Destination Unknown

Europe!!

2008-09-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

Its now been 3 months and im flying back to Australia tomorrow.. But this is what I've been up to for the last three months in Europe.
Firstly I stayed in England with my cousins for a week.. Went sight seeing in London.. and jst hung out with the family, nice break from constantly travelling and i had my own bed so weird!
The i got a job on Majorca one of the Spanish Balearic Islands, working behind a bar.. It sounded like a pretty sweet deal over the phone and on the net but when i got there i didnt enjoy it.. i was working 60hours a week and living above the bar.. it was right on the coast and the view was amazing but all i did was work.. not my idea of fun so i quit 3 weeks later and started travelling again..
First stop Barcelona! I hated it!!! The city was so dirty, smelly, and there were sleezy guys everywhere! Every1 I had spoken to had been pick pocketed and id found out it was becuase of all of the Morroccans that are there illegally.. I had met a ton of people that worked there and loved it but i couldn't see what all the fuss was about??
A few days later I went to Pamplona for the 'running with the bulls' festival with a bus load of people and IT WAS THE BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!!! The bus broke down on the way there (this didnt even happen in Asia haha) so we didnt get there until 11pm.. but when we got off the bus the streets were packed full of people wearing red and white iv never seen so many people in one place in my life! and it was freezing no one expected it! We all got off the bus loaded up on sangria and hit the streets.. fireworks went off at midnight and there were stages and bands everywhere.. We didnt have anywhere 2 sleep which didnt matter cos we didnt plan on sleeping! and for those who did they jst joined every1 else sleeping in the park haha.. we partyed all night then at 7am the track was packed.. and the bulls were set loose.. the spanish are crazy! iv never seen anything so wild in my life.. the runners end up in an arena and one by one the bulls are set free to run amuck i cant even describe it! Pamplona is just a small town and during the week everything is let go there is no food and the streets are full of plastic cups and what not.. BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!
The next day I had to get to the bus before 9.30 or the bus was going to leave with all my stuff and i'd lost every1 i had 2euros 2 my name and had no idea where the bus was i should have taken notice the night before.. but i didnt! I walked around for an hour and had no idea where i was going then finally when i sobered up a bit more i realised id walked past it 3 times haha loser! I was half an hour late but thank god the bus waited for me!
Next stop was Biarritz, France for the surf camp! Biarritz is so beautiful and the south coast of France has some of the best surf in Europe.. so I camped there for a few days and went surfing with a surf program thats organised!
The manager of the program asked me the next day if id drive a van all the way back to barcelona for him and he'd pay me.. how could i turn that offer down.. so me and 2 english girls id met hit the road 'road trip'! It took us about 10 hours but it was kinda fun and we got to c more of Spain..
Got back to Barca and me and the girls decided to go out.. we jst left the hostel and a morroccan ran up to Ali grabbed her bag and legged it.. he came out of no where.. way 2 ruin the night! this is why i never take anything out with em especially in Barcelona.
The next day I met Bridie!!! Actual champion! Shes from the Goldy unfortunately haha but we r similar in so many ways.. and i ended up travelling with her for the next 2months; the end of both of our trips! I ended up fallin in love with Barca strangely? Its such a cool city.. its so beautiful every single building is stunning i cant really explain it but its amazing.. and the night life is crazy! Me and brides got a job working on the bar crawl 4 nights a week until i quit and she got fired because we had a fight with our manager about living arrangments long story.. but even tho Barca is a little dangerous i love it.. when all of the bars close at night there are these little illegal bars with roller doors as doors.. all you do is knock on it and the owners slide an eye peeper thingo over and then let u in.. just like the movies haha.. I met some awesome people in Braca and had such a good time.. stayed for a month and then me and brides decided to head to the next destination.. We'd decided on florence.. good old game of rock paper scissors
We met some Kiwi guys the night before we left and they were doing the van tour thro europe and said theyd give us a life which worked out really well!
There were 5 of us sleeping in the van for nearly a week a little cramped haha but it was good fun.. oh and we had 2 shower in the beach showers so embarrassing lol
We drove thro the french Provonce.. French Riviera (So beautiful) and Monoco (the 2nd smallest country in Europe).. stopping at every beach we could find on the way.. It was all so rich iv never seen so many rich, beautiful boats in my life.. Then we stopped at Pisa, Italy for the night to see the leaning tower and umm all there is in Pisa is literally the leaning tower haha but we did camp for the night and listen to the guitar..
we were in 3 countries in 1 day so strange!
and finally we arrived in Florence! as soon as we got there me and brides looked at each other and said id tn wanna stay here haha we had all these big plans to start our own bar crawl.. but its kind of impossible in a city that doesnt have bars lol we probably should have done our research.. But florence was nice.. alot of history but thats about it and its not near the ocean so we left the next day!
Brides had already been to greece and spent time on a greek island called Ios and said we have to go there.. who was i to say no?? So that was our next destination
3 days later.. a night sleeping at the port.. 2 overnight ferries.. a train ride and a bus ride we finally got there.. we were only planning on staying for a week tops but i loved it as soon as we got there.. on our first day wed found a house to live in and both got jobs we dnt mess around haha..
Ios is the craziest place iv ever been.. but also the most relaxed.. So many things happened there that no1 will ever understand.. seeing people naked.. passed out.. peeing themselves.. not to mention a ton of other things jst became normal hahaha seriously it was so weird
Me and bridie moved into 'the cave' with some aussie boys. we called it cave bar and everynight we had randoms come in and drink with us it was so much fun!!! I quit my job 2 days later by the way.. i chose the mature decision to get drunk every night instead.. This is travelling everyone lol..
Theres too much to write if i were 2 mention everything that happened and it was all kind of a blur anyway everynight sort of mixed in with others.. and dreams.. it was hard make out what happened and what didnt?? During the days we spent it down the beach.. rock jumping and hanging out it was awesome!
Highlights of Ios were stealing an ATV with brides and nabs and riding it down a massive hill.. stealing aka borrowing a dingy with the boys using 2 sticks as oars and going for a morning paddle to c the sunrise dnt worry we put the boat right back where we got it.. 40 of us going to a secluded beach camping.. we had a massive bonfire.. fire twirling and the boys played the guitar all night and then we slept in hammocks which jst happened to be there.. weird.. and living in 'the cave' and the boys we lived with were the most fun in the whole entire world!! Me and brides were on Ios for a month and jst flew back to England where Iv spent a week with my family before heading home..
ITS BEEN AMAZING!!!
Its weird thinking im actually about to go to Australia.. well after 3 days catching planes because i was originally going to go to NY, LA and Auckland on my world ticket i still have to fly to all those places on my way there.. oh well
My reasons for going home early to follow summer (a year of summer im not ready for cold yet) and to see my little brother Josh who was bron after i left.. Im only planning on staying for a few months then heading off again.. South america is next in my agenda I promise il be more up to date next time!
Adios chico's and chica's xxxxxx

