Dirty and sweaty

We arrived in India on Sat and went straight into the Delhi traffic. Hot, smelly, dusty and noisy. The reasonable hotel we were staying in was a bit of a refuge and in the evening we walked around the busy Pahar Ganj market and also around Connaught Pl where we were shocked to see a Costa coffee which we had to visit and discover it was exactly the same as anywhere else, Mei was excited. She was less excited about Delhi itself, she really doesn't like it and thinks it might even be worse than Djibouti.

Next day we join a badly air-conditioned bus full of Indian tourists for a trip around Delhi. Stopped at the main sights like Bahai temple and Gandhi cremation site and parliament house. We thought it was funny that the Indian tourists wanted us in their photos but we went along with it. Lunch was tasty but sloppy with suspicious hygiene.

Next day i wake at 5am with explosive bottom, followed by chills and sweats and fever and fainting and lots of agony. Mei went to get a doctor after a few hours of destroying the bathroom but the hotel receptionist just gave her a tablet to give me and said i would be fine. I wasn't fine and the pain continued into the next day, a "real" doctor who was staying in the hotel appeared and gave me lots of "real" drugs and over the next 24 hours i improved to the point i could stand up and eat a piece of toast...yippee. Mei bought 2 plane tickets to Kathmandu to escape the horrors of Delhi and 2 days trapped in the hotel and somehow we made it here.

Kathmandu is pretty cool, still smelly and busy and dirty but in a chilled out way. We're leaving on an 18 day trek around the Annapurna range tomorrow, we managed to buy all sorts of prescription only anti-biotics over the counter so any more bugs that get us will be met head on. This trip might be a bit early considering Mei hasn't exactly had the healthiest belly since we've been here but we'll see how we go.

Lots of blackouts here which make things interesting. We just had our first beer of the trip, a large bottle of "Everest lager", couldn't be anything else really.

Nepal seems to be the place USB connections forgot so can't publish any pictures, maybe when we get back to the world leading IT power of India it will be better.

Intermission

Back in Wales for about 1 week before we head off for good. I clean the bikes and then pack them up again to be sent to be shipped with everything else we are sending. We see lots of people and say lots of goodbyes. Not really going to go into it all but lots of packing is done.

Before we fly to India we have a short trip to Prague, out last look at Europe. Off we go from Cardiff airport, arrive in Prague, go to hotel and then sleep for a few hours. This is to be the theme for most of our stay, after the busy time in Wales we both need lots of rest. Check out the castle and Charles bridge and all the usual stuff and have some nice food.

Think we've had enough of Europe now, time to try something else.

Into the East

DAY 47 - Vienna to Bratislava - 72km/1791
Another warm, sunny and windy day and we head off along the Danube path again. Not long into the cycle we ride past the nudist area, lots of saggy old tanned Austrians lazing about. Can't hang around long without looking rude so we going past a chemical plant then into the national park, nothing like having a chemical factory right alongside a national park. The path here is good but VERY straight, we ride dead straight through nice woodland for about 12kms until we reach a HUGE bridge across the Danube and we arrive in Hainburg for some coffee and cake.

After this we ride through some frontier country, we're approaching the Slovakian border and the towns are very small and quiet. We soon ride over a hill and we can see the high rise flats of Bratislava in the distance, doesn't look too great from here. After some cornfields we manage to join the traffic and cross the border (picture below)

Flat path continues and very shortly arrive in Bratislava. Cycle around lost for about half and hour and the road surface is obviously worse now than Austria, somehow Mei spots a sign for the historic centre so we follow that and get to tourist info. Nearest camping is miles away so we find a dodgy cheap hostel and check in.

Head out for some beers at night, being Friday the city is full of British men on stag do's, heaps of them are here and because it's so small you can't avoid them. A summer festival is in full flow so there is some live music in the streets. Nice looking place, got a decent look around in a few hours.

DAY 48 - Bratislava to Gyor - 99km/1890
According to the guidebook this is the "brightly coloured" Hungarian border

Very early start because the hostel is so poor, on the road at 7:20. Easy ride out of the city but then get lost, ride for a while around some small farming towns and eventually the guidebook puts us on the right path. We pass through the very rundown border into Hungary and manage to change our funny Slovakian money and Euros into funny Hungarian money. Most of the riding now is through small farming towns on quiet roads and we occasionally stop in strange places for some drinks.

A cycle path appears and we follow that, it's actually quite well sign posted so we travel fairly easily. It's nice being in a new country, the scenery is not that different but nice enough. After passing lots of sunflower fields and more corn we arrive in Gyor. We find a campsite on the edge of the town which turns out to be someone's back garden that they rent out but it is very nice and very cheap. We chat to a retired German couple who are cycling through Hungary and also meet a lone Frenchman travelling around. An evening stroll through Gyor, the oldest part of town is really nice and the main part is ok.

DAY 49 - Gyor to Esztergom - 106km/1996

It helps if you obey the signs

Great summer weather accompanies us today, shame it takes us over an hour to find our way out of Gyor. Tourist info pointed us in the right direction but onto the main highway which doesn't allow bikes, after lots of stroppy moments and some random old locals giving us advice in German we find the path. Cycle way runs out after a while and we end up on the main highway number 1 anyway and we follow this fairly busy and boring road into Komarom. This is probably the quickest way for us to go but nothing much to look at on the way. I have a great beef goulash for lunch and Mei has her usual vegetarian fare and we continue on.

