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Those Darn Frenchies

kalib — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The overnight train was a new experience for me. There were two sets of bunks in a carriage with three each. We got pillows, sheets and a blanket. Laying down, rather than sitting up trying to sleep was a welcome change. I kept waking up because of how bouncy the train was, but I managed to get almost a decent night’s sleep over the ten hour ride. Once in Paris, we walked to our hostel, stored our bags (check-in wasn’t until 4pm), dried off the sweat from the 85 degree weather, and set off for the long walk to the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. We got groceries on the way, and ended up in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower for most of the afternoon and evening. We even took naps on the grass. We waited for the tower to light up after dusk and then headed back to the hostel. Ending up with another room to ourselves capped off a great night. The next day we walked down to Notre Dame. Not being able to spend money unless absolutely necessary really limits what we can do, but walking around Paris was still amazing. Now, it’s time for the last leg of our journey in London!

Beer and Pretzels

kalib — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It’s surprising how fast people fall in love with Germany. The first time I came two summers ago, I was immediately smitten. Two seconds after stepping into our first beer hall, Heather and Kahea were head-over-heels. There’s just something about this place. It’s clean, it’s calm, the people are nice, the weather is nice, it’s just…nice. We walked around what turned out to be the red-light district the first night after the beer hall and my failed attempt at drinking a pint myself. The next day we walked to Marienplatz and the shopping streets nearby. We did a lot of shopping, but only a little spending. At dinner time we walked to the Hofbrauhaus. Heather and I had two of those huge steins with Radler, a mix of beer and lemonade. They are so good! And it’s the only way I can consume that much beer. Four German guys around our age sat at our table (a Normal custom in beer halls). We could tell that they were making fun of us quite often, but didn’t think that they spoke English. They seemed harmless enough, and we finally broke the barrier when I said something in German after one of them took a sneaky picture of me. We ended up having a lot of fun drinking and talking the rest of the night. Oh, and it turns out three of them did speak English, very well. After we left, Heather saw a Hofbrauhaus stein on a phonebooth! I have no idea how someone snuck it out, because there are so many guards. But we quickly dumped it out and stuffed it in my purse. I wish I had one too! The next day we did some more walking around downtown and then caught an overnight train to Paris!

The City of Gondolas

kalib — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

To sum up Venice in one word, I would say “unique.” I don’t think there is another place in the world like it. When you step out of the train station, you are confronted by water lapping at the steps. There aren’t taxis, there are water-taxis. There aren’t buses, there are ferries. And there aren’t ambulances, there are boats! Seeing water slamming into partially sunken, old front doors is quite strange. And each building is different. They have beautiful, ornate windows; and some even have paintings covering the front wall. We were staying at a budget hotel on one of the islands near the main part of town. Sadly, the ferry costs 6.50euros for each ride! There was some confusion getting to our hotel, but eventually we found it. Then we got BACK on the ferry and went to the main island to do the tourist thing. The Bridge of Sighs was almost completely covered by scaffolding and an advertisement. But St. Mark’s Square was luckily still visible. It was a beautiful place. Heather and I fed the pigeons and had some land on our hands. It was a bit freaky, but fun. While walking away, however, I had a pigeon fly at my face and try to land on my shoulder. Its feet got stuck in my sweater and I panicked a little. I think I gave the people around me some entertainment by yelling and flopping around trying to get it dislodged from my clothing. It eventually got free, but I didn’t feed the pigeons again. The girls and I did a lot of souvenir shopping. I bought a new Venitian glass ring, and we got presents for our family and friends. I’m glad we only stayed there one night, though. All of the sights can easily be seen in one afternoon, and the only other thing to do is shop. High-end shops are absolutely everywhere. I could only afford the gelato. Getting back to our hotel that night was wonderful. We were exhausted from traveling and walking all day. The only bad thing was the mosquitoes who found their way into our room that night. I woke up with ten bites, Heather had two, and Kahea had six. Now, it’s time for Munich!

