OK. From Prague I went back to London and stayed there a week. Went to Legoland which was more for kids but was still pretty awesome.
Spent the other days catching up withsome contiki people and also saw Brad in London so went out on a night with him. Mental Note: Dont miss the tube again. Had to catch night busses which isnt fun when you are drunk. Ha
Right now I am in Abu Dhabi. Got a seemingly dodgy flight on a crowd called Etihad Airways but they are awesome.
Will be in Melbourne in a days time looking for work.
Thats all for now folks
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
A breath of fresh air
Well, Berlin is awesome. Really cool.
Customs and the airport were sweet as. We decided to go through customs as we thought that we had some semi dodgy stuff that we had nabbed in egypt but they were like 'sweet as yo''.
Went and saw Daniel Libeskinds Jewish Museum - a building which I have been keen to see for a while now and it was cool. Think I got vertigo within it though. There are no right angles to be found anywhere in the building. Anywhere. I am even talking about where the floor meets and wall and the wall meets the ceiling. The building itself was more of the attraction rather than the exhibits it displayed within it (stuff from the holocaust - jewish notebooks and photos etc). Yesterday we got up early and headed to the Reichstag which was updated about 10 years ago by Lord Norman Foster and that was amazing also. We stopped by the Holocaust memorial by Peter Eisenmann - a series of 2711 concrete columns protruding from an undulating ground. Really eirie memorial. Made you feel lost and disorientated. There were poeple crying in it even. All seemed to be a bit too much for them.
Right now I am in Prague in the czech rep. We travelled here by train (first class of course - the first class ticket was on special and was cheaper than second class, sweet). Prague seems awesome also. Going to go see the dancing building by Frank Gehry - another building that I am really looking forward to seeing.
Look these places up on Google or wikipedia maybe if you want an idea of what they are.
To some sad news. Yes, I am distraught that Michael Jackson died. I maintained all through his life that he was awesopme even though heaps of people put him done and made fun of him. He was so influential and one of my most played artists on my iTunes. I was in Egypt when I found out via BBC and sat there still for a bit. Nearly cried but I was tougher than that. Played a whole list of tribute songs to him and have been playing them ever since. Not cool at all. If I was around London I was going to check out his concert but now I guess I will never have the opportunity to do so.
Saw Transformers 2 the other day also and I tell you - if you want to waste time and money, go see it. What a disaster with the story and acting. I would have rather lost my passport than watched that.
I am kidding about losing that passport. Dont want to jinx myself.
Going back to London tomorrow for a week or so. Looking to head to places like Bath and Manchester and Legoland. Yes you read right - Legoland. Oh yeah.
Anways I better go check out the czech republic
Customs and the airport were sweet as. We decided to go through customs as we thought that we had some semi dodgy stuff that we had nabbed in egypt but they were like 'sweet as yo''.
Went and saw Daniel Libeskinds Jewish Museum - a building which I have been keen to see for a while now and it was cool. Think I got vertigo within it though. There are no right angles to be found anywhere in the building. Anywhere. I am even talking about where the floor meets and wall and the wall meets the ceiling. The building itself was more of the attraction rather than the exhibits it displayed within it (stuff from the holocaust - jewish notebooks and photos etc). Yesterday we got up early and headed to the Reichstag which was updated about 10 years ago by Lord Norman Foster and that was amazing also. We stopped by the Holocaust memorial by Peter Eisenmann - a series of 2711 concrete columns protruding from an undulating ground. Really eirie memorial. Made you feel lost and disorientated. There were poeple crying in it even. All seemed to be a bit too much for them.
Right now I am in Prague in the czech rep. We travelled here by train (first class of course - the first class ticket was on special and was cheaper than second class, sweet). Prague seems awesome also. Going to go see the dancing building by Frank Gehry - another building that I am really looking forward to seeing.
Look these places up on Google or wikipedia maybe if you want an idea of what they are.
To some sad news. Yes, I am distraught that Michael Jackson died. I maintained all through his life that he was awesopme even though heaps of people put him done and made fun of him. He was so influential and one of my most played artists on my iTunes. I was in Egypt when I found out via BBC and sat there still for a bit. Nearly cried but I was tougher than that. Played a whole list of tribute songs to him and have been playing them ever since. Not cool at all. If I was around London I was going to check out his concert but now I guess I will never have the opportunity to do so.
Saw Transformers 2 the other day also and I tell you - if you want to waste time and money, go see it. What a disaster with the story and acting. I would have rather lost my passport than watched that.
I am kidding about losing that passport. Dont want to jinx myself.
Going back to London tomorrow for a week or so. Looking to head to places like Bath and Manchester and Legoland. Yes you read right - Legoland. Oh yeah.
Anways I better go check out the czech republic
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Travel Mishap
HOLY CRAP
and you have no idea how much frustration and stress was just thrown into that 'Holy Crap'.
We went to go to Israel but got denied because, wait for it,
Renee had a page somehow missing out of her passport. They treated us like criminals, literally. They emptied my bags completely, went through all my things, asked all these questions like "are we carrying weapons of any kind etc?". Then after a few hours of interrorgation they said we will be sent back to Egypt and not allowed into Israel.
So at 2 in the morning we were sent back over the border, and we had to grab a taxi for a 3 hour drive back to Dahab, where we were staying.
Ok. This was all easy compared to what followed.
At Dahab we decided to head back to Cairo early so we could get this passport sorted as we were leaving to Berlin in 2 days.
It turns out that for an emergency passport it takes at least 48 hours to process, not to mention a copy of your birth certificate needing to be officially signed and sent via fax and new passport photos to be taken which also need to be verified by (in this case) an Australian citizen who has known Renee for 6 months or more. We also needed to head to some shithole government building to get a new visa where all they do is tell you to sit and wait AND THAT IS IT! We waited for hours only to be sent back to the embassy because we didnt have the right documents.
We have had to change our flights to Berlin, stay longer at the hotel where we are (which, by the way, means it takes us 1 hour of driving just to get into central Cairo where all this stuff has to occur), and muck around for 4 days trying to get this sorted.
Every taxi driver we get wants to charge us as much as he possibly can because he sees us as white foreigners with lots of money and if we pay what we know is the proper amount they ask for more and try to beat you up. We have had to go to 2 different photo labs and get 24 passport photos taken becuase apparently 23 of them werent good enough and go back and forth between A to B to C to D but finally we have the stupid thing. You have no idea the stress that has happened to us in these last 4 days. Add to that these bloody taxi drivers, the insane choatic transport issue around here, the constant tooting of horns and the stifling heat and you really get pushed to your breaking point. No one knows english fully enough to be able to converse with us on a proper level and tell us exactly what is going on.
