Anchorage to McGrath

After the heat of Hawaii things are starting to get a little chillier. Our travels are taking us to the wilds of Alaska! Su has been dreading this part of the trip for the best part of the year but I've managed to drag her (kicking and screaming) along. We arrived in Anchorage and literally chilled for a few days to acclimatise. To be honest we don't have too much to say about Anchorage except that the people are nice and the city has an amazing backdrop - here's a photo of the local Walmart for example:

The mountains in the background are stunning (when you can see them). My main reason for coming to Alaska (as silly as it sounds) was to visit a place I read about roughly 10 years ago called McGrath. It's a little village in the middle of Alaska that was named after a U.S. Marshall called Peter McGrath.

As good a reason as any to visit a place. This is nearly as remote as you get in Alaska (the population is less than 300 in the winter) so we weren't too sure what to expect. However, we booked our ticket....

...got to the airport...

...and boarded our 30 seater plane for 2 days of wilderness! If you think a 30 seater plane is small, just wait.

We had two goals for the trip: I wanted to find out some more information about the Peter McGrath that the town was named after, and Su wanted to see a moose. We didn't want to aim too high just in case. We landed in McGrath at around 9:30 in the morning and hit the main street:

We saw Hotel McGrath just by the airport:

but being poor backpackers we weren't staying there. A short walk down the road was the cafe which had a few rooms above it - not as fancy as the hotel but fine for us.

We were sort of at a loss for something to do at this stage so we went for a walk around the town and less than an hour later got back to the cafe having seen what we though was pretty much everything. How wrong we were. Not sure what else to do, we relied on instinct and had some pizza at the cafe (very good!) and hit one of the two pubs in the town: Joes Bar.

It serves the best (and only) draft beer in McGrath! Certainly good enough for the likes of us!

Things pretty much took off from there. We had been a bit worried that we had spent one of our two days in McGrath walking around, eating pizza, and going to the pub - which we could (and do) pretty much do anywhere but all that changed when we got talking to this guy:

Chris! Local jack-of-all-trades from lumber to whatever you need, he's your man. We told him what we were doing in his fine town and he got a great kick out of it. Soon all the bar knew about our great adventure in McGrath (there were about 5 people in the bar including us and Nick the barman). The other person in the bar was Camille and she headed off and came back a few minutes later with a bag of her finest homemade Smoked Wild Alaskan Salmon strips and Moose jerky - both of which were delicious - these were bar snacks Alaskan style!

As the evening wore on we met more and more people - all of which were friendly and delighted that two Irish eejits went out of their way to visit their town. Chris, acting as our agent, rang the radio station and booked us in for an interview first thing in the morning (sounded like a great idea after a skinful of pints). He also promised us that he would pick us up afterwards and bring us around to a couple of the sights. We staggered home in the -10 degree cold to the cafe, happy with the way the night had gone and very unhappy after discovering that even with thermal underwear, 4 layers, and our beer-coats on, -10 degrees is COLD!!!

The next day was the busiest day we've had since our journey began. We awoke early to head over to the radio station: KSKO.

We had around a half hour interview with Mike Lane the local (and only) DJ where we told him about our travels and he told us a little about the area. It was a good laugh.

Su thought she'd be clever and stand by the doorway talking photographs but Mike wasn't having any of it and called her in, live on air, and grilled her as much as he had me. We found out that even though not a lot of tourists visit McGrath at this time of year, they expected the first heavy fall of snow soon which is basically the start of the severe winter so we might get a chance to experience that! As if -10 wasn't cold enough.

After having a cup of Irish tea with Mike and saying our goodbyes, we met Chris at the cafe and he was all set to take us on the grand tour of McGrath! First off was a bit of Moose hunting (well... Moose sighting..) and sure enough, Chris knew just the place. It's amazing how well an animal that big (think of a horse but ganglier) can camouflage itself. Su took quite a few photographs (with me hiding behind) and this is the clearest:

 

This was a female Moose, hence no antlers.

Next we took a trip to McGrath Air Terminal. Not to be confused with McGrath air strip where the commercial flights land (like the one we got to McGrath). This Air Terminal is a privately owned business which flies goods and post to even smaller, even more inaccessible nearby villages in ridiculously small one-engine planes. Anyway, Chris rocks up there and asks if myself and Su can hop on board on the runs for an eagle eye view of McGrath. We were told that if there was room, there'd be no problem. An hour later we were hopping into this:

and flying over this:

This is the Kuskokwim river on which McGrath resides. It meanders quite a bit, as you can see. This is the real Alaska folks! We landed on the side of a mountain in a place called Takotna, helped unload the airplane, and took off back to McGrath - all done in less than 30 minutes.

