Round the world in 365 days
In and around World
I can't count the number of times I've been chatting to people in the pub, and they've told me that they were going travelling around the world. Without ever thinking about it, I would sign up, and we'd spend half the night out making plans for our upcoming adventure. Inevitably, I would wake up the next morning (sometimes a little worse for wear), and think 'Yeah, I'm not really gonna go'. Last December, I met up with the boys I used to live with in Manchester for a few pre-Christmas bevvies. The chat got round to travelling, and once again I found myself agreeing to pack it all in and take off to far distant lands. Only this time it still seemed like a good idea in the morning...
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Ricicle
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1
London, Nottingham, Wilmslow, Manchester, Warrington and Dublin leaving dos.
Well, the fun started here, and went on for quite some time. You wouldn't have thought I was planning a round the world trip and was supposed... Continue reading »
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2
3 days in Boston
Well, it all started well. First flight, I get randomly selected for extra security checks. Brilliant. Well, with that out of the way,... Continue reading »
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3
Chicago, and the lovely Jeanette
Next stop Chicago, and with the terrorist attack scare, airport security was pretty tight. Mike and Nicky were suffering pretty badly, and no... Continue reading »
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4
Just passing through
Nothing major to report here. After the usual 'random' security checks for me (I'm beginning to get a little suspicious at this point) we fle... Continue reading »
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5
So who's this Theresa one then?
Hello Theresa, friend of this lot but as far as I'm concerned kind stranger who has offered me a bed for the next week or so. Well, it turns... Continue reading »
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6
Vancouver, we lived like kings!
After a bit of a late night msn session, I decided to hit the sack and pack in the morning. It would have been a great plan if I hadn't slept... Continue reading »
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7
Whistler - what you can't do here is not worth whistling for
The drive to Whistler took a few hours, so Mike and I got a couple of games of chess in. Wasn't such a good idea; as well as getting shouted... Continue reading »
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8
Back 'home' in Victoria
Had a pretty chilled out day, didn't get up till about 10. Went for a run for the first time in AGES. Home, showered, ev... Continue reading »
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9
Back on the boat
Early wake up call, and Mike and I set off from Victoria. Theresa was kind (or crazy!) enough to drive us to the Coho ferry at 5.30am, but no... Continue reading »
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10
Back on the boat, again.
Off a bus, onto a boat, you know the deal at this stage. Continue reading » -
11
Seattle - we made it!
Finally made it...
Now then, if you're an avid fan of this travel blog, you'll notice that I seem to have taken a crazy route from Victo... Continue reading »
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12
Nothing to see here folks, honest.
Nothing to see here folks, just keeping the map updated. We got off one city bus, and onto another. Oh, and started watching Lucky Number... Continue reading » -
13
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14
So this is Poulsbo...
We bought fruit (including a red banana) and a sandwich in Safeway. Mike bought some toothpaste and hair gel too. Now do you see how... Continue reading » -
15
San Francisco - Take Two
After a late night arrival on the 27th, we woke up refreshed in San Francisco. Headed off towards Fisherman's Warf, and once again was loving... Continue reading »
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16
Santa Cruz, well, it wasn´t that far.
Highway 1, with it´s pretty coastal views, took us to Santa Cruz, where I had spent a summer a few years ago. It´s still as crazy as eve... Continue reading »
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17
Monterey, they give you free clam chowder
Right well this was just a lunch stop really. We headed down the pier, had a few free clam chowder samples, then went to a different res... Continue reading »
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18
Murphys, the 2nd coolest small town in the US
And so we arrived in Murphys, at about 11 at night. Let´s backtrack a bit. Back in San Fran, the boys had expressed an interest in visi... Continue reading »
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19
Los Banos, not Los Baños
Definitely nothing to see here kids, except for Walmart, and stinky McDonald´s. Let´s get out of here. Continue reading » -
20
Bakersfield, cause they have beds and internet
Well, just another map stop this one. We checked into a motel in Bakersfield, had another game of scrabble, watched tele, and went to bed.Continue reading »
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21
Merced - just another one for the map
Just a food stop this one. Denny´s. Not bad. Now back on the road. Continue reading » -
22
Vegas, baby.