Thailand <3

2008-06-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

I am well aware i have not writen on here for nearly 2 months now.. my excuse for not doing it in thailand is because i was having way too much fun! I would move to thailand in a heart beat absoultely fell in love with it! Il jst list some of the main things i did.. In Chaing Mai i went on another trek.. it was freezing and raining def was not used 2 it.. when i got back i found out there was a cyclone in Burma not far from where we were which explained it. I rode elephants again but hated it. Id heard the stories about thais treating the elephants badly and its true they had little sticks with hooks on the end to hit the elephants when they went off track a little.. i jst wanted to get off!!! Then we went bamboo rafting which was fun our raft had a little thai boy and his dad ´steering´it and it was pretty much jst the 10 year old bay with our life in his hands lol.. i stood on the back helping steer. Not alot else happened in Chaing Mai.. a dutch family on my trek offered me a place 2 stay and a job in holland if i go which was really nice of them.
Then i went 2 Bangkok.. my favourite city by far.. it was jst amazing.. the atmosphere of koh san road.. the food stalls on the side of the street.. the fruit carts.. the taxis.. the tuk tuks.. the partys.. the massages.. the shopping.. the people.. the thai ability to turn a servo into a bar at night.. for me Bangkok is perfect!
I ran into Michael, Dave and Jen some people i travelled with in cambodia as well so we had alot of fun! Then me and Dave went down to koh phi phi where ´the beach´was set and the tsunami hit.. such a beautiful place! This is the place i was introduced to ´Papaya´the most amazing resturant in the whole wide world.. i would dream about this place and we eat there breakfast lunch and dinner.. i was also introduced to ´the rock´where we all met.. there were 10 of us.. best crew of the whole trip.. we stayed together for the rest of thailand.. these people i will never forget! Me, Dave, Helen and James all worked at the biggest club there the ´regae bar´it was not work at all.. we had 2 hand out flyers and i always wondered off to watch a movie at another bar haha whoops.. then wed go inside get drunk with every1 for free and got paid enough for our accommodation and food yew! The regae had a boxing ring inside with thai boxers and people would get a free bucket if they got up and fought each other so funny! 4 of the boys we were with got up they all had black eyes the next day haha! Then upstairs there would be something different on everynight.. wet t-shirt comps.. lady boy caberas so much fun! Oh i got a tattoo as well with michelle.. we both got thai writing on our wrist.. it meant something 2 both of us but i will not say what it says! They were done the traditional thai way with bamboo.. such a good invention it doesnt hurt.. doesnt bleed.. u can get it wet the next day amazing! We also stayed a night on Koh phi phi leh which is a seperate island where ´the beach´was actually set most beautiful place on earth!
After that we went to Koh Phan-gan for the full moon party... OMG!!.. Too much fun to even describe.. it was insane! the beach.. the fire shows.. the skipping ropes on fire.. the hoops of fire.. the weather.. the atmosphere.. the music.. the partying.. shroom mountain.. THE DROP IN BAR (where we stayed).. sleeping most of the day partying all night.. free buckets.. oh i miss it! Seriously i wanna cry i miss it that much!
We then went 2 Koh Tao where i got diving certified.. it was great i got 2 do 4 dives and they were all totally different and so beautiful! I actually had 2 study tho and do an exam what.. my brain doesnt work anymore i was not ready for it lol
Koh Tao was alos awesome great party.. and the fire twirlers here were brilliant.. i didnt think they could get better than the drop in bar boys but i was wrong it was amazing! I fell in love ith 1 of the thai boys John haha
then back 2 bangkok jst me and meagan now.. people slowly dropped off.. i only had the day until i flew out so i went shopping and reminised.. i was so sad 2 b leaving i was actually crying.. sad i no.. and then an hour before i had 2 be at the airport it started pouring and thundering.. the loudest thunder iv ever heard.. the first time it had properly rained since id been away.. and me and meagan were 15 mins walk away from the guesthouse.. so we walked in the rain.. drenched.. THAILAND WAS UPSET AND MAD THAT WE WERE LEAVING!!! haha well thats what we believed!

