lauralocket

China!!

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:33:34 +0200

Hello there, it has been awhile so I thought it was about time I updated you on my China adventures! It has been none stop the last couple of weeks and time seems to be flying, I can’t believe I have been gone nearly 2 months, I will be back before you know it!
So, last update I was getting ready for my hike on the Great Wall! Well I did it and live to tell the tale! The views from the Wall were absolutely breathtaking and the 10km walk, yes I repeat 10km walk seemed to fly by with the scenery. It was not how I expected, for some reason I thought it would be a nice flat wall for me to have a little mooch along, oh no! Firstly it is on top of the mountains separating Mongolia and China so I had to get up there, needless to say no cable cars at the bit we were climbing! The steps up to the Wall were new but absolute killers. Then when I got on the wall it was really hilly and just like ruins in some places. I went up some bits on my hands and knees! After the 10km walk (have I mentioned that before!) we got the Flying Fox, a zip wire down over lake and then a boat ride to our hostel that was just at the bottom of the Wall. We sat on the terrace of the hostel watching the sunset over the Wall with a beer in hand, absolutely amazing! *I feel I use the word 'amazing' a lot, but what I am seeing at the minute really is and with my limited vocab amazing is all you get I’m afraid!
After that I headed to Xian on the overnight train, the same night of the train crash, thankfully not my train! Which I think was a surprise to everyone with my track record! Anyway Xian was a nice City, much smaller than Beijing. It seemed a little poorer, there were a lot of beggars on the streets. It felt a little more real than Beijing though, with the Olympics they are trying to 're-educate' the people of Beijing, you know like coughing up a lung then spitting it on the street is not such a nice thing to do! But it did feel quite manufactured for the Olympics. The main highlight in Xian was obviously the Terracotta Warriors! These were unbelievable, the history and story surrounding them blows your mind. There are 3 different pits or sites were they have dug up the warriors. Pit 1 was the best with hundreds of the warriors lined up. I didn’t realise that initially they were all painted in colour, each face is completely different and it is said that the workers based the faces on the man they were working close to. I also biked the City Walls of Xian, one of the few cities in China to still have the walls in tact, lovely view. We also got to do Karaoke, the Chinese really do love it and take it very seriously, we went at 4pm in the afternoon so not like the drunken karaoke fun you have in the UK. We had to get a few beers down us before anyone was brave enough to get up but we soon got in the swing of it and even booked an extra hour!
I had a very hot, humid, and sticky time in Shanghai. Again, really nice City, very cosmopolitan. As it was a Bank Holiday there were people everywhere! A tour guide I had explained walking the streets was like having a full body massage, she was not wrong but I certainly wouldn't pay for that kind of massage. The main highlight in Shanghai for me was the Bund, the new business center is on the banks of the Huang Pu River and the view from the other side is great especially at nighttime. We had a special evening up the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the highest bar in the world, $14 for a cocktail though… only had 1. Also went on the fastest train in the World, it got to 432 kmph! All in all quite a memorable day in Shanghai.
I have got to say after doing the major cities in the north of China I was looking forward to the countryside of South China and Yangshou did not disappoint! It was a little town with beautiful limestone cliffs in the background with the Li River running through it. I went on a boat ride (more of a raft made of bamboo with a wooden bench stuck on top of it!) down the River Li, went to the best outdoor show I have ever seen… the Inspiration Show (check it out on YouTube, it was great!) did a Tai Chi class, my thighs hurt for 2 days after, really enjoyed it but don’t think it will be something I will take up! I have had some nice meals and some not so nice meals in China! Some of the menus are the most random things I ever seen, from Chicken feet to pig intestine!! The main ingredient in most dishes being fat and grease!! Needless to say I am now the size of a small house! But as Yangshou was a tourist resort was able to get some really nice food here, even apple pie and custard!!
After Yangshuo it was on a bike to get to the Longji rice terraces. The rice terraces looked like they went on forever. We did another big hike but it was absolutely chucking down with rain and I got drenched so not so much fun!! Also there had been a major landslide a couple of days before which we had to climb through, another thing to add to my ‘disaster averted list’! All the buildings are like ski lodges in Longji, but not so nice. It was quite a strange place really. The women there do not cut their hair as they see it as a gift from their mothers, but they look a bit creepy with long black hair! It was like living in a scene from the movie The Ring!
So, in Hong Kong now, left South China the day before the Earthquake, obviously! Haven’t seen much of Hong Kong yet so on my way out to explore!
Have loaded my pics on to snapfish and will give you login details when I have sorted them out. Got bored with trying to put them on here!
Take care x

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I have arrived...

