Trip Through Paradise

Update

2007-12-13T03:12:00.000+13:00

For all those interested, I finally got around to putting pictures on here for my last three posts, so take a gander. The last posts pictures are a little graffic but thats just the case with those places.

History 101

2007-12-10T21:01:00.000+13:00

"The Buddhist Memorial At Choeung Ek Killing Field"

Once I got to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) I decided to leave the late nights and beaches behind me and change to early mornings and history. Ya you heard right, not quite like me I know, but I did enjoy....scratch that, enjoy is a bad way of putting it.. found it rather interesting.

Everyone has surely heard of the War in Vietnam when the United States and Southern Vietnam were fighting against the Communists of Central Vietnam. But what people don't know, well at least I didn't, is that one of the main areas where this took place is almost entirely underground. I don't mean they actually fought underground but this area was controlled but the Communists. In order to be able to stand a chance against the guns, planes, and helicopters of the opposing side they, over many many years, managed to dig a very complex set of tunnels so they could hide, surprise the enemy, and escape basically into thin air. These tunnels are called the Cuchi Tunnels.

I departed from Saigon for a day trip to see for my own eyes and to try to get a better understanding of the war and Vietnam's history. When we first arrived at the tunnels we paid our fees and were sat in a video room to watch a small film before going to explore first hand. Once the movie was over we were taking around the area with a guide to explain many of the different areas and it was also interesting to learn, that our particular guide, was fighting against the Communists at the time of the war.

The Cuchi Tunnels are said to be an architectural marvel. There are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, sometimes three levels thick, with everything from hospitals and sleeping quarters, to weapon factories and dining areas. Also these tunnels were all dug by hand then all the extra dirt hand to be carried away to be sure piles of dirt would not give there positions away. These tunnels were also made very hard to breach by the USA army because the one advantage the Communists had over the states were they were much smaller. This being the case the majority of the tunnels were not large enough for most of the states army to fit in so most that tried to enter usually ended up being killed from getting stuck or from the waiting opposing army. The only tunnels that were generally big enough were mostly false ones that didn't connect to the main system. These usually just led to a deep end, and in most cases, landmines.

Through the day were were able to climb down into some of these tunnels and explore the underground city a little but since we were confined to only the larger tunnels, we barely even scratched the surface. We also were able to see big bomb craters where the B52's drop bombs on the area and the impact it still has today. Its amazing how much closer to home it makes you feel when you are standing in a place like this, its quite a strange feeling.

After spending only one day in Saigon I was off on another bus but this time heading out of Vietnam and into Cambodia. My first stop in Cambodia was Phenom Penh, which is where I still am, and after arriving around 3 pm I decided not to waste the day, since I am quite limited to the number of these now, so I hired a moto to bring me out to Killing Fields , for the remainder of the daylight.

The Killing Fields were a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Communist regime Khmer Khmer Rouge, which had ruled the country since 1975. The massacres ended in 1979, when Communist Vietnam invaded the country and toppled the Khmer Rouge regime. Estimates of the number of dead range from 1.7 to 3 million but with newer investigation they suspect its closer to 3 million. Just imagine that, almost 3 million people out of a country that's population is around 7 million, and this all happened while some of you reading this were alive.
The Khmer Rouge judicial process, for minor or political crimes, began with a warning from the Angkar, which was the government of Cambodia under the regime. People receiving more than two warnings were sent for "re-education", which meant near-certain death. People were often encouraged to confess to Angkar their "pre-revolutionary lifestyles and crimes" which could be anything from having an education, to wearing glasses (this was a sign of education), to speaking to a foreigner, and even believing in religion being told that Angkar would forgive them and "wipe the slate clean". This meant being taken to a Killing Field and being tortured and executed.
The executed were buried in mass graves. In order to save ammunition, executions were often carried out using hammers, axe handles, spades or sharpened bamboo sticks. Some victims were required to dig their own graves; their weakness often meant that they were unable to dig very deep. The soldiers who carried out the executions were mostly young men or women from peasant families.
The Khmer Rouge regime arrested and eventually executed almost everyone suspected of connections with the former government or with foreign governments, as well as professionals and intellectuals. Ethnic Vietnamese, ethnic Chams (Muslim Cambodians), Cambodian Christians, and the Buddhist monk hood were the demographic targets of persecution.

The fields, in particular, that I visited is called Choeung Ek and is located about 17 kms south of Phenom Penh. This is the most famous field in Cambodia and its is believed that over 17000 people were executed here and buried in mass graves. In the early 1980 the government dug up some of these graves and found nearly 6000 human remains. Some of the area is untouched and although they know there is many more graves here it is left alone, for now anyway.

At this site they have built a Buddhist Stupa as a memorial and all of the skulls found in the areas that were dug up are on display in glass cabinets that make up all four walls, bottom to top, as a reminder. Its quite a hard thing to explain exactly how one feels as you walk around this area. It is something I have never felt before, no matter where you look there are either bones scattered around, clothes that the rain has brought to the surface, and many deadly reminders of the violent history.

After departing from the Killing Fields my moto driver ask me if I would like to go to a shooting range and try shooting some guns, quite fitting hey? Seeing as I did want to do this for quite some time, after some thought about it I managed to say ok, and he quickly drove me away from the sad history and into a military base. At the base I was quickly seated and handed a menu, ya strange hey, of all the different kinds of guns one could shoot. I chose the AK 47 (The Communists gun in Vietnam), M16 (The American Gun), and to top it all off a few rounds from a Colt 45 Handgun. This is probably the fastest way a person can spend money in Cambodia. Each round is worth about a dollar and with two of the guns being automatic, my money went fast. The guard informed me that all the money raised went to poor children but with such a corrupt military, I have a very hard time believing this.

Having had a very long day I went to sleep early so I could have another day of dark history at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum better known as S21.

S21 was originally a high school but after the Khmer Rouge came to rule in Cambodia it was quickly turned into a prison for people on there way to the killing fields. For all of the documented history they were able to uncover from S21 they figure that out of 17000 people who were locked up here, less than a dozen ever lived to tell about it. (Notice the similarities between the killing fields and that number?)

The main people that occupied S21 were politicians and ex military because the Khmer Rouge were afraid that these people were most likely to rebel against them. Most people were tortured, starved, and then right before they would die from natural causes (well not natural but), they were brought to the killing fields to be executed. There were also very many women and children that occupied this prison, mostly because they were the family of the "traitors".

The prison has now been turned into a museum with all of the facilities open to public. While there I seen the cells, detention area, gallows, and the courtyard where many were executed as a warning to other prisoners.

The last few days have definitely not ranked up there is my most happy days of my trip but definitely the most educational. It confuses me, that of all the things a person learns is school that happened hundreds of years ago, stuff like this that is so resent is often left out.

Tomorrow I am leaving Phnom Penh in the past and will be arriving in Siam Reap for dinner.

"Me And An American Tank Destroyed In The Late 1970s"

"Entrance To One Of The Many Underground Cuchi Tunnels"

"Good Thing I Am Somewhat Wee!"

"Four Of The Many Mass Graves At The Killing Fields"

Notice The Clothes Unearthed By The Rain

"Some Of The 8000 Skulls On Display At Choeung Ek"

"Right Hand - AK47 Left Hand - M16"

"Barbed Wire Enclosed Balconies At S21"

So No One Could Commit Suicide

"The Temporary Cells In The Classrooms"

"S21 Torturing Instruments"

Go Fly A Kite!

2007-12-09T02:51:00.000+13:00

"Kiteboarding School"

Mui Ne ended up taking up four days of my very very precious time left on my trip but it was all in good reason and well worth cutting my time short for my travels back to Bangkok. There were four things, that when added up together, made Mui Ne one of my favorite destinations in Vietnam. One thing you learn while travelling is that the actual place itself, although its important, does not exactly make it special, its the little things that make it a love or hate memory for the most part. The four things in this case were; an absolutely amazing guesthouse, beautiful beaches, better than perfect weather, and last but definitely not least, three unforgettable days of kite boarding.

When we first arrived in Mui Ne we were dropped off at a beach side resort that wanted much more than I was willing to part with for a nights stay (as I explained in my previous post) so I threw my bag on my back, and went to see what I could find. About 2 minutes after leaving the gates to the resort I had people all around me with flyer's and pretty much dragging me to their guesthouse, when I spotted a little hotel across the road where the man was just sitting and smiling. Right away I thought, "that is where I want to stay" and I was not disappointed.

Anyone reading this may not completely understand this if you have never been to a country like Vietnam or Asia, but the people constantly hustling you, and trying to get you to do things or stay places, sometimes gets to be too much and you realize how a smile and not being pushy can be the best advertising of all. I ended up staying in this hotel for the duration of my stay and enjoyed every minute of it. It felt like I got to know Vietnam and the history more from chatting over a beer in the lobby with the owner than I have in the previous few weeks. He taught me how the government works, the cost of his business and taxes, what a normal wage is, and even how much I was getting ripped off every minute of everyday in his country. Unfortunately I didn't have much to offer him but we became friends, chatted almost every night, and I even got to further his understanding of reading English a very small amount. (But learning English from me....he was probably better of without it.)

My first day in Mui Ne I spent doing all of the main tourist things that everybody that goes through does. Five other people, I met on my journeys, and I rented a jeep and went out to see the various sight from sand boarding down the white sand dunes, to watching the sunset over the red sand dunes. (Ya there was pretty much only sand dunes but they were quite a site to see)

The next day I decided it was time to scratch off the final entry on my "things to do list" and enroll in a kite boarding lesson.

For all of you who are not familiar with this sport, it is basically wake boarding using a giant kite, instead of a boat, and the wind instead of petrol. Sounds easy enough hey?

My first day in school proved to be very frustrating. I have always been some what naturally alright at anything I try, especially when it come to water, but this proved to be a little different. Although the instructor kept assuring me I was doing very good, considering I had never flown one of these kites, it did not feel like it to me. After learning the basics of just how to keep the kite in the air (a monkey could do this) the next step is to go in the water, without a board, and use the wind to body drag down the beach and back to shore. This in itself would probably be quite easy, in most situations, but at Mui Ne the surf is quite big so the second I entered the water I was thrown into the washing machine and before I could regain my vision, from the salt water, my kite would slam into the water and force me to pull the emergency release, gather my very tangled kite, and do the walk of shame back to my instructor. Of course, he could slowly watch me getting frustrated and I am sure he just loved only uttering the words, "OK, try it again" as he watched me walk past him shaking my head. I only managed to do it once without dropping the kite and feeling that for sure this was the last time, I happily walked up to him, smiling, only to hear those dreaded words, "OK try it again."

That was my first lesson and I can assure you, it was not the most enjoyable day, but at the end of the lesson my spirits were lifted slightly, when he told me, that almost no one actually get into the water in their first lesson, so I was well ahead of the average.

The second day is when I really started to see and understand why people start doing it and cant seem to stop. Again we went through the same drills and I didn't even get to have a board on the whole second day either, but something changed and everything seemed to make sense. I learned how to use the power of the wind and kite to my advantage, and through the whole lesson of different skills, I only dropped the kite once!!!!

One of the skills I learned on the second day was how to water relaunch the kite once you drop it in the open water. Why they didn't teach me this the first day, I have no idea. I think he just enjoyed seeing what I was made of. By the third day I was ready to throw the board into the mix.

When I first arrived at the beach on the third day my instructor told me that the winds were to strong so we would have to wait to out for a while and see if it calmed down a bit. After 3 hours of waiting and watching all the good boarders flying through the air with the strong winds, I started to get restless. Finally my instructor decided that with my kite skills, that progressed very much the day before, he would let me try it but he warned me, normally, he wouldn't let a student go out so I'd have to be careful.

Sometimes I really enjoy being ahead of the normal but, more often than not, I find it puts you into situations that your not really ready for. This was situation was no different.

Once I had my harness on and all the gear ready I was informed that, not only was I going to be flying in higher winds than I should be, but they were putting me on a different kite than I was use to which was 8 meters instead of 5 meters. (more wind, bigger kite, this should be fun.) Once we had rigged the kite and I was all hooked up it, was time to try to launch it. The initial take off was smooth but as soon as the kite was a couple meters off the ground I got a very important lesson in how much force the wind can have. Immediately it started to drag me across the beach until my instructor managed to grab ahold of the back of my harness, and with the weight of two of us, were able to stabilize and stop me from skidding into the water.

It was at this moment that I started to think that maybe this was a little too much power but he got me to give it a whirl in the water and see what happens.

