Dave's Travels

coming home!

2007-06-06T03:51:00.000-07:00

for all of my friends and family that check my blog regularly, i'll let you in on a little secret...
i'm coming home early! i was supposed to be coming home on the 14th june, but i'll be home on the 8th june instead. so for those of you who read my blog, you'll know. but for my ignorant mates who i know couldn't be 4rsed to read it, i'll surprise your smelly 4sses.

see you soon ma!
[i have collection from airport already organised]

06/06/2007

2007-06-06T03:22:00.000-07:00

was going to put up pics from the thai cooking course we did, but i can't get this PC to read my card. cooked 5 courses.

- fried rice with chicken
- thai red chicken curry with boiled and fried noodles
- papaya salad
- spring rolls
- deep fried bananas

fwas very cool as it was a small group [only 5 students] so very hands-on and got to buy stuff from market ourselves. food was delicious and made by me! i'd definitely recommend this guy; nousi. his website is here: SILOM thai cooking school

here's a pic from their website [and what it was really like]

04/06/2007

2007-06-05T01:44:00.000-07:00

hello mr. taxi driver. this is your 4rse and this is your elbow. they are not the same. they are in fact, different. taxi drivers in any other city in the world know their territory like the back of their hand, but not in bangkok. nope. the problem in part arises because all of the streets have 2 names. the english version and the thai one. but even when we give them a map with thai street names and direction in thai on how to get to our hotel, they seem flabergasted. our last trip saw the driver stop twice to ask locals for directions and hand our map over to them to inspect. and all taxi drivers appear to be driving in some great bangkok grand prix that no one was told about. i'm not sure if we were wining, but boy was he trying to use as much petrol and brake pads as possible. nice, whiplashy kind of trip if you know what i mean.

this morning we went to the tailor recommended on the lonely planet forums by several members; - narry.com . interesting process. picked material for suits and shirts, measured up [loads of measurements taken] and then told them the style & features we wanted. 2 suits, 2 shirts, and 2 ties cost me about 290 euro, but i did select slightly more expensive material, you could have got it cheaper. heading back over tomorrow at 5pm for initial fitting, then back the next day for final adjustments.

we then headed to MBK shopping centre and bought a bag and t-shirts, etc. back to the hotel. went back out to the infamous khao san road to get some fake student IDs [ISIC]. now i can get cheap cinema tickets in liffey valley, etc. we then went to the cinema in siam centre to see shrek 3. was as expected; funny, but not as funny as the previous ones. may got to the cinema again as it is filthy cheap and really good seats.

i also picked up a replacement lense cap for my new SLR camera as i may or may not have lost my lense cap while streching over the mekong delta river taking a picture of a python.

03/06/2007

2007-06-05T01:33:00.000-07:00

wake @ 6am to go to the airport and head to thailand. the flight to bangkok was less than an hour. staying in the royal hotel near the khao san road, and it's ok, but the price is very good for bangkok. most decent hotels over here cost a lot more than what you'd expect - i guess it's all the tourism they get.

wrecked after the last few early mornings, so we had a little cat nap before heading out to the weekend market - the largest market by far, so we didn't want to miss it. we were told that the taxi drivers in the hotels are more reliable and won't overcharge or try to bring you to places you don't want to go or didn't request [so they can earn commission from sellers]. we had quite the opposite experience. he charged us 5 euro to get to the market and wanted us to visit different shops instead. on the way back we got a regular taxi on a meter and paid 2 euro. lesson learned.

the market was excellent. better than ANY other we have been to in asia. we started stocking up on clothes in preparation for the journey home. i bought a couple of t-shirts, jeans, and some runners. very reasonable proces and they are pretty trendy stuff aswell; not just printed t-shirts you see in all other markets. heading off to try find a tailor tomorrow to get a fitted suit made up. should be fun!

unlike other countries, so far everything is pretty cheap here. [sometimes drink / transport / food / accommodation can cost inproportionately to cost of living].

02/06/2007

2007-06-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

up at 6am this morning for the 2nd and last day of our mekong tour. the day started off great with 2 people each getting on small row boats to float down to the fish farm, then back to the row boats to gently press on - this was very relaxing. there was a mother and daughter team on our boat and the girl was so cute [see pics below]. she was facinated by dee's freckles!

we got to our lunch stop @ 11am and were told that we needed to wait for an hour, while they sorted out the visas to get back into cambodia. as we sat there in the restaurant for what seemed like an age under the tin roof, all the local kids surrounded us and demanded attention. they are so happy and loved when we all joined in playing their clapping games. 3 and a half hours later we passed through immigration by speedboat [as the main boat broke down] and got to the cambodian side. then another "15 mins" wait turned out to be another hour, and our final trip home was supposed to be 2 hours [1 hour boat, 1 hour bus], turned into 6 hours! was a nightmare journey back getting caught in storms etc.

i wouldn't have minded a whole lot about the extra time taken, but in the heat and humidity i was dripping and in dire need of air-con and a shower. was aa bit pissed off at the tour company [sin cafe] at the end, but all in all the mekong tour was a great trip to see how the locals live.

what i'll remember most about vietnam is the people. on themekong everyone would wavem dance and shout at you as you were floating by, to let you know you are welcome. what makes the vietnamese different is that they are not just being nice and then immediately asking you for money; they are genuine.

01/06/2007

2007-06-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

our adventure on the mekong delta river tour began with a bus journey narrated by a character named tham. amoungst the strangely pronunciated words [that we caught every sixth word of], one thing was clear; tham liked the sound of his own voice. he'd talk endlessly about fish, number plates, cars, coconuts, and things you can make from coconut... you name it, he could sh1te on about it until you became mentally numb.

so as per the itenarary, we headed off on the boat to see a small village to see the making of rice paper, coconut sweets, and rice crispy squares. bought - ate - liked. we mosied some more down the river to get lunch [vietnamese food] and to hear some of the terrible indigeneous music - needless to say i won't be rushing out to buy their album. back on the boat, then transferred back to a bus to get to the hotel for the night. we seemed to have skipped half the stuff on the itinerary like going to the floating market, but we read that this might happen. hotel was good.

some pics 33

2007-06-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

31/05/2007

2007-05-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

one thing i forgot to mention about my activities yesterday... on the way to the tunnels we stopped off at a handicraft place that employs handicapped or "unlucky" [not sure what that means - i guess poverty-striken] people. they do paintings with inlays in mother of pearl or egg shells. it's amazing and you really have to see the processes to appreciate how many hours goes into creating them. me and dee both bought a small one each. very impressed.

today i got a haircut [with shampooing included - a 1st for me] for 3 dollars. dee got one for 6 dollars. about 6 times cheaper than ireland. reverse culture shock will be a b1tch. i'm not paying 5 euro for a pint... that's for sure!

all over asia it seems to be rainy season and amid all of the humidity, it rains like a monsoon about once a day, but only for about an hour or 2. there's brilliant lightning aswell that lights up the sky like fireworks and thunder that you can feel in the pit of your stomach. i actually awoke from a siesta one day in a dizzy stupor, shouting, as i thought there was gunfire outside our hotel as the thunder was that loud and sticatto. crossing roads here is taking your life in your hands - just close your eyes and don't slow down!

as mentioned before, we're heading on a mekong delta tour tomorrow for 2 days so will not be able to the internet i imagine.