Thailand (Chiang Mai)

2008-05-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

THE GIBBON EXPERIENCE

2008-05-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

AMAZING!!!! Wow seriously the coolest thing I have ever done! If you don't know what I'm talking about the Gibbon Experience is a trek in Laos that helps preserve there forrest and save the endangered Gibbons but more importantly its so much fun haha
There are zip lines set up from tree to tree up to 1km long and 100 metres high and you have a harness on and literally zip thro the jungle.. the first time was crazy as i have already said Laos is so laid back and well our guide just zipped off leaving us to figure it out haha which i loved all thegirls were like "omg he didnt even check our harness what if something goes wrong" and i was like yewww catch you later" haha.. AMAZING! We had such a cool group as well there were 6 girls and a 40 year old guy from Singapore named ALBERT hahaha he was such good entertainment.. he took photos of absolutely everything.. does he not realise he is from asia and in asia??? It was hard work tho we trekked for about 4 hours a day most of it was uphill and there were leeches everywhere.. why were leeches created?? Worst invention ever! Every step we had to dodge leeches.. they got in our shoes.. our socks.. everything!!! And they hurt when you pull them off ahhh. On the last morning we woke up at 5am to go trekking and the leeches were blood hungry it was crazy they were evil instead of dodging 1 every step there were about 5.. not happy Jan.. But every time we got to a zip line it was so worth it!!! Oh I forgot to mention we slept in tree houses which was so cool!!! We were about 100 metres high in a huge tree in the middle of nowhere and the only way to get there is to zip haha we spent a whole afternoon zipping in and out of the tree house it seriously never got old! There were rats in the tree houses at night.. how they get up there i do not know but we all had our shoes and socks out to dry.. i had two pairs of socks and in the morning one of my socks was in the toilet and the rest gone.. they didnt touch anyone elses stuff so im pressuming my feet smell extra nice haha
So to sum it up it was the coolest thing I have ever done.. food was good.. trek was good.. zip lining was awesome! Thanks mum and nanna best birthday present ever!!!
LAOS=BEST COUNTRY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

The bus ride from hell

2008-04-28T04:06:00.000-07:00

Last night i made a stupid stupid decision to catch the night bus from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai.. i am still now deciding what the worst part of the trip was so i will let you all decide for yourself....

spending 15 hours on a bus
the seats not reclining
there being absolutely no leg room
it being 40 degrees
the windows not opening or closing properly
the bus being way over crowded
hearing someone coughing up phlem in front of me
15 minutes later feeling my feet get wet
then realising the coughing was the lady in front of me throwing up
chuck being all over my feet
10 hours later the lady in front of me still throwing up
looking down the aisle and it being covered in spew
holding my feet up all night so they wouldnt touch the ground
THE SMELL
at 1am 4 kids on the bus crying all at the same time
2kids asleep in the aisle.. stealing my spot haha
a kid asleep on my foot
one of the kids on the seat in front of me wetting his pants
ONCE AGAIN THE SMELL
watching the sun rise once again.. sounds pleasant but iv seen enough of unwanted sunrises on this trip
the bumpy bumpy road
only having one hour sleep
knowing that the only thing getting me through was writing this blog

Im sure there was more but i can not remember right now.. but please let me know what you think the worst part was.. I don't think i would have made it without Sarah.. an awesome aussie chick i was sitting next to.. it was just me and her and the crazy laos people.. but sarah came prepared with incence.. my life saver!!!!

Vang Vieng

2008-04-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

Vang Vieng is the best place in the whole entire world!!!! Maybe i havnt seen the whole world but its up there!! It's a little town surrounded by limestone mountains with the Mekong thro the middle and there is so much to do. The town is set up for tourists tho so its a massive party everynight and friends and family guy are played over and over again all day and night.. I cant believe Joey falls in love with Rachael?? Iv never really got into friends but now im addicted haha
On my first day here i went rockclimbing which was awesome!! I was climbing with a dutch girl Leila and the first few climbs we were like wow this is pretty cruisy we were zooming up the mountain.. then.. the instructors put up a new rope and wow it was the hardest thing iv ever done.. seriously i didnt think id make it but my guns didnt fail me and i got up haha
The last two days iv been tubing, which is so much fun! Tubing is the lao way of sitting in a tube floating down the river stopping at the bars lined up next to each other on the banks.. great fun
The aim is to make it to the end of the river and i seriously tried to do it but both times i only made it to the smile bar which is about the 4th bar down and 20metres down the river.. very poor effort.. but at the bars they have massive rope swings into the river.. so much fun and volleyball courts
Unfortunately for the last 4days iv been so sick throwing up.. not sleeping.. wanting to die.. so i missed out on seeing the caves in Vang Vieng and also the waterfalls in Luang Prabang not happy at all.. but iv got the gibbon experience in 2days so im trying to concentrate on that.. oh well guess im going to have to come back and see what i missed out on
So Im in Luang Prabang now i havnt seen anything but my bed, the main street and the doctor but its such a beautiful place! I feel like im in Europe.. apparently alot of french come here and rent little houses on the river front for a month for $70,000, which is crazy this is asia? There are little bakerys everywhere and a night market everynight, which is so hard not to buy things from.. im catching a bus to Huay Xai tonight for the Gibbon experience yewww cant wait to zip line thro the forrest!!
I know i keep saying everything is amazing and awesome but there are no other words to describe how good this country is!!

