Due South (and a little West)

Sydney and the skies above...

lex — Fri, 1 Feb 2008 04:17:00 GMT

Our flight arrived in Sydney on Sunday lunchtime, so after arriving at our hostel we headed down to Darling Harbour to find some lunch, before trawling around a selection of mountain stores in an attempt to try and find the last of our requirements for South America. Emma managed to get a thermorest and sleeping bag ready for our camping exploits, and I just made myself look pretty geeky with a whole host of technical sleeping bag questions I managed to pull out!!! (Well i had a really informative guy giving me the speel when I bought mine!!!) We spent the evening down by the Rocks, watching the mens tennis final on a big open air screen... it was a great atmosphere, and we could see both the Harbour bridge and the opera house from our position!!! Admittedly, there were a few occasions when I wondered if perhaps we might get lynched... we were surrounded by french people and appeared to be the minority for supporting Djokovic rather than Tsonga!!! (Well we´d seen him play live in Melbourne so we felt an allegiance!!)

Monday was a bank holiday so we caught the ferry across to Manly beach (with great photo opportunities for the bridge and opera house on the way!) for another relaxing day of sun, sand, sea... (not entirely sure how i´ll cope when I actually have to do work again!! The months of working every weekend seem a long, long way away now!!) For a change that evening we decided to cut back on our spending... so for the first time actually cooked in the hostel (and better still, even prepared ourselves a picnic lunch for the following day!!) Proud at our ability to budget - even if only occasionally - we went for a few laughs in the local bar... it was karaoke night!!! However, we actually managed to embarass ourselves enough with our limited pool playing ability, so we didn`t feel the need to make matters worse by singing!!

Tuesday was an early start for a day tour to the Blue Mountains... it was quite impressive.. we headed up to an outlook called Kings Tableland, which was great, and an opportunity to make the other people on our tour question our sanity with our slightly crazy poses for photographs!! We then had a short hike down to Wentworth Falls, before a quick lunch stop (time for our picnic!!) and a trip to an area called the Three Sisters (due to 3 pillars formed in the rock and an old Aboriginal storey regarding their creation)... here we took a cablecar down into the valley, before a short walk around and a `railway journey` back up - apparently the steepest railway in the world at 54degrees... not quite a rollercoaster but pretty close!! We were really lucky with the weather - it had been hot and clear all day, and as we prepared to travel back to the city, the heavens opened... and it actually started to hail!!! And hailstones like you couldn´t even imagine - absolutely huge!!! (Who says the sun always shines in Australia hey?!?)

Unfortunately, our budget lifestyle didn´t last, and we headed out for dinner and drinks at Darling Harbour!! (We´re counting on South America being REALLY cheap!! Or... er... we might be booking earlier flights home!!) The soft sands, warm water and rumoured shark nets of Bondi called us on Wednesday - it was awesome, not too crowded and perfect conditions - and we spent pretty much the whole day in the water!!

My last full day in Sydney was spectacular!!! With a little nudge from Emma I decided to go skydiving!!! It was awesome!! I managed to persuade one of the guys from our Blue Mountain tour to accompany me, jumping out the back of a plane at 14000 feet!! I have to admit, as we approached the base and got kitted up, I was feeling a little nervous!!! But whether it was the fumes from the plane engine, or just insanity... about 5 minutes before we boarded I just got slightly hyperactive and VERY excited, and sat grinning manically on the plane!!! (much to the unamusement of Steve, who was beginning to pallour and get nervous!!!)

When we reached 14000 feet, we had to stand up, attached to our instructor, and walk to the open hatch towards the back of the plane (this would have been fine, had my instructor not been about a foot shorter than me, and as we were attached, that required me to walk in a squat position - which is actually pretty hard work!! I did think that had we taken any longer to jump - he´d have been dragging me out purely because my legs would no longer have carried me!!!)

Once we jumped, we had about 8500 foot of freefalling before the parachute opened - a bizarre but awesome experience!!! (involving me smiling, waving and doing thumbs up at the camera constantly held in my face!!!) When my instructor had the parachute open, he offered me the chance to `take contol´ in order to orchestrate a few spiral turns to the left and right - great fun!! Then once back on the ground, a few of us went for lunchand celebratory drinks to compare stories... we were all still completely psyched!! Now i´m just looking forward to the next time!!!

