The Gappies

So, that´s the end of our year around the world. By way of celebration, please don your black tie / party dress for the announcement of the Gap Year Awards “Gappies”.

Best Outdoor Activity

In 3rd place:  Tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos

In 2nd place:  White water rafting in Buller Gorge, New Zealand

And the Gappy goes to…kayaking in the Abel Tasman Sea, New Zealand

Best Hike

In 3rd place: The Pinnacles in Mulu National Park, Malaysia was technically the toughest hike.  So steep, that you have to climb virtually vertically

In 2nd place: The Inca Trail

and the Gappy goes to… The Narrows in Zion National Park, Utah.

Best Educational Activity

In 3rd place: Cooking class in Hoi An, Vietnam

In 2nd place: Batik class in Chiang Mai, Thailand

And the Gappy goes to…Star-gazing in New Zealand

Best Cultural Event

In 3rd place: Chinese New Year, Malaysia

In 2nd place: El Gran Poder Festival, La Paz, Bolivia

And the Gappy goes to…O-bon Festival in Nara, Japan

Best Historical Monument

In 3rd place: The Great Wall

In 2nd place: Machu Picchu

And the Gappy goes to… Angkor Wat

Best Beach

In 3rd place: Hot Water Beach, New Zealand

In 2nd place: Varkala Beach, Kerala

And the Gappy goes to… Nam Cat Island, Ha Long Bay

Best Hostel

In 3rd place: Giggling Tree, Yangshuo, China

In 2nd place: Treetop Lodge, Ban Lung, Cambodia

And the Gappy goes to …El Tesoro, Elqui, Chile

Best Mode of Transport

In 3rd place: Sea Plane, Taupo, New Zealand

In 2nd place: Bamboo boat, Li River, China

And the Gappy goes to…Bamboo train, Battambang, Cambodia

Best Food

In 3rd place: Shaved ice with adzuki beans, Japan

In 2nd place: Tim tams, Australia

And the Gappy goes to…Pho, Vietnam

Best Museum

In 3rd place: Natural History Museum in New York

In 2nd place: Buddha Park, Laos

And the Gappy goes to…Pinang Peranakan House, Penang, Malaysia

Best Animal Encounter

In 3rd place: In a strong category, third place goes to Madidi National Park in the Amazon.  As we were fishing for piranha, we turned around to see a mother and baby tapir (usually nocturnal) crossing the river.  Our guide was even more excited than we were.

In 2nd place: A dusk hike in the Malaysian island of Langkawi.  Langkawi is more of a beach resort / duty free haven so expectations for wildlife spotting were low.  We got about two feet away from a buzzard pinning a lizard to the ground.  Then we saw flying lemurs (with tiny babies clinging to their bellies), flying squirrels and flying lizards.  All either inside or about ten minutes walk from a big hotel complex – unbelievable.

And the Gappy goes to…snorkelling in the Celebes Sea off Mabul Island, Borneo.

Best City

In 3rd Place: Singapore. Many people find Singapore too sterile, too controlled, too boring. It probably wouldn´t have made my top three if it had been the first place we went to, but it makes the list for two reasons: (1) after a month in India, sterility, order and a bit of luxury really hits the spot and (2) it had Elephant Parade! Plus it has great museums, a nice waterfront and all the home comforts you could want.

2nd Place: Hoi An – beach, mini Angkor Wat, amazing food and everyone there tells you that you’re beautiful.

And the Gappy goes to…Tokyo, big, full, colourful, insane.

Best Country

In 3rd place: Bolivia, salt flats, street parties, amazing wildlife in the Amazon and the picture-perfect Isla del Sol.

In 2nd Place: Japan the craziest place in the world.

And the Gappy goes to… Malaysia, which takes the crown because whereas we only spent two weeks in Japan and Bolivia, Malaysia kept us entertained for six whole weeks and was fabulous throughout. Apart from the time we nearly died on Mt Kinabalu. And the mosquitos in Kinabatangan. And Kuala Lumpur’s town planning department. But apart from that, amazing.

