If possible the Feejee Experience was even better than the Kiwi Experience! The 4 day tour loops around the main island and the ticket includes so many activities. The buses are much smaller too, those in NZ had carried about 40 people but our bus only had between 10 - 15 people each day, making it much easier to get to know each other.
Our first day started with an 8.30am pick up, and we were taken into Nadi Town to buy sarongs and any other items we may need. Our guide, Api, was covering for another guide who was ill. Api hadn't been a guide since January so was a bit rusty, and kept looking to us for approval of his suggestions as though we would know better! Luckily our driver, William, had been driving for the Feejee Experience for 6 years so was able to jump in when Api forgot to tell us important information.
After the town we drove to a beach where the guides prepared a BBQ lunch for us while we spent some time in the sun. Sunshine was very welcome after 3 weeks in the winter in New Zealand! After lunch we had a trip to a local village, Malomalo, where Api gave us a tour and explained a bit about the culture within the different tribes. We had to wear our sarongs which was a bit of a surprise for some of the guys who couldn't see much difference between a sarong and a skirt!
Afterwards we went sandboarding down the dunes which was really fun! I would have gone down loads of times if it hadn't been for the steep and difficult path to the top!! Once we arrived at Mango Bay Resort we were invited to a Kava ceremony. Kava is the traditional Fijian drink made in a large mixing bowl and has a slightly numbing effect. The ceremonies involve sitting around the bowling and clapping at the necessary points in the chant, and after a smaller bowl is passed around to each person. To accept the bowl you have to clap and say "bula", and then down this cloudy drink, which in all honesty tastes like drinking muddy water! Not my favourite alcoholic drink... After dinner we all sat by the bonfire while one of the hotel reps played covers of different songs. He did surprisingly well given that 2 of the strings on his guitar were broken!
The following morning we went on a 3 hour trek, which was one of the best treks I have ever been on. It started off with a walk along a path, which then led through the rainforest and ended with a walk through a creek. It had rained the night before and some of the paths were very slippery and there were a few tumbles but luckily no injuries. The creek walk involved almost swimming at some points, when the water would reach up to the waist. At first I didn't want to get my walking boots soaking wet so I attempted to go barefoot, but after about 10 minutes of walking mainly on rocks my feet started becoming very sore so I gave up and put my boots on. A good decision at the time but I'm still airing them out now!!! Once we got to the river a boat came to meet us with our lunch, and then we all got tubes and floated down the river to the waterfall. The waterfall had a jump off it which (against all my better judgements) I managed to do, but there were also some smaller pools to swim in. Afterwards we were picked up by a boat and taken the rest of the way down the river. However it was now much later in the day and unluckily had started to rain so we were all freezing!!! We were so happy when we finally reached the bus and were able to change out of our wet clothes! Our dorm room at Uprising Resort that night slept 25 people but luckily I was so tired that I managed to sleep through most of the noise made by the group of drunk guys that stumbled in at 3am...
Our first activity the next day was a school visit, so we stopped off at a shop to pick up some stationary to offer as a gift. We put on our sarongs again and got off the bus to be greeted by a group of kids who gave us each a necklace made from different flowers. We had one kid to take round 2 of us, and our guide was called Mere. She was very no-nonsense and took us straight by our hands and led us around the whole school. We then played a bit of volleyball with a group of the kids in the playground before being treated to a show, where the younger kids belted out songs at the top of their voices! My favourite was "If you're happy and you know it..." which I hadn't realised could have so many verses!!!
Our next stop was another village where we went to a Kava ceremony in order to ask permission to use the nearby river for our bamboo rafting. At the village we were shown how to make bamboo bracelets, or at least the girls were while the guys sat around drinking vast amounts of kava! The bamboo rafting was really fun. We had 3 rafts, each carrying 5 of us, and Api had to punt on the last raft. And he was useless! He'd never done it before and ended up falling in so many times that he gave up and just pulled the raft along by the rope! The rest of us played volleyball in the river while we waited for them. Then we played a cat and mouse game, and some more volleyball before getting back onto the rafts and racing each other to the other side of the river. I am pleased to say that our team won!!!
Our resort that evening was at Volivoli where Sascha, and incredibly camp fijian man, put on a series of different games, including crab racing and limbo... However I'd had chicken for dinner which obviously hadn't been prepared properly and gave me stomach cramps so I had a fairly early night and skipped the bonfire that evening. I was up most of the morning vomiting and felt really ill, so Api took me to the doctors to see if they had something to cure food poisoning. Well that was an experience in itself! A very elderly indian man sat me in a chair in a room which looked like a living room with a table in the middle and gave me about 8 different types of pills to take at various intervals of the day. There were no computers, just a hand written log book. Shortly after we got back we had to get on the bus so I decided not to take any of the pills (there was no information about any of them, they just came in a small plastic bag) but instead drank a lot of water and slept as much as I could on the bus journey.
We were meant to have a curry lunch so while the others were eating I sat outside to get some fresh air (there was no way I was going to attempt to eat a curry!) and the next stop was the mud pools and hot springs which again I gave a miss. I was actually lucky that I hadn't been ill on any of the other days, I would have been gutted to have missed out on the other activities. I was feeling much better when we got back to Nadi, but still decided against going to Beachcomber Island the following day, an island notorious for drinking and no sleep. I didn't fancy staying in the 100 bed dorm they have there!
So the next couple of days I spent lying on the beach, finally managing to finish my book. It was actually really nice to do nothing for a couple of days, I've been moving about so much lately that a beach and sunshine was a nice change. And when some of the others came back to the resort in Nadi with horror stories about their stay on Beachcomber I quietly set my face to smug!
Next stop is South America, the last stop on my itinery. I cannot believe I'm already halfway through my trip...
Thursday, 18 June 2009
New Zealand, North Island
A three hour boat ride connects the South Island to the North Island. As we were approaching Nelson we were warned of large swells and it was recommended that we waited in Kaikoura for a couple of days for the sea to calm down, but being on minimum time we decided to brave it... At this point of the trip we had a new group of friends, there were 10 of us, 5 guys and 5 girls. The guys were lured into buying a ticket to the VIP lounge on the promise of unlimited food and drink, whereas the rest of us just found a table in the cafe and played cards and read for the duration of the trip. And it really wasn't that bad, as long as you were seated the waves weren't a problem.
On arriving we met our bus driver (Rangi) who took us to our hostel in Wellington. Strangely enough there is never much to do in the bigger cities and as we were all feeling a bit tired from travelling we opted for an evening of bowling. And, not surprisingly, I was useless!!!
The next day I woke up with a horrible cold so was very bunged up on our bus ride to Taupo. Little did I know that I'd actually be jumping out of a plane that day! The weather was so beautiful and clear that our bus driver rushed us to Taupo so we were able to do our skydive that afternoon. The guys and Polly and I all went up together. As we were getting our jumpsuits on they strapped a number 13 pouch to me... unlucky! And then told me that I'd be the first one out of the plane. Needless to say I was terrified! The plane ride up to 15,000 feet takes just over 20 minutes. The scariest part of skydiving is actually leaving the plane, because you have to move over and dangle your legs out of the plane, and the wind catches them. And it feels so damn high! But before you have a chance to realise what's going on you're out of the plane and falling. The freefall lasts for just over a minute, but it is only towards the end that you can actually figure out what's going on. And when you do, you realise just how amazing it actually is. It doesn't feel like you're falling particularly fast and the views are outstanding. You could see for miles, all the way down to the south island. When we landed we were all buzzing, I could barely stand still!
That evening I bumped into some guys I'd met in Australia, so the following day we all hired bikes for the afternoon. We rode down by the river but somehow ended up on a footpath rather than the cyclepath, which meant that we had nicer views but also meant that there were some sketchy turns, and we had to be very careful for walkers!