And all this for a stupid page ripped out of a passport. We have figured out that it has happened when we handed a passport into a hotel reception for them to do their standard photocopying and the page got ripped out on the photocopier as it was the very page next to the photo ID. If I could grab the guy that did it by his melon head there is no telling what I would do.
So let this be a lesson to everyone that I have had to endure on behalf of you. LOOK AFTER YOUR FRIGGEN PASSPORTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont let anyone handle them inappropriately. NOT ANYONE - IT IS YOUR PASSPORT AND YOUR PROPERTY AND YOU ARE LITERALLY STUFFED IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO IT. If you have to get an ID copied, give them your drivers licence or something because all of this simply isnt worth it.
It has cost us about $1000 (between us) to sort this whole thing out not to mention the money I may have to give to a psychiatrist to help me get over it all. It was good also that we didnt have to cancel all our flights and hostels as that would have been significatnyl more money lost - more like $3000
................................................
So apart from that everything once we get to Berlin should be sorted. We have 2 days in Berlin, then get a train to Prague and spend a day there before heading back to UK. We originally had 3 days at each place but due to this whole thing means we have shorter stays
I just want to leave this country now. It was good up until this debarcle.
And no, I am not talking out of proportion here. If only words could describe properly the series of events we had to go through.
and you have no idea how much frustration and stress was just thrown into that 'Holy Crap'.
We went to go to Israel but got denied because, wait for it,
Renee had a page somehow missing out of her passport. They treated us like criminals, literally. They emptied my bags completely, went through all my things, asked all these questions like "are we carrying weapons of any kind etc?". Then after a few hours of interrorgation they said we will be sent back to Egypt and not allowed into Israel.
So at 2 in the morning we were sent back over the border, and we had to grab a taxi for a 3 hour drive back to Dahab, where we were staying.
Ok. This was all easy compared to what followed.
At Dahab we decided to head back to Cairo early so we could get this passport sorted as we were leaving to Berlin in 2 days.
It turns out that for an emergency passport it takes at least 48 hours to process, not to mention a copy of your birth certificate needing to be officially signed and sent via fax and new passport photos to be taken which also need to be verified by (in this case) an Australian citizen who has known Renee for 6 months or more. We also needed to head to some shithole government building to get a new visa where all they do is tell you to sit and wait AND THAT IS IT! We waited for hours only to be sent back to the embassy because we didnt have the right documents.
We have had to change our flights to Berlin, stay longer at the hotel where we are (which, by the way, means it takes us 1 hour of driving just to get into central Cairo where all this stuff has to occur), and muck around for 4 days trying to get this sorted.
Every taxi driver we get wants to charge us as much as he possibly can because he sees us as white foreigners with lots of money and if we pay what we know is the proper amount they ask for more and try to beat you up. We have had to go to 2 different photo labs and get 24 passport photos taken becuase apparently 23 of them werent good enough and go back and forth between A to B to C to D but finally we have the stupid thing. You have no idea the stress that has happened to us in these last 4 days. Add to that these bloody taxi drivers, the insane choatic transport issue around here, the constant tooting of horns and the stifling heat and you really get pushed to your breaking point. No one knows english fully enough to be able to converse with us on a proper level and tell us exactly what is going on.
And all this for a stupid page ripped out of a passport. We have figured out that it has happened when we handed a passport into a hotel reception for them to do their standard photocopying and the page got ripped out on the photocopier as it was the very page next to the photo ID. If I could grab the guy that did it by his melon head there is no telling what I would do.
So let this be a lesson to everyone that I have had to endure on behalf of you. LOOK AFTER YOUR FRIGGEN PASSPORTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont let anyone handle them inappropriately. NOT ANYONE - IT IS YOUR PASSPORT AND YOUR PROPERTY AND YOU ARE LITERALLY STUFFED IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO IT. If you have to get an ID copied, give them your drivers licence or something because all of this simply isnt worth it.
It has cost us about $1000 (between us) to sort this whole thing out not to mention the money I may have to give to a psychiatrist to help me get over it all. It was good also that we didnt have to cancel all our flights and hostels as that would have been significatnyl more money lost - more like $3000
................................................
So apart from that everything once we get to Berlin should be sorted. We have 2 days in Berlin, then get a train to Prague and spend a day there before heading back to UK. We originally had 3 days at each place but due to this whole thing means we have shorter stays
I just want to leave this country now. It was good up until this debarcle.
And no, I am not talking out of proportion here. If only words could describe properly the series of events we had to go through.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Mt Sinai & Jordan
Ok. I totally forgot to tell you in that last blog.
Its probably a week ago now we decided to head up to Mt Sinai - a really religous mountian where Moses apparently had those commandments engraved into the stones. So after a full day of snorkelling we got approxiamately 1 hour sleep before heading into a van at 10:30 pm to head to Mt Sinai. At 1am (yes thats AM!!!!) we started hiking. The reason why you start so early is becasue it takes abour 4 hours to get to the top and you get to see the sunrise. Also its much cooler walking at night than during the day. Anyway, the hike was about 12km straight up. We climbed about 2500m into the air and then had to climb a further 750 steps to reach the summit. It was a mission. Combine this with the fact that we had to take our backpacks with warm clothes and everything else up there also and we were well and truly stuffed. At the top of this mountain there was a small monastery that was pretty incredible considering all the effort we went to to get up this mountain. Saw the sunrise and decided to head back down but we could go a seperate way from the wy we came up (which was apparently the easy way).
So down 3000 steps we went. These arent just normal steps either mind you. When you consider that we had to get down 2500m in 3000 steps then it makes a bit more sense. My ankle was stuffed by the end of it and it was so hot by that stage. So hot.
Then went to St Catherines monastery which is at the base of the mountain where apparently the burning bush that talks to Moses was housed within. I saw this bush but it didnt talk to me. Not even a whisper. Musnt be holy enough. Got back to the hotel at midday after a good 28 hours awake with not muh food and a whole lot of exercise
So that was my trip to Mt Sinai.
2 Days ago we travelled to Jordan which was pretty sweet. We got taken to the city of Petra which holds the treasury of Petra - the second wonder of the world behind the great wall.
It was a 46 degree day and we walked for 2 hours through a large natural canyon to reach the treasury but when we got there it was pretty amazing. Type it in on Google and have a look at it. The whole thing has been carved into a stone cliff face and is huge. Absolutely huge. There is a whole city there and it was only rediscovered in 1822 or something because before that it had been completely covered by the sea (Red I think).
Awesome. Looking to do Israel on Thursday but it is pretty dodgy there at the moment so might have to check the forecast before we head off.
