Monthly Archives: August 2010
Tropical Island Gems – Introduction
When people sit in their homes in the depths of winter, with rain, wind or snow pelting down on their roof, what escape so often comes to mind? I would suggest a near deserted island, somewhere in the tropics, would very often be the daydream of choice! That daydream would include a white beach, with palm trees, a still sea, with tropical reef just offshore (you would have a set of goggles lying beside your beach chair), a local vendor wandering the sand pedalling exotic fruits, and probably a cane chaired beach bar a short distance away. Well daydream no more, they are out there! I’ve been to as many of them as I can find!, and I want to tell anyone who’ll listen all about them! Maybe brighten up an otherwise gloomy day, maybe set in motion a plan to get to one!
Sunset from View Point, Ko Phi Phi
So I thought I would start a series of posts on those islands. The ones that are a little lesser known, that are postcard perfect, that you wish you could move to and live on for ever! I love the heat, and when there is heat, I love a good beach, so I have spent plenty of time searching for just the right spot for me to chill!
Most of my travel has been throughout South East Asia, Australia and the South Pacific, and Central Asia, so I have visited my fair share of these hidden tropical island escapes! Of course, there are tropical island escapes in the Americas, Africa and the mediterranean, but, hey, you cant be everywhere, unfortunately!
Manukan Island, Sabah, Malaysia
I can think of islands I will cover off the coasts of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and India, as well as island nations in the South Pacific. I remember reading somewhere that Indonesia was made up of 10,000 islands? I wonder if it would be possible to visit all of those? If anybody ever has? How many of them would be idillic beach getaways, maybe 1 in 10?, that is still 1000 tropical island paradises waiting to be visited! Now there is a challenge for someone!
The first post of the series will be Ko Ngai, a small island at the south end of the Andaman Sea off the west coast of Thailand. I will try to give some photos, as well as details on how to get there (or how I got there, at least), and the accommodation options if I can. I hope you enjoy the series, and provide some feedback. I would also love to hear about other tropical island gems that are out there, so let me know. Guest post is available in this series.
Today’s Photo – Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Hanoi, Vietnam
A misty January morning, Christine & I at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Everest Special Lager – Obscure beer of the world #1
- Nepal’s Finest?
To get this series up and going, I thought it make sense to make a start of one of the most memorable beers I have had in the last year or so….
Everest Special Lager
This brew is Nepalese, and widely available throughout that particular country. Utilizing Nepal’s most famous asset in its branding assures sampling from any beer drinker visiting the country, and I am sure that is their intention. Strangely, it is called Everest Special Lager, instead of Everest Larger, as this brand is already taken – from a beer brewed and sold in Turkey! Strange!
It is Brewed by the Mt Everest Brewery, in Kathmandu, Nepal, who also brew a higher alcohol content, Golden Tiger.
Anyway, back to painting the picture. I think I first sampled this Lager where I have taken this photo. In a rooftop restaurant near Dunbar square, in central Kathmandu, on a reasonably hot April midday. Even in those circumstances, I knew this was not the best beer! Expectation would be that this scenario was one where you really enjoy a beer, and I knew at that point I would be having too many more of these!
I found the Everest Special Lager to be a very flat beer, with minimal head on the pour, and a real lack of carbonation. Beers in countries such as Nepal can vary a lot, depending on the storage and care from the restaurant/bar owner, and in this case, may be the explanation for the slight rust taste! (I’ll give the brewer the benefit of the doubt!)
At 5% alcohol content, it was of clear appearance. it has a minimally bitter after taste, but nothing too severe.
In conclusion, I can understand why this is an “obscure beer of the world”, and don’t believe it to be a hidden gem! It nice to be able to say I have had a Everest Lager, because of its obvious association with the region, but that is about it. Don’t expect to see it in a bottle-shop near you soon!
OPINION – Just the one, thanks!
Score – 4/10
Today’s Photo – Christchurch, New Zealand
Country scene from the hills south of Christchurch, New Zealand
RTW Transport; Think Low and Slow
I often hear people’s accounts of their round the world adventure, and am always surprised when they talk of their 6, 8 or 10 flights and destinations. So these people visit 8,6,or 10 cities, have a look around, do some day trips, maybe even a side-trip or two, and then catch a flight to the next point on their itinerary.
I think what makes a great experience is not always the destination or sight, but often it is more about the journey. Potentially, the journey is where you meet ”real” locals, see the unusual, and sometimes chose to change your plans. So I thought I would briefly contemplate the “better” ways to really see the world, following my theory of “LOW and SLOW” as the most potentially interesting ways to travel.
- Walk, Hike – Feet on the ground, and around 5-8km per hour, means you really do get to experience and interact with locals, as well as being right in the middle of all the sights and smells of where ever you are! Unfortunately, this is not usually the only form of transport for a round the world trip. But walk whenever you can, it is the ultimate way to experience.
