5 months and 9 days
Melbourne, Australia
Wow. Leaving in 5 months and 9 days...seems so far away, except for the whopping plane ticket to pay for.
Just realised today that I'm going to have to organise most things this month, so I can spend more time before I leave focusing on finishing uni and working (to pay for aforementioned plane ticket).
At this stage the itinerary is
November 18th Santiago, Chile. Kick around South America for a month, then fly to LA for Christmas. On the 28th, fly to San Francisco for New Years. Make my way up to Canada and play (work) in the snow, then down to New York in June. Onwards to London, and who knows where in the EU. Will fly back to Australia probably in January 2008. Scary, but very exciting.
Put my macpack on lay-by today. I swear it's bigger than I am, which is good, because I most likely will overpack. Will try not too, but 14 months is a very long time to plan for.
Anyways...Talk to you closer to the date.
Sarah
written by  no_fosters_thanks on June 9, 2006 from Melbourne, Australia
from the travel blog: No Fosters Thanks

Jesus and airplanes
Vancouver, Canada
I have a theory that when you piss off Jesus, he smites you with terrible air travel. It's just how it is. So, having had a fantastically brilliant and hedonistic time in KL....my flights back were evil.
Long story short, what should have been a 36 hour trip got an extra 14 hours smashed in their (cause it wasn't long enough) as my plane from la to Seattle got delayed, I missed the last bus to Vancouver, and the next one was in the morning at 9am. So, trying to find a flight to get home, no luck, so I cried at the United States airlines people (i love being female), and they put me up in a hotel overnight at their expense, so I didn't have to sleep on the floor. Brilliant.
I'm doing a new trip as they other page takes too long to load with my penchant for included MASSIVE photos. No other real news, except for I'm back in Vancouver, Tom gets in on Friday (thankgod, I miss him so much already).
I'm settled in our flat, and looking for work. Weird stuff though, had an interview, and my interviewer is friends with my bar manager (anna at the Doutta Galla in Australia), as they worked and lived together in Scotland!
The world is small, and don't piss of baby jesus before a flight. Strange times eh?
written by  no_fosters_thanks on March 7, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada
from the travel blog: Canada

oyster cards rock my world
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Edinburgh Castle
London was a weird experience, didn’t really see or do much, just spent time with Matt and Jo and Trev (Trev being a female cat….hard to wrap your head around) and caught up with Emr and Malte which was great. Haven’t even seen the Thames yet, but I was really keen to head up to Edinburgh and start working just to get settled. Funnily enough dollars don’t make many pounds, so we really needed to get that ball rolling, so four days after flying in, I flew to Edinburgh, Scotland.
I’ve been in Edinburgh for about a week and a half, and absolutely love the place, weather and all. (for those still in Aus, it’s about the same weather here as you have at the moment). The city has the gorgeous houses, massive castle in the middle, cobbled streets, pubs on every second corner…who wouldn’t love it here?
When I first arrived, I stayed at a hostel for a few days, then crashed with Emr and Malte’s fantastic friend David. There was much Booze and sightseeing which was really fun. We headed to the Scotland Museum of Art (I think, it was an art museum in Edinburgh of some name), and it was so much better than I expected. It was a relatively small building, but had some amazing paintings. Absolute favourite was a Rembrant self portrait at 51. If you ever have the chance to see it, it’s great. David was a bit appalled when I walked straight past the Monet’s and the like, but you know, if it doesn’t tickle your fancy…
Gosh this city is just too beautiful
I came up on my own to try and get some things sorted for us, and ended up getting the most suitable job in the world. Yes, I work for Scottish and Newcastle, the Brewery and general booze Co. Places where I belong much☺. Once I secured the job, I also found a gorgeous flat for us to live in, where we will be sharing…but we’re not sure who with! The other couple are moving out in a week, so who knows who it will be. Trying to convince Garth to come and play in Scotland…but unsure how much success we’ll have. The flat we moved into (last night), our moving date kept getting pushed back…and back…and back…although for reasons outside our Landlords control, but it still cost us 200 pounds in alternative accommodation. Ouch. But it’s great to be in our home for the next 6 months already, except we don’t have anything yet…last night all we had on the bed was a tiny travel pillow and a sleeping bag. Todays big expedition is to buy some bed sheets! And pillows!
Tom has an interview at a nice pub around the corner this afternoon, and Harry Potter comes out, so it’s going to be a busy day for all!
written by  no_fosters_thanks on July 11, 2007 from Edinburgh, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Aye, a new adventure

Happy Easter!
Vancouver, Canada
Picnic at Lynn Canyon Park - Tom, Mark, Simon and Amber
We have had a crazy busy weekend doing touristy things! Due to being a long weekend, we've managed to fit so much in. Friday, our good friends
Amber rock climbing
Amber and Simon, were taking their other aussie friend Mark, out to some park trails, so we hitched a ride with them for the day.
First we heading off to Lighthouse Park, which is located in West Vancouver. To be honest, the lighthouse itself was a little bit of a let down, but we walked (climbed more truthfully) along the rocky beach from the carpark to the lighthouse. I doubt it's the official trail, but the views were amazing.
It was quite a hillarious little trip, we came across an original gun
Lighthouse park - taking the scenically rocky route
battlement, which unfortunately had a pile of empty beer bottles, god knows how someone managed to get a slab of beers out there though! There were quite a few locals out, having picnics on the rocks which was great to see. Canadians are such outdoorsy people, and Friday was the warmest day we've had this year, a cracking 20 degrees! It was such a nice day, we spent the whole day outside.
Tom, Sarah, Amber, Simon and Lighthouse
After visiting the lighthouse, we headed to the brilliant Lynn Canyon park, which has a suspension bridge, 50 metres above the falls. Unfortunately, most of my photos didn't really work out, as it was dark under the canopy, and rather bright where the light did come through. Shame, I took so many, but I'm glad I did now!
Twin falls at Lynn Canyon Park
We ended up having a picnic lunch at the base of the twin falls, which was so beautiful. Strange though, a canadian child was in his board shorts, with his boogie board. It was not THAT warm, but hey, good work for giving it a crack. The children there were adorable, one little girl
Lynn Canyon Park
appeared in the middle of a dead tree trunk we were sitting next too....rather strange, this small child playing peekaboo in the middle of a tree. We didn't even see her for ages! It's amazing, you really appreciate how much in Australia can kill you, you would never think about doing something like that in Aus, anything hiding in a dead tree would probably hurt a great deal if it bit.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on April 7, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada
from the travel blog: Canada

US Visa application
Melbourne, Australia
Ok. So I wasn't going to write another blog entry until I actually left the country. Being a travel blog and all. But this was just too silly to leave out.
My US visa application. Firstly, we don't all want to immigrate to your silly country and steal your jobs. I get that you are a nation with a president that tends to piss people off, and that more people may decide to randomly attack you, but it's just ridiculous.
Secondly, because I'm going to be in North America for longer than 90 days (Canada) does not mean I should have to pay $130 for a visa because I'm NEAR you for longer than 90 days.
Thirdly, why the interview in Australia..and the fingerprinting...and the warning at the bottom of the interview comfirmation form warning me not to bring into the consulate 'guns, Mobile phones or other electronic devices'. Very strange.
I really could rant for ages about the questions, the documents you had to bring, the TWO metal detectors you had to pass through...but I've had enough of a rant and at the end of the day, they did grant me the visa. I think. They still have my passport.
(also I think they stole my dna while I was there. I have no evidence to support this deranged theory).
Talk to you soon, I leave in 4 weeks today.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on October 20, 2006 from Melbourne, Australia
from the travel blog: No Fosters Thanks

No sleep, planes and español
Santiago, Chile
Ok, I just wrote a WHOLE blog and due to this strange spanish keyboard, ive managed to delete it all. and i have no idea how.
So, again.....i have arrived safe and sound, felt pretty sick after the flights, but had a snooze and felt well enough to explore a couple of blocks of Santiago. Very cool city.
Discovered a number of things,
1. I can read spanish, but the moment someone speaks to me, its all over.
2. Beer here is usually served in longnecks. Admirable, kim, youd feel right at home.
3. Just because you can sleep through any uni lecture, does not mean you can sleep on a plane. At all.
4. People from Hawkes Bay (yes pub people, that hawkes bay in NZ) are very strange, have sheep and go on spiritual quests in brasil. And like to sit next to Sarah for 12 hour flights.
5. Im missing everyone already, cant crack out the photos as im far too mushy.
6. Tom, spray on shampoo was the best thing ive brought on this trip so far. love it.
Anyways, must go and get on my next plane, will be in argentina by lunchtime and catch up with john, which Im really really looking forward to.
Love you all! Sarah
written by  no_fosters_thanks on November 19, 2006 from Santiago, Chile
from the travel blog: No Fosters Thanks

Granville Island Brewing Company..and some other stuff
Vancouver, Canada
In a city that rains ALL THE TIME, when the clouds break, you dash outside to play. It's interesting how outdoorsy Canadians are, considering (in my aussie heat prefering way) the weather is awful for a good part of the year. In saying that, if you ever look cold/wet/snowed on, Canadians will always ask you 'have you been here for a summer yet?'. And when the weather lifts, you really understand this place is going to rock in summer.
So in our grab of sunshine, Tom and I walked down to Kitsilano beach and did some exploring, walking around the boat yard to Granville Island, home of the brilliant Granville Island Brewing
Granville Bridge
company. Sadly, we weren't able to get on the tour (and tasting session) but we still had a good stickybeak. Granville Island is filled with theatre companies, artists and places with great food...a really interesting place to spend an afternoon, when we went, the place was full of locals. It's nice to explore places where locals actually relax, rather than at some overpriced touristy 'cultural Mecca' which invariably looks like that one you went to last month...on a different continent.
In other news...we got really drunk with our Australian friends Amber and Simon, and will most likely repeat the performance the coming weekend. The aim is to explore Vancouver one weekend at a time...and hopefully branch out a bit further when possible.
So if I'm not too lazy, I'll try and update after each weekend adventure...which might get more interesting than walking down the beach. (I'll admit it, it's 5 blocks from our abode)
View from Kits beach
written by  no_fosters_thanks on March 21, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada
from the travel blog: Canada

North Vancouver...and learning how to play frisbee
This weekends trips involved North Vancouver and frisbee action. We headed over to North Van by the sea bus, and walked around the Lonsdale Quay markets.
Vancouver, as seen from North Van
However, the trip was marred by a nasty attack - by a seagull. Tom was viciously attacked by the BIGGEST seagull I've ever seen. While we were walking, Tom had a slice of pizza, heading towards his mouth, and the seagull swooped in a stole the whole piece. No wonder it was so big if it lives off stolen pizza. Stupid fat seagull.
When good seagulls go bad
However, it was a brilliant play on behalf of the seagull, so we commended it for it's efforts.
North Van is a really great place to get a view of all of vancouver, but the weather was a bit shoddy so we didn't do much else there.
Later that night we proceeded to Amber and Simons, where there was an aussie contingent drinking and partying it up, where inhibitions and hats was released.
Amber and her head muff
We staggered home, tried to get invited to a Canadian party in a garden..but no-one invited us in as we walked past.
On the sunday, Tom accomplished the impossible...teaching me how to throw, and catch a frisbee! We even have photo evidence!
Playing frisbee at our local park
The park is a block or two from our house, and so close to the beach, and perfect for some sweet frisbee action. I think we'll be heading down there more often as the weather gets warmer.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on March 26, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada

Finally, and update
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Things are getting pretty settled down here in Scotland. We've been busy working and saving, towards travels. Recently we hired a car and drove down into North England, and I met the rest of Tom's family. It was a fantastic weekend, and really nice to get away. Also managed to duck over to Sherwood forest, which was pretty exciting for me, being the nerd that I am.
This Thursday we're heading over to Glasgow to go and see Damien Rice which we've been looking forward to for awhile. We'll only be over there for a day, but it will be a packed one! There's a few exhibitions we're going to try and make as well.
At the moment we're trying to plan a trip over to the Netherlands for Toms birthday in November.
In other news, we're still just hobnobbing around Edinburgh, checking out the local sights.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on September 30, 2007 from Edinburgh, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Aye, a new adventure

Best day yet
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Yesterday I had my best day here yet, absolutely crashed out, slept for about 12 hours, then when I woke we were ready to explore.
John and I just wandered around Buenos Aires for awhile, found an english language bookshop, so I lost John there for a little while. Had to go and buy some stuff from a camping store...and throw out some stuff from my bag. I think as we go it´s going to get progressivly lighter as I can´t be bothered carrying stuff.
But anyway, we walked to the obellisk, which is in the centre of Buenos Aires, which was absolutely amazing. It stands in the middle of the (what I´m told is the largest avenue in the world) the Av 9 de julio, and it´s just amazing.
Obelisco
After that, we went to the teatro de colon, which is the home of the Bueanos aires ballet company and also the opera company. We did the english guided tour, and it was simply amazing. It was built in 1890, with european architects, and all imported materials, and it was fantastic. The theatre has 7 levels and it´s indesribable. The ceiling is a huge hand painted dome, (done by an argentinan artist) and around the chandelier is space between the dome and the chandelier, where musicians and choirs can stand, unseen and ridiculously high, and perform. The acoustics were fantastic, they never use microphones in performances. And this place sits 3500 people.
Teatro Colon
After that Joho and I came back to the hostel,
HostelClan view
had some quiet beers on the terrace. We were joined there by some cool people doing the tefl course, and then more people rocked up. So we all ended up catching taxis to this amazing Korean restaurant (I know, we were eating korean in argentina, a bit wrong) but it was stellar. This place had silver chopsticks, and the food, there was 7 of us, and we had two meat (cooked at the table) and it came with 12 condiments each. I thought the condiments would be sauces, but no, they were little plates of vegetables. Chilli cabbage, brilliant. Then we also had two vegetable plates. All up it was (including beers) about 25 pesos each, which I suppose was $10AUD.
Then to top it off, we have been invited to one of the girls, Dana, her apartments for drinks tomorrow. But even better, I managed to get a phone card and ring Tom, which was great, but 10 pesos wasn´t nearly enough time. Although, it was probably good I didn´t have time to get mushy, and I´m a big sooky mushbag.
Anyways, must run, will try and upload photos soon, going to le recoleta today, which is the arts district, so I´m sure I´ll have plenty of photos.
Hasta luego mis agimgos!
written by  no_fosters_thanks on November 21, 2006 from Buenos Aires, Argentina