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:54:00 +0200

So after a fab trip on the Trans Mongolian Railway I have arrived safe and sound in Beijing!
The 4 day journey to Mongolia was not as bad as I expected! It was really quite fun, I think the group of people I was with made it. The cabins were really small with 4 bunk like beds a tiny toilet for the whole carriage... I wont go into details I am sure you can imagine!!! The scenery as we went through Russia was lovely, lots of snow around, at one station we stopped at there must have been at least 5 inchs! We stopped at quite a lot of stations but we were only there for 30 minutes maximum so we didn't really get chance to look around much, not that I think there was a lot, just wooden shacks! As we got into Mongolia, after a very painful 8 hour border crossing the scenery changed quite dramatically.
We amused ourselves on the train by playing games, drinking vodka, watching movies on the ipods and making friends with the Mongolians in our cabins. The Mongolians take the train back and forth to Russia to sell goods at the different stations. By all accounts it is big business and local people go to the local train stations as we would go to Rackhams to get the latest handbag or jeans... all knock off though!! It was quite entertaining a couple of stops before the border crossing when they were trying to sell or hide all the goods so they wouldn't have to declare them!!
We arrived in Ulaanbaratar, Mongolia's Capital early in the morning and headed start to the hostel, which was not all bad. Ulaanbaratar is a really dusty place, and after a couple of days it really starts getting to you. There is rubbish everywhere and the men spit all the time and don't care where it may land!!! I can only speak as I find, but the Mongolians were not the friendliest bunch of people I have ever met! The food was also not to my liking with everything swimming in grease and the inclusion of piece of fat is the norm in their cooking. Now I feel I have not painted a great picture of Mongolia so far, which to be honest is how I felt. But then as we went out into the Countryside to stay at a traditional Mongolian Ger Camp my opinion changed! The Mongolian countryside was absolutely beautiful with mountains everywhere you look and animals grazing on the land. Because of the time of year there was no greenery and everything looked barren but impressive non the less. It was one of the girls birthdays when we got back to Ulaanbaratar so we decided to check out what a Mongolian night club had to offer! We were not disappointed, even though it was a Wednesday night there were plenty of people dancing with us to the cheesy English pop music. There were plenty of security guards about and after about the 5th fight broke out we understood why.
It was then time to get back on the train for a short 2 day journey to Beijing. I enjoyed Mongolia for the experience and the fab Countryside but I don't think it is somewhere that I will be heading back to soon!
2 days down in Beijing and I am absolutely loving it here! The people are so friendly and welcoming and there is a really nice if not busy atmosphere. At night time everything is lit up with red neon lights and it looks really impressive. By day you have to be on the look out all the time for the mad cyclists. I think the taxi experiences I had in Mongolia have prepared me for anything to happen on the roads so I am not finding the roads as bad as I thought, but they are still slightly mad when it comes to driving. We all went to watch a Kung Fu show last night at the theatre which was really lovely. It was all about the history of Kung Fu with a really nice story. The acrobats and dancing was amazing with brilliant music and lights. We also had a slap up authentic Chinese meal with Peking Duck which was to die for all for the grand total of 1 pound 99 pence!!! Unbelievable!
Off to a Chinese Acrobat Show tonight... the fun just never ends!!!
I have tried to upload some pictures but it was very painful... there are one or two St Petersburg ones though. I will try to upload some more soon x

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Moscow!!!