To truly get across how strong of a force this was is kinda hard to explain. When the kite was in front of me at the lowest power zone, it dragged me, and when I lifted it up to the position straight above me (the zenith or neutral) it was lifting me a few feet off the ground!

Figuring that the instructor knew what was best, I slowly walked into the ocean, body dragged out to give the board its
maiden voyage.

My first couple attempt were not successful because of how timid I was being with the kite. In my defense I was just dragged down a beach and lifted from the ground without actually trying to use the power need to get up. So, after failing I decided to go for it.

going through the instructions I got before I left land I brought the kite to the 1 o'clock position, stabilized it, now.....dive from 1 o'clock, through the power zone to 10 o'clock and stand up. This isn't exactly how it went down.

All was well until the kite hit full power and pulled me completely out of my board, up about 15 feet in the air, then crashed into the water, slamming me back down to earth with, probably, 5 times the force of gravity. Fortunately I was just a little shaken, but was no worse for the wear, and released my emergency and swam back to shore, with a very tangled kite, to a smiling instructor.

Between trying not to laugh and trying to look serious he managed to get out the words, "I think you need a smaller kite."

Once I switched to a smaller kite my life instantly got easier. With a few miss hap's I managed to ride for a bit and figured out the art of getting up. I wish I could have continued for the rest of the day but at $45 dollars an hour, it was becoming an expensive past time.

By the end of my three days I accomplished all I set out to do. I learned how to set up the gear, safely fly the kite, and the basics of riding. This gave me an IKO 2 international certification for Kite Boarding so I can now rent gear, without an instructor, worldwide.

With these lessons behind me I feel I could really get into this new and exciting sport. There is something about being able to jump and float up to 20 meters off the ocean and still have a soft landing that is enticing to me. Not to mention a kite is a whole lot cheaper that a boat, and wind is free where as petrol is far from it!

Now my beach days of my trip are behind me and I am off to Saigon in the morning.

"The White Sand Dune"

"Just Messing About"

"Sunset At The Red Sand Dune"

"Getting Ready For Takeoff"

"Some Of The Many Kite Boarders On Mui Ne"

Tailor Made Holiday

2007-12-02T13:28:00.000+13:00

"Inside Of My Tailoring Home"

When traveling anywhere in Asia, and most countries I suspect, travel companies get a commission from other companies such as restaurants, convenience shops, and hotels that they bring people to. Normally, the hotels anyway, are way overpriced and in a bad location but since people are exhausted, especially after night buses, they choose the first bed they can see. This has taught me to never take the first hotel and explore the town before checking into a room. On some occasions though, like with Hoi An, even when the first place is an incredible deal, the traveler in you refuses to realize this and refuses to stay.
When I was first dropped off in Hoi An I check out some rooms in a hotel which the bus dropped us off, but after only being able to barder them down to 5 USD a night, I decided this was too much and, with the little energy I had, threw my backpack on and went for a look around town. Hoi An was one of the very few exceptions to the rule I stated earlier, and after exhausting myself in the mid day sun, I ended up back to the first hotel I looked at and happily paid them the 5 dollars just to be able to throw down my bags, shower, and relax.
Its amazing how far your money goes in Vietnam for accommodation. Sure you can find a room in Thailand, or anywhere else in Southeast Asia for that matter, for the same price but nowhere does your dollar goes so far in quality. In Thailand, for example, 5 dollars will get you a bed but thats about it, but in Vietnam, 5 dollars (using my room in Hoi An for example) gets you a big clean room that had luxuries like, elevators, your own bathroom with hot shower, comfy chairs and a love seat, a desk, an ottoman, and even a phone in your room for room service that was almost as cheap as the cheapest restaurant I found in town.
After having a little nap and ordering room service (that sure felt strange to say the least) it was time to explore the town.
Hoi An main tourist attraction is tailoring clothes. No matter where you walk or what corner you take it is impossible not to trip over these shops every couple steps. Whether you want to get suits, jackets, or just copy an old shirt you love, this is the place for you. When first arriving in town I was unsure if I was going to get anything made just because money and the fact that it was more to carry, but within the first night I had already ordered my first 24 hours there, I had already ordered my first jacket and had plans for a suit . . . or maybe two? Its hard to explain but with everyone around you either carrying freshly made clothes or in one of the hundreds of shops getting measured up, it very hard to resist.
The jacket I got made impressed me immensely because all they had to go one was a small, and not very good to say the least, sketch I drew of a double breasted jacket but with a few minor changes from what traditionally is made. After a meeting with the tailor and one of the girls from the shop to interpret between him and I, we changed the small things that worked on paper but in reality wouldnt really work out. After that I got measure from every different angle you can imagine and made an appointment for my first fitting in 18 hours from then.
When the time came I showed up at the shop to my completed custom wool double breasted jacket. I then tried it on and wasnt completely happy with the fit so the owner of the shop jumped on her motor bike and within the hour it met my standards of a true tailored fit. All of that, start to finsh, in 19 hours!!!
My problem with the quality, and how little time it took, was that once I seen it for myself I kinda had a hard time stopping. By the end of my 3 day stay in Hoi An I had two suites, two ties, a dress shirt, and my amazing jacket. For every article of clothing I made the people working at the shop never ceased to amaze me. No matter how many times, three was my most, that you were not completely satisfied with the fit, they would pin it and within a few hours it would be ready for another fitting session. I was so amazed at how much detail went into everything a person wanted to have made. Even with ties, for example, you had to go through heaps of different designs and patterns (who knew a tie was so complicated) and get measure so it would be best for you.
With my time in Hoi An that wasnt spent in tailoring shops I didnt do a whole lot to tell you the truth. I pretty much just walked around and took in a few sights, ate at some amazing restaurants, and spend one long overdue day at the beach. This in itself was a nice change considering I had been in Asia for over a month and had yet to work on my tan, which is quickly fading, and spend some good wholesome time in the sun.
After my time had come to an end I left with a very heavy backpack, and a light wallet, on an overnight buses, yet again, to Na Trang.
Na Trang only consumed one of my nights and as with Hue, basically just served to break up the journey to Mui Ne which was my next major stop.
Na Trang really the first truly beach city as you head south in Vietnam. Its roads are lined with palm trees and big fancy resorts that I could even wish to be able to stay in. Basically, even though I have never been there, it was like I was in Florida or California. The one memorable thing that happened there was after getting completely lost exploring the city, I stumbled across a big "Lighting of the Christmas tree celebration." This was definitely a sight to see with its dancing Asia elves and Santas'. Although it was completely out of place it was fun to see because I think this was the first time I realized how close it was to Christmas and truly start to get excited to be home for the holiday season. The event was a little off our normal celebrations but once again I think some things just get lost in translation from country to country.
I am now in Mui Ne which will serve as my home for the next few days. I am going to try to get sometime on the beach in, seeing as this will probably be my last place before I arrive to the bitter winter. If I am lucky I am going to attend a couple of kite boarding lessons and really make the most of my last few days of sun and sand before I have to say goodbye to it for another five months or so.
I've spent the last 18 months or so without a bitter winter and I am sure not looking forward to how my body is going to react come December 17th.

" A Lazy Day At Hoi An's Beach"

"The Faded Yellow Concrete That Makes Up Hoi An"

"Locals Hauling Cement"

"Hoi An's Local Market"

"Na Trang's Christmas Celebration"

Good Morning Vietnam!!

2007-11-26T23:08:00.001+13:00

"Ha Long Bay"

As soon as I knew it my three days of realaxing were over and once again I was getting ready to step into a bus for what might have been my longest bus journey yet. When first booking my bus from Vientiane to Ha Noi I was told by the travel agent that it would take 22 hours. Now, dont get me wrong, 22 hours does sound like a long time but when you are comparing the price tags of either flying ($175) or suffering ($18) it becomes quite clear why I chose the later.

The start of this entry is kinda going to be a step by step of my whoel journey so it will show you why over and over again patients is a virtue and why be in a hurry in Asia is incredible frustrerating.

I was first picked up at my guest house by a mini bus at 6pm, just to mention it was suppose to be 5, then I was taken to the main bus station just outside the city where all of the main busses are sitting and had begun unloading. I was about to pick up some water and snacks for the road when one of the crew members, basically, started yelling at me and ushered me into my seat. So now here I was, at 6:20, sitting in the same seat that was going to become my dear friend over the next day or so. After sitting for a few minutes, and no movement by the bus, I decided to get up and walk out side to stretch but was quickly discovered and once again ushered back on the bus to hurry up and wait. After what felt like a life time, almost two hours to be exact, the bus finally started at 8:30 and we were on our way to Ha Noi at last.

Fortunately I was one of the lucky ones that got to the bus station at least early enough to manage to get a seat. The ones the arrived later, may have not have had to wait the extra two hours on the bus at the bus station, but then did not manage to secure a true seat and for the next 30 hours these poor unfortunete people were stuck on a plastic stool that were placed all down the isles insuring not one spare inch of money making room was waisted. Honestly if this would have been me I don't know if I would have, or could have for that matter, been able to convince myself that staying on that stool was worth not spending the extra 18 dollars and getting to the station a little earlier the next day.

After we set out we drove for about seven hours when our bus came to a stop outside a tiny house in the middle of Norther Laos. Assuming this was a quick toilet and drink break I got of the bus to realize that all of the locals were going into the house. I finally managed to find one of the bus crew that could speak English and he explained to me that were very near the border but we were just having a quick stop because we had to wait for the border between Laos and Vietnam to open. After I persistently asked how long it would be, it turned out that our short stop was 5 hours long! Everybody, well at least all the Westerners, all came to the conclusion that we should have just left Vientiane later but of course some times common sense is lost in translation.

I spent the five hours of our "quick stop" reading, eating and chatting with other confused backpackers and with my canvas hammock, that doubles as a blanket/pillow for bus journeys, I even managed to lay outside the bus and catch a little bit of shut eye before we were on the bus again and finally headed to the Vietnam border.

Once again my border crossing went rather smoothly, that's twice in a row, and after two hours at customs and immigration we were all loaded back on the bus and on our way to Hanoi.

A little lesson I learned about Vietnam traffic is there is no right of way. Its the person with the bigger vehicle and the loudest horn that makes the rules no matter what the circumstance is. When we were about 3 hours outside of Hanoi our bus pulled out to pass someone when there was clearly not enough time to do so (Its a pretty normal thing). The only difference was, normally they managed to squeeze in just in the nick of time or lock on the brakes and squeeze back to there original position, but this time we were faced with a head on collision with a semi, or, to basically run the truck beside us off the road. Fortunately, we didnt completely have to push the other off the road, but we did have to hit them to get enough space to go three wide, on a small highway, and continue on our way. The crazy thing about this is after it happened we didnt even stop. So with one smashed out door and minus a few windows, we carried on like nothing ever happened.

We finally arrived in Hanoi at 7:00pm so, in total, this journey took 26 hours which, I dont think I have to tell any of you, is a long long time on a cramped bus. Obviously flying is the better route and at $175, after stepping off the bus, seems like a bargain but then what would I write about.

Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam, although commonly mistaken for Saigon (HoChinMin City), and is the busiest city I have ever experienced. The traffic is the one thing that is truly amazing. People who think Bangkok is busy only need to travel to Vietnam to realize how organized and structured it really is. If you do manage to cross the street without getting hit, the amount of horns going off is enough to do anyone's head in. My first experience with crossing the road was a little tricky. I stood on the side of road for around a half an hour waiting for an opening big enough to able me to get across the road safely. After realizing that this wasn't going to happen and also realizing that a red light is a decoration, I decided to ask a local woman about the proper technique to this task. Of course she had a little laugh at my expense but then taught me the golden rule, close your eyes and walk. This seems strange and I admit is very scary the first couple of times but it does work. The object is to walk at a slow but steady pace, dont stop, and dont try to dodge a motorbike or they are guaranteed to hit you. But if you walk slowly, amazingly enough, everything goes around you and you reach your destination unharmed.

I spent the next two days wandering around the capital city and getting a feel for what Vietnam was going to be like compared to the other countries I have visited. After getting over the shock from going from Laos to Vietnam, which is the equivalent of going from the Moon to Vegas, I really started to enjoy the city and really was able to see the beauty hidden in the absolute chaos. Hanoi is definitely one of those city people love or hate. I am not really a city person but ,as with Bangkok, I loved it. It seems normal cities bore me, but once the get to a certain craziness level, I love them.

