Year: 2020

Inle Lake – Myanmar

30th April 202018th June 2020 John Sunter Inle Lake Leave a comment

Another short flight, and we arrive in Heho.

We’ll be staying at Nayaungshwe township, on the bank of Inle Lake, a 2 hour drive away.

Another refreshment stop.

Several people had commented on Kay’s parasol. She takes us to visit this guy, who makes them.

The entire intricate mechanism is made on this foot powered lathe.

We’ve got free time in the afternoon, so Kay recommends the Red Mountain winery.

Sounded like a fab idea, so Kay organised a chap to take us and wait until we were ready to come back.

We get a tour of the winery and its beautiful grounds. It must be said, the climate here isn’t ideal for red wine, but the owners (from France) are convinced of its viability.

Whatever the quality of the wine, the grounds were incredibly beautiful.

We were shown around the production facility and then we did a wine tasting, including a tasting board with 4 red wines.

Kay had also recommended somewhere nearby to eat.

The Inle heart view had spectacular views across the valley and the food was superb.

Back to our hotel (which was superbly fitted out and practically brand new).

A gin & tonic before bed, and a good nights rest.

In the morning, we wonder to the rooftop restaurant for breakfast.

As I look out on the view at the back of the hotel, its not nearly so lovely as the view at the front.

Things are improving, but many of the local people are living in poverty.

We head for the lake moorings and set off.

It’s 4 people to a boat and we take it in turns to sit at the front (the boat operator, sits at the back).

These things fly along at an exhilarating speed.

This picture gives an idea of the size of the lake (when it was my turn to sit at the front).

The lake is famous for its fishermen, who stand up to get better visibility of the fish, while rowing with their feet.

It has to be said, this has more to do with tourism these days, and whenever you photographed one, the hand was out straight away (and there didn’t seem to be many fish in his boat).

Indein on the western banks of the lake. An intricate pagoda complex with hundreds of Shan style stupas clustered together on its hillside.

Funny how a walk to a major site of interest usually involves walking through a market of some kind.

We reach the hillside and there are literally hundreds of small Stupas to explore

Following years of decline, and with the forest reclaiming the site walking amongst these hauntingly beautiful ruins has a very Indiana Jones feel.

Inn Paw Khone village.

A community of buildings on stilts.

Inside, entire industries making Silverware and Lotus fibre weaving.

They also have a restaurant and I have lunch of crinkle cut chips, egg fried rice and a bottle of the local beer.

We head deeper into the lake.

Although some people make their living through tourism, others do so, from subsistence farming and literally live on the lake in huts.

Not sure I’d want to spend a night in this particular hut, it seemed like it was about to fall down.

Exploring the floating garden.

Located on the lake, the famous Jumping cat monastery.

The previous person in charge had been famous for training cats to jump in the air and this had led to the name of the monastery being changed.

He has since died, nobody does anything with the cats, so there’s not much there to see (although its considered an iconic must-see sight in the area).

Finally, on our way back, were shown how traditional boats are made.

After a shower and change of clothes, we decide to head into town and see a bit of the place.

We find this friendly bar, and I’m delighted to see on the menu “chip butty”. I’ve been away from home for a few weeks now, and can’t rest it.

So when it arrives, I’m a bit surprised. It’s basically, some oven cooked chips, in the sort of pancake you use for crispy duck.

Didn’t matter, I ate it anyway, but I’ve never seen a chip butty with so much salad 🙂

Mandalay, Ubehn bridge & Irrawaddy river cruise – Myanmar

30th April 202013th June 2020 John Sunter Mandalay Leave a comment

Well, Kipling’s Poem begins with the line “On the road to Mandalay” and that’s how this leg of our journey began.

After a couple of hours on the bus we had a refreshment stop.

It’s fun when I’m travelling and I see things that remind me of my youth in Manchester.

It’s almost certainly illegal now, but when I was about 10 it was quite common to see pieces of broken bottle cemented onto the top of the wall to stop burglars/vandals.

On the wall surrounding our stop, they obviously still do.

We arrived quite late in our hotel, were able to have a candle lit dinner.