Laos.. 4000 islands (don det) & Tad Lo

2008-04-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

I had no problems getting my passport back it all worked out really well.. Im now in Laos and it is by far my favourite country so far! It is so relaxed everyone is just happy to see you and aren't trying to rip me off
Its been new year here and its been so much fun.. they celebrate by throwing water at each other and drinking alot of lao beer they really know how to celebrate as well cos the holiday is for 7days.. why don't we celebrate for 7 days?? haha
The first place i went was 4000 islands which is very south of Laos where the mekong fans out into 4000 islands in the dry season.. I stayed in Don Det island which is the most relaxed place in the mst relaxed country in the world.. there is only 4 hours of electricity a day and the island is so pretty, covered in palm trees and there are animals roaming around everywhere.. I was with a group of 6 people me and Karen met on the bus.. the first day me and Karen rode bikes to another island and cycled to some waterfalls and went swimming.. the waterfalls were huge considering its the dry season here i cant even imagine how much water there would be in the wet season.. we thought it would be a good idea to go off the main track and see what we could find and ended up on the bumpiest road ever i wouldnt even call it a road more like a bunch of huge rocks piled up on each other!! We got to the end of the road and i was like 'wow im so proud of these tyres for not puncturing' yep i spoke way to soon im riding along struggling while Karen was fine.. turns out my tyre was flat haha and it was a 2 hour walk back to the guesthouse.. Nooooo!! Literally 2metres down the road there happened to be a tyre puncture repair shop so im guessing it doesnt happen very often haha..
The next day we all drank with the locals and jumped off the resturants into the river it was so much fun.. then we went on a boat tour to another island where the locals go to celebrate the year and it was such an experience the whole island was packed and we were the only westerners there.. everyone stared at us.. awkward.. at first all the kids ran away if they got too close to us but when we were leaving the island we walked down the hill to the boat and seriously 100 kids ran after us with water guns and water bombs.. we had no chance lol so we had a massive water fight with all these kids it was so good!!
The next few days were jst much of the same celebrating with the locals everyone is so friendly when they see you the smile and say 'sabaidee' which means hello.. oh i also rode a wild water buffalo haha it could have turned out really badly because i had no idea how it would react.. but it jst kept doing what it was doing and eating the grass lol great pic tho im jst waiting 4 Karen to upload it.
I have been in Tad Lo for the past few days which is an even more beautiful place the bugalows are right on the river front with a massive waterfall right on your doorstep.. As you have read Ive now seen my fair share of waterfalls.. they are absolutely everywhere
Me and Josh (a weirdo i met in Don Det) rode a moto there and got absolutely drenched every 10 metres down the road.. the streets were lined with kids throwing water, there was no way of avoiding it and if it wasnt the kids wetting us it was a group of drunk adults in pick up trucks driving past hahaha
The New Year was even bigger in Tad Lo there were stages set up everywhere with music all day and night and stalls set up everywhere.. the waterfall was covered in people swimming it was such a good atmosphere.. I ate breakfast with a Laos family one morning by the waterfall everyone is just so friendly!!! The group i was with and I drank beer Lao and danced with the locals all night.. and by all night i mean until 11pm because Laos has a Kurfew off 11pm everywhere.. this is what i mean by laid back
Oh i nearly forgot i went on my first elephant ride.. It was freaky to start off with, i felt like i was going to fall off every step it took.. Most people sit on the seat on its back but i got to sit on its neck which was so much better and a few minutes into it my guide jumped off and walked behind us singing so me and the elephant got some serious alone time haha i love it! Iv also heard from other travellers that when theyve had elephant rides the elephants had been treated really badly and hit with sticks and what not but the elephant i went on was treated really well my guide didnt even touch it which was a massive bonus!!!
Im now in Vientiene which is the capital of laos.. the bus here was a nightmare the bus was packed and i had no room.. i was cold.. and i couldnt sleep.. it was a 10 hour ride which i usually dnt mind but i jst couldnt sleep.. it was 3am and i was frustrated!!! So i climbed over the lady next 2 me and slept in the isle of the bus for 3 hours.. im sure it will be funny in a few years time BUT NOT NOW!!!
Im also solo again for now which is good i have been waiting for a night on my own.. so today i rode around the city seeing the sights and got really really lost haha.. but i met 2 guys from adelaide who are here playing Football tomorrow.. and Im talking real football.. aussie rules!! Which is not what i expected im in Laos?? haha but anyway im going to watch the game tomorrow which should be good
Im know i should be putting pictures up as i write new blogs but its hard because all the pics that relate are still on my camera but i will put some up soon
miss you all dearly x

Virachey National Park

2008-04-10T01:38:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my trek.. Karen and I decided to do 4day 3 nights instead because it was only $15 extra.. it was lets say and experience! The first day we went to the market to buy food.. and by food i mean rice, vegetables and eggs and lots of it! Then we spent the next 90 minutes on the back of a moto bike.. iv said it before and il say it again its amazing what you can fit on a single bike.. we had a backpack in front of the driver, 12 bottles of water between me and the driver, me sitting on my hands trying to hold on for dear life, and my backpack on my back pulling me backwards.. Karen had the same but instead of water she had pots and pans inbetween her legs.. It was so hard to hold on going up the hills i seriously thought i was going to fall off.. so we survived that part then at lunch and our guide met us with our 'boat' to get to the village.. the boat was a tree trunk cut in half, full of water all we could do was laugh, we spent the next 3hours on the 'boat' and got to the village where we set up our hammocks and ate dinner.. Next morning we got woken up at 6 for breakfast mmm wonder what we are having rice and veg yet again, then treked thro the jungle for 3hours until we came to a almost dried up river for lunch.. which was different.. we had carrots this time haha.. and we were attacked by flies!! Then we treked further to the camp site and swam in the river which was much needed!! Meanwhile the whole trip the guide in front of me was smoking a joint the whole time.. what?? We spent the night in the jungle which was really cool but i heard animals all night and it was really hard to sleep knowing there may be a tiger around somewhere.. The next day we treked some more back to the village and spent the night there again.. i cant believe what these people eat.. the guides caught fish when we were at the river and brought them back to the village to eat.. the fish were left in the sun all day and in the morning they were half eaten and covered by ants but hey why let that stop you eating it.. ill pass thanks.. and 1 of our guides found a dead baby bird that had fallen out of the nest it was that young it didnt even have feathers mmm what should we do with it.. why not put it on a stick.. grill it and eat it for dinner??? YUK!!
Today we Kayaked down the river for three hours and by kayaked i mean me and Karen were too lazy so we sunbaked and drifted the whole way haha and now we are back in town..
Im about to go get my passport fingers crossed its there.. and 2moro we are heading to Laos yay I'm really excited!!
Bye for now

