Erika Appears on ITV’s Daybreak to Discuss North Korea!

The fantastic folks at our North Korea travel agency Lupine Travel, passed on an interview request for one the the UK’s biggest morning television shows – ITV’s Daybreak. After a chat with them, I was so excited and pleased to be asked to come into the studio as a guest on the couch!

I was driven to their London studios at an eye-watering 5:50am (ouch!) and was passed into hair and makeup. While the lovely lady was doing my face, I was introduced to the other guest for that spot, Dr. Sally Leivesley, a regular commentator and specialist on extreme risk. With a quick chat to the producers about what we might cover, we made our way through the hallways to the studio set itself. As this was live tv, going out to about 1,000,000 people, I was pretty nervous, which wasnt helped by the production assistant saying,”You know you are going on with three very experienced presenters, right?” Gee thanks, mate!

Kate Garroway and John Stapleton finished with their last segment, then spoke to their man in Seoul, South Korea before turning the conversation over to us! It went by so quick! They asked a few questions about why we went there and what our reception was by the people. I’d given Kate a few of the postcards I’d picked up – with scenes of their recent rocket launch and a few with anti-US sentiment, and she showed them to the camera. And then they moved to Sally and what the liklihood of an imminent attack was. And then it was time to say goodbye! Super fast! But according to Jon’s dad, a tv cameraman; 3 minutes in television is a long time, and we filled it well. Whew!!!

A great experience and one I hope to repeat! I’m trying to get a hold of the clip and when I do, I’ll post it here!

BBC Essex North Korea interview

Hong Kong Dragon and Lion Parade

Days 352 – 356 – Hong Kong

Such a great few days in Hong Kong! I had been here before and liked it the first time so was excited to go back, and for New Years!

The first two days were a bit chilled. We had errands to run, like getting our Chinese visas (requiring two trips to the agency) and a visit to the Post Office to FINALLY get rid of all our summer clothes and all the South East Asia souvenirs I had been carrying for months! And then we could explore! Hong Kong is a brilliant mix of British and Chinese culture and you can really see that as you wander down the streets and alleys. There are high class shops like Dior and Chanel on Nathan Road, but then step down a lane, and you are in a sea of Chinese only shops with roast duck hanging in the window and strips of unidentified meat being sold from a cart. Our first few days were in Causeway Bay, the heart of the shopping district. We’d booked into a seriously dodgy hostel( with signs on the door announcing this was a residence only and any commercial enterprise –ie: a hostel – was illegal), but above a street of designer stores. Bizarre!

Jon and Bruce Lee

In the next few days I took Jon to see the Avenue of the Stars, the harbour walkway in Tsim Sha Sui dedicated to Hong Kong cinema’s greats. He was very excited to get his picture with the statue of Bruce Lee! Then we had to hit the famous Star Ferry for a cheap ride across the Harbour, and of course, the markets! As we’re not that prepared for the freezing temperatures awaiting us in China, we had to stock up on some wooly socks, a jumper and some great faux fur lined leggings at the Ladies Market!

The View From the Cable Car

On New Years Eve Day, we decided to go to see the Big Buddha on Lantau island. We hadn’t counted on the crowds though and so waited in the queue forever before getting on the cable car up. It’s a beautiful view and the big Buddha (the world’s largest seated Buddha) is definitely worth seeing, but maybe wait for a less busy day! Lantau is really a whole day out’s worth, as there is a village, a monastery, and a few other things to do there as well.

New Years Eve!

At night, we joined the thousands at the waterfront to ring in the new year with the celebrations in front of the convention center. We didn’t arrive until 10pm and thought we would be miles away from the action, but we managed to grab some really good spots! We were the only foreigners in the crowd it seemed and it was really cool to hear the countdown in Chinese!

Little Lion!

New Years Day we got up late, but with no hangover (woot woot!) and went to see the 2013 Dragon and Lion parade! It was amazing! Apparently, they were trying to break the Guinness World Record for biggest one and there were so many different groups there! We took a load of pictures of the long windy dragons and the brightly coloured and fuzzy lions. There were even groups that were only small children – so cute in their mini costumes! It’s was something really Chinese and I thought it was great to be a part of that on New Years Day! Afterward, we went to try out one of HK’s most famous restaurants, Tim Ho Cha’s. It’s apparently the world’s cheapest Michelin starred restaurant, and just around the corner from our house! We’d passed it a few times and there was always a huge queue, and the weirdest queuing system. You had to wait around, and then pester someone to get a number, then wait til your number was called. Sometimes this could mean a wait of up to two hours! We’d given it a miss before, but this was our last chance so we managed to score a number, and be inside in an hour and 15 minutes! It was actually really good, but quick as you were always conscious of the giant line outside! But, I’m glad we stuck it out! How many people can say they paid £10 for a Michelin starred meal for two people, eh?

Chinese Junk in Hong Kong Harbour

And that was our time in Hong Kong! Wow does time fly! But I really do love this city and think I could live here. So hopefully, I will be back soon! Tomorrow, China!