some pics 32

2007-05-30T06:04:00.000-07:00

30/05/2007

2007-05-30T05:42:00.000-07:00

on our final day in phnom penh we had a look at the royal palace, which is pretty surreal, as outside the gates of this golden bastion is major poverty. the palace was pretty cool with plenty of artifacts from cambodia's previous kings. we headed to vietnam the following morning to ho chi minh city.

ho chi minh [and vietnam in general] seems far more developed than cambodia. the roads are decent, there's more cars, and the shops in the city are nice. there's even a KFC here! not that i'd ever eat there again...

this morning we headed out to the cu chi tunnels about 90 mins from the city. this is where the majority of the fighting was done in the vietnam war. our vietnamese guide was an interpreter during the war for the americans so was full of great information. the tunnels themselves are absolutely tiny - i got to journey down one of the larger sections to see what it was like for the rebel force. i even got to kill some gooks! ok, ok, maybe not quite... but i did get to fire some rounds off at a shooting range using the trusty AK47 - the russian semi-automatic that has been the weapon of choice for rebels for the last god knows how long. was a weird experience. phil would be proud i guess. i've shot using that weapon in so many computer games i've lost count. dee took a film of me while shooting, so will show ye when i get back. not a habit i'll be taking up though, don't worry ma.

we also headed to the war museum today and saw loads of tanks and airplanes. there was geansai-loads of photos from the press in the vietnam war era aswell. to top off the busy day, i decided to go have a look at the opticians here in vietnam to see could i pick up a pair of glasses for a reasonable price. an eye test, frames, and glare coated lenses all set me back 25 euro. sweet.

heading to some markets and shops tommorow, then we're off to the mekong delta tour for 2 days; which starts in vietnam, and ends in cambodia. a quick stop there and then off to thailand!

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2007-05-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

27/05/2007

2007-05-27T05:12:00.000-07:00

took the 5 hour bus from siem reap to phnom penh [capital of cambodia] yesterday. staying in a guesthouse called the bright lotus, which is not as good as the last one in siem reap [bou savy], but ok. food is good here though. loving the asian food, noodles, rice, veggies; it's all good. had a few drinks last night for the first time in a while which was nice - drink is much cheaper her than malaysia or singapore.

headed off to the killing fields this morning and then to the genocide museum after. crazy stuff. and only happened 30 years ago! basically the weirdo leader of a rebel group got into power and decided that he wanted to make cambodia a group of peasant farmers. he went about this by killing all intellectuals, leaders, teachers, medical staff, diplomats... even anyone with glasses! [as they were considered intellectual]. then presumably no one could take over his rule as all that was left was farmers with no education. i don't fully understand it, but thousands were tortured and killed. pretty depressing stuff.

to cheer ourselves up we decided to go to massage by the blind, which is on the same street as our guesthouse. it is a good cause, and they are meant to be very good as they have hightened scences and all that jazz. anyway, this cambodian lady battered and rubbed the cr4p out of me for an hour. we chose the relaxing japanese option, so i'd shudder to think what the more serious ones are like. it was nice all the same, and i'm now very relaxed and ready for a kip. i think next time i'll opt for an aromatherapy or reflexology massage... maybe tomorrow, as it only cost 5 dollars!

traffic here is completely insane, but we've become used to it now. motorbikes all over the place, tuk-tuks, and a few jeeps. merging is a black art that requires driving on the wrong side of the road weaving through traffic like the film ronin until you get a space on the right side. fun fun! we're gonna have a look at the royal palace and russian market tomorrow. then off to ho chi minh city the day after that [in vietnam].

some pics 30

2007-05-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

25/05/2007

2007-05-24T22:40:00.000-07:00

to sum up siem reap in cambodia:

- looking at amazing temples that are falling apart [because they are 900 years old]

- hiring a guide, but he knew as little as we did

- hottest place so far on our trip

- super-humid

- nicest people EVER [so far]

- great food + fruit

- great shakes [smoothies]

- nutters on motorbikes [some carry whole families!]

heading to phnom penh tomorrow to stay in a guesthouse called the bright lotus

some pics 29

2007-05-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

22/05/2007

2007-05-22T23:25:00.000-07:00

the 4 star hotel in kuala lumpur was as per the photos, fantastic. had a bath every night i was there! we didn't see much in KL, just lazed about as it was very hot and humid. we went to see chinatown, and i bought myself a watch [long overdue - my current one is rusting from the inside out!]. we also went to a cultural dance show near the tourist office - was pretty good. spent the most time in the food court in the petronas towers - we ate there every night!

got a cold from the eskimo bar in singapore, it only hit me in KL, still recovering, but should be gone soon. taking more pills than my granny in the morning at the moment: vitamin C, sudafed, malerone [maleria tablets], garlic tablets [to keep mozzies away], lemsip, vicks and olbas oil. godda love it!

just got to siem reap in cambodia today - our first guest house aswell; that's all they've got in cambodia and vietnam [no hostels]. it is huge and is pretty much a hotel. tv and air con in room and en suite. nice. tuk tuk driver met us at airport and is going to bring us around the temples for the whole day tommorow for $12 dollars! [they use US dollars over here mainly]. in case you do not know what a tuk tuk is, then here's a pic...

that's dee in the front and i'm driving [i've got an awesome tan]

some pics 28

2007-05-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

19/05/2007

2007-05-19T04:23:00.000-07:00

met up with reuben last night in singapore. still can't get over how lucky we were to stumble into each other miles away from home. went shopping for electronics [got my digital SLR], then headed to clarke quay for pints. went to eskimo bar; which has the air con turned up to the max and the staff wear fluffy jackets and it's pretty damn cold when you're wearing a tshirt! roo was fine and dee borrowed a jacket from the bar, but i was freezing my nuts off! headed to an irish pub with a very original name - molly malones. drink is SO expensive here. it's not really worth it. also, you can smoke in the bars so woke up with sore dry throat this morning - i forgot what it was like a few years ago in ireland - thank god for the smoking ban back home.

heading to kuala lumpur tomorrow morning at 10am. going to a 4 star hotel in the city. Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel. can't wait. filthy cheap aswell. living it up. probs get massages and all. proper toff. here's some pics:

some pics 27

2007-05-18T03:08:00.001-07:00

HIRO!

18/05/2007

2007-05-18T02:55:00.000-07:00

well here we are in singapore. the gateway to the orient.
we headed off to sentosa island yesterday. it was the military base for the english to protect the busy singapre port back in the day. now it's just a recreational area, but has a museum called fort siloso which we went to. pretty cool for a museum, but required a fair bit of walking in very hot humid weather. humidity here is about 100%. nuff said. we also went to an aquarium on the island, and a pink dolphin show. dee got a photo with one after the show.

we boogeyed around little india today in singapore, then headed to sin lim square, which is a huge shopping centre full of gadget shops. they are mad about gadgets here. prices are much better than home aswell. i;ll be bankrupt, but i don't care... i just bought a new mobile phone, and i'm buying a digital SLR camera tonight! [watch out peter!].

meeting reuben tonight would you believe? he emailed yesterday to say he was in malaysia working for 6 months and would i like to meet up! he is just across the border, so he can get a bus or taxi to singapore. he's staying in a hotel down the road from us as our one is full. our one is not the best hostel anyway. cockroaches are massive here, and small lizards crawling the walls - cool! heading out on the p1ss tonight with roo i guess.

some pics 26

2007-05-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

15/05/2007

2007-05-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

well, leaving oz tomorrow. it got better as the weeks went on. our last few stops were a blur of long drives and one night stays in hostels in 1770, airlie beach, townsville, and finally cairns. the best hotel we have had in oz has been cairns and the best experience we have had in oz was the barrier reef (off the coast of cairns).