Its probably a week ago now we decided to head up to Mt Sinai - a really religous mountian where Moses apparently had those commandments engraved into the stones. So after a full day of snorkelling we got approxiamately 1 hour sleep before heading into a van at 10:30 pm to head to Mt Sinai. At 1am (yes thats AM!!!!) we started hiking. The reason why you start so early is becasue it takes abour 4 hours to get to the top and you get to see the sunrise. Also its much cooler walking at night than during the day. Anyway, the hike was about 12km straight up. We climbed about 2500m into the air and then had to climb a further 750 steps to reach the summit. It was a mission. Combine this with the fact that we had to take our backpacks with warm clothes and everything else up there also and we were well and truly stuffed. At the top of this mountain there was a small monastery that was pretty incredible considering all the effort we went to to get up this mountain. Saw the sunrise and decided to head back down but we could go a seperate way from the wy we came up (which was apparently the easy way).
So down 3000 steps we went. These arent just normal steps either mind you. When you consider that we had to get down 2500m in 3000 steps then it makes a bit more sense. My ankle was stuffed by the end of it and it was so hot by that stage. So hot.
Then went to St Catherines monastery which is at the base of the mountain where apparently the burning bush that talks to Moses was housed within. I saw this bush but it didnt talk to me. Not even a whisper. Musnt be holy enough. Got back to the hotel at midday after a good 28 hours awake with not muh food and a whole lot of exercise
So that was my trip to Mt Sinai.
2 Days ago we travelled to Jordan which was pretty sweet. We got taken to the city of Petra which holds the treasury of Petra - the second wonder of the world behind the great wall.
It was a 46 degree day and we walked for 2 hours through a large natural canyon to reach the treasury but when we got there it was pretty amazing. Type it in on Google and have a look at it. The whole thing has been carved into a stone cliff face and is huge. Absolutely huge. There is a whole city there and it was only rediscovered in 1822 or something because before that it had been completely covered by the sea (Red I think).
Awesome. Looking to do Israel on Thursday but it is pretty dodgy there at the moment so might have to check the forecast before we head off.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Change of Plans
Well.
Dahab has proven to be so cool that we have decided to stay here for an extra couple of weeks or so.
The snorkelling / diving is amazing. There is a place here called the Blue Hole and you can go swimming with all these tropical fishes around some awesome coral. Everyone is so easy going here that they just give you snorkels and flippers and stuff to use. Cheap enough to. Much like the prices in Bangkok.
So we have already booked some trips into Jordan and Israel. Why not huh?
Now, some travellers tips that I have figured out up till now.
- Washing your clothes is so expensive it just isnt funny. You are looking at aroun $15 - $20 for a single load. What the heck
- Internet is also another big money grabber. For Europe it costs around $8 for an hour of internet. You have to be really efficient when logging onto the net.
- Plastic bags are a life saver. For washing, dirty stuff, alcohol bottles etc.
- It pays to be nice to people all the time. Especially in places like Egypt here where they all talk about you behind your back and everyone knows every goings on in the town.
- Take a lot of Electrolites when travelling to places like this.
- Weigh up all travel options before jumping into things. The way we are doing it now we are basically not showing up to our return flight back to Amsterdam. It might seem stupid to just not turn up to a flight but we cant cancel it and it would work out cheaper for us to stay here than in Europe. It would have cost us 100 Euro to get from Amsterdam to Berlin by train with us having to sleep in an airport or somewhere for 8 hours in between. With this extended stay it has cost us 200 euro to fly directly into Berlin from Cairo with around 250 Euro saved on accomodation.
and we get our own room here and stuff and none of this bullshit dorm room crap.
Good times
Dahab has proven to be so cool that we have decided to stay here for an extra couple of weeks or so.
The snorkelling / diving is amazing. There is a place here called the Blue Hole and you can go swimming with all these tropical fishes around some awesome coral. Everyone is so easy going here that they just give you snorkels and flippers and stuff to use. Cheap enough to. Much like the prices in Bangkok.
So we have already booked some trips into Jordan and Israel. Why not huh?
Now, some travellers tips that I have figured out up till now.
- Washing your clothes is so expensive it just isnt funny. You are looking at aroun $15 - $20 for a single load. What the heck
- Internet is also another big money grabber. For Europe it costs around $8 for an hour of internet. You have to be really efficient when logging onto the net.
- Plastic bags are a life saver. For washing, dirty stuff, alcohol bottles etc.
- It pays to be nice to people all the time. Especially in places like Egypt here where they all talk about you behind your back and everyone knows every goings on in the town.
- Take a lot of Electrolites when travelling to places like this.
- Weigh up all travel options before jumping into things. The way we are doing it now we are basically not showing up to our return flight back to Amsterdam. It might seem stupid to just not turn up to a flight but we cant cancel it and it would work out cheaper for us to stay here than in Europe. It would have cost us 100 Euro to get from Amsterdam to Berlin by train with us having to sleep in an airport or somewhere for 8 hours in between. With this extended stay it has cost us 200 euro to fly directly into Berlin from Cairo with around 250 Euro saved on accomodation.
and we get our own room here and stuff and none of this bullshit dorm room crap.
Good times
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Dahab = Awesome
Ok. We came back to Cairo via a 12 hour overnight train, dropped those stupid polish chicks off and then left today at 6 in the morning for a 9 hour bus ride to the small seaside resort of Dahab.
First Impressions are that it is like a hidden paradise. Really super casual and relaxing. We got picked up from the bus by a guy in a ute and got told to throw everything in the back and jump in with it. Pretty casual alright.
Had a dinner propped up on the beach with some egyptian pillows that was so cheap and so awesome. Cats everywhere. Little ones. I am talking the size that can fit in one hand. And they all clambour all over you when they see food so the staff at the restaurants give you a spray bottle of water to squirt them in the eys with. Haha. I feel bad doing it but you have to.
Got two bottles of Vodka to get us through the next few days for a total of 36 egyptian pounds. Not bad considering that one pound is about 3.5 NZ dollars. Do the math.
.................
....................................
................................................................
.........................................................................................
Thats about $5 for a whole bottle of Vodka.
Going snorkelling through the coral tomorrow which should be awesome. They also have dive courses here which is pretty cool so I might check that out too.
Gotta go. Drinking to be done. Yola Yola (that means - 'Lets go")
First Impressions are that it is like a hidden paradise. Really super casual and relaxing. We got picked up from the bus by a guy in a ute and got told to throw everything in the back and jump in with it. Pretty casual alright.
Had a dinner propped up on the beach with some egyptian pillows that was so cheap and so awesome. Cats everywhere. Little ones. I am talking the size that can fit in one hand. And they all clambour all over you when they see food so the staff at the restaurants give you a spray bottle of water to squirt them in the eys with. Haha. I feel bad doing it but you have to.
Got two bottles of Vodka to get us through the next few days for a total of 36 egyptian pounds. Not bad considering that one pound is about 3.5 NZ dollars. Do the math.
.................
....................................
................................................................
.........................................................................................
Thats about $5 for a whole bottle of Vodka.
