Weekend in Kiel

With a customer in need of a visit and some friends living in the same place, we set off for Kiel for the weekend. This would be the last chance for a flight together before Caroline is too pregnant to fly. We took a cheep Ryanair flight from Skavsta to Lübeck on Saturday afternoon (on time for a change) and we arrive in Germany an hour later. In to collect a neat little hire car, program the navigation system and off we drive to Kiel. Anika and Daniel and their two little girls live in a lovely little old house in Kiel. We had a really nice day on Sunday, despite the threat of poor weather. The sun came out and we all went for a walk and ate an ice cream on the beach while the children played. In the evening Daniel cooked on the BBQ, but as it was much cooler in the evening, we ate inside. I worked on the Monday and we flew home in the evening, getting home in time to see the last Group B match in the EURO 2008, Germany v Austria, which they won.

25 Weeks

Caroline is now in week 25 of her pregnancy and today we visited our midwife again for a regular check-up. We discussed some of the options with her for the birth and we will visit the hospital where she works in the next week, to see how things look there. The baby is generally moving around quite a lot and doing lots of kicking. The midwife checked the baby’s size, which was normal, and the current position. The baby had its head up today. I was also able to listen to the baby’s heart beat for the first time… that was cool. Caroline is happy and dealing well with the pregnancy so far and that feels good.

Business in Asia

Flight out of Stockholm on Saturday evening; switch planes in Zurich and then on to Singapore. I stayed at a work colleagues place in Singapore and its hot as usual. We immediately take a few beers down to the pool and I have the chance to catch-up with Olle on the state of business in Asia, as well as update him on all the gossip from work. Train business takes me to Singapore and we spend the day on Monday meeting the local metro operator and playing with their trains. Lunch, then on to the airport for a flight to Hong Kong. I catch a minibus to the Chinese border and get there just in time to cross into Shenzhen before they close it at midnight. I pass through immigration with no hitch with my tourist visa… big relief. Check-in to the hotel, meet Gang and then watch the snooker final on late night TV… yes, O’Sullivan wins, great.
Shenzhen is just busy work meetings and then again on to the airport for a flight to Beijing. I realise during the 3 hour flight that dispite the fact I’ve been to China several times, this is the first time I’m visiting the capital. I have just 2 days to squeeze in 5 meetings, including a visit to the Transportation research department at Beijing University. After the last meeting, we get time to leave the taxi and walk in Tiananmen Square, the iconic centre of this sprawling city. Mao’s portrait is looking down at me as we walk past the entrance to the Forbidden City, as if to remind me of this modern cities communist past. Some good Chinese food for dinner and then a last look at the city at night. The next day I’m flying to Germany to meet up with Caroline in Köln for a long weekend and her birthday.

First Baby Movie

This is a short film of the 2nd Ultrasound Scan :)

Were expecting a baby!

I’m very happy to say we are expecting a baby this year. This is something we were discussing and planning for at the end of last year, so we were both very excited to have this confirmed in January. Actually we performed the pregnancy test on the 31 January while travelling in Asia. We were in Vietnam and had quite an amusing day getting help from a local girl, who explained in Vietnamese to the young girl in the chemist what we wanted. The test showed positive, as Caroline had suspected and what great news. We did one more test to be sure, and with a second positive result we were sure. The immediate down side was that Caroline began almost immediately feeling off her food and this quickly developed into morning sickness.

Caroline is now 17 weeks into the pregnancy and doing very well. The sickness period seems to be over and she’s feeling fine, although quite tired most days. We went for the 17 week ultra-scan on Monday this week and everything was looking fine. It was a great experience to see our little baby on the screen, see its heart beating and everything all in place. We have an updated expected delivery date, which is now the 24th of September. We shall have to wait and see if it decides to arrive on time!

Bangkok and Home

After a great week in Siem Reap, we travelled over land by bus back to Bangkok. As everyone had advised us, this would be the worst bus trip in the world... and it was. We squeezed onto a crummy old bus, which was full to the brim with unsuspecting backpackers and the isle filled with all our rucksacks. The road on the Cambodian side of the border is hardly ever more than a dirt road with pot holes the size of small cars! We were met by a new guide at the boarder with Thailand and changed the bus for an air-conditioned mini bus. Luxury! Now even the road was tarmac’d and the drive on to Bangkok was very comfortable by comparison. We stayed in a hostel in Bangkok near Kao San Road and spent the last day doing some shopping in the markets. It was the end of our six week trip, and I was not so feeling so well with a fever and Caro was off her food. We took a taxi to the airport and at the SAS check-in, negotiated an upgrade to business class for our return flight to Stockholm. As we were both feeling tired and exhausted, the large reclining seats made the flight much more comfortable and we managed to sleep some of the way home.
So that was our 6 weeks in Asia, a very successful trip and a real adventure at times. So many sights, scents, people and places to remember. We enjoyed travelling together and are looking forward to our next journey, whenever that may be.