Recoleta es mas bonita y Iguazu falls
Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
Hi all!
Well, the trip to recoleta was great. We went on tuesday, and I went again alone on wednesday (dont worry nana, I was perfectly safe) and it was brilliant. We walked around Cementerio de la Recoleta where all the rich and famous argentinians are buried, and saw evita perons grave. Which, I must admit I was expecting something else. It was amazing to see the cemetary though, we walked around for ages.
Cementerio de la Recoleta
Evita Perons grave
Had lunch in the strangest irish theme pub, what they served i´m sure the irish don´t make. But anyways.
The next day went out on my own to see Naciones Unidas, which i found so beautiful..and shiny.
Naciones Unidas
Moving on, that night we caught an 18 hour bus to Puerto Iguazu, which has the most awesome waterfalls. John did try and kill me with exercise. I can´t even describe how amazing it was, so I´ll just put in the pictures. Soon we´re heading off on a 28 hour bus trip to Salta.
Iguazu falls, inferior trail
Iguazu falls, island view
John at Iguazu falls, superior trail
Iguazu falls
Time for a shower before the bus trip, so talk to you soon!
Love Sarah
written by  no_fosters_thanks on November 24, 2006 from Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

Glasgow! Wooo!
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Dr Who was in Glasgow...
Well, we finally made it over to Glasgow yesterday. I don't know what took us so long (probably the lack of time off), but it was only a 1 hour bus trip from Edinburgh, right into the centre of Glasgow. Not a particularily interesting bus ride, but the city itself is just so different. You would never believe that Glasgow and Edinburgh were only an hour apart, the people, architecture, the accent! The whole feel of the cities are worlds apart.
Whilst our main intentions in Glasgow were to go and see Damien Rice in concert, we manage to see some sights while we were there...
Firstly headed for a wander around the streets to get a bit of orientation, swung past George Square which was rather impressive. Then up to the Cathedral, which was simply stunning. Not the biggest, or the most opulent church, but it was built in the 13th century, and is a multi-level place that is incredibly interesting.
Right after visiting the Cathedral, we needed a quick bathroom stop, which was impeded by the fact the public bathrooms were locked....so what do we think, 'hey, there's a free museum right there...we'll just duck in....' Which went well until we walked in the door and was greeted by a sweet little old lady, who told us ALL about the museum and it's exhibitions, and we felt so guilty we walked around the whole place until we thought it wouldn't be rude to use the bathrooms. It was a rather interesting accidental trip to 'St Mungos Museum of Religous Art'. Places I never thought I would see Tom.
After that we toddled up to the Glasgow Necropolis, which was basically an old and interesting cemetary (still in use too), which also has great views over the city.
Necropolis
All and all, a rather strange day for sightseeing.... Then seeking to quench our thirst, trying to find a pub that was not either the bloody ritz of pubs, or the scariest dirty old man pub, we dismally failed, but headed off to the SECC for a few pre-show pints and people watching, which was rather good fun.
As for the concert, good fun. Definately a good day out, topped off with managing to make the last bus to Edinburgh, home safe and sound by 2am.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on October 5, 2007 from Glasgow, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Aye, a new adventure

Keeping it real
After a slight chastisement regarding my blogging updating and interest level, I will make a half arsed promise to update more...it's not like I haven't got the time at the moment. Unfortunately this weekend doesn't look like it will be decent weather, so all grandiose plans to go hiking are looking dim. Being in spring here, the rains can be fair torrential. Haven't seen anything like the rain we experienced in Peru, on the Inca trail, but that was just stupidly wet.
It's come time to apply for my uk visa, and believe it or not, I missed the price change (which I wish I knew was going to occur) in visa fees. My visa is now jumping from 75 pounds to 200! So our nice little comfy budget has gone by the wayside, and we're back to being vegetarians to save money. We've already changed our flights, so there's not much we can do about it except work harder. It's difficult to save money here, with such low wages and the cost of living being about the same as in Australia. I'm earning $16 CAD an hour here, as a part qualified accountant. Which is double the minimum wage. Still, I really appreciate how good it is back in Aus now. So we're still heading trans-canada on July 3rd, and we're slowly working out a rough plan. It'll be hard to be really casual about booking accom as we go, unlike south america, as backpacker hostels aren't that common here, and during summer, beds can be scarce.
So, since march, we've been out once to the pub across the road for dinner, and thats it. We eat in every day, make our own lunches and everything. So sorry if the blog is a bit dull, but there's really not alot to be said about watching csi re-runs. Incidentally, there's about 3 hours every night. Bliss. That and a nerd channel...stargate, yes please. We're even members of the local library, can't afford to be buying books. But on the bright side, things will get really interesting when we get moving, as we'll have money to do things! Current topics for discussion are - horse-riding in the Rockies, up near Banff and Lake Louise (which is n't much of a discussion, I have my heart set on it:), canyoning in Quebec, kicking it around Nova Scotia....Toms' mate Stu is taking us up to his log cabin at Lake Emma in Saskatchewan for a few days while we're there.
The only other news is I've been trying to complete the ipod challenge, listening to all my albums, no skips, just from a-z. I'm only about 230 songs into 850. But I'll get there. Discovered some weird stuff on there.
Anyway, must go, time to cook a vege curry! Love and hugs to everyone! If anyone wants to post me a burnt copy of the hottest 100 cd...i'd be ok with that. honestly, I promise I won't complain too much.
Tom and I, Sun, sea and mountains
Bye xoxoxox
written by  no_fosters_thanks on April 12, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada

Tick Tick Tick....PART ONE
Sechelt, Canada
A true log fire and all
Well, after the May long weekend, Tom and I are as close to Canadian as we'll ever be. And also very spoilt by our friends.
John and Shannon picked us up at an ungodly time of morning, and can you believe, at 6am on the saturday of a long weekend, we couldn't find a single service station open? Made for a rather exciting trip...as we got off the ferry the car had 13kms left...and an extremely long hill between us and the next town with a servo. By the time we made it to the service station, we had a grand total of 5kms left on the clock.
Incidentally, John has taken to trying to be Australian, and adding an "o" to the end of nearly every word. Consequently a scrabble match was played between Tommo, Saro, Shanno and Johnno. But I'm getting ahead of myself. So after a car, a ferry, more car, we arrive at a small marina where Dale comes an picks us up..by boat. The cabin can only be reached by boat, which is apparently quite a normal occurence. And when a Canadian says Cabin, they actually mean 'Super Awesome Cool Small House with an Awesome View'. When the boat comes to Nelson Island, it's really interesting to look at all the Cabins that have been built on the island and hearing the stories of them being built. One house is being built by hand...out of stone! Shannon's first weekend at the Cabin was when she was two weeks old, so her family really know the history of the island.
The sunset view from the log cabin
Sitting inside the cabin we were able to look out over the small bay, (sitting by the wood fire...of course) and watch the sea and various wildlife. Two geese and their goslings had claimed the front lawn as their territory. And marked it appropriately. In LOTS of small little ways that are unfriendly to shoes.
We learnt plenty about general Canadian life, through extended random conversations (they sort of have a prom too) and discovered the the Loon is a bird, that is pictured on the $1 coin. Hence being called a 'Loonie'. And to think, we just thought it was a queer random word. Brilliant.
So much happened, I'll continue on again soon, but for now..PART ONE
written by  no_fosters_thanks on May 23, 2007 from Sechelt, Canada

Iced coffee withdrawls
Salta, Argentina
Are so far not being suffered. Which, is surprising, and brilliant.
We´re in Salta at the moment, which is up to top of Argentina. Its a great city. We´ve met up with some cool aussies (one from brunswick) and the four of us are travelling together at the moment which is great. Tonight we´re catching the overnight bus to Bolivia, then a train to Uyuni, where the salt plains are. I think we´re doing a four day tour or trek, either way it should be great.
I totally forgot about it until today, but when joho and I were in Buenos Aires, we were walking through a market, and saw this free museum, "museo de la ciudad", and we´re like hey, free museum of the city, awesome find. It was a museum full of doors. From random buildings around the city. A door museum. We cracked up, it was hillarious. Couldnt read the descriptions on the doors, but we were so pleased we didn´t pay for it!
Katie - Sometimes I think the world is a little too small though, went to a bar last night with everyone, and you know what they cracked out, Bon jovi. Which, i found very amusing.
Anyway, all i´ve really managed to do in Salta is kick around, go in a cable car to the top of a hill, and had a few beers and a lot of steaks. I can eat steak at any meal. Today, it was brunch.
View over Salta
Church at Salta
Will talk to you again soon,
Sarah
(btw how cool is the little map thing? it´s pretty up to date with where i am most of the time! See dad, you can´t lose me!)
written by  no_fosters_thanks on November 27, 2006 from Salta, Argentina

Bolivia, where reality and planning don't meet. Ever. At all
Uyuni, Bolivia
Ok, John and I are alive. But smelly.
We're in Bolivia, and just did a 4 day tour, and haven't showered in so long! We are travelling with 4 other aussies, which is great, and we're having a great time. Trying to catch a train to Oruru tonight and a bus to La Paz in the morning, but it's hard to understand if this mythical train will run let alone let us on. It's crazy, you try and plan your travel so you hit the paved roads. Of which there are bugger all.
Anyway, must run, trains to chase.
Will update more soon, heaps of awesome photos.#
Sarah
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 2, 2006 from Uyuni, Bolivia

Poland!!!
Krakow, Poland
Krakow was great to fly into - and it was even better when we discovered the best hostel in the world - Greg and Tom hostel, if you are ever there, make sure you book in! Where else do they make you a cup of tea and give you a cake as you sign in? Aside from your grandma's....
We nearly got off to a shaky start, after arriving at Edinburgh Airport and discovering I had left my handbag at Bec's house...complete with purse, phone, ipod and camera. Luckily we had it sent over to the airport in a taxi - but Tom was ready to murder me. And very understandably.
The city itself was quite compact, which was very convenient for walking around, and seeing all the sights in a short period of time. We wandered up to Wawel castle, (where allegedly they kept a dragon which they had to feed on Virgins - the Poles have an awful number of jokes regarding this).
We generally pottered around the main square, which was pretty spectacular, but it was quite noticable that you were never more than a few hundred metres from the nearest church. For a place with 50p beers....not quite what I expected.
Cloth Market
Also wandered about the Jewish section of the city, which used to have near 70,000 strong living there, which is now down to only approximately 200, as after WW2 who was remaining tended to immigrate.
Salt mines
The other major thing we did was head out to the salt mines, which have extraordinary carvings made by the miners, compeltely from Salt. Multiple chapels have been carved by hand, underground in these mines.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on January 22, 2008 from Krakow, Poland

Prague
Praha, Czech Republic
Everyone knows this one....
Prague was one of the most gorgeous cities we have come across, being virtually untouched by WW2. We stumbled across the town square at dusk, being in one of our various wandering expeditions (so much easier than trying to navigate to a set destination - esp after a few beers). After being amazed by the laneways and alleys that just Spring from nowhere, we headed to local restaurant for dinner. The food was brilliant, so after stuffing ourselves silly (another theme for this trip) we wandered ourselves home again.
The next morning was a fantastic day - one of the sunniest we've seen so far. Still bloody cold mind you, but at least good for photos! We hiked up the hill to the castle, and had a good sticky beak, and into the cathedral there.
One of the most stellar cathedrals I've ever seen. Just stunning. We continued wandering to the much painted/photographed/stuffed full of tourist bridge, St Andrews bridge. Pretty, but dangerous as the risk of a gawping person would walk straight into you.
inside the cathedral
Staropramen Brewery
Being the entity of tom and Sarah - finding out our hostel was 300m from the Staropramen brewery - irresistable. So we naturally did the brewery tour - and enjoyed the free beer tasting afterwards. Our group was 2 irish, us, and many many norweigans. So the norweigans had a little taste, then buggered off - and us and the irish helped the guide clear the lines - by drinking all the excess beer! The guide was awesome, chatting away to us. Was quite hillarious though, when we were first standing next to the Irish, we thought they non-english (I thought german?) and they thought the same of us! So when we finally worked out we all spoke english (rather poorly) we got along grandly.
Prague has many marionette makers, and one shop as we were walking along had a store person making pinocchio dance to Butterfly - by crazy town. Hillarious!
written by  no_fosters_thanks on January 24, 2008 from Praha, Czech Republic