Well of course we did, the electricity had gone off, the the kitchen staff were cooking with lanterns and torches.

In the morning, were up really early to see the famous U Bein bridge.

With just a series of wooden uprights, planted into mud, I was amazed at how stable it was.

The bridge just as the sun was rising.

This was also important, as this isn’t just a tourist attraction, tens of thousands of people use this bridge every day to go to work, visit friends, collect groceries and suchlike.

The other incredible thing about it, is its length.

At 1.2 kilometres, its the longest teak-wood bridge in the world.

After some breakfast, we head out to board our boat.

It was exciting walking along a thin plank, and I couldn’t see a health and safety officer anywhere around.

Our boat was very comfortable, with a shaded seating area on the top to relax and a dining area bellow.

We set off, and after an hour or 2, we arrived on the other side of the river to visit Saggaing Hill.

We were driving up the hill, in this minibus.

As we passed a small market, I asked if we could stop, and I was able to get some cooking equipment at a very competitive price.

From here, we visited the Mya Sekkya Monastery.

We were allowed to go inside, but the monks were having their lunch, so I just took a picture from outside the door.

Later we were shown around their library. It had lots of interesting books (but then most books are interesting to me !).

Especially interesting was the magazine section which featured several copies of Private Eye (but sadly, no copies of Viz).

After a busy morning we head back to the boat for lunch and a few cold beers.

As we eat, our boat heads for Mingun.

No minibus when we arrive this time, transport is a bit more basic (but with entrepreneurial flair).

Skirts are worn in Burma by both men and women.

Kay takes us to a shop where we can buy them, and while there, shows us the different styles with which they can be worn.

Still more stuff to see, the Mingun Bell.

It’s the largest functioning bell in the world. It’s the 2nd largest bell by size and weight after the Tsar Bell I saw in the Kremlin.

You could actually climb underneath and stand inside it (I wouldn’t want to do that while it was being rung !).

Shinphyume pagoda modelled on the sacred Buddhist mount Meru.

The 7 levels, represent the 7 sacred mountain ranges.

Mingun Pahtodawgyi

An unfinished pagoda. More of a tourist attraction now, listed in the Guinness book of records as the largest “brick pile” in the world.

The earthquake of 1839 caused huge cracks in the building. Although there is a walkway to the top it’s not recommended.

The huge stone “Elephant” statue.

And with that, our adventure is over.

As we sailed back, everyone had an afternoon nap.

Bagan – Myanmar

13th April 202018th June 2020 admin Bagan Leave a comment

The 2nd leg of our trip to Burma/Myanmar, Bagan.

It contains over 4000 Pagodas (and by the time I left, I felt like I’d seen every one !).

People joked about getting Pagoda’d out in Bagan, but seriously after a while, you honestly can get sick of seeing these beautifull things.

Anyway, more about the trip…

Logistics in Myanmar are a farce, so much of the travel on the trip, was done by plane rather than road.

We arrived in Bagan, and then were given the rest of the day free, so Nikki and I went out exploring on our own.

We got a taxi to the Bagan Archaeological museum. Our guide Kay offered to help organise our transport, but we said we’d be fine (a decision we’d regret later).

Inside, the museum was very atmospheric and reminded me of the Egyptian museum in Cairo.

They were doing extensive renovation work in the museum, but instead of big screens and the like, it was photocopied pages and blue-tack.

As we walked back, I saw this – Nuclear Catastrophe Overcome Pagoda ?

Couldn’t work out what that was all about, but at one level, I suppose it speaks for itself.

The Bu Paya Pagoda is famous on the banks of the Irrawaddy river.

What should also be famous is the River View “restaurant” next to it. It had some of the worst food I’ve ever eaten.

But I was so hungry, I just ate it anyway.

We walk through the city gate, of old Bagan and its time to head home. We thought if your somewhere popular, there is bound to be lots of transport.

No there isn’t, what our guide had meant was you need to schedule a taxi to take you, and then wait until you want to come home.

We hadn’t done that, so we had to make our way back on foot, in the baking heat. We found a guy with a horse and cart, but Nikki was concerned about the well-being of the animal.