Again in Roma

kalib — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Staying with my Italian family again involved mostly sleep. I didn’t experience a single morning there. I knew traveling with the girls would wear me out. After a few days, and yet another tearful goodbye to the family, I hopped on a bus at midnight and made my way to Rome. You would think that after multiple nights spent in chairs that I would be used to it, but sadly that’s not the case, and I didn’t get much sleep at all. I did get to see another sunrise, though. After a lugging my suitcase through the metro system, I made it to my hostel and dropped off my stuff before going to the airport to meet Heather and Kahea. I ended up waiting for them for over two hours! It turned out that the airline had accidentally marked Kahea’s bag to be delivered the next day. She was a little stressed out, but handled it like a trooper. I had been pretty homesick the past week, but when I saw the girls, I was happy. I can handle being here another two weeks now. Immediately after getting our beds we set off for the Roman forums and the Coliseum. The girls were excited, but so tired they could hardly do anything but walk slowly and snap pictures. The Coliseum was still amazing. And Rome was still Rome, only hotter. I had only had about an hour of sleep the night before and the girls were faring even worse, so we went to bed early. Six o’clock to be exact. The next day, we woke up at a decent hour and went to the Vatican. We were all peppier and enjoyed ourselves. That place still blows my mind. Afterwards we ate pizza at the Largo Argentina, marveled at the Pantheon, and got gelato at my favorite place, Giolitti. I am going to miss that place. I am going to miss ALL these places. We spent the third day, the 24th, at the beach outside Rome. It was absolutely wonderful! A whole day lying on the beach next to the Mediterranean with my best friends is my idea of relaxation. Heather and I went swimming, which is when she stepped on a jellyfish. That part wasn’t so much fun, but we got some sort of Italian liquid for jellyfish stings that made her feel much better. Since she couldn’t walk, I went up to the bar to get her a Carona. The bartender asked me if I was sixteen, and didn’t believe me when I said I was twenty-one. It’s good to know that my (extremely) youthful looks are obvious in every country. Tomorrow we will be leaving Rome for Venice!

The Inca Trail

steve_stamp — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The night before the start of our Inca trek Josh fell ill. I knew it was serious when he announced that he didn´t want any dinner; I left him to sleep and hoped that the early night would sort him out. It didn´t. Early the next morning as we made our way up to the start of the trail his head hung heavily and it was clear that the so called “easy” first day would be anything but.

The path was fairly flat and asked little of the various tourist groups who plodded along cheerfully. I was expecting a fairly large group but our entourage was immense – an army of 30 porters, all heavily laden with oversized packs, joined our group of 22 (not including the 5 or so guides), striding past (sometimes jogging) in order to get ahead and prepare our next rest stop. At first I resented this pampering and I wished we could have had a small group with a couple of tents and a camping stove but from the first meal (cooked by our personal chef and eaten in our dining tent at a long table with stools) I felt nothing but grateful for their efforts. By the end of the trip they would be heroes.

With Josh feeling terrible, our guide took the two of us on a slightly shorter route to see the first of the large ruins. In fact this was the best part of the day as we separated ourselves from the densely populated path and were given very interesting lessons about Inca history and the local flora and fauna. The ruins themselves (Patallacta) were well preserved and set spectacularly at the bottom of the valley alongside the river Wilkamayo (or Uru Riobamba) which we followed for most of the day. That evening we ate well and retired to bed early in preparation for the infamous climb up to Dead Womans Pass the next day. During the night Josh shouted happily to himself and I hoped that the rest was doing him good.