RIght so, Vegas. After several hours of driving through the desert, we arrived at the Vegas Info centre. We called in to pick up so vouchers... Continue reading »
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23
Barstow, another one for the map
Just another map story guys. We had some lunch in the only cafe we could find in the middle of the desert. It´s weird out there.
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24
Mesquite - one big disappointment
Don´t get me wrong, I wasn´t expecting great things from Mesquite, but we were quite disappointed when we got there. Number 1, we had to eat... Continue reading »
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25
Zion - cool.
At about 5 O´clock or so, we arrived in Zion. Before entering the park, we priced some motels in Springdale, a small town just outside of it.... Continue reading »
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26
Cameron - so glad we made it!
After a few hours of driving through the desert in the Novaja Reservation, we began to run a bit low on fuel. We began to worry when we reali... Continue reading »
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27
Grand Canyon - WOW
I think I´ve seen pictures of the Grand Canyon before, although I´m not really sure. In any case, I certainly was not ready for my first glim... Continue reading »
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28
Los Angeles - a big sprawl, but a nice one!
Anyways, back on the road, and drove to LA. I knew LA was big, but this was ridiculous! We seemed to be driving through the city for ag... Continue reading »
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29
Barstow, for lunch
On the road again, and Nikki drove us to Barstow, where we had a less than apetising Korean meal. By the way, the photos of McDonald's are not a... Continue reading » -
30
San Diego, that's where all the kids go, apparently
Well, we arrived pretty late in San Diego. We found the Budget car hire place, found a motel nearby, dumped our stuff, and decided what to do... Continue reading »
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31
San Ysidro - the end of the trolley line
Got the trolley from San Diego to here at about 5.30. I just put this one in for the map, but then it turns out RealTravel hasn´t heard of it... Continue reading »
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32
Guadalajara, so this is Mexico
Flew into Guadalajara eventually, after a quick stop off along the way (can´t remember what that place was called right now, but when I do it will... Continue reading »
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33
Tijuana... airport
In short, we walked across the border, went through absolutely no passport control, tried to get a bus to the airport, failed, and got in a taxi.&n... Continue reading »
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34
Guanajuato, well now this is just lovely.
Arrived well rested off the bus from Guadalajara, and piled out all our bags (well, most of them are mine). After a slight panic from Mike, w... Continue reading »
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35
Teotihuacan - more than just pyramids!
The bus, which was not of the high standard we had come to expect, from Mexico City to Teotihuacan took about an hour. The scenery... Continue reading »
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36
D.F. - Just the north bus station again.
Got back to Mexico City, and got ourselves a ticket to Cuernavaca, where we had decided to spend our last few days in Mexico. Nothing really hap... Continue reading » -
37
Cuernavaca
The first day in Cuernavaca didn´t go so well for us. I was beginning to think we should have picked somewhere else. After taking a bit... Continue reading »
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38
Mexico City, but just the airport this time
Well, back in Mexico airport, and the day wasn´t getting much better. Rick was feeling super sick, so he sat down with Mike and the bags, and... Continue reading »
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39
Miami, oh I wish I hadn't spent a day on the beach!
Arrived in Miami, and wondered where it was we had booked to stay. After a very confusing few minutes (signing in American airports seems to... Continue reading »
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40
Quito, the views are unbelievable
Well, we arrived in Ecuador, and although I hadn't really seen any of it yet, I decided I absolutely loved it. No questions. I was quit... Continue reading »
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41
Otavalo, and the Saturday Market
On Saturday we attempted to get up early (it kinda worked), and the four of us and our new friend Madeleine from the States headed off to Otavalo,... Continue reading »
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42
Back to Quito
We arrived back in Quito, and dinner was being served upstairs on the hostel terrace. There was a really big crowd there, and we all headed i... Continue reading »
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43
Santa Maria Animal Sanctuary, Tambillo
We headed off on the bus to Tambillo, which was only 45 mins away. From there, we jumped in the back of a pick-up truck, and headed up into the... Continue reading » -
44
Back again
And so we arrived back to the hostel, feeling a little deflated after our unsuccessful morning. Determined to do something with our day, we g... Continue reading »
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45
Back again, again.
