When in India people will always ask “do you like India”, and my response is always the same “yes, I love India”, and it is genuine. I know India is a tough place to like at times, the dirt, chaos, horns and complete nonsensical rules that make even the smallest things difficult to do. A lot of people vow never to return, and most probably never do. Yet India has a real draw, natural beauty, an amazing blend of cultures, foods, and people. India really is incredible.
Except for Delhi.
Delhi is awful.
Most tourists roll up into New Delhi and before even leaving the train will begin to get a flavour of what is in store. The stench of faeces, especially on a hot day will hit you like a sledgehammer. If it has been raining, a mosquito will assert its place on your leg and begin the sucking you dry of everything you have, something that you will encounter in Delhi until you leave. An Indian guy that speaks great English but doesn’t quite understand the meaning of the word no, will make himself your entourage.
Scams
Virtually every backpacker will stay in Paharganj and if you manage to cross the road from the station without being mowed down by a rickshaw, you will find yourself instantly where you need to be. With one problem. If you have pre-booked a hotel you have been ripped off, if you haven’t, you are about to be ripped off. That really is the theme in Delhi, getting ripped off is certain, but just how much you get conned out of is what separates tourists. Westerners carrying loads of souvenirs, wearing Indian attire and shadowed by a ‘guide’ are all too common.
All of the hotels in Paharganj are dives. And if you have a room at the street side, sleep will be a luxury due to the fact drivers in Delhi are addicted to blasting their horn. No one actually takes any notice, and there doesn’t even need to be any one on front, just random blasts of horns. When you consider Delhi has about a gazillion rickshaws and taxis on the streets it literally just becomes a horn fest. And time doesn’t matter, don’t for one second think Deepak whizzing along at 3am will consider anyone other than his addiction to blasting that horn.
Getting a room is half the battle. Random dudes roam around asking if you want a hotel, desperate for a slice of commission. Use one of these guys but know you’ll be paying for your room, and the guys cut. These folks will not under any circumstances take no for and answer so try not to engage in any form of conversation. They will get aggressive, it happens. When you find a hotel, they will make sure they go in ahead of you claiming they have brought you and seeking some cash monies.
WiFi wont work, and food will likely have you running for the nearest toilet which will of course be a cesspit of epic proportions. Tobacco spit marks down the walls, broken toilet seat, and when you finally have relieved yourself in what is certain to be a sweat box, there will be no toilet roll. Or soap.
Paharganj is essentially a city within a city, built on a tip. Rubbish, flies and dirt everywhere. On a rainy day it is muddy, on a dry day dusty. The flies are hardcore and will hop from faeces to your face without a care in the world. Rickshaws, motorbikes and cars drive down every alley way and seem to take pride in forcing you to jump out of their way, or making it impossible for you to pass. Walking around Paharganj is an art in itself. Not only are you avoiding the traffic, flies, dirt and probably every disease going, but expect constant hassle from everyone and anyone. The classic Delhi pickpocket scam happened to me, you are walking, usually crossing a road and two men stop directly in front of you forcing you to stop and try get past, meanwhile little Sanjay has his hand in your pocket. If you ever see two men randomly stop in front of you, you are being robbed. Obviously, only an absolute idiot would walk around Delhi with open pockets and things in them.
Crime
In fact, following almost a decade of travel in some 58 countries only twice have I ever been attempted pickpocketed, both times in Delhi. And don’t expect the police to do anything. Delhi police are masters of not giving the slightest sh*t about anything whatsoever. They will stand and watch you being scammed, especially at the railway station where scams are so commonplace it’s almost a passage of right. Approach the police in Delhi and you will get laughed at and probably, they will join the scam.
In Delhi virtually every single person in the city is out to scam you. Anyone that speaks to you “Hey, where you from” is doing the whole gain your trust then scam you. Rickshaw drivers will quote you some of the funniest prices you’ve ever heard, from New Delhi to the Lotus Temple is about 16km and should cost about 100INR, certainly in an Uber it is 120INR. Rickshaw drivers will quote eye watering prices rivalling NYC taxi fares.
I love walking and walk almost everywhere, but in Delhi it is so hard due to broken pathways, litter and constant hassle. It is exhausting and even a quick jolly to the shop is fraught with constant scam attempts. If you go to visit a sight expect multi tier pricing where foreigners pay about 20 times more than Indians, expect some random guy telling you a guide is a necessity and when you tell him no, expect him to just try and be your guide anyway.
Add to all the above the brutal temperatures, mosquitos and lack of ability to sleep due to noise and very quickly every day just becomes an exercise in battling exhaustion and tolerance.
The sad thing is, Delhi has some great places to visit, but these are so few and far between that it just isn’t worth it. I urge you to avoid the city, and certainly don’t make it your lasting memory of India.
If you are leaving by train, grab some drinks, some balloons and as the train pulls away from the station celebrate the fact you survived and have left probably the worst, dirtiest, skankiest and most disgusting city on earth.
The information contained within this article is purely for information purposes only. I am not a health care professional and I write purely based on my own experiences and research. I urge anyone who is looking to travel to seek the advice from a qualified health care professional prior to departure.
