Pic of the week: Corowa, NSW

New Year’s Eve with this view of the mighty Murray and the deafening sound of cicadas. (A classic Australian insect, nice to create a bit of an ‘outdoorsy’ atmosphere, but too much like a locust for me.) The opposite side of the river bank might have been wiser, since the Victoria/NSW border closed on New Year’s Day (Covid!) Yet is was a short and sweet spot to see in 2021 with friends.

On the Road; NYE in NSW

Last week we covered 1000 km with trips along the Great Ocean Road & Tasmania. That’s a mere warm up by Australian standards. This New Year’s Eve we set off on our 2250 km trip from Melbourne Victoria, inland up to Newcastle in New South Wales, and then back down the East coast. That’s the equivalent of driving from London to Lisbon!

It was all worth it to end 2014 with three new travel experiences; 1) My first night in a real roadside motel. Despite my joking, the Hi-Way Inn Yass was totally pleasant & nothing like the ‘Bates Motel’ I’d imagined. 2) My first Australian New Year, filled with card games & family. 3) And being six months pregnant; my first (and last) sober NYE in about 16 years!

Scepan Polje, Durmitor National Park

We booked a rafting tour through Old Town Hostel Kotor and headed up to the National Park as a day tour (74 euros). It’s a winding 3 hour drive each way, with some pretty spectacular views that give Lake Bled a run for its money on neon blue water. The white water is apparently level 2 – 3; enjoyable with a few drops & splashes. With river temperatures of 4 degrees you wouldn’t necessarily want to fall in, even with a wetsuit. After the travel, a nice breakfast & lunch, you spend about 2.5 hours on the water. The best bit was during a waterfall stop when our guide casually remarked that we were in Bosnia! Apparently border control is pretty relaxed on the Montenegro / Bosnia border since we had no passports. A shame, as I’d love to add ‘raft’ to my list of border crossings.

JSA, Panmunjom, (Almost) North Korea

Photos from the Joint Security Area (JSA) from the Southern side of  the infamous North/South Korean border.

Technically you can ‘cross over’ to the North by hovering down the middle of the JSA conference room Military Demarcation Line (like you can by jump through air  east to west on the equator.) Venture any further than that however and you’re guarantees to be snipered within seconds. (No joke, there have been several tragic incidents including the famous 1970’s Axe Murder.)

Panmunjom is the furthest point civilians can venture from the Republic of Korea, and only on a pre -arranged tour booked at least 3 days before. The 9am – 5pm tours are all padded out with visits to Camp Bonifas, The War Memorial & The Freedom Bridge at Imjingag Park. I booked via Seoul City Tour.

The JSA itself (minus all security faffing) is literally only 10 mins.  Yes it’s a little over-scripted, photos are limited, & everyone’s facebook pics look the same.  However at the same time it’s  unique, surreal, and particularly interesting if you get a bit of ad lib chit chat from the USA solders.  (He fully admitted the North can hear everything that’s said, with their bugs 800 meters away.) The whole North/South guard patrol face off  is almost comedic – if it’ wasn’t one of the most armed places on earth!

Probably the most fascinating 10 secs of the day are the  glimpses of Kijongdong; The Propaganda Village 1km away on the Northern side.  Again it verges on the ridiculous with their ‘our flagpole is bigger than your flagpole’ contest (the North rebuild theres to double the height.) Shame it’s a sham and no-one lives there to see it.  Chillingly creepy!

 

 

 

5 Things I love about you: Malaysian Airlines

1) Double Decker airbus A380’s. Yes that’s right – stairs. ON.An.Airplane! You pay for economy, but still get to brag about your seat being ‘U35’. That stands for Upper bitches!

2) How’s this for a snack: Magnum Icecreams! Hell yes. Not to mention Hershey’s Chocolate bars and mini vintage cheddar cheese.

3) Hollywood Camera Angles – OK lots of airlines feature a take off/landing live feed, but these guys have hoisted up the camera angles to the very top of the wings. It’s feels like part movie, part video game.

4) Extra leg room & nifty storage – Side compartments with all window seats that, if you are small enough, double up as great pillow head rest.

5) Making plane friends chit chatting to Sydney Recruitment agents. You never know… :)

www.malaysiaairlines.com/