Bayon Temple

Perhaps one of the most impressive temples in the Angkor area is Bayon. The site is dominated by complex temple made of towers with large stone faces which face in all four directions. The central part, which is higher on a 2nd layer, is a complex 8 sided tower which rises above the surrounding faces. The place is so unbelievably awe-inspiring that I had to return again on our 3rd day to take some more pictures in the softer light of the late afternoon.

Siem Reap and Angkor

Siem Reap is at first sight an interesting place to stay. The city is not as big as the others we have visited and has a more open and easy going pace. We found a great place to stay near the centre, the room is spacious and the place has a small pool and is very friendly.

We were very tired after the almost 9 hour long boat trip here, so we ate some food and crashed out in the big bed very early.
Our first full day here was spent fixing some bicycles to borrow from the hotel and buying our 3 day pass to the vast temple area (40 USD each for this!). The bike ride to Angkor Wat takes about 45min. but in the heat it seemed much longer. Angkor Wat is as they say, quite stunning in terms of its size. The scale of the temple and it symmetry are impressive to say the least. We spent a few hours just walking around and taking pictures. We had a picnic with us, which we ate in the shade of some trees, and chatted to some Cambodian visitors.

We then went on to see the the second major site at Angkor Thom and the temple called Bayon. This is a majestic temple where most of the larger towers have four large faces which look out in each direction. The site is quite damaged, but still has large parts in good condition and you are allowed to climb over most of the site and enter the impressive central temple building.

We have at least 3 more days in Seam Reap and plan to see much more of the Wats, Temples and other Angkor sites.

Phnom Penh and Battambang

After a two day trip with all sorts of transportation methods, we arrived safely in Phnom Penh on Sunday evening. We found a room in the glorious Mekong Palace, although our room didn't have a view out on the river.
The next day we spent some time going to visit some of the S-21 museum, a place that shows the history of the Communist Dictator Phol Pot, the Khmer Rouge and we also visited Cambodia's notorious killing fields. Its a horrific reminder of this period in Cambodias history, which took place only 36 years ago. We hired a TukTuk for the day and our driver Sadam did a good job avoiding all the crazy bikes and drivers along the way.
The next day we went to the Royal Palace in the afternoon and spent a relaxing time wandering around the grounds and looking at the large area of buildings and temples.
Up early the next day for a 5 hour bus ride to Battambang. A provincial town on the way to Siem Reap. We stay a day here and hire a moped for the day to get more into the countryside. We visit an old Wat/temple which about 25km out of town on a dusty road. Then 100 steps up a hill to see the temple ruins and a view over the flat and dry landscape. We stop and look at the sights on the way home and buy freshly pressed sugar cane and grilled banana at the side of the road.
Tomorrow we will be taking an 8 hour boat journey to Siem Reap... that should be interesting!

Beach in Phu Quoc

Phu Quoc was a good place to stay for a few days... relaxing and quiet.
This is the view along the beach not far from where we stayed.

And some more impressions....

Saigon and Phu Quoc

Having spent some time in the north of Vietnam, we moved down to Saigon. This is like a more modern version of Hanoi, without the small streets of the old town in Hanoi, but with just as many mopeds and scooters buzzing along the streets and tooting all the time.
This is not the place to stay long if you plan to live to be old. We were lucky as our Giant Dragon Hotel was OK and our room was on the roof on the 9th floor, so we were above the traffic and able to get some sleep at night. We did some sights in Saigon, including a Hindu temple and a war museum... which was a bit grim in places but informative (if perhaps a little one sided).
Our patience for these busy cities was beginning to wear thin, so we decided to head off for the Mekong Delta. A long and interesting bus ride, including stops for people, food and 10 bags of coal!!! was an experience, as was the bike ride to the center of Vinh Long (as bus stopped with us having no idea where we were). So few people speak English as soon as your off the main road in Vietnam. We did a home-stay (ha ha very homey!!!) then visited a big floating market by boat. Also local production of rice paper and pop rice! quite interesting.
Now we have moved on to the island of Phu Quoc off the coast of Vietnam in the very south, for some sun, beach and no tooting bikes :)
We needed a few days for relaxing and we plan to stay until the end of the week before moving on to Cambodia. Today we have moved into a great place on the beach and plan to do nothing much, but relax, read and swim.

Here some pictures of the Mekong Delta:



Our noble homestay...


The neighbours


Floating market


Fresh lychees on board

Hue and rainy Hoi An

Hué welcomed us with warm and sunny weather after our night on the train. After we had a rest in the hotel, we hired some bicycles and rode around in the old town. Hué has been the political capital from 1802 to 1954 unter the 13 empererors of the Nguyen Dynasty. The Citadel was the first imperial city on the bank of the Perfume River. We didn't go inside but rode all the way around it. Later on we found a quiet rad along the river where a long row of house boats form a floating village. It was very interesting to see how these people live, in a small boat with very limited space, but with a TV, most of them. Riding along the boats, a lot of children were waving to us, shouting "hello" and "how are you?".
In the evening we had dinner in a place packed with drunken locals drinking even more beer. The ride back to the hotel was then a bit excitign next to all the motorbikes, but we managed to get back safely.