After about 3 miles, we came to a bit of a village and hired a minibus and driver. As my friend Nick would say, we had our “hats nailed on“

Back in town near our hotel now, we decided to get something to eat and drink.

There were lots to choose from, but the sign above swung it for me.

Our next excursion is at 3pm, so an hours nap for me and a swim in the pool for Nikki.

Outside Hti Lo Min Lo Temple the architecture is impressive even before you’ve been inside.

Once inside, its even more impressive.

We got to see an example of sand painting.

The basic idea is that you take some fabric and “paint” glue onto it. Soft sand will stick to the glue.

Once you’ve done this several times, you end up with an elaborate layered picture. I didn’t buy one (which I regret now) Nikki bought one of Ubein bridge and I admire it every time I’m in her living room.

Ananda temple is one of the earliest built in the area and a fantastic snow white colour.

It’s also very popular and and the entrance is like a market.

There are 4 of these Buddha statue and each one is 9.5 metres high.

Exploring around inside, it was like Tomb Raider !.

Just had to put this up here.

It’s easy for pictures of century old beautiful buildings to look tired.

Luckily, the owner of this car has helped by parking it right in front of Pagoda. Thanks !.

Sulamani temple (told you you’d start to get bored of them).

Standing outside the temple, it’s early evening and our group sort of hang out and relax.

Some local lads play Chinlone or Caneball in the shade under a tree outside.

Now its time to watch the sunset from Shwesandaw Pagoda.

I’d heard about this, and it was even worse than I’d expected. Massively noisy and overcrowded.

So, I walked around to the back of the Pagoda (which was empty) and sat there relaxing.

Looking out for miles was across began in peaceful silence was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

Back to hotel, out on our terrace, I update my blog.

I had been testing a new function on my camera. You could place the camera somewhere convenient, and then run an app on your phone, which would show you what the camera could see. One you were happy with the shot, you could take the picture remotely from the phone.

This picture was taken that way, and I was really impressed with the results.

Later that evening (fantastically) we find an Italian restaurant.

They did pasta and other Italian dishes, rather than just pizza’s which we’d become bored of.

The also sold red wine, which was very welcome.

The following day, a few more Temples and Pagodas

Shwe Gu Gyi.

Gubyaukgyi Temple.

Dhammayangyi, an interesting “pyramid” shaped temple.

We got the usual tour of some traditional crafts.

Which as usual finished in the showroom/shop.

They had several pictures sowing Barack Obama who had visited there. Some of the Americans on the tour wondered if they’d by so proud if it was Donald Trump.

I try to get 1 small souvenir from each place I go. I bought a small porcelain figure of a local traditional fisherman (I’m running out of shelf space at home).

More wandering around and exploring on our last evening.

And to finish off, dinner and drinks in this iconic establishment.

Yangon – Myanmar

13th April 202018th June 2020 admin Yangon Leave a comment

Flying AirAsia from Bangkok (where we’d just flown in after 3 days in Luang Prabang, Laos) we arrive in Yangon for our whistle-stop tour of Myanmar (Burma), a country closed off to tourists for nearly 25 years and only recently opened up to the world.

We got into a taxi from the airport and headed for our hotel.

It took about 50 minutes to travel a relatively short distance, as all the roads were gridlocked.

We found out later, that traffic congestion is so bad, that due to repeated accidents, mopeds and motorbikes are banned in the city.

Although closed off from tourism for a number of years, that didn’t stop Myanmar from keeping it’s business connections going. Jade mining and processing is massive in this country and has enabled it to thrive despite it’s previous status as a pariah.

I was mildly surprised to find a BMW showroom on route, which had clearly been there for some time.

We’ve travelled separately to get here, but now we’d be joining an official tour.

In the reception, was an invitation to our initial meeting. These are quite common on trips of this kind, but the surprise for me was this one was marked as COMPULSORY !

Our first glimpse of local culture, was a table in the hotel’s reception, which had local make-up which doubles as sun protection.

Well, it was morning and the meeting wasn’t going to be until afternoon, so we decided to go off exploring on our own.

Not far from our hotel, we cross a railway bridge and see a train packed with people, travelling to work.

We decide to pay a visit to the National museum of Myanmar.

