Re-entry into NZ!

Hello from New Zealand!!! We are finally back in New Zealand after 10 months and 1 week away.

Here is a round-up of the trip.

Countries visited: South Korea, Malaysia (and Malaysian Borneo), Vietnam, South Africa, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia and Armenia.

If you count airports then we also visited: Australia, Thailand, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Russia.

Short hair and tired expression - the start of our trip, getting over jet lag.

A rest day in South Korea, enjoying reading and tea.

Justin's favourite country: tie between South Africa and Turkey.
My favourite country: tie between South Africa and Turkey.

Justin's favourite city: Istanbul in Turkey.
My favourite city: Istanbul in Turkey.

Justin's favourite activity/thing we did: Diving in Malaysia and South Africa.
My favourite activity/thing we did: volunteering at Makalali Game Reserve in South Africa.

On safari at Makalali, South Africa.

Lions!

Justin's worst place to visit: Zugddidi, Georgia.
My worst place to visit: Zugdidi, Georgia.

Zugdidi was cold, dirty, and we had the worst experience staying in a guest house. The guy who owned it was creepy (he tried to climbing through the bathroom window while I was in it!), there were no locks on the doors and the bedroom stank so badly of cigarette smoke we couldn't breath properly.

Languages we attempted to speak: English, Korean, Malay, Vietnamese, Afrikaans, Zulu, Shangaan, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Georgian and Armenian.

Country with the most beautiful writing: Georgia.

Modes of transport taken: multiple planes, private cars, taxis, buses, trains, subway/metros, boats, 1 submarine, 1 helicopter and 1 hot air balloon.

Hot Air Ballooning!

Hot Air Balloons In Cappadoccia, Turkey.

Country with the worst drivers: South Africa.

Place we saw the most Kiwis: bizarrely it was Armenia.

Justin's favourite food: Nasi Lemak (coconut rice with beef, peanuts, anchovies, egg and sambal sauce) in Malaysia.
My favourite food: Pistachio and Pomegranate Turkish delight in Turkey.

Justin's worst food: Chicken in Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia.
My worst food: Chicken  in Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia.

About to eat some good food at a flash restaurant in Georgia.

Friendliest people: Vietnam and Turkey (admittedly there were friendly people everywhere, it usually depended on whether we smiled at them or not.)

The most un-smiley people: Georgians (but most were friendly once you talked to them).

On the way to the floating markets in Can Tho, Vietnam.

Things I am proud to have learnt while away: how to knit! I completed a pair of baby booties (for my nephew) and 2 beanies. And how to dive.

Would we do this again: YES!

However, we have been back in NZ for almost 2 months now, and to be honest to has been a bit stressful. Yes it has been great seeing family and friends and meeting my nephew for the first time. But we have had some problems as well. Unfortunately my knee injury from skiing in Armenia was still causing me issues and pain by the time we arrived home, so off to various doctors and physios I went, only to have ACC and travel insurance decline my claims. ACC because we were out of the country for more than 6 months and therefore don't cover us, and travel insurance will only cover overseas costs and once we stepped back into NZ they stopped. So now I am on a public waiting list for an MRI and possible surgery for a possible torn ACL and meniscus. And who knows how long that will be....

My seven-month old nephew Leo goes for the beer when his parents aren't looking.

In the meantime, we have found a flat and moved in, Justin has found a job and I am working part-time for my Dad making food flavours in his lab. We are slowly getting our boxes unpacked and settling into life here again. It is very strange having to go to work after not doing it for so long. Besides the knee, things are looking up.

P.S. I forgot to say, since we have been home we have realised how lucky we are here. In some of our conversations with friends and family, some people have complained that NZ is backward and close to a third world country in many ways.

However I have this response: NZ is NO way near a third world country. In the 2 months we have been back there hasn't been a single power cut, there has been constant hot water 24 hours a day, there have been no riots or violent protests and there are democratic elections without people being killed. These simple things mean we have luxuries that most people in the world do not have. The End.