we sped out on a hydrofoil to the reef today. i am not a strong swimmer, so i was not sure what i would be capable of. i tried snorkeling for the 1st time in fiji and loved it, but if i ever felt uncomfortable or unconfident, i could always just stand up as the water was very shallow. not the same out on the reef! it was about 15 - 20 metres deep. i thought i'd be majorly freaked-out, but not only did i snorkel for hours in 2 reef spots, but i also skuba dived!

there was an offer on, and if we paid for the skuba before we got on the boat, it would only cost 10 dollars for the 1st introductory dive... bargain! the way i overcame the snorkeling fear (at extreme depths) was because i took a magical swimming aid with me. god bless the noodle. what a savior. no effort required to keep your self afloat. here's a pic:

then the skuba. well, i guess you don't have to be able to swim. sounds weird, but underwater moving is very different than moving on the surface of the water. we got a 5 minute chance to try out the equipment and let them know if we wanted to proceed (dee got out at this point). a small group then decended - 3 guests and a guide. we rented an underwater camera for the trip (which we got for free as they forgot to charge us) so we got some amazing pics. we took about 350 pics, and most of them are a blurry mess, but a small selection came out great.

when snorkeling at the 2nd reef i spotted a sea turtle. he was swimming around and through the reef, so i swam right along side him and let him lead the way (he seemed to know where he was going). it was an amazing experience. i got loads of pics of him, most of them of his arse, so i decided to speed up and swim past him to get a pic of his face. just after i got one, he changed direction and all of a sudden he was directly below me - he must have been no more than a foot away from me. got a pic of that aswell.

all in all, i had just as much fun and saw as much wildlfe when snorkeling as when i was skuba-ing, but i guess it was a different experience; the whole, "i should be drowning, how come i'm still breathing" thing.

flying to singapore tomorrow at 1pm. 9 hour flight. 3 or so days there to shop till we drop. i hear the singaporians are crazy about their gadgets, so i may pick up a mobile phone when i'm there.

some pics 25

2007-05-11T02:55:00.000-07:00

11/05/2007

2007-05-11T02:49:00.000-07:00

had the best sleep ever last night in hervey bay in a proper bed, not the hard sand on the island. 4 hour drive up to a small town called 1770. lovely small relaxed hostel here. planning thailand trip tonight, will have to book some internal flights. we're not organised at all for south east asia. we're gonna be there in less than a week and we change our plans every day. it's looking like singapore, thailand, combodia and vietnam at the moment.

8 hour drive tomorrow. really not looking forward to it. heading to airlie beach, great, more sand.

10/05/2007

2007-05-11T02:17:00.000-07:00

we came sooooo close to totalling our landcruiser on fraiser island one too many times for my liking. i mean, there's only so much abuse you can give a 4x4, isn't there? we drove over seriously uneven ground and thought we'd topple on our side, we had a few near misses on soft sand when passing oncoming 4x4's, we overtook another 4x4 at speed on sandy dirt roads, and last but not least, we hit a bump in the sand on the beach at good speed and managed to get all 4 wheels off the ground for a few moments! i mean, the crash down after launch was collosal. 11 people crammed into the thing and when we launched everyone was a foot about their seats aswell... and the thing survived... i think it liked it.

camping was as suspected, no sleep on very hard ground. no amount of alcohol could lull you to sleep, although everyone had a go anyway. it was 3 days and 2 nights in total. fraiser island is the largest sand island in the world. after our maniac 4x4 adventures (self drive - i did the majority of the driving) what i'll remember most is the fooking sand. you have to become at one with the sand, there's no other way. when you get over having sand in every orifice, then you have to come to terms with the food. sandwich takes on new meaning. everything we cooked; bolonaise, fry-ups, steaks, potatoes.. all had oodles of sand sprinkled on top like an african garnish. the cups were not immune either, so whatever you drank was the same; wine, beer, milk, vodka - all a very crunchy experience. i really hated sand before i went to fraiser and fiji, now i'm actually cancelling our trip to the islands we planned to go to in thailand... i just can't take any more!

all in all a good trip, but the beaches and lakes were a bit boring, as i just aint into sunbathing. one of the french guys insisted on wearing a banana hammock (or as ozzies call them: budgie smugglers) for the entire trip, and then also took them off while swimming and them swam with them on his face. huh... typical frenchies...
made 9 good friends - 4 frenchies and 5 english. good group, and i'm sure i'll bump into some of them on the rest of my travels somewhere.

06/05/2007

2007-05-06T03:23:00.000-07:00

so steve irwin's zoo (australia zoo) was pretty cool. croc feeding, roo's, koalas, lizards, snakes, dingos, tigers, etc. the chinese/buddha festival we went to was actually a BUDDHA's BIRTHDAY FESTIVAL! was great craic.

we we totally fed up of the hostel in brisbane by the time we left. loud every night, like living in a pub. they told us that there was some parking spots out the back, and if they were full, just park out on the street. we got a 60 dollar parking ticket on the 2nd day there. a fight broke out just outside our room on the last night at about 2am. NEVER stay in brisbane city backpackers if you want any sleep.

we headed up to a lovely town called NOOSA. it is pretty much tofftown, like killiney. really nice place. hostel is great aswell - noosa backpackers resort. we used the BBQ there on the 1st night to cook steaks and chicken. they serve beer aswell, but close the bar at a respectable time, so got a good nights sleep. i have got quite a beer belly now that i've been drinking a few every night since chile. :)
there is also BBQs on the coast right beside our hostel, for public use in parks, etc. loads of them... and loads of peeps out cooking and drinking wine. such a great atmosphere. we cooked on the BBQ there and watched the sun go down in some amazing colours. starting to like oz now. and i've heard the further noth you go it gets nicer.

heading to hervey bay tomorrow, then off to fraiser island to go on a 3 day 4x4 trek out on the sand island. campfires and tents and all. can't wait.

some pics 24

2007-05-06T03:08:00.000-07:00

02/05/2007

2007-05-02T00:40:00.000-07:00

in brisbane. party hostel. pub in it. serving till all hours and noisy as fook.
took a stroll around one of the parks in the city and it is beautiful. turns out there is a buddhist and chinese exhibition on in the park on friday, so we're gonna go. loads of shows, workshops, food and all..

do some meditation, then get some food, then try origami, then more food, then bathe the buddha, then food, then watch some chinese dancing, then maybe a nibble to eat, then paint lanterns, .... you get the picture. it's on for the whole day. can't wait.

heading to steve irwin's zoo tomorrow. crikey!

29/04/2007

2007-04-29T03:41:00.000-07:00

in byron bay now. hostel is massive, but good atmosphere. bob marley playing all night.
drive from port maquarie was 6 hours, with a stop off in coff's harbour. we have 2 nights here, then on to brisbane for 4 nights. i think i'll spend the day on the beach tomorrow drinking beer - i have yet to do this on my entire holiday! i hear the beach here is cool.

