http://www.statravelblogs.comMost Popular Blog Entries from STA Travel BlogsenFri, 10 Feb 2012 10:03:50 GMTFri, 10 Feb 2012 10:03:50 GMT60http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1dc7777/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cnikki74740Cblog0Cargentina0Cel0Echalten/story01.htmOn Saturday we flew down from Boneus Aires on a reasonably undelayed flight for South America and landed in El Calafate - luckily the pilot could see the runway as we couldn&#180;t spot it! The amazing senery was just a taste of what was to come over the next couple of days with beautiful snow capped mountains and crystal clear lakes. After the best nights sleep ever in my own room with a double bed - think I&#180;m going to like this this tour we headed down to El Chalten by bus. We&#180;ve quickly discovered we are the only people on the tour and are yet to find the tour guide! A taxi dropped us at a bus station and after being asked for more vouchers we don&#180;t have we found a bus that seemed to have our names on a list! The drive was beautiful with our first view of Fitzroy Mountain a spectacular peak we were going to hike to the next day. There really is nothing in El Chalten it exists merely to serve the hikers and climbers who come to the Fitzroy range. On our first day in the town we were picked up by Pepe our hiking guide. Certianly was not loving his hello kiss on the cheek with his massive scratchy scary beard! He&#180;s definately of the traveller way with his dreadlocks under a tea cosy, sexy clingy walking trousers and chewed nails - eugh! Really nice guy though! He led us off on our first ever hike - a mere ten miles of hilly mountain terrain. Pepe did seem a little concerned when he asked how much hiking we&#180;d all done and got a unanimous reply of this is our first! We headed (well I tripped and stumbled most of the way) to the base of Fitzrtoy mountain seeeing a pecking woodpecker, a giant hare, an eagle, and condors. The viewpoint we made it to was spectcular and we were lucky to have a beautifuly clear day with no clouds obstructing the mountain. On the way back we headed off the walking trail along the horse trail - pushing through bushes and mud we made it to a cool waterfall which made a beautiful photo with the mountain in the background. We also stopped off at a amazing (running out of awesome words) lake which was perfectly clear. Every stream and puddle is crystal clear and apparently perfect drinking water - although gave that one a miss personally. That evening we collapsed and watched a film! The second day saw our second hike - safe to say 13 hours hiking in two days has definately killed us. Especially as i&#180;m refusing to eat the pre packed sandwiches - managed a little bit after Lisa opened it and wafted the yucky aeroplane smell away! Living on cereal bars at mo. Today the trek was much more up and down and pretty tiring - especially when Pepe pointed out where we were heading an hour in - on the horizon! We made it round to the side of Mount Fitzroy to a frozen lake with two glaciers stemming from the base of the mountain to the lake. Despite the ice it wasn&#180;t deep enuogh to walk on the lake, so we entertained ourselves trying to get the perfect photo of each of us in front of the glaciers! Given our complete lack of photography skills this took quite a while! On the way back Lisa had a small incident with a log but made it through relatively unscathed, given her rather dramatic slide down the stairs to dinner last night she&#180;s beating me in the falling stakes - sure my time will come as soon as we try and walk on ice!<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1dc7777/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/nikki7474/blog/argentina/el-chalten&link=El Chalten, Argentina" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/nikki7474/blog/argentina/el-chalten&link=El Chalten, Argentina" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386014/f/7277/c/321/s/31225719/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386014/f/7277/c/321/s/31225719/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMTnikki7474_92008-09-10T23:00:00Zhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/d0d9d5/story01.htmComing out of the hotel (more properly, casino resort) this morning, a guy walked past with a slogan on his T-Shirt which I thought nicely summed up many people's experience of Las Vegas: "One Casino, Two Casinos, Three Casinos, Poor." Actually, though, Vegas it quite an easy place to visit on a budget. The casinos seem to make something of an assumption that anyone coming here is going to be spending tons of cash and therefore should be enticed into doing so with lots of freebies. I found that it was quite easy to walk into the restaurants within the casinos and tuck into three course meals for silly prices - the longer they get you to stay under their roof, the more the casinos will make out of you in the long run. Or so they figure. Hang around long enough and stand in the right place and eventually a pretty girl with a tray of drinks may well come up and give you one for free. I probably could've phrased that better, but you get the idea. If you're looking for free entertainment, you can do a lot worse than check out the range of shows on offer to anyone simply walking the length of the strip - every hour or so, most of the casinos put on some sort of spectacular display outside their main entrance to draw the crowds in. In fact, with Vegas being the size it is these days, I reckon there are probably enough free attractions outside the casinos to keep anyone occupied simply walking from each one to the next for a couple of days - I can only hope to list my favourite two or three here and leave the rest for you to discover for yourself. The Mirage, for example, has a giant volcano in the middle of the forecourt surrounded by ponds and covered in vegetation, palm trees and cascading waterfalls. Every hour or so, there is a deep guttural roar from within the volcano followed by a full scale eruption - flames leap high into the air, the waterfalls turn to steam, lava pours down the sides of the volcano and turns the water in the ponds into a lake of fire. This is all quite a shock if you happen to be walking past at the time and aren't expecting it! The Treasure Island Casino stages a mock sea battle hourly in which the British Navy takes on pirates on a large lake next door. The ships, which are each probably several times the size of a car, sail out onto the lake and start hurling cannon balls across the water at each other for about eight minutes before the pirate ship suddenly bursts into flames and the British ship splits in two and sinks out of sight beneath the waves. My favourite free attraction, new since my last visit, is the fountain display in front of the Bellagio casino. This really is one show which it's impossible not to stop and gawp at. Every fifteen minutes or so, to the sound of various well known tunes, a line of coloured fountains begin to shoot jets of water over two hundred feet into the air in time to the music. It really is spellbinding to watch the quarter mile of jets pulsing with colour and creating intricate patterns in the air to the sound of popular hits. The best way I can describe it is to compare the fountains to the visualisations that come with computer music players such as Windows Media Player. Except that you're watching an actual live visualisation right there in the air in front of you - it's like fireworks made out of water. The Bellagio fountains cost over forty million dollars to construct, contain one thousand nozzles from which the jets can be shot to any pattern or any height by specialised computer software behind the scenes, and five thousand multicoloured lights to bring it all to life. They were built by the amusingly named WET design who specialise in fountains and are also responsible for my other favourite water display - the leaping fountain at EPCOT centre in Florida, where a jet of water from a nozzle appears to repeatedly bounce at various angles across lily pads on a lake and over the heads of passers by the disappear down a hole on the other side. Also worth a visit in Vegas are the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. This massive shopping mall has been constructed as miles of Roman roads underneath the casino itself, and entry is via a moving walkway which quite literally makes you feel as though you are being transported back in time into the days of the roman empire - except that there weren't quite so many branches of Planet Hollywood open back then of course. Wandering the authentic streets below the casino, the most striking thing you notice is that the ceiling is curved and painted to look like the sky - or at least, you think it's painted until you realise that it's all done with clever lighting which changes throughout the day so that the sky always feels like the sky and not a static image. As with all things in Vegas, the Forum is hard to describe without seeing it. There are streets of cafes, market squares dominated by roman statues within circles of pillars in the middle of each market square and stretching up to the sky that isn't a sky, paved walkways and roman pillars along the walls. The effect is simply mind numbing and it really is easy to forget that the sky isn't real and that you're not in some old town that has been carefully preserved for two thousand years. The Forum is also home to a fifty thousand gallon saltwater aquarium where you can watch divers feeding the sharks twice a day. And there's even a free show at the Forum. Using unbelievably real robotic characters, the story of Atlantis is told right in the central square by the statues of King Atlas and his children, scaring the willies out of everybody in the area. The voice of Atlas booms out without warning, echoing across the courtyard and causing people sitting at coffee shops to choke on their cappuccinos and small children to dive behind the nearest statue. Unfortunately, these statues then begin to move and creak into life, an arm twisting here and a leg lifting there until they appear to be under their own free will as though in a scene from Jason and the Argonauts. The children argue over who is the better ruler and, unable to decide which of his greedy children should govern over Atlantis, Atlas orders the destruction of the city and we watch it first burn to the ground (Vegas seems to like fire illusions) and then sink beneath the waves as a twenty foot animatronic dragon appears over Atlas shoulder to watch the destruction. Lasers, steam and fountains are used to great effect to create the impression that Atlantis is sinking into the depths, and then another disembodied voice announces that the next show will be in one hour and everything returns to normal. Or at least, as normal as anything can be in Caesar's Palace. Today, I went along to see the new Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton, something I had seen advertised on