Friday 28 August 2009

Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Thailand

After finally taking advantage of everything being free on the aeroplane. We arrived in Singapore to the 28 degree heat at 10pm!! We got a taxi and watched the skyscrapers go by before arriving at the hostel to a very nice air conditioned room!

The next day after a good night's sleep we headed in the hot, clean city + firstly explored chinatown which was a lot more chinese than the one in Sydney! After being called "my friend" in the market I purchased a watch for 1 pound 30 + we both had lunch for 2 pound fifty!

Following lunch we headed to the shopping street + it can be fair to say we have never seen so many shopping malls all in one road it was unbelievable! We continued walking around the city and ended up in "Little India" which really did feel like we were in Mumbai with the crazy traffic and little stalls! Thats when we decided it would be curry for dinner!! And it lived up to the atomsphere of mumbai with a delcious curry not exactly sure of the name but it was good!!

The following day we headed north to Kuala Lumpur! We were on a very nice air conditioned bus then to our surprise they even put a dvd on! We couldn't believe it when the dvd turned out to be Mr Bean!! So thats was us occupied for the next 5 hours! We had booked a guesthouse but had no idea where in Kuala Lumpur we would be dropped off! The next minute the guy was telling us it was our stop so we got off! We had the address of a guesthouse so it was just a matter of getting a taxi! Our backpacks being an obvious giveaway we are foreigners we were hounded by people asking us whether we wanted a taxi. We got to a taxi man and handed him the address on a piece of paper, he then called his mate over to ask where it was!! For some reason they didn't know where it was, but he started driving and reassured us he knew where he was going! We drove up the street and luckily I saw a sign and he pulled over otherwise I think he would have just left us to find it!!

The guesthouse was a nice surprise in that it was clean, air condidtioned and we wouldn't have to share a room with 6 other people as it was just to ourselves for 4 pound each!

The next day we got up early to go up the twin towers. They gave out free tickets before 10am but we were told to be there for at least 8 to ensure we got them. By 9:30am we had our tickets and allocated time of 10:15am. In the meantime we went + had coffee. Something never to be repeated as the coffee is not the same as home!! But luckily it came at a very small price!!

We went back to go up the towers and reached the 42nd floor! It was quite impressive and good that niether of us suffered from vertigo!

That afternoon we explored another Little India and Chinatown which was pretty crazy! We had our first look at a market + I have never seen soooooooo many fake handbags!! We got into the bartering which is my new favourite hobby! (I must follow my mum in more ways than one!) Nic got a casio watch at a bargain price and I got some sunglasses!

We walked back in the baking heat and headed down yet another huge shopping street which I think even topped Singapore for the amount of shopping malls! However the best thing about the shopping malls would be that they would have foodcourts which was really cheap and so many different cuisines to choose from! Both our meals came to 2 pound but we are still trying to work out how to use chopsticks and often have to ask for a knife and fork!!

The following day we were moving again this time to Thailand. We were aiming to get to the Thai islands but could only get just over the border into South Thailand to a place called Hat Yai. We panicked a little at the border wondering whether we needed a visa etc but luckily didn't and we got there ok. But again we had no clue where we would be dropped off and this time no idea where to stay! We luckily passed a hotel and thought we'd stay there. But when the bus stopped I saw our bags being taken off and taken away. We quickly rushed off to find out they'd been taken into a tour operator and were bombarded with questions "where to you want to go?" We quickly picked up the bags and headed to the hotel. The hotel was again a pleasant surprise and this time even had a tv!!

That night we headed out for our first sample of thai food. After just having a look around in the shopping mall we soon experienced our first thunder storm in south east asia and we moan that it rains in england! It's nothing like this. We thought initially that it'll be over in 20 minutes but we were wrong and instead of staying in the dry in the shopping mall we braved the rain and found ourselves a restaurant.

I ordered Pad thai and nic ordered thai green curry. Very excited we received our meals and were bitterly disappointed when mine contained egg for some reason and Nic, (usually being good with loads of chilli) had a couple of mouthfuls and had to give up because his mouth was on fire! When then ordered some nachos to make sure we didn't go hungary that night!!

We woke up the next morning bright and early to go get our bus to the islands at 8:30am. We arrived at the tour agent and sat down and waited. They said to us that we were too early but by our watches we were bang on time!! I firstly thought it was a scam and they were trying to make us miss the bus but they soon said "no it's 7:30am did you come from malaysia??" We then realised that malaysia was an hour ahead but no-one told us!! Feeling very stupid we had an hour to kill before catching the bus.