After I was through with Hanoi I booked a two day cruise to Ha Long Bay. Halong Bay has been named a World Heritage site for it spectacular scenery and also the amazing amount of stories and caves that go along with this bay that is around 1500 square kilometers and holds almost 2000 limestone islands.

Local legend says that long ago when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help to defend the land. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders. The people kept their land safe and formed what later became the country of Vietnam. After that, dragons were interested in peaceful sightseeing of the Earth and decided to live here there.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of my whole trip. The bay was amazing, which I expected, but I am talking about everything else. When you book tours in Asia you soon realize that you really have no idea what to expect. Even when they show you pictures and tell you exactly whats to happen, it rarely ends up going that way. This trip was the only trip I have done that it was the opposite. The boat was amazing, even nicer than their pictures, the meals were gourmet Vietnamese 4 course meals, and the staff spoke good English and were very entertaining. Overall it definitely ranks up there on the activity, with the most bang for your buck, I have done on this trip.

Before I knew it, it was time to once again head back to Hanoi, which I then had 2 hours to rest and get something to eat, before jumping on, yet again, another night bus to Hue. Ha Long Bay was my couple days of relaxing before I really had to start to make it a point to get moving.

I have traveled in Asia for almost 5 months in total now and the one thing I have learned is that schedules mean nothing and you cannot book things based on what time they say your going to be back. My Ha Long Bay tour was scheduled to be back in Hanoi at 4:00 pm so against my better judgment, mainly because if I would have left the next day it would have been a waste of a night, I booked a overnight bus the same day to Hue departing at 6:00. The beginning of the day went to schedule but just as I expected, when the boat arrived at the mainland, we were informed our bus had broken down and there would be a small delay. No problem really because I still had a couple hours to play with. It became a problem when the bus showed up 3 hours late and it seemed inevitable that I was going to miss my bus and loose my ticket. Luckily on the way home a girl from the company rung the bus and got them to wait for me. The second we arrived back in Hanoi there was a moto waiting to wisk me away, through the crazy traffic, and I got to my bus with time to spare. Sometimes I am still amazed how helpful people are when your least expecting it.

Hue is a town that isnt exactly a main stop and everyone there is pretty much only staying a night to break up the long journey from Hanoi to Hoi An. None the less I have an enjoyable day. I basically just got something to eat, napped (since you dont sleep much on the night bus), and explored some of the historic sights of the city. Tomorro is another bus journey but at least its only about 6 hours to Hoi An. Listen to me, its like, "Oh it only 6 hours, piece of cake."

"Vietnam Border Entering From Laos"

"Ordinary Daytime Traffic In Hanoi"

"The Oilers Shirt Makes This Picture"

"My Home In Ha Long Bay"

"Ha Long Bay"

"The Bridge and Protective Wall Of Hue"

"Historic Hue"

Bordercrossings, Tubes, Joma, And Visas

2007-11-20T15:27:00.000+13:00

"The S S Mekong"

Seeing as, as of late, I have become overly busy or lazy, one of the two, for this entry I am going to split it up into two parts to make it easier on me because I have basically missed an entire country and almost the last two weeks.

Part I

Once returning to Pai I decided that it had definitely become time when I should start looking at a calender and moving along if I planned to see Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia with enough time to get back to Bangkok to catch my flight on the 16th of December.

Since I was exhausted by the trek I checked into a guesthouse to have a relaxing night and a quick look at the reggae festival the was being held before having to start my traitorous journey which over three days brought me from Pai, Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos.

I managed to make an appearance, only for about 10 minutes, to the reggae festival but decided that it may be my last good nights sleep for a few days so I turned in early and was quickly sound asleep.

The morning, that was to start my journey, couldn't have started off on a worse note, not that to most it would seem bad, but this was the first time in literally months that I was woken up by awful "beep beep beep" of the alarm clock that I can assure you, I haven't missed at all.

With the initial wakeup behind me, things smoothed out nicely and after a coffee and a little bit of sunshine, I was thrown into a mini bus and headed to Chiang Mia, for the first 4 hour leg of the journey.

We arrived in Chiang Mai with enough time to grab some street food and a coffee shake, mmmmmm coffee shake, then I was ushered away to a different, slightly bigger bus, for the last 7 hours of the first days journey which ended in the Thai border town of Chiang Kong.

When I first decided that I was beginning to slowly run short on time ,the one way you can save a few days is by booking a whole multi day trip ticket to where ever instead of doing every leg of it solo and dealing with whatever you run in to on the way, which usually means spending an extra night hear and there but when you have the time I find its much more rewarding and much cheaper. But because I definitely don't have the time I took the first choice where they basically assign you parents for three days that lead you around, have your accommodations booked, and meals ready when you are hungry. The down side to this is that you don't have say in where you stay, what you eat, things of this sort and, as I expected, when we arrived in Chiang Kong, it is a very good thing I am not at all a picky backpacker.

The next morning was better for me even if the rooms werent spotless...... I didn't need the alarm clock and the breakfast was decent. Once again I packed, got loaded in the van, and we were on our way to Thai / Laos immigration.

In Northern Thailand the border is the Mekong River which actually remains the border for most of the country. So once you get stamped out of Thailand you travel by long boat across the river to enter Laos. There you have to apply for a visitors visa then get stamped in and, walla, you are now legally into the country of Laos. The border crossing went smooth, surprisingly, and besides the very long ques, our group managed to be in and out in about 2 hours, which in Asian terms is lightning fast.

This is the part of the journey that gets interesting. There are two ways to get from the border town of Houei Xay, Laos to Luang Prabang and they are a speed boat or a slow boat. I opted for the slow boat just because I have heard that no matter how much you don't enjoy it, its one of those things you just have to do.

The second day of the journey consisted of 7 hours floating on a fairly large boat with around 75 people. I spent the day laying in the sun, reading, and meeting some fello travelers so when we arrived in Pak Bang for the night, I was somewhat confused about why people have so many bad things to say about the experience. The next day I quickly understood.

When I first started down the next morning I actually thought I missed the boat because our original boat was nowhere to be seen. After I talked to a couple Laos guys it became clear that our boat had left back to the border and our new boat that was the replacement was sitting in front of me and, at a glance, it sure didn't look to be quite as big.

When I border the boat my suspicions turned out to be quite accurate and not only was it noticeably smaller but there were also noticeably more people! None the less we all managed to pile on and we finally set off on the final day of our journey to Luang Prabang.

The final day was definitely the most uncomfortable but it was also a very enjoyable and rewarding day for me. From my 2 ft square piece of floor I managed to claim I had a great view of the river and landscape, and I was also seated next to a local family that was eager for me to join them for all there snack and meals through out the day. I ate a lot of things through that 11 hour bus ride but unfortunately I am unable to tell you what they were but some were good, some were bad, and some were downright scary. When I wasn't eating or playing with there little kids, I read and also managed to get a little siesta in before landing in Luang Prabang at sunset that evening.

I wondered around for a couple hours, not that that was a bad thing after sitting that long, before finding a place to call home for a couple nights. Then, for supper, I gorged on a 5000 kip (50 cent) vegetarian street buffet, picked up some "A" brand cigarettes (20 cents), before returning to my 3 dollar a night home. Boy I love this country!

"Not too Much Room To Spare"

"My Family For The Day"

Part II

"Kouang Si Waterfall"

Luang Prabang doesn't exactly have a list of too many possible activities that one couldn't hope to do in a couple days, basically all it has is shopping, bowling, and waterfalls. Like most towns in Southeast Asia the night market is also definitely up on the list, no matter how many you have already been to, of popular ways to occupy yourself in the evening.

The difference between Laos and Thailand is quite subtle at first but after spending a few days you soon learn and begin to truly appreciate Laos. One of the biggest differences is Thailand, because of all the tourists there mind you, has become party central. There is not an hour of the day or night that you cannot find a party or, at the very least, a drink. Laos is very very different. The biggest party you will find here is a small pub with a few people sitting around listening to live blues, but don't get too comfy. Come last call at eleven, you have to make your way home by midnight when the curfew kicks in, and being caught out after hours quickly turns into a hefty fine.

Another very welcome difference is people understand, no that's not even it, they respect the word No. In Thailand, whether it is Tuk Tuk drivers, tailors, or just people selling food; a simple no does not suffice. To get the point across they have to ask you enough for you too loose your patients and sometimes, I'm sure, come across as rude and impolite. Most people that are on holidays are neither, but patients is something that unfortunately runs out. Laos is the opposite of this. Of course all of these people still do ask you, but with a simple smile and "No Thank you," you are on your way.

During my two days in Luang Prabang I really only did manage to go out to the Kouang Si waterfall apart from the normal things like eating, wandering through markets, and sleeping. The evenings were a little more interesting. Apart from going bowling with 100 other tourists, (apparently its the thing to do and its also open the latest out of anything in town) I also got my first lesson and soon became quite addicted to Poi.

Poi is basically fire juggling but not in the tradition sense. You have two wicks that are soaked in Kerosene (in our case jet fuel, but Ill get to that), that are attached to small chains that you hold in each hand. Using your arms, body position, and a few different motions it become quite an impressive sight. With the help and knowledge of an Australian bloke I met earlier, I learnt some of the basic moves, unlit of course, and then practiced with them burning once I was a little more comfortable. We spun for all of the first night but after looking at the fuel supply we had left, we decided that we would have to find some fuel in order to be able to play with it again the next night. This brings us to my second day in Luang Prabang.

After a quick trip to the waterfall we made it our mission to find some Kerosene, easy enough of a task one might think. Its turns out that trying to find something in a small town in Laos with no English speaking people, not to mention that we found out that the word Kerosene doesn't exist in there language or there understanding of English, is quite a task. After walking around for a couple hours going to every shop we could find, showing them the poi and getting them to smell the fuel, we were no further than when we started. We were just about to give up when we came across a fancy, in Laos terms anyway, French restaurant that had little teky torches burning outside. This is when our great idea kicked in; torches need kerosene don't they? We walked inside and started to talk to the manager who was very skeptical about why exactly we wanted kerosene. Again we showed her the poi and made some motions to explain what it was when she finally gave in and decided that we weren't trying to burn down the town, and helped us out. When she asked us how much she wanted, we asked for two liters but she declined. It turns out that she wasn't using kerosene at all. It was jet fuel, just to note it was illegal jet fuel, that the Laos police brought her, and giving us that much could get her in a lot of trouble if we were reeking havok with it and it came back to her. We settled on 500ml and we were on our way to an exciting evening of spinning fire to amuse our night away.

This seems funny to me cause how many people can say they got jet fuel, from a French restaurant in Laos!

With Luang Prabang behind me my next destination was Vang Vieng. If any of you can remember any of my travels from the start of my trip this is where the legendary tubing down the river and rope swings are, which is something that no traveler in Laos misses.

Laos, as I mentioned, is a very quite country with basically no night life. Vang Vieng is definitely the exception to this rule. The bars here still do have a curfew but this only means that in this small town everyone starts a little earlier. Now that I think of it there is also one other very big difference between Laos and Thailand.

Drugs in Thailand are very strictly enforced and most people are smart enough not to even try to use them but Laos on the other hand goes like this. In Laos drugs are still illegal, don't get me wrong, but it is also a much more corrupt police force (at least in this) than Thailand. All of the restaurants and bars pay the cops off so as long as you're on there property anything goes. That means that along with the general food and drinks that you are accustomed to finding on a menu, you also have a "special" menu that has everything from shroom shakes, to opium tea, to happy pizza(use your imagination), to your preference to the size of joint you want whether it be small, big, or a bag. To anyone reading this that is now worried about me, don't be. You have to understand in my travels I have come across drugs once or twice. . . . and they just aren't my cup o' tea.......get it.

I could only afford to give Vang Vieng one day, and after I went tubing for the day I was once again on the road. When I planed on leaving Vang Vieng, my original plan was to take a local bus. They aren't nearly as comfy as the tourist busses but the price tag is alot more appealing. When I showed up to the bus station it turns out I had missed the bus and the next few busses leaving over the next few hours were all, as I like to call them, flashpacker busses. I do not have the money for those luxuries, nor did I want to wait a couple hours, so after me persistently asking how I could get there, they pointed at a truck full of locals, a few chickens, and a dog. And with a small charge of 15000 kip (which is better than the local bus) I was headed on the 4 hour journey through the mountains to Vientiane.

Vientiane is the capital of Laos and it is also a city that I have frequently visited when I had all those issues with loosing everything at the start of my trip. This visit was not so much to see the city, but to get all my visas in order for the rest of my trip so I could jump from country to country with hopefully no complications.