That said, the following information should give you a good idea of the potential health issues you may encounter whilst traveling.
They are not listed in any particular order, though the risks of certain illnesses/ailments vary considerably throughout different countries and climates. A health care professional will be able to give you tailored advice according to where/when you are travelling.
The NHS provides travel information here: Travel Health
I strongly advise anyone looking to go travelling, no matter where to or for how long to obtain comprehensive travel insurance. Prices may surprise you with my recent 7 week trip costing just £40 for the four of us.
The standards of medical care vary greatly, with recent reports saying up to 50% of all doctors in India are dodgy, it goes without saying that a visit to the quack poses many potential issues.
Firstly, you don’t know for sure you are getting the correct diagnosis or that the doctor is competent and genuine. Secondly, there is the age old doctor scam where you are charged for things you don’t need or face a hugely inflated medical fee for a plaster. Add into that fake drugs, cleanliness issues and dirty syringes and a visit to the doctor might give you more than you bargained for.
It therefore goes without saying that you should attempt to deal with as many health/first aid issues as possible yourself. Of course, matters of a serious nature should be referred to a reputable health practitioner but a simple self-diagnosis of minor problems can be the difference between a complex array of issues and getting back on track in no time.
It is also worth pointing out that health care might not be available. Not only that, but health care might be specialized, for instance – Not every hospital is equipped to deal with tropical diseases and travel may be required. Find out where to go in an emergency, but also make yourself aware of the nearest tropical disease clinic.
A comprehensive medical checklist:
Antibacterial Cream
Contraceptives
Steroid Cream
Antibiotics for skin infection
Decongestant Scissors
Antibiotics for diarrhoea treatment & oral re-hydration solution
Thermometer
Anti-fungal cream
Indigestion medication
Throat Lozenges
Antihistamine
Iodine tablets for water purification
Thrush Treatment
Anti-Inflammatory
Laxative
Urine infection treatment
Antiseptic
Paracetamol
Antispasmodic plasters, bandages & safety pins
The medical checklist should of course be tailored to your own needs. If you are taking medication it is important to carry this in its packaging and with proof from your doctor or pharmacist. Be aware that not all drugs taken in the EU are permitted in other countries, this includes but is not limited to some types of – Strong painkillers, sleeping tablets, anti-depressants and anti-psychotic drugs.
Backpacking Health
Vaccinations prior to travel
The World Health Organization recommend the following:
Routine Vaccination Selective – Specific areas/duration of travel Required (country list here)
Hepatitis B Hepatitis A Meningococcal (A, C, Y & W135)
Haemophilus influenza type b Japanese encephalitis Polio
Human papillomavirus Meningococcal
Influenza Rabies
Measles, Mumps & Rubella Tick-borne encephalitis
Pneumococcal Typhoid fever
Polio Yellow fever
Rotavirus
Tuberculosis
Varicella
What you might catch:
Listed below are some of the types of illnesses you may encounter whilst travelling. Though some are exceptionally rare others aren’t. With a bit of common sense though most (if not all) can be avoided. To put it into perspective we have never caught any of the following illnesses.
The symptoms listed are general symptoms, and these differ greatly between patients and not all patients get the same or all symptoms. Each infectious disease links directly to the NHS or WHO where further, comprehensive advice is given.
At the foot of this page is the emergency numbers for popular countries and the local word for hospital.
Symptoms, How it is caught & How to avoid
Cutaneous Larva Migrans: Linear rash that is very itchy.
– Contaminated sand and soil and contact with the skin.
– Be careful where you lay on the beach, don’t eat sand.
Dengue Fever: Severe headache and aching bones, high fever and rash similar to that of measles.
– Mosquitos carrying the dengue virus.
– Use DEET and take precautions such as long trousers and sleeves. Particularly at night.
Hepatitis A: Jaundice, nausea and lethargy.
– Contaminated food and water.
– Get the Hep A Vaccination prior to travel.
Hepatitis B: Flu like symptoms, jaundice, nausea.
– Bodily fluid & sex.
– Men should wrap up, women should make men wrap up and both should choose their sexual partners carefully.
Hepatitis E: Gastrointestinal upset, flu like symptoms, jaundice, aches and pains.
– Ingesting effected feces, usually in contaminated water.
– Drink bottled water.
HIV: Flu like illness.
– Sexually transmitted and contaminated needles.
– Never have sex with a local unless you take precautions, never let someone jab you unless you are 100% certain the needle is sterile.
Flu: Sudden high fever, dry cough, aches and pains, tiredness, chills, headache, sore throat, difficulty sleeping.
– Touching or breathing in contaminated droplets.
– Use hand wash and exercise vigilance when in the vicinity of serial sneezers.
Leptospirosis Flu like symptoms, may be mild or severe.
– By touching soil or water contaminated with the urine of infected animals.
– When canoeing/rafting go with reputable companies that know the area and don’t drink the water.
Measles: Cold like symptoms, sensitivity to light, grey white spots in the mouth, lethargy and then followed by a rash 2 – 3 days later.
