Our stay in Jamnagar was pretty chilled out. Well for my brothers and myself at least. Mum and Dad were shopping almost everyday lol. There isn't all that much to do in Jamnagar really, and to be honest we were happy to watch the Olympics all day! The time difference between India and China isn't too bad either, so we managed to watch quite a lot. Unsurprisingly, India coverage is a bit crappy. Numerous spelling mistakes, mediocre commentary and unusual choices of ad breaks; one of them meant we missed an entire penalty shootout :S
There were a couple of things we did do though. We went to the local fare, which I insisted we went to because I had some good memories of it from previous times I'd been to Jamnagar. The dodgy safety systems (or lack thereof) were still present, with the ferris wheel being particularly unnerving. The giant swinging boat was good fun. Neil and Nikhil were pretty scared so they sat on the opposite side to me and closer to the centre. But this turned out to be a bad decision as someone further up behind them ended up vomiting bucketloads. Thankfully most of the, er, fluids were blocked by others, but Neil wasn't completely lucky lol.
The best part was the 'Indian Daredevils' show. I have to admit, I was seriously sceptical of this. With a ridiculous name like that I really wasn't expecting much. But wow, these guys were mental. I'll get the video up asap, but basically they drove motorbikes and cars on a cyclindrical track...so they were practically horizontal, going round extremely fast, with zero protection. Amazing. And they were able to grab money from people dangling notes at the top. Seriously cool.
Other than that, we got suits tailored for ourselves and did some of the essential visits to relatives.
It rained most days. There were 2 days when it really poured down, leaving the streets a total mess. Mud, sludge and pools of water everywhere. Luckily it was dry on our last day when we went to the train station, and also dry when we reached Mumbai. All in all, we were pretty fortunate the entire 3 weeks as we missed the rain almost every time.
Monday 18 August 2008
Wednesday 6 August 2008
To Cochin and onwards
Sun 3 July: We have to endure 50km of windy roads, followed by some 'normal' Indian roads before we reached Cochin 3.5hrs later. We saw a couple of cool waterfalls along the way. The hotel, Riveria Suites, was reasonably good (but nothing compared to the two best ones we'd stayed in: Travancore Heritage and Backwater Ripples). We had a short tour of a few sights in the centre of Cochin. We went to Mattancherry Dutch Palace/Museum, which used to be Portugese before the Dutch raided it. (Following that, the British arrived and took over everything until Indepedence in 1947 lol). We also went to the coast (Arabian Sea) where we saw some Chinese fishing nets...they're huge! We stopped by a department store for mum/dad to look for some vases etc, but when we went in we realised it was basically Indian Harrods. It was SO expensive! Yes, even by English standards lol.
Mon 4 July: We went to the airport to catch our flight to Mumbai (I said a while back we were getting the train, I was wrong!). During the initial luggage scan, they made us open up one bag. The toy police car set of the scanner...but because there were batteries inside lol. Afterwards, we tried going through security to get to the gates. But this time mum wasn't allowed vases in her hand luggage. So we had to check in her bag as well. Turns out huge, brass vases could be used as weapons (actually they are pretty hefty lol). The inflight entertainment didnt work for neil or me...but we found out it ran on Linux. At first Bombay felt clean/civilised, but then we reached the area of our hotel. Same as it was 6 years ago. SO noisy, dirty and smelly. The place we were staying at was a community hostel-like building. But the rooms were falling apart. Really was a bit of a craphole. To give u an indication...we paid about GBP 1.50 per room for the night.
Tues 5 July: I had a surprisingly good sleep in the dodgy room. We took a trecherous journey to the train station (people were riding their bikes ACROSS the road in the OPPOSITE direction!). The train itself was reasonably good, and air condition. We set off at around 5.30pm.
Weds 6 July: I slept really well considering it was a train. It was only a few hours left before we arrived in Jamnagar at about 10.40am. My phone keeps switching off :( I dropped it from the bed whilst I was on the train so I've probably sped up its death. Seeing my family (mum's side) was really exciting. Feels like we don't really know them. It's really hot! Mosquitos have bitten me many times already lol. All the kids want me to dance with them for some crazy reason. I have so far resisted and will continue to do so lol. Updates may be thin from now, as I doubt I'll be doing much each day. I better go before I catch malaria!
Mon 4 July: We went to the airport to catch our flight to Mumbai (I said a while back we were getting the train, I was wrong!). During the initial luggage scan, they made us open up one bag. The toy police car set of the scanner...but because there were batteries inside lol. Afterwards, we tried going through security to get to the gates. But this time mum wasn't allowed vases in her hand luggage. So we had to check in her bag as well. Turns out huge, brass vases could be used as weapons (actually they are pretty hefty lol). The inflight entertainment didnt work for neil or me...but we found out it ran on Linux. At first Bombay felt clean/civilised, but then we reached the area of our hotel. Same as it was 6 years ago. SO noisy, dirty and smelly. The place we were staying at was a community hostel-like building. But the rooms were falling apart. Really was a bit of a craphole. To give u an indication...we paid about GBP 1.50 per room for the night.
Tues 5 July: I had a surprisingly good sleep in the dodgy room. We took a trecherous journey to the train station (people were riding their bikes ACROSS the road in the OPPOSITE direction!). The train itself was reasonably good, and air condition. We set off at around 5.30pm.
Weds 6 July: I slept really well considering it was a train. It was only a few hours left before we arrived in Jamnagar at about 10.40am. My phone keeps switching off :( I dropped it from the bed whilst I was on the train so I've probably sped up its death. Seeing my family (mum's side) was really exciting. Feels like we don't really know them. It's really hot! Mosquitos have bitten me many times already lol. All the kids want me to dance with them for some crazy reason. I have so far resisted and will continue to do so lol. Updates may be thin from now, as I doubt I'll be doing much each day. I better go before I catch malaria!
Saturday 2 August 2008
The last 5 days
Managed to get online again, so here's what we've been up to for the last five days:
Tues 29 July: Arrived in Kumarakom at a hotel called Backwater Ripples. Another slick hotel! This one had table tennis and a chess set (I was swiftly beaten by Nikhil in both lol. Neil beat me in table tennis too. I suck!). We watched 'The Departed' in our room but had to go for dinner just before it finished. Very cool movie, will definitely watch it again. We met a really nice family from Manchester with 3 kids aged 16, 11 and 9.
Weds 30 July: We went to a bird sanctuary at stupid o'clock, only to find out that it was a 2km walk, and due to the constant rain, was a trek thru wet mud. We were told we had to leave at 6.30 otherwise the birds fly away. After all that walking, we barely saw any anyway! lol admittedly it was an experience, and neil's took a sneaky video of me trying to make the walk back more interesting. Here's me praying he doesn't facebook it. In the afternoon we went on a boat cruise. We went passed a school and it was sooo cool seeing all the kids getting excited because we were holding cameras and waving at them lol. Hopefully we brightened up their day (it was, of course, raining!).
Thur 31 July: We stopped by a tea factory on our way to the next place. Unfortunately the processing was shut off for the day because it was the anniversary of someone's death. Still, it was pretty cool seeing all the machines and tea leaves. We also went to a spice plantation. My mum recognised almost all of the spices/plants lol. It poured down with rain again so it was a little frustrating, but the guide was well-equipped with umbrellas for all of us. Neil, mum and myself went up to a tree house. Nikhil and dad didn't, with dad suggesting it wasn't strong enough for the 5 of us. Er, yes. We got to Cardamom County hotel, in Thekkedy where we met up with the Manchester family again! The hotel food wasn't great (for us veges at least).
Fri 1 Aug: Mum bought a huge frame made of different coloured woods to decorate our living room back home. We had to have it shipped to the UK (weight was 10KG!), so fingers crossed it'll get there. Neil, Nikhil and myself went on a 30min elephant ride! We missed out on the elephant with tusks, but still it was awesome. The elephant didn't waste much time going for a number 1, which sounded more like a waterfall underneath us lol. Not long after, it went for a number 2, but the surprising part was our elephant guide moving the 'fresh product' to the side of the track with his feet. He was only wearing sandles :| The road to Hotel Tea Valley here in Munnar was extremely windy, but the view was strangely like some of New Zealand. Dinner was pretty good, but it was challenging to ignore the billions of flies, mosquitos, ants and other insects around our food, on the table and on the ceiling. Yep.
Sat 2 Aug: Had an extremely bad night's sleep. The bed I was given was basically made of wooden planks with a very thin 'matress' on top. It was SO uncomfortable! I complained this morning and got it sorted :D Breakfast was crap. It was basically warm bread. Anyway, we went to Madupetty Dam, followed by speed boating along the lake created by the dam. It wasn't very speedy unfortunately, but we did see a wild elephant. After that, we went to Echo view point, which was nothing special. We went to another dam, and then a tea factory/museum. This was very cool. We tasted some AMAZING tea (some of you, including my gf, will know how much I like my chai lol). We were shown a demonstration of the tea making from the tea leaves to the final product. Then we watched a documentary on the history of the plantation. Really interesting. Afterwards we bought some much needed fruit. Passion fruit is delicious! Can't remember the last time I had it, but wow :D
Tues 29 July: Arrived in Kumarakom at a hotel called Backwater Ripples. Another slick hotel! This one had table tennis and a chess set (I was swiftly beaten by Nikhil in both lol. Neil beat me in table tennis too. I suck!). We watched 'The Departed' in our room but had to go for dinner just before it finished. Very cool movie, will definitely watch it again. We met a really nice family from Manchester with 3 kids aged 16, 11 and 9.
Weds 30 July: We went to a bird sanctuary at stupid o'clock, only to find out that it was a 2km walk, and due to the constant rain, was a trek thru wet mud. We were told we had to leave at 6.30 otherwise the birds fly away. After all that walking, we barely saw any anyway! lol admittedly it was an experience, and neil's took a sneaky video of me trying to make the walk back more interesting. Here's me praying he doesn't facebook it. In the afternoon we went on a boat cruise. We went passed a school and it was sooo cool seeing all the kids getting excited because we were holding cameras and waving at them lol. Hopefully we brightened up their day (it was, of course, raining!).
Thur 31 July: We stopped by a tea factory on our way to the next place. Unfortunately the processing was shut off for the day because it was the anniversary of someone's death. Still, it was pretty cool seeing all the machines and tea leaves. We also went to a spice plantation. My mum recognised almost all of the spices/plants lol. It poured down with rain again so it was a little frustrating, but the guide was well-equipped with umbrellas for all of us. Neil, mum and myself went up to a tree house. Nikhil and dad didn't, with dad suggesting it wasn't strong enough for the 5 of us. Er, yes. We got to Cardamom County hotel, in Thekkedy where we met up with the Manchester family again! The hotel food wasn't great (for us veges at least).