We are on some cycle way now but still basically following the main road. We then turn off onto the slightly smaller and much nicer number 10 road and we follow the Danube through some nice small towns. Stop in Sutto for a small beer and then arrive in Esztergom. Nice place, we arrive for the last day of the summer festival so we see the locals are all out enjoying themselves. Some rain falls at night but nothing too major to start with, then a massive storm comes in to send us to sleep.

DAY 50 - Rest Day - Esztergom
Climb the stairs up to the massive basilica and then climb again to the cupola to get a great view of the river and town. General wander about town, lunch and a beer. Kebab for dinner and some more beers and that's about it.

DAY 51 - Esztergom to Budapest - 76km/2072

Our last day of cycling today! After 4kms we stop because we have reached the 2000km point of our trip, we open a small bottle of cheap Hungarian sparkling wine and have a sip to celebrate. Doesn't taste great so we decide to keep the rest for later. Cycling right next to river to start with on a rough cycle path and hills alongside the river make it very attractive. The path stops after about 10kms so we continue along the number 11 highway towards Budapest. Nice riding through small towns and countryside but the road gets busier as we get closer to the city. Just when the cycle path gets tricky and the road really bussy we meet an Aussie woman cycling and join her for the final stretch into the centre of Budapest.

We have some Italian for for lunch then find an apartment and check in. The apartment is great, basically a 1 bed flat so we have enough room to take all of our gear in and pack it. Nice Hungarian meal and then bed, we're finally at the end now, no more cycling.

DAYS 52 and 53 - Rest Day - Budapest
Walk around and see the castle and fisherman's bastion, then have 90 minute Thai massage which was painful but well needed. Lunch the next day of chicken livers and chicken hearts which tasted great and Mei actually said it looked really good until i told her what was in it. We find some bike boxes from a bike shop and pack up the bikes, then head across town to the Szechenzyl thermal baths, just what we needed.

All done now, fly back to Bristol tomorrow, it's been great.

This means nothing to me

DAY 43 - Passau to Linz - 104kms/1719
For once we decide to follow our guidebook exactly for today's stage, so we cycle across the bridge on the Inn river and follow the Danube along its right bank. After about 5kms we cross the Austrian border-Yay! The weather has gone back to being a bit wet but not too bad, we cycle on and the book tells us to get on the tiny car ferry and cross the river, we do this and it appears we have entered Germany again in the small town of Obernzell. Not sure why we crossed here but we don't doubt the book. Rain gets heavier so we stop for an early lunch in Niederanna, meat and beer for me and an awful cheesy bread thing for Mei, that's what you get for being vegetarian.

Rain continues, we sit around a while longer but realise we can't stay here for ever so continue. The scenery makes up or the weather, big hills on each bank of the river and lovely towns too. Cycle way stops completely after a while so we get on another very tiny very to the opposite bank, still not doubting our guidebook. The river does a big 180 degree bend here through relatively narrow gorge, stunning riding now. After some distance and passing through a wooded area the hills flatten out and we cross the river by a big busy brige and continue through farmland until we get to the outskirts of Linz. Pretty boring ride along a busy road but eventually reach the campsite. Rest day tomorrow, really need to wash clothes now.

DAY 44 - Rest day - Linz
Cycle into Linz with dirty clothes to find a laundry only to discover it's a public holiday and everything is shut. We cycle around Linz anyway with our dirty clothes and look at the nice buildings. Very grand stuff but very quiet because everything is shut. Have a beer at the castle on the hill and get some good views of the river, jump on Europe's steepest tram to take us up the top of the hill on the other side of the river and take a look at Postlingberg church. Nice place, good views, nice ice-cream, we cycle back down and that's pretty cool too.

DAY 45 - Linz to Vienna - Train
After our little break in Munich we realise we don't have enough time to cycle to Vienna so we get on the train and have a comfortable trip across Austria to Vienna. We get a map and cycle or miles across the city looking for the campsite. Take a busy route and have fun dodging cars and shoppers before we get to the river and find the cycle bridge across and get to the campsite. Danube is split up here into the main river, a side recreational section and a large canal, pretty big really. Get the tube into the city in the evening and have a wander, heaps of Mozart stuff going on because it's his 250th birthday. Also, we get all of our washing done, both smell like an alpine meadow now.

DAY 46 - Rest day - Vienna
Go to the castle which is massive and has great gardens and a great view of the city. Check out museum quarter and go to the architecture museum whic is cool. Did you know Vienna was the 6th biggest city in the world at the end of the 19th century? Interesting stuff.

Summer is back, 32 degrees and sunny today but quite windy. Back at the campsite at night a bunch of Arabs in suits arrive driving expensive looking cars. They seem like they have never seen a tent before and it takes about 2 hours and help from several other campers before they are set up. It was quite funny to start with but then they started shouting and yelling in the early hours so it woke me up. Not sure what they were up to.