A long absence

Hi Readers

I get the feeling that only Mum and Bev read my blog but I thought I'd get back into it, so that they can keep up with our lives in the UK when we get back over there.

Feels so good to have my visa now - i spent so many weeks (and months) worrying about it. There was the added stress of not knowing whether I would be approved, and what would happen if that occurred... but all the worry was for nothing. I've now got it and that's what matters.

The plan is to leave for the UK in 2 weeks, on the 5th July, go to Thailand for 2 weeks and get to the UK on the 21st July. We'll spend some time at the in-laws house whilst looking for jobs and a house to rent, and then we'll move to Devon and live there for a while.

Tom and I have just celebrated our first anniversary. It's hard to believe a year ago we were leaving for our honeymoon to Turkey. It's wonderful to have him in my life... we make a good team, and we're good for each other, and that's what's important.

So, shortly we'll pack things up again in Australia and move our lives back to the UK. It's exhausting this moving about all the time, and i'm quite excited about just getting back to the UK and sitting still for more than 3 months at a time. I have lovely plans for our home, when we find one. I want a bed with just white linen, and the blue blanket and cushions on the bed. I want a wall with all 72 of our favourite photos from our travels on it. I want to cook for my husband every evening and sit on the couch with a glass of wine dissecting our day at work. I want to have MY things in their spots, and know exactly where that spot is when i look for them!

You people who have this probably take it for granted but I look forward to it with such delight!

Anyway, enough for now. bye

The Aussie Wedding

Hi All




Here's some information about the wedding in Australia. We can't wait to see all of you on our Big Day!

Just thought I'd pop some details in here about the wedding here so that you all know how to get there, where to stay etc. So here goes:

Venue

We're having the wedding ceremony and the barbie afterward at my Mum and Dad's place - 271 Old Byron Bay Road, Newrybar, 2479. If you're heading from Brisbane, go south on the M1 past the Byron Bay turnoff, over the big hill at St Helena, past the Bangalow turnoff, then about 4 km along there you'll see Broken Head Road to your left, and very soon after that put your blinkers on to turn left into Watson's Lane. Go all the way along Watsons Lane and at the end turn right. Mum and Dad's house is the first right - look for a big gravel driveway.


Accommodation

Newrybar is a really small village about 10km from Byron Bay. However, if you want to stay really close by, Bangalow (5km) or Coopers Shoot (2km) are your best bets.

Bangalow - http://www.bangalow.com/bangalow/accommodation.htm

Coopers Shoot - if you do a google search, plenty of places are listed.

And then there's always the option of camping onsite - my folks have 5 acres and you're most welcome to put up a tent. We'll keep you fed and watered! By the way, if you have any fold up camping chairs, bring them along and let me know about it when you RSVP please!

Wedding Details

We're having a ceremony at 4pm, followed by hours of drinking and being merry. There aren't too many cab companies in the area but I will endeavour to warn the company of our need for perhaps one of their cars for the evening. Dress code is casual but if you love to dress up, go for it!

The gift thing is a bit difficult - we're doing so much travel at present, which is an expensive process, SO.... we were hoping you guys could help us out. It would be really helpful for us if you could lend a hand toward our travelling lifestyle. (cheeky!!!) Any contributions will be very happily received. However, if you'd like to get us a gift, we love to receive them. Really we just want your company though!

RSVP

You can RSVP to Kaz on 0449 060 880 or Tom on 0404 782 275 or on weregettinghitched@live.co.uk

Married - the info!

Hi all

It's been a long time but I haven't really known what to write recently. After all, this was a travel blog and that travel is now over. However, I guess i should continue to update for anyone that likes to keep up with what's going on.

So, the exciting news is that we've booked our UK wedding - it's on the 21st June at 3.30pm, followed directly by the reception in a small town called Ashburton in Devon. I'm pretty excited!!! The ceremony is taking place in this hotel on the edge of Dartmoor (near Haytor - the largest tor on top of a hill in the moor) and it is going to be absolutely lovely!



The plan is to come back to Australia probably in September and have another wedding in October, as the air is getting warmer and the nights are getting longer. What a joy it is to imagine that we get TWO weddings! Lucky us!

So there you have it, all the info for the wedding. If anyone from Oz wants to come over, I'd be more than happy to see you there! But given that we're coming over there to have another one, that party will rock also!

Hope you are all well and happy.

Love Tom and Karen x

Finally as promised!

Hi all

I don't know whether you're all still checking this but I'll do it for my own benefit also.

On our last long train trip, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, we wrote up a list of our Best and Worst of everything. This site doesn't allow me to insert a table so I'll perservere without one. Each category has a response from Tom and a response from me. Here goes:

