Alright, I have a couple seriously cool videos to put up (think 3,000 year old, magestic, abandoned fort out in the middle of nowhere!!!), wall photos, and a fantabulous street sign, but at the moment nothing is loading…GACK!!
The Ig and I, however, are doing well and progressing nearly 30k everyday, and in about ten days we’ll letchyas know what it is we’re up to.
Until then, eat a couple cheeseburgers for me; although I packed on about 15 lbs after we finished and got back up to normal, I’ve since lost most of the beacon once again…*sob*!!
Shibble be with yoos! :~p

Greetings Gentle Readers,
Once again it is I, Adventure Turtle, Esq.
I come to you in search of sound advice, for I have had it up to my shell with The Wallnuts; not only have these directionally-challenged Peanuts drug me back out to the desert to navigate, but they have swaddled me in the most ridiculous winter gear.

What, pray tell, is a Gentle Reptile such as myself to do with these buffoons?
Seeking enlightenment,
yours truly,
Adventure Turtle, Esq.

If it weren’t for the grace of the almighty Shibble, The Ig and I know we would’ve never made it as far as we have; when The Wallnuts are happily marching in circles to the tune of circus music, it’s Shibble who gives us a smack on the back of the head and points us in the right direction.
Today being no different, The Ig and I were happy to come off the trail to find a building with a sign proclaiming it to be a Nature Reserve. We’d spied the building yesterday and hiked there today in hopes they’d have a phone to call a cab; if we could catch a ride out, then we wouldn’t have to retramp ground we’d already covered.
There were three men waiting at the gate when we approached, and we were ushered inside to a nice warm room and given hot water to drink.

[read on]

When The Ig and I finally emerged from the desert last fall, I swore up and down that you’d never, and I mean never get me hiking across one of those Shibble-forsaken places again. 

Not only are we back in the desert,

(Rob and Marsh; photo shows mountainous sand dunes off in the distance.)

[read on]

First of all, I need to apologize and explain why only half the previous post was up; the earthquake in Taiwan has mucked up the internet all over Asia, and it’s quite a frustrating process to even access the ‘net right now. I felt a bit charmed to even get the post up, as it took me over two hours closing frozen browser after frozen browser just to be able to upload the text and one photo. After I posted I couldn’t access anything on the ‘net, and therefore couldn’t even check to see if it was actually up.
So as a heads-up, if it happens again, you now know why.
Right now The Ig and I are up to our old tricks; we’ve checked into a nice hotel, promptly asked where the wang ba was (and yeah, we’ll be playing some games here at the ‘net cafe if we can get ‘em), and will be having dinner at a swank revolving restaraunt later, because we know what’s ahead of us for the next few weeks.
I will tell you we’re in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province. We caught a flight here today, but we’re catching another flight somewhere else tommorrow, and then we’ll promptly hit the trail for a half-days walk. Tonight we’re sleeping in cushy beds in a heated room. Tommorrow night we’ll be sleeping in a tent and testing out our new -28c sleeping bags.
Oooohhh, sounds like great fun, du’n it?

January 11th

Once again I’ve found myself sitting in the warm tropical air of Thailand, but this time it’s not so enjoyable; it’s been a long day of mishaps, and right now I’d like to kill the pretty, nearly four-story-tall christmas tree twinkling outside the Bangkok International Airport, as it’s been repeatedly playing “Santa Clause Is Coming To Town” for the last four hours.

[read on]

Asking for a camp spot in New Zealand that isn’t littered with sheep poop is akin to requesting a table in a rural Chinese restaraunt where the floor is devoid of spit and snot rockets; this is New Zealand where sheep outnumber people ten to one–what were we thinking?

[read on]

“I have to get up when?” I squawked at Kristy and The Ig.

They’d waited until after picking me up from the airport to break the news; they’d booked us all on a blackwater rafting trip through the Black Labyrinth for the next morning, but this required us to be up at just after six am.

Now, I’m all for doing fun schtuff, but these two need to have the record set straight; staying up until six am is fun, getting up at six am while on vacay is cruel and unusual punishment and should be outlawed.

We managed to catch our bus for the 3 1/2 hour ride down to Waitomo, which in Maori means “black hole.”

We met up with Pam and Andi (I forgot to mention in the last post that these two are the legendary Tequila Pam and Andi, the ones who saved our souls back in Datong with a care package including tequila…and just for old time’s sake, “Damnit Tequila Pam and Andi, we adore you!”) at The Legendary Blackwater Rafting Company,

where we met our guides and the rest of our group before suiting up in the provided gear.

[read on]

*Pre-warning; this post has been brought to you from a sleep-deprived brain with non-functioning cells on New Year’s Day.  Reading this post may induce yawning, watery eyes, and cause an almost undeniable attraction between your upper and lower eyelids.  Proceed at your own risk.*

After spending a couple weeks admiring the beautiful scenery on Thailand’s Koh Chang island,

whoops, I mean the beautiful scenery on Thailand’s Koh Chang island,

I arrived at the airport in Auckland, New Zealand to find The Ig and my friend Kristy outside customs clearance with a sign welcoming not me, but a certain fuzzy green trekking guide.

[read on]