So that’s it from my fantastic year off. Back home now, job-hunting and and that. All subscribers to this blog please feel free to unsubscribe now, because it’s going to get a lot duller from now on.

parkrun on tour – 12 May 2012

A parkrun along the beach in La Serena, Chile.

parkrun on tour – 14 April 2012

I thought Friday 13th had passed without a hitch, but I was caught out by the time difference.  When I went for my usual Saturday morning parkrun, it was still Friday 13th at home and I am obviously still on UK time as far as the fates are concerned.  The location was Allan’s Bay on the Otago Peninsula and the bad luck involved two very big boisterous dogs with sharp toenails, who obviously thought that my running meant that I wanted to play.

Apart from that, it was a nice run.  That big lump in the front of the shot is a slumbering sea-lion.

The Northlands

From Auckland we head, you guessed it, North. Our first stop is at Sheepworld, one of many NZ tourist attractions based on sheep. We get a demonstration of the sheepdogs in action, then Mr Beet volunteers to actually have a go at some shearing (some people have been commenting that he could do with a bit of a shear himself!), and finally we get to feed the babies. Everyone else got a lamb, but the kid goat headed straight for me, obviously recognising a kindred spirit.

We then continue up the East Coast to our first campsite in Tutukaka.  Our first night in the van is marked by sausages and mash cooked in the campsite kitchen and an episode of Doctor Who on our campervan dvd player. I could get used to campervanning.

The next morning we head off on a cruise to the Poor Knights Islands.  We pop in for a snorkel, as the Islands are in a marine reserve and the waters are teeming with fish.  It is pretty chilly, so I only last about three minutes.  Mr Beet braves it for a bit longer.  Then we have a nice lunch on the boat, cruise round the islands looking at big caves and rock arches, and finally head back to shore soaking up the sun that has belatedly decided to put in an appearance.

The next day we further up the coast. The weather is good so we stop off along the way at anywhere that looks nice, including some gorgeous beaches at Matapouri Bay and Whale Bay.

Our ultimate destination is Waitangi.  This is where the treaties between the Maori and the British settlers were signed.  We took a tour of the museum and the treaty grounds, and we also see a Maori cultural performance.  Unfortunately, this involves audience participation.  I try my hand at a poi dance and Colin gets to do the haka.  The first thing he has to master is the “big-eyes-tongue-sticking-out” expression that is used to intimidate the enemy.  Of course, being a child of the 80s, he is already well-practised in this thanks to Wacaday and Mallet’s Mallet (look at each other and go “bleurrrrgh!“).

The following day we are undecided whether to go for Plan A: kayaking in the Bay of Islands or Plan B: sandboarding.  However, after a night spent being buffeted in the back of our van by strong winds and heavy rain we decide that we need a Plan C.  Plan C is to drive up to the Northernmost tip of NZ at Cape Reinga, where we can see the Tasman Sea meet the Pacific Ocean.  It is by all accounts a pretty wuthering sort of place anyway, so bas weather shouldn’t make too much difference.  We head off north through torrential rain, only to be stopped in our tracks after about an hour’s drive by flooded roads. Plan C duly scrapped, we decide that Plan D will be to head south to get as far as we can in the direction of our next destination, the Coromandel Peninsula. We head back to Waitangi, and about an hour south of there, we get stopped by flooded roads again. Plan E is to return to the campsite that we just left, eat some fish and chips, watch another Doctor Who and try again tomorrow.

More photos can be found on Mr Beet’s flickr page.

parkrun on tour – 17 March 2012

We are now campervanning around New Zealand and the advantage of a campervan is that you can pull over at anywhere that looks nice for a run.  For example, Matapouri Bay on the Tutukaka Coast a couple of hours north of Auckland.

parkrun on tour – catch-up run

I wasn’t in Langkawi on a Saturday, but since I am still two parkruns in deficit having skipped some in India, I did a run on the beach anyway to catch up.  And look who ran with me! 