Best beach - Hat Khom on Ko Pha Ngan (Tom), our lovely private beach on Ko Chang (Kaz)
Best accommodation - Bellvue (T) in Darjeeling, Tiger Huts on Ko Chang (K)
Best cuisine - Indian (T), Indian (K)
Most anticipated beer - first night in Delhi (T), after 3 day train trip in India (K)
Best beer - Chang (T), Kingfisher (K)
Worst travel - we both agree that it was Panaji to Mumbai on the bus
Best meal - Glenary's in Darjeeling with Chicken Reshmi kebab (T), Tom Yum at Beach cafe in Ko Chang (K)
Best scenery - Ko Pha Ngan (T), Jaisalmer in Rajasthan (K)
Worst traffic - Delhi (T), Bangkok (K)
Worst place - we both agree that it was Varanasi (renamed Verynasty)
Best experience - Snorkelling (T) in Ko Pha Ngan, Bikaner with MC's family (K)
Friendliest country - Laos (T), India (K)
Best trains - we agree it was Thailand - brilliant!
Best non-alcoholic drink - Chai marsala tea from Chowrasta, Darjeeling (T), Coconut shake from Coral Bay in Ko Pha Ngan (K)
Best snack - north indian samosas (T), Cornflake mix from Panaji (K)
Best shower - Bangkokk to Nong Kai on-0board-train shower (T), Sam Nuea, Laos (K)
Worst rip-off - Halong bay tour (we both agree)
Funniest experience - the man who spoke hest for tom in Jaisalmer, shisha with Joe in Hanoi (K)
Most tanned - both in Ko Pha Ngan
Biggest disappointment - it was not seeing the Himalayas after 5 days of trekking - damn clouds!
Worst hangover - after the night with Ashok in Panaji (T), after Lao Lao in Ponsavanh (k)
Worst hotel - it was Varanasi - horrible! But at $3 a night, quite cheap!
Best fruit - Palolem (T), coconut on the backwaters tour in Kerala (K)
Best bargain - Beer Laos! (T), samosas for 5 cents (Karen)
Hottest place - the day in the Red Fort in Delhi (T & K)
Coldest place - Sandakphu (T), Kalipokhri (K) both in the Himalayas
Worst smell - smoke in Varanasi from the funeral pyres (T), sewer stench in asia (K)
Best smell - jasmine rice cooking (T), incence in India (K)
Coolest city - Mumbai (T), Bangkok (K)
Weirdest animal - puffer fish (T), bears in the zoo in darjeeling (K)
Best feel good experience - scooter in Ko Chang (T), thai massage on Ko Pha Ngan (K)
Most fun - fishing in palolem in india
Most impressive sight - Raj Ghat in Delhi (Ghandi's final resting place) - Tom, Taj Mahal (K)
Most authentic experience - the tiny bar near the ferry in Panaji (T), visiting the temple with an indian family (K)

The travelling stops here....

Hi All

Well, after 4 long months of travelling, we've decided to head back to the UK. We were going to leave on the 2nd February but we realised that we're not taking much in anymore, so have changed our flights to tomorrow night.

This has been an amazing experience for us. We've learned so much from this travel and feel so enriched from the experience, it's been incredible. We have so many amazing memories and hope to one day tell our kids about what a great time we had.

I will continue to post, however, so keep an eye on the site as I'll upload a heap of photos soon from the travel - we have some real crackers!

We made a "best of" and "worst of" list on the train on the way here to Ho Chi Minh city so i'll post that shortly also. An amazing time and i feel so pleased that we did it!

Love to you all

Kxxx

Hanoi Vietnam

Hi Guys

Sorry it's been a while since posting but the internet connections have been so slow and frustrating over the past week that i was tearing my hair out. Still very slow here in Vietnam but I'll perservere!

So, we've been to some varied places since we posted last. I think we were in Luang Prabang last time....

We discovered that bus travel in Laos (and consequently in Vietnam) is ridiculously slow... the average speed we've achieved is 30 km/h!!!! Oh my god... my hair went grey with the boredom! But we got to Ponsavanh in Laos which is the local town to the Plain of Jars - eerie standing jars made from stone in the middle of nowhere. And even weirder is that noone knows what they're for!

Ponsavanh was weird - like a wild west ghost town! So we left rather than spend our last two days in Laos there. So we went to Sam Neua - a border town in Laos in the middle of nowhere - another 9 hour journey. Then yesterday we had the most epic journey ever. We started at 6am, caught a large tuk-tuk to the border (open to the very cold elements!), then crossed the border (a 1.5hr ordeal with bag checks), then had to recruit a quarantine officer to help us negotiate with the bus driver to Hanoi who wanted to charge us US$35 for the journey (we got it for US$25 in the end). Then followed the most death-defying bus journey yet - 10 hours of it!

We are so relieved to be here in Hanoi.... what a lovely, cosmopolitan city with beautiful shops, casual cafes, and lovely buildings. Just what the doctor ordered! And you know what's best? I'm getting my hair done tomorrow!!!! - i can't wait.... after 5 months without a colour or cut, it's high time i lose the "minging" look and head towards "somewhat attractive". As you can probably tell, I'm getting sick of looking like shit, wearing the same clothes and just feeling yuck.

Anyway, Vietnam seems really lovely - if a little money-hungry (everyone's trying to rip us off!). There's a great feeling here, and it seems like it'll be a much easier travel than in Laos.

Hope you're all well and happy. Missing you all.

Kxxxxx

Hey Folks

Hope this is in order but:

1. Nasty spiders everywhere in Laos - horrible funnel nests sure to kill you!
2. The rickety bridge made from bamboo on our way to The Other Side - our bungalows
3. Tom squeezing through a crack in a rock, eerily smooth from some water that had obviously flowed through this tight cave sometime in it's past. NEVER GO CAVING PEOPLE!
4. Kaz in front of bars and the Nam Song River in Vang Vieng - note the soaring mountains in the background. Amazing spot.
5. Our bungalows and the view. Not very crap!