Once again we got on a minibus with no idea of how we were getting to the thai islands and we would often stop at what we thought was a service station where we had the pleasure of hovering on the toilet! We reached a ferry terminal and got told via hand gestures where to go by our bus driver. The only thing was we were waiting in the passenger terminal and were the only ones without our luggage as the driver insisted on keeping it in the bus?? So we had 3 hour ferry crossing with no clue as to whether we would see our luggage again!! We got off the ferry at Koh Samui and thankfully our bus driver was there waiting and kindly showed us to a taxi where we don't even think he got comission! We got in a taxi which was actually a pickup truck which fitted about 10 of us in the back!! We reached the beach and got out where it looked like it was busy and went in search of a guesthouse. We'd asked a couple who said they were full or were bascially too expensive until we eventually found one.

That night we headed out to dinner and ended up taking advantage of the 80p beers on the beach listening to some music and watching some fire dancing! The following day it was time to hit the beach and top up the tan. But as soon as we laid our towels down we were sweating so much we had to go into the sea to cool down. But the sea in no way cooled us down as it was more like a luke warm bath! From then on we were unable to sit on the beach as it was too hot so instead spent the rest of the day in the sea and we even rented a lielow for the day but paid the price when Nic burnt his shoulders!

The following day we decided to head off to other another island called Koh Phangnan. This time we even had a room overlooking the beach for 8 pound a night!! We did a lot more sunbathing and were finally getting used to the motorbikes in asia and further weird and wonderful things until we then saw a woman riding a motorbike with a monkey in front of her!!Crazy!

One night on the island we ended down the beach for dinner and some drinks. On the beach we found some crazy things happening including a big skipping rope which was lit with fire!! But along with it a bunch of crazy english lads getting serverly burnt!! At this point Nic and I weren't feeling brave enough to and instead ventured for the buckets that were on offer. (Thats buckets filled with alcohol!) It soon went down hill after two buckets of gin and lemonade and we found a limbo stick on fire which we were joining in on!! We called it a night at some point or another and Hannah enjoyed a lovely drunken phonecall from me as a result of the buckets!!

The following day after we paid the price of our previous night's escapades where were we heading to bangkok on a 15 hour journey! Again we had now idea exactly how we were getting their but were luckily given stickers so whenever we got off a bus or a boat we were herded in the right direction. We were meant to arrive into Bangkok at 6am but when we were woken up at 4am saying we got there we were quite surprised!

We got off the bus very dazed to then be bombarded with taxi drivers. Yet again we had booked a guesthouse where they didn't quite know where it was!! The taxi driver was then saying "how much you pay me?" But we didn't have a clue where we'd been dropped off in Bangkok, therefore how far it was away from our guesthouse. We soon got rid of him when he refused to put the fare on the meter and luckily found a driver who did. After struggling finding the place we were pleased to realise the fare was a quarter of the price the previous taxi driver was offering us!

After a good night's sleep we headed to the Royal Palace in Bangkok, which was truely unbelieveable! Better than any churches we've got in europe I think! The only thing was I had to wear a lovely, stinking, glamourous shirt to cover up my shoulders and Nic had to wear what looked like scrub trousers a doctor would wear!! Following the Palace we walked further around the city and the next day headed to chinatown where we experienced the craziest market ever!! It was extremely busy selling all types of things but the thing was the alleyways were so small and cramped two people could barely get past each other let alone the motorbikes which were trying to get down the alleyways!!

After a crazy two days in Bangkok we looking forward to heading to Cambodia where we were hoping things would be a little less hectic!!

Lots of Love

Jen and Nic

xx

Sunday 16 August 2009

Australia

G'dday!

We arrived in Australia to a warm welcome from Mr and Mrs Stone (Kris's parents)! We were even more pleased that it was 25 degrees heat and for it to be their winter!! After a tour round the grand designs house which included a cinema room and jet powered pool we headed to the local wildlife park! We saw everything Australien from Koalas to crocodiles + even fed some kangaroos! It can be said the Australia has some of the weirdest looking animals on earth! Kris's dad then told us he'd seen a few snakes at the end of their garden!!

