ScottAs Blog on RealTravel

Kathmandu journal: Temple hopping in Kathmandu (Under construction)

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 09:56:24 GMT

Managed to change our flight without any issue, so we got back to Kathmandu on the 23rd. Bit of a scarier flight this time, since the day was much more cloudy than the previous flight to Lukla. Plus, we had heard the day before that a similar airline had had a crash in Western Nepal a few days before, killing all those on the plane. Fortunately, we made it back safely to Kathmandu, but with very little view of the valley this time.

The plane was slightly delayed, so we waited until the signal to head over to the flight. Just before it got there, a siren sounded at the airport, ...

Lukla journal: Trek Day 9: Namche Bazar to Lukla

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 05:26:59 GMT

Time taken: 5 hours (incl. breaks)

Distance: Today: ~13 kms Total to date: ~80 kms

Altitude: Namche Bazar - 3450m, Lukla - 2850m, Descent: ~600m, with a ~350m ascent at the very end

(Note: More pictures in the archives - click on any picture to see the others!)

Felt amazing to wake up this morning, though my knees were a little weak from the long day of trekking yesterday. I think I may have injured them on the Inca Trail in Peru 4 years ago, since every trek that I have done since them incites a little pain. However, they held up really well to this point ...

Namche Bazar journal: Trek Day 8: Deboche to Namche Bazar

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 05:15:01 GMT

Time taken: 5 hours (incl. breaks)

Distance: Today: ~7 kms Total to date: ~67 kms

Altitude: Deboche - 3770m, Namche Bazar - 3450m, Descent: 320m, with a ~300m ascent en route

(Check out the other pictures in the archive by clicking on the photos below!)

Woke up to a nice sunny day this morning! Unfortunately, it brought an end to a very poor sleep the night before. Despite being exhausted from all the walking and the lack of sleep from the previous few days, I got a very poor sleep last night. Might have had something to do with the people in the next room ...

Deboche journal: Trek Day 7: Gorak Shep to Deboche

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 04:41:33 GMT

Time taken: 5 hours (incl. breaks)

Distance: Today: ~18 kms Total to date: ~60 kms

Altitude: Gorak Shep - 5160m, Deboche - 3770m, Descent: 1390m

Despite feeling ok when I went to bed, the altitude issues crept back while I was sleeping. No fever this time, but a splitting headache and difficulties breathing in the middle of the night. The morning was proof of how bad and how frequently AMS hits, as everyone who was in the teahouse had at least a headache. That includes the Brits, the American guy, myself, and even Keisha (my guide) was complaining of a headache. ...

Gorak Shep journal: Trek Day 6: Lobuche to Gorak Shep

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 03:55:54 GMT

Time taken: 1 1/2 hours to Gorak Shep, 2 hours return to Kala Pattar (incl. breaks)

Distance: Today: ~6 kms (2 to Gorak Shep, 4 return to Kala Pattar)

Total distance to date: ~36 kms

Altitude: Lobuche - 4740m, Gorak Shep - 5160m, Kala Pattar - 5545m

Max ascent: ~420m to Gorak Shep, ~385m to Kala Pattar

(Note: More pictures in the archives - click on any picture to see the others!)

Sleep last night was even worse than the night before. Not only did I get little sleep, but also started getting chills and fever for much of the night. I literally almost got up ...

Lobuche journal: Trek Day 5: Pheriche to Lobuche

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 03:35:22 GMT

Time taken: 4 hours (incl. breaks)

Distance: Today: ~8 kms Total to date: ~36 kms

Altitude: Pheriche - 4240m, Lobuche - 4740m, Max ascent: ~500m

(Note: More pictures in the archives - click on any picture to see the others!)

Last night was a terrible sleep. The headache had somewhat subsided by the time I went to bed, and I fell asleep rather quickly, only to awaken a few hours later with a throbbing headache. I did manage to get back to sleep a couple of hours later, but for a much shorter time than I would have liked.

When I got up in the morning, I ...

Tengboche journal: Trek Day 3: Namche Bazar to Tengboche

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 02:03:49 GMT

Time taken: 3 1/2 hours (incl. breaks)

Distance: Today: ~6 kms Total to date: ~19 kms

Altitude: Namche Bazar - 3450m, Tengboche - 3860m, Max ascent: ~630m

(Note: More pictures in the archives - click on any picture to see the others!)