A few hours later we were back in Quito. We drove up to see the Virgen de Quito, took a few snaps, but all Mike and I wanted to do was get ba... Continue reading »
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46
Pichincha - I don't want to talk about it
Eventually, at about 8.30, our guide Chaska arrived, and Mike, an Australian girl called Wendy and I headed off for Pichincha, an ac... Continue reading »
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47
Mitel del Mundo, equatorville
Right then, this is the second time I've tried to write this one, so it's not going to be too detailed. Besides, it wasn't that good to start... Continue reading »
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48
Lima, you can't say they don't try when it comes to sales
Well for starters, we actually arrived on the night of the 4th/morning of the 5th, but that's just a minor detail.
Evening flight to Lima, no... Continue reading »
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49
Huacachina, the coolest resort ever
Well, the bus journey to Ica wasn't great. It was quite a small bus, with not much legroom at the best of times. Nikki and I, however,... Continue reading »
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50
Lima, and some more people!
Back in Lima, we got back to the hostel and met Mike, Sophie and Louise. We all headed out to an Italian restaurant round the corner - it was we... Continue reading » -
51
Puerto Maldonado, it´s a jungle out there
Arrived in the airport in Puerto Maldonado (after travelling via Cusco), and were absolutely swamped in the arrivals hall. Taxi drivers were... Continue reading »
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52
Puno, and Lake Titicaca
We flew to Juliaca, Nikki and Sophie were both pretty unwell after the flight. We got a minibus taxi to Puno, which took about an h... Continue reading »
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53
Cusco, it's gringoville
Big fat liars indeed. Our comfy night bus ended up being the locals' bus. I think the hotel just wanted to make back the money they had... Continue reading »
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54
Ollantaytambo, and the start of the trail
Well, first of all, happy birthday Therese! The big 30, and what a way to spend a birthday. The day started early, since we were gettin... Continue reading »
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55
Cusco, we're back!
The train from Aguas Calientes to Cusco took a few hours. We hopped off just before the end as we had been advised by the fella from L... Continue reading »
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56
Aguas Calientes, we made it!
We all met up in the restaurant as oraganised, and the craic was great. We arranged to meet up in Cusco over the coming two days. We al... Continue reading »
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57
Lima airport. Seriously.
You wouldn't think there was much to say about a day in an airport, would you...
We arrived in Lima airport at about 8.30, and prepared ourse... Continue reading »
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58
Sao Paulo - uh oh, they speak Portugese here
Arrived into Sao Paulo airport first thing in the morning. After some difficulty getting money out in the airport, we quickly realised that P... Continue reading »
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59
Rio de Janeiro, it had to happen some time...
The bus from Rio took 6 hours, and the boys slept the whole way. The scenery on the way was mostly green fields. We got a taxi to the ´... Continue reading »
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60
Paraty - the little labrynth town
Rick and I got the bus at 2, and chatted to a few Canadians. That´s about all I have to report from the bus. Although the scenery along... Continue reading »
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61
Angra dos Reis, well, at least we made them laugh.
The bus from Paraty was a small local one, so as we arrived into Angra dos Reis, we pulled our bags on our backs, and jumped off when we thought we... Continue reading »
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62
Ilha Grande, paradise, if the weather was just a bit better!
So we arrived at Ilha Grande in one piece, but only just! The boat docked at the pier on the beach, which was pretty much the 'town's'&n... Continue reading »
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63
Barra Mansa - waiting, waiting, waiting.
We arrived into Barra Mansa at 1.30, and headed into the town to get some lunch. We got several stares in the cafe for carting round our bags... Continue reading »
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64
Back again, but only briefly.
The boat trip back was, thankfully, a lot calmer than the first crossing had been, and we arrived in at 10am. It was pouring rain by the time we... Continue reading » -
65
Foz do Iguacu - wow.
After a rather long bus ride with a few too many stops, in my opinion, we arrived in Foz do Iguacu. I was well rested and refreshed, but the... Continue reading »
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66
Puerto Iguazu - Obrigada, no, sorry, gracias!