"I think my horse wants to go this way"
Lake Louise, Canada
Our goodbye bbq
What a crazy few days it's been. So, lets finish off last week, after finishing work the lovely HPO (they took me out for lunch on my last day - and gave me a sweet t-shirt - a temp never gets treated this good) we had a small bbq and beers down at Kitsilano beach, to say goodbye to many of our Canadian friends. It really was a fun night, less on the frisbee as planned, and more on the beers. Amber and Simon brought down their portable bbq, and we had 'smokies'. Which as we understand is as important to the Canadian childs birthday parties as...well, fairy bread. Except more so, as boys have smokies too. (btw they are tasty little smoky flavoured snags...brilliant!)
The next morning we had to move out of our house, so we went and imposed on the best australian themed b&b in Vancouver, also known as Amber and Simon. And then things went a little weird.
Chilling at Amber and Simons
Wreck Beach
So, one of the big things for touristas to do in the vancouver area, is to go and visit the funky wreck beach, out near the University of British Columbia. So Elsa drove Amber, Tom and myself out there...and gosh, was it a shock. This beach was PACKED. Full of naked people. We however, we considerably overdressed, but wow. I have never seen so much, and anywhere I tried to look, it was unavoidable. Now, we're not prudes, but there are just somethings that shouldn't get sunburnt. The amostphere was pretty cool though, a random drumming session to our left, with people dancing, beach volleyball, stalls with people selling Jewellery/clothes/food/anything. It was a really good experience, but I'm a very confident clothesist.
After drinking a bottle of wine down the beach, and having a snack, we headed back to Ambers place (with a very distressed looking Tom). For the evening, being our last in Vancouver, we collected Simon and headed out for all you can eat sushi and korean bbq. YUM. $20, and we stuffed ourselved silly. And I'm now a really big fan of Kimchee, a more avid fan of pork dumplings, and less of a fan of oysters and sqiud. Ugh.
And to think we couldn't leave Vancouver on even more of a high, Sunday, after Amber cooked us bacon and eggs (I love that girl), we headed back down to kits beach, and had a picnic and a game of boce, and coincidentally, a few beers. Unlike me, I know. However, come 5pm, it's time to leave, and we said our final goodbyes, and got on the greyhound.
That was a fairly uneventful night, the bus took 13 hours, from Vancouver to Lake Louise, but being an overnight bus, and having an ability to sleep most places, it wasn't too bad. But wow, when the sunrise came, we were travelling through the snow capped rocky mountains, and it was simply stunning. It actually make me glad we took the bus. No matter how shattered we were.
Before we got off the bus however, there was another tourist who was trying to get some help, she was spanish, and had some questions about one of the spots...and gosh, did I realise how shaky my spanish is. It's gone even more downhill (although it was hardly high on the slope), but we eventually got a 'level' of communication, and worked it all out. Such a mental workout for 7am though. WOW!
Lake Louise - look at the reflection!
After ditching our bags in the hostel, we headed for a little hike up to lake louise, taking the longer, more scenic Bow River trail. It was really awesome. Once there, we hiked halfway around the base of the lake, checked out the Chateau and were generally amazed by the lake. The water is just such an intense blue, it was great to see. Early in the day however, we were exhausted, so headed back to get an early dinner and early night. Or so it would seem.
Last night we managed to get some old people (youth hostel?) in our room, which would be fine, except for the fact they BOTH snored like tractors. There needs to be a rule, if you know you snore, you CAN'T STAY IN DORMS. I was ok, pretty wrecked from the trip so I only woke a few times, but I think Tom was about to go postal. Luckily, we fell asleep at 7pm, and didn't get up until 9am, so we managed to get a few hours in there, but we needed that sleep. It has been calculated, at walking over 15km, both that day AND today, make Sarah one hungry and tired little traveller.
Tom, the little snowbunny
So today, when we headed back up to lake louise (incidentally, we appear to be the only crazy people to walk up from the village to the lake) we hiked a higher trail, up to mirror lake. This is the trail to do, on a switchback, there's a clearing where you can look back on the lake, and that is honestly the best spot to see the lake. Photos can't do it justice. It was quite funny though, it's been a late spring, so the trail still has ice...and SNOW! Tom and I would not be so immature as to make snowballs to throw at one another. Maybe. It was great, but when we were walking on this three foot snow, I deviated only slightly...and totally dropped my foot in uncompacted snow and went sprawling in the snow..Tom, to his credit did not laugh at me, but it would have been understood. Incidentally, Tom is addicted to when he sees ice or snow, he has to walk on it. Even if it's only a foot wide stretch.
Tom and Oreo
After retrieving my leg from the snow, we headed down to Timberline Tours, to do our 2 hour horse ride! I really had my heart set on riding up to the 6 glaciers, and to lake agnes tea house, but due to the snow (and massive ice sheets which were due to come down on the trail any day), we had to do a combination of shorter rides, which were still fantastic. Not as fantastic as Tom on a horse! Brilliant. My favourite moment, was when the trail split in two, and one way headed back to the stables, and one was the way we were going. Steve (the guide) and myself start walking down the trail to the right...and hear a call "I think my horse wants to go this way"..with Toms and his horse Oreo turned left, and heading back to the stables. After stopping Oreo, he refused to turn around and come with us, until Steve talked Oreo into it...and he complied, but had a very unimpressed look for the rest of the ride.
It was a great ride, and Lake Louise has been good, but after two full days, it's time to move on, so we're off to Banff next. We have to be in Saskatoon by friday, so still aways to go!
Tom
Chat soon, love sarah
written by  no_fosters_thanks on June 5, 2007 from Lake Louise, Canada

The ´paz rocks out
Uyuni, Bolivia
Hi!
So we did the salt flat tours which were amazing. Lots of waiting at bus stations, and train stations.
6 aussies at a bus stop (someone had to take the photo!)
We stayed in the most basic accomodation, but it was fine, and a lot better than most bolivians live, so we really can´t complain. PLayed soccer against some local kids, who in the altitude whopped us something chronic. The kids here are gorgeous, but everyone is so geared to make money off the gringos, that they charge you money to take photos of them.
Local bolivian children
The salt flats were amazing to see, heaps of fun also. Travelling in such a big group is awesome. John and Chris are off today doing the death road on mountain bike. Google the pictures, they are insane. It´s a road that is about 3m wide, and has 500m drops on the side. Something like 4 people a week on average die on this road. But the tour company they have gone with haven´t lost anyone yet. Which is a good sign. Some of the companies are pretty bad, we met an irish girl who did it, and her bike fell apart under her, and she lost some teeth and scarred her face. Hopefully john will get back in one piece. I told him that if I have to rung mum and dad saying he´s fallen off another cliff, if he isn´t dead then, he will be.
We´re staying at a pretty cool hostel in La Paz,
View from the hostel in la paz
this is the view from our balcony. Girls room, we put the smelly boys in a room without a balcony. La Paz is amazing, and the markets are brilliant. It´s hard to remember how cheap everything is, I bought a sweet tshirt for $5, and they were the most expensive ones on the street. the only problem is what I buy, I carry. Sucks a bit.
Night time markets at La Paz
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 5, 2006 from Uyuni, Bolivia

Hot showers and Michael Bolton
Copacabana, Bolivia
Hi...
So we are still in La Paz. I know it says Copacabana, but the silly thing won´t deal with putting in La Paz at the moment. and it´s where we are heading next. It´s been four nights, and we are well ready to move on. We were going to head on this morning to Copacabana, but the tourist bus only leaves at 8am...as we found out at 9am. Oh well. So we have spent some extra time here, but it´s not much of a concern, as accommodation is about aud$5 a night in the city. Not the worst scenario.
Yesterday joho and I kicked it on to some museums which was awesome, the art museum was great...for it´s architecture. I was wrapped. Although I confused some people in the gift shop when I tried to ask for a book of the building itself. I think they thought I missed the point somewhat. But they ended up giving me some postcards...probably to make me just go away. We also went to the coca leaf museum...which was kind of crap. I expected more, heaps of people said it was well worth visiting, and I wholeheartedly disagree. The art museum was waaay better. Went to the english pub later to watch the soccer...which was a good way to spend an evening. Although someone let one of our group out shopping solo...and the worst happened...chris came back with hippy pants. Brightly coloured striped abominations. Very scared. This city does weird stuff to people...
The main road in La Paz
Finally took some photos of La Paz, it´s not somewhere that you want to be flashing your camera around too much. These are the fruit stalls that we get our smoothies from. They are soooo fresh, and a vitamin one (the most expensive with EVERYthing in there) are 3 Bolivianos...which is 50 cents.
The fruit smoothie stalls in the markets
And they keep refilling them...so much so that you can´t eat anymore...
We walked past san pedro prison today, you used to be able to do tours guided by the inmates, but they stopped that practice a few years ago. Didn´t get a picture of the prison itself...but got one of joho being a lazy git in the park opposite.
Joho trying to be a hobo outside San Pedro Prison
Also..I managed to have my first hot shower in Bolivia! It was so amazing it just wasn´t funny. It´s strange how you just don´t appreciate things back home. Even being able to shower with bare feet. Can´t wait to do that again!
Also as a point of interest..I think Michael Bolton has just hit Bolivia. The number of times I have heard the song -i said I loved you but i lied- and it has been stuck in my head for about a week now. deathly. But the other two musical options seem to be shakira and local music. Thank god for ipods.
Meet the craziest aussie in the pub...he has been in La Paz for about a month, as his passport got stolen. Oh no, how did your passport get stolen we asked. Turns out this crazy git had put it in his daypack, which he then put under the seat on a local chicken bus. While he slept. We weren´t so surprised after hearing the circumstances. I think I lot of this is just being aware, listening to advice and not doing dumb stuff. But I say that now...I´ll change my mind if anything gets nicked.
Does anyone actually read my natters? I know Tom and mum do....
Hey, phil.. heard you left the pub...enjoy your time off before you start work.
And kimba...are you still interested in coming to Malaysia? If not just let me know...it´ll be fine, will need a bit of notice though as if you don´t there may be some flight changing activity. It would be sweet if you do...but I understand if you can´t...it´s a ridiculous amount of money.
Missing everyone, but having an amazing time....take care and I´ll chat again soon! Maybe from Peru....
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 7, 2006 from Copacabana, Bolivia

Banff and JJJ
Banff, Canada
Watch for those...elk
Well, Banff and I didn't get off to a great start. We arrived early in the morning, to rain, more rain and an australian at our hostel, who managed to wind tom up like a clock. So lets be honest, our first day in Banff, a complete Australian write off. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE jjj radio station, but hearing it broadcast at a hostel in Canada, while hearing more aussie accents then in Werribee....it wasn't what I was quite looking for. Thrown in with poor weather and so many gift shops (with signs in Japanese) and I'll be honest, my first impression of Banff was less than good.
Tunnel Mountain
After a good snooze though, the next day we awoke to great sunny weather, and we managed to get out off the main tourist strip and explore (and for the first time see the mountains without a hazy wet blur). Being in the Rocky mountains, wow. Banff is basically a valley nestled inbetween some amazing mountains. In the middle of summer, and the middle of winter Banff would be a great place to stay - but Spring, maybe give it a miss. In saying that, we hiked up Tunnel Mountain, and had a small picnic lunch, and the views were nothing short of spectacular. It was a decent walk up there, but for panoramic views of the Rockies, priceless.
The view from Tunnel Mountain
That evening, we headed out on a bus to Saskatoon, which is further east about 10 hours. That wasn't too bad, we were two of ten people who also had the crazy inclination to spend 10 hours on a bus from Calgary (we had to swap buses) to Saskatoon, so it was a quiet and comfortable leg.
Once we arrived at Saskatoon, at 5.30 in the morning, we were greeted by a rather surreal experience, of Stu running through the bus station waving a giant aussie flag. Lucky we weren't in Banff, or he would have been mobbed. After a very early morning breakfast out at Denny's, we also made a quick stop at Wal-mart, to pick up the essentials. Oars, charcoal and lifejackets. What else do you need at 7am?
written by  no_fosters_thanks on June 7, 2007 from Banff, Canada

Ceske Budejovice - try saying that after a few beers
Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Damn those Czech beers....so irresistable
We initially stopped here for two reasons - we needed some time out from hostels, and we also knew the Budvar brewery was here.....sadly the brewery was shut for tours on the weekend (Tom nearly cried), but our hotel was wonderful:) Most things are shut on the weekends in the Czech Republic, and being a small town - we did what we did best. Drink beer and eat good food. Yuuuuuuum. Went to the 'London Bar', which you could tell was a london bar, for inside it had pictures of london bridge, big ben, and the beatles.
Tried to go up the black tower (which was closed) - which is reputed to be good for lovelorn people to jump off. Hence, the black tower. Slightly unusual tourist attraction, but interesting all the same.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on January 26, 2008 from Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

GO TO THE MEATY PLACE!!!!
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
Wow. One of the 'fairytale cities' of europe. Going in the middle of winter was ideal, as it wasn't that busy - but even in summer with hordes of people it would still be as beautiful. We managed to book into one of the best hostels, Krumlov house. More like being at home than a hostel - stellar experience. We ended up spending three nights here, but could have easily stayed longer.
Cesky Krumlov was a stunning city, and incidentally used for the filming of 'hostel', when they are walking around the city in Slovakia. Yet again, a castle overlooked the city, and didn't fail to amaze. We really should get onto this castle business in Australia. Now.
The view of the city from the castle
So we wandered the castle, and hiked up past the castle gardens to some old ruins which was good - hard to get photos as it was so dark however. We did some more hiking around, actually I think we walked the whole expanse of the city and the surrouding hills a few times over. Was good for the appetite....
We ended up at what the hostel referred to as 'the meaty place' for meals twice. My god. They call it the meaty place, as you pretty much just get massive slabs of meat cooked in the local style - cooked in an open fire/grill thing. By the way mum, I might be a little chubbier when I get back......but it was worth it. Aside from the overkeenes of potatoes - czechs do gooood stodgy food.
We even went horse-riding, but our horses were less enthusiastic about the ride than we were, but it was nice to walk through the forest, in the hills over the town. To top off our great days, we usually ended up playing big card games (and twice monopoly) which sometimes got a little competitive - but overall hillarious. It has been conclusively proven that I suck at monopoly.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on January 29, 2008 from Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