One of many falling down buildings that people live in around the world.

Yep we are back in NZ: blue skies and green trees.

A Late Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone! And of course I hope you all had a merry Christmas.

The beginning of December saw us in Georgia for 2 weeks. We headed to a small  mountain village called Mestia. It was a bit of an adventure getting there. It included getting left at the Turkish-Georgian border by the bus, catching several crazy, cigarette smoky mini buses and a night in one of the most stinky, dirty, horrible places we have been on this trip, which included a weird old man who wanted to get Justin drunk and tried to kiss me every time Justin left the room. Needless to say we didn't sleep much that night especially when we realised there were no locks on the doors.

Misty Mestia.

Things improved after that and we spent a great week in Mestia. This whole area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its buildings and defensive towers dating back to the 9th - 12th centuries. It is located at the foot of the Caucasus mountains (I have trouble saying Caucasus so I have nicknamed them the Couscous mountains) and has amazing scenery.

Mestia, Georgia.

It was here we meet George, a Frenchman, traveling in his amazing 4wd all kitted out with adventuring gear. We spent a day driving with him to Ushguli (another mountain village with even older towers) and had fun shovelling snow from the one lane road in -25C weather. Justin and I had major gear envy, both for George's vehicle, equipment and cameras (he had 3 Nikons!). He had some amazing stories to tell about travelling the world and we spent an enjoyable day taking photos and hanging out.

Justin and George.

George's car. He is completely self-sufficient.

After our horrible rides in mini buses in Georgia, we didn't fancy another long trip, so when we heard there is a helicopter that does trips to Tbilisi twice a week we jumped at it. The helicopter is a MI-171 (for those wanting to know)and only runs if the weather is good. We got lucky and the flight only cost $35 each! Unfortunately I got told off by airport security for taking photos of the helicopter and had to delete them all (except one).

My sneaky helicopter photo.

Inside of the helicopter.

Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia and as such is a big city with big city things - subways, traffic, people, cafes, museums, markets etc. It is definitely a post-soviet city, big and gray and full of concrete, but there seemed to be a lot of construction going on and they are trying to make it more appealing. Give it time and I think it will be great.

Want some medical equipment? Outdoor market in Tbilisi, Georgia.

From there we travelled to Armenia, after dealing with a confused passport control official who thought Aotearoa said Australia and therefore that I had a passport from both New Zealand and Australia. Both Georgia and Armenia have their own script for writing and English is usually their third language (after Russian) so they don't always know it very well, especially when reading. I had to explain that it was just another name for New Zealand and he let me through.

Taking a stroll in Mestia. Note the Georgian writing. I think it looks like something from Lord of the Rings.

Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, is one of the worlds oldest continuously inhabited cities. Unfortunately we arrived in the middle of winter and it was covered in fog and grayness the entire time we were there. Locals are saying it is one of the worst winters they have had in a long time.

A little bit of colour, Mestia.

After a few days we left the city and headed to Tsaghkadzor, a mountain village with finer weather known for its skiing. The first few days here were wonderful. The weather was cold, crisp and sunny, we got a free upgrade on our accommodation and we meet some fellow kiwis. The skiing was perfect. Until I fell and twisted my knee. After that I got my first ride on a snow mobile (unfortunately I was in too much pain to take much notice of it) and spent the rest of the day in the local hospital having an x-ray and waiting while the police filled out a report.

River beauty, Mestia. 

Unfortunately no one at the hospital spoke English so we had to get by on sign language and bad google translating until the police found the local school English teacher and pulled her out of class to translate for us. It was almost comical the trouble everyone went to for us. The police had to write a report about what had happened and asked me questions like "did anyone push me?" "Was I happy with the service I had received?" etc. They also had to get a statement from Justin and we caused some confusion when they realised we were living together but not married. And then I had to explain what my job was which they also had trouble with. They have an ambulance service here, but from what I have seen it works more like a transport service only.

