/s1600/ijen_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RcsJDZrK6_A/U8HsXqvEofI/AAAAAAAAGXw/SG1VzFmy74A/s1600/ijen_03.jpg" height="243" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ijen crater lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-57WKLqIDY9k/U8HsWlLvW7I/AAAAAAAAGXo/uev2q8vO4vk/s1600/ijen_05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-57WKLqIDY9k/U8HsWlLvW7I/AAAAAAAAGXo/uev2q8vO4vk/s1600/ijen_05.jpg" height="141" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ijen crater</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZHSyncPS-5s/U8HtfWH0bAI/AAAAAAAAGcM/bpXpeS3eDZU/s1600/P1010933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZHSyncPS-5s/U8HtfWH0bAI/AAAAAAAAGcM/bpXpeS3eDZU/s1600/P1010933.JPG" height="270" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sulphur worker</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q4nt719-FoI/U8Htf6dpIsI/AAAAAAAAGcQ/05TBsKfLA4s/s1600/P1010929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q4nt719-FoI/U8Htf6dpIsI/AAAAAAAAGcQ/05TBsKfLA4s/s1600/P1010929.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another sulphur worker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Finally, we left Java by ferry to move on to Bali. We have seen some very nice places, but there is also some drawbacks, especially the people staring at you, the ubiquitous questions like: "Taxi, yes??", "Buy, yes??" or even shorter just "Yeeees???" and the ton's of pictures you are requested to pose for. But now, on Bali, this should change a bit since they should be used more to western people.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T4Q5wiLt8ZQ/U8Hsd_5MK2I/AAAAAAAAGYA/biTSEpdo1dQ/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T4Q5wiLt8ZQ/U8Hsd_5MK2I/AAAAAAAAGYA/biTSEpdo1dQ/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fort in Melakka</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4ek88rPmiaQ/U8HsgfQPRTI/AAAAAAAAGYI/9QUI8nMm6xI/s1600/IMG_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4ek88rPmiaQ/U8HsgfQPRTI/AAAAAAAAGYI/9QUI8nMm6xI/s1600/IMG_0016.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leguan visiting Melakka</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCk2uE2Je6U/U8Hsi4DD_rI/AAAAAAAAGYQ/wcIYmv3iZnY/s1600/IMG_0043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCk2uE2Je6U/U8Hsi4DD_rI/AAAAAAAAGYQ/wcIYmv3iZnY/s1600/IMG_0043.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French fries in Melakka</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eIT-uL74QOM/U8Hs6c2lXfI/AAAAAAAAGZA/UC8ic8Wd1L4/s1600/IMG_0242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eIT-uL74QOM/U8Hs6c2lXfI/AAAAAAAAGZA/UC8ic8Wd1L4/s1600/IMG_0242.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hordes are entering Borobudur</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cwrFrBes1NI/U8HtHq6SV1I/AAAAAAAAGZg/GgJKj_LLnnk/s1600/IMG_0316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cwrFrBes1NI/U8HtHq6SV1I/AAAAAAAAGZg/GgJKj_LLnnk/s1600/IMG_0316.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buddha statue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W41C6jzGZuc/U8HtOD06foI/AAAAAAAAGaU/O3NI8-26Ax0/s1600/IMG_0499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W41C6jzGZuc/U8HtOD06foI/AAAAAAAAGaU/O3NI8-26Ax0/s1600/IMG_0499.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guardian at temple in Solo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0G3MPBlruaU/U8HtODTVJ2I/AAAAAAAAGaM/YVr-ZV3VE5Q/s1600/IMG_0528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0G3MPBlruaU/U8HtODTVJ2I/AAAAAAAAGaM/YVr-ZV3VE5Q/s1600/IMG_0528.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkeys</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qQB0Ert77Ng/U8HtQlFR0nI/AAAAAAAAGao/7yVNu1ojD-Y/s1600/IMG_0581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qQB0Ert77Ng/U8HtQlFR0nI/AAAAAAAAGao/7yVNu1ojD-Y/s1600/IMG_0581.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statue close to Solo</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dg1lG1q3UTU/U8HtR6utcKI/AAAAAAAAGaw/m1ybECo7L3k/s1600/IMG_0773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dg1lG1q3UTU/U8HtR6utcKI/AAAAAAAAGaw/m1ybECo7L3k/s1600/IMG_0773.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sulphur workers at work</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HyWClnTVZRA/U8HtUZ24uSI/AAAAAAAAGbA/UEyHqYjxrpU/s1600/IMG_1155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HyWClnTVZRA/U8HtUZ24uSI/AAAAAAAAGbA/UEyHqYjxrpU/s1600/IMG_1155.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Singapore flyer</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HqEMPWX0nqA/U8HtX3RS-wI/AAAAAAAAGbc/iDmbnT7UamU/s1600/IMG_9882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HqEMPWX0nqA/U8HtX3RS-wI/AAAAAAAAGbc/iDmbnT7UamU/s1600/IMG_9882.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bird park KL</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NHclUT4vnwo/U8HtaUbBLjI/AAAAAAAAGbo/6OV-of7T0t4/s1600/IMG_9906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NHclUT4vnwo/U8HtaUbBLjI/AAAAAAAAGbo/6OV-of7T0t4/s1600/IMG_9906.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">KL</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0KJ4xBqyepw/U8Hti2yfVzI/AAAAAAAAGcc/f0xEW6xejkA/s1600/malaka_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0KJ4xBqyepw/U8Hti2yfVzI/AAAAAAAAGcc/f0xEW6xejkA/s1600/malaka_01.jpg" height="320" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melakka</td></tr>
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<div>
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Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-82786156923193427662014-06-16T19:36:00.001+02:002014-06-16T19:36:47.228+02:00Between times: Out of monsoon, ready for ramadanThe World Championship has started and we were able to watch some of the games now in Kuala Lumpur (including the Swiss game!) and we noticed that it's about time for another update for our blog!<br />
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We stayed some days in Kathmandu after our safari in the Bardia National park to prepare our next trek before the monsoon was expected to kick in. During this time, we visited the garden of dreams in Kathmandu which is an oasis of silence right at the corner of busy Thamel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JCEkqNku8tM/U58k-9-xrZI/AAAAAAAAFv8/emDTltL9_9o/s1600/garden_of_dreams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JCEkqNku8tM/U58k-9-xrZI/AAAAAAAAFv8/emDTltL9_9o/s1600/garden_of_dreams.jpg" height="168" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden of Dreams</td></tr>
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We decided to go to the Langtang valley for a popular trek to the Langtang mountains and the Gosaikunda lakes (sacred lakes for the Hindus, but more about this later). The road to the trail head is not a motorway, it takes about 7 hours for 120 km; but there is quite a few stops due to police check posts and buying the entrance tickets for the Langtang national park. Next morning, we started our hike up the valley and after two days, we've already climbed over 2'000 m and the scenery changed from an narrow valley with forest to a wider one with a great view to the surrounding mountains.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z5rCCBR67CY/U58k4eCFsUI/AAAAAAAAFuU/Qridcqkmw4A/s1600/IMG_9612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z5rCCBR67CY/U58k4eCFsUI/AAAAAAAAFuU/Qridcqkmw4A/s1600/IMG_9612.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Langtang Valley</td></tr>
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On day 3, we arrived in Kyanjin Gompa where we enjoyed the surroundings and visited the local cheese factory (which was introduced in the 1950's by a Swiss guy) where they produce tasty yak cheese. Besides us, there was also a "Nepali Girl Group" shooting their "music videos" in the mountains. Well, they definitely have to work on their performance if they want to become famous in Nepal... :-) In Kyanjin Gompa, we wanted to climb one of the mountains close to the village next day, but the weather changed unfortunately and it was snowing the whole day; so instead of hiking, we were sitting in the living room, preparing our own "Raclette with yak cheese" on the stove :-) very yummy!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FyOsIMKzBxg/U58k4nZUNFI/AAAAAAAAFuc/0TRTuVaGBtM/s1600/IMG_9624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FyOsIMKzBxg/U58k4nZUNFI/AAAAAAAAFuc/0TRTuVaGBtM/s1600/IMG_9624.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nepali girl group</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XurskJoie-w/U58lAWDHOTI/AAAAAAAAFwo/pEgAAS1-02c/s1600/langtang_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XurskJoie-w/U58lAWDHOTI/AAAAAAAAFwo/pEgAAS1-02c/s1600/langtang_01.jpg" height="83" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panoramic view of Langtag valley</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y78Qc3_FgKY/U58k4uwvNRI/AAAAAAAAFus/mG9Izt9WSO8/s1600/IMG_9646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y78Qc3_FgKY/U58k4uwvNRI/AAAAAAAAFus/mG9Izt9WSO8/s1600/IMG_9646.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raclette</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CBai4prVcJY/U58k5ZQUZ5I/AAAAAAAAFuw/-hojYOuqRuE/s1600/IMG_9685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CBai4prVcJY/U58k5ZQUZ5I/AAAAAAAAFuw/-hojYOuqRuE/s1600/IMG_9685.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glacier View</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k5_LyNzp39k/U58k5mdL5fI/AAAAAAAAFxI/W4HLexI7NKE/s1600/IMG_9689.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k5_LyNzp39k/U58k5mdL5fI/AAAAAAAAFxI/W4HLexI7NKE/s1600/IMG_9689.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit reached</td></tr>
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And after our unplanned rest day, we hiked up one of the mountains next morning, but the weather was not the best this day either, so we did not have a perfect view this time. So we left the village and headed back the same way we came up, before we turned into an other valley to visit the Gosaikunda lakes. The weather changed again and it was now very sunny and warm (which is not the best if you climb about 1'500 m altitude in one day). But once we reached the tree line, the views were great. We could see Langtang Lingun mountains, Ganesh Himal mountains, the Manaslu, some peaks of Anapurna and far away, the summit of Dhaulagiri. Just perfect! And when we arrived at the lakes, it stayed sunny the whole day which was a great experience as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EmtOqw5SCOg/U58lA3FPvSI/AAAAAAAAFwc/qo_k9XvBcK4/s1600/langtang_06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EmtOqw5SCOg/U58lA3FPvSI/AAAAAAAAFwc/qo_k9XvBcK4/s1600/langtang_06.jpg" height="64" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Himalaya Panorama</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ItkvBrJp57M/U58lBdK8xII/AAAAAAAAFwg/nN7s_DyqiBw/s1600/langtang_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ItkvBrJp57M/U58lBdK8xII/AAAAAAAAFwg/nN7s_DyqiBw/s1600/langtang_11.jpg" height="61" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ganesh Himal mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qExRcKJEfrM/U58k_s83P9I/AAAAAAAAFwM/GJ5Joz7PS34/s1600/gosaikunda_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qExRcKJEfrM/U58k_s83P9I/AAAAAAAAFwM/GJ5Joz7PS34/s1600/gosaikunda_01.jpg" height="175" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gosaikunda lakes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ktu-C6b-ZDQ/U58lAPddVDI/AAAAAAAAFwU/Ra8fcyD7Qvc/s1600/gosaikunda_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ktu-C6b-ZDQ/U58lAPddVDI/AAAAAAAAFwU/Ra8fcyD7Qvc/s1600/gosaikunda_03.jpg" height="184" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gosaikunda lakes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tRKHIMm5JMA/U58k7CJ8ceI/AAAAAAAAFvI/IFoQr4DIv1g/s1600/IMG_9817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tRKHIMm5JMA/U58k7CJ8ceI/AAAAAAAAFvI/IFoQr4DIv1g/s1600/IMG_9817.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilgrims on their way</td></tr>
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The funny thing on this way was, that it was a week where a lot of pilgrims (Nepali / Indians) were hiking to the lakes as well. Therefore, most of the tea houses were quite full and once one of the pilgrims wakes up in the morning (about 04.00 am) they start talking to each other so that all other will wake up around this time. And they don't acclimatize properly (they walk all day long), so you see quite a few sick nepali in the tea houses... but for them it seems to be a very spiritual experience at those lakes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PVKflPwSvXs/U58k7oQck0I/AAAAAAAAFxE/4hcSEXU9Wf4/s1600/IMG_9824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PVKflPwSvXs/U58k7oQck0I/AAAAAAAAFxE/4hcSEXU9Wf4/s1600/IMG_9824.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Host of tea house</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YTZoyPKTjbA/U58k8e9quiI/AAAAAAAAFvY/CHOVT7eo-uc/s1600/IMG_9837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YTZoyPKTjbA/U58k8e9quiI/AAAAAAAAFvY/CHOVT7eo-uc/s1600/IMG_9837.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monk at Gosaikunda lakes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-01teORgZ0hA/U58k87ZV6EI/AAAAAAAAFw8/o2XlgunCImM/s1600/IMG_9853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-01teORgZ0hA/U58k87ZV6EI/AAAAAAAAFw8/o2XlgunCImM/s1600/IMG_9853.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilgrim on his way</td></tr>
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So, after the descend from the lakes, we hopped on the local bus again to drive back to Kathmandu. One interesting thing about the local bus is the stop at about 10.00 am which is the "lunch break" where the local people have their lunch (always Dhal Bat!). We didn't (although it looked and smelled good but it was way too early for us). And once back in Kathmandu, we were very keen on some different food than then things you get in the mountains, so it was Pizza (good one!) and fresh salad (amazing after 2 weeks without it)!<br />
Our last stop in Nepal was the trip to Pokhara, a laid back town on the shore of a lake, close to Anapurna. But this time, we did not go with the local bus that stops quite frequently, we took a so called "tourist bus" that has more comfort (i.e. air conditioning). In Pokhara, we were greeted by about 1'000 taxi drivers that all wanted us to drive with them or at least go to the hotel they recommend... a bit annoying, so we walked away and took another taxi driver :-) since it started to rain...<br />
Pokhara is a nice town, with good restaurants and it would have a great view to the mountains, but since the monsoon was close, most of the time we couldn't see them at all, but there is some others things to do in Pokhara. The international mountaineering Museum is definitely worth to be visited and if you feel like hiking, you can cross the lake with a small boat and hike up to the world peace pagoda which offers a good view over the valley and to the mountains.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w_049sWmmc0/U58k-HlBcJI/AAAAAAAAFv0/ptbAkBgzSWE/s1600/P1010898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w_049sWmmc0/U58k-HlBcJI/AAAAAAAAFv0/ptbAkBgzSWE/s1600/P1010898.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temple in Pokhara</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QpfYqbfAzlg/U58k-WPYI5I/AAAAAAAAFws/RXr8aovSstQ/s1600/P1010899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QpfYqbfAzlg/U58k-WPYI5I/AAAAAAAAFws/RXr8aovSstQ/s1600/P1010899.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World peace pagoda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So we spent some relaxing days before heading back to Kathmandu, to prepare for our flight to Kuala Lumpur once more (goodbye monsoon rain). In Kuala Lumpur, we are planning to spend some days (to be able to watch football as well) before we go south, visit Singapore and then move on to Java and Bali (our biggest concern is the Ramadan starting soon and both, Malaysia and Indonesia are rather strict on that) so we try to spend much of this time in Bali (with the Hindus)...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n9tyzYDPXnc/U58k98OkjKI/AAAAAAAAFvs/J0ZQQvontEE/s1600/P1010893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n9tyzYDPXnc/U58k98OkjKI/AAAAAAAAFvs/J0ZQQvontEE/s1600/P1010893.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woman carrying firewood</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BhIukGkbNxQ/U58k9mbYomI/AAAAAAAAFw0/mLiqXFLZ2DI/s1600/P1010887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BhIukGkbNxQ/U58k9mbYomI/AAAAAAAAFw0/mLiqXFLZ2DI/s1600/P1010887.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People carrying building material</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bOfL4cgelck/U58k9Q0p7PI/AAAAAAAAFw4/QRQjGpmllkY/s1600/IMG_9860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bOfL4cgelck/U58k9Q0p7PI/AAAAAAAAFw4/QRQjGpmllkY/s1600/IMG_9860.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside of a temple</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h47RVj0-30Q/U58k6_iEYFI/AAAAAAAAFvA/_G8U75475zY/s1600/IMG_9806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h47RVj0-30Q/U58k6_iEYFI/AAAAAAAAFvA/_G8U75475zY/s1600/IMG_9806.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well deserved beer at the Gosaikunda lakes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_W_CfGpS_dE/U58k6zEYpZI/AAAAAAAAFxA/WSmbE0510nk/s1600/IMG_9792.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_W_CfGpS_dE/U58k6zEYpZI/AAAAAAAAFxA/WSmbE0510nk/s1600/IMG_9792.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On our way up to the lakes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RKmi8knmVVs/U58k6UbkEdI/AAAAAAAAFu4/vYJHEgaiGus/s1600/IMG_9767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RKmi8knmVVs/U58k6UbkEdI/AAAAAAAAFu4/vYJHEgaiGus/s1600/IMG_9767.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Langtang lirung mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KPsl4RXeoVg/U58lBMk2EuI/AAAAAAAAFww/hhvYZ_90JDM/s1600/langtang_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KPsl4RXeoVg/U58lBMk2EuI/AAAAAAAAFww/hhvYZ_90JDM/s1600/langtang_10.jpg" height="87" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama view</td></tr>
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<br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-29787736419030094492014-05-21T18:20:00.000+02:002014-05-21T18:20:29.111+02:00Namaste! An update from Nepal, from Kathmandu! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">We boarded our MH170 flight in Darwin early in the morning (we left the hotel around 03.00) and flew to Kuala Lumpur, where we had booked a luxury Best Western Premier hotel. Since we planned to stay only 2 days, we thought, we'd take a very good one and it was actually very good (our room was huge and the hotel had everything you need, including a pool from where you can see the Petronas Towers, a gym etc.). What we noticed is, that food in KL is pretty cheap, but alcohol / wine is rather expensive, so we did not take a bottle for dinner this time... :-(</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pLS2q7PFrcs/U1upqcTO1iI/AAAAAAAAFf0/wlZU0ImJCEs/s1600/26.04.14+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pLS2q7PFrcs/U1upqcTO1iI/AAAAAAAAFf0/wlZU0ImJCEs/s1600/26.04.14+-+1" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner view in KL</td></tr>