Yesterday afternoon we just had a wander across the bridge to get some last views of the city, and Australia before our flight out to Santiago. It´s definitely with mixed feelings that I leave Australia... i´m so excited about South America and the adventures that lie ahead, and yet there´s still so much of Australia I haven´t seen yet!! Anyway... I will update you from Rio!!!

Good Neighbours... And Even Better Tennis...!!!

lex — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:15:00 GMT

Arriving in Melbourne I (as always... I need to pick my timing better!!) faced a rush hour struggle, with a tram, an increasingly huge rucksack and alot of commuters!!! Fun!!! Not to mention an awkward battle up a hill on disembarking the tram to get to our hostel (which was pretty nice - more a guest house really!!!) So it was with mixed emotions I greeted the train station right next door... happy as it would make my return journey into town later that evening an absolute breeze... and devestated I hadn´t known of its existence earlier!!!

The day after my arrival into Melbourne, Emma flew in from Cairns. We´d decided to break our stay up - a few days in the city and a few by the beach... therefore Emma´s first few nights we were staying in Richmond - a short walk across the park from the city centre and an ideal location for the Australian Open. It transpired that Richmond was home to a fantastic choice of Vietnamese restaurants, so Emma´s first night we decided to battle the masses (despite possibly having seemingly more restaurants than most Vietnamese cities, they were all absolutely rammed - presumably because of the tennis!!) and had a nice meal followed by a glass of wine.

The following morning we had a leisurely start, before heading across the park to the Rod Laver Arena and the quarter finals of the Australian Open! It was a fantastic day, watching Ana Ivanovic´s closely fought victory over Venus Williams and Novak Djokovic tear shreds out of David Ferrer. On wandering round some of the smaller courts, Emma was particularly happy that we got to see both Nadal and Federer training!!! We also saw the relatively unknown Tsonga (the eventual finalist) warming up... but randomly we were the only people watching him!! (Ahhh!!) That evening we ventured to the night market at Queen Victoria Markets, for some budget food (!) and a bit of shopping before meeting heading out to meet up with a few of my friends for drinks.

Thursday required more city centre sightseeing and er... a bit more shopping (maybe there´s a clue here somewhere why my bag feels so heavy?!?) before we headed out to our next hostel in St Kilda (by now, we even felt ready to survive the bus!) Other than the beach, St Kilda also has an array of cool bars and cafes, so that evening we met up with a few of Emma´s friends to explore them!!

Friday however, brought a ridiculously early start... for the Neighbours tour!!! (Well, we grew up with that show, it had to be done!!!) We visited Erinsbrough High, then some of the sets outside the studios such as Grease Monkeys and Carpenter´s Mechanics... before heading to Ramsay Street! Ramsay Street was completely surreal - you get a real feeling of de-ja-vu because it is so familiar, but its also just mad... it actually exists as a real street with real people living in it!!! And yet it is the exact street you see on TV - identical houses... its just bizarre!!! Our guide let us in on a few ´plot secrets´, we ´met a star´(!!!) and even got to watch some old-school episodes on the tour bus!!! Haha!!!

The afternoon was a different tour again!!! This time to Phillip Island to see the little penguins (again!!!) It was amazing though, sitting on a little board walk above the beach, watching hundreds of penguins... one group at a time, cautiously approach the shore, then eventually scuttling slowly across the beach and up into the dunes!! At times they were only feet away as they made their way back to their nests for the night!!!

Saturday was Australia Day, so after a lie in, we picked a cool cafe in St Kilda for brunch, before spending a relaxing afternoon on the beach, then heading to check out some of the celebrations, first by the docklands and then (via Nandos!!) to Federation Square, where there was some live music followed by fireworks... it was another fun day, but sadly our last in Melbourne... Sunday morning we were flying off to Sydney... :-(

The Great Ocean Road - less sun and surf, more North East England on a bad day!!!

lex — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:24:00 GMT

Our tour was meant to depart at 7am from the hostel... at about 7:15am, there was a phonecall to say it had been delayed for "at least 45 minutes"... unfortunately by this point it was too late to spend that time sleeping (:-() so instead I befriended the only two other people crazy enough to be up so early on a Saturday morning... who I correctly presumed were waiting for the same thing as me!!! Therefore, the next few hours were spent playing pool as we waited for the bus...

As we were making up for our late start, our first day was a little mad - basically just alot of driving (or sleeping for the majority of us!), interspersed with the occasional clamber on and off the bus, mainly for the purpose of eating or photography!!! That evening our group 'took over' a hostel in the Grampians, we cooked dinner and then were all pretty anti-social it has to be said, as we collapsed in front of the TV to watch tennis!