After the flight, we thought it was time to find out a big more about this McGrath fella so we took a walk to the museum. So, here he is: Peter H McGrath:

I don't know, Chris was beside himself when he saw the photo - he thought the resemblance was uncanny. I myself wasn't too sure. He IS a handsome guy though....

I'll leave it up to you to decide. Here's some info about him (if you can make it out):

Chris picked us up again to take us around the some the local sights. He introduced us to Donne - she is one of the native Alaskans who live in McGrath and she kindly allowed Chris to show us her homestead - a magnificent log cabin with surround forest and incredible view (it even had it's own outdoor wood-fired sauna folks!):

 

 

We also paid a visit to Donne's fathers house which had it's own airstrip! Incredible!

We took a trip to Mount McKinley lookout (Mount McKinley being the highest mountain in the U.S.and the second highest in the world!) but the weather was closing in. We just had time to stop by a friend of Chris's who was building his own log cabin. He and his (pregnant) wife were living in a wall tent while they built their house. A wall tent is a military-style canvas and plastic waterproof tent. It had a stove, so they were alright. Hardy people these Alaskans. The picture of Chris at the start of the blog was in their outhouse. This picture is of their cabin:

They've got quite a bit to go.

By the time we got back to the town the river looked like this:

It was getting down to -15 Celsius now - it seemed we got there for the heavy snow! Nothing for it but to hit the bar again where we met even more people and heard even more amazing stories! One guy we met who worked as a gold miner gave us a gold nugget as a souvenir! A gold nugget!!! We bought him a Budweiser but it didn't seem like enough compensation somehow...

The next day we awoke to this:

 

We were told that it was 50/50 if we'd get out of McGrath. There are certainly worse places to be but we had to catch a train to Fairbanks the next day. All of a sudden the incoming flight landed and we were boarded without delay. It was all too quick as we didn't get to say goodbye and thank everyone that we should. We had an amazing two days in McGrath and the people there should be proud of what they have. If your name is McGrath, or if you want to see a bit of real Alaska, I highly recommend it! You can't go wrong! They've done the name proud!

Hawaii 5-oh!

Hi all, Daisy here, I'm afraid that I'm being inflicted upon you as I've joined the Pete and Su travelling circus in Hawaii. I came all the way from Ireland and Pete and Su came from Japan and we met smack bang in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on the island of Oahu. It really does feel like being in the centre of the world.

Hawaii lived up to my expectations from the moment I arrived, the night before Pete and Susan. The warm balmy air, that Hawaiin breeze (now I know why it's called that) - bit slow on the uptake sometimes - it's all exactly as you'd expect. Beautiful clear seas, gently waving palm trees, everyone saying 'Aloha!'

I met the guys off their flight from Japan and we went straight to our hotel/condo just two blocks from the beach in Waikiki.

The one thing we were all agreed on was that this was going to be a real holiday - no frantic activity. Just lying horizontal for as much as possible and soaking up the rays. And maybe a bit of reading.

Unfortunately for me, Pete and Su are currently the colour of the mahongany conkers falling out of the trees at home. And me, well let's just say that I'm, ahem, of a more pasty -haven't - seen - the - sun - in - two - years -  complexion. Although I have gone a lovely shade of red by now. Just in time for home. If anyone asks me did I leave my tan behind they'll get a smack.

We did manage to unpeel ourselves from beside our gorgeous pool in the hotel intermittently to go out for beers, more beers, some food and yet more beers. And wine.

Our room has a kitchen and Susan has been happily chained to the kitchen sink cooking us breakfast every day, we've renamed her Mrs Mop. She and Pete are loving the novelty of home cooking and having the TV on tap. Backpackers eh?! They're such cheap dates.

Oh, and we did do some sightseeing. The last time Susan was here she was throwing herself out of airplanes and taking surf lessons. This time I'm glad to say that they were both sufficiently exhausted to be content to just check out the North Shore and Pearl Harbour.

The North Shore was amazing. I'm a total armchair surfer, more happy to watch it than actually try it. The North Shore of Oahu is the spiritual home of surfers and surfing everywhere. There are bays and stretches of beach that have seen some of the biggest waves ever surfed and it's where the triple crown competition take place every year in November and December.

One particular place is called the Banzai Pipeline, so called because of the way the waves break, forming a pipeline like structure. Around this time of year the sea is becoming more and more rough, the winter swells growing all the time. When we got to the beach it was practically empty, just a few surfers in the sea. Just acres and acres of gorgeous sandy beach stretching away either side. Paradise. We decided to take a dip to cool off. The sea looked choppy but we had no idea how strong the currents were.

