One Year Abroad

Hiya! Well! It's been a year already. In England, that is. I can't say it's flown by, but you know what they say, life's what happens when you're busy making plans.

I'll give you all a quick-ish rundown of some of the highlights of this past year, and in no particular order of awesome:
1. I helped pick out and decorate the Wells' Christmas tree. Complete with day drinking, The Muppet's Christmas Carol, and a little kitten who kept climbing in and around the decorations and perching precariously on the top branches.

 

2. Actually watched snow fall where I was living. I know, I've BEEN to the snow but I've never woken up to it or really watched it fall. Little ginger kitten loved it. (In case you didn't know, his name is Trevor, and Sarah got him right before I came over. He and I spent every day for about 3 months together. Loved him!!)

3. Went to a pretty good NYE party with all our friends. Nice potluck, formal dress, drinking games and the countdown.

 4. I went to my first Pantomime (Panto) with some girlfriends. It was HILARIOUS and my new favorite thing! I saw Robin Hood. It's kind of like a tongue-in-cheek play where the audience participates. The actors talk to the audience and get them into it. Matt and I are going to see another one soon!

5. We went to the Newcastle game for Matt's birthday. It was the first time that I'd seen Sunderland coming into the stadium. The Newcastle-Sunderland game is the derby, the big rivalry game, and it gets CRAZY. If you can see in the snap, there's HEAPS of cops and cops with dogs and cops on horses marching all around them keeping them contained (and I promise there were 1,000 or so). They were singing and yelling and had come from the train station down the road, probably 99.9% were hammered. It was a really charged atmosphere. It's the second derby game we've been to and our plan is to go to one of those a year. 

6. Hmmmm, and then after that I got a job. At Capital Recoveries. With Matt's mum. But I don't work with/for her, I work for the collections/recovery side. It's ok. Started off being part-time but then I'm REALLY smart and they realized it so I became full-time. Matt and I also wormed our way into taking Phil's top floor flat. He bought a house in a terrace of houses, and then converted the two floors to two flats. We said we'd love to take the top one. So at one point Matt and I went over and helped him paint the walls.

 

Ya that's right. I wore skinny jeans with tennies. And I'm not even embarassed.

7. For Valentine's Day Matt took the day off and surprised me with a trip to Windsor Castle (compliments of our family pass to the Royal Historic Palaces!) and then to some authentic Mexican Food and Margaritas. I'm a bit of a Mexican food snob and this was actually pretty darn close to the food at home. We had a great day!

8. For my birthday in April we didn't do much. We had a wedding to go to the day before so we were pretty shattered the next day. Even though, I got some nice things from Matt's family.

9. In June we had our second wedding reception. Kelsey came over a week before and we did London together, riding the sight-seeing bus, going to visit/stay with Simon, and other fun stuffs.
 (Gutted I don't have any snaps from her visit as my phone has somehow gotten rid of them along with some others. Sad face.)

We also finally got pictures of Matt's grandparents with us in our wedding get up, so that was nice. :)

From left to right is: Dot, Bob (Kim's parents) and then Jean and Tony (Sarah's parents).

10. While the weather was nice (that ONE week, wink wink) we visited Hampton Court Palace and Gardens. It was gorgeous and probably my favorite so far.

11. Also during this nice-ish weather, we went camping to the New Forest. It's south a couple of hours and we took off after our 'half-day Friday's' that we both have, which is great! There were wild horses all over and Saturday morning we were camped next to the car with the trunk open, next thing we know a horse has his head IN THE TRUNK snuffling around! I looked over, and with my mouth full of breakfast began gesturing and grunting and pointing, wide-eyed. It was hilarious. He left our site and as all the sites are pretty close, wandered over to the next one...then the next...and through the whole place looking for free handouts (which then made me sad that IDIOTS feed them). But we had a great time and even took a walk, about 5 or 6 miles round trip, out to a pub where we drank beers and played dice for the afternoon and we even came across a herd of horses with nobody else in sight.

12. The more I write about this good weather spell we took advantage of, the more you're going to think the weather is actually ok here. It's not. I'll elaborate more later.

Another good weather activity we did was visiting Millett's Farm for the Pick-Your-Own. I've never done this, and was really excited for it, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. Not only did it have spectacular fruit, it had farm animals, with the most emphasis on one of my favorite animals, the alpaca. The day couldn't have gotten any better.

 The strawberry fields...conveniently planted at head height so no breaking your back.

 Raspberries and strawberries. MMMMMMMMMMMMM.

 Matt picking raspberries. We figured out that the deeper in the bush you go the better. Everyone picked the outsides and unknowingly left the best, juiciest ones behind the outer leaves. Suckers!