television before I began my trip and had then totally forgotten about until I got here and saw it being advertised everywhere. In true American style, this is another attraction which is so fabulously over the top that I don't really know where to begin. Stepping through the back of the ticket office, you find yourself rather spectacularly standing on the promenade deck of the Star Trek space station Deep Space 9, complete in every tiny detail and curving off in both directions - it was actually like being in the show. Strange creatures scuttled up and down speaking gibberish, and the windows looked out into space. In Quark's bar, I had my evening meal from the Star Trek menu, served by a Dabo-Girl (sexy casino hostesses from Star Trek) and surrounded by Ferengi waiters and bartenders. Of course, if you've never seen Star Trek: Deep Space 9 or have no interest in Science Fiction then this will all mean nothing to you, but just take my word for it that it's all totally immersive and one hundred percent realistic in every detail. And if you happen to be engaged to a fellow Trekkie, and the two of you really have stepped across the fine line between fan and fanatic, you can actually get married at the Experience - they'll set you up with alien witnesses, you'll be married by a character from Star Trek, and you can even have your reception at Quarks bar. But let's be honest, if any of this really gets you excited then you're probably not likely to be getting married any time soon anyway. When I had taken my fill of the Promenade with its shops and restaurants, I was led through to board my shuttle for a quick ride around the galaxy - and this is where things really got seriously good. Before boarding the shuttle, my group of sixteen people were led into a small, square, unremarkable room with four doors in the opposite wall and a single television monitor mounted in the corner. Anybody who has been on a motion simulator ride at any of the major theme parks in America will recognise this setup: they line you up in four rows of four in front of the doors, and then after watching a brief introductory film on the monitor, the doors open and you shuffle forward into four rows of seats inside the simulator to begin your ride. However, something quite different and unexpected happened at the Star Trek Experience - something so remarkable that I'll probably spend the next ten years trying to work out how it was done. As our group stood in our four neat rows in our bland little square room watching a guy dressed in a Starfleet uniform telling us on the monitor about what a fantastic shuttle trip we were about to have, all hell broke loose. Mid-sentence, the monitor suddenly flickered and died. A second later all the lights went out, plunging our featureless little room into pitch blackness. Immediately, there was a jabber of voices in the dark: "Emergency. Get those people out of there." We felt compressed air shoot across our legs and faces, followed by millions of blue twinkling lights all around us and the sound of a Star Trek Transporter being operated. The lights came back on. Less than five seconds after the lights had gone out, we were all now standing in the transporter room of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The grey featureless walls and the monitor had gone, the doors had disappeared, and the room we were in was much larger than the one we had been in five seconds previously. More to the point, we were now standing on a totally different floor - something which could not possibly have been changed without lifting us from it. With a swish, the transporter room door slid open and a bridge officer came in. He explained hastily that we were no longer in the 20th century and were instead on board a Starship in what we would call the future. He told us that the commander would explain things, and proceeded to lead us out of the transporter room and along the corridors of the enterprise to the actual bridge from Star Trek: The Next Generation. As bridge officers bustled about, we were lined up around the room and told to watch the viewer. Riker, the Enterprise first officer from the television show, appeared and explained that one of our group was an ancestor of captain Picard. The Klingons, it seemed, had attempted to kidnap us from Las Vegas in order to change history and the Enterprise had rescued us. The crew would attempt to return us to the temporal rift from which we came in a shuttlecraft, and so get us back to the 20th century. When the message had finished, an officer led us to the turbolift where an exciting ride to the shuttle bay ensued - including a mid-ride lights-out power failure which caused the lift to go into freefall and drop several floors, tilting on its axis and throwing us all around. We were then taken into the shuttle bay and placed on board a shuttle where the motion simulator ride we had been expecting in the first place began. I'll say it again - the Americans don't do things by halves! Las Vegas really is a compact entertainment oasis in the middle of an otherwise forbidding desert. People either love it or hate it. Some people talk endlessly about what a den of vice Vegas is and how anyone coming here is a terrible person, others cannot resist the pull of its bright lights. Whatever you think, the idea that Vegas is all about throwing your money away on Craps tables and Slot machines is old fashioned - the strip contains more entertainment venues and shows than you can shake a stick at, and you can easily spend as long as you want here without seeing half of what it has to offer and without spending a penny on gambling. There's even a Wet and Wild water park here, so you could spend a day riding the flumes and ignore the rest of the town completely. On the other hand, if you like a bit of a gamble, they don't exactly stop you - there are slot machines in the toilets, slot machines on your table at breakfast, slot machines in the car parks for people who can't wait to get inside. The casinos don't have any windows or clocks, because if you knew what time it was you might go home. Photography and videotaping inside the casinos is strictly forbidden because the management is scared that you might capture on film somebody whose wife doesn't know he goes to Vegas, and he might get in trouble and not come back. Seriously. And it is possible to win - a woman with whom I used to work came to Vegas once, put a quarter in a slot machine and was immediately surrounded by flashing lights and the sound of running feet - she'd won ten thousand dollars. There is, of course, a seedier side to Vegas as there is in any city - but it's easy to ignore. To see what I mean, just walk along the strip at night and accept every magazine, flyer or brochure that is offered to you by guys standing every couple of hundred yards along the way. By the time you get to the other end, you'll probably be holding about three years worth of pornography, courtesy of Vegas - mainly adverts for massage parlours, out of town ranches and any other vice you can think of. Although prostitution is legal in Nevada, it seems that it's not legal to do it within the city limits - so everywhere you go you'll find guys peddling places out of town. The first time I came to Vegas, I naively assumed these peddlers were handing out leaflets for fast food restaurants and electronics shops or the like - and as you can imagine, my jaw nearly hit the ground when I realised what they were actually doing. http://www.vegas.com/http://www.startrekexp.com/<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/d0d9d5/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/globalwanderer/blog/nevada/las-vegas&link=Las Vegas, Nevada" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/globalwanderer/blog/nevada/las-vegas&link=Las Vegas, Nevada" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386013/f/7277/c/321/s/13687253/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386013/f/7277/c/321/s/13687253/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/globalwanderer/blog/nevada/las-vegas2008-03-29T00:00:00Zhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860e/story01.htmHello. Today is our last day in Cusco. We've been here for what seems like a long time - about 9 days - primarily because I was diagnosed with amoebic dysentry, which has somewhat slowed us down! Anyway, I'm fine (having caught it early), and Simon has taken great delight in telling me that I have eaten someone else's poo...! Argh!Onto more pleasant topics...(!), we've done some lovely things here. We know the centre of Cusco, the Blueberry Lounge and it's menu, and this internet caf&eacute; just nextdoor to the Backpackers Family House where we've stayed with Carola and her family all very well...!! But we have managed to venture beyond the city, too. We had a cracking day in Pisac, north of Cusco, visiting its very colourful and happening Sunday market where we decided to do a bit of Christmas shopping! The ruins perched high up on the hill behind Pisac are brilliant too, largely because of their position (Simon has a much greater appreciation of what we're actually looking at at these archaeological sites!)... and the paths that are cut into the hillside that run between the various parts... the fort, the temple, the old village... We really enjoyed our day there...We also had an afternoon walking up to Sacsayhuaman (you can work out&nbsp;how the non-Quechua speaking tourists pronounce it!), the nearest ruins to Cusco, just up behind it on the hill, and where there are enormous rocks (weighing up to 120 tonnes) forming part of the remains of the old Inca fort. We also that same day wandered around the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art... also very good with lots of intact beautiful ceramics, including one that reminded me of you, dad!For various reasons including illness, expense, knowing that we'd done the best of the treks already in Peru anyway(!), we opted out of doing the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu (perhaps a tinge of regret will always hang over that one for me), and instead went up in a day on the train yesterday. The train takes four hours from Cusco (even though it must only travel about 30 miles!!!) up to Aguas Calientes, from where you get a bus up hairpin bends to Machu Picchu. The train we got was 'Backpacker Class', the cheapest one that tourists can get and it was FULL of us! Tens of coaches met us off the train to take us up to Machu Picchu and my suspicions that this must be one of the most touristy places on earth were all confirmed! There were crowds and crowds at the entrance once we got up there, too... Nonetheless, Machu Picchu has left a lasting impression. Its setting is incredible, perched on a ridge and falling away extremely steeply on both sides, all the way down to the tiny river and trains at the bottom on one side. The famous picture of Machu Picchu has Waynapicchu rising in the background and&nbsp;I was determined that we would climb it, knowing that Pete, Cal, Jo, Jonny&nbsp;and Graeme all had! It was well worth it: a hard climb up to sit at the tippy top, knowing that in several places you really had to watch your step so as not to just fall off the mountain. It happens, apparently. If it was England, nobody would be allowed up. Fortunately, it isn't (even if I do wish the restaurants here were all regulated by our health and safety laws!!). The views were fantastic and it was exciting being up somewhere so scarily high!We're back now and just about finished here in Peru. Tomorrow we're catching the train to Puno on Lake Titicaca. For once we're travelling during the day (the journey is supposed to be lovely). Yesterday we met a German-Austrian couple on the train who had hired a car and driven around Peru and got to see a lot more of the landscapes than perhaps we have on the night buses! (But then they hadn't been to the Cordillera Huayhuash!)Lake Titicaca lies on the border between Peru and Bolivia, our third country, and our fourth month. See you there. Lots of love, L &amp; S &nbsp;xxPS If&nbsp;it makes you feel better at this the beginning of November, the weather reports for Puno and La Paz are as cold and rainy as they are for you!!!