Festiveness

A very Happy Week-in-between-Christmas-and-New Year's to You All!

Hope you are all enjoying cheer and relaxation over this festive season.

I am working my way through, but having two days off plus a weekend was just heavenly. Spent it at my parents house, eating, sleeping, shopping, gaming and watching various dvd's. Extremely unproductive and extremely bad for the waistline, but a perfect way to see in the new year!

Looking forward to seeing some of you on NYE, and the rest of you in the new year. Meanwhile, here are some reviews for some movies from some big heavy weight directors:


Movie Reviews

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 4/5

Cast: Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Thelma & Louise), Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, Little Fish)

In a nutshell: Delightful and touching with a little dash of weird

Brief Synopsis: Follows the life of a boy who is born an old man but grows younger as the years go by.

David Fincher certainly has talent. With a long list of brilliant and versatile movies such as Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, Panic Room, he can add this one to the list. Most will probably disagree, but it reminded me a bit of Forrest Gump... without the annoying voice. Follows the life of someone with a disability who manages to make the most of it and encounter both challenges and triumphs on their way. Both Blanchett and Pitt are beautiful in the movie, both in their demeanour and their physicality. There are points at which you can only stare and admire. A touching tale with some lovely characters. I'm not all that sure that Brad Pitt deserves an Oscar for this role, his turn in Burn after Reading was more impressive, but then playing a character with a disability or a quirk is always a good start.


Australia 3.25/5

Cast: Hugh Jackman (X-Men, ), Nicole Kidman (The Hours, Dead Calm) and an healthy supply some of Australian's best actors

In a nutshell: Disappointing and a little lost, but still worth a watch

Brief Synopsis: Pre World War II, a proper English Lady inherits a cattle farming property in the NT and with the help of a very handsome Drover must drive 2,000 head of cattle up to Darwin in order beat the bad guys.

With such high expectations of the new Baz Luhrmann movie, there was bound to be disappointment. How could you go wrong with a heady combination of Baz, Nic and Hugh, joined by Australian stalwarts such as Bryan Brown, David Wenham, Jack Thompson?

Unfortunately there is a lot of show, but not so much substance. Baz's signature surrealism is a mismatch for the great sweeping epic that this movie tries to be. It is beautiful in parts but tacky in others. Trying to fit so much into two and a half hours the actors and the story suffer. There is a disjoint in the middle and it feels like two movies have been stuck together.

The characters are stereotypical and superficial. Brown and Wenham could have been so good, but are wasted as token bad guys. Jackman and Kidman seem to have no chemistry, but that is no surprise given their relationship goes from antagonism to full blown love in a matter of seconds. There is talk of how bad Nicole was, in fact she was rather annoying, but I tend to blame this on the bad script and poor plot development for her character.

Having said all this, it is still a very pretty movie, and certainly shows off the beauty of the Australian Outback. Brandon Walters is a standout as Nullah, the Aboriginal boy who follows the two main characters on their journey across the Top End.

Burn after Reading 4.25/5

Cast: Frances McDormand (Fargo), Brad Pitt (Mr & Mrs Smith), George Clooney (O Brother, Where art thou?) , John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich), Tilda Swinton (The curious case of Benjamin Button)

In a nutshell: Quirkily excellent

Brief Synopsis: Two gym employees find a disk containing the memoirs of an ex CIA agent and attempt to sell it.


Quirk done well is my favourite type of movie, and the Cohen Brothers do it so right. Not for everyone, it is not over the top funny, and it is not overly dramatic, rather it is very very very amusing. McDormand and Pitt are brilliant in their roles, and the rest of the cast is fab. Put in a bit of thought, revel in the glory of this tangled web of stupidity, and you will be truly rewarded.

Reflections on crossing the globe

If there is one thing that I have learnt from this trip is that when it comes to tourism there are a large number of factors that can make or break a place that have nothing directly to do with the place. For example:

1. Preparation: For some people, going in unprepared is part of the adventure. The unexpected often brings the most brilliant of moments. We met a couple of people at various points who were having visa problems, I don’t think that is the type of adventure that anyone wants. We spent a lot of time researching and planning and it paid off. The “Russia Experience” were excellent and we enjoyed our various homestays, were impressed with the personal guides and were relieved to have all our tickets and accommodations booked for us without being part of a big tour group.

2. Company: It is always more fun to travel with someone and be able to share your experiences, provided things don’t’ go awry! Gideon and I have had our moments when we’ve been tired or hungry (mostly me) and a lot of patience has been required, but mostly it has been wonderful to have someone else to depend on and get excited with. The people you meet can make a place truly memorable, eg. Our nomadic host family or Mongolian train friend

3. Weather: Without a doubt sunny skies are how I like to travel. Helps make those photos look better, even if you have little skill! We’ve had only one or 2 days of rain over the last month, and one of them, our cold day in the nomadic tent made it one of our favourite days of the trip.

4. Attitude: You really have to get in there and “grab the bull by the horns” so to speak, it definitely makes the experience more enjoyable and less stressful. I don’t know if it is my age, laziness or snobbiness, but I am not sure if there is much of the intrepid traveler left in me. While I don’t think I will ever completely lose the travel bug, there is something to be said for the comforts of home or a good hotel! We have met some travelers who have definitely inspired me. Lisa, our American friend who we spent much of the first half of the trip with, spent six months learning Russian before the trip (in addition to studying for The Bar), and it showed. Thanks to Lisa, we were able to go to a restaurant and not end up ordering the boiled ox tongues. Brook and MianXin, the Kiwi we met had a wonderful optimistic outlook and love of trying new things which makes almost any place or situation enjoyable. There was Simon, the 20 year old from Melbourne who conversed with the locals with his little Russian, constantly trying to learn more. While we did learn a few basic words in Russian, and I learnt to read the Russian Cyrillic, I feel ashamed that we barely made an effort in Russia to learn the language. I think it would have made a difference.

