Muldoons World Tour

New York photos

2006-07-24T08:48:00.000+10:00

Chrysler Building and Grand Central
Originally uploaded by Leden.

Great weather in New York and lots to photograph. Really liked the light in this one.

Cheers,
Dane

Still Alive!

2006-07-24T08:39:00.000+10:00

In New York, loving it, and will catch up on posting once we get to Seattle later this week and can sit down at a computer for a little while.

AM

Long time no post!

2006-07-03T23:27:00.000+10:00

I had no idea that our train heading east out of Switzerland signaled the end of accessable and easy-to-use internet! So, here's a summary of my highlights over the past few weeks...

Vienna--I was so sad to leave the town of Interlaken and the Swiss Alps that when we arrived in Vienna after our overnight trip to discover that Vienna is a large city that doesn't look as cobbled and romantic as it does in 'Before Sunrise,' I was a bit bummed. We did enjoy wandering the streets, and the 100 13-year-olds at our hostel all crammed into the common room for World Cup soccer games kept us on our toes. Surprisingly, we learned that five 'football'-obsessed Mexicans can be rowdier than all those hormonal teenagers!

Budapest--Pretty funny place, actually. I'm not sure what to make of it yet. My observations are:
*Women's fashion is stuck in the 80s. The iron curtain may have fallen, but Vogue Magazine must not have infiltrated yet.
*It takes 10-15 minutes longer to walk everywhere than it feels like it should. Haven't figured out why that is.
*Hungarians have no reason to be hungry, because the food is REALLY good (and cheap by western European standards). I had one of the most enjoyable meals of my life for about 5 Euro (AU$9) at a restaurant that is a throw-back to 1970s communist-era cafeterias: a thick bed of spicy potato wedges supporting grilled chicken and sauteed mushrooms topped with a wheel of brie, all stuck under the broiler just long enough for most the cheese to melt and ooze into the nooks and crannies and the top of the wheel to turn golden brown. Mmmmmm.....
*The locals can be sensitive about gas. The dude who lives in and runs the hostel we stayed in went on a very funny rant about how if the Europeans can make full, half, and no-gas water, why can't Coke make a half-gas product. I've been asked to deliver this request back to Coke-a-Cola Company on behalf of this very frustrated, but loyal, Coke customer.
*Don't bother asking a customer service rep to answer any question that isn't technically part of their job description to answer; excrutiating bureaucracy is another remnant of the communist era!
*Nothing beats a few hours in the thermal baths for much-needed relaxation. Furthermore, unlike at most public pools, you don't have to be suspicious of hot pockets or bubbles.

I've got lots to say about Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Krakow, Copenhagen and Odense as well, but time is running out (Our train departs Odense in just a few minutes).

Heritage note: Unfortunately, we were unable to get a hold of a family relative of mine here in Odense, but have really enjoyed our time in Denmark nevertheless. Like most Americans, my ancestry is a bit mixed (mostly English, Irish, Scotish, and Danish), but all of us on my mom's side of the family feel a special connection to the Danish strand, and it was great to be someplace in the world where I know at least part of my family comes from.

Cheers,
AM

Complete Travel Itinerary

2006-06-23T04:53:00.000+10:00

Check out our updated and complete travel itinerary!

Canyoning in the Swiss Alps

2006-06-14T23:54:00.000+10:00

Interlaken, Switzerland is a breathtakingly gorgeous mountain village nestled between two lakes with views up to the mighty Jungfrau mountain.

Interlaken is also the home of extreme sports in central Europe, and therefore a huge draw for adventure-seeking backpackers. Typical activities include paragliding, sky diving, river rafting, rock climbing, and canyoning. We hadn't planned on partaking in these oh-so-cool, but rather expensive pursuits but we just couldn't help ourselves when we realised that taking the train to the summit of the Jungfrau would cost just as much as going canyoning for 6 hours.

Canyoning involves scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling, and/or swimming down a slippery mountain river canyon. In Switzerland, make that a very cold mountain river canyon where every drop of water saturating your multi-layered wet suit was unmelted snow or a glacier just scant hours earlier.

We went down the Grimsel canyon and had an amazing time. My personal accomplishment was to blindly leap off an 8m cliff into a frigid waterfall without my glasses on (which may explain my painful landing). We're both still bearing the bruises a few days later but it was great to push our limits.

Proud of us!

DM

June 9, 2006!

2006-06-12T19:46:00.000+10:00

Not only was June 9 the day we arrived in the stunningly beautiful Interlaken, Switzerland and the opening day of the Soccer World Cup (big news here in Europe), but it was also my brother-in-law, Chris's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!

We hope you had a great celebration with the fam. :)

Cheers,
AM

No room at the Inn (Rome)

2006-06-05T23:35:00.000+10:00

OK, so here's the full story of how we *almost* ended up homeless in Rome...

Wanting to leave our options open a bit, but also wanting to make sure we've got seats on trains and beds in hostels, we've been booking our train travel and hostels for about two weeks at a time. This approach worked beatifully all through Germany (which is just an all-around pleasand country to travel in), in Paris (we were lucky enough to stay with a friend in Paris), and in Barcelona, but then our luck faltered a bit.

We had booked train tickets from Barcelona to Nice, and then from Nice to Cinqueterra (Northern Italian coast), but when we turned up at the Barcelona train station in the morning for our trip to Nice, our train wasn't up on the departures board. We thought nothing of it initially and a shop keeper in the station actually told us that it's normal for a train listing not to appear until 10 minutes before departure, so we decided to have some breakfast. I started to worry a little when 5 minutes before departure there still was no mention of our train. Nobody else seemed to be worried, and no announcements were made, so we wandered around looking for a rail employee who spoke English, only to find out that there weren't any. Finally, we overheard a local man explaining to some other confused backpackers that the rail employees in southern France had been on strike for a few days, and since it was Friday, it probably wouldn't be sorted out until Monday at the earliest.