That evening we headed out for dinner at their local British pub! I had bangers and mash which was a very nice change from the chicken and rice we'd been having in Fiji! In the evening it got a little colder enough to just put a jumper on. But Kris's mum was layered up so much you'd think she was going on an Artic expedition! I would have liked to have seen her survive the winter we had had in Britain!

The following day we had breakfast on the barbie! Then headed up to a place where you had a view of the city! That evening we enjoyed T-bone steak cooked on the barbie along with some "stubbies" beer to you and me! Nic was happy to be able to watch the ashes but at that time England were winning so no Aussies would admit to liking cricket, only when they were winning did they like cricket!

Our last day in Birsbane we walked around the city + got back to a nice meal of lamb! Of course cooked on the barbie! We were given a lift to the airport + were very grateful to the Stones for having us and said our goodbyes + headed north to Cairns!

The flight was 2 and half hours and we were still in the same state! We were picked up by the hostel we were staying at. As we were heading into town we saw a group of lads walking on the side of the road with a large bank to the side of it. The driver said it was very dangerous for them to be walking and we just assumed it was because of the traffic, but he then went on to say it was dangerous because of the crocodiles!!!

We headed out of the hostel early the next morning for a day out at the beach and to obviously make the most of the 30 degree heat!! As we got to the beach all excited, we found out it was too dangerous to swim in the sea due to the deadly box jelly fish and sharks and most probably crocodiles as well!! So we settled for the lagoon instead!!

Our first trip in Oz was to the Great Barrier reef. We boarded our 50 foot sailing boat and headed out to sea! Once anchored we had a couple of hours snorkelling to explore the reef! It was unbelievable , 1000s of tropical fish (including nemo) and stunning colourful reef! We boarded the boat and had an amazing lunch which we both took full advantage of. The best part of the day however was after lunch when the instructors were feeding the parrot fish and also 4 (1.5 - 2 metre) black tip reef sharks! So everyone grabbed their snorkelling gear and jumped straight back in the water. The sharks were amazing but once again we were told they were harmless but I had at the back of my mind that Australia has the most amount of shark attacks in the world!! On the sail back to port we enjoyed cheese and bisuits and a glass of wine, to end an amazing day!

Another part of Cairns we particularly enjoyed was the free food! For some reason bars gave out free food and not even any hidden agenda! We would go in even order tap water from the bar eat the food and head out! One night we went to 3 different places to get 3 meals!! After the few days in cairns it was time to move on down the coast. Cairns was a nice place however we didn't meet many Australians!

Our next stop was a small town called Airlie Beach which was the gateway to the Whitsunday islands!

The next day we set sail on a two day two night sailing trip around the whitsundays on a boat called the New Horizon! After learning about the islands, we anchored for the night. After some baked fish we started the drinking games. As beer was so expensive in Oz we shared a box of wine or goon as they call it! However when you pay 5 pound for 4.4 litres of wine you're not expecting anything special!

After being woken up very very early to a rocky boat, whereby after breakfast I was unfortunately very seasick off the back of the boat! We set sail to the white haven national park home to whitehaven beach named second most beautiful beach in the world! It was unbelievable the sand was so white and soft, and we don't think the photos do it justice!

We anchored later that day to go for some more snorkelling (Nic's new favourite hobbie!) again the reef was amazing and we were very lucky and saw turtles. That day we sailed further and viewed a magestic sunset! More drinking games commenced and lots more goon drunk! After an amazing view of the milky way we went to bed. Our Whitsunday adventure had come to an end however still had more to look forward to in Oz!

After the trip things started to go a little down hill. We headed to the after party and met up with our new found friends from the boat but as I had developed a boil on my bum the only way I was comfortable was to be horizontal! So the party was short lived.

The next day we headed further down the coast on a 14 hour night bus to go on our next adventure! We were going to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world! There was 11 of us altogether + we were basically given a 4x4 + food to explore the island as we wished! We were given a safety briefing on driving the car, the tides + to stay away from the Dingos! After that we were on our way! After a short boat journey we were on the island + had put all our trust in a Finish guy to drive us and was pleased to say he luckily didn't drive as fast as Mika Hakkinen!

We reached the campsite after a few hairy moments getting stuck in the deep sand. Then the boys cooked steak and the drinking games followed!