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We did not do much in KL, just a quick stroll through china town, sorting pictures, etc. before we had to leave again. This time, we had our flight to Kathmandu. Once we arrived, we firstly had to get our visas, which you can get on arrival, but we had to wait a long time to get to the counter. The visa fee is 100USD per person, if you want to stay longer than 30 days in Nepal (pretty expensive). Out of the airport, you are suddenly confronted with plenty of helpers (taxi drivers, porter, etc.) and all want to sell you something, but luckily, we got picked up by the hotel so we did not have to deal with them :-) We noticed that Kathmandu is currently covered in a smog / dust cloud; so no special mountain view or blue sky it's rather a dusty here. It's not surprising once we saw, how many cars are driving in Kathmandu, how the roads look like and how the traffic is handled.... basically it's not handled at all, but in general, they drive on the left hand side of the road... mostly... and crossing a street can be a bit difficult with all the cars, motorbikes, etc. Nevertheless, in the first days we visited some of the most famous sights in Kathmandu: Thamel, the tourist area where you can by all fake clothing gear like Mammut, North Face, ... and where you can buy all kind of drugs you need without prescription and where you get breakfast, lunch and dinner for no money (well at least since we were used to Australian prices). Another sight to visit was Durban square with it's temples and shrines all over the place. You can spend quite a lot of time in this part of town. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nJrEOkUdjDQ/U3wVN0mfO9I/AAAAAAAAFmE/aE9OPqkdasw/s1600/IMG_8638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nJrEOkUdjDQ/U3wVN0mfO9I/AAAAAAAAFmE/aE9OPqkdasw/s1600/IMG_8638.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hindu God on Durban Square</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cyx3VnlpMz8/U3wVaPlUwaI/AAAAAAAAFmM/4Xxpe95XwEM/s1600/IMG_8642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cyx3VnlpMz8/U3wVaPlUwaI/AAAAAAAAFmM/4Xxpe95XwEM/s1600/IMG_8642.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palace on Durban Square</td></tr>
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Furthermore, we used one day to visit the "monkey temple" in the west of Kathmandu. It's one of the most impressive Stupa's in Kathmandu, overlooking the city. Besides the different temples on top of this little hill, you have also quite a few monkey running around and begging for food. The temples itself are Buddhist and Hindu as most of the people here in Nepal belong to either of these religions.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RPx7vxAeR2Q/U3wVd_v1TrI/AAAAAAAAFmU/fgnteHvAAWE/s1600/IMG_8667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RPx7vxAeR2Q/U3wVd_v1TrI/AAAAAAAAFmU/fgnteHvAAWE/s1600/IMG_8667.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buddhas down at the stair to monkey temple</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UyS_9UGDfIU/U3wVgwzShlI/AAAAAAAAFmc/sLOcYsiNHDc/s1600/IMG_8677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UyS_9UGDfIU/U3wVgwzShlI/AAAAAAAAFmc/sLOcYsiNHDc/s1600/IMG_8677.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Stupa of the monkey temple</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cyOdycnOfCw/U3wVuZlPEEI/AAAAAAAAFmo/0w6lgs1zMyU/s1600/IMG_8715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cyOdycnOfCw/U3wVuZlPEEI/AAAAAAAAFmo/0w6lgs1zMyU/s1600/IMG_8715.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The monkeys</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zu4rVPHmRjM/U3wY13d5r7I/AAAAAAAAFrU/9Y7vZCfEMyY/s1600/stupa1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zu4rVPHmRjM/U3wY13d5r7I/AAAAAAAAFrU/9Y7vZCfEMyY/s1600/stupa1.JPG" height="193" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the stuppa</td></tr>
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We finally spent 4 days in Kathmandu before we started our first trip to the mountains: a trek around the Manaslu (one of the highest mountains in the world). It started by getting picked up from our hotel at 06.00 in the morning by Jeep, which took us to our starting point, Sotikola on only 900m altitude. To get there, it took us about 8 hours of driving (it's not far it's just slow driving) due to the traffic and the road conditions :-) Sotikola is "the end of the road" from this point there is no road any-more for the next few days, only a path for locals, trekkers and donkeys which carry food and other things up to more remote places.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rbZAf_8LPmw/U3wVuj1zP0I/AAAAAAAAFms/J5oUTPRh8Ws/s1600/IMG_8749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rbZAf_8LPmw/U3wVuj1zP0I/AAAAAAAAFms/J5oUTPRh8Ws/s1600/IMG_8749.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">find the women</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i0wrN9SwflY/U3wVz6Q8neI/AAAAAAAAFm0/bQCpvUl3DEg/s1600/IMG_8767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i0wrN9SwflY/U3wVz6Q8neI/AAAAAAAAFm0/bQCpvUl3DEg/s1600/IMG_8767.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our trek</td></tr>
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The first few days of the trek are not that impressive: It's getting very hot in the afternoon, so an early start in the morning is essential if you don't want to wake when it's 30 degrees hot; but it gives you a pretty good idea about how the life is, when there is no road and no cars (and just sometimes electricity); it's very basic. You see small children getting used to carry goods up with their little baskets and you see elderly women carrying huge piles of wood up the mountain. Furthermore, you get aware where the meat comes from: from animals that get killed in the village (we were able to attend the end of a goat at 06.00 in the morning. It was killed and sliced right on the main square of the village, opposite of our breakfast table; yummy!). This reflects also the menue that you have in the lodges (called tea houses) where you stay. Most of them do not have meat on their menu which is not bad since the food they offer is good without meat as well.<br />
After some time, the path continues to climb steadily so we started to gain some altitude, so the air gets better and cooler and the path winds through small villages, crosses rivers on suspension bridges (Alex: this would be something for you!!) and the vegetation is changing from banana trees to more alpine forest. In some of the villages, we were the big attraction for the children (they beg for sweets or money) but they don't know much English, so they just repeat saying "Namaste!" all the time :-) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fwF31qHyoCQ/U3wWG6tmyAI/AAAAAAAAFnE/TX-xXnFhDtY/s1600/IMG_8809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fwF31qHyoCQ/U3wWG6tmyAI/AAAAAAAAFnE/TX-xXnFhDtY/s1600/IMG_8809.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Namaste!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-abxwqDjFnDw/U3wWut_hrOI/AAAAAAAAFns/ErGF18PmGjI/s1600/IMG_8946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-abxwqDjFnDw/U3wWut_hrOI/AAAAAAAAFns/ErGF18PmGjI/s1600/IMG_8946.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Namaste!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v0nxRj7YJXI/U3wV8zIrEII/AAAAAAAAFm8/JdcDM-nf12Y/s1600/IMG_8799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v0nxRj7YJXI/U3wV8zIrEII/AAAAAAAAFm8/JdcDM-nf12Y/s1600/IMG_8799.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local village</td></tr>
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In Namrung (which is about 2'800 m high) we were invited to attend the annual village celebration. It was very unexpected for us to be greeted by the whole village once we arrived there, handing us flower cords and serving us Nepali tea... the games they play are very funny to see: Bow-shooting, horse-back racing and stone throwing and everything is done with drinking local wine... so what they call wine is the result of the distillation of the local beer they brew here and it has absolutely nothing to do with wine... but it comes in buckets and therefore the games were hilarious, especially the "horse back riding".<br />
Neither the horse nor the rider seem to knew what to do, so they were running in all directions, falling off the horses or not moving at all... but at the end, someone was the winner of the race and all seemed to be very happy with it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YWC3pzo2_vY/U3wWmwCg6kI/AAAAAAAAFnk/9OUyZBVWUiI/s1600/IMG_8927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YWC3pzo2_vY/U3wWmwCg6kI/AAAAAAAAFnk/9OUyZBVWUiI/s1600/IMG_8927.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guests of Honour</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hP1EDWZdpuQ/U3wWXz3DPpI/AAAAAAAAFnU/gKLm2RQYDMY/s1600/IMG_8891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hP1EDWZdpuQ/U3wWXz3DPpI/AAAAAAAAFnU/gKLm2RQYDMY/s1600/IMG_8891.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horse back racing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6aicBnwIsLA/U3wWgQC9dTI/AAAAAAAAFnc/okSpRCr2-Ts/s1600/IMG_8912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6aicBnwIsLA/U3wWgQC9dTI/AAAAAAAAFnc/okSpRCr2-Ts/s1600/IMG_8912.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archery</td></tr>
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The other day, we climbed another 1'000 m in altitude to reach a Samagon, a village on 3'500 m altitude where we stayed several nights. Here, after 5 days of hiking we decided to take a rest day to relax a bit. On the way, we passed several monasteries and we saw our fist yak. Well, it was a special first contact: while we were waiting for our lunch in a small tea house, the owner of the 2 yak's decided to take away one of the calves of the yak and hide it somewhere in the house. This caused mama yak to become very angry and to start searching for it's calf. So we had to get in hiding not to be run over by angry mama yak! All the local ones were laughing, but were also afraid of the yak once it came into their direction. Finally, the owner decided to give back the calve and lock the yak into it's shed to calm down (good decision!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uq9d_BSMsPk/U3wXJXEmY5I/AAAAAAAAFn8/mGU47g_oRMs/s1600/IMG_8980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uq9d_BSMsPk/U3wXJXEmY5I/AAAAAAAAFn8/mGU47g_oRMs/s1600/IMG_8980.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yaks</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fjIQtDj3Hh8/U3wW3c8CPGI/AAAAAAAAFn0/mRj8EM7f4c4/s1600/IMG_8970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fjIQtDj3Hh8/U3wW3c8CPGI/AAAAAAAAFn0/mRj8EM7f4c4/s1600/IMG_8970.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Munch (Hollo, hollo, hollo, ich bin ein ...)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xD-3IkDoZhY/U3wXPtjZgeI/AAAAAAAAFoE/eS4E2SuRrh4/s1600/IMG_9011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xD-3IkDoZhY/U3wXPtjZgeI/AAAAAAAAFoE/eS4E2SuRrh4/s1600/IMG_9011.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stupa on the way</td></tr>
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From Samagon, you have already a good view to the very high mountains surrounding the village once the weather is good, but unfortunately, it was often cloudy and windy when we were here and in the night it was very cold. The tea house we stayed did not have a heating so, we were wearing our thermal clothing for most of the days up here.<br />
After an acclimatisation trip to the base camp of Manalu (we just went to the first snow on about 4'200 m) we headed up to our last stop before crossing the 5'106 m high pass. The night in Darmasala (4'400 m) was not the best one, since the building, toilet and food of the tea house was more than basic (the "toilettes" were actually very disgusting so we decided not to upload the pictures of it to the blog, but if you want to see it, let us know, we'll drop you a mail with it...) but we met 2 other Swiss guys up there (Mario and his sister Daniela; both fast hikers!) so we had a very interesting evening there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5nhegvBZSao/U3wYbtNaI5I/AAAAAAAAFqU/YOaFVH9X5KI/s1600/P1010864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5nhegvBZSao/U3wYbtNaI5I/AAAAAAAAFqU/YOaFVH9X5KI/s1600/P1010864.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way to Daramasala</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-slfnWnK043g/U3wYzalDMRI/AAAAAAAAFrM/DseZptPK-wg/s1600/samagon1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-slfnWnK043g/U3wYzalDMRI/AAAAAAAAFrM/DseZptPK-wg/s1600/samagon1.JPG" height="156" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain View in Samagon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next day, we had splendid weather: we started hiking at 05.15 (after we had to wake up the kitchen crew to prepare us breakfast!) when the sun started to rise. Perfect blue sky, high snowy mountains, great scenery and white snow to walk on in the higher areas! Just perfect. On the pass, after 4 hours of hiking, we encountered the yak transport coming from the other side of the pass which made the whole experience even more special! After about 7 hours, we finally reached the little town on the other side of the pass where we got lunch (even more important: cold beer) and chatted with our Swiss friends (they made the way in about 6 hours, and it took some of the Russians which were in the same hut between 9-12 hours to cross the pass). So this perfect day was paying off the time freezing on the other side of the pass!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RPrIDZP8dw0/U3wYhfJnHXI/AAAAAAAAFqc/82aFAElEg5I/s1600/P1010867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RPrIDZP8dw0/U3wYhfJnHXI/AAAAAAAAFqc/82aFAElEg5I/s1600/P1010867.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way to the pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O7l8QTP80FA/U3wYkQSwzDI/AAAAAAAAFqk/mi9QnHSGrmY/s1600/mountain_view_10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O7l8QTP80FA/U3wYkQSwzDI/AAAAAAAAFqk/mi9QnHSGrmY/s1600/mountain_view_10.JPG" height="120" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pass view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wts76fYasu0/U3wXU5fh_PI/AAAAAAAAFoU/GDK1G3UyYc0/s1600/IMG_9273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wts76fYasu0/U3wXU5fh_PI/AAAAAAAAFoU/GDK1G3UyYc0/s1600/IMG_9273.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yak transport</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ykIDvGVI-hc/U3wXSGu20AI/AAAAAAAAFoM/B-UdeGAboNc/s1600/IMG_9269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ykIDvGVI-hc/U3wXSGu20AI/AAAAAAAAFoM/B-UdeGAboNc/s1600/IMG_9269.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yak transport</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwAsjA2sFm8/U3wYr0EBOAI/AAAAAAAAFq0/om_-u2ZZWlo/s1600/pass_4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwAsjA2sFm8/U3wYr0EBOAI/AAAAAAAAFq0/om_-u2ZZWlo/s1600/pass_4.JPG" height="104" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pass view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HIvMGGYKeBE/U3wYncVnbII/AAAAAAAAFqs/to9RN2IDKAg/s1600/pass_09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HIvMGGYKeBE/U3wYncVnbII/AAAAAAAAFqs/to9RN2IDKAg/s1600/pass_09.JPG" height="264" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manaslu North</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5FPmpm6Fv6k/U3wXZjNxr2I/AAAAAAAAFok/nIAa6GmAbuc/s1600/IMG_9324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5FPmpm6Fv6k/U3wXZjNxr2I/AAAAAAAAFok/nIAa6GmAbuc/s1600/IMG_9324.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manaslu North summit</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IAaVsYjRgSs/U3wXXWp_YpI/AAAAAAAAFoc/9sPYRDlhvb4/s1600/IMG_9287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IAaVsYjRgSs/U3wXXWp_YpI/AAAAAAAAFoc/9sPYRDlhvb4/s1600/IMG_9287.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Himmal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="text-align: center;">From the small village, it took us another 2 days down to the Anapurna circuit, where we reached the new road, so we took a local transport to get back to "civilisation" (the road can easily compete with "Bolivias Death Road") and from there back to Kathmandu. The other side of the pass is very different and so we had a great walk around Manaslu.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iWZ5ec-j2Mo/U3wXiK19oEI/AAAAAAAAFo0/hHef5UlPrh8/s1600/IMG_9371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iWZ5ec-j2Mo/U3wXiK19oEI/AAAAAAAAFo0/hHef5UlPrh8/s1600/IMG_9371.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nepali Dead Road...</td></tr>
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In Kathmandu, we started to cure our little problems (stomach / cold) and we booked our flights to Bardia National Park. So we switched the cold thin air from the high mountains with the humid heat of the Nepal low lands (about 40 degrees every day). We flew to Nepalgunj from where we got picked up by Mr. B who took us to his lodge right outside of Bardia National Park. The lodge is simple but very nice and well kept and Mr. B and is wife do a great job to entertain the people in the evening and the food was very good as well! The main attractions of the park are: Elephants, Rhinos and Bengal Tigers! But there is also an Elephant centre where they keep "domesticated" elephants and a crocodile breeding centre. So we went on Safari (but we had to stay the first day in the lodge due to a still not properly working stomach). The next day, we decided to do the "Jungle Walk" which consists of walking through the park with guides... some important information: if a Rhino attacks: run away in Zig-Zag, drop your bag and / or climb an easy tree up to about 5 meters. If an elephant attacks, run and hide behind a big tree (if there is one) and don't worry about the tiger: he's a very shy animal and just dangerous in breeding season.. :-) <br />
<br />