The day that I arrived in Vientiane I managed to get all of my business done by visiting both the Vietnam and Cambodian embassies. Then all I had was three days to relax (three day processing on visas) before I could embark on my next journey, so I made every second count knowing that for the next few weeks, things are going to be hecktic.

I spent my time reading, having coffee in Joma (a very overpriced cafe but darn there coffee is good!), and hanging out at an ol favorite; the Full Moon Cafe where I loaded up my Ipod with 30 new albums including Frank Sinatra, Eva Cassidy, and Elvis to name a few, to prepare myself for the 25 hour bus ride to Hanoi, Vietnam that I am going have to deal with in a couple days. Im not sure if I would say I am looking forward to that adventure.

"Backflip By Bru"

"Another Shot Of The Kouang Si Waterfall"

"One Of The Many River Bars In Vang Veign"

River + Tubes + Sunshine = Good Times!

"Mmmmm Chicken On A Stick"

"Nam Phou Statue In Veintiane"

Legend has it that buried beneath this statue is a Sevenheaded Dragon. Since this has happened

this monument is said to be the protector of the city.

Trekking in Pai radise

2007-11-16T16:20:00.000+13:00

A House In The Tiny Village Of Lahu

One of the main attractions and reasons most people visit Northern Thailand is for the trekking. So, while in Pai, I decided that it would make a good two day outing before I had to start putting some miles behind me and leave to Laos.
The Trek started off riding a song thew from Pai and up into the mountains for an hour and a half before getting off in the middle of nowhere where a math path weaved its way up the mountains, through the jungle and into mountain tribe villages.
Our first day was the more physical and difficult of the two days with roughly four hours of a steady climb passing through creeks and rivers. When it came time for lunch our guide cut down some bamboo and used it to make us chopsticks and cups and even made a pot, or sorts, which he used to boil water on the fire and make us some good ol' fashioned jungle tea.
From being in South East Asia I have now decided Bamboo is pretty much the most versatile plants in the world and I think somebody should figure out a way to make it be able to stand up to the cold of winter so I can plant a bamboo forest in my backyard. It amazing!! People use it for absolutely everything. Need a house? Bamboo. Need cups, bowls, chopsticks? Bamboo. Need to make a trap to catch animals and make a rack to smoke and cook your newly acquired feast?Bamboo. Or maybe you just want to sit around, visit with friends and have a nice cup of tea before turning in for night. Bamboo. Well now that I am pretty sure that everyone catches
my drift I will carry on with my story.
The first, and only, night we spent in a tiny village called Lahu. I couldn't exactly give you number for the population but when I asked the guide he told me that these villages are measured in families, not people, and the Lahu village consisted of roughly 45 families. I am so glad I decided to do the trek because this is one of the first times in Thailand that I was able to understand, and see, how poor it is and how hard these people work when you get outside of the tourist area which now consumes the majority of the country.
The village is basically bamboo huts on stilts, so there animals can live under them, with one place where a pipe came from the side of a hill that had a steady flow of fresh water. So as you can imagine this area has 45 families showering, doing there laundry, and also keeping a steady supply for carrying back to your house for daily use.
In the evening we sat with the "locals", stuffed ourselves with a gourmet spread of food from the land, and even got to dabble in the sticky rice moonshine.(Its about as good as it sounds)

The next day we had a fairly short descent through rice fields, some jungle, and down to a river, which is where our walked ended for the day and the real fun started. Once at the river we found a bamboo raft that was going to be our source of transportation back to the highway and our lift back to Pai.

Under normal circumstances, once you get to the last little village in your journey the guide picks up a couple of the locals to steer there bamboo raft full of people and bags down the river. The difference between normal and how it seems to happen with me we all know is quite far from each other. Instead of that happening, when we got to the town it was completely empty because everyone was out working in the rice fields. Our guide felt quite bad, cause that's all we were talking about for most of the start of the day, so he managed to find one of his uncles that had a bamboo raft and volunteered to be our captain for the afternoon.

After first seeing the raft it became clear why it was not part of the tourist fleet. It was completely falling apart but after about an hour of maintenance our ship was ready to set sail.

Once we managed to get the raft from the shore to the river, we loaded our luggage, all crawled on, and with the uncle and guide steering we were starting our rafting adventure.

The raft that we were using I have no doubt worked perfectly well with a couple adults and maybe some rice or something but when we piled seven adults and seven big backpacks it was a little different story......actually it was much more of a bamboo submarine than a raft!

The river was quite low at this time of the year so, in spots, with the buoyancy of our raft the way it was and the rocks sticking up, hitting them was inevitable. After the first few crashes we soon learned that this voyage was not only going to be a little rough but it just so happens that this was our guides first time as "captain".

Even for it being his first time he really did do good and there hasn't been very many times on the trip where I have laughed as hard at someone as I did with him. He was placed at the front of the raft standing so every time we hit a rock he would keep going and land in the river in front of us. He would then scramble back to the boat yelling in Thai, which we learned later was because he couldn't swim, good combination! But he truly was hilarious and after the first few "man over boards" he learned his lesson and went for the approach of yelling "KABOOM" and would lay on the front of the raft and hold himself on.

The rafting lasted a about an hour or so. Then, after a quick stop at the biggest cave in the world (its funny how hard to impress people are when there exhausted) we were on the highway headed back to Pai with memories which will not easily be forgotten.

Our Bamboo Tea Pot

Another Homestead In Lahu

The Local Water Supply

A Rest In The Rice Fields

Our Ship The Bamboo Explorer

Had To Finish Off With Another Sunset

2007-11-08T18:56:00.000+13:00

"The Breathtaking Pai Canyon"

During my stay in Chiang Mia I decided to spend one day attending the "Siam Rice Cooking School," to figure out exactly some of my favorite Thai dishes are made. When the day began I had absolutely no idea what to expect all I knew was that I was to meet the rest of the group in the local market at 9:15am.

When I arrived at the local market I was greeted by hundreds of locals but with no westerners in sight and not sure who I was meeting I took at seat at a nearby table and dove into my book I was currently reading.

This must have made up quite a scene to onlookers. There was a big local market with everything from rice, fruit, and vegetables to quarters of hanging meat, drying mystery meat, and fish so fresh they flopped around on the grill. As hard as you may try you would not have heard a word of English, not too mention seen anyone other that Thai, and in the middle of this busy scene there's little ol me sitting cross legged on a table, perfectly comfortable reading my book.

It didn't take to long before the teacher from the school managed pick me out of the crowd and usher me back to the other 6 people who would be attending the course with who, all turned out to be Australian.

The rest of the morning was spent shopping for the ingredients we would be using and getting an explanation about almost every use, in the kitchen or not, for all the vegetables which were laid before us and on all the different types of rice, curries, ect. After our shopping was done we piled into a song thew and drove out to a nice little house in the country side where we spent the rest of the day.

Through the day we learned how to make six dishes from scratch including Papaya Salad, Green Curry Soup, and Tom Yum Soup which are among my favorites. We also got to eat anything we made, therefore after six dishes you can imagine your getting pretty full. The others in the group turn out to be all one family traveling around Thailand for a month because two of them had just got married in Phuket. After the course was over, being the true friendly Aussies they were, also invited me out to a bit of a wedding celebration, you may have called it, for the rest of the evening . . . . and some of the next morning!

The next day, after not very much sleep mind you, I caught a mini bus headed up to the sleepy little town of Pai to get out of the big city craziness that seems to consume Central Thailand.

Now I am Pai and enjoying the laid back atmosphere, good weather, and hammocks that I was longing to revisit Southeast Asia for.

Today I may head up to read and suntan by the pool.........hmm sounds like alot of effort. Maybe Ill just laze and read in my hammock. Tough life.

"Pounding The Curry Paste"

"Bon Appetite"

"Northern Thailands Scenery"

"Sleepy Pai"

Lets Get Ready To Rumble

2007-11-03T20:32:00.000+13:00

"Fight Night In Bangkok's Rajmangala National Stadium"

There as a few things, that everyone will agree, that you just cannot not do while spending a few days in Bangkok. Whether you like it, hate it, or have absolutely no interest in it, a professional Muay Thai boxing match definitely falls into this category.

On my last night staying in Bangkok, after being here many nights previously in the last year, I decided it was time to rise to the occasion and go and see one before I had to leave without the true Muay Thai experience.

On my way to Khoasan Road from the Bangkok airport I met a Swedish bloke named Kenny. So for the past few days we had been hanging out, and doing whatever it is you do in Bangkok together . . .mostly shopping. Seeing as he was up for watching a fight we jumped in a Tuk Tuk and were off to one of the two largest Thai Boxing Stadiums in Bangkok call the Rajmangala National Stadium.

Thai boxing stadiums are everything that you would possible picture from what you see in movies only much more intimidating than you would begin understand without ever setting foot in one. When we first pulled up to the stadium in our tuk tuk, literally, all you could see was thousands and thousands of scooters lined up infront and absolutely not a word of English. As we approached the entrance we, naturally, instantly had two Thai people approach us with tickets and all the information we needed about the evening, oh and did I mention, "A very special price just for you sir."

The two Thais explained that in a Muay Thai fight there is three different classes of seats. The third class, which is almost all Thais, is far away and hard to see the fight, the rowdier part of the crowd, and also where all the gambling goes on. He also made it clear that this was no place for western backpackers. (which it might not have been but once we were in I think it looked like good times up there)

The second class were closer to the ring and also a lot less crazy but they explained that there were no seats, only standing room, and since the fight tonight consisted of about five hours of individual bouts, this was not a wise choice either. Just for the record I have spent enough time in Thailand to kinda feel a scam coming and kinda thought this was a bit fishy but in this case Kenny wanted to sit ringside so we splurged to make the night an event that will be with me for a long long time.

After we paid for our tickets, and got whisked through the crowd to ringside, we were seated and given a schedule for the nights events to come. There were 11 fights, including one title fight, that were all three minute rounds. This in itself measured up to the guys outside word but taking a quick look around the stadium all classes had seats and the third class was a little ways away from the ring but come on, the stadium is not the size of Rexall and I guarantee they could see well good enough. . . .Stupid Tourists.

The rest of the stadium was definately something to be seen, it was completely what you expect from the movies. Everything was, I hate to say real dirty, but definitely not spic and span. The lights were dim, smelled a bit odd, smokey, and amazingly loud with Thai cheers whenever one of the opponents had a good strike. In between drunkin' cheers were screams and hands flying up everywhere you looked while the most hard to follow betting on the current fight was going on.

Our seats were one row back from the ring, close enough to almost feel some of the blows. It was definitely worth the extra money in the long run even if at the end of the fight we had no clue who won, what scored a point exactly, but the beauty was, you didn't have to to truly enjoy the night.

For the remainder of my time in Bangkok, at least during the day, I pretty much just rested and shopped, either at markets or the amazing MBK Center, and in the evening hung around Khoasan road with the other couple thousand of backpackers that also come to explore this unique and amazing city.

Now after a 16 hour bus ride that I had the absolute worst seat on the planet, water dripping on my head, and a bus that kept over heating, I have finally made it to Chiang Mia. Chaing Mia is the biggest city in Northern Thailand and the tropical beaches and islands, that most people picture when they think of Thailand, are replaced by mountains and jungles. Today I got a hour long Thai massage to try to fix the damage my bus did to my neck, way to take the cheap bus hey!!! Now I am going to have a long nap to refresh myself for the huge night bizarre markets that makes the list of the top things to see in Chiang Mia.

"Trying to Figure Out A Plan For The Day"

"The MBK Center That Would Rival West Ed Not In Size But In Stuff"

"Our Chariot To The Fight . . Notice The Flag On The Dash?"

