We woke up to our very last morning of our travels, for the time being at least. This was our last day of a trip that has seen us journey through 14 countries in 13 months! We were finally going to be making our way home, and this time we were ready. We packed our bags and were able to have the room until 5pm so for the day we went off to sight-see and head to a few shops.

We started with the Lotus Temple located in the heart of Delhi and were happy to find out that it was another free admission site. This is a really worth-while attraction to visit, it’s beautiful and sits serene like in the middle of a park area. When we got to the temple we were directed to the information center where we learned about the Bahai religion and where other temples are located throughout the world. When we got up to the temple we were asked to leave our shoes behind and continue on bare foot to the top of the steps where someone met us to give us a little non-comprehensive spiel about the temple and the religion, from where we were asked to join a queue and go inside to pray. Obviously we weren’t going to sit inside the temple and pray but it was a very beautiful space to sit within and absorb the sounds of the prayers being said around us. Some of the prayers were in song and others read from the bible, the sound resonated throughout the large space. We really enjoyed our time at the temple photographically, although inside no photography is allowed we certainly made up for it on the outside.

When we left the Lotus temple we asked a cheeky rickshaw driver to take us to Delhi Haat where more of the craft bazaar’s are located, we didn’t realise it was so close and so the 50rs price for the journey was a little steep (although we were quote something like 200rs for the same journey by another driver!). When we got to the bazaar we didn’t really know what to expect, perhaps we were after something more authentic but this was a little bit of a frustrating place for us as all the shop owners kept following us around desperate for us to buy something whilst the rickshaw driver was waiting for us outside trying to go into each shop so that her would get a commission. Helen bought a few items of jewelry but we didn’t really find anything else and so asked our driver to take us to the Kahn Market. Once again he wanted to take us elsewhere but we were quite stern and said we only wanted to go to Kahm Market.

Getting our own way we made it to the market and started to have a look around, shopping in Delhi really is quite difficult as there are so many places to shop and even in a more upmarket bazaar we got a little bored. Anohoki had a few nice items and gift ideas but it was Fabindia that was probably the easiest shop to spend time in without being hassled or getting snooty looks from the shop owners. Helen bought some wild baggy trousers and we stocked up on tea for the family, that we should have really bought in whilst we were in Munnar.

When we’d had enough of the shops we had some pricey food at The Kitchen and then took a rickshaw back to Nizamuddin. The previous day we tried to book onto a culture tour with Hope whose office was very close to where we’d been staying, and so when we got back to the guesthouse and checked out of our room we went back into the heart of Nizamuddin and tried to find the office. The main problem being that the house numbers are very random and we couldn’t find the place at all. So we decided to head back to the guesthouse to call them but when we did no-one picked up the phone. This was a real shame as we had wanted to get to know our area a little more and so with a guide we’d have felt much more comfortable roaming the backstreets knowing more about the culture and history of the area.

As the tour didn’t go ahead we decided to place a dinner order for later on and took a walk over to an ancient tomb that sits directly opposite the gas station on Nizammudin West. This place hadn’t been as well kept as Humayun’s tomb but it still had its charms and relics about the place. We liked the atmospheric, ghost like presence this tomb seemed to hold, much of the decorative parts of the building had been taken and reused for other tombs some hundreds of years ago.

Later that evening we went out in search of the Thursday night Qawwali, an event that takes place in the Nizamuddin Dargah, where a group of well-known musicians form together and sing traditional melodies. It’s a very enchanting experience that takes place in an extremely busy open courtyard in the middle of the temple complex. We could hardly move it was so packed, from a possessed woman who seemed to be untamable to babies offering money as gifts to the Qawwals, it was a very eye-opening and cultural experience. What a way to finish our travels.

Back at G-49 we enjoyed another home delivery of Indian food and then waited for our taxi journey to the airport. We had to wait until 2.20am for our flight to London and so when we checked in and found ourselves a few chairs we nestled down in anticipation of our overnight flight home.