Not all of these pick your own crops were available, but we did also pick cherries which were to-die-for. Perfectly ripe. And to be honest, all of it was perfectly ripe. That's the best bit about picking it yourself. If you pick rubbish ones, you only have yourself to blame!

13. There was a music festival in August, I think, called Fieldview. It was kick-ass. It's mostly made up of unsigned bands, but almost every one of them was really, REALLY, good. I found quite a few new bands I like and the best part is they're pretty much from the UK so you can follow them on facebook and go to their shows. Neat-o!
My personal favorite bit of the festival, besides camping and bringing your own beer, was this little kid in one of the music tents. He had a pacifier and a plastic hook hand. He was sat on his dad's shoulders LOVING it. Coolest. Kid. Ever.

 A small handful of the people who went. More good weather, apparently, or I wouldn't be in shorts. Best thing was bringing wellies because it was MUDDY. Ick.

 

Look how cool he is!!

14. September 17th was our anniversary. We decided to spend it in London. Matt made dinner reservations for Sunday night. We went to The Goring. It was a super fancy restaurant/hotel where Kate Middleton and her family stayed the night before she married Prince William. I had the most delicious roast duck. It fell off the bone. Oh!

The following day, Monday, was our official anniversary. I made reservations for tea at The Ritz. Like, THE Ritz. It was super posh and fancy and I had a fantastic time. We drank out of bone china (the best from which to drink tea, and I concur!), and had little finger sandwiches with the crusts cut off (of course!) and champagne. Then they brought out a little personalized cake for us for our anniversary. It was so lovely I didn't want to leave. Naturally it was tie and coat for men and formal attire for women. I rocked it!

15. After our anniversary we had a four day week and then left for holiday in Mallorca! It was much needed sun. I don't have many photos because all we literally did was lay in the sun. All day. Every day. Not sorry. Picture perfect beaches and all-inclusive. Don't mind if I do. 

16. Oh yeah! The Olympic torch came through Newbury, and right past my office! I'm not sure who is carrying it right now, but it was semi-famous and local-hero types. 

 

17. This might sound pret-ty boring, but Matt and I look out for postboxes. The reason being this: the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II has her monogram on almost every postbox in England, when they first started being used in 1857. Obviously she wasn't born then but there weren't many at that time. You'll notice it on the snap below, ER II (Elizabeth Regina the Second. Regina is not her surname, its Windsor, but Regina is a title, with Regina being Latin for Queen).  Anyway, you'll see that on most postboxes, like I said. BUT, if you see anything different, its from someone who ruled before her. And these are quite rare. GR (George Rex, Rex is Latin for King) is her father, and we happened to see these two postboxes next to each other. This is definitely cause for some excitement! Perhaps for only Matt and me, but nonetheless, kinda cool.

 

NOW, we saw this one in London. It's King Edward VII. He lived from 1841-1910 and reigned from 1901-1910. After him was George V, then Edward VIII, the current Queen's uncle who abdicated to marry an American divorcee, and then it was George VI, the Queen's father. This is the oldest one we've seen.

18. We also visited Kew Palace and Gardens. We brought a nice little picnic and checked out the tropical plants and the other buildings with rainforests and stuffs in them. Not too shabs.

I can't think of anything else really major we've/I've done since I've been here. I've done a lot of cooking. Matt and I go to the farmer's market every Saturday and do our veg shopping. We buy fresh butter, meat from the butcher and fresh baked bread, too. Our fridge is about 3' square or so, which means the freezer is like two pizza boxes stacked, but not that deep. We don't freeze anything but meat and we cook everything fresh. I really like that.

I've also tried my hand at baking bread. Edible, pretty good, but needs work. I've learned to use my sewing machine and have turned out a few nice things on that including a skirt and dress for my niece, Britney. British television has grown on me, I have heaps of favorite shows, and I love that they're not so strict on content. They've got a 9pm rule where almost anything goes after 9pm as the gov't assumes kids who shouldn't be watching those shows will be in bed by then. Makes for some hilarious evening television.

One thing I'm still working on is pronunciation. I get endless stick (ribbing) about my American accent when trying to pronounce certain words. For example:

- Oregano: here its 'ore-GA-no. Emphasis on the GA.

- High Wycombe - high wick-um. Right.

The British are endlessly butchering: taco (tack-oh), salsa (sal-suh), and jalapenos (sorry no tilde for the 'N') as (and this is my personal favorite mispronunciation) jolly-pee-nos. I mean, REALLY?! Usually they just say the 'J' and not the accented 'N'. Oh, well.

Also, they almost always finish a statement with a question, don't they?? Cracks me up and I found myself doing it too.

One thing I've noticed, as well, is that most boys from about 10 years old and upward, LOVE going out in their 'trackie B's' or their track suit pants, AKA sweats or warm up pants. It's not pretty and considered pretty trashy, or 'chavy' as they'd say here. You don't want to be a chav. And nobody wants to see your pork sword on display.