So, a bit disappointed, but not too worried, we waited around to get our tickets stamped as "cancelled" so we could obtain a refund (apparently for only 80% even though the cancellation wasn't our choice, and only obtainable in the country of purchaseç: Germany). We tried asking what our options were to get to Nice, but the staff said they only knew about trains, and only spoke Spanish. The thought we could catch a bus, but it wouldn't arrive in Nice until midnight, and we wouldn't be able to find accommodation, as we were in the middle of the Cannes Movie Festival.

To make this long story a little shorter, we finally decided that the best option was to catch a 20-hour ferry from Barcelona to Rome and skip Nice. We'd swing by Cinqueterra on our way to Florence and Venice, and the only down side would be missing Nice.

The additional down side we hadn't anticipated, however, is that there were no hostel beds available when we arrived in Rome on Saturday evening. Luckily we stumbled into the incredibly helpful and cool Yellow Hostel who phoned every single one of the 50 hostels in the area to find us a room. After about an hour, they had no luck, so we decided to wander the streets and see if we could find a cheap-ish hotel. Yellow actually offered us their lobby couches if we couldn't find anything and it got really late, but fortunately, it didn't come to that. Just as I was losing my mind (I'm horribly emotional and irrational when I'm tired, and I definitely was after 20 hours on a ferry) and was about to give up on Rome and push on to Florence or anywhere else, we found a not-so-cheap room in some dude's unfinished guest apartment, and we finally got some sleep and peace of mind.

We woke up the next morning and swung back by Yellow to see if they'd had any cancellations, and fortunately again, they had. We ended up staying with them for the rest of our time in Rome (although we had to check out and check back in to different rooms 3 times) and absolutely loved it. The staff are amazing, the internet is free 24 hours a day, the kitchen is fully equipped, and we met heaps of other really cool guests.

I think a theme for this trip is things working out for the best, not necessarily the way we expect, but somehow. I'm a bit of a pessimist, always designing contingency plans for the worst-case scenario, and Dane is always optimistically trusting that thigs will work out, and time and again it's turned out that if you try to think creatively, put in a bit of effort, and open yourself up to people, things will be OK. A good lesson to learn, I reckon...

Cheers,
AM

Spanish TV

2006-05-31T03:54:00.000+10:00

I've watched a little Funniest Home Video in my time - mostly it's kids falling off trampolines, dogs falling off trucks and cats falling off tables. Not in Spain. While we were in Barcelona one night cooking dinner, we witnessed a little of the local version and it's a hoot. For at least half an hour there was only one theme - people being gorged by bulls.

Yes, the annual Running Of The Bulls in Pamplona apparently gives the producers of Spanish Funniest Home Video enough material to last a full season. Too funny.

DM

Colosseum, Rome

2006-05-31T02:50:00.000+10:00

Colosseum, Rome
Originally uploaded by Leden.

All roads lead to Rome. What a big, wonderful city. Great weather, incredible history, great pizza, probably a little too much walking and all-round a good time. Except if you do not have a bed to sleep in, but that is another story.

DM

World Tour Itinerary [Updated]

2006-05-30T01:49:00.000+10:00

For those of you who are tracking our where-abouts in the world (i.e. our 3-year-old nephew, Eli, whose latest interest is a world map), here's where we've been and where we plan on going...

April 7-10 Brisbane, AUSTRALIA

April 11-14 HONG KONG

April 15-May 7 INDIA
15-17 Delhi
18-20 Jaipur, Rajasthan
21-23 Jodhpur, Rajasthan
24-26 Bhavnagar, Gujarat (meetings with CSMCRI, a research entity of the government of India, who are doing great reasearch into Jatropha and biodiesel)
27 Ahmedabad, Gujarat
28-30 Udaipur, Rajasthan
May 1-3 Nimach, Madhya Pradesh (meetings with Jatropha seed sellers)
4-6 Agra (Taj Mahal!)
7 Delhi

May 8-18 GERMANY
8-10 Frankfurt
11-12 Stuttgart (best hostel in the world!)
13-15 Munich (most beer drinking in the world!)
16-18 Berlin

May 19-22 Paris, FRANCE (mmmm...frommage and baguettes) (p.s. I think I've kicked 10 years of lactose intolerance!)

May 23-25 Barcelona, SPAIN

May 26 20-hour ferry from Barcelona to Rome (our train from Barcelona to Nice and then to Cinqueterra was nixed due to a strike by the railway workers of France)

May 27-June 8 ITALY
May 27-30 Rome
May 31 Pompei
June 1-3 Cinqueterra
June 4-6 Florence (meeting up with Tessa as we cross paths half-way around the world)
June 7-8 Venice

June 9-12 Interlaken, SWITZERLAND (right in the middle of the country and known for "extreme sports")

June 13-15 Vienna, AUSTRIA

June 16-18 Budapest, HUNGARY

June 19-26 CZECH REPUBLIC
June 19-23 Prague
June 24-26 Cesky Krumlov (small town in southern Bohemia known for its beautiful castle and views)

June 27-28 Krakow, POLAND

June 29 Berlin, GERMANY (lay-over on the way north)

June 30-July 3 DENMARK
June 30-July 2 Copenhagen
July 3 Odense

July 4-6 Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

Then we fly to London on July 7 for 10 days visiting Kira and our Aussie homies, Chris & Allie. On July 18 (the day after my birthday!) we fly to New York, where we'll spend 4 days in DC and 5 days in NYC. Next we're off to Seattle for the wedding of one of my oldest friends and six weeks with my family. Before heading home, we'll also get to visit my grandma in LA and my father in Arizona.

Finally, we'll head back to Brisbane mid-September, just in time for our third summer in a row!

Happy mapping, Eli!

Cheers,
AM

Barcelona is warm and friendly

2006-05-26T03:17:00.000+10:00

Barcelona has been a blast over the last few days and I really look forward to coming back - a short trip just isn't long enough. Today we went to the truly remarkable La Sagrada Familia cathedral, designed by Antoni Gaudi. La Sagrada Familia is his masterpiece and has been under construction since 1882. They're half way through building it now but it could easily take another hundred years to complete. I've seen some remarkable architecture on this trip but nothing comes close to this one, Gaudi's an evil genius!