22/04/2007

2007-04-28T02:08:00.000-07:00

in port maquarie. getting really down about australia. had a great time in the blue mountains visiting my auntie maire's, but just plain unimpressed with the rest of oz so far. melbourne was a nice city, but i haven't seen anything here that wow'ed me. if i came directly here, i'm sure i would have loved the blue mountains and beach coastlines, but after new zealand and fiji, this place doesn't even register. i really hope it gets better as we make our way up to byron bay, brisbane, cairns, etc. at the moment i'd just drive straight to cairns and cut our oz holiday short 10 days and fly to thailand and spend some extra time there - at least you know that place is going to be different.

i've suggested leaving early, but dee wants to give it another chance. i've even suggested heading to japan for a week, but she doesn't have the spondoolicks. heading to byron bay tomorrow [6 hours] and will stop in coffs harbour on the way.

we went to a koala hospital today. there were all cute and stuff. they didn't mention that koalas actually eat there mother's sh1te for the 1 st 6 months of their life [because they can't generate the bacteria to aid digestion] and that loads of them have the sexual desease clamidia, AND last but no least the male rapes the female if she doesn't put out. cute things really though. they sleep 20 out of 24 hours, and eat eucalyptus leaves the rest of the time.

more on animal planet later...

some pics 23

2007-04-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

maori night at MITAI in rotorua, new zealand

2007-04-22T05:59:00.000-07:00

pukakohe race track in new zealand

2007-04-22T05:35:00.000-07:00

penguins in auckland

2007-04-22T05:28:00.001-07:00

some pics 22

2007-04-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

21/04/2007

2007-04-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

spend a few days in melbourne. nice city. amazing transport system. went on great ocean road 2 day bus trip, very good. saw loads of sea stacks, arches and wildlife. koalas, kangaroos and emus in their wild habitat. nice. will put up pics soon.

in sydney now. staying in a dorm room in a hostel in the city. nice location, but cockroaches in the food press, and one room had to be evacuated on account of a full on case of bed bugs. one of the guys in now in our roon, and he is bitten ALL over. mank. leaving for blue mountains tomorrow, picking up the hyundai getz beast rent-a-car tomorrow.

met up with sarah barry yesterday [she's finishing her PhD here] for lunch and then again at night for a good few drinks. was good to see her. we're heading out with her again today on a harbour cruise type thingy and to go to a local market. should be good, but at the moment, i'm a little hung over from drinking the local brew...

some pics 21

2007-04-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

07/04/2007

2007-04-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

5 hour boat trip back to mainland. sue gone to north america. we have 5 more days on the humid, hot mainland, but going to the coral coast tomorrow morning @ 8am, so should be nicer than nadi. really looking forward to OZ now, and we've also heard a lot about thailand recently (mainly about how cheap it is), so it should be a good place to finish our trip with our much lightened wallets! if i have any money left at that stage, i'll be buying my wardrobe there for the next 3 years!

05/04/2007

2007-04-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

not many updates. still on nakula island, orsmans bay resort. this island is larger than the last one, and it has inhabitants living on it (the last one only housed staff while working). we went on a tour of the local village and got to see 2 churches, kindergarden & primary school, the chief's house and the shell market. the kids in the primary school sang for the group, they must have sang at least 10 songs! very strong singers... they were singing in harmony and solo's and all!

snorkelled a bit more. the coral is a lot closer to the beach here. the fish swim right up to the edge of the water - it's weird. aiming to go kayaking and on the floating lounger tomorrow. again, the views and sunsets are amazing here. we won't mention the bugs though...

03/04/2007

2007-04-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

the day started with a boat trip taht we thought would only last 2 hours, but we miscalculated. it turned out to be 4 1/2 hours, which did not help dee's sea-sick prone nature. we got to nakula island @ about 1pm. i didn't think there would be much difference between the islands, but this one has some nice additions. the bure is much more like hotel standard and the sand (i normally hate sand) is sooooooooo soft, unlike the rough sand on bounty island. the beach is not littered with twigs & seaweed washed up, and the sea is smoother and clearer.

gone is the buffet style dinner (i miss it), replaced with a 3 course dinner. the resort i smaller and we were forced to sit at different tables due to arriving late for dinner and most tables being full. we all got good opportunities to mix with travellers, which we have not being doing often enough.

went for an late enjoyable swim until it rained, but even then, we stayed for a while longer. probs go snorkelling tomorrow.

02/04/2007

2007-04-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

dee's chest is still roaring red, but the sunburn seems to be dying down on both the girls. we head out snorkelling, but the waves are a bit choppier, making the water cloudy with the disturbed sandy dea bed, and it's a little harder to swim aswell. not as good as yesterday but worth it.

(rant.start)
i'm almost finished my 2nd book and thought i might get more into reading if i used the holiday as an opportunity to read a few books. i've come to the conclusion that books just aren't my thing. i'm reading them way faster than i would like (and i'm a very slow reader) and if i tried, i could finish a book in about 2 days. that just aint value for money! and average books costs €10-20 and once you read it once, you probably won't read it again. there are exceptions though... reference books. i have several mechanical books that i use on a regular basis, and if i learn something new from somewhere, i can re-read my books in new light and understanding. i suppose the same could be said for any technical books, like ones for web design, or even the bible i guess.
(/rant.end)

leaving in the morning for the next island.

01/04/2007

2007-04-08T16:33:00.000-07:00

feeling much better this morning. raring to go! as raring as fiji gets, which is pretty much to plan to sleep for most of the day, read books and venture out into the sea once the sun has eased off - which is about 4 or 5pm. if you don't want to risk swimming in 30 degrees heat, there is limited time available; by the time you wake up @ 8am or so, it is already bright and roasting outside, so you have to wait until the sun eases or when cloud cover arrives @ 4pm. it rains on que here every day around 5 or 6pm, but swimming in the rain is fine as the water is very warm. as the everning wears on, it turns a bit monsoon on account of the humidity.

anyway, i snorkeled for the 1st time today. i am not a good swimmer, so only ventured out as far as i could still stand up if need be. still, i saw thw edge of the coral reef and saw many fish - clown fish, angel fish, zebra fish (as i call them), even a flay ray fish thingy. really loved it abd i'm hoping to get the girls to join me snorkelling tomorrow if their sunburn has died down.

31/03/2007

2007-04-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

ate some dodgy chilli stir fry in nadi and felt bad for most of the next day. we got to our 1st island, getting away from the hole that is nadi. bounty island is our 1st stop. turns out celebrity love island or some sh1t was filmed here, not that it matters. the bure is right on the beach with a 10 second walk over course sand to dip your toes in the sea. the broken shells and debris washed up on the sand don't make for great walking along the beach unless your feet have soles like wellies, but the place is beautiful. like nothing i've ever seen.

there are activities on all day to keep you occupied, but the girls got so badly burned on the 1st day, so we opted to sleep for most of the days on bounty island. we have 3 nights here. we have been sleeping A LOT! like 16 hours a day! it's like being an infant again. you sleep all day or lounge on the beach until they bang some drums to let you know food is ready. eat, go back to bed... deadly!

didn't eat to much today on account of belly pains.

29/03/2007

2007-03-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

in paihia. sue showed me an interesting dessert last night; icecream
with jelly beans. nice. we headed off to 90 mile beach today, about 90
mins away. dee went on a 2 hour horse trek along the beach and me &
sue went on a 2 hour guided quad tour on the beach, rocks and sand
dunes. we all really enjoyed it. the quads rocked - those things can
really move! they seem to be able to tackle any terrain. we went from
tarmac roads, to slippy rocks, to deep soft sand, and it sped through
it all. 2 hours later, we arrived back much sandier and wetter. the
weather has not been great over the last few days.

we're heading to auckland tomorrow for 2 nights before we go, but we
have not booked a place to stay yet. fingers crossed, we'll get one in
the morning before we leave!

