A Tale of Travelling
From unspoilt pockets of the Thai coast, via Chinese New Year in Kuala Lumpur to a spontaneous road trip across Australia, our now seasoned travellers have certainly lived..
Column by Matthew Banks & Victoria Kerly
To pick up where we left off, and skipping past a story of a 21-hour train journey over the world’s highest viaduct, and being derailed, we move into our second month… Ultimately we were glad to leave Mandalay but sad to leave Myanmar. We will most certainly be back. There is plenty more yet to see, and plenty to revisit. I think we are both in agreement; rarely does a country grip you quite like Myanmar has managed to do. Having stayed longer than intended, we were left with a whistle stop tour south, before catching our scheduled flight out of Singapore to Sydney.
Being short on time meant the planned overland train journeys had to be abandoned. Of course, we didn’t want to reduce our much-needed (“ahem”) relaxation on the Thai West coast. Jesting aside, we were very much in need of a tasty meal or two.
After our first McDonalds - and a huge coffee for Victoria - we spent our days by the beach/pool enjoying balmy evenings and cold beer. (Un) Fortunately Matthew found a winning streak in the on-going card tournament. What we have learnt is we are both fiercely competitive (although pretty good losers) and our combined ability to unleash the contents of our bags across a tidy room within 30 seconds.
So… The Thai west coast. The European invasion into this part of the world is still going strong, although there are still pockets of relatively untouched coastline to enjoy – should you wish. The attraction is clear; beautiful beaches, warm clear sea and exceptional weather. Despite the geographical closeness to Myanmar, it is a whole new world. The people, the food and way of life couldn’t be further apart.
After a few beautiful days, our ‘tans’ topped up, it was time to move on. Unfortunately we had to miss most of Malaysia, but we did have a pit stop in Kuala Lumpur. Our timing couldn’t be better, by complete fluke, we flew in time for Chinese New Year. The thing to overcome was being back in an organised, modern City. Trains. Public transport. Organised chaos. Shopping malls. It was all very strange, even for a couple of Londoners (or adopted Londoner in Victoria’s case).
First stop was the famous China Town night market. A hubbub of activity and noise. The perfect place to pick up some fake trainers – or as described in the official Malay tourist literature – “branded replicas”. We were most certainly tempted, but living as snails for four months and not having room in our houses, we settled for a rainy dinner watching the world go by.
The following day was spent wandering around the sights. A highlight was a visit to the main Chinese temple, full of locals preparing for the Chinese New Year, lighting incense and collecting parchments and candles. A recommended trip is to the historical triangle. After following the many signs to the “Historical Triangle” whilst cross-referencing the map with the highlighted “Historical Triangle” we found it. On one corner was a bank. On another, a hairdressers. And finally, a tour operator. It was a space the size of a grassy roundabout. Unless we’ve totally missed the point, maybe ignore this recommendation. Perhaps surprisingly, we both liked KL. It is a city with a lovely feel. Bustling and modern yet there was something welcoming about the place.
Singapore. Thankfully for us, a friend lent us their apartment for a couple of nights. It was lovely to feel in a home again; you quickly forget just how much you miss those comforts. More pragmatically, it was a blessing because Singapore is an expensive city. We were told it is officially the most expensive city to live in (we haven’t checked this but still, it gives an idea). We had little time to explore properly, but the underground system is fabulous. We took in some retail therapy, before heading up to the top of the Swiss Hotel to take in the city by night with a great vantage point of the harbour as well as the outlying areas. It gave us an idea of the actual size of Singapore – bigger than we both anticipated. Perhaps it was where we were staying, or what we were doing, but it was a city we both felt we could live in.
The next stop – Australia! We were well aware that we only had two weeks to enjoy this vast country. As a free stopover, we had originally planned a lazy journey from Sydney to Melbourne before heading onto New Zealand. That would all change. But first… Sydney.
Quite brilliantly, we managed to time our landing into Sydney to coincide with the morning rush hour. So, there we are, with all of our bags getting intimately acquainted with the locals on the trains. I think we made a good first impression. Typically we hadn’t booked accommodation, so we wandered on through Kings Cross and managed to find a hostel. Having been to Sydney before, Victoria led the way through the Botanical Gardens, knowing that quite suddenly upon turning the last bend, the awe-inspiring Sydney skyline abruptly hits you. It really is amazing. Seeing the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge just appear.
Cue plan change. We met with a friend (Christopher) of Matthew in Sydney, who was planning a road trip up the East coast. He had waited to see if we wanted to join him. Seeing as we were flying out of Melbourne 12 days later, we didn’t think we would get very far, but why not. He was heading into the Blue Mountains, a definite tick off our list of things to do. Little did we know, this would start a 2,500 km road trip, all completed in 10 days. Said road trip encompassed the highlights of the Blue Mountains, Palm Beach (Summer Bay to all you Home & Away fans!), Nambuca Heads – with a side step to the waterfalls and mountains, Byron Bay, Surfers Paradise, Brisbane, Fraser Island and finally, back to Brisbane airport.
The no accommodation theme continued, arriving late to be told there were no beds available. This led to three uncomfortable nights in the car. Well, slightly more comfortable for the boys, who had a mattress in the back. Slightly less comfortable for Victoria in the front, sleeping upright with the bags for company. The most notable of these came after a spontaneous drive to Surfers Paradise in the knowledge of a 24-hour casino, which would be showing the live Spurs match (Spurs won by the way 2-1 against Man City). A tip for you all people contemplating sleeping in an underground casino car park – bring an eye mask and ear plugs. They leave all the lights on, they play music loudly 24/7 and make it unbearably hot.
Having learnt the lesson that a stiff and tired Victoria doesn’t make the best travel companion, the purchase of a tent for Fraser Island was made. Fraser Island is beautiful in the extreme, as well as bloody good fun. The only way around the 120 km sand Island (the world’s largest sand island), is by 4×4, and you need it! We spent our days driving to different sites, swimming in the fresh water lakes of various colours – including blood red, and eating BBQ food with cold beer. What’s not to enjoy. Well, let us tell you. The mosquitos. The sand-flies. And various other midges. Victoria and Christopher ran out of fingers and toes upon which to count their various bites on just one limb. They were/are obviously more tasty than Matthew (to midges at least). There was also the case of the late night intruder(s). A Possum and her baby decided to join us for a late night game of cards. Completely unperturbed by our presence, they jumped on our table and started sniffing around for food and beer. At least we avoided the dreaded dingo’s!
We made it back to Brisbane airport for our flight to Melbourne, with plenty of time to spare. It turns out we arrived with more than plenty of time to spare, considering the flight Matthew booked was actually the same day a month later. We decided not to wait a month for the flight and miss the vast majority of time in New Zealand, so we managed to get on the last remaining flight of the day. We didn’t do much in Melbourne, but it was enjoyable all the same. It is a pretty city with a cool vibe. Another place as part of these travels that we would gladly spend a lot more time.
We’ve settled into travelling as a lifestyle now. Time is passing very quickly, far too quickly in fact. This past month has been very different to the first. In our first month we explored Myanmar. This month we have travelled through no less than 5 vastly different countries. Next stop, New Zealand and new adventures. We have well and truly left work and the UK behind. 