Getting our passport stamped at the border was a cause of much confusion, but we got sorted eventually. We got dropped off at the bus station... Continue reading »
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67
Buenos Aires, it could be Europe
We arrived into Buenos Aires at 11 in the morning, and got a taxi to the hostel. It was becoming quite clear that Argentina was a lot cheaper... Continue reading »
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68
Santiago de Chile - just passing through
Well, bit of a cheat this one. We sat in the airport for a few hours waiting on our next flight. Luckily we had been able to check our... Continue reading »
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69
Auckland, the 'suty of sails'
We're in New Zealand, I can't believe it!!!
After flying through the night, we arrived in Auckland on Sunday morning at about 4.30. Aft... Continue reading »
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70
Paihia - a really cute little beach town
So we set off from Auckland, with Colin. He was kinda funny, but tried a little too hard. After a couple of hours we stopped in a littl... Continue reading »
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71
Back in Auckland
The drive back from Paihia was a pretty long one. We didn't set off till early afternoon, and I was out for the count as soon as I got on the... Continue reading »
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72
Thames, Whitianga, and the Coromandel Peninsula
We headed off out of Auckland quite early, since it was gonna be a pretty long day. It was a pretty quiet and largely uneventflul bus trip, alth... Continue reading » -
73
Waitomo, for one of the 'best things to do in NZ'
We headed off to Waitomo, and after searching for a particular petrol station for ages, and filling the bus with the engine still running, Becks was r... Continue reading » -
74
Rotorua - so much fun in one day
Rotorua stinks. No seriously, it does. There's a lot of geothermal activity going on in this place, and the smell of sulphur is, at times, un... Continue reading » -
75
Lake Taupo - Oh my god
We set off from Rotorua with Chops and Lisa. Mike was not very happy, the hangover still going strong when we made our first stop at the mud... Continue reading »
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76
Wellington, the other Windy City
On the way from Taupo, we stopped off to take some photos of Mount Tongariro, then headed along the Desert road through the National Park. ... Continue reading »
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77
Nelson, on to the South Island
After getting the ferry at Wellington, I pretty much slept the whole way. Unfortunately that means I missed 'one of the world's most specta... Continue reading »
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78
Greymouth, brewery tour, that's it
The drive to Greymouth was a pretty long one, since we had quite a few stops, but it was totally worth it, since the scenery was quite spectacular.&... Continue reading » -
79
Franz Joseph, let's not mention the glacier
We got to Franz Joseph early afternoon, and the first thing to do after checking in was to see if the Heli hike trip was going. Franz Josep... Continue reading »
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80
Queenstown, adventure capital of NZ
The bus to Queenstown was largely unevenful. We stopped off to get some photos of lakes and mountains, that kind of thing. The colour o... Continue reading »
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81
Dunedin, wildlife centre of NZ
Arriving into Dunedin was, well, a bit miserable really. It just looked a bit drab and dull, and just not a very nice city. The name it... Continue reading »
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82
Lake Tekapo, it was blue
Not much to say about this one I'm afraid. We stopped en route to see the Moeraki boulders. They're just large boulders on the beach, n... Continue reading »
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83
Chch for New Years
Right, I'm writing this quite a bit after the events, so I'm not really sure about the order of things that happened in Christchurch, or indeed wha... Continue reading »
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84
Sydney, I can't believe I'm in Oz!!!
The flight to Sydney was about 3 hours, and I spent it sat beside a sleeping Rick, reading my book. Nothing to report really, except at one p... Continue reading »
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85
Hobart - down under down under
We arrived into Hobart airport, and got the nicest taxi man into town, who pointed out all the sights to us. Although Rick wasn't particularl... Continue reading »
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86
Port Arthur, and the ghost tour!
We arrived at about 3, and spent the next hour or so looking for somewhere to stay. The YHA was no longer a YHA, and we ended up looking at a... Continue reading »
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87
Bicheno, gateway to the beaches
Heading north, we stopped off in Swansea, which was one of the bigger towns on the map. It turned out to be pretty small, and after a walk up... Continue reading »
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88
Bridport, with nice weather it could have been perfect!
After Friendly Beach, we headed on up through St Helen's. It was a bit after here that we realised that we didn't really have much petrol lef... Continue reading »
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89
Deloraine, bloody weather!