Those crazy prairie kids!
Saskatoon, Canada
Tom and I have just spend a fantastic week with Stu, Amanda and Andrew in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (hard to spell, easy to draw). After our short early morning adventures with Wal-Mart, the 5 of us loaded up the car, and headed off to Stu's lake cabin, up at the wickedly cool, Emma lake.
Amanda, Tom, Andrew and Stu at the Zoo
To be honest, we just had four days of good old fashioned fun. There was mini-golf, ice-cream, playing at the beach (ok, lake with sand) canoeing.....It was quite hillarious playing mini-golf, as there was the added challenge of putting your ball in the hole before andrew picked it up, and either gave it to you, or put it straight in the hole! I'm proud to say Andrew and I make a stellar team, one effort I didn't even have to hit the ball before we got it in the hole...
Andrew playing mini-golf
We played in the sand aplenty..got to meet the neighbours and just generally had a great time. By sheer co-incidence, Tom and I had our 1 year anniversary at the cabin, on the same day as Amanda and Stu, so we all went out for dinner to celebrate! Yaay!!! It was a great few days, and wow, when people say saskathewan is flat, they really mean it. I got excited when I next saw a hill. And it was in Manitoba.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on June 14, 2007 from Saskatoon, Canada

mmm...kinda tired
Cusco, Peru
Totally wrecked right now, been doing so much...so this is going to be a short one!
Went to Copacabana, which is on lake titicaca, which borders both Bolivia and Peru, although we were on the Bolivian side. It was amazing, the fresh trout cooked by the beach...the sunsets..although it was a little like a Bolivian version of lorne. A little strange.
Sunset at Copacabana, from our hostel balcony
We went out to Isla del Sol and trekked across it, which is over 8km and up and down hills. At altitude it hits you pretty hard (glad I did all that exercise before i left to prepare) but it was well worth it. The beaches were fantastic. I have more photos, but my camera is in my room locked up.
Isla Del Sol
We caught a bus yesterday (today?) from Copacabana to cusco, with a stop over in puno, which is inside the Peruvian border. It was strange, we have lunch in the bus station, and our waitress was about 8 years old. When she had her lunch she was sitting there playing with her doll.
But anyway...after a scary time on the bus (we had a blow-out and something wrong inthe wheel arch that we had to keep stopping for) we are finally in cusco. doing the inca trail in two days, which i´m well excited about.
But anyway, thats enough from me at this silly time of night.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 10, 2006 from Cusco, Peru

Cusco is rad...
Cusco, Peru
ok....so we have registered for the inca trail, which is really exciting. Should be amazing to see, nearly everyone, even the most jaded and cynical of travellers think its sweet.
Completely forgot...on the Isla del Sol they have gum trees everywhere! It really did my head in at first. But it was great, we cracked some leaves, and they smell was just like home. But it was still rather strange some of it looked like it could have been back home.
Australia....or bolivia
Travelling with just 4 people now, John myself, Aussie Chris and Roman. The backpackers we are staying at is huge, and has a pretty good facilities.
After being on the move so much I must admit, it is going to be good to settle down somewhere for a little bit. It´s gone so fast though, I can´t believe in ten days i´ll be in vegas and joho will be on the way home. It will be the biggest culture shock. Thinking about trying Guinea pig for lunch today. But not entirely sure that will be the best idea.
Have uploaded more photos, so have a squiz if you fancy.
Take care, heading off to museums this arvo....including catacombs. Or something with lots of dead bodies.
Love Sarah
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 11, 2006 from Cusco, Peru

So, I might be afraid of heights...
Thunder Bay, Canada
Just down at the shops...
Arriving into ThunderBay in the evening...things were a little off kilter from the beginning. From our taxi driver, trying VERY hard to take us to the Super 8 Motel, even when we gave him the exact address of the our hostel. The fact that he said we were going to be in a dodgy part of town, also hardly encouraging. But, considering my innate ability to book hostels where hookers live, it was no surprise.
The hostel turned out to be more of a house, with the very friendly owner Gail, living in the basement suite, and the rest of the house occupied by travellers. It was actually a great experience, and we met a fantastic Spanish bloke called Carlos. Carlos decided he was over his job, so decided to pack up and cycle across Canada for 5 months, and some of the stories he had, fantastic.
Although the first night in Thunder bay was far from perfect, with half the town losing power (and as a result...tom and I struggling to get a feed anywhere) we were well surprised when everything turned out great.
Thunder bay is most commonly known for the town where you can see the Sleeping Giant, this HUGE island, when viewed from the town, looks like just that, a sleeping giant. It was actually very cool, but for some unknown reason to myself, I failed to take a photograph. Idiot much. But, I did take a photo of the local porn store...just around the corner. Like they always seem to be.
Swimming spot at the river
The weather (which has been absolutely PISSING down) cleared up to a gorgeous next day, and Gail insisted on taking Carlos, Tom and I to some of the local swimming holes, which strangely, did include a waterfall. Although Gail insisted it was safe to jump, the thought of Tom trying to explain to my dad how I broke two legs...less than appealing. Carlos gave it a go, but hey, one crazy person is enough for every tour.
After that, we did go to the local river, where we were all game enough to swim...and some locals tried to teach us where we could dive. Which was fine, when we climbed up the rocks...they jumped...and Tom jumped..and I chickened. It was ok, I was only stuck up there for like, 15 minutes before I jumped. Sadly, the rocks we climbed up, where not exactly climb downable...so it was the only option. Tom did climb back up to give me some moral support...or scare me into thinking he would push me...it`s hard to tell.
Teddy took the bus to Toronto
Anyways, after a pleasant 24 hours at the town of the sleeping giant, it was time to jump back on the greyhound for another 22 hour stint. Yay. Although, it did turn out to be a fantastic trip. Believe it or not, I`m glad we went greyhound.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on June 16, 2007 from Thunder Bay, Canada

Berlin - Snack Point Charlie
Berlin, Germany
I jest not - if you go to Checkpoint Charlie, you can wander across the road to Snack Point Charlie. One of my favourite names for a shop - ever. Not going to work so well if they want to start franchises....but still, points for that one.
Berlin is a really interesting city - and one of my favourites so far, which I wasn't expecting. But then again, if I had a euro for everytime I said 'I could live in this city' then I'd be having more euros than I do right now. Which is none. Tom and I have decided it's good fiscal policy for me to never see any money. I spend less that way. It's actually turning out surprisingly well. Surprising for me - not to anyone else I suspect.
We stayed in a houseboat, which was pretty cool to begin with, but it was moored by the longest surviving part of the Berlin wall, which is now known as the eastside gallery. The wall has been used by graffiti artists as an open air gallery which is really interesting. Sadly, lots of people have done lame graffiti over the artwork.
We walked along where the berlin wall used to stand, from our hostel to the checkpoint charlie location, and also where the museum is. Quite facinating the escape attempts that people made.
While I remember, we bought some cheese, based on the pure fact it had "extra dick". Not bad cheese either. Now thats advertising!
I found it surprising how much of the city was destroyed in WW2, and has still not been rebuilt. In the city centre there are so many vacant lots, esp in the east side.
We ventured out on a walking tour one morning, recommended by a friend, and it was brilliant! (we tried another in Munich and it was shit....make sure in berlin you go on Brewers walking tour - not the other one advertised in hostels). Our guide was piss funny, and had been living in Berlin for the last 9 years and being a tiny group, really showed us the city, with depth. I can't describe the difference, but this tour was brill:)
What else....we hit up two of the museums on museumisle, which were good, but smaller than I expected. The germans did manage to bring over ancient market gates from egypt - which are great to see.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on February 1, 2008 from Berlin, Germany

Munich - Beer halls and aeroplanes
Munich, Germany
Munich was not really planned into the trip. The realistic fact is, we decided we couldn´t afford to go to Denmark (most the hostels being shut in winter), and we had trouble finding accomodation and a train to Frankfurt to visit our Canadian pal, Sonja.
So spur of the moment, we ended up IN THE WORST HOSTEL I´VE EVER BEEN TO! Avoid this ´meninger hostel´place...granted, they do a damn fine breakfast...and it was very clean, but that´s about it. A double room...equipped with one single duvet and one pillow. The noisiest hallways...and worst of all...huge school groups. French school kids. Now, don´t get me wrong, I´m the first to admit I should have realised what it for what it was before I booked it. But...ugh. Plague.
Aside from the icky hostel, we had a really good walk about Munich, saw the beer halls, and lots of the usual sights...old buildings etc. But, my favourite thing about Munich was the Deutsches Museum. It focused on the technical aspects of things...and it was worth it just for the aeronautics. A helicopter...inside a museum, and other planes, a cross section of a 707...it was a brilliant museum. The photography exhibition was great....could have spent days in there. But, (this is a little lame of me), the thing I got most excited about, was an interactive panel of glass thingy...it just blew my mind. I want one. Don´t know what I could use it for....but I want one.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on February 2, 2008 from Munich, Germany

Those kidneys eh
Toronto, Canada
The bus here was fantastic! We went via the great lakes to Toronto, and it was some of the most amazing scenery in Canada. It`s hard to comprehend that such a huge expanse of water is only a lake. And if that isn`t enough reason for us to have spent 4500km already on the bus...we also get to meet some really interesting people. Mr Ted and his friend were escorted to the bus leaving Thunder Bay by the police.
Toronto has been a really cool city, with a really strong cafe culture and a level of constant energy. People do move faster here, but they also party more than the Vancouverites. Sorry guys, that`s just how it seems. I`ll admit it, I fell in love with Toronto. The moment we got of the bus, and tried to find our hostel, we got caught up in the throng of people going to watch the Much Music awards, recorded live at stages set up in the street in the heart of the city. People were everywhere, but even at the best of times, Avril and Hilary aren`t my top priority, so we kept hauling our packs and eventually found our hostel. Incidentally, if anyone is going to Toronto, head to the Canadiana backpackers, it really is as good as the ratings say.
So what did we do in Toronto, we kicked it up the CN tower, and stood on the glass floor. Yes, I`ll admit, it gave me the heebie jeebies. Glass, under your feet at that height, just doesn`t seem smart. But it was fun, and thats what really counts.
Steam Whistle Brewery
But my FAVOURITE thing we did in Toronto, was visit the Steam Whistle Brewery and have a few beers and a guided tour. And I`m now going to change careers, and become Sarah the brewmaster. HEll yes. Teh tour was fun, and really interesting and all about beer. What more do you need in life, thats right, nothing.
We also had the good fortune to catch up with my friend Monique, who I met in South America, and we had a few lagers and laughs. Hard to believe that it had been over 6 months since I last saw her. Time has passed so quickly.
On the last day in Toronto we headed down to Niagara Falls, which was pretty cool, but to be honest, not a patch on Iguazu Falls in Argentina. But, still a great day trip.
Although the funniest thing happened at the greyhound Toronto transit station, an Australian girl was sitting behind Tom and I..and was having a hillarious conversation with a Canadian girl. Aside from the fact that she had done almost EXACTLY the same thing I have done since I left home, she was a bit ditzy. She asked the Canadian girl what she was reading, and she's gone 'a book about kidneys'. Then Aussie was like 'those kidneys eh? My friend has three'. Tom and I were nearly rolling around the floor. I still get the giggles thinking about it.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on June 20, 2007 from Toronto, Canada

Punch Buggy...no returns
Lima, Peru
Hi! Got back from the inca trail...alive and well. Flew to lima this morning, and tomorrow joho flies home, and I continue on to the states. Sorry this is only a short one, I will update it later, i am just absolutely stuffed right now. So much has happened, so I have uploaded the photos and will write about the inca trail later.
Take care,
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 18, 2006 from Lima, Peru