5. Sheer luck & Timing: We booked our trip for the dates we did purely because it was when we were due to leave the UK. As a result we had near perfect weather, we missed the ticks at Lake Baikal, we experienced a proper Mongolian BBQ and experienced Beijing post Olympics. On the other hand there are some things that are destined not to go your way, e.g. trying to find deep friend scorpions in Beijing. Although, of course, often bad luck or bad timing can be offset by good preparation (see point 1) or good attitude (see point 4).

Project Peking Duck

My expectation of Beijing was that old image of the crazily manic streets filled with cars, motorbikes, hundreds of bicycles, pedestrians and lined with old ugly run down apartment buildings. How wrong I was. Perhaps having the 2008 Olympics made all the difference, I will never know. Regardless, I was impressed and thoroughly relished our short time in Beijing. The city felt new, clean, spacey and bright.

We arrived at Beijing train station a little unprepared and bewildered. Gideon (no pointing fingers) thought we could walk to the hotel so we were looking to buy a map. Outside the station was chaotic. People everywhere. None of the vendors had English maps and all the information booths were closed. We were surprised, but later discovered the Paralympics didn’t start for almost a week yet. Extremely frustrated with our heavy packs, we finally found a map at a hostel and discovered the hotel was a fair walk. So we caught a taxi. Annoyingly the address we had for the hotel was an English translation of the street name which of course the taxi driver did not understand and my limited Chinese could not explain. In the end we rang the hotel and all frustration was quickly forgotten.

Knowing that we would have been traveling full-on for a month, Gideon had booked us a very swish hotel for our stay in Beijing. With a 3-for-2 night deal, we splurged out on a room at the 5* Westin. I think the hotel alone would have made our trip to Beijing a great one. The room was amazing. A huge king sized bed, ‘rainforest’ shower, complimentary bathologist, slippers set out for us at bed time, free wifi, immense breakfast in bed, an extremely helpful concierge, etc. etc. We were so impressed we didn’t leave the hotel for the rest of the day!

The following day the hotel organized a car for us to go see the Great Wall. The driver only spoke a smattering of English, although he did use “Oh my Gaaawwd!” a few times on passing a couple of inexplicable car accidents. It gave me another chance to practice my Chinese. While I was surprised at how much Chinese I have remembered from 10 years ago, I am also aware just how bad my Chinese is too! The plan was to go see The Wall and the Ming Tombs, then be back in time for dinner. On the way there, the driver asked me something about buying some things (I couldn’t understand what) for friends back home and whether we wanted to make a stop. I shrugged and said yes!

Unsure what to expect, we were somewhat suspicious when a young lady met us at the front of the building and started explaining how traditional copper and enamel potter was handmade on site, taking us through the work shops. We were then taken to a massive sales room, explained the significance of different items and then told we could then purchase some samples (of course!!). I can honestly say we were completely sucked in and ended up spending a lot of money there. I wondered whether the driver made a commission??

Chang Cheng – The Great Wall of China
WOW. WOW…. WOW! My jaw is still hanging open. It is completely understandable why this is one of the Ancient Wonders of the World. We were taken to MuTianYu a small reconstructed section of The Wall that was a little less crowded and sleeper than Badaling where a lot of other tourists were taken. Incomprehensively high, thick and long, The Wall was nestled in a beautifully green and mountainous area, both impressive and stunning, I couldn’t stop taking photos. We contemplated that by the time the enemy crossed the surrounding mountains, there would be no way that they could scale and penetrate it.

My main mission while in Beijing was to get myself some authentic Peking Duck. Going on recommendations in both the Lonely Planet and our Russian Experience information I made a semi Chinese-English booking at LiQun Roast Duck Restaurant. Then after reading that the restaurant, while good, is usually full of foreigners, we decided to cancel the booking and ask for a recommendation from the Concierge. Good thinking Gideon! We were sent off to DaDong Roast Duck Restaurant, apparently famous in Beijing. They didn’t take reservations so we sat at the bar to wait, where we had a view of the 5 or 6 chefs working away in an area dedicated to duck roasting. Near by, on the wall, there were framed messages from important people such as the Spanish and NZ ambassadors. Also a good indicator, a large proportion of the clientele looked like locals, always a good sign. We felt in good company.

I’m not sure how authentic our experience was, but it was definitely an experience. The menu was about A3 size and an inch thick with exquisite pictures of all of the dishes. It seemed to combine traditional Chinese ingredients and ideas with a more modern, European presentation. After some language difficulties, as per usual we ordered way too much. Everything was delicious. The Peking Duck was an experience unto itself. Our waitress showed us three different ways to eat the duck. There was the say I’m familiar with, in a pancake with cucumber, spring onion and hoisin sauce, in some light bread pockets with garlic sauce (and other stuff) and also simply dipped in sugar (who would have thought?). To be honest, I have had better, but overall the meal was a culinary sensation!

On our last day in Beijing we hada sleep in and then headed off to explore the grandeur and opulence of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. After a very long day of sightseeing with only a shared ice cream and some drinks, I was feeling pretty tired and somewhat narky (Gideon can vouch). I started to perk up at the though of food as we had planned to head to Beijing’s famous food market where all sorts of strange delicacies can be sampled at the hawker stores. The book at the hotel said it was located at the end of the big shopping street Wangfumen Dajie. After half an hour of looking at the end of the street we couldn’t find it. By now I was pissed off to the point of not wanting to eat anymore. We headed south towards the main shopping mall area and still couldn’t find it so we gave up and resorted to McDonalds instead. On a full stomach I was much happier although disappointed about the market. We walked back towards the nearest main road to hail a taxi, only to find the food market. It turns out we had missed it earlier due to buses blocking our view as we crossed the road earlier. Oh well! Unfortunately we were both full and had to be at a show to see the National Chinese Acrobats (mind boggling feats of juggling umbrellas with feet, balancing on a piece of wood atop 5 stacked rolling cylinders or 12 girls on a moving bicycle) shortly, but we did manage to fit in some fried seahorse!

