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In October 2009, having just returned rom a short tripto Singapore and Malaysia, I began to wonder whether,amongst years o travelling around central and easternEurope, I had somewhat ignored the travel potential oAsia.

Ater all, so many aspects o this continent had held myascination or years: Everest and the Himalayas, the sub-continent o India, the completely dierent cultures oChina, and the backpackers lure o South-East Asia.

I quickly came to the conclusion that it was the righttime to take a long period o leave rom work, pack mybags and begin to explore Asia. I could realise my dreamo seeing Everest, and take the time out rom work androutine that I so badly wanted.

Within about two weeks, I had booked three months owork - rom March to July - and got mysel a place in agroup heading to Everest, and also ound a great travelpartner or India, in Lawrence.

Tree months o organisation, deliberation, research,booking ights, sorting visas, and getting vaccinationsollowed, and on Monday, 22nd March 2010, I boardeda ight rom Dublin, bound via Amsterdam and Bahrain,to the Nepalese capital o Kathmandu.

...and it happened almost exactly like this...

RAVELS 201022/03/10 - 21/06/2010


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KAHMANDU22/03/10 - 20/04/2010

EVERES BASECAMP03/04/10 - 17/04/2010

INDIA20/04/10 - 13/05/2010

CHINA14/05/10 - 31/05/2010

CAMBODIA01/06/10 - 18/06/2010

HAILAND18/06/10 - 21/06/2010


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KATHMANDU nepal


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On my rst day in Kathmandu, Nepal, I wandered d own towards (Palace) Square, the main tourist area othe City. Te square is ull o Buddhist and Hindu temples, but quite honestly, I hadnt a clue what was goingon and was sitting there looking a bit lost, when approached by a guide, who oered to give me a tour o thesquare. Tis is supposedly common here, and youre generally warned that it probably isnt the best way to spendyour money, but having talked to the guy or ten minutes (more about trekking and Nepali politics than guidedtours), I gured it would be worth six or seven euro or an hour or so to learn a bit more rom somebody local.

We nished up about ve hours later... having seen every temple in the place, witnessed the start o and annualharvest estival procession, and seeing the Kumari...

Te Annual Harvest estival consisted o a huge chariot with big, solid wooden wheels, which locals and childrenhad spent all morning preparing. On top o the chariot, there was a very precarious wooden, lea-covered

spike, pyramidal in shape, about 30 metres high, but just one metre sq uared at the bottom. o huge cheering,throwing o coins and owers, and setting re to leaves and incense and juniper on the streets, the chariot waspulled by rope, very slowly, through the narrow streets around Durbar Square. I discovered that last year, withinthe rst 10 metres o moving, the spike ell over and smashed through the Palace Roo, causing untold damage.Hence the general scenes o hysteria and panic as the procession rumpled underway yesterday. I also got to seeNepals amous (and apparently brutal) Gurkha Army.


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Te Kumari emple is home to Kathmandus Living Goddess, a our yearold girl who is chosen as a very young emale (through a airly horricselection process, involving checking o 32 physical attributes as well ashaving to endure scenes o 108 live animal sacrices, and a night-long ina darkened temple being taunted by men in monstrous masks (i you canendure that at the age o three, youre considered to have what it takesto be a living Goddess)... Ten, she is taken rom her amily (who canvisit her a ew times a week) and looked ater by a group o Hindu priestsuntil her rst period, when she is set back into normal society...

So this girl appears at the window inside the courtyard o the Kumariemple ater our oclock every aternoon, or appears on the streets, in agolden chariot, about 12 times a year. As it was the estival, though, shecame out yesterday or a look. I was standing amongst throngs o peopleas she passed, sitting there, glancing around very regally (impressive,or a our-year old). As I took a picture, she looked straight towardsthe camera - it was one o those rare shots where everything works outdespite the act everything should go wrong - and is almost haunting.Shes the same age as my niece and yet has thousands o people ockingto see and worship her.