– Touching or breathing in contaminated droplets.
– Most people are already vaccinated against measles, but check.
Rabies: High fever, tingling and itchiness at site of infection, hydrophobia, aggressiveness
– Bite, scratch or lick of an open wound by an infected animal.
– Stay away from dogs and monkeys and other animals. If you aren’t vaccinated and you think an animal may have infected you, head straight to hospital. Quickly.
Schistosomiasis: Skin rash, high temperature and muscle aches.
– By coming into contact with contaminated water.
– Swim in places that come recommended, not just any old pool of water.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Various symptoms
– Passed during sex and sexual contact.
– Men; don’t go bareback, women; Don’t let him. Both sexes should be careful.
Typhoid High fever, stomach pain, vomiting, dull headache at the front of the head, dry cough, rash. NB: Symptoms alter weekly so read up on typhoid.
– Contaminated food and drink by someone that hasn’t washed their hands properly after using the toilet.
– Consider cleanliness where you eat, don’t eat food from someone that has just taken a dump and not washed their hands.
What you probably will catch:
Travellers Diarrhoea
Up to half of all travellers will get some form of upset stomach, diarrhea and sickness. Even with the utmost vigilance it may become impossible to avoid and the severity varies greatly. Most bouts pass within 5 days but sting ring may linger a little longer.
For practical advice on what to eat, what not to eat and where to meet in the middle head to the food section of this website.
Symptoms:
Watery stools
Blood in faeces
Fever
Sickness
Nausea
Stomach cramps
Lethargy
How to cope:
The single most important thing you can do is drink water. Constantly. For young kids bring your own rehydration sachets containing essential minerals and salts. The stuff you buy abroad is nasty and I struggle to drink it, never mind kids.
Avoid taking immodium as this slows the parasite leaving the body and try to use soft toilet paper as you will cause serious irritation.
Appetite will normally be suppressed and I lost 5kg in 5 days, but it will pass. The most important thing is rehydration, aim to drink a minimum of 3 litres per day and take plenty of rest.
If you have the runs and your child doesn’t, ensure you wash your hands before touching them or things they might touch.
Antibiotics can be administered and medical help may be required for young patients. Select reputable medical professionals carefully.
Health when Backpacking
Potential issues:
Malaria
The problem with malaria is that mosquitos don’t fly around with a big banner around their neck saying ‘I carry Malaria’ and not only that, but malaria doesn’t always present itself immediately.
One of the major issues travellers face when heading to an area where Malaria is present is the anti-malarials. Side effects can be common and serious and many people opt to risk catching the disease rather than risk side effects of the medication. That is personal choice and one I think you should make on the basis of advice from a healthcare specialist.
We take anti malarials if there is anything other than a low risk. But if we are just nipping through an area where Malaria is present then we simply cover up and dose up on DEET as advised by our travel nurse. Some areas however carry very high risk and this would not be recommended. In short, you must visit your travel nurse for relevant and current advice on malarials, whether you need them and the type you should take, as not all types offer protection everywhere.
Malarone is our preferred anti-malarial due to the limited side effects. It is however very expensive, though generic versions are now available. Up until recently we were skinned £2.30 per adult tablet at Superdrug (with Boots charging £3.60!), but this has now reduced by about 20% if you choose the generic version. Having taken Malarone long term and multiple times, none of us have ever suffered any side effects whatsoever. I do recommend that whatever course you opt to take, that you try a tablet before you leave, if you have an allergic reaction you are likely much better placed in your home country to get the emergency care or alternative course of anti-malarial drugs that you require.
Symptoms:
High temperature
Vomiting
Sweats and chills
Muscle pains
Headache
Diarrhoea
How to cope – The ABCD approach courtesy of the NHS
Awareness of risk: find out whether you’re at risk of getting malaria before travelling.
Bite prevention: avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent, covering your arms and legs and using an insecticide- treated mosquito net.
Check whether you need to take malaria prevention tablets: if you do, ensure you take the right antimalarial tablets, at the right dose and that you finish the course.
Diagnosis: seek immediate medical advice if you develop malaria-like symptoms, including up to a year after you return from travelling.
Health when Backpacking
Sunburn & Dehydration
Sunburn
When travelling with kids you will be surprised initially at just what an effect the sun will have on them. Some parts of India are 50 degrees and it gets to the point where you can barely cope. Exhaustion kicks in, you get dry mouth and your skin burns. This is your body telling you to drink water, and chill out.
Sunburn comes on quicker than you can imagine and factor 50 is an absolute must for children. Sun lotion is difficult and expensive to get hold of outside the main tourist areas and so come stocked up. I also make my children wear sun hats, they complain this makes them hotter and sweat and I counter this by telling them that we can control that by drinking more, but if they get sun stroke they will be ill and then we can’t control it.
With that in mind I never scrimp on sun lotion, apply it regularly and ensure it is reapplied prior to and following swimming in the sea.
If you do encounter sunburn, then apply hydrocortisone 1% and cover up. It may sound daft but sunburn, on sunburn is very painful.