Yesterday we went to the beach (right in town like Sydney) and cruised around the main street of Las Ramblas. Siestas have also been on the menu with lots of snoozing mixed in with the great food and balmy weather.

I'm hoping we'll get a chance to head back to the beach but the siesta may win :)

DM

Notre Dame, Paris

2006-05-26T02:21:00.000+10:00

Notre Dame
Originally uploaded by Leden.

We had a great stay in Paris, dampened only by the incredibly variable weather. Paris makes Melbourne look mild.

Highlights of our stay included going to the Louvre just hours after seeing The Da Vinci Code movie (which starts in the Louvre) in a cinema on the Champs Elysees, having a picnic complete with baguette, meat, cheese and wine at the Eiffel Tour; attending a huge (and clearly very important) mass at the Notre Dame cathedral, and going out with Alyse's friend Alex.

Bayern crowd empties beer hall

2006-05-14T20:19:00.000+10:00

Yesterday Bayern Munich soccer club played the Bundesliga (German national soccer league) final and Munich was awash with red and white as their fans poured into the city. Bayern Munich were held to a 3 all draw by Borussia Dortmund but the result was not enough to stifle the celebrations as the Bavarians received the Bundesliga trophy for the 20th time. Apparently they won the title based on their season's win-loss record.

I tried explaining to some locals that the score from my football team's game this weekend was 180 to 62 but I don't think they quite got it.

Marienplatz was turned into a huge, outdoor party for the Bayern fans complete with beer stalls and big screens which had the unexpected result of partially emptying the biergartens around town. Alyse, Paige and myself headed for the famous Hofbrauhaus beer hall for dinner and had a fantastic time eating traditional Bavarian food and drinking steins (well, I had a couple although Alyse stuck with the tried and true white wine).

At the table beside us was a bunch of young, Swiss guys who apparently come down to Munich for three days every year to drink, drink and drink some more. They were great fun and introduced us all to the wonderful world of sniffing snuff. One of the guys, Killian, had a menthol variety on hand which when taken was like shoving a cough lolly up your nose. The whole custom of singing a song and calling out "breeze" before snorting up the brown dust off your left hand (because it's closer to your heart) made the experience a lot of fun though.

The Swiss guys managed to corrupt not just our party with their snuff, but two girls from the U.S., two more from Australia and a party from China as well. They were in fine form as they lustily sang along to the oom-pa band's traditional tunes and tried to down eight or so 1Lt steins of Munich's finest.

Today is a rainy day, good for doing washing and catching up on some reading online. I think we'll have a wander around a little later once Alyse manages to get out of bed (for the second time).

DM

Rockin´ around Germany

2006-05-14T00:57:00.000+10:00

As I sit here in a smokey internet cafe in Munich I´m trying to sum up my thoughts about Germany so far. Firstly and most obviously the ´z´and ´y´ keys are swapped on the keyboard which is slowing this process down greatlz ;)

Secondly the countryside is just beautiful; rolling green hills, forrests of every hue of green and cultivated fields alternating between light brown ploughed rows, green crops and bright yellow fields of rapeseed. We have travelled by train from Frankfurt to Stuttgart to Munich and enjoyed every moment.

Everyone has been really friendly and helpful which has made our journey so far that much easier and in many respects the contrast with India could not be greater. On our first day Frankfurt I was absolutely struck by how clean the streets were; how clean the air was; how few people there were; how peaceful it was to not be accosted by auto-rickshaw drivers and others; and lastly how much cooler it was than Delhi.

Frankfurt is really nice if not a tourist destination. Stuttgart, where I had a business meeting has a few more sights and its picturesque location in a valley rimmed by hills on all sides is on full show from the incredible youth hostel. Stuttgart´s youth hostel is quite simply amazing - stunning location matched with recently refurbished rooms (we were in a "dormitory" of just two beds with its own ensuite) and a 5 star hotel style four storey glass elevator entry.

Munich is the number one tourist destintion in Germany and it shows; a short trip to Marienplatz in the city´s centre today left us battling crowds even as we took some happy snaps and grabbed a sausage on a roll (yum!). We also visited the Nazi concentraction camp at Dachau today which was the original concentration camp upon which all the other Nazi camps were modelled; truly a sobering reminder of very recent history.

Tomorrow is more sight seeing with us safe in the knowledge that the first of our Eurail trips are booked. Over the next few weeks we´re training it overnight to Berlin which should see us safely out of Germany before the Football World Cup hysteria completely takes control. Then on to Paris followed by Barcelona and Nice. After that we´re planning to take in Italy in a more leisurely style.

We´ve had some great luck finding that one of our room mates here in Munich is an Aussie girl, Paige, who we´ve enjoyed meeting and hanging out with. Her family lives in Brisbane, she lives in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, and of all things, she´s a dragon boat racer. What a small world! Paige is also heading to Berlin next (we´re sending her up as an advanced scouting party tomorrow) so we´ll all get a chance to cruise around the German capital together.

Some observations about Germany:

* I politely try to remember to always ask someone I approach if they speak English instead of just assuming that they will and the response is universal, "a little." In fact everyone seems to be almost fluent so perhaps this is just an example of German modesty. Almost all tourist oriented signs have both German and English anyway so its super easy to get around.

* Where was the famed German efficiency as we entered the EU though?! Having flown from India where we had walked around rural areas no doubt infected with some pretty nasty agricultural pests and diseases, there was no customs or quarantine when we entered the EU. Just a 10 second stamping of each of our passports and we were free to wander off without even being asked where we had travelled from, either verbally or by form. Hopefully a four hour layover in Heathrow dislodged the suspect soil from our shoes sufficiently that we won´t cripple the local farming industry.

* Similar to the Czech Replublic, you can buy beer just about anywhere. I just wish our beer budget was a bit higher :)

Now I´m off to rustle up some coins for the beer vending machine in the lobby of our hostel...