I'll admit I had visions of finding myself in a compromising position with a surfer, but I ended up in a much more compromising position when I was all but hurled back onto the beach, spat out by a huge wave with my bikini almost gone and halfway to Japan. Needless to say Susan fell around the place laughing and it took a long, long time to get all the sand out of cracks and crevices that haven't seen such action in ages.

We survived the pipeline and had a delicious pizza and some beers in a little place called Hale'iwa. Just so you know, if you ever come here and visit the North Shore, Hale'iwa is the best place for getting food and drinks. Around the pipeline and Sunset Beach, it's surprisingly sparse in that there's not really any bars/restaurants. We figured it's because the community are determined to keep this whole part of Oahu strictly surfing, and not have the hordes of tourists thronging the beach at Waikiki.

We also went to Pearl Harbour and that was very interesting, just to see the area where such carnage happened in one day. There's a monument that sits right over the sunken wreck of the battleship Arizona and you can look down and see the ship beneath, rusting and still leaking small amounts of oil into the water.

It's a very moving experience as all of the men who were on the ship and died when it went down are still entombed within the wreck.

It's now our last day, I'm off back to the other side of the world, leaving here at 4.30am. Pete and Su will be off on their next leg to Alaska. I'd definitely come back, if only just to brave the North Shore waters again and this time try and arrange it so that I have my near drowning and unwitting bikini removal near a gorgeous surfer who can save me...

Big in Japan

So after China, we had a few days to spend in Tokyo, Japan. We have heard some mad things about Tokyo and they are all true! This is the country where technology is king! Even the toilets have about 10 buttons to press which do various things (want a heated toilet seat? No problem.) And the toilet humour didn't end there, as you'll see.

The hostel we were staying at was near the Asahi brewery, which is a well known Japanese beer.

It is noted for the Asahi Flame, an enormous golden structure at the top, said to represent both the 'burning heart of Asahi beer' and a frothy head. It is better known by the locals as 'The Golden Turd'.

Our hostel itself was fine - if a little compact. But that's to be expected in Tokyo. Did I say a little compact?

Our room was like a broom closet with bunk beds. I must have banged my head 10 times while there.

Walking the streets of Tokyo is something completely different as well. There are rules you have to follow:

And the great thing is that everyone obeys the rules - which makes things more pleasant for everyone!

You smoke in the smoking area (even outside), you only cross the road when you have the green man, you don't talk on your phone on the train - really whatever it takes to make it easier on others.

Although English isn't spoken by many, it's still easy to get around and about. Also, heading out for food isn't a problem. A lot of restaurants will have English menus and if they don't, a lot of them will have a display case with a plastic version of what they serve presented outside:

One of things on our list of things to do in Tokyo was to head to the Shinjuku district at night and see the bright lights:

Shinjuku has department stores, specialist electronic and camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars. Many international hotels AND the busiest train station in the world is also located here.

Another thing on the list was to head to the Harajuku area of Tokyo which is known for it's gothic and cyber punk street style. Basically kids get dressed up in outrageous clothing and hang around - you could see everything from rockabilly's, goths, and teens dressed up as cartoon characters! Bizarre! Unfortunately for us, it was raining on the day we chose to go there and the kids were indoors in case their hair flopped. We did take a walk down one of the two main streets in Harajuku called Takeshita street where we saw a procession in the rain. Here's a photo to prove that we saw a procession and another photo to prove that there is street called Takeshita:

We have no idea what the procession was in aid of - everyone looked like they were wearing mini skirts though.

Next we took a walk to Shibuya which is famous for its scramble crossing. It is located in front of the Hachiko station exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. Three large TV screens mounted on nearby buildings overlook the crossing. The Starbucks coffee shop overlooking the crossing is also one of the busiest in the world. This photo is taken from there:

So that's it really. It rained for a lot of our time in Tokyo so the photos don't really do it justice, but hopefully you'll get an idea of what it was like. We highly recommend Tokyo! There's hardly any crime, people are friendly, there are great restaurants, you can get cans of cold beer from vending machines, the metro goes everywhere you need to go, and believe it or not, it's probably cheaper than Dublin. You can't go wrong!

Tellific Tellacottas Walliols and Shanghai Surplise...

Hi all, Su here again.  Picking up where I left off, we were on an over night train to Xi'an to see the infamous Terracotta Warriors.  We stayed in a  comfortable 4 berth sleeper cabin that we shared with 2 others.  We decided to give the dining car a miss and had a lovely dinner of Jelly's!!!

Once in Xi'an we explored the city which is the old ancient capital of China and was home to many emperors.  The main centre of the town is surrounded by huge, old city walls, similar to the Great Wall.  In the city there is a large Muslim Quarter which is full of hustle and bustle and is lined with a mix of halal food stalls and Chinese restaurants.  We couldn't resist our usual Dumpling dinner.

