Extra Photos - Asia

Right - Dragon at a chinese temple in Kuala Lumpur.

Left -Bangkok's temples

Left - Traditional rice barge houseboat in Kerala

Left - Kathakali dancer in Kerala

Extra photos - New Zealand and Australia

Left - Trekking in the Abel Tasman national park, New Zealand

Right - Sheep Shearing

Left - Auckland View

Right - Elephants at Sydney Zoo

Below - New Year's Eve, Darling Harbour

Left - Shelly Beach, New South Wales

Right - Sydney Opera House

Below - Margaret and me at Sydney Harbour Bridge

Extra Photos - USA and Canada

Left - from the train through the Rockies

Right - Totem Poles in Stanley Park, Vancouver.

Left - statue and fountain in Seattle.

Right - jellyfish in the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Left - with new friends in Hawai'i

Right - In Zion National Park

Below - Las Vegas at night

Round-up and Farewell

The journey is over, and I am now safely back home, settling in to my own house, and catching up with the friends and family who I had begun to miss a lot in recent weeks. It's difficult to reflect back on the whole of the trip, as the different sections have been so different. Staying in hostels in western, english-speaking countries, finding my way around bustling asian cities, discovering unspoilt beaches in New Zealand and Thailand, being looked after for ten days on the sort of hiking holiday I am used to, experiencing luxury on the train across Canada, and the absence of luxury on the train through India, tedium in airport departure lounges and thrills over the Grand Canyon, being stunned by the contrasting man-made beauty of the temples of Bangkok and natural beauty of the Blue Mountains.

I hope now to be able to use some of my experiences in the book I plan to write.

My first priority now the laundry is done and the post is sorted, is to start earning some money again. I sent off an application to an extras agency today!

Thank you to all of you who have kept me company with emails along my way.

I have added some photos to the last few entries and I'll sign off by adding a few more here which deserve an airing and which I didn't find room for earlier.

Here are the Brooklyn Bridge and the CN Tower in Toronto - more pics on a separate entry.

My last destination before home

Margaret and I really enjoyed the past few days around Alleppey, exploring the waterways by houseboat (elegant and stylish), public ferry (noisy and crowded, but we got to experience how the local people get to school and work) and canoe (peaceful and interesting - our boatman took us on a little tour to a local village). We then hired a car and driver for most of one day (it's really cheap here) and went to see one of the lovely deserted beaches - yet to be exploited for tourism - and a series of small family-run workshops making products out of coir (coconut fibre). It was fascinating to see people making carpets on looms that are purely man-powered.
Then Margaret had to head off to catch her fight from Cochin back home, and I headed further south by train (only 3 hours this time) to Trivandrum. I feel like I'm just about the only white visitor here, but it's an easier town to get around and I'm getting used to India.
Sorry there are no pictures of recent adventures. I can't seem to find wi fi in India. (Pictures added on 21 Feb)
Tomorrow afternoon I start my long journey home - three flights and a total of 13 hours of in the air. But at least this time I'm not that bothered if my luggage goes missing!
My regular readers should log back in in about a week for a final round up and some more photos.

Boating in Kerala

Kerala is living up to expectations of being green, tranquil and beautiful (though the journey on a public service bus between Cochin and Alleppey was quite and experience!). We had a great day yesterday cruising the backwaters - lakes and canals - on a rice barge. We were on the boat overnight - unfortunately it was just too hot to sleep! As a result I am too tired to write much of a blog entry. In fact this may be the last one before I get home -- when I will do a bit of a round up and post a few more pictures.

In India

Apologies for the longer than usual gap between updates. I made it successfully back from Krabi to Bangkok and then, after a long gap between flights, to Mumbai. This was my most challenging leg of the trip so far. Other Asian cities may seem busy, noisy and chaotic but they are nothing compared to Mumbai and I was really pushed beyond my comfort zone on the first day, but I got my ticket to Kerala sorted, and the hotel manager was such a charming and welcoming old gentleman he made up for it all! The hotel was in a really good location to, just along the waterfront from the "Gateway of India" - one of the main tourist landmarks. (see photo top left)

I enjoyed my second day there more - I had a boat trip to Elephanta Island to see the caves carved with fabulous depictions of the Hindu god Shiva in some of his many different manifestations.

The 27 hour train journey was quite a challenge too. The Malaysian and Thai trains are the height of luxury compared to Indian ones and I didn't get much sleep in my very narrow berth, but I did get to chat at length to some real Indian people, especially one lovely couple - he was a retired Indian Railways employee and she kept plying me with food, even though the meals you could order on board were good and cheap and filling.

I got to Ernakulam almost on time and met up with Margaret who has flown out from home to join me here. It was great to have someone to talk to properly again, after quite a while on my own just having brief conversations with strangers.

Today we've enjoyed our first day exploring Fort Cochin - seeing the famous chinese fishing nets - and even having a go at helping to lever one of them up with its rather pitiful catch of little fish. It was great to wander round somewhere where it was actually possible to cross the road without risking life and limb!

We're planning to head a little further south - to Alleppey - in a few days to have a cruise on the backwaters.