Fri 1 Aug: Mum bought a huge frame made of different coloured woods to decorate our living room back home. We had to have it shipped to the UK (weight was 10KG!), so fingers crossed it'll get there. Neil, Nikhil and myself went on a 30min elephant ride! We missed out on the elephant with tusks, but still it was awesome. The elephant didn't waste much time going for a number 1, which sounded more like a waterfall underneath us lol. Not long after, it went for a number 2, but the surprising part was our elephant guide moving the 'fresh product' to the side of the track with his feet. He was only wearing sandles :| The road to Hotel Tea Valley here in Munnar was extremely windy, but the view was strangely like some of New Zealand. Dinner was pretty good, but it was challenging to ignore the billions of flies, mosquitos, ants and other insects around our food, on the table and on the ceiling. Yep.
Sat 2 Aug: Had an extremely bad night's sleep. The bed I was given was basically made of wooden planks with a very thin 'matress' on top. It was SO uncomfortable! I complained this morning and got it sorted :D Breakfast was crap. It was basically warm bread. Anyway, we went to Madupetty Dam, followed by speed boating along the lake created by the dam. It wasn't very speedy unfortunately, but we did see a wild elephant. After that, we went to Echo view point, which was nothing special. We went to another dam, and then a tea factory/museum. This was very cool. We tasted some AMAZING tea (some of you, including my gf, will know how much I like my chai lol). We were shown a demonstration of the tea making from the tea leaves to the final product. Then we watched a documentary on the history of the plantation. Really interesting. Afterwards we bought some much needed fruit. Passion fruit is delicious! Can't remember the last time I had it, but wow :D
Rain
Haven't had much time/internet access to update the blog, but I've been writing everything in a notebook so I'll update it properly as soon as I can.
Just thought I'd write this post to say that it's rained every day we've been here except the day we arrived in India. And by rain i mean pissed down!
Just thought I'd write this post to say that it's rained every day we've been here except the day we arrived in India. And by rain i mean pissed down!
Monday 28 July 2008
Science & Technology Museum
I reckon we started with the best bit when we went to this museum: the maths!
Heh, it was pretty cool. All this nifty lil puzzles, only 2 of which i managed lol. The lady behind the desk showed us how to do all of them once we gave up (usually after about 20 seconds!). There was some cool Physics stuff too, some of which I'd done in lessons in year 12/13. Oh and apparently I weight around 200KG on Jupiter.
The Planetarium wasn't so great...there was really much on show. But nevermind, the rest of it was pretty cool. Tomorrow we move on to the next place. Crap I've forgotten the name.
(Btw I think I spelt Kerala as 'Kerela' in previous posts, I'm a bit OCD about this so my apologies lol).
Finally, much love to my gf :D xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Heh, it was pretty cool. All this nifty lil puzzles, only 2 of which i managed lol. The lady behind the desk showed us how to do all of them once we gave up (usually after about 20 seconds!). There was some cool Physics stuff too, some of which I'd done in lessons in year 12/13. Oh and apparently I weight around 200KG on Jupiter.
The Planetarium wasn't so great...there was really much on show. But nevermind, the rest of it was pretty cool. Tomorrow we move on to the next place. Crap I've forgotten the name.
(Btw I think I spelt Kerala as 'Kerela' in previous posts, I'm a bit OCD about this so my apologies lol).
Finally, much love to my gf :D xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sunday 27 July 2008
First two days
So we've had a reasonably good first two days here in India. We landed at Trivandrum airport and had a long drive down to Kalyakumari in a very, very cramped car (we've got FAR too many bags!).
Surprisingly the hotel (Sun World) was nice and clean, and the food was good. We got there early morning slept for a few hours and then our driver for the 10 day tour (Anish) took us for a walk. We took a short ferry ride to a small island on which there was a temple (or a number of temples, we're not sure lol).
Afterwards we walked to the sea, finding ourselves and the most southern tip of India! The area was hit by that tsunami. Luckily it didn't seem to have been affected too badly, but we did see quite a lot of building work taking place.
Today we arrived at The Travancore Heritage in Kovalam. It's incredible! Massive green coconut trees everywhere, 2 swimming pools, huge rooms, a beach, good food...pretty awesome! We're here for two nights before we move on.
Apparently we're going to a planetarium tomorrow...should be interesting!
Edit:
Forgot to add that on the way to Kovalam we stopped at a 6.5 acre palace! It was made completely of wood, except for 1 stone section where they used to celebrate Navratri. The Royal Family in the 16th to 18th centuries used to live there. But then the British came and stole all the weapons...
Surprisingly the hotel (Sun World) was nice and clean, and the food was good. We got there early morning slept for a few hours and then our driver for the 10 day tour (Anish) took us for a walk. We took a short ferry ride to a small island on which there was a temple (or a number of temples, we're not sure lol).
Afterwards we walked to the sea, finding ourselves and the most southern tip of India! The area was hit by that tsunami. Luckily it didn't seem to have been affected too badly, but we did see quite a lot of building work taking place.
Today we arrived at The Travancore Heritage in Kovalam. It's incredible! Massive green coconut trees everywhere, 2 swimming pools, huge rooms, a beach, good food...pretty awesome! We're here for two nights before we move on.
Apparently we're going to a planetarium tomorrow...should be interesting!
Edit:
Forgot to add that on the way to Kovalam we stopped at a 6.5 acre palace! It was made completely of wood, except for 1 stone section where they used to celebrate Navratri. The Royal Family in the 16th to 18th centuries used to live there. But then the British came and stole all the weapons...
Thursday 24 July 2008
India
I'm off to India tomorrow morning, although not as a backpacker. It's with family so I haven't had to put much effort into the planning/packing/preparing aspects lol.
I'm hoping to keep this blog updated whilst I'm out there but I don't know what internet access is like. We're doing a 10-day tour of Kerela in the south before getting a train to Bombay/Mumbai, and then another train to Jamnagar in Gujarat (south of Rajasthan). Total time away is 3 weeks and 2 days.
Really looking forward to it. I've been to India three times already but not really enjoyed it. I'm hoping now that my brothers and myself are older and slightly more learned that we'll appreciate the place a bit better.
I've got a list of things I need to get through today. Hopefully my next post will be from somewhere in India!
I'm hoping to keep this blog updated whilst I'm out there but I don't know what internet access is like. We're doing a 10-day tour of Kerela in the south before getting a train to Bombay/Mumbai, and then another train to Jamnagar in Gujarat (south of Rajasthan). Total time away is 3 weeks and 2 days.
Really looking forward to it. I've been to India three times already but not really enjoyed it. I'm hoping now that my brothers and myself are older and slightly more learned that we'll appreciate the place a bit better.
I've got a list of things I need to get through today. Hopefully my next post will be from somewhere in India!
Tuesday 22 July 2008
Saturday 19 July 2008
eBaying
I'm selling two things on eBay at the moment, both of which end tomorrow.
Sony Ericsson V640i (with speakers and a Vodafone SIM Card)
Western Digital Elements 400GB External Hard Drive
Sony Ericsson V640i (with speakers and a Vodafone SIM Card)
Western Digital Elements 400GB External Hard Drive
Thursday 17 July 2008
Skydive - Mission Beach, Australia
Finally got my skydive DVD uploaded...check it out if you're bored or in need of a laugh!
Monday 14 July 2008
WALL-E
I saw a preview screening of WALL-E on Saturday with my brothers. It was brilliant!
The first half of the movie goes by with very few words at all. It's just so adorable and cute! I know I sound gay saying that, but it's ok because if you see the movie you'll be saying the same lol.
The animation is amazing too. It's made by the people to created Finding Nemo, among others. Definitely check it out if you can when it's released (in the UK anyway...it was released a while ago in the US).
Hoping to see Kung Fu Panda this weekend. Didn't know much about it but a search on imdb revealed an 8/10 rating which is impressive in my book!
I sold my Australia & New Zealand on a shoestring Lonely Planet for less than I would have hoped, but nevermind...I would have made zilch if it just sat in my room.
I sent back an FM transmitter I ordered from Amazon (iStuff AutoScan). It works really well if you're just transmitting to a hifi or radio in your house and you can sit the transmitter next to the device. But in the car, which is where I wanted to use it, its performance drops massively. It's understandable I guess, because there are so many radio stations that'll interfere with it. It became pretty unusable as I needed to leave it on the back seat for it to work some of the time (because the aerial is above the back seats). Ah well, I'll probably invest in a better headunit sometime in the future.
The first half of the movie goes by with very few words at all. It's just so adorable and cute! I know I sound gay saying that, but it's ok because if you see the movie you'll be saying the same lol.
The animation is amazing too. It's made by the people to created Finding Nemo, among others. Definitely check it out if you can when it's released (in the UK anyway...it was released a while ago in the US).
Hoping to see Kung Fu Panda this weekend. Didn't know much about it but a search on imdb revealed an 8/10 rating which is impressive in my book!
I sold my Australia & New Zealand on a shoestring Lonely Planet for less than I would have hoped, but nevermind...I would have made zilch if it just sat in my room.
I sent back an FM transmitter I ordered from Amazon (iStuff AutoScan). It works really well if you're just transmitting to a hifi or radio in your house and you can sit the transmitter next to the device. But in the car, which is where I wanted to use it, its performance drops massively. It's understandable I guess, because there are so many radio stations that'll interfere with it. It became pretty unusable as I needed to leave it on the back seat for it to work some of the time (because the aerial is above the back seats). Ah well, I'll probably invest in a better headunit sometime in the future.
Sunday 13 July 2008
Monday 7 July 2008
Australia Pictures!
Good reaction to the pics on facebook! Appears as though I've been flooding everyone's homepage with my albums everyday lol.
Provided links to the pictures in case you're not on facebook:
Part 01
Part 02
Part 03
Part 04
Part 05
Part 06
Part 07 - Fraser Island
Part 08 - Kroombit Cattle Station
Part 09 - Lawn Bowls
Part 10 - Whitsundays
Part 11 - Crocodile Farm
Part 12 - Skydive
Part 13
Part 14
Provided links to the pictures in case you're not on facebook:
Part 01
Part 02
Part 03
Part 04
Part 05
Part 06
Part 07 - Fraser Island
Part 08 - Kroombit Cattle Station
Part 09 - Lawn Bowls
Part 10 - Whitsundays
Part 11 - Crocodile Farm
Part 12 - Skydive
Part 13
Part 14
Thursday 3 July 2008
Clearing up the confusion
Good friend of mine just made me realise that there may be a bit of confusion regarding the gf. Obviously you all care so very much so I'll try to fix that :P
Basically she's in Australia for 3 weeks with family and we just happened to be in Sydney at the same time for a day before I left :)
Cheers Duncan!