Going snorkelling through the coral tomorrow which should be awesome. They also have dive courses here which is pretty cool so I might check that out too.
Gotta go. Drinking to be done. Yola Yola (that means - 'Lets go")
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Where the heck am I now?
I am in Luxor.
We travalled here via a 5 star cruise from Aswan. Going to different temples everyday and it is getting to the stage where you just cant be bother seeing another decorated column. You know what I mean.
Anyway, the temples are pretty sick. Some taking up to 200 years to build.
I dont know if anyone remembers a program on TV called 'The Fast Show'. One where they did a skit pretending to be news reporters in a middle eastern country and they all said 'Hefefefefef Pefefefefef, and now to the weather' and the weather lady chick would always say 'Scorchio' and put sun symbols on every city loaction and one time she said 'Cumlio Nimbus' and the reporters were like 'CUMLIO NIMBUS!!!!!' and they went to a live feed and everyone was pointing up at a cloud in absolute awe.
Yeah, its like that here. A moderate 42 degrees celcius no less right now and it is 7:20 PM. Ridiculous.
The pool water is like it has come from a boiling jug. So so hot.
I can fart now though. We have figured out that if you have a shot of whisky every time you feel a bit crook, the alcohol kills all the stomach germs. No shit. Look into it.
We travalled here via a 5 star cruise from Aswan. Going to different temples everyday and it is getting to the stage where you just cant be bother seeing another decorated column. You know what I mean.
Anyway, the temples are pretty sick. Some taking up to 200 years to build.
I dont know if anyone remembers a program on TV called 'The Fast Show'. One where they did a skit pretending to be news reporters in a middle eastern country and they all said 'Hefefefefef Pefefefefef, and now to the weather' and the weather lady chick would always say 'Scorchio' and put sun symbols on every city loaction and one time she said 'Cumlio Nimbus' and the reporters were like 'CUMLIO NIMBUS!!!!!' and they went to a live feed and everyone was pointing up at a cloud in absolute awe.
Yeah, its like that here. A moderate 42 degrees celcius no less right now and it is 7:20 PM. Ridiculous.
The pool water is like it has come from a boiling jug. So so hot.
I can fart now though. We have figured out that if you have a shot of whisky every time you feel a bit crook, the alcohol kills all the stomach germs. No shit. Look into it.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Another post in such short a time. If only people read it. Haha
So this morning I had to wake up at 2am to catch a 3 hour bus trip to a temple way the hell out near the Serbian border. The polish chicks didnt want to come because 2 was just too early for them.
So you can imagine the bus. About 12 seats in it, little to no leg room and a driver who had about 50 different ring tones on his phone adn I got to listen to them all. Haha. It was a bit of an adventure.
We got to the temple called Abu Simble at around 7am and spent about 2 hours there. Pretty sick temple. Statues about 20 metres high on each side as you walk through the doors. Another three hours back and I am now aboard a cruise ship getting ready for two days of 'cruisin' down the Nile.
Guts have been getting a bit dodgy lately. Nothing too serious and I am looking out for what I am eating but you still get the old gripe every now and then. I am too afraid to fart sometimes.
So you can imagine the bus. About 12 seats in it, little to no leg room and a driver who had about 50 different ring tones on his phone adn I got to listen to them all. Haha. It was a bit of an adventure.
We got to the temple called Abu Simble at around 7am and spent about 2 hours there. Pretty sick temple. Statues about 20 metres high on each side as you walk through the doors. Another three hours back and I am now aboard a cruise ship getting ready for two days of 'cruisin' down the Nile.
Guts have been getting a bit dodgy lately. Nothing too serious and I am looking out for what I am eating but you still get the old gripe every now and then. I am too afraid to fart sometimes.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Egypt
Talk about a culture shock!!!
After a stressful few hours before I left realsing that my travel insurance had run out and it was compulsory for myself to have it for Egypt I managed to get a Southern Cross Working overseas plan.
Dont use FLIGHT CENTRE, people. They are useless and take at least 2 months to do anything. I stil havent got my refund back from the start of my trip.
Anyway, Rotterdam and Maastricht were beautiful. Really nice to see a bit more of the Netherlands than the somewhat seedy underbelly of Amsterdam.
When we arrived in Egypt we were picked up by some dodgy looking guy claiming to be from the tour. We then jumped into a non descript car complete with dangly things hanging from the windows and AM/FM radio. An hour of stressing that he was going to take us to an out of the way place and ask for all our money, finally got us to our hotel.
The tour we are on is much different from the likes of Contiki but that is fine. It is just 2 other Polish girls on the tour and they sure know how to complain. One of them said from the start - 'Is there going to be Mosquitos here, because I am allergic to mosquitos'. Honestly, sometmes you have to wonder whether people travel for fun and adventure or just to show pictures of the places they have seen.
'We want a freshly squeezed Orange juice - can you take us to a shop?'
I think they have to realise that we are in AFRICA!!!!
Anyway, Egypt reminds me a lot of India in many respects. It is slightly more cleaner and slightly less choatic but it nevertheless still has all the same ingrediants as India.
We visited all the Pyramids yesterday and were literally swamped by hagglers. Everywhere. You get pretty good at saying NO. The sphyinx was a bit of a disappointment. Really tiny and pretty badly damaged.
The great pyramids were sick though. Last night we travelled by overnight train to Aswan - about 900 kms north of Cairo. Pretty dirty train and stuff but it was OK to spend a night on it.
Tomorrow we are going to Luxor. Ancient ruins everywhere. I guess they can get a bit overwhelming.
After a stressful few hours before I left realsing that my travel insurance had run out and it was compulsory for myself to have it for Egypt I managed to get a Southern Cross Working overseas plan.
Dont use FLIGHT CENTRE, people. They are useless and take at least 2 months to do anything. I stil havent got my refund back from the start of my trip.
Anyway, Rotterdam and Maastricht were beautiful. Really nice to see a bit more of the Netherlands than the somewhat seedy underbelly of Amsterdam.
When we arrived in Egypt we were picked up by some dodgy looking guy claiming to be from the tour. We then jumped into a non descript car complete with dangly things hanging from the windows and AM/FM radio. An hour of stressing that he was going to take us to an out of the way place and ask for all our money, finally got us to our hotel.
The tour we are on is much different from the likes of Contiki but that is fine. It is just 2 other Polish girls on the tour and they sure know how to complain. One of them said from the start - 'Is there going to be Mosquitos here, because I am allergic to mosquitos'. Honestly, sometmes you have to wonder whether people travel for fun and adventure or just to show pictures of the places they have seen.
'We want a freshly squeezed Orange juice - can you take us to a shop?'
I think they have to realise that we are in AFRICA!!!!
Anyway, Egypt reminds me a lot of India in many respects. It is slightly more cleaner and slightly less choatic but it nevertheless still has all the same ingrediants as India.