In terms of dehydration thirst is a poor indicator of when the body needs water. Kids get bored of water but it is absolutely imperative they drink plenty. I buy my children their own bottle of water so I can monitor how much they drink. We have regular water breaks on hot days where we find shade, and I will make them drink up to 500mL of water. It is not uncommon for us to drink 3 Litres each per day minimum.
At night I ensure the kids have a 1.5L bottle of water before going to bed, I tell them they must drink this before we leave in the morning. I know how much they sweat at night and this needs replacing.
If we are spending extended times in the sun, say on a camel safari out in the desert or if I think we have exerted ourselves a lot and so sweated a lot I will add rehydration salts to the water. These bought abroad are nasty, awful tasting. They are a great bribe and the kids are fully aware that if they fail to keep up with the hydration requirements I give them, then they will have to have rehydration salts – Works every time!
Key things to look out for in kids is how often they go to the toilet. Also I will periodically check my children’s urine, if it is clear then this is an indication they are hydrated, the darker yellow it is the more it indicates they need to take in more water.
Look out for lethargy, tiredness, out of character behavior, dry mouths, dizziness and headaches. If they do complain of a headache, monitor if it reduces or goes with the intake of water.
Remember, dehydration in a hot country can occur very quickly, it is absolutely imperative you monitor your children’s hydration. A completely avoidable condition that should be taken seriously, if your child is too ill to take on fluids then you should seek medical help immediately.
Travel Health
Where to get help
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck – It’s probably a duck. We know that right?
Well the same can’t be said for doctors abroad. It would take 5 minutes to knock up a fake doctorate and stick it on the wall proclaiming to be a doctor and some don’t even put that much effort in. It’s a minefield of scams, rip offs and fake illnesses.
Hunting down a good doctor is as hard as hunting down a real one. Given your vulnerability I suggest you take a common sense approach. If it is some bloke a fortnight past a shower perched on a wooden stool outside a front door to a shop he is probably dodgy, but if it is a well signed, professional looking clinic he probably isn’t.
Most decent doctors will speak good English and actually look like they know what they’re doing.
Failing that, Lonely Planet and rough guide have recommendations of reputable medical centres where you can get a decent, though varied, standard of care.
Should you go in with a dodgy stomach expecting a course of antibiotics and you get diagnosed with a broken foot – Get a second opinion.
In an ideal world you will carry your own syringes, but if not – Don’t ever let any doctor inject you or your children unless you have watched the syringe be opened from a sterile packet with a date on it.
If you don’t have a guide book, ask your hostel/hotel or get in touch with your embassy or travel insurance provider.
If you are in a rural area and the condition is not immediately serious you might want to consider heading to the nearest large city. Healthcare is likely to be better and you may be referred there anyway, but this is a decision that should not be taken lightly and remember that conditions can deteriorate rapidly.
I also suggest that before you travel to a country you find out how to say “Call me a Doctor” in the local language, and also find out the emergency number for police and ambulance.
On a final note, remember, it is highly unlikely that you will catch any of the diseases listed here and with a bit of common sense and a practical approach it will be extremely unlikely!
Most tourists heading to SE Asia have one thing in mind: Thailand. They associate Thailand with some utopian paradise of ivory white sand beaches licked with crystal clear waters and fringed with coconut trees. That’s not actually too far from the truth, but what the brochure photographs don’t show is the thousands of other tourists who all had the same idea of hitting up the tropics. And for many people that is fine, more tourists bring more infrastructure, higher class hotels and McDonalds. But what about those people who want a hammock strung from a palm tree, reggae playing in the background, no one else around and a warm bottler of Saigon import in their hand. Well, this urge has pushed tourists to satellite out of Thailand and head for far strung islands in the Philippines, Indonesia and even Timor.
The problem with Phu Quoc is that it is in Vietnam, and not just in Vietnam, but close to Cambodia, which makes it close to Thailand. Let me unravel those a second, firstly it is in Vietnam. For years the Vietnamese have charged extortionate Visa fees for tourists and on top of this, made it so impossibly awkward, they didn’t even let you know the cost, you had to phone up and find out. Then, a couple of years ago the Vietnamese government decided to ramp up visa costs and expectedly, tourist numbers fell dramatically. In fact, so few tourists came to Vietnam that Vietnam had to pull out all the stops in getting people to come back. So, in June 2015 on a temporary 12 month basis they made visas completely free for all UK citizens and some EU folks too.
Rocking up in Ho Chi Minh is still as chaotic as it ever has been and it is easy to get your impressions of Vietnam from the glue sniffing chaos of the domestic terminal. But please, hold your judgment.
Phu Quoc is an island off the coast of Vietnam/Cambodia in the gulf of Thailand which brings me onto the second point, Cambodia has some pretty fine coastline going by the name of Sihanoukville, a cheaper, well connected town where sucky suckys really are five dollars and where beer is so cheap you have to scrape your pockets for change. Additionally, not far up the road is the stunning Angkor Wat. Combined, there was just was no reason for tourists to stray to an obscure island still unsure of its own identity. I say that actually because Cambodia decided one day that Phu Quoc was Cambodian. This was way back when the island was a torturous hell for prisoners of the many wars to hit Indochina. So, as you do. When someone claims something yours, theirs, you do what most normal countries would do – Build an army base and point your weapons towards Cambodia. It worked. For now at least.