The second day is known as the biggest challenge of the Inca Trail and I couldn’t have been more up for it. After the relaxed pace and frequent stopping of the previous day I couldn´t wait to push myself a bit harder. Thankfully Josh seemed to be back to normal and we set off at an impressive pace, eager to distance ourselves from the crowd. With long strides and measured breathing we climbed steadily through the mossy “Montane Rain Forest” where the exotic looking Unca trees twisted their way up to form a cooling canopy and eventually we emerged onto the steep, sunny steps which led up to the pass. I marched up them, maintaining a steady pace and stopping only for photos and to offer water to the sweating porters- their packs looking impossibly heavy as they trudged up.

Inspired by the strength and pace of the porters I soon reached the top. The views on either side of Dead Womans Pass (so called because the mountains are shaped like a woman lying on her back – nothing sinister) were dramatic and rewarding. I spent some time at the top taking photos and trying to breath normally again. Our guide had suggested that we take two stones – one for Dead Womans Pass and one for Machu Picchu – which we would then leave as a traditional Inca offering to the mountains and to Pachamama, the Inca equivalent to Mother Nature. I liked the idea and I proudly perched my stone at the top of a pile. Josh had fallen behind and, although I had intended to wait for him, after fifteen minutes or so I was getting cold and decided to carry on alone.

I dedicated the journey downward to Michael Jackson, dancing quickly down the rocky stairs to a lively mental megamix of all his hits. I had just completed a complex merging of You Wanna Be Starting Something and Another Part of Me when I realised I had already reached camp! I had even beaten most of the porters down! The camp had incredible views in every direction and I washed in a cold, clear stream while the tents were being put up. Directly in front of the camp was the deep Pacamayo Valley ; The Inca Trail wound up the mountain to the left of the valley and gave an enticing glimpse of tomorrows walk. It was only 11.45am but we were done for the day so I made myself comfortable, watching the clouds floating in and filling the valley and enjoying more of our chefs delicious cooking before a chilly night of llama clad lethargy.

We were woken early with tea (a very nice touch) and after a filling breakfast zigzagged our way up to the first set of ruins. This was to be a very informative day with lots of ruins and although we were eating and sleeping with the large group it had become apparent that we had our own guide, Selsa. This was perhaps because the other group were all part of a larger tour of South America and they were worried we may not fit in. In any case, being able to distance ourselves from the group was a definite advantage as we could walk at our own pace rather than in a frustrating cluster and have interesting discussions about anything we were curious about. On this occasion we were taught about Inca architecture, particularly in relation to the social politics of the time. It was good to be able to see more than just a ruin.

Later, as we continued our trek up the mountain, I found myself in a predicament. We were hours away from the next toilet stop and I sensed that I might not make it. Also the toilets are so bad that waiting for one seemed a bit pointless really. I was far enough in front to sneak off the path and find a suitable rock to hide behind… A miserable pair of boxers told me that I was not the first. Watching my step, I decided to proceed. I was, after all, a man of the mountain now.

Happily relieved, I caught up with Josh and Selsa and made it to the top of the mountain. The views were mind blowing and made even more satisfying by my recent excretory accomplishments. After a short rest we stomped our way down the familiarly steep, rocky paths and stairs until we reached the complex and interesting ruins of Sayaqmarka. Another lesson followed, this time about the Inca kings and the history of the Inca trails themselves. It amazed me how recently a lot of the trails and ruins had been discovered. Feeling well informed, we continued down the mountain side and into the “Cloud Forest”.

Although there were no clouds (at least not at first) the transition as we entered the Cloud Forest was clear. You could feel moisture in the warm air and dense vegetation suddenly appeared on each side of the trail. Soon we were enveloped in trees and bushes which created a beautiful and atmospheric walk. Every now and then the foliage would give way to incredible views of the mountains, the most memorable being from the top of Phuyupatamarka where we got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu . There were also some agricultural ruins visible from this summit. These sites are always spectacular as the farms made use of iconic Inca terracing – huge, perfect steps which climb down the mountain.