Walking home from school and a free range cow in search of food, Mestia

After that I was given pain killers and told not to walk for 2 weeks. This resulted in a week sitting/lying on a couch with my leg up and another week back in Yerevan doing more of the same. So that is how I spent Christmas and new years.

Anyway, the knee is getting better. I can know walk short distances without too much pain. And tomorrow we fly to Seoul for the start of our homewards journey.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and new year, and I will catch up with you all later.


Some more photos, none of which are from Armenia as all I saw was the inside of our rooms:

Defence tower in Mestia.

Freezing in Mestia.

On the way to Ushguli.

Tbilisi, Georgia.

Busking in the cold, Tbilisi.

Merry Christmas!

More from Turkey

After spending a week in Istanbul we decided we would spend 3 more weeks in Turkey and so we headed south to the coast. We headed to Selcuk to see the ruins of Ephesus (Efes in Turkish) which dates back to 10th century BC. It has some of the best preserved Ancient Greek and Roman buildings and houses, and includes the Temple of Artemis (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), a large gladiator graveyard, a massive theatre that can seat 24,000 people, and a church that is mentioned in the Book of Revelation and were the Gospel of John was written. Although we are not religious, it is really interesting to see all this history.

Library at Ephesus.

Theatre at Ephesus.

From there we went to travelled to Pamukkale. This is a small town with it's crowning glory being the calcium terraces known as travertine. Over many many years water rich in calcium carbonate has flowed out of springs and deposited calcium to form large terraces. You can walk on it, as long as you take your shoes off. For some reason I expected the travertines to be soft to walk on like snow, but of course it is not as it is actually rock. It is just very bright and white like snow. Above the travertines there is a another large city of Greek/Roman/Byzantine ruins named Hierapolis.  This was a large city of about 100,000 people in its prime and was often (and still is) visited for its hot springs.

The travetine at Pamukkale.

Look how big it is!

Next we travelled south to Fethiye, a small town by the sea. During summer it is packed with British tourists who come to sail and lie in the sun, but as it was heading into winter when we were there, there weren't many people around. The town is on the Mediterranean coast and is surrounded by beautiful clear blue water. This town, like all towns in Turkey, has a long ancient history, and has rock tombs carved into the sides of the surrounding hill made by the people of Lycia.

Rock tombs above Fethiye.

Fethiye is also the start of a hiking trail called the Lycian Way. It is a 510km walkway that ends in Antalya. We were tired of always travelling by vehicle and wanted to get out of towns so we decided to hike some of it. We walked for seven days through amazing coastal villages and cliffs and hardly saw anyone. It was great! At night we stayed in guest houses in the villages and got to eat traditional local food. Most of it is vegetarian and the area specialises in honey and cheese. There are very few roads and shops in the area and in one village we came across the vege truck that visits the villages selling the fruit and vegetables as there was no shop in the village. All the people we met along the way were very friendly and we got by with sign language and smiles as not many people spoke English and we only spoke a few words of Turkish.

Village kids along the Lycian Way.

A great view from the Lycian Way.

After a quick trip back to Fethiye, we spent a few days in Antalya (nice old town, full of tourists) before heading to Cappadocia. This is one of the most famous places in Turkey and is known for hot air ballooning and its fairy chimneys formed from soft volcanic rock and eroded by wind and snow (this region gets very little rain). Over thousands of years, people have carved houses in to the rocks and towers and these are now tourist attractions and places to stay. Our room in a hostel was actually carved into the rock under a fairy chimney. We also got up very early one morning and went hot air ballooning. Our pilot was amazing, and managed to drop us down into the narrow valleys without hitting the walls. We got an amazing view of the sunrise and the area.

Hot air ballooning, Cappadoccia. 

After that we headed north to the Black Sea and into Georgia...which will be my next post. The only other thing I need to tell you is that we have booked our flights home. We will be arriving in Auckland on the 15th January, just in time for summer.

Sorry for the long post, but here are some more photos.

Ruins at Ephesus.

Calcium deposites at Pamukkale.

Large theatre at Hierapolis.