The third point I raised about it being near Thailand would have at one time spoken for itself, but now it is not quite the striking out factor that it once was, for Phu uoc offers up not just amazing world class beaches, seafood and weather, it is served up by the most purposeful and genteel people in the whole of SE Asia: The Vietnamese. Genuinely, the Vietnamese are like nothing you have ever experienced, and from travel through countless countries I can say, only the Nepalese and Cambodians come anywhere near the kind nature of these people. From such a punishing history you might expect resentment, but in fact you will realise acceptance, warmth and a welcome unrivaled.
So what about the island itself? Reached easily in just a 27 minute flight from Ho Chi Minh and costing around $30 one way it has never been easier or cheaper to get to Phu Quoc. With most visitors currently happy basing themselves along Long Beach of the town of Duong Dong it is a quick 120,000VND ride in a taxi taking just 15 minutes from the brand new airport. You can alternatively reach Phu Quoc by taking a number of boats from the mainland, including the large phallic referenced ‘super-dong’ from both Hat Tien and Rach Gia fringing the Meekong Delta.
Once on the island expect life to change as the pace grinds to an instant halt. My advice is to skip the luxury resorts and go for somewhere with a little more personality like a locally run bungalow, I can personally vouch for the gorgeous Mon Bungalow and Ngoc Viet, both just a few hundred metres north of Long Beach Village. Actually, as a reference of cost, I stayed 2 nights at Mon Bungalow, destroyed the mini bar both nights, had breakfast both mornings (for two) and hired a moped for 2 days. The total was the equivalent of £64.
General costs on the island are approximately:
Beer: 13,000VND in shops, 30,000VND in bars
Soft drinks & Water: 6,0000VND/15,000VND
Fried Noodles: 45,000VND
Main Meal: 75,000VND
Large Pizza: 145,000VND
Moped for the day: 145,000VND
So what is there to do on Phu Quoc. Well, actually, not a great deal. But that is the attraction. You can do watersports, hire a kayak and cruise down rivers, walk to miniature waterfalls, visit a painfully brutal prison that really is a sobering reminder of the atrocities carried out on the island, and explore the island free from restraint. And that, for me was the selling point of Phu Quoc. Literally, we hired a moped, and set off. There is only one map of the island and every tourist seems to carry it, a skeletal outline of links between towns and it is every bit perfect. Stop and be lost, expect out of nowhere a local to appear, punch you in the arm, speak to you like you know what he’s talking about and then shimmy you on your way. From roads not yet built, to red sand pathways through dense jungle where every second is gratitude to the $4 genuine Ray Bans keeping the dust from your eyes, it is an amazing myriad of un-development. Every now and again you will stumble upon what can only be described as paradise, sadly, you are usually woken from your stupor by the fact Vietnamese seem unable to use litter bins. Even the most stunning of places are not too far from an empty coke can, or empty carrier bag and it is painfully frustrating. It really is with a heavy heart that I admit, most photographs I took were strategic so not to include the litter strewn across beauty. I just don’t understand it, Sao Beach is world class, it really is. White sand, warm turquoise waters, swaying palm trees and thatched huts, yet for some reason people have simply disposed of their litter right on the beach. It is so sad to see.
You shouldn’t let that detract from the island though, there actually has never been a better time to visit Phu Quoc. It is quickly turning into a concrete megalopolis similar to its brethren further down the gulf. Probably, and realistically, within 10 years Phu Quoc will be another Koh Samui and tourists seeking utopian beauty will be forced to seek for other pockets of perfection. But for now, Phu Quoc is still on its way to reaching its prime and within 10 minutes, from pretty much anywhere on the island you can find silence spoiled only by the calls of nature in dense jungle: Look a little further and you are never more than 30 minutes from a white sand beach. That said, wherever you are you are always surrounded by some of the most generous and warm people anywhere on earth. Will this change? I don’t know. But why take the chance, visit Phu Quoc now and experience serenity headed for extinction.
The Narrows hike in Zion National Park is the crème de le crème of hikes in Utah, it might not be the most spectacular, offer the best vistas or indeed hold anywhere near the same adrenaline rush of precariously stepping out onto Angels Landing after a torturous number of switch backs. But what the Narrows does offer, is a somewhat unique, highly fun and beautifully brilliant hike that requires little effort and is as long, or short as you intend it to be. People flock from all corners of the world to step into the Virgin river and hike between the narrow canyon walls, around corners where every turn offers up a different view, often a different footing, usually a different depth. Without doubt, hiking the Narrows is one of the best hikes we have ever done and is a firm favourite with both Jack and Abi.