Aboard the Trans-Mongolian

We are now on our last train leg from Ulaan Baatar to Beijing. While I definitely enjoyed Mongolia more than Russia I am not starting to really look forward to heading home. I’m also excited about heading into a country where I may have some semblance of a chance with the language!

By now Gideon and I are old hands at this train traveling business. The time so far has flown. It’s a 30 hour journey which includes a 4 hour boarder crossing and one night of sleep. Supposedly the scenery tomorrow morning in Beijing will be sublime! We’ve spent some time sleeping/reading/blogging/studying the Mandarin phrasebook and then spent quite a while in the restaurant car which was much more reasonable that its Russian counterpart despite the attendant trying to charge us $US172 (more like $13 including takeaway drinks)!

After lunch we were pleasantly surprised to the make acquaintance with one of the two other people in our cabin. The other has spent most of the day next door with his friends. This one spent the morning sleeping. We later found out he had spent the night out with this mates before jumping straight onto the train. A student from Mongolia studying in China, he had a little English, but some decent Chinese which allowed for a conversation to be conducted mainly in Chinese. A truly international contingent! We played some knucklebones (cross fingers we get our new set back into Australia) and then cards. Hopefully between the two of us we will remember the rules of a new Mongolian card game that we have learnt.

A Nomadic Experience

Sitting here chillin' in our ger tent a the Elstei tourist camp. Through our door facing south (as they all do), I can see one of the many grassy rolling hills that we have been treated to over the last 4-5 days. *sigh*, so peaceful. After a somewhat gentle horse ride this morning to see an obscenely massive silver statue of Ghengis Khan a few hills away, I'm feeling a little sore and very much looking forward to a massage in about 20 minutes.

Ever since Timon returned from his experiences on the Train Siberian Railway many years ago and raved about Mongolia, I have been eager to see it for myself. I can honestly say it hasn't disappointed. The train ride from Ulan Ude to Ulaan Baatar took about 24 hour, but included 10 hours just crossing the border. The train arrived at the Russian Boarder post and it appeared that nothing happened for the first 5 hours. Finally customs and passport control came through and completed their checks over the space of 2 hours. Then there was another 3 hours of almost exactly the same formalities at the Mongolian border post. Passengers were heard to say "it had to be the most boring day of my life!". This train leg was a little different in that pretty much all of the passengers in our carriage were foreigners, ie. not Russian. For the first time, we had English speakers in our Cabin! Between the two border posts, I think we lost a large number of carriages with Russian locals and gained ones with Mongolians to add to our two carriages of tourists.

What is so great about Mongolia, for me, is how unspoilt it is. It has a population of about 3 million people, of which just over 1 million live in the capital city, Ulaan Baatar. As you approach Ulaan Baatar it is as if you can see where the city starts and ends. The city has just started to spread into the hills around it. In the city centre there is a massive square that looks brand new and gives the city the feeling of space. Around it, the buildings seem more spaced out than your average capital city, and there is a lot of development going on. Mongolia's second language is English, so already we felt more welcomed.

We were driven out to the Bayangobi desert by our driver and our personal guide who would be with us for the next 6 days. The trip took about 7 hours along some tarmacked road and lot of off road bumpiness in a crazy minivan. Along the way I was constantly amazed by the vastness and beauty of the scenery. Kilometres of grass, beautiful hills, rock formations and the frequent sightings of herds of cows, horses, goats or sheep. We would be spending three nights as the guests of a family of nomadic herdsmen (depending on the quality of the pasture, they only move twice a year with the change of season).

This was the type of homestay that really makes travel a special experience. We were staying with a young couple and their 3 year old. The family lived in two gers (circular tents), one was the kitchen, the other larger one, their bedroom. We would be taking up residence in their bedroom ger and the family would be living in the smaller kitchen ger. We felt bad, but that was what had been organised.

There was no running water or electricity. Heat and cooking was provided by a stove fired by wood and dung in the centre of the gers. The toilet was almost anywhere you like, although there was a designated hole due north west of the gers, "sheltered" (?!?) by a couple of sheets of material. Some of the nearby gers had an electric light powered by a car battery when needed, but otherwise candles were used. Another nearby ger, belonging to other members of the same family had a TV, I think it was either powered by solar panel or car battery.

On the first night we were there, we were treated to a proper Mongolian BBQ. I was later told they only do these about once a year and it was probably because there was a relatively large number of tourists and their guides and drives around in the nearby area. *Warning: potentially offensive material for Vegetarians*. Two goats had been killed, their heads cut off and their insides removed through the neck. Rocks, heated on a fire, were put into the goat skin through the neck hole and the goat meat mixed with onions were put back into the goat skin. The neck hole was tied up and then the "goat" was heated with a blow torch type contraption (not sure that this was the traditional method) and as it was charred, the goat hair was scraped away. Gideon was particularly interested in the process as it involved meat and fire! To be honest, the result was only ok. Perhaps it was the piece of meat I got. It was tasty, but it was a bit rough (I swear I was still pulling pieces of meat out of my teeth a few days later), it was a bit gritty from the stones and the fire, and I think I found what was a human finger nail in my helping!

The next day we had a day trip to Karakorum, supposedly the Capital City of Mongolia during the rule of Chinngis Khan (Ghengis) although most likely Ghengis would have been nomadic too. There we visited the Erdenezuu Monastery. By now Gideon was in the "not another monastery/church" state of mind. I was still interested, but could empathise. Near the monastery there was a statue of a tortoise said to be the last physical remnant of Ghengis Khan's presence in the area. There was also a large stone penis. It is said that if an infertile woman sits on the stone penis, it would make them fertile. Each woman for whom this had worked then returned and tied a blue piece of cloth around a stone pillar near the penis. It was covered in blue

On the way back to the Nomad's camp we were told that Mongolia would be competing for two gold medals in the boxing that afternoon, the first fight being at 1.30pm. As a result, half way back the drivers pulled over at the first random house/ger with a satellite dish to see the fight. I am not sure what the family thought of this group of 2 drivers, 2 guides and 4 foreigners barging into their home, but they were very welcoming, offering us sweets and allowing us and the rest of their relatives to crowd around a very small B&W TV. In the end the Mongolian forfeited in the second round losing to the Chinese competitor (which country didn't this Olympics?) due to a pre-existing shoulder injury. Still it was a good rsult for Mongolia overall. This year they won 2 gold and 2 silver, their first gold medals ever! That night we also had some fun making our own dumplings for dinner.