Most people take an extra day to acclimatize to the altitude in Namche Bazar, but I was feeling quite fine and had a bit of a limited timeframe in which to complete the trek, so we decided to push on. Given that it was the edge of monsoon season, flights between Lukla and Kathmandu were often delayed (by days sometimes!) by ...

Namche Bazar journal: Trek Day 2: Phakding to Namche Bazar

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 00:44:54 GMT

Time taken: 5 hours (incl. breaks)

Distance: Today: ~7 kms Total to date: ~13 kms

Altitude: Phakding - 2650m, Namche Bazar - 3450m, Max ascent: ~1000m (1 km!)

Today was a killer day. Several times during the trek I wondered why I was doing it, since I thought there was no way that I was going to make it. The weather was not cooperating, and several times when it was possible to see the mountains it was too cloudy to see anything. Very demoralizing. The only thing that really kept me going was passing a group of people coming back on the trail, who said it was ...

Phakding journal: Trek Day 1: Lukla to Phakding

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 06:13:54 GMT

Time taken: 2 1/2 hours (incl. breaks)

Distance: Today: ~6-7 kms Total to date: ~6-7 kms

Altitude: Lukla - 2860m, Phakding - 2650m, Max ascent: 150m

The am started very early, since I had to be up at 5 am to catch the 6:30 flight. You can hike up to Lukla from a place called Jiri (you can take a bus to get there), but we chose to start a little further up given my short timeframe, and the potential for hassles from the local rebels (the Maoists) on the trail. I guess they usually charge a 5000R (~$66) "tax to use the trail" if you meet them, which is apparently ...

Kathmandu journal: Quick break in Kathmandu before starting the trek!

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 04:13:20 GMT

Got up pretty early to catch a cab back to the airport en route to Nepal. Traffic was much worse (believe it or not!) at this time of day as opposed to late in the evening. The driver had to stop for petrol (gas) on the way, since his fuel tank was on E. 20 mins later we were back on the road. For that amount of time, I figured he had filled the tank, but I noticed on the pump that he only bought 2 L of gas! Talk about being risky... Why did it take so long?

Also en route to the airport, I saw my first batch of monkeys playing around on the side of the road, in an area that was ...

New Delhi journal: Quick stopover en route to Nepal!

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 00:06:35 GMT

Wow. Traveling from NZ to Delhi was a very long trip, leading to an entirely different world. I left Christchurch on Sunday afternoon and flew to Melbourne, where I had a 7 hour layover, followed by a flight to Singapore, with a 10 hour layover, and finally into Delhi. In all, it was ~34 hours of travel time, which was pretty tiring. Gave me a ton of time to listen to my iPod, do Sudoku (seriously addicted by now - thanks to you Arlene!), and relax.

I had a little trouble getting into Australia, since my work visa had been cancelled since my last departure, so I had to go online and ...

Christchurch journal: Back in Christchurch for my final days in NZ

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 23:28:51 GMT

The final night in Christchurch was pretty much yet another fond farewell to NZ. We had made some new friends on the last bus to Christchurch, and yet again had caught up with some of the original crew. We got in late in the afternoon, and I had to pick up my flight tickets to India / Nepal (since I was leaving the next day!) Fortunately, it all worked out, since I may have been SOL otherwise (yes, I am always a procrastinator...)

That night was a huge rugby match between the All-Blacks and the Irish. Given the large Irish contingent in our group, the match was even more of an event. ...

Dunedin journal: A visit to the Scottish city of Dunedin

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 23:11:38 GMT

Next stop on the tour was Dunedin. Was a very nice drive through the Catlins area, and saw some more beautiful coastline and green valleys along the way.

Dunedin is a cool little student town, with a very strong Scottish heritage. Lots of cool shops, restaurants, bars, etc., and a very vibrant student atmosphere. The central square is surrounded by old architecture and cafes, etc. and has a very quaint and homely feel. Reminded me a lot of Kingston in a lot of ways, and I liked the air here much more so than Christchurch, so I again decided to hop off to spend a couple of relaxing ...