Basically she's in Australia for 3 weeks with family and we just happened to be in Sydney at the same time for a day before I left :)
Cheers Duncan!
Home
After a painfully long flight I made it home at around 8.30 this morning. Was great to finally have my own space, see my family and just chill out without worrying about what I'm spending or if I can fart out loud :P
I dived straight into sorting out the student finance and uni forms. For some reason I felt calmer whilst driving than before my travels. Maybe it's because I saw the maniac drivers in Australia and didn't want to become one of them lol.
Tomorrow...I buy MGS4 :D
I dived straight into sorting out the student finance and uni forms. For some reason I felt calmer whilst driving than before my travels. Maybe it's because I saw the maniac drivers in Australia and didn't want to become one of them lol.
Tomorrow...I buy MGS4 :D
Tuesday 1 July 2008
The Final Episode
So I spend most of today (in Sydney) walking up and down the same street. Many, many times lol.
Tried to see my gf, went to the supermarket, went back to see my gf, went to the supermarket, went back to the hostel, watched a movie, went back to the supermarket, came back to hostel, went to see my gf, came back to hostel...
Tomorrow...I go back to where the supermarket is! But it'll be to enjoy my last Hungry Jacks! :P
Flight is at 4.55pm tomorrow, fingers crossed there won't be any delays. I'll be home on Thursday (3rd July) at 6.40am. I intend to stay awake till it's actually time to go to sleep but after a 22hr45min flight that could be challenging lol.
Just sent my brother an email saying I'll see him soon..really can't wait now! I'm hoping to continue updating this blog (especially with India coming up), but for now I bid any readers (probably 2 of you lol) farewell from Australia and my travels!
Tried to see my gf, went to the supermarket, went back to see my gf, went to the supermarket, went back to the hostel, watched a movie, went back to the supermarket, came back to hostel, went to see my gf, came back to hostel...
Tomorrow...I go back to where the supermarket is! But it'll be to enjoy my last Hungry Jacks! :P
Flight is at 4.55pm tomorrow, fingers crossed there won't be any delays. I'll be home on Thursday (3rd July) at 6.40am. I intend to stay awake till it's actually time to go to sleep but after a 22hr45min flight that could be challenging lol.
Just sent my brother an email saying I'll see him soon..really can't wait now! I'm hoping to continue updating this blog (especially with India coming up), but for now I bid any readers (probably 2 of you lol) farewell from Australia and my travels!
Monday 30 June 2008
Christchurch Part 2
I'm aware I haven't done a Christchurch Part 1 but I called it '2' because it's the second time I was there lol.
So I didn't do anything really! Just watched movies and chilled. Saw The Guardian (good movie!), The Whole 9 Yards (also good!) and Pitch Black (not so great lol).
The streets of Christchurch felt a lot like Harrow. Ok so there weren't ghetto rudes "kotching" at a bus station with their jeans below their buttocks BUT the shops and their arrangements reminded me of St Georges etc lol. Strangely there weren't many tourist shops. Tried finding that 'Sweet As...' t-shirt but no luck :(
Nevermind. I'm back in Sydney now and it's raining! I went to buy a bottle of 'natural mineral water' but when I opened it it fizzed everywhere. Bloody Australians. I'm here for 1 full day and then I leave on 2nd July. Looking forward to it!
Just read up about PS3 firmware update 2.4 hitting on 2nd July as well as DualShock 3 release the same day...awesome! :D
So I didn't do anything really! Just watched movies and chilled. Saw The Guardian (good movie!), The Whole 9 Yards (also good!) and Pitch Black (not so great lol).
The streets of Christchurch felt a lot like Harrow. Ok so there weren't ghetto rudes "kotching" at a bus station with their jeans below their buttocks BUT the shops and their arrangements reminded me of St Georges etc lol. Strangely there weren't many tourist shops. Tried finding that 'Sweet As...' t-shirt but no luck :(
Nevermind. I'm back in Sydney now and it's raining! I went to buy a bottle of 'natural mineral water' but when I opened it it fizzed everywhere. Bloody Australians. I'm here for 1 full day and then I leave on 2nd July. Looking forward to it!
Just read up about PS3 firmware update 2.4 hitting on 2nd July as well as DualShock 3 release the same day...awesome! :D
Friday 27 June 2008
Flight screw up...
Ok so that title sounds a lot more dramatic than what's actually happened, but believe me the panic at the time warrants it!
Turns out that whilst I thought my flight to Sydney from Christchurch was on 1st July, it's actually on 30th June. Thank god I didn't decide to stay at Queenstown till the 30th! I called up to try a get a refund on 1 night's accomodation here at Base Christchurch (had to call Base Queenstown because that's where I booked/paid for it). Fingers crossed it'll come through. I've also added an extra night at Wake Up in Sydney. I'm just praying I've done it all properly this time :|
Anyway so I'm back in Christchurch, hoping to have a few chilled out, cheap days. A few people from my Kiwi bus should be here tomorrow night which'll be cool. Other than that I'm hoping to catch up on some reading (The Hunt for Red October).
Feels strange to be so close to the end of my trip. Strange in a good way though. Nikhil told about about Neil playing through MGS2 and now MGS3 (which he'll follow with MGS1, god only knows why lol). I'm envious!
Turns out that whilst I thought my flight to Sydney from Christchurch was on 1st July, it's actually on 30th June. Thank god I didn't decide to stay at Queenstown till the 30th! I called up to try a get a refund on 1 night's accomodation here at Base Christchurch (had to call Base Queenstown because that's where I booked/paid for it). Fingers crossed it'll come through. I've also added an extra night at Wake Up in Sydney. I'm just praying I've done it all properly this time :|
Anyway so I'm back in Christchurch, hoping to have a few chilled out, cheap days. A few people from my Kiwi bus should be here tomorrow night which'll be cool. Other than that I'm hoping to catch up on some reading (The Hunt for Red October).
Feels strange to be so close to the end of my trip. Strange in a good way though. Nikhil told about about Neil playing through MGS2 and now MGS3 (which he'll follow with MGS1, god only knows why lol). I'm envious!
Thursday 26 June 2008
Drinking
That sums up a large part of Queenstown life lol. The nightlife here is really good. Had a couple of big nights out with the people from the Kiwi bus and the standard route is this: drink in rooms/hallway, head down to altitude (the hostel bar) between 9 and 10 and drinks lots more, stumble over to 'the world bar' and attempt to get in. I have yet to be denied :D
So what else have I done here: indoor mini golf - really good fun and some crazy contraptions. Also saw a kiwi haka show after a gondola ride up. Really wouldn't want to face those Maori guys - they scare the shit out of me!
Today i went to Milford Sound. It was stunning! The waterfalls are probably the best part. We saw some bottle-nosed dolphins and seals too. The underwater observatory after the cruise recreated marine life from 2km deep, but it was actually only 30m deep. The explanation was pretty complicated but had something to do with it being a sheltered area and the mixing (or lack of mixing) or salt water and fresh water. A good day but the bus journey is pretty horrendous from QT. 4 hours each way, although it is pretty scenic.
Onto Christchurch tomorrow. 4 nights there, which is far too long I hear. But I don't really have a choice so nevermind. Will just chillout and try not to spend too much lol. Hopefully bump into the dubai guys, who taught me to say "ride my dick and spin on it" in arabic lol. Need to book a hostel for Sydney. Wake Up or not Wake Up, hmm....
So what else have I done here: indoor mini golf - really good fun and some crazy contraptions. Also saw a kiwi haka show after a gondola ride up. Really wouldn't want to face those Maori guys - they scare the shit out of me!
Today i went to Milford Sound. It was stunning! The waterfalls are probably the best part. We saw some bottle-nosed dolphins and seals too. The underwater observatory after the cruise recreated marine life from 2km deep, but it was actually only 30m deep. The explanation was pretty complicated but had something to do with it being a sheltered area and the mixing (or lack of mixing) or salt water and fresh water. A good day but the bus journey is pretty horrendous from QT. 4 hours each way, although it is pretty scenic.
Onto Christchurch tomorrow. 4 nights there, which is far too long I hear. But I don't really have a choice so nevermind. Will just chillout and try not to spend too much lol. Hopefully bump into the dubai guys, who taught me to say "ride my dick and spin on it" in arabic lol. Need to book a hostel for Sydney. Wake Up or not Wake Up, hmm....
Tuesday 24 June 2008
Wanaka to Queenstown
The hostel we stayed at in Wanaka wasn't a hostel at all (the fact that it was called Wanaka Hotel gave it away lol). Even though it was the standard hostel price, we had ensuite rooms with baths and a TV. They play three movies every night too. We watched The Day After Tomorrow. Not much else went on really. Most people were preparing for the first night in Queenstown, which was last night.
And it was good! Drinks in the room followed by drinks in the hostel bar followed by drinks in World Bar down the road lol. Really good fun...World Bar was packed and live! Most people tried the famous teapots but I missed out. Something for tonight then :P Actually Milford Sound tomorrow so I've got an early start. There seem to be mixed opinions about it - some say it's pretty boring, others say it's beautiful. Strangely, it's supposed to be better when it rains!
I think most of the kiwi bus is doing the Nevis bungy jump today. I am not lol. Not really my thing if I'm honest...I'd probably be so scared I'd hate it! Might go down to the crazy golf course later if anyone's willing to join me.
Making tacos tonight, cannot wait!
On the way to Queenstown yesterday, we stopped by Puzzling World. What a weird place. Full of illusions and brain teasers, and a difficuly 3D maze. It was good, but ultimately not worth the $10. Still, it was nice to have some mental stimulation for the first time in a year lol...
And it was good! Drinks in the room followed by drinks in the hostel bar followed by drinks in World Bar down the road lol. Really good fun...World Bar was packed and live! Most people tried the famous teapots but I missed out. Something for tonight then :P Actually Milford Sound tomorrow so I've got an early start. There seem to be mixed opinions about it - some say it's pretty boring, others say it's beautiful. Strangely, it's supposed to be better when it rains!
I think most of the kiwi bus is doing the Nevis bungy jump today. I am not lol. Not really my thing if I'm honest...I'd probably be so scared I'd hate it! Might go down to the crazy golf course later if anyone's willing to join me.
Making tacos tonight, cannot wait!
On the way to Queenstown yesterday, we stopped by Puzzling World. What a weird place. Full of illusions and brain teasers, and a difficuly 3D maze. It was good, but ultimately not worth the $10. Still, it was nice to have some mental stimulation for the first time in a year lol...