So this marks the last post from our notworkrelated adventures, well the travel adventures at least, but we will be moving it in another direction and our notworkrelated concepts and ideas will very much remain within the core of our development as artists. We will keep you posted with our next moves and hope that we have inspired you along the way with the 250 or so posts since our journey began in October 2010.

Many thanks for following us, we appreciated your comments and it wont be long until a new adventure starts. Helen and Dave x

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 processed in Lightroom 3)

Still feeling pretty tired from all the excitement and very late night after the tennis we had a couple of slow and easy days. However we also needed to do some training for the Nepal hike so we filled our Osprey trekking bags with cans of dog food, dumbbells and books, Dave’s pack came in at 19kg for some serious workout weight! We walked to Glen Waverley and back again with a few hills thrown in for good measure in total around 7Km. During the evening we caught up with our hosts Jane and John who kindly offered to cook us an evening meal which was lovely. After a few glasses of wine and tales of being hosts and travelling the world we retired to bed.

More exploring of Melbourne was required therefore we headed into town and proceeded on foot. We visited Fitzroy Gardens, walked around the outside of the Melbourne Museum, found some nice bookshops and a funky bathroom warehouse. Eventually we arrived at Brunswick Street which has lots of cool shops (Helen was on the look out for a new floaty skirt) and cafe’s to keep you busy. As it was a Wednesday we decided to head to the Victoria night market with Jo and Ellie, to be joined later by Vic and Dave.

The Victoria night market starts at 5pm and it is definitely worth getting there early as it quickly fills up and any chance of a table and chairs vanishes. Food ranging from Nepalese to Spanish and Fish & Chips to Kangaroo burgers is on offer all around the $10AUS dollar mark. Yellow Tail wines were also offering free tasting samples so we did the right thing and tried each one, some of us more than once, just for good measure of course! We finished the evening in a great pub called Prudence just up the road from the night market. It has a good little atmosphere as well as rear outdoor seating and a cosy upstairs section. All in all a great day with Aussie, adopted Aussie’s and UK friends.

The 2nd Feb was to be our last day in Melbourne as we were due to fly to Perth on the 3rd. Therefore we headed for the National Gallery of Victoria which has an eclectic collection as well as interesting spaces inside and outside gardens. The Melbourne Botanical gardens offered some peace and quiet in an outdoors environment and is worth a visit. As it was our last night in the City we enjoyed food at one of the many popular restaurants in Federation Square and later on we organised to meet with Vic and Dave one last time in the awesome bar Section 8 which is tucked away down a side alley. A hip crowd gathers in this old car park nightly and it is a real gem of a place. We had a drink and then said our goodbyes to Vic and Dave. Good-luck to them in their new lives in Oz.

Next stop Perth to see Dave’s sister and boyfriend for a week before continuing with our Eastern travels in Bali.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We left the Otago Peninsula early so that we could get to the Otago Farmer’s Market taking place at the Dunedin Train Station. We wanted to get ourselves some fresh greens for our Christmas Dinner. We didn’t quite tick all the boxes but we did pick up a few extra treats such as delicious home-baked mince pies, vintage award winning blue cheese and Dave got himself some Vennison mince so he could make some tasty burgers. We had a look around the famous landmark that is Dundein Train Station, although perhaps not as impressive as some we have visited over our travels it was nice enough. We continued to buy the rest of our Christmas food from New World where we stocked up on booze, bought some lovely fresh salmon and a pudding! We were ready!

We couldn’t check in until after 1pm so we spent our time exploring Dunedin’s city centre. It’s a steep ascent from Hogwartz where we were spending our Christmas to the Octagon that is the centre of the city and it was a very hot day with busy shops keeping us slightly hot and bothered. We visited the Dundein Art Gallery which with free admission completely exceeded our expectations with the current exhibitions on show. The star attraction being the ground floor’s ‘The Beloved’ exhibition playing host to classic and contemporary pieces with our favourite artists being Gordon Walters, Ani O’Neill and Heather Straka.

When we left the gallery we took it upon ourselves to buy a few Christmas gifts for each other with the maximum spend being $20 and neither of us would know what the other bought! Exciting!! So off we went for an hour and when we met for a coffee later at Perc we sniggered at our gift buying experiences.