However, after a much required decent night's sleep, we woke early to complete a hike in the Grampians. The scenery was pretty awesome, although at the very highest point of our hike, the visability was shocking (so we admittedly had to rely on pictures to describe the exact view at this point!!!) After heading back to the bus (or in Es's case... sliding back to the bus!!) we headed off towards the Great Ocean Road (which is pretty self-descriptive in that it's the road which winds directly along the edge of the coast!). We arrived at the beach hut we were residing in that evening (in a small seaside resort), pretty early and therefore had about 4hours to waste before heading to the Twelve Apostles for sunset... the English contingent of our party were corrupted by the Dutch (although they might say it was the other way round!) and we sat on the veranda overlooking the beach, eating fajitas and having a few 'quiet' drinks before heading off for sunset on a rollercoaster mini-bus ride.

Although sunset was a little disapointing (the sun disappeared behind clouds a few minutes before it would have set!!) it was good to see the Apostles that haven't been beaten into shrapnel by the tide, before heading back to the village and the one existing bar.

Our final day, as we approached Melbourne, we saw some great beaches, lots more rock formations, ventured into the sea (briefly!! Despite my best efforts I couldn't persuade anyone else in my group to have much of a go - admittedly, there probably was risk of frost bite after 10 minutes or so it was sooo cold!!!) and partook in some tasty fish and chips for lunch (it really did seem like a day out at Whitley Bay!!!) At one point a few of us ventured for a short walk through an area of rain forest... short because we ran, and incase the foliage wasn't indicative of a rain forest... the weather was!!! Torrential!!!

As always, no tour would be complete without an end of tour night out, and it was a good excuse to explore Melbourne (by night!), therefore I let Becky and Es do a good job of corrupting me to party through until the early hours in some of Melbourne's er... finest establishments?!?

South Australia: The Road Less Travelled...

lex — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:00:00 GMT

In all my discussions with other backpackers since I've been out here, I'm yet to meet someone who has stayed in Adelaide more than 2days - it appears that most people just use it as a stop-off point between the Great Ocean Road and Uluru / Perth... Which is a shame, because I thought Adelaide was great!!!

One of the girls from my dorm the previous night in Alice, was not only on the same flight down to Adelaide as me, but also staying in the same hostel as me, so we decided to travel together... When we finally arrived in Adelaide and found our hostel (quite easy but could have been easier still had we got the right bus from the airport!!) we set out to explore. On first impressions Adelaide was nice, quite small, but pretty, with a river through the centre and lots of park areas. It had struck us both as we were coming into land how green it was (but then we had just arrived from desert scenery!!) After alot of wandering, Jess was desperate for a night out in Adelaide (I was shattered, but as always, was easily persuaded!!) Therefore we headed for food and then to find a bar... only to find that Adelaide, on a Monday night - is ridiculously quiet!!!

We finally found a bar that had... well... at least 5 people in it, where we befriended the barman and were persuaded to sample a few of his cocktails! At the end of his shift, a group of us went to play pool for a few hours before grabbing a 'subway' for breakfast, and heading to a good location to watch the sunrise over the city. All good! The following morning, Jess and I decided, after a few hours of aimless wandering and sightseeing (aka shopping), that it would only be fair to check out the popular beach suburb of Glenelg...which is where we spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing, before Jess befriended more locals who persuaded us that a trip to Adelaide would not be complete without a few drinks by the beach (so much for that early night!!) So... our guides insisted on showing us around until we were dropped back off at our hostel at about 5am ready for my tour to Kangaroo Island the next day.

I headed off to Kangaroo Island (obviously bright-eyed and bushy-tailed) and managed not to show too much alarm that the first stop on our tour was a brewery!!! ARGHHH!!! A few samples, lunch, a short hike, a choppy charter boat trip later... we arrived on the Island... to find the coldest night I'd experienced in Oz yet! I actually even wimped out of a swim in the sea when we arrived at our camping spot!!! BRRRRR!!!

Our tour guide for the trip was great.. really animated about everything he was showing us, and even better an excellent cook, so we found ourselves chopping up garlic and coriander around a bush stove whilst trying various 'Bush' spices... (I guess that there's no more excuses to associate camping with burnt burgers and cheese slices ever again!!) After dinner, we headed along the beach to watch the little penguins body surfing their way onto the beach and scrambling over the rocks to their nests in the dusk - very cute! After a few quiet drinks and an attempt to learn names of everyone in our group (10 or so of us), we camped out under the stars by the beach... can't complain really can you?!