Invercargill journal: Probably the dullest city on the trip - Invercargill

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 03:35:13 GMT

After a much-needed rest night in Te Anua, we headed out on the road to Invercargill, pretty much the most southern city in NZ (only Stewart Island is more southern, but there are only little towns there). Invercargill is probably the most non-descript place I have been to. The weather wasn't nice, and the drive was nto spectacular. I had planned on going over to Stewart Island for the night, since it is supposed to be a lovely little area, but most activities were outdoors, so the rain changed my thoughts.

We spent the afternoon wandering the city, but never really found anything ...

Te Anau journal: Boat cruise out to Milford Sound

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 03:16:11 GMT

We were to spend the next night in Te Anau, which is the gateway town to Milford Sound. Milford is known as one of the more beautiful areas in the country, as it is a beautiful fjord surrounded by waterfalls, mountains, and often inhabited by a variety of wildlife (unique penguins, dolphins, seals, etc.) As well, the drive to Milford is a stunning set of reflective lakes, snow-caps, glaciars, waterfalls (some frozen!), and lovely mountain valleys. To be honest, I found the drive to Milford more beautiful than the sound itself.

We got to the boat and joined 100s of other tourists who ...

Queenstown journal: Adventure sports capital of the world, and crazy night life

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 03:00:35 GMT

As hoped, the next bus brought along Chris and Lizzie, as well as Kieran, all of whom we had left behind in Abel Tasman a few days before. We also met a few new people that were quite cool (Trevor from Ireland, Pernilla from Norway, etc.) Made the drive to Queenstown pretty decent.

We stopped off along the way at the AJ Hackett Bungy Center on Kawathea Bridge just outside of Queenstown, home of the original commercial bungy jump (bungy actually started in Vanuatu as a rite of passage for local boys). I had wanted to do a jump for about a decade, since my Mother denied me the chance in ...

Franz Josef Glacier journal: Hiking the Franz Josef glacier

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 02:19:12 GMT

(Check out more photos by clicking on the links or pictures below!)

We got into Franz Josef a little late since we had to stop in Graymouth to have a temporary fix made to our broken bus window. While we were waiting at the glass shop, someone came up with the brilliant idea to throw a rugby ball and frisbee in the parking lot... Somehow we escaped damage-free, but there were moments of concern...

The sunset in FJ was quite lovely over the glaciers and lakes that we saw en route and within FJ itself. Nice pink lighting on the snow caps, and beautiful reflections on the lakes. ...

Wanaka journal: My first sky dive!

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 02:19:02 GMT

We drove over to Wanaka on the 31st, on the way to Queenstown (the normal stopping point on the tour). Along the way, we got our first glimpses of Mt. Cook (the highest point in NZ), and Mt. Tasman, two of the most beautiful snow-capped peaks in NZ. We stopped at a reflecting lake area near the two, and the cloudy sky started clearing up once again just as we pulled up to the site. One of the most spectacular photos I have seen of NZ is the reflection of the 2 in this lake.

The stop was only about an hour, and the hike around the lake supposedly took longer than that, so I booted it ...

Barrytown journal: Party central in a town of 50...

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 01:35:16 GMT

The drive to Barrytown (a.k.a. Baz-Vegas to the locals) was not without excitement. We made a grocery stop in a town about halfway there, and the departure turned into an adventure. Our driver (Stretch) was on his 5th tour of NZ, though he had been a driver on many Aus tours before, so relatively experienced at driving buses. But, when we were pulling out of the parking spot, he didn't notice how close his mirror was to a street sign. He hit the ign with the mirror, causing the sign to be pushed over. As well, since the mirror was incorrectly fastened too closely to the passenger window on ...

Motueka journal: Rain, rain, and more rain in Abel Tasman National Park

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 01:21:36 GMT

We had a very slow start the next day, since the ferry only got in ~11 am, so we got up late and just did a few errands before picking up the new kids. Turned out to be another great group of people from all over. We were joined by more Irish and British folks (Pauline, Kieran, Dolly, and Emma), a girl from Finland (Maija), and a few others from other places around the globe (a couple of Americans and Canadians too!). These people mixed with the remaining people who got on in Christchurch would be the core of the group that I spent my 2 weeks with. Great people all in - lots of humour and ...

Picton journal: Not much to do here... But a nice rest!