After checking into Hogwartz we were in our new home for the next few days which looked out across the city and St. Joseph’s Cathedral stood straight in front of us. Later on we joined the rest of the travellers staying there in cooking  a dish to go into the barbecue that the hosts were holding that night on Christmas Eve. So armed with a cous-cous salad and some booze we joined everyone else at the barbecue and enjoyed a great feast with some lovely company. Thanks to the owners Gilbert and Maja for putting in so much effort, they had so much meat and beer on offer. We ended the night with a Skype call to Karl, Em and Sukie who were all in good form and Emily had been doing her own skills in the kitchen in preparation for the Roscoe’s coming over for dinner on Christmas Day! Missing them loads!!

So Christmas morning came, and we started the day with the grand unveiling of our presents! Dave enjoyed the entertainment that was opening a whoopy cushion, a packet of poker chips, a selection of choccie goodies and a notebook (this would be useful!). Helen received a cadbury’s creme egg, 2 variations of the New Zealand classic peanut slab (milk and dark chocolate) but the pinnacle of her presents was a Shewee!! At long last Helen will no longer have to squat to have a wee when hiking, or being stuck on the back of a boat with nowhere to go! This was a fantastic present from Dave, it did stretch the budget though, but we think it will come in very handy!

So excitement over we took a few snaps and then a problem occurred! The leica froze, it got stuck on a card reading error and no matter what we tried we couldn’t get it to read any cards inserted into the camera! Hmmm! This was not good news and it definitely dampened our festive spirit for the rest of the day! There was nothing we could do so we picked ourselves up and drove out to St Clair beach where we enjoyed a lovely picnic and some very hot sun. It didn’t last very long though so we got back to the hostel late afternoon and decided to watch our Christmas movie of choice – Little Miss Sunshine. With the Leica at the back of our minds we enjoyed the film immensely and then decided to cook our Christmas dinner and eat with Kris and Kay our new found Xmas buddies.

Dinner was delicious, here’s what we had:

• Salmon fillet – baked (devine!)
• Honey roasted carrots and parsnips
• Roasted potatoes
• Broccoli and a few boiled potatoes
• Pam’s stuffing balls (from a packet)
• Lemon butter sauce

• Dave also enjoyed a pig in a blanket (sausage wrapped in bacon)

And for the pud:

• Pam’s Passion Fruit Cheescake! What a treat!

This was all enjoyed with a bottle of Monkey Bay’s Pinot Gris.

So with our stomachs stuffed we went on to enjoy a few more Skype calls home, one to Barb with Louis joining us live from Perth, and one with Jan, Den and Alice! Merry Christmas all!

Boxing Day was a shopping day which saw us take advantage of the discounts on offer. We bought our trekking rucksacks from Bivouac who had a 40% discount off two Osprey packs perfect for our trip in Nepal, and Helen bought a pretty loaded sleeping bag from Mac Pac. Never more will she moan about feeling the draft at night as this 800+ loft sleeping bag will keep her snug at temperatures as low as -7. Fingers crossed for the Himalayas.

After enough of the shops we went back to Hogwartz and made a few plans for travel connections and had a plan of action for our camera repair. We decided to stay another night at Hogwartz to take advantage of having a room and some space to spread out. We also designed and printed a poster to advertise our van for sale. It’s easy to get used to having a little bit of luxury but we’d be back in the van as of the 27th. Christmas in Dunedin was nice, the weather was fantastic which is a change for us Brits, but we did miss our home offerings! Looking forward to being back with the family next year!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

As we have a great house to stay in whilst here in Venice Beach and we are travelling for up to nine months, we want to try and save money where we can. Today was shopping day and we ended up at Whole Foods (“Whole Paycheck” as its known by the locals) so we had to be very conscious of each product we bought. We really need to find a cheaper place to shop without a car this might be difficult.