The following day we made our way to Seal Bay, to observe some sealions (and a few pups) basking on the beach, before heading to 'Little Sahara' for some sandboarding action (excellent fun, but a: it's so much easier on snow, and b: when you wipe out on snow it's not so bad if you get a mouthful of the stuff!!) Covered in sand, we decided there was only one thing for it... forget the fact that it was cold outside and we were on the south side of the island - where the water feels like it comes straight from Antarctica... we went swimming!! After the initial shock wore off, it was amazing - we even had a fur seal come up and swim among us, showing off!! After defrosting and regaining sensation to our extremities, we spent the afternoon walking before heading back for another gourmet camp meal (!!) and an ecvening of karaoke, chatting and a game or two of pool.

Our third (and last) day on the island was spent spotting koalas (we were even treated to one clambering out of a tree and following us along the path - a rarity considering how much time they spend sleeping!!!) before a few group photos at spectacular points along the coast, more seals and sealions and a swim and snorkel (on the much warmer north shore!!) before lunch. The weather was fantastic.

We arrived back in Adelaide that evening and I met up with a few friends for a relaxed night before heading off along the Great Ocean Road the following morning... next stop Melbourne!!!

By the way... the German couple on our IKangaroo Island are responsible for this clip.... and I appologise in advance!!!

Bush Camping in the Outback (Seriously!!!)

lex — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:07:00 GMT

So, Thursday I arrived in Alice Springs... and the second I stepped off the plane, and felt my skin burning under 45degree heat (at 5pm!!!) I regretted it!!! Man... it was hot, and sandy, and my bag had managed to get soooo much heavier during my stay in Perth!!!

Luckily the hostel had a pool - where I spent the next two hours cooling down and making some friends... we decided to head into town to find a bar (equally therapeutic in the heat!!) and something to eat!!! Randomly, we decided to ask a local policeman directions to one of the bars... and ended up getting a lift in the back of his car!!! Crazy stuff!!! (We all had our photos taken in his hat!!!)

The next morning it was a SERIOUSLY early start (tho they did get worse!!)... we were off on an all singing, all dancing... proper BUSH CAMPING ADVENTURE!!! (I swear... I must be crazy!!!) My ex-boyfriend, who once tollerated a night in a mountain hut in Borneo, with me screaming everytime I imagined a cockroach crawling over me, would have died if he could have seen me camping out, under the stars, six hours drive from the nearest hospital... with only a sleeping bag to protect me from all those nasty crawling spiders and insects!!! Heehee - I even suprised myself!!! It was actually a great laugh - under the stars, a cool breeze, (and i don't know if it was the alcohol or the pure enjoyment of the situation that made me completely forget the bugs!!!) Maybe I'm just getting brave in my old age!!!

We headed up towards Ayres Rock - via a nightmare hiking trail round the Olgas (I think our guide was ready to give up on us - we'd had a few delays early in the morning due to the air conditioning in our van breaking down and arrived for this hike, mid-afternoon - it was sooo hot - and fearing the 9km hike the following morning... we winged and winged, having returned hot, bothered, and each having drunk 2litres of water in the space of 45minutes!!!)

This was followed by a few glasses of champagne with crackers and dip as we watched the sunset over Ayres Rock... admittedly the sparkling wine was drunk from plastic glasses - but hey, it adds to the experience!!!

The second morning we got up at 4am!!! But it was neccesary in order to not only watch the sunrise, but also to complete a 9km hike around the base of Ayres Rock before 9am and it got too hot!!! After visiting the Aboriginal cultural centre and finding out more of their history and beliefs, we started towards Kings Canyon - and our second night out under the stars! This time, we were closer to a main campsite - so we all made full use of the pool (disgustingly dirty - but when its that hot - you don't even notice!!!) before driving up to our private camp, to sit under the stars, eat dinner, drink beer, and discuss the likelihood of being eaten by a dingo in our sleep!!! (Apparently not that likely - but we were warned to hide our shoes and other belongings to prevent the dingos stealing them through the night!!!)

Unfortunately, our night of drinking and dingo watching (yep - they do exist and yep - they were meters away as we sleeped!!!) was followed by another 4am start and another long hike - through Kings Canyon... it was great!! (And followed by a return to the pool whilst we cooked up lunch on the bbq!) Then our return to Alice...

