888 Hourss Blog on RealTravel

Papeete journal: Tahiti sounds nice.

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 17:29:33 GMT

Day 32 - Monday 4 June 2007 ( 761 hours down 127 to go)

We wake early due to six hour time difference from South America to Tahiti and open curtains to watch dawn break over the calm lagoon with the Island of Moorea in the background, not a bad view. We venture down to breakfast after a walk through the gardens, beach and pool area. We soon realize that eating at the hotel is not going to be cheap as a buffet breakfast costs approx A$70 for two, the breakfast was worth $50, the view $20 and the service $0, no tip for you. After stuffing ourselves we decide that a walk ...

Santiago journal: Are we Chilly in Chile, or are we eating Chilli.

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 17:14:06 GMT

Day 30 - Saturday 2 June 2007 ( 706 hours down 182 to go)

Woke up to an overcast day in Rio with rain threatening, must be time to leave , we hang around hotel until it is time to leave and take hotel Taxi to airport. No problems in checking in and we spend an hour in Club Lounge catching up on reading and blog. Get on board LAN flight 751 and it is a brand new Boeing 767-300 with enough room between the seats you could dance all night. As there are only 4 in Business Class service is pretty good and we have a quick flight to Sao Paulo, Capital of Brazil, where we have ...

The World journal: NOT THE AMAZING RACE BUT THE AMAZING SIGHTS

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 12:26:55 GMT

Day 1

ADELAIDE TO DELHI

Cathay flight to Hong Kong via Melbourne was very comfortable and very enjoyable, seats, food, service, drinks & entertainment all top shelf. Quick transit change in HK but next flight to Delhi was on an old model A33O with basic comforts which we once would have considered to be excellent. Anyway the flight departed at 11.00pm and we were tired and had eaten so much on the first leg that the lentil curry offered at midnight had absolutely no appeal, so we attempted to watch a movie hoping that sleep would take over.

Arrived at Delhi ...

Rio de Janeiro journal: We're at the Copa, Copacabana

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 09:54:52 GMT

Day 27 - Wednesday 30 May 2007 ( 634 hours down 254 to go)

New York to Rio De Janeiro

It is our last morning in New York and whilst we are sad to be leaving this fantastic city we feel that we have done and seen all that we wanted to and had a great time in doing so. Some of our reflections of New York are:

Black folk are friendlier than the rest.

New Yorkers are not fat, due to all the walking they do, the out of towners are.

Black women have big bums, or booty.

Tipping is a big con, they expect it without doing a bloody thing.

Shoppi ...

New York journal: New York, we did it our way..........

Wed, 30 May 2007 07:35:34 GMT

Day 21 - Thursday 24 May 2007 ( 490 hours down 398 to go)

Due to the six hours time difference between Paris & New York we woke up very early and waited until breakfast was available at 6.30am, went down and had a great buffet breakfast looking out over the Hudson River as dawn broke over the Manhattan skyline. I started with the traditional New York Jewish breakfast, bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon, tomorrow I think I will scrap the bagel and have twice as much smoked salmon. The morning is magnificent and the maximum temperature for the day is expected to go ...

New York journal: New York, New York, so nice they named it twice

Sat, 26 May 2007 03:22:31 GMT

Day 19 -Wednesday 23 May 2007 ( 462 hours down 426 to go)

PARIS TO NEW YORK

5.00am, early start to pack and check out of hotel where they tried to charge an extra 30 Euros a night for our Eiffel Tower view room, told him to get stuffed as it was not mentioned at check in, nice try froggy.

Arrive at airport three hours prior to departure which is certainly needed if flying to US as you line up to go through an intensive interview prior to checking in at the airline, which makes you feel very pleased that your name is not Mustafa and you are ...

Barcelona journal: Hola, we are in Barcelona, no bull.

Thu, 24 May 2007 17:15:33 GMT

Early morning of Day 12 , Wednesday 16 May (285 Hours down 603 to go)

Book out of Conrad Cairo and take hotel Mercedes to Airport, traffic still heavy in city, don’t these bastards ever go home. Easy check in at airport with Iberia, given invitation to VIP lounge, we are the only people in non smoking lounge which is more like a bus station waiting room, had a quick look around Duty Free to fill in time but they would have to be the worst ever shops with the most bored staff at 12.30am. Get on board plane and as there are very few people on the flight they decide to take ...