But to make the point clear: The most important thing you do in the park is... waiting... waiting... waiting... we waited from about 08.00 to 15.30 to see our first Rhino this day! :-) <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fvnPqCJKBjo/U3wXm8S4zoI/AAAAAAAAFo8/E_LLJQ22ISc/s1600/IMG_9418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fvnPqCJKBjo/U3wXm8S4zoI/AAAAAAAAFo8/E_LLJQ22ISc/s1600/IMG_9418.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rhino in Bardia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mr. B told us, that this is the best season to see a tiger due to the heat, it is leaving the forest and it's searching the water for cooling off (yes, although it's a cat, a tiger can swim and it's doing it!). So next day, we did the Jeep safari which gets you to more remote places in the park, but the core thing you do is... waiting again... but this time, we did not just see a Rhino, we also saw a male elephant in the morning and a herd of elephants in the afternoon (pretty impressive) and some more Rhinos as well, but still no tiger. So we did it again next morning (the day where we had our flight back to Kathmandu) and this time we were lucky: we saw one tiger in the early morning! Pretty big and impressive animal! Great! And besides the Tiger, there is also a lot of other animals in the park: Birds, monkeys, foxes and a lot of different deer as well which are easy to spot in comparison with the Tiger!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6GWgvxzWCU4/U3wXspC7xOI/AAAAAAAAFpE/0KgHnrgovm0/s1600/IMG_9479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6GWgvxzWCU4/U3wXspC7xOI/AAAAAAAAFpE/0KgHnrgovm0/s1600/IMG_9479.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephants crossing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sXLNACBCdGI/U3wX31UcVkI/AAAAAAAAFpU/n2sNDqhrJ-w/s1600/IMG_9514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sXLNACBCdGI/U3wX31UcVkI/AAAAAAAAFpU/n2sNDqhrJ-w/s1600/IMG_9514.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephants and Rhino</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3gNnkBhIsnM/U3wX_lnpqwI/AAAAAAAAFpk/kFMkxxLeJsg/s1600/IMG_9548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3gNnkBhIsnM/U3wX_lnpqwI/AAAAAAAAFpk/kFMkxxLeJsg/s1600/IMG_9548.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkey in Bardia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zHqwHfPkX5o/U3wYODJoXHI/AAAAAAAAFp8/5IgrHgEkElU/s1600/IMG_9584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zHqwHfPkX5o/U3wYODJoXHI/AAAAAAAAFp8/5IgrHgEkElU/s1600/IMG_9584.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiger's Track</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kWKX9jv4iAM/U3wYS5ZYzgI/AAAAAAAAFqE/1x3CVOe2tOs/s1600/IMG_9586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kWKX9jv4iAM/U3wYS5ZYzgI/AAAAAAAAFqE/1x3CVOe2tOs/s1600/IMG_9586.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bengal Tiger</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, after a quick shower, we drove back to Nepalgunj where we boarded the small Yeti plane again before we took off back to Kathmandu. During the flight, you have a good view to the Himalaya range with it's high mountains as long as the view is good and finally, we got back to our hotel. Now, we stayed 2 more days here to organize our next trip which is a about 10 day hike in the mountains close to Kathmandu. After this, we plan to go to Pokhara for some days (close to Anapurna) before we definitely leave Nepal mid of June (when the WM starts!!!).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jK56lPj_t6A/U3wYuDTWeiI/AAAAAAAAFq8/ZOV9mz3jwOc/s1600/pass_5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jK56lPj_t6A/U3wYuDTWeiI/AAAAAAAAFq8/ZOV9mz3jwOc/s1600/pass_5.JPG" height="142" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k_d8eS5qrLs/U3wYwbIBMqI/AAAAAAAAFrE/91DEdr4PXcM/s1600/pass_view_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k_d8eS5qrLs/U3wYwbIBMqI/AAAAAAAAFrE/91DEdr4PXcM/s1600/pass_view_1.JPG" height="94" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the pass<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fmh4y2ema04/U3wXeI3SlkI/AAAAAAAAFos/ziRpn14dvuM/s1600/IMG_9344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fmh4y2ema04/U3wXeI3SlkI/AAAAAAAAFos/ziRpn14dvuM/s1600/IMG_9344.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">View back to the pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H8B6-T0pwm4/U3wYEek3M6I/AAAAAAAAFps/cQcxh1-b95o/s1600/IMG_9562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H8B6-T0pwm4/U3wYEek3M6I/AAAAAAAAFps/cQcxh1-b95o/s1600/IMG_9562.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bardia National Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E4n6Ug5iM3o/U3wYJHT3iqI/AAAAAAAAFp0/a5-2AEGHxrE/s1600/IMG_9581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E4n6Ug5iM3o/U3wYJHT3iqI/AAAAAAAAFp0/a5-2AEGHxrE/s1600/IMG_9581.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Rhinos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ySOixp44XGI/U3wX0OiacmI/AAAAAAAAFpM/e9seQz2O3_8/s1600/IMG_9505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ySOixp44XGI/U3wX0OiacmI/AAAAAAAAFpM/e9seQz2O3_8/s1600/IMG_9505.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephants crossing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JEzImW3JAuk/U3wX7mkX-wI/AAAAAAAAFpc/---lm8Z6pak/s1600/IMG_9519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JEzImW3JAuk/U3wX7mkX-wI/AAAAAAAAFpc/---lm8Z6pak/s1600/IMG_9519.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephants and Rhino<br />
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<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-68743598046411593582014-04-22T12:55:00.000+02:002014-04-22T12:55:52.795+02:00The wet season is not over jet!Before leaving Broome, we visited the northern peninsula with Cape Leveque at it's top. To get there, a 4WD is needed due to the unsealed roads you have to pass, especially once it had rained before. But driving through deep water ponds on the street is good fun. We stayed 2 nights on the cape for swimming, relaxing and enjoying the sunsets with the red cliffs (and the got us with the fresh and yummy pizza they made on Friday evening!). And once we came back to Broome, the low tide was just about right to see some dinosaurs foot prints!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5vteFaKkSq0/U1ZE6Py9dhI/AAAAAAAAFcc/2x02XNpEClw/s1600/sunset_Leveque_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5vteFaKkSq0/U1ZE6Py9dhI/AAAAAAAAFcc/2x02XNpEClw/s1600/sunset_Leveque_03.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coastline @ Cape Leveque</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lYCPFt0tfpg/U1ZE7aoPy_I/AAAAAAAAFcs/den_9I6VGUA/s1600/sunset_Leveque_04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lYCPFt0tfpg/U1ZE7aoPy_I/AAAAAAAAFcs/den_9I6VGUA/s1600/sunset_Leveque_04.jpg" height="145" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full cliff @ Cape Leveque</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nCE4F10Wa0M/U1ZE7YnVeaI/AAAAAAAAFcw/rihw594KepI/s1600/IMG_8109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nCE4F10Wa0M/U1ZE7YnVeaI/AAAAAAAAFcw/rihw594KepI/s1600/IMG_8109.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dino's have left their prints</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Since the Gibb River road was still closed, we decided to drive to Purnululu National Park first before hitting the unsealed Tanami road that cuts through the Great Sandy Desert and ends in Alice Springs. Between Broome and the Purnululu National Park, we had to drive 700 km on the highway which is a loooong drive and the scenery is not really amazing (bushland all over the place). Once we got into the national park (there is some river crossings to do to get in) the scenery becomes much more interesting due to the mountains and the water in the park. Some of the tracks were still closed, but the most amazing walks were open (especially the Bungle Bungle range). So we decided to stay the night on a small camp-ground in the park where we firstly encountered the cane toads. This is a toad that was imported to hut a bug in the cane fields but since it has no natural predators in Australia, it spreads all over in the north and it's like a pest here. Furthermore, the toad can release a poison so that even crocodiles (freshwater crocs) can die once they eat them. They try to minimize the impact of the cane toad here by collecting them (they don't move away quickly) but there is thousands of them in the park. In the evening, we collected about 15 toads, but once we came back, 4 other were already sitting next to our car... a real Sisyphus operation. And well, the other operation we had to do was to replace a flat tire once we arrived on the camp ground (bad luck with it). <br />With our new tire attached, we headed back south to Halls Creek where we fixed the tire (to have 2 spare ones) and we started the trip through the desert.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q3zTeLTxBr8/U1ZE3WCIthI/AAAAAAAAFb0/gpqT8beKm0g/s1600/Purnululu_08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q3zTeLTxBr8/U1ZE3WCIthI/AAAAAAAAFb0/gpqT8beKm0g/s1600/Purnululu_08.jpg" height="98" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bungle Bungle Range @ Purnululu</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JmxvYcLtm2g/U1ZE3QJzwzI/AAAAAAAAFcA/cc5TT9RlVSg/s1600/Purnululu_09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JmxvYcLtm2g/U1ZE3QJzwzI/AAAAAAAAFcA/cc5TT9RlVSg/s1600/Purnululu_09.jpg" height="114" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bungle Bungle Range @ Purnululu</td></tr>
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We wanted to get within 2 days to Alice Springs (which is about 1'000 km away) and the first day was good. We stopped at the probably only sight worth visiting (Wolfe-Creek-Crater; a crater formed by an meteorite some 10 thousands of years ago) and we could drive a good speed on the unsealed road so we managed to complete about 400 km the first day. Since we were crossing a desert, there was no camp-ground or similar, so we pulled aside for the night. Next morning, we started once the sun was up again to finish the track as soon as possible. But suddenly, we saw some special animals in the desert: Camels (well, actually they were dromedars but never mind! Still funny to see in the remote land here) and the other special thing we saw was an airport in the middle of nowhere (well, there is a mine; therefore they built this airport there).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O_Vyd0CbC54/U1ZE894uPQI/AAAAAAAAFdA/vm1AgEXxk9E/s1600/IMG_8328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O_Vyd0CbC54/U1ZE894uPQI/AAAAAAAAFdA/vm1AgEXxk9E/s1600/IMG_8328.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ships of the desert</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GfJC1ZCeKx8/U1ZE8urOn6I/AAAAAAAAFc8/fONEkcyftlo/s1600/IMG_8317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GfJC1ZCeKx8/U1ZE8urOn6I/AAAAAAAAFc8/fONEkcyftlo/s1600/IMG_8317.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting up our tent</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NA_nYKVwg-s/U1ZE9kWbzSI/AAAAAAAAFdc/whWFP3IyF7k/s1600/IMG_8337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NA_nYKVwg-s/U1ZE9kWbzSI/AAAAAAAAFdc/whWFP3IyF7k/s1600/IMG_8337.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sandy desert</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66RZyWXpKng/U1ZFWWzngvI/AAAAAAAAFew/Ewtxo55cLW8/s1600/WulfCrater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66RZyWXpKng/U1ZFWWzngvI/AAAAAAAAFew/Ewtxo55cLW8/s1600/WulfCrater.jpg" height="105" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wolfe-Creek-Crater</td></tr>
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It seemed that we would make it easily to Alice Springs this day until our car stopped working, some 300 km away. Apparently, the clutch (Kupplung) was broken and it was not possible to drive anymore.... Shit! And since it was still a remote area, there was no cell phone reception so we could not call anyone.... so we had to wait until a nice mine worker passed by. He was on his way back home (some 2'000 km away) and he pulled our car for the next 150 km to the next road house and we could call the car company to organize the pick up. Once the pick up truck had loaded the broken car, we drove the last 200 km to Alice Springs with the truck guy (who was working since 3 in the morning) where we parked the car in one of the caravan parks. So, with the broken car our plans were mixed up and since it was week end, we knew that it's going to take some days until they will have fixed the car. Fortunately, we could hire a small campervan form a different company so we were able to drive south direction of Uluru... well, we might should have checked the weather forecast before (but hey, the last thing you expect in a desert is rain!)... We wanted to visit the Kings Canyon first, and we arrived there in the early morning, but the weather was not good, slight rain. We thought: this will just last for a few minutes ... but it did not. After waiting about 2-3 hours, we drove to a cafe close and checked the weather situation... Rain for the next few days! This was really the last thing we expected in the Red Centre area that it rains for several days there, but it is actually possible! So we skipped Kings Canyon and drove to Uluru (Ayers Rock) to have a look at this impressive monolith... and it was different from what we knew from pictures. Due to the rain and clouds, the colors were very different (and there was no sunset red unfortunately) but impressive still. Especially the second day when we visited the "Olga's" , covered in clouds was pretty special and seeing Uluru with waterfalls is different too. But since the forecast was rain for the next few days, we decided to go back to Alice Springs the next day. We drove through some impressive thunder storms and flooding back but it also rained in Alice Springs. Picking up our original car again, we checked in the tourist info the situation and decided to go back north due to the weather: Stil rain for the next few days and the main roads in the south to Uluru and the Tanami road were actually closed by now because of flooding.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0lCavfkxDK0/U1ZE34sPPYI/AAAAAAAAFcE/pbH7LPTsMHg/s1600/Uluru_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0lCavfkxDK0/U1ZE34sPPYI/AAAAAAAAFcE/pbH7LPTsMHg/s1600/Uluru_01.jpg" height="88" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uluru (dry)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TMWlwpjiHd8/U1ZE4QGfWsI/AAAAAAAAFcI/20MWs4qdtxw/s1600/Uluru_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TMWlwpjiHd8/U1ZE4QGfWsI/AAAAAAAAFcI/20MWs4qdtxw/s1600/Uluru_02.jpg" height="109" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uluru (wet)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JWJOYAOfC2w/U1ZFDNr1mKI/AAAAAAAAFeg/elCLyplGj18/s1600/IMG_0819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JWJOYAOfC2w/U1ZFDNr1mKI/AAAAAAAAFeg/elCLyplGj18/s1600/IMG_0819.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset @ Uluru</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qRWbcDOgLYk/U1ZE2JxhpHI/AAAAAAAAFbo/oXm8wYcBXGI/s1600/Olgas_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qRWbcDOgLYk/U1ZE2JxhpHI/AAAAAAAAFbo/oXm8wYcBXGI/s1600/Olgas_02.jpg" height="151" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Olgas</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b6CdJ5xwExA/U1ZFD0kbgmI/AAAAAAAAFeo/GrwgC0hacrE/s1600/IMG_0872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b6CdJ5xwExA/U1ZFD0kbgmI/AAAAAAAAFeo/GrwgC0hacrE/s1600/IMG_0872.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weather forcast...</td></tr>
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<br />So, we hit the road again and continued our journey with direction north. From Alice Springs to Darwin it's about 1'500 km drive but there is some sights in between. Firstly, we stopped the night at the devils Marbles, some round stones formed by wind and ... rain (but luckily the rain had stopped once we arrived :-) . Impressive sight!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--rX9Xqd6YtA/U1ZE5gGpGrI/AAAAAAAAFck/wvf4Ec2xDGQ/s1600/devils_marbles_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--rX9Xqd6YtA/U1ZE5gGpGrI/AAAAAAAAFck/wvf4Ec2xDGQ/s1600/devils_marbles_03.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devil's Marbles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0DsWyUSicxI/U1ZE-Vq-3SI/AAAAAAAAFdQ/S86oVfEtZMA/s1600/IMG_8377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0DsWyUSicxI/U1ZE-Vq-3SI/AAAAAAAAFdQ/S86oVfEtZMA/s1600/IMG_8377.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cracked marble</td></tr>
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Further in the north we also stopped at some natural hot springs (34 degree warm water) before we visited the Nitmuluk park close to Kathrine. There is two parts of the park you can visit, the first one was not worth the stop since we could not explore the river since there might be salt water crocodiles inside but the second part, the close by Cutta Cutta caves the waterfall were definitely worth a stop.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fLY582I7EW0/U1ZFADxy5GI/AAAAAAAAFd0/MDDML_ZhQqM/s1600/IMG_8512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fLY582I7EW0/U1ZFADxy5GI/AAAAAAAAFd0/MDDML_ZhQqM/s1600/IMG_8512.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edith-Falls @ Nitmuluk Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wB6_daCNaJs/U1ZE-rVFK3I/AAAAAAAAFdU/TDYiwLc2UME/s1600/IMG_8420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wB6_daCNaJs/U1ZE-rVFK3I/AAAAAAAAFdU/TDYiwLc2UME/s1600/IMG_8420.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wallabie with baby</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UaN5nidndoE/U1ZE_AbTsmI/AAAAAAAAFdk/MdsNzf5KidM/s1600/IMG_8496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UaN5nidndoE/U1ZE_AbTsmI/AAAAAAAAFdk/MdsNzf5KidM/s1600/IMG_8496.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wallabie with baby</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n8gWJYFplLg/U1ZE_U2blBI/AAAAAAAAFdo/A-WYf98TTzo/s1600/IMG_8502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n8gWJYFplLg/U1ZE_U2blBI/AAAAAAAAFdo/A-WYf98TTzo/s1600/IMG_8502.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutta Cutta Caves</td></tr>
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<br />From the waterfall, we started our last two exploring trips with the Kakadu National Park and the Litchfield park. Well the Kakadu is well known, but due to the wet season, almost all the interesting things were still closes (4WD tracks) so we just spent 2 nights in the park. The most interesting thing we could do were a bout ride on the river and visiting the rock art galleries (Aboriginal Rock paintings). <br />Litchfield park was much more interesting, not only because of the sights that were open (the 4WD tracks were closed as well) but in Litchfield you can go swimming in most of the rock pools they have. Just some of the areas are closed because of the danger of salt water crocs may be present there :-) and you don't want to swim with them! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DtX34zHQ40o/U1ZFBwAakLI/AAAAAAAAFeI/rMEZsLORD4U/s1600/IMG_8581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DtX34zHQ40o/U1ZFBwAakLI/AAAAAAAAFeI/rMEZsLORD4U/s1600/IMG_8581.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Termit's nest @ Litchfield Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DRKharn-1pg/U1ZFCZ_tOAI/AAAAAAAAFeQ/LPbKDuFHerQ/s1600/IMG_8583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DRKharn-1pg/U1ZFCZ_tOAI/AAAAAAAAFeQ/LPbKDuFHerQ/s1600/IMG_8583.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterfalls in Litchfield park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rfh7CSyOuEE/U1ZFC_MOuII/AAAAAAAAFec/lGLEeuu-q_s/s1600/IMG_8601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rfh7CSyOuEE/U1ZFC_MOuII/AAAAAAAAFec/lGLEeuu-q_s/s1600/IMG_8601.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes you can swim there</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-umu55RPAYQ0/U1ZFAX_GIJI/AAAAAAAAFd4/BlJ4oYlbbts/s1600/IMG_8541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-umu55RPAYQ0/U1ZFAX_GIJI/AAAAAAAAFd4/BlJ4oYlbbts/s1600/IMG_8541.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kakadu Yellow River Cruise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AxFkOt-C_Gg/U1ZE46AgYAI/AAAAAAAAFcQ/_lUOE7HaoxY/s1600/Wangi_falls_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AxFkOt-C_Gg/U1ZE46AgYAI/AAAAAAAAFcQ/_lUOE7HaoxY/s1600/Wangi_falls_01.jpg" height="155" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterfall in Litchfield</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bzmd2VkGGT0/U1ZFBcS615I/AAAAAAAAFeM/trigZ1DRW5w/s1600/IMG_8553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bzmd2VkGGT0/U1ZFBcS615I/AAAAAAAAFeM/trigZ1DRW5w/s1600/IMG_8553.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RockArt in Kakadu</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