Hazardous road crossings are not new in adventure travel, but at points this was really quite scary.

The museum was old and a bit run down, but had excellent air conditioning.

One minor disappointment, was you couldn’t take pictures, so I borrowed this one from the internet.

After a couple of hours in the museum we head back to our hotel. The heat of the day justifies a taxi. I was impressed by Taxi’s in Myanmar, drivers were always polite and well turned out, cars were comfortable with seat-belts.

Back at our hotel, I’m preparing myself for 10 day of oriental food, so snatch the chance of some western food with a burger and chips from their restaurant.

Our introductory meeting begins, and we meet all the other people on the trip and our guide, Kay introduces herself.

She tells us a bit about the country, what we’ll be doing on the tour and stuff like that.

This was a fast track trip (we needed to be at the airport for 5am the following morning) so we headed straight out onto town to see the highlights.

The Karaweik Royal Barge. Its made of stone and doesn’t actually float, but is in the middle Kandawgyi lake.

As we explore the inside of the barge we get to know our guide Kay a little better.

She explained although English is taught in the country, it is not by native speakers.

Considering this, I thought her English was superb and it was also obvious that she had previously worked as a school teacher.

She was also strikingly dressed at all times.

Exploring around the Park around Kandawgyi lake.

We now head towards the Shwedagon Pagoda.

We visit the famous Bodhi tree on the hill top, which is 99m high.

The main Pagoda itself, is an incredible sight on a hilltop overlooking the city, its visible from practically everywhere in Yangon.

In the evening an almost carnival atmosphere as thousands of local congregate there to pray and celebrate.

When we had handed our passports to Kay earlier, she had worked out our birthdays so explained which birth animal we were.

At times the area was quite spiritual and I felt a real connection there.

In some of the smaller Pagodas, it got a bit silly and in this one for example a female warrior who looked a lot like Margaret Thatcher.

The introduction of Christmas tree lights and screens didn’t help. This one looked like something from 70’s era Dr Who.

In this temple, we met some Monks who wanted to photograph me (on account of my blond hair, which they had never seen before).

We finish the evening with a meal at Padonmar Restaurent, one of the best in the city.

We returned to Yangon a few days later and picked up where we’d left off.

Kay shows us around a street market, which you could literally buy anything from food to fire engine parts.

Yangon City hall building, in Maha Bandula park.

It was a Sunday and lots of people were relaxing in the park.

Burma (as it was then called) gained independence from Britain in 1948.

The statue of Queen Victoria was returned to the UK and The Independence monument above, was put in its place.

Wandering around Pansondan Street you can see lots of colonial buildings.

The former British customs office.

I always like to Finish a trip in style. And where else but dinner at the Strand Hotel.

India 2017 – Udaipur – the home of Octopussy.

13th April 202024th April 2020 John Sunter Udaipur Leave a comment

With our organised tour of India complete, we’ve now got some down time to do our own thing.

We’ve decided to finish off our trip with a visit to Udaipur (followed by Mumbai).

Love is a wonderful thing. It makes us do things we wouldn’t normaly do in a sensible world.

Like getting on a train at 5am and spending 7 hours on it in baking heat, when we could have got a flight that would have lasted 45 minutes !.

Enough about that.

My 2nd time on an Indian train (the first was New Delhi to Agra). It’s a hive of activity, people are organising bags and finding their seats.

But it’s early in the morning and a seven hour journey to Udaipur so minutes after the train leaves, most people are asleep.

We arrive at Udaipur station and get a taxi to our accommodation.

The place is lovely and the staff and owner are friendly. The only thing…

Why does it seem that when you arrive at some hotels people want to sit you down, give you some tea and tell you about their hotel.

I didn’t want to be impolite but I was tired, just wanted to be on my own and have a lie down. But I didn’t, I sat through half an hour of how he had done all the building work, decorating and carpets himself.

Then we had to do various forms and paperwork (a throwback to the days when Britain “ran” India and “propper” records and admin were the norm.

Shown to our room, it was very comfortable.

After a short nap, we head out to explore Udaipur. The first place to go is lake Pichola, which I was suprised to find, is man made.