Saturday 21 June 2008
Franz Josef
Yes, I have been spelling 'Josef' wrong so far lol. But anyway the glacier hike was fantastic!
Quite proud of myself admittedly, as I was pretty worried about my knees. But they held out surprisingly well through some pretty steep ice steps, especially on the way down. That was a pretty difficult part, not just because it's downhill but also because we had to move twice as fast as we were behind schedule!
The views were spectacular. And the whole idea of walking on ice, over crevasses, through cliffs of ice etc on a glacier is surreal. Great day, and the first full day in NZ!
By the way I did forget to say that on our way to Franz we stopped over at a bizarre museum. We were shown a video of deer hunting lol. Some ridiculous lengths people go to for deer! Then we saw a massive black pig and some possums. And then we ate some breakfast and left. The signs/posters in the place were amusing, but obviously offensive to some as there was a table of complaints that had been sent in. The museum staff were nice enough to reply to them all though ;)
Onto Wanaka tomorrow, which I think is basically famous for a lake or some lakes. Tonight, I chillout, watch the rugby, buy a pizza and get an early night...
Quite proud of myself admittedly, as I was pretty worried about my knees. But they held out surprisingly well through some pretty steep ice steps, especially on the way down. That was a pretty difficult part, not just because it's downhill but also because we had to move twice as fast as we were behind schedule!
The views were spectacular. And the whole idea of walking on ice, over crevasses, through cliffs of ice etc on a glacier is surreal. Great day, and the first full day in NZ!
By the way I did forget to say that on our way to Franz we stopped over at a bizarre museum. We were shown a video of deer hunting lol. Some ridiculous lengths people go to for deer! Then we saw a massive black pig and some possums. And then we ate some breakfast and left. The signs/posters in the place were amusing, but obviously offensive to some as there was a table of complaints that had been sent in. The museum staff were nice enough to reply to them all though ;)
Onto Wanaka tomorrow, which I think is basically famous for a lake or some lakes. Tonight, I chillout, watch the rugby, buy a pizza and get an early night...
Friday 20 June 2008
Poo Pub
The fancy dress party in Lake Mahinapua was fantastic! Most people were pretty unsure about what they were going as until there was a sudden burst of inspiration when we went shopping.
I did end up going as a pimp after all lol. It wasn't the most convincing pimp admittedly: I didn't have a hat! But I did have quite a cool purple "cloak" and a shiny pimp stick, as well as tacky bling! Some other highlights: the ninja turtles (adam, charlie and dhiren...who btw went to my school and is on the same kiwi bus as me!), iron man, gary glitter, osama bin laden, the flasher, the crack whore, the chavs, the dominatrix :S lol..flasher and iron man came first and second respectively (both of whom skinny dipped in the lake at midnight...mental).
Today I'm in Franz Joseph. I've booked a full day (8 hour) glacier hike for tomorrow. Slightly worried about the knees but I hate being restricted by them so I'm just going to do it and hope for the best lol. If something happens I have to be rescued by a helicopter (which the organisers made clear isn't covered by insurance!). Also booked Milford Sound for Queenstown, which will happen some time next week.
I may get a chance to update tomorrow, but if not it'll be from Wanaka the day after. Till then, wish me luck as I attempt to climb the world's fastest moving glacier!
I did end up going as a pimp after all lol. It wasn't the most convincing pimp admittedly: I didn't have a hat! But I did have quite a cool purple "cloak" and a shiny pimp stick, as well as tacky bling! Some other highlights: the ninja turtles (adam, charlie and dhiren...who btw went to my school and is on the same kiwi bus as me!), iron man, gary glitter, osama bin laden, the flasher, the crack whore, the chavs, the dominatrix :S lol..flasher and iron man came first and second respectively (both of whom skinny dipped in the lake at midnight...mental).
Today I'm in Franz Joseph. I've booked a full day (8 hour) glacier hike for tomorrow. Slightly worried about the knees but I hate being restricted by them so I'm just going to do it and hope for the best lol. If something happens I have to be rescued by a helicopter (which the organisers made clear isn't covered by insurance!). Also booked Milford Sound for Queenstown, which will happen some time next week.
I may get a chance to update tomorrow, but if not it'll be from Wanaka the day after. Till then, wish me luck as I attempt to climb the world's fastest moving glacier!
Wednesday 18 June 2008
Nelson & Westport
(I'm hoping this actually works because I'm writing it via email lol).
So there wasn't much going on in Nelson. I'm writing these from Westport and it seems pretty similar. The bars survive on Kiwi Experience lol.
It's bloody cold though. We were at Nelson Lakes today where I was wearing a t-shirt, 2 jumpers, scarf, hat AND gloves. Freezing.
Tomorrow we head to Lake Mahinapua and the poo pub. It's fancy dress with the theme as 'crime'. I'm thinking of going as a pimp..I've got a bit of bling, some supplied by my gf. Not sure if it'll be enough though, so may buy some foil to go with it lol.
My next update will probably be from Franz Joseph - the fastest moving glacier in the world...
Monday 16 June 2008
Kia Ora
So Christchurch felt a lot like England as I took the bus from the airport to the hostel (base backpackers). I didn't see much of it but walked around a little to try and find a sim card.
Turns out there are only 2 mobile networks in nz. One requires you buy a phone because they don't sell sim cards :S The other is vodafone but the sim costs $40! So I'm going to try to avoid buying it for now.
Today I started Kiwi Experience. Arrived in Kaikoura a while ago and set off to do some whale watching. It has to be one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.
The whales were HUGE. And when they went under water...they way their tales went up in the air and smooothly sunk below the water...very cool to see. But not just that. We saw over 100 dolphins in one spot! They were all jumping, racing, swimming. It was great!
Tomorrow I move on to Nelson. There's the Abel Tasman National Park there but I'm not sure if I'll do that just yet. Oh and by the way, it's COLD!
As a final thing, happy anniversary to my gf/me :D Was our 20 months yesterday! Love you nush xxxxxxxxx
Turns out there are only 2 mobile networks in nz. One requires you buy a phone because they don't sell sim cards :S The other is vodafone but the sim costs $40! So I'm going to try to avoid buying it for now.
Today I started Kiwi Experience. Arrived in Kaikoura a while ago and set off to do some whale watching. It has to be one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.
The whales were HUGE. And when they went under water...they way their tales went up in the air and smooothly sunk below the water...very cool to see. But not just that. We saw over 100 dolphins in one spot! They were all jumping, racing, swimming. It was great!
Tomorrow I move on to Nelson. There's the Abel Tasman National Park there but I'm not sure if I'll do that just yet. Oh and by the way, it's COLD!
As a final thing, happy anniversary to my gf/me :D Was our 20 months yesterday! Love you nush xxxxxxxxx
Thursday 12 June 2008
Chill out and prepare...
That's what I'm doing in Brisbane (preparing for New Zealand in case you didn't know lol).
Went through my list of to-dos and I've completed most of them:
- Confirmed my kiwi experience buses and checked that they do guarantee accomodation at overnight stops (they guarantee the first night at their partner hostels - if there's a 'base backpackers' in a particular city/town they'll use that first)
- Checked my flight itineraries
- Booked my hostel in Christchurch and checked how to get there from the airport
- Enquired about the boomerang workshop - hopefully I'll be painting my own boomerang tomorrow!
Still need to burn my pics to CD. I want to go to nz with an empty memory stick because from what I hear I'll be taking pics alll the time.
Anyway, I need to catch up on sooo much gaming and tech...i cannot wait to play MGS4, it looks incredible!
Went through my list of to-dos and I've completed most of them:
- Confirmed my kiwi experience buses and checked that they do guarantee accomodation at overnight stops (they guarantee the first night at their partner hostels - if there's a 'base backpackers' in a particular city/town they'll use that first)
- Checked my flight itineraries
- Booked my hostel in Christchurch and checked how to get there from the airport
- Enquired about the boomerang workshop - hopefully I'll be painting my own boomerang tomorrow!
Still need to burn my pics to CD. I want to go to nz with an empty memory stick because from what I hear I'll be taking pics alll the time.
Anyway, I need to catch up on sooo much gaming and tech...i cannot wait to play MGS4, it looks incredible!
Monday 9 June 2008
Great Barrier Reef
Today was yet another early start. Feeling pretty exhausted James and I approached our boat. It looked great: "Ocean Freedom". Next to it was the cheaper day trip: "Ocean Free"...it looked awful! So glad we paid the extra money.
The sea was really choppy the whole day, especially on the way back. We snorkeled at 2 locations. The first wasn't very exciting, and strangely we didn't see very much coral :S The second had some impressive coral but most exciting of all was the turtle. I followed it as it swam around for a few minutes. It went down to the sea bed and tucked its head in some coral, and then it came up to the surface for a breath of air. We saw its head pop up above the water for a few seconds after which it proceeded to swim along as before. Very cool!
Equipment on this boat was much better than Habibi (Whitsundays boat), but then the coral at Whitsundays was better. Food was great, and loads of tasty snacks. Everyone was much older than James and myself and we only ended up having conversation with a 30 year old couple of about 10 minutes lol.
Tomorrow is a chill out day, and the day James leaves for Sydney and then home. I've started an exciting new text/picture-based game with my gf...cannot wait! :P
The sea was really choppy the whole day, especially on the way back. We snorkeled at 2 locations. The first wasn't very exciting, and strangely we didn't see very much coral :S The second had some impressive coral but most exciting of all was the turtle. I followed it as it swam around for a few minutes. It went down to the sea bed and tucked its head in some coral, and then it came up to the surface for a breath of air. We saw its head pop up above the water for a few seconds after which it proceeded to swim along as before. Very cool!
Equipment on this boat was much better than Habibi (Whitsundays boat), but then the coral at Whitsundays was better. Food was great, and loads of tasty snacks. Everyone was much older than James and myself and we only ended up having conversation with a 30 year old couple of about 10 minutes lol.
Tomorrow is a chill out day, and the day James leaves for Sydney and then home. I've started an exciting new text/picture-based game with my gf...cannot wait! :P
Sunday 8 June 2008
Cape Trib
If I'm honest, the day trip to Cape Tribulation felt like a disappointment in comparison to the day before, but then again anything is probably a disappointment compared to a skydive lol.
We cruised down Daintree River and saw some salt water crocodiles. As cool as this was it's admittedly anti-climactic after seeing the monster that was Gregory as the croc farm earlier this week.
We did a board walk and saw a bizarre vine formation, and I took the opportunity to lick a green-arsed ant. It tasted of citrus! Lunch was great where we caught up with a guy we met back in Surfers Paradise the day we were going to Wet n Wild!