After the 2 refreshing days in Litchfield, we drove the remaining distance up to Darwin, where we handed in our car on Easter Saturday and where we enjoy our last few days in Australia. Darwin is nice but there is not much to see and do in town and due to Easter it's even less; most of the shops and stores are closed but e.g. the botanical garden is worth a visit and the waterfront is nice to see as well.<br />We'll catch the early flight next Tuesday to Kuala Lumpur (05.40 take off) before we go back to the mountains after Australia. Nepal is calling (and we'll fly with the airline the most known at the moment: Malaysia Airlines :-) If everything going as planned, we should be able to update the blog from somewhere in Nepal.<br /><br />And last but not least: here some statistics about our road trip through Australia:<br />- about 12'000 km travelled by car<br />- 11 l diesel consumption on average per 100 km and 1.75 AUD average price<br />- one flat tire and one broken clutch <br />- max. temperature endured: 42 degrees<br />- no speeding ticket ;-)Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-13799461916919483922014-03-31T12:28:00.000+02:002014-03-31T12:32:36.901+02:00Exmouth to Broome and leisure timeWe had a great tour in Exmouth as we were watching and swimming with Whale Sharks. They are the biggest fish in the ocean but they are not dangerous since they feed only on plankton and small fish, but nevertheless, they reach 10 meters and more! The first stop of the tour was a reef for doing some snorkelling to check if the equipment is fitting or not. After this, the big party starts with looking for whale sharks. The plane spotted 2 of them and we raced to get there. Since they are not afraid of swimmers, we could jump into the water and just wait until the shark was passing by..... and incredible experience! Such a huge fish passing by! After several stops, we had to head back to the reef were we could do some more snorkelling there until we got picked up by bus. It was actually worth to spend the money on this trip! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dj_f_y8b36A/Uzjz7-sKFFI/AAAAAAAAFWM/gmX8QC8YSK0/s1600/IMG_7019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dj_f_y8b36A/Uzjz7-sKFFI/AAAAAAAAFWM/gmX8QC8YSK0/s1600/IMG_7019.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kangaroo on the way</td></tr>
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Next morning, we prepared our stuff and prepared for a long ride through West Australia. We left Exmouth for the about 600 km away town called Tom Price. This town exists because of the mines in this area and the Karijini National Park. The way to it is not the most beautiful one, it's actually pretty boring drive although we had an unexpected visitor: rain! We passed through a thunderstorm (so our car got washed) which was a bit of a surprise for us since it hadn't rained for the whole time in Australia so far. Once we arrived in Tom Price, we set up our roof top tent for the night to be ready for next morning.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LalwsITGN78/Uzjz-NEoRWI/AAAAAAAAFWg/cr0NmdTMeM4/s1600/IMG_7077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LalwsITGN78/Uzjz-NEoRWI/AAAAAAAAFWg/cr0NmdTMeM4/s1600/IMG_7077.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A termit's nest</td></tr>
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<br />
The Karijini National Park consists of several gorges (valleys) where you are allowed to swim and explore them. It's basically a big adventure ground with water and rock; perfect, when the temperatures reach 35 degrees or more on the top since the gorges are narrow and therefore pretty cool. Furthermore, it is a very colourful park with bright white trees (snappy gum trees) and red earth for a great contrast. Sometimes, it's a bit difficult to get to the pools for swimming since you have to climb over rocks, wade through water or even swim some parts of the way, but it's definitely worth it! The water is not too cold and in the gorges, the temperature is comfortable.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0jaQYVgu8ao/Uzjz-tOd57I/AAAAAAAAFWo/GoPa5cEqrZE/s1600/IMG_7224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0jaQYVgu8ao/Uzjz-tOd57I/AAAAAAAAFWo/GoPa5cEqrZE/s1600/IMG_7224.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gorge in Karijini park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rge-J3o4z0U/Uzj0CNbUWjI/AAAAAAAAFXE/k8cOGj_MNso/s1600/IMG_7298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rge-J3o4z0U/Uzj0CNbUWjI/AAAAAAAAFXE/k8cOGj_MNso/s1600/IMG_7298.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snappy gum tree</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dDS-nHryP2E/Uzj0CEIRn9I/AAAAAAAAFXQ/D9dF9ghKszw/s1600/IMG_7389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dDS-nHryP2E/Uzj0CEIRn9I/AAAAAAAAFXQ/D9dF9ghKszw/s1600/IMG_7389.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fern Pool falls</td></tr>
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<br />
We spent two nights in the park to explore all of it before we decided to head north, through another National Park and heading back to the coast for some snorkelling. The Milstream-Chichester Park is nice, but it can not be compared with the Karijini. Unfortunately, the small camp ground we planned to stay was closed, so we had to stay on the bigger one without swimming options, but with the visit of some Kangaroos in the evening and next morning :-) There is a short walk (which you do early in the morning due to the heat) an then we drove the missing kilometres to Point Samson. Unfortunately, the reef they had is being destroyed by Rio Tinto (the big mining company) which build a large jetty for their ships to transport the iron ore. Instead of swimming, we just had a look at the enormous machines the have and we also visited a "ghost town" which was abandoned about 50 years ago.... what a disappointment! not a single ghost in the whole town :-)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q3zzbn0_QVY/Uzj0FCyr79I/AAAAAAAAFXg/vLK_FAqmlW8/s1600/IMG_7616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q3zzbn0_QVY/Uzj0FCyr79I/AAAAAAAAFXg/vLK_FAqmlW8/s1600/IMG_7616.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milstream Pool (no swimming)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2nsCgsDuNHk/Uzj0HBNOdsI/AAAAAAAAFX0/WzSgyZjyV5E/s1600/IMG_7636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2nsCgsDuNHk/Uzj0HBNOdsI/AAAAAAAAFX0/WzSgyZjyV5E/s1600/IMG_7636.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milstream Chichester Lookout</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xVjEgRHaEQA/Uzj16Zl7VNI/AAAAAAAAFZI/jxxafJdjO3I/s1600/jetty_point_samson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xVjEgRHaEQA/Uzj16Zl7VNI/AAAAAAAAFZI/jxxafJdjO3I/s1600/jetty_point_samson.jpg" height="70" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big machines @ work</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CPftXI58ze4/Uzj0ITh3CDI/AAAAAAAAFX4/XiStpUNpk8w/s1600/IMG_7702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CPftXI58ze4/Uzj0ITh3CDI/AAAAAAAAFX4/XiStpUNpk8w/s1600/IMG_7702.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a train!</td></tr>
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Since West Australia is large, between Point Samson and Broome it's about 1'000 km, so we had to do some more driving. From Point Samson, we passed the other mining city (Port Headland) and we continued driving on the highway up the 80 Mile beach for our stop at the beach caravan park. A very shady and nice stop in the middle between Broome and Port Hedland, with good access to the 80-Mile beach and good facilities! Definitely worth a stop. The other day, we did another 3-4 hour drive to Port Smith for our last stop before Broome. We arrived Broome at the 23. March in the afternoon and checked our options in the Visitor Centre. Unfortunately, the Gibb River Road is closed due to the rain of the wet season so we needed to check some other options. But firstly, we did check into a motel for some nights not in our tent but with an air conditioning :-) . Broome is a small town with some very nice spots. Besides relaxing from all the driving, we went to the crocodile feeding in the park nearby. It's very impressive when you see those 4-5 m crocodiles snapping for food. The seem to be slow, but they are very fast if they want to and they have perfect sensors to locate their food. Since they inhabit the waters from now on, we'll just swim in official places :-)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1DWHzePXCtM/Uzj0J9CNKPI/AAAAAAAAFYQ/FoZopXhd-kE/s1600/IMG_7790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1DWHzePXCtM/Uzj0J9CNKPI/AAAAAAAAFYQ/FoZopXhd-kE/s1600/IMG_7790.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Croc holding time</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9AdNjON_MSg/Uzj0MCDGEfI/AAAAAAAAFYY/rAPmYSpzQ3w/s1600/IMG_7796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9AdNjON_MSg/Uzj0MCDGEfI/AAAAAAAAFYY/rAPmYSpzQ3w/s1600/IMG_7796.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Croc waiting for food</td></tr>
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<br />
The other tour we did was the compulsory "Camel sunset tour" where you sit on a camel, riding along the beach of Broome with some other tourists and watching the sunset (which is pretty nice up here) for one hour. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hHkMzZ75sZA/Uzj3_b4ClUI/AAAAAAAAFZ8/4sa26th-ZLo/s1600/P1010813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hHkMzZ75sZA/Uzj3_b4ClUI/AAAAAAAAFZ8/4sa26th-ZLo/s1600/P1010813.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camel riding</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AliBQf1TReU/Uzj3-oFomGI/AAAAAAAAFaA/Y_MdGOPi2bU/s1600/P1010815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AliBQf1TReU/Uzj3-oFomGI/AAAAAAAAFaA/Y_MdGOPi2bU/s1600/P1010815.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole tour group</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dpzpQRykJfE/Uzj0M0IWQSI/AAAAAAAAFYg/w_jwCGTULZ4/s1600/IMG_7848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dpzpQRykJfE/Uzj0M0IWQSI/AAAAAAAAFYg/w_jwCGTULZ4/s1600/IMG_7848.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset in Broome</td></tr>
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<br />
Our next stops will be the north peninsula of Broom with Cape Leveque and it's red cliffs before we do a last stop in Broome for checking the situation with the national parks along the Gibb River Road. If they are still closed, we may take a side trip to the "red centre" with Ayres Rock and the Olgas before we head back north. The way to Ayers Rock would be interesting since it's about 1'000 km gravel road with very few facilities in between (it's a desert we'll be crossing). More updates either from Alice Springs or somewhere else.<br />
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Some more pictures of the tour:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5NTjXo1yME8/Uzjz9fiLxPI/AAAAAAAAFWY/LnVtcdy4yZ4/s1600/IMG_7051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5NTjXo1yME8/Uzjz9fiLxPI/AAAAAAAAFWY/LnVtcdy4yZ4/s1600/IMG_7051.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creek close to Exmouth</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zTYFsZ2YsyE/Uzjz8NhmYII/AAAAAAAAFWQ/axXP1NvsinI/s1600/IMG_6939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zTYFsZ2YsyE/Uzjz8NhmYII/AAAAAAAAFWQ/axXP1NvsinI/s1600/IMG_6939.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blowhowles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lRpQav_Gzw/Uzjz7ghzb6I/AAAAAAAAFWI/HXrAfw9XZ-s/s1600/IMG_6986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lRpQav_Gzw/Uzjz7ghzb6I/AAAAAAAAFWI/HXrAfw9XZ-s/s1600/IMG_6986.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sting Ray at the beach in the morning</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-25AbBgqDSpY/Uzjz_Vyq3MI/AAAAAAAAFWw/eMAgv1wXR9M/s1600/IMG_7228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-25AbBgqDSpY/Uzjz_Vyq3MI/AAAAAAAAFWw/eMAgv1wXR9M/s1600/IMG_7228.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walk through gorge in Karijini</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D4XOAo9fkQc/Uzj0Dp1DCVI/AAAAAAAAFXU/sBu_lTVUgAk/s1600/IMG_7426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D4XOAo9fkQc/Uzj0Dp1DCVI/AAAAAAAAFXU/sBu_lTVUgAk/s1600/IMG_7426.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hammersley Gorge from above</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tUqPp3WUIRA/Uzj0AhWpgKI/AAAAAAAAFW4/B2CGYg1jqCI/s1600/IMG_7261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tUqPp3WUIRA/Uzj0AhWpgKI/AAAAAAAAFW4/B2CGYg1jqCI/s1600/IMG_7261.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gorge in Karijini National Park</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WbNSaKA3UZI/Uzj0DuYlN2I/AAAAAAAAFXY/99c_w_WvG40/s1600/IMG_7566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WbNSaKA3UZI/Uzj0DuYlN2I/AAAAAAAAFXY/99c_w_WvG40/s1600/IMG_7566.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evening visitor at Milstream Chichester Park</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xgGbVOJodPQ/Uzj0H5TdNgI/AAAAAAAAFXw/2S8m1ejhMXU/s1600/IMG_7684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xgGbVOJodPQ/Uzj0H5TdNgI/AAAAAAAAFXw/2S8m1ejhMXU/s1600/IMG_7684.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big machine from Rio Tinto</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K0yXIVu6TJc/Uzj0JLXW9mI/AAAAAAAAFYE/sRJBUYpfcWE/s1600/IMG_7748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K0yXIVu6TJc/Uzj0JLXW9mI/AAAAAAAAFYE/sRJBUYpfcWE/s1600/IMG_7748.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geko</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t74_EUMRGDw/Uzj0JRuDWbI/AAAAAAAAFYI/iwhCCqxH0IE/s1600/IMG_7768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t74_EUMRGDw/Uzj0JRuDWbI/AAAAAAAAFYI/iwhCCqxH0IE/s1600/IMG_7768.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset at Port Smith lagoon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-daBqlHBHFyo/Uzj14qnqIsI/AAAAAAAAFY8/jJ9E6A8EEiA/s1600/fern_falls3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-daBqlHBHFyo/Uzj14qnqIsI/AAAAAAAAFY8/jJ9E6A8EEiA/s1600/fern_falls3.jpg" height="230" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fortesque Falls</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zf_2PdhwWXo/Uzj14N9RXXI/AAAAAAAAFY4/vX_lHSLjkBY/s1600/Hammersley_george.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zf_2PdhwWXo/Uzj14N9RXXI/AAAAAAAAFY4/vX_lHSLjkBY/s1600/Hammersley_george.jpg" height="126" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hammersley Gorge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uxOfEKKa-1M/Uzj16fIzOOI/AAAAAAAAFZM/TdXDVzlf9kk/s1600/handrail_pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uxOfEKKa-1M/Uzj16fIzOOI/AAAAAAAAFZM/TdXDVzlf9kk/s1600/handrail_pool.jpg" height="284" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handrail Pool (best pool for swimming)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-om3f8_o_x4A/Uzj2AfQmd0I/AAAAAAAAFZs/cMIfKb7IzTc/s1600/kariji_georges2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-om3f8_o_x4A/Uzj2AfQmd0I/AAAAAAAAFZs/cMIfKb7IzTc/s1600/kariji_georges2.jpg" height="320" width="299" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karijini National Park - Knox Lookout</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--llNNlWhc00/Uzj2AwKvIRI/AAAAAAAAFZg/b3c_wj_-Flg/s1600/kariji_georges3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--llNNlWhc00/Uzj2AwKvIRI/AAAAAAAAFZg/b3c_wj_-Flg/s1600/kariji_georges3.jpg" height="128" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karijini National Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WO_j4ehy2Lo/Uzj18gER8YI/AAAAAAAAFZU/lUqIGbpHKyM/s1600/kariji_georges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WO_j4ehy2Lo/Uzj18gER8YI/AAAAAAAAFZU/lUqIGbpHKyM/s1600/kariji_georges.jpg" height="135" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karijini National Park - Knox Lookout</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ep_8R5cyRw/Uzj2Bl57f4I/AAAAAAAAFZo/LiUbjxQyReM/s1600/milstream_ch_park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ep_8R5cyRw/Uzj2Bl57f4I/AAAAAAAAFZo/LiUbjxQyReM/s1600/milstream_ch_park.jpg" height="71" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milstream Chichester Panorama</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OeeWHJgv5Kc/Uzj2CyKFDbI/AAAAAAAAFZ0/ra2yNfJF-Wg/s1600/python_pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OeeWHJgv5Kc/Uzj2CyKFDbI/AAAAAAAAFZ0/ra2yNfJF-Wg/s1600/python_pool.jpg" height="149" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Python Pool in Milstream Chichester</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fq5s1nm50gQ/Uzj13s-FD-I/AAAAAAAAFYs/1Z5wOUNL6g4/s1600/Sandy_point.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fq5s1nm50gQ/Uzj13s-FD-I/AAAAAAAAFYs/1Z5wOUNL6g4/s1600/Sandy_point.jpg" height="132" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandy Point beach</td></tr>
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Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-25326766774780264892014-03-14T11:26:00.001+01:002014-03-14T11:26:31.915+01:00G'day West Australia - A slightly sunburned update from Exmouth! We relaxed three days in Perth and recovered from our 5 hour time shift from NZ to West Australia. This includes some walking through town centre, hanging around in the King's Park and eating out in the evening. Good news: Food is tasty; Bad news: Beer is expensive! A pint costs about 11 AUD (~10 CHF) and it might get worse once we get up further north! Temperature is a bit higher than in NZ, we faced around 38 degrees in Perth and it might be even hotter up north... we'll see. Last but not least, we went to a wine trip in Swan Valley (well, you can't see a valley there, it's just called valley because it sounds nicer) for some more wine tasting... <br />
Next morning, we packed our stuff and we hired our little car. It's a 4x4 Hilux and contains a roof top tent and (even more important) a fridge and air conditioning inside :-) So we are allowed to go wherever we want. Our first stop, after the shopping and the stop at the liquor store, was the Pinnacles a bit in the north of Perth. To get this right: a bit north means 200 km distance :-) Definitely worth a stop as you can see in the pictures. Furthermore, we saw our fist Kangaroo!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WL1GJ26g-1M/UyLP2l541VI/AAAAAAAAFPw/Ekb93MJ4Dsc/s1600/IMG_6242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WL1GJ26g-1M/UyLP2l541VI/AAAAAAAAFPw/Ekb93MJ4Dsc/s1600/IMG_6242.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pinnacles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nFuw4oDfKHY/UyLP3ilvr0I/AAAAAAAAFQA/pTTEzM8dgvE/s1600/IMG_6296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nFuw4oDfKHY/UyLP3ilvr0I/AAAAAAAAFQA/pTTEzM8dgvE/s1600/IMG_6296.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pinnacles</td></tr>
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We spent our first night in the roof top tent and it's actually not too bad up there (we have been camping now every night up to now) and it saves some money as well. So we continued our road trip with a short stop in Geraldton to get some very important stuff: Fly nets and snorkelling gear! The fly nets were a perfect investment since we seem to be in the "fly" season. In Kalbarri, we visited the national park (natures window) and we planned to do a 8 km hike.... it was hot, hardly no shade and the fly nets definitely paid of! <br />
In Kalbarri you can also attend the daily pelican feeding (funny) and there is some more National park sites you can visit (by car since the temperature is killing you!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u-Fvb9_6kOg/UyLQMqX09hI/AAAAAAAAFQs/--YO79MKjAY/s1600/IMG_6462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u-Fvb9_6kOg/UyLQMqX09hI/AAAAAAAAFQs/--YO79MKjAY/s1600/IMG_6462.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nature's window</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tnggql8Ja3M/UyLQSomZUzI/AAAAAAAAFQ8/8Jdci8J8nu8/s1600/IMG_6480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tnggql8Ja3M/UyLQSomZUzI/AAAAAAAAFQ8/8Jdci8J8nu8/s1600/IMG_6480.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fly hike</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aHAjZireBy8/UyLQUiUFuwI/AAAAAAAAFRE/67JhkTRoTg4/s1600/IMG_6546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aHAjZireBy8/UyLQUiUFuwI/AAAAAAAAFRE/67JhkTRoTg4/s1600/IMG_6546.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pelican landing</td></tr>