Post sleep and in an airport
Lima, Peru
Hi!
So I´m currently in the Jorge Chavez airport in Peru..waiting for my flight to board. Have had more sleep, so I´m ready to deal with a computer. And I just paid $3USD for an iced coffee so I could use the internet...and its just a black coffee with ice blocks. So I´m getting my internets worth, as i´m drinking this nasty coffee (which probably just tastes like coffee should..but yuck), I don´t want to appear rude and not drink it now.
So...the inca trail.
The start of the inca trail...Km 82
DAY 1
We got picked up from the hostels at half past five in the morning...and it turned out over half of our group were staying at the same hostel! We got an awesome group, 2 aussies, two irish girls, a scottish couple, two americans and a Hondurian. We started trekking after breakfast, and it was absolutely beautiful. This was the easiest day of the trek..which was a good way to ease into it. Within the first few hours we saw our first inca ruins, and great views of the sacred valley of the incas.
1st Day in the sacred valley of the incas
That night we camped...feeling really good about the day. You have to see all the photos to believe the places we saw. We heard how great Machu Picchu was...but to be honest it paled in comparison to what we saw walking there.
DAY 2
This was the day we heard was a killer. You climb from 2950 metres to 4200, and all in the morning. It was INSANE. I must admit, the feeling of getting to the top was great. I´m really proud, usually I hate walking to the supermarket, and I walked up a mountain carrying my own pack, which was 12.6 kilos. (we weighed our bags at the porters
2nd Day, I wanted proof that I walked that high up a mountain
station). John though, he is insane! He practicaly RAN up the mountain! He reached the top nearly an hour before me. Which was quite amusing. I had the technique of walk ten steps...then have a rest, then walk another...and rest again, and then walk to the big rock and have some chocolate (very important to keep up your energy you know). We all did it our own way. Mine was the slow way! It was hard, near the top John came down a bit to encourage me, and offered to take my pack...but by that stage I wanted to do it all by myself. I know, hard to imagine me being stubborn! But it was absolutely worth it.
2nd Day, joho and I at the top of the first pass, dead womans pass
That night I got a back spasm...which is hindsight was quite funny, but we had two physios there who told me to get up off my bum and walk around, and by morning it was fine. Ruined the little evening for me a bit, our american ladies (gents...but they walked slower taking heaps of photos and having a chat...they managed to have some amazing pictures we missed!) had brought two bottles of wine as a surprise, as a reward for finishing the hardest day. I ended up piking on my drink. Sad times.
DAY 3
This day was the most beautiful, we walked through cloud forests, and little natural caves...It really was brilliant. We had great weather all three days, and this day was no exception. We saw many ruins, and stopped at each for an explanation and an explore. It was also the day of the two thousand steps down...although dawn counted, and it was in fact more. It´s strange, the incas were so short (and also are most south americans) but they build the BIGGEST stairs! If they are coming up to my knees...how they hell did they get up them! In fact at the last part of the second day...and last few steps were the biggest on the whole mountain. Thats just cruel.
3rd Day at some amazing ruins
So after a hard days work, we had some beers, and then saw my favourite ruins, Winay Waya.
3rd Day, Winay waya
That night we had a bit of a party..Apo the chef made us a cake! In the andes! Amazing. The food was so great, that I put on weight over the trek. I´m now back to about what I left as...but I think a bit more of it is muscle. And I´ll keep telling myself that.
We got up at 4am (only an hour earlier than usual) to try and see Machu Picchu at sunrise and it was PISSING down. So we walked along in the rain, and got soaked. A big thanks
4th Day at about 5am in the pouring rain
to Kath for buying me a pack cover, without her I´d be lost. Or at least have very few clothes. After not seeing a huge amount, Joho headed in climb winay picchu, while the rest of us headed to Aguas Calientas to warm up and dry off. Funniest though, we saw john reach the restaurant...and then turn around and piss bolt off, turns out he forgot he has his large pack, and left it on the bus. Luckily it was still on the bus when he got there.
Later we caught the train back, it was a four hour trip, aided by much beer. Emma and I bought enough with us from Aguas Caliente that it was a good idea to buy some more on the train. A good night overall.
THE DAY AFTER MACHU PICCHU
Hot showers are the absolute business. It felt SO amazing to be clean, not 'had a shower in the rain but i still smell clean' but clean. We ladies decided to treat ourselves, and went for pedicures and waxes. But gosh, that was an experience that took 4 hours! Getting my legs waxed in peru...(they needed it, i was starting to look like joho), the waxist burnt the wax, so I ended up lying there in my undies getting the wax finished with the door wide open (to let out all the smoke) while the girls were watching from reception. Nice, very classy.
So unfortunately we didn´t get to see much, our boots all let in water (except johns) and we ended up wet and unable to see it that well from a distance, but when we got there it was great. This photo is where the traditional photo of machu picchu is taken...usually you can see it in the background.
4th Day, Machu Picchu (behind us somewhere....)
have a look at the rest of the photos...and then get on the inca trail!
Love Sarah
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 19, 2006 from Lima, Peru

Bonjour!
Montreal, Canada
The view from Mont Royal
That is as much french as I can muster. What we intended to be a two night stay in Montreal, became three…and then five. We completely lucked out with our hostel, which I would have to say is one of my favourite hostels I’ve been too, and I really wish we had been there while it was packed full. My usual ability to find hostels in random places…yet again confirmed, this time our hostel was in the middle of the Village, that being the gay village. Which was good, as Tom felt right at home. For a change I wasn’t in the middle of all the strip clubs, but that’s due to Montreal spreading them around, there isn’t a red light district per se, the naked chicks are dispersed around the city.
Still gorgeous Montreal
Montreal itself is a beautiful city, by the waterfront is many original buildings, and it has a real European charm. It’s awesome that the province of Quebec has managed to thrive so well within Canada, it’s like a separate world. Fall asleep for two hours from Ottawa, and all of a sudden it really is like a slice of france. There is a real food and wine culture there, but even some things are totally different to the rest of Canada, like to provision of alcohol. It’s everywhere in Quebec, and about half the price of what we would pay in Vancouver. Even at a BC Liquor store. So I think the rest of this little story is obvious, a hostel with a rooftop terrace….and some stellar backpackers (not us, Cheryl and Graham – who happen to be some of the funniest brits I’ve met in my life. When we were all rolling drunk they invited us to their homecoming party in London…which we’re intending on turning up to, so hopefully they were serious!)
Violence against pool noodles, quebec says "every sunday"
Something we did find, was walking through Mont Royal park, was the weekly drumming circle (which was huge), and the medieval pool noodle fight. People in armour, with pool noodle fashioned into swords, axes, one enterprising young man even had a bow and padded arrows. And then they rush into battle, and die. Then do it again. And again. Queer.
In Montreal, by and large all we did is walk around the city, having a gander at the waterfront, walked up Mont Royal to get a full view over the city. Actually, it was a little embarrassing to arrive in Montreal to find out the rather large fact that Montreal is actually on an island. Something major we managed to miss. Whoops.
After 5 days though, it’s was time to keep moving, towards our next French-canadian destination with a rather large hangover, Quebec City.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on June 22, 2007 from Montreal, Canada

waar zijn mijn klompen?
Oudeschild, Netherlands
Some of my family is originally from the Island of Texel, on the coast of the Netherlands. So I decide to coral Tom into a good old family roots visit...even though I wasn´t sure where on Texel they came from. Good oportunity to see some windmills anyway.
We took the ferry over from Den Helder...after I manage to almost not get there. If you ever hear there...don´t get off at ´Den Helder Zuid´, it just means the Den Helder South train station, and it utterly useless unless you like looking at paddocks. Lucky Tom and I are both paddock enthusiasts. Lucky.
We stayed in the village of Oudeschild, in a family owned inn which was lovely. Some fantastic home cooked food, and tried some of the locally made brew.
We generally just chilled and enjoyed the outdoors in Texel, walking along the Dykes, and over to the next village. Such a beautiful place, it was lovely just to meander about the town.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on February 13, 2008 from Oudeschild, Netherlands

A bit of old world charm
Quebec, Canada
Tom-pom
After being wowed in Montreal with the architecture, Quebec city knocked my socks off. The old city itself has been fantastically maintained, with the original city walls intact, rambling cobbled lanes and houses and hotels older than anything in Australia. The first thing we did upon arrival, was to find the city walls, and walk all the way around them! Old Quebec is actually quite small, with the walls only being 4.5kms. Great wall of china it is not, but it IS the closest fortified city to Mexico City. And believe me, that’s a long way. Anyone who has gone greyhound in North America will agree.
We have spent three nights in Quebec city, having to change hostels after the first night. The hostel we originally booked into was nice, clean and cheap, but it also had no locks on any of the doors, no lockers in the room, and sadly, no security whatsoever. We made the change to the nearby HI, which although has lots of older people and school groups…also had a bar! We met some more top people there, and hopefully will be catching up with some of them in New York City.
To be honest, there are plenty of museums and tours, restaurants and carriage rides to do in Quebec, but we spent all our time walking and just enjoying the random sculptures and taking it all in, and Tom taking 300 photos a day. You can’t even explain what a contrast to the rest of Canada it is. And to be honest our French is appalling, and even trying to buy bread is a big ordeal. More than it should be. But in saying that, some French people we were talking with, said the difference between French-french and Canadian-french is massive, and even they struggled. Not that we can speak French-french either, but hey, I’ll take any reason right now.
After a great three days walking all around Quebec, we have decided to move on, but had the slight dilemma that everywhere in Canada doesn’t seem to have beds available tonight, so we thought, stuff it, lets head to Boston! So the next stop will be the hometown of Harvard University, and the Samuel Adams brewery. And considering my impending career change to brewmaster, we’ll be forced to do tours of both. (market and production you see).
written by  no_fosters_thanks on June 29, 2007 from Quebec, Canada

why flights are long haul has nothing to do with the time...
Los Angeles, United States
Hi!
So I'm safe and sound and in LA...after a TERRIBLE flight, but will write more about that later...this internet here is 1USD per ten minutes...so it's only a quick one.
Got on the plane, and someone wanted to change seat so they could sit near their deaf mother...so I say yes...and get stuck next to this larger woman, who dribbled food from her mouth, and had no end of attitude...and this stupid american man who wouldn't shut up..and asked me inane questions like 'what do your parents think of you travelling alone?' 'do you believe in god'.
I resorted to wearing my ipod the WHOLE flight...even after my battery went flat..just so that he thought I couldn't hear him. He was a missonary from panama. ARSE!!!
But then when I got to my hostel....they had screwed up my dorm booking (15USD for a 20 bed dorm) and so I am in a double bed suite on my own...for the same price! With bathroom, with toilet and shower! Totally travellers karma after my flight.
Love all, must run, 1 minute left on the internet...will try and find a phone card in vegas (heading there tomorrow) and try and ring...but no promises, this place in INSANE! (but kinda cool)
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 20, 2006 from Los Angeles, United States

The birthplace of Cheers…the bar
Boston, United States
Amazing statehouse
When it came time to leave beautiful Quebec City, we struck upon the small problem that EVERYWHERE IN CANADA WAS BOOKED OUT FOR THE WEEKEND, and consequently we had no-where to go…but down south. incidentally, spending Canada day in Quebec, no-one even seemed to notice it occurred. St Jean Baptiste day though….big nationalist party!
So to till time, we just bussed around Canada for the day, heading down to Ottawa with the intention of leaving our bags at the station and checking out the town for the evening. But when we arrived, we discovered we really were not fussed, so just sat in the canteen for a few hours and played cards. We managed to get ourselves on the bus to Boston (why not, with a couple of days to kill, lets check it out eh?) and gosh, was that a bus trip.
Now americans, just to preface this, I don’t mind Americans, in fact I like quite a few of them. (and in the case of joyce absolutely adore). HOWEVER, this was the bus trip from hell…the moment we crossed into the States.
Firstly, getting Sarah to do a border crossing at 2am…I’m hardly at my sharpest. So the first indication I’m a terrorist, I kept telling that my date to fly out of New York, was three days previously. Apparently, the difference between the 6th of June and 6th of July, is quite big. Whatever. Plus I have a massive bag, so I must be hiding weapons of mass destruction…in my sleeping mat. Having to do a full bag search was not what I was interested in at 2am. In fact when the guard told me to open my bag, I believe I answered with “fine, but if you want it open, you have to help me close it again”. Which he had too…as after my bag search I was unable to jam it all back it. I had messily shoved (I mean packed) with precision and skill, and you can’t just open it up and expect it to close itself.
God knows why, but he didn’t say anything to my washing bag, which had a very large quantity of white powder in a zip-locked bag with no markings…he must have just known it was washing powder.
Then, to add insult to injury, he charged me USD$6 for a three month tourist visa…even though I already have a year long visa! What is with that country? I can only stay for three months at a time, have to leave and re-enter EVEN THOUGH I PAID STUPID AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO BE ALLOWED THERE FOR A YEAR.
So, as you can see, America and I got off on the wrong foot. And then we changed to the greyhound. Please refer to Tom’s blog for a description of that awful bus. Ikes.
However, Boston surprised me. The public transport, cheap and easy to use, the people friendly, the city, pretty and also walkable, which is very unusual. We had two nights booked in Boston, and we jammed a fair bit into those days. Firstly, we headed out to the Samuel Adams Brewery, for our free brewery tour. Not amazingly keen on all of their beers, but it’s the closest they have to boutique beer, and I’ll admit the Summer ale is really quite tasty. That was a good tour, except for the young guy who overfilled his beer, and proceeded to slurp it off the table. That was our cue to depart.
Boston Heritage weekend celebrations...right
Later that day we headed down to the local park, which was full of community gardens. That was one of the real highlights, these gorgeous little gardens, complete with tables and chairs, and it was obvious people took real pride in their gardens. It was really lovely to see that in the middle of the city.
The other big thing we did was headed out to Harvard. So yes mum, I went to Harvard. Hehehehe. The campus there is massive and every building covered in Ivy. Funnily enough where that ‘Ivy League’ stuff all comes from. I didn’t realise but it was the first University in the US. My favourite though, for sure the number of bookstores. Oh, an absolute dream.
But the best thing about Boston, we met some fantastic people. From the guy in the pizza shop to our fellow dorm-mates, we had a ball. Our roomies was a couple from Alabama, two musicians and they were great fun to hang out with, and we got together with more people, and played cards until 2am in the morning one night. Great time. But, all good things come to an end, and it was time to go to NYC!
written by  no_fosters_thanks on June 30, 2007 from Boston, United States