Nothing to report here really. We had some dinner, played some Cranium, had a glass of wine, I stuffed a muffin in my mouth for a bet, the ho... Continue reading »
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90
Launceston, he was right
The lovely hostel owner in Bicheno had told us about a lovely lavender farm on the way west. He had also told us to not bother going to... Continue reading »
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91
Beauty Point, who names these places?
Beauty Point was AWESOME!!!! Not that the place itself is anything that the name suggests, at least not what we say anyways. It was jus... Continue reading »
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92
Back in Hobart
On the way back to Hobart, we stopped off in a wildlife park in Brighton, to see some Ozzie animals. It was brilliant. We paid at... Continue reading »
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93
Melbourne, back on the mainland
Well, Melbourne is great. The weather is good, and the people are actually Australian, unlike Sydney. The plan was to spend a week in t... Continue reading »
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94
The Quite Nice Mostly Ocean Road
We had left our big bags in the hostel in Melbourne, so we got ourselves a nice little 3-door car for our road trip. So off we headed, on one... Continue reading »
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95
Back in Melbourne
Back in Melbourne, we were going to go to Ramsey St., but Nikki had already been and the others weren't that bothered. We drove over to the... Continue reading »
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96
Goulburn caravan park
So after watching a dvd about the van (Rick and I couldn't help laughing at it in the office!) we set off on another road trip. We stopped for... Continue reading » -
97
Back in Sydney
We arrived back safely in Sydney with the van intact. I wanted to watch the Ireland v France match that night, but we didn't have a hostel in... Continue reading »
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98
Port Stevens, first stop off
And so we were off. The plan had initially been to drive up to Palm Beach (a.k.a. Summer Bay beach!), but it was a bit too late, so we decide... Continue reading »
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99
Port Macquarie, and the funny stones
After leaving the campsite in Port Stevens, we drove through Myall Lakes National Park, which was all very lovely. Along the drive, several l... Continue reading »
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100
Nimbin, this place is cool, but weird...
After leaving Port Macquarie, we set off on the road again. We had lunch in the van in Grafton, since it was raining (it's not all sunshine o... Continue reading »
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101
Byron Bay, right on the beach
From Nimbin, we drove back to Lismore, and then straight on to Byron Bay. Byron's a lovely town, and we managed to get a campsite a stone's t... Continue reading »
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102
Main Beach, rugby time!
Goodbye NSW, hello Queensland, and welcome to Main Beach, on the Gold Coast. Interestingly, although both states are in the&nb... Continue reading »
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103
Surfers Paradise - obviously I'm not a surfer
And so to the beach. It was lovely, and the water was pretty good too. We went for some food, and then headed back to the pool at the h... Continue reading »
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104
Brisbane - they've got one thing on their minds!!!
Arriving in Brisbane without accommodation was a bad idea. We spent about 2 hours trying to find somewhere for all of us together, but e... Continue reading »
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105
Noosa - really cool beach town
On the drive to Noosa, we passed by Steve Irwin's Zoo, and Tin Can Bay, where, the advertisement informed us, you could handfeed dolphins. It... Continue reading »
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106
Hervey Bay - pool and the pool
We arrived in our caravan park in Hervey Bay where Fran had booked us lodge accommodation. We unloaded the van, and Rick, Nikki and Mike... Continue reading »
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107
Fraser Island, largest sand island in the world!
Tim took the driver seat first, and there's a very funny photo of Dan in the front passenger seat, with little Timmy driving, he looks like he's on... Continue reading »
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108
Back in Hervey Bay
Back at Koalas, the van was emptied, and everything was cleaned out. It was a pretty big job, because there was sand EVERYWHERE. But it... Continue reading »
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109
Rockhampton, rodeo town
And so on the road again. Nothing of note here really. We stopped off in a random petrol stop/cafe in between Gin Gin and Mirium Vale,... Continue reading »
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110
Airlie Beach, long time doing nothing
We arrived in Airlie Beach around the same time as the lads. The others were knackered, and decided that they couldn't face sleeping in the v... Continue reading »
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111
Whitsunday Islands, sailing, snorkeling, diving!