It's difficult to go a day without bumping into someone you've met and spent time with earlier in the trip. Wool Shed on Friday was just ridiculous - we must have seen about 15 people who we'd met somewhere on the coast. That reminds me...we bumped into the irish guys from Fraser when we got back from Whitsundays at Airlie Beach. They updated us on Neasa (who fractured her back on the last day of Fraser): she's in a brace for 4 weeks. Although serious, it could have been a lot worse so fingers crossed for a smooth recovery.
Tonight I'm going to have a 39c meal (that converts to about 19 pence). Budgeting to the extreme hehe. Tomorrow the great barrier reef and hopefully some awesome snorkeling...
We cruised down Daintree River and saw some salt water crocodiles. As cool as this was it's admittedly anti-climactic after seeing the monster that was Gregory as the croc farm earlier this week.
We did a board walk and saw a bizarre vine formation, and I took the opportunity to lick a green-arsed ant. It tasted of citrus! Lunch was great where we caught up with a guy we met back in Surfers Paradise the day we were going to Wet n Wild!
It's difficult to go a day without bumping into someone you've met and spent time with earlier in the trip. Wool Shed on Friday was just ridiculous - we must have seen about 15 people who we'd met somewhere on the coast. That reminds me...we bumped into the irish guys from Fraser when we got back from Whitsundays at Airlie Beach. They updated us on Neasa (who fractured her back on the last day of Fraser): she's in a brace for 4 weeks. Although serious, it could have been a lot worse so fingers crossed for a smooth recovery.
Tonight I'm going to have a 39c meal (that converts to about 19 pence). Budgeting to the extreme hehe. Tomorrow the great barrier reef and hopefully some awesome snorkeling...
Saturday 7 June 2008
14,000 Feet!
Yep, that's how far I plummetted in today's skydive! It was fantastic!!
I think I look more scared in the DVD than I actually felt. The freefall was incredible - 9,000 feet at over 200kph (124mph)! The descent with the parachute is just as fun though...the view was spectacular. I could see the beach (Mission Beach) along with a lot of little islands in the sea. Stunning.
Watched the DVD...not too many cringe-worthy moments although I haven't heard what i said yet (and I distinctly remember saying 'amazing' a lot!).
It was an experience everyone should do at least once in their lives.
Tomorrow it's a day trip to Cape Tribulation. Another excellent day, we expect...
I think I look more scared in the DVD than I actually felt. The freefall was incredible - 9,000 feet at over 200kph (124mph)! The descent with the parachute is just as fun though...the view was spectacular. I could see the beach (Mission Beach) along with a lot of little islands in the sea. Stunning.
Watched the DVD...not too many cringe-worthy moments although I haven't heard what i said yet (and I distinctly remember saying 'amazing' a lot!).
It was an experience everyone should do at least once in their lives.
Tomorrow it's a day trip to Cape Tribulation. Another excellent day, we expect...
Friday 6 June 2008
The journey to Cairns
I left Airlie Beach on Wednesday to head to Magnetic Island via Townsville. The history of Townsville was actually quite interesting but the area itself wasn't stunning. Maggie on the other hand was really nice. The hostel was ON the beach...down the steps and into the sea. Spent one night there and moved on.
James and I were supposed to spend a night at Mission Beach but we decided to miss it out and arrived in Cairns yesterday. On the way up though, we stopped at Johnston River Crocodile Farm. It was brilliant!
I held a baby croc, a water python and a black parrot! Then we saw the HUGE crocs being fed...they were pretty damn scary! All the crocs were "problem" crocs...e.g. they kept eating cattle, had been injured etc. The farm breeds/feeds them for meat and skin. Was an awesome couple of hours and I managed to get some good pics and a video too.
Cairns in hot but quite nice. Last night we had an oz experience party at the infamous Wool Shed. Good times. Should have a busy time here too with the stuff we've booked. Will update again very sooon!
James and I were supposed to spend a night at Mission Beach but we decided to miss it out and arrived in Cairns yesterday. On the way up though, we stopped at Johnston River Crocodile Farm. It was brilliant!
I held a baby croc, a water python and a black parrot! Then we saw the HUGE crocs being fed...they were pretty damn scary! All the crocs were "problem" crocs...e.g. they kept eating cattle, had been injured etc. The farm breeds/feeds them for meat and skin. Was an awesome couple of hours and I managed to get some good pics and a video too.
Cairns in hot but quite nice. Last night we had an oz experience party at the infamous Wool Shed. Good times. Should have a busy time here too with the stuff we've booked. Will update again very sooon!
Tuesday 3 June 2008
The Whitsundays
What a stunning place...the islands, the water, the marine life - all so beautiful.
When we sailed out on Sunday (1st June) it was raining quite heavily and the wind made the sea pretty choppy. It wasn't the most pleasant start but thankfully it also wasn't a sign of things to come!
The next day and a half were hot and sunny. We were taken by surprise the when we felt our skin burning in the heat at 9am whilst on Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island (one of 74 islands). Luckily this was shortly followed by snorkelling in two different bays. Both times I saw some bizarre growth at the bottom, a lot of weird and wonderful fish and a couple of HUGE fish. Many saw turtles too! On the final morning it was sunny and warm again but I gave the snorkelling a miss. And I'm glad I did as no one aside from Wez saw very much at all!
We were on a boat called Habibi (which means 'my friend' in arabic i think). The food was excellent, even for a vegie surprisingly. The skipper and two other staffers were great too. Everyone on board (27 people) was really nice, although no one really got to know the 4 Germans who never spoke to anyone lol.
I spoke to my uncle soon after I got back to find out Brisbane and the areas surrounding have been experiencing A LOT of rainfall...floods even. Other travellers we've spoken to have had their fraser island trips cancelled due to 100mph winds! It seems the storm we had on our last night at fraser was the start of a really bad week of weather. Really glad we've moved along as fast as we did now.
James and I booked a package for 3 activities in Cairns today. It was expensive but should make Cairns one of the best parts of the trip.
Tomorrow we move on to Townsville and straight onto a ferry to Magnetic (Maggie) Island. One night there and then one on Mission Beach. Nearly at the end of Australia....
When we sailed out on Sunday (1st June) it was raining quite heavily and the wind made the sea pretty choppy. It wasn't the most pleasant start but thankfully it also wasn't a sign of things to come!
The next day and a half were hot and sunny. We were taken by surprise the when we felt our skin burning in the heat at 9am whilst on Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island (one of 74 islands). Luckily this was shortly followed by snorkelling in two different bays. Both times I saw some bizarre growth at the bottom, a lot of weird and wonderful fish and a couple of HUGE fish. Many saw turtles too! On the final morning it was sunny and warm again but I gave the snorkelling a miss. And I'm glad I did as no one aside from Wez saw very much at all!
We were on a boat called Habibi (which means 'my friend' in arabic i think). The food was excellent, even for a vegie surprisingly. The skipper and two other staffers were great too. Everyone on board (27 people) was really nice, although no one really got to know the 4 Germans who never spoke to anyone lol.
I spoke to my uncle soon after I got back to find out Brisbane and the areas surrounding have been experiencing A LOT of rainfall...floods even. Other travellers we've spoken to have had their fraser island trips cancelled due to 100mph winds! It seems the storm we had on our last night at fraser was the start of a really bad week of weather. Really glad we've moved along as fast as we did now.
James and I booked a package for 3 activities in Cairns today. It was expensive but should make Cairns one of the best parts of the trip.
Tomorrow we move on to Townsville and straight onto a ferry to Magnetic (Maggie) Island. One night there and then one on Mission Beach. Nearly at the end of Australia....
Saturday 31 May 2008
Kroombit
We ended up doing a lot of cool stuff at Kroombit Cattle Station, much to my surprise.
The place is so remote and away from civilisation I felt disconnected from the real world pretty soon after we got there. But it was a good experience.
The first thing I did was shoot clay pigeons with a shotgun. I got 3 out of 5...woot! The gun really does jolt back into your shoulder with a lot of force.
Next up...we did actually have to catch goats! Basically in a team of 3, one person would catch it with a rope (lasso), the 2nd would lift it by its legs and put it on the ground (!) and the 3rd, me, would brand it. Don't worry..it was a cold (fake) brand, otherwise I never would have done it! James decided to bodyslam the poor goat!
After that, we learnt to crack a whip. Much harder than it looks. I firmly believe the whips were right-handed and thus I was unfairly disadvantaged ;)
Lastly, the mechanical bull...jeez this was painful! I got to 2 or 3 bucks lol. Some good pics/video of it. My girlfriend says she doesn't want kids...she no longer has the option anyway heh (i love you nush xxxxxxxx)
The beds were suprisingly the most comfortable i've had on this trip so far. The wake up call was done by way of a rifle! Luckily I was already out of the room by the time this happened.
Arrived in Airlie Beach yesterday. James and I sail tomorrow afternoon for 2 days. Really looking forward to it. Very few people have ever heard of our boat, so if it's a tin can and we sink, it's been fun writing this blog!
The place is so remote and away from civilisation I felt disconnected from the real world pretty soon after we got there. But it was a good experience.
The first thing I did was shoot clay pigeons with a shotgun. I got 3 out of 5...woot! The gun really does jolt back into your shoulder with a lot of force.
Next up...we did actually have to catch goats! Basically in a team of 3, one person would catch it with a rope (lasso), the 2nd would lift it by its legs and put it on the ground (!) and the 3rd, me, would brand it. Don't worry..it was a cold (fake) brand, otherwise I never would have done it! James decided to bodyslam the poor goat!
After that, we learnt to crack a whip. Much harder than it looks. I firmly believe the whips were right-handed and thus I was unfairly disadvantaged ;)
Lastly, the mechanical bull...jeez this was painful! I got to 2 or 3 bucks lol. Some good pics/video of it. My girlfriend says she doesn't want kids...she no longer has the option anyway heh (i love you nush xxxxxxxx)
The beds were suprisingly the most comfortable i've had on this trip so far. The wake up call was done by way of a rifle! Luckily I was already out of the room by the time this happened.
Arrived in Airlie Beach yesterday. James and I sail tomorrow afternoon for 2 days. Really looking forward to it. Very few people have ever heard of our boat, so if it's a tin can and we sink, it's been fun writing this blog!
Wednesday 28 May 2008
Fraser Island
It really is a stunning place. We set off on our self-drive trip on Monday morning after watching some health, safety and regulations videos (some were ridiculous, e.g. "If the waste bin is full, use the next one"). As soon as we got onto the island and started driving, the relentless bouncing of the 4wd (4x4 jeep) was a sign of things to come.
The beach was amazing, the sand was so fine. But it was really strange seeing no one in the sea at all. It's for a few valid reasons though: tiger sharks and stingers. We saw the latter whilst at the top of Indian Head on Day 2. Unfortunately no sharks or turtles were spotted, but plenty of dingoes, especially after we set up camp on Day 2.