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oday, Ram and I went to two Buddhist emples (or Stupas), one called the monkey temple(or Swayambunath), and one called Bhoudha Nait, which is apparently the largest BuddhaStupa in the world. I learned what elt like everything there is to know about Hindu andBuddhism (but what is probably 1% o what you NEED to know to know anything!). We then

went to Pashupatinath, I think the largest Hindu temple in Nepal on the banks o the RiverBagmati. Tis huge complex includes what are called the Cremation Ghats, which is where ahuge proportion o the people living here wish to be cremated when they die. It was the mostextraordinary, and yet peaceul place Ive ever been. By and large, my camera was kept tuckedaway, as you are literally standing across a narrow and horrically polluted river rom amilies,as they say goodbye to their cloth-wrapped deceased and then, very slowly and very somberly,set them alight on the banks o the river, in the middle o this huge temple complex, as othervisitors, mourners, or tourists like me, look on. Very sobering.


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Halway back to Kathmandu, Ram and I got o thebus, and decided to trek down into the valley, acrossthe Bagmati river, and up the other side throughthe small villages o Khokana and Bungemati. Tetrek was about 5 or 6 km, passing through ruralagricultural land where garlic, potatoes, wheat andother crops were being grown. It was absolutelybeautiul. Te two villages we passed through wereamazing - incredibly rural or somewhere withinsix or seven kilometres o Kathmandus outskirts.Te streets were unpaved, and goats, ducks, sheepand dogs wandered through the streets amongst thegeneral goings-on. Tere were no shops (in the sensethat we know them) but the places were really hiveso activity.

Te people living in this area o Nepal belong tothe Newari group, who have their own culture andeven language. My impression was that most othe people in this area (but outside o Kathmandu)looked more ibetan than the Indian appearances omany o the people in the city.

We decided to nd somewhere to eat in Bungemati,and ound a tiny house to have lunch. Te shopront was a tiny doorway in a very old building,and we passed through into an almost completelydark and tiny room at the back, with a table largeenough to almost ll the whole space, lit by a singlecandle. Tere were about ten men sitting on benchesset against the walls around the table, smoking anddrinking out o shallow, wide tin bowls. Te oor

was dusty concrete and covered with everythingrom dirty Coke crates to washing-up bowls ull otin containers, with ducks noisily picking any oodthey could nd out o them! We ordered some(luke-warm) Chang or rice beer (which was servedout o an old tin kettle into shallow tin bowls),and then had some sort o rice-our pancakes withlentil stew, a plate o barbecued and nely-chopped

water-bualo cooked in chillies, and dried, beatenrice, along with some very spicy chilli-vegetables andlentil soup. I threw caution to the wind completely,and decided that I could recover rom any ill eectstoday i necessary, but it was the best meal Ive hadsince getting here.


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I think I also provided the local people here withhuge entertainment, as Im guessing VERY ew

Westerners have ever eaten there beore. Tey all satthere watching me eat, occasionally turning to Ramand asking something, then nodding, and lookingback to stare at me again. Tey were ascinatedhearing me speak, and asked Ram what language it

was. He told them it was English, but had to clariythis by saying that it was the same language that theyspoke in America. Te novelty wore o eventually,though, and they went back to a very animateddiscussion about politics and the Maoist politicians.


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On Tursday, I met up with Ram again, and we took a local bus rom Kathmandu to Bhaktapur - anotherUNESCO World Heritage site. Te contrasts between here and Kathman du are extreme - it is a quiet, almostrural, and architecturally extremely beautiul city, 15 kilometres urther south o Kathmandu. Getting there wasa drag - the Japanese are unding the construction o a new road between the two cities, but it would appear(rom my brie experience o building roads) that its being built in a very piecemeal, inefcient and laboriousmanner, not helped by the act that the construction site or the road is also multi-tasking as the current road, sotrafc mayhem, dust, construction and diggers all thrown into the mix. Which made getting to Bhaktapur allthe more rewarding.

As we arrived, there was a big estival taking place, which rom my understanding appeared to be the equivalento a rst holy communion or something similar at home. Needless to say, this involved more animals beingslaughtered, and or better or worse, I ound mysel at the very ront o the crowd as a huge water bualo wasbeing slaughtered. Literally having to jump out o the way as the animal ayed... almost a bit too much or me.

Having seen animal slaughters at the weekend at Dakshinkali, I suppose you could say I was slightly more usedto it, but here, it elt less spiritual and, given my proximity, quite brutal. However, this is part o the cultureand, once cleaned, the meat is used to eed a east or the childs amily and relatives, and again, the whole thingis consider a sacred and religious part o the estivities.