The next morning we were catching a bus to Hoi An and it started raining again. At first sight Hoi An didn't look to be much. Once we had a room fixed, the rain seemed to stop and we took a walk into the old town and could see its charm straight away. The old town sits by the river and is a patchwork of small streets with old single and two storey houses mainly with shops on each side. We found a nice restaurant by the river, where we spent a few hours as it started raining again...
The next morning, still rain :-( We then went straight to a travel agent to book a flight to Saigon in the evening at 8.30pm. The rest of the day was spent in cafés with eating and reading, in between getting wet and trying to get dry again. We took a look at the old Japanese Bridge, which is the only other sight we felt tempted by in the rain. In the late afternoon we set off for the airport, hoping to be in warmer and dryer regions again soon.

Thursday 24th Hoi An, Vietnam

As we cannot see our blog site via this connection, I'm not sure if this entry will be posted!
We spent a few days in Hanoi, very busy as expected, and cloudy. We took the night train to Hue and stayed a day there. Now we are in Hoi An, in the centre of Vietnam. An interesting old town, but its raining and were getting wet. We will move on to Saigon tonight... hoping for sunshine!
(Please comment on this entry, if it it posted OK?)

Hanoi and Halong Bay

After two days in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, we were heading off for Hanoi. We got on a small plane of Lao Air for the 1 hour 10 min flight. At Hanoi airport we were met by a "driver", holding our name up, who took us to the guest house that we booked in advance. The drive took 45min and we got our first experience of Hanoi traffic - complete scooter madness!!
The air is thick with smells and noise and the weather damp and humid with about 15°C.
The next day we booked a trip to Halong Bay. We arrived in the harbour of Halong City after a 3,5hour drive in a Minibus, with hundreds of other groups and people trying to catch the right boat. Our small group eventually got on a boat and set off into the Bay. As it was still quite misty, Halong Bay was only showing us its mysterious side...

After lunch that was served on the boat, we stopped to visit a cave that is on one of the bigger islands. The cave has three parts of which all are connected, with very interesting formations of rocks inside. The cave is huge and actually very impressive, we both have never seen such a big one before.

We booked a night train from Hanoi to Hué for the next day at 19 o'clock. The weather was even more unpleasant, rainy and windy, and we were already looking forward to get some sun in Hué and Hoi An, our next two destinations.
But despite of the weather we took a pedalriksha to the Temple of Literature. This was dedicated to Confucius in 1070 by Emperero Ly Thanh Tong. Later on it was a university for the education of mandarins.
It's a well-preserved area in traditional Vietnamese architecture in 11th-century style with roofed gateways and low-eaved buildings. Very pretty!

We headed to the station in the evening in good time to catch our train. The train was not quite as comfy and service-friendly as the one in Thailand... no dinner, no breakfast, but nice people in our compartment. Diana and Palmira from Buones Aires were good fun and we talked and played cards until late what made time go by.

On into Laos

We had an interesting trip from Thailand to Laos. We went by minibus overland and then crossed over the mountains at a very remote boarder crossing into Laos. The drive was bumpy and dusty and we arrived late in the evening in a small village.


The next day we drove on down to a small village by the Mekong River, where we picked up a small (very crowded) boat to take us down stream to Luang Prabang (look on the map to find it), where we have been for the last 4 days. Its a very interesting old town with a big colonial French influence in the houses and villas. We eventually found a great guest house with a nice room, polished wood floors and a nice garden to sit and read in... very laid back and just what we needed.
We went on a day trip to an Elephant camp yesterday which was good fun and interesting. Our guide was quite good and we had him all to our selves. The trip included a river boat ride to a local waterfall and then on to see the elephants. They had 6 and we had a 45min ride in the woods and along the river bank. Our elephant driver was walking along next to us and singing to his elephant (they do that sometimes) so we had a chance to practice the instructions our guide gave us! He then got on with us and soon I was able to change places with him and ride on the elephants neck on the way back to the camp. Caro was just a little concerned in the seat next to the driver.



After lunch we then went on a 4 hour kayak trip down the river to get back to the town. This was good fun in the rough water parts, but hard work on the neck and arms and nearly killed us both! Today we have been for a 90 min. Lao massage to recover. This was good and helped the aching muscles a lot.
The food is great and very varied here. The spring rolls are popular, as is the curry. Its not too pricey, but a little more than in Thailand. we are heading on by "VIP Bus" tomorrow, so hope this provides a more comfortable method to travel than the last one.