So Noel brought us out the The Clipper, and our Whitsunday sailing trip began, even if it did get off to a slightly shaky start. We had a bit... Continue reading »
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112
Townsville for Paddy's day
Happy Paddy's day! After meeting up with Nikki in Airlie Beach, I sent a few Paddy's day emails, then we headed for Townsville. Tim tex... Continue reading »
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113
Mission Beach, everything's a mission!
We stopped off in the Lonely Planet-recommended Frosty Mango on the way, but I began to wonder why it got so much praise. The book said they... Continue reading »
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114
Cairns, north tropics, and the Great Barrier Reef
We arrived into Cairns early afternoon, and after leaving our gazebo back (we purposely bought it in KMart!), we spent the next few hours looking... Continue reading »
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115
Perth, welcome to Western Australia
We arrived into Perth at 2.30 on the morning of the 23rd, and went straight to our motel and went to bed. The annoying thing was that I woke... Continue reading »
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116
Singapore, the Asian adventure starts here!
The flight to Singapore was ace. It was one of those everyone-has-a-tele-watch-what-you-want planes, so I watched 'Notes on a Scandal' and 'T... Continue reading »
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117
KL - it's Grand Prix weekend!
We arrived in KL in the early evening, after a straightforward customs check out of Singapore, and again into Malaysia. After a bit of messin... Continue reading »
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118
Sandakan, and the staring starts again
We arrived in Sandakan around 11am, and jumped in a cab to our hotel. The others wanted to go to bed, but I wasn't that tired. I was in... Continue reading »
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119
Sepilok, to see the monkeys
The cab took us 45 mins out of Sandakan to the Sepilok lodge, where we left our bags, before heading to the Orang Utan centre. The lady there... Continue reading »
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120
Kinabatangan River, back in the jungle!
It was a 2 hour minivan journey to the jungle, one of which was done over a dusty, bumpy road. At the Kinabantangon river, we had a 3 minut... Continue reading »
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121
Lahad Datu, but just the bus station
This one was just for the purposes of the map - sorry guys! We paid a minivan driver to take us to Semporna, bought a drink while waiting for th... Continue reading » -
122
Semporna, Sebuan and Sipidan - dive-ville
Upon arrival in Semporna, we were greeted off the bus by people from various hostels and hotels, of whom the guy from Scuba Junkies was the most... Continue reading »
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123
Kota Kinabalu - KK and the islands
The bus from Semporna to KK took 8 and a half hours. That's a story in itself...
It was so nice to sit on the bus and enjoy the air con... Continue reading »
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124
Back in KL, if only briefly
I pretty much slept the whole way to KL, as did Rick, but Nikki and Mike only managed a short snooze. While waiting for our bags, I noticed t... Continue reading »
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125
Kota Bharu, just for a night
Checked into our hostel, chilled out, wandered into town to the night market for some food. That's it really.
Up early the next morning... Continue reading »
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126
Kuala Besut, port town
Got here, signed in, Mike did some work on his investigation and came up with a name - Lemonmer Broni. Although I suspect Broni is his first nam... Continue reading » -
127
Pulau Perhentian - a pretty nice place to stop!
Oh my goodness. I've never seen anything like this place. After a 45 minute boat ride, and a taxi boat for 30 secs (cost: RM2!), we arr... Continue reading »
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128
Sungai Kolok - walking to Thailand
In case you've been paying attention to the time record on these things, don't worry, it didn't take us and hour to walk into Thailand, that's just... Continue reading »
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129
Rantau Panjang, end of the Malay road
Again, not a lot to say here. We got a taxi to here, and then had to get out and walk across the border. Find out where we ended up in the... Continue reading » -
130
Phun Phin for the night
So, after a long train journey, we got off at Phun Phin, just outside Surat Thani. We checked into a hotel, and I collapsed on the bed. ... Continue reading »
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131
Kuala Besut, just passing through again
Yeah, nothing to tell here, just wanted to keep the map in order. We got off the boat and got a taxi, that's about it. Continue reading » -
132
Thong Sala - welcome to the island!