Next day we took a bus out to the Terracotta warriors.  

Over 2 million years ago Emperor Qin shi huang enslaved hundreds of thousands of people to construct this massive ever lasting army to guard his tomb which is less then 2km away.  He either expected his rule to continue after his death or was hoping his new army would protect him from the vanquished spirits awaiting him in the afterlife, no one knows. 

Whatever his reasons, the army discovered in 1974 by a local farmer digging for a well, is nothing short of spectacular.  4 pits have been excavated. 

Pit 1, the largest, holds 6,000 life size solders placed in battle formation. 

It's mind boggling knowing that no two faces are alike.

Once again China has come up trumps with it's awesome historic feits of construction and spectacular sights.  With our minds and memories full of ancient wonders we board yet another overnight train to the more modern city of Shanghai.  This train would take 21 hours to get to our destination and was slightly less comfortable then our last journey.  Firstly we shared our cabin with two smokers who didn't seem to feel the need to open the cabin door or go to the smoking area to light up.  Begrudgingly they did so once we made our feelings known.  Also being such a long journey our usual bag of Jelly's just wouldn't do so we braved the jam packed smoke filled (almost as bad as our cabin) dinning car. 

We sheepishly sat down and a waiter gave us a hand written menu (completely in Chinese Script) to consider, we remembered a warning from Pete's brother and sister in law, Martin and Catherine, who made a similar train journey in China a few years ago so we were quite apprehensive about our imminent meal!! But sure, in for a penny in for a pound, we scanned the food filled tables for something edible and settled on anything that did not look like dog!!  Once we were somewhat happy with our choice our waiter came over and 'then' proceeded to translate the menu.  He was a man of few English words, beef, pork, chicken, fish was pretty much it with no mention of cooking method or sauce etc. but we were grateful that 'dog' wasn't one of them so we went for the beef and decided to brave what the dish that the guy sharing our table was eating which looked like chicken and hot cucumber, strange choice I know but we needed a bit of veg!!  We were delighted to discover that the beef was a beef stew with spuds 'almost' as good as you'd get at home, but the pre-mentioned 'chicken' dish was most probably 'tripe', neither of us could quite put our finger on the texture or taste but considering that we have never eaten anything of this nature, it must've been tripe!!! So one outta two aint bad.

At 06.30am next morning in true communist style, the speaker in our cabin came to life and blared out some sort of exercise program, (well that was the most logical explanation we could come up with) followed by piercingly deafening Chinese traditional and pop music which continued for the next 7 and half hours before we arrived in Shanghai.

With our ordeal over we were very pleased to be in a civilised city and felt like we were closer to the western world then we had been in many months.

With it's futuristic skylines that lit up like Disneyland at night it was yet again, a spectacular sight..

In contrast to the ultra modern structures of the current financial district, 'New Pudong Area' (above), the old hub 'The Bund' directly across the river would not look out of place along the banks of the Seine

Staying with the futuristic theme the ever entrpenurial Chinese constructed an under water 'Sightseeing Tunnel' taking you across the river from The Bund to the New Pudong Area. 

Once again it's something similar to a ride in Disneyland and if full of swirling, sparkling, garish lights whizzing by as you go from A to B..

 

From ancient artifacts to futuristic skylines China has been amazing.  We have loved every over-crowded minute of it and I highly recommend it to all. 

However, as with anywhere in the world there is always a few downsides.  China is full of smells... food, rotting rubbish and urine fill the air around you but sadly not in that order, the idea of 'fresh air' is nothing more then a memory of home.  While the constant 'hocking', 'gullying' and 'snorting' noises of phlegm readying itself for the forever present 'spitting' charade that surrounds you as much as the smells can get to you after a very short while. 

But on the bright side (despite the 'tripe' episode on the train) we were big fans of the food.  Some days we would have Dumplings for breakfast, dinner and tea, and if I stayed there any longer I would be rolling myself onto the plane looking like a Dumpling myself.  We tried and loved so many types of new and unusual food that we will never have the chance to try again...  Another great thing about China and South East Asia is the constant mix up with the R's and the L's, the knock off 'Rolex' they try to sell you on the street is pronounced 'Lorex',  'Relax Resort' is 'Lerax Lesolt', an 'Umberella is an 'umbelerra'.  We waited and waited for the anticipated 'Herro' (Hello) but it never came...

So as our short journey through China comes to an end I am so happy to have been here and seen what we've seen, be it only a fraction of the country, we defiantly leave with everlasting memories.....

And now for a little more toilet humour.  I took this photo in a loo in Beijing, the nearest thing to a female urinal I've ever seen, I wont subject you to the actual loo itself (which was pretty unusual) but I thought the sign was bizarre enough....

Needless to say I obeyed it.... x