Rotorua was our next stop where there are lots and lots of activities to choose from. Polly and I opted for Zorbing. For any of you that don't know, imagine a huge inflatable hamster ball which you climb inside (Polly and I went together) along with a splash of warm water and roll down a hill. I'd imagine it would be a similar feeling to the inside of a washing machine, it was SO much fun! We immediately wanted to go again, but as always our funds didn't allow it. Rotorua has lots of hot springs (unfortunately giving the whole town a faint smell of eggs) so when we got back to the hostel we went into the spa pool which felt like a big bath, it was lovely.
We said goodbye to the guys in Rotorua and the 5 of us headed up to Auckland for a night before continuing on up to the Bay of Islands. It was noticably warmer and absolutely stunning. Polly and I took a boat ride around the islands and stopped at a bay where there were dolphins jumping out of the water and generally showing off. It was amazing. Unfortunately there were babies so we weren't allowed to swim with them... it would have been freezing anyway!
The next day I took my last journey on the Kiwi Bus back to Auckland, I was really sad to have finished my tour of New Zealand. We met back up with the guys and spent a couple of days in Auckland, but there wasn't all that much to do there. We did find a game of Cluedo at the hostel which I was overly excited by! For our last night in Auckland we went out to the Base Bar and celebrated Bobbi's birthday which was a few days later. And somehow managed to go to two Irish Bars at the end of the night, Monday nights aren't the liveliest nights in Auckland.
So after 3 hours sleep I said goodbye to everyone and set off for the airport... I could quite happily have spent another month in New Zealand.
On arriving we met our bus driver (Rangi) who took us to our hostel in Wellington. Strangely enough there is never much to do in the bigger cities and as we were all feeling a bit tired from travelling we opted for an evening of bowling. And, not surprisingly, I was useless!!!
The next day I woke up with a horrible cold so was very bunged up on our bus ride to Taupo. Little did I know that I'd actually be jumping out of a plane that day! The weather was so beautiful and clear that our bus driver rushed us to Taupo so we were able to do our skydive that afternoon. The guys and Polly and I all went up together. As we were getting our jumpsuits on they strapped a number 13 pouch to me... unlucky! And then told me that I'd be the first one out of the plane. Needless to say I was terrified! The plane ride up to 15,000 feet takes just over 20 minutes. The scariest part of skydiving is actually leaving the plane, because you have to move over and dangle your legs out of the plane, and the wind catches them. And it feels so damn high! But before you have a chance to realise what's going on you're out of the plane and falling. The freefall lasts for just over a minute, but it is only towards the end that you can actually figure out what's going on. And when you do, you realise just how amazing it actually is. It doesn't feel like you're falling particularly fast and the views are outstanding. You could see for miles, all the way down to the south island. When we landed we were all buzzing, I could barely stand still!
That evening I bumped into some guys I'd met in Australia, so the following day we all hired bikes for the afternoon. We rode down by the river but somehow ended up on a footpath rather than the cyclepath, which meant that we had nicer views but also meant that there were some sketchy turns, and we had to be very careful for walkers!
Rotorua was our next stop where there are lots and lots of activities to choose from. Polly and I opted for Zorbing. For any of you that don't know, imagine a huge inflatable hamster ball which you climb inside (Polly and I went together) along with a splash of warm water and roll down a hill. I'd imagine it would be a similar feeling to the inside of a washing machine, it was SO much fun! We immediately wanted to go again, but as always our funds didn't allow it. Rotorua has lots of hot springs (unfortunately giving the whole town a faint smell of eggs) so when we got back to the hostel we went into the spa pool which felt like a big bath, it was lovely.
We said goodbye to the guys in Rotorua and the 5 of us headed up to Auckland for a night before continuing on up to the Bay of Islands. It was noticably warmer and absolutely stunning. Polly and I took a boat ride around the islands and stopped at a bay where there were dolphins jumping out of the water and generally showing off. It was amazing. Unfortunately there were babies so we weren't allowed to swim with them... it would have been freezing anyway!
The next day I took my last journey on the Kiwi Bus back to Auckland, I was really sad to have finished my tour of New Zealand. We met back up with the guys and spent a couple of days in Auckland, but there wasn't all that much to do there. We did find a game of Cluedo at the hostel which I was overly excited by! For our last night in Auckland we went out to the Base Bar and celebrated Bobbi's birthday which was a few days later. And somehow managed to go to two Irish Bars at the end of the night, Monday nights aren't the liveliest nights in Auckland.
So after 3 hours sleep I said goodbye to everyone and set off for the airport... I could quite happily have spent another month in New Zealand.
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
New Zealand, South Island
Another long gap between blog posts so apologies for that...
New Zealand is an absolutely amazing place, it exceeded my expectations by miles. There honestly can't be that many places where snow capped mountains can be seen in the same view as beautiful coastlines?!
However, arriving in Christchurch I wasn't so impressed. As one of the bus drivers put it, Christchurch is "more english than England" and it's true. That, combined with cold and rainy weather, left me feeling glum. But that all changed on my first bus journey!
We first went to Kaikoura which is a small coastal town famous for whale watching and dolphin swimming. However the sea was too choppy for either of these so we instead opted for a walk to the seal colony, followed by a 3 hour walk over the cliff tops overlooking the sea.
We only spent one night in Kaikoura before heading on around to Nelson, dropping people at the ferry on the way. Nelson lies at the centre of New Zealand, and the actual point is only a short walk up a hill. It was still strange trying to adapt to the cold and having to wear layers and a coat!
After Nelson the group on the bus stayed pretty much the same all the way around to Queenstown, which meant that we were able to get to know each other fairly well. We were spending a few hours every day on the bus together... When we arrived in Westport we had our first options for activities and while a lot of people went jetboating, myself and another girl went on a horse trek. It was a beautiful day and we were all able riders which meant we could do a lot in just a couple of hours. We went galloping along the sand by the river, and at the end even took the horses into the water for a swim.
The next stop along the way was Lake Mahinapua, and anyone who has been on the Kiwi bus before will know what this entails... the Poo Party! This is a themed party at a small pub next to the lake run by an elderly man called Les. Our theme was "bin bags", set by our driver Buzz, and I was amazed by the outfits people managed to come up with! The winners were dressed in full length penguin outfits, which looked amazing but they were both sweating like crazy after half an hour! It was a fun night, with a late night trip to the lake along a path lit with glow worms.
Franz Josef was the next stop, where we did the glacier hike. It was a definite highlight of the trip, edging through narrow crevasses kitted up in waterproofs and boots with crampons. It was a tough full day hike but very rewarding, and the hot spa pool at the hostel was definitely nice to come back to!
Before getting to Queenstown we stopped at Wanaka which wasn't the most lively place but had a quaint little cinema with waitress service and sofas and armchairs which was fun. Queenstown was where our group separated as a lot of people stayed on for the ski season. I was just a little too early for skiing as the pistes were opening the following week. Most of the group did one of the bungy jumo options here, some did the 43m bridge jump but most opted for the 134m Nevis. I bottled it, there's no way I would be able to persuade myself to jump off the platform! I went hang gliding instead which was really fun, you get the most amazing views and it feels really peaceful gliding through the sky. Not very scary either! Queenstown also has a good nightlife, with lots of bars including the famous World Bar which serves cocktails in teapots...
After Queenstown I said goodbye to lots of the group and headed back round through Christchurch (just as grey as the first time) and around through Kaikoura again. The whale watching and dolphin swimming weren't running again, and it was raining which left very little to do! I was ready to get to the North Island!
New Zealand is an absolutely amazing place, it exceeded my expectations by miles. There honestly can't be that many places where snow capped mountains can be seen in the same view as beautiful coastlines?!
However, arriving in Christchurch I wasn't so impressed. As one of the bus drivers put it, Christchurch is "more english than England" and it's true. That, combined with cold and rainy weather, left me feeling glum. But that all changed on my first bus journey!
We first went to Kaikoura which is a small coastal town famous for whale watching and dolphin swimming. However the sea was too choppy for either of these so we instead opted for a walk to the seal colony, followed by a 3 hour walk over the cliff tops overlooking the sea.