We visited all the Pyramids yesterday and were literally swamped by hagglers. Everywhere. You get pretty good at saying NO. The sphyinx was a bit of a disappointment. Really tiny and pretty badly damaged.
The great pyramids were sick though. Last night we travelled by overnight train to Aswan - about 900 kms north of Cairo. Pretty dirty train and stuff but it was OK to spend a night on it.
Tomorrow we are going to Luxor. Ancient ruins everywhere. I guess they can get a bit overwhelming.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Out of Amsterdam!!!
Well after over a week in Amsterdam I am finally out of it. Phew.
That place is expensive.
Right now I am in Rotterdam and this place is cool. Really cool. Just went to some markets before and got some super cheap food and soap and stuff. Because I am on a BUDGET now. Really have to watch my spending.
Tomorrow I am looking to head to the Hague which is the government capital of the Netherlands before heading to Maastricht on Thursday.
Egypt is coming up on Saturday. So excited about that. Hopefully it all goes smooth. I have been told to not piss into the water for too long because tiny insects will shoot up my dick hole and wreck havoc on my knob.
Dont really want to go to hospital for that. Once to the hospital is more than enough.
Other than the insects I think egypt will be sweet. It will certainly be cheaper (Heres Hoping).
After that, looking to do Prague, Switzerland, Berlin, Budapest and then more of France, Spain etc before finishing off in Portugal and heading back to England. Still unsure about the whole living in the UK thing. Every time I think about it, it seems to be what I dont really want to do but who knows.
Will probably update this next in Egypt. Bring it on I say
That place is expensive.
Right now I am in Rotterdam and this place is cool. Really cool. Just went to some markets before and got some super cheap food and soap and stuff. Because I am on a BUDGET now. Really have to watch my spending.
Tomorrow I am looking to head to the Hague which is the government capital of the Netherlands before heading to Maastricht on Thursday.
Egypt is coming up on Saturday. So excited about that. Hopefully it all goes smooth. I have been told to not piss into the water for too long because tiny insects will shoot up my dick hole and wreck havoc on my knob.
Dont really want to go to hospital for that. Once to the hospital is more than enough.
Other than the insects I think egypt will be sweet. It will certainly be cheaper (Heres Hoping).
After that, looking to do Prague, Switzerland, Berlin, Budapest and then more of France, Spain etc before finishing off in Portugal and heading back to England. Still unsure about the whole living in the UK thing. Every time I think about it, it seems to be what I dont really want to do but who knows.
Will probably update this next in Egypt. Bring it on I say
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Amsterdam
Well.
Amsterdam is an eyeopener for sure.
We have managed to hang in here for a few days now. There are 4 of us staying in a 2 bedroom dorm without the hostel staff finding out. A lot of keycard changing and so forth.
Staying here for a bit longer and then looking to do a bit more of the netherlands before heading to this egypt trip. Managed to convince the guy that I can pay him when I get there which should be good.
Not much else to report other than I am looking to get as much travelling out of the way now as I am unsure about what I am going to do with my future (work etc). Might end up coming back to NZ earlier than expected as I really am not too keen to set up shop in London hearing these stories about this credit crisis. I think that if I can get all my travelling done then I will be happy enough. So might be back in NZ or Aussie pretty soon...........
Amsterdam is an eyeopener for sure.
We have managed to hang in here for a few days now. There are 4 of us staying in a 2 bedroom dorm without the hostel staff finding out. A lot of keycard changing and so forth.
Staying here for a bit longer and then looking to do a bit more of the netherlands before heading to this egypt trip. Managed to convince the guy that I can pay him when I get there which should be good.
Not much else to report other than I am looking to get as much travelling out of the way now as I am unsure about what I am going to do with my future (work etc). Might end up coming back to NZ earlier than expected as I really am not too keen to set up shop in London hearing these stories about this credit crisis. I think that if I can get all my travelling done then I will be happy enough. So might be back in NZ or Aussie pretty soon...........
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Amsterdam
Well. Amsterdam is where the Contiki tour is finishing for me.
I am staying on here until the 30th of May until I head to Egypt. No more security blanket.
Getting kinda nervous as to booking this egypt trip. For some reason we cant use any of our credit cards to send the payment through and time is running out so hopefully we wont be stranded in egypt with no wheres to go.
Anyway. Amsterdam is insane. Tailored for the tourists everywhere. We got taken down the red light district last night and that was definately an eye opener. Cant take photos of it though so that sucked. Right now I am alone in some weird internet cafe under the ground down a dodgy back alley. Haha.
Pretty crazy how open everything is to everyone. You can just stroll the streets and be shown sex shows and everything all on the side of the road.
Tonight is the last night with the tour group. It will be sad I guess but in some respects, you do get a bit fed up with some certain individuals.
Looking to go see Wolverine soon as that movie looks sick
I am staying on here until the 30th of May until I head to Egypt. No more security blanket.
Getting kinda nervous as to booking this egypt trip. For some reason we cant use any of our credit cards to send the payment through and time is running out so hopefully we wont be stranded in egypt with no wheres to go.
Anyway. Amsterdam is insane. Tailored for the tourists everywhere. We got taken down the red light district last night and that was definately an eye opener. Cant take photos of it though so that sucked. Right now I am alone in some weird internet cafe under the ground down a dodgy back alley. Haha.
Pretty crazy how open everything is to everyone. You can just stroll the streets and be shown sex shows and everything all on the side of the road.
Tonight is the last night with the tour group. It will be sad I guess but in some respects, you do get a bit fed up with some certain individuals.
Looking to go see Wolverine soon as that movie looks sick
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Switzerland
Swizerland was probably the most amazing place of the trip so far. Absolutley stunning. We were staying in a small village called Lauterbrunnen that was surrounded by 200m high cliffs with waterfalls falling down all around.
As an excursion we went up to the top of the alps to a place known as the highest point in Europe (for that fact). Wow. So cool. Got in a massive snowball fight and played with the huskies. Stuffed my ankle again whilst going downhill on a sled but it should be alright.
That last post about all the cities I have been to was pretty good I thought. Keeps track of where Ive been.
Anyways, I am in the process of trying to sort out flights / trips for this egypt thing. Check out what I am looking at if youre keen
www.expatexplore.com/egyptexperience/index.html
Should be a cool trip. Looking to do that starting on May 30th.
Gotta go now anyways. Back in Germany for a short while before heading to amsterdam tomorrow
As an excursion we went up to the top of the alps to a place known as the highest point in Europe (for that fact). Wow. So cool. Got in a massive snowball fight and played with the huskies. Stuffed my ankle again whilst going downhill on a sled but it should be alright.
That last post about all the cities I have been to was pretty good I thought. Keeps track of where Ive been.