The walk back down to our campsite, via the ruins of course, was an endless rocky staircase with more of the same leafy vegetation disguising steep drops on one side and the jagged mountain wall on the other. It was the most scenic walk so far, although the steep steps were cruel to our feet. One of our group, a hilariously competitive guy whose name I never learnt, decided to run all the way down. Knowing that this would be the main topic of conversation at dinner that night I was disappointed not to find him crumpled at the bottom of some of the trickier stairs but when we got back I was pleased to find that, in his haste, he had missed the final ruin, WinayWayna, which had an amazing row of thirteen water fountains and the best looking terraces so far.

That night we had a “ceremony” whereby the porters all came and stood uncomfortably in front of us – telling us their names, ages and whether they were married or single (the main guide, Julio, had an irrepressible sleazy streak and enjoyed playing translator/ cupid for the porters and the younger girls of the group. We then handed out tips. It was a bizarre and uncomfortable ceremony for all concerned and I felt bad that Selsa, our own guide, had not been particularly involved. Afterwards we made sure that he knew how grateful we were for his personal tuition and he in turn expressed how lucky he felt to have such receptive students who he was able to be so open with. I got the impression that he didn´t often reveal his religious side so openly and I was glad that he felt comfortable enough to do so with us, particularly as religion is such a key part of understanding the Incas and the reasoning behind these spectacular mountain constructions.

We were also told the plans for the next day. We would be getting up in the middle of the night and walking the 6km to Machu Picchu for sunrise. We asked whether we would have any chance of climbing Huayna Picchu, the mountain which rises over the lost city affording amazing views, Selsa explained that the number of daily visitors is restricted to 400 and these tickets disappear fast. In order to have we would have to move very quickly. We both agreed it was worth a try.

Our Full Dose of the Andaman Coast

bhkann — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Almost poster-worthy

Sunset + Beer = Awesome

Ko Phi Phi (pronounced Pee-Pee) is one of those places that comes to mind when words like "pristine," "breathtaking," and "enchanting" are tossed around. The landscape of the Andaman coast is truly beautiful - limestone cliffs jutting out of crystal blue, warm waters that lap against sandy shores lined with palm trees.

Bamboo Island

If you like those tropical/beach posters that college students and stressed out white-collared workers tack onto there walls - you can thank the Andaman coast. And if you like the gorgeous scenery in that Leonardo DiCaprio movie, "The Beach," you can thank Ko Phi Phi (it was filmed there).

Sunset with cool rocks

We arrived via ferry from Phuket and walked (there are no cars / scooters on Phi Phi) to our Guesthouse. We settled in and enjoyed the sunset on the main beach. Our Guesthouse there was pretty dingy (our room was RIGHT next to the septic system and we saw cockroach and her child crawling skittering around our floor a couple times). No matter - we spent very little time here, because everything is outside in Phi Phi.

Maya Bay - Location of "The Beach"

The next morning we took a long-boat tour around Phi Phi and its neighboring islands. We stopped to swim a few times and did some excellent snorkeling (TONS of fish here and the visibility is incredible). We visited "Monkey Beach," which hosted many, many Li monkeys who were not shy.

Monkey Beach

We visited Maya Bay (the actual beach where "The Beach" was filmed), which was gorgeous as hell, and watched the sunset from our boat.

Ahhhh, the beach (Maya Bay)

SWEET - Bamboo Island

Sunset on a Boat

There are a lot of young tourists / backpackers around Phi Phi and thus lots of nightlife to keep us satiated. Eventually, late into the night, the crowds wander down to the beach where makeshift bars / clubs / discos offer specials on "drink buckets." They are also big on "fire-shows" on the islands - professional fire jugglers perform and they get the drunken tourists involved with "fire limbo" and jumping through fire-hoops. (No pictures of this have been found yet...)

The next day we left Phi Phi and took a ferry to Krabi, which is on the mainland of Thailand. Again, we were greeted with stunning beaches, but this time with less of a crowd, and huge cliffs.