<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860e/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/lindsandsimon/blog/peru/cusco&link=Cusco, Peru" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/lindsandsimon/blog/peru/cusco&link=Cusco, Peru" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386011/f/7277/c/321/s/11699726/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386011/f/7277/c/321/s/11699726/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/lindsandsimon/blog/peru/cuscohttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860d/story01.htmWe spent a couple days in Paris before we jumped on a flight back to the US.&nbsp; We stopped here once before over a month ago on our way from London to Interlaken.&nbsp; Over a month ago, that seems so weird to say.&nbsp; When we stopped before we spent the day at the Louvre and the Touleries?&nbsp; There are a lot of beautiful parks in Paris.&nbsp;This time we went to the Eiffel tower and took a trip to the top.&nbsp; All in all about two hours of waiting in line.&nbsp; You wait at the bottom, then at the second floor elevator, then to go back down, then one more time for the next elevator.&nbsp; Worth it for the best view in Paris?&nbsp; I think so, Lindsay would disagree.&nbsp; We walked down the Champs Elysee (though most of the stores were closed on Sunday) to the Arc de Triumph.&nbsp; We ate at a restaurant that Lindsay loved along the Champs called L'Entricott.&nbsp; Good steak frites with bernaisse sauce!!&nbsp;I got tickets for the Moulin Rouge.&nbsp; A little pricey since the movie came out, but it was a lot of fun and included a bottle of champagne.&nbsp;&nbsp; Before the show we had an amazing dinner at a little cafe that we found near the Moulin Rouge.&nbsp; Awesome duck and scallops for dinner and creme brulee and chocolate truffle for dessert.We're actually back in the US now.&nbsp; It feels really weird.&nbsp; It's a little bitter sweet, there are some things we missed while we were gone (like Gator Football), but now we're sad that it is over.&nbsp; If only&nbsp;I could get paid to travel!!!&nbsp; I've settled back into work and look forward to returning to several of the places we went someday, but not all at once.&nbsp; For now, I'll have to just look forward to seeing everyone and watching the Gator's and Bears have tremendous seasons.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860d/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/bporak/blog/france/paris&link=Paris, France" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/bporak/blog/france/paris&link=Paris, France" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386009/f/7277/c/321/s/11699725/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386009/f/7277/c/321/s/11699725/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/bporak/blog/france/parishttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860c/story01.htmToday was my last full day in India and I packed a lot in! I woke up early and jogged over to the queue for the Taj Mahal&nbsp;bright and early. Of course this is India so randomly one of the three gates (the one I picked to go to) was closed so I ran over the other gate but it made no difference - 6:00 or 6:05 there was no way I was going to be first inside as the book suggested (so you can hear the silence in the tomb - supposed to be stunning). There were tons of people in line. But we were all still in early and it was still nice to be there before it got too hot and while the light was still beautiful from the recent sunrise. The Taj Mahal is much hyped in all the books and poetry. I have to agree its beautiful and it is very obvious how much thought went into the design (like putting&nbsp;the Taj on a&nbsp;raised platform so when you look at it all you see behind it is blue (theoretically) sky or building the&nbsp;towers&nbsp;surrounding it just a little turned out so in case they fall they won't hurt the main mausoleum) and the detail in the marble and inlaid stonework is impressive. But it is just a mausoleum and a nice garden. Maybe I have a hard time feeling romantic about a gift of love build by a man who killed his older siblings to obtain his position. Call me unromantic. The Taj is worth seeing if you are in the area and a relaxing and tranquil place compared to the surrounding city. After a hearty brunch and a relaxing morning by the pool, I headed out for more sightseeing. Agra was the capital&nbsp;long before Delhi and has some great sights. I hired an air conditioned car and&nbsp;driver which made a&nbsp;huge difference.&nbsp;Much less hassle by hawkers and I came back not feeling totally exhausted. First I went out to Fatehpur Sikri which was a city built by Akbar who was the great architect and statesman who rule India in the 1500s (and the&nbsp;grandfather of Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal). Akbar&nbsp;designed many of the great temples in the area (including a tomb for his father which is said to be the inspiration for the Taj - it is located in Delhi), was the first to use marble (which is much cooler than red&nbsp;sandstone, by the way - good&nbsp;choice here Akbar!) and who moved the capital to Delhi eventually. Before&nbsp;moving to Delhi, Akbar built the city of Fatehpur Sikri outside where Agra is now. It is build entirely of red sandstone and is lovely. But&nbsp;the&nbsp;city's location was Akbar's one big mistake - there was not enough water to sustain teh city and it was abandoned after only 14 years. Today it is in great shape. You can see much of the palace, the outdoor parcheesi board where the emperor played with live 'pieces' and learned much about his guests by how they played, and the mosque which is still actively used. It was beautiful and interesting&nbsp;at Fatehpur but extremely hot. I see why the city was abandoned. I&nbsp;was so hot&nbsp;that I didn't even sweat, I was just dehydrating from the inside out like a prune =) I think the only time I've been hotter was in Chitchinitza, Mexico. But&nbsp;I had time to cool off in my air conditioned car (good choice today!) before we returned to Agra and I went to the Agra Fort.&nbsp;From this location many rulers ruled India over the years, most recently and famously were Akbar, his son Jahangir (apparently his&nbsp;wife really did the ruling though, he was reported to be a&nbsp;bit of a drunk), his grandson Shah Jahan (who built the Taj) and then his great grandson Aurangzeb who killed his siblings and imprisoned his father in Fort Agra for the last few years of his life. He was imprisoned in a tower in the fort so that he had a&nbsp;view of the Taj Mahal and could&nbsp;mourn his wife every day. - Great family stories huh? Makes Shakespeare look boring. Tonight I&nbsp;take the train back to Delhi but I won't even be in town for 6 hours before I head to the airport in the wee hours of&nbsp;the morning. I'll post some pictures&nbsp;and write one last journal with some memories of my trip when I get home. I do have fond memories of&nbsp;my time in each country and loved&nbsp;traveling to all of them. I learned so much from my trip, about myself (like that I don't really like traveling alone that much =) and how to be more patient) about&nbsp;the politics, geography, history, and social dynamics of this part of the world, and even about Australia and America. One thing about traveling is that although you go to see the interesting&nbsp;things abroad, you also learn alot and appreciate home. So its time for me to go home. I can't&nbsp;wait!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860c/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/stefanie/blog/india/agra&link=Agra, India" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/stefanie/blog/india/agra&link=Agra, India" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386007/f/7277/c/321/s/11699724/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386007/f/7277/c/321/s/11699724/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/stefanie/blog/india/agrahttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860b/story01.htmHi, We are in Koh Phi Phi now which is like paradise! It is a tiny little island and is it is really cute. The sea that surrounds the island is an absolutely amazing colour and it is surrounded by large rocks like the pic above. The film 'The Beach' was filmed on the other part of the island so if you have ever seen that you can imagine how beautiful it is here. The island got absolutely wrecked by the Tsunami but there doesn't seem to be much evidence of it now as everything has been built again. There is a lovely relaxed atmosphere to this island so it is only fitting that we are relaxing! We are staying at a nice resort that has a pool and is right on the beach front - the view takes my breath away every time I see it. Basically I love it here! Our last day in Chiang Mai was an interesting one. We got a tuk tuk and headed off to an area where they sell all the goods that are made in the area. We weren't exactly sure where we were going but the tuk tuk driver seemed to have an itinerary set out for us! Our first stop was the worlds largest jewellery shop - Mum would have been in paradise! There were people there making the jewellery and then they took us to the showrooms. Me and Caroline in our backpacks were looking decidedly out of place as we were followed round by the thai saleswomen. Some of the jewellery was ridiculously large and over the top and everytime we pointed at it to show the other one the salespeople would think we wanted to try it on! We didn't think we would buy anything in a million years but then the salespeople starting showing us things in our budget and i somehow ended up with a blue sapphire ring! It is lovley though and was cheap! Next we went to a place where they sold Parasols and umbrellas. That place