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Heading further north (about 400 km) we visited Hammelin Pool, a former telegraph station in the middle of nowhere, before we wanted to visit the most western point of Australia (main land). Although we have a 4x4 we were not able to drive up the sandy street (even with deflated tires) so we got stuck quickly and decided to go back where we came from (btw. the street is called "Useless Loop" and it is a perfect description and our compressor broke while re-inflating our tires). So we arrived Denham for a night to get to the François Peron National Park next day. Some more sandy driving, but this time we deflated the tires more and the streets were better, so we had an enjoyable day in the park with taking pictures, swimming and wildlife watching (Kangaroo, Sharks, etc.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-885tj-ZLt6A/UyLQX9TXv_I/AAAAAAAAFRM/VTKrWmQkvmI/s1600/IMG_6582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-885tj-ZLt6A/UyLQX9TXv_I/AAAAAAAAFRM/VTKrWmQkvmI/s1600/IMG_6582.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lookout from the Useless Loop Road</td></tr>
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Or next stop was Monkey Mia, famous for it's dolphins. There is a shallow beach where around 07.45 the dolphins show up and about 150 tourists are waiting at the shore. Then, crowd is standing in the water and the dolphins are passing by and waiting for their food, but first, you have a 25 minutes speak about the dolphins... once this is done, they select some volunteers to feed some of the dolphins before they go back to deeper water. The show is very nice and it's even better when the dolphins come back the second or even third time (since fewer tourists are there then). The ressort is nice as well with pool, beach and all the things you need. So we decided to stay two nights and the second night was the hot one: There was a fire in the resort and some of the cottages burned down. AFTER helping and AFTER the fire-fighters arrived, it took some pictures of the situation... Luckily nobody got hurt and we did not have to evacuate the camping site. <br />
So, we headed further north, to a place called "Corral bay" where we tested our snorkelling equipment to spot all the deadly and dangerous animals in the sea (we actually saw one shark and a 2 m fish that has no teeth and it disguising as a rock, sitting on the bottom of the sea, an octopus and a lot of colourful fish). It's very nice and relaxing being here, with 40 degrees and some wind in the afternoon :-) .<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OXWo1HvS-4U/UyLQpsYVKBI/AAAAAAAAFSE/ya2NgdX-n9Y/s1600/f_peron_nationalpark.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OXWo1HvS-4U/UyLQpsYVKBI/AAAAAAAAFSE/ya2NgdX-n9Y/s1600/f_peron_nationalpark.JPG" height="148" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Francois Peron National Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-30zU2W79q8w/UyLQhP_3N3I/AAAAAAAAFRk/EMqmRE-dgRQ/s1600/IMG_6726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-30zU2W79q8w/UyLQhP_3N3I/AAAAAAAAFRk/EMqmRE-dgRQ/s1600/IMG_6726.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosi is feeding Dolphins at Monkey Mia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ULxFxWINRro/UyLQjpxfoeI/AAAAAAAAFR0/Hx0z3n7rC2s/s1600/IMG_6754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ULxFxWINRro/UyLQjpxfoeI/AAAAAAAAFR0/Hx0z3n7rC2s/s1600/IMG_6754.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fire...</td></tr>
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The temperature is still around 40 degrees, but now, we are actually sitting in our air conditioned room in Exmouth, finalizing the blog. Tomorrow, we will go "hunting" the biggest fish in the world, the whale shark with a snorkelling tour. Looking forward for a day on a boat, before we are heading inlands to some more national parks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vOyUFsHTO1E/UyLP4B1WvhI/AAAAAAAAFQE/oXVUgCfUwFk/s1600/IMG_6310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vOyUFsHTO1E/UyLP4B1WvhI/AAAAAAAAFQE/oXVUgCfUwFk/s1600/IMG_6310.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaning Tree</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hn4qo5hvD8A/UyLP8pB--NI/AAAAAAAAFQM/lXSDSj2GsHI/s1600/IMG_6318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hn4qo5hvD8A/UyLP8pB--NI/AAAAAAAAFQM/lXSDSj2GsHI/s1600/IMG_6318.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Kakadu?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mpi7gba7suU/UyLQCDQvtVI/AAAAAAAAFQU/E58hZ-JxXjo/s1600/IMG_6362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mpi7gba7suU/UyLQCDQvtVI/AAAAAAAAFQU/E58hZ-JxXjo/s1600/IMG_6362.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coastline close to Kalbarri</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kiZW5CPHp9E/UyLQGajWczI/AAAAAAAAFQc/qt5oGjhzneE/s1600/IMG_6437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kiZW5CPHp9E/UyLQGajWczI/AAAAAAAAFQc/qt5oGjhzneE/s1600/IMG_6437.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kalbarri Red Bluff</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y90oajnXGnI/UyLQJpJ18CI/AAAAAAAAFQk/YeGve0ZkPBg/s1600/IMG_6445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y90oajnXGnI/UyLQJpJ18CI/AAAAAAAAFQk/YeGve0ZkPBg/s1600/IMG_6445.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset at Kalbarri Red Bluff</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P748E_iIbMM/UyLQQC6WyYI/AAAAAAAAFQ0/tyYRYUk5INo/s1600/IMG_6478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P748E_iIbMM/UyLQQC6WyYI/AAAAAAAAFQ0/tyYRYUk5INo/s1600/IMG_6478.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Termit Dome on Fly Hike</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dnmFPBhFOk8/UyLV9hCiOpI/AAAAAAAAFSo/BdZLYSpM9z4/s1600/IMG_6859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dnmFPBhFOk8/UyLV9hCiOpI/AAAAAAAAFSo/BdZLYSpM9z4/s1600/IMG_6859.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emu</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t0dGHqQneGc/UyLVnZiwr-I/AAAAAAAAFSQ/YQ1zjWcZXZo/s1600/IMG_6585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t0dGHqQneGc/UyLVnZiwr-I/AAAAAAAAFSQ/YQ1zjWcZXZo/s1600/IMG_6585.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kangaroo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XrsFldz1DRY/UyLVpJugfwI/AAAAAAAAFSg/B_dllxlFSiE/s1600/IMG_6647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XrsFldz1DRY/UyLVpJugfwI/AAAAAAAAFSg/B_dllxlFSiE/s1600/IMG_6647.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Francois Peron National Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u8tYlGRxKWI/UyLVonJRplI/AAAAAAAAFSY/O8JCApWAYxM/s1600/IMG_6737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u8tYlGRxKWI/UyLVonJRplI/AAAAAAAAFSY/O8JCApWAYxM/s1600/IMG_6737.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkey Mia</td></tr>
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<br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-39560384070590626782014-02-26T13:25:00.001+01:002014-02-26T13:25:29.210+01:00Following Frodo's footprints and G'Day Australia!The bites of the sand flies are not itchy any more and we changed our location in the meantime. We have left New Zealand 2 days ago and we are now in Australia, in Perth where we enjoy 30 degrees and sunshine.<br />
<br />
We left Te Anau and the Fjordland and drove up north with direction Mt. Cook. We did a short stop in the small town called Wanaka for it's main attraction: Puzzeling World (which is a museum with a lot of illusions) which is definitely worth a stop (you can look like a giant or a dwarf there!). Once we arrived in Mt. Cook village (with is basically a pure tourist town) the weather had changed from sunny to slight rain and the mountains were covered in clouds. Firstly, we checked the accommodation situation (not good, only some expensive bed's available) and then we checked the weather forecast, which was even worse than the accommodation situation: rain for the next days. So given these facts, we decided not to stay in this town (because hiking up a mountain and not seeing anything is not what we want) and we continued our journey. We wanted to spend the night in Lake Tekapo (they have some thermal baths) but we also had some issues to find an accommodation. Finally, we were able to get a nice and friendly Bed 'n Breakfast (most likely the last available one due to high season in town) which was not cheap but sometimes, you have no other choice. After a good and rich breakfast, we went to the thermal baths for a dip in the hot pools there (which is always a good option with insect bites!) before we drove to Arthur's Pass. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4TvwwteoxwY/Uw3ZNgKJ6HI/AAAAAAAAFM4/Z0a1E8NzqMw/s1600/IMG_5804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4TvwwteoxwY/Uw3ZNgKJ6HI/AAAAAAAAFM4/Z0a1E8NzqMw/s1600/IMG_5804.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puzzling World in Wanaka</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VsM5Cidd75M/Uw3ZOYNA82I/AAAAAAAAFNA/WkadFOlcyF8/s1600/IMG_5806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VsM5Cidd75M/Uw3ZOYNA82I/AAAAAAAAFNA/WkadFOlcyF8/s1600/IMG_5806.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puzzling World</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Arthur's Pass is a small village as well, not having much infrastructure but some nice hostels and you have some really good hiking tracks. Since we had now a day more, we were able to do 2 treks and one was amazing (hiking up to Avalanche Peak: 3 km of hiking and climbing 1'000 m for a great view). Furthermore, on the top of this mountain 2 Keas were waiting and posing for being pictured. They are not shy at all, they are pretty smart and curious and they know exactly that in the backpacks is food. So as soon as you step away from the backpacks, they jump on it and the will open it some way; either using the zipper or slicing the backpack open with their beak.<br />
Next morning, our legs were still a bit sore from the hike but we had to drive to Picton, the town where the ferry from Wellington is landing, connecting the South and North island. On this drive, we had the opportunity to stop a the pancake rocks which are amazing when the waves are coming in and crash against the rocks. Once we left the car park, we tried to establish the "driving on the right side" in New Zealand for a short time, but since the others did not participate, we switched back to the left lane quickly (nobody was hurt!) :-)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MLW77fw541M/Uw3Zy1pnHoI/AAAAAAAAFNU/NKyk2oepbco/s1600/IMG_5872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MLW77fw541M/Uw3Zy1pnHoI/AAAAAAAAFNU/NKyk2oepbco/s1600/IMG_5872.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Avalanche Peak</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QhRK4vq9vQI/Uw3Z0MVpK0I/AAAAAAAAFNk/KNo4tiEnHdU/s1600/IMG_5929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QhRK4vq9vQI/Uw3Z0MVpK0I/AAAAAAAAFNk/KNo4tiEnHdU/s1600/IMG_5929.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kea posing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GgbBdG_vgOs/Uw3Z3gqrVsI/AAAAAAAAFOU/liKeoq7DU_E/s1600/IMG_6032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GgbBdG_vgOs/Uw3Z3gqrVsI/AAAAAAAAFOU/liKeoq7DU_E/s1600/IMG_6032.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pancake-Rocks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In Picton, we stayed in a great hostel, the "Jugglers Rest" where the owner are passionate jugglers and have a fire show in the night for the clients. Furthermore, we hiked up the highest mountain in the Marlborough Sounds for a great view over the Sounds and we took a tour to the close wineries for some wine tasting (as we usually do when we are close to wineries) :-)<br />
Picton was our last stop in the South island, so we boarded the ferry to cross the Cook Strait to the North island were we drove up to Turangi. This is the town close to Mt. Tongariro and "Mt. Doom" of Lord of the Rings. So this was the goal for the next day, hiking the 22 km and climbing the volcano that was used in Lord of the Rings as Mount Doom. It is a very steep climb over loose rocks and a lot of poorly equipped people do it as well, so you have to be very careful when descending since they kicked off a lot of rocks. But the view from the top and the view during the hike are incredibly!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F4SLmjNz_n8/Uw3aA_giIZI/AAAAAAAAFPc/JRDeX1Hgn70/s1600/Malborough_sound_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F4SLmjNz_n8/Uw3aA_giIZI/AAAAAAAAFPc/JRDeX1Hgn70/s1600/Malborough_sound_2.jpg" height="135" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marlborough Sounds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cgD9PIU4mnM/Uw3Z3UMkGPI/AAAAAAAAFOQ/0BN69t3AzlU/s1600/IMG_6102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cgD9PIU4mnM/Uw3Z3UMkGPI/AAAAAAAAFOQ/0BN69t3AzlU/s1600/IMG_6102.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Mt. Doom to Mt. Tongariro</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i-sqYuzJDUY/Uw3Z4nLO0WI/AAAAAAAAFOg/qAF4tUcdID8/s1600/IMG_6136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i-sqYuzJDUY/Uw3Z4nLO0WI/AAAAAAAAFOg/qAF4tUcdID8/s1600/IMG_6136.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lakes in the Crater</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ftUavjyK1Q/Uw3Z4ymAcEI/AAAAAAAAFOk/3zPwLML4cxk/s1600/IMG_6161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ftUavjyK1Q/Uw3Z4ymAcEI/AAAAAAAAFOk/3zPwLML4cxk/s1600/IMG_6161.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still active Volcano</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Before we went to Auckland, we also visited the Waitomo Glow-worm caves and the Hukka Falls close to Taupo. So finally, we handed over our car with this summary:<br />
<br />
- about 5000 km travelled in 3 weeks in New Zealand<br />
- fuel consumption of about 9 litres per 100 km<br />
- once driving the car on the wrong side, but no accidents :-)<br />
<br />
In Auckland, we relaxed and visited the city's highlights (e.g. Sky Tower) and I took the opportunity to visit my old school where I went to 10 years ago (language Internationals). The school still exists and my old teacher (Martin Schwartz, now re-named to HD Francis Waterman) is still there (he stated that we will be teaching there until he drops dead). Very funny to see him again and he actually remembered me :-)<br />
So, after 2 days in Auckland, we cached our plane to Sydney and continued to Perth. Since custom and pest control were very quick, we were able to catch an earlier flight to Perth where we arrived in the late afternoon. Now we are planing our west coast trip with our 4x4 car we'll pick up on the 28th of Feb.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yh0WrS6CFWc/Uw3Zxlf8MJI/AAAAAAAAFNM/YDnyo96uD28/s1600/IMG_5843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yh0WrS6CFWc/Uw3Zxlf8MJI/AAAAAAAAFNM/YDnyo96uD28/s1600/IMG_5843.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiking at Arthur's Pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5M1DAuBl1Zo/Uw3Z0t8ZCuI/AAAAAAAAFNw/4hBO8XhVvGU/s1600/IMG_5894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5M1DAuBl1Zo/Uw3Z0t8ZCuI/AAAAAAAAFNw/4hBO8XhVvGU/s1600/IMG_5894.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying Kea</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oBrD7QeLXM4/Uw3ZzqEhJOI/AAAAAAAAFNg/ntAaaFZDGK8/s1600/IMG_5924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oBrD7QeLXM4/Uw3ZzqEhJOI/AAAAAAAAFNg/ntAaaFZDGK8/s1600/IMG_5924.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jumping Kea</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xlC5QkjUXms/Uw3Z1L39x_I/AAAAAAAAFN4/WnR7rUnV2NM/s1600/IMG_5937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xlC5QkjUXms/Uw3Z1L39x_I/AAAAAAAAFN4/WnR7rUnV2NM/s1600/IMG_5937.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kea on Avalance Peak</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SUjPK2pxROw/Uw3Z1T2fVwI/AAAAAAAAFN8/PisAZlKSNwk/s1600/IMG_5939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SUjPK2pxROw/Uw3Z1T2fVwI/AAAAAAAAFN8/PisAZlKSNwk/s1600/IMG_5939.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avalanche Peak Summit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v9BvC45To6Q/Uw3Z2LeGaqI/AAAAAAAAFOE/1vpUQh-AwCY/s1600/IMG_6026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v9BvC45To6Q/Uw3Z2LeGaqI/AAAAAAAAFOE/1vpUQh-AwCY/s1600/IMG_6026.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pancake Rocks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CmGJtC_J6dI/Uw3Z59S8mEI/AAAAAAAAFOw/WSDL09J2Sxc/s1600/IMG_6167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CmGJtC_J6dI/Uw3Z59S8mEI/AAAAAAAAFOw/WSDL09J2Sxc/s1600/IMG_6167.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hukka Falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U_Bsb2v0OoA/Uw3Z6H1DoUI/AAAAAAAAFO0/BX9U-yzdTfg/s1600/IMG_6190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U_Bsb2v0OoA/Uw3Z6H1DoUI/AAAAAAAAFO0/BX9U-yzdTfg/s1600/IMG_6190.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sky Tower in Auckland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--vYbT9e_mCA/Uw3Z7m06OFI/AAAAAAAAFO8/2SYH_C2uTxw/s1600/IMG_6216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--vYbT9e_mCA/Uw3Z7m06OFI/AAAAAAAAFO8/2SYH_C2uTxw/s1600/IMG_6216.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sky Tower ... have a close look at it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iyQ84_TvZ_c/Uw3Z-GRINKI/AAAAAAAAFPE/IS4o6jtEIfE/s1600/IMG_6217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iyQ84_TvZ_c/Uw3Z-GRINKI/AAAAAAAAFPE/IS4o6jtEIfE/s1600/IMG_6217.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skyline Auckland from Harbour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZdoPFOLCaA/Uw3Z--qtvHI/AAAAAAAAFPM/r7mzB4AkBlY/s1600/IMG_6221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZdoPFOLCaA/Uw3Z--qtvHI/AAAAAAAAFPM/r7mzB4AkBlY/s1600/IMG_6221.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Language International</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ql0DLtY9v3U/Uw3Z_oEmVaI/AAAAAAAAFPU/3qoJqDLR3EQ/s1600/IMG_6226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ql0DLtY9v3U/Uw3Z_oEmVaI/AAAAAAAAFPU/3qoJqDLR3EQ/s1600/IMG_6226.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My former English teacher </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-29326511330559397112014-02-11T06:55:00.000+01:002014-02-12T11:11:59.815+01:00Adios South America and hello New Zealand (Good on ya mate!)We spent 3 nice days in the "Torres del Paine" national park where we
finished the "W" track we started 2 years ago. This time, we were able
to visit the missing part of the track that was closed 2 years ago due
to the fire in the park. The vegetation has not recovered fully from the
fire, so you see a lot of burned trees along the track up to the
glacier. Since we didn't want to camp, we booked 2 beds in the hut there
and they do dinner as well, so we just needed to carry lunch with us
(which still was heavy enough).<br>
<br>