We decided no trip would be complete without a big end of tour celebration... therefore we headed out to dinner, then for drinks, and then our lovely guide decided it would only be fair to show us 'skanky mankys'!!! (Or somethin like that!!) - the late night spot in Alice, which occupied us well into the early hours, before sad goodbyes and flights to various locations around the country!!!

For me it was on to Adelaide... and I promise I will try and fill you in on the exploits there ASAP (Its difficult due to lack of opportunity to use the internet on these expeditions - hence why i'm running so far behind!!!)

Gallery: West Coast

lex — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:25:00 GMT

More Diving... More Penguins... More (Almost) Getting Lost...!!!

lex — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:57:00 GMT

I spent my second to last day in Perth back on Rottnest Island (home to our cycling exploits of Boxing day). Luckily, this time it wasn't 44degrees!!! I went out on a dive boat for the day.

The divemaster buddyed me up with a really nice Irish girl (missed out on buddying the fit Australian - think the female dive instructor already had her eyes on him!!! haha!) Anyway, it was great... although two problems presented themselves - the instructor was happy just to give us a briefing and let us head off by ourselves... which is great, but the first time I'd done that which was a little nerve wracking!! Secondly, my partner only had 3 more dives under her belt than me - so wasn't terribly confident either!!! That in itself isn't an issue - we've both dived recently, know what we're doing, if we surface and need help the boat skipper would rescue us - fine. The problem lies when you get into the water, head off looking at your coral and fish, concentrating on all your diving stuff - and suddenly think - WHEN was the last time I used a compass?!? Hmmm... well, for me, I knew fine well that my last compass use was up some mountain in Snowdonia for Gold Duke of Edinburgh in high school... and we became pretty friendly with the mountain rescue team that night!!! ARGHH!!! (For the record - that was the pants weather, my orienteering used to be pretty good!!!) But I really didn't have much of a clue 15meters below water!!!

As i'm sure you realise from the fact that I lived to tell the tale - we found the boat (but had a bit of a swim!!!), and on our afternoon dive - which was great - we formed a more logical approach to our underwater exploring!!!

Today was spent (somehow without hangover despite being up til 2am playing Nintendo and table tennis!) back on Penguin Island - this time, we decided to kayak out there and explore the island from the water!!! It was great fun - I've sea-kayaked before but generally always with someone stronger than me in the back to enable me to cheat a little!!! This time we were equal weaklings... but actually managed fine (right up until 2minutes before we had to return the kayak when suddenly the current decided it would be funny to insist on pushing us away from our intended landing point to ensure we had to lug a very heavy kayak back up the beach at the end!!!) All good fun!!! We then headed off to Kings Park back in Perth for a wander before I finished my packing!!!

Anyway, I'm off to Alice Springs tomorrow, for a few days roughing it - sleeping out in the bush in the open air (with all the snakes!!! errr...) on my way to Ayres Rock... gonna be interesting!!!

Shy Dolphins And Very Cute Penguins!!!

lex — Mon, 7 Jan 2008 00:19:00 GMT

Well, after New Year I embarked on a fly-by trip down the West Coast, South of Perth - this time only covering 1000km - so much milder than my exploits before Xmas!

Headed off towards Margaret River - a wine making region but for once not the focus of my visit!!! Headed down to Cape Leeuwin, mainly because a friend who'd travelled the West Coast before instructed me that I HAD to get a picture of me where the Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean meet!!! (Haha... very poor excuse, I know, but she'd also said the scenery was great so I felt it was justified!!!) It was an impressive stretch of coastline - cragged rocks and aggressive waves... perfect for a miss-timed photo of me trying not to topple backwards into the ocean 'Harold Bishop' style!!!

Further up the coast we reached the famed Margaret River - unfortunately not with enough time to do the 'Bush Tucker Canoe Trip' which sounded like great fun!!! Gutted!!! Although probably a lucky escape as i'm not entirely sure how much of the bush-tucker grubs (yep - just like on 'I'm a Celebrity' - URGHHH!!!) would have been suitable for a vegetarian!!! (Although I would have had sooo much fun laughing at the meat-eaters!!!) The town was nice, and the beaches looked awesome (admittedly - this seems to be a recurring theme in Australia so I appologise for repeating myself!!!) We saw one or two of the huge limestone caves around the area aswell.