We pass under these arches and sit by the water.

And what a beautiful lake it is.

We look out to the Islands, which were intending to visit the following day.

It’s getting towards the evening so we decide to have a drink and something to eat.

When I said I was going to Udaipur, everyone mentioned the “hotel from Best exotic marigold hotel”.

The hotel in question is the Jagat Niwas pallace. But I’ve seen the film and it doesn’t look familiar ?

Turns out (if you’ve seen the film) that they travel away from the hotel to attend a funeral and have a conversation in a rooftop bar overlooking a lake. Thats where I am.

We chat to some other travellers. I realise that for the price of our accommodation, we could have got a room here (but that would have involved arriving with no booked accomodation, wandering around and haggling. We’ve done the right thing.

After an evening of fun, we settle on our hotel rooftop, and watch the world go by.

Up early the next day and breakfast (and tea).

Were expecting queue’s at the City Palace so we get there early.

Standing outside the palace on the land side.

Started in 1553, it took nearly 400 years to construct and is considered the grandest in Rajasthan.

There were lots of ornate rooms and stuff like that.

From one of the balcony’s we could see into the courtyard. Although still early, it was really busy.

One interesting exhibit (which seems a bit out of place) are the original spectacles that Ben Kingsley wore in Ghandi.

Another view from on-high.

There was quite a queue, as it was a weekend and lots of the locals had the same idea as us. We board our boat, and put on our boyancy aids.

The first place we see is the Monsoon Palace, up high on the hill.

Ok, at this point, it’s important to mention that Udaipur is quite famous among James Bond fans.

It’s where the 13th James Bond film, Octopussy was filmed (the opening scenes of the film show the Taj Mahal, and imply their right next to each other, but theyre actualy 700k appart).

The villain of the film, is Kamal Khan, and his residence in the film is the Monsoon Palace.

The very exclusive Lake Palace hotel.

It literaly occupies its own Island and only residents are allowed there.

An island you can visit, is Jag Mandir (both this and the Lake palace hotel were used as Octopussy home in the film).

We arrive at Jag Mandir and disermbark.

There are some specacular gardens and we wander around.

The view back to the Palace from Jag Mandir.

They have an exclusive restaurant and bar (by exclusive I presume they mean expensive).

No matter, it’s a hot day and I’m on holiday so time for a drink.

Starting to get dark now, so we board our boat and head for land.

Once again, dinner by the lake, and this view of the Palace hotel lit up in the evening.

Our last day in Udaipur. Were due to fly later, so we spend some time wandering around the town.

According to my guidebook, the Jagdish Temple is a must see site.

Seen up close, lots of carved images, which reminded me of a previous trip to India, and Khajuraho.

Ghantaghar.

The local clock tower. Brought to Udaipur from London in 1887.

The Daiji footbridge offers spectacular views of the lake (and quite a peacefull place to got for a walk in what otherwise is quite a busy city).

There are lots of small cafe’s in the town, catering for backpackers.

Many of them have daytime and evening screenings of the James Bond films.

I hadn’t had any hot chocolate in ages, so we popped into one. I was delighted to find they also did Garlic bread with cheese (well, I was delighted until it was put on my plate !).

Leaving town and exploring in the oposite direction.

Manik Lal Verma Park. Empty and seemingly disused overlooking Dudh Talai lake.

A really beautiful spot.

There are 125 million English speakers in India.

What a shame that none of them were available when the sign on this bus was being written.

Just for fun, we decide to get the Udaipur ropeway, to a hill overlooking the area.

An enormous queue. Interestinly, a group of 3 young, pretty girls, seemed to keep moving forward, pushing in and overtaking poeple.

Nobody seemed to mind. However, I’m from Great Britain, and that doesn’t work with me. When they tried to overtake me, I politely told them that wasn’t on.

I was worried that there might be a scene, but they politely appologised and stayed where they were in the queue. I tried to imagine how that would have played out in Blackpool in the UK !.

But finaly were on the cable car (with our new female friends as guests, and the mood is light).

The view spectacular, I usualy try to capture each place I visit in 1 picture in my mind.

This is it.