Helen spent the afternoon at Exhale for the 1st full day of Yoga whilst Dave took the Leica and a selection of lenses for a walk around the local area which included a fair few random garage sales on the street. The fishermans pier at Venice Beach is a nice little stroll into the ocean and offers some good photo opportunities.

Venicebeach.com has listings of up and coming events and we just so happened to be here for the Venice Beach Music Festival which was a nice little event. Spending time watching the graffiti artists and skateboarders in the skate park, you can easily loose track of the time.

We decided to cook for ourselves and we were both suffering from the effect of jet-lag as by 8pm we were ready for bed.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM & Olympus PEN EP-1, 17mm f/2.8 & 100mm f/2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

As we are staying in a Hutong it makes sense document the way of life here. On the surface many of these alleyways look pre-historic and worn, but we know that inside they may be completely the opposite and often you will see a huge 40 inch TV screen through the window. There is always construction occurring throughout the Hutong area and it seems that the community are the one’s who get behind the backbone of the work. Washing is left to dry on the street and many still don’t have wash/toilet facilities so every 50 meters or so there are public toilets. There is a huge element of trust and respect in the Hutong, children safely play in the streets whilst old women chat on the corner selling oranges or dried fruit. The alleys are always busy and where we are staying we’ve noticed a games room of a night time packed with locals playing the local board game. We’re not sure what they’re doing but it sounds and looks like they’re having loads of fun. You can get good street food and since we’ve settled into out area we often get the nod from our service operators for the apartment block. This is certainly an experience we will never forget.

In contrast to this we have The Village in Sanlitun. If you’re ever feeling homesick as a westerner in Beijing this is the place to go, however it’s very easy to forget that you’re in China at all. The Village is a huge shopping, restaurant and apartment complex with stores ranging from Adidas through to Prada. Although parts of the Village are bustling with expats, at the northern end the designer stores seem to be lost in an architectural maze of glass, lights and space. We walked around one of the malls at 6pm and it was completely empty. We’d been to see the Frank Gehry exhibition, which we enjoyed and Helen enjoyed a new hair cut, afterwards we couldn’t stop ourselves from photographing the empty vast spaces that surround us. It all seems a little eery but also as if everyone is waiting for something to happen. The designer retail market hasn’t quite hit off over here yet but we’re sure that in the next few years Gucci will be frequented more and more as the capital grows.

So tradition and culture versus modern urban living? We don’t think we could live in a Hutong area all year round but it certainly has character, charm and atmosphere. The Village offers comfort but you could be anywhere in the world in a sterile shopping mall with lift music ringing in your ears. We would rather have the crude neon BBQ signs and locals riding around on bikes shouting to collect your rubbish. They are protecting the Hutong around the Forbidden City which is a relief to hear as this is where the history lies and where the real Beijing exists.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We woke up to another morning of blue skies and broad sunlight, funny that it all comes as you’re about to leave! We had the Hostel 64 breakfast which consisted of orange juice, some home-made bread, jam and coffee (for Helen) although it was okay it didn’t live up to some of the breakfasts we’ve been eating here in Japan.

We didn’t want to give ourselves too much to do today as the following morning we planned on making an early start with a train connection to Tianjin where we would leave on our slow boat to China. So with that in mind we picked up a usefully alternative guide to Osaka called the Osaka Field Trip, listing art and music venues along with cafe’s and various sights across the city. Had we been able to spend more time here this would have come in very handy indeed, but for one day we managed to pick out a few places of interest and started off with a local nearby park. The park was surrounded by tower blocks and busy roads but managed to carry a peaceful harmony, with many people taking a break on park benches, girls catching up with gossip and dog walkers taking some time out of work. The dog portraits certainly kept us entertained! We love to idle through these kind of spaces, with the flower gardens drawing in people from all around the local area, it’s great for a photo-opportunities. From here we set out towards the main river passing through Osaka and in search of somewhere to grab a cup of tea. We found an artsy complex next to the Museum of Art called Graf, although it was a cool place and the environment was really welcoming we didn’t particularly enjoy the sting of the cost of a cup of tea at around £7, it wasn’t your average cup of tea but we are supposed to be on some kind of budget here!!