Bussleton was our next stop - a town that has a wooden (and slightly wobbly!!) jetty, which is 2km long!!! At the very far end of the jetty is an underwater observatory. The bizarre thing was - apparently there is normally a little train running along the jetty for the elderly / infirm / plain lazy, but it was off the day of our visit - which is a shame as I would love to have known how the rickety little jetty withstood some sort of train travelling on it!!! Crazy!!! I even overheard a few young kids telling their parents that it was 'far to dangerous to be walking on'!!! An over-exaggeration, but I still struggle to envisage that train!!!

Bunberry was where we had the opportunity to swim with some rather shy dolphins!!! (We saw loads following the boat closely, swimming, jumping, diving... but when we were in the water they weren't overly keen on interacting!!!) Admittedly, I'm not suprised... our guide from the Dolphin Conservation Center encouraged us to 'entertain the dolphins'... to duck dive, dance and sing in the water... As our group were from all over the place - we had to find a song that everyone knew the lyrics to... And frankly, I have to admit, if I was a dolphin, I too would probably be pretty reluctant to get to close to a bunch of loonies jumping around in the water singing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat'!!! But the snorkelling was great fun, even from a distance!!!

Last stop - Penguin Island, where loads of 'little penguins' live!!! The smallest breed of penguin (could you have guessed it from the name?!)they were very cute!!! There is nothing on the Island other than the conservation centre, a few good beaches, great snorkelling, and lots of wildlife, but it's quite close to the mainland, so we opted to wade across rather than catch the little ferry - quite good fun, especially for me - as the tallest I found great amusement in watching the others descend to chest height in water!!! (Although it was calm enough and warm enough to swim, so we weren't too concerned - did however hear a small child talking about the 'shark attack on the sand bar' - hoped they were just joking!!!)

Anyway... only a few days left in Perth now, which is quite sad... I've had so much fun... but i'm sure the rest of my adventures will be great... and my sister will probably be relieved to have her house back, minus house guest and alot tidier without me!!!

New Year With Memory-Inhibited Turtles and Razor-Toothed Sharks!!!

lex — Wed, 2 Jan 2008 01:42:00 GMT

This was my first New Year out of the UK... and the first New Year in well over 10 years spent doing family things!!! I've never been a big fan of New Year at the best of times - too many over anticipated nights and too much over planning!!! Therefore, I normally spend new year with a few close friends and (generally) alot of wine!!! As last year proved- the nights you expect to be pants always turn out to be the best!!!

So this year, I put no expectations on it at all - and honestly, each day (especially when its all so damn hot and unseasonal... is it just me who associates cold and snow with Xmas / New Year?!?) just rolls into each other!!!

Which - I think - is how on New Year's Eve, I ended up in a big pool of water with several very large, very toothy sharks, several sting rays - each wider than my outstretched arm span, and several logger-head turtles... Now (if i'm honest) the whole event occured within the boundaries of an aquarium - theoretically pretty safe - I mean, it wouldn't look good if people were getting eaten left, right and centre... Right?!? Or so I told my doubting (and slightly piss-taking) family who were relieved to only be taking photos from the other side of a VERY THICK pane of glass / plastic!!! So, I didn't let myself get too nervous - until I spoke to one of the other divers - way more experienced than me, but convinced she was about to be on the wrong side of the dinner table... ARGHHHHHHHH!!!!

My mood was not improved by the divemaster, who (and I know he was just joking!!!) decided to tell me it wasn't the sharks I should be worried about - it was the logger-head turtles... Apparently these turtles have poor eyesight, therefore tend to work on 30second flash memory - and therefore tend to swim into things... but also (according to this very sympathetic chap, they feed on jellyfish - something which my blonde hair, when wet, might resemble!!!) I've always prided myself on spotting sarcasm and mis-formed wit, so I had a giggle and forgot about the turtles (yep - the same turtles that may take healthy chunks out of the back of my neck in an attempt to get the jellyfish floating around it... heehee!!!)

...Until of course, within 30 seconds of getting in the water, I glanced up to see a massive (metre wide honestly!!!) turtle - swimming (VERY FAST!!!) right at my head!!! Haha... it was probably a coincidence (although I have since found out that logger-head turtles REALLY DO feast on jellyfish!!!) but the look on my face is priceless (my sister caught the moment on video - followed by another look of possibly even more panic as a huge sting ray dives past my ear!!!)

It was a pretty awesome experience, even if I did live to tell the tale - and the sharks were huge!!! (Although obviously pretty well fed!!!)