We finish with a visit to the Karni Mata temple, and then follow a zig zag path down the hill.

Back to our hotel, pick up our bags, taxi to the airport and then flight to Mumbai.

Long weekend in Sri Lanka

5th April 20205th April 2020 John Sunter Sri Lanka Leave a comment

I remember on 2 occasions, trying to book Sri Lanka, but the tour I wanted to do was full. I even tried changing dates and even using other tour company’s but to no avail.

Each time this happened, I ended up visiting somewhere else for that years “big trip”. I realised how popular it was as an adventure travel destination and this made me even more keen to see it.

In January, 2019 I finally got it booked for February 2020. Not long after there were terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka, which put it on a no travel list until about 6 weeks before I was due to go.

Either way, I was really looking forward to it.

The world was talking seriously about Corona virus, but I was convinced I’d have time to complete my trip (in any other circumstances I wouldn’t have gone. Although I like to model myself on Indian Jones, I rarely take unnecessary risks).

So, at Manchester Airport after 2 busy months at work and the worst of UK winter, looking forward to some adventure, culture and sunshine.

We had booked an organised tour with Explore (we’ve done a few trips with them, and find them to be excellent).

Colombo is the capital of Sri Lanka, but our tour would run from a fishing village called Negombo which is only 20 minutes drive from the airport.

We arrived at our hotel and checked in. It was 11am local time, and our tour would officially start at 6pm the following day in the hotel lobby.

I had a beer by the hotel pool, then we headed off to explore the beach (which was honestly stunning).

We wander around for a couple of hours in perfect weather, watching fishermen prepare nets and causing a turf war between 2 ladies selling scarves.

We found this traditional outrigger fishing boat on the beach. To be honest I think it was used more for catching tourists than catching fish.

Exploring is thirsty work, so we find a bar on the beach and relax as the sun sets.

In the evening we have dinner – “Curry and Rice”.

Although it sounds like something from Poundland, it’s a local dish that contains 4 curries and some really fluffy rice.

Off to bed, ready for adventure early the following morning.

And it was early. We had breakfast at 6am, and were picked up by Norman at 6:30 am on this 3 wheeler to begin our private boat tour.

With the whole day free until the tour started at 6pm, we’d decided to explore the Negombo lagoon, the port and some local areas of interest.

They did a shorter 2 hour tour, but we did the full 7 hour one.

We would visit some of the Islands and see the amazing bird life in the area. Whatever we did, I knew relaxing in a boat would be a great way to recover from Jet-Lag.

The reception area had lots of interesting books with pictures of local wildlife and some examples of traditional fishing equipment.

Our boat could comfortably sit 6, so we had plenty of room to stretch out.

We put on our life jackets, check we’ve got spare water and have cameras at the ready.

And were off, heading out of the various waterways, towards the lagoon.

I’d read how large it was, but was shocked when I saw it.

35 square miles.

The entire lake is only 1 meter deep.

We went to see this fisherman, who had put out his nets.

He would sell the fish to local restaurants when he was finished.

As we continued along exploring the estuary, we got to see some of the Islands up close.

The lagoon is basically a Mangrove swamp and there is a rich selection of fish and bird life (we met some Australians, in another boat, with massive telephoto lenses on bird photography charter).

But not just that. This island has monkeys on it.

We drove the boat right up to the bank, and put out some fruit.

The monkeys came on-board to eat it.

There were several of them, and it occurred to me, that since they had no boat (nor skills to pilot it) they must have lived on the Island through generations.

Leaving the Muthurajawela marsh went to and outdoor church called All Saints.

It had some nice statues, and importantly, a toilet. Property developers had wanted to turn it into a hotel and the religious folk of the area had almost rioted.

Our guide gave us some fruit to eat. So much, I had to give some if it back (I hate to wast food).

Exploring the Dutch Canal.

Whenever we found a coconut floating in the water, Norman would keep it for his wife.

By the end of the day, he’d collected 4!.

The Dutch canal was originally built in the 1600’s. It’s completely straight.

In the 1800’s it was expanded by the British and this section was called the Hamilton canal.

This is the iconic bridge, that appears in most guidebooks.