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<tr></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GvCKNXNsf1s/Uvmz23gqTwI/AAAAAAAAFJA/rYV8vOASl4A/s1600/IMG_5124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GvCKNXNsf1s/Uvmz23gqTwI/AAAAAAAAFJA/rYV8vOASl4A/s1600/IMG_5124.JPG" height="320" width="213"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flowers growing again in the park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xD1ivMzY-mQ/Uvmz15OjNyI/AAAAAAAAFI8/PwrR4HfUPcA/s1600/IMG_5108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xD1ivMzY-mQ/Uvmz15OjNyI/AAAAAAAAFI8/PwrR4HfUPcA/s1600/IMG_5108.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soaring Condor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rxLynng8sVs/Uvmz3TjOiyI/AAAAAAAAFJE/DZwDzmHVn3Y/s1600/IMG_5131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rxLynng8sVs/Uvmz3TjOiyI/AAAAAAAAFJE/DZwDzmHVn3Y/s1600/IMG_5131.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Los Cuernos and burned trees</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From the cold and windy south, we made our way up to Santiago de Chile by plane and we arrived in the night at our hostel. We had a double room and the size of the room was big enough to play tennis inside (we actually set the alarm clock to watch the live ticker of Stan!). Or last days in South America we spent with eating, sleeping, using the swimming pool and reading... except for the day where we went to a guided city tour (which was very good!). Since we had some Argentinian Pesos left, we wanted to exchange them in Chile where we noticed that the exchange rate dropped dramatically. So we did not get much Chilenian Peso out of it, but it was sufficient to have dinner and reach the airport of Santiago with it. There, we boarded our Boeing 747 from Quantas for our flight to Sydney (a 14 hour fight). <br>
So, we arrived around 18.00 local time the airport of Sydney, followed by the immigration procedure. We finally checked in at our hotel around 21.00, went for a quick dinner and then straight to bed. Due to the time shift, we were awake early, so we spent our day sight seeing in Sydney (see the pictures below) and we did some essential shopping (out-door stuff). In the evening, we took our Virgin flight to Christchurch for our Kiwi-Adventure. Believe it or not: the immigration takes even longer than in Australia and South America due to the "pest" Control where they wanted to see our hiking boots... Never ending story in short: we arrived in our hostel at 2 in the morning :-)<br>
<br>
<br>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-laIpTedxM3g/Uvm1kj-j0uI/AAAAAAAAFJU/HtdinleW_YY/s1600/sydney_harbour_bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-laIpTedxM3g/Uvm1kj-j0uI/AAAAAAAAFJU/HtdinleW_YY/s1600/sydney_harbour_bridge.jpg" height="97" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harbour bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EfM9e_A-6G4/Uvm1k9ATNDI/AAAAAAAAFJY/tvBlGFG4zZU/s1600/sydney_opera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EfM9e_A-6G4/Uvm1k9ATNDI/AAAAAAAAFJY/tvBlGFG4zZU/s1600/sydney_opera.jpg" height="134" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sydney Opera House</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
Christchurch was hit by several earthquakes in 2010 / 2011 and almost everything in the city centre is destroyed or needs to be taken down. So in comparison to the city I visited 10 years ago, it is a ghost city in the centre. The cathedral is partially destroyed and there is hardly any shops open in the centre, but there is a lot of space for street art! Besides visiting the city, we were also up to find a cheap rental car and we found it! 37 Kiwi-Dollars (33 USD / 30 CHF) per day and a funny car: Toyota OPA! Not a small car at all but very thirsty (9-10 l per 100 km). So after the acclimatization time, we left Christchurch and headed south to Omaru to visit the penguin colonies there (Yellow - Eyed penguins and blue penguins) before we continued to Dunedin (the city where they brew "Speights - The pride of the South", where you can see Albatross and yellow eyed penguins as well) through the south of the island (the Catlins) to get to Te Anau for our 3 Day Keppler Track. The track is one of the "Great Walks" which are e.g. Milford Sound Track (booked out for this year) and Routeburn Track (also heavily booked already) and the Keppler Track is heavily booked as well, so we had to do a very long first day (25 km) followed by two shorter days. Usually, you splitt our first day into 2 days, but the hut was fully booked already, so we had no other option. The weather was perfect and the track was good as well, so we spent 3 relaxed days there. But before leaving for it, we had a another sunny day in the Milford sound and it's surroundings! We can't complain about the weather so far, just about the sand flies....<br>
<br>
<br>
Now, our next plans are to drive direction north to Mt. Cook and Arthur's Pass for some more outdoor activities.<br>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I0vnDPWrFhY/Uvm34hR9NWI/AAAAAAAAFJ4/VAH5d8vOIq4/s1600/IMG_5257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I0vnDPWrFhY/Uvm34hR9NWI/AAAAAAAAFJ4/VAH5d8vOIq4/s1600/IMG_5257.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christchurch Cathedral</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--L5Big0-On8/Uvm34PtotDI/AAAAAAAAFJs/6lNMtd-4ryI/s1600/IMG_5268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--L5Big0-On8/Uvm34PtotDI/AAAAAAAAFJs/6lNMtd-4ryI/s1600/IMG_5268.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christchurch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n8U6RFeF4Dk/Uvm35I0ksVI/AAAAAAAAFKA/OiMTupVeEMU/s1600/IMG_5292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n8U6RFeF4Dk/Uvm35I0ksVI/AAAAAAAAFKA/OiMTupVeEMU/s1600/IMG_5292.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Centre in Christchurch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0rNmqakIt6A/Uvm35n4f3xI/AAAAAAAAFKE/caNusiLqRqU/s1600/IMG_5445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0rNmqakIt6A/Uvm35n4f3xI/AAAAAAAAFKE/caNusiLqRqU/s1600/IMG_5445.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peninsula next to Dunedin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T2N30hyZe0c/Uvm36he_n9I/AAAAAAAAFKQ/co7tq_K9Sts/s1600/IMG_5447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T2N30hyZe0c/Uvm36he_n9I/AAAAAAAAFKQ/co7tq_K9Sts/s1600/IMG_5447.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea Lion posing for the picture</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z2jvrrEgpq4/Uvm37GTsT-I/AAAAAAAAFKc/ZIqJAk25Cr0/s1600/IMG_5478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z2jvrrEgpq4/Uvm37GTsT-I/AAAAAAAAFKc/ZIqJAk25Cr0/s1600/IMG_5478.JPG" height="320" width="213"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penguin posing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ew-T4_JQrKQ/Uvm38OxYSmI/AAAAAAAAFKo/b8BqwjbpYZA/s1600/IMG_5493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ew-T4_JQrKQ/Uvm38OxYSmI/AAAAAAAAFKo/b8BqwjbpYZA/s1600/IMG_5493.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nugget Point - Catlins</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BAJoQwUo584/Uvm38pq8eMI/AAAAAAAAFKw/rzB6MZaxPIQ/s1600/IMG_5603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BAJoQwUo584/Uvm38pq8eMI/AAAAAAAAFKw/rzB6MZaxPIQ/s1600/IMG_5603.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family swimming in the Catlins</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AJHGi9i80qU/Uvm39O4zYFI/AAAAAAAAFK4/4vJDg8m8jrY/s1600/IMG_5643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AJHGi9i80qU/Uvm39O4zYFI/AAAAAAAAFK4/4vJDg8m8jrY/s1600/IMG_5643.JPG" height="320" width="213"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Key summit on the way to Milford Sound</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zqqN-4Fhu2I/Uvm39dY0XSI/AAAAAAAAFLA/n5F10tGwtJE/s1600/IMG_5722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zqqN-4Fhu2I/Uvm39dY0XSI/AAAAAAAAFLA/n5F10tGwtJE/s1600/IMG_5722.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milford Sound</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbBWFrnMKTw/Uvm39mdJpxI/AAAAAAAAFLE/1VyRYt7o1-k/s1600/IMG_5751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbBWFrnMKTw/Uvm39mdJpxI/AAAAAAAAFLE/1VyRYt7o1-k/s1600/IMG_5751.JPG" height="213" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Keppler track</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UV0lUxbKCOY/Uvm3-6BHivI/AAAAAAAAFLM/jaaco10reXU/s1600/IMG_5772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UV0lUxbKCOY/Uvm3-6BHivI/AAAAAAAAFLM/jaaco10reXU/s1600/IMG_5772.JPG" height="320" width="213"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iris Burn waterfall in the morning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-72124449966010515882014-01-22T00:00:00.000+01:002014-01-22T00:00:00.697+01:00Clouds, rain, snow covered summits, costal rain forest, wind - welcome to Patagonia (2)During the night, the weather cleared up, so we could start our trip through the "valey of glaciers" again to see the "glaciar exploradores". It's a 50 km ride through rough nature on a rough road, passing lakes, hanging glaciers and waterfalls. At the end, you find a path that leads to the lookout for the glacier and, if the sky is clear, you could also see the highest mountain in patagonia, around 4000 m tall. But the low hanging clouds did not let us see it from the lookout.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DTWi9tIFP68/Ut7yRLnb2ZI/AAAAAAAAFFI/FqFsgtI9cXY/s1600/IMG_4199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DTWi9tIFP68/Ut7yRLnb2ZI/AAAAAAAAFFI/FqFsgtI9cXY/s1600/IMG_4199.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View into the valley</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QrC6OwVMC4Y/Ut7yRiyxLpI/AAAAAAAAFFQ/aWLvc2iw8EQ/s1600/IMG_4260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QrC6OwVMC4Y/Ut7yRiyxLpI/AAAAAAAAFFQ/aWLvc2iw8EQ/s1600/IMG_4260.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging glacier</td></tr>
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So we continued our trip around the scenic lake to the little town Chile
Chico. On the way, we stopped for taking pictures and we also visited
the Marble Coves; stone formations in the lake close to Puerto
Tranquilo.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c7h8l2uLUIM/Ut7yUGPP9_I/AAAAAAAAFFk/GENsFXxBQnQ/s1600/IMG_4338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c7h8l2uLUIM/Ut7yUGPP9_I/AAAAAAAAFFk/GENsFXxBQnQ/s1600/IMG_4338.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marble Coves</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4_RauTGyc3E/Ut7yR76aFcI/AAAAAAAAFFY/bOct42EtSpQ/s1600/IMG_4281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4_RauTGyc3E/Ut7yR76aFcI/AAAAAAAAFFY/bOct42EtSpQ/s1600/IMG_4281.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the coves</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mk5KozxN4UA/Ut7yZsP8ZHI/AAAAAAAAFGk/c8AQzP9NzbE/s1600/P1010789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mk5KozxN4UA/Ut7yZsP8ZHI/AAAAAAAAFGk/c8AQzP9NzbE/s1600/P1010789.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XqprXX1l1kE/Ut7ySnwKoII/AAAAAAAAFFc/H67b30yJ8XI/s1600/IMG_4306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XqprXX1l1kE/Ut7ySnwKoII/AAAAAAAAFFc/H67b30yJ8XI/s1600/IMG_4306.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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In Chile Chico, we stayed two nights in this town so we had the chance to visit the national park in the south, where some paths can be hiked and where you have a splendid view to the surrounding mountains. Luckily, the weather was becoming better, so we had a perfect view to them. Leaving Chile Chico the next day early in the morning to be ready for the trip further south, to Cochrane to drop of our German friend and to buy our reserved bus tickets to Villa O'Higgins (There is just 2 buses a week).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SL3nVD4OSoc/Ut7yko75lsI/AAAAAAAAFG0/aofzT-ML7oM/s1600/lagune_wanderung_chilechico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SL3nVD4OSoc/Ut7yko75lsI/AAAAAAAAFG0/aofzT-ML7oM/s1600/lagune_wanderung_chilechico.jpg" height="105" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lagune panorama view</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UKOv7fkvFG4/Ut7yVgfsbhI/AAAAAAAAFF4/a1EfW-M5qkk/s1600/IMG_4472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UKOv7fkvFG4/Ut7yVgfsbhI/AAAAAAAAFF4/a1EfW-M5qkk/s1600/IMG_4472.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lagune in the park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steep section ahead</td></tr>
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Once we arrived, we noticed they do the "siesta" also in Cochrane, so the office was closed till 15.30. No problem so we had time for lunch and we came back at 15.30. There was someone in the office, but she was just doing the taxi service they offered as well and she told us, that the girl selling the bus tickets is not here. She might comes in an hour :-) so we tried to get the other bus tickets we needed, but no luck there as well, since the office the guy needed to call was closed on Saturday afternoon :-) . So back to the office for the more important tickets to Villa O'Higgins and luckily, now the girl was there... she checked our reservation (which was there) but she said, that she could not sell us the tickets.... ?? Why?... Well, they ran out of the paper tickets they are selling so she offered us to come back on Monday, then she will have new tickets :-D . Obviously, we had to bring back the car then, so this was not an option; we had to wait until we got back by bus to Cochrane to pick up our tickets. <br />
After this successful sunny afternoon in Cochrane, we drove north to Puerto Bertrand, a very laid back town a the shore of a beautiful lack where we enjoyed the sun (and finally got another slight sun burn!), reading the books we had to finish (since we don't want to carry them any longer). From this town, it took us about 6 hours of driving back north to be close to Coyhaique, where we had to hand over the car again. But instead of going to the city, we stayed in another cosy cabaña at the shore of Lago Elizalde in the middle of the forest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DrbTQP-YPqc/Ut7yWC3isCI/AAAAAAAAFF8/my0P-tz-Ymo/s1600/IMG_4555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DrbTQP-YPqc/Ut7yWC3isCI/AAAAAAAAFF8/my0P-tz-Ymo/s1600/IMG_4555.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puerto Bertrand</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-REIrdt6myTY/Ut7ylB3Y9wI/AAAAAAAAFG8/Aj8K_ONbiiE/s1600/Pt_Tranquilo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-REIrdt6myTY/Ut7ylB3Y9wI/AAAAAAAAFG8/Aj8K_ONbiiE/s1600/Pt_Tranquilo.jpg" height="126" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View around the big lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BrmGLH8w7dY/Ut7yk6U1_bI/AAAAAAAAFG4/T-CkvV9TRB8/s1600/panorama_chilechito.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BrmGLH8w7dY/Ut7yk6U1_bI/AAAAAAAAFG4/T-CkvV9TRB8/s1600/panorama_chilechito.jpg" height="103" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama view from the lake</td></tr>
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<br />
The next day, we had time to visit the city of Puerto Aisen before we handed back our car. So, instead of driving ourselves, we were back to carrying our backpacks ourselves and taking buses to move from A to B. In this case, we had to drive about 10 hours from Coyhaique to Cochrane (to finally by our tickets) to continue with a small bus to Villa O'Higgins. This is a small town at the very end of the Carretera Austral, close to the Argentinian border.<br />
The ride itself is a very picture-some trip through remote places of southern patagonia, including a ferry to cross a fjord. We stayed in a bigger hostel and met a swiss family, travelling with bikes from Ecuador to Ushuaia in 7 months. They travel with their 2 kids (4 years and 2 years old), amazing!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H4JtZCcMlm8/Ut7yXOZzDWI/AAAAAAAAFGE/kgEeBOEZjLs/s1600/IMG_4596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H4JtZCcMlm8/Ut7yXOZzDWI/AAAAAAAAFGE/kgEeBOEZjLs/s1600/IMG_4596.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture stop before Villa O'Higgins</td></tr>
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Using the sunny weather again for a hike in the surroundings we spent
the day in Villa O'Higgins. From this place, you can cross to Argentina,
to El Chalten. But the trip is not as easy as we expected. There is a
little ferry / boat that runs 4 times a week to the other side of the
large lake between the two countries. On the other side, there is an
estancia where you can stay for the night and where you get basic (but
nevertheless tasty!) food. Furthermore, you can visit a glacier similar
to the Perito Moreno glacier with the boat; a very nice trip.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oaeyBT_hgU4/Ut7yX4HcDLI/AAAAAAAAFGM/39YwLe4k3VE/s1600/IMG_4707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oaeyBT_hgU4/Ut7yX4HcDLI/AAAAAAAAFGM/39YwLe4k3VE/s1600/IMG_4707.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View to the glacier</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5VoDEnBDV6Y/Ut7yYVhTAiI/AAAAAAAAFGY/OSBVqhe0GQ0/s1600/IMG_4791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5VoDEnBDV6Y/Ut7yYVhTAiI/AAAAAAAAFGY/OSBVqhe0GQ0/s1600/IMG_4791.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The O'Higgins glacier</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qRdNUqFNIsw/Ut7yY6Us30I/AAAAAAAAFGg/judvBczaMCY/s1600/IMG_4842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qRdNUqFNIsw/Ut7yY6Us30I/AAAAAAAAFGg/judvBczaMCY/s1600/IMG_4842.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The standard Whiskey with ice from the glacier</td></tr>
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We had the information, that you need to hike 22 km to pass the border to Argentina (to get to the north shore of lago del desierto) but apparently, you should be able to hire horses to carry your back packs. Well, this was the information we had, but the guy with the horses did not show up and the señora did not know where he was... so we had 2 options: Waiting the next day to see if he shows up (or not) or to hike the 22 km (quite scenic) with our full gear (quite heavy) .... We decided to do the second option and it took us more than 7 hours to reach the lake on the Argentinian side, hurting legs and shoulder included. On the other side, there should have been a bus that brings you to El Chalten (37 km) but this bus was already "fully booked" so we (and some more crazy hikers doing the same) had to opt for other options. Luckily, a friendly couple gave us a lift to El Chalten, so we arrived not too late there, tired but happy that we made it, celebrating it with an very tasty dinner in El Chalten.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vFjnUiYhyek/Ut72Zaz5GdI/AAAAAAAAFHw/Pv5ZHTAbEQc/s1600/IMG_0605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vFjnUiYhyek/Ut72Zaz5GdI/AAAAAAAAFHw/Pv5ZHTAbEQc/s1600/IMG_0605.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scenic hike to El Chlaten</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lsjx81zXMD4/Ut72Z6YzpDI/AAAAAAAAFH0/1SPo4CG86KI/s1600/IMG_0614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lsjx81zXMD4/Ut72Z6YzpDI/AAAAAAAAFH0/1SPo4CG86KI/s1600/IMG_0614.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Argentinian border, 6 km to go still</td></tr>
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Since we have visited this town already, we took the bus next morning to go straight south to Puerto Natales, the gate for the "Torres del Paine national Park" where we plan to hike some more days until we fly to Santiago de Chile and then further to Sydney and New Zealand by the end of this month. <br />
