Chiang Mai.

The train arrived, after a 12 hour trip. It was surprisingly comfortable, even if it was freezing cold and I did manage to sleep. We went straight to our hotel but didn't even get time for a shower as we were straight off for lunch and elephant riding!! I had really been looking forward to doing this but I was utterly horrified by the way in which the elephants were treated. The riders had a hook much like a fish hook with them. Originally I thought that they were just using this behind the elephants ear to steer him and even that was bad enough, but when we saw them sticking them into the animals' eyes to get them to move when they stopped for a bit of food I stopped enjoying myself! It was really sick and everyone was quite upset when we dismounted. I know that they have to be able to control these powerful animals but surely blinding them is not the way to go?! Intrepid heard it from us all anyway! There are other sanctuaries that treat the animals brilliantly but this was not one!

After the elephant riding some of us went bamboo rafting. This was really relaxed and Sarah and I managed to stay relatively dry compared to some of the others! Our van broke down on the way home and we were stuck on the side of the road waiting for a replacement for an hour and half. We kept ourselves occupied by watching a frog try to cross the road and get squished! We had bets on on whether he'd make it or not! The this little old lady came along on a moped which was overloaded with stuff and the guides spent 20mins trying to balance her out so she could drive without falling over. It was hilarious!

We finally got back to the hotel but it was straight out for dinner and the night markets (which are brilliant in Chiang Mai).

The following day was another brilliant day where we went to a cookery school for the day! We learned to cook 5 dishes and we had to eat them all of course. It was divine and I'm addicted to Thai food. We even made our own curry pastes which is no easy feat, it involves lots of pounding with a mortar and pestle! It was really great. That evening we went to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep which is on a mountain overlooking the city. It is really beautiful up there (once you climb the 306 steps).

Everyone really enjoyed Chiang Mai, but alas we must be off on our next leg which involves trekking in the jungles of northern Thailand!!

Rice Barge Trip.

After leaving Kanchanaburi we had a 3 hour songthaew drive to Ayutthaya (not a very pleasant experience). From there we were brought to our Rice Barge.It was really beautiful, a lot more luxurious than we were expecting. It was so hot though. This provence is the hottest in Thailand and the humidity was really suffocating! We sailed for about an hour and then we got off for a short bike ride through the local countryside. We went to an elephant sanctuary, which was really amazing. We watched the elephants painting, playing in the bath and we fed them. It was really great.

The following day was a long day which started with a funeral procession at 7.30am. We sat with the monks and locals and presented gifts for the one who had died. Then we headed off on another bike ride, this one was 3hrs long and it was roasting! Well it was ok til we started playing football at a local school, that just killed me! We also saw a temple that was built by the same guy who built Ankhor Wat, but it's nothing like it really.

We left the Chao Phraya river that evening and went back to Ayutthaya where we had a tour of different temples in the area before catching our overnight train to Chiang Mai.

Sa wat dee ka Thailand!!

That means hello Thailand! So I arrived here safe and sound, even if I was sick and spent the first two days in bed! It is a complete and utter culture shock when you arrive in bangkok, not to mention the attack on your senses! The first day I had a walk around the city I couldn't wait to get back to the shelter of my hotel room! It's loud, it's smelly, there are hundreds of people and you nearly get run over every two minutes!! When you get used to it though it has a great appeal and one that I've really come to enjoy.

The first day of the tour was a pretty long one. We started off with Wat Po, home to the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. It's a pretty amazing temple and is where the phenomenon of Thai massage started. Later that day we got a bus to Kanchanaburi, where we were collected on bikes and brought to our accomodation. That evening we went to see the bridge over the River Kwae (not Kwai as is said in English!) It is exactly as it looks in all the films but I honestly thought that it would be much longer! It was great to see it though.

The next day we hopped on our Sonthaew and were brought to the Jeath War Museum. This museum depicts the life of POW's in the Japanese camps during WWII and how they built the Siam-Burma railway. After this we went to the Erawan national park to the famous 7 tier waterfall. Sarah and I headed straight to the 7th tier thinking it would be an easy enough hike. An hour later, dripping with sweat and breathless we arrived, but it was definitely worth it. We didn't hesitate in diving into the lovely water and we sat there for a fabulous half hour before making our way back to the bottom and lunch! We treated ourselves to a Thai massage that evening after our "hard" day!!