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 01:03:52 GMT

Picton is probably one of the oddest stops on the Stray itinerary. It is quite a lovely little town, but doesn't have a lot to do... We basically stopped here to pick up/drop off people that are coming in from / going to the North Island on Stray buses. The ferry to Wellington comes into Picton, so it is a good meeting point.

The drive up to Picton was more coastline, and we stopped along the way at another seal colony. Pretty much the same as the one yesterday, but the seals were much more active here. They were playing in the pools and chasing each other around, as opposed to just ...

Kaikoura journal: Whale- and seal-watching in Kaikoura

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 00:39:24 GMT

(Check out the more photos options for more pix of whales, seals, and birds in action!)

The start of my Stray journey started off slowly, but pleasantly. The bus only had about 12 people on board, so we had plenty of space to relax. A few of the people on-board would be traveling with me all the way around the island, and they seemed like very good people. There was an Irish guy (Stephen), a few Brits (Liz, Lizzie & Chris), and a Swiss girl (Lucia) that were on essentially the same plan as myself. Stephen and I talked a fair bit on the way to Kaikoura, while the others I didn't ...

New Zealand journal: Winter Wonderland in South Island NZ (May 21 - Jun 11, 2006)

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 23:50:45 GMT

Three weeks of amazing mountains, green hills, adventure sports, and many beers with new friends from around the globe. New Zealand is now up there as probably my favourite place on Earth after this trip. How can you complain with all the activities, friendly people, relaxed lifestyle, and abundant natural beauty?

Katoomba journal: Sight-seeing in the Blue Mountains

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 04:08:28 GMT

Got into Sydney late on Friday afternoon. Decided to go up to the Blue Mountains for the weekend with friends from Bain in Aus. Got in late to a B&B in Katoomba, which is the hub town for the Blue Mountain area. The B&B was quite eclectic really, with decor from the Victorian era to match the age of the house. I am actually not a big fan of the era, since it is a clashing mix of patterns and colours, but was homely enough for the weekend. The hosting couple was two very flaming gay guys, who were extremely friendly, but brash where they felt it was required... Lead to some very ...

Sydney journal: Catching up in Sydney

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 03:33:54 GMT

After the Blue Mountains and a long Outback road trip, I decided to take some time to catch up my life and prep for the long travel ahead. Most of the week that I spent in Sydney was used to catch up email and see some of the sights that I had missed in the area while I was in Melbourne. I stayed with Kurt Chauviere and Ali Kennedy-Scott in their gorgeous rental unit in Surry Hills. They found a 3-floor detached home, fully furnished, both with furniture and a wide array of art that the home owners had obviously gathered over some time.

I spent a couple of afternoons at each of Manly ...

Alice Springs journal: End of the road for the campervan

Fri, 19 May 2006 00:34:48 GMT

May 11: Kings Canyon to Alice Springs

May 12: Returned the campervan in Alice Springs (Final mileage: 9449 km in 24 days!)

After the Kings Canyon hike, we drove on back to Alice Springs for our final night prior to packing it in and heading our own ways. Pretty insignificant drive back to Alice since we had done it before, and I think we were both ready to get back to ("normal?").

We decided to celebrate the end of the trip with some more Cuban cigars and a nice dinner. Well, we got one of the two. After a little bit of a search, we found a place that sold the cigars and ...

Kings Canyon journal: Wow - most gorgeous hike of the trip!

Fri, 19 May 2006 00:16:38 GMT

May 10: Uluru to Kings Canyon (Mileage: 8947 km)

After our hike around The Olgas, we drove on up to King's Canyon in the evening. Filled up with gas along the way, and ended up paying $1.77 / L! No one else complain about gas prices!

Managed to catch a sunset on one of the faces of KC itself. The rock colours were not quite as nice, but the colours of the sky were a little more reminiscent of what we had seen on the Stuart. Decent sunset overall. Stayed the night in an unpowered site right near the canyon, and came back in the morning to do the hike along the Rim of the ...

Uluru National Park (Ayers Rock) journal: Sunsets and hiking in Uluru & Kata Tjuta

Thu, 18 May 2006 23:58:13 GMT

May 8: Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayer's Rock) (Mileage: 8376 km)

May 9: Uluru (Mileage: 8515 km)

Definitely check out the other photos listed with this page to see the changes in rock & sky colours and the other photos I couldn't fit on the page!