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We left Puerto Montt early on the second of January because the bus left at 07.00 at the bus station. The trip from Puerto Montt to Chaiten is a lovely bus and boat journey (3 ferries) lasting several hours. As usually, the west coasts tend to be a bit rainy as it was in our case, but nevertheless, the scenery was beautiful, especially on the ferries.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hwyWYSuygNg/UtR0Ols8nAI/AAAAAAAAE14/pIO6KWeuqVw/s1600/IMG_3847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hwyWYSuygNg/UtR0Ols8nAI/AAAAAAAAE14/pIO6KWeuqVw/s320/IMG_3847.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hornopieren</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ii9XtWNgCyc/UtR0PMIl5dI/AAAAAAAAE2A/_cTFPoIXI6Q/s1600/IMG_3855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ii9XtWNgCyc/UtR0PMIl5dI/AAAAAAAAE2A/_cTFPoIXI6Q/s320/IMG_3855.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the ferry</td></tr>
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Once we arrived in Chaiten, we expected to see a partially destroyed village, but this was not the case. The centre is nice and re-build and it does not seem as if this town was destroyed in 2008. But the inhabitants of Chaiten keep one street as it was to display how it looked like. A mud slide from the volcano destroyed the town.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chaiten</td></tr>
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Due to the bus connection and the weather (rain is not the best when you want to go hiking), we took the bus next morning to move on to Puyuhuapi, a little town at the shore of the sea. The bus left on time at nine, but we did not get far, since we had to organize a new spare tire for the bus. So the first store in town was not able to help us to fix this, so we headed to the second store and waited for 1.5 hours with a running engine until the mechanic fixed the tire :-) Nice!. The trip leads through dense forest, mountains covered with snow and low hanging clouds, beautiful! The town was built by German migrants and so, the street names and the beer produced there have funny names: Avenida Otto Uebel and Hopperdietzel beer (3 different kinds: Goldene Jahre, Roter Teppich, Schwarzer Bach). That sounds pretty German!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WvMC5BgWiiE/UtR0SiguHRI/AAAAAAAAE2Q/7VuOaUbhe0A/s1600/IMG_3894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WvMC5BgWiiE/UtR0SiguHRI/AAAAAAAAE2Q/7VuOaUbhe0A/s320/IMG_3894.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puyuhuapi - first day</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZOAYZ-pug8/UtR0Xh_E5yI/AAAAAAAAE2w/yofywECkh3g/s1600/IMG_3976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZOAYZ-pug8/UtR0Xh_E5yI/AAAAAAAAE2w/yofywECkh3g/s320/IMG_3976.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puyuhuapi - second day</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_5NU8VCVIik/UtR0YadvtpI/AAAAAAAAE24/__cfEVr71HU/s1600/IMG_4014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_5NU8VCVIik/UtR0YadvtpI/AAAAAAAAE24/__cfEVr71HU/s320/IMG_4014.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View to the valey of Puyuhuapi</td></tr>
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We stayed in a nice hostel and next day, we organized a car to bring us to the "Hanging glacier", some 20 km away. A hike up to a view point revealed a very nice view to the glacier. On the way back, we picked up some Israeli hitch-hikers (but not for free, so we could split the cost of the car) and it's amazing how many of them try to get a free lift to some other places (in this very small town at least 12 were waiting to get a lift!). Furthermore, we saw a Swiss car in this little town as well! (well, this was not surprising since most of the tourists we met were: Germans, Israeli or Swiss).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TFqPb4nt0QU/UtR0Q3VComI/AAAAAAAAE2I/qtD_8_ni9fM/s1600/IMG_3925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TFqPb4nt0QU/UtR0Q3VComI/AAAAAAAAE2I/qtD_8_ni9fM/s320/IMG_3925.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hanging glacier</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KYoA1ipbVfY/UtR0Tvv9ERI/AAAAAAAAE2c/A_TU4bHgLFY/s1600/IMG_3930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KYoA1ipbVfY/UtR0Tvv9ERI/AAAAAAAAE2c/A_TU4bHgLFY/s320/IMG_3930.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hanging glacier</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ak3FF4-UJYg/UtR0Xu-L2iI/AAAAAAAAE2s/EzFvk9iUo5M/s1600/IMG_3964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ak3FF4-UJYg/UtR0Xu-L2iI/AAAAAAAAE2s/EzFvk9iUo5M/s320/IMG_3964.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking to the lookout</td></tr>
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Since there is not much to do else in this town we rented bicycles next day and relaxed in the small thermal baths about 5 km away from town, before we wanted to catch the next bus to the south. We were told that the bus should leave around 16.00 - 17.00 so we waited... for some hours... until the bus arrived at 19.00 :-) This actually caused some problems, since we did not arrive as expected between 9 and 10, we arrived after midnight in Coihaique. The unfortunate thing was, that most of the hostels were closed, so we had to opt for an hotel for one night. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OopSkqyLeCU/UtR0aX1WeSI/AAAAAAAAE3A/6GzRgdJgIDU/s1600/IMG_4029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OopSkqyLeCU/UtR0aX1WeSI/AAAAAAAAE3A/6GzRgdJgIDU/s320/IMG_4029.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puyuhuapi</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JIlALPqLSo8/UtR0bpY_hzI/AAAAAAAAE3Q/00TrR2Pw92k/s1600/IMG_4061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JIlALPqLSo8/UtR0bpY_hzI/AAAAAAAAE3Q/00TrR2Pw92k/s320/IMG_4061.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The thermal baths</td></tr>
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Next morning, we had some things to organize: since the south is difficult to travel by bus, we were looking for a rental car, we needed a hostel and we needed to do the laundry. And this time, we were lucky! we found a nice hostel, a German guy called Benjamin was also looking for a rental car so we were able to split the cost and we found a nice 4x4 car to drive around. Furthermore, the hostel did our laundry as well, so all our points were solved in no time. <br />We picked up the car next morning and drove direction south, to the glaciers and lakes there. The weather was perfect and we could stop to take some very scenic pictures before we arrived in Rio Tranquilo where we rented a cabaña (a little house). We wanted to see the "valey of glaciers" next day, but the weather didn't wanted us to see it; it was raining the whole day, so we had to wait for better weather to see something.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BMZsShwaDEk/UtR0bg_Ch3I/AAAAAAAAE3M/HYMJQHCc-IE/s1600/IMG_4103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BMZsShwaDEk/UtR0bg_Ch3I/AAAAAAAAE3M/HYMJQHCc-IE/s320/IMG_4103.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cerro Castillo and our little car</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--X7LzvLyNe8/UtR0cff3eVI/AAAAAAAAE3Y/Th8KsQXmZrM/s1600/IMG_4127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--X7LzvLyNe8/UtR0cff3eVI/AAAAAAAAE3Y/Th8KsQXmZrM/s320/IMG_4127.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cerro Castillo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p-7aX0ffCEA/UtR0INsCjHI/AAAAAAAAE1w/Izcxt3NWWEw/s1600/CerroCastillo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="91" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p-7aX0ffCEA/UtR0INsCjHI/AAAAAAAAE1w/Izcxt3NWWEw/s320/CerroCastillo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama</td></tr>
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Now, the plan is to do it the next day and head further south later. <br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-33986378243166999322014-01-01T23:56:00.000+01:002014-01-01T23:56:06.586+01:00Happy new Year - Neuquen - San Martin - Bariloche - Puerto MonttFirst of January 2014, sitting in the (only) open café in Town of Puerto Montt and eating Schwarzwälder Kirsch! The start to the new year could have been worse!<br />
<br />From Mendoza, we went to Neuquen for several reasons. One was, that the bus ride directly to Bariloche or San Martin de Los Andes would have taken about 18 hours, which we didn't want to do; so stopping after about 12 hours seems to be a good idea. Secondly, in this area dinosaurs were found and excaved and last but not least, some quite nice wineries have their bodegas there. So we started with a relaxed trip by car (including driver) to the Bodegas: Familia Schroeder, Fin del Mundo and NQN. Unfortunately, since it was close before Christmas, the Bodega Schroeder did not open, so we went straight to Fin del Mundo. A nice guiding through the huge bodega (8 Million litres of wine per year) followed by a tasty tasting: and all for free! The second bodega NQN was smaller (only 2 Million litres of wine a year) had a surprisingly good red.<br />The day after, we took the public bus to a little place where a dinosaur museum exists (since they found the biggest carnivore in this region). The stop in the museum did not take too long (although it was a nice one) so we had time to relax on the shore of the lake and enjoy the sunshine, before we had to get back to the bus stop.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5yJhUmJaFw/UsSX3hCNQqI/AAAAAAAAEu4/UIje2AF_-DM/s1600/IMG_3567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5yJhUmJaFw/UsSX3hCNQqI/AAAAAAAAEu4/UIje2AF_-DM/s320/IMG_3567.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinosaur in Neuquen</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-az8qCYLhwZo/UsSX3rQLuUI/AAAAAAAAEu8/ksfsgYYqW78/s1600/IMG_3569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-az8qCYLhwZo/UsSX3rQLuUI/AAAAAAAAEu8/ksfsgYYqW78/s320/IMG_3569.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinosaur found in Neuquen</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a-Ag5c_FgFE/UsSX3QdME-I/AAAAAAAAEvA/iH-H8MxzPsw/s1600/IMG_3591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a-Ag5c_FgFE/UsSX3QdME-I/AAAAAAAAEvA/iH-H8MxzPsw/s320/IMG_3591.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neuquen</td></tr>
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Next day, we left Neuquen for San Martin de los Andes to spend Christmas there. San Martin is a layed back town over Christmas: Sunshine, wind, lake, a bit of hiking, trees.... nice and relaxing. In San Martin, we also had the chance to use our kitchen gear the first time (knife + anti-stick-pan) since our hostal had a kitchen that could be used! So we cooked our own Christmas dinner on the 25th of December (anyway: most of the restaurants are closed on that day as well!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Za_KKFVey0Q/UsSX7G94z8I/AAAAAAAAEwU/Jyu-onqSeIQ/s1600/P1010762_stitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="123" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Za_KKFVey0Q/UsSX7G94z8I/AAAAAAAAEwU/Jyu-onqSeIQ/s320/P1010762_stitch.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Martin de Los Andes</td></tr>
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But we actually wanted to do something else there: from Aconcagua, we had some gear we are not using anymore, so we packed a parcel with things and wanted to send it back home... well, before Christmas, all people want to pay there bills in the post office, so we waited 30 minutes in line for our parcel. Usually, this was never an issue, but they've changed rules: we were told, that all parcels need to go through "Aduana" (custom) first. But there is one just down the street, and after, you come back. Although this Aduana office has opening hours, it did not open the week we were there! So once we went to the bus stop for changing to Bariloche, we had a nice packet to carry extra!<br />As we arrived, we asked the cab driver to stop at the Aduana office first to check whether they are open or not... well, they were not open although the schedule suggested it. Luckily, the owner of the hostel we stayed knew, that there is another Aduana office in the post office, so we checked it: Opening Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 09.00 - 11.30... So we had no choice than going there again next morning. As we arrived shortly after 9, the office was actually open and there was already a queue waiting to pick up parcels. But finally, our gear was checked (note: 45 minutes waiting for a 1 minute check) and we were able to send out our stuff (5 kg less in our backpacks). <br />Once this was done, we took the bus to a bycicle rental store to do the "Cirquito Chico" by bike. This is a 30 km ride around the lakes in this area, perfect for taking pictures of the surroundings. Furthermore, we went for a tipical dish in Bariloche: Cheese fondue! Quite tasty!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--1zT0gKYIsc/UsSX4aKap4I/AAAAAAAAEvw/3r-Pzo4l6ik/s1600/IMG_3625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--1zT0gKYIsc/UsSX4aKap4I/AAAAAAAAEvw/3r-Pzo4l6ik/s320/IMG_3625.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View at Cirquito Chico</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sEu5aqsQJG4/UsSX4nsRc3I/AAAAAAAAEvU/6bQvlKqYMto/s1600/IMG_3634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sEu5aqsQJG4/UsSX4nsRc3I/AAAAAAAAEvU/6bQvlKqYMto/s320/IMG_3634.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View at Cirquito Chico</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View at Cirquito Chico</td></tr>
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Besides the lake, there is also some mountains you can climb next to Bariloche, so we took the public bus again and hiked the Cerro Turista. The guy from the Club Andina (SAC of Argentina) told us: 4 hours to the refugio and 1 hour up to the top; It took us a bit more than 2 hours to the refugio but almost as long to the summit, so the guy had no clue how it looks like there. Climbing the summit really included climbing up some pretty steep sections, waling through snow fields and creeks and we were happy to have our big boots on; Other people (Argentinians) did the same tour with sneekers, converse shoes and we saw at least one person wearing sandals! But it was worth the effort, the view was great from the top!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-14XDCm2BjOs/UsSX5MyQN_I/AAAAAAAAEvo/IP3VUFxA55k/s1600/IMG_3693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-14XDCm2BjOs/UsSX5MyQN_I/AAAAAAAAEvo/IP3VUFxA55k/s320/IMG_3693.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laguna on the way to the summit</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hgc7w6BbwpA/UsSX7mnorUI/AAAAAAAAEwY/39UzkFsT8ow/s1600/panoramic_view_turista.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="68" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hgc7w6BbwpA/UsSX7mnorUI/AAAAAAAAEwY/39UzkFsT8ow/s320/panoramic_view_turista.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panoramic view</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit seat</td></tr>
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Our initial plan was, that we wanted to travel south to Esquel to visit the national park there, but there are some issues with a plant and the hanta virus and nobody was reacting on our emails, so we changed the plan to head west to Puerto Montt to start the trip on the Carretera Austral. On the way to Chile, we had to pass the border (which is always a fun thing to do!): Firstly, the Argentinians could not find my entrance to Argentina in the system any more but this was solved quickly, since I was leaving the country anyway. But on the Chilean side, the fun begins. Firstly, we waited about 45 minutes in the bus to approach the border / vegetable control post. Then, they unload all the luggage and check it with two dogs (looking for drugs and plants). After this, you bring your hand-luggage for such a control as well and then you queue up for an hour to get the entrance stamp. There were about 8 people in charge of checking the luggage but only one person for the border control :-) and all other vehicles at the border had to wait until our bus was done... what a waist of time! But finally, we reached Chile... but to make things a bit more interesting, in Osorno, we had to change the bus. Reason: None. Information: none. So, our luggage was unloaded and put into the other bus, and you can guess it: there was not enough space in this bus for all of us! So the bus driver was checking with some other companies and finally, we unloaded our luggage again and changed to a second bus. Welcome to South America! :-) But finally, we arrived in Puerto Montt 2 hours late, but we arrived. And in the evening, we found a very nice restaurant just around the corner for some delicious sea food and meat (Doña Julia).<br /><br />Puerto Montt has not too many sights to see, but the fish market and the fish restaurants are definitely worth a visit. You can see the catches of the day and you can watch the fisher slicing the fish for the customers. Upstairs, you have about 30 restaurants (small ones with about 10 seats each) where you can enjoy freshly cooked sea food (home made style).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ALXO2llTPTE/UsSX6s79a7I/AAAAAAAAEwM/RzaOhInl2u0/s1600/IMG_3809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ALXO2llTPTE/UsSX6s79a7I/AAAAAAAAEwM/RzaOhInl2u0/s320/IMG_3809.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broken boat in Puerto Montt</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUqHOHjFCaw/UsSX6VKz5rI/AAAAAAAAEwA/6Zd7OM2y_7M/s1600/IMG_3801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUqHOHjFCaw/UsSX6VKz5rI/AAAAAAAAEwA/6Zd7OM2y_7M/s320/IMG_3801.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish market</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish market</td></tr>
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In the evening, we joined the hostel crew's new years dinner and party. They invited their neighbours / families for food, sparkling wine, there was a firework at midnight and a karaoke contest after, including the right amount of wine for a long night! Very good fun, so we are glad that we went there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--pjbeFuxAb8/UsSahVO5OKI/AAAAAAAAEyQ/77Oow-_ThBc/s1600/IMG_0500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--pjbeFuxAb8/UsSahVO5OKI/AAAAAAAAEyQ/77Oow-_ThBc/s320/IMG_0500.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karaoke!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6rnItaq0LXE/UsSahaDOQII/AAAAAAAAEyY/uFndqq58Qxs/s1600/IMG_0510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6rnItaq0LXE/UsSahaDOQII/AAAAAAAAEyY/uFndqq58Qxs/s320/IMG_0510.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting into 2014</td></tr>
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And now, we are planning the Carretera Austral, a gravel road to the remote places in the south of chile. The idea is, to travel down to Villa O'Higgins (the end of the Carretera) and cross the border there back to Argentina. We'll see how it goes, especially tomorrow (2nd) will be special since we have a bus to Chaiten, a city that was destroyed 2008 by a volcano and it seems to be rebuild partially.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LaudkuNQtKk/UsSapM9qeVI/AAAAAAAAEyk/pIsKtVeK6-Y/s1600/IMG_0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LaudkuNQtKk/UsSapM9qeVI/AAAAAAAAEyk/pIsKtVeK6-Y/s320/IMG_0521.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carretera Austral - here it starts</td></tr>
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<br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-76516337870858085632013-12-24T23:49:00.001+01:002013-12-24T23:49:20.875+01:00feliz navidad - merry christmas - frohe WeihnachtenFrom Mendoza, we took the bus south, following the "ruta de los vinos" south to Neuquen and from there, we continued to San Martin de Los Andes! A beautiful place with a lake, mountains and forrest. A perfect place for christmas!<br />