25/03/2007

2007-03-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

ok, so i haven't been updating my blog with any text entries for a while. i've been busy, okay? keep your socks on. sheeeeesh. sue is here now and we're having the craic.

here's a round up of the recent stops we made:

auckland
went up sky tower on paddy's day. caught the end of the parade in the city. met saint patrick - he's from new zealand. met up with mick's friend, claire. had food and pints. went to bed. got up @3am to go watch the ireland VS italy rugby game. went back to bed happy. woken up by phone call from mick calling the french b4stards. back to sleep. tired.

rotorua
walked around thermal wonderland to see what the earth's core is farting out, and the crazy colours it produces. took a dip in a local spa pool river thingy in kerosene creek, hot water and all! went on the luje again, but this one was waaay better than the one in queenstown. fell off my luje by going too fast around a corner. hit the barrier, rolled 3 times, hopped back on and assed my damage when i got to the bottom. lots of grass stains, few scrapes, but no bones broken. wend down again twice more, and slowed a bit for the killer corner. went on a brilliant jeep safari with dee and sue. we got to drive a suzuki jimny jeepy thing for an hour over all sorts of obstacles, we all really enjoyed it. went to MATAI maori evening. cost a bit, but well worth it. loads of maori singing (if you could call it that) and dancing and even a traditional war dance on kayaks, then a slap up meal, then some history and a look at the glow-worms. sweet.

coromandel peninsula
cathedral cove walk to a secluded beach with amazing sea arches and sea stacks. a geographer's veritable erroding wet dream. went to hot beach and dug a hole in the sand in line with the hot springs. mix of boiling hot water from the springs and cold water from the sea fill up the hole for a natural jaccuzzi. actually, we got there a bit late and all spaces to dig were gone, so we robbed an old couples abandoned hole - score!

orewa
went to cinema to see hot fuzz. my god, was i wrong about this film. the trailer made it look slapstick and crap. best film i've seen in quite a while. very fresh style.

paihia
just got here! give me a chance! 5 nights left in NZ.

some pics 20

2007-03-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

some pics 19

2007-03-19T01:27:00.000-07:00

some pics 18

2007-03-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

some pics 17

2007-03-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

14/03/2007

2007-03-14T00:29:00.000-07:00

drove from blenheim to picton (only 30 mins) to get the ferry to the north island (to wellington). drove about 5 or 6 hours up from wellington to napier in torrential, monsoon-like rain. was a really sh1t drive which included us getting drenched mid journey when we had to escape the dry confinds of the car to get lunch. to top-off the fabulous day, i crashed bertha. yes, i know, i know, she was a beaut. anyway in napier city at a busy intersection with blind corners and rain and wet roads, the car on front decided it was best to jam on hard (the right of way at junctions is messed up here), so we hit the back corner of it. nothing too bad to the car we hit, but bertha got a smashed headlight (mandatory for any crash), dented bonnet and wing. we're heading to taupo in the morning and will either get it fixed there or in auckland. luckily we got the extra excess reduction on our insurance with scotties, so it should only cost us $200 - which is €100. ho hum.

11/03/2007

2007-03-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

in blenheim - wine region. all of the vineyards are really close together, so we drove around a few of them for free taste tests! there must be about 30 vineyards here at least, so i've got a lot of work to do. all the blagging is tiring, pretending you care about what wood the barrell is made from that the carbernet is fermented in. fun none the less. it's really a white wine region, so the reds aint great coz they are only young - mainly all pinot noirs, but i'm trying the whites (only coz they are free). we also went to a place that makes shnaappss (or however you spell it). we tried loads of shots, it was like a free bar! butterscotch, sour apple, lemon, chocolate, mint... was weird.

no plans as yet for tomorrow, either going on a scenic drive up near picton, or going to do more wine tasting. might do some tasting in the north island as i heard the reds are better - up in napier, etc...

some pics 16

2007-03-10T19:33:00.000-08:00

11/03/2007

2007-03-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

went on a whale watching cruise this morning in kaikoura. saw the same sperm whale twice [they dive for food and do not re-surface for 45 mins]. was good, but we were both starting to feel a bit sea-sick by the time we got back. a big filthy fry-up soon fixed that! we've done 3 cruises in the last week or 2, so we're taking a break from the rocky waters for a while me thinks.

10/03/2007

2007-03-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

we went on a wildlife cruise early in the morning in akaroa to see hector dolphins, fur seals, and a blue penguin! drove to kaikora. met an irish couple in the hostel and asked them a million questions about the PADI diving course, as we might do it in fiji. if it's available and affordable i might do a paragliding course in fiji while dee does the diving course...

09/03/2007

2007-03-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

akaroa - the peninsula off christchurch. a town inhabited by frenchies years ago, and they built the whole town in french style with loveley wooden buildings and french named streets. got a killer fish and chips on the first evening, and the best chowder i've ever had the following morning. damn good restaurants with fresh produce.

some pics 15

2007-03-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

08/03/2007

2007-03-07T21:27:00.000-08:00

went to denedin peninsula today to see penguins and seals. we checked our budget for NZ last night to find out that we had already gone over our 5 week budget in just 12 days! so feeling cheapy, we decided not to go on the $75 wildlife tour, but to wander around the peninsula unguided and go to the $30 penguin reserve. worked out fine.

07/03/2007

2007-03-07T21:24:00.000-08:00

in denedin. went on a tour of the cadbury's factory in the city centre. dee was a bit excited to say the least. the quantities of the stuff they make here is mind boggling. the kiwi's obviously love their chocolate as much as dee! went to HOYTs cinema to see blood diamond. pretty good. going to see wildlife on the peninsula tomorrow.

06/03/2007

2007-03-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

in te anau. went on a day trip to milford sound. basically this area of NZ (south west) is a geansai-load of fjords, and it pisses rain all the time. we went on a cruise on the sound and the rain means that there is loads of waterfalls and it is really beautiful. was quite cold and wet after he cruise though; the captain of the ship thought it was a good idea to get everyone out on the ships deck and float us right under a giant waterfall!

some pics 14

2007-03-04T14:55:00.000-08:00

04/03/2007

2007-03-04T14:49:00.000-08:00

in queenstown now. hopped on the cable car to head up to the summit, where the LUJE leaves from. it's this cool yolk that you sit on (like a skateboard with handlebars) and gravity powers you down the windy hill track. there was a scenic and advanced course, with free ski-lifts to the top (you get 3 tries). the advanced one was sooo fast and we both really enjoyed it.

i've temporarily moved from beer to buying boxes of wine. they rock. cheap as chips and don't taste too bad at all!

since we've got to NZ, we have not eaten out once for lunch or dinner; it's so much more expensive here compared to south america (still cheaper than ireland though). we're gonna treat ourselves tomorrow evening to a nice meal. if you had a larger budget, you could seriously enjoy the NZ cuisine - there are loads of great looking restaurants. i'm thinking indian, maybe thai... hmmmm.....

03/03/2007

2007-03-04T14:44:00.000-08:00

in wanaka. went to a place called puzzling world. cool little place full of optical illusions. mr. gleeson would have a field day, come to think of it, paul would have enjoyed it more. we went into the maze but got bored after 10 mins, so used the emergency exit to get out. it's meant to take about an hour to complete.

pretty much relaxed here for 2 days. the roads in NZ are very twisty and windy and up and down hills, so you are kinda tired when you get to your destination. i'd fecking love to have my CRX here - the roads are like an F1 track! i'd say they make a lot of car ads here coz the roads are perfect.