After having fantastic luck with the weather all trip, we experienced our first really crap day the next day. We had wondered whether it was to be a wasted day because we had nothing much planned, and now that the weather was bad we were certain. We awoke quite early, pretty much at dawn, in time to see the sun rising in the crisp morning air and the cows being milked. Then it started to rain and didn’t stop much until late in the afternoon. Trapped in our ger we were somewhat bored and cold. At one stage our host family and guide cam in and played cards and knucklebones with us, which ended up making the day very special for us. If it hadn’t been for the bad weather, we probably wouldn’t have interacted very much the family at all.

Gideon managed to make himself useful chopping up wood to keep both gers warm (the dung burns too quickly). When there was a break in the rain we managed to get out to collect a couple more dead trees (not many choose from given our proximity to the desert), then we went on a very touristy camel ride. Just imagine us (or see the photos!) rugged up in jumpers and raincoats sitting on somewhat soggy camels, being led over wet sand dunes by a local boy. At one stage the boy stopped and drew a picture in the sand and then pointed at some distant hills. After a couple of minutes of Gideon and I arguing whether the picture was a snowflake or a compass, the kid write the word “snow” in the sand. It was that cold a day!

The next day we made the 8 hour bumpy trip to the Elstei Tourist Camp. After three days of being in the middle of nowhere with no facilities it was a welcome change to use a flushing toilet and have a hot shower! Makes you appreciate the simple things, doesn’t it? Elstei is not really the full Mongolian experience. The cook is Indian and there are rows of gers. Still, it was a relaxing day we had there with time to socialize with other tourists, horse ride, massage, practice archery and above all enjoy the peaceful surrounds and beautiful Mongolia!

Some Buryiat Culture

Our next stop off the train was Ulan Ude, our last stop in Russia. Ulan Ude is situated in the Republic of Buryiat, an autonomous region of the Russian Federation. I wasn't sure what to expect and whether there would be much to see. The city itself had a massive statue of the head of Lenin. We ended up having probably our famourite home stay of the trip in Ulan Ude. Our hosts Andrei and Olga (I think) had a lovely home (an almost spotless bathroom with running water!), spoke very good english, fed us delicious meals (I must have had 4th helpings!) and were our tour guides as well! Andrei was an interesting man, involved in projects in improving and building walking trains around Lake Baikal, amongst other things.

On our first day there we went out to see a local Buddhist temple where a monk said a prayer for us. Then we visited a typical Buryiat village for lunch. Apparently the road to the village was unusually tarred (most Russian roads are rubbish) because Princess Anne once visited the village. The Buryiats are from the same culture as the Mongolian nomads, except that they are no longer nomads. This ended up being one of my favourite experiences for the trip. We were greeted by a young lady (around 20 years old) dressed in traditional Buryiat costume, who treated us to a delectable meal with many courses, including dumplings that we had a hand at making ourselves, and a gorgeous locally made liquor with a rich honey flavour. After lunch we had a go at dressing up in the traditional Buryiat clothing and then played some traditional games with the knucklebones of sheep and goats. Such a unique experience and one I will remember fondly.

The next day we visited the Ivolgsky Datsan, the centre of Buddhism in Russia and one of the few monastaries to remain standing during Soviet rule. Not knowing much about Buddhism, it was interesting to see how the Buddhist temples differed to the many Russian Orthodox cathedrals we had seen. WE also visited an 'Old Believers' church and village, a groupd who split from the Russian Orthodox church a long time ago in order to "pursue the old ways". Having been mislead to believe the 'Old Believers' were like the Amish, we were plesantly surprised to find the Priest amost accomodating. Unlike the other Russian Orthodox churches, the women didn't have to wear skirts, we were able to take photso inside the church, and he showed us some old bookds from the bible. He also asked us for some Australian coins to add to his personal collection of all odds and sods which he'd turned into a museum. Unfortunately we didn't have any.

So that was the end of our time in Russia. While it has been interesting and we have seen some wonderful things, I found Russia to be much like a lot of Europe (big generalisation, I know), so I was squite ready to move onto Mongolia.

Another cup of tea?

Last I wrote we were on our way towards Irkutsk and Lake Baikal for an epic 2 day hike around the lake including one day of 25km. When we arrived in Irkutsk we were told there had been a change in plans due to a lack of available guides, and that we would be spending a night at a homestay in a village called Listyvanka before going ona 20km round trip over two days with one night of camping. Gideon was disappointed at the change as it would mean seeing less of the lake and missing out on a hydrofoil trip back to Irkutsk, but secretly (or maybe not so secretly) I was relieved not to be attempting the 25 km in one day.

The homestay was as I think as a homestay should be. The house seemed to be mostly traditional and an experience. There was electricity, but no plumbing. Water was fetched from a well at the end of the street and there was an outdoor not-so-long-drop dunny. We bathed in a traditional Banya, a bath house with water heated by a woodfired oven, a bit like a sauna for washing out of a bucket. Not quite as refereshing as shower, but a magical relief after two an a half days without a shower on the train. We were also fed traditional Russian meals.