Krabi is a top destination for rock climbers, so I felt that I needed to get a taste of it here. Today, we took a longboat to Railey beach, and I signed up for a half day rock-climbing tour.

It was the first time I climbed outdoors, and it was awesome! The climbs were of varying difficulty but most had great views of the bay and the islands at the top of them. I will be sore tomorrow, I'm sure.

Speaking of tomorrow - we will be switching to the east coast of the peninsula - The Gulf of Thailand. First stop is Ko Tao where will be getting our SCUBA certifications. More later!

Blue Lagoon

nicoandkara — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Me and my mom and my dad and i are going to blue Lagoon. It is supposed to be a spa, my mom says it is from geoeconomic heat from lava.
The water blue and it has calcium in it that helps our skin. When I saw the rocks they were white under the water and black over the water,
they were hard rock like igneous rocks. Igneous rocks are volcanic rocks. They have a bunch of holes inside of them because of the lava bubbles pop.
The reason why the rocks underwater our way is because of the calcium on it, it makes rocks very smooth.
The water feels good on my skin because it contains lots of nutrients and a lot of calcium.
The place looked like the moon, because of all the rocks, it almost looked like a cookie, a watery, green Mossed cookie. We went with two friends we met on our trip.
They were named Katia from Germany and Oliver from Mexico and France.I think they will be the coolest people we will meet on this trip but you never know.

Blue Lagoon

nicoandkara — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Back to Aus

iam5tv — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Back to Aus

Back

iam5tv — Sun, 26 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Stopover

Dublin

iam5tv — Fri, 04 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Made it to Dublin to work

Still flying

iam5tv — Thu, 03 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Off to Amsterdam

Flying away

iam5tv — Wed, 02 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Spent a night in the most random place ever

Sydney

iam5tv — Mon, 01 Mar 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Moved to Sydney

Bundaberg

iam5tv — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Had to go fruit picking

Brisbane

iam5tv — Thu, 29 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Moved to Brisbane to find jobs

Australia

iam5tv — Mon, 26 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Looked for work for a couple of days, then gave up

Start

iam5tv — Mon, 26 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Start of the trip

Day 15 - EGYPT - (7/2/2009)