Anyways, I am in the process of trying to sort out flights / trips for this egypt thing. Check out what I am looking at if youre keen
www.expatexplore.com/egyptexperience/index.html
Should be a cool trip. Looking to do that starting on May 30th.
Gotta go now anyways. Back in Germany for a short while before heading to amsterdam tomorrow
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Speka Ze Deutch?
Germany now!!
Austria was pretty amazing. A lot of the landscape etc looked a hell of a lot like NZ and it was in Austria where we got into the more sporty side of things. Because of my ankle (which is healing good by the way, thanks for asking) I only had to miss out on the paragliding which I was kinda thankful for as it cost around $250 and apparently wasnt worht that sort of cash. Went for a 25km bike ride through all the ski field areas (not filed with snow of course) and had a BBQ lunch which was awesome.
Got pretty shitfaced 2 nights back and spewed everywhere. Craig got it on camera which was just lovely. Funny though. I think the next day poor nathan was more hung over than me because I got rid of most of my alcohol.
Just before, I went white water rafting through the Austrian rivers. I was at the front of the boat which means I get all the water / fun. It was awesome. It took about an hour and a half and was a grade 3 river which i basically a semi-beginner river. Still hit some huge rapids.
Right now though, I am in Munich. Just chilling out for a bit before we head to a Beer Hall tonight for some stein drinking. I think the boys all want to have a skulling comp so we shall see how that goes.
Other than that - not much else to report. I have a pretty good idea of what places I would like to travel to after this so I will have to go about putting some sort of list together and sorting that out.
Austria was pretty amazing. A lot of the landscape etc looked a hell of a lot like NZ and it was in Austria where we got into the more sporty side of things. Because of my ankle (which is healing good by the way, thanks for asking) I only had to miss out on the paragliding which I was kinda thankful for as it cost around $250 and apparently wasnt worht that sort of cash. Went for a 25km bike ride through all the ski field areas (not filed with snow of course) and had a BBQ lunch which was awesome.
Got pretty shitfaced 2 nights back and spewed everywhere. Craig got it on camera which was just lovely. Funny though. I think the next day poor nathan was more hung over than me because I got rid of most of my alcohol.
Just before, I went white water rafting through the Austrian rivers. I was at the front of the boat which means I get all the water / fun. It was awesome. It took about an hour and a half and was a grade 3 river which i basically a semi-beginner river. Still hit some huge rapids.
Right now though, I am in Munich. Just chilling out for a bit before we head to a Beer Hall tonight for some stein drinking. I think the boys all want to have a skulling comp so we shall see how that goes.
Other than that - not much else to report. I have a pretty good idea of what places I would like to travel to after this so I will have to go about putting some sort of list together and sorting that out.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Croatia
Croatia is amazing
Definatley a place I want to come back and visit.
Afetr I sent the lost post, we went for a tour around the old city side of Dubrovonik and it was literally a camera stop every 5 steps. Really cool. We then all jumped on some boats and went island hopping.
This is where I have some bad news.
I pulled a back flip off some wall and landing comfortably on some soft sand. Everyone was like wow and they all said do it again, do it again, we want to get it on camera.
I said - if i get hurt from this I will not be happy. As I landed I went toes first and my heels snapped back into the sand. It hurt for a bit but I walked it off after screaming a rather loud profanity. It was all good until the next day when I had a look at the thing in the morning and noticed it was all black and swollen to twice the size. As you can expect - i was not happy.
I had to go to a Croatian hospital and have a whole bunch of xrays done which took ages - into the early hours of the next morning and cost me $150 for it all. The verdict is that I have basically got a serious sprain and bruised my tendon - which isnt really as bad as it sounds but is still rather uncomfortable when walking. Basically I now take twice as long to get anywhere as anyone else and I truly am NOT HAPPY with my stupid self. I have made a mental note not to do anything stupid ever again.
So bad news I guess but hopefully I will be walking round on it properly in a few days. I know Mum is reading this now going oh no, oh no but dont worry mum. Happy mothers day by the way.
I am in Slovenia now after spending a bit of time in zadar (another Croatian city). Going to Austria tomorrow as I have found out.
Some good news is that I may be going to egypt sooner than expected as they have a good deal going on at the moment which is 15 days with everything included (travel, accomodation etc) and they take you down the Nile and spending 5 days in a resort for roughly $1000 so not a bad deal at all.
Will no doubt be hearing from mum or dad soon but hope everyone else is taking care
Definatley a place I want to come back and visit.
Afetr I sent the lost post, we went for a tour around the old city side of Dubrovonik and it was literally a camera stop every 5 steps. Really cool. We then all jumped on some boats and went island hopping.
This is where I have some bad news.
I pulled a back flip off some wall and landing comfortably on some soft sand. Everyone was like wow and they all said do it again, do it again, we want to get it on camera.
I said - if i get hurt from this I will not be happy. As I landed I went toes first and my heels snapped back into the sand. It hurt for a bit but I walked it off after screaming a rather loud profanity. It was all good until the next day when I had a look at the thing in the morning and noticed it was all black and swollen to twice the size. As you can expect - i was not happy.
I had to go to a Croatian hospital and have a whole bunch of xrays done which took ages - into the early hours of the next morning and cost me $150 for it all. The verdict is that I have basically got a serious sprain and bruised my tendon - which isnt really as bad as it sounds but is still rather uncomfortable when walking. Basically I now take twice as long to get anywhere as anyone else and I truly am NOT HAPPY with my stupid self. I have made a mental note not to do anything stupid ever again.
So bad news I guess but hopefully I will be walking round on it properly in a few days. I know Mum is reading this now going oh no, oh no but dont worry mum. Happy mothers day by the way.
I am in Slovenia now after spending a bit of time in zadar (another Croatian city). Going to Austria tomorrow as I have found out.
Some good news is that I may be going to egypt sooner than expected as they have a good deal going on at the moment which is 15 days with everything included (travel, accomodation etc) and they take you down the Nile and spending 5 days in a resort for roughly $1000 so not a bad deal at all.
Will no doubt be hearing from mum or dad soon but hope everyone else is taking care
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Country skipping
Well.
We are pretty tired now. We have done about 30 hours of travelling over the past 3 days and it is making everyone just that little bit cranky.
its all good now though.
so from the greek islands we travelled on a super fast ferry to get back to the mainland. one that almost everyone spewed on. one person spewed when the boat was still docked. haha. chumps.
i didnt spew
we stayed a further night in greece before heading to albania. now with myself already having gone to india, things were not that bad for me but a few people were quite shocked at how poor the country was. rubbish everywhere. Sheep getting killed on the side of the road etc. A far cry from the beautiful Mykonos.
We stayed a night in Albania (one were I got my own room which was sweet). and then headed to Montenegro. When we were in Albania Craig, Nathan and I went to a wine store and Craig ended up getting the store owners number so he and nathan went out to ALBANIA AT NIGHT (!!!!) to try to meet her and her sister. haha. classic. they still have their kidneys so thats alright.