"In This Corner, Weighing In At 117 Pounds"

"Nothing Like A Snack After A Night Out"

Deep Fried Cockroaches, Baked Maggots, and Steamed Ants

To The West, To The West

2007-11-01T21:42:00.000+13:00

"Bunbery Lighthouse"

After the six hour flight across Australia to Perth I had finally left the East Coast behind and made it to my destination city which I was flying out of to get to Bangkok, and my final stop on my trip.
I first arrived in Perth around midnight and quickly learnt just how different the West coast is to the East. On the East coast it is completely over run by backpackers, tour agents, and services that make your life really easy. But unlike the East, when I arrived in Perth I found out that its a lot more, "figure it out your self," and there isn't even a bus or shuttle connecting the airport to city center.
Paying a taxi, which by the way are outrageously overpriced, is not something that penny pinching backpackers likes to do especially, in my case, a penny pinching backpacker at the end of a trip that's budget is blown a long long time ago. I did walk around aimlessly and look for a alternative route there but ended up having to suck it up and jump in a cab.
The cab fair wasn't even the thing that really got to me by the end of the night it was the fact that this was literally the first cab I have been in in almost a year and still I managed to get completely fleeced. One of the security guards said it should be no more than 20 dollars but by the time my cabby drove me in circles around Perth I ended up paying almost 40 and thats only because I got mad and jumped out in the middle of a residential area in the middle of the night. . .Great Idea! If it wasn't for a nightclub shooting waving lights into the sky I would have had absolutely no clue where I was going to head. Following the lights, which seemed like a logical idea seeing as big buildings and and shooting beams seems like a place that should be somewhere near city center, turned out to work for me and after a short little 45 minute walk (with all my 40 kg of gear!!) I was nestled in bed sleeping like a baby.
I am pretty sure I have said this before but no matter where you are, from Tokyo, to Bangkok, to Sydney, to Edmonton, a city is a city is a city. This proved to be true with no exception to Perth so after 2 days wondering aimlessly around town and into shops I couldn't afford, I was well ready to escape the city life for my last few days in Australia. I decided to rent a car, seeing as I had a great time in the camper van, and just drive south with no maps and see where I would end up. So with my bags in the boot (trunk) and Ipod rocking, I set out for a little road trip.
My first stop was in Margret river that is famous mainly for wine. It is one of the main areas in Australia for vineyards and retired couples with a lot of money. It is also on the map for surfing and holds Pro surfing competitions and is said to be one of the top 5 big wave places in the world. I stayed here for one night and continued south once again the next day.
After driving for almost 4 hours I realized just how big Australia was when I looked on the map how far I had gone and it was honestly not even a centimeter. This is when I decided it would be a good idea to change my heading and start slowly making my way back to Perth.
For my last two nights I landed in a little town called Bunbury and, with no ambition left to drive, made it my new home for my remaining days and just did little day trips to Gnomesville and the Gloucester Tree to amuse the daylight hours.
Gnomesville is the place to be if you happen to be a gnome of coarse. It is a city of virtually thousands of different gnomes and figurines. It apparently started when there was a car crash where two teenagers passed away and there parents put gnomes out at the scene on the accident as a memorial. One thing led to another and now there is over a thousand, some for memorials, some representing people, and others just for fun. No matter what they are there for it makes a very unique, unforgettable, and somewhat creepy (if ya ask me) tourist attraction.
The three day adventure was fun but after I had returned my car to Perth I was well ready for my trip back through Asia for the remainder of my trip.
I am now in Bangkok after a night in the Perth International Airport, 7 hours at 35000 feet, and a few minor complications.
Ya know just little tiny things like missing my flight by a month, a security nightmare, and running a marathon in the Singapore airport to board my flight as the gates were closing. Just some of the many unforgettable stories that I am "lucky" enough to have when I return home at Christmas.

"The Village Of Gnomesville"

"One Of The Many Families"

"Climbing the Gloucester Tree"

This is the highest natural fire lookout in the world. It stands about 300 ft and you climb up to the top on nothing but these metal bars that form a spiralling ladder. No Ropes, No Safety's, lots of fun!

"Lookout From The Top Of The Swaying Tree"

"Margret Rivers Absolutely Huge Surf"

One Down, Six More To Go

2007-10-25T16:04:00.000+13:00

"The Great Barrier Reef"

With my final days in Australia quickly counting down I decided what better way to spend my last 5 days, on the east coast in Cairns anyway, slowly touring into the north lands and Cape Tribulation National Park in a Camper van.
While on Magnetic Island I met a girl from the Netherlands that also, like me, was tired of the people everywhere, tour buses, and ready made friends (that dominate the east coast) so with each of us, agreeing to half the cost of making our own tour, we set out from Cairns for the 4 day, "Brus Experience."
Our plan wasn't exactly a complicated or difficult one, "lets start driving north with no map and see where we end up.
Through the short time we had our little trip brought us through many small little towns, up north passed the crocodile infested Daintree river, and finally to the most northerly part of our journey Cape Tribulation. We took 2 days to arrive at the Cape but first stopping the first night in Port Douglas.
Port Douglas in one of the main little towns that people use as a kickoff to go on day trips out to the Great Barrier Reef. Because it isn't a main destination I was told that the companies that base themselves there also go to more secluded parts and to places where the reef hasn't seen the human damage as much as some boats and tours. The down side to this is more secluded and smaller groups also mean more money, but seeing as its one of the seven wonders of the world and I wanted to do three dives, I figured for a once in a lifetime thing a few extra dollars might make my experience one to never forget.
We set out on the high speed dive boat Aristocat and made the 12 km trip to the outer reef with barely enough time to have a latte and get briefed about the dives and dive sites for the day.
It didn't take long for me to realize the extra money was well spent because I found out, for the rest of the day, I was diving with three other people instead of the twenty or so you have on the cheaper boats.
Though I pretty much did all my dives back to back with barely enough time to do anything between switching tanks and jumping back in, we managed to dive three completely different areas on the reef including a deep self dive, a drift dive, and just a relaxing shallow dive to finish the day off.
When I think of diving the Great Barrier Reef in Australia two thing come to mind . . .amazing visibility and SHARKS!! Fortunately we were lucky to have both. The best visibility of the day was on the second dive when you could see roughly 30 meters, not the best I have ever seen but amazing none the less. It was also on this dive that we had the pleasure of being accompanied but two White Tipped Reef Sharks.

All in all the day was amazing and my trip and dives on, "The Great Barrier Reef," lived up to all the hype you hear all over the world.

After our long day on the water we finished our drive up to Cape Tribulation where we stayed the next two nights before I had to make my way back to Cairns to catch my flight to Perth.

The night we arrived at the Cape was the first night we actually stayed in a proper campground because, after sleeping on random roads and hiding in residential areas , we needed power to recharge our cameras and most importantly, Ipods. After our day of luxury with power and showers we found a little river and a rocky beach to call home for the last night of our trip. After an early start on Wednesday we managed to return to Cairns, pack our things, and return the van with time to spare for me to catch my flight.

The trip was a great way to finish and now I can leave the east coast with nothing but great memories, new friends, oh ya, and a seat belt ticket!!

"The AristoCat"

"Free Campsites Are much Better Than Real Ones"

"Just An Afternoon Dip"

"One Of The Many Lookouts Outside Of Cairns"

When The Ocean Meets The Sky, Ill Be Sailing

2007-10-19T17:25:00.000+13:00

"Reality Is"

I have now reached my final, and most northerly, destination on the east coast of Australia called Cairns. From here I will jump on a plane Wednesday, October 24, and fly across to the west for my final week in Perth, Australia. Since my last entry I have been to a town called 1717/Angnus Waters, Airley Beach, Magnetic Island, and now Cairns where I arrived last night.

My first stop on my final leg of my journey was 1770. This town got its name because 1770 was when Captain Cook, the explorer that founded Australia, first landed here.

1770 is a sleepy little town of around 400 people but, because local entrepreneurs have started to do heavy advertising, has now started to become a more regular stop for people traveling up and down the east coast. The main draw to this town is not only the best hostel I have probably ever stayed in, but also the fact that all the activities that you can do from this town cost almost half as much as anywhere else in the country.

By this time in my trip I was really running low on time with many miles ahead of me to be able to catch my flight to Perth, so I was, for the first time in 10 months, on quite a tight schedule. If I still had heaps on time, like I did in the beginning, I would have definitely made this cozy little town my home for a while.

For the two nights I was in 1770 I stayed in a hostel called, "Cool Bananas". This was not only the cleanest hostel I have ever seen, but it was also one of the best set ups and the most friendly staff I have come across. Everything from the laid back atmosphere and great background music all day, to the heaps of cheap activities, to the cheap meals/drinks and fun livelier atmosphere in the evening was more than a person could expect from a hostel and was a very enjoyable change.

I spent my days surfing, reading, and just meeting people and nights were filled with campfire singalongs and a lot of good laughs. The one afternoon I went on a tour through the outback riding 50cc mini choppers. It was 3 hours of kangaroos, wallabies, and sunsets over the ocean while sitting on the shoreline with delicious deep fried potato wedges. What more could a person ask for for $38 dollars, that, my friends, was the beauty of 1770.

My next stop was Airley beach which, for me, was just a jump of point to a three day sailing adventure around the, "Whitsunday Islands." After an overnight bus from 1770 I arrived to Airley Beach in the morning and was boarded and on our journey into the ocean by midday.

The boat which I was on was a 55ft Catamaran called, "Reality Is" and had a crew of only three plus 16 of us riffraff just along for the ride. We spent the next three days sailing to untouched islands and amazing pristine beaches including the, "White Haven Beach" that is one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world. We then stayed the two nights on Long Island in quite a posh resort that us backpackers felt a little out of place among the families, hot tubs, saunas, and tennis courts.

During this trip I also got to do my first official Aussie scuba dive. Seeing as I was the only certified diver on the boat the dive master asked me some questions and decided I was able to go with him for a dive that he rarely takes passengers to. I soon learned why because not only did we have to do a backward entry off the boat but once we hit the water, the current grabbed you and pulled you at more than 8 miles an hour around a shelf in the ocean. The dive was a drift dive and we pretty much hovered around 18 meters. The marine life and visibility wasn't the best Ive seen, by any stretch, but the force and speed the current took us from start to finish made this a very exciting dive.

After returning to solid ground I learned one thing about myself, after spending 3 days rocking back and fourth on the ocean, once you get to land its hard to keep your balance for the first few hours! Once my balance issues were sorted I decided that, with the few days I had to spare before I had to be around Cairns, I would make a quick little side trip to Magnetic Island.

My days on Magnetic Island were very relaxing and enjoyable, but quite uneventful as long as this blog in concerned. I could tell you how many words I read and how many minutes I napped on the beach but I have decided nobody is interested in such details. The one exciting day adventure that I did do was me and three others rented what is called a, "Moke" to explore the roads and beaches of the islands.

A Moke is a sort of open air 1960s dune buggy mainly used for tourists and cruising short distances on the many islands is Australia.

The four of us set out with plenty to drink, eat, whatever else we needed through the day and set out for a day of exploration. After a full day in the sun and walking to different beaches we returned our Moke and hit the sheets quite early.

Now I am in Cairns with about 5 more days left on this side of Australia. Today it is pouring rain but hopefully tomorrow it will be nicer out so I can enjoy my last few days on the east coast.

"My Chopper For A Day"

"Scooteroo Sunset" (Sunsets/Sunrises Getting Boring Yet)

"Just Relaxing And Enjoying The Ride"

"Beautiful White Haven Beach"

"Long Island Tropical Resort"

"Cruising Magnetic Island"

2007-10-09T15:02:00.000+13:00

"Lunch Time"

After surviving my Noosa Canoeing adventure I once again headed further up the east coast trying to see and complete the rest of the places and things I had planned with the, now, very limited amount of time I have left. My next destination in store for me was a small city called Hervey Bay which has become a very popular backpacker stop off souly because it is the main connecting point to Fraiser Island.
Fraiser Island is the world’s biggest sand island and is also the only place in the world where you can see rainforests growing directly out of the sand. The World Heritage National Park of Fraiser Island is about 120km by 15km and is dotted with stunning freshwater lakes, it is also said that the island has more sand than the Sahara Desert.
The day after I arrived in Hervey Bay, Nine other people and I set out in our 4x4 Land Cruiser for a 3 day and 2 night self drive safari around the islands inland sand tracks and along the hundreds of kilometres of drivable beaches. When we arrived to the islands we had a basic itinerary that we were suppose to follow so that we could reach our camp site before high tide came in and the beaches, which we needed for access, became undrivable.
Itineraries are great but only if two things happen, you need to care enough and have the discipline to leave amazing lakes and beaches on time, and you also have to arrive on the island on time. In our case neither of these happened. Our ferry which was transporting us to the island was almost two hours late so by the time we were suppose to be starting the drive to our campsite we were just arriving at Lake Mackenzie, which rivals almost all the lakes I have seen in picturesque beauty and amazing sand beaches.
We ended up spending a couple hours swimming, tanning, and playing Frisbee before piling back into out Land Cruiser and starting our very slow and very long journey to our campsite. By the time we reached the last 20 km stretch of beach we had to travel it was now 45 minutes to high tide and there was almost no beach left.
Seeing as the night before in safety briefing we had in Hervey Bay we were specifically told not to go anywhere near the beach two hours on either side of high tide we were all a little unsure about what we were going to do. It was either sit out the tide and have to drive in the dark (which was a no no) or take the chance that we could make it up to the campsite in high tide and hope that all there talk was more of a scare tactic than the complete truth. Naturally our choice was "go for it, what’s the worst that could happen," and with me behind the wheel we set off up the very rough and slowly disappearing beach.
Luckily we made it with little complications. It was quite rough because of all the ruts and soft sand but with a few skills, I have learnt growing up in Canada and our sometimes traitorous roads, we managed the journey with out getting stuck. The only time that I was nervous was a creek crossing that we had to make that under normal circumstances, and if we were on time, should have been a few inches, but since it was high tide turned out to be a few feet. Thankfully after getting up enough nerve to give it a try the Land cruiser crawled through with no problems.
The next few days our group tried to stay a lot closer to the planned times and found ourselves in a lot less trouble. We drove around to explore some of the islands amazing views, gorgeous lakes, and shipwrecks. We also got to see some wild snakes and dingos which I almost ended up petting cause they look just like an ordinary pet dog. At night we would all gather around the campfires and listen to music and talk about everyone’s different travel stories. The trip was heaps good and was like unlike anything that I have done thus far in my trip.