The hike: to be honest, there was a lot more eating done on the hike than hiking! A group of 9 of us (including the guide and his wife) set off on foot with camping gear and provisions for two days and one night. Much to my relief, although we had mosquitos, it appeared that we have missed tick season around the lake. After about 5km (90mins) of walking briskly uphill through forest, we stopped for lunch. We sat and watched amazed as the fuide built a fire and cooked us a fish and potato soup with tea and fresh vegetables! Then after antoehr 5km of hiking we stopped at our campsite by the lake, firstly for a "refreshing" swim in the lake (I reckon it was about 10dC), then a hot dinner of buttered rice and tea amongst other things. The lake, although freshwater (drinkable!) was so bit, it was just like camping on a beach by the sea, being lulled to sleep by the sound of waves on the shore and rain on our tents, expect that we couldn't sleep due to the bad positioning of our tent across a ridge (I miss my thermarest!) We awoke to a beautifully sunny day and a hot breakfast of porridge and tea. Then set off on the 10km back to Listyvanka.

The second day of hiking was completely different to the first. We followed the edge of the lake closely. As we followed a scarily thin and rocky path along the cliff face, there were quite a few moments, while sprawled against the cliff wall, I wondered if a wrong step might send me plummeting onto the rocks in the shalllows of the lake below. Happily our hard work was worth it, seeing stunning views of the clear blue waters of the lake, surrounded by dramatic cliffs, dotted wit hthe greeneness of pines and pretty coloured flowers. About 1.5 hours after breafast, we stopped for lunch and tea!

After the hike, we were transferred straight from Listyvanka to Irkutsk for a one night homestay in Irkutsk. It was an optional additional night that we had chosen in anticipation of recovery needed from the 25km hike. In retrospect, we really didn't need it. There was very little to see in Irkutsk, and while there was the novelty of staying in an old wooden house and the beds were the most comfortable we'd had in a while, the house was more like a hostel, it was stuffy and had a pretty disgusting bathroom. If we hadn't just done an overnight hike, I might have skpped the shower!

здравствуйте!

I wrote the following a few days ago. We are actually heading to Ulan Ude tonight by train. I have included a few photos, but because of the large number of photos I have to sift through, I probably will do a few big picture posts once I get back to Australia (sorry!)...Hope everyone is very well! Much love xoxo. g

This is our third night in a row on the train between Yekaterinberg and Irkutsk. Surprirsingly the trip has gone quickly. the beds have been more comfortable than our two earlier train rides, so "sleeping in" (maybe 11 hours last night) doesn't hurt in passing time. We have managed to squeeze in some card games in the restaurant car (managing to prevent being evicted by purchasing a somewhat constant order of drinks) and in one of our travelling companion's cabins.

Me, Lisa, Brooke & Manxing in the nice of the two restaurant cars we have been in.

Other than that there has been eating and reading (today I finished 'A Widow for One Year' by John Irving, a really delightful read. I love the way he writes, quite a style of his own, descriptive and contemplative without being boring). We also watched the 5th Element on Gideon's PDA last night which a very nice treat. The countryside out the window has not been so exciting so far. Siberia has been not unlike the Australian contryside, although probably a lot greener. We have not bought anything from the Babushka's on the stations that we have stopped at because we packed too much food this time! So in all, it has been quite a restful and uneventful train leg. I am looking forward to the use of a shower and a toilet that doesn't reek of urine though!

Yekaterinberg was a nice enough city. However, it definitely suffered from being the 4th city in a row that we have visited. I think we were sity-fatigued and a little over the buildings and churches. It didn't help that our city guide was somewhat strange (nb. To our pleasant surprise, we have had our own private city tour of all the cities we have visited so far). With jokes such as "Did you enjoy the TV in your train carriage?... it only has two channels, the Nature Channel and the Discovery Channel", which he then explained and then repeated multiple times, and then asking us whether we liked the city about every 10 minutes, he did not help his cause. Then he claimed that Yekaterinberg had never been a closed city (foreigners were prohibited to enter), however previous to our tour and then again afterwards we were told by other tour guides that it was in fact a closed city.

One interesting place we visited as a relatively new church built upon the spot that the Romanov Family, the last royal family of Russia, were murdered. Following their death, the family was cannonised and the church was somewhat a shrine to them. I found it extremely interesting that a whole royal family might be sainted, but I guess we come from a very different culture, and not always a very religious one.

The day after the city tour we embarked on "Siberian Wilderness Adventure". What a fantastic day.

Gideon & I at the boarder between Europe & Asia!

Getting out of the city (finally!) was just what we needed. It wasn't a particularly tough day as the name might imply. It was about a 16km walk on mostly flat through Siberian forest, with a very gentle float on a raft down 6km of river. Just lovely.

Cruisin'

Russia Continues

This is a continuation of the last blog... we are about to embark on our longest train leg for our trip (about 53 hours)... so I will do some catching up by hand while on the train :)

Unfortunately don't have so much time to upload some photos... so may have to do them at the end of the trip, or when we have a bit more time with some cheap internet... but for now... back to it...

The language in Russia has been a challenge, seeing as between the two of us all we know is Hi, please and thankyou... and a bunch of suspect hand language. Only a small handful of people seem to know English (bad of us to expect any different). At McDonalds the other day we were given a laminated chart to point at what we wanted, although interestingly enough a lot of the items were literal translations, eg. Big Mak. Unexpectedly the language was more of a problem in Moscow than St Petersberg, although St Petersberg is supposedly the more cultural of the two cities. I think it will only get harder the further we head east.

St Petersberg was beautiful. A well planned and relatively newly built city ( approx. 300 years), we were lucky enough to be staying in the city centre and only 0.5 hours walk to the big tourist attractions, namely the Hermitage. Wide streets adorned with grand buildings builit ina classical European style with white columns and brightly coloured walls. Bridges runing over a river running through the city, quite Venice-like. At one bridge it was good luck for newly married couples to visit the bridge on their wedding day and lock a padlock to the railing. On the day we were there we must have seen about 4 brides there in the space of about 30 minutes all arriving in large stretch Hummers! We have actually seen about 20 bride and grooms over the last few days. The lovely Russian lady in our train cabin tells us it si to do with the Chinese superstition that 888 is very lucky. Hence a reason the Beijing Olympics began on 8/8/08.