On Day 1 we saw the beautiful Lake McKenzie first. Afterwards we made our way to the campsite. In the evening we started a fire and played the inevitable drinking games. I Never revealed a lot of (disgusting) stories lol. No noise after 9pm at the campsite so we moved down to the beach but it was freezing! The next morning the park ranger woke us all up. He was impresssed by our tidiness (who'd have thought!) but some campers nearby had complained about the noise at around midnight. I was already asleep by 10.30 because I was too cold down by the beach lol. We apologised and escaped with a "stern warning".
Day 2 we went to the Champagne Pools (after an extremely long walk!). Afterwards we had to wait at one end of the beach for a few hours to wait for the tide to go down. We found our campsite...which, this time, wasn't an actual campsite but a designated area on the beach for camping. In other words, roughing it. No toilets, showers or lights. We used the light from the car to ensure we could still entertain ourselves. There was a big storm that night and both James and I were quietly concerned about our tent blowing away (probably unaware that we were actually in it lol). In my head I'd planned how I'd try to push the pegs back in whilst battling the winds and heavy rain. Luckily when we woke up the next morning ours was the only tent to have resisted any leaking.
On Day 3, the final day, we didn't bother going to Lake Wabby and proceeded back to Lake McKenzie. We didn't make it in the end as Neasa hurt her back as we flew over a huge bump in the road. Her boyfriend was driving lol.
Once we got back to the hostel, I finally had a shower and tried to mend my foot after cutting it on a stone on Day 2. Hopefully it hasn't got infected :S
Anyway tomorrow James and I move on to Kroombit Cattle Station. Rumours suggest one of the activities is catching a goat...
The beach was amazing, the sand was so fine. But it was really strange seeing no one in the sea at all. It's for a few valid reasons though: tiger sharks and stingers. We saw the latter whilst at the top of Indian Head on Day 2. Unfortunately no sharks or turtles were spotted, but plenty of dingoes, especially after we set up camp on Day 2.
On Day 1 we saw the beautiful Lake McKenzie first. Afterwards we made our way to the campsite. In the evening we started a fire and played the inevitable drinking games. I Never revealed a lot of (disgusting) stories lol. No noise after 9pm at the campsite so we moved down to the beach but it was freezing! The next morning the park ranger woke us all up. He was impresssed by our tidiness (who'd have thought!) but some campers nearby had complained about the noise at around midnight. I was already asleep by 10.30 because I was too cold down by the beach lol. We apologised and escaped with a "stern warning".
Day 2 we went to the Champagne Pools (after an extremely long walk!). Afterwards we had to wait at one end of the beach for a few hours to wait for the tide to go down. We found our campsite...which, this time, wasn't an actual campsite but a designated area on the beach for camping. In other words, roughing it. No toilets, showers or lights. We used the light from the car to ensure we could still entertain ourselves. There was a big storm that night and both James and I were quietly concerned about our tent blowing away (probably unaware that we were actually in it lol). In my head I'd planned how I'd try to push the pegs back in whilst battling the winds and heavy rain. Luckily when we woke up the next morning ours was the only tent to have resisted any leaking.
On Day 3, the final day, we didn't bother going to Lake Wabby and proceeded back to Lake McKenzie. We didn't make it in the end as Neasa hurt her back as we flew over a huge bump in the road. Her boyfriend was driving lol.
Once we got back to the hostel, I finally had a shower and tried to mend my foot after cutting it on a stone on Day 2. Hopefully it hasn't got infected :S
Anyway tomorrow James and I move on to Kroombit Cattle Station. Rumours suggest one of the activities is catching a goat...
Sunday 25 May 2008
Dead people or people walking dead...
...that sums up the population of Hervey Bay lol. There really is very little going on here. It's so strange how such a popular route to Fraser Island could be so under-developed. Ah well, we'll be leaving for Fraser Island for 2 nights early tomorrow morning. Apparently the nights are really cold so we're all trying to prepare for that, as well as the hot daytime on the beautiful sandy island (the largest sand island in the world apparently).
We stopped over at Rainbow Beach on the way here...an even more dull location. The 3 hostels in the whole area are all next to each other. There were very few shops and there was zero justification for "Rainbow" beach...different shades of yellow sand is not a rainbow!
Anyway...trying to kill some time here before the 3pm meeting about Fraser. Will update here when I'm back!
We stopped over at Rainbow Beach on the way here...an even more dull location. The 3 hostels in the whole area are all next to each other. There were very few shops and there was zero justification for "Rainbow" beach...different shades of yellow sand is not a rainbow!
Anyway...trying to kill some time here before the 3pm meeting about Fraser. Will update here when I'm back!
Friday 23 May 2008
Noosa
So it's our last night in Noosa. A very chilled out place and a big change from the past two (Brisbane and Surfers which were full of skyscrapers).
Didn't actually do that much here - but that's probably the reason why people like it so much. The beach is really nice, and today we (james and i) went kayaking. God that was exhausting. My arms will be too painful to use tomorrow lol. Our guide claimed he once hit a shark with a paddle whilst it was sleeping...
We went to Noosa National Park afterwards. A really good walk and we saw dolphins in the sea and a koala at the top of a tree!
Anyway just trying to pack now. Onto Hervey Bay tomorrow...and Fraser Island from there on Monday!
Didn't actually do that much here - but that's probably the reason why people like it so much. The beach is really nice, and today we (james and i) went kayaking. God that was exhausting. My arms will be too painful to use tomorrow lol. Our guide claimed he once hit a shark with a paddle whilst it was sleeping...
We went to Noosa National Park afterwards. A really good walk and we saw dolphins in the sea and a koala at the top of a tree!
Anyway just trying to pack now. Onto Hervey Bay tomorrow...and Fraser Island from there on Monday!
Wednesday 21 May 2008
Cleeeeean
Arrived in Brisbane last night. Had a fantastic dinner, an amazing night's sleep and an incredible shower (saying that though, any normal shower would be awesome after hostel showers lol).
Tried to go to the boomerang place today to paint our own boomerangs but the guy was off sick! Luckily I'll be back here after cairns so I'll try again then. The rest of the day we spent walking around the main shopping area where I bought factor 30 sun screen (factor 15 is pretty much ineffective here!). James bought a new camera...i tried to force a sony one onto him but the samsung was ideal for what he wanted, plus they threw in the memory stick for $10!
Anyway so had another great dinner tonight! Going to watch state of origin match (QLD vs NSW in rugby league...1 of 3 games they play each year). And then...get up at 4.30 for champions league live! Man Utd vs Chelsea...even though im a gooner i'm supporting man u for this match. Chelsea are scum!! heh
Bus leaves at 6.30am for noosa...james and me will be exhausted! Some bushwalking to do before we get there too. So...exhausted and bitten by mosquitos. I can't wait!
Tried to go to the boomerang place today to paint our own boomerangs but the guy was off sick! Luckily I'll be back here after cairns so I'll try again then. The rest of the day we spent walking around the main shopping area where I bought factor 30 sun screen (factor 15 is pretty much ineffective here!). James bought a new camera...i tried to force a sony one onto him but the samsung was ideal for what he wanted, plus they threw in the memory stick for $10!
Anyway so had another great dinner tonight! Going to watch state of origin match (QLD vs NSW in rugby league...1 of 3 games they play each year). And then...get up at 4.30 for champions league live! Man Utd vs Chelsea...even though im a gooner i'm supporting man u for this match. Chelsea are scum!! heh
Bus leaves at 6.30am for noosa...james and me will be exhausted! Some bushwalking to do before we get there too. So...exhausted and bitten by mosquitos. I can't wait!
Tuesday 20 May 2008
Surfers Paradise
Leaving surfers paradise today. Spent the last two days at Movie World and Wet 'n' Wild water park...both were fantastic! Some great rides...and I went on the biggest rollercoaster i've ever been on lol. I feel I have to tackle my fear of rollercoasters if i want to do a skydive!
Going to head to the beach here before heading to Brisbane!
Going to head to the beach here before heading to Brisbane!
Saturday 17 May 2008
Knock-a-Door-Gnome
So Thursday night...we went for a cheap meal at Cheeky Monkeys (the club across the road). Came back to the hostel pretty sharpish because we had some tomfoolery to attend to. We decided to knock on the apartment the rest of the Oz bus group was staying in and pose as gnomes. James posed as wheelbarrow gnome, a couple were fishers, one was reading and one digging. I was camerman gnome (yes i invented that one). The reaction was priceless (video was go on facebook when i can get it up). It was fantastic...we thought they would just close the door. But no..."guys you're really freaking me out" says jenny. 4 people came out to check out the gnoming. Then we just got up and walked away. Excellent.
Friday we went bodyboarding...really good fun. Probably better than surfing for us cos we'd just lie on the boards and be lazy (cos we suck). The evening was a huge piss up (for everyone else at least...they were all gooning, i had some alcopops and watched the merriness lol). Simon decided to wear a dress on the goon run, and on the way back we encountered crazy Kev from surf camp..shocker. This guy is mental. He turned up in our apartment later..told us about "piss your pants polly" and decided to get his penis out when i was trying to take a picture. what a nob lol.
Cheeky monkeys later...really good music but we were pretty exhausted by 12.30ish.
Checked out of Byron Bay today, walked all the way to the lighthouse before leaving for Surfers Paradise. James and myself can understand why a lot of people aren't impressed with this place. There are a shitload of sky scrapers (commercialised is the term used by everyone). Apparently the beach looks great until you're in the shadow of the skyscrapers...which will be all along the beach by the looks of it. We've bought a pass to go to Warner Bros Movie World tomorrow, and then we'll be going to Wet 'n' Wild water park on Monday with the others from byron. Looking forward to getting to brisbane where we'll be staying with my uncle and hopefully watching the champions league final...at 4am!!
Friday we went bodyboarding...really good fun. Probably better than surfing for us cos we'd just lie on the boards and be lazy (cos we suck). The evening was a huge piss up (for everyone else at least...they were all gooning, i had some alcopops and watched the merriness lol). Simon decided to wear a dress on the goon run, and on the way back we encountered crazy Kev from surf camp..shocker. This guy is mental. He turned up in our apartment later..told us about "piss your pants polly" and decided to get his penis out when i was trying to take a picture. what a nob lol.
Cheeky monkeys later...really good music but we were pretty exhausted by 12.30ish.