New York, New York
New York, United States
NY Stock Exchange
New York is BIG. When Central park is a couple of km’s long, and takes up a teeenie part of Manhattan island, you know there is going to be plenty of walking involved. Honestly, we were in NYC for a crazy four days, and were always out and about, so I’ll give you some of the highlights.
Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty – Smaller than I thought. Always looks big on the small screen, but it really just has a massive base. Still worth having a look at, and if you were still able to go up into the statue to the viewing deck (closed post Sept 11) it would be amazing.
Times Square
Times Square – Standing in the middle of Times Square is one of the quintessential New York things, and broadway, wow, crazy busy. Would have been awesome to have gone to see a show there, but I’m still hoping to go and see the Lion King at West End in London. The most fun thing about Times Square is for sure the huge Toys’r’us. This place is so big it has a ferris wheel in the middle of the store. Pretty exciting. They also had a BIG animated T-Rex, I actually found it a big scary. But also HELL COOL! Other highlights, definitely going into the two storey Barbie Fun house. If I had more money, Oktoberfest Barbie would have been coming home with me! Although, with the recent changes to Barbie, she looks like a bit of a slapper. Getting Tom in the Barbie fun house was by far the most hilarious experience, and apparently trying to take a picture…not cool. So for fear of a celebrity style Camera smashing, sorry readers, no visuals of Tom and Barbie☹
Central Park
Central Park was really interesting, it’s so big, and really gorgeous. Walking through there having a hot dog, really good fun. We were lucky our hostel was only a few blocks from the park, so we got to spend a fair amount of time walking around. I didn’t realise but there are actually quite a few sporting facilities in the park, including a mini beach volleyball area. Just a massive sandbox.
Painting at the New York Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art – This was my favourite thing we did in New York, and the best money spent. The Met is so huge, we spent nearly five hours walking around, and covered not even a third of the collection. We picked a few exhibits we were really interested in, and tried to focus on them. But the strangest thing is, you are allowed to take photos in the museum, as long as you don’t use a flash. Which I found a surreal experience, and a little gutting as I had left my camera at the hostel that day! Well excited to see “The death of Socrates”, and my two favourite exhibits were the Modern, and Medieval Armoury. Some of the work in the Modern section were fantastic, and then you had blue canvas. A blue canvas. The Andy Warhols were great to see, and there was some modern portraits that were cool.
But the Armoury was huge, showing full body armour from around the world, and also full horse armour. It was really amazing to see the whole sets that people used to wear into battle. Although, I feel sorry for the poor horses having to carry the whole shebang.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on July 6, 2007 from New York, United States

So much funny stuff has happened
Las Vegas, United States
All the bad stories you hear about america....true
Is america just like the movies...true
Do people have no idea about Australia...true
Is it possible no-one can understand Australians...true
My god! This place is insane...the funniest stuff has happened, and I haven't got enough hours to write it all down!
I was chatting to a guy on the bus in LA, and he asked me if I was pretty happy about how the euro was going against the dollar. He was rather surprised when I told him that we had Australian dollars...and that Australia wasn't in europe. Riiiight...
Another la bloke was telling me about the fires in Australia, and how 20% of our native wildlife was going to become extinct as a direct result of the fires...including (gasp) the koala. At that one I just cracked up laughing...some things you can't keep a straight face for.
Walking down the street today with another aussie girl (wearing jeans, hoodies and hiking boots-seeing as it snowed two days ago) we were propositioned by a man in a car...who assumed as we were walking...we must be street walkers. We very quickly told him what we thought of the idea. Being subtle doesn't work really well here, I have told someone that if he tried to put his arm around me, I would punch him. He asked where, and I told him anywhere that would hurt. he was really drunk, so he got the idea and left me alone. It was perfectly safe to say that..I was in the hostel surrounded by aussies. There was only 3 non-aussies in there, one which was him and the other two were brazillian I think.
Wal-mart, is the business. Even make-up is a quarter of the price of back home. It puts priceline to shame. Its really hard to get healthy food, but If you want sugared cereal...it's amazing! Well worth the three mile walk. And yes, we did specifically hunt down a wall mart.
Anyway, I have to go, the internet is going to run out. Again. I can't find my camera cable, but when i do i'll put up some more photos. Ohhh, and the public buses in la have plasma screens!
Will write again soon, take care
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 21, 2006 from Las Vegas, United States

Feliz Navidad! Merry christmas from Vegas...Americas playground
Las Vegas, United States
This week getting motivated to write has been difficult. It really had been all about killing time. There is an endless amount of things you can do in Vegas, if you have the money. And unfortunately, thats what it comes down too. In some ways you can live really cheap, and yet other things are so expensive.
So...what have I been doing? Been down the strip a few times, which is rather dull during the day, but at night it looks fantastic. But in saying that, it was smaller than I expected. The first night I was here I went with an english girl Gemma to see a show, a christmas present to myself. We saw Cirque du soleil, the Zumanity show. Afterwards, I understood why you had to be 18+ to attend...it was rather risque. Not even risque. There were times that it felt like an acrobatic strip show. But don't get me wrong, it was absolutely phenomenal. At any time there are 4 or 5 different cirque du soleil shows on spread across the big casinos. Kate would love it here!
I spent another day/night walking the strip, and it was seriously, 10 hours of walking that day. We did about 20 kms we worked out, and that was just the inbetween distances, not even including the walking around the casinos and shops. Went to a mall here, and they had runway! Models doing runway in the middle of a mall. Strange.....
SO, I saw the lions at the MGM grand, watched the pirate show at treasure island (strippers on a ship)..they used the phrase 'plunder the sirens cove'. Yep...family show that one. And my absolute favourite, the fountains at the bellagio. At the end of oceans 11 you can see the fountains, and they are better than they look in the movie. I ended up filming the whole thing on my camera, but I can't upload it at this stage (I'll explain later).
One of my highlights I'm sad to say was going to wal-marts. It's so cheap! But the food here, i bought enough to feed myself for a week, and it cost $40, but it's all so sugary. I had vegemite on toast, and I couldn't taste the vegemite. Now thats just not right. The bread was meant to be multigrain as well! So i'm sticking to sourdough, just because you can't add much sugar to that!
I've started buying winter clothes here because it's so cold, the night before I got here it snowed. Seriously people. My skin is drying out from being in a heated environment. But I bought a nerds jumper for $10, which is super cool, and cheap.
The weirdest thing happened last night, was talking to this america guy (from montana) at the hostel bar, and he was talking about the neighbourhood, and how he had to 'protect' himself. So I asked him many questions...and he had THREE knives...and one was the biggest thing ever! It was about the size of my forearm...and legal!
Even the greyhound buses they search your carry on bag to see if you are 'packing'. Right.....I dont think I'm in kansas anymore.
My dorm is pretty quiet which is good, it's an 8 bed dorm, and there has only been 2 or 3 of us in there at any time. Really like a little bit of space. And people not having sex in my dorm. Thats one thing I really like in america, segregated dorms.
So had a big gamble, put $1.50 in 'Kenny Rogers - The Gambler'. It was really quite hillarious. I filmed my losing streak, such a tourist. At least I dont strap my camera to my belt. Unlike some gringos.
Wasn't able to play the dvd my family sent me for christmas, but I did see toms video on you-tube, and the biggest thanks to all the stars! I couldn't keep the smiles off my face! I still am grinning like an idiot thinking about it. It's been hard having christmas on my own, especially as it is spread over two days. (I'm nearly a full day behind here). So right now it's boxing day (which no-one calls it here) in australia. But here it's christmas day. Going to have christmas dinner at the hostel soon. And many beers.
I've taken heaps of photos, but the internet is shit here. You can't put cds into computers, attach cameras, pretty much do anything aside from write emails and browse. So when I get to canada I'm going to invest in a second hand laptop, and the internet is also really expensive. Some places are USD$12 per hour. Stuff that for a joke, as everywhere has free wi-fi! Hostels, casinos, even starbucks. It's a real joke.
The fremont street experience is pretty cool, it is a street with a giant canopy, which is a telly! It's the size of 3000 plasmas, and covers two blocks of the street. These people sure do like their telly....
Also, they sell jagermeister in 1.75 litre bottles! Got a photo of that one too.
Not sure what else to say, i'm planning on cutting short my san fransico experience, and getting on to vancouver. I really want to settle down and get working. I miss having a reason to get up every day (but not as much as I miss Tom - I know, I'm a mushbag).
Also! Girls, the talent I've seen since I left the country, POOR! The best person I've met was australian. Seriously. I've had this debate with many girls (not all of the aussie) and aussie blokes are some of the finest in the world. Go homegrown (or immigrated in my case).
Take care, will try and write from san fransisco. And go singing on waltzing matilda on the trams.
Love sarah
(oh, almost forgot, the corona beers here are cheap, and they are imported by Barton beers ltd. Took a photo of that too!)
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 25, 2006 from Las Vegas, United States

Happy Birthday to Ethan
Las Vegas, United States
Hi Ethan!
Just wishing you a happy eighth birthday, I hope it's been a really nice day. Your car racing set sounds pretty cool, you'll have to make sure you don't lose any of the parts. I have your birthday present here...but it's going to take a little while to come to Australia in the mail. It might not be there for almost a month ok? But it is on the way!
Take care of mum and dad, and I love you!
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 26, 2006 from Las Vegas, United States

Safe and sound in San Francisco
San Francisco, United States
Hi! Made it to San Francisco, much to my amazement. After catching the overnight greyhound bus from Vegas to LA, I have revised my theory that it's a good way to save $20 on a nights lodgings, but it all worked out fine...except for the transfer greyhound sold me, from the downtown bus station to the Hollywood bus station. Works better if there is a bus running before your plane leaves. Some awesome south african girls I met at the bus station ended up saving me and driving me to the LA airport, so a big thanks to them:)
So caught my plane, and arrived in San Francisco a few hours ago. It was about to get dark when I got here, so I haven't had a chance to explore at all yet, but hoping to get out reasonably early tomorrow, it's dusk at 5pm here, so it limits the time I can spend kicking around. And I've cut short my time in San Francisco, and bought a plane ticket to vancouver for new years eve. Really want to get up there and settle down a bit and get a job. Start replenishing the funds.
So far I really like here, it seems to have an awesome vibe. Still trying to find an internet cafe where I can upload photos, but no love yet. I have heard of one...so I'm going hunting tomorrow.
My bag seems to have been stuffing itself while I was out and about in Vegas, somehow it has managed to up itself about 7kilos in the last week! I know I have a fair bit of food in there, but seriously. All up I was carrying 30 kilos. And something has to go! Sadly I think it might be one of my 5 books, or 2 journals. But the book exchanges here aren't brilliant, so it just seems like a waste....I only managed to get it checked in by sheer luck at the airport today.
I'll work it out.
Will write again soon,
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 27, 2006 from San Francisco, United States

Totally in love with San Francisco
San Francisco, United States
From the bay to the bars, there is nothing I don't adore about this city. Even in the middle of winter, the weather is perfect. I've met some really cool people at my hostel, and we've spent heaps of time exploring the city. On our first night here, we headed out to a few bars after a free dinner at the hostel (green tortoise hostel, recommend it to anyone) and got a little sloshed.
New friends at my hostel
Not too bad, so the next day we walked all around the city, checking out many of the tourist areas and a few others. Starting our own little three person pub crawl (Jason Kat and myself) and ended up having a big night. I have never felt so naive in my life, the guys took me to a strip club, and it blew me away. It wasn't as sleazy as I expected, and it was really good fun. Apparently we went to the uber tame ones, but my god, those girls are practically acrobats! Very impressed. Ended up having big chats to one girl, who was working as a stripper to put herself through college. A real eye-opening experience. After that we somehow managed to walk to a nightclub around the corner from the hostel, where the bartenders loved us aussies, were giving us free shots of furnet, and we were in the vip area. Not that I remember all of this....Jason had to 'remind' me. Tried to send Tom a drunken email, and it was the hardest thing in my life to log into my email account. And the email, well it looks like a monkey was just randomly bashing the keyboard. Now very glad that my Mobile has never had a sent messages folder. I doubt I would have wanted to ever know what tripe I write when I'm sloshed.
So the next day with hangover in tow, we went and hung out at this cool cafe owned by Francis Ford Coppola, which has the best food at amazingly good prices. After that Kat headed to the airport (onto vancouver - so we'll be catching up later) and myself and the two guys hired bikes, and biked around the bay area, and across the golden gate bridge, and were on the bridge for sunset. One of the best experiences of my trip so far. Even with hangover.
So last night we just chilled and then this morning, went out to Alcatraz prison. Interesting to see, but there were so many tourist everywhere, complete with audio tour (which was great to have, but there were SO many people). After that and walking along the docks by myself, a few of us headed out for tea, and swung past the coolest beat bookstore, and Jack Kerouac street too.
Nob hill...yep, read the sign under it
Really looking forward to Malaysia, kicking about with Kim and Tom. The days won't go fast enough:)
Talk to you soon, heading to Vancouver in the morning.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on December 30, 2006 from San Francisco, United States

Vancouver
Hi all!
Have arrived into Canada, and have settled into a hostel in downtown. Haven't seen anything yet though, have managed to get tonsilitis and so am fairly well confined to the hostel at this stage.
But things are starting to come together, have my swap orientation on thursday, have all the paperwork ready for my bank account, will even get a Mobile sim card this week.
When I'm feeling better (ie not so sorry for myself) I might venture out and take some sweet photos.
Talk soon,
written by  no_fosters_thanks on January 2, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada

Homesickness and job interviews...my favourite things
Ok. So I'm a big sook. A BIG sook. I acknowledge and accept that fact. And yes, Vancouver IS that cold. So I haven't blogged much lately, not a terrible amount has happened. But what has, I'll fill you in on.
So I came to Vancouver on New Years Eve, and it was a kicking night! Had a few beers, and guess what, Canada has some good beer. Met some awesome people, and the bar went off. An really cool local band played, and you should have heard their last set. They did Johnny Cash covers, and the place went nuts. Hell, I did. Everyone was dancing and just letting go. Good fun.
NYE at the Cambie hostel bar
But unfortunately the next day, I got rather ill. Turned out I had tonsilitis for the millionth time this year, and after a feverish and uncomfortable night (and to be honest, a big fat lecture from my mum via gmail chat) I went to the doctor and got some sweet antibiotics. So, basically the first week in Vancouver, I spent in bed. Didn't venture out too much, just tried to get better. Still have a bit of a cough, but I'm hoping that will bugger off soon.
So during the week, the craziest thing happened. In the morning, I ventured outside the hostel, and there was this huge amount of ice, on this car. And I was like, 'hey, wow, they get so much ice here...must have been a cold night'. Fine. Then I look at the rain, and I was like 'hey, why is the rain white?' (and yes, I am that daft. It took me looking at a nearby park before it clicked. It was SNOW. I have NEVER seen snow in a city before. You should have seen my face!
Snow in Vancouver
So I trudged through the snow, making the job applications, and a little bit of a lack of love. It's weird, never really looked for a job like this before. Aside from KPMG, all my other jobs have just sort of...well, happened. So I got a little discouraged by an overwhelming lack of enthusiasm on behalf of my life. Although, I nearly landed the BEST job. It was mine if I could have made the commitment, but I really like the owner, and I wasn't willing to shaft them. It was at a photo lab, selling photos frames and albums, and playing with digital photos. I was so excited. But, alas, it was not to be.
Found out my phone doesn't work here...so I bought a new one. I mean, it probably works, but telstra isn't in canada. So, I ended up getting a new telephone, which is great, I can text people! Awesome. But phones here work funny, and you dont pay for calls you make, you pay for 'airtime'. So no matter what you do, call OR recieve, you have to pay airtime. But, on the bright side, the airtime rates aren't that bad. And I dont really know anyone, so my bill shouldn't be too bad.
So friday night, I realised I was moping about, so I gave Kaths friend Amber a ring. Brilliant! We ended up catching up the next day, and it was really good. Ambers a really great chick. Amber also works with a recruitment agency, so she put me in contact with Accountemps, on monday morning. (yesterday).
So sunday I moped around again in spectacular fashion. Also did a bit of it yesterday. Did another big job search monday walking around. Been pretty homesick, it's hard to meet people in my hostel too. So I think I might change hostel. I may admit to having a cry in the bathroom. But, it's not the first time, and I'm sure it wont be the last.
I will also admit to having a sneak peek at flights home. But, I would refuse to forgive myself if I gave up, so although I ring tom quite often seeking emotional support, I'm sticking it out. The worst was when I was at the doctor, with a fever and he asked me if I had someone who could take care of me. Such a little mushbag am I.
Um....so accountemps rang me last night, at like 5.30 for an interview in the morning, so this morning was a mad rush to try and buy some interview shoes....an hour before my interview. But I managed! They are ugly, but black shiny boots nonetheless. And cheap:)
Also have an interview
written by  no_fosters_thanks on January 9, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada

A Job and a house
So, just a quick update, I have a job with the accounting temping agency, and i think I will be started my first assignment on Monday! Yay! So that should be really good. Have another interview with the Roots store tomorrow, and I have another interview on sat for a bar/food place on the beach. So, not sure what I'm going to do, I'd rather work as a waitress, better to meet people. The idea is monday to friday accounting, and then bar or store work on the weekend.
The view from the end of Cambie street in Downtown
Also, I thought I had blogged about it, but I guess I deleted it accidentally (such a computer whizz am I), but Tom is coming to Canada! He just has had his work permit approved, so I'm looking for flats at the moment for the two of us, to start leasing March, as we both fly into vancouver early march. There is one I'm looking at this weekend, it's near Kitsilano beach. At least with two of us, we can get a one bedroom flat for about the same price as getting two separate rooms in a house, so we should have a nice place to ourselves. Yay! So we're going to continue the rest of the trip together, which should be a great experience. Looking forward to it. Still haven't changed the travel plans, except we're probably going to spend more time in Eastern europe now, which I'm really excited about. And we will prolly head up to Norway at some stage and annoy John and Kath for awhile.
Also looking forward to Australia day here, trying to find somewhere that will be streaming the triple j hottest 100, but failing that we're going to have a second bash at it in Malaysia with Kim and Tom. And probably a whole world of alcohol. But I'm already a little prepared, as part of my chrissy present Tom sent me a MASSIVE aussie flag, so I'm planning to be a disgrace to all aussies. Sorry.
Talk soon, although planning to be working my sorry little tush off as of monday. Awesome.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on January 11, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada

I'm starting to get my shit together
Hi everyone,
just a quick note to let you know that I'm alive and working! I'm working two jobs...hell tired. Doing accounting temp work during the day, and hostessing at night. Also moved into a house for the next month!
Took a photo from out the front of the restaurant. It's on the beach. And yes, that's snow on the beach.
Kitsilano Beach
So tired, will talk to you later after a snooze. And if you want to talk, I have skype! sarahk.barton is my username. Scary people, please don't ring me. If you know me, thats a little different.
Guess what! Tom and I got the apartment we wanted! We will be living in a cute little one bedroom apartment in Kitsilano! Very very very excited. We move in as soon as we come home from Malaysia. fully furnished...and best of all...across the road from the bottle shop.
Thanks.

Everything is gone :(
Before I left aus, I packed up all my stuff, took it to the g-town and put it in storage. Today Dad rang me, there was a fire at the factories, and everything is gone. And uninsured. It's unbelievable, and I'm completely shattered.
Luckily, before I left I thought everything was going to be stored at Mum and Dad's house, so I took a few of my valuables that I didn't want my little brother going through (now, god bless him being the trouble he is) and left them at Toms house. So, I still have my photo albums, shiny things and a few really special items. But everything else is gone. What really upsets me is losing all my quilts that I was half-way through, and especially all the gifts from my 21st. Gutted. More upset that Alf is gone. Sure, I'm not sure he's had a shower in the last 18 years...but I'll still miss him:(
Trying to look on the bright side...at least everything will be matching when I get back. And I totally don;t have to stop myself buying shoes....no longer shall i say 'but i have plenty at home'. Hahaha. I don't have any anymore.
After work I went and bought a block of chocolate. Then stopped off for a hot chocolate. Then stopped at the bottle shop for a 6 pack. Feeling a little better for it, and chatting with Tom for a few hours has really helped too.
Blergh.

6 days left in Vancouver (for my first go)
Wow, it's already nearly time to leave Canada! Only heading to Malaysia for three weeks, but I've been getting itchy feet (and not from hostel showers) to get travelling again. Haven't got much planned for the trip yet, but we'll work it out once we arrive there.
Things have been pretty crazy here, still working heaps of hours, not to mention having a bit of a social life now. I've been at the College for the last month, and really enjoyed my time there. My role has been mainly account recievable monkey work, but it's been a great opportunity, and I love the people. Made good friends with Shannon and Erika, and heading out this Saturday night for Erika's birthday drinks.
This week has also been rather draining, the whole fire thing has really hit home, and it's left me quite odd. It will be fine, but I'm actually really glad I've been on my own. I haven't been able to crawl into a ball and not deal with it, I spazzed out that day, got drunk once or twice (ok, twice), but aside from that I've still had to get up everyday and get on with it.
Have more photos, but I'm using a mac at the moment, and as much as I love them, for some reason safari doesn't want to play when it comes to uploading photos. But I'll add some more in soon. Promise.
Look, you can see the mountains, just down the street!
Something I love about Vancouver, is the sun rises and sets usually while I'm on the skytrain on the way to work. And it's always amazing. Especially as you can see the mountains, all pink, it really makes you go all mushy. And there are people on the train, who don't even see it. It makes me wonder what I miss when I'm on the train going to work back home. Hmmmm...footscray. Yep, maybe not quite the same.
A big thanks to the people who have emailed or texted and the like, it's been great to hear from you.
Little Nana Conlan - Hope all is well, thinking of you and hoping the heat isn't too bad for you at the moment.
Katie and Phil- Good luck on the house, hope you got it (and if you get a puppy, take photos!)
Em and Malte - Still up for the Com fest in scotland? Really keen to make that a definite plan
Missing everyone, but it's 7 sleeps until I'm kicking around with Kimba and Tom (or T-rex as she prefers to call him now) so it's all good from here:)
love sarah
written by  no_fosters_thanks on February 5, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada

Selamat datang
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
After a squillion hours of travel (most of them quite fine..) I have arrived in Kuala Lumpur! It's amazingly muggy, but the view from the balcony, more than makes up for it! We're staying with Tom's parents here, and we're having a great time. Catching up with Kimba today, as soon as she calls we're going to meet up in KLCC and have an explore. Or a beer. Or maybe both.
Cityscape
Still trying to work out a game plan for Malaysia, but to be honest it really so far does involve a fair bit of relaxing and nothing to stressful. Both Tom and myself have been working hard to save up for travelling, and will continue when we get back to Vancouver, so now is a good time to just chill and relax for awhile.
We are staying right next to the Patronus towers which as super impressive, but it's amazing how western the malls are underneath the towers. It's weird, just like being back in Aus. I know it's not the same, however it's the closest I've seen since I left home.
The travel here was quite interesting, on the Seattle to los Angeles flight was sat next to a really good guy from Seattle, who was flying to Australia to study! So we had great chats the whole flight, and ended up having dinner together and a few drinks at the bar. It was like some Christmas movie...where we where in Denver and snowed in or something. It was just really nice for both of us, I could tell him about Aus, and vice versa.
The flight to KL was interesting...I found out when I was looking at the board I has read my flight wrong. Turns out it wasn't a 14 hour flight. It was a 14 hour flight to my STOPOVER IN TAEPAI! and then two hours there and ANOTHER 4 hours to Malaysia. On finding this out, my initial reaction was to swear, and then try and find out where Taepai was. Turns out I was going to Taiwan. Interesting. And unexpected. We all got pulled of the plane and had a random security check, which I find intimidating after they announce on the plane over the PA that they are required to remind us, the penalty for drug trafficking is DEATH. Riiight. Lucky I had left all the drugs in Bolivia. (only joking dad, I can't afford drugs...beer costs to much).
Will update again later, hope to talk to everyone soon. Also, Erin, totally hope to catch up with you in canada, we'll be heading to Toronto later in the year, I'm not sure how long you will be there for, but let us know!
Love
written by  no_fosters_thanks on February 14, 2007 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

So yes - sweet
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
So, seeing as Tom and I will be travelling together for the rest of the trip (score), we did discuss the possibility of having a shared blog. But, it's a lot of commitment, and due to the potential of artistic differences (ok, really we have different ideas on what my nana might like to hear about) Tom has his own blog.
It's more interesting than mine... so please go and check it out. He's already written about our travels in Malaysia (quick summary-couch to fridge to couch. Then couch to shop with beer then to fridge then couch. Awesome)
http://www.blogabond.com/haveyouseenmypassport
Will write soon, but very busy with beer and food. And pash rash. Ok, so mine isn't always nana friendly too.
What a handsome mat salai...
Mesjid at KLCC
written by  no_fosters_thanks on February 21, 2007 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Jungle and the city
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Explored some more in the last few days, knocking the major tourist stuff off the list. There is so Buket Bintang, Menara Kuala Lumpur (big tower), and a little Jungle walk too. The food in Kuala Lumpur is to die for, we've had Japanese, Thai, Australian, Spanish tapas and all of it has been amazing.
Tom and monkeys
With visiting the Menara Kuala Lumpur, to be honest, I expected more. Even though it was a comparatively clear day, it was still hard to see quite far. The smog and the distant rain just made it hazy. However at the bottom of the tower there was a little 'jungle' walk, which was far more interesting the the tower itself. The first section itself had two types of monkey, and they were just playing around in the trees and on the path. The rest of the walk was quite interesting, strange experience walking through the 'jungle', with big arse leafy trees and mozzies and then the sound of the freeway. Nothing like a tranquil walk...and then walking across a couple of startled locals sharing some pot. I don't think they expected to see us!
Take care in heels
Tomorrow the plan is to hit up a photography gallery and maybe a craft centre. Lucky tom.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on February 23, 2007 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

More food...
The last three weeks have absolutely flown past, Kimba has already gone home, and we'll be heading off to our respective countries in two days time. Finally done some more sightseeing, which we managed to squeeze inbetween meals.
Kimbas' aunt (film star in Malaysia back in the day) took us to Putrajaya, which was stunning. Toured around the new office building, went past the palace, the prime ministers residence and the national mosque.
Would have loved to see inside a mosque, however I doubt Noor thought we were quite the devout muslims and didn't offer to take us inside....so we didn't ask. However Noor did take us to Royal Selangor Golf Course, which is pretty amazing (although the drive by of KLGCC- much more impressive) and we had lunch there.
No trumpets allowed - Royal Selangor golf club
For some reason it had the most amusing signs...but I'm the first to admit, it took me a little too long to realise that it really meant that no horns allowed. Kim had mentioned how she was forcefed by her aunt....which we were all subject to. You - eat this. Stuffed full wouldn't even begin to describe it.
Kim, breaking it down now
The post lunch expedition took us to some wetlands, but we struggled to see the wetness. Strange considering how much it rains in KL. Not really much to report there. Kimba did dance for us at the top of the, tall thing with stairs. Wouldn't call it a tower...but it had some height.
Post stair thing, we headed back to Kimba's aunts place, and chilled till her cousin Kay finished uni, then headed to Sri Hartamas for various adventures....none of which dad I can confirm resulted in me getting a tattoo. I did consume a few beers. We had a great night, some of Kay's friends came with us, we had dinner and beers and some sort of massive smoking thing, that tasted like watermelon and apple. Very tasty.
Smashing beers at
Proud to say we acted like responsible young adults...and bought a little bottle of vodka and smashed it with our Coke, seeing as the venue was beer free. Honestly. In the words of Kahmahl, why are people so unkind?
Altogether we had a smashing time (brilliant and beer-wise), but I'm sad to be leaving:( It's been great seeing everything, and spending time with Kimba and Tom, and Tom's family.
Tomorrow is our last day here before I fly out, and then it's back to Canada and responsibility. And work. Argh. But there will be plenty more adventures coming up soon.
written by  no_fosters_thanks on March 2, 2007 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Blading at Stanley Park
Tom and Erika skating
Not much I can say about this really, Tom, Erika and I hired sweet rollerblades, and skated around part of stanley park. Although, watch out for the salmon crossing, no-one likes roadkill.
Salmon Crossing
written by  no_fosters_thanks on April 9, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada

Ice-hockey, beer and UBC
Crazy, just looking at the google map above, it's insane to think how far I've come...and also how much of it was overland! You would think after 28 hour bus trips in South America, that I would appreciate plane travel more. But I think people get to caught up in 'losing' time while in transit...one of my favourite views in Bolivia, was while we were on a chicken bus going through a tunnel, while travelling in the Andes. I'm actually looking forward to going across Canada by bus, granted, some of it will be boring (I'm predicting the prairies), going through the rockies by bus, awesome. Not to mention going through USA, where we can see lots of their cool country barns. I find them hillarious.
This week has been a bit social for us, Thursday we headed out with an Aussie contingent to Room 18, our local bar to watch the hockey, the Vancouver Canucks vs. Dallas. Sadly, we lost that game in overtime, but hey, it's best out of 7...so we're still in with a chance. Was a great night, quite amusing when the massive bench 3 of our party was sitting on broke, and consequently propped with with milk crates. Very classy. The poor waitress nearly went out of her mind with this dilemma. We agreed that she had to be new.
Friday night we went over to a house leaving party, for a bloke I used to work with when I first got to Canada. The house was due to be demolished, so we gave it a rousing farewell...actually we drank, played Texas hold'em and other board games.
Pilsner
But it was a good night, our friends Shannon and John picked us up and drove us home, so we got home all safe and sound:)
Saturday we just slept in...had a house day catching up on important business....trying to continue with learning spanish, which is going slowly but steadily.
Today we went for a walk around UBC parklands, which was rather surreal. UBC is like a little town all of it's own, even with it's own MacDonalds. Going from RMIT university, which is just random buildings scattered throughout the CBD, to a well developed region....strange.
UBC parklands
But the parklands were quite nice....and it was a good form of exercise.
Still trying to plan our trip trans canada, but apparently according to Tom, I have a few 'reality' issues in regards to how much time and money we have. But hey, I'll get there in the end:)

Canadian house parties and compulsive fibbers
The parent creatures seem pretty happy with the once weekly 'I'm alive' phone call, however displeased when it's short due to imminent free beer. Honestly, you would think your parents would want whats best for their children.
Tom's sweet mullet
Basically, I'm pretty gutted, due to my mum preferring Tom's blog to mine, even after I pointed out that very little is related to reality. And apparently I try to kill him every week in a new and creative manner. THE LIES!!!! It's taken a few days to calm down...but my overwhelming jealous moment is well under control. However, Tom's mullet keeps increasing...he says he's going to try and look like Tom cruise ala MI2. Crazy.
So the weekend just gone was a bit of fun...we headed out to the Richmond Ikea, which was pretty awesome. I'm not sure how much Tom enjoyed the experience, but I had a ball. I'll admit, it was very similar to the Ikea at home, and I love both of them equally. Is it lame when tourist attractions include foreign ikeas? It's almost tempting when I go to Sweden to go to ikea there....except I'm sure they won't have the explanation of what something is...and you know what, I need it sometimes. Incidentally, the swedish words for kitchen chairs are apparently all boys names. There you go.
Cultural merger....
Saturday night we were invited to a bbq, hosted by my co-worker Rose. There are pictures of Tom and I with her teenie tiny dog...smaller than the cat. It was a pretty good night, beer and snags...very very tasty.
Other than that, we've just confirmed, we will be leaving Vancouver on June 3rd...and are confirmed to arrive in London on July 7th. Jeez, hope I get my passport back from the UK embassy soon!
So doot crew and mates in the Uk, get your livers ready! Also vancouverites, book in a leaving party, details soon!

"It's a treasure hunt, at your local thrift store"
Kits Beach
**update** So totally nothing interesting has happened. At all. I worked, drank beer, teased Tom, and bought bus tickets. Greyhound 30 DAY DISCOVERY PASS! Thats right North America, you shall suffer my travels for 30 days of invasive discovery. Hahahahaha **update waaaay over**
A real sign, complete with a picture of an old school pirate treasure map. Oh, of all the days to forget my camera. Who knew that a trip to the mall would be so eventful?
Saturday we ventured all the way out to Burnaby, marking Tom's first trip on the skytrain. (incidentally, have you noticed we've run out of lots of free stuff to do in vancouver, we're really stretching our imaginations now). At Burnaby was the rather large, confusing shopping mall of Metrotown. Wow. They even have people on rollerblades 'shopper assistants' to aid you. Which you need, with the most CONFUSING floor plan known to man. I cannot count the times we got lost, and then by the time we were slightly orientated, trying to find an atm..lost again! However, we did find the best store, called 'ages 3 and up' which sold geek toys. They had a person sized statue of Gundam. Now you can see why we needed a camera!
We managed to find a webcam in londondrugs, so we rang all our families, and proved that we're alive and well with video evidence.
Monday afternoon was the most gorgeous day, so we walked down to the beach and played frisbee...which I'm ashamed to say wasn't a success. Well, a success in the regard that Tom got plenty of exercise, and utter failure that my throwing skills are much diminished.
Tonight we're heading to the Vancouver Art Gallery to see some photography exhibits with a girl from work, so that should be great fun.
4 weeks until we leave Vancouver now, off to Banff and Lake Louise first, get in some horse-riding up there! Super excited!
written by  no_fosters_thanks on May 8, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada

Leaving Vancouver
Ok, I'll finish my blog entry soon...I promise. But the day has come, we're bussing out of vancouver today, heading for the awesome, Lake Louise. So, contact will be more random, but YAY! On the road again.
Finished work friday, spend all weekend with amber and simon, and very soon it's time to leave. But enough time for bacon and eggs first!
Chatskies soon
written by  no_fosters_thanks on June 3, 2007 from Vancouver, Canada

Tom taking more photos of stuff...and me taking more photos of Tom

More castles!

The view of the city from the castle

view of the castle from the city

Tom on yet another train.....

Damn those Czech beers....so irresistable

the black tower....da da da duh.....

Tom pom

Town square

Sex shop and internet...and bar!

Budvar brewery....Toms true home

Everyone knows this one....

inside the cathedral

Cathedral

Staropramen Brewery

Salt mines

Salt chandelier

Cloth Market

Linlithgow Palace

Turrett

Linlithgow palace

linlithgow palace gate

Dr Who was in Glasgow...

Necropolis

The Local park

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Home sweet home

Looking up our street

The view from our window

Painting at the New York Met

Piccadilly Circus

Edinburgh Castle

Statue of Liberty

Edinburgh Streets

Gosh this city is just too beautiful

Life make me laugh

The infamous Brooklyn Bridge

NY Stock Exchange

Look Mummy! An Oktoberfest Barbie!

Lego Statue of Liberty

Yes, a my little pony chair on the Ferris Wheel..inside Toys'r'us

Interesting statue...

Times Square

New York, New York

Amazing statehouse

Oh yes...I went to Harvard

Central Park

Boston Heritage weekend celebrations...right

More gorgeous Edinburgh

The New York Met collection...of knights

The view from Mont Royal

Tom-pom

Violence against pool noodles, quebec says "every sunday"

Gorgeous Montreal

Still gorgeous Montreal

Part of the loch system

Niagara Falls old bridge to the USA

Niagara Falls, Canada

The shirt the HPO gave me, my Canadian ABC's

Swimming spot at the river

Teddy took the bus to Toronto

Waterfall Gail thought was 'safe'

I think squirrels are tops

Steam Whistle Brewery

Swimming at the River

Just down at the shops...

Saskatoon Zoo's cutest inmates

I like the thought bubble...of people

Amanda, Tom, Andrew and Stu at the Zoo

Too cute

Whoops...

Pretty Zoo creatures

and people think that I try to kill Tom!

Every Mummy needs to be a sand castle

Stu and his 'special beach friend'

Amanda and Andrew enjoying an ice-cream

Andrew playing mini-golf

The beach at Emma Lake

Emma Lake

Stu and Amanda at the Cabin

Watch for those...elk

The view from Tunnel Mountain

Tunnel Mountain

Chilling at Amber and Simons

Lake Louise - look at the reflection!

Tom, the little snowbunny

Tom and Oreo

Looking back at lake Louise

Chateau at Lake Louise, built in the 1920's

More snow capped mountains!

Lake Louise Creek

Tom

The amazing, lake louise

On the hike up to the lake

Tom and I at Ambers

Wreck Beach

Kits beach sunset

Shannon and John

Our goodbye bbq

The boat trip from Nelson Island

Trudy, John, Shannon, Tom, Sarah and Dale

A true log fire and all

Tick Tick Tick

The sunset view from the log cabin

Tom at the Cabin

John and Shannon playing Movietrivia

Goose and goslings

We found a secret lair

Canadian jumping fun

Shannon, our water guide

The smaller lake on Nelson Island

Small lake on Nelson Island

The back of the Cabin

Starfish!

Boating out to Nelson Island

The marina

Kits Beach

Cultural merger....

Tom's sweet mullet

Pilsner

UBC parklands

Salmon Crossing

Tom rollerblading the stanley park seawall

Lighthouse at Stanley Park

Lions Gate Bridge

Picnic at Lynn Canyon Park - Tom, Mark, Simon and Amber

Amber and Simons car - driving over lions gate bridge

Lynn Canyon Park

Lynn Canyon Park - Tom and Mark

Twin falls at Lynn Canyon Park

Tom, Sarah, Amber, Simon and Lighthouse

Lighthouse park - taking the scenically rocky route

Amber rock climbing

Lighthouse park

Walking around Lighthouse park in West Vancouver

Tom showing off his sweet ice-skating skills

Tom and I, Sun, sea and mountains

Local park near the beach

Playing frisbee at our local park

Amber and her head muff

Tom and I in North Vancouver

When good seagulls go bad

North Vancouver

Amber and I getting smashed

Vancouver, as seen from North Van

View from Kits beach

Granville Bridge

Pretty beach walk

View of Vancouver

Smashing beers at

No trumpets allowed - Royal Selangor golf club

Kim, breaking it down now

Kim and Tom in front of stuff, sans beer

National Mosque

Funky Bridge

Tom and monkeys

Take care in heels

What a handsome mat salai...

Sweet car

Mesjid at KLCC

Random sea animal at KLCC

Kimba, Tom and me - quite mashed

Roads and stuff.

Kimba and her pet drunk

Cityscape

Kitsilano Beach

The view from Granville St Bridge

Look, you can see the mountains, just down the street!

The view from the end of Cambie street in Downtown

Gastown and some snow!

My massive Aussie flag and I

Totem poles in Stanley Park

View over Vancouver from Stanley Park

The view from the SWAP office

Snow in Vancouver

Ok, more slush in Vancouver

NYE at the Cambie hostel bar

Vancouver

Alcatraz

One of my fav photos from the whole trip

Sunset from the Golden Gate Bridge

Strange roman ruins...in the middle of San Francisco. I dont know

Golden Gate Bridge

Same GIANT ruins

Hungover at Francis Ford Coppolas cafe....hell yeah

Jason Kat and myself...prior to corruption

San Francisco waterfront at night

Bellagio conservatory

Nob hill...yep, read the sign under it

New friends at my hostel

Fun times at the vegas hotel bar

Scary guy at my hostel bar

More fremont st

In vegas with my sweet Nerds jumper

For you Kate and Phil, more ambulance

The fremont st experience, its a giant telly

They have sweet t-shirts over here

They sell Corona bikinis!

The venetian hotel, pretty cool at night

Shotgun weddings

Random motels everywhere

I lost over $1 on this little baby, I didn't know when to fold 'em

Also inside New York New York

The MGM grand lion

Inside the New York New York casino

New York New York

More shiny lights

Maccas...vegas style

The Bellagio hotel

When turtles attack

1st day, and sweet mountains

1st Day in the sacred valley of the incas

1st day, inca terraces

The start of the inca trail...Km 82

Convento de la Merced

Our hostel street

Convento de la merced

Plaza

Church in Cusco

Another church in Cusco

Alpaca steaks..with pepper, red wine and mush sauce...and beer

Ruins at the Isla del Sol, on lago titicaca

Australia....or bolivia

Cathedral in the Plaza of Cusco

Sigh at the backpackers....very funny

Isla Del Sol

Sunset at Copacabana, from our hostel balcony

Local bolivian children

6 aussies at a bus stop (someone had to take the photo!)

Toyosa 4WD for our 4 day tour

The 6 aussies on the salt flats tour

Chris and us at the salt flats

Salt Flats

Sunset near the salt flats

Salt Flat hotel..all made from salt

Night at the Uyuni train station

View over Salta

Church at Salta

Iguazu falls

John at Iguazu falls, superior trail

Iguazu falls, island view

Iguazu falls, inferior trail

Leaving party