Also, pants are underwear and trousers are pants, to us Americans. You also 'hoover' the room, not vacuum. A cart is a trolley, too. Got that? There's heaps more but I'm having a brain fart.

Tomorrow is the 1st of December, which means I come home in 3 weeks and it only took me a month of working on this to get it finished. We're getting a tree tomorrow, a Christmas one, if that confused you, and I'm super psyched! Then Sunday I am finally using my last year's Christmas present from Sarah Wells. It's a day with birds of prey. DOUBLE PSYCHED. I love hawks and birds like that so I can't wait. It's gonna be epic! 

Sorry I've written a life story. More than I thought has happened this year. I never did get back to the rain story, so a brief word. It rained more here this summer than it has since they started records in 1910. Of course it has. Because I'm here. I only hope this is rock-bottom for the weather and it will only get better!...after winter, though. It's cold already. Like high of low 40's during the day. Boo.

 

Anyway, hope you've all enjoyed seeing my last year. Here's to another great year!

xx

B

The Fat Lady Sang

Last but not least. The last blog of our travels through Asia. Where was I?...Ummm, Siem Reap. While in Siem Reap we decided to finally give in and try one of these 'fish massage' places we kept seeing. Its a tub of small-ish fish, and you stick your feet in and they 'massage' your feet by eating off all the dead skin. It is THE weirdest sensation ever. I kept having to yank my feet out because it would tickle and Matt only put his heels in. It was definitely an experience.

From Siem Reap we spent one full day in Battambang. There was nothing to see there and the city pretty much shuts down around 9p. Nobody is even outside walking the streets so its very eerie. After Battambang, we took a 10 hour bus ride to Sihanoukville. Sihanoukville is a nice little beach town with not much to do but sit on the beach...which was perfectly fine with us!

 

 While laying on the beach all day baking in the sun is awesome, there was no end to being hounded to buy fruit, bracelets and other souvenirs, massages or any other sell-able item. Nonetheless, it was a relaxing few days of topping up our tans. We also went to another beach down the road that was much quieter and relaxing than the main one in Sihanoukville. 

     After Sihanoukville we booked a minivan to Ha Tien, a town on the Vietnam side of the Vietnam/Cambodia border. The morning that the minivan showed up it was already filled with 10 people, of which about 8 were small children, for a 12 passenger vehicle. After we were picked up we stopped 3 more times for more people, and in the end there were 21 people crammed into the van. It was....interesting. Along the way, one of the kids threw up out the side window ALL OVER the side of the van, TWICE. On the way to the border with Vietnam, we stopped 10 times for locals getting in and out of the van, and when they were unloading their stuff from the back of the van, one of them pulled out a CHICKEN they had stored away for the trip! It's amazing the things they transport in a van or bus. Makes me laugh.

  Before the border we were put on another minivan with other backpackers going to Vietnam. At the border, on a dirt road, the driver collected our passports and left us with the van while he went to a shady-looking building. Then we were taken to a checkpoint where an official took our temperatures, for which we were subsequently charged a dollar, and then we filled out some paperwork, gave over our passports again and then were let go to show our passports AGAIN at another barrier and were finally let go.

When we got to Ha Tien we took one look around and decided to go to the island Phu Quoc. The plan was to stay in Ha Tien (as our Lonely Planet said it was a 'quaint little town') but there was not much there. So, we took a ferry to Phu Quoc and spent a few hours looking for accomodation. While we were checking in, M came across a massive, fake-looking, grub of some sort. After thinking it was fake, he poked it with a broom and it squirmed. It looked like an alien form.

 

Phu Quoc was okaaaaay. We didn't know that to enjoy the beach it was easier for you to stay at one of the beachside resort/bungalows. If you weren't staying at one, you had to trek a long way to find a path down to the beach. Matt and I rented a scooter instead and rode out to a beach on the opposite side of the island. The weather wasn't too great that day but it was a nice, quiet beach.

We only spent a few days on Phu Quoc and then left for mainland Vietnam, and the Mekong Delta, to see the floating markets. Getting to Can Tho was an ordeal, but once there we were approached by a gentleman who was looking to take tourists on a Delta tour to the floating markets. We haggled and agreed on a price and a morning departure of 530a the next day. That night while we were eating at an italian place recommended by Lonely Planet I could have sworn I saw something run across the floor but not having gotten a good look at it I assumed it was just a shadow or the tablecloth blowing in the fan's draft. Right before we were done with dinner I finally saw what I thought I'd seen. It was a massive rat running across the floor under a table on the wall across from where Matt and I were sitting. I pointed it out to him and we sat, not quite horrified as we'd seen rats at our eateries, but surprised because it was MASSIVE. One of the stray cats from outside saw it running and came in to check things out. It ended up chasing it back across the room towards us but the rat disappeared under a beverage fridge. I love Asia. 