was realy fun because the people that paint the umbrellas could also paint things on you. So I had a lovely elephant painted on the top I was wearing and a elephant at sunset painted on my backpack - it definitely adds a certain something! The painters were so talented and so quick, they look really cool. Then Mr Tuk tuk ferried us around to a few more places before we convinced him that we had had enough and managed to escape! After that we had our 12 hour overnight bus journey to look forward to! Luckily it was quite empty so we got 2 seats each so could spread out. We arrived back in Bangkok at about 5 in the morn which was weird as people were just going to bed after there nights out. We were dropped at the Kao San Road and it was really weird to see it so quiet without all the street vendors. After this we went to the airport to get our plane to Phuket which is one of the islands in the south of Thailand. We were pretty wrecked when we got there so we just had a relaxing afternoon by the pool and then headed out in the eveningi for a bit to see Patong. The beach looked nice and the place looked cool but we didn't really have the energy for it. The next morn we got a ferry over to Phi Phi and since then as I said we haven't been doing much. Loads of people tried to dissuade us from coming down here as the weather is supposed to be bad on the west islands at the moment but we have been lucky so far and have had two days of mainly sun. We are off on a boat trip tomorrow around the islands and to do some snorkelling so the weather is sure to take a turn for the worse for that! xxx<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b2860b/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/sarahmatthews/blog/thailand/koh-phi-phi&link=Koh Phi Phi, Thailand" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/sarahmatthews/blog/thailand/koh-phi-phi&link=Koh Phi Phi, Thailand" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386005/f/7277/c/321/s/11699723/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386005/f/7277/c/321/s/11699723/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/sarahmatthews/blog/thailand/koh-phi-phihttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28609/story01.htmWow, we're back in Canada. It's hard to believe that we are now embarking on our Canadian stint of the Fantabulous Trip. We lived out February 15th twice, as we boarded the plane for the 7pm take-off on that day. Of course, it was Air Canada, so we were late leaving :) We arrived in Vancouver at 7am on Feburary 15th. Just like the movie Groundhog Day! We had a nice time in Vancouver and got to see our friends--Carly, Fadi and Lucia. We also got to drink good wine and eat some delicious cake. mmmm...cake. The next morning we were off to Ottawa and we arrived at about 4pm. We're still catching up on sleep, but I think we've done quite well to get back on Ottawa time. It's been odd to be back in a city where we know the transit system, know places to eat, and can recognize the street people (although that last thing is a bit disconcerting, to be honest). Seeing the street people in the same places we saw them before we left has made us both realize how much we have been able to see and do over the past 10 1/2 months, while so many people lives didn't change at all. It's hard to describe the feeling. Since our arrival and recovery, we have been out searching for apartments. It's exciting, as it's the first time the two of us have actually looked together for a place to live! Can you imagine? But, that makes it just a bit more stressful as well. Luckily, we are having no problem finding potential places. The hardest part will be deciding which one we take! The housing market has opened up a lot in Ottawa, which is good news. It also helps that we're more grown up now (supposedly) and are willing to pay a little bit more. We also have a better idea of where we'd like to live. All of that helps. Hopefully by the end of this week we'll have our lease signed. Other than apartment hunting, we've just been visiting and going to all of the restaurants that we sat and drooled over while we were eating beans in Lesotho :) There are still more on the list, but that's okay. Something tells me we'll get around to visiting each and every one of them. Tonight Joel is going to a hockey game. *gasp* that means that we have to be apart for more than 10 minutes! I can hardly remember the last time that happened. On Saturday we head to Halifax for a couple of weeks. We come back to Ottawa for a few days to drop off stuff we had stored in Halifax. Then we'll load up on souvenirs and head West. If anyone wants to get in touch with us, e-mail is probably your best bet since we're sleeping here, there and everywhere over the next month and a bit. Hope to hear from you soon! :) m&amp;j<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28609/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/coteselig/blog/ontario/ottawa&link=Ottawa, Ontario" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/coteselig/blog/ontario/ottawa&link=Ottawa, Ontario" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386003/f/7277/c/321/s/11699721/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386003/f/7277/c/321/s/11699721/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/coteselig/blog/ontario/ottawahttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28608/story01.htmSo the last blog entry - On Mel's birthday we went to the pyramids. We took 2 camels around the pyramids and Mel wore her bellydancer headdres birthday present. As the camels sat down and stood up we both tried desperately to stay on! For dinner our lovely egyptian guide took us for a buffet at a restaurant where they were making a movie. We met Fifi Abdul - the most famous belly dancer - everyone was very excited she was there and we tried to be excited as they made us have a photo with her. &nbsp;We also visited a perfume makers befiore watching the sunset over the pyramids. Our last day saw us do some shopping around the market and finish reading our books in the park. It was sad it was all coming to an end. On our last day we got a cheap taxi to the airport and checked in 2 x 23kg bags, and had 2 x 10kg hand luggage but they didnt seem to mind. However they did mind that our ticket had the wrong date on. Despite us changing it online they said it had expired. Mel looked weepy and they finally did let us on the plane. The 6 hour flight was boring with no films or even a screen with our flight path. We arrived above london an hour early and then circled around the dome for abother 40 minutes! And then we were home after: 16 countires, 5 pairs of flip flops, 44 scuba dives, &pound;17,122 spent, 1 theft and 277 days away, Mel and stu x<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28608/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/melandstumissingyou/blog/egypt/cairo&link=Cairo, Egypt" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/melandstumissingyou/blog/egypt/cairo&link=Cairo, Egypt" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386002/f/7277/c/321/s/11699720/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386002/f/7277/c/321/s/11699720/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/melandstumissingyou/blog/egypt/cairohttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28607/story01.htmenough said. read the journal, enjoy<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28607/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/rachelklein/blog/spain/wish-i-was-in&link=Wish i was in, Spain" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/rachelklein/blog/spain/wish-i-was-in&link=Wish i was in, Spain" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386001/f/7277/c/321/s/11699719/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386001/f/7277/c/321/s/11699719/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/rachelklein/blog/spain/wish-i-was-inhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28606/story01.htm&nbsp;Had a great few days in Tokyo and now feel like I know the city pretty well! Had a great time when we went down to Tokyo bay! It was a fantastic sunny day so we had a great view over to the rainbow bridge and the Tokyo tower! Getting around Tokyo was pretty easy and Jo and me are now experts on the Tokyo subways and I think we must know most of the stops off by heart...the walking between tube stations has helped keep us fit anyway!Found that in Tokyo there is a&nbsp;definite&nbsp;trend with people's cats and dogs wearing clothing...yes CLOTHING!!! We even came across some shops which sold outfits for cats and dogs and these included fireman, squaddie and FROG outfits...BIZARRE but made us laugh alot!! Have even put a picture in the photos section to show one cute doggie we saw in fluffy pinky combat clothing!!! Enough on cat/dog clothing...We took a train to the Mount Fuji region where we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of the mountain and its snowy top on our&nbsp;way there...sadly as soon as we arrived the weather turned "Bognor" cloudy and the mountain disappeared behind dark clouds! Never mind we had a good day and&nbsp;when we did see the mountain for a fleeting second we were amazed how huge it actually&nbsp;was!!! A fab site!Today was my favourite day and I call it "Jens Japan day!!"..Got up&nbsp;very early and went to a fish...yes a fish market!! Was actually a real laugh and it was the biggest fish market in Asia (A fact there for you!!),&nbsp;so was a real experience.....never seen so many huge fish/crabs/lobster!&nbsp;The fishermen were even&nbsp;cutting up massive tuna fish bigger than me! And there were squid as long as my arm.&nbsp;Also watched sumo which was&nbsp;amazing and when&nbsp;I get back to Bognor perhaps we could organise sumo events.....just a thought!!!Looked around Shinjuku which is&nbsp;where you find the designer shops&nbsp;of Tokyo...was loving the Gucci shop and still cant believe we went looking around their lovely shop in our smelly travel gear!Loving the Japan vibe and the fun things they do! We travel back to Shanghai tomorrow by ferry (fingers crossed its smooth!)...we will next travel&nbsp;up to&nbsp;Beijing by&nbsp;over night train. In Beijing&nbsp;where we hope to visit&nbsp;The great wall of lovely China!!Send you more news and photos very soon!