So after being herded off the boat and into a taxi, the four of us, plus Cara from Scotland, set off for Ban Chalok Lam, which was the furthest we cou... Continue reading » -
133
Ban Chalok Lam - end of the actual road
We arrived in Ban Chalok Lam, and jumped out to get the boat. We were standing around, wondering where to ask, when a lady came out of a rest... Continue reading »
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134
Surat Thani, briefly
We jumped off the bus outside of town, at an office that sold boat tickets for Ko Pha-ngang. The guy wasn't budging on the price, so Mike and Ni... Continue reading » -
135
Don Sak port
An hour later we arrived at Don Sak port, and started to get a little nervous, since we still hadn't received any tickets. I was beginning to wo... Continue reading » -
136
Haad Khuad, Bottle Beach
So after a rough ride on a dirt track that sometimes approached vertical, we made it to Bottle beach. We had a look at Smile guesthouse, sinc... Continue reading »
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137
Haad Rin, Full Moon Party!
It takes quite a lot to make me sick, but the journey to Haad Rin almost did it. And that was despite the fact that we got to sit inside the... Continue reading »
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138
Back on Bottle Beach
We arrived back on Bottle Beach at about 7am on the Wednesday morning, and it was straight to bed to sleeeeeeeeep....
The next morning, or ra... Continue reading »
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139
Chumphon, food and bus
We boarded a packed catamaran, and started sailing towards Chumphon. We had a stop-off at Ko Tao, where I saw Ross and Rachel get off the boa... Continue reading »
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140
Thong Sala, again
In the van on the way to Thong Sala, we tried to figure out exactly how it was we were getting to Bangkok. We had tried to book onto the same... Continue reading »
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141
Ban Chalok Lam, just on our way back
After a fairly smooth crossing we made it to Ban Chalok Lam. Although we now understood why the boats hadn't been going for the pas... Continue reading »
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142
Bangkok, tuk tuks and westerners everywhere
We arrived in Bangkok at about 1am, and like sheep about 25 people with backpacks on their back headed towards Kao San road. We went to the D... Continue reading »
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143
Phitsanulok, just for somewhere to stay
We left Bangkok in the afternoon, and got the train to Phitsanuloke. Not exactly just an uneventful train journey I'm afraid.
I slept f... Continue reading »
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144
Back in Phitsanulok
Back in Phitsanulok, we chilled out for a bit, and then headed out for some food. We had read about a floating restaurant in the Lonely Plane... Continue reading »
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145
Sukothai, to see the ruins
It took about an hour to drive to Sukhothai, so we were all pretty glad to have taken the air-con taxi. We got to the old city, hired bikes, and... Continue reading » -
146
Chiang Mai, a really pretty little city
So we got into Chiang Mai at around 8.30, and I was pretty glad to get off the bus. We waited in the station to hear from the others, but w... Continue reading »
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147
Pai - way, way up in the mountains
Traveling overland in Thailand is an interesting experience. The countryside is so green, with lush rainforest as far as the eye can see.&nbs... Continue reading »
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148
Back in Chiang Mai
I arrived back in Chiang Mai, and after some hassle at the bus station, managed to get a tuk tuk van back to RUX Thai guest house. There were... Continue reading »
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149
Chiang Khong, just out of time
So, after two long and unneccessary stops (one of them only a half hour before we reached our destination), we were dropped off at a guest house, w... Continue reading »
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150
Muang Sing, way up north
The trip to Muang Sing took about 5 hours, and was quite an 'interesting' one. The scenery was beautiful in parts, but the roads were treache... Continue reading »
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151
Huay Xai, Sabaidee!
After a five minute sail across the river, we arrived in Huay Xai. Not content with passing the bags out of the boat, I thought I would speed... Continue reading »
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152
Louang Namtha, bus station
On arrival, we learned that the bus was not in fact leaving till 9.30 - good job we got up so early, eh? So, after buying our tickets, we sa... Continue reading »
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153
Luang Prabang, a little French town in Asia
After 19 hours on the go, we finally made it to Luang Prabang. We got a tuk tuk to town, and started looking for guest houses. We event... Continue reading »
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154
Vang Vieng... TUBING!!!!!