DM

Defining Delhi

2006-05-07T17:06:00.000+10:00

We have come to a conclusion about Delhi - it is the L.A. of India.

Enough said.

Alyse rides an elephant!

2006-05-06T14:56:00.000+10:00

Alyse on an elephant
Originally uploaded by Leden.

We finally found one! For something so big elephants can be surprisingly elusive. But fate was smiling on us as we left the Taj Mahal and Alyse fulfilled a dream and rode an elephant in India.

She looked like a queen up on its mighty back as I scrambled along side trying to capture the moment as half a dozen persistent children tried to sell me pens. One pen purchase and many photos later Alyse has a trip to remember.

DM

Taj Mahal

2006-05-06T14:52:00.000+10:00

Taj Mahal
Originally uploaded by Leden.

The Taj Mahal. What can you say? Its the most remarkable act of love I've ever witnessed - built by a Mogul to remember his favourite wife. It took 20,000 artisans something like 20 years to build and the incredible thing is that I'm amazed they built it so fast!

Its hard to get the entire Taj Mahal into a photo and still portray just how huge it is. The darker dot at the bottom middle of the central arch is an eight foot high door.

Overwhelming, but stunningly beautiful.

DM

Home Cookin' in Neemuch

2006-05-04T19:35:00.000+10:00

Almost as often as we've heard "What country [are you from]?" and "What is your good name?" we've been asked what cities we're visiting in India. The locals nod along as we rattle off the usual tourist destinations of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Agra. They look a little surprised when we get to Bhavnagar (an industrial city with no real "sights"; we went there to check out Indian government research on Jatropha cultivation and biodiesel production method). And they look shocked and confused when we finally get to Neemuch. It's kind of like saying you're traveling to New York City, Miami, San Francisco, and Toledo. Or Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Ipswich.

"Neemuch?! Hot! Dry! Nothing for tourists!"

Well, I beg to disagree. We headed to Neemuch to meet with Jatropha seed suppliers, as Neemuch is India's number one trading center for wholesale herbs and spices. Our expectations were low for memorable moments, but we were so wrong.

Over the past two days, we've been treated to four home-cooked vegetarian meals, taken to two Hindu temples, offered a blessing (and several tasty snacks!) by a Hindu priest, ushered through India's largest grain and seed market, met with an influential district politician, and taken photos with seemingly every member of a 26-person family and 99-person family. Whew!

The three things that struck me most were: 1) the cooking in each home was quite different (the style of cooking depends largely on what region of the country the wife is from; we've now eaten authentic dishes from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh); 2) the food keeps on coming (soups, fruit, curries, breads, rices, chutneys, salads, crunchy snacks, mango desserts, and finally digestive-aiding juices) and the only way to stop them from giving you seconds, thirds, and fourths of everything is to turn your bowls upside-down; and 3) a LOT of time (two hours per meal) and effort goes into cooking these elaborate, fresh, meals two times a day for incredibly large families (extended family members often live together in adjoining homes all served by one kitchen).

The families we visited were so generous and eager to show us their homes, their family photos, and offer us anything but the kitchen sink if they thought we'd like to take it with us. We're trying to keep our packs light, but we couldn't say no to a bag of home-made hard mango candies, a few vials of pure aloe vera extract, a tube of aloe vera moisturizer, and a variety of after dinner sweet seeds.

While Neemuch may not rate highly (if at all) for independent tourists, we can definitely say that our two days there were a highlight of the trip so far. Indian hospitality rocks!

AM

Happy Birthday, Eli and Kristin!

2006-04-30T16:03:00.000+10:00

Even though we're cruising around India at the moment, every sense being bombarded, we haven't forgotten about our friends and family around the world.

We'd like to give a shout-out to our favourite 3-year-old, Eli, who celebrates the big day tomorrow (May 1st). We wish we could be there, but we've sent a Muldoon emissary in our stead, the ever-popular Tessa Muldoon, who I hope will shout "Hip, Hip, Hooray" at the end of the "Happy Birthday" song, as we Americans miss out on this festive song-ending burst of glee. :)

Not to be overlooked, my favourite sister (and Eli's mom) is also celebrating a birthday this week (May 5th). Happy Birthday, Kristin! Please eat some Mexican food for me. :)

As for the rest of you, as you're celebrating birthdays, promotions, house purchases, births, and the like over the next few months, please have a drink for us! :)

Cheers,
AM (a.k.a. "Aunt EA")

Gujarat and back

2006-04-30T15:23:00.000+10:00

After we left Jodhpur it was time for a little business to mix in with all the swanning about we've been doing in Rajasthan. Two days of meetings in Bhavnagar were followed by a 24 hour lay-over in Ahmadabad before an overnight train to Udaipur.

Bhavnagar is not a tourist destination. At best it's a jumping off spot for nearby wildlife parks and, if you're a little more daring, the strictly prohibited ship breaking yards at Alang. Ship breaking - what a remarkable concept. Every time I've ever seen cruise liners or a huge cargo ships they've looked like the most solid, non-destructable pieces of equipment that you're ever likely to see. Perhaps a ship could sink but I've never been able to comprehend them being stripped down like an old car in an auto wrecking yard. But that's exactly what they do at Alang.

By far the biggest ship breaking yard in the world, Alang, serves at the final resting place of most of the world's greatest ships. Uniquely situated on mud-flats which have a high tide only once a month, the ship breakers of Alang start from the front and work their way back through the hulls of these massive vessels, tearing out every fixture, fitting or raw piece of steel for resale and recycling. Just like meat ants on an animal carcass.

We hired a car after our meetings were done in Bhavnagar to take a look. As the entire area is off-limits to tourist we weren't able to get as close as I would have liked but we did see the boats off at a distance plus we passed by the hundreds of stalls set up on the side of the road selling the booty. There are stalls for toilets, kitchen fittings, life vests, diesel engines, mirrors, lounges, mattresses, and every other possible piece from the ships. Alang is truly a remarkable place.