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Yesterday, I went with Ram to Godavari - hometown to both the Royal Botanical Gardens, and Ram and his amily.He invited me to his home or breakast, which I was extremely grateul or. His house is located in a small part othe village on the hillside, overlooking Godavari town, and surrounded by the homes o his brothers. Te houses hereare very primitive, but I was made eel really, really comortable, not to mention being made eel a real novelty or hischildren, nieces, nephews and, most o all, his 78 year old mother!

Tere is no doubt that the people here are very poor, and material possessions might be considered, particularly amongthe rural people, to be very ew and ar between. But sitting on the bare concrete ground in that very simple houseyesterday, eating Dhal Bhat and ruit and being surrounded by Ram and his extended amily, it was quite special to seesuch a happy, smiling and loving amily lie, and the riendliness o the everyone there, and their love or each other,

was just antastic. Te kids, who were beautiul, were so cheerul, interested and interesting, and to be honest, I didntwant to leave!

However, we did, and Ram, his 10 year old nephew, 13 year old daughter and 16 year old son took me around theRoyal Botanical Gardens, about a 35-minute trek rom his home. I guess once youve seen one botanical garden,youve got a good idea o what theyre all like, but this one, so near to the chaos and smog o Kathmandu, was such apeaceul, pleasant breath o resh air... maybe Id leave it or others to comment on how good a garden it is (botanicallyspeaking), but it was a lovely place to be or an aternoon, particularly just beore having to head back to the city toget everything ready or the trek.


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EVEREST BASECAMP

nepal


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Tere is really no way I can go into enough detail about my 17 day trek rom Lukla to Everest Basecamp andback, but on Saturday, 2nd April, I met up with the group o 11 other trekkers, comprising three Australians,two Americans, two Irish, and ve English (9 girls, 3 guys). Id been concerned about how the group would

work, but as soon as we all went or dinner that night, it was obvious, I think, that pretty much everybody wasvery like-minded and would get on well.


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Te ollowing morning, we had an extremely early start or a ight to Lukla,renowned as being the most dangerous airport in the world! Te runway liesperpendicular to a narrow mountainous valley, so planes (mostly single or twinprops) need to y into the valley and make a right angle turn onto an extremelyshort runway (so short, in act, that it is inclined to 12 degrees, to both slow downlanding planes, and assist planes taking o in acceleration). From Lukla, ater asmall bit o time to collect the nerves again, we met up with our ve porters andthree assistant guides, as well as Prakash, our lead guide, and set o into the hills.


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Without going into detail o each place, we generally ollowed the river valley o theMilky River up towards basecamp over eight days, including two acclimatisationdays, climbing a total o 3,500m to Everest Basecamp (just over 5,300m). I couldnever have anticipated the toll that altitude could take, seemingly more on the boysin the group (aka blouses) than the girls! Everything rom splitting headaches,to middle-o-the-night panic attacks, to vomiting and diarrhoea... non-stop or allbut three or our o the group! Te day we made it to Everest Basecamp, one othe guys was so ill that he was on the point o being carried back down by two othe porters, ironically enough in the same place where, tragically, two days beore,a porter had collapsed with, and died rom, acute altitude sickness. It subsequentlyemerged that, except in the most extreme o emergencies, where we were at thatpoint is generally considered inaccessible or even helicopters.

It was unny how little things stuck me as we progressing higher towardsbasecamp... whatever about there being no cars (obviously), it occurred to me that,

ater three or our days, there were no trees - just the burnt purple o dried junipershrubs, the slaty shale rock and the endless, swirling clouds o dust. I just couldntwait to see trees again! Although, truth be told, the priorities ast became somedecent ood (never let me see Dal Bhat again), a western toilet, and a shower thatdidnt involve somebody pouring warm water into a roo-mounted bucket...


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Te Himalayan porters are incredible workers, whetherthey be porters or trips/groups like ours, or carryingprovisions, supplies or even building materials tothe primitive teahouses where we ate and slept. T etried-and-proven means o carrying everything is onthe back, but rather by straps on the shoulders oraround the arms, all weight is supported by a thick,rope-bound strapping around the orehead, and theload carried by leaning ar enough orward to hold the

weight by the head while also balancing it on the back.


