Job done

Well the factory job is in the can, and hong kong is drawing to a close... here is hoping that they liked what they see. 

Tomorrow we fly to oz, work first then it's holidaaaay (I'm drying up, I need ocean) 

The Numbers....

Days on the road: 21
Distance traveled: 7940 miles (roughly)
Trains caught: 8
Trains missed: 1 (thanks to the welsh snow)
Time spent on trains: 9 days 2 hours
Photos taken: 1371 x digital, 396 x 35mm, 29 x medium format, 19 x polaroid, 1 x camera phone
Countries visited: 9
Visa’s issued: 5
Visa’s rushed through last minute: 5
Amount of money spent on visa’s: too much
Books read: 3

Ipod music hours: 40
Instant noodles eaten: 16
Severe Man flu caught: 1
Man flu downgraded to mere cold: 1
Flights taken: nil

Trips of a lifetime: 1
Best job’s ever: 1

Spring Springing

Well relaxing back at the hotel and I've just had a chance to browse the new Spring howies catalouge, and I have to say I'm pretty chuffed with the outcome. Two weeks spent driving from wales to portugal turned out pretty good. 

Good team, good work, good shit.

Honkers

I made it! 

17 days, 11 countries, 8 trains and nearly 8000 miles later… I’ve made it to my final destination, the great city of Hong Kong.

That was some journey to work! 

More when I've gorged myself on the masses of food Hongkong has to offer...

Chinaaaah

So China...

Today was my ‘day in the city’ as I leave Beijing tomorrow on yet another 24 hour train ride down to Honkers (the final destination) and even though I walked till I dropped, I barely even scratched the surface of what this city has to offer. So after mulling my options over a coffee this morning, I decided to bail on the tourist route and just wander…up and down the back streets, through the old hutongs, ate ‘who knows what’ from the street vendors, chatted chinglish to cheery old blokes, took plenty of pictures and got properly lost.

I did learn a few things today...

1: The Chinease are very friendly people

2: The Chinease love to spit

3: I'm bringing a skateboard to Beijing next time

4: There is no point trying to walk around the city, review the scale on the map next time.

5: There really are more bicycles here than you can belive

A good day. Time for a beer to wash down the dog meat.

Cheerio, more from Hong Kong.

Into, then outa Mongolia

Well, I made it to China, and what a train journey. 

6000Ks, 5 time zones, countless stops, -40C temps, 2 border crossings and we pulled into Beijing Central train station just 2 minutes late. Quite unbelivable when you think that the train from Hinton Admiral to Bournemouth is never, ever, on time. 

After sitting at one of the crazy moscow stations I was begining to worry about whom I'm going to be sharing my 'kupe' class cabin with for the next week. It turns out it was a Mongolian footballer and Arsenal supporter named Nick. Unluckily for him, I know nothing at all about football and his only english was football related...still by the end of the week we became friends, and it was quite usual for him to call out my name in a worried tone when I was out at a station and he thought the train was going to pull off without me. He also liked to share his rancid Mongolian 'tea' and thought it was hilarious that it almost made me puke. 

It turned out that the train was swarming with us english speakers, we had at least 5 other english, 2 irish, 2 danes & 2 swedes...and that was only in 'stearage', there we're a couple more brits in first class I think. 

Our carridge became the english hangout, and soon it was endless card games, endless 'instant' noodles and endless hours spent with the nose pressed against the window. The highlight came every 5 hours or so when we pulled into a station, we we're out there before you could say "wait...it's -40 out there!" and usually back in just at fast. 

So anyway, an epic train journey it really was. Siberia really is quite an amazing place, and I can't wait to go back and spend more time in mongolia, that place just looked unbelivable. 

Beijing is ringing...

In numbers...

I have a few hours to burn till my Trans-Siberian train leaves Moscow, so...
...The trip in numbers...so far...

Days traveling: 7
Distance traveled: 1918 miles (roughly)
Trains caught: 6
Trains missed: 0
Hours spent on trains: 42
Nights spent on trains: 2
Flights caught: 0
Cameras broken: 1
Cameras fixed: 1
Rolls of film used: 5
Digital Photos taken: Lots
Russian Vocabulary: 12 words (& a few useful phrases)
Mandarin Vocabulary: 0 words, 0 Phrases!
Countries left to visit: 3
Distance left to travel: 5580 miles (roughly)
Days left on the rails: 7
Days left to Hong Kong: 8
Beef Strogonoffs eaten: 2
Days till next blog: 6-7ish?!

speak soon everyone...

(oh the pics are of a few funny things I've seen around moscow!)

Muscovites

Usually the first word I learn, when learning a new language is ‘thankyou’ Not much use here! No body uses it, or please, or anything polite. So in order to not stick out, like the polite Brit I might seem, It’s rudeness all the way!

Saying all that, Moscow is quite a place, especially negotiating the underground palace (the third picture) that is the metro, dordle here to try and figure out the crylic map and your swept off wherever the crowd is heading.

Hiked (and slid) around the usual tourist traps today, and tomorrow it’s off to the markets before catching a week long train to china. Will get there in the end...

Добро пожаловать к Москве (welcome to moscow)

Well after a rather interesting overnight train ride of broken down trains, border crossings, wheel changes, and my first experience of grumpy russians...i'm in moscow! 

After a long walk this crazy city, I kicked back at the hotel and set to work fixing my beloved Rollei camera. 

After 2 hours of intense keyhole surgery with the leatherman...I think it's fixed. Check the new fixed version above, complete with sticky plaster holding it together. At last I can get back to shooting some film. 

Tomorrow it's off around Moscow...here we go! 

Sleeping to Warsaw

So onward from Cologne, and my first experience of European sleeper trains. First things first, time to practice my newly learnt ‘ipod’ polish on my cabin mate, a rather large polish woman. After a few strange looks, she gathered what I was trying to say, and then proceeded to laugh at everything I said from then onwards. Not the biggest confidence builder I must say. After a rather stuffy nights sleep we were pulling into Warsaw central to meet my Australian friends cousins, my hosts for the next few days in Poland.

Hanging out with the ‘It’ girls of Warsaw, wasn’t quite what I had mind for this trip, but embracing new experiences is something that I have learnt well over the years. So that’s how it went down.

My good friend from Australia sorted out this leg, his cousins met me off the train and since then I have been whisked around the city, shown the sites and walked the busy streets. The girls love the city and it showed in how much they wanted me to see. I have to admit though, I had no idea what to expect from Warsaw, in fact I knew very little of the place except it was flattened in the war, but I was pleaseantlysuprised, and one thing is for sure, they like to party!

After getting to know some good new friends, it’s back to the journey at hand… an overnight sleeper train to Moscow. Russia awaits.



Onward, towards Hong Kong.

After a crash course in snow driving trying to get out of tenby (thanks anna!) I have at least made it to london. Walking through a blizzard in swansea to get a coffee was interesting. 

Tubes negotiated, snowballs thrown and 1 passport with fresh visas collected (thanks god)

Tomorrow, London - Brussels - Cologne and on to Warsaw to meet a friends cousin who I've never met and whom is looking after me...

more soon.