Kennyboy12 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

So I FINALLY make it to Cairo... Only 36 hours, three airports and $375 later. Man it has been quite the... um Day? So to recap a little. I woke up at 3:00am ish July 1st, and got to the Dubai international airport around 4:15/4:20 ish. After not making the 6:00am or 3:00pm flights to cairo I start trying to figure out where else I could fly to so to spend as little as possible on a real ticket from there to Cairo. I looked at flying into three different cities in Saudi Arabia, two in Pakistan, one in Sudan/Ethiopia/Jordan/Israel/Omen/Iran/Yeman. I tried all over the place, and the cheapest I found was from Tehran, Iran but that price quickly jumped an extra $100 within 30 min. So now it's around 8:00pm and I've been in the staff ticketing section for 16 hours checking loads and calling my mom and trying to figure out the best route to take which was starting to look like skipping Egypt and just taking the wide open flight to Osaka, Japan at 3:10am July 2. After hours of more planning and failing, i decided to call it all off and just head to Japan right then and end my trip early. So now I'm talking with the ticket agents for Emirates airlines and they say they can't issue me a ticket based off the ticket I had because it was a ticket under Qatar Airways and had the city Doha to Cairo... Anyways thats whole arguement is complicated to explain to people who dont already know about this stuff so lets just say Emirates let me enter their country using the first half of my ticket but now wont let me leave using the second half which is now inflicting me costs of probbably having to pay for another hotel... So now im flippin out on the ladies, and just want to go home but my mom says how about I get myself to Doha so that I can use my ticket without any questions or problems... This is where the 376 dollars comes in. I end up buying a ticket from Dubai to Doha which is only a 40 min flight JUST so I can try to standby out of that country. yay... It was 1:50am July 2nd when i bought that ticket... I've been at the airport for 22 hours. At 5:55am I depart to Doha, Qatar and get a nice 30 min nap in. The sun is out by now. Now in Doha there is a flight to Cairo at 1:oopm. I am now chilling out at the Doha International Airport for another seven and a half hours. Oh by the way, we left Dubai at 5:55am and arrived in Doha at 5:30 am lol. After much standing, napping, walking, and more napping the Qatar transfer guys got me on the flight to CAIRO! They were such a huge help and it was a really good change from the damn Emirates.
I land in Cair at 4:05pm.
I need a visa to vist Cairo which I am able to pay for on arrival at the airport but I soon find out I need cash to do so... so security at the passport check hold on to my passport and let me out to access an ATM. On my way back in, I guess you aren't allowed back in the airport once you leave, I get bombarded by security asking me why im walking back in, or at least I think thats what they were saying since it was in arab... So anyways i pull out my notebook, which has all my info and receipts and phone numbers and maps and well stuff I need, to show the men my atm receipt and that i had to get cash to pay for my Egypt visa. THEN THEY SNATCH MY NOTEBOOT OUT OF MY HAND and wouldn't give it back and were like trying to treat it as my passport and walking around talking to the other security men and im like "hey give that back, that's not my passport I need that, the other guy has my passport, i was just getting money to pay for my visa" and im kinda freakin out. they start askin me where my passport is... omg I just told them... anyways i tell them again and say to follow me and i will show them. so the guy still has my notebook and were walking and i finally get my passport back and show him, he gives back my notebook then im off to get my visa and go through the customs check.
ok past the airport and out in the real world. great now come the flock of tourist helpers and all that fun stuff.
hmm anyways, after telling people to back off and leave me alone, i sit and figure things out. i catch a taxi and start checking if any hostels have any rooms, all the ones i wanted didn't and all i wanted was one room for one night so i could relax and figure out my next plan in peace. so now im in the Hotel Indiana. Its $55 but I really dont care, its a nice huge room with AC and so tonight i rest, eat and make reservations for a cheaper place for the rest of my time here in egypt. Man still can't believe I made it. If you could have gone through all the shit i went through the past day and half... man.
ok well im out.
I plan on being in egypt through the 12th, and then go through all this again on my way to Japan. bah can't wait to get home, kinda.
byee

Drive Thru Yosemite

heddwyn — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Taking down Camp

The night was cold, but thanks to the extra sleeping bag we bought, we stayed warm. We packed up camp and headed up into Yosemite. Wow - it was so beautiful! I really wanted to stay and experience more of it. We got out in the "High Sierra" and let Ben climb around on some of The Boulders sticking out of the ground. He decided to take a nap when we returned to the truck, so we drove through the rest. I did get out to take pictures at "Olmsted Point". Wow, what a view! The "High Sierra" was my favorite part, though the "Valley" was supposed to be quite beautiful as well and we did not get to see it. Hopefully we will get to return some day.

Ben on the Rock

River

The brakes were over heating (we were going thousands of Miles down hill pretty quickly) so we stopped outside of Yosemite to let them cool, and decided to explore the area. We found a nice peaceful spot on the river and relaxed and played there for an hour and a half. It was a lot of fun! The river was beautiful - a lot of colorful rocks made up the river bed. I was trying to find the prettiest ones for Ben to play with. I took him out into the water and let him touch the water - he really liked that. We all got a lot wetter than we planned, but it sure felt good!

Getting Wet

We stopped in Oakland and played in the park with Ben for a couple hours. He needed some time out of the car.Then we made our way to San Fransisco (Ben thankfully took another nap), but Kevin was nervous when we got there because the GPS was still not working. But he turned it on to look at the maps and it surprisingly got a signal! It helped us find our way, though it lost the signal a couple times and then we got lost for a bit.. but we eventually found a hotel, ordered some thai, and got some rest. Looking forward to getting out of this crazy city!