We spent our two days in St Petersburg doing a 3 hours wralking tour, visiting the art at the Hermitage, seeing some oppulent churches, taking a river boat trip and visiting the Russian Ballet to see Swan Lake at the Hermitage Theatre.

Moscow was qutie different. Only 5* hotels are allowed in the city centre, so we were staying quite a way out. 7 metro stops to be exact. Fewer people spoke ENglish, even at the tourist attractions. There also seemed to be less to see. The Red Square was very picturesque surrounded by beautiful buildings, including the Russian History Museum, St Basil's CAthedral, Lenin's Mauseleum and the Kremlin. There wasn't so much to see in the Kremlin, except for more churches within its walls, although we were treated to a dispaly by their 1st Regiment. We missed out on tickets to see the Kremlin's Armoury (no armour, just jewels of the Tsars). Gideon was a little disappointed by the lack of information or evidence of the previous Soviet regime. Although you cannot quite see what it would have been liked to have lived then, you still see statues of Lenin and the hammer and sickle emblems all over the place. One thing we did do in Moscow that was qutie interesting was to visit the Metro STations. Unlike the London underground, all of the stations we visited seemed to be clean and well looked after. In particular we sampled stations with bronze statues, marble columns, mosaic ceilings, stainglass window features and even one with Chandeliers and orate celings!!

Tonight we are headed to Irkutsk to do some camping along the shores of Lake Baikal... but my next update should be more on Yekaterinberg and perhaps more on the train.

g xoxo

Russia begins

We are currently on a train from Moscow to Yekateringberg (I'm writing this Old Skool, paper and pen). Although officially we are not on the "Trans-Siberian Express", it feels like we have really started the real trip now. This is a 24 hour leg on the train. We have met another couple from NZ and a girl from USA who are pretty much doing the same trip/tour as us. Having just had dinner in the restaurant car (expensive prices which the locals stay clear of) we started a card game only to disappointingly find that it was not allowed. So much for the literatcure which said that hte restaurant car was the hub of the train and a place where we can hang out! Unfortunately we are all in separate cabins that we are sharing with other people, so it will be difficult to be social this trip. Maybe the next leg which goes for 2-3 days will be different. We are in 4 berth cabins which are even smaller than i had expected. Still there's enough room to sit with a small table and then sleep. I am not sure that I really had expectations of what Russia would be like, but if I were to have had any I would say that the reality has been quite different...

to be continued...

A couple of by the way movie reviews

Wall E: 3.25/5

In a nutshell: Bit of fun, but nothing new.

Brief Synopsis: Earth has been abandoned and is basically a big rubbish tip. Wall E is a robot designed to clear up the mess, but is more than a robot. Can he return humanity to Earth?

Very cute, but Disney/Pixar has set itself a nearly impossible bar to surpass with masterpieces such as The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Nemo...etc. As a result I was disappointed. With the exception of a few moments here and there, there is nothing particularly original or overly witty about this one.



Dark Knight: 4/5

Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal

In a nutshell: Deliciously Dark

Batman Begins was very good, this was better. For me the lost of Mrs Cruise and the gaining of Ms Gyllenhaal was a very good move, intentional or not. Ledger was better as the Joker than Nicholson was previously (and he was excellent) and of course the rest of the cast were all fantastic. Nolan's direction is pitch perfect as always and the action and angst is all there. My only gripe is that there are a few spots where you think the movie is finished, apart from the fact that there are bits in the ad that you have not seen yet, and then it keeps going. This makes the movie feel a little disjointed and as long as its 2.5hours running time. Still, this is a small gripe as you want to see more anyway!

Our time in Italy

Rome was HOT! Well, a maxiumu of 32dC is very hot for two would-be tourists coming from the pathetic summer that England is currently having. Having said that, it does not begin to compare to the 50dC days that Jon & Clare are having in Egypt!

We were staying in a "B&B with a view of the Vatican". In retrospect it sounds a lot better rhat it was. It was a small room in a 3 bedroom apartment, with no air conditioning, a view of the vatical wall, lumpy pillows, a shared bathroom and no breakfast. still, can't complain too much, it was clean, cheap and convenient. :)

Following a 3 day recommended sight seeing course that Gideon found on Trip Adviser, we drank a lot of water, walked a lot of kilometres, ate lots of food, spent lots of euros and visited lots of old buildings. If we keep up this amount of walking for the rest of this trip, I will hopefully lose at least some of this spare fat care of the Heathrow injection!

There was something quite wonderful about Rome. I was amazed that at every turn there was either amazing architecture or a restaurant. Gideon found interesting the dichotomy between the grandure of the buildings and the chaos/slopiness of the city maintenance. We argued whether rome and icons such as the ruins of the Colluseum were more beautiful because we could imaging just how rich and magnificent Rome once was, or whether it owuld have been eveng more impressive in its original state. I tend to believe the former as there is something more of a sense of wonder and magin in the loss of such greatness rather than in something that is there in front of you that can be taken for granted... if that makes sense. Either way, we both really enjoyed Rome, but were probably a little relieved to leave the heat the craziness!

Will update this post with photos at a later time when we are not paying for internet by the MB.

g xoxo

St Basil's Cathedral - Moscow

Hi Everyone! The internet at our hotel in Moscow is expensive, so only a quick msg and a photo. Will write more about Italy, the start of our Trans Sib experience and a couple of movie reviews once we find some cheaper internet. Much love gayle xoxox

Farewell 'Ol England

The last few weeks have been insanely busy and found me in a grumpy mood for much of it. Gideon has been very patient, putting up with my moodiness and finishing off his thesis and academic year in the meantime.