Last thoughts on Oz.

Where to begin?!The thing that made my trip so AMAZING was most definitely the people I met along the way! I would have been lost without them and I've made lifelong friends in the process.

I have to say that the customer service industry in this coutry leaves a lot to be desired!!The people working in hostels and the like fail to realise that it is backpackers that is keeping them in a job. There should be more respect!!!

There is scenery here that you will never see anywhere else and you would never get sick of seeing it!

The locks on bathroom doors go backwards (ie they open in the direction we turn them to lock at home), just like the water flushing in the bowl!! It's too weird!!

One thing that I will never forget is perhaps the thing that shocked me the most about Oz and that is the complete racism towards the Aboriginal race! I don't understand it!!

Another confusing thing is the lack of mobile phone coverage on the west coast!! This is a massive area that is largely cut out of the mobile market!!

I have loved every second of my time in Oz and that is no lie. The only thing that I would change would be to have another month so that I could have taken it at a slower pace, perhaps just one more month. Mind you I can't really complain now can I?!


I've had the time of my life and I've learned a lot. Australia, I'll be back!!!

Back to Sydney.

So I'm back in Sydney now and it's my last day. I've had the most amazing few days here, sightseeing, catching up with people I met all around Oz and reminiscing on the last time I was here. The weather is beautiful at the moment (it was 39 degrees today) and it really makes you want to stay here for a while. I met Tina from Tassie on Sunday, we went to Manly and then sat at the Opera house bar that evening watching sunset over the bridge and the opera house. I couldn't stop smiling at how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to do this trip!! Being down there on a Sunday evening is an experience in itself as it is where practically every gay guy in sydney comes on a sunday. It was a great laugh and an experience not to be missed!!

The next day was spent down on the Rocks and Darling Harbour again (I just love this place!)which was followed by a trip to the Aquarium, again!!! I have definitely fallen in love with this city all over again. It's amazing the difference a bit of sun makes!

Yesterday I did the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee with Nina and it was scorching!! We were like two old granny's by the time we got back, we were so exhausted (and burned!) That evening I was treated to a gorgeous meal by Nigel in Nick's restaurant in Darling Harbour. We had a great night there, followed by Salsa dancing in the Establishment! Definitely to be recommended! And that ended my last time back in Sydney!I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!!!

Tassie!!!

What a week we had in Tasmania! It was absolutely brilliant, despite the fact that it was FREEZING, SNOWING and RAINING practically the whole time we were there! The trip was a very full one for the first 3 days, after which a few people went their own way. Our first stop after leaving Hobart was the Horseshoe and Russell Falls after a walk through the tall trees. After lunch we were off to the Nelson Falls and on to the beautiful town of Queenstown, voted Australia's worst town!! And I could definitely understand why! We stayed in Tullah that night and the group started to bond!

We had another early start the next morning and it was such a beautiful day (the only full day of no rain we had the whole time we were there!) We headed straight for the Henty dunes and made like Arabs through the sand! Our asses were definitely firm that night after 2 hours of walking up and through dunes! The dunes led to a beach where there a carcasses of some Sperm whales which were washed up over 6 months ago. Mind you from the smell you'd think that they were still quite fresh! It was really fascinating and quite sad to see so many though. Apparently this is also the most secluded beach in Tassie and true enough there was nobody else but us there. After lunch we headed for a nice long walk through mud and water to reach the Montezuma falls and it was definitely worth all the dirt. We went back to Tullah that night and spent most of the evening trying to warm ourselves up again, but we weren't very successful!

Unfortunately the next day we didn't get the weather that we'd been praying for. It was lashing rain and there was nothing but cloud and this was the day that we were doing Cradle Mountain. We ended up just doing the circuit walk around Dove Lake as it was freezing, wet and there was no point going up the mountain as you couldn't see a metre infront of you for the cloud. Ah well, you can't win them all! But Adam (the guide) did bring us to a chocolate factory on the way to our accomodation where we got the best hot chocolates to heat our cold bones! It was gEorgeous!!! The bus then wouldn't start when we went back out to it so all the lads had to push start it!
It broke down again later and then the next day we were stuck for over an hour while the driver went and found help to jump start us! All part of the adventure that is 'Adventure Tours'! We all went out for dinner that night and had a good laugh. It was a really good group of people and I was trying to brush up on my German with all the German girls!