&nbsp;Lots of love to all,&nbsp;hope your all&nbsp;fine and cool,&nbsp;from Jen xxxxx&nbsp; &nbsp;<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28606/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/jenniedean/blog/japan/tokyo&link=Tokyo, Japan" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/jenniedean/blog/japan/tokyo&link=Tokyo, Japan" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386000/f/7277/c/321/s/11699718/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001386000/f/7277/c/321/s/11699718/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/jenniedean/blog/japan/tokyohttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28605/story01.htmNy lyckades vi fa ihop det till att vi befinner oss i Cairns. Sa tekniska ar vi. Hur som helst har vi slagit oss ner i Thailand nu. Och till och med lyckats p**** in regnperioden. Men det gor oss ingenting. Har dragit med oss var hollandska van Anne som vi traffade nere i Melbourne. Tillsammans har vi inga problem med att fa dagarna att ga. Det blir mycket kortspel och paraplydrinkar nar regnet oser ner. Det galler att gora vad man kan. Och varannan dag har faktiskt solen skinit och vi stekt pa beachen. &nbsp;Om du trodde att Australien var avslappnat hade du fel. Eller ratt... det ar i alla fall annu mer chill har. Landade i Bangkok&nbsp;och&nbsp;akte dagen efter till Koh Samet, mycket trevlig o. Kostade oss hela 300 bth, med andra ord ingenting. Priset ar helt klart den storsta skillnaden nar man backpackar runt. &nbsp;Nu har vi hamnat i Koh Phi Phi. Har ar det lite mer party. Vilket ar bra. Vi gillar verkligen buckets, hinkar med drinkar. &nbsp;Efter detta blir det Koh Samui, Koh Pah-Ngang och Bangkok igen. Vi har totalt tre veckor pa oss. Very niiiiice. Det ar perfekt med ett litet stopp halvvags innan hemkomsten. Anne har tva veckor mer an oss och ska upp till Laos och Kambodja. Hade inte bangat men nu ar vi ratt glada att snart vara hemma. &nbsp;Tjing Tjong Langkalsong<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28605/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/mathandfrie/blog/queensland/cairns&link=Cairns, Queensland" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/mathandfrie/blog/queensland/cairns&link=Cairns, Queensland" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001385999/f/7277/c/321/s/11699717/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/18001385999/f/7277/c/321/s/11699717/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/mathandfrie/blog/queensland/cairnshttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28604/story01.htmThe name of the park sounds nice-Knotts Berry Farm, but they have some crazy rides there!! The ride in the photo is the silver bullet, and when we came off of it, i nearly fell over as i was so dizzy its crazy! We were dropped from 252ft which definately scares the crap out of you, and we went from 0-80mph in 2.5 seconds!They have a ride like that at thorpe park which is wicked, but this one has an extra rollercoaster bit on the end, just to scare us even more!We bought a photo which is funny, i look like im about tocry, and frank looks pretty normal! They had a few water rides, the best of which was perilous plunge, when you are in a boat and you go down a vertical slide thing, we got drenched! Looked like we'd been swimming! There was a ride called ghost rider which was good, but im not even kidding, i thought it was going to break! It was a wicked theme park, never been on such crazy and scary rides! It was only when we got back that Kyrstie told us about all the people that had dies on those rides, so don't think we will be going back there in a hurry!!It was good though! Yeaterday we went to Kyrstie's Grandparents house as they have a swimming pool and a diving board! It was wicked, but think we need to work on our dives, specially me as i was pants! We are off to a football (soccer) game this afternoon, so we will see if they are any good out here! Franks played a few times with Shane and his friends, and he says there not too bad, so we will have to see what this team are like today! Only a few days left till were back, ive seen the weather in England and its raining, not very impressed, never mind though!<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/b28604/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/franknbex/blog/california/knotts-berry-farm&link=Knotts Berry Farm, California" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.statravelblogs.com/franknbex/blog/california/knotts-berry-farm&link=Knotts Berry Farm, California" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.statravelblogs.com/franknbex/blog/california/knotts-berry-farmhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b935a/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Corangemonkeyman0Cblog0Cargentina0Cposadas/story01.htmArrived in Posadas - trip only took an hour and this time the bus had genuine air conditioning. This is only a stopover town on our way down to Buenos Aires, nonetheless we headed out with Adam and an Argentinian guy called Santiago to grab a bite to eat and see some of the sites. Posadas, located on the banks of the River Uruguay is a nice, clean and seemingly safe town. We headed to an Arabic / Mexican restaurant - odd mix but food tasted ok and was relatively cheap. Was a really pleasant evening watching a big storm booting off over Paraguay (just across the river) - finished the night with a Sheesha. Good times !! Once again another good nights sleep in preparation for a mammoth 12hr bus journey to take us down to Parana which is West of Buenos Aires. Stop after there will be Rosario - the birth Place of Ernesto Guevara - with the beard coming along well, I hope to be stopped for the occasional photo<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b935a/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Posadas%2C+Argentina&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Forangemonkeyman%2Fblog%2Fargentina%2Fposadas" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Posadas%2C+Argentina&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Forangemonkeyman%2Fblog%2Fargentina%2Fposadas" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTorangemonkeyman_9http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b9359/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cscottandkelly0Cblog0Cqueensland0Csurfers0Eparadise/story01.htmWe have had three days in Surfers Paradise now, and another three to go, really nice place, lovely beach and good waves! Been in the Jacuzzi in the hotel in the afternoons and the beach during the day, probably the best place for entertainment so far, so many bars, clubs, pubs and restaurants, off to the Hard Rock Cafe tomorrow night, apparently Surfers Paradise is the Miami of Australia so can't be bad. Next stop Byron Bay...<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b9359/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Surfers+Paradise%2C+Queensland&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fscottandkelly%2Fblog%2Fqueensland%2Fsurfers-paradise" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Surfers+Paradise%2C+Queensland&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fscottandkelly%2Fblog%2Fqueensland%2Fsurfers-paradise" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTscottandkelly_6http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b9357/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Chandmabroad0Cblog0Cqueensland0Ccairns/story01.htmFInal destination.......hopefully not like the film UPDATE : So i am now sitting in Sydney airport freezing cold as there air conditioning seems to be blowing out antarctic air. Mark had his hair trimmed and his beard trimmed - Anne you can sleep easy now, he no longer has pubes on his face! i cant afford a hair cut so mine is looking like a bush ( the hair on my head!) . So anyway Cairns is the hottest and most humid place we have ever been to! apparently theres a heat wave. you looked like youd been in the swimming pool by the time you had walked to the toilet thats how humid it was!We stayed in Nomads - some of you may already know the hatred and anger i felt/still feel about this place. it was discusting, took us four hours to wash our clothes on the first night which broke me, yes this was the first time i have cried whilst being away and it was over washing! our aircon in our room didnt work for two nights we both felt like death, the unit itself was held up by a wooden doorstop (dont ask me how!) there was tiny insects crawling everywhere. the whole place needs to be torn down. Nevermind im soo over that now!. You cant go in the sea as everything in australia wants to kill and eat you (apparently) im sure this is a lie and just to scare you because we didnt see any death animals. there is a lagoon which is 27 degrees so very hot but nice to dip in and out of. MArk did his skydive! woop jumped out of an areoplane at 17 thousand feet eek i was so nervous and i was on the ground!. i went to the landing zone, its weird because its so high up you cant even see the plane or them jump out!! you can hear the shoot go up then you start to see little specs, i do have pictures which il upload to facebook when i can. We went scuba diving on the great barrier reef ( yes another boat!) i couldnt equalize my ears so i didnt do it! and marks mask kepy on leaking so he didnt do it! so we just snorkled. i dont know why i thought id be immune from sea sickness because obviously i wasnt! and i was sick into the sea again (after taking 5 sea sickness tablets!!)! fortunetly i didnt get fish attacked!. We have had a wicked time in Australia met some great people! but both of us are now ready to go to New Zealand- its alot cheaper there!. This is definetly a once in a lifetime trip to Australia( unless we win the lottery), its far to expensive and things are way over priced which is a tad annoying you do feel as though your being robbed for every penny - we even had to pay 6 dollars each to catch the shuttle in the airport to go to a different terminal!. If any of you are thinking of doing this then id reccomend you working here as there minmum wage is 15 dollars an hour ( thats if you can find work!). ITS A RICH MANS WORLD OUT HERE!. Anyway iv got a plane to catch! New Zealand here we come woop see you all in 3 and abit weeks...........................TBC xxxxxxxxxx<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b9357/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Cairns%2C+Queensland&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fhandmabroad%2Fblog%2Fqueensland%2Fcairns" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Cairns%2C+Queensland&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fhandmabroad%2Fblog%2Fqueensland%2Fcairns" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMThandmabroad_5http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b9356/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Ccatwhit0Cblog0Cfiji0Cnacula0Eisland/story01.htmThe one where the biggest decision in life is what to have for lunch Sooo... we made it!! All the stresses as of saturday are very much behind us, we very much took advantage of all the free goodies on the flights, so arrived in fiji feeling very stuffed and hungry after the lack of sleep and crossing the date line! LA airport was a stressful encounter, spending our time there endlessly queing, so we were very happy to be on the plane to fiji, (with air pacific, not virgin, as faye thought haha, at least one of us is switched on!!!) awaiting our arrival to paradise, and this deffinately did not dissappoint, fiji is a beautiful place and is excactly what you see in pictures! We boarded the Yasawa flyer, and