We were woken up in the morning at 6 am by a angry park ranger! In our briefing we were told to lock all of our food away in the cars because if we didn't it would attract dingos + we would get a fine of $300! Luckily there was no food left out however she wasn't happy about the beer cans lying about. We had 15 mins to tidy up the camp otherwise she would fine us. Luckily we passed the inspection and continued cooking our scrambled eggs for breakfast! That day we explored the island further including swimming in a crystal clear lake!

Unfortunately we arrived back down at the beach at high tide and were unable to travel up the beach to camp where we were supposed to! We were told by some rangers it was too dangerous to go onto the beach + instead pointed us in the right direction of a camp site! Once reaching the campsite there was a lot of signs saying we'd get a $300 fine if we were loud after 9pm + the chances we were gonna be with the very loud Canadians in our group! Luckily the rangers turned up + said they would show us somewhere to camp but they really shouldn't be because they would lose their job if someone found out. The place they showed us was a picnic area which was scattered with "no camping" signs! We set up camp, ate dinner and started the drinking games and it wasn't long before the rangers were there with their beers joining in! After a very late and cold night and yet another 6:30am start we were all very happy to get back to the hostel later that day for a shower and some sleep!

The following day we headed south of Brisbane into New South Wales to a place called Byron Bay. After a very busy week of trips and overnight buses we definately needed to recharge our batteries! We had come to the right place because it was full of chilled out hippies!

That night we went to the cinema close by + it was the coolest cinema ever because there was big cushions so you could lie all over the floor + even big teddy bears you could cuddle! Unfortunately I was a little to comfortable and I am following my mum in that I fell asleep during the film for a little bit!!

The following day we chilled out by the beach! We even contemplated surfing but after watching the surfers it liked like too much hard work! We treated ourselves to a subway because we had a 2 for 1 voucher on the back of our supermarket receipt!

That night at the hostel there was a talent competition but not like the type I know you're thinking of! Bascially we felt very left out as I think we were the only people in the hippie hostel who couldn't play the guitar and sing!

The next day we got a night bus to Sydney to again enjoy some home comforts staying with Nic's, Dad's Cousin's Daughter! If you lost on how nic and her are actually related don't worry because we all were! We had some time to kill after getting off the bus so we got our bearings and took a stroll by darling harbour. By communicating with Jeanette (Nic's, Dad's Cousin's Daughter!) via text we jumped on a train and headed to the surburban area they lived in + waited to be picked up. I think the big rucksacks gave it away as to who we were! We arrived + instantly thought good things when we entered through the large electric gates + then we drove up the driveway to what can only be described as a mansion! It was huge, swimming pool, billards room + we even had our own quarter! We had an amazing meal which was a nice change to the noodles we'd been living off to save money!

The next day was a day of sightseeing. We headed into the city to circular quay to get a ferry over to Manly ( a part of Sydney with a beach). The boat went straight past the opera house and harbour bridge so got snappy happy with the camera! We arrived in Manly + had a good look around + walked along the promonade by the beach. For lunch we splashed out on fish and chips because they are not as cheap as home! We go the ferry beack and further walked around the city and even walked across the harbour bridge before catching the train back!

Yet another delicious meal + an early night ready for the following day where we headed to the blue mountains!

A two hour train journey later we found ourselves hopping on a little trolley bus to take us round the area! We had another voucher to get 2 for 1 traditional english cream tea so jumped at the chance of a taste of home! After using every single bit of cream and jam on the scones we headed for the mountains! We took lots of photos of the mountains + valleys sadly didn't have the time to do any walks before jumping back on the train to sydney.

The following day we headed to bondi beach. After a pitt stop at Nic's, Dad's Cousin's sons house, where we even watched his sons who were 6 + 9 play rugby! Lets say the future of Australien rugby is looking good!! We then had a traditional Aussie lunch of fresh prawns we even had to remove from the shells! We then went to a bar to have a few beers overlooking bondi beach which I think live up to all the hype!

That evening Jeanettes eldest daughter who was 16 was hosting a party after her formal. We were asked to be on patrol for alchol and gatecrashers! But we'd been 16 and there's no way of stopping any drinking! Anyway there was no mishaps and we helped tidy up and went to bed gone 3 am.

The next day we said our goodbyes + promised their kids they had a bed whenever they came backpacking to england!

So we had come to the end of Australia had a really good time in their winter! So god only knows how hot it must be in the summer!! We were now looking forward to South East Asia for the beer and food to be cheaper + to start the shopping!!

Hope all is well at home!

Lots of love
Nic and Jen
xxxxxxx