The rock tombs in Fethiye.

Some of the many boats at Fethiye.

Justin walking the Lycian Way, just before we were attacked by 3 very large goat herding dogs.

View from the Lycian Way.

Night in Antalya

About to go up, Cappadocia.

Rock valleys, Cappadoccia.

Dawn from a hot air balloon, Cappadoccia.

We Love Istanbul!

We arrived in Istanbul after taking a 14 hour night train from Sophia. One of the biggest problems with night trains is that you always cross the borders at about 1 am. It usually takes about an hour to get stamped out of one country, a 30 min-1 hour train trip to the other border, and another hour to get stamped into the new country. All of this happens between 1 and 4 am. We have become used to waking up to loud knocks on the doors and bright lights being turned on by guards.

Skyline of Istanbul.

Anyway, we arrived on a grey, rainy morning and were blown away by the city (not literally as there was not much wind). There were minaret spires and huge domed mosques in almost every direction we looked. The city was fully of people and busy, and after a walk over a bridge that gave us great views of the city , we were already half in love with the place. It has a great atmosphere, a cosmopolitan feeling, everyone is friendly, the food is to unbelievably good and cheap, and there is so much history everywhere you look, dating back to the the Ancient Greeks, Ancient Romans and the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. There is a massive wall that was built to protect the city that was once Constantinople. Some of it is still standing and some of it has been reconstructed so that it is one of the most impressive things you see as you enter the city centre. You can climb to the top if it in some sections and the huge city is spread out below you.

A busy Saturday market.

Istanbul at night.

There are soooo many things I want to tell you about in this city. One of the best things is the Turkish Delight. It is a mouthful of Oh-my-God-deliciousness. Especially the pomegranate and pistachio ones. They also have really good baklava and kebabs, which we have been living on. And I have finally learnt the difference between a shish kebab which is on a stick and donar kebab which is in a roll or bread. I have decided I'm addicted to apple tea which is full of sugar. When we leave Turkey I think I will have sugar withdrawals! But I really don't like pomegranate juice, which Justin thinks is blasphemy as it is only 60 cents to a dollar for a cup.

Mmmmm turkish delight.

We have been doing the tourist thing here and visited several important places. These include the Blue Mosque, were you visit between prayer times and have a strict dress standard to enter. Women have to cover their heads, upper arms and legs, while men have to do the same except their heads. The mosque is one of the biggest mosques in the city and is beautiful with paintings and mosaics everywhere. One of the interesting things about mosques are that there are no pictures of any people in them, unlike in christian churches.

The Blue Mosque.

Inside the Blue Mosque. The lines through the photo are actually the wires holding up the chandeliers.

We also visited the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar, the Basilica Cistern and the Spice Market. The Hagia Sophia is a huge Byzantine church, that is a mix of christian and Islamic design. It even has carved graffiti from Norse mercenaries on the marble. The Topkapi Palace is the huge palace complex of the Ottoman rulers and includes the harem and many, many rooms with beautiful paintings done to look like mosaics. The Grand Bazaar and the Spice Markets are huge shopping areas that sell almost everything you could want. We didn't manage to see all of the areas as they were too big. The Basilica Cistern is basically a huge underground water tank. It was built during Justinian's reign and holds up to 80,000 cubic meters of water, which was bought from 19km away. The roof is held up by 336 marble columns and the whole thing was built by slaves, with hundreds of them dying in the process.

Topkapi Palace.

Ceiling and walls of a bedroom in Topkapi Palace.

The Basilica Cistern. 

If you ever want a recommendation on where to travel, I would definitely say come here for a visit.

Istanbul at night.

Musician playing a 12-string baglama (lute). 

Mosaic at Chora Monastery.

Mother-of-pearl doors, Topkapi Palace.

Living room in the harem, Topkapi Palcae.

Hagia Sophia. This building has been a Christian church and a Muslim mosque. Now it is a museum.

Daggers at the Grand Bazaar.

People at the Blue Mosque.

Fishermen.

A busker.