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:58:18 +0200

So, I have to admit my first impression of Moscow was not that great! After an 8 hour train journey from St Petersburg I arrived in need of a bottle of water. Going to the first stall I could find I tried to purchase said bottle of water. However, after getting over what I thought were language barriers I was informed that the woman on the stall would not serve me as I was not Russian!!!! I was outraged and took my money elsewhere! I am pleased to say that it has only got better since then, I think I favour St Pete to Moscow though, but it is still a really interesting place.
I have been to the Kremlin and visited all the Cathedrals, which were lovely. Red Square was amazing by night with all the lights and the backdrop of Moscow city centre. St Basils Cathedral was as stunning as I thought it would be. Apparently Ivan the Terrible had the architects eyes removed when they had finished St Basils so they could never create anything similar anywhere else... a little harsh I thought!!! Unfortunately Lenin was not at the Mausoleum, he is on his holidays so I couldn't see him, gone for a face lift I believe!
I have met a number of people that are getting the same train as me through Russia into Mongolia which is really good and we have been exploring together. There are about 13 of us altogether, needless to say I am the grandma of the group as the majority are between 18-24! But I figure it will keep me young!!
The vodka situation has been dramatically improved, we visited a vodka museum last night and obviously had to sample the goods! Very good indeed. We even learnt how vodka was made, I was more interested in the sampling though! We then went to a local bar where the vodka tasting continued through most of the night, needless to say I am feeling a little rough today!
I am just waiting to get the train across Russia now into Mongolia. It will be a long 4-day journey with not much else to do but eat, sleep and be merry... I have bought 2 bottles of vodka to help with the merriment! There are showers on the train but you have to pay about 5 pounds for the privilage, so dont think I will bother... I am backpacking! There is also a resturant carriage but it is meant to be really expensive so I have been to the shop today and stocked up on the noodles, cheap and cheerful!
Well I am not sure when I will be updating again as I dont think there will be any internet cafes in Mongolia!! I am due in China on the 19th April and the bikini will be coming straight out!
Speak to you soon xxx

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From Russia with Love...

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 18:59:24 +0200

So I am 4 days in and loving Russia! St Petersburg is a really lovely place. Shabby yet chic I would say!
My legs are killing me from 3 days of hard core sight seeing, so much too see, so little time! A little run down of what I have been up to so far:
A five hour walk of the Hermitage... now starts the history lesson... commissioned in 1754 by Elizabeth I (Peter the Greats daughter)and finished in 1762! It is huge, and I mean huge, a green building with gold gilding, really beautiful. Then inside is even more impressive with huge ornate staircases, beautiful ceilings and it is full of some of the most famous works of art, from Van Gough to Picasso. I could have spent a week in there just taking it all in.
Outside the Hermitage is a huge square with the Alexander Column and the General Staff Building which is also fab. There was a big stage being set up on Thursday which looked like it was for the Olympics... Well it was!! And today I saw the Olympic flame come through St Petersburg which was an unexpected treat! Followed by the worst boy band that ever tread the earths surface... I'm not joking there was air guitar and everything!! Good fun though, I have to admit my toes were tapping slightly to the tunes.
I have also been to the Peter and Paul Fortress that Peter the Great Built to protect the Neva River that runs through St Pete, it is very impressive. I stroked the finger of St Peters statue... its meant to bring you luck!! The River Neva looked beautiful on Friday with ice and snow drifting down it and the sun shining in the background. It has not snowed here and it has been quite cold, but the sun has been shining again today and, don't laugh but I think I have burnt my cheeks a little... I know, unbelievable!!
Today I have been to St Isaacs Cathedral, one of the biggest in the World. Trekked up to the top, which about killed me but the views were worth it. I also went to the Church on Spilled blood, where Tsar Alexander II was fatal wounded in 1881 by an assassination attempt. Outside it looks like a typical Russian building and inside the mosaics cover an impressive 7000 sq metres.
So a real action packed couple of days, and now I am ready to get the train to Moscow tomorrow! Some great pictures but no way to attach them at the minute, sorry!
Disappointingly there has been a distinct lack of vodka drank... this must be rectified soon!!
Speak to you soon...Maybe, never know with me!!

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Its been awhile...

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:28:26 +0100

So… it has been a while since my last and first only blog! But I hope you understand that I have been having far too much fun to be sitting in an internet café writing to you lot!! In fact I keep asking myself why I didn’t do this years ago?

I am now in Malawi at the Lake, it is absolutely beautiful! But I am feeling a little sensitive today after a very lively fancy dress party last night! Unfortunately you will have to wait till I am back in the UK for photos as the internet is so slow I would be here all day trying to get them on line.