After the late start out of Alice, we made up time again on the no speed limit highway. Managed to get to Yulara (Ayer's Rock Resort) at about 5 pm, so we grabbed a site in the caravan park and went over to see the sun set over Uluru (Ayer's Rock). Quite a spectacle of colours, both in the sky as we had seen in other places, and ...

Alice Springs journal: Continuing down the Stuart

Thu, 18 May 2006 22:58:06 GMT

May 7: Wycliffe Wells to Alice Springs (Mileage: 7885 km)

Driving down to Alice was a breeze. Extremely straight highway (one stretch was 50 kms without a single turn or bend in the road!) and there was no speed limit on the highway, so we pushed the caravan fairly hard.

Got into Alice Springs at a decent hour after the Devil's Marbles and decided to do another re-stock before heading on to Ayer's Rock. The resort down there is known to be pretty expensive, so we decided to save cash by getting our own groceries in Alice. The Woolie's (Woolworth's) was under construction, so ...

Tennant Creek journal: Rollin' on down the Stuart Highway

Thu, 18 May 2006 21:56:59 GMT

May 6: Katherine to Wycliffe Wells ~100 km S of Tennant Creek (Mileage: 7441 km)

The next morning we left Katherine to carry on down the Stuart Highway. The highway is pretty famous for being a major route North-South across Aus, and to Ayer's Rock. It is also lined with memorials to WWII sites, since the area south of Darwin is the only other Allied soil to be bombed by the Japanese (other than Pearl Harbour). It also has a dramatic change in scenery from the Top End down into the heart of the Outback. Lush forest is replaced by much less dense shrubs, and then eventually a pretty ...

Katherine journal: Yet again more closures & continuous disappointment

Thu, 18 May 2006 21:37:33 GMT

May 5: Kakadu NP to Katherine (Mileage: 6602 km)

After exploring Kakadu NP, we continued down the road to Katherine on our way down the Stuart Highway to Ayer's Rock. We had stopped quickly in K on the way through to Darwin with Dan the previous day, but didn't have time to stop.

Katherine had been flooded after the cyclones, just a few weeks before. Apparently the entire down town was flooded over the tops of the buildings. Nowt he water was like 18 m below the bridge, but the after-effects could still be felt in the city. We were looking to go canoeing in the Katherine Gorge, ...

Kakadu National Park journal: Beautiful morning river cruise, but everything else was closed...

Thu, 18 May 2006 21:13:40 GMT

May 4: Litchfield National Park to Kakadu National Park (Mileage: 6162 km)

One of the highlights in the "Top End" is Kakadu National Park. Known for tons of great swimming holes, aboriginal art, river cruises, and awesome hikes, the park is a very traditional holiday point for all who go to Darwin. In fact, it is pretty much the reason to go to D. However, much of it was closed due to high water levels. Fortunately for us, we had gone to Litchfield and seen much of the aforementioned type of Top End scenery. Shame that we didn't get to see Jim Jim Falls or Twin Falls, but what can ...

Darwin journal: Long drive to Darwin & Litchfield National Park

Thu, 18 May 2006 20:55:03 GMT

May 2: Kununurra to Darwin (Mileage: 5620 km)

May 3: Darwin to Litchfield National Park (Mileage: 5785 km)

Dan had to fly out of Kununurra to Darwin at ~7:30 am on the morning of the 2nd, so we got up early to see him off. Checked in at the front desk of the caravan park shortly thereafter, and found out that the road to Katherine had been opened over night! Dan called us a few minutes later from the airport having heard the same thing, and asked if he thought he should risk it and drive with us up to Darwin to get on his 2 am flight. I said I thought it was a bit of a gamble ...

Kununurra journal: Possibly the most beautiful area of the trip to this point

Thu, 18 May 2006 20:29:30 GMT

April 29: Halls Creek to Kununurra (Mileage: 4560 km)

April 30: Kununurra (Ord Dam/Lake Argyle) (Mileage: 4733 km)

May 1: Kununurra (4WD mileage: ~220 km)

When we started the trip, we made the mistake of really only planning a drive through the Kimberley region rather than spending a lot of time there. Fortunately for us (though it seemed unfortunate at first), we ended up having to stop our drive to Darwin in a little town in Kununurra on the border of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Apparently, the recent cyclone activity had brought in a huge amount of ...