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For me, the denite highlights o the trip were the group with whomI shared it... denitely people there that I would really hope to stayin touch with a remain riends with, but also, as ar as the trip goes,reaching both Everest Basecamp, trekking the Khumbu Glacier and

witnessing 1st hand the Khumbu Iceall, but also making it, at 6:00in the morning at -10 degrees, to the top o Kala Patthar, a smallish(5,550m) hill directly in ront o, and with extraordinary views o,Mount Everest.

o see the sun rising, peaking up rom the valley to the let o Everest,with air so cold and so thin I could barely gasp it standing still, has tobe what epitomised that trip or me. As someone said the night we gotback to Kathmandu, it was the best, and worst, two weeks o my lie!


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INDIA


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Having own rom Kathmandu, arriving in Delhi(with Lawrence) was a bit conusing; we were told onthe plane that it was 45 degrees Celsius, yet it didnteel too hot (a dry, non-humid climate makes all thedierence). We were told that arriving in India canbe a shocking and overwhelming experience, but theairport was huge, pristine, air-conditioned, efcientand easy (with the exception o Lawrence scrawling hisarrival ino onto his Indian passport-visa, rather thanhis landing card, which created some consternationor the immigration sta!!!). Even the journey intothe City Centre (Paharganj, where we had decidedto stay) was impressive, with well-moving trafc,some beautiul colonial architecture, clean and tidyroads... the shock that I had expected rom India wascompletely eluding me!

But then you get to Paherganj, a run-down, crowded,yet tourist-area o Central Delhi north o Connaught

Place. It didnt help our impressions that Paherganj(like the rest o the city) is being dug up and rebuiltor the Commonwealth Games in September (one othe plans is a brand-new overground/undergroundmetro system to the airport... looking at its currentstatus, I think theres NO WAY itll be ready in time,but as they say here... this is India!). So Paherganjconsisted o narrow side-streets running o the mainbazaar, which was literally heaped a metre high alongits length with rubble, but everybody just carried on asnormal, walking on top o, around and through it!

As we stood outside the hotel getting our bearings,though, Delhi (almost) hit me... standing outsidea dingy street-side ca, I heard a loud splat on theground not six inches away rom me, and looked downto see the biggest, blackest rat Ive ever seen, strugglingback onto all ours having allen right beside me romsome height and, then, ater what I swear was a grin upat me, proceeding to make his escape through my legs.

Welcome to Delhi!

Our rst night in Delhi was quite uneventul... ora backpacker or tourist, Delhi is not a place whereyou will meet tourists everywhere, nor nd touristoriented cas or bars. In act, it pretty much shuts upby midnight, and as we would later discover, ndingsomewhere to drink ater that is something you do atyour own peril!

Te next day (Wednesday), we got up and walked

down to Connaught Place rom the hotel, which like Imentioned, is essentially a building site in preparationor the Common-Wealth Games in September. Ten,having negotiated our trip to Agra the ollowingday with the ofcial (government-run) touristofce (ha!), we got hailed a tuk-tuk and the tuk-tukdriver got his business or the day... First we went tothe Gateway o India, which is very big and prettyspectacular, and then went rom there south to theHumayan omb (essentially, a red-brick aj Mahal!).

Anyone going to Delhi should set aside at leasttwo hours to visit it though. Ater that, we movedsouthwards to the Loghi Gardens, which our driverseemed to think we needed to visit (he wasnt quiteclear, but there was something about peace and quiet,and lots o girls!). Anyway, there werent lots o girls,but it was the most peaceul place I ound in Delhi,and we literally spent an hour just walking around,looking at the gardens and birds (weird, in India, allthe ravens and crows walk around with their peaks

wide open all the time! Must be a dehydration thing!).


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Te ollowing morning was an early start... pick up rom the hotel to drive some 250km to Agra. I sleptor the bulk o the journey, only to be woken by sporadic screeches rom Lawrence in the ront, the mostdramatic o which came as we sped down a dual carriageway in the ast lane, only to be met by a water-bualo-drawn carriage, bumbling along towards us in the very same lane. A ew other minor events, notablydue to the act that roads cross dual carriageways with very little indication or regard or right-o-way...