the name of the boat very much lived up to its name - it took us from the mainland to the island, and we had to be the last stop on the boat didn't we, and due to the recent bad weather in fiji the sea was very choppy, which only meant one thing - a horrific four hours spent on a flying boat feeling practically like death. Now i understand your pain Claire when you get sea sick on a ferry to france - you would not want to experience this!!! so we were very happy to be met at our island by a singing band and a cocktail!!!! We spent our first afternoon visiting the local village and experiencing the traditional fijian culture, pariticpating in fijian dances and exploring the local schools/churches etc - the highlight of this was faye being sick outside of the most respected place in their village - the church - haha she still wasnt feeling very well from the boat and didnt realise the fact it was near a church so we will let her off!!! After a quick swim in the sea it was time for dinner and we are making the most of the three meals a day here for sure!! A tradition in fiji is drinking cava, which is basically mud and water and it is suppose to make you sleep well and feel totally relaxed so after a doce of that an early night was in order!! The weather has been perfect since we have been here and yes you guessed it I have been bitten to death already and have burnt slighly - standard cat whittall!!! but lets hope my skin gets use to this over the next five months!! We have had a little rain today, but this did not stop us - we went on a snorkelling trip, and it was amazing!! saw soo many different beauitful fish, including blue star fish and a sea snake, and were feeding the fish - steph jones you would have hated it and tom payne you would have been very proud - I am now a pro compared to KOS!! We have met some lovely people already, everyone talks to everyone and it is so chilled here. Everyone seems to be at the end of their travels, and are ridiculously brown which is sickening so me and faye look very pasty lying next to them on the beach!!! Anyways it doesn't really feel like this is going to be our life for the next five months -the biggest decision I have to make in life right now is what to have for lunch and that is an amazing feeling!!! Anyways we are both safe and having an awesome time already, missing you all lots and can't wait for everything that is to come! Will update you when I can but there is one computer on this resort and I am very much feeling the pressure behind me to hurry up so must dash, lots of love xxxxxxx<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b9356/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Nacula+Island%2C+Fiji&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fcatwhit%2Fblog%2Ffiji%2Fnacula-island" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Nacula+Island%2C+Fiji&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fcatwhit%2Fblog%2Ffiji%2Fnacula-island" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTcatwhit_3http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b9355/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Ctimchoppy0Cblog0Cnew0Ezealand0Cauckland/story01.htmOk so we arrived at Kuala Lumper after a 12 hour flight and after declining plane curry for breakfest (which normally I would say yes to after 10 pints of cider). Three hours flew past and then it was back on the plane for another 12 hours (another declined curry for breakfast) before finally arriving in Auckland at 1pm NZ time (2am UK time).We stayed two nights in the Skyway Lodge with some cool people, which is about 20k out of Auckland to get over the jet lag and what better way to get over it than a 10 mile hike up a volcano (Mt Mangere)and some sun burn.... it was a pretty nice view though. Next day we set off and heading into auckland staying at BK hostel. It was short walk to the harbour, so we jumped on a ferry over to Devonport. We then hired a tandem bike, which meant I (Chops/ Charlie/ Charlotte or whatever you know me as) could put my feet up without Tim noticing ;) We cycled up North Head - another volcano, bit of a mission but alternatively provided an awesome view. When we arrived back at Auckland Harbour, and caulght the bus along the senic coastline to mission beach and finished the day with fish and chips and a pretty cool view of Rangitoto (the youngest volcano). Yesterday we headed to the Auckland museum, next up we walked to the foot of Mt Eden to check it out and then onto the Sky Tower. the building is 192 meters high (roughly), its ok though you catch a glass bottom lift to the top and the views of auckland and the islands round it are fantastic. We topped this off with some wine (fyi not drinking for month, then drinking at high altittude- great fun). Today we fancied a chill day so we caught a ferry to Waiheke Island, then jumped on a bus to Palm beach (one of the many white sand, blue sea beaches). We then caught a ferry back and managed to catch an amazing sun set over auckland, this was top off with a drink at the Auckland Harbour. And thats it so far folks...... Chops xxPS- Its been around 25 degrees every day :)<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b9355/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Auckland%2C+New+Zealand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Ftimchoppy%2Fblog%2Fnew-zealand%2Fauckland" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Auckland%2C+New+Zealand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Ftimchoppy%2Fblog%2Fnew-zealand%2Fauckland" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTtimchoppy_2http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b9354/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cmorts180Cblog0Cvictoria0Cmelbourne/story01.htmJust to left everyone know that i arrived safe into Melbourne on the 9th of Feb at around 7.15 in the morning. Waited round at the the airport for Josh to arrive and got picked up by his uncle who then took us to his apartment in Melbourne. Just got showered and went down to get some food and have a wonder, its nice and sunny and apartment has good views over the city centre and part of the Melbourne Grand Prix racecourse. Just of down to the swimmining pool in the apartment now to, x<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c8b9354/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Melbourne%2C+Victoria&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fmorts18%2Fblog%2Fvictoria%2Fmelbourne" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Melbourne%2C+Victoria&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fmorts18%2Fblog%2Fvictoria%2Fmelbourne" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTmorts18_1http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a1e/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cviccan0Cblog0Cnew0Ezealand0Cnapier/story01.htmNow we have travelled from Hamilton, where I last wrote. I will try to get some photos up in the next couple of days but most of the time when I connect to Internet, I have limited amount of Mb that can use, but as I said hopefully soon. Anyhow, we travelled from Hamilton to Rotorua where we stayed four nights. The first day we just relaxed and in the evening we went to Mitai, a Maori village with a traditional performance and hangi (maori food). It was a nice performance and the food was great BUT it felt VERY touristi and commercial. But the performance was nice and it was interesting to try food cooked traditionally which means it cooks under the ground somehow and slow cooks for hours which results in flavour ful and tender meat. The backpackers as we are, enjoyed this very much, especially the desserts. Rotorua is a thermal spot so of course we had to visit a thermal village with an active geysir and that, we did the following day. We started of walking around admiring boiling and bubbling hot pools in different shapes and colours. Then we had to take the car, about 2 km (it was not so safe to walk as it is thermal activity) to watch the geysir Lady knoxs erupt. We were a little bit suspicious reading on thë information sheet that it erupted 10.15 daily, but we thought 'why not' so we went there and there were rows with benches to sit for at least a good houndred tourists to sit and watch. Then a man came and started to talk for a while and put soap in the geyser to make it start. Then we felt very disappointed since we had thought it was natural and spontanous eruptions. In other words, if you want to stay out of tourist traps- don't go there. After wards we went to Hells Gate Geothermal spa with thermal walk followed by a relaxing mud bath and spa bath. It was a nice finish before hitting the town to meet Becca and Ian (two friends from Herm Island) Now in Napier, a very sweet town which seems to honour the era from the 40s. We stopped in Gisbourne for a couple of nights before and we surfed 2 hours and spend some relaxing time there. Now we are heading towards Taupo where we have some exciting activites to look forward to. After that we are heading to Wellington where I will celebrate my birthday. Then we are heading over to the south island to see what that has in store for us! over and out<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a1e/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Napier%2C+New+Zealand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fviccan%2Fblog%2Fnew-zealand%2Fnapier" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Napier%2C+New+Zealand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fviccan%2Fblog%2Fnew-zealand%2Fnapier" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTviccan_10http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a1d/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Ckangarooemma0Cblog0Cqueensland0Cbrisbane/story01.htmHey all. Made it to Brisbane yesterday. Not really sure what I think of it. It's a city just like all the others! Quite big. Anyway I got to Mission Beach on Monday 30th January. My skydive was at 7.30am on Tuesday. I wasn't nervous about it as I hadn't had much time to think about it. I only felt nervous after I had left the plane. Then I felt like I was going to die! After 20 seconds or so you get used to it and start to enjoy it. Just when I was enjoying it the parachute went up! I had forgotten about that part! When the parachute went up it all went quiet and we floated down to the ground. The free fall was 60seconds in total and the whole jump took around 8-9 minutes. From 14,000ft!!! Scary thought! Then was Cairns. First day I did nothing, second day I did my trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It was rainy when we set out but the sun came out later in the day and the conditions were just perfect. No waves and the water was 29 degrees!! We spent 6 hours at the reef snorkelling and swimming. I had a free intro dive which I hated so didn't go very deep but still saw a lot. Next day we went up to Port Douglas. Nice seaside beach town an hour north of Cairns. The hostel was great as it