A few weeks ago, on the 15th July, wewere lucky enough to be invited to attend the Queen's Garden Party at Bucingham Palace. Us girls were very excited about dressing up for thte event a nice change from down town Watchfield. Claire, Clare, Emily and I managed to fit in some dress and hat shopping during our outing to london to have Champagne High Tea at The Ritz (very posh!). Then Clare, Em & I ended up going to a mad hatter in a cute little village called Lacock to have our hats specially made (you can see the results on my Facebook album). On the day we made the 2 hour car and bus trip into London. The boys looked very dapper in their uniforms which enabled us to jump the queue at the Palace. Given the number of people (I hear it is about 8,000 people attend)and the size of the Queen's back yard,it felt like we could have been eating dainty sandwiches and delectable cakes in any park anywhere. Still, the brief glimpse of the Queen and Prince Phillip through the crowd,the mini mudcakes with the HRH emblems on them and especially the company made the day a very special one.

Since then, time has flown. The 25th July was mylast day at RM. I always say it takes about 6 months to really settle into a place and unfortunately I had just about reached that point. I must confess that I will miss all the friendly people and shennanigans there.

The 26th saw another trip into london. This time, for the Kylie X concert (Thanks Claire for organising the tickets). After seeing the Home Coming tour, I had very high expectations. Then due to terrible traffic, we missed the first 30mins... plus we were sitting in the heavens... and yet, I think it was the best concert I have EVER seen. *WOW*! Big call because I have seen quite a few. But the spectacle that Miss Minogue provides, the dancing, the costumes, the stage effects, the acrobatics, the great sound, the fantastic music, and even the mostly spot on singing.... it was all incredible. If anyone wants to go when she brings X to Melbourne, I am there!!

After that it was packing packing packing. Possibly packing is one of my most hated activities...right up there with studying economics. ;P Lucky for us, most of it was done by someone else... and yet it was still detestable. No matter how much I skimp, even after taking out the hair dryer and the kitchen sing, my back pack still weighs a tonne! Anyway, it is all done now. We said goodbye to Watchfield for the last time on the 30th July.

Although our time in Watchfield was peaceful, sometimes fun,sometimes challenging... I am looking forward to heading back to Melbourne. I am definitely a city girl at heart. This I know now. Still, I must admit to being a little sad to leave, especially seeing our little house empty once again. It is as if it never really happened, and that piece of my life is now gone forever. I am extremely sad to be saying goodbye to "The Cool Crowd", our little Aussie community in Shrivenham/Watchfield. Unfortunately we will be all dispersed on our return to Australia. Clare, Shaun, Emily, Warren, Lexie, James, Jon, Clare and Owen*, will miss you lots and look foward to life long friendships across the states. (*see you in Melbourne Owen!)

So now... on to the next chapter... Italy..

Schoolies week

This last Friday's theme was back to school (it was only a matter of time.)

Everyone was dressed up in school uniform except for Principal Wilkinson. Then for a bit of extra fun, we headed out at lunchtime for Sports Day! :) Luckily we managed to find the only 60 mins on Friday during which the sun came out and it wasn't pouring with torrential rain. There were egg & spoon races to be had, and a car came down from one of Oxford's local radio stations, Jack FM (incidentally, one of the morning crew is an Aussie Sheila!) to monitor events and give out prizes. The prizes were pretty cool, some Wallace & Grommit paraphernalia, although I question whether they were just some items they've had lying around the station for ages that they wanted to get rid of. One of the prizes were some Wallace & Grommit episodes... on video cassette!

Hopping relay
Alas, we came last, but I managed to hold my own in the hopping stakes!

3-legged race
I was partnered with Angela, at least we didn't come last!

2008 Class photo
I was always made to sit in the front row... things haven't changed I see.

Kungfu Panda - A review

Kungfu Panda: 4.25/5

Cast: Voices of - Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, etc

In a nutshell: LMAO

Brief synopsis: An enthusiastic clumsy and somewhat overweight panda must learn kung fu so that he can save his village


It has been a while since I have come out of the cinema feeling satisfied, so Kungfu Panda certainly hit the spot. It only marginally loses points for a few minor considerations. The animation as not quite as sharp and the premise not quite as original as some of those other CGI movies out there. It didn't evoke as much emotion as I would have liked, perhaps because the characters, in particular the evil dude, are a little stereotypical and not meaty enough. But these are minor quibbles. The charm and the non-stop laughs make up for anything that might be missing. Jack Black is fabulous as the Panda, reminiscent of the fun that Robin Williams brought to the Genie in Aladdin.

Work Shenanigans

When I first started working at RM every Friday was a bit of a treat - casual day. But for the last couple of months, since the 'hot' weather started and our busy period (June GCSE's), we have been wearing casuals every day. I think it's great. I like waking up in the morning and throwing on a pair of jeans. It has also meant a great reduction in the amount of ironing I've had to do. Bonus!

So, as a bit of fun for the busy period, Fridays are now dressup day : )

Week 3: Flowers & Flares
Peace man...

Week 2: Heroes & Villains
Scooby-dooby-dooooooo!
Hmmmm....I have to confess, that's not really us.

This is us...
yes really it is :)

Week 1: Ahoy me maties!
Believe it or not, this was a work related theme.
And of course the pinata is the most piratey animal of them all!

Postcard from Northern Ireland

Way back in February it was Gideon's Birthday. One of his presents was an Adventure Smartbox, a voucher to be redeemed on one of many Adventure type activities around the UK. Eg. horse riding, rolling down a hill in a big ball (called Zorbing in NZ), 4x4 driving, wind surfing, etc. Gideon chose to go with an introductory scuba dive lesson in Northern Ireland. The perfect excuse for a weekend away!

I must admit that I was not expecting much of Northern Ireland. Perhaps it was the perfect weather, the scenery, the peacefulness, the company or the lack of mishap that normally accompanies us on our travels (ref. Darwin to Broome, Iceland). Whichever it was, it may well be my favourite weekend of the last year.