Agra itsel is a airly run-down, bustling place, but obviously the main point o our getting there was to seethe aj Mahal. Weve all seen the pictures and read to descriptions, but at er 5 hours in a car, I elt a bitsceptical. But or what its worth, the aj Mahal, when you see it or real, is the most incredible thing. Itsmore beautiul, whiter, more magnicent, and certainly smaller, than you can ever expect. Having takenpretty much exactly the same photograph o it 5 6 times, we moved onto the Agra ort. oo tired by thenthough... big ort, lots o bits to it, loads o Indians... lets go home!

Tat night, ater dinner, we went or a beer in a rootop ca/bar in Paherganj called Club India, and

just watched the happenings in the street below us. Lawrence was dead right in saying that everywhere,something is happening, even at 11 in the evening. Groups o men sitting, smoking and chatting; youngguys doing dealings o some sort or other; rows o homeless in vests and shorts sleeping down or the night;herds o cows sitting amongst chaotically-parked cars, buses, tuk-tuks and carts... every square inch has someactivity in Delhi.


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We seemed to have timed Goa remarkably badly,because there wasnt a soul there to speak o, all theresorts, restaurants and bars were either closed orrenovation or harbouring minute gatherings o locals

who all seemed to be inbred and male. Luckily, noneo this was very relevant to me, as I spent the entirerst day in bed, apart rom 10 minute interval trips tothe loo either getting sick or trotting water.

Our one day-trip involved getting a taxi around someo the sites in Goa, as well as taking a boat saari alongthe Mandavi River, visiting the Sahakari Spice armand the Bondla Wildlie Sanctuary. All this beorean overnight train to Mumbai (much sooner thanplanned, but still not soon enough)...


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My lasting memory o Mumbai, apart rom some good partying in Leopolds andthe Mahesh Lunch House, will be arriving very early on the morning o the 27th

April into CS train station and getting a ca b to look or our hotel. As we drovethrough the early morning dawn, I was amazed to see the number o people, withno mattresses, covers or shelter, lining the pavements, ast asleep. But o all these,the one person that struck me the most was a baby, who could not have been morethan a year old, completely naked, asleep on the base concrete o the roadside. Idont think Ill ever orget that image.

Mumbai is a bustling, business-like city, with the extremities o wealth and povertyor which India is known. Its a city where the hustlers recognise you long ateryouve orgotten them, where they know who you are with and where youve been,despite your not having any recollection o having seen them beore...

Our time there gave Lawrence and me a good opportunity to savour some goodIndian ood, visit some o the more cultural oerings o India, and spend hourscatching up ater not having seen each other or too long.


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Having seen Lawrence o, I headed rom Mumbai,alone, to visit Sravan Kanukuntla, a ormer Indian

work colleague. I arr ived saely in Hyderabad earlyon the 3rd May (4 hours late) and met up withSravan no problem. It was good to see him and hisnew place is antastic.

Sravan and his extended amily were the perect hostsduring my stay in Hyderabad and Secunderabad aterleaving Mumbai: As I wrote to him ater I let: It

was so lovely to come and see you, not in Ireland,but in your own hometown. I was also absolutelyhonoured by the hospitality and kindness that youall showed me, in taking me into your home andtreating me like a real guest. Your house is absolutelyantastic (Well done!) and it was also so nice to

meet Sharmilas amily and spend time with them. Ireally dont think Ill ever orget it! Also, thanks somuch or taking so much time and eort to showme around Secunderabad and Hyderabad - bothare ascinating places with ascinating things to see.Tank you again!

F H d b d I ll l k d h h d K lk


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From Hyderabad, I eventually plucked up the courage to head to Kolkata(the ormer Calcutta), Bengal, on my own. I think Kolkata will alwaysremain my avourite place in India.

From my arrival, ater 30 hours in a train compartment with a three-generation amily, including three under ten year olds, I realised that it hadan energy and buzz that I think I went to try to nd in India. While thismay have included nearly being killed in the taxi rom the train station, andthe driver then getting completely lost and chucking me out in the middleo a slum ater dark, it also included antastically riendly Indian kite yers,brilliant co-travellers, amazing sites, and incredible ood.