     Next morning we got up and went to the morning markets on a small boat that went sooooo slow. Luckily it was just Matt and I and we got to enjoy the scenery alone. It took quite a while to get to the first market, but it was worth seeing. I'd read that each boat has a stick at the front of their boat with their products tied to the top to show others what they were selling. 

  On our Delta tour our boat driver took us to see how rice noodles are made. It was really interesting to watch them work together and turn out so many rice circles to dry and eventually make rice noodles.

Our Mekong Delta tour boat :)

After the rice noodle 'factory', we went down the side canals to another morning market, and then were home by 1p. We left that day on a bus to Ho Chi Minh City.

 In Ho Chi Minh City we did a bit of sight-seeing. The first stop was the Reunification Palace. The building was once the symbol of the South Vietnamese government, which hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and thousands of Americans died trying to save. On the morning of 30 April 1975, the government of South Vietnam sat quietly on the second floor of this grand building waiting to transfer power to the Northern forces who were crashing through the wrought iron gates below. The building took its current form in 1966 after it had been partially destroyed in an attack by South Vietnam leader Diem's own air force. The building is still used for official functions. The most interesting section is the basement - a network of tunnels and rooms, including a war room and a telecommunications room.

 One of the tanks that crashed through the front gates of the Reunification Palace in April of 1975.

 Some of the telecommunications equipment in the basement rooms.

 View of the front gates from the top floor of the Palace.

 Another day we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels. This is where the Viet Cong would live and hide from the South Vietnamese and American troops during the war. They created a series of tunnels that stretched over 250km.

 We got the opportunity to go into the Cu Chi tunnels and walk to the end. I had a bit of a claustrophobia panic and climbed out of the second stairway we came to, but a few people went all the way.

 One thing that never seized to amaze Matt and I were the sheer number of scooters in HCMC. As you can see, they drive anywhere. This guy in the foreground didn't want to wait at the light with the other hundred scooters so he took to the sidewalk and skipped the light. This is the norm there. You are never safe from getting run over by a scooter anywhere. They ride through busy markets, on the sidewalk, backwards on the wrong side of the street, anywhere. It's ridiculous and hilarious.

After a night bus to Nha Trang we spent more time relaxing on the beach. Nha Trang is another nice little beach town. We found a great, cheap Italian restaurant that served Matt a great cup of tea and a good breakfast. On a day with bad weather, we rented a scooter again and went looking for a spa that was rumored to have a really good mineral mud bath. After asking directions 3 times, getting lost a few times and following random signs that seemed to not lead where we needed to go, we found it.

 Da Lat was our next stop. Its a small town up in the mountain and a definitely temperature change. We had to drag out the trousers, jumpers and hats. But one exciting experience was the great find of Da Lat wine. So delish.
While in Da Lat we did a day tour of a couple of waterfalls, the Valley of Love and a silk embroidery shop.

 Like any city in Vietnam (or anywhere in South East Asia) there was a market.

      We found a most delicious restaurant in Da Lat as well. We tried the fresh spring rolls (which means they aren't fried; but fried is great too!) and some good traditional Vietnamese food. The service was amazing and the two men running the place spoke really good english.
     Mui Ne was the next beach town stop. They have some awesome must-see sand dunes and have Vietnam's signature blue fishing boats. Renting another scooter we went to see the dunes.

 

 Back in HCMC for the last few days of our trip. :(  

 Everything in HCMC was decorated for Vietnamese New Year on February 2nd. The colors for the new year celebrations was red and yellow.

 One of our last days was spent at the indoor market getting the last of our souvenirs. We haggled HARD and came out happy with our souvenirs and the savings.

 After shopping, we were flagged down crossing the street by an asian lady wanting us to sit out and have a beverage at her stand. She was overly accommodating and made sure we had 'coolers' for our beers. It was a much-needed refreshment after sweating like pigs in the indoor market.

 Some of the decorations being sold for the new year were these dragon fruit dragon plants.

 This is the main road we stayed on in HCMC. It's amazing the amount of wires they have running across the roads. This is a mild showing in the snap below. Note the really tall building in the background......

 ....we spent a few extra dong to take an elevator to the viewing deck of this building to see the views of HCMC.

 The 30th of January was apparently a pre-party for the new year celebration as EVERYONE seemed to be out and on their scooter. I've never seen so many scooters with anywhere from 1 to 5 people on them.

Homeward bound on 1st Feb, 2011. Sad days. Back to the real world and Matt being able to see what its like to stay in bed all day while I go to work. Hope you all enjoy it! xx M&B