I guess I should explain how it was that I ended up spending the whole of January lying on a beach by day and partying all night in Zanzibar instead of working in Kenya…

The election in Kenya was on the 28th December and everyone was talking about it! On the west in Kisumu there could be only 1 winner, Reila! But as we went into the 29th Dec and there was still no announcement about who had won there was unrest in the City. The orphanage where I was living was right next to a slum area of the town and we sat on the balcony all day watching people walk into town to loot. It was unbelievable the things they were coming back with, from tin roofs to sofas, and I kid you not when I tell you there was one man with a coffin strapped on the back of his bike. As the day went on we could feel the atmosphere become more charged but I felt safe in the orphanage with the big gates and wall with the Masi guards. We were next to the local police station as well but the 3 police man decided it would be safe to get out of uniform! As it got dark everything seemed to get back to normal until about 9pm. Which is when there was a mass march from the slum area into town, again we sat on the balcony watching it all go on… that was until the gun fire started!! It was unbelievable; I don’t think I have ever been so scared. The masi guards on the gates that were meant to be protecting us had decided it would be a good day to get drunk, so when the people were going past they opened the gates to the orphanage!! All the workers in the orphanage were screaming for them to shut the gates but didn’t dare go downstairs! The rioters really weren’t interested in us though so they just walked on by! I think it was about 12pm that night that I decided I should think about leaving Kenya! We drove to the airport at 4am, not completely sure what we would find on the roads or even if we would get through as the people had blocked a lot of the roads. Once we got to the airport with all the locals who could afford flights out of the country we had another battle on our hands! One minute we had a flight, the next minute a local would come in and hand a wad of cash over and all of a sudden the flight was full and we didn’t have a seat!! But we managed to get on a plane at 1.30pm in the afternoon to Nairobi. When we got to Nairobi we went to the travel agents to see what flights we could get, it was touch and go whether I was coming home or not! But managed to get a reasonable flight to Dar in Tanzania so off we went!

Dar is a crazy place, really hot and busy! The first night I was there I hated it but now I have spent some more time there I actually really like it and am already planning on coming back to spend some time working there (Hope your sitting down Dad!). But as it was New Year and we didn’t really have anything to do we decided to get the ferry across to Zanzibar… best thing we could have ever done!! It is so beautiful, just paradise, the weather is great and the people are so welcoming! It has got to go down as one of the best New Years Eve ever, at the bar all night drinking and dancing around a huge bonfire!! We were just planning on spending a couple of nights in Zanzibar but we managed to stretch it out to just over a week!! This is when my American friends Judy and Bennett flew home so I went back to Dar and did some teaching in a school, which was a crazy experience. My first day the head master took me to a class of 6 8 year olds and told me they have 45 minutes of science, maths, English and art, did I have any questions!?!?! I quickly borrowed some text books from the school and wrote some lesson plans! I had some fun with the kids, not sure how much I actually taught them in the week I was there but it was definitely fun!! I met some really nice people there too, 1 girl was from Loughborough!

After a week of working in Dar I thought it was time for a break and headed back to Zanzibar where I stayed for the rest of January until my overland tour started in Arusha, Tanzania. I know I should be ashamed of myself but you only live once!!

So far the tour is going really well, there are 21 of us and it is a great group even though I think it could get a little like big brother after 43 days! It took a while to get used to living in a tent and being dirty all the time but I am at peace with it now!! A bit of dirt never hurt anyone!!

Time is flying and I can not believe I will be home in 5 weeks! I’ll see how many blogs I can fit in between now and then!! I am off horse riding in the bush now and then we go in Lake Malawi with the horses… not sure how that works but I’ll let you know!!

Take care xxx

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Hello from Kisumu!!

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 15:04:13 +0100

Hi there... this is my first blog so go easy on me!!

Happy Christmas everyone!!! I hope you had a great time!!

I have been in Africa for a week now and it has been mad!! So let me start at the beginning... I hope you are sitting comfortably because I think this is going to be a long one!!