Checked out of Byron Bay today, walked all the way to the lighthouse before leaving for Surfers Paradise. James and myself can understand why a lot of people aren't impressed with this place. There are a shitload of sky scrapers (commercialised is the term used by everyone). Apparently the beach looks great until you're in the shadow of the skyscrapers...which will be all along the beach by the looks of it. We've bought a pass to go to Warner Bros Movie World tomorrow, and then we'll be going to Wet 'n' Wild water park on Monday with the others from byron. Looking forward to getting to brisbane where we'll be staying with my uncle and hopefully watching the champions league final...at 4am!!
Thursday 15 May 2008
Oz Experience
Started the Oz Experience bus on tuesday, and the first stop was surf camp (mojosurf). The first night...was insane!
The weird manager kept insisting we were going to play some "games". He'd also told us that if we were going to shag, we do it in the showers, and that if we didnt use a condom, we should pull out : That was a fairly shocking intro...i think everyone cringed lol.
But anyway...the games. Yikes. There was lap dancing, singles pulling for as long as possible, guys wearing nappies with ice down them, everyone stripping down (some to no boxers, but not me!) and tieing clothes together to create the longest clothing line! Probably the most penis I've seen in one place. Tits magee meant james's chest was pretty sore after i insisted i grabbed his "tits" hehehee
The next morning, with a lot of people very hung over, we did some surfing. The boards were much bigger than last week, so it was easier and I managed to stand 3 or 4 times...obviously falling off about 2 seconds later! But good fun. We moved on to Byron Bay later (arriving yesterday) where we've just chilled, catching up on a lot of lost sleep. Trying to book the oz bus for the journey ahead, as well as Fraser Island and Whitsundays. We'll all be staggering our stays in each place, so many more people to meet!
Missing & Loving my girlfriend...xxxxxxxxx
The weird manager kept insisting we were going to play some "games". He'd also told us that if we were going to shag, we do it in the showers, and that if we didnt use a condom, we should pull out : That was a fairly shocking intro...i think everyone cringed lol.
But anyway...the games. Yikes. There was lap dancing, singles pulling for as long as possible, guys wearing nappies with ice down them, everyone stripping down (some to no boxers, but not me!) and tieing clothes together to create the longest clothing line! Probably the most penis I've seen in one place. Tits magee meant james's chest was pretty sore after i insisted i grabbed his "tits" hehehee
The next morning, with a lot of people very hung over, we did some surfing. The boards were much bigger than last week, so it was easier and I managed to stand 3 or 4 times...obviously falling off about 2 seconds later! But good fun. We moved on to Byron Bay later (arriving yesterday) where we've just chilled, catching up on a lot of lost sleep. Trying to book the oz bus for the journey ahead, as well as Fraser Island and Whitsundays. We'll all be staggering our stays in each place, so many more people to meet!
Missing & Loving my girlfriend...xxxxxxxxx
Sunday 11 May 2008
Week 1
The bbq at coogee beach was great...first time i had vege sausages and they were pretty tasty! We went for a long walk to bondi beach afterwards, whilst taking many, many pictures of the coast along the way. I'm sure i wont remember which beaches they're from lol. We didn't spend long at bondi because it was a pretty cold day. The sand at both beaches was amazing though.
The on Thursday it was surfing! A lot of fun at Palm Beach (Home & Away land). Exhausting admittedly. And was a bit achey the day after. God I'm such a woman. More surfing ahead though, as the first day on the Oz Experience bus is Surf Camp.
Saturday was the zoo and pub crawl. The elephants were fantastic! One sprayed the zoo worker with water lol. Everything else was pretty standard really. Good fun though - we lost each other randomly lol. Pub crawl was madness - 50 ppl on a bus singing and shouting. And that was before any drink! I hate beer (i think i said that before). I also hate wine but i drank 1 glass at the 2nd place...the guys were not impressed! Some random man tried to lick me whilst everyone else laughed lol..there's evidence in photo form too! Drank a lot of shots...agreed with g and James that we'd buy a round of shots at each bar. Throat is in pain!! There was a guy who apparently earns $4000 a week who bought a lot of drinks...I managed to score a southern comfort n lemonade lol.
The cruise today was rubbish. Elvis impersonations and other such crap. Just relaxing now. Laundry tomorrow then oz bus on tuesday!
The on Thursday it was surfing! A lot of fun at Palm Beach (Home & Away land). Exhausting admittedly. And was a bit achey the day after. God I'm such a woman. More surfing ahead though, as the first day on the Oz Experience bus is Surf Camp.
Saturday was the zoo and pub crawl. The elephants were fantastic! One sprayed the zoo worker with water lol. Everything else was pretty standard really. Good fun though - we lost each other randomly lol. Pub crawl was madness - 50 ppl on a bus singing and shouting. And that was before any drink! I hate beer (i think i said that before). I also hate wine but i drank 1 glass at the 2nd place...the guys were not impressed! Some random man tried to lick me whilst everyone else laughed lol..there's evidence in photo form too! Drank a lot of shots...agreed with g and James that we'd buy a round of shots at each bar. Throat is in pain!! There was a guy who apparently earns $4000 a week who bought a lot of drinks...I managed to score a southern comfort n lemonade lol.
The cruise today was rubbish. Elvis impersonations and other such crap. Just relaxing now. Laundry tomorrow then oz bus on tuesday!
Wednesday 7 May 2008
Sydney thus far
(Thank you to someone called 'the gf' for telling me to update my blog lol :P)
Arrived in Sydney on Monday, with no flight issues except that the 6 of us weren't sitting together. I hate people who insist on pushing back their seat...it's the first thing they do. Seriously, there was no need. And it's even more of a pain in the arse when you're trying to eat.
The meal after the stop over in Bangkok was great...it was Thai!
Monday was pretty much a chill out day. Had a walk around the area...really beautiful city, especially Darling Harbour. Hostel (Wake up!) is very good (reflected in the price of course).
Tuesday turned out to be quite busy - buffet lunch in Sydney Centrepoint Tower was very good...the restaurant rotates once every 70mins and the view was fantastic! This was followed by a meet up for drinks at 6. We went to a club for a couple more free drinks. The music was so cheesy. I mean S Club 7 cheesy! Shocking. Tara won the dance competition pretending to be brazilian :S there was a complete nob from luxembourg who decided to undo his jeans, show off his boxers, realise everyone was disgusted and do them up again. Music wasn't too bad after all...james, g and myself spent a fair while on the stage showing off our moves :P Wet t-shirt competition before we left was...interesting (read: slutty) at first. We left soon after.
Today: reptile park for pictures with koalas and kangaroos!! Also got pics of plenty more animals and a GIGANTIC python. Afterwards we went to 3 wine tasting places. I hate wine. It was just too much wine and I really can't drink anymore alcohol today.
We were coming back to the hostel through the mountains for a scenic route. However...towards the top there was a HUGE boulder in the middle of the road. I mean HUUUGE...a whole tree had been torn down with it. So we had to back track and go back a different way..resulting in a 2.5hr journey to the hostel. Chilling out for the rest of the night. Tomorrow it's the beach BBQ, and the first chance to get wet!!
Arrived in Sydney on Monday, with no flight issues except that the 6 of us weren't sitting together. I hate people who insist on pushing back their seat...it's the first thing they do. Seriously, there was no need. And it's even more of a pain in the arse when you're trying to eat.
The meal after the stop over in Bangkok was great...it was Thai!
Monday was pretty much a chill out day. Had a walk around the area...really beautiful city, especially Darling Harbour. Hostel (Wake up!) is very good (reflected in the price of course).
Tuesday turned out to be quite busy - buffet lunch in Sydney Centrepoint Tower was very good...the restaurant rotates once every 70mins and the view was fantastic! This was followed by a meet up for drinks at 6. We went to a club for a couple more free drinks. The music was so cheesy. I mean S Club 7 cheesy! Shocking. Tara won the dance competition pretending to be brazilian :S there was a complete nob from luxembourg who decided to undo his jeans, show off his boxers, realise everyone was disgusted and do them up again. Music wasn't too bad after all...james, g and myself spent a fair while on the stage showing off our moves :P Wet t-shirt competition before we left was...interesting (read: slutty) at first. We left soon after.
Today: reptile park for pictures with koalas and kangaroos!! Also got pics of plenty more animals and a GIGANTIC python. Afterwards we went to 3 wine tasting places. I hate wine. It was just too much wine and I really can't drink anymore alcohol today.
We were coming back to the hostel through the mountains for a scenic route. However...towards the top there was a HUGE boulder in the middle of the road. I mean HUUUGE...a whole tree had been torn down with it. So we had to back track and go back a different way..resulting in a 2.5hr journey to the hostel. Chilling out for the rest of the night. Tomorrow it's the beach BBQ, and the first chance to get wet!!
Tuesday 29 April 2008
Not long left!
Can't believe I'll be on my way to Heathrow in FOUR days! It's come so quickly.
Got an MP3 player - Sony NWZ-A816 (4GB). Love it. It's so much smaller than I thought it would be. Transferring music is very easy and battery life is 33hrs! Annoyingly, just like the iPod, it requires a USB cable to charge...which really pissed me off cos obviously I won't have a computer when I'm travelling. So I had to buy the official Sony USB AC adapter to charge from mains for £15!! Tried an unofficial £4 but it didn't work! hmph
Anyway, paid for some aussie currency which I'll pick up at the airport on Saturday.
There will be 18 other people for the week in Sydney. I know of a few that are travelling on the group flight and some that are coming in from travels elsewhere. I'm assuming those that haven't replied are also somewhere else around the world.
I think I've bought everything I need now - it's been pricey getting everything together, but all worth it (have to thank my parents of course...they paid for A LOT). The bag I got is great...so much more space than I first thought.
Feels really strange to be winding so many things down as I approach the day. I'm saying my goodbyes now...am I homesick already?!
Got an MP3 player - Sony NWZ-A816 (4GB). Love it. It's so much smaller than I thought it would be. Transferring music is very easy and battery life is 33hrs! Annoyingly, just like the iPod, it requires a USB cable to charge...which really pissed me off cos obviously I won't have a computer when I'm travelling. So I had to buy the official Sony USB AC adapter to charge from mains for £15!! Tried an unofficial £4 but it didn't work! hmph
Anyway, paid for some aussie currency which I'll pick up at the airport on Saturday.
There will be 18 other people for the week in Sydney. I know of a few that are travelling on the group flight and some that are coming in from travels elsewhere. I'm assuming those that haven't replied are also somewhere else around the world.
I think I've bought everything I need now - it's been pricey getting everything together, but all worth it (have to thank my parents of course...they paid for A LOT). The bag I got is great...so much more space than I first thought.
Feels really strange to be winding so many things down as I approach the day. I'm saying my goodbyes now...am I homesick already?!
Monday 21 April 2008
Brilliant
Finished watching Dexter Season 2 yesterday - it was brilliant! After some digging around I've discovered that there will be three more seasons...can't wait!