That evening consisted of a night out in Northbridge - an area of Perth with lots of restaurants and bars... and come new years eve - a huge street party!!! All good!!! There were a few bands playing on a couple of stages that had been set up, and a really good atmosphere - it was a good crack actually - although admittedly I had no idea who ANY of the bands were!!! (Suprising?!?)

New Years Day was awesome aswell - we went to a wildlife park in Perth - pretty average you might think... and yeah, it was - appart from the Kangaroos!!!! (Luckily I don't know any Australians, because they'd probably think I was absolutely crazy for this response - after all, these creatures are probably about as common as a cow or rabbit back home - you know, something you see all the time, don't find particularly remarkable or unusual - and i'm also pretty sure you could get the opportunity to pet / feed them all ver the place aswell!!!) But to me - they were awesome - so cute - especially the little Joeys - one of which was so spindly he kept falling over his own feet, and pulling the most gorgeous expressions!!! Then the bigger kangaroos - all desperate to get food out of your hand - at one point I had three of them fighting over me - jumping up to beg for food!!! Heehee - I may be easily pleased but it was great fun!!!

Anyway, off down the west coast south of perth for a few days so will update soon!!!

Gallery: Shark Dive

lex — Tue, 1 Jan 2008 12:13:00 GMT

Wine, Chocolate and a few Freaks... (another) day of indulgence!!!

lex — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 19:00:00 GMT

As it was Emma's last day in Perth yesterday (she's off to Sydney and up the East coast before our paths cross again in Melbourne in a couple of weeks) - we decided it had to be a day of pure Western Australian indulgence (and thought we'd work on our connoisseur skills ready for the Chilean Vineyards!!) As a result we spent the day on a 'booze cruise' (Sorry - the Swan Valley Wine Experience!!)

At 9.45am (never to early to start?!?) we headed up the Swan River on a boat, sampling cheese and biscuits (yes... accompanied by a few glasses of wine!!) on our way to a local Vineyard for lunch. Lunch was followed by more sampling... (by this point we were getting pretty good at detecting both peachy and blackberry flavours!!) and then onto another Vineyard!!! This (although the wine was hard to beat!!) was followed by our favourite part!!! The Margaret River Chocolate Factory!!! Heehee!!! Possibly with fewer inhibitions than usual, we made sure we had enough of the free samples to get a fair representation of the errmm... quality...!! Hmmmm... the coating of melted chocolate on our hands said it all!!! (Honestly... we sound like a pair of 5 year olds hey?!? Big kids in a sweet shop!!)

Anyway, as great as the wine and chocolate were... we were actually pretty reserved (honest!!) This was due to two things... firstly, we were having so much fun laughing at some of the other English people on the boat (who were ABSOLUTELY WASTED - but still managing to have a good dance the entire trip back down the river!!!) and secondly, we'd promised ourselves a night out in Fremantle...

Therefore (with Andrea having to do a bit of catching up!!) the three of us headed out into the night... in search of a few good bars, some decent music and lots of fun!!! It was a good night - made even more amusing by the characters we met!!! In fairness, everyone was really friendly - but our favourite had to be the Australian guy who described an area of his home town - Melbourne (infact, the same area in which Emma and I had literally just booked a hostel) as "cool - like Fremantle but dirtier... really arty, druggie, prostitutey!!!" hmmmm... really selling it!!! Anyway.. the night was a success... though i'm pretty sure that collecting us in the early hours - and hearing our 'lively' tales of debauchery - Gareth was glad he hadn't joined us!!!

Tonight, minus Emma, we're off to check out another area of Perth - Subiaco. I'm currently toying with ideas on where to grab food - in a suburb of such good restaurants can i really give into my cravings for Nandos hot sauce?!?

Xmas Day - Australian Style!!!

lex — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:30:00 GMT

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! It's been a crazy one here!!! Emma arrived from New Zealand on Sunday night, so Christmas Eve we went into Fremantle (a kind of funky, young area with lots of cool shops, restaurants and bars!!!) - for some last minute Xmas shopping and an explore!!! (I hadn't actually even started my Xmas shopping so it really was last minute!!! Should have paid attention back in August when the sensible people did theirs!!!) So our shopping trip was uneventful - I made a lame attempt at getting some budget presents, we picked up a few small bits for our South America adventures from Fremantle market, and then decided it would only be fair to pay a cool bar-come-brewery a visit!!! Our drinks made the grade... Fremantle is great!!!