The next day was quite probably the worst weather of all, just rain rain rain and cold!! It was pretty much a driving day but we did get to meet Priscilla the pig and feed her beer! I kid you not! We stayed at Bicheno that night and had a real girlies night in chatting, twas great!

The final two days of the tour flew by and I wasn't looking forward to it ending as I didn't want to have to leave the group!It's really amazing how close you can get to people you only met a few days previously. There were 5 of us that got on brilliantly, all of us were travelling on our own and none of us wanted to go back to being on our own, but it can't last forever! We were so lucky the day we went to Wineglass bay as it was really sunny that morning and only started to get cloudy as we were coming down Mt.Amos. This was a bitch of a climb, with a lot of it being done on hands and knees and coming down on asses! It's all granite rock and hence quite slippy in places. I don't think my puma runners were the best choice of footwear for that day!!! The view from the top of Mt.Amos was utterly breathtaking (literally!) We sat up there for about half an hour (more so because we were dreading the hike down!) It's called Wineglass Bay as it is the shape of the bottom of a wineglass, but also because there used to be a whaling station here and the water was generally full of blood and thus looked like red wine!! Ewwww!!!

We stayed in Port Arthur that night and gorged ourselves on freshly made calamari rings. Mmmmm!! The next morning was spent exploring the historical sights of Port Arthur, in the pissing rain!! Then it was off to a wildlife park to see some Tassie devils before the drive back to Hobart.

We all went out that night and had a great night out and then the group all split up! Sniff sniff!!It truely was a brilliant trip and one that will be remembered fondly for a long time to come. The scenery is amazing, the people lovely and it reminded me so much of home that I was feeling slightly homesick by the end of it! Tasmania is not a place that you should leave out of your Oz trip. So many people don't bother with it because of the weather, but it was quite possibly the best tour I did in Oz, so DO IT!!!

The Great Ocean Road and Melbourne!

Well as expected the great ocean road trip was brilliant. There were only 5 of us on the 3 day trip but it was great! The company I went with (Goin South) is relatively new and the owner was our driver. He did everything possible to make the trip one of the best I've been on in Oz. The first day started wine tasting (yes more) followed by caving (probably not the best combination!) It was definitely something different but I don't think I'd be taking it up as a full time hobby any time soon! After the caving we went to the drivers hostel and had a fabulous home cooked meal, probably the best I've had to date. It was yummy!!

The next morning we were off to the Grampians and a trek up Mt.Hollow. It was so hot that day that I actually got burned! The view from the top was amazing! From Mt Hollow we headed to Reed Lookout and the Balconies where I very boldly climbed down to one of the balconies which is forbidden!! Oops!! Then came Mackenzie Falls and about a million steps. It was perfect going down but I was cursing on the way back up I can tell ya!! That night we stayed in best hostel in Australasia! It's in Warrnambool and it's worth going to Oz just for this (well, maybe not JUST for this!)

The following morning we headed for the start of the Ocean road with the first stop being the amazing Bay of Islands before we went to London Bridge. This was attached to the mainland until 1983 and you used to be able to drive over it. Infact, the day it collapsed there were people on it and they had to be helicoptered off. It's a miracle they weren't driving over it as it collapsed! Afterwards it was off to Loch Ard and a lovely little coastal walk before getting to the long awaited 12 Apostles. The weather was just so amazing that day and I felt so exhilerated considering the last time I was there it was pissing down cats and dogs and it was windy as hell, resulting in Alison being a drowned rat!! I don't think you'd ever get sick of looking at this coastline, no matter how many times you see it as you're always going to see it with a different light, more clouds or something else that will alter it.

On the way to Melbourne we stopped at Apollo bay for some fish and chips and then onto Kennet River to feed the birds!This was great fun and one actually landed on my head at one stage! we arrived in Melbourne around tea time and I was actually quite sad that the trip was over as it really was brilliant! If you're doing the trip do it with Goin South!!!

Then there was Melbourne and one of the best weeks of my trip! It was completely mad and full of drinking, which I'm sure my mother and father don't want to hear but they always taught me not to lie!! I met up with people from other trips, people from home and new people and it was fun all round.