So after this we set off in search of another cafe recommended in the guide called Coco, this one situated on the 2nd floor of a building block overlooked the park we had spent the morning in and had views of treetops, buildings and a crossing; somewhere you can watch the world and sky go by. Here Dave had a fabulous burger made freshly with pork mince, a Japanese style sauce and a fried egg on top, it looked pretty immense. For Helen though there were no veggie or fish options so she stuck to a milkshake and a piece of cake. Still it was a lovely little place, very quirky and attracted a pleasant bunch of customers.

From Coco we set off in the direction of Osaka castle via some the downtown shopping district Shinsaibashi. Here Helen found a Freshness Burger company, something we had enjoyed very much in Harajuku Tokyo, earlier in the month, so a veggie burger it was and then a walk into the mass of signs and shoppers. Already Christmas stands are setting up selling trees and decorations. Place all this in a centre with signs promoting beauty, food, clothes, DIY, supermarkets, sweets, bakeries and shoes it was a pretty intense place after our quiet experience of the park, but another side worth seeing if you make it to Osaka. It’s very different from walking around the tower block streets.

After purchasing some flip-flop socks for a bargain of £3 (perhaps the cheapest thing we have found whilst in Japan) we started the walk towards the castle. The route took us down backstreets with a mix of department stores, coffee shops, apartment blocks, older factory outlets, bridges, murals and busy traffic. We eventually found ourselves at the castle park situated in the centre of concrete and skyscrapers. It is very much separated off from all of this via a moat and does have land surrounding the grounds of the castle so you do manage to escape the busy streets. We didn’t go into the castle, instead deciding to photograph from the outside it’s bold structure and the people it attracted. We sat with an ice-cream in the sun, photographed and again watched the passers by.

We found a metro route back and got the first connection to our nearest tube stop. When we got back we loaded up another blog post, double checked our itinerary for the next day and decided we would try to find this Korean restaurant now we had got our bearings for the area. We managed to find the place around a 5 minute walk from Hostel 64, it was pretty small and cosy with only a few other customers in their having a post work feast. We still decided to give it a go as we had spent so long trying to find it the night before, the menu was all in Japanese with pictures but you couldn’t really make out what the meat was. He described a few things to us by making actions and sounds of a cow and pointing to his stomach, alarm bells should have been ringing by this point but we found some tofu and Dave went for a meaty looking dish. The beer was cheap and the company was good so it kind of shadowed the fact that Dave’s dish did in fact contain cow’s stomach or tripe as we call it back home. It was petty tough and chewy and he managed about 5 pieces before giving the rest a miss! Helen’s was a tofu dish with bacon on top, so off came the bacon and she managed to get through the rest. We did however have a great pancake dish with vegetables and squid and the owner brought out a few drinks on the house. It was definitely a food experience not worth repeating but all part of the fun that we’ve had in trying different foods whilst in Japan.

On our way home and a little giddy on booze we got our boat money out of an ATM at a nearby 7/11 store, some cheeky pudding and then went back to get ready for an early start the next day. What a time we’ve had in Japan. It’s been tough on a budget but it really has been an experience worth while with the variety of what we have seen, experienced, eaten and photographed.

We’re a little excited and nervous about the two day boat journey to Tianjin but there is a sense of adventure as we embark on the next stage of our trip to China.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

Toast and jam for breakfast. Destination today: to re-visit the Harajuku and Shibuya district and delve deeper into the backstreets. We have both agreed that our favorite places to visit in Tokyo so far were the fish market and Harajuku. The fish market is so different from anything we have ever seen or had the pleasure to document, you could spend a whole week there, if your stomach can handle it! You really get to know the local tradesmen and atmosphere that goes with such a busy market place. Harajuku in contrast offers current trends in fashion and art. There are some great little backstreets to explore and plenty of coffee-shops where you can watch the passers-by. In search of a cafe recommended in the Lonely Planet we found that the Bape cafe is not longer around! Not to be disappointed we settled for the Freshness Burger Company, Dave had a good ole cheese burger whilst I opted for a veggie one. You can’t eat Japanese food everyday…can you?