Paris journal: Our last Tango in Paris

Thu, 24 May 2007 17:00:07 GMT

Day 16 - Sunday 20 May 2007 ( 390 hours down 498 to go)

Woke up late to the sound of gentle falling rain, check Travel Insurance policy but rain in Paris is not covered, cheap policy. For breakfast Julie wishes to visit a special tearoom, Laduree, that was established in 1862 and reputadly serves the most indulgent morning tea in Paris. Sounds fantastic, only problem is that it is 3 kms from our hotel and we walk there in the rain, passing a hundred fantastic little bakeries with the most tempting treats. But the walk was well worth it and we had a wonderful breakfast in ...

Paris journal: We love Paris in the Springtime

Mon, 21 May 2007 09:23:29 GMT

Day 15 - Saturday 19 May 2007 ( 366 hours down 522 to go)

Up early to pack, check out, order taxi and off to the airport with plenty of time to spare which was just as well because as we are approaching the airport motorway we hit a traffic jam that has traffic from all directions at a standstill. Taxi driver is more upset than we are and after a while he attempts to try another route which produces same result but on another on ramp and provides more frustration for the driver, thought he was going to have a heart attack he was puffing, moaning and groaning so much. As we ...

Barcelona journal: More rambala from Barcelona

Mon, 21 May 2007 09:05:02 GMT

Day 13, Thursday 17 May (318 Hours gone 570 to go)

Hola, hope you are not too bored with our ramblings to date, this was originally designed to provide us with a record of our trip and to provide our family with a bit of an idea of what we are up to, but then we decided to invite a few other close friends to save on writing postcards. It has also been great to receive your comments and emails on our big adventure.

We decided to purchase a two day ticket on the open top, hop on hop off, tourist bus which will provide us with an all over look at of Barcelona ...

Cairo journal: Death near the Nile, almost

Fri, 18 May 2007 09:03:30 GMT

Day 11, Tuesday 15 May 2007 (268 Hours down 620 to go)

It is our last day in Cairo, we have nothing planned and as we are in the best bed in the world what better reason is there to have a sleep in.

Breakfast in club room looking over the Nile thinking that Cleopatra probably sailed past this spot a few years ago, so we make the decision to walk down to the Egyptian Museum to check out a few mummies and soak in a bit of local history to compliment our visit to the Pyramids, no cameras are permitted in the museum so left it back in hotel.

We decide ...

Cairo journal: The last of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World

Tue, 15 May 2007 12:09:13 GMT

Day 9 Giza Sunday 13 May (220 Hours down 668 to go)

Woke early and pulled back curtains to see Pyramids in the early morning light, off to the Club Lounge for breakfast, only guests there so we grab the prime table and enjoy our breakfast looking over the Pyramids, not a bad start to the day.

Meet our guide in Cairo, Karen, who I found on TripAdvisor, English woman who lived in US for 10 years, then fell in love with Egypt and has been here 7 years, speaks the lingo well. After she reports to the Egyptian Security people at the hotel and gives them a ...

Dubai journal: Dubai, Under construction, come back in 5 years

Sun, 13 May 2007 08:14:05 GMT

Day 5 Wednesday 9 May 4.00am (118 hours down 770 to go)

Up at 4.00am to catch flight to Dubai, Delhi Airport is still a shambles, we get access to a Lounge of some sorts for 10 minutes before flight is called. Get onboard Gulf Air flight, 1A & 1C, which was delayed for 1 hour, heavy traffic & strong winds. Quick stop at Muscat Oman then off to Dubai.

What a difference between Delhi Airport and the brand new Dubai Airport, no problems getting through Immigration, no entry forms, bags off first, straight through customs with the Hyatt pickup waiting ...

Agra journal: The Taj Mahal and other memorable sights

Fri, 11 May 2007 07:58:50 GMT

Day 4 Delhi 8.00am (97 Hours down 791 to go)

After experiencing the worst train trip ever back to Delhi, we were very happy to be back in some sort of civilization. Train was delayed, we had no idea which carriage we were supposed to be in so we jumped on one just to get aboard, found two seats with our numbers, told the lady that was sitting there that she was in our seats, she moved. It was then we noticed no glass in windows, just bars, no air-conditioning, no other European folks anywhere. What the hell, we are on the train and going in the right direction and it is only 3 ...

New Delhi journal: Not the Amazing Race but the Amazing Sights Tour

Mon, 07 May 2007 19:52:55 GMT

Day 1

ADELAIDE TO DELHI

Cathay flight to Hong Kong via Melbourne was very comfortable and very enjoyable, seats, food, service, drinks & entertainment all top shelf. Quick transit change in HK but next flight to Delhi was on an old model A33O with basic comforts which we once would have considered to be excellent. Anyway the flight departed at 11.00pm and we were tired and had eaten so much on the first leg that the lentil curry offered at midnight had absolutely no appeal but we manage to eat the lobster appetiser so we attempted to watch a movie hoping that sleep ...