One of the highglights for me was obviously the Neighbours tour!! I know I'm so sad, but it had to be done!!I know you're all REALLY jealous!! But then there was also the Melbourne cup!! I was so lucky to be here at the right time. This is the biggest sporting event in Oz and the whole country stops for a half an hour for this one race. For all of us that were at it, it was a a full day of dresses, drink and laughs. Not to mention freezing our asses off in our little dresses!!. It really was such a great day and was finished off nicely with a flutter in the casino!!

I met so many wonderful people in Melbourne and it's definitely a week that I'm going to remember fondly for a very long time. It's a beautiful city and the shopping is amazing!! Definitely a city I could settle in for a while! So long Melbourne, I've had a ball!!!

Adelaide and Kangaroo Island

I know it's been forever since I've written, so I'll try to make this as interesting and as concise as possible so as not to bore you all stupid!
So Adelaide was emmm...ok. That's about all the enthusiasm I can muster I'm afraid! It's definitely not a city set up for backpackers and there's not even that much to see other than Haigh's chocolate factory and Glenelg beach and the shark museum down there! My only real purpose for going there was to visit Kangaroo island.


Kangaroo island itself is much much bigger than I was expecting, it's actually not that much smaller than Ireland. I was anticipating a Fraser island type island and I couldn't have been more off center! It's inhabited and all!! I did a 2 day trip to the island, which is definitely way too short to see it in, but the weather was so cold and wet while I was there that I was relieved that I didn't have to stay any longer! We saw a lot and it was a great group with a great night had by all as you can see from the photo's!
One of the best sights we saw while here was definitely the Remarkable Rocks. It's fascinating the way they are positioned on a cliff face!

Probably the best part of Adelaide was the Groovy Grape wine tour of the Barossa Valley. This was another full day of drinking and it was a great laugh!! Definitely to be recommended!!!

Sorry that I can't be more enthusiastic about this part of my trip, but it just didn't do that much for me compared to the rest of the country!

The South-West Corner.

We collected our car and left Perth at 10am on Monday morning. We were on the road about half an hour when Willie (who was driving) had a near collision with some poles marking out new lanes. The poor fella got an awful fright, as did myself and Gill, but luckily that was the only incident of it's kind, well except for when a Roo bounced out infront of me a couple of days later en route to Pemberton! That's not an animal you want to be messing with on the road!

Our first stop was Bunbury which is a lovely town. It has loads of nice cafe's and nice clothes stores. This town is famous for its dolphins but you can't go swimming with them until November, unfortunately. We had lunch and then set off again. Our goal was to get to Margaret River that evening. We stopped at Eagle Bay adn Cape Naturaliste along the way. There is a lovely walk in Cape Naturaliste that brings you along to whale lookout points, but unfortunately we didn't see any. We went straight through to Margaret River from here.

Now this is a town you could easily fall in love with. It is really charming with lots of beautiful little houses and sprawling winerys. It has a character all of its own, particularly compared to the other towns in the south-west. We stayed in a great hostel here, where we got a small self contained apartment between the three of us which had separate bedrooms and DOUBLE BEDS!!! We didn't want to leave!
The next morning we were collected at 10.30am to go on our Bushtucker wine tour. This consisted of 4 winery's (all of them very nice), a chocolate factory and last but not least a brewery. The bushtucker part came into play at lunch time. We all had a plate infront of us containing some weird looking berries and squishy things. We had to taste them before we were told what we were eating. The majority of them were harmless but the Witchetty Grub Pate just pushed it a little far for my liking! But I still ate it. Needless to stay we were a little wobbly on the way home and had to take a little snooze to recover before dinner! It was a great day. The owner of one particular winery, Bettanay's, took a shine to Gill and kept referring to her throughout his presentation. He thought that Will was her boyfriend and made a remark that she obviously had better tasted in wine that she had in men! Willie was not at all impressed!!

The next morning we headed off to Pemberton. Our first stop was Jewel Cave where we saw plenty of stalacmites and stalactites. It was really fascinating. From there we went on to Augusta where we stopped at Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, where the southern ocean meets the indian ocean.It is the most south-westerly point of Australia also. We stayed in a motel in Pemberton and had quite possibly the worst chicken burgers of our lives, I was surprised I didn't die from it!

Our first stop the next morning was at the Gloucester Tree which is a 60m high Yarra tree that you can climb. I wasn't brave enough to make it to the top mind you! Then on to Walpole at the Valley of the Giants treetop walkway. This is really great. You're basically walking along the canopy of the trees.The highest point of this particular walk is 40m. The whole thing sways in the wind too which is a little scarey! I think Willie in particular was happy to get back onto solid ground, he doesn't do heights!