On the final day was had our first mishap when we blew out a ball joint in the front end of our vehicle which resulted in having to drive through the sand and beaches in two wheel drive. Although it was a little bit more tricky we managed our way and never even got stuck.

Im now back in Hervey Bay and headed up to the town of 1770 soon and hopefully will have more exciting storys and adventures to write about in the near future.

"The Family For Three Days"

"Washing The Motor Down After the Three Foot Creek Crossing"

"Sunrise Through The Maheno Shipwreck"

"Cute Little Dingo"

Paddling Through The Everglades

2007-10-08T16:26:00.000+13:00

"Here We Go"

While In Noosa I decided to go on a three day and two night canoeing and camping trip up the Noosa River System, into the Great Sandy National Park, and into the Central Australian Everglades. This is an area of lowlands, forests, and winding rivers that have basically been untouched in hundreds of years. The Noosa River System is very unique in the way that it is fresh water but it is also connected to the ocean so you can find salt water species of fish like bull sharks and rays also living in the fresh water river along with the other species that are native to fresh water.
Seeing as I am just one and its pretty hard to paddle a canoe and gear by myself, I found a girl at the hostel that was willing to give the trip a try and we booked the trip for the next morning. When the bus came around to pick us up and bring us to collect all of the gear needed I wasn't to sure what to expect. Nor did I know how many people were going or who these people were going to be. We were the first people picked up and throughout the rest of the pickups along the way to the base there was one fad, as you would say, that was pretty consistent. . . . I was going to have to spend the next three days with 11 girls and just one other guy!!
I know what all the guys are thinking, "That's three days in heaven!." And I can assure you I also had those same thoughts in my head, but those thoughts soon changed to, "What did I get myself into!"
The first day of the trip we picked up our gear, took a speed boat 7 km across Lake Cootharaba to the mouth of the river, picked up our canoes, got maps and a quick briefing of where to go, and the dos and donts of the national park. After about 30 minutes we were on the water and paddling towards our first campsite which was just over 7 km upstream.
We all reached the camp after about 3 hours and took the rest of the day just relaxing and getting to know each other in the beautiful weather. When the evening finally came everyone was in bed by ten from either being knackered from the early morning and exercise through out the day (which is something us backpackers are not used to), or sleepy because of the plethora of beverages (which is something all backpackers are quite use to) some shared for concoring the mighty Noosa River and the first 7 km of our trip.
The difference between this same group of people at 7:00am in the morning the first day, and 6:00am the second morning was quite a change indeed. The first morning everyone is friendly, happy, and excited for the days journey ahead. Whereas the second morning everyone is still friendly, don't get me wrong, but everyone's now tired, sore, and all dreading what we had planned for the day the evening before. Before we even set out for the second day we already lost two who, "weren't feeling good" which headed back to the base to catch the ferry back to town a day early. Of the two that bailed from the group early was the one and only other guy in the group!
Yup now the score was now
BLOKES=1 GIRLS=10.
The second day we had another 7 km row upstream to where we threw our oars in for a pair of hiking boots, and hiked uphill a further 6km with our destination being, "The Great Sand Patch."
I know that name is a little deceiving so I will explain to you what it really was . . . . .It was a really big patch of sand. Alright now that I made it sound quite ridiculas, I do half to clear things up a bit cause it was truly amazing and quite a phenomena to me. This Great Sand Patch is on top of a hill with beautiful ocean views and is surrounded by forests (I'm still very confused about how that happens), and is spectacular in size. I didn't have the energy to walk and explore the whole dune, one might call it, but I did walk for about an hour and still came nowhere clear to walking from beginning to end of this sand monster.
The next few hours were spent napping and lazing in the sun, trying to recover some energy for the return 14 km trip back to camp before the daylight faded.
Once back in camp I went for a quick bath in the river and spent the rest of my night sitting around with my girls.
The final day is when the incredible amount of estrogen around me started to slowly get on my nerves. Its hard being the only male, as I am sure most females would agree. I was the only one not talking about how good a shower will feel seeing as I had a swim and I felt pretty good, or the only one not talking about a decent night sleep, proper food, and clean clothes. All I could think about was, "Come on girls, its only been 2 nights!."
All jokes aside though I had a great couple days and I really did, even though it may not sound like it, enjoy my three day canoeing adventure into centrals Australia's everglades. I met some very fun and interesting people and also learned that most guys idea of a perfect camping trip doesn't exactly play out the same in real life.

*To any of the girls mentioned here that are reading this I truly had a good time. I hope you can all find the humor in this and that at the very least it put a little smile on your face. If it didn't all I have to say is, "Whats the Name Of The Game . . . . SLAPS, What The Aim Of The Game . . . . . . ________________!!!!*

"Getting Ready To Go"

"The Great Sand Patch"

"River Of Mirrors"

"The Road Outside My House, Is Paved With Good Intentions"

2007-10-03T17:56:00.000+13:00

"So Hum Hallelujah"

As too what seems to be the rule to Australia, I seriously overstayed my intended length of time in Brisbane just like every other place I have been thus far. All I know is my places of places to see isn't quite getting accomplished as fast as my time in this country in disappearing.

I first rolled into Brisbane with the intention to just stay around two days to see a couple places then move along up the coast to Noosa. Seeing as the one order of business I really had to get accomplished was switching some dates of my flights around it forced me to stay three days to wait for the next business day. That in itself wasn't a big deal at all, whats one day to someone who has no schedule at all and has to be nowhere anytime soon. The big change in my plans came when on Sunday, while I was waiting around for Monday morning to get my things done and jump on a bus, I walking around the harbour in Brisbane just taking some pictures. I had already taken about 15 so far in the day when I found something that I thought would look heaps good, and pulled out my camera to take the picture. Nothing happened when I hit the power button, no sound, no blinking lights, no anything. Knowing that it wasn't my battery I found a camera shop to see if they could tell me what had happened. After the camera man looked at it all I found out was it was going to be nearly the same amount as it was to buy my camera again just to fix my old one! Not only that after talking back and forth with Canon about my warranty for the next three days, I also found out that they will not fix anything internationally and until I am back in Canada, there was basically nothing I could do.

By this time it was now Wednesday and my patients was really wearing low cause not only did this little incident cost me about four days of my precise time that is quickly running out, but it also costed me about $400 that I had to cough up for a new camera.

The funny thing about backpacking is that you spend so much time trying to save a dollar but when something big happens that costs a lot of unexpected money your mind changes for a day or two and money become nothing its like budget shmudget! So the day I bought my camera I was sitting at a cafe, ya did ya hear that I bought a $5 coffee at a cafe(that more than supper usually costs me), reading a newspaper and found out that Fall Out Boy, a band I really enjoy, was playing a outside concert by the river the next day. Seeing as I had just spent almost $400 hundred on a camera that when I get home I don't need, whats another $75 to go to a concert of a band I really like? So I bought a ticket and booked yet another night in the hostel in Brisbane.

The Fall Out Boy concert was amazing. I was unsure, because they are a fairly young band and are considered to some as just another pop punk band, or how good of a show they were actually going to play, but I was nicely surprised.

The whole concert consisted of three bands which were Jack’s Mannequin, Gyroscope, and then of course the headliner Fall Out Boy. The first two were good but not great. It was just like with any bands opening concerts, the sounds not as good, the lights are not as impressive, and the biggest one that makes a concert, is the crowd is nowhere near as loud.

When it was time for Fall Out Boy to take the stage the whole venue went completely dark and Thunderstruck by AC/DC started blaring through the speakers (AC/DC is an Aussie band so it seems fitting) and the crowd was so loud it was hard to hear yourself scream. When they took the stage they opened the concert with "Thriller", one of there most high energy songs, along with an absolutely amazing light show.

The thing that amazed me was they gave a huge shout out to Green Day and said that the only reason they were on the stage was because of growing up listening to Green Day, right before rocking out a sweet cover of "Basket case". They also kept everyone guessing through the nights by playing covers like "Beat It" by Micheal Jackson, "The Power of Love" by I cant remember, and they also did a really fun remix of "Nobody Want Top See Us Together" by Akon and "Ignition" by R Kelly.

All in all the evening was amazing and I went back to the hostel jacked up with the energy from the concert. I couldn't really get to sleep for quite a while so I just laid there and read my book until I fell asleep and got some rest for the next day.

I finally managed to get away from Brisbane on Friday and escape the big city life to a small town called Noosa. Noosa is just starting to make its way into the backpacker circuit but is still skipped by the majority I would suspect.

My first day in Noosa I went to the Noosa National Park and did a 20 km walk around the Coast Area of the park. The reason I wanted to is there is a pretty good chance of seeing Koalas in the wild throughout the park but unfortunately I didn't happen to see any of these sleepy little creatures, did you know they sleep from 19 to 21 hours a day! That's even lazier than me now a days, anyway I will carry on. ummm where was I, oh ya, so I didn't get to see any Koalas but I did get to see two whales playing just off shore. I sat on the edge of a cliff and watched them gallivanting around for about half an hour so that made the day all worth while.

The Next day I woke up early and headed out the the world famous Australian Zoo that was owned and is now, basically, and memorial to "Crocodile Hunter", Steve Irwin. Everyone is the world knows who Steve is and seeing how by now this is getting quite long and maybe boring some people I will leave out the details on him.

The Australian Zoo is unique in the way that it pushes animal interaction like no zoo I have ever seen. All day there are seminars where you can hold, pet, feed, or just learn about almost everything they have in the zoo. In my 6 hours I had there I got to pet a Croc, a Koala, and got to feed an elephant and apple!

That's the story of the last two weeks, give or take, sorry to all about not getting around to update this thing more often but I am going to make a good effort from now on to keep it more recent. First of all for everyone that sometimes worries about me when I disappear, and second because my fingers and wrists cant take typing this much very often.

Cheers!

"Fall Out Boy Concert"

"Beautiful Noosa National Park"

"Another Beautiful Beach In Noosa National Park"

"Crickey!! Look At The Size Of That Beauty"

"Ah He Got Me"

Finally Byron Bay Is In The Past

2007-09-21T20:49:00.000+12:00

"Cape Byron Lighthouse"

So now, after what I thought was going to be a short little stop in Byron Bay, I have finally manage to escape the Arts Factory that quickly became my home for a couple weeks. When I first arrived in Byron I know I was going to love it and end up spending much longer than I thought. With all the live music, games on the beach, surfing, relaxing, and all of the amazing people I met there its not hard to understand why.

In my last few days at Byron I started to feel like I had to do somethings other than just sleep and lay in my ham,mock so on Friday I decided to move my reading area to the beach and spend the day lazing in the sun when I found out that there was a big beach volleyball tournament being held. Since I am only by myself I shyly walked up to where you sign up when I was immediately grabbed by two Americans and a Swedish bloke that needed a fourth. I gladly joined there team and was relieved that I didn't have to find my own cause we all know how brave I am talk to random people I have never met.

The tournament took about 3 hours in total and consisted of 15 teams of four and to make it to the final we had to win around 12 games but after an exhausting day we won the tournament after a 19 to 21 win on the third game of the best of three final. The tournament unfortunately was just for fun but I met some good people and won a free barbecue and a wicked sunburn!