had a cheap bar so we had a bit of a party! Saturday I left Port Douglas on a trip to Cape Tribulation. Stopping at Daintree rainforest, Crocodile cruise and Daintree river ferry. I spent the night in Cape trib which was pretty quiet! Whilst there I did the jungle night walk where we got sent into the jungle with just a torch! Saw some big spiders, frogs, cane toads, tree dragon, fireflys unfortuantly no snakes! Sunday afternoon was the rest of my cape trib trip. We stopped at daintree ice cream factory, alexandra lookout point and Mossman Gorge. The gorge was awsum for swim because the water ws freezing! Monday I did a trip to The atherton Tablelands. The road up to it is so windy it had 237 corners!!! It was a great trip tho. We went to the waterfall where Peter Andre filmed mystyerious girl video and where the herbal essences ad is filmed. It looked exactly the same as on tv!! We saw 2 other waterfalls, and lots of nature. Tuesday I flew down to Brisbane! :-)<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a1d/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Brisbane%2C+Queensland&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fkangarooemma%2Fblog%2Fqueensland%2Fbrisbane" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Brisbane%2C+Queensland&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fkangarooemma%2Fblog%2Fqueensland%2Fbrisbane" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTkangarooemma_9http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a1b/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cjavamoaka0Cblog0Cthailand0Cratchiburi/story01.htmFebruary 2012 I have now been in Thailand for six months and am very thankful to God for the lessons and experiences he has given me.I want to thank you all for praying for me and reading my updates and taking this journey with me.I finished my DTS and learned so many things.God has grown me in many ways and is showing me everyday his faithfulness. Since DTS has finished I have been very busy.My Dad and Grandpa came to visit.It was a very exhausti………. I mean blessed time.After that I jumped right into a new ministry.I am now living in a city called Ratchaburi.Here I have the chance to see first hand what living as a missionary looks like.I am working with an interracial family and have a unique opportunity to get mentored and learn how to do successful ministry.During my time here I will be: leading worship, working with Burmese refugee kids, teaching English, helping at a prison, showing my break-dancer friends God's love, and many other things.My favorite ministry here is with the break-dancers.I have developed a close relationship with them and pray that during my time here God will give me wisdom and opportunities to share the gospel. I plan on staying here till the 1st of May.I am very exited to see what God is going to do through me and in me while I am here.Although being here has many perks it also presents challenges that I can use prayer for.For one I am the only Westerner here except for the missionary wife who is from South Africa.Not only that but I am working with two other Thai girls who don't speak English and the closest one to my age is 24.Finding someone to talk to casually or just vent to is almost impossible to find here.Also unlike Bangkok almost nobody here speaks English.So I have to learn more Thai in order to be more useful during ministry times.Being here is not going to be easy but I know that God directs my path and will guide me through this time. Thank you all for keeping me in your prayers. God Bless, Taylor Moak<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a1b/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Ratchiburi%2C+Thailand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fjavamoaka%2Fblog%2Fthailand%2Fratchiburi" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Ratchiburi%2C+Thailand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fjavamoaka%2Fblog%2Fthailand%2Fratchiburi" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTjavamoaka_8http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a1a/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cdavidsouthernhemisphere0Cblog0Cnew0Ezealand0Crotorua0Etaupo0Eriver0Evalley0Eand0Ewellington/story01.htmThis blog has had to come much later than I had planned as I found out just how remote the west coast on the south island is. Since the last blog I started through Rotorua, just for the one night as I had been there for three days previously on the way up. It wasn't the most exciting day and night of my life as most people went off to do the activities I'd already done, I stuck to playing the manager of the hostel at pool, keeping him from doing any work which might have explained how dead the bar was later that night leaving me in good shape for an early start ready to leave for Taupo. Again I stayed in Taupo just for the one night as I'd already been there for four days on the way up. The one night was enough though to take part in a pub quiz and win, winning a free night's accommodation. The next day I set off for River Valley, a place I hadn't been to but had heard plenty about so was looking forward to it. Once arriving I found out it truly was in the middle of nowhere, no phone reception, internet, nothing. Only a BBQ, a volley ball net, an ice cold river and some Swedish girls to keep me entertained. The night before the famous white water rafting trip was spent making the most of all four of those, in the also famous dorm rooms which included 20 beds all lined up next to each other, not leaving too much to the imagination. The rafting in the morning was awesome, which I've got some great pictures of in the recent photo albums I've put on here. A serious challenge but a great bit of exercise and fun which was well needed after the boring last two days I'd had. After a quick lunch we headed off for Wellington, which I had also taken care of on the way up so I had one night planned there, and one very messy night which didn't disappoint. The next blog will come from the other island of New Zealand as I cross on the ferry, very hungover, and very outnumbered by Swedish.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a1a/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Rotorua%2C+Taupo%2C+River+Valley++and++Wellington%2C+New+Zealand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fdavidsouthernhemisphere%2Fblog%2Fnew-zealand%2Frotorua-taupo-river-valley-and-wellington" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Rotorua%2C+Taupo%2C+River+Valley++and++Wellington%2C+New+Zealand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fdavidsouthernhemisphere%2Fblog%2Fnew-zealand%2Frotorua-taupo-river-valley-and-wellington" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTdavidsouthernhemisphere_7http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a18/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Cdavidsouthernhemisphere0Cblog0Cnew0Ezealand0Cthe0Ewest0Ecoast0Ekaiteriteri0Ewestport0Elake0Emahinapua0Efranz0Ejosef0Eand0Ewanaka/story01.htmI am coming to you now about to hit Queenstown and therefore completing my Kiwi Experience circuit around New Zealand, an incredible 5 week trip that has drained me and probably not prepared me for any sort of work that I'm about to do for a couple of weeks. Once getting to the South Island the buses started to get very busy and I had been told how hectic the next week or so would be, and I saw this first hand. With barely a minute for some chilled time over the last week I can finally post what I've got up to on this, craziest, leg of the trip. First stop was Kaiteriteri, again just for one night as I was trying to race to Queenstown to get to the job. A really nice place, with a hostel and a beach and beer, that was pretty much it. After still not mastering packing and unpacking every day going to a new place every day, it was beginning to get quite annoying, so I took to living in a pair of swimming trunks for the week, which was all I needed as the weather was so good. I'm now travelling with five Swedish girls, which has its positives and negatives but I'll leave that to your imagination. The night here was spent with a few drinks and cards on the beach, a very chilled night and the calm before the storm. Next stop was Westport for one night where I was treated to the first movie I had seen in five weeks and the first bit of television apart from the odd half hour of sport I had seen so far on my trip. Relaxing in the sun on the hammocks in the gardens we discussed our outfits for the famous fancy dress party the next night in our next stop, Lake Mahinapua. Unfortunately we had no choice in what we wore as we found out the next day that all the boys had to dress up as girls and the girls in rubbish bags. Easy enough for me as I had the girls dress me up well enough that I came away winner of a free bar crawl as a result of mine and their efforts. This all after we had been treated to a huge BBQ in this seriously remote area of the West Coast. Yes the first pictures of me on a night out are ones of me dressed as a woman but I can confirm it is not what I go out wearing on the other nights, well most of them anyway. The next destination along the West coast was Franz Josef, famous for its glacier. The town was set in an amazing setting with mountains surrounding it, as has been the case for much of this part of the trip as you will see from the pictures. Here we would be staying for two nights which was refreshing to be able to unpack for an extra night. The day we arrived we settled in the hostel hot tub ready for our full day glacier hike the next day. The hike was amazing, a serious serious work out as we trekked over and around the ice for eight hours in shoes with spikes in the bottom, so like walking on high heels for eight hours I was told. After this we got back to the hostel and made our way to the hot pools across the road which we had free entry for as a result of doing the glacier hike. We soaked in the 36, 38 and 40 degrees pools before hot chocolate by the fire later that night at the only pub in the town, a very long but awesome day. Our last notable stop before finishing in Queenstown was Wanaka. With the weather at 36 degrees Celsius when we arrived we set off straight away for the beach as we finally had some time to sit in the sun. Here we were surrounded by the huge lake Wanaka and the mountains that reflected off the water as we swam. We spent the whole afternoon and evening at the beach before fish and chips that night as we got an earlier night for the first time since being on the West Coast. Now ready for Queenstown we have two nights before we get there in a remote town or two which the names I can't remember but once in Queenstown after a big weekend saying an emotional goodbye to the Swedes I will be starting work for the next few weeks and that is when you will hear from me next.