Kratie, Bun Lung

2008-04-05T04:39:00.000-07:00

I ended up staying in Phnom Penh for a few more nights with everyone, which was really good we visited the russian market and central market, which was interesting and for some reason i brought a dressing gown that i do not need lol stupid really because the only reason i got it was because i bartered the price down to $10 from $15.. what will i do with it now.. mum its coming your way haha.. we didn't really do much more just went out. I then went north to Kratie bymyself, which is a little town on the Mekong and saw the dolphins and watched the sunset it was so cool watching the dolphins playing around... I would have loved to move further north the next day but turns out there are no atms for the rest of cambodia and none in the south of Laos which is where i am headed next ahhhh... meanwhile i asked the taxi driver that took me to the bus station in phnom penh to take me to an atm first and he said there will be one in Kratie.. So i spent 8 hours the next day backtracking to an atm.. which sucked!! I got so sunburnt.. my bum hurt.. it was way too hot... there was a storm the night before so the first part of the trip took 2 hours instead of 15mins.. slipping and sliding thro mud cars and motos were piled up and we had to drive thro little villages to try and get thro but finally i made it to an atm and got out enough money.. thinking everything would now be fine to get to Laos i went further north to Ratanakkiri which is pretty much on the border... and i found out that you can not get a laos visa on the border i am going thro because it has only new and not properly established yet.. i thought i had done my research i have met so many people that have gone thro the border and got their visas for cambodia but turns out you cant do it the opposite direction.. no!!!!!! I was devostated there was no way i was travelling all the way back to penom pehn again so iv sent my passport off and am hoping i don't get scammed and get it back in a few days.. That problem over I love this place.. i was sitting at dinner last night waith some people from my bus and I saw Jayme and Evan walk past.. what??? I am in the middle of nowhere and i thought they had already been and gone but they just happened to walk into my guesthouse looking for a pool table.. it was crazy and turns out they have been stuck here with no money.. theres that no atm problem again haha.. so they stuck around another day and we (me Jayme, Ev and Karen a kiwi girl im now with) all rented motos and went to the waterfalls and lake today.. it was awesome!!! We are in a place surrounded by dust and were absolutely covered with thick dust.. and then in the middle of nowhere there are 3 waterfalls and a huge lake.. we jumped off the waterfalls and swam in the lake all day.. Cambodia is a great country i love it!! It keeps getting better still.. tomorrow Me and Karen are going on a trek 2 night 3 days thro the jungle cant wait il let you know how it goes
x

Angkor Wat

2008-03-31T02:49:00.000-07:00

Siem Reap is awesome!!! Its only a little town but there are so may markets got some good bargains
Im now travelling with 8 other people 3 girls and 5 guys its really cool.. except they r all pommys haha i kid i kid
Went to Angkor Wat yesterday which was unreal.. They are the biggest temples in the world and tomb raider was set there.. We woke up for sunrise.. i knew i shouldnt have gone out the night before it was the hardest thing iv ever had to do lol but it was def worth it.. the sun rises behind angkor wat and it is seriously the prettiest thing I've ever seen!! I'm not usually into temples but these were incredible I can see why they are the best in the world. There are heaps of different ones one has a million faces on it so there is always creepy eyes looking at you.. another has massive trees growing over the temples, which is the 1 tomb raider was set in.. watch the movie again ul understand!
But wait theres more.. when we were at the face temple i met... RICKY MARTIN.. so i never really liked the guy but he gave me a hug yewwww and we got pics.. he's actually a really nice guy..
Im back in phnom Penh for another night im not sure what my next move is yet ill let you know when i decide
x

2008-03-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

Cambodia keeps getting better its a massive partay everynight!!! The backpacker section is actual dodgeville but its so much fun.. Havnt done anything all that exciting just been going out.. I got robbed by little kids haha they were the cutest kids iv ever seen im going to steal one and send it home.. i was mucking around with some little boys and they stole $10 off me cheeky little buggers.. i 4give them tho cos they were adorable
We met up with Jayme and Evs mates they were pretty cool partay hard!! I drove a tuc tuc the other night.. well so iv been told haha.. with 6 of the boys in the back of it yewwww no crashed this time tho im pro
Im flying solo again needed to meet different people so caught a bus to siem reap gonna volunteer in the next few days im so excited
there isnt much more to report
Tina i dnt no how to comment u back.. but it would be great if u could pick me up from the airport.. thanku. im not sure of the date yet because i am changing my flight so i can spend a bit longer here i will let u no asap
x