On Friday night after work we caught a Ryanair flight (so budget that there is no magazine pocket on the back of the seat in front of you, and the safety card is actually a sticker on the headrest in front of you) to Derry to spend the weekend exploring the Causeway coastal area. We stayed in Portstewart at the Anchorage Inn, a hotel/pub/restaurant/nightclub in the middle of town. For a hotel above a pub and a nightclub, it was relatively luxurious! Recently renovated, you could still smell the paint, our room felt like an executive suite... very nice. The thoughtful staff even provided earplugs on the nightstands for those who might be kept awake by the bass being pumped from the nightclub. For those clientele who prefer to be in the midst of the pumping bass, free entry to the club! Needless to say, Gideon and I were there on Saturday night dancing the night away. :) Sun+scuba+views+food+dancing = the perfect weekend.

Here are some photos from the beautiful northern coast of Northern Ireland (apologies to those who have already had a squiz at these photos on facebook):

Near Portstewart Strand, not a bad piece of property.


Saturday morning: the scuba dive
Ummm...the zip goes at the back.


Yep, better start again.

Push, that's it... push,....

Yay!

Gideon getting kitted up.

The Dominican convent & college in Portstewart

Breathing practice

...and they're off!

The incredible Giant's Causeway.

...from a bit further away...

...a bit closer in now...

...I can't stop taking photos... it's amazing!

Gideon thinks so too!

Along the stunning Causeway coastline

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
Spans a 20m wide, 23m deep chasm

Don't look down!...oh no, too late!...Doh!

"Piece of cake" says Gideon

Dunluce Castle
well, the remains of.

A Northern Ireland soldier uniform from the 'olden days'

Musket & Archery demonstration at the castle

Reminds me of London Bridge

Could you imagine having to scale the rock to attack the castle?

Outside the Mermaids cave beneath Dunluce Castle

We're off to see the Mussenden Temple & Downhill Demesne

But first, as stop to smell the flowers :)

Mussenden Temple
Originally built by the Bishop of Derry in 1785 as a library, based on the Temple of Vesta in Italy

Mussenden Temple (and a stray arm)
...hmmm... perhaps I should have photoshopped it out.

Oh beautiful day!

Amongst the ruins at the Downhill Estate mansion, where the Bishop of Derry once lived.

Hard to believe people lived in this place less than 60 years ago. After the World Wars, the people who inherited the building could not afford to upkeep it and instead, stripped the building of what they could to sell for money.

From the front, you get an impression of the grandeur that the mansion once had

Relaxing at a lovely stream in Roe Valley Park on our way back to Derry airport.

*Sigh* what a splendid weekend!

Wanted

Well... it has been a while since I have reviewed a movie, hasn't it?

WANTED: 2.5/5

Cast: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp

In a nutshell: Disappointing bloody mash of all that have come before

Synopsis: Wesley is a bit of a loser with an anxiety problem. Turns out his murdered father is a highly skilled member of a group of assassins who kill to right wrongs. Perhaps Wesley has inherited his father's supernatural skills and will be able to avenge his death.

This one was a bit like 'Jumper' for me... so full of potential with elements of cool attitude, but somehow it just does not come together. It feels lazily put together, drawing/copying ideas from a bunch of good movies that have preceeded it. Too much use of slow-mo a la Matrix. Lots of violence and blood a la anything Tarantino. The high calibre actors are wasted. Angelina Jolie just broods a lot and not much more. Morgan Freeman's character feels one dimensional. I found myself irritated by McAvoy's American accent, but that's probably because I'm a sucker for his Scottish one. He is not bad in the movie, but his character is not particularly complex. If you are looking for some dark action, this might do the trick, there are also some twists and turns which are a bit of fun, just don't expect too much.

Spring Flowers

The view on the way to work.

'Twas 5 months ago....

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all well and good.

It's a long weekend here, so I thought it was a good opportunity to update my blog! So, where was I? Oh yeah, our trip to New York ...

A significant motivator in deciding to spend Christmas in Canada was the idea of stopping off in New York on the way home to join the New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square and see the dropping of the ball. So, on the last day of the year, after some intense sight seeing - see photos below - we returned to our hotel to have a bit of of a rest and freshen up before heading to Times Square. It was about 6pm when we got back to the hotel and turned on the TV, only to find that they were already closing down the square because it was already full. Very disappointed and extremley annoyed at our lack of planning, we decided to head to Times Square anyway to see if we could squeeze in somewhere.

As soon as we got out of the subway, we noticed that there were police everywhere... I think it was a very busy night for the NYPD, they must have had the full force on duty. They told us that Times Square was closed, but if we headed north we may be able to able to gain entry to the street directly north of Times Square. However, as we headed north, so did everyone else... as we reached each cross street up, the police had closed it off and told us to keep heading north. Something like an hour later we finally found an entry point... 11 blocks away. There was no way that we were going to be able to see Times Square, let alone the ball.


After standing around in a crowd for about 20 minutes, with only a view of the Ed Sullivan Theatre and Times Square on a large TV screen, we decided to leave the throng. We head dinner at a small Thai restaurant, then headed back to the hotel with a bottle of champagne to watch Times Square and the dropping of the ball on TV! At least we can say we've seen the New Year in in New York! ;P

Sight seeing in Times Square, New York

We happened to be in Times Square for a trial run of the dropping of the ball.
At least we got to see it once!
I was completely surprised at how tiny it is... all this fuss for not much!

After lunch at Sardi's, and some post-lunch strolling,

for my Christmas present, Gideon took me to see Spamalot. :D



A New York Pharmacy

Grey M&M's?

A very Christmassy scene at the Rockerfeller Centre.


Deciding to skip the 2 hour queue to get up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, we got a view of the building from the observation deck of the Rockerfeller Centre.

Gideon in a room full of movement sensing flashy lights.



A view of Manhatten from the Staten Island Ferry.





Surrounded by buildings and filled with people, there is still something peaceful and beautiful about Central Park.





Horse and Carriage ride in Central Park... it goes around really slowly in a not very exciting circuit and costs a heap, but it had to be done.






Gideon takes some time out in the park



Who knew Hans Christian Anderson was so tall?