Ahmadabad was all about resting after arriving at midnight and leaving again 24 hours later. We were lucky that the hotel offered 24 hour check-in and out plus they had the HBO cable channel so movies were the order of the day. There really wasn't a lot more to recommend the hotel which featured some of the most creative plumbing in the bathroom I've ever seen. Still, the aircon worked and the movies included several Van Damme classics so it was all good.

Actually we did venture out for lunch to a place around the corner from our hotel recommended in our travel guide which was really good. Some of the best food we've had in India.

The other memorable moment in Ahmadabad would have to be the trip from the hotel to the train station. Yet another auto-rickshaw which is hardly out of the ordinary but there was one intersection just as we reached the station which was completely surreal. Its close to midnight and there are thousands of auto-rickshaws, pedestrians, buses, trucks, cars and pushbikes around. And they all want to cross this huge intersection simultaneously. Traffic is crazy at the best of times in India but this was truly insane - absolutely nobody was giving way to anyone else and there were no lights, round-abouts or policemen to assert their logic onto the scrum. This was the traffic equivalent of dreadlocks and I couldn't help but chuckle to myself for the full 10 minutes it took to cross to the other side. There would be a public outcry replete with angry letters written to the local member and flames posted to Column 8 in the Sydney Morning Herald if this was Australia :)

DM

Elephant Baksheesh

2006-04-30T15:03:00.000+10:00

In a country with as much povery as India (yes, the poverty is as devastating as you've heard), the people have developed a keen sense of value. That is, compensation can be requested for even the smallest act that can be perceived as a service. Of course, there are plenty of helpful strangers who don't expect anything in return for helping a tourist find a bookstore or good restaurant, and who are eager to engage in long conversations about food, sport, religion, politics, culture, or anything else, but there is also a sizeable population that earns a living by providing assistance.

For example, when I posed next to a guard in Jaipur's City Palace for a photo and he then rubbed his fingers together in the international sign for $$$, I offered him 10 rupees (30 Aussie cents) for his service, which he appreciated. It's also common to offer baksheesh for someone "bending the rules" to gain us access to "restricted" sites or enjoy an upper class waiting area at a railway station when we only have a second class ticket.

Another form of baksheesh is offering small amounts of money to the homeless and handicapped. The tricky thing about that, however, is that earning baksheesh has also quite unfortunately become an industry. It is impossible to know if the legless man pulling himself around the streets by his arms asking for money when rickshaws are stopped at a red light is doing the only thing he can to get by (there is no welfare system in India), or if he has been mutilated by a boss (similar to a pimp) whose people work the corner or the street and who then collects all of their earnings at the end of the day. Children are also used in this way. A child who has left poor home conditions out in the country can be taken in by one of these bosses and then sent into the intersections with small naked babies to beg for money. It's heartbreaking, but the advice we've received is that to offer any money to these people, who actually really do need it, won't actually help them. In fact, it could even make the greater problem worse by encouraging the industry. So, we've decided that the best way to go is to make a donation once we get home to a charitable organisation that actually serves to do some good here.

On a lighter note (and there is plenty of beauty, kindness, and amusement in India to make the poverty more bearable, although not lessened in any way), we were on our way back to our hotel last night after taking in a gorgeous sunset on a mountain peak with 360 degree views of Udaipur, when we passed an elephant in the street. I quickly asked our rickshaw driver, Mustafa, to stop so we could take a photo. Dane jumped out with the camera, and the elephant owner obliged by walking the elephant over for a close-up. Dane got the shot, at which point the elephant reached out its trunk and rubbed its little trunk tip nubbins together. Knowing exactly what he meant, Dane pulled out a 10 rupee note, which the elephant gratefully grabbed hold of and then passed up to his owner. And there you have it: Elephant Baksheesh! :)

AM

Best laid plans...

2006-04-23T20:39:00.000+10:00

Well, our overnight train to Jaisalmer didn't quite happen. After our first dose of Indian Railways second class sleeper (taking us as far as Jodhpur), I just couldn't face another 8 hours on a dust-covered blue mat 18 inches from the ceiling with rickety fans blowing hot air in my face. After having experienced Chinese railways, Dane was up for the adventure, but I just wasn't.

So, I worked up enough of a chest-rattling cough for him to take pity on me and agree to stay put in Jodhpur for 2 days, which was actually the original plan before a Californian hippie in the New Delhi Railway Station convinced us to squeeze in a day in Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is the home of the camel safari across the Thar Desert, but given that it's currently 45 degrees out there, maybe postponing that adventure until our next (?) visit to India was the best decision we've made yet.

The good news is that the hotel in Jodhpur that we managed to book at 11:00pm on Friday night is amazing. It's run out of an 18th century mansion and is operated by the same family that built it back in the day. The window in our room spread across the entire northern wall and faced the massive wall of the fort Jodhpur is famous for. The view proved even more valuable on Saturday, as Dane ordered bed rest for my recovery. I think I was awake for only 3 hours all day. But the rest did me good, as I'm feeling much better today (although I'm still clearing yellow-green globs from my chest--yuck).

We've finally done some sight-seeing around Jodhpur today, and I'm so glad, as it's my favourite place so far in India. The Mehrangarh Fort is much more than just an abandoned mass of delapitated stone walls (which describes most forts in Jaipur--the brilliant exception is Amber Palace, which would be stunning if a bit more effort at maintenance were put into the place). Walking up and around Mehrangarh Fort, it is clear that the design was very much built around the craggy mountain top where it is perched. You wander through courtyards into state rooms and entertaining halls and then up stairs into more bedrooms that lead to terraces that open up onto more courtyards. The views from the terraces and windows definitely do justice to Jodhpur's title of the Blue City.

As for future train trips, they're all currently booked as second class sleeper, but we're going to see about upgrades for some of the longer trips--woohoo!

AM

Jaipur: running hot and cold

2006-04-21T14:56:00.000+10:00

Jaipur is a calm and peaceful oasis compared to Delhi - especially our hotel, the Sunder Palace, which is really nice. We've been in the best of spirits since arriving but unfortunately not the best of health. It might be 40 degrees C outside, but we've both got colds! Our crummy (but expensive!) hotel in Delhi had A/C which was either set to cryogenically freeze, or off. Subsequently we spent several nights there alternating between hot and cold and the inevitable effects asserted themselves in Jaipur.