Doing more reading/research into Oz...Cairns sounds like a very cool place. I'm trying to get a better idea of travelling between places though. It's challenging (and admittedly makes me nervous) but I'm hoping it won't be too difficult given that there will be loads of other travellers.
There will be 19 of us including myself for the first week in Sydney! Should be a great start to the trip :)
Doing more reading/research into Oz...Cairns sounds like a very cool place. I'm trying to get a better idea of travelling between places though. It's challenging (and admittedly makes me nervous) but I'm hoping it won't be too difficult given that there will be loads of other travellers.
There will be 19 of us including myself for the first week in Sydney! Should be a great start to the trip :)
Wednesday 16 April 2008
Dexter
Been watching Dexter Season 2 recently - it's just so good! Better than the first I reckon. On episode 5 now, and will hopefully get thru the remaining 7 by early next week.
Went to the local park with my gf. Hadn't been there in years probably. But I was hit with a huge surprise...they've replaced the lake! It's just so strange not seeing it there. I guess it was a safety thing...as well as people (e.g. me) losing footballs in it all the time lol.
Lonely planet guide is here...lots of reading to do.
Final thing: a protest against the new PlayStation Store's ridiculous categories. The North American one is perfect...the European one, on the other hand, is plain stupid and annoying to use. The new transitions, effects etc are fantastic. But SCEE has employed some idiots. Click here to check out my article.
Went to the local park with my gf. Hadn't been there in years probably. But I was hit with a huge surprise...they've replaced the lake! It's just so strange not seeing it there. I guess it was a safety thing...as well as people (e.g. me) losing footballs in it all the time lol.
Lonely planet guide is here...lots of reading to do.
Final thing: a protest against the new PlayStation Store's ridiculous categories. The North American one is perfect...the European one, on the other hand, is plain stupid and annoying to use. The new transitions, effects etc are fantastic. But SCEE has employed some idiots. Click here to check out my article.
Monday 14 April 2008
Double date
Just got back from a brilliant double date. We went bowling :)
Also fun was the drive there and back - I'm now able to confirm that my car struggles to go above 60mph. I think it would get there eventually, but all the shuddering and noise scares me a little :S
Got the memory stick today. 2GB will allow me to take approx 600 pics, but my uncle says this won't be anywhere near enough, especially when I go to NZ. But I'll have my 2GB usb drive as well as a spare 512MB pro duo, so fingers crossed i'll be ok.
Hoping to get the lonely planet guide tomorrow - really want to look into specific places...
Also fun was the drive there and back - I'm now able to confirm that my car struggles to go above 60mph. I think it would get there eventually, but all the shuddering and noise scares me a little :S
Got the memory stick today. 2GB will allow me to take approx 600 pics, but my uncle says this won't be anywhere near enough, especially when I go to NZ. But I'll have my 2GB usb drive as well as a spare 512MB pro duo, so fingers crossed i'll be ok.
Hoping to get the lonely planet guide tomorrow - really want to look into specific places...
Saturday 12 April 2008
W130
The Sony Cybershot W130 Black is a very, very sexy camera! Only taken a few pictures so far, but they looked fantastic. I'm not a camera/picture expert though, so I don't pay much attention to the colour being slightly off here or the contrast being out there or other such stuff. I just want a good picture without blurring. And this seems to do the job!
However, I can only take 4 pics on the internal memory lol. Waiting on the 2GB memory stick, which should arrive on Monday.
Made an offer on 2 more HPM-75s earlier this week, and got them for £5 each including p&p. Unfortunately the seller on sent me one of them, but the other one should arrive on Monday. I should also get the Oz/NZ lonely planet guide.
I like receiving goodies in the post! :)
However, I can only take 4 pics on the internal memory lol. Waiting on the 2GB memory stick, which should arrive on Monday.
Made an offer on 2 more HPM-75s earlier this week, and got them for £5 each including p&p. Unfortunately the seller on sent me one of them, but the other one should arrive on Monday. I should also get the Oz/NZ lonely planet guide.
I like receiving goodies in the post! :)
Thursday 10 April 2008
Buying stuff
Lots of spending has taken place recently. LOTS.
Today I paid off my credit card bill - it was just lingering there in the back of my head. Feel much better about getting it out of the way, not sure my bank account feels the same way tho.
Also won a bid on ebay for 'Australia & New Zealand on a shoestring' (lonely planet guide). And finally ordered 2 memory sticks - one for myself and one for the brother. It's for the new cam, which was dispatched today.
Double date hasnt happened yet. And gf, if you are reading this, get bham sorted!!
Tomorrow I need to take my brothers to a suit hire place. They've got prom coming up. And they have dates *collective 'awwwww'*...
Today I paid off my credit card bill - it was just lingering there in the back of my head. Feel much better about getting it out of the way, not sure my bank account feels the same way tho.
Also won a bid on ebay for 'Australia & New Zealand on a shoestring' (lonely planet guide). And finally ordered 2 memory sticks - one for myself and one for the brother. It's for the new cam, which was dispatched today.
Double date hasnt happened yet. And gf, if you are reading this, get bham sorted!!
Tomorrow I need to take my brothers to a suit hire place. They've got prom coming up. And they have dates *collective 'awwwww'*...
Wednesday 9 April 2008
V640i
Got my Sony Ericsson V640i today. Bizarrely it comes with a SanDisk memory stick :S But 256MB is nice. Quite a few differences between it and my W710i. Love how thin it is (especially in comparison), the havana gold looks rather slick and the menus have some nifty transitions.
Heard a lot of reports about it randomly switching off, so I'm going to update the firmware asap just in case.
Camera ordered last night - had to do it in a rush. It was the last Sony Cybershot W130 (Black) in stock. Very sexy cam. Should arrive next week. In the meantime I need to order HPM-75 headphones for both my brothers and 2 2GB pro duos, one for the new cam and one for my brother's phone.
Spend, spend, spend...
Heard a lot of reports about it randomly switching off, so I'm going to update the firmware asap just in case.
Camera ordered last night - had to do it in a rush. It was the last Sony Cybershot W130 (Black) in stock. Very sexy cam. Should arrive next week. In the meantime I need to order HPM-75 headphones for both my brothers and 2 2GB pro duos, one for the new cam and one for my brother's phone.
Spend, spend, spend...
Tuesday 8 April 2008
The end
Mm...was sad to leave. I think most of the gappers felt that way, even if they appeared to be ecstatic. Managed to say bye to my main manager over the 6 months before he went into a meeting, which was lucky. Hopefully I'll keep in touch with most of the grads and join them on some of the social events - always a lot of fun!
Tomorrow...doctors appointment because my throat is very, very painful and has been for a week. In the evening...well my gf told me today that we'll be having a double date. Our first ever...
Tomorrow...doctors appointment because my throat is very, very painful and has been for a week. In the evening...well my gf told me today that we'll be having a double date. Our first ever...
Monday 7 April 2008
One day left
Can't believe SIX months has gone by! Only one full day of work left.
I am happy to be finishing. I love lazing around and sitting on my arse. And being able to get up and see my gf whenever i/she wants lol. And being able to catch up on nerdy stuff without having to squeeze it into an evening (and thus, inevitably, staying up late!).
But I will miss it too. There's a lot to miss - the people, the social events, the money. That sums it up really! The work can be rewarding at times too. But that appears to happen in departments other than audit unfortunately!
Ordered the Sony Ericsson V640i today. £72, free speakers included. Only available on vodafone but that works for me. Will stick my current sim into it, and then put an australian sim in my current phone (SE W710i - an 18th birthday present...still in good use, thanks guys!).
Used my new headphones today - HPM-75. Very, very good headphones. Got them off ebay for £5.50 inc P&P. Bass is much better than on my bluetooth wireless headphones (DS970). Which i've lost. And they were £60! Fuck. Oh well...I would have taken it to oz...this way i'll be taking one less charger lol.
I am happy to be finishing. I love lazing around and sitting on my arse. And being able to get up and see my gf whenever i/she wants lol. And being able to catch up on nerdy stuff without having to squeeze it into an evening (and thus, inevitably, staying up late!).
But I will miss it too. There's a lot to miss - the people, the social events, the money. That sums it up really! The work can be rewarding at times too. But that appears to happen in departments other than audit unfortunately!
Ordered the Sony Ericsson V640i today. £72, free speakers included. Only available on vodafone but that works for me. Will stick my current sim into it, and then put an australian sim in my current phone (SE W710i - an 18th birthday present...still in good use, thanks guys!).
Used my new headphones today - HPM-75. Very, very good headphones. Got them off ebay for £5.50 inc P&P. Bass is much better than on my bluetooth wireless headphones (DS970). Which i've lost. And they were £60! Fuck. Oh well...I would have taken it to oz...this way i'll be taking one less charger lol.
Wednesday 2 April 2008
Ts
I finish work on 8th April (next Tuesday), so you'd think I have very little to do now...which has been the case for a large part of the past month or so. But no, I am actually getting work to do. Shocker.
I work in Audit, in the Consumer Markets department. But I feel much more interested in Transaction Services (mergers, acquistions, demergers, IPOs etc). A friend there asked me to work with him for the rest of the week. Should be a good opportunity and be quite interesting, even if it is right at the end of my placement. On the down side I may not be able to say bye to some of my workmates in my dept, but hopefully I'll work something out.
I work in Audit, in the Consumer Markets department. But I feel much more interested in Transaction Services (mergers, acquistions, demergers, IPOs etc). A friend there asked me to work with him for the rest of the week. Should be a good opportunity and be quite interesting, even if it is right at the end of my placement. On the down side I may not be able to say bye to some of my workmates in my dept, but hopefully I'll work something out.
Feels strange to be saying bye. There's something quite special about being around so many people of different ages, experiences, likes and dislikes...
Tuesday 1 April 2008
The beginning
So this is the start of my blog. Today being 1st April is purely chance - Stephen from work suggested blogging during drinks last Friday night, and today was the first day I could actually be bothered to get it going!
Those drinks were fun and messy...fun because Stephen told me a lot about Australia, and it felt like a godsend given that he also went there alone. Messy because there was a shitload of free beer, I got a number of shots and mixers on tab because it was my leaving drinks, and then after leaving I proceeded to meet up with friends who swiftly bought many more drinks. Saturday was a day of pain and recovery.
Those drinks were fun and messy...fun because Stephen told me a lot about Australia, and it felt like a godsend given that he also went there alone. Messy because there was a shitload of free beer, I got a number of shots and mixers on tab because it was my leaving drinks, and then after leaving I proceeded to meet up with friends who swiftly bought many more drinks. Saturday was a day of pain and recovery.
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