Cambodia

2008-03-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

My last nite in Vietnam was the absolute worst.. one last scam before we left!! We paid $30 to cross into camboida on the Mekong River which was good but most of the first day was spent on a bus and they dropped us in BUG TOWN to spend our last nite in the muggiest, bug infested, seedy hotel.. the hotel didn't have enough room for Anna and Dean so they got sent to a hotel 4 blocks away with noway of getting inbetween hotels for food!! And they wouldn't let 3 of us share so i was stuck in a room with a 40 year old Korean guy and for some reason the 2 single beds were next 2 each other ahhhhhh.. i took Hoa's advise (the coolest vietnamese guy) and "just relaxed man" until..... i woke up an hour later with him rolled over asleep pretty much on top of me.. it took me a while to analyse my next move.. 40yo Korean... Jayme... 40yo Korean.. Jayme haha yep Jayme won.. JUST. So i went upstairs knocked on the boys door and stole Jayme's bed.. Vietnam was good but i do not recommend it the places are really nice but the people ruin it!!!
Im in Cambodia now and it is so much fun.. im so confused tho because how is this country so much more developed and civilised than vietnam?? we just went to a supermarket??? SUPERMARKET!!!! with tim tams, chocolate, coco pops.. nutella everything iv ever dreamed of haha
We are staying in a hostel whih is so good its an actual hostel with common rooms so you can socialise with people its wicked!!
We went out last night to dodge town, which is where the hostel is and as soon as we walked out we were swamped with people trying to sell us drugs and there were prostitutes everywhere and they do not try and hide it!!!
Today we went to the killing fields and museums and it is grusome.. The killing fields sent shivers down my spine thousands of people were killed and chucked into holes in the ground.. there was a display of skulls in a massive temple and just walking around the fields there are still teeth scattered everywhere.. We also saw the buildings the people were kept in and wlked thro the prison and it displays how the people were treated it is really hard to believe it was less than 40 years ago!
On a happier note im about to go out so gotta get ready
p.s. danni if ur reading this.. not happy jan

Ho Chi Minh Citayyyy

2008-03-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

My last night in Muine absolutely sucked.. i do not know whose smart idea it was to catch the bus to Ho Chi Minh at 1.30am but it was the worst!!! We sat on the side of the road with all backpacks.. locked out of everything.. in a tiny little beach town.. eaten by mossy's.. sitting on concrete.. buses kept driving past us.. then finally at 2.30am the bus arrived and we had 4 hours sleep before arriving in Ho Chi Minh. The city is so much nicer than Hanoi its full on tho.. once again i can not believe what these people put on their motos there r whole families, 2 adults and 2 kids on 1 moto.. some guy was carrying a washing machine today who needs a car??? haha
Yesterday we went to the War museum which was really sad.. their were pictures of the war.. explanations of the after affect and deformed babies in jars affected by agent orange.. seriously the saddest thing i've ever seen.. last night was awesome went to a massive club which was pumping... first time ive heard good music yewwww.. only down side the whole placed was packed out with old seedy men with young, little asian girls.. do they not understand that its wrong???
This morning was the worst!!! We all got up so hungover and spent 4 hours on a crappy mini bus to see a temple.. why i do not know???? It was a good temple but who needs and hour and a half to see a building??? Then we went to the Cu Chi tunnels which was awesome!!! We climbed thro the tunnels the vietnamese built during the war and they r not the most spacious of tunnels... it was sketchy in 1 of them cos we could seriously see nothing!!! I was first in line and some animal started making noices.. yep iv never moved so quickly in my whole entire life
The jeep idea didn't happen we r getting a boat dwon the mekong tomorrow morning and arrive in Cambodia in 2days
Happy easter everybody
p.s. i found some cadbury chocolate... the most exciting news everrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang

2008-03-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry its been a while since i've updated, been too busy soaking up the sun, playing beach volleyball, and getting drunk.. its a hard life!! Went to Hue hated it, it was so boring i did a boat tour to some tombs thats about it. Ditched Omer.. thank god and now we've got out own possi.. me, 2canadians (Jayme & Evan) and an aussie couple (Dean & Anna). We all met up in Hoi An and went to stayed at a really really nice hotel called Grasslands, which we eventually got kicked out of... well pretty much it was leave or they would steal our stuff haha.. Me, Evan and Jayme hired motos 1 day it was insane jst rode for the whole day and saw the best views vietnam is such a pretty place.. beautiful beaches.. we saw so many ruins.. we bombed this place very very well everything down south is still getting rebuilt.. roads, houses, land, everything and the war was over 40 years ago. So we moved on and went to Hoe's place which absolutely rocked!! He is the coolest vietnamese guy ever all he said was 'jesus christ just relax man' umm Hoe we r sitting on the beach with a beer haha.. we ended up there 4 2 nights it was right on the beach so we played volleyball.. Aussies kicked canadian's ass yewww.. some German guy started playing with us with his budgie smugglers on he was terrible and put us all off our game.. We went into Danang 1 night and got kicked out of a bar cos we didnt buy any drinks.. then went to some weird cowboy bar and drank and danced with the sweatiest guy ever.. no point to this story really
umm we then moved onto Natrang for my 19th bday it was the best birthday ever!! Ate a kilo of lobster and a kilo of squid for $20.. then we went to an irish pub and had double shot vodkas with red bull for 10,000dong.. which is about 80cents the pub was pumping the manager gave me free drinks all night.. well day cos i was in bed by 10pm hahaha and i was an absolute mess threw up in some restuarant.. the vietnamese have these push bikes with seats on the front and they ride u around.. well me and Jayme stole one haha i was riding it and was riding it very well considering the state i was in.. and Jayme was like "shana ur too drunk let me drive".. literally 10m down the road we crashed and r now both covered in scratches.. it was such a good night from what iv heard lol.. wish my grandparents weren't reading this..
we r now in MuiNe which is a little beach town.. got a massage on the beach for $4 im starting to feel bad about how little these people earn $4 an hour?? Anywho we r going to Saigon 2moro night to rent a jeep and cruise around the south of vietnam for a few days then off to cambodia.. update u all soon