Montenegro is stunning and i wish we had spent longer there. Now we are in Croatia which is just as stunning. Went out to the clubs last night and now I am heading to the old town of Dubrovinik which is amazing.
going on a boat cruise around the islands soon which comes with more alcohol on board. haha.
anyway gotta go. heading to ..................... vienna next. i think. the days are becoming a blur.
We are pretty tired now. We have done about 30 hours of travelling over the past 3 days and it is making everyone just that little bit cranky.
its all good now though.
so from the greek islands we travelled on a super fast ferry to get back to the mainland. one that almost everyone spewed on. one person spewed when the boat was still docked. haha. chumps.
i didnt spew
we stayed a further night in greece before heading to albania. now with myself already having gone to india, things were not that bad for me but a few people were quite shocked at how poor the country was. rubbish everywhere. Sheep getting killed on the side of the road etc. A far cry from the beautiful Mykonos.
We stayed a night in Albania (one were I got my own room which was sweet). and then headed to Montenegro. When we were in Albania Craig, Nathan and I went to a wine store and Craig ended up getting the store owners number so he and nathan went out to ALBANIA AT NIGHT (!!!!) to try to meet her and her sister. haha. classic. they still have their kidneys so thats alright.
Montenegro is stunning and i wish we had spent longer there. Now we are in Croatia which is just as stunning. Went out to the clubs last night and now I am heading to the old town of Dubrovinik which is amazing.
going on a boat cruise around the islands soon which comes with more alcohol on board. haha.
anyway gotta go. heading to ..................... vienna next. i think. the days are becoming a blur.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
The Greek Islands
So from Rome we have now travelled via an overnight ferry into Greece.
We had a bit of a turn around with our schedule because of the greek holidays and ended up spending a few hours in Athens (which was more than enough) and then heading to Mykonons ( a greek island ) for an extra night which was very welcome.
It is so relaxing here. We have spent our days chilling by the pool and getting a tan which happens much more easily ( and less painfully ) than the tan you get in NZ. Aparently Mykonos is known as the 'gay' island so me and a few boys dressed up super gay last night hoping to get some free drinks but it just didnt happen. Damn it.
Oh yeah, back to Athens. We saw the Acropolis and Partheon and all that other stuff which was cool but it was mainly covered in scaffolding so that let it down a bit.
Right now I am about to head to a place in Mykonos called 'Paradise Beach" which is meant to be the main party place on the island so looking forward to it. I think I am building up a resilience for alcohol.
Oh yeah again. Went a did a bit more of Rome and that place is sick. Fully sick. We are all getting pretty close on this Contiki group. A few relationships forming and what not. A few arguementsa happening also. Those bloody aussies - all they can do is complain. "My pizza doesnt have enough salami", "my feet hurt", blah blah blah. Luckily I am somewhat tolerant, however I am so close to punching one in the face. These things happen in close confines though.
Alright. I better go and hit some more alcohol. I guess.
Will look to post photos on facebook tomorrow if the internet is still working.
Oh yeah I forgot about one of the old posts. I forgot to mention that Nathan won 160 euro at the monte carlo casino. Good on him. High rolla.
Talk soon
We had a bit of a turn around with our schedule because of the greek holidays and ended up spending a few hours in Athens (which was more than enough) and then heading to Mykonons ( a greek island ) for an extra night which was very welcome.
It is so relaxing here. We have spent our days chilling by the pool and getting a tan which happens much more easily ( and less painfully ) than the tan you get in NZ. Aparently Mykonos is known as the 'gay' island so me and a few boys dressed up super gay last night hoping to get some free drinks but it just didnt happen. Damn it.
Oh yeah, back to Athens. We saw the Acropolis and Partheon and all that other stuff which was cool but it was mainly covered in scaffolding so that let it down a bit.
Right now I am about to head to a place in Mykonos called 'Paradise Beach" which is meant to be the main party place on the island so looking forward to it. I think I am building up a resilience for alcohol.
Oh yeah again. Went a did a bit more of Rome and that place is sick. Fully sick. We are all getting pretty close on this Contiki group. A few relationships forming and what not. A few arguementsa happening also. Those bloody aussies - all they can do is complain. "My pizza doesnt have enough salami", "my feet hurt", blah blah blah. Luckily I am somewhat tolerant, however I am so close to punching one in the face. These things happen in close confines though.
Alright. I better go and hit some more alcohol. I guess.
Will look to post photos on facebook tomorrow if the internet is still working.
Oh yeah I forgot about one of the old posts. I forgot to mention that Nathan won 160 euro at the monte carlo casino. Good on him. High rolla.
Talk soon
Monday, April 27, 2009
2 posts ion 2 days!!!
Wow. How about that.
So I am in Rome now and it is unbelievabubble. Checked out all the main attractions today and will be doing the Vatican tomorrow.
We head off to Greece in a few days and to the greek islands for a sort of holiday within a holiday which will be nice. Had a huge night last night that got pretty messy and I have some great photos but havent had the time to upload any yet so stay tuned for that.
Me and a few boys didnt want to pay 30 euro for a big dinner so we went out by ourselves and strolled around florence at night. Awesome. I am bleeding money here though. Gone through $1500 already and dont have much to show for it. The conversion rate sucks. Brought a stein of beer the other day which worked out to roughly $30!!!
Anyway I had better get this post off before my internet time runs o
So I am in Rome now and it is unbelievabubble. Checked out all the main attractions today and will be doing the Vatican tomorrow.
We head off to Greece in a few days and to the greek islands for a sort of holiday within a holiday which will be nice. Had a huge night last night that got pretty messy and I have some great photos but havent had the time to upload any yet so stay tuned for that.
Me and a few boys didnt want to pay 30 euro for a big dinner so we went out by ourselves and strolled around florence at night. Awesome. I am bleeding money here though. Gone through $1500 already and dont have much to show for it. The conversion rate sucks. Brought a stein of beer the other day which worked out to roughly $30!!!
Anyway I had better get this post off before my internet time runs o
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Italia
Sorry. It has been a while since I have had a chance to update this.
I dont have much time on this either so I have to keep this short.
From Barcelona we went back through Southern France to the Antibes area. Nice was absolutely beautiful. We travelled to Monaco to it the casinos that night and had a blast. We then headed through to Italy where we stayed 2 nights in Venice which was just as magnificent. Travelled down through Pisa to Florence just yesterday but have had some hiccups here. A couple of the cabins got broken into and a lot of the girls things got stolen including cameras, cash, laptops and passports. Tears flooded the area. We got through alright in our cabin but it was a wake up call. Add to that some shocking rain today and it has left a dampen on our florence visit.