Following lunch we found one place that really stands out for us s a highlight so far; the Design Festa Gallery quietly positioned away from the main hustle and bustle of the Harajuku area. An artist’s studio complex, something that looks like it should belong in Berlin. Graffitied walls, personalised art studios, illustrations that spill onto the stairways and lovely white spaces with which to exhibit your work. We love these kind of places, somewhere that really gave a real feeling of what is happening in the Tokyo art and design scene.

Moving on from the Design Festa we walked down to Shibuya crossed the famous Shibuya crossing (several times) just so we could get loads of photographs of people crossing, it’s a pretty cool experience actually (photography geeks!) Deciding that we’d had enough of the pizazz going on in this area we once again resided to the friendly Sakura Hotel before going out in search of Sushi. With so many food choices it’s really difficult deciding on somewhere to eat that we know will offer the food we like and at a good price. Noodle bars, Japanese pubs, conveyor-belt style, street vendors and so on. We can safely say that we haven’t always made the best choices in this department with a 50/50 success rate! Settling on an underground sushi restaurant we were faced with food that we would never encounter back in the UK and tasted a few things we would not want to go through again! Helen’s stomach was turned upside down and Dave almost gagged! All part of the experience.

Tomorrow we are leaving the Tokyo metropolis behind to seek out a slightly more peaceful guesthouse based in the Mt Fuji area.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

Woke up to a constant drizzle today and read in the hotel that the bike tours for the Imperial Palace are on Sundays only and aren’t on when it rains either! You can hire bikes there without a tour but again not when it’s raining. So with waterproofs on, we walked along with all the other umbrellas to the Palace grounds in search of the Museum of Contemporary art. We’re based only a 10 minute walk from the Palace moat and main entrance, it would have been great to have witnessed this area on a clear and sunny day, it however it was still impressive in the drizzle. Upon arrival at the museum we discovered no thanks to any signage that it is closed for the entire week!

Hmmm we chose this museum as it is free entry and on our doorstep, the back up plan was to walk to a Lonely Planet recommended coffee spot. We’re still not getting our food choices right here, although the images definitely sell the food, after a few mouthfuls we’ve kind of thought not sure if this was the best choice! It’s all part of the fun we thinks! So after a slightly less appetising lunch we went in search of the @home cafe. Akihabara is like an up-market Blackpool on speed! There are young girls approaching people in the street dressed in maid outfits trying to entice you into the well known Tokyo maid cafe’s. We soon realised that the @home cafe was going to be along the same line. What an experience… With a 700yen per person sitting fee we still thought ‘yeah go-on then let’s give it a go’. We had our own maid who’s name was Michel…? She tried with poor English (although better than any attempt whatsoever we could make at Japanese!!) to entertain us, we only wish we had an interpreter with us as they refer to the men as “Master” and the ladies as “Mistress”, sing songs and play games with the guests. There were mostly young men in the cafe but a few couples with a few older men and women. It’s a little like a culture for the lonely as the maids become your best friend once you have paid the entrance fee.

After the surreal experience of Akiharaba we set off to the more fashion conscious areas of Harajuku and Shibuya. In extreme contrast here we have high-end designer shops and quirky artsy backstreets offering a taste of local fashion design, art and culture. Again we hit the after work, school-leaving crowd who love to shop! We passed through the international gymnastics centre, where Japan fashion week events are taking place and eventually found ourselves in the even more trendy Shibuya. Moving from area to area you really get the sense that places are broken up into clear districts, building-types and genres of shopping . We decided that we would come back here tomorrow to get a further taste of the area.

Later we stayed local to our Kanda area and went for some less-local cuisine opting for what appeared to be cosy little taverna offering Spanish food (noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner can be difficult to stomach). What we had was an overpriced, small portioned meal which kind of left a foul taste in our mouths due the sting of the cost. Lesson to be learned there. So after a spell of emails, photo-editing and tasty chai bed-time reached the height of 11.30pm!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)