With all the changes of countries and currencies confusion set in.
We did realise that a tailor made suit in Hué for £40 (Milan made cloth!!) or a silk dress in Hanoi for £20, and a bespoke leather jacket for Sabine (Argentina), again, at £55 were reasonable - actually excellent value.
By the end of our trip we in fact were seriously loosing track of the value of money - what, was worth, what!
I think from the below you will understand why (and these figures do not take into account the devaluation of the US$ by 10% against most world currency during the 80 days).
Ok: 1 Euro = AED 5.74331 (Dubai) = INR 66.6621 = US$ 1.56413 = VND 25291.58 (Vietnam) = HK$ 12.1988 = AU$ 1.62928 = NZ$ 2.01465 = CLP 744.928 (Chile) = AGS 4.92673 (Argentina) = BRL 2.58087 = 1 Euro
Got it? Well, we spoilt ourselves anyway!!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Back Home
It is not too bad actually - facing up to the reality of a new life, although we could have easily just gone on travelling - until the money run out - or the kids had to be shipped out to join us - whatever.
Firstly the Wedding.
Please go back to the initial March postings and the Wedding Photos. They have now been completed and comments added. We hope you all realised how happy we were then, and from the tour snaps, are now. 80 days going around together was revealing, testing sometimes, but wonderful - we passed les épreuves and feel very contented and fulfilled.
Over the next weeks we will revise and update the blog so that it really becomes the diary of this shared adventure. If anyone knows how we could down load it onto a Power Point or Word Document this would help us considerably?
It is also our intention to conclude on what we did - let you know what the difficulties were and how we would/will go about it again – in four years time?
So kindly watch this space .........
We found the world that we visited to be wondrous, but this is not always the reflection of a harsher reality.
Firstly the Wedding.
Please go back to the initial March postings and the Wedding Photos. They have now been completed and comments added. We hope you all realised how happy we were then, and from the tour snaps, are now. 80 days going around together was revealing, testing sometimes, but wonderful - we passed les épreuves and feel very contented and fulfilled.
Over the next weeks we will revise and update the blog so that it really becomes the diary of this shared adventure. If anyone knows how we could down load it onto a Power Point or Word Document this would help us considerably?
It is also our intention to conclude on what we did - let you know what the difficulties were and how we would/will go about it again – in four years time?
So kindly watch this space .........
We found the world that we visited to be wondrous, but this is not always the reflection of a harsher reality.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Rio Animals
Sorry, didn't make it into the jungle - saw these cute monkeys but no jungle bunnies
Graham heard this snake before he almost trod on it - any ideas whether it was poisonous?
DANGEROUS ANIMAL NOT SHOWN: the tigered mosquito which is the cause of a recent epidemic of dengue fever - Sabine has her fingers crossed, Graham as almost always did not get bitten (not tasty enough)
Ipanema and the Copacabana Beaches
The COPACABANA or as we call it the "coco banana"
World famous beaches - and they merit this distinction!
Rio - beach bunnies
The beach bunnies were not in season, weather too cold at 75°F. Apparently they are becoming a rare breed and get fat at somewhere between 21 and 24 – except those of the very ”cocky” male variety !!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
May 13 – 17, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro – our last stop
Having finally arrived in Brazil (hateful BA) and braved the not so freeway, 420 kms from Sao Paulo to the second city, Rio with 9M inhabitants. (From a personal safety viewpoint Graham refused to visit Soa Paulo, time had run out. However, we did therby learn that buses and lorries rule the roads, before we arrived safely but tired in beautiful Rio de Janeiro.
Difficult to really get used to pedestrians crossing the motorways on foot – let alone the joggers!
Tropical South America
Rio as spell binding as we could have imagined – a dream site ecologically protected since the mid 19th century (by Emperor Pedro II) – with re-forestation
Bet its seriously hot and humid in summer – look at the haze from the heat in winter
Wonderful sambas and bossa novas - but not really in the streets (Graham makes a comparison with Cuba here)
Crumbling latish 20th century high-rises right next to .............
Wonderfully preserved 17-19th century buildings and monuments often but not always just squeezed between these sky scrapers
Famous café where Graham found another source of his favorite Argentinan dessert "dolce de leche" again only this time called "doce de leite" but also served as ice cream!
A great unpreserved but operational tram system winding around some of the cities hills
Horrible/ugly modern Rio Cathedral in this very Catholic religious country and then an absolutely gorgeous baroque one
Signs of an Ecological awakening – good!
Artistry in the Graffiti
Brazilian people
Not a low cost destination – especially clothes and even quality clothes – a bit of a surprise
Home grown developed economy from all signs that we could understand for Portuguese only spoken here (the contrary to nearly all the rest of Latin America where ONLY Spanish spoken here – woe-betide that determined English speaker – rejection is inevitable
Poverty was around us again – and Graham’s camera seriously coveted – but brought safely out of the country
Difficult to really get used to pedestrians crossing the motorways on foot – let alone the joggers!
Tropical South America
Rio as spell binding as we could have imagined – a dream site ecologically protected since the mid 19th century (by Emperor Pedro II) – with re-forestation
Bet its seriously hot and humid in summer – look at the haze from the heat in winter
Wonderful sambas and bossa novas - but not really in the streets (Graham makes a comparison with Cuba here)
Crumbling latish 20th century high-rises right next to .............
Wonderfully preserved 17-19th century buildings and monuments often but not always just squeezed between these sky scrapers
Famous café where Graham found another source of his favorite Argentinan dessert "dolce de leche" again only this time called "doce de leite" but also served as ice cream!
A great unpreserved but operational tram system winding around some of the cities hills
Horrible/ugly modern Rio Cathedral in this very Catholic religious country and then an absolutely gorgeous baroque one
Signs of an Ecological awakening – good!
Artistry in the Graffiti
Brazilian people
Not a low cost destination – especially clothes and even quality clothes – a bit of a surprise
Home grown developed economy from all signs that we could understand for Portuguese only spoken here (the contrary to nearly all the rest of Latin America where ONLY Spanish spoken here – woe-betide that determined English speaker – rejection is inevitable
Poverty was around us again – and Graham’s camera seriously coveted – but brought safely out of the country
May - Argentinean people
They have the same reputation locally as NY policemen did 20 years ago
Graham customary category, once again – less caustic than usual. In fact, and I don’t know why?? Is he softening under a new influence?
Fearless weekend sailors
She really was deciding whether to take the tango lessons advertised!
Actually had I left Graham there much longer he would have easily overtaken their annual per capita consummation of 130lbs of (healthy) beef per year, despite his experiences in Vietnam (dog meat).
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