Trailhead: Riverside walk (Temple of Sinawava stop)
Trail End: Riverside walk – Or further up river if you have permits
Distance: 2 mile roundtrip from Temple of Sinawava minimum, then as far as you like thereafter (maximum 9 miles in the river)
Time: Minimum 1hr, maximum, who knows
Difficulty: Easy, if hiking only a couple of hours
Introduction
There are essentially two ways you can attack the Narrows. The first is starting way up river, for this you need a permit and must pre arrange expensive transport transfers. The second, and easily the most common way is as follows:
The Narrows hike is not just the most popular hike in Zion, it is one of the most popular hikes in the United States. Its accessibility, fun factor and uniqueness make it a magnet for anyone looking for a bit of outdoor adventure. Unless you turn up ridiculously early you will be sharing the virgin river with hundreds of others. But don’t let this distract you, for at every turn people are weeded out and eventually (for us it was 1 hour) you are amongst an enthusiastic few that shared the same curiosity of what the next turn held.
Private vehicles are not allowed up the Zion Valley and so you will either hit lucky and find a spot in the visitor centre as we did, though it was Saturday morning and 90% full at 9.30am, or you can park in numerous other places in Zion village. A bus shuttle runs up the valley every 15 minutes, and you should board this and get off at the very last stop; Temple of Sinawava, named such due to the open area nearby resembling an amphitheater. It really doesn’t and I am convinced they had simply run out of names. The journey from the visitor centre takes about 30 minutes, but is scheduled at 45 minutes.
To begin the Narrows hike you must first of all hike the 1 mile along the easy, and paved riverside walk. This in itself is a nice walk populated by friendly squirrels daring you with their cute eyes to risk being fined $100 to feed them. Walk past al the idiots wearing shoes, denim and even wellies (usually Chinese) and make your way to the natural end of the walk, and place you enter the river.
The visitor centre screws hikers $25 to rent canyon shoes, and you can also rent a stick. Now, someone is seriously laughing all the way to the bank. First of all trainers/sneakers/runners, really. We did the hike in sandals, who pays $25 for a pair of shoes that are going to get soaked instantly? And sticks, you walk through woods to get to the river, there are a billion sticks! Unless you are hard to the core and plan on hiking for miles, just don’t bother.
You cant miss where you enter the river, and technicaly you can entre it at a number of places before. But wherever you enter it, you wont fail to be surprised at how cold the water is, and how murky it is. You may have seen photos online showing a crystal clear river with people hiking along all smiling, chatting and seemingly knowing each other – They are fake. The reality is, the water is a sand brown, freezing cold and everyone is on their own personal mission to stay upright. Almost instantly Jack fell into the river, the current was a little strong for him and due to his miniature size he was literally wiped out. For an adult though its more a case of balancing and not unknowingly stepping on a dodgy rock designed by you’ve been framed.
It is quite beautiful, despite the amount of people in the river, the canyon walls are extremely high and even just 50m past the starting point are no more than 20m wide. The kids absolutely loved every second of what we were doing, and we hiked for at least 2 hours up river. After the first hour the other hikers were somewhat thinned out and from an over populated photograph early on, we had empty stretches and canyon walls which seemed to go up to infinity. The thrill factor kept driving us on and though Jack had water up to his arm pits, they never went higher than my waistline. It was an absolute privilege and we genuinely loved every second. It ranks in my own top 3 hikes in the world, and tops the lists of both Abi and Jack.
I think if we ever returned to Zion I would get the permit and do the full hike, though it was amazing it was hugely popular and I just wonder how much more spectacular it would be having the place pretty much to yourself for miles and miles… I have to return.
You have to understand the American mentality in order to grasp the kind of apprehension you have when travelling the States. Bull shitting is the norm and no one seems to care. Hotels will label themselves the best in the State, parks will claim to be the cleanest on earth, beaches will award themselves world class status and McDonalds offers free burgers by means of a survey which never actually materialize. In the UK we call it false advertising, in the US they call it normal. So when I read about how spectacular Yellowstone National park was many years ago, and how it was so amazing it was practically dripping off my page and booking me a flight out there, I was understandable skeptical.
Way back in 1804 Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United States, dispatched an expedition to the Western United States so that it could be mapped, and that a route be planned from St Louis to the Pacific. Naturally, hiking across an un-hiked land, through unbearable heat, cold, mountains, and canyons is dangerous enough. The group covered around 70 miles per day and took two years to make the round trip. Miraculously, only one member of the expedition died, probably thanks to the Native Americans the group met along the way. Anyway, one of the members of the expedition group; John Colter, decided he liked the west so much, he didn’t return with the expedition and instead somehow found himself stumbling across what he termed “fire and brimstone”, a place he termed ‘Colter’s Hell’. Naturally, he was laughed out of every saloon in which he tried to tell of what he had seen. He described bubbling mud pots, smoking earth, water shooting from prism like pools of water, trees that had turned to minerals, his friends started to think he was going crazy and so Colter decided to return to the area and make more detailed accounts. Taking a few friends with him he pissed off a few Native Americans who didn’t like his friend’s faces and ultimately slotted his entire entourage. By 1810 Colter had been convinced to leave and return to St Louis, and by 1813 he was dead.