 

Now if I can just squeeze in an extra run in Kuala Lumpur along with my usual Saturday run, I will be back on schedule before Borneo (when I will no doubt fall behind again).

Varkala

Slightly confusingly, my blogs have got out of order; we went to Varkala after Munnar and before Christmas in Cochin.  Mr Beet liked it so much that we were going to go back there again after Christmas, and therefore I was postponing blogging about it until then.  But then we had to stay an extra three days in Cochin due to Mr Beet’s being unable to travel (Delhi Belly / Ooty Booty again – miraculously the only day we have both been well in India was Christmas Day).  So now we won’t have time to return to Varkala.

Our trip to Varkala from Munnar had also been postponed a day due to Mr Beet’s ill health.  We tried to leave Munnar, but after 10 minutes on the bus on the windy mountain road out of town, Mr Beet was distinctly green around the gills and we had to abort, go back to our hotel and put him to bed.  The next day, we organised a private car to Varkala, which was expensive but more comfortable and less vomit-inducing than the bus.

When we eventually got to Varkala, we met up with one of Mr Beet’s old workmates, who had come for a couple of days sun following three weeks of trekking in Nepal.  Mr Beet jumped at the chance of having a drinking buddy, but most of the premises in Varkala are not licensed.  However, this is not a problem; you just have to drink your beer surreptitiously out of a mug rather than a bottle.  I’m not sure that the authorities are entirely fooled by this ruse, but nobody seems to have the heart to enforce the licensing laws, so everyone is happy.

 

Varkala is pretty touristy, which we didn’t actually mind too much as our illness has rather dampened our enthusiasm for Indian food.  I’ve been having fantasies about mashed potato and spaghetti bolognese, so it’s nice to have some Western food options during our recovery period.  

Varkala is popular with the hippy / yoga bunny crowd.  There’s lots of dreadlocks, baggy trousers and Paulo Coelho books.  We spent our time chilling out on the beach and swimming in the beautifully warm Indian Ocean.  After having a rather tough time in India, this was a chance to properly relax and we took full advantage of it.

The guidebooks warn you that some local men make the trip to the beach especially to perve at swimming tourists. Considering all the stuff that is available on the internet, or even on MTV, it seems rather sweetly old-fashioned that there are people who still get their jollies from the sight of a woman in a two-piece swimming costume. All the Western tourists were wearing swimwear and the perverts, if there were any, were perving discreetly. However, it is certainly true that Indian women go in the sea fully clothed in their saris, while Indian men go swimming in their pants.  Hardly fair.

In order to enhance my relaxation after a day lounging on the beach, I booked in for an Ayurvedic massage.  First I had a head massage, which was so relaxing that I went into a sort of trance, and then a full body massage that was pretty thorough!  The oils the masseuse used left me smelling like a sort of curried mince pie.

More photos of Varkala are available on Mr Beet’s flickr page.

Merry Christmas!

parkrun on tour – 24 December 2011

Due to the infamous “Delhi Belly” I have missed my last two Saturday parkruns, but I was sufficiently recovered on Christmas Eve for a barefoot run on Varkala Beach, for my first Indian parkrun.  I would not recommend running barefoot on sand all my toes are blistered!

Can you spot me?

Kannur

Kannur is our first beach resort in India and we have a beautiful stretch of the Arabian Sea entirely to ourselves.

Unfortunately, I am still ill.  I would say it was Delhi Belly, but we haven’t been anywhere near Delhi, so it’s not fair to blame it really.  Instead, I’m going to call it “Ooty Booty”.  I am most excited by the prospect of ordering tomato soup from room service and being able to eat something that isn’t curry or chocolate biscuits, in my bed. Bliss…The hotel is in the middle of nowhere, so we even have a perfect excuse to stay in for our meals. Although I appreciate the gesture, I am not best pleased by the 7am wake up call asking if we’d like a cup of tea.

We did very little, but we did see some camels on the beach and some enormous birds of prey.

Not very many more photos of Kannur are on Mr Beet’s flickr page.