We did go on a bus tour of the sites on Wednesday which are spectacular if a little run down, but all we could manage yesterday was a Bollywood flick at one of the most famous cinemas in India. It was a great experience and the movie had enough English sprinkled throughout that we could follow along with the story over its epic three hours (complete with intermission).

Today the real travel begins - we'll be on a train to Jodhpur then another to Jaisalmer in the Thar Desert for over 12 hours. I'm glad we've both got books to read :)

DM

Delhi: to Tout or not to Tout

2006-04-17T13:04:00.000+10:00

We arrived at 3am in Delhi on Saturday morning. After our ride had a flat tire on the side of the highway at 4am we finally made it to our hotel at 4:30am and crashed. Getting our train travel booked was a priority though so we were up again just a few hours later to tackle New Delhi Train Station.

OMG that place is confusing! The first person we ran into was one of the imfamous "touts" who physically stopped us from finding the legitimate tourist information office and tried to direct us to some dodgy "official" train booking office. We were expecting something like this to happen but he was far more aggressive than anticipated. Quickly fleeing the scene we proceeded to wander around the train station following signs that all seemed to contradict each other. We finally found the real tourist information office only to find that we then needed the famed Trains At A Glance timetable book. After we found the book selling office and made our way back to the tourist information office things proceeded suprisingly smoothly.

Several other backpackers from all over the world gave us some helpful tips on things to do and places to see as we started filling out the many forms required to book tickets. We have a busy schedule to say the least! By the looks of things we're going to spend about half our time on trains - 3,500km in 21 days. But every trip we wanted to make was available and booked within three hours of arriving at the station. The most remarkable thing though is the price. We attempted to book our tickets through a travel agent in Australia who quoted us $3,500 (including plane flights for legs that supposedly didn't have train links). Booking in Delhi cost $186.

The woman who booked our trips was really nice and very helpful and seemed to appreciate that we had taken the time to do our own research and fill out the forms correctly. She even gave us a good tip for our first meal in Delhi at Bangla Sweet House.

Dehli is as overwhelming as everyone says it is so it's living up to its reputation (for heat as well). The good news though is that you can usually tell who is genuinely helpful and who is trying to scam you blind.

After two days in Delhi my shoes are shiny clean thanks to Raj and Ricky, who hang out near our hotel at Ram Nagar. We've become friends with a great auto-rickshaw driver/tour guide, Mohammed, who spent a few hours on Sunday taking us on a whirlwind tour of every major tourist attraction (if only to photograph from the outside). We're meeting up with him again this morning, although I think we're just going to have him drop us off at a cinema so we can catch a Bollywood movie (most museums and attractions are closed on Mondays).

The food has been great, although we've been pretty cautious about where we eat in an effort to avoid the infamous "Delhi Belly."

Scorecard after 2 days:
Delhi Belly - 0
Touts - 3 close calls and a million and one immediate brush-offs
Meals - 4 (we're still getting the hang of finding clean places to eat)
Auto-rickshaws - 3
Cricket conversations - 30+ (Ricky Ponting is the most popular Aussie cricketer over here; not surprising considering he's on top of the world rankings)
In-room fires - 1 (our A/C blew up yesterday afternoon)
Shoe shines - 2

Tomorrow: Jaipur.

DM

So long, Hong Kong

2006-04-16T13:28:00.000+10:00

Hong Kong Highlights:

Wednesday - Ferry ride to Lantau Island, followed by yet another winding drive up a mountain, on our way to see the Giant Buddha. In fact, by all reports it is the "world's largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha" (photos to come later), which must mean there are larger indoor standing marble Buddhas out there somewhere, which is pretty tough to imagine, because it was MONDO HUGE!

Thursday - Subway error #1: thinking that Kowloon Station is the best destination to see Kowloon Bay. In fact, it is just a mass of SUPER HUGE private apartment buildings (~10,000 residents each) that you're not allowed to short-cut through to get to anywhere decent. So, we ended up walking along the freeway to find the heart of downtown Kowloon. We wandered through the Jade Markets, outdoor food markets, and Kowloon Park, where we observed a salsa dance class in a Chinese Temple, heaps of oldies getting down with Tai Chi, sculpture garden, early morning swimmers enjoying a very cool pool designed to look more like a lagoon, and much more.

We then made our way to Causeway Bay, where Dane wandered 2 entire floors of side-by-side computer stores in Windsor House. Dane was most impressed by the Apple presence. :) I was a bit bored, to be honest, but found a trendy laptop displaying King Kong, so didn't mind it too much. ;)

After browsing, we wandered west into Wan Chai, where there were heaps of cheap markets selling just about everything. An oasis for tired travelers is Wan Chai Park, where you can actually find a place to sit (benches are surprisingly sparse in Hong Kong) and watch elderly men compete rather intensely at Chinese Chess.

Friday - Tasty BBQ Pork Buns (Jo & Lou--wish you could have been there)! We thought we would just wander a bit before taking off for Delhi in the evening, but ended up going out to Yum Cha with the Jockey Club Mt Davis hostel bus driver. Totally unexpected, and most definitely a highlight from our time in Hong Kong. After filling our bellies and drawing pictures to figure out what we were eating, we took another scenic bus ride (#6) over the hills to Stanley on the south end of Hong Kong Island. Stanley is known for its maze of tourist markets and scenic seaside location. They also have heaps of westerner-friendly bistros, but we skipped right past those. :)

Next time we'll stay for a week and bring more money for shopping!

We're now safely in Delhi! More on that later.

Cheers,
AM

Destination: Hong Kong

2006-04-12T10:19:00.000+10:00

We've arrived! After a long but uneventful flight (lots of in-flight movies), we arrived in Hong Kong last night. First impressions are that it is warmer than Alyse expected; the airport is huge and clean; and the buses are much cheaper than the train and drive as fast as taxis despite being double-decker.