You really can’t believe how loud it is…

Andasibe Town

Days 270 & 271 – Andasibe, Madagascar

So, we spent the first day in Andasibe basically wearing a groove in between our door and the bathroom next door. Having made the six hour journey from Antsirabe lying down in the back of the car, I’d not gotten a whole lot better, and Jon was joining me! Mine was definitely food poisoning but his I think was just a case of stomach bug. Not really the way we had planned to spend our last rainforest days!

At some point, we were well enough to stumble outside, we explored the town of Andasibe. I have to say I have never seen anything like it. Besides the train station and a few colonial style houses, nearly all the buildings were rickety shacks. It was like a shantytown, but with the strange addition of western style goods. Really an odd contrast. And I have to give a special mention to our hostel, the Orchid Hotel. Despite looking like it would fall over from the outside, the inside was completely like a Alpine Ski chalet. Seriously, the French influence crops up here in the wierdest places. You could eat dinner downstairs as well, but you had to place your order 2 hours before, so the owner could go shop for the food!

Indri Lemur

Finally, we were back on our feet again, and went out to see the reason we’d come to this part of Madagascar – the Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. It’s the home of the Indri Lemur, the largest and one of the most famous types of lemur, due to their insanely loud calls. You can hear them from your room in the morning! Listen to their call here!

Lemur Love

This time it was an easy walk to find lemurs. The park has 62 families and 2 families were right off the trail. It was fantastic to see them up close and have them checking us out as we watched them. The most amazing thing was being there when they started speaking to the other families. It was like standing next to a police siren, it was so loud. The forest was vibrating with the calls back and forth. Just fascinating to watch and listen to!

Indri Lemur Waiting For The Call

We also caught sight of a few Wooly lemurs in the trees as well, but it was very hard to get good photos, as they are pretty adept at camouflage! Then it was back to the hotel for a rest, and to place our dinner orders, before we head back for our first Night Walk!

Madagascar Tea Plantation

Days 268 & 269 – Travel Days Fianarantsoa – Antsirabae – Antasibe, Madagascar

With Alain as our guide we left Fianar to head north and east to Antasibe, for our last chance to see lemurs. On the way, we stopped at the Sidexam Tea Plantation, which was really interesting! They were very keen to show us the whole plant, and let us get right up to all the machines, explaining the process of making tea for sale. It’s definitely the old fashioned way, as all the machines reminded me of 1800’s printing presses. I’m pretty sure Twinings main plants are a bit more up to date!

Tea Being Dried

The tea starts off being picked and then air dried for a day, then in three machines, mashed, diced and diced again. Then it air ferments, before being put in a giant oven to dry at 250F. Then its shaken and rolled on these electrostatic drums to remove the fibers and depending on the size of the tea wanted, it’s ready to go to market. They only sell to the Kenya World Market, and from there their tea could go to Lipton, Twinings, or any of the big companies for blending and bagging. Interesting, eh? We even got to go into the tea fields, where everything is picked by hand. Seriously hard work!

Tea Processing

Then it was Antsirabe for the night. I’ve decided I now hate Antsirabe, because besides the constant hassle of the pousse pousse drivers, for the second time of being there, we got sick! This time, I definitely got food poisoning from the shrimp I had, and after a hideous night, spent the following day horizontal on the back seat of the car for six hours. Jon didn’t get food poisoning, but by the time we reached Andasibe, he was feeling poorly too! Well, at least we made it to our destination, and we have some time here to recover. Not fun!

Brown Lemur in Ranomafana Park

Day 267 – Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar

After an amazing day yesterday, we were really looking forward to Ranomafana and seeing different species of lemurs. We left bright and early with Alain, and got to the park gates for 8:30. To start off, there was some confusion, because the park map that we got from the official MNP (Madagascar National Park) office in Tana, which shows the walking circuits you can do, didn’t seem to correspond to anything the park guides were saying. That’s important, because each circuit is based on seeing different things (birds, waterfalls, lemurs), is a different length, different price for the guide, and different level of strenuousness. We’d chosen two of about three hours each that would cover all the lemur areas, and wasn’t too difficult. But the (kind of) English speaking guide Alain grabbed for us, didn’t seem to recognise anything on the map! Not sure how that’s possible, but okay…

So we headed into the park a little wary. One really interesting thing – as we started we came across an American film crew setting up a shot of a waterfall. A bit of chat later, and it turns out they are filming an IMAX 3D documentary on Madagascar’s lemurs! It’s due out Fall 2013. I’m quite excited to see it now, and know we were there (and apparently they filmed at Reserve D’Anja yesterday too!) when it was made. You heard it here first!

Our guide started out really well, telling us about the different species of bamboo, palm, and other trees, which was quite good. We quite quickly managed to spot a golden bamboo lemur family, but they were up in the top of the canopy, and very hard to see, even through my telephoto lens. One of the other guides said he’d spotted some red bellied lemurs nearby, and we hurried up the path. We did get a glimpse of one running across a branch, but as we went off-piste into the forest to follow them, they disappeared, and we spent a half hour just standing there as our guide tried to find them. No luck.