We briefly left the canal and the lagoon and went into the ocean (we couldn’t go far, our boat wasn’t designed for that).

We saw the port, where larger fishing boats were docked.

We continue around the harbour and see this boat, that was wrecked during the Tsunami, but nobody towed it away (I guess they had other things to contend with).

Finally we see how some of the local people live. Some of them live in their boats, others live in shacks by the water.

Norman was quite disdainful. They make money from the water, but they throw plastic and human waste into it !.

Well, after 7 hours, were back at reception. It really was an amazing experience.

His daughter served us some mango juice, then we hop back into the three wheeler and back to our hotel to start our 14 day tour of Sri Lanka.

Things had gotten off to a really good start.

If you’ve not done an organised tour, they normal start with a briefing, where the guide arrives, everyone introduces themselves and then the guide outlines the itinerary and plan for the duration of the tour.

They then ask to see insurance, collect the tip kitty and outline any optional excursions and gauge interest.

So, in anticipation of this, we got cleaned up, collected our paperwork and headed to the hotel lounge.

We sat relaxing with a drink while we waited for the briefing to commence.

The guide appears (a man who doesn’t give his name) and a woman from Kent who’d flown in that morning. There are 4 of us at the table.

The guide keeps talking around things, mentioning other people on the tour, other people who’ve dropped out, etc. He mentions the national parks may be closed…

This is all very nice, but it’s now 6:45pm.

I hate wasting time anyway, but in cases like this, I’ve waited months for something that will last 2 weeks, and every hour counts. I ask him for the room numbers of the other guests and say I’ll go and “knock on” and find out where they are (I’m suprised he hasn’t done this himself).

Then 2 incredible things happen. He’s vague, so I pin him down, “Is anyone else attending the meeting I ask ?”. No he replies.

Realising that he’s not going to be forthcoming, I ask “Has the tour been cancelled”. Yes he says. The woman from Kent asks “Am I going home tomorrow”. Yes he replies, were arranging for you to fly home in the morning (she had booked flight inclusive, we’d booked our own planes).

He said he’d organise our flight and asked if we had the phone number for Emirates in Sri Lanka (he’s a tour guide ?).

We opened our laptop, booked the next flight home the following evening (it cost an extra £300 and we lost our extra leg rooms seats).

He apologised. I’d lost all patience at this point, so I just told him to make sure our room was secure for the next 24 hours, that our transfer would arrive at 3pm the next day and waved him away.

We wandered around Negombo the next day until our trip to the Airport.

And then the irony.

Having a trip cancelled in a small group in a fishing village to avoid the Corona virus, were now sat on a plane with 500 other people and wandering around airports which 10’s of thousands of people had passed through.

I was pleased that Emirates had laid on 2 extra flights, although the mood on the flight home was the complete opposite of the flight out, there was no holiday atmosphere this time.

We arrive back in the UK. A hot bath, some sleep and then I got out for a few drinks at Artichoke.

Sitting relaxing in my local, I’m a bit more reflective. Sri Lanka has been closed to tourism for almost a year. The guide must have been looking forward to life getting back to normal and then seeing it all disappear overnight.

Perhaps I was being hard on him, but when I travel, although I come over as laid back, adventure travel is my life, and this is serious stuff.

The important question I’m asking myself, is did I make the most of whats effectively a long weekend in Sri Lanka ?. I think I did.

Focusing on important questions, Barman, can I have another beer please ?

India 2017 – Mumbai, New Years Eve.

18th February 202024th April 2020 admin Mumbai, Uncategorised Leave a comment

Our trip to India was fast coming to an end, and I was showing signs of wear and tear as I sat drinking at a rooftop bar on our penultimate night in Udaipur.

The last leg of our India trip, on our way to Mumbai (at one time called Bombay).

Maharan Pratap Airport.

A few vendors providing food and drinks, it was nice to sit in peace and quiet and catch up on our reading.

Only an hour and a half and far more comfortable than the “romanticism” of our train journey from Jaipur to Udaipur !.

We arrive at the airport, book a tax to our hotel and then the usual drive around and around. Nikki spots our hotel and we point at the pavement outside. Suffice to say, not tip was given.