That night after the tournament I walked up to the lighthouse at Cape Byron, which is the most easterly piece of land in Australia, and watched the sunset. After it was dark I fumbled down the path back trying to make my way through the bush and back down the beach, with just a lighter cause the genius that I am didn't seem to remember it gets dark soon after the sunsets. . . . . good times. I finally reached my tent and hit the sheets early, boy what an exhausting day!

The next day I book a day tour out to a small town called Nimbin which is unlike any town I have ever seen in my life.

Nimbin is just a tiny little town about an hour and a half inland from Byron. The entire town is just full of hippies, basically, that are all fighting prohibition and fighting marijuana laws so the whole town is people with strange shops (which you will see in my picture), cafes, and rivers of alcohol and the air thick with the smell of marijuana. Even though it isn't really my thing I figured I had to go and see it just because it is truly a unique town. As entertaining as the town was for the two hours I was there it is quite sad because addiction is a very huge problem in Nimbin and its also sad to see as your walking down the streets a different 13 year old kid asking you if you want to buy some weed every 20 seconds, and I know that sounds like an exaggeration but it truly isn't. Another strange thing is that as much as the people in Nimbin don't listen or respect the laws it is still illegal and there is even a police station in town, I sure wonder what they do all day.

After my two hour experience in Nimbin I was happy to jump back on the happy bus and drive back to my little tent that I called home.

My final day in Byron was Sunday which there was suppose to be a peace festival, which was the reason I extended my stay a few days earlier, in hope that I could find a treasure of some kind and hear some more live bands. But once we arrived at the festival our hopes were ruined. It was not at all like I had pictured in my mind, so after five minutes we hitched back to town and sat around and visited with all my new friends in the campsite for my final day in Byron Bay.

The next day after packing up all my stuff and saying some quick good byes I walked out to main road to give hitching hiking in Australia a try, seeing as I had all day to get to Surfers Paradise and it was only about an hour and half day away. My first lift I only had to wait for around ten minutes then it took me a total of three different lifts and two hours to make it to the outskirts of town and jump on a local bus to bring me to my hostel.

I spent two days in Surfers Paradise (ya that's its actual name, strange hey?) but do not have to much exciting to report. Surfers Paradise is a city of around 15 000 people but it is basically a resort town. If your not into expensive clubs, Louis Vuitton, and huge skyscrapers this is not the place for you. It has more high rise accommodation than the rest of the entire continent of Australia. It is also famous and has earned itself a spot on the map because of the "Meter Maids". The Meter Maids are basically girls that are aspiring to be models or actors that wear gold bikinis and walk around down town feeding parking meters that have expire from time. Strange I know, and the way they are funded and get money to put in the meters is by taking pictures with people and selling, "The Meter Maids", merchandise. I sure wish all city's world wide had the Meter Maids to make every ones life a little easier. What a strange town Surfers Paradise is indead.

Needless to say, seeing as I dont have money to shop nor to eat at expensive cafes, I spent my days on the beach or by the pool at the hostel(seeing as that's free), and my night were filled with little events that the hostel put on whether it was a pool party or a pub crawl, to see some of the city's hot spots.

And that officially brings us up to date. After my two days, even though I did have fun, I was happy to get out of the concrete jungle of Surfers Paradise and headed further up the coast to Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland. Seeing as this is also and big city, with a population of over a million, I don't suspect I am going to stay hear long before I head out and try to find some more small towns, beautiful beaches,amazing scenery's, and laid back atmospheres that makes Australia a truly amazing country.

"My Day Of Beach Volleyball"

"Sunset Over Sleepy Byron Bay"

"Cape Byron At Sunset"

"The Strip In Nimbin And The Bringabong Store . . . Get it!"

"Surfers Paradise Beach And Skyline"

"Protected River Running Through Surfers"

"The Beautiful Meter Maids"

2007-09-13T14:17:00.000+12:00

Hey Everyone sorry about only getting one video onto this here blog but yesterday I was trying to upload a couple more videos when the card reader messed up my card so I lost the videos and a few pictures. I am still in Byron Bay but planning on leaving tomorrow but I wanted to stick around because Anthony (the guy in that video) is doing a full set at a little pub tonight and I figure it would be a shame to miss it. Last night I went to a one man band named Cockatoo Paul which was really good. He plays all his own original Aussie music with a guitar, shakers, seven piece drum set, and rocks on the diduridoo. Anyway thats about all I have new to report but I will write a better entry next time. Cheer!

Talent Show At "The Arts Factory"

2007-09-11T14:14:00.000+12:00

Last Night Arts Factory, that is where I am camping, had a talent show. Everyone in it is just people who happen to be staying here and want to do a little something. The reason I am putting a few video on here to show is because I was completely blown away with how much talent is around one place with normal people that are just traveling.

The first video is the main guy his name is Anthony George and hes just travelling around Australia doing small gigs to fund his trip but the other people were just singing and and playing for fun last night. In his video hes playing a 12 string, get ready to be amazed.(Sorry its not the greatest quality but that's the best I can do to keep the file small enough to put on here)

Byron Bay

2007-09-10T13:45:00.001+12:00

"Home Sweet Home"

I have now made my way out of Sydney and up the east coast a little ways to Byron Bay. For my last few days in Sydney I moved down to Bondi Beach to just laze around on the beach and relax before heading on the road again. Unfortunately the three days I spent at Bondi were windy, cold and rainy, so much for my laying on the beach weather. But I still managed to keep my self occupied just wondering the streets and shopping, well not really but I did some serious looking at things I cant afford. The hostel I stayed at was really cool and had an amazing location. It was about ten steps from the beach and had the roof open with picnic tables and chairs so you could hang outside in the sun, if it was nice out that is, and laze about and watch all the craziness that they call Bondi Beach.
After my week in Sydney getting my bearings and figuring out a plan of what to do in the future, well not exactly more figuring out a direction to head, I jumped on a 14 hour overnight bus up the east coast with my first stop being the surf mecca of Byron Bay. Byron is quite a small town but is quite popular with backpackers and local surfers alike. It is the equivalent of something like Jasper but surfboards, wet suits, and swimmers instead of snowboards and bulky jackets. At any given time in the daylight you can spot at least a couple people geared up carry there surfboards to the beach through downtown.
If the town and atmosphere of the town isn't enough to make a person fall in love with Byron Bay where I am staying to the cherry on top. I am camping right now in a place called the, "Arts Factory" and this is one place that I have learned is a truly one of a kind sort of place. The easiest way to explain The Arts Factory is its like Australians version of Thailand. The area of land that its sits on is about 10 acres and the whole place is broken up into different communities sort of. They have the dorm section, private bungalows, then big teepee's you can rent, and finally the campsite where I am staying and has completely sucked me in and I am going to have a hard time leaving anytime soon.
The campsite it self is just a big opening that you throw your tent anywhere you want really but then we our own kitchen, showers, and the Shack. The Shack is just a big gazebo that serves as the main hangout all throw the day and into the wee hours of the morning. The real thing that makes the Arts Factory truly amazing is the people and just the down to earth chilled out atmosphere. In the day there is constantly a musical instrument being play weather its a guitar, bongos, didgeridoo, or something I have never even seen. Then in the evenings it breaks out into a 30, or so, person jam with all instruments and singing until wee hours of the morning.
So as you can see this is my kind of a place, the mornings of sitting around with a guitar and coffee, afternoons of surfing, volleyball, or just relaxing, then the night of jamming and meeting people from all over the world. Its going to be hard to find the ambition to pack up and jump on a bus anytime soon.

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbor Bridge

Bondi Beach From The Roof Of My Hostel

Just Weird seeing These In The Wild

Sydney, Australia

2007-09-03T12:56:00.000+12:00

"The Sydney Opera House"

I have now been in Sydney for around four days just touring the city and trying to figure out a plan so I can see as much of this incredible big country as I can in just under two months. So far I have been staying in an area of the city called Kings Cross, which is actually kind of the, "Wrong side of the tracks" as far as Sydney is concerned, but all is well and I have been kicking around the hostel in the evenings and out to seeing different parts of the city during the day.
When I first arrived to Australia I had no idea what to expect especially with the weather. Its just turning to spring here like New Zealand but the weather is dramatically better. Since Ive arrived its been around 25 and pretty much solid sunshine everyday, which is much better than the 10 and raining I was in before.
I don't really have a lot to report right now though. Ive seen the city and its major sights like the harbor bridge and the, "Sidney Opera House." I also spent a day hanging out with Mason, who is a Aussie guy I met and traveled with for a while in Laos, and his girlfriend. They took me out to Bondi Beach and had breakfast, then sat on a patio looking over the beach and watched the surfers and beach bums for the day while sampling some Australian beverages.
Today I am going to pack up and move down to a hostel at Bondi for a couple days and just relax before making my way up the east coast.
Bondi beach is one of those places that gives you a straight out of the movies feel. The beach is right in the city with a skyscraper skyline, and has roughly 20 000 people on it in the summer surfing or just laying around and soaking up the sun. Then the Ocean front row is lined with shops and cafes that house some of Australia's best shopping and also some of the highest prices for just about anything, great place for a backpacker hey?
Hopefully in the next couple days I can find someone heading up the coast and catch a lift with them instead of taking a bus, but only time will tell. Hopefully next time I have some more exciting stories for ya but thats all for now. This week is my lay back and relax week.

"Again The Opera House (With a Strange Angle)"

"Bondi Beach"

"And Again The Famous Bondi"

"Downtown Sydney's Skyline"

Last Night in New Zealand

2007-08-29T17:15:00.000+12:00

"Cape Reinga"

Here I am back in Auckland for my last night in New Zealand. Tomorrow I jump on yet another airplane and set off to Sydney to explore Austrailia. After taking a short flight from Christchurch a few days ago I decided that instead of staying in the city bumming around for my last few days here I would rent a car and go and explore the Northlands seeing as it was one of the places that I had not seen yet.

So after sitting around and trying to get up enough courage to drive out of a city that has more than a million people on the left hand side of the road I decided it was time to go and I went and picked up my car and was on my way. Its funny the things that seem scary sometimes, for example I was much more at ease getting thrown out of an airplane than I was trying to weave my way through a big and unfamiliar city on the wrong side of the road.

The first day of my trip consisted of about a 4 hour dive up the east coast to a little town called Paihia. The first half an hour or so was a little stressful but once I was outside the city I started to relax and really enjoy the drive. After I was around a hour outside the city I drove passed two hitchhikers and considering I did that for three months I thought it was my duty to pick them up. It was weird cause the whole time I was hitching I only got picked up by locals and it turned out the people I picked up were Kiwis. They were also headed north so I decided I would bring them as far as I was going which was a pretty decent hitch. They turned out to be super cool and it was actually super nice having other people to visit with so when I got to Paihia I didnt have the heart to make them go and stand on the road in the pouring rain so I ended up driving over a hour more, dropping them off, turning around, and heading back to my bed for the night, needless to say they were quite grateful hitch hikers.

The next day I decided to drive up to Cape Reinga, which is the northern most point in New Zealand and its also the The Pacific and the Tasmen Ocean meet. The Maori people believe the the cape is where the spirits of people who pass away leave New Zealand.

When I left Paihia in the morning the sun was shining and it was quite an amazing day but as I drove it got worse and worse until I finally got the Cape Reinga and seen nothing but fog and rain. I was quite disappointed but I guess it was cool looking in a different kind of way. The drive back I took my time and stopped at Ninety mile beach which may be one of the coolest things I have even seen if you have a truck. The beach itself doubles as a highway during low tide and the speed limit is even 100Kmh, now I understand why I had to sign a contract saying I wasn't aloud to drive on beaches with my car.

I spent the next two nights in Paihia again and just did little day trip but unfortunately the weather was lousy so I didn't get to see everything in perfect conditions, when the Northlands are suppose to be amazing, but I guess Ill have to leave that for another trip if I ever end up back here again.

Today I made my way back to Auckland, dropped off my car, and am going to just relax and get a good night sleep. Tomorrow is only about a three hour flight but with all the buses to airports, checking in, customs, and such it will be another full day of transportation before I am relaxing in Sydney tomorrow night. Good Times I sure love airports!

"My Nissan For Four Days"

"Haruru Falls in Paihia"

"Coolest Highway Ever At Ninety Mile Beach"

"Ninety Mile Beach And My Jandals"

"Biggest Kauri Tree In New Zealand"

The Trunk Base Is Over 17m Around!!