The most unexpected thing so far, though, is the hostel - or at least where it is. The directions say "top of Mt. Davis Path." What this actually equates to is 5km of tight, mountain switch-backs that our taxi drive ably dealt with. The road just kept on going and going; every time we thought the hostel must be around the next bend, and it wasn't, we laughed. Check out the fantastic view...

Another surprise was that Alyse and I are not in a dorm room together. Men and women are separated, which is fine, but just unexpected.

The best news is that we've already run into a few very helpful and interesting people. More on that later.

DM

And we're off!

2006-04-11T07:57:00.000+10:00

Well, today is the big day. We've had a few lead-up events, such as our farewell party with our fantastic group of friends in Sydney, last day of work, moving day, scenic flight over Sydney, and flight out of Sydney (to Brisbane), but today we finally leave the country.

For our "last meal" last night with Dane's family, we ordered in Chinese food, which was a bit silly since we'll be in Hong Kong tonight. :)

We've done the final weigh-in on our packs, and a few things had to go. The unfortunate items that didn't make the cut include Dane's multi-pliers, my long black skirt, a couple of my tops, and two extra rolls of toilet paper. The packs are still weighty, but not nearly as heavy as they were when we left Sydney, but part of the reason for that is that anything we forgot to pack into boxes for the movers had to go into our packs until we could unload them in Brisbane. Such items included an oven thermometer, 3 remote controls, a pair of Dane's shoes, dirty laundry, and scissors.

Dane's final pack weight: 10 kg + 3kg day pack
Alyse's final pack weight: 11 kg + 3kg day pack

Dane's dad reckons we'll lose another couple of kilos within the first week or two. In his experience, gear that seems "essential" before you leave becomes a ridiculous luxury as soon as you've had to carry it on your back. We'll see... I'm still not willing to give up my anti-bacterial moist towelettes!

OK, we're leaving for the airport in 2 minutes. Our next post will be from Hong Kong!

AM

The football season begins

2006-04-09T18:42:00.000+10:00

Last night Mum and Dad took us to the first Brisbane Lions home game of the season against the Bombers. It was great to see the Gabba finally finished and the Lions win the game as well. The ground was pretty much packed and the atmosphere was fantastic.

Unfortunately the mighty Swannies didn't fare quite so well at home today. I'm going to be following the competition closely on the trip to see how we go defending our premiership this year.

DM

Sydney from 1,500 feet

2006-04-09T11:59:00.000+10:00

Jeremy took us flying in a little four-person, twin-engine plane on Friday morning. It was a magical trip and I'm so pleased that I've finally been able to go up with my best mate after all these years.

We took off from Bankstown airport, flew north east up to Palm Beach then down the coastline of the Northern Beaches to Manly. From there we entered the controlled airspace of Sydney Harbour to do some circle work near the Opera House and Harbour Bridge before heading back out to Manly and then south down the coastline past Bondi, Bronte, Coogee and Maroubra towards Cronulla. We turned inland at Stanwell Park to check out the Blue Mountains and then after buzzing the Three Sisters turned sharply (!) back to Bankstown.

See more photos of our flight with Jeremy here.

DM

Moving, and why you should never do it

2006-04-09T09:11:00.000+10:00

Moving day was Thursday. Between moving day and final packing day (Wednesday), we both had two tough days. I'd have to say that Alyse did more overall - she took charge of the situation and bossed everyone around until it was done to her satisfaction.

It's just one of those things that should be avoided if at all possible; moving seems to be an endless process of looking at something that you should probably have thrown out years ago and painfully finding a box big enough to put it in because you just can't bring yourself to bin it. Still, everything went relatively smoothly, aided by Alyse's efforts to start packing three weeks before the big day.

The truck driver apparently had sixteen kids and, despite being a born-and-bred Australian, could barely speak English to save himself. Everything went onto his truck without any dramas, though, so I'd have to rate him highly. Our stuff is due to turn up tomorrow morning in Bris Vegas and the following day we're off on our travels.

DM

P.S. Superfluous commas added by AM.

Going away party Saturday night

2006-04-05T08:03:00.000+10:00

A great big thanks to everyone who came along to the Australian Hotel in the Rocks on Saturday for our farewell party!

It was fantastic to see so many old friends again and to share our plans for our trip and the future. Not that anyone else has been sitting still either! There were new jobs, new homes and even new babies on the way. Everyone seemed really well and I count myself incredibly lucky to know such a wonderful bunch of people.

There was beer and pizza and lots of laughs. I'm already looking forward to our first trip back to Sydney to see everyone again.

DM

Last day of Apple

2006-04-05T07:47:00.000+10:00

Yesterday was the last day of my Apple computer sales career. Being at the coal face felt like something I needed to do but now it is done. I went out on a high note by topping the sales for the day thanks to finally having stocks of the new MacBook Pro.

I invoiced three MacBook Pros yesterday including a built to order 2.16GHz screamer.

They're nice machines that's for sure.

Ben and Shannon gathered everyone in the store around 5pm for a quick speech to thank me for my efforts and wish me well in the future. They also gave me an EyeTV 200 as a going away present. The 200 is a great piece of kit and will come in handy in the future for watching TV on my Mac if there's ever conflict. You can use it to digitalise analogue video as well so I can play with footage from the old video camera in iMovie.

Best of luck to all the guys in the new Bondi Junction super store - it will be by far Australia's largest and I'm a little sorry that I wont be there for the opening. But instead I'll be in Delhi :)

DM

The packing begins

2006-04-03T07:38:00.000+10:00

Alyse has gone crazy packing. She's covered in cuts and bruises and has been ordering me around like I'm some army grunt. But, the house is looking good. Everything has been categorised. Every box is evenly weighted and fits together like a jigsaw.

Meanwhile I've been watching the F1 Grand Prix and filling the iPod with music. Oh, and I've taken a few loads of garbage out too. I've also managed to squeeze in documenting our possessions for travel insurance, registering our travel with our respective governments, packing up all the electronics and waging the eternal war on cockroaches. I swear that the next place I live in will have a new kitchen with no gaps between cupboards and counter tops.