The road to Vang Vieng was exceptionally windy. The aircon we had paid for didn't actually materialise, but that was to be expected really.&n... Continue reading »
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155
Vientiane, the smallest capital city
Steve and Barry had arrived a couple of days previously, so it was nice to be able to jump off the bus and head straight to their guest house, with... Continue reading »
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156
Hanoi, you've never seen traffic like it
We arrived in Hanoi airport, collected our bags, and got some cash out - so far so good. We had been well warned about all the scams tha... Continue reading »
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157
Halong Bay, for another sailing trip
So, after a few hours on the bus, we arrived at Halong Bay. We had a bit of a wait while something was sorted out, then Son, our guide,... Continue reading »
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158
Back in Hanoi
Driving in Vietnam is very different to Laos. For one thing, the roads are for the most part straight, and quite flat. In the rural are... Continue reading »
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159
A slightly different Ninh Binh!
We were met in the train station by two guys who owned guest houses, which were only down the street. We picked one, and went to bed!
T... Continue reading »
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160
Hue, for some culture at 40 degrees
On exiting the train station, we were overrun with taxi drivers who were willing to take us just about anywhere. From the hoardes of hotel bu... Continue reading »
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161
Hoi An, do you know where I can get any clothes made?
We arrived in Hoi An, and after being shown several hotels that were all lovely but too far out of town, we took our backpacks for a bit of a walk,... Continue reading »
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162
Nha Trang, scooting about is ace!
We jumped off the bus bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and not in the least bit smelly. We had a look round hotels, but were being turned away from ev... Continue reading »
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163
Dalat - the central highlands of Vietnam
It turned out Brad and Chelsi's bus had been an hour quicker than hours (you just never know in this country), so they had been waiting on us for q... Continue reading »
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164
HCMC, Uncle Ho's party town
We got off the bus outside the company's office in Saigon, and tried to figure out where we were. We were just standing there when... Continue reading »
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165
Can Tho, for a boat ride
The guest house the lady on the boat recommended happened to be the one we had looked at in the book, although it was a bit of a coincidence t... Continue reading »
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166
CHAU DOC (that's for Brad and Chelsi!)
At the station in CHAU DOC, we jumped on two pedal xe lois, and headed for the centre of town. Along the way, a guy on a moto drove alongside... Continue reading »
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167
Phnom Penh, and another Khao San road
After the final lie of the journey was over - the bus took 2 hours instead of the 45 minutes we had been told, although some people on the tour had... Continue reading » -
168
Siem Reap, gateway to Angkor
If the bus journey was uneventful, arriving into the station at Siem Reap made up for that. While picking up my bags on the bus, I could see... Continue reading »
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169
Back in Bangkok
On the Bangkok side, things were looking much better. The bus was a proper bus, with proper aircon and everything! The journey was so... Continue reading »
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170
Hong Kong SAR
Wow. I was totally blown away by Hong Kong, even on the way in from the airport. The sky was blue, the water was gorgeous, and all arou... Continue reading »
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171
Tokyo - hi-tec stuff
It took us most of the day to get to Tokyo, but it was worth it! We eventually made it to Asakusa station, and found our hostel, which was ni... Continue reading »
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172
Hong Kong airport
Not a lot to say here really. Watched Shawshank Redemption on the plane on the way (I had never seen it before!). Flying into HK at nig... Continue reading »
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173
New Delhi - just the train station for now
We arrived in Delhi airport at about 1.30am. Mike had managed to get a few hours kip in, but for some reason I only had about an hour or so,... Continue reading »
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174
Agra, just for the Taj really
We arrived in Agra at 8.45, and immediately got ourselves a reservation on the waiting list for the night train to Varanasi. After that, it w... Continue reading »
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175
Varanasi, holy cow!
I woke up, a little disorientated, and my watch said it was 8. I remembered we were on a train, so when I realised we weren't moving, and tha... Continue reading »
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176
Delhi, and the end of the road
The train pulled into Delhi railway station at 8am, and we got off and walked to our guest house. We just got a little dingey one for th... Continue reading »
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177
That's all folks....!
And that's it - from 12,000 ft up to 13m under, I've been around the world and seen quite a few sights. Been from some of the most technological... Continue reading »
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