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!