On the way to Albany we stopped at Williams Bay where Willie surveyed his "land". We had our last meal of the trip in our motel in Albany that evening and it was delicious. It was washed down with a lovely bottle of Shiraz purchased on the wine tour. We is flash-packers we is!

We spent Friday morning looking around Albany. Our first stop was the Whaling station and then onto the Blowholes. Willie walked straight down to one, with Gill following. Just as he approached the opening the was a huge gust through it and they both jumped about a metre! Willie started running backwards up the hill. It was the funniest thing I'd seen in a long time. I was so sorry I didn't have my video camera. The other people there were all in stitches and the two of them had to sit down to recover from their fright!Next we went to the Natural Bridge and The Gap, both natural phenomena and very imaginatively named! Then I started on the long drive back to Perth. It took about 5 hours to get back but the scenery was fantastic the whole way back and we arrived alive and in one piece.

It was a great trip. I was sorry that we didn't have more time as the scenery down there is truely beautiful, it's green and lucious and completely different to the west coast. Don't leave out this little part of Australia, you'll be sorry you did.

Perth to date!

Well, where to start. We actually didn't see a whole lot of the city in the week we have been here. Sad I know, but for the first few days all I wanted to do was chill and look around the shops, of which there are plenty. We arrived in Perth late on a thursday evening and all we were fit for that night was food and bed! So the next day we went scouting around the main streets. Perth is probably the cleanest city I have been to, it is practically sterile. Everything looks so new in it, it's almost like one of those models that companies make of prospective developments! It really is beautiful though. That night we had our first proper night out in a month and man did we have a good one! There were plenty of laughs, pics and lots of dancing! Even Willie strutted his stuff! We met a lovely group of Kiwi's and stayed with them all night (and early morning!) On the way home, the heel of my shoe got caught and I ended up taking a face-plant (it really wasn't drink induced, not that any of you are going to believe me anyway!) and I ended up with a sprained wrist, oh the fun! But it was a great night all the same! The following day was spent recovering and then we were right as rain again on the Sunday to go to the Fremantle markets.

Now Freo is a place with character. It was buzzing with activity and the weather was fab. It's full of old colonial style buildings, streets lined with cafe's and an overall happy atmosphere. We walked around and soaked it all up before treating ourselves to a lavish dinner, flashpackers and all that we are! It was bliss!

The rest of the week was spent with a very sore hand (Thanks to Gill and Will for looking after me btw) and arranging the rest of my travels. I also had to go on the hunt for new bikini's after some idiot robbed mine from the laundry room!! I just don't understand some people, but don't get me started! The weather was pretty wet and cold for most of the week. This is the first rain that I have seen in over 3 months so I suppose I can't complain too much, but I really didn't like it!

On Thursday we ventured out to Freo again to see the prison, rain and all! It's a pretty fascinating place, even more so considering it only closed down 7 years ago! When you see the conditions the inmates were subjected to you would wonder how it was not closed down long ago for being in breach of human rights! The inmates had no toilets in their cells, they had the use of a plastic bucket! Lovely! The cells had been made bigger alright, but even at that they were tiny and some had bunks to cater for the ever growing number of inmates. Things had gotten so bad that some inmates set fire to one of the divisions in the 1940's with the hope of calling attention to their dire living conditions. Their plan worked and the size of the cells was increased by knocking the wall between 2 down to make one bigger cell, but they still didn't put in toilets! The main reason the prison was closed down was because of the lack of sanitary facilities, otherwise it is quite probable that it would stil be running today.

Some parts of the tour were very eerie, in particular the hanging room. It is believed to be haunted (no surprised there then) and the guide told us that anytime she has had people with guide dogs on her tours the dogs have refused to go into the room, and quite often babies get very upset in it too. If anywhere is going to be haunted then it is definitely this room! It really is a great tour and well worth the jaunt out from the city.

Low and behold, friday night was another night out, shock horror! But there were no falls or sprained limbs this time round, thank God!It was Gill's friend Debbie's last night in Oz so we had to help her celebrate! It was a great night again! But you can see it all from the photo's!

So ends the 1st week in Perth. We have hired a car and are heading down to the south west corner for the week tomorrow, taking in a wine tasting tour on our way. Life is tough!