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a18/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=%28The+West+Coast%29+-+Kaiteriteri%2C+Westport%2C+Lake+Mahinapua%2C+Franz+Josef++and++Wanaka%2C+New+Zealand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fdavidsouthernhemisphere%2Fblog%2Fnew-zealand%2Fthe-west-coast-kaiteriteri-westport-lake-mahinapua-franz-josef-and-wanaka" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=%28The+West+Coast%29+-+Kaiteriteri%2C+Westport%2C+Lake+Mahinapua%2C+Franz+Josef++and++Wanaka%2C+New+Zealand&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fdavidsouthernhemisphere%2Fblog%2Fnew-zealand%2Fthe-west-coast-kaiteriteri-westport-lake-mahinapua-franz-josef-and-wanaka" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTdavidsouthernhemisphere_4http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a15/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Ckeithandjoy0Cblog0Cmaldives0Cfull0Emoon0Eisland/story01.htmMerci Beau Coup? Coup? Hey theres trouble in Paradise. Seems that the people here in Maldives had enough of their Presidentand had a small coup yesterday and out he went. Not that it involved us at all as a matter of fact we didn't know until it was all over and done. There were rumours of the protesters lining up on the airport runway but that eats into the Tourist money and thats what it's all about here,Tourist.You see a couple of months ago the Government was up in arms about the massages and alcohol being served at the resorts by Muslims,they got that ironed out when they thought about how much it would cost themin tourist money if they were to make this a dry country so they put their heads together as all Governments do and came up witha brainstorm, have the non-Muslims pour the alcohol and the Muslims can serve it.As for the massages they are back not sure how they handled that one. Well now the guys with the great ideals are gone and I am sure that the Maldives will do great once the guywho ran the place for 30 years is allowed back in power. Anyway, We arrived here under the cover of darkness landing at Maldives airport which is a small island it's self.On the tarmac therewere many private jets but the one that caught my eye was the tricked out 737 it was a small one but never the less it had all kinds of chromeand was spit shined ready to go anywhere.Well through customs and we were off to our resort on a two engine speed boat as we were the only passengers I told the drive let's Miami Vice it over to the Resort and that he did. We were wizzing along under a almost full moon with white caps and neon lite hotels along the shores.We passed lit up mega yahts the size of small cruise ships and tourist carrying bus type boats.We pulled up to our dock for the Sheraton Full Moon island perfect with the almost full moonoverhead. Of course they lost our reservation but that only goes with the flow of our vacation this year. Somehow they found us a room that is great,walk right out onto the beach and we have a $120 credit each day too.See we had signed up for the garden Villabut after seeing them our room was nicer and had direct beach access.Anyway come morning we were greeted by the sun,hot showersand coffee beachside.I had taken a shower the night before and turned on the shower thinking it was the hot side but someone installedthe faucet wrong but that didn't matter as I am now well tuned to cold showers after Tonga and Burma.The next morning I tried the other direction and there it was hot water times two. Well morning became afternoon and boy who moved the sun closer? Between the white sand and the crystal blue water Joy and I have complete tans everywhere.I have sunburn in places I never had sunburn before. The sun reflects on everything here and we have thetans to prove it.I have not ever been so tan except maybe when I was a kid and my parents took us to the beach for a week and weran around shirtless and in the 70's there was no such thing as sun block just sunburn and pealing.Well we are now well covered with our 30SPF and with any luck hold this color till we get home. Being here and this is my thoughts of the Maldives not Joy. It's like being on a cruise ship except you don't get to get offthe resort/ship everyday.Sure it's beautiful,but I like mingling with the locals maybe looking at some cheap trickets okay this is not a b**** just my side. Everything here is shipped in so everything is expensive.However the Corona's are $8 bucks and that is aboutwhat you pay anywhere in the world except Mexico and back home for them,hell I paid $50 for one a couple of years back at the Burj Al Arabbut I was having drinks with Rodger Fedder and Tiger Woods well they were in the room just not anywhere near us.We heard that theseafood was not so good through Trip Advisor so we went the steak way and it was a homerun. Not our cheapest meal but walked awayhappy.Breakfast is covered in our room rate and they do great job there too.Hmm this blog is boring...We haven't done much hereexcept eat and lay around and snorkel.We are saving up as we attack Sri Lanka tomorrow.That should run us down as we really packedalot into our plan. One of the biggest is laundry, we are critical at the moment but I refuse to pay $3 bucks a pair to was myunderwear even though thats what you would have to pay me to wash someone elses underwear.We are gambling the Sri Lanka will becheaper.Anyway, time to go load up on breakfast so we can skip lunch we by pass that by eating the food we stored up in Chinaat the lounge but I am tiring of caramelised cookies for lunch maybe I'll try a $19 burger? See you in Sri Lanka!<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a15/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Full+moon+island%2C+Maldives&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fkeithandjoy%2Fblog%2Fmaldives%2Ffull-moon-island" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Full+moon+island%2C+Maldives&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Fkeithandjoy%2Fblog%2Fmaldives%2Ffull-moon-island" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTkeithandjoy_2http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a14/l/0L0Sstatravelblogs0N0Clong7months0Cblog0Cbrazil0Cflorianopolis0Ebarra0Eda0Elagoa/story01.htmSo, we made it to Florianopolis, again without a hitch... first long bus ride! 14 hours in total, it pretty much flew by. Some Aussie tried to scare us before we got on about being robbed and it being really unsafe. I don´t think any of us felt that way afterwards, it was smooth, well organised etc etc. When we arrived it was already around 30 degrees at 9 in the morning, so we quickly found a HSBC (the first thing we do, EVERYWHERE we go! Carly gets free withdrawals!) and jmped on the bus to Barra da Lagoa, our home for the next three nights! The buses in Brazil were quite irritating... they have turnstils a third of the way in and unless your stick thin it´s hard to get through them. The locals get a good laugh everytime, with 60 litres on the back, a sleeping bag hanging off and 20 litres on our fronts we get stuck almost everytime! The bus drivers solution is to just push the turnstile around an force us thorugh! (Thank god we haven´t seen these in Argentina yet!) On our arrival we wondered until we found our homestay. A little two story, turqouise house set into the hills of the national park. It was really nice... we think we were one of the first guests as there are no reviews about it anywhere. It was really clean, well equipped and... we had it to ourselfs! So we were basically paying 25 quid between us for our own apartment! After unpacking and suncreaming up we headed straight to the beach, Praia Mole. It was beautiful! Big granite rocks sculpted by the sea at each end of the beach like you see in the Seychelles. And waves! Alex and Dave jumped straight in and played like kids for about an hour and a half... big mistake! We came out lobsterfied =s! And spent the next couple of days inside and in tshirts because of it! There isn´t much more to say about the next day.. we were all so red, even Carly got a little burnt after calling us all white boys! We just spent the day playing cards and researching future destinations. The next day, we felt that half a bottle of moisturiser and a fresh layer of suncream meant we could slowly venture out into the sun again! Alex and Carly headed off to try and book bus tickets to Montevideo whilst Dave and Dan went in search of Sandboarding. Once we had both completed out tasks, we had to barter some sandboard to play on. Initially the guy wanted 28 quid for 1 board for 1 hour! Bloody expensive... so we worked our magic and got him down to 12 quid for 2 boards for 2 hours! And so we hit the sandy slopes. Carly, seen as she has had snowboarding experience started us off... with a tumble =p! We all looked a bit nervous but donned our socks (the sand was HOT!) and made our first attempts with fairly good sucess... we contiuned on for an hour or so, hitting slightly bigger slopes everytime. None of us fancied the final HUGE slope though, so we did it sitting down! Was still awesome fun! After this we deperately needed a swim to shed the layer of sand and suncream paste that had been created! Again, lots of waves to play in. Once clean, we headed to the bar for an ice cold beer... nice end to a fun afternoon. The evening was pretty AWESOME too! The lady who ran the hostel had told us there was a nice walk over to another beach and that they were having some sort of dancing. Anyway, one of her friends took us over there and when we arrived there were about 100 people dancing and 20-30 playing drums and singing! It was so cool, our first proper travelling experience! We watched for a while before Alex and Dave attempted to try their hand at a bit of African dancing, in celebration of the Godess of the Sea! They made it look easy, naturally, as you will se when we upload the videos! We ended with a stroll back to the hostel, reminising over the day and how we had enjoyed Florianopolis! Next morning we pakced up, headed towards the turtle sanctuary for a quick peek before we left. It was cool, lots of big turtles being bred to be released into the ocean. The whole project releases 900,000 turles a year back into the ocean, which pleased Alex as he loves them so! It was good to see a good cause in the local area =) We headed through the turnstiles for the final time, picked up some salgados (deep fried meaty treats!) and an ice cream for the coach and settled down for the next 20 hours! A new country awaits us, Montevideo, Uruguay here we come!<img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/321/f/7277/s/1c846a14/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Florianopolis+-+Barra+da+Lagoa%2C+Brazil&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Flong7months%2Fblog%2Fbrazil%2Fflorianopolis-barra-da-lagoa" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Florianopolis+-+Barra+da+Lagoa%2C+Brazil&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statravelblogs.com%2Flong7months%2Fblog%2Fbrazil%2Fflorianopolis-barra-da-lagoa" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMTlong7months_1