Christmas day arrived - 38 degrees... hot - but we survived the beach!! (well... it had to be done!!!) Headed down early, which was a god job as it was packed!!! Even the journey to the beach was bizarre... for someone who back home has travelled half the M1 on Xmas day and barely seen another car... a 10 minute ride to the beach that you could mistake for rush hour was totally mad!!! After doing the typical 'Brit in Oz' thing of writing Merry Xmas in the sand then queing up to take our photos next to it, we had a chilled few hours, swimming and sunbathing... before heading home (via the icecream shop... an adventure in itself... they even had 'christmas pudding' flavour... although I avoided that!!!)

Xmas dinner (keeping with the apparent true oz experience was a 'barbie' - shrimp of course!!!) then a relaxing evening around the pool!!! I had made an amazing discovery earlier in the week - cheesecake shops!!! Wow! Therefore instead of the usual christmas cake / pudding (though I was sad to miss out on the brandy sauce!!) we sampled a selection of cheesecakes until we all felt a little sick!!!

Boxing day... we were a little over zealous!!! We had planned to visit Rottnest Island, an amazing island of (more) white beaches and clear oceans which is a short boat trip from Perth, in order to explore, cycle, swim and snorkel!!! Sounds great hey?!? It was... but it would have been soooo much better had boxing day not been the hottest December day ever on record for Perth... (44.2 degrees!!!) To say that the 15km cycle was hard... would be an understatement!!! To make matters worse Emma and I (how we are going to survive the next 3 months is beyond me!) had slightly underestimated our water requirements!!! We were therefore forced to ration out occasional drops of water for the second half of the cycle!! (OOOOPPS!!) Regardless, the beaches were great, and the sea - after all that cycling... ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!!!

Anyway... here's hoping that your christmas was as fun filled... and we'll fill you in with the Adventures from Perth soon!!! First... we're having a well earned glass of wine and Chinese!!! (Typical Boxing Day fare then?!? - Like I say the whole Xmas thing is totally 'different' out here!!!)

Emus, Kangaroos and Goats... A Wildlife Suicide Mission!!!

lex — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 09:40:00 GMT

The road trip back to Perth was taken pretty slowly, primarily to allow us to experience many of the amazing national parks and small coastal towns on the way, but also due to the roads...

The roads were pretty monotonous - hour after hour of single lane dusty roads - with a few bushes breaking up the endless red sand from place to place... and absolutely no other break in scenery than the occasional petrol station (one every 150km or so!!) Apart from my Ipod (and of course the learn spanish set!!), the only thing that made the drive more exciting was the occasional wildlife you'd see... often squished across the road, but occasionally still alive!!! Emus, kangaroos, weird ant-eater type looking creatures, and of course goats... Now, how a goat can survive in such bone-dry conditions is beyond me, and it may be a consequence of living with the kind of water shortages only designed for camels, that results in each and every goat you see grazing by the side of the road - making a beeline for the wheels of the car as you approach!!! Australia may be known for the poisonous spiders and snakes which live there - but I swear, it's also home to the most suicidal goats in the world aswell!!!

Our first stop on the route back was Coral Bay for some snorkelling... the coral starts about 20m off the beach and we were obviously all feeling much more confident that we weren't going to end up as shark's dinner by this point!!! For this reason its probably a good thing that we hit Coral Bay before Shark Bay!!! Shark Bay is primarily known for Monkey Mia, where for the last 40+ years, a family of dolphins come right into the shore to be fed each morning. The dolphins were pretty cool - two of them had little calves with them - very cute!!! Now, bearing in mind that i'm blonde... the name Shark Bay didn't strike any fear - I just thought it was a cool name!!! My second warning sign was when one of the baby dolphins had huge fresh wounds across it's back, where a shark had attacked it a few days earlier... However it wasn't until that afternoon, when we took a racing catamaran out for a sail in the bay, and the skipper mentioned that there were 400 tagged tiger sharks (and i'm positive they're the ones with big teeth and not smiling!!!) in the bay alone!!! AHHHHH!!! That was DEFINITELY the end of my swimming for the day!!!

Our next stop was Kalbarri National Park - as we approached it was obvious we were getting further south by the presence of water in river beds, and vegetation that was beginning to look more alive!!! Kalbarri was an area of deep gorges and rivers - it looked amazing and the only thing that wasn't enjoyable about it was the presence of large spiders and fear of snakes