More travels

Don't mention the war

There is very much the air of the seasoned traveller about me as I write this, my last blog of the week.

My holdall, with Wainwright waiting patiently beside it, is on my bed ready to be packed yet again. I'm flying to Munich tomorrow to meet up with my eldest son who is stationed in Germany with the Army.

I've never been to Germany before and it marks the 6th 'new' country to be visited since I left work in July. I'm well on my way to hitting my target of 10 unvisited countries within a year.

Country number 7 will be China when I fly out to Hong Kong next month for a 2 night stop-over.

The Vietnamese Embassy have kindly granted me a visa so Hong Kong will be followed by Country number 8 when I make the short trip to Hanoi and begin and extensive tour of Vietnam from north to south. The bulk of my travel, from Hanoi to Saigon (Ho Chi Min City) will be in the security of Exodus Travel once more as we travel by air, sea and rail between these two epic cities (note to self 1 - stock up on travel sickness pills for the sea bit of the journey).

Then comes the bit that both worries and excites me. Whilst the rest of the Exodus group go home I will remain in Vietnam for another 8 days and so far I haven't booked any accommodation for those days.

I could be bold and see where the wind takes me from Saigon, but in a country where English is not widely spoken this seems a bit dodgy. I did invest in a set of Teach Yourself Vietnamese cd's many months ago, but so far I haven't progressed beyond Xin Chao (Hello) and Tam Biet (Thank you).

'Excuse me, but is this the correct bus to Vung Tau?' looks like being way beyond my grasp of linguistics. Back to pointing and shouting then.

At present I fancy taking the 50 minute flight from Saigon to Phu Quoc, an idyllic tropical island off the coast of Cambodia, and being a beach bum for a few days. I've also been watching a lot of Robson Green's Extreme Fishing lately so the idea of some serious fishing and snorkelling also appeals.

Once I've posted this I'll be on the internet looking for my ideal beach hut to get away from it all and fortify myself for the horror that is Christmas.

I've already been busy on the web today and booked a very eco friendly B&B in Christchurch for the last 2 nights of my trip around New Zealand in February. I am making the 3 week jaunt with my friend Peter (if you've been reading this blog for a while you may recall that Pete and I usually have a boy's weekend away each year where I feel the need to dispel loudly any notion that we are a gay couple, even though we look very much like one. Me more than him, according to someone Pete and I met at Beverley Races recently).

Peter is not one to endure discomfort so our accommodation in NZ will have all the usual amenities, like hot water and beds. To balance this out I have gone for the opposite end of the scale when arranging my 12 day trip around Australia, which I am undertaking alone before joining Pete in Auckland.

Based upon my success at surviving the Youth Hostel at Buttermere last week, all the accommodation I have booked so far in Australia is in hostels. These are all right in the heart of the cities I am staying in and are at ridiculously low prices. Of course the downside is the need to share a room with other travellers (note to self 2 - stock up on ear plugs). I imagine that most of those I share with will be genuine surfers and not the silver variety I encountered in the Lakes.

The hostel I am staying at in Sydney is a disused railway station and I have booked myself into a 4 berth converted railway carriage for my 3 night stay. How cool is that? It also establishes a rail motif which I take up later on with overnight trips on the iconic India-Pacific and Ghan railways from Sydney to Adelaide and then from Adelaide to Alice Springs.

I've still got the last keg of my Australian adventure to arrange - from Alice Springs to Uluru to see the sun rise on this enigmatic rock that for many is a major symbol of the land down under.

So, I can't stay chatting to you all day. I've got bags to pack, Euros to obtain, beach huts to find, buses across the outback to book and youth hostels to evaluate. It's a full time job being a middle aged gapper you know. But please, try not to feel too sorry for me.

Live long and prosper.