It was amazing to visit the Missionaries o Charity, the order o nunsestablished by Mother Teresa, and to see where she lived, and died, in hertime in Kolkata.

Kolkata is a ascinating, i very poor place. I met up with a German guy(Jens) when I arrived so I went out with him and some others or a lot omy time there. It was hot as hell there, with all the Indians continuouslycomplaining, moaning and passing out! Kolkata was everyt hing I expected,but hot and humid!


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CHINA


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I ew rom Kolkata to Beijing, via Singapore, on Tursday 13th May and ound thatI really struggled to make my sel understood anywhere! Very, very, ew people, evenin Beijing, speak enough English to have a basic conversation (ordering ood, bookinghotel rooms, etc.) so it was pretty challenging. I had a contact or a tour-guide (NiuZe Min) rom some riends in Kathmandu, so I was able to link up with him and methim (and then, Maggie Pan, another guide working or him) on Saturday, and went tosee the Forbidden City and emple o Heaven, both o which were amazing.

Ater that, I spent a day looking around dierent parts o the City itsel, which is veryvaried, but predominantly very modern, big, and clean and efcient, largely, I guess,due to the Olympic Games 2008. However, this is contrasted by the alleyways o anolder City (called Hutongs).

On my last day in Beijing, I had planned a airly quiet day, with plans to go to anart museum to learn a bit about Chinese art, but on the way to breakast, I wasapproached by a Chinese girl in the street who wanted to practice her English (lots o

people do that here, just stop and chat t o you or ten minutes). Anyway, it seemeda shame to waste the company, so I asked her to go or coee. Breakast, coee, 3glasses o wine, lunch, a walk in the park, 4 beers, and dinner later, she saw me o onthe train at 9:24 last night! Her English was great and it was really nice to have somecompany or the day!


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I had had a long discussion with my guide about where to see theGreat Wall o China He oered Bada ling rst but I had read that


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Great Wall o China. He oered Bada ling rst, but I had read thatit was super-touristy there, so we drove about 3 hours north-east oBeijing to a airly remote part o the Wall at Jingshanling, to trekalong a crumbing, remote and empty 10km o the wall to the little-more touristy Samutai. Te wall in these areas has been only partiallyrepaired, which makes or a somewhat more genuine impression o theoriginal wall.

I spent a ew hours trekking along it, with pretty much nobody elsearound but me and a local guide, who was a local armers son, 22years o age (but a ather nonetheless, o two children). Ive neverbeen so amazed by anything, nor have I ever taken exactly the samephotograph so many times over...!


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From Beijing, I took an overnight train journey to Xian. I slept likea log in what was like 5-star luxury compared to the trains in India.One o the people in the sleeper compartment on the train was a girl

who lectures electronics in the University there, and I chatted to heror ages, and she drew me a big map o Xian with all the dierentthings that I should go and see.

I had been warned that Xian was very touristy, but that, to me,was a good thing at that stage... I spent most o my time in Xianexploring some o the museums there (including the Forest o theStelae Museum, which houses over 1,000 stone pillars carved orcommemorative purposes, called Stelae), pagodas (including theincredible Great Goose Pagoda), walking the city walls and exploringthe streets or art or other bits and pieces.

I reckon the appeal o China isnt as immediate as India (which youeither immediately hate, as most people do, or immediately love, as Idid), but I really think giving it a chance is worth it.


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A visit to the incredible erracotta Army, some 20km east o Xian, is anincredible experience. Te sheer number o soldiers, and the very actthat they are still being dug up and meticulously reconstructed to this day,is truly awe-inspiring. Te assembled army in the rst pit, as they wouldhave been over 2,000 years ago when they were built to guard the tomb oruler Qin Shi Huangdi, is vast, and a site to behold.

I wondered, however, i the presentation and preservation o this sitemight have been rushed by the Chinese ater the discovery o army inthe early 70s by local armers. Entering the pits eels very like walkinginto an aeroplane hanger, and the overall site that houses this amazingdiscovery eels more like an industrial park (complete with KFC) thana world class cultural heritage site. Having a book signed by the veryarmer who discovered the army, however, was ample consolation or mydisappointment in that regard...!