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Merry Christmas from 25 degree and sunny San Martin!<br />
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<br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-45920226918444333672013-12-20T23:49:00.000+01:002013-12-20T23:52:08.243+01:00Mendoza - Aconcagua - MendozaAfter the aclimatization trip, we arrived in Mendoza savely and checked into our nice hotel where we awaited the arrival of the tour guide and the other two swiss guys. They have missed their flights in Santiago de Chile so we had to wait some hours. Fortunately, they made their way and we met Ilan our local guide. <br />
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Besides guiding, he was also in charge of organizing the rest of the trip and to get Argentine money, he called his friend to do some money exchange. Since the peso is losing a lot of value, they are happy to by dollars and Euros to a very nice exchange rate (Official: 6.5 ; in Restaurants 8.5, "Dollar Blue" 10.0 USD). So, a nice men enteres the hotel you lead him to your room, where you first place the dollars / Euros and he provides the matching amount in Peso. Everyone is happy after the trade...<br />
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Getting the permit is another story the next day: first, you need 5'000 Peso in Cash (depending on the rate above, this is more or less) and your passport and a piece of paper Ilan filled out. With this, you walk down the road to get to a "rapi-pago" place where you cash in the 5'000 Peso and get a receipt. With this receipt, you head to the main office of the parque Aconcagua, sign some papers and receive finally your permit.<br />
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Before leaving, we rented the missing equipements (e.g. special boots that look like skying boots) and we had a nice piece of meat before going to bed. Next day, we headed to Uspallata (a place where the movie "7 years in Tibet" was shot) and stayed on night there in a big hotel that, to our bad luck, was hosting about 100 old age pensioner (German: Typische Kaffeefahrt Gäste) that were having a party in this hotel (luckily only till midnight). Leaving the place in the morning, we continued to drive up to 2400 m altitude to start our hike at punta de Vacas (well, we did not see a single cow.... they must have been eaten by the other hikers before)! A nice hike along a river to our first night in tents (YEAH! Camping!!) at pampa de lenas. Instead of "punta de vacas" we suggest to rename the start to "punta de mulas" since we have seen quite a lot of them. They are used to bring our luggage and food, etc. to the camp sites.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mulas on their way</td></tr>
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Once we arrived after a dusty hike (we were all covered in dust at the end), we cleand us off the dirt and had a very tasty gaucho BBQ! Happy and full, we slept on 2800 m in the tent and our sleeping bags. It was just after midnight, when we heared some mulas (donkeys) running through our camp and the gauchos shouting and following them, but besides this, it was all allright!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gaucho BBQ</td></tr>
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The second day lead us to casa de piedra (a matching name) and we could see the mountain now for the first time. This day was also a very dusty and dry day and in the evening, we had a special dish: Pollo al disco. This is not a dancing chick, it's acually a tasty dinner with chicken with vegetables and potatoes in a beer sauce.... good work at 3200 m altitude!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aconcagua</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casa de Piedras</td></tr>
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Third day: Yes, still dusty but now, our way started to become steeper to base camp. During the season, some people live in base camp to make and serve food for the people wanting to climb Aconcagua (4 month full time). We all felt good and our plan was to stay some days in basecamp to get aclimatized to the altitude (4'200 m). Sleeping in tents became not so bad anymore since we could leave them set up for some days.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Base Camp - Plaza Argentina</td></tr>
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Day 4: Resting day. Medical check to see if we are aclimatized already to this altitude. All of us passed :-) . Not moving too quickly, drinking tea, reading, waiting for dinner.<br />
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Day 5: A little correctiton: sleeping in a tent is definitely not fun if a winterstorm is rushing through the camp. Snow and wind kept us up all night.... but we still had to do some aclimatization hikes, so we climbed "cerro Collorado" next to the camp.Fortunately, the sun was out and melted away the snow quickly.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aconcagua - 6962 m</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swiss Hiker group</td></tr>
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Day 6: Hiking up to campo 1 (5'000 m ) and down again. What a fun! Once you arrive, you know that you have to do the same thing tomorrow again :-) but the view and the weather was nice, so it was quite enjoyable. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ikZ31wGxRfw/UrNnndNkRJI/AAAAAAAAEnM/pgDy8AJIvvE/s1600/IMG_3510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ikZ31wGxRfw/UrNnndNkRJI/AAAAAAAAEnM/pgDy8AJIvvE/s320/IMG_3510.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aconcagua and penitentes</td></tr>
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Day 7: Winter is back. Although, it is summer in Argentina, we had snow down to base camp. But this can not stop though swiss hikers from climbing to camp 1 again. Fighting throught the snow storm, we finally arrived in campo 1 tired and wet. Due to the winds, we just had 2 tents for 5 people, so the night was short and windy, but not too cold (with 3 people in the same tent). All other tours returned in between to base camp for better weather. We had soup and luck, then in the morning, the sun was out again and melted most of the snow away.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X03nSF47YFI/UrNoSdFTitI/AAAAAAAAEoI/XuNckjgGQqw/s1600/P1010623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X03nSF47YFI/UrNoSdFTitI/AAAAAAAAEoI/XuNckjgGQqw/s320/P1010623.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow storm</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kIF892jW2AI/UrNoS9pTZUI/AAAAAAAAEoM/ZlSiZ1z59EI/s1600/P1010641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kIF892jW2AI/UrNoS9pTZUI/AAAAAAAAEoM/ZlSiZ1z59EI/s320/P1010641.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">resting</td></tr>
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Day 8: No time for resting: Today, we hike to campo 2 for aclimatization. The first few hours, you stand in a wall and fight against the snow, but once you reache the edge, you have a splendid view to the other mountains. Most of them are not higher than the point we reached (about 5'400 m) and the view was splendid. On the way down, we noticed, that a stone man was watching us all day!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m-oE5xtJXAc/UrNoUQsAWEI/AAAAAAAAEoU/8PUmReaD2Uw/s1600/P1010644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m-oE5xtJXAc/UrNoUQsAWEI/AAAAAAAAEoU/8PUmReaD2Uw/s320/P1010644.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man on Aconcagua</td></tr>
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Day 9: We are getting closer to the summit. Taking down our tents (Peter actually slept outside of the tent this time in 5'000 m altitude) and hiking up the wall again. Luckily, other groups have built a nice path through the snow, so it is less tiring to get to camp 2 (5'500 m). In camp 2, we get interviewed by an Pakistany, that want's to do the 7 summits in 7 months. Furthermore, he's doing a documentation about climbers, so we are now part of the Pakistany project. His sister seems to be the first pakistany woman who climbed Mt. Everest... Strange people up here... :-)<br />
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Day 10: The weatherforecast seems to be good and we are in a pretty good condition as well. So, we pack our stuff and hike up to campo 3 on 6'000 m. At the beginning a steep hike, becoming better after a while. And the tension is rising. If everything works as planned, we'll try to climb the montain the next morning. So, we go early to bed (but taking some pictures before) to be ready for the day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Campo 3 - 6000 m</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset at 6000 m</td></tr>
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Day 11: around 04.30 we get up to be ready at 06.00 to start our summit day. The weather is good and we hike about 3 hours before we reach the refugio Independencia on 6'400 m, a shelter hut. By this time, we are higher than all other mountains around us! <br />
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Besides our guide Ilan, another guide / porter is with us, Hugo. Unfortunately, the group get's split into two and we get Hugo as our lead.... well, we have seen better guiding. Instead leading in a constant pace (as Ilan did) he goes fast and slow in cycles... so the way up to the next place for a break becomes very difficult. Nevertheless, we made it up to "las cuevas" a good place for a break. Unfortunately, the weather turns to it's bad side: snow and wind and fog are now all over the place.Not the best conditions for hiking up such a tall mountain, but we keep going.<br />
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At about 6'800 m the weather is still bad (even worse) and the guiding not better. After a break, we decide to prefere to have a save descend rather than trying to reach the summit. So, we won't make it to the top, but the view is anyway not good (so no panorama pictures) and a safe descend is important!<br />
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The way down is much quicker and we arrive around 18.00 campo 3 again, where we stay one more night.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from 6'400 m (Refugio Independencia)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going down again</td></tr>
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Day 12: Hiking down the other side of the mountain to Plaza de Mulas, the other base camp. It's a short but step section we have to hike down. Fourtunately, down in this base camp, we meet Pablo. He's the organzier down there and we get very delicious pizza and meat for dinner. <br />
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As in some airports, our luggage did not make it down the mountain on time, but some other sleeping bags were quickly organized and we could sleep in a fixed tent with beds instead of our tents!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Base Camp - Plaza de Mulas</td></tr>
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Last day on the mountain: Snoring people suck! a guy was making a lot of noise during the night so we did not sleep much but we have to hike out of the park today. 27 km downhill is the plan, the sun is out again and we can feel the last days now. It is more a duty then a joy doing this, but it has to be. Finally, we arrive the entrance, see some condors and check out. With a coold beer, we do a short touristic stop at the "Puente del Inca" and drive back to Mendoza that day. A very strange thing happend: it started to rain on the way and even in Mendoza we had rain; it does not rain very often down there! But now, it's time for a good steak and some more red wine now! Furthermore, I should think of visiting a barber.... I do lok like a Taliban now. I guess I would have problems entering Switzerland how I look right now!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puente del Inca</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meat again!</td></tr>
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The next days we spend with relaxing and washing our cloths. Some of them, we'll need to bring to the laundry again, everything is so dusty and dirty! Meat is given for the evening and we did 2 wine tours in Maipu (NO!! Mr. Hugo rental bikes was closed due to mourning, so we just got some crappy other bikes) and another with a car in Lujan de Cuyo. The last stop there was amazing (not because we have had too many drinks before, but they had the best wine of all the stops this day). Perfect sweet wine from white and red grapes; delicious! And in terms of meat: have a look down here:<br />
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After this, it was time to say goodbye to Mendoza, heading south to Neuquen (about 13 hours bus ride). Our hiking friends (René and Peter) catched they plane back to Switzerland and we are looking forward to seeing something new and head to Patagonia!! <br />
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<br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-30473698482289518952013-12-01T23:06:00.001+01:002013-12-01T23:06:57.153+01:00First contact<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We took off on time on 21st of November from Zurich, had our flight via Madrid and Santiago de Chile and finally arrived in Mendoza, the wine capital of Argentina, one day later. Flying the new Boeing Dreamliner was nice, but after so many hours (14 h) in a plane, it's always nice to get out of it. During the flight to Mendoza, we have already been able to see the mountain we want to climb, the 6962 m high Aconcagua. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aconcagua 6962 m</td></tr>
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The first days in Mendoza were to relax from the long trip and to get ready for the next days. After a traditional goat dinner, we took the bus to arrive in Uspallata, a town in the pre-Andes in 1850 m altitude to begin our own acclimatisation process.<br />
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Although the tourist information does not know so much about hiking trails in the surroundings, we have been able to find at least some paths that we could walk and we also hired bycicles to see the "cerro 7 colores", a mountain with differently colored stones.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cerro 7 Colores</td></tr>
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But since we are aiming to climb the highest mountain in America, Uspallata is just the first stop. We headed further up the mountains to arrive in Las Cuevas, a town that basically exsists of some restaurants, hostels and a border station on 3200 m above sea level. This was our base for 2 day-trips in the surrounding mountains. We stayed in a small hostel and we were the only guests there, so it was quite private and nice. Las Cuevas was once important because of the train that connected Argentina with Chile, but there is no trains anymore and tracks are falling appart.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to Las Cuevas - Former Train Station</td></tr>
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When we arrived, we also had a quick look at Aconcagua and we got an impression, how cold it can be up here. It was snowing slightly and there was a very strong wind so that standing at one point was sometimes a challenge.<br />
Nevertheless, we decided to hike up to the "Christo el redentor" which is the old pass between the two countries. The way was slighthly worse we expected, but we managed to reach the 3860 m pass between Argentina and Chile. From this point we had a wonderfull view over the valleys here and luckily the weather started to become nicer. The wind was still blowing, but the sun was shining and the temperature was ok. After descending, we prepared our dinner (pasta) and had a lot of tea to keep us warm since in the night, the temperature was still dropping below 0 degrees and the hostel was not good isolated.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Path to the Christo el Redentor</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View down the valley to Las Cuevas</td></tr>
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Our second trip was a hike along the las cuevas river in a valley where nobody else is. The wind made it a fresh day but the temperature was now more comfortable. Once we arrived in our hostel, another person was taking care of the hostel. Pablo is a guide for the Aconcagua so we talked with him about how it can be on the mountain itself. It was a very enjoyable evening, our last night in Las Cuevas.<br />
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Next morning, we were heading back to Mendoza to meet up with our group and our tour guide Ilan. Although our friends had some problems due to delayed flights, we finally managed to meet up and have dinner together. <br />
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Saturday was then the day for arranging things in Mendoza, like renting our missing equipement and getting the permission for the park, which costs 5000 Pesos per Person (about 700 US$). Once we had done all this, we were ready for some (more) meat and wine and this morning, we left Mendoza again direction Uspallata. It will be our last evening in a hotel since we will start hiking tomorrow. If everything goes well, we shall be standing on the summit around the 12th of December, but we'll see.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YEnNcVCsB0o/UpuwFdHGfWI/AAAAAAAAEkk/_U_s8ICcrmU/s1600/IMG_3105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YEnNcVCsB0o/UpuwFdHGfWI/AAAAAAAAEkk/_U_s8ICcrmU/s320/IMG_3105.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Aconcagua</td></tr>
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To keep track of us, we have our tracking device which we try to use here as well. We hope to have good weather, which is the key for a successfull summit day.<br />
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<a href="http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0WnEctYikcZOFeMBPbxdyeZhgJi6PfsMM">http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0WnEctYikcZOFeMBPbxdyeZhgJi6PfsMM</a> <br />
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Next update will be once we are back from our trip.<br />
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<br />Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-59884606000671865172013-11-21T10:11:00.000+01:002013-11-21T10:11:23.088+01:00Count down... just some more hours until boardingAlmost everything is done. At 19.00 we'll board the aircraft to Madrid / Santiago de Chile / Mendoza...Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-19209896668765992332013-10-30T11:48:00.000+01:002013-11-02T10:53:00.560+01:00Preparation and Initial PlanningThe "Around The World" ticket is booked and the initial planning was done... here is the big picture what we are planning to see... <br />
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<a href="https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zE77haVBYctA.k9jEzbpQgzk4" target="_blank">Around the world map...</a><br />
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<span class="il">ZRH</span> - MAD - SCL - MDZ - Road - PUQ - SCL - SYD -
AKL - SYD - PER - Road - DRW - KUL - RGN - KUL - KTM - KUL - CGK - Road
- DPS - KUL - LON - <span class="il">ZRH</span>Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052227469883631010.post-13718117858738012552013-10-24T21:09:00.001+02:002013-10-24T21:09:22.125+02:00Hello WorldThe journey starts at 21<sup>st</sup> of November... Poppihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03674849011214294039noreply@blogger.com1