- Cycling - Next slowest, and close to the ground, cycling is interactive with environments, and gives you the ability to pick up all the sights and sounds going on around you, but also means you can cover more distance, and carry a bit more. Definitely a better option than walking for smaller transit
- Boat – Ferry’s can be a great way to commute with locals, and generally the slower they are the better the interaction, and more scenic and enjoyable the journey. However, even high speed ferries will often be the cheap option for locals to get around islands and coastal areas, so they are still “authentic.
- Motor bike & car – A rental, loan or owned vehicle has some advantages and disadvantages in how well you can see an area. Having your own vehicle gives you the freedom to go and stop as you please, as well as make changes to plans quickly and easily. But you can miss things when you zip pass them, and often restricts your exposure to local people.
- Bus - Bus is getting a bit higher of the ground, and a bit faster, and as a result, you do definitely loose some of the interaction with the local environment that makes long term travel such an exhilarating experience. Buses are going to be a necessity for extended travel, and a far better option that flying, but should be restricted to transport between venues, and as little as possible where sightseeing is possible. It is, however, a good way to meet and talk with other travellers. Sometimes the feedback from others doing the same thing as you, can give you tips and ideas you may not have known about.
- Train – Faster than buses, and as a result, generally you see less. They can be useful to travel and sleep at the same time, but only when you are prepared to miss the area you are passing through. On occasions, scenic trains can get you into areas that you otherwise would not access, and these are the exception to my rule.
- Plane – You sure don’t see much from most planes, and I think they should be used as little as possible. A fair distance flight is probably a good idea to start your trip, so you can really feel you have gotten away, but after that, try and limit plane travel. If you have plenty of cash, the odd scenic flight is different (Everest, Nepal, and Bungles Bungles, Australia spring to mind)
In short, try to use a descending scale of time on each mode of transport. If you do 80% method 1, and 1% on method 7, you will have a far more enlightening travel experience than if you reverse the order, and spend most of your holiday on a plane.
Enjoy you travel experience, think “LOW and SLOW”
Himalayan Trek – Over 40?
When we decided we wanted to go to Nepal, its was at the forefront of our mind that we wanted to go on a trek. However, I did a bit of research (a very little bit, as usual) to try to find out if both myself and my wife would be able to manage it. I was concerned, as I was well aware that the Nepalese treks that walk into the mountains, not just the foothills, pretty much leave the road on day 1, and continue to walk away from the ability to give up as you progress! Meaning that if you walk for 3 days and then don’t want to do it anymore, you still would have to walk 3 days back!
So I researched to try to get an idea of how hard it would be. Couldn’t really get a definite fix on the difficulty, although searching on the net produced lots of great images, that only made me want to commit to a trek! But really no information on the physical difficulty of the Nepalese treks, or the type of preparation and exercise one should engage in to be on the front foot. Never mind anything that was age relevant.
A Little Bit Up
So we engaged on what we thought would be appropriate. We walked for 2-3 hours, 2-3 time a week, for about 3 months before we took off on out trip. In addition, we didn’t intend to be in Nepal until about 6 weeks into our trip, and travelling though Thailand for a month or more first, would most likely produce plenty more exercise opportunities, such as swimming, some hiking, and general walking. When we left for Thailand, we were in the best shape we would have been for at least 10 years, and confident we could walk an entire day with minimal trouble.
Speaking to others once in Thailand, we started to anticipate we may have not done the right prep, so we started to do some more hill work. Unfortunately, the draining humidity of Central Thailand made this very taxing and we didn’t do nearly as much as we had wanted to.
So we get to Nepal, explore Kathmandu, and organise ourselves a a guide and porter to take us on the Annapurna Sanctuary trek. A 8-10 day trek, from Pokhara to Annapurna Base Camp, starting at an altitude of 1400m above sea level, and peaking at 4100m above sea level. It was time to see if we had prepared right!
Simple Answer – NO
So, for others (particularly our 40+ target group), I have a simple guide to give you an idea on what the trek is like, and what to do to prepare.
The trek really has 3 components
- Up – this is essentially stair climbing. It varies in steepness and consistency, but it is step after step, up to 3000 on the toughest sections. That’s not 3000 in a day, that is 3000 in a row!
- Down – opposite to above. As the trek is return, for every up, you are going to do the same amount of down stairs by the time you are finished. On the accent to the Annapurna Base camp, you still go down steps for considerable lengths of time.
- Flat – Flat is not really flat, but is just the part of the trek where the upward and downward slopes are less steep, and thus the path doesn’t need stone steps, just an upward or downward incline.
Another corner, another Mountain
So, for preparation – consider doing the following
- walking – for general fitness, need to be able to walk for 6-7 hours per day
- stair climbing – need to build the quad muscles, and calf muscles,
- stair descending – Knees and ankles need to be able to handle downward pressure.
I think there is no reason adventurers in their 40s, 50s and 60s cannot do the Annapurna treks, in-fact, you are missing out on a magnificent part of the world that will never see roads. And it wont get any easier as you get older.
Do it, but get fit first!