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On the overnight train rom Xian to Shanghai (hard-class, which is the lowestclass, but still miles better than the highest class in India!), I met a great Chinesegirl on the train who I spent pretty much the whole night talking to, and she gaveme some really good tips on where else in China to visit. She also wrote out thename o the my Shanghai hostel in mandarin. When I got a taxi to the address,

we drove up and down the street about three times looking or the hostel, beorerealising that the rubbled site o a recently demolished building correspondedto the address. Te taxi driver was bemused, but insisted that wed reached thedestination and wasnt too interested in any urther dealings with me. Having

been chucked out, I wandered around looking or somewhere else to stay, 30kg oluggage on my back. I eventually ound a lovely hostel on the Bund (expensive,being Expo), but with a lovely en-suite room. I met an Australian guy at anotherhostel I tried, who was travelling on his own, so went or lunch with him, andalso later on or beers and ood.

Shanghai appeared completely dierent to Beijing and Xian. Te shopping and city itsel, the Bund, the

Shanghai Museum, and the Yu Gardens and Bazaar, all kept me entertained or three days, and a miscellany obars and restaurants around the Bund area, as well as the somewhat ominous C-Club, in the company o otherbackpackers, kept me adequately entertained during the evenings...


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I went to Expo or a day beore leaving Shanghai, which surprisingly was quite cool. Teexhibition area is vast, so selected pavilions needed to be chosen with care I went to theIreland Pavilion (which was really, really impressive), along with the German, Nepal and Indianones, and an Urban themed one, which was also very good. But the bulk o the day was spentqueuing and it was actually a bit septic, so, good experience, but glad to get out o there!

I got a 24 hour train rom Shanghai to Guilin (I wasnt sure i it would go, as that exactline was one that had crashed the previous Sunday, but they had cleared it, so it ran).


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Guilin, characterised by dramatic limestone mountains rising out o the landscape,usually shrouded in a damp mist, was cool very touristy, very wet, but seemed verynice! I spend a day around the town, ollowed by a ver y rough night out in Guilin,involving an impromptu gig with an American guy in an Irish bar, beore getting theboat down the Li river to a small town called Yangzhuo, and staying there or a night.


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Te ollowing day, I hired a bike and headed south rom Yangzhuo towards atemple called Jianshan and a series o underground caves. Te road was ull oChinese kids and couples out cycling or the day, and as the only Westerner on theroute, I eel like I denitely became a bit o a novelty or the day!

CAMBODIA


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CAMBODIA

Having own rom Nanning in Southern China toPhnom Penh in Cambodia, I took a six hour bus romPhnom Penh to Siem Reap near the Tai border to


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Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, near the Tai border, tomeet the cycling group and to set o cycling aroundCambodia.

Seeing the country rom the bus was rightening, andwe stopped in a village on the way up or a pee-break,and its honestly the rst time since Ive been travellingthat Ive been araid o the beggars. Rural Cambodiais still riddled with land mines rom both the KhmerRouge and the Americans (a good reason to movearound with a guide rather than trying to do it onyour own), and the number o land mine victims yousee is horrendous. But this one aggressive guy tried tostop me getting back on the bus, begging, he had oneleg, no hands and his whole ace, including one eye,had been completely burnt away... he made a point opoking me with his stump wrists and putting a verydistorted ace right up to mine... I got reaked!

Siem Reap was brilliant and the cycling group I metup with were great, though a little unusual age-wise...a 64 year old Aussie guy, a 56 year old English guyand a 31 year old Aussie girl, but all good un and thecycling was amazing, as were the hotel and restaurants(all inclusive).

Our rst couple o days were spent cycling around thevast complex o temples that is Angkor. Te temples

were built over a period o about 600 years rom 800AD to 1400 AD, but then lay in ruins rom the endo the Angkorian period to its discovery in the 1800sand subsequent restoration in the mid 1900s. Tismeans that many o the temples were completelyenguled by the orest, and now have huge tree trunksgrowing around, through and amongst them like giantsnakes... amazing.


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Tere are a number o oating villages on the onleSap Lake, directly South o Siem Reap. On the secondday o the cycling trip, we got a boat down the riverand out onto the lake to visit the oating village oChong Kneas, inhabited mainly by shing amilies.It was a antastic thing to see, despite the act thatthe area as ull o tourists, it was dull and rainy, andthe river connecting the port to the lake was so lowthat the tour boats were constantly running aground,requiring the services o local kids to push, haul andthen narrowly dodge the spinning propellers at theend o booms astern o the boats.