Over the next half century reports trickled back to civilization confirming what Colter had first spoke of. And in 1869 an expedition was mounted to finally find out the truth. The details of the expedition can be surmised by stating that in 1872, then president of the United States Ulysses S. Grant signed into law, the first national park and in the world – Yellowstone National Park, some 3,469 sq. miles of natural perfection. Home to almost all of the geothermal ecosystems on earth. Fast forward a century and a bit and things get even more interesting…
Yellowstone sits above the largest super volcano on the planet and straddles Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. The lake of lava beneath the ground is around 50 miles, 15 miles wide and going as far as 125 miles down into the earth. Earth quakes are regular (as the park also sits on the continental dived) and no one really knows what will happen when Yellowstone erupts, the information available is that Yellowstone erupts every 600,000 years, with the last eruption 630,000 years ago… When it does erupt, it will be on such a scale that it will be incomparable to any other event that has happened on earth that we know about.
Still, the park attracts about 3.5million visitors each year and from what I saw about 80% of those are Chinese. We made up some of the remaining 20% and as we entered the park ($30 per vehicle, $50 including Grand Teton NP, or $80 for an interagency annual Pass) Yellowstone is mainly alpine and the first half hour drive offered up nothing much at all. I figured we had been done. Suddenly, Abi noticed plumes of (she said smoke, but it was steam) coming from the distance. Signs started popping up and to cut an extremely long tour of Yellowstone short, I will keep it succinct. Cut offs around the circuit of Yellowstone expose you to the highlights of the park. We couldn’t get enough to be honest, our first experience was one which I will never forget, we was walking along a boardwalk and around us were pools of bubbling water, I convinced the kids they were portals to the centre of the earth and they believed me. One might laugh reading that, but see those amazing, colourful and other worldly pools of water, bellowing out steam, hissing away and occasionally shooting water up into the air and it suddenly seems like an obvious explanation. Abi said “I bet this is what it’s like on another planet” and for me that very sentence summed up Yellowstone perfectly. The baron areas of mud, of burned earth scarred by a millennia of geothermal processes, completely void of life, yet so elegantly beautiful in their offering to the eye.
I could sit and write thousands of words about Yellowstone but I would rather not, I want to leave it to the readers imagine. Close your eyes and think of a molten landscape, the smell of Sulfur abrasive in its nature, hot steams flashing past you making you blind for seconds and then clearing to show prismic colors ranging far beyond what the eye is used to. The temperature flits between hot and humid to cold and dry every few seconds, mud around you bubbles, water rushes from the earth with unfathomable force and as high as 185m, the world around you is alive. Welcome to Yellowstone. It is no surprise that Colter was scoffed at 150 years ago, for he had stumbled upon something so out of this world, that had I not heard of it myself, I too would question it now.
Highlights of Yellow Stone for us was the Canyon, Middle Geysers (especially Artists pot and Prism Geyser) and also Old Faithful, which had literally just blown its load 5 minutes before we had arrived. We didn’t have the time to wait the next approximate 91 minutes.
Directly south, about 20 miles is Grand Teton National park. Technically you should get a ticket, but there is actually no entrance and so if you are coming through Yellowstone, you won’t get checked. Grand Teton had been on my hit list for years, so long in fact that when I sent Gemma an image I had taken (the leading image in this post), her response was ‘you finally got it”.
Grand Teton is difficult to put a number on really, no doubt Yellowstone puts a huge number of tourists in the park, and really other than some absolutely spectacular granite mountains, from the road there isn’t a great deal to do. To see the best of Grand Teton you have to hike, and with over 200 miles of trails, there really is something for everyone. The mountain range maxes out at 4,100m, but is extremely imposing and the granite peaks do require some real skill, far more skill than my kids have meaning we couldn’t go for the summit. The range is only around 40 miles long and a drive southbound from Yellowstone takes you right down that route. No doubt it is gorgeous, and for someone not accustomed to mountains, the range will likely blow you away. But for me, I was there for one reason – The barn.
The barn at Grand Teton NP is the most photographed barn in North America, and probably the world. But, I guess thankfully it is not that easy to find without a little help. That means that it instantly rules out the Chinese tourists, and actually when we finally got there, there was just one other guy there.
How to get there: If you are coming from Grand Teton, you should go all the way to the highway, turn left and then look for the sign to Antelope Flatts. If you are coming to Grand Teton, miss the turn off, keep driving a take the turn off for Antelope Flatts. It is about a mile from the NP entrance.
The History behind the barn is short and almost sweet. It is one of a number of buildings, all forming part of the historical Mormon district. A residence of a group of Mormons who were sent from Salt Lake City to see if they could find land worth farming. An expansion if you like. And it is really quite beautiful. I lay on the grass whilst the kids climbed, ran and had fun, all to the back drop of the stunning Grand Teton mountain range.