Red Mongoose

We did see a very pretty red ring tailed mongoose come out of the trees as we continued on. It’s a lot different to the banded ones at Harnas, sleeker, with a much bushier tail. Interesting how they resemble the lemurs in that way.. And god knows how he saw him, but one of the other guides spotted a very rare leaf tailed gecko just on the path. It’s a miniscule thing, maybe two inches long, and native only to here.

One. Single Lemur.

At this point, our guide said there were lemurs nearby, and asked us to come quickly. He then disappeared off the path into the foliage, telling us to follow. As it was an incredibly steep slope, and it was pure jungle, I was a bit hesitant, but figured they were close so I followed. Oh My God. This was insane. We trekked probably 200-300 meters down this hill, with no path being cut for us, hundreds of vines snagging feet, arms, hair, with nothing to hold onto except the odd tree or thin bamboo vine. Crawling over, under, through tangles of plants, getting clothes ripped. I nearly fell about four times, and my knee was killing me. This was serious wilderness trekking, something which I had expected and prepared for with the gorillas of Uganda, but not to see a lemur! I couldn’t believe the guide didn’t tell us what he was planning, or ask us if we were okay with that. I would expect that most people couldn’t have done that climb, and I was terrified of breaking my ankle, which would have ended our trip. I was so angry!!! And what did we see at the end of it? One. Single. Lemur. Brown and white, bit fluffier then the ring tails. He chilled out for a bit, before eating some leaves and then jumping to another tree, and then out of sight. The guide was like ‘Oh, I thought you would want to see this type, as they are only in this park’. Yes but not at the risk of my health!!

Another Shot of the Lemur

Once back on the path, the guide seemed a bit miffed, and we just walked in circles for a bit before heading back to the front gate. Looking at my map afterward, it seemed like we barely covered any of the circuits that we had wanted to do.

I was really disappointed in Ranomafana. With the fact that we only saw one close up lemur, two balls of fur in high off trees and a mongoose, plus spending so much time fighting our way down that slope, it was a big disappointment after Reserve D’Anja. On my experience, and for the cost, I would say skip it!

Ringtailed Lemur with Babies

Ambalavao, Part 2

The other Lemurs we found were low to the ground and roaming around! There were loads, and we were lucky to get close to what must have been a crèche! One lemur was obviously babysitting as she had three very little ones crawling all over her. You could hear them mewing (almost like a cat), and she would take one and clean it, before moving on to the next. Another two of three adults were nearby, grooming themselves sand snacking, before stepping in to help with the kids. They didn’t mind us, at all, until we put Thomas Jansson on a tree nearby. That caught their interest, and they moved closer and closer chattering, until we put him away. Jon thinks they thought he was a lemur baby, as he was the same size and coloring. I’m not sure about that, but they definitely were keen on him! Thomas, for his part, was chuffed to meet his long lost relatives.

Mum and Bub

We saw even more families on the way out and we have an absolute ton of lemur pictures! This park was fantastic with both the scenery and the wildlife. We picked this kind of on a whim, and I’m so glad we did.

At the Zabu Market

To top off the day, we went into the town of Ambalavao, where the country’s largest Zebu market is held every Wednesday. Our timing was right and in front of us were hundreds of long horned, big humped cattle, being bought and sold. Apparently, depending on the size and color, they go for up to 1 million Ariary each (£284/$461). In a country where the average salary is 100,000 Ariary, that’s a lot! Alain chatted to the locals, and we inspected some huge beasts. Everywhere there were people either herding them along, or taking a look at them for purchase.
On the way back to Fianar, we passed by a local food and clothes market. Each village in the surrounding area has their own market day, so people will travel for kilometres to buy and sell fruit, vegetables, and clothing. We wandered around for a few minutes and there was so much children’s clothes, that I asked Alain to see how expensive they were. It turns out they were donated clothing from Europe and super cheap- 700 Ariary (£0.19/$0.32) each! I couldn’t get the image of this one little girl with a massive gaping hole in her skirt out of my mind so I told Alain that I would like to buy clothing for the children the sisal village, if that was okay. He said yes, and so we picked out around 16 pieces, so that everyone would have something. I could have spent ages in there buying things for them, but Alain hustled us out. Before we left though, we bought a ball as well, as the kids were expecting sweets, and I wanted them to have something fun as well.

The Kids with their Clothes

We went back to the village with the clothes and Alain explained what we had done, jokingly pointing to one little boy that had no trousers on. The adults seemed really pleased, and we handed it to them to distribute. The kids, with the clothes and the ball, started singing us a little song and giving us high fives! It felt really good to do something more then give sweets, and I just wish we had bought more!

All in all it was a fantastic, packed day! Without Alain as our guide we would have missed half of that, so really pleased that we decided to go with him instead of taking the taxi brousse as was the plan.