Halong Bay

2008-03-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

Since Sapa has been a massive adventure so much has happened.. where do i start?? Well I went to Hanoi its crazy people and motos everywhere.. I visited the Ho Chi Minh in the flesh and I mean flesh.. they have preserved him so u can visit him in the mousoleum very strange.. I went to some museums did the touristy thing.. then got robbed!!! Its funny now but wasn't at the time the moto rider that took me to all these places said it would be $5.. near the end of the ride he ran out of petrol and looked at me and said 800,000Dong which is about $50.. I was like no no no u sadi $5 we started arguing he said he was angry and his eyes started tearing up then opened a compartment on his bike and yep.. U guessed it a massive knife.. and i mean massive.. Here take ur $50!!!! So I was stranded as well as jst been robbed turns out i wasn't far from my Hotel so all worked out ok.. Just another story of the beautiful tropical Vietnam haha
It has been alot better since then i really like this country now.. I did a 2night 3 day trip to Halong bay which was the best time of my life.. the whole trip was incredible! The first night we jst relaxed on the top deck of the junk (the boat) looking at the limestone islands, visited a cave, which was good but the vietnamese know how to ruin anything natural they had colourful lights everywhere I felt like I was in a nightclub and there were random penguin bins everywhere, fake trees and random wooden things everywhere. And their sailing skills are no different from their driving skills.. the aim is to be as pushy as u can be and get there first!! We spent the first night on the junk stayed up playing UNO with some canadian guys all night. The next day was the highlight.. We went on a trek on Cat Ba Island to the top of a mountain.. then Kayaked to Monkey Bay Island.. The name explains it all there were monkeys everywhere.. It was really sad tho because their were some chinese tourists throwing lollies at them.. They could have at least taken the wrapper off.. and they were stirring them up trying to make the monkeys angry it was really sad I had to walk away.. but then we kayaked through the caves which was insane it opens up into a hidden island was so pretty I felt like I was in a movie.. then we went through a veitnamese fishing village.. which is a village on the water, people spend their whole lives there the kids row the boat to school, villages go to the land to collect supplies.. they even have dogs!
We spend the night at a hotel on the island and went to the nightclub there absolutely smashed it!! Only spent $6 all night yewww.. The night club was classic it was packed.. vietnamese guys hitting on me buying me drinks haha it was hilarious!!! The club closed at 1am and i was not ready to go home so we spent the next three hours on the side of the road with some vietnamese guys selling chickens.. they shouted us rice wine.. and I smoked tobacco thro some massive pipe it was definately a highlight! Oh and I can not forget to mention this.. We were at a restuarant having lunch and Ty (one of the canadians) ordered an iced tea... and thats literally what he got... a hot tea with ice in it hahahaha it was seriously the funniest thing in the whole wide world.. gotta love the vietnamese!!
Im now in Hue, got here this morning so im going to explore update soon x

Sapa

2008-03-05T01:34:00.000-08:00

"You go to Sapa? I have van I take u to Sapa" After being followed to the ATM and told it would cost me 25,000dong i agreed.. I only had 200,000dong notes and was worried about not getting the correct change.. 2 notes were taken from me and i was given 150,000 in return i knew id been massively ripped off but i was in shock.. he added another '0' to the price... WELCOME TO VIETNAM!
Sapa is a beautiful place on top of a mountain surrounded by constant mist and vietnamese hill tribes! I stayed for 3 days and 2 nights and loved it.. only downside is it is so cold!!!
I have visited many hill tribes Kat Kat was my first.. a vietnamese lady walked with me the whole way and showed me around was really cool.. then more joined and i had a little group, at the end of it the first lady gave me a friendship bracelet it was the cutest thing ever! There is so much poverty here people r always asking for money or 'you buy from me' I have been followed around the town so many times.. children carrying children on their backs, people laying in the streets begging for money.
On my last day I payed to go on a day tour.. I was contemplating an overnight stay in a village but it was too cold 4 me and im now sick ahhh.. the tour was very worth it!! It was just me Omar (my new, lawyer/israel/NY/travel guide friend) and the little Vietnamese hill tribe lady.. Its amazing how many people speak English here, I learnt so much.. the clothes they wear are made out of tobacco plants the vietnamese use their resources for all their worth.. tobacco - smoke it or wear it.. dog - a mans best friend or food (seriously there was a chopped up dog in the market)
There is a beautiful stream running through al of the villages with waterfalls, children playing, men fishing and ladies cleaning clothes. Our tour guide had alot of tribal jewellery on but what I found interesting was the Canadian clock, Israelic travel prayer and other gadgets attached to her necklace; gifts from previous travellers. I thought it was really sweet how much they meant to her! I also learnt alot about their customs, which isn't all that different from greek traditions etc. The males parents buy the female from her family to marry their son, the grooms parents pay for the wedding, there is a big celebration with lots and lots of food. The girls are usually 16 when they have their first child and 18-20 when they get married. All of the different tribes have different clothing customs and languages believe it or not.. what ever happened to simple vietnamese?? It really is an interesting place, If you're ever in Vietnam I highly recommend it!
I also worked on my bargaining skills I got a pure silk sleeping bag layer for $4.. only $60 in Oz bargain!! The key is.. if they dnt chase you You're price was way too low.. its really quite fun.
I have just arrived in Hanoi after a 9 hour train ride, which really was comfortable to sleep on.. and warm!!! And a squishy motorbike ride.. Its 6am Im using Omar's laptop while he's sleeping on the chairs waiting for the hostel to open.. true backpacking style.
I wil update you on Hanoi and Halong bay soon x