01/03/2007

2007-03-04T14:33:00.000-08:00

we did the trek on franz josef glacier today, it was amazing. it does exactly what it says on the tin - feels like walking on a giant icecube! the hiking company give you proper hiking boots and spiky yolks for your boots (crampons) . The textures you feel through your feet while climbing up the glacier are great; it goes from rock hard solid ice, to slushy melted stuff, to brittle chunks that crush under your spikes. i really enjoyed the half day hike. the guides carve out steps every morning to walk and climb along, and the routes change gradually as the ice melts every day. we walked through a cave that had only been accessible for the last 4 days and would soon collapse and the guides would have to find another route to the top.

the glacier is advancing down the valley 1m and 5m upwards every day - put that in your pipe and smoke it mr. gore... i'm totally serial!

some pics 13

2007-03-01T13:03:00.000-08:00

27/02/2007

2007-02-28T15:23:00.000-08:00

got the rental car from scotties today @ about 12. all went smoothly, i guess those reports we read on the lonely planet forum were fraud entries from competitors. car is a beaut! it's a corolla station wagon 1991 with 250k kilometers on the clock! 1st reaction when i saw it was bollox, but it's feckin deadly! not a car i'd like to own, but perfect for a road trip - pretty economical, automatic (for laziness) and a huge boot, which will come in handy when sue arrives. the legroom aint too bad either. we've named her bertha, because she has got a big ass. she got a serious case of junk in the trunk. oh yeah. i went there.

drove about 2 or 3 hours inland to arthur's pass. it's in the middle of the NZ alps. they've spent loads of dosh here making lots of nature paths and reserves/national parks, so there is loads of great walks and tramping. we headed to a walk called the devil's bowl but it was closed for renovations, so we took the bridal veil walk instead. 45 mins to end, 45 mins back. lovely sunny day (seems like we are catching great weather here - it only rains every 4 or 5 days). the nature is just beatiful with waterfalls all over the shop.

we're gonna head on another short walk tomorrow morning, then head off to franz josef (glacier!)

24/02/2007

2007-02-28T15:14:00.000-08:00

13 hour flight to auckland was not too bad considering the seats were seriously cramped. tablets helped as usual, but we have now ran out of them - susan better bring more over coz i'm getting withdrawl already... watched little miss sunshine on the plane - was good. worth a lookee. got to NZ @ 4am local time and relished over buying english magazines in the airport!

there was a section of the airport with loads of leaflets & free maps and i swear to god, my carry-on bag now weighs more than me, with all the maps we yoinked! we also bought a good NZ map which is similar to the dublin street guide in layout. we should be sorted for the driving now - although i'd love to get one of those GPS yolkies...

just chowed down an egg mcmuffin and we're heading off to christchurch @ 7.50am. we'll be back in auckland at a later stage to enjoy the place and collect sue when she lands. 3 weeks in the south island & 2 weeks in the north island.

22/02/2007

2007-02-28T15:04:00.000-08:00

have not been using the blog (or the internet) as much since we left south america, as it is very expensive here in comparison (like everything else). anyhoo... catching up on a few entries now.

santiago. we were meant to be picked up @ our hostel @ 2pm to go on a tour of a local winery to be returned back to the hostel for about 7 or 8pm. waiting... waiting... waiting... 3pm, and no show! the hostel had called the tour company in the meantime, and they "got their dates mixed up". either the hostel or the tour company messed up, but the result was that we just fecked about for the day instead.

hopped on the airport bus @ about 8pm as our flight was @ 11pm. said farewell to the andes...

some pics 12

2007-02-21T13:48:00.000-08:00

chilean merlot. but i actually bought it in chile! for less than €1.50! and it went down lovely. and i was piddled! woo hoo!

21/02/2007

2007-02-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

hopped on the underground today and headed out to the parque metropolitano. we went on the cable cars that hover over the park. very nice views. when you get to the top, there is a short walk to the summit of the mountain in the middle of the park. near the top is an open air church with alter etc, i´d say the holy-molyies go crazy for that stuff. at the peak of the mountain is a huge statue of mary, and a panoramic view of the whole of santiago. very, very large city. and smoggy. you can see the andes though the smog that hem in the city.

heading off to a vineyard tomorrow for the day, then getting a plane to NZ @ about midnight. 14 hour plane trip, so travel tablets and vodka will be had a-plenty! once we land in auckland, we hop straight onto a 2 hour flight to christchurch to begin our adventure of the south island. renting a car there aswell, so a return to normality. woo hoo!

some pics 11

2007-02-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

in santiago now for 3 or 4 days before we head off to new zealand...

19/02/2007

2007-02-19T06:36:00.000-08:00

been staying in a hostel called el rincon marino in valparaiso for the last 3 nights. not been up to too much, so haven´t made any blog entries. we headed to a neighbouring area called vina del mar yesterday to go chill on the beach for the day. was nice... well, as nice as a beach can be as there is sand there which is not good. why couldn´t beaches have sponges instead of sand? that way you´d still have the soft feeling on your feet, but no sand in your crack at the end of the day... i smell a business opportunity!!!

dee has been sick with a cold the last few days, and seems to be getting worse, so we´ve been trying to take it easy. i haven´t got the cold yet, but it´s only a matter of time. final notes: got a killer steak the other day, i was convinced they didn´t know how to cook steak outside argentina, but hey - kudos to chile.

some pics 10

2007-02-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

part of the solar kitchen, where they cook everything using the sun!

16/07/2007

2007-02-16T07:36:00.000-08:00

kidneys feeling better today, let´s hope it lasts. looking out for cranberry juice in the meantime (i sound like my gran).

15/07/2007

2007-02-16T07:26:00.000-08:00

left @ 8.30am to go to the valle del elqui day trip. on the trip we went to see papaya plantations, pisco manufacturing factories, small local villages, and the huse of some nobel prise winning dead poet (wow). pisco is the chilean national drink and is a spirit made by condensing the vapours from boiling white wine. it can be made to strengths from 30-45% alcohol. they mix it with lime, or papaya jiuce, or there is even a creamy baileys version. when i tasted it, it was very very strong - wuld take getting used to (just like any other spirit i suppose).

after a tyring day on a cramped bus made for latino munchkins, we opted for a TV night with pizza and beer. niiiice. my kidneys are killing me again, i had a similar problem just before i left on my trip in ireland. i must see doc about it when i get back. heading to valpariso tomorrow @ 1.30pm. should take about 6 or 7 hours. the only available bus was salon cama standard, which basically is almost top of the range with full reclinability - i´m expecting steak dinners, a facial massage, and a lap dance for the amount it cost us!

some pics 9

2007-02-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

went to japanese gardens in la serena

the last pic is of me eating a hot dog in pastry (instead of a bun). very nice. and cheap!