Usually I would leave the blog there, but as a final note I want to point out. Heading back to Utah we could’ve nipped back to the I-15 and then bolted south. But instead we took the scenic route, which took us through Wyoming, Montana and Idaho and wow. Genuinely, if you have been on a road trip to the US and not driven through the meadows, plains, mountain and jaw dropping gorgeous little farming villages of Montana and Wyoming you cannot claim to having been on a Western road trip. The journey was filled with such Western beauty I almost had to slap myself a couple of times to remind myself I wasn’t dreaming. Think chicken little style barns, meadows filled with corn, folks walking around in dungarees and straw hats, horses racing each other, buffalo, cattle ranches, it was mesmerizing and we had 200 miles of it. I wound the windows down, turned up the stereo and sang along with kids on what was one of the best drives we had ever done. It was absolute bliss, and as I stopped just short of the Utah border to pick up a six pack of Budweiser life felt good. (In Utah alcohol is capped at 3.2%). I just wished I had the rest of my family with me.
Back in 1986 whilst scraping the barrel for a story, Life magazine published an article about Interstate 50, a long, desolate road stretching right the way across Nevada with seemingly nothing but a sprinkle of towns some 100 miles apart. The article was scathing, and ultimately dubbed the 400mile road the ‘Loneliest road in America’. Suddenly, I-50 was brought to national attention and the State of Nevada was not about to miss a marketing opportunity.
The thing is, most of the I-50 follows a historic corridor that was (amongst other things) once the Pony Express Trail, which was a trail used in the 1800’s to deliver mail across the United States. Once Interstates came about, the I-50 was incorporated and cut right across the north of Nevada.
Generally, the road runs through a basin, then over a pass then through another basin, taking in a total of 17 mountain passes and 400 miles in distance. We hopped on the I-50 in Fallon, just outside Carson City, Nevada and drove right the way to Delta, Utah before heading north to Salt Lake city.
Leaving Fallon the road becomes one lane, straight, long and other vehicles on the road soon thin out. After around 25 minutes Abi burst to life and enthusiastically screeched ‘whoa dad, what is that’! I looked at where she was gesturing and saw a random, 600ft sand dune in the middle of no where. We of course went and attempted to climb it, but it became dangerous as the sand was so steep and began avalanching. Back to the car and away we went.
The first town you come to is Austin, which is a blink and miss it place with not much to offer. There were a few historic buildings, but the kids really couldn’t muster up much enthusiasm, we stopped briefly before heading off again. The kids did spot a few fighter jets crossing the skies at low altitude, turns out there is an air force training base nearby. I had Abi and Jack research the history of Austin and as I drive the now monotonous continual asphalt after asphalt, I was informed that Austin was a town built on silver. It was once one of the largest cities in Nevada boasting some 8,000 people in the 1860’s. Folks thought the silver would never run out and made it home, unfortunately it dried up after around 20 years and mass unemployment ensued. Driving on from Austin we saw signs for some hot springs and some carvings in stones, but we unanimously agreed to keep going as we were getting hungry and the kids were on a hotdog promise in the next town.
Next stop is Eureka, a quaint town that is full of character. The kids tell me that in searching for Silver, prospectors from Austin ended up finding lead and setting up home. Other than looking at the historical buildings, there is little to confirm, or indeed deny Eureka’s self-imposed moniker ‘friendliest city on the loneliest road’, the hotdogs were good though! Other than a few stops which apparently offered specific historical views over what looked like absolutely nothing at all, there was very little between the next town.
Pulling into Ely I had made ground much quicker than anticipated, partly due to there being not many other cars on the road, and mainly due to the fact you can sit comfortably at whatever speed you like, though State suggestions by way of law are that you drive no faster than 70mph. Just before entering Ely we had a bit of a mini hike along a railroad, and sensed that something very touristy was coming – We were right. Complete with a couple of Casinos, museums and a McDonald’s, Ely is every bit as tourist central as I had expected. It does retain some of its historical character, and the mining history of the copper boom a century past are still there, but realistically, it is just too big and modern to hold off the fact that huge hotel signs and fast food restaurants prevail.
Moving on from Ely we headed towards the Great Basin National Park, home to Wheeler Peak the highest mountain in Nevada and the world renowned Lehman Caves. Entrance to the park is free and Lehman caves (despite being the worst managed attraction in any national Park we have ever been to) costs relatively little to explore the underworld of Nevada. The issue lies in the fact that reservations are needed for cave tours, the problem is that it is physically impossible to make a reservation. With no online way, and a phone line which never gets answered you literally must rock up and take your chance. As we did, and we could get on a tour, but it meant hanging around for 5 hours. It wasn’t an option for us, so we looked through a couple of telescopes that saw nothing and headed off towards the Utah border to fill up with gas and get ripped off with the most expensive tube of pringles ever sold anywhere on earth.
Once at the final town of Delta we split and headed through hardcore country villages to head north to Salt Lake City. Our crossing of the I-50 took 2 days and I don’t really get the whole lonely side of things. You could literally stop every 30 miles or so to shoot off and see something. There were ghost towns, lakes, archeological sites, places of interest and wildlife viewing points. Generally we passed a car every half an hour and Ely and Delta are really quite modern. Driving the I-50 was definitely worth it as it served up a unique slice of historical Nevada and indeed the US, the kids enjoyed our stop offs along the way and we all agree that it was an enjoyable, classic mini Western US road trip.