Back To Paradise

2007-08-25T10:34:00.001+12:00

"Over the Endless Pacific"

"My Night In Honolulu"

Well after my holiday away from my holiday, I am finally back to Christchurch, New Zealand for the last time. I flew home for my brother Justin's Wedding about two months ago and now I am back to the backpacking life. As with everything in this trip, it seems that nothing can go completely smooth and easy, but I guess that's where the story's Ill be able to tell forever come from. How much fun would it be saying I got on a plane, made all my flights, and got home without one problem.

It all started when I first got on my plane in Christchurch to fly home in June. I was so scared to sleep in and miss my flight I slept on the floor, well I rested on the floor, of the airport for the night. The morning went smooth, I woke up, checked in, and was boarding the plane on time. The first flight to Sydney was good, its a little three hour flight, pretty much a warm up for the torturous flight from Sydney to home. Once we landed in Sydney my trip went from smooth to as bumpy as it can get.

As we were taxiing towards the gate at the Sydney airport the flight attendants informed us that all the loading gates were being used so there would be a short delay before we could get off the plane which if a person was staying in Sydney its not a big deal but as for me and a couple of the others who were trying to catch an already tight connection, BIG DEAL!!

After we were finally able to get into the airport, not to mention me sprinting though the airport like in the movies, I finally got to my connection in time to watch it take off. So there I was in Sydney with my flight on its way to Canada. After sitting down and thinking about my situation for a minute I got up and set off to talk to someone from Quantas to see what they were going to do for me. After about an hour of them telling me I should have had enough time to make my connection I finally convinced them, or they just got sick of me talking to me, to fly me home on another flight free of charge. Three hours later I was in the air and on my way home with connections in San Fransisco and Vancouver.

My San Fransisco connection went well but once again in Vancouver things got a little bumpy again.

To truly understand what I was going through a person has to understand how good of a mood I was in by the time I landed in Vancouver. My day started in Christchurch where they wouldn't let me board cause I didn't have a Auzzie Visa, then I missed my flights and had to argue for hours before they would pay for it, and to top it all off I hadn't been able to smoke in about thirty hours. So there I was, in the land of the maple leaf, home sweet home. I walked into the airport thinking this stop was going to be a breeze all I had to do was go though immigration, pick up my bags, and finally get to have a smoke, easy right? WRONG! Not only is Canada the only country that doesn't have a separate line at customs for residents (I was in line for about an hour) but once it was finally my turn they interrogated me and I am sure it took me longer to clear than anyone else in the building. Oh well with that out of the way all I had to do was pick my backpack up and go outside, once again easy right?WRONG!

So there I am standing at the carousel watching all the luggage go by and watching the luggage slowly disappearing until the carousel is empty and I am the only one standing there wondering where exactly mine is. Once again I off to talk to the Quantas representatives, that I love so much, but by this time I was past the point of caring and I pretty much just said my luggage was missing, signed a paper and was headed outside within 30 seconds to lower my stress level with my friends Tim Horton and Players Light.

From there on the trip was smooth, I flew home spent the night in Edmonton and was back in Pierceland the next day. I was very lucky that I was flying home because I didn't get my bags for over a week and if I would have not had enough stuff to get by at home I am not too sure what I would have done.

The two months I spent at home was great but very rushed. A few days after arriving in Pierceland I went to work for a month, then to a family reunion, then my brothers wedding, and finally back on a plane to return to my trip. Its was pretty much a blur.

And now that brings you pretty much up to date with my travels, I arrived here in Christchurch last night with an almost flawless trip besides the three hours I spent getting searched in the Christchurch airport. Apparently it was a random search but it was funny cause if you looked around the room they shoved us in, it was all 23 years old guys with piercings and whatnot. If it was so random where were the 60 year old couples, but oh well. Now, today, I am flying up to Auckland to amuse my last few days in New Zealand touring the Northland. My flight to Sydney is on August 30th so I am kinda playing with time and have lots more to see in the next 5 days, hence the reason I chose to fly to Auckland even though it costed me an arm and a leg.

Well now that I am back to my adventure I will try and update this blog and let you all know what I am up to as often as I can so stay tuned!!

"Justins Wedding Party"

"Me And Jonah's Tony Hawks!!"

Last Two Weeks In Paradise

2007-06-16T16:56:00.000+12:00

"Say Hello To My Little Freind"

Abel Tasmen National Park

Once again I am back in Christchurch but only this time it is the end of the road, and my adventures, for a little while. In three days I have a grueling 20 some odd hour flight back to home sweet home. Now that everything thing is in order and I have my flights all sorted, I am super stoked, and to be perfectly honest, I am very excited to take a month and half holiday away from this 24 hour a day, 7 days a week, job that I have had for the last 6 months. Everyday wondering where I am going, where I am sleeping, whats tomorrow going to bring, making hard decisions like should I climb Franz Joseph or Fox Glacier? . . . jeezes what a stressful life I lead. Well seeing as I don't suppose I am getting any sympathy from anyone reading this I guess I will move on.
The Past few weeks have been somewhat hectic, while I was in Queesntown, trying to recuperate from Kepler Tramp, I got the final word that I was coming home for the summer. Seeing as for the first time in months I was actually playing with a schedule (that in it self took some time to absorb) I decided that I needed to travel up the West coast of the South island in order to be able to see all the sights I wanted to see before flying home. So just like that I jumped on a bus, and was of to Franz Joseph Glacier.
Franz Joseph Glacier is not only one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world but it is also one of the very few that descends so low in altitude, because at how fast its going, that you can be walking on solid ice and be surrounded by rain forests and be basically right on the doorstep to the ocean. I spent three days here and took a whole day guided hike up onto the glacier. The little hike was alright, mainly because it was the first time I have ever got to wear cramp-ons and have ice axes, if that's not a way to feel manly I am not too sure what is. But I do have my complaints about the whole ordeal, and I also will say I will never do a guided hike again with that many people in a group, but all in all it was a pretty memorable experience.
Next I moved further north up the west and after two days reached Nelson where I basically just relaxed and did alot of nothing. I know its hard to explain cause in every ones eyes I really haven't done too much for the past half a year but its exhausting. Everyday waking up and figuring out what to do to amuse yourself, buses, packing, seeing new things, and taking pictures isnt all fun a games ya know. So Nelson is where I found a nice little hostel and had a few days of laziness with nothing to fill my days but coffee, movies, and naps.
After a few days of the above schedule I started to feel a little like a waste so I booked a day trip out to the Abel Tasmen National Park to have a day of hiking and Kayaking. Seeing as I have never in my life been in a Kayak this was very interesting and entertaining for me. We paddled around a island marine reserve through perfect crystal clear turquoise waters and golden sandy beaches, I can see why this park is one of the most photographed places in New Zealand. I also made a new friend and I was thinking maybe she could be my escort at a certain somebodies wedding this summer (not sure if that confidential information or not) cause I know I sure don't have one of those! When that little seal jumped up on my Kayak it pretty much made my day worth while, not to mention the other in the group seeing me almost getting flipped into the freezing cold ocean by a baby seal. My guide was also amazed and said that in his 5 years of experience he had never seen something like that before. We continued to Kayak for the rest of the morning, had a ocean shore lunch, then a nice 10km coastal walk back to the bus to bring us back to our beds for the night.

And that pretty much brings you all up to date, from Nelson I travelled to Hanmer springs to spend a day soaking in the thermal pools, then continued on to where I sit now, in Christchurch. I am not too sure how I am going to spend my last few days in New Zealand but I am sure I will come up with something. Thats one very amazing thing about this country, no matter where you are your always just a short hop, skip, and a jump anyway from pretty much anything you can possibly think of . . . . Hm maybe I will go surfing, or snowboarding, or swim with the dolphins, or take a tour of the hundreds of vineyards, or jump out of a airplane. Only time will tell.

Franz Joseph Glacier

Blue Ice and Cave Entrance

Just Me, "Chilling"

Thought This Looked Kinda Cool

"Pancake Rocks" Punakaiki, New Zealand

Blowholes at the Pancake Rocks

South Islands Beautiful West Coast

Ya He Is Actually On My Lap, Seeing As I don't Know Much About Seals I Was Actually A Bit Nervous

One Foot In Front Of The Other

2007-06-05T10:27:00.001+12:00

Mount Luxmore Summit

Once again I am back here in Queenstown for another night or so to recuperate from past three days of hiking and torture I put my poor legs through. I just completed the Kepler Track which is a 67 km track thats starts off in the little town of Te Anue and brings you through valleys and forests, up into the mountains, over Mt Luxmore Summit, then across ridges and saddles, and finally back down to civilization.

I Left Te Anue on June 2 around noon and sure never realized what I was getting myself into until I stumbled into the first hut for the first night after climbing over 3500ft and covering nearly 30kms. All you I could think of was, "OK just one foot in front of the other you will eventually get there." My first hut was just above the treeline on the way up to Mt Luxmore, I got there with just enough time to unpack my things, change into dry clothes, make supper, and enjoy and cup of coffee while watching the sun set over the valley that just took me all day to walk through.

Its quite funny when your up in these huts cause once the sun goes down the only light you have is from your head lamp and, as you con imagine, its not exactly toasty warm so you find yourself going to bed at about 7pm because there's really nothing else to do. The first night was definitely the coldest I have spent in a long time. The temperature dropped to about -8 and with no heat whatsoever it took me wearing everything I had brought along plus my sleeping bag but I managed to stay warm and had a great night sleep.

The next day I reached the summit of Mt Luxmore which, as you can see, provided me with an absolutely amazing view making the whole trip worth while. After having lunch on the summit I started hiking down the ridge to drop below the snow line then continued my day and a half decent back to town, strange how far people will walk for 10 minutes on a mountain.

I returned back to town on June 4th (Happy Birthday Mom and Dad) and boy was I was happy to finally reach the end of the path. I started my walk full of energy and feeling good now, three days and 67 kms later, I am completely knackered and and can barely lift my legs let alone walk. Boy what a great way to spend my holidays!

Sunset Over The Te Anue Valley

Climbing The Final Ridge of Mt Luxmore

"All Worth While"

The Nevis Highwire Bungy Jump

2007-05-31T16:31:00.000+12:00

Nevis HighWire in Queenstown, New Zealand

(That tiny shack hanging is the jump Platform)

So I have finally completed all the tests of gravity and man made thrills that I wanted to on my trip. I have done everything from being 120ft under the surface of the ocean, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane at 120000ft, and now to add to the list is plummeting 450ft with nothing but a over sized rubber band between me and the ground.

Today started off like all other days with me waking up, making coffee, and pondering what I should do when I decided it was as good as day as any to yet again put my life in the hands of the Kiwis and go Bungy Jumping. The very intelligent sport of Bungy was invented in New Zealand by a guy named AJ Hackett who used to just drive around until he found something to jump off of, get his cord out of the trunk of the car, tie it up, and jump. This was all kinda just for personal enjoyment until he jumped off the Eiffel tower and became internationally known and famous. New Zealand is now home to the very first commercial bungy that was ever operated and also the second highest bungy in the world that is 440ft and called the Nevis Highwire.

Seeing as this is one of those have to do activities in New Zealand I had to choose between jumping off the original or go for the glory and jump of the highest and naturally I choose the highest (got to get your moneys worth right)

Although today's weather wasn't exactly picture perfect, it was pouring!! I made it out to the Nevis River Valley and found out exactly what I was in for. The jump platform is suspended from cables 440ft above the river and you have to take a rickety little cable car to get to where you make the plunge. So after I was all harnessed in and had taken the cable car to the jump platform is right about when you start to think, "I cant believe I actually paid money to do this".

I have to admit, although its a hard comparison, that I think it is a little more nerve racking than skydiving for the fact that you physically have to jump by yourself without having an instructor or anybody easing you out. Once you get out to the platform there is so much going on with getting your ankles strapped, instructions of how to jump, and getting connected to the glorified rubber band that honestly, before you have a chance to get scared, your standing on the edge and all you hear is 3....2.....1.....BUNGY!!!!!!

After that moment is what you pay for as your diving over 400ft towards the ground. The feeling of free fall is the most the exhilarating feeling and with this bungy you get to enjoy that experience for around 10 seconds. After that you get a couple bounces and then they slowly winch you back up to the platform and unhook you to let you stand on your incredible weak and shaking knees. That's money well spent in my opinion.

HOLY WHAT A RUSH!!!

"I Hope There Tight!!"

OH BOY!! 3....2....1....

BUNGY!!!

And Who Said I Didnt Go To Post-Secondary