14/02/2007

2007-02-14T14:32:00.000-08:00

because of heavy traffic and delays, our bus journey took 14 hours to get from antofagasta to la serena! the travel tablets knocked me out again, i´m still recovering - they´re great! got in early this morning and reached hostal punto. run by a german couple. it´s like the hostal we stayed in, in cusco - very cosy. there is a restaurant there from 5pm to 10pm, and you can get beers, sandwiches and cakes. gonna chill there tonight. cable TV again! they didn´t have a double room for us for tonight, so we are sleeping in the yoga room! it´s a big big room and we´re sleeping in the corner. they`ll have a proper room for us tomorrow night.

la serena reminds me of san diego. good roads, well developed, large shopping malls, etc. the plaza armas is lovely and we´re gonna check out the beach later. dee rang ray today as it´s his birthday (won´t mention ages, but he`s really really old). hehe.

some pics 8

2007-02-13T12:37:00.000-08:00

13/02/2007

2007-02-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

stayed in hotel brazil last night in antofagasta. big city. hotel was the noisiest place on earth this morning. i think the guests and staff were trying to demolish the building using herrings (ref: python).

from what we´ve noticed so far there seems to be far less indigeneous or quesuan looking people in chile as apposed to peru. they look more like spaniards/colonials. the cities have less culture aswell. my uneducated guess is that chile was totally dominated when pizarro and the spanish arrived.

getting night bus (12 hours...) today @ 10pm. not looking forward to it, but we´re running out of time, so we have to speed things up. we´re planning the old travel tablets and vodka cocktail trick again for the trip to knock us out. we´re forced to wander around antofagasta all day today as the hostel kick you out @ 12. we left our bags in the hostel and will collect them before we go to the bus station.

12/02/2007

2007-02-13T12:10:00.000-08:00

got a bus from iquique to antofagasta @ 1pm today. took 6.5 hours to get there. posh bus with fancy reclining seats. got to antofagasta and headed out for grub. had a manky burger & chips, and a beer that made up for it.

collapsed into hotel brazil for a well needed kip.

some pics 7

2007-02-12T05:42:00.000-08:00

some pics 6

2007-02-12T05:38:00.000-08:00

11/02/2007

2007-02-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

nothing major to report over the last few days. in iquique now - more importantly, in chile!
now that i´ve been in chile a couple of days i can really see the difference between it and peru. it is a much more developed country, and as a result things cost on average about 30% more than peru here. it does mean that the cities are bigger, cars newer, and there is more homeless people. there are far less people living off tourism by selling you postcards/chewing gum/garments by bothering tourists on the street. they are far stricter about travelling and borders, etc aswell. not sure i like it as much, but i´m looking forward to getting to santiago as i hear it´s cool.

staying in hostel li-ming in the centre of iquique. it´s ok. kind of expensive, but i guess i gotta get used to chile´s prices. the last 3 hostels we have stayed in have cable TV, so i´m kind of getting used to having it - i´m like a backpacker toff!

heading to antofagasta tomorrow morning, i heard it aint great, so we are only staying one night, then heading on towards la serena - should be nice beaches there.

some pics 5

2007-02-08T07:28:00.000-08:00

some pics 4

2007-02-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

07/02/2007

2007-02-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

had a lazy day today. walked down to the main square. even though arequipa is a bigger city that cusco and puno, it is really nice. we went into a convent that is over 500 years old today - santa catalina, although i vowed that the last church i´d go to was in cusco (as they all start to look the same after a while) i really enjoyed this one. it is huge! it´s like a city within the main city.

got a omlette baguette an hour ago and now can´t move i´m so stuffed. love it!
heading back to the hostel in a bit to continue our lazy day. not much planned for tonight. going on a guided city tour tomorrow. trying to plan our remaining days in south america... it´s going to be very tight on time. we might get an internal flight from iquique to la serena to speed things up if we can find a cheap flight.

06/02/2007

2007-02-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

floating islands on lake titcaca were cool, i´ll put up some pics when i get a chance (most of the PCs in south america are so old, they don´t have USB!). there are about 30 floating islands in total and the tourist ones survive on selling the alpaca (like a llama) weavings and embroideries.

got burned again on my hand on the boat, i must have missed a spot. the burn was on a spot that was already burned, so it´s now so red that it looks like a birthmark! i also have a massive cold sore that only started in the morning, but by the time we got to arequipa it had covered half my lip. i think it´s the sun or something... anyway, i now look like a scabby homeless knacker, as i´m peeling from everywhere, have a birthmark on my hand, a massive coldsore and haven´t shaved in a while. but on the brightside, my belly is feeling great!

we were wrecked after the 5 or 6 hour bus trip from puno to arequipa (we used julsa buss - very good and cheap - about €6), so when we arrived at casa de avila hostel we were well chuffed. it is a beatutiful hostel and has everything you´d need - en suite, cable TV!!, free brekkie, hot shower, etc. we desperately needed a chill night, so we ordered pizza and coke and watched CSI all night! it was the first proper meal we had both eaten in days so we went to bed with a big smile on our faces. also, it´s the 1st hostel that isn´t like sleeping in the middle of the red cow roundabout with noise and beeping - made a nice change. staying here 3 nights and looking forward to it.

some pics 3

2007-02-05T17:53:00.000-08:00

05/02/2007

2007-02-05T17:39:00.000-08:00

moved to Hotel Zurit in puno in the hope of getting some better accomadation. the last hole was $7 per night, and thiss new one is $10 per night - and what a difference! much better. took it easy all day still trying to get over my delhi-belly, just walked around puno centre. puno is nice, but it is obvious that it is a lot poorer than cusco. i just went to get some food for the 1st time in about 36 hours, so fingers crossed i´ll get some energy back, coz i´m wrecked!

we are getting a boat @ 9am tomorrow to the floating islands on lake titicaca, and will be back to our hostel @ 1pm. then a quick dash to the bus station to get a 5 hour bus to arequipa. elevation here is 3800 metres, so we´ll be returning to more normal altitudes soon - which means no more exhaustion, headaches and breathing problems - WOO HOO! (it was worth it though)

04/02/2007

2007-02-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

up early again for a 7.30 bus from cusco to puno. we used a company called first class which gives you stop-offs and tours along the way of this 8 hours bus journey to break up the trip. only thing was that i had a serious case of delhi-belly so the bus journey was not quite enjoyable. once we got to puno, we were due to be picked up by the hostel from the bus station. no sign of them. got a taxi, and got to the not-so-great inca´s rest. we had booked a double room, but we were told that there was only a triple room available in an apartment with 2 rooms - 3 in each. we wouldn´t have minded this too much, but the place was just a bit shoddy. the shower was so dirty we daren´t even attempt using it. the matresses on the beds were thinner than bil´s wallet. we had booked 3 days there, but after the 1st night left to go to a new hostel. i slept from 6pm to 8am in the hope of getting over my poor belly... it didn´t work.

03/01/2007

2007-02-03T20:18:00.000-08:00

woke @ 6am to the sound of a monsoon outside. this did not bode well for our trip to maccu picchu. went to a sister hotel to get breakfast and were really worried about getting saturated by the rain all day when we got on the bus @ 7am. the bus journey was a typical wavy route up the mountain, and when we arrived at the control point we saw the rest o fthe group we started the trail with. it was great to hear some of their stories from the last 4 days.

as soon as we got there the sun was shining, and i ended up getting burned badly again. the group was led by llama path´s Jose. he is a great guide and explains in detail all about the inca site. it si remarkable intact and you can freely walk about all of the buildings. the masonry skills of the incas is unbelieveable; no cement is used, all the blocks fit perfectly togather.

as the day grew on, maccu picchu became flooded with tourists, and llamas started to appear here and there. the photos we took could not possibly capture the magnificance of this civilisation´s spiritual epicentre.

headed back to agua ascalientes for lunch, then back to cusco for about 8pm. got a lovely 4 course meal in a restaurant close to our hostel for 12 soles (€3)

leaving for puno tommorrow @ 7am.