China

2008-03-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

Continuing on from Hong Kong i saw the light show it was really pretty. All of the buildings star in a light show as funny as that sounds and put on a display. The night market was really cool brought a few things for my travels i tried bargaining the price but no1 would jump haha not happy. I got a 12 hour bus ride to Nanning, China. The buses dnt have seats thy are overnight bunkers and u have ur own little bed to sleep on cool idea.
China has been an experience!!
When I arrived to Nanning i Had no idea where to go next I wanted to gt to Laos but no one knew where that was. China is alot different to Hong Kong. Barely anyone speaks english here and there is no english written anywhere like there is in HK. So I found a guy that spoke english and he wrote down a town in china and said to go there. All i knew was that it was going to be a 17 hour bus ride and it was near Laos, no idea what it was called only in Chinese. So I brought the ticket and was on my way. What started out being a 17 hour bus ride... ended up being a 36 hour bus ride!!!!! it was quite an experience. Although it was tough I am glad because I got to see how the traditional chinese live. There are little villages in the middle of no where exactly what u see in the movies. Chinese ladies and children just able to walk carrying baskets on there backs collecting vegetables. Males and women walking animals along the roads and harvesting land. Children playing and every1 staring at me as if they had never seen a foreigner before. There is no electricity and people live off what they grow. The roads are tiny and packed with trucks and overnight bunker buses. The drivers are crazy!!! Their favourite object is the horn. Beeping at everything in sight to get out of the way. The Chinese law is to drive on the right side of the road bu the drivers law is to drive where ever the hell you want and do it as fast as you can (even if that place is on a mountain cliff).
36 hours after departure I arrived at my destination.. where ever that was??? At 1am. I was surrounded by chinese people trying to talk to me I had no idea what i was going to do. I was so weak because I had not eaten all day and just wanted to lie down somewhere.. anywhere!
A lady finally gould speak a little english and asked where I was going she could not understand and aid she would take me to a cheap hotel. So we bargained on a price and she took me to a hotel, which suprisingly ended up being a hostel yay! I had my own room, hot water, an electri blanket.. and breakfast included in the morning. And the best part is I was in Kunming the city I wanted to be in all along. Its amazing how things just work out! Everything was exactly how I wanted it to be!
So it is now the next morning and I have booked a bus to Hekou, which is the border of China and Vietnam and I will arrive in the morning 12 hours later. Then off to Sapa and Hanoi, then down the coast of Vietnam. First thing I am doing is getting a massage I can not wait. I am skipping Laos for now as my visa for Vietnam is for the 3/3 so maybe I'll go there later in my trip.
I will update you all on Vietnam when I can. x

HONG KONG!!!

2008-02-27T02:22:00.000-08:00

Ok so i arrived in HK this morning at 6.00 it started off being the worst day of my life but it is slowly getting better. I had no idea where to go so I decided I would visit the wonderful world of North Point, HK island.... biggest mistake ever!! Turns out it's the bronks. I was busting for the toilet, walked into the public toilets and walked straight back out haha those squatting toilets r disgusting! Anywho i needed to get out north point, but they dnt give change on the buses and there was no way I was parting with HK$100 for a HK$3 bus ride.. so i decided to get a drink from a local store... meanwhile no1 could speak english.. and the guy ripped me off $10 bucks and jst said sorry I have no 10 dollar... I got on the bus and started crying.. I was ready to leave so I went into Central which was so much better massive city everything is in english, every1 speaks english theres a maccas and kfc haha my kinda world and i realised that i didnt get ripped off he gave me a $10 coin????? What kinda country has $10 coins??? so i went in search of a place to stay in Kowloon, my back is killing me, everything is sore and its so expensive to spend the night here. So my day got better and i went on the peak tram.. which is huge (look it up) and tonight im going to watch some light dance which should be interesting.. and then im going to the night market which is right next to where I'm staying and im gonna get me some pigs feet.. i kid i kid! Hong Kong is strange it's such a clean place.. but it's dirty, it's modern.. but its ancient, it's chinese.. but its english, it's beautiful.. but its ugly? I'm leaving tomorrow Im notmassive fan so I'm gonna go into China and I've decided to make my way into Laos I dnt know when I'l have the net again so I'l try keep u posted. Until then Love you

2008-02-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

LIVE, LOVE, LIFE

I was born and bread in Adeliade, South Australia but realised there is more to life than sitting in an office day after day staring out the window wondering what else is out there. So one day after hearing about some amazing travels i decided to explore the world. My first stop was Airlie Beach QLD. The most amazing time of my life! It opened my eyes to what else is out there. I met some amazing people and saw many amazing places. I had my drem job, dream lifestyle, I absolutely loved every minute of it!

I'm back in Adeliade now for a week and am ready for my next new adventure around the world! Starting in Asia for 2 months; Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand. Then off to London where I have no plan but 8 months to travel where ever I want, when ever I want through out The UK and Europe. I hope to spend august in Scotland, go to the Oktoberfest in Germany, and Christmas in England. From there I am heading to New York for new years followed by seeing the niagra falls, flying to LA, travelling Las Vagas, San Fran, grand canyon and Hawaii. From LA I am flying to Auckland to live in NZ for 6 months. I'll keep you all posted on my adventure, until then take care x

*Destination Unknown*