As we arrived at the village, we were greeted withtourist-wise kids sporting snakes around their necks

and posing or photographs in return or money,solicited by their somewhat aggressive mothers.


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Te day beore we arrived in Phnom Penh, the cycle was long and really hard and,resulting rom a combination o tiredness and not being used to the heat, we madeslower progress than I think we were scheduled to have, meaning that dusk wassetting in beore reaching our destination or the day. Our guide decided that we

would nish the day getting a Bamboo rain to where we were going.

We arrived at a very makeshit train-station, with a huge group o Cambodian kidsrunning around, hugely exciting by us and the expectation o accompanying us onthe train ride. When the train arrived, it was little more than a platorm o tied-together lengths o bamboo, with a diesel engine and two sets o tra in wheels. As

we mounted and whizzed through the Cambodian landscape at dusk, surroundedby kids and mopeds, I really elt like I had gone back in time, and pretty muchorgot about everything or that (somewhat uncomortable) 30 minutes.


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Phnom Penh is a bustling and not very pleasant city,starkly revealing the contrast between Cambodiasextreme poverty and politically connected wealth.However, while there, a riend I had met when I rstarrived and I got out to visit S21, which was the schoolthat the Khmer Rouge converted to a torture camp in1975 beore taking almost 20,000 people to be killed12km north o Phnom Penh at the so-called KillingFields. It was absolutely harrowing...

While in Phnom Penh, the cycling group also saw theKilling Fields and, along with a book I was rea dingabout the Khmer Rouge (First Tey Killed my Father),it let me eeling pretty devastated by the whole thing.

Its shocking what this country has been through, andeven more shocking to realise how little appears to havebeen done to bring those responsible to justice.


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My last destination in Cambodia, and o the trip prior to heading home via Bangkok,was on the south coast o Cambodia in a place called Sihanoukville - lovely beaches butthe town was a kip! Full o 18 year old backpackers and drop-outs who are probablythere or all the wrong reasons...!

Despite that, it was one o the easiest places Ive ound it to meet people. A group ous (two German girls, a Welsh girl, an English guy and I) got a shing boat to one othe Islands o the coast, and spent the whole day swimming, snorkelling and basicallychilling out and doing very little (barbecued sh on the beach was pretty cool, though!).

Went or drinks and dinner with the three girls and spent hal the night drinking beerson the beach talking.

Other past-times in Sihanoukville included 90 minute massages rom a blind masseuse

(youre allowed that ater cycling 650km) and spending a considerable amount o timeat the Starsh Bakery and Ca, which was an NGO run complex o crat shops, abakery, a ca, and a massage parlour. Prior to heading home, I spent hours here writingnotes, drinking coee, reading, and generally reecting on what has most denitelybeen the experience o a lietime...


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THAILAND


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It took seven hours and our dierent minibuses on a wetand misty aternoon and evening to get rom Sihanoukville,Cambodia to Bangkok, Tailands inamous capital, theSouth-East Asian hub or backpackers, and my last stop

beore ying home.

My three days there are a blur o re-packing my things,picking up a ew last minute gits, exploring Bangkoksrenowned Khao San Road, and seeing the Grand Palaceand reclining Buddha. It sounds terrible to say this, butthe combination o exhaustion and still being somewhatoverwhelmed by what I had seen in Nepal, India, China andCambodia, meant that Bangkok served purely as a rest-stop,and a place to get ready to y home.

As I sat drinking beer and eating ood on my last eveningin Bangkoks Chinatown, on my own, I tried to preparementally or ying home and seeing my amily again. Iwondered what I was most excited about - catching up withthem, showing them my thousands o pictures, telling themembellished stories about things Id seen, or giving them thelittle bits and pieces I had picked up or them? I couldnt waitor any o this, but ater 90 days traveling, I realised that intruth, what I was most excited about, was arriving home andjust knowing, mysel, that Id done it. Tat these were theadventures Id dreamed or years o having and that now, Id

gone out there, and experienced them or mysel.

Nothing can change that now.

JMJ l 2011

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