02/01/2007

2007-02-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

left picolla locanda hostel @ 11.30 to head to the llama path office in the town. got a taxi to ollantaytambo with ozzie nicole. crazy ass drivers here, they tailgate the car on front with about an inch to spare!

got to ollantaytambo and sat down to some lovely lunch (8 soles for a 3 course meal - €2). Me & Dee had stopped wearing our watches as our arms were badly sunburnt, and nicole had no watch, so we lost track of time... we suddenly realised we had to be at the train station in about 10 mins, and we had no idea how far away it was. hopped in a trike-motorbike-taxi-thingy and rushed to the station. got there and the train was just about to leave, but nicole had left her ticket back at the restaurant! lots of sh1t followed with muchos arguements with the train dudes, and basically the train left before we could get on!

we rushed back to the restaurant to get the ticket, but the train dudes were trying to rip us off by making us pay for the tickets again ($35 each), but we were having none of it. we waited about 3 hours for the next train to agua ascalientes and fought tooth & nail to get on for free... it eventually worked.

Finally got there, pitch black, and found the hostel: Continental Hostal. The guy at the desk was unhelpful and the reception smelled like urine - good start. got to the room and there was a guest waiting for us... the biggest goddam moth you´ve ever seen - it must have been 3 or 4 inches in width! promptly killed it and it´s carcass stared at me for the rest of the night.

this whole ordeal of turning back while on the inca trail has cost is a fortune, so we had dinner on the cheap. enpanadas with cheesy doritos (gerry stylee), cheap-ass beer and a twix bar. we´re up at 6am tomorrow to get the bus to maccu picchu and meet up with the trek group again for a tour of the site.

had a great time with nicole today and we´re going to visit her in brisbane when we´re passing by.

31/01/2007

2007-01-31T19:15:00.000-08:00

up at 4am this morning to head off on the inca trail. got a long and bumpy bus to ollantantambo to get a slap up breakfast, then back on the bus to get started. was actually quite hot and sunny, so had to peel off all my layers. the trail itself is amazing and the sights are unreal. dee was struggling a bit and when we stopped at the lunch stop [which was about 5 hours into the walk] we decided to head back rather than carry on, as the following days are much harder compared to the first day. so we walked back 3.5 hours and got 3 buses and a taxi to get back to the hostel. i'm just uot of the shower and i'm fuppin wrecked. i got sunburnt to bejaysus aswell [not a surprise].

we got to see the largest inca site on the trail and we are going to rejoin the trail group on day 4 to visit machu picchu, so we won't have actually missed that much at the end of the day.

plan on spending the day doing nothing tomorrow, with our newfound free time!

some pics 2

2007-01-30T12:27:00.000-08:00

some pics 1

2007-01-30T12:14:00.000-08:00

29/01/2007

2007-01-29T06:51:00.000-08:00

had a monster breakfast this morning, there was all sorts of bread, croissants, biscuits, and cakes [even one like my ma makes-rainbow cake]. loading myself with sugar and coca to fight the altitude sickness. coca leaves is what you make cocaine from, but they use it in tea here and chew the leaves aswell. i'm drinking the tea and we got coca sweets aswell. tastes a bit mank, but getting used to it more with every cup.

28/01/2007

2007-01-29T06:38:00.000-08:00

waking @ 4am is not my thing, it's just not. especially when you wake up to a humid heat. Anyhoo, we got a taxi to the airport, went through the mind-numbingly slow airport ssecurity and immegration checks, adn got on the plane. they must have smelled our pikey-asses, because the plane was half empty and they plonked us at the very back, 4 rows from anyone else!

got dunkin donuts holes in lima airport

when we finally got to cusco, we hopped in a waiting taxi. the drive to our hostel showed us that the outskirts of the city are quite poor but the plaza major in the centre of the town is beautiful. there are 3 main churches in the plaza, and one of them is over 500 years old! it even outlasted an earthquake that ruined the city!

the hostel itself is very rustic with lots of charm. the mediterannean colours and outdoor lounging area really give it a cozy feel. dee has been eaten alive in BA by mosquitos [i only got a few bites], so hopefully cusco will not be as bad. dee is so pissed at the bites that we are closing all the windows in the room despite the heat. it's 22 degrees here today.

finding it a bit hard to breathe here in cusco, and my heart is beating a little faster because of the altitude. we went on a walk down to the plaza, and the way back to the hostel is very steep hills and loads of steps. half way back i started to get a headache and feel naucious, so when i got back to the hostel @ 6pm, i went to bed, and woke @ 8am the next morning.

26/01/2007 part2

2007-01-27T15:41:00.000-08:00

forgot to mention the tango show we saw last night. was class. very good show and really got into the tango style. the band were also amazing; the guy on the accordian was about 90 but giving it socks with some weird chords which almost sounded like jazz in parts. would defo recommend this place... cafe tortoni

27/01/2007

2007-01-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

we headed over to la boca today on the number 29 bus. it´s a weird place as it has a lot going on in such a small area. it´s a touristy centre where they exploit the interest in tango with many restaurants featuring live music and tango right beside the tables outside where you eat. the buildings are painted very vibrant colours, so the place really comes alive when joined with the bustle of people and music.

boca is also famous for the local football club; boca juniors
we went on a tour of the stadium and museum. the museum is pants unless you are a local and have been folling boca juniors for 90 years, but the stadium was cool. they use a lot of psychological games for the visitors; for example the entrance doors into the stadium for the visiting team is so small that you have to bend down just to get in, where as the boca team entrance is MASSIVE! they also place the visiting team´s locker room below the rowdiest stand {like hill 16} so that they can feel the thumps and cheers from boca fans, and make them exit to the pitch just beside this so they get abused just as they are trying to psyche them selves up!

of course there was also posters all over the shop and talk of maradonna on the tour, as he played for this team back in the day, and is a chairperson now i think. he has his own personal box in the stadium and goes to EVERY GAME! needless to say, he is a god-hero here.

not looking forward to getting up @ 4am to go to the airport tomorrow. we´re heading to cusco tomorrow via lima, and will be expecting some aclimatising to the altitude, etc.

27/01/2007

2007-01-26T13:03:00.000-08:00

today we ventured out to the presidents palace to book a tour, but there was some sort of socialist/communist/anarchist/che protest on the streets right beside the palace, and it was also under heavy renovations, so i think it was a sign we weren´t supposed to go there!

we strolled the streets instead and had cornish pasties {they call them enpanadas} with the perfect accompanyment - percy pigs! {donated from gerry}

we stumbled up a restaurant mentioned in the lonely planet called cafe tortonili and hit that sh1t with the churros and coffee. we also bought some tickets in the same place for later that evening for a tango show and dinner.

there´s a film on {with comfy couches} @ 6pm and the bar open also, so we might venture in later...

26/01/2007

2007-01-26T12:53:00.000-08:00

what i thought would be a killer flight to south america was not too bad after all. the journey was broken up by a stopoff @ sao paulo, but what really helped was the combo of sleeping tablets, whiskey and wine - knocked me out BIG time.

buenos aires is not too hot but the humidity is a killer. after strolling about on the first day we were wrecked. i vowed to eat steak every night we were in argentina as it has a legendary reputation. my 1st steak experience was in a restaurant called Paradilla al Carbon. well... holy god. it lived up to all expectations! apart from being tasty as hell, it was fuppin HUGE!

fell back to hostel suites obelisco for a well needed kip.