First impressions of Nairobi are a little mixed, well not really... I didn't like it one bit! I was a little intimidated to be honest, I think being on my own didn't help. I had a taxi waiting for me at the airport which was great, and he was lovely as all the Africian people have been that I have met so far. The main road into Nairobi was unbelievable with no road markings and pot holes literally all over the place. i think they drive on the same side as us at home but to be honest i really couldn't be sure!! There were people everywhere on the side of the road, selling, buying or just milling around! The hostel was a little rough, I was in a female dorm but there were only 2 other Africian women there. I got there at about 3ish and I didn't leave the dorm all day! Lets just say it was an experience and not one that I will be repeating in a hurry!!

Early Thursday morning I made my way back to the airport to fly to Kisumu. The plane was tiny, 12 rows of 3! Margaret you would have loved it! It was a bumpy journey for an hour but it didn't stop me catching a few Z's!

I arrived at Kisumu airport and it is so cute, the only word to describe it!! It is blue and yellow and has a little fence around it!! I don't know if you can go inside the airport but I didn't, there is just a sign that says 'wait here for your bags'. I got picked up by George one of the staff at my project in Kisumu. He took me to a hotel (considerably nicer than the hostel in Nairobi!!) where I stayed for the day, chilled out by the pool waiting for my project to start on the Friday. The weather in Kisumu is lovely, about 36-38 but with a really nice breeze, it rained last night but not for long and the sun is shining again today!

I had an orientation in Kisumu on Friday, from the car it looked a bit scary! The roads are really poor much worse than Nairobi, some of them are just dirt roads. Again, lots of people on the streets and it is really noisy with lots of new smells, some good some not so good!! But once we got out the car and started walking around I fell in love with the place. Everyone is really friendly and wants to talk to you, they shout 'white' to get our attention. Religion is a big part of life here, they are Christian which means they think anyone with white skin is a missionary and that we have been sent by God to help them so they all love us! This works for me!

Kisumu is the 3rd largest city in Kenya, but it is not even a quarter of the size of Nairobi. There is just one main street, a couple of hotels dotted around and 2 shopping centres and that is it!! But it is great and you can get anything you need here.

The orphanage is about a 2 minute drive from town in a car, it consists of a big house with small houses in the back yard where the children live. There is a gate into the orphange that is guarded by a Masi Warrior, which is very cool!! The flat were the volunteers and workers live is upstairs in the big house. At the minute there are 2 other volunteers who are a couple from the US, Judy and Bennett. They are both 22 and we get on really well, they are good fun. The other workers have either lived in the orphanage all their lives or have worked there for many years. There is a primary school next to the orphanage which are 8 little out-houses around a square, they are tiny and fit over 40 children in each. Because of Christmas the school is not open at the minute.

John and Phobe run the orphange and have dedicated their lives to the children of Kisumu. What they do for the whole community is mind blowing! They started taking in children 13 years ago when 2 of thier babies died. They were from a really poor part of town and had nothing but that didn't stop them taking in 6 children and it has just grown from then. Phobe took me round when I arrived and it was so sad, but no one is sad here! The older children are great, they are laughing all the time and just love to play! They love to hold your hand which is nice. The people at the orphanage work so hard but do not really have time to just sit with the children and play with them or cuddle them, so thats where we come in!! It was sad to see the little babies and toddlers, they were inside and just sitting on the concrete floors with not much to stimulate them. All the children are looked after so well here, but not compared to the children at home. I think if the orphanage is an improvement on where they have come from I dread to think!!

There was an incident on my first day which I think was a taster of things to come... There was a young girl of about 12 and her brother of about 4 really crying and shouting at the police station (which is a tin shack next to the orphanage) with about 5 older boys. Phobe stopped to ask the girl what had happened and she said her and her young brother stole the older boys food so they had started to beat them up. They were all taken to the police station and the police man was sending them away to sort it out themselves. The older boys were threatening to really hurt the brother and sister when they got them back home and the girl was absolutely terrified. All over some fruit! Phobe took the girl and her brother into the orphanage and got one of the other workers to look after them. The other worker was to take them back home and help them sort out the problem with the other boys when they had calmed down!

I am starting to get used to the mad things that happen here, I have already had so many experiences which I will share with you soon, but I am loving it here. But thats all for now folks... there is still loads I need to tell you but Judy, Bennett and I are going to a hotel for the dinner to celebrate christmas in a little bit of style!

Merry Christmas xxx

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