More packing photos on Flikr.

DM

Bondi's best home delivery

2006-03-26T19:10:00.000+11:00

As a service to those living in Bondi I thought I'd pass on my recommendations for the best home delivery in the area.

Best Chinese: Green House, 9387-2131

Best Thai: Eat Thai, 9369-5903

Best Pizza: Big John's, 9369-1233

Best Indian: Jewel On The Bay, 9371-4100

Seriously, what more do you need?

DM

Packing List

2006-03-26T16:13:00.000+11:00

For those of you who are curious as to what we can't live without for five months, here is our packing list. To be honest, Dane would leave half of these things behind (like the shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, and anything else that may make him smell good), but I've insisted that we not leave the country without at least 30 anti-bacterial moist towelettes. :)

Each of us will be carrying:

*65 litre Mountain Designs "Odyssey" Travel Pack with detachable Day Pack
*1 litre aluminium water bottle
*Microfibre travel towel
*Inflatable pillow
*Wrapsafe (security cable)
*Combination lock x 2
*Torch/Flashlight
*Multi-pliers/Swiss Army Knife
*Tissue pack x 3
*Toilet roll x 3
*2-in-1 shampoo & conditioner
*Body wash
*Body puff scrubber
*Razors
*Gastro kit (including immodium, antibiotic, and re-hydration tablets)
*Berocca (Aussies will appreciate the absolute necessity of this item!)
*Thongs/Flip-flops for hostel showers
*Spork
*Flat foldable bowl
*Glasses Case
*Sleep visor
*Earplugs
*Digital camera
*Youth Hostel Australia membership card
*Passports, bank cards, and other important documents (in super secret hiding places)

In addition, we're sharing a few things between the two of us:

*Pacsafe (security cage)
*First aid kit
*Anti-bacterial moist towelettes
*Anti-bacterial gel
*Laundry washing liquid
*Hairbrush (foldable)
*Nail clippers and file
*Sunscreen
*Mosquito repellant (80% DEET)
*Natural sleep aid
*Alarm clock
*iPod Video (to download our photos onto)
*Film camera (this one is *all* Dane)
*"Europe on a Shoestring"
*"The Rough Guide to India"

As for clothes, Dane will be taking:

*Colorado boots with high performance odor eaters (he's been warned that boots will be hot, but he swears they're the most comfortable shoe he's ever worn)
*Socks x 3 (moisture wicking)
*Undies x 3 (moisture wicking)
*Convertible pants/shorts (quick-dry)
*Shorts (quick-dry)
*Long-sleeve thermal shirt
*T-shirt (quick-dry)
*Long-sleeve button-up shirt (quick-dry)
*Jacket (light-weight)
*Bucket hat (Cricket Australia)

Finally, as I girl, my clothing list will be a bit longer:

*Raichle walking/hiking shoes with arch supporting insoles
*Socks x 3 (moisture wicking)>
*Undie bottoms x 3 (moisture wicking)
*Undie tops x 2 (sport)
*3/4 length pants (quick-dry)
*Shorts (quick-dry)
*Wrap skirt (quick-dry)
*Tank top (moisture wicking)
*Sleeveless top (moisture wicking)
*Short-sleeve collared t-shirt (moisture wicking)
*Zip-up jumper (light-weight & quick-dry)
*Bandana
*Bucket hat
*Swimsuit
*(I may also be allowing myself another skirt, top, pair of cute shoes,...)

I've probably forgotten a couple of things, and I've probably included a couple of things that won't make the cut due to weight, but this is pretty much what we're taking to get us through the next five months (I'll be happy once we've survived India). I fully expect to want to burn all of these items by the time we finish our trip in September. :)

AM

India is go

2006-03-24T12:30:00.000+11:00

Our passports arrived back from the Indian consulate today complete with business visas for the two of us. To the sub-continent I say, "bring it!"

Eurail tickets are in the bag too. Rings will be done by next Thursday and we'll pick up more packing boxes over the weekend. I can't wait for the only thing on the to-do list to be "decide which town to go to today and find a hostel" :)

DM

NY, NY

2006-03-20T19:58:00.000+11:00

Why is NY so expensive? Just what are they trying to prove? And how are you meant to book accommodation there when one forum post will give a place five stars and the next will call it the absolute pits? We're so glad we can crash with friends and family in London.

But you have to do something because turning up in NY without a booking will get you fleeced faster than Australia cleans up the Commonwealth Games. After much angst the answer appears to be to go with our hostel chain even if it means that we end up in different dorms.

Five nights in the Big Apple sure should be fun though. Time enough to check out Apple's SoHo store if not anything else :)

DM

Test post from Flickr

2006-03-19T10:36:00.000+11:00

Anzac Bridge at night
Originally uploaded by Leden.

Frankly it surprises me that you can blog a photo from your Flickr collection to Blogger. After all, eBay and Google are mortal enemies :)

DM

Clean and tidy

2006-03-18T09:31:00.000+11:00

Cleaning this morning - not the best thing when you're hung over (curse St Pat) but with the real estate agent showing the flat later it has to be done. I almost feel like leaving little sticky notes around the flat suggesting things the new tenants should insist on getting fixed before they move in. It would certainly save some of the aggravations we've been putting up with.

Later we're buying our last few bibs and bobs for the trip; until we realise next weekend that there are more bibs and bobs to be bought of course. I've got to get my glasses prescription sorted out when we're up in the Junction later. Plus I've got to post off an iPod to WA for my famous namesake. Things to do, things to do.

DM

Gumbies are us

2006-03-14T21:49:00.000+11:00

Hello world.

We're going on a World Tour so we decided to create a blog. This is now my fourth website which seems a little excessive. Of course it is my first joint website so that's exciting. Bring on the the template tweeking :)

DM

P.S. All posts lacking ridiculously large numbers of commas can be attributed to Dane. Stop! Grammar Time...