When we arrive at the ITC Maratha hotel, its quite simply incredible. It harks back to the times of the Raj and is nothing short of opulent.

Everyone was very friendly, but all bags had to go through airport style security before being allowed in the hotel, security is taken very seriously after the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008.

When I say opulent, allow me to illustrate. How many toilets have a TV showing Premier league football.

I sat down with my guide book and a mind map I’d drawn up with a list of things to see. I ordered a pint of beer (which I’d later find out cost £18) and started planning.

We had that evening in the hotel, then a day to spend in Mumbai, and fly home about 11pm the next day (which would be New Years eve).

After an incredible banquet dinner and a few drinks, its off to bed. We’ve only got 1 day and are unlikely to come back here, so I want to make the most of it.

Up early and a breakfast laied out on tables as though we were at a wedding.

The hotel staff are incredibly helpful and are happy to provide assistance planning our day tour.

They comment that the hotels policy is not to recommend the train/tram network and that they can get us a taxi (an offer we are happy to take up).

Minutes later were heading to the city centre on the Bandra-Worli sea link, a 1 mile long bridge that sort of goes out to sea and then back in again. It was desinged to reduce congestion getting into the city.

We couldn’t see much from inside our Taxi, so I found this picture to illustrate.

The coast of Marine drive can be seen from here, its nicknamed the Queens necklace.

But although the bridge and the buildings are spectacular, signs of poverty aren’t far behind.

We begin our sightseeing on foot.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus featured in Slumdog Millionaire.

On the waterfront, the Gateway of India built for Queen Victoria’s visit.

It possible to do boat trips to Elephant Island from here, but being New Years eve, everywhere was packed.

Behind it, the internationally famous Taj Mahal hotel.

On the ground floor at the back is a coffee house and we stopped there to rest.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, abbreviated CSMVS and formerly named the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India.

Three floors of interesting artefacts and obviously Victorian in style.

Lots of old things to look at in glass cases.

But far more interesting, Ghandi’s iconic spinning wheel.

And the constitution of India.

A beautiful building, we relax outside in the shade.

We continue on and I’m shocked to see this sign.

This isnt a police station, this is a high street bank where you might pop in to pay some bills !.

A sensible precaution, so nobody trips over it.

With the sun setting over the Queens Necklace, and with only a few hours left of our amazing trip, we find a hotel bar with a balcony and relax.

As we walk back along the waterfront, people are congregating, looking forward to happiness and prosperity of the New Year.

But we’ve got a plane to catch. We head back, get cleaned up, have a bite to eat and its back to the Chaos of the airport for us.

We land in Paris. Unfortunately, the bus is slow taking us to our terminal, and we miss our connecting flight.

Annoying, but now we’ve got 3 hours to to kill.

So, breakfast in Paris on New Years day !.

Update – wheres the blog gone ?

5th January 20205th January 2020 John Sunter Uncategorised Leave a comment

If you visit this site regularly, you’ve probably noticed there hasn’t been a normal “blog” entry for some time. By that I mean what I’m watching on the tv, what I think of current affairs and what I’ve recently bought from the Rohan shop.

The reason for that, is simple. johnsunter.com was set up in 2001 and I manualy coded it with random info to share with my friends and family. I did this because no simpler technology existed at the time like facebook or twitter.

As I started to get more into adventure, I rebranded the site: The adventures of an ordinary person, and I’d write pages about places I’d visited and what I’d done there, in a down to earth style. Posts over the last few months have been exclusively in this format.

These days, most of my random thoughts can be found on facebook and twitter. But that’s good, because I have an exciting plan for johnsunter.com

I found out from a BBC article, that theres an organisation for people who’ve been to 100 countries (the Travellers Century club).

As I type this, I’ve been to 82 countries and by the end of the year, predict I’ll have been to 86 (and I expect to visit the remaining ones in the following 3 years).

So, the good news, is that the website will stay active, but will only feature adventure travel and places that I visit from now on (well, until I have my 100 country certificate, hanging on my wall 🙂

So thanks once again for visting. I hope 2020 is filled with excitement and opportunity for everyone reading this.

The search for adventure continues…