Havent had a day yet when we havent been drinking. It pretty full on. We are living off 4 hours sleep a night and are hungover every morning. Its fun but tiring.
Shitttt. Time is running out. Ummm, we are heading to Rome next and then off to Greece I think after that. I designed the contiki tshirt which was pretty sweet and everyone really enjoys it
Gotta go. Talk soon
I dont have much time on this either so I have to keep this short.
From Barcelona we went back through Southern France to the Antibes area. Nice was absolutely beautiful. We travelled to Monaco to it the casinos that night and had a blast. We then headed through to Italy where we stayed 2 nights in Venice which was just as magnificent. Travelled down through Pisa to Florence just yesterday but have had some hiccups here. A couple of the cabins got broken into and a lot of the girls things got stolen including cameras, cash, laptops and passports. Tears flooded the area. We got through alright in our cabin but it was a wake up call. Add to that some shocking rain today and it has left a dampen on our florence visit.
Havent had a day yet when we havent been drinking. It pretty full on. We are living off 4 hours sleep a night and are hungover every morning. Its fun but tiring.
Shitttt. Time is running out. Ummm, we are heading to Rome next and then off to Greece I think after that. I designed the contiki tshirt which was pretty sweet and everyone really enjoys it
Gotta go. Talk soon
Monday, April 20, 2009
Es Spainio
Well Hello Again
It has been a short while since I have been able to attack the ol' internet. Truth is - I am having the time of my life.....
The night before Contiki, Nathan and I decided to enter a quiz competetition with a few peps from the hostel. Long story, short. We won the bloody thing. Which meant. 4 jugs of beer and cocktails for us to finish off in a few hours.
We got to bed at about 3 and woke up at 5 to head to the Contiki crew. We were pretty wasted.
The other travellers on the trip are great fun. Really good fun actually. There are precisely 5 Candaians, 5 New Zealanders, and 28 Aussies!!!. We are slightly outnumbered so we dont pull off hakas or nothin'. Honest guv'
We hit sweet Pari' first off, which I had already gone to so i automatically became the guy on tour to follow. I got some props from eating the first snail also. 3 nights in Pairs became 2 long nights in the contiki chateau in the awesome beaugolouis wine region which was mind blowing. We took picnic baskets up to 'the top of the world' and munched out. We had a massive party which the theme was 'P' so you had to dress up as something beginning with P. I went as a porn star by borrowing a stokcing from one of the girls and filling it with my gyn shorts. You can imagine what i did with it i guess. Haha
Now we are in Barcelona where I can finally hit the net. Saw a whole lot of Gaudi today which was mindblowing to say the least. Riduclous, I have had some props from beinbg an architect and everyone is asking me about different buildings with an amazed look on their faces. Its friggin' sweet.
Met a really cool guy called Craig and we are going to do a bit more of amsterdam after this. Nathan is absolutley loving it. I can see it on his face.
Ok. till next time. Check out my faccebook page in a wee bit for some pics.
Blair
It has been a short while since I have been able to attack the ol' internet. Truth is - I am having the time of my life.....
The night before Contiki, Nathan and I decided to enter a quiz competetition with a few peps from the hostel. Long story, short. We won the bloody thing. Which meant. 4 jugs of beer and cocktails for us to finish off in a few hours.
We got to bed at about 3 and woke up at 5 to head to the Contiki crew. We were pretty wasted.
The other travellers on the trip are great fun. Really good fun actually. There are precisely 5 Candaians, 5 New Zealanders, and 28 Aussies!!!. We are slightly outnumbered so we dont pull off hakas or nothin'. Honest guv'
We hit sweet Pari' first off, which I had already gone to so i automatically became the guy on tour to follow. I got some props from eating the first snail also. 3 nights in Pairs became 2 long nights in the contiki chateau in the awesome beaugolouis wine region which was mind blowing. We took picnic baskets up to 'the top of the world' and munched out. We had a massive party which the theme was 'P' so you had to dress up as something beginning with P. I went as a porn star by borrowing a stokcing from one of the girls and filling it with my gyn shorts. You can imagine what i did with it i guess. Haha
Now we are in Barcelona where I can finally hit the net. Saw a whole lot of Gaudi today which was mindblowing to say the least. Riduclous, I have had some props from beinbg an architect and everyone is asking me about different buildings with an amazed look on their faces. Its friggin' sweet.
Met a really cool guy called Craig and we are going to do a bit more of amsterdam after this. Nathan is absolutley loving it. I can see it on his face.
Ok. till next time. Check out my faccebook page in a wee bit for some pics.
Blair
Sunday, April 12, 2009
The Transient Life Begins
Wow, it has been a while since I have added to this.
The trip started off on a bad note by the airport wanting me to pay $150 for a fee that I had already paid for which was a bit shit but apparently I can get it back from my travel agent so all good.
I should have really done my math on my flight times. It turned out that I spent 37 hours in total on travel time which was exhausting to say the least. Met up with a guy called Mike on the flight who was good to waste the hours away with. Stopped for 10 hours in Brunei which was possibly the most boring time of my life. I ended up playing hacky sac by myself and talking to the cleaner about how it was kind of like soccer. Had a short stop over in Dubai also, which allowed me to see all the large buildings that are going up over there. The 800m high tower that is nearly completed is insanely huge. Insanely!!
Arrived in London, got through customs on the visa extremely easily and met up with Nathan quite easily also. We have spent most of today checking out all the sights and trying to stay awake till bed time to avoid a bad jet lag. Went on the London eye again (which I really didnt need to do) and saw St Pauls, the Tate Modern, the British museum, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The usual.
Heaps of Tourists around because of the easter hoilday. Going to keep this initial blog pretty short as I dont really have to much to say and just wanted to kick it all off. Till next time.
The trip started off on a bad note by the airport wanting me to pay $150 for a fee that I had already paid for which was a bit shit but apparently I can get it back from my travel agent so all good.
I should have really done my math on my flight times. It turned out that I spent 37 hours in total on travel time which was exhausting to say the least. Met up with a guy called Mike on the flight who was good to waste the hours away with. Stopped for 10 hours in Brunei which was possibly the most boring time of my life. I ended up playing hacky sac by myself and talking to the cleaner about how it was kind of like soccer. Had a short stop over in Dubai also, which allowed me to see all the large buildings that are going up over there. The 800m high tower that is nearly completed is insanely huge. Insanely!!
Arrived in London, got through customs on the visa extremely easily and met up with Nathan quite easily also. We have spent most of today checking out all the sights and trying to stay awake till bed time to avoid a bad jet lag. Went on the London eye again (which I really didnt need to do) and saw St Pauls, the Tate Modern, the British museum, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The usual.
Heaps of Tourists around because of the easter hoilday. Going to keep this initial blog pretty short as I dont really have to much to say and just wanted to kick it all off. Till next time.
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