Halls Creek journal: Fabulous dinner and scenery, surrounded by insanity

Thu, 18 May 2006 00:15:06 GMT

April 28: Broome to Halls Creek (Mileage: 4188 km)

The morning of the 28th, we picked up Dan (Mary's husband and my former co-worker) at the Broome airport and headed on our way over to Darwin. Our first stop was to Halls Creek, a town of <2,000 people that was recently immortalized in the movie "Wolf Creek". While there are some inaccuracies in the way the movie portrays the town, it is really not that far off from the truth. It really is a hick town in the middle of nowhere, but probably more than 50% Aboriginal (as opposed to the portrayal of a white town in the movie). It was ...

Broome journal: Maxin' and relaxin' in Broome

Wed, 17 May 2006 23:57:33 GMT

April 25: Karijini NP to Port Hedland (Mileage: 2843 km)

April 26: Port Hedland to Broome (Mileage: 3466 km)

April 27: Broome

After a solid day in Karijini NP, we left in the early evening to start the journey to Broome. That night we risked a little of the darkness (sun goes down at around 6 there right now!) to get as far as we could, and ended up spending the night in Port Hedland. PH exists only due to mining needs in the area, and you can tell it when you get into town. The male:female ratio was definitely biased from what we could see, and definitely not in favour of ...

Karijini National Park journal: River gorge tour in Karijini National Park

Wed, 17 May 2006 22:44:44 GMT

April 24: Coral Bay to Karijini National Park (Mileage: 2488 km)

The drive up to Karijini NP was a slow starter, but turned into a fabulous drive by the time we reached the park. The coolest thing at the start was that all of the fields were littered with bright red termite mounds that reached as high as 1 - 1 1/2 m high. (Having been all the way around Aus now, we saw these mounds pretty much everywhere on the trip from Coral Bay onwards...) There was very little traffic on this stretch, as we started to get more and more into the typically Outback. In fact, we only passed about 10 ...

Coral Bay journal: Swimming with whale sharks!

Wed, 17 May 2006 22:26:07 GMT

April 22: Denham to Coral Bay (Mileage: 1777 km)

April 23: Coral Bay - Whale Shark tour

Spent the morning driving up from Denham to Monkey Mia to see the dolphin feeding. Dolphins come in 3x per day to get fed by local park rangers, which is (to be honest) pretty much as it sounds. Beautiful area, but you can see dolphin feedings at any aquarium, and they also do tricks there. Very commercial, but quite a nice area to go see (worth the 15 min drive from Denham).

On the way back to the major highway we stopped in at Eagle Bluff, which is another big lookout point over the ...

Denham journal: Coastline, beaches, gorges and sea snakes

Mon, 15 May 2006 21:59:23 GMT

April 20: Perth to Cervantes (The Pinnacles) to Kalbarri National Park (Mileage: 701 km)

April 21: Kalbarri NP to Denham (Monkey Mia) (Mileage: 1131 km)

STarted the road trip up the West Coast from Perth. Mostly plain old highway for the first part of the trip, but we quickly started getting into less dense population. The first stop that we made on the trip was to Cervantes, to check out the beaches and a strange set of rock formations called the Pinnacles.

The Pinnacles are limestone rocks (up to 5 m high!) that have formed in the sandy area near Cervantes, which has been ...

Perth journal: First days in Aus

Mon, 15 May 2006 21:40:44 GMT

Thursday, April 20, 2006 - Perth

Sunrise. Day 3/4 of the trip, but stil recovering from the jet lag, and having a hard time sleeping past 5 or 6 am. Could be due to going to bed at 10 pm, but I suspect that will not change soon on this trip.

Been a long ride so far. Spent 36 hours traveling from Toronto to San Francisco to Auckland (New Zealand) to Melbourne (Aus) to Perth (Aus). Thank goodness for the fold down bed in business class from SF to Melbourne, since it allowed me to sleep for a good part of the way down here.

Traveling on this trip with Mary Shapero who is a ...