We only spent one night in Kaikoura before heading on around to Nelson, dropping people at the ferry on the way. Nelson lies at the centre of New Zealand, and the actual point is only a short walk up a hill. It was still strange trying to adapt to the cold and having to wear layers and a coat!
After Nelson the group on the bus stayed pretty much the same all the way around to Queenstown, which meant that we were able to get to know each other fairly well. We were spending a few hours every day on the bus together... When we arrived in Westport we had our first options for activities and while a lot of people went jetboating, myself and another girl went on a horse trek. It was a beautiful day and we were all able riders which meant we could do a lot in just a couple of hours. We went galloping along the sand by the river, and at the end even took the horses into the water for a swim.
The next stop along the way was Lake Mahinapua, and anyone who has been on the Kiwi bus before will know what this entails... the Poo Party! This is a themed party at a small pub next to the lake run by an elderly man called Les. Our theme was "bin bags", set by our driver Buzz, and I was amazed by the outfits people managed to come up with! The winners were dressed in full length penguin outfits, which looked amazing but they were both sweating like crazy after half an hour! It was a fun night, with a late night trip to the lake along a path lit with glow worms.
Franz Josef was the next stop, where we did the glacier hike. It was a definite highlight of the trip, edging through narrow crevasses kitted up in waterproofs and boots with crampons. It was a tough full day hike but very rewarding, and the hot spa pool at the hostel was definitely nice to come back to!
Before getting to Queenstown we stopped at Wanaka which wasn't the most lively place but had a quaint little cinema with waitress service and sofas and armchairs which was fun. Queenstown was where our group separated as a lot of people stayed on for the ski season. I was just a little too early for skiing as the pistes were opening the following week. Most of the group did one of the bungy jumo options here, some did the 43m bridge jump but most opted for the 134m Nevis. I bottled it, there's no way I would be able to persuade myself to jump off the platform! I went hang gliding instead which was really fun, you get the most amazing views and it feels really peaceful gliding through the sky. Not very scary either! Queenstown also has a good nightlife, with lots of bars including the famous World Bar which serves cocktails in teapots...
After Queenstown I said goodbye to lots of the group and headed back round through Christchurch (just as grey as the first time) and around through Kaikoura again. The whale watching and dolphin swimming weren't running again, and it was raining which left very little to do! I was ready to get to the North Island!
Monday, 18 May 2009
Australia!!
It's been a few weeks since my last entry so sorry if it's a long one!
My first stop in Australia was Sydney where I was staying with Ben and Eliza, a couple I met while travelling through Vietnam. The quarantine checks at the airport were ridiculously thorough due to the Swine Flu outbreak - they had sniffer dogs to check each bag and everything. Ben came to meet me at the airport at 5.30am then took me for a drive around Sydney to briefly show me the sights. When we got back to their flat I emptied my whole bag into the washing machine - clean clothes were such a luxury! That night Ben's friends were having a house party which was really fun with some really good live music. It's such a different experience visiting a city with locals, you can see and do things you wouldn't otherwise have known about.
The next day I didn't achieve much - a combination of no sleep on the plane followed by a late night at the party left me absolutely shattered. It was just nice being in a flat and having the homely comforts rather than moving hotel every couple of days in the heat of SE Asia - I hadn't realised just how much I needed a break!
Ben and Eliza took the following day off work to take me to the Blue Mountains which were beautiful, definitely worth a visit. We walked across to the Three Sisters, then took the railway down for a walk along the boardwalks before heading back up in the cable car. That night I took an 11 hour overnight bus up to Byron Bay. It was a strange feeling setting off on my own for the first time, I had no idea what to expect.
But I didn't need to worry because the moment I arrived at Holiday Village Hostel, I met two girls from my dorm room and ended up travelling with them and some people they'd met for the next 5 days. Byron Bay is a laid back seaside town with a really nice atmosphere. We spent a lot of time on the beach in the sunshine, and also did a 3 hour walk up to the lighthouse and back. The views along the coast were absolutely stunning and you could even see dolphins swimming in the sea. It did rain for a few hours on my second day there, and all of a sudden there was nothing to do! Byron Bay really relies on the sunshine! And anyone who has already been there will know that no one can visit Byron Bay without at least one night out in Cheeky Monkey's!
My next stop was Surfers Paradise, and luckily Emily, Aili, Mike, Helen and Paddy were all heading up there on the same day as me so we all booked in to the same dorm room at Backpackers in Paradise. Surfers is more built up than Byron Bay but still relies on the beach and good weather, which fortunately we had. We were there for a Friday and Saturday night so went clubbing but felt a bit too casual in flip flops while all the locals were in skimpy dresses and heels! The first night we went to a club called Bedroom which had beds around the dancefloor which you can sit on which was quite cool but it wasn't really my type of club.
I said goodbye to the others on Sunday and took an 8 hour bus ride up to Hervey Bay, which is the set off point for Fraser Island. On the way the bus driver started talking loads and giving us some random facts, only he then got distracted and forgot to drop someone at a stop so had to turn around and added 45 minutes to the journey... Anyway the next day we had a horribly early morning to have the briefing for Fraser Island and to get into our groups. I was in a group with two Canadian girls, a French couple and three people from Holland. It made a nice change as up until then I had only really met people from the UK in Australia.
Fraser Island is like nothing I've ever done before. Each group gets given a 4WD, 3 tents, 2 ice boxes and some cutlery and dishes, and also a ferry ticket and a map. Then you set off on your own for 3 days, stopping at the supermarket on the way. There were 4 groups from Palace Adventures which set off at the same time. Fraser Island is a large sand island and the only way to travel is by 4WD. And just our luck - it decided to rain on and off for the first 2 days! The tracks were extremely bumpy and quite scary at times. It was easiest to drive on the wet sand on the beach (which is more of a kind of highway) so on the second day I gave it a go, it was SO much fun! But the camping equipment was very basic (and not very waterproof!) and we were pitched behind the sand dunes on the beach with no facilities other than a shovel... Luckily our last day had beautiful weather and sunshine so we spent a few hours by Lake Mackenzie, where the water is crystal clear and the sand is so fine it acts as a kind of exfoliant.
I managed to bump into Sophie and Sian (two of my university friends) on the island so we agreed to meet on the bus and spend a night in Noosa together afterwards. Noosa is another quiet seaside town and was lovely, except for the wild turkeys that wander around and scared me! That evening, a group of guys that Sophs had met on Fraser Island all cooked us dinner, and then we relaxed in their hostel drinking goon and playing spoons - we were all still suffering the after-effects of Fraser Island and needed a quiet one!
The next afternoon I had a bus booked to Brisbane so while Sophie and Sian went to Australia Zoo, I spent the day on the beach with Andy and Paul. They were hoping to surf but the waves weren't good enough unfortunately.
I only had 24 hours in Brisbane before my 16 hour overnight bus to Sydney so I wanted to get an early night so I could get up early to explore the city. However as I was reading, a couple stumbled in drunk and started being a bit inappropriate! So, feeling very uncomfortable, I had to escape to the TV room for a while until I was sure they'd be asleep. It was my first bad experience of a dorm room. The next morning I woke up early and walked around Brisbane. I was shocked by how similar it is to London, just with nicer weather! Andy, Paul, Tom and Freddie arrived in Brisbane that afternoon so I went for a couple of drinks and dinner with them before getting on the LONG bus ride to Sydney.
Due to my complete failure to do any sightseeing the first time I was in Sydney, I was a complete tourist this time! Eliza and Nicole took me to Manly of the ferry that afternoon, and we met Ben and Dean for some fish and chips on the beach. Then later on we met Della and Jared for (one too many) cocktails in Darling Harbour.
For my last day in Sydney, Della took me around all the sights while the others were all at work. We started at Bondi Beach, then went for a walk through Hyde Park, then met Ben, Eliza and Dean for some Vietnamese food for lunch. Afterwards, Dean, Della and I went up Centre Point. Even though they live in Sydney, Dean and Della hadn't done all of the sights! Next we walked through the Botanic Gardens to Mrs Macquarie's Chair, then took the monorail around to Darling Harbour.
We all had a quiet dinner at the pub that night as I had an early start for the airport the following morning. I'm really going to miss Australia, it has been so much more fun than I'd expected. I'll particularly miss Sydney which is an amazing city. But I guess I can't complain as I am now in New Zealand about to start the next stage of my journey...
My first stop in Australia was Sydney where I was staying with Ben and Eliza, a couple I met while travelling through Vietnam. The quarantine checks at the airport were ridiculously thorough due to the Swine Flu outbreak - they had sniffer dogs to check each bag and everything. Ben came to meet me at the airport at 5.30am then took me for a drive around Sydney to briefly show me the sights. When we got back to their flat I emptied my whole bag into the washing machine - clean clothes were such a luxury! That night Ben's friends were having a house party which was really fun with some really good live music. It's such a different experience visiting a city with locals, you can see and do things you wouldn't otherwise have known about.
The next day I didn't achieve much - a combination of no sleep on the plane followed by a late night at the party left me absolutely shattered. It was just nice being in a flat and having the homely comforts rather than moving hotel every couple of days in the heat of SE Asia - I hadn't realised just how much I needed a break!
Ben and Eliza took the following day off work to take me to the Blue Mountains which were beautiful, definitely worth a visit. We walked across to the Three Sisters, then took the railway down for a walk along the boardwalks before heading back up in the cable car. That night I took an 11 hour overnight bus up to Byron Bay. It was a strange feeling setting off on my own for the first time, I had no idea what to expect.
But I didn't need to worry because the moment I arrived at Holiday Village Hostel, I met two girls from my dorm room and ended up travelling with them and some people they'd met for the next 5 days. Byron Bay is a laid back seaside town with a really nice atmosphere. We spent a lot of time on the beach in the sunshine, and also did a 3 hour walk up to the lighthouse and back. The views along the coast were absolutely stunning and you could even see dolphins swimming in the sea. It did rain for a few hours on my second day there, and all of a sudden there was nothing to do! Byron Bay really relies on the sunshine! And anyone who has already been there will know that no one can visit Byron Bay without at least one night out in Cheeky Monkey's!
My next stop was Surfers Paradise, and luckily Emily, Aili, Mike, Helen and Paddy were all heading up there on the same day as me so we all booked in to the same dorm room at Backpackers in Paradise. Surfers is more built up than Byron Bay but still relies on the beach and good weather, which fortunately we had. We were there for a Friday and Saturday night so went clubbing but felt a bit too casual in flip flops while all the locals were in skimpy dresses and heels! The first night we went to a club called Bedroom which had beds around the dancefloor which you can sit on which was quite cool but it wasn't really my type of club.
I said goodbye to the others on Sunday and took an 8 hour bus ride up to Hervey Bay, which is the set off point for Fraser Island. On the way the bus driver started talking loads and giving us some random facts, only he then got distracted and forgot to drop someone at a stop so had to turn around and added 45 minutes to the journey... Anyway the next day we had a horribly early morning to have the briefing for Fraser Island and to get into our groups. I was in a group with two Canadian girls, a French couple and three people from Holland. It made a nice change as up until then I had only really met people from the UK in Australia.
Fraser Island is like nothing I've ever done before. Each group gets given a 4WD, 3 tents, 2 ice boxes and some cutlery and dishes, and also a ferry ticket and a map. Then you set off on your own for 3 days, stopping at the supermarket on the way. There were 4 groups from Palace Adventures which set off at the same time. Fraser Island is a large sand island and the only way to travel is by 4WD. And just our luck - it decided to rain on and off for the first 2 days! The tracks were extremely bumpy and quite scary at times. It was easiest to drive on the wet sand on the beach (which is more of a kind of highway) so on the second day I gave it a go, it was SO much fun! But the camping equipment was very basic (and not very waterproof!) and we were pitched behind the sand dunes on the beach with no facilities other than a shovel... Luckily our last day had beautiful weather and sunshine so we spent a few hours by Lake Mackenzie, where the water is crystal clear and the sand is so fine it acts as a kind of exfoliant.
I managed to bump into Sophie and Sian (two of my university friends) on the island so we agreed to meet on the bus and spend a night in Noosa together afterwards. Noosa is another quiet seaside town and was lovely, except for the wild turkeys that wander around and scared me! That evening, a group of guys that Sophs had met on Fraser Island all cooked us dinner, and then we relaxed in their hostel drinking goon and playing spoons - we were all still suffering the after-effects of Fraser Island and needed a quiet one!
The next afternoon I had a bus booked to Brisbane so while Sophie and Sian went to Australia Zoo, I spent the day on the beach with Andy and Paul. They were hoping to surf but the waves weren't good enough unfortunately.
I only had 24 hours in Brisbane before my 16 hour overnight bus to Sydney so I wanted to get an early night so I could get up early to explore the city. However as I was reading, a couple stumbled in drunk and started being a bit inappropriate! So, feeling very uncomfortable, I had to escape to the TV room for a while until I was sure they'd be asleep. It was my first bad experience of a dorm room. The next morning I woke up early and walked around Brisbane. I was shocked by how similar it is to London, just with nicer weather! Andy, Paul, Tom and Freddie arrived in Brisbane that afternoon so I went for a couple of drinks and dinner with them before getting on the LONG bus ride to Sydney.
Due to my complete failure to do any sightseeing the first time I was in Sydney, I was a complete tourist this time! Eliza and Nicole took me to Manly of the ferry that afternoon, and we met Ben and Dean for some fish and chips on the beach. Then later on we met Della and Jared for (one too many) cocktails in Darling Harbour.
For my last day in Sydney, Della took me around all the sights while the others were all at work. We started at Bondi Beach, then went for a walk through Hyde Park, then met Ben, Eliza and Dean for some Vietnamese food for lunch. Afterwards, Dean, Della and I went up Centre Point. Even though they live in Sydney, Dean and Della hadn't done all of the sights! Next we walked through the Botanic Gardens to Mrs Macquarie's Chair, then took the monorail around to Darling Harbour.
We all had a quiet dinner at the pub that night as I had an early start for the airport the following morning. I'm really going to miss Australia, it has been so much more fun than I'd expected. I'll particularly miss Sydney which is an amazing city. But I guess I can't complain as I am now in New Zealand about to start the next stage of my journey...
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Vietnam through to Bangkok
Well I have to apologise now for the lack of recent blog entries... the internet in Cambodia was so ridiculously slow. But now I'm back in Bangkok and have a few hours spare before heading to the airport for my flight to Sydney so it is the perfect opportunity to catch you all up on my antics... sorry for the mammoth entry!
So I left you all with the promise of talking about renting bikes and scuba diving in Hoi An. Our first full day 5 of us rented 3 bikes and drove all the way up the coast to Marble Mountain. The three guys on the tour had all ridden bikes before so were very safe drivers - it was the Vietnamese drivers that I was worried about! Nobody indicates here, drivers just beep their horn to warn people if they are turning. So while we were cruising up next to the coast in the gorgeous sun, a lady started chatting to Ben who was in front. He was trying to explain that he was concentrating on driving but she seemed perfectly happy to have a chat while driving at 60kmh on a busy road! So we pulled over and she offered to take us to her village. Seeing as we didn't have any other plans we thought we'd go with her... turns out her "village" was actually her shop at Marble Mountain. I can't say I was all that surprised! But her methods worked, Ben and Eliza spent quite a lot of money on some of the little marble statues.
The next day we went scuba diving. I was quite nervous (ok I was terrified) but the others were all so excited that it rubbed off on me too. There were 4 of us who had never dived before. We took a boat out to a small island near to Hoi An. There aren't really any words to describe scuba diving. In a horribly cliched way it is kind of like a dream, all sound except your breathing is drowned out and you just float through the most beautiful coral reef. It did take some getting used to at the beginning, breathing through the regulator seemed the most unnatural thing at the beginning. We had to do some tests when we first went under, at around 5m. Luckily we'd been shown what to do if your regulator came out because as we came down James knocked mine straight out of my mouth. But after a minor panic I remembered what to do, and after that everything seemed a lot less scary. Unfortunately everyone here knows about my wonky left arm, and the diving instructor called me Nemo - at 10m underwater everyone started teasing me by doing an impression of me swimming in circles. Now I don't know if you know, but laughing with a regulator in is NOT a good idea!! We spent the afternoon on a beach on the island, had another delicious seafood lunch, the had a nap in a hammock, had a little swim... it was pretty much idyllic! Except I did get stung by a small jellyfish, then to top it all off, as I was going to get a lime wedge to put on the sting I managed to catch my toe in a hammock and fall face first in the sand!! There is no elegant way to fall over in a bikini!! Obviously the guys, being such gentlemen and all, didn't get up to help me but instead reached straight for their cameras!
After Hoi An we took an internal flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). After the beautiful, laid back lifestyle in Hoi An, Saigon seemed busy and noisy again. Plus our hotel didn't have a swimming pool, and I had started getting used to staying in nice hotels! We did go to see the Cu Chi Tunnels, however, which were very interesting. At the start we were played a video about the Vietnam War, which was very much propaganda but interesting nonetheless. The tunnels were absolutely tiny, we went through about 15m of tunnel and it was small and dark, I was ready to leave after a couple of seconds. I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like to spend months on end in there. I opted not to fire an AK47 while there, the noise alone had me jumping every few minutes! That evening we were planning to have a big night out, but unfortunately Becky's bag was snatched off her by a couple on a motorbike so she had to head out to the police station to file a report. Luckily she didn't have that many valuables in her bag, just her card. It was the shock that was more upsetting I think.
The following day we took a trip down the Mekong Delta. Sitting on a boat as it ambles down the river, through the floating market, is such a nice experience, it is really relaxing. We stopped off a couple of times, then were taken by smaller boats to lunch. Being on a budget, Hannah, Laura and I had dairy lea and crackers which doesn't sound very interesting but is surprisingly satisfying when lying back in a hammock in the shade. And we managed to have our night out that evening without any thefts this time!
The next day we said goodbye to some of the group, and also to Vietnam as we crossed the border to Cambodia by bus. When we arrived in Phnom Penh later that afternoon we had a city tour by cycle rickshaws. It was terrifying - the drivers here are no less scary than in Vietnam! My driver only knew how to say "Cambodia good", "No problem" and "One, two, three" in English which he repeated over and over for the whole hour!!!
Our first full day in Phnom Penh we spent at the S21 security prison and at the Killing Fields. It was the most difficult day of the whole tour, some of the things we were shown were absolutely horrific. Before this day I didn't know much at all about the Khmer Rouge and the Pol Pot Regime. I spent the whole morning in tears, it was really difficult to see the cells and the torture methods which were used only 30 years ago. At one point I was close to saying I didn't want to see anymore and going home, but I am glad I stuck it out because it was interesting to learn more about it. For anyone that doesn't know much about it, in 1975 the Khmer Rouge came into power in Cambodia. Their aim was to get rid of all educated intellectuals or businessmen, and to have a population made up solely of farmers and workers. In 1970 Cambodia had been the most developed Asian country, but the Khmer Rouge managed to undo it all in just a few years. The Khmer Rouge army was made up of children aged mainly between 14-16 years old, who were considered to be most easily brainwashed. Anyone considered to be a threat to the Regime was taken to one of the security prisons, tortured, kept chained in small cells, and then when more room was needed in the prisons the prisoners would be taken to the Killing Fields and executed and left in a mass grave. Even today there are still pieces of bone and clothing in the ground. Between 1975 and 1979 around 1.7 million people were killed. In 1979 the Vietnamese Army invaded Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge lost power. It was absolutely shocking and horrific, and we all spent the rest of the afternoon hardly talking and trying to come to terms with what we'd seen.
Our next stop was Siem Reap, a short flight from Phnom Penh and also our last new place to visit on the tour. Our hotel was one of the nicest of the trip, with a beautiful pool and even a small gym (I honestly had every intention of using it until I found out that it wasn't air conditioned!!!)
Siem Reap is where Angkor Wat, and various other temples, are located. It is a beautiful place filled with culture and history. Our first day was spent wandering around Angkor Thom, which was stunning. Only it was the hottest day so far and everyone was suffering from dehydration. At the end of the morning I started to feel really ill and almost fainted from the heat. Luckily for Angkor Wat we went at sunrise so avoided the heat of the day. We met at 5.30am (ouch!) and took a bus over to the grounds outside the temple to watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat. Well the sun did rise... but behind a whole bunch of clouds!!! But in spite of having a slightly disappointing sunrise, the temple did not disappoint. It was absolutely stunning, one of the highlights of the trip for sure. If I'd had longer there I would have loved to have seen either sunrise (minus the clouds) or sunset there, it is such a beautiful place.
So one 8 hour bumpy bus ride later, we arrived back in Bangkok for our last night all together. I'm really sad that the tour is over, I've met some really amazing people and have done some incredible things. I've had 4 days in Bangkok since the tour finished, just relaxing really with Hannah and Laura. I have loved every minute of SE Asia and would love to spend longer here. But at the same time I am very excited about the next part of my trip in Australia!
So I left you all with the promise of talking about renting bikes and scuba diving in Hoi An. Our first full day 5 of us rented 3 bikes and drove all the way up the coast to Marble Mountain. The three guys on the tour had all ridden bikes before so were very safe drivers - it was the Vietnamese drivers that I was worried about! Nobody indicates here, drivers just beep their horn to warn people if they are turning. So while we were cruising up next to the coast in the gorgeous sun, a lady started chatting to Ben who was in front. He was trying to explain that he was concentrating on driving but she seemed perfectly happy to have a chat while driving at 60kmh on a busy road! So we pulled over and she offered to take us to her village. Seeing as we didn't have any other plans we thought we'd go with her... turns out her "village" was actually her shop at Marble Mountain. I can't say I was all that surprised! But her methods worked, Ben and Eliza spent quite a lot of money on some of the little marble statues.
The next day we went scuba diving. I was quite nervous (ok I was terrified) but the others were all so excited that it rubbed off on me too. There were 4 of us who had never dived before. We took a boat out to a small island near to Hoi An. There aren't really any words to describe scuba diving. In a horribly cliched way it is kind of like a dream, all sound except your breathing is drowned out and you just float through the most beautiful coral reef. It did take some getting used to at the beginning, breathing through the regulator seemed the most unnatural thing at the beginning. We had to do some tests when we first went under, at around 5m. Luckily we'd been shown what to do if your regulator came out because as we came down James knocked mine straight out of my mouth. But after a minor panic I remembered what to do, and after that everything seemed a lot less scary. Unfortunately everyone here knows about my wonky left arm, and the diving instructor called me Nemo - at 10m underwater everyone started teasing me by doing an impression of me swimming in circles. Now I don't know if you know, but laughing with a regulator in is NOT a good idea!! We spent the afternoon on a beach on the island, had another delicious seafood lunch, the had a nap in a hammock, had a little swim... it was pretty much idyllic! Except I did get stung by a small jellyfish, then to top it all off, as I was going to get a lime wedge to put on the sting I managed to catch my toe in a hammock and fall face first in the sand!! There is no elegant way to fall over in a bikini!! Obviously the guys, being such gentlemen and all, didn't get up to help me but instead reached straight for their cameras!
After Hoi An we took an internal flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). After the beautiful, laid back lifestyle in Hoi An, Saigon seemed busy and noisy again. Plus our hotel didn't have a swimming pool, and I had started getting used to staying in nice hotels! We did go to see the Cu Chi Tunnels, however, which were very interesting. At the start we were played a video about the Vietnam War, which was very much propaganda but interesting nonetheless. The tunnels were absolutely tiny, we went through about 15m of tunnel and it was small and dark, I was ready to leave after a couple of seconds. I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like to spend months on end in there. I opted not to fire an AK47 while there, the noise alone had me jumping every few minutes! That evening we were planning to have a big night out, but unfortunately Becky's bag was snatched off her by a couple on a motorbike so she had to head out to the police station to file a report. Luckily she didn't have that many valuables in her bag, just her card. It was the shock that was more upsetting I think.
The following day we took a trip down the Mekong Delta. Sitting on a boat as it ambles down the river, through the floating market, is such a nice experience, it is really relaxing. We stopped off a couple of times, then were taken by smaller boats to lunch. Being on a budget, Hannah, Laura and I had dairy lea and crackers which doesn't sound very interesting but is surprisingly satisfying when lying back in a hammock in the shade. And we managed to have our night out that evening without any thefts this time!
The next day we said goodbye to some of the group, and also to Vietnam as we crossed the border to Cambodia by bus. When we arrived in Phnom Penh later that afternoon we had a city tour by cycle rickshaws. It was terrifying - the drivers here are no less scary than in Vietnam! My driver only knew how to say "Cambodia good", "No problem" and "One, two, three" in English which he repeated over and over for the whole hour!!!
Our first full day in Phnom Penh we spent at the S21 security prison and at the Killing Fields. It was the most difficult day of the whole tour, some of the things we were shown were absolutely horrific. Before this day I didn't know much at all about the Khmer Rouge and the Pol Pot Regime. I spent the whole morning in tears, it was really difficult to see the cells and the torture methods which were used only 30 years ago. At one point I was close to saying I didn't want to see anymore and going home, but I am glad I stuck it out because it was interesting to learn more about it. For anyone that doesn't know much about it, in 1975 the Khmer Rouge came into power in Cambodia. Their aim was to get rid of all educated intellectuals or businessmen, and to have a population made up solely of farmers and workers. In 1970 Cambodia had been the most developed Asian country, but the Khmer Rouge managed to undo it all in just a few years. The Khmer Rouge army was made up of children aged mainly between 14-16 years old, who were considered to be most easily brainwashed. Anyone considered to be a threat to the Regime was taken to one of the security prisons, tortured, kept chained in small cells, and then when more room was needed in the prisons the prisoners would be taken to the Killing Fields and executed and left in a mass grave. Even today there are still pieces of bone and clothing in the ground. Between 1975 and 1979 around 1.7 million people were killed. In 1979 the Vietnamese Army invaded Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge lost power. It was absolutely shocking and horrific, and we all spent the rest of the afternoon hardly talking and trying to come to terms with what we'd seen.
Our next stop was Siem Reap, a short flight from Phnom Penh and also our last new place to visit on the tour. Our hotel was one of the nicest of the trip, with a beautiful pool and even a small gym (I honestly had every intention of using it until I found out that it wasn't air conditioned!!!)
Siem Reap is where Angkor Wat, and various other temples, are located. It is a beautiful place filled with culture and history. Our first day was spent wandering around Angkor Thom, which was stunning. Only it was the hottest day so far and everyone was suffering from dehydration. At the end of the morning I started to feel really ill and almost fainted from the heat. Luckily for Angkor Wat we went at sunrise so avoided the heat of the day. We met at 5.30am (ouch!) and took a bus over to the grounds outside the temple to watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat. Well the sun did rise... but behind a whole bunch of clouds!!! But in spite of having a slightly disappointing sunrise, the temple did not disappoint. It was absolutely stunning, one of the highlights of the trip for sure. If I'd had longer there I would have loved to have seen either sunrise (minus the clouds) or sunset there, it is such a beautiful place.
So one 8 hour bumpy bus ride later, we arrived back in Bangkok for our last night all together. I'm really sad that the tour is over, I've met some really amazing people and have done some incredible things. I've had 4 days in Bangkok since the tour finished, just relaxing really with Hannah and Laura. I have loved every minute of SE Asia and would love to spend longer here. But at the same time I am very excited about the next part of my trip in Australia!
Friday, 17 April 2009
More vietnam...
Following our trip to Halong Bay we took an overnight train to Hue (pronounced Hu-ay). We were told the trains had cabins, so I immediately pictured the Harry Potter train, with people coming round with trolleys of weird and wonderful sweets. No such luck I'm afraid! The cabins were small with 4 berths, but best of all there were bundles of cockroaches! I'd been planning a quiet night on the train, maybe reading my book and catching up on my diary. But again, no such luck! The others had all been out and bought heaps of alcohol. Sarah had bought some "Happy Champagne" from the platform. She wasn't very happy to find out it was out-of-date... it tasted absolutely foul. So were were back on Bia Ha Noi and Tiger Beer for the evening. We did 
wheelbarrow races down the corridor, and then Laura and Hannah decided it would be a good time to see if they could both fit into Hannah's trousers at the same time... they could and they did! But we mainly just stayed up chatting and having a few beers, needless to say I was shattered when we went to bed at 4am, but it just meant I didn't mind the cockroaches so much!
When we arrived at Hue our hotel was absolutely beautiful, it even had a swimming pool. If anyone at work is reading this - please let Mike know that even he would stay in some of the hotels we've been staying in! We haven't exactly been doing the "backpacker hostels" yet... Going to get a shock in Australia when I'm not staying in nice hotels anymore!
So we spent the day by the pool relaxing, it was lovely. In fact I didn't really do much for the whole afternoon, and was in bed by 10.30pm! I was exhausted after the last couple of days. The following day we went to see the citadel and had such a funny guide... he kept doing very strange impressions, I think my favourite was his elephant. It was SO hot though, walking around in the heat is very tiring. We went straight from the citadel to the bus to go down to Hoi An, stopping off at Marble Mountain on the way. We didn't have long there, and next time someone makes me pay to climb a whole heap of steps in the blazing heat, I am going to say NO. The views were nice though.
Hoi An is definitely my favourite place so far. There are huge numbers of clothes shops and tailors. There's just no point in me buying a pretty silk dress when I'd have to carry it around with me for the next 4 months! But luckily working on Regent Street has trained me well, I put on my "blinkers" and zoned out all of the beautiful clothes.
Our first night ended up being quite a big one - when you can get a bottle of Biere La Rue for 10,000 dong (1 pound is roughly 25,000 dong) it is easy to get carried away. And face paints in the bar made our night very fun!!!
The following day we rented bikes (I didn't drive) and the next day we went scuba diving. But time pressures again means I'll have to update you all about this later...
wheelbarrow races down the corridor, and then Laura and Hannah decided it would be a good time to see if they could both fit into Hannah's trousers at the same time... they could and they did! But we mainly just stayed up chatting and having a few beers, needless to say I was shattered when we went to bed at 4am, but it just meant I didn't mind the cockroaches so much!When we arrived at Hue our hotel was absolutely beautiful, it even had a swimming pool. If anyone at work is reading this - please let Mike know that even he would stay in some of the hotels we've been staying in! We haven't exactly been doing the "backpacker hostels" yet... Going to get a shock in Australia when I'm not staying in nice hotels anymore!
So we spent the day by the pool relaxing, it was lovely. In fact I didn't really do much for the whole afternoon, and was in bed by 10.30pm! I was exhausted after the last couple of days. The following day we went to see the citadel and had such a funny guide... he kept doing very strange impressions, I think my favourite was his elephant. It was SO hot though, walking around in the heat is very tiring. We went straight from the citadel to the bus to go down to Hoi An, stopping off at Marble Mountain on the way. We didn't have long there, and next time someone makes me pay to climb a whole heap of steps in the blazing heat, I am going to say NO. The views were nice though.
Hoi An is definitely my favourite place so far. There are huge numbers of clothes shops and tailors. There's just no point in me buying a pretty silk dress when I'd have to carry it around with me for the next 4 months! But luckily working on Regent Street has trained me well, I put on my "blinkers" and zoned out all of the beautiful clothes.
Our first night ended up being quite a big one - when you can get a bottle of Biere La Rue for 10,000 dong (1 pound is roughly 25,000 dong) it is easy to get carried away. And face paints in the bar made our night very fun!!!
The following day we rented bikes (I didn't drive) and the next day we went scuba diving. But time pressures again means I'll have to update you all about this later...
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Vietnam so far...
After tubing we spent a day in Vientiane, although there wasn't that much to do there, it was mainly just a stopover for getting to the airport. So the following day we had our flight to Hanoi in Vietnam. Lao Airlines is an interesting experience! The plane was quite small, and I looked at the safety card to see that there weren't any lifejackets, and in case of a crash you were supposed to take the cushion out of the seat and hug that for dear life as a flotation aid! Glad it didn't get put to the test!
Hanoi was a shock to the system after the gentle pace of life in Laos. It is a noisy and busy city in Vietnam. Driving is another experience altogether! The cars all drive down the middle of the road and it seems to be a constant game of chicken to see who will pull over first, you or the car driving head first towards you! Crossing the roads is pretty scary too, the technique is to just walk out at a constant pace and let all the motorbikes swerve around you. The moment you stop or do something unpredictable a crash will happen. I almost wanted to close my eyes at some points!
We spent a couple of days in Hanoi, wondered around the night market and went to a water puppet show. Also went to see Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum which I found quite creepy and didn't enjoy very much. Half our group left in Hanoi, and another 7 people joined (with 2 more guys so James was happy he wasn't the only one anymore!) So Saturday night was a night out for dinner and drinks to get to know the new people and to say goodbye to the others. A few of us ended up in a club on a boat (after visiting the irish pub... yes we are making the most of the culture...) which was absolutely rammed with both locals and travellers. Health and safety doesn't seem to be such an issue here...
We left Hanoi the next day to go for a trip on a junk boat around Halong Bay. It was absolutely amazing, definitely another highlight of the holiday. The boat was gorgeous, beautiful dark wood and little rooms with twin beds. With blue skies and clear water it was pretty much idyllic. The perfect way to spend two days. And the food! I've eaten more seafood than I could possibly imagine. Lunch was 8 courses, dinner was 10 courses... all amazing fresh seafood. Fresh crab, prawns, fish... I've never been so full! But we burned it off with a swim in the lagoon. Hannah and I couldn't resist any longer so jumped off the smaller boat in the lagoon and swam back to the main boat. The James, Hannah and I spent ages jumping into the water, swimming back and doing it all over again. The water was stunning. But then there was a shout from one of the boat crew, warning us that a huge jellyfish was swimming our way, I swam so fast out of the water!!! Was less inclined to jump into the water after that!
Four of us (James, Hannah, Laura and I) stayed up with a few beers that night. We then decided it would be a good idea to sleep under the stars at the top of the boat rather than in our nice comfy beds down below. Woke up at 6am to find I was the last person remaining, everyone had realised that it wasn't quite as romantic as we'd first thought!
Had another huge lunch of seafood before heading back to the harbour. I was feeling quite tired and worse for wear after only 3 hours sleep...
We headed back into Hanoi to wait for our overnight train to Hue... I'm not a huge fan of Hanoi, it's much too busy and overwhelming. Our next stop is Hue, then Hoi An, followed by Ho Chi Minh City. I hope the problems in Bangkok calm down over the next couple of weeks...
Hanoi was a shock to the system after the gentle pace of life in Laos. It is a noisy and busy city in Vietnam. Driving is another experience altogether! The cars all drive down the middle of the road and it seems to be a constant game of chicken to see who will pull over first, you or the car driving head first towards you! Crossing the roads is pretty scary too, the technique is to just walk out at a constant pace and let all the motorbikes swerve around you. The moment you stop or do something unpredictable a crash will happen. I almost wanted to close my eyes at some points!
We spent a couple of days in Hanoi, wondered around the night market and went to a water puppet show. Also went to see Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum which I found quite creepy and didn't enjoy very much. Half our group left in Hanoi, and another 7 people joined (with 2 more guys so James was happy he wasn't the only one anymore!) So Saturday night was a night out for dinner and drinks to get to know the new people and to say goodbye to the others. A few of us ended up in a club on a boat (after visiting the irish pub... yes we are making the most of the culture...) which was absolutely rammed with both locals and travellers. Health and safety doesn't seem to be such an issue here...
We left Hanoi the next day to go for a trip on a junk boat around Halong Bay. It was absolutely amazing, definitely another highlight of the holiday. The boat was gorgeous, beautiful dark wood and little rooms with twin beds. With blue skies and clear water it was pretty much idyllic. The perfect way to spend two days. And the food! I've eaten more seafood than I could possibly imagine. Lunch was 8 courses, dinner was 10 courses... all amazing fresh seafood. Fresh crab, prawns, fish... I've never been so full! But we burned it off with a swim in the lagoon. Hannah and I couldn't resist any longer so jumped off the smaller boat in the lagoon and swam back to the main boat. The James, Hannah and I spent ages jumping into the water, swimming back and doing it all over again. The water was stunning. But then there was a shout from one of the boat crew, warning us that a huge jellyfish was swimming our way, I swam so fast out of the water!!! Was less inclined to jump into the water after that!
Four of us (James, Hannah, Laura and I) stayed up with a few beers that night. We then decided it would be a good idea to sleep under the stars at the top of the boat rather than in our nice comfy beds down below. Woke up at 6am to find I was the last person remaining, everyone had realised that it wasn't quite as romantic as we'd first thought!
Had another huge lunch of seafood before heading back to the harbour. I was feeling quite tired and worse for wear after only 3 hours sleep...
We headed back into Hanoi to wait for our overnight train to Hue... I'm not a huge fan of Hanoi, it's much too busy and overwhelming. Our next stop is Hue, then Hoi An, followed by Ho Chi Minh City. I hope the problems in Bangkok calm down over the next couple of weeks...
Thursday, 9 April 2009
TUBING!!!
Had the BEST couple of days... Vang Vieng is a small town next to the Mekong River and is best known for tubing - floating down the river on rubber tubes.
On our first night in Vang Vieng Laura, Hannah and I went out for dinner and then to a couple of bars. We had another of the infamous buckets made with whiskey, red bull and coke. It was not surprising that after that we ended up in another bar rather than the "quiet night" we'd originally planned for!
So feeling a bit tired and worse for wear the next morning, 5 of us set off for tubing. We'd been told that you could get tubes down by the river, so all piled into a tuk tuk and set off. This turned out to be a lie... we looked a bit silly at the first bar at 10.30am all tubeless! So Laura and I drew the short straw and decided to venture back to get a couple of tubes (you don't really need one each, and a lot of people just swim down anyway).
Unfortunately our tuk tuk was long gone, so we ended up walking for about 10 minutes in the sun and eventually managed to thumb down a guy in a truck that let us sit in the back and took us back to Vang Vieng. He wouldn't even accept any money when we got there - it was our first (and probably only) hitchiking experience!
So an hour and a half later we returned with the tubes to find James, Becky and Hannah already drinking whiskey and Beer Lao at the first bar. And off we went on our day of tubing...
There are bars along the river, and people throw out ropes so you can pull yourself in. So we spent the day going from bar to bar (didn't manage to have a drink in every place you'll be pleased to know)! Some places had swings or tug of war over mud pools... one place had a huge water slide and pretty much everyone that went down it came off with some sort of injury. One guy even managed to chip his tooth and came back with a mouth full of blood. And James hasn't been able to hear anything out of his right ear since!
Little did we know that after the last bar, there is still about an hour cruise down the river. And since it isn't the rainy season the river was quite shallow at some points, Hannah and I ended up sharing one tube and paddling like mad. We had to get them back by 6pm and only had about an hour to spare!!! It was such a good day, we all spent the whole day laughing. Although I am feeling a bit bruised and aching today!
We're now in Vientiane, got a bus over this morning. We're only spending one night here before flying to Vietnam tomorrow. I'm going to miss Laos, it is such a beautiful country and very laid back and friendly.
On our first night in Vang Vieng Laura, Hannah and I went out for dinner and then to a couple of bars. We had another of the infamous buckets made with whiskey, red bull and coke. It was not surprising that after that we ended up in another bar rather than the "quiet night" we'd originally planned for!
So feeling a bit tired and worse for wear the next morning, 5 of us set off for tubing. We'd been told that you could get tubes down by the river, so all piled into a tuk tuk and set off. This turned out to be a lie... we looked a bit silly at the first bar at 10.30am all tubeless! So Laura and I drew the short straw and decided to venture back to get a couple of tubes (you don't really need one each, and a lot of people just swim down anyway).
Unfortunately our tuk tuk was long gone, so we ended up walking for about 10 minutes in the sun and eventually managed to thumb down a guy in a truck that let us sit in the back and took us back to Vang Vieng. He wouldn't even accept any money when we got there - it was our first (and probably only) hitchiking experience!
So an hour and a half later we returned with the tubes to find James, Becky and Hannah already drinking whiskey and Beer Lao at the first bar. And off we went on our day of tubing...
There are bars along the river, and people throw out ropes so you can pull yourself in. So we spent the day going from bar to bar (didn't manage to have a drink in every place you'll be pleased to know)! Some places had swings or tug of war over mud pools... one place had a huge water slide and pretty much everyone that went down it came off with some sort of injury. One guy even managed to chip his tooth and came back with a mouth full of blood. And James hasn't been able to hear anything out of his right ear since!
Little did we know that after the last bar, there is still about an hour cruise down the river. And since it isn't the rainy season the river was quite shallow at some points, Hannah and I ended up sharing one tube and paddling like mad. We had to get them back by 6pm and only had about an hour to spare!!! It was such a good day, we all spent the whole day laughing. Although I am feeling a bit bruised and aching today!
We're now in Vientiane, got a bus over this morning. We're only spending one night here before flying to Vietnam tomorrow. I'm going to miss Laos, it is such a beautiful country and very laid back and friendly.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Laos
Spent two days ambling down the Mekong River by boat. It was beautiful, there were small villages at the side of the river, and water buffalo bathing. It's amazing how easily I can pass 5 hours here without getting restless! We read, slept and played cards (I taught James how to play dirty dozen so now we have an ongoing competition, happy to say I'm winning!)We stopped overnight in Pak Beng in a "basic" guest house which only had electricity from 6-10.30pm and 6-8am! The lights went out while we were sitting on the terrace having a couple of Beer Lao... drinking games by torchlight are much more interesting!
We arrived in Luang Prabang two days ago. The first morning I got up at 5.30am to see the monks walk through the streets while people offer them food, it was incredible. Next we met Pon, our local guide, at the Museum, but my favourite part was the waterfalls yesterday. We took tuk tuks for an hour to the falls. It is almost Lao New Year and as part of the celebrations the kids throw water over people. So we were prime targets in our open sided tuk tuks, we were absolutely drenched by the time we arrived!
The waterfalls were absolutely stunning, blue water, sun shining, kind of idyllic! We swam in a little pool further down, the water was lovely.
Last night a few of us decided to go bowling in a small bowling alley a short drive from our guest house. You honestly wouldn't think it was a bowling alley from the outside! But inside there were 8 proper bowling lanes. There were mainly locals there, who obviously have teams because they were SO much better than us. In fact it was only my fifth go before I managed to hit my first pin!!! So I was laughed at quite a lot... oops!
It's raining today so the perfect opportunity to catch up with my blog and my diary entries... might amble down to the night market again tonight... I'm enjoying the laid back lifestyle!
We're off to Vang Vieng tomorrow, then down to Vientiane.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong
So we headed north to Chiang Mai on an overnight sleeper train - SO much nicer than the ones in India! We were actually given pillows and blankets, and they had a waiter service (kind of!) It was meant to be 14 hours but was more like 17... after Monday night I was feeling a bit sleepy so managed to fall asleep deeply for most of the journey...
When we arrived we were taken to another really nice hotel. I've somehow managed to get my own room for the trip - jammy i know! We then headed up to the "hot springs" - a BIG disappointment. They smelled of egg... There was a mineral bath so we went for a bit of a swim but just ended up smelling of egg ourselves!
After that we went up to the temple. I had taken my malaria tablet on an empty stomach so ended up throwing up in the temple... well not actually in the temple luckily! The temple was on top of a hill and it had an absolutely stunning view out across Chiang Mai.
After dinner at the food market we hit one of the only clubs... was ok but a bit weird. The cocktails were fairly cheap so we had a few but embarrassingly the three youngest of us were ready to go home first!! Oops!
So then we got on the boat across the border to Laos for a leisurely couple of days down the Mekong River...
When we arrived we were taken to another really nice hotel. I've somehow managed to get my own room for the trip - jammy i know! We then headed up to the "hot springs" - a BIG disappointment. They smelled of egg... There was a mineral bath so we went for a bit of a swim but just ended up smelling of egg ourselves!
After that we went up to the temple. I had taken my malaria tablet on an empty stomach so ended up throwing up in the temple... well not actually in the temple luckily! The temple was on top of a hill and it had an absolutely stunning view out across Chiang Mai.
After dinner at the food market we hit one of the only clubs... was ok but a bit weird. The cocktails were fairly cheap so we had a few but embarrassingly the three youngest of us were ready to go home first!! Oops!
So then we got on the boat across the border to Laos for a leisurely couple of days down the Mekong River...
Monday, 30 March 2009
Here we go...!
You'll all be pleased to hear that I have arrived safe and sound! I managed to sleep most of the flight without realising, got woken up for breakfast and thought it had only been 2 hours since dinner, turned out it had been 7! I blame the office leaving drinks, I think I am still recovering!I managed to meet 4 girls at the airport and we all got a taxi in to the centre. They made us wait for a "big taxi", but we realised a little too late that a big taxi actually still only had 4 seats so the 5 of us had to squish in the back - not the most comfortable of journeys! The others were dropped at Khaosan Road while I carried on to meet up with my group tour. Once I arrived at the hotel I was hurried straight into a meeting with our tour leader who claimed she speaks "thainglish" - a combination of thai and english. So a whole hour could have been summed up in 3 sentances - don't drink tap water, wear sun cream and keep your valuables safe. Not exactly shocking pieces of advice.
We all then went out for dinner. At the moment there are 10 people on the tour (only one guy!) and everyone seems really nice. After dinner we went for a quick drink, then all drifted off in our own ways. I bumped into Georgia, and then the girls from the taxi. So I stayed around for a couple of buckets (lethal stuff) with them and met some more new people. Then randomly bumped into Harry Pearse - a guy from Fortismere - we both were looking at each other quizzically thinking "didn't he go to my school?!"
He was travelling with some more people from Fortismere, so we all ended up in a random club in the middle of nowhere in Bangkok. Took two tuk tuks there - our driver kept trying to do wheelies, not with much success but with quite a few shrieks from me!Decided not to go on the tour around the palace today as I have already been there, so decided instead to catch up on my sleep and laze around by the pool, not a hard life! Taking an overnight train to Chiang Mai tonight then continuing up into Laos.
Still can't quite get my head around the fact that this is day one of 5 months!!!
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Itinerary
Well it feels weird writing my first blog entry before I've actually left, but I've had lots of people asking where I'm going to be at different dates so I thought it would be easiest to write it on here. So this is my plan for the next 5 months...
29th March - Arrive in Bangkok, Thailand
Tour around Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia - finishing up back in Bangkok
1st May - Fly to Sydney, Australia
Spend 2 weeks travelling up the East Coast of Australia
15th May - Fly to Christchurch, New Zealand
Kiwi experience up to Auckland
9th June - Fly to Nadi, Fiji
Fiji experience for a week
16th June - Fly to Santiago, Chile
Travel through Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina
31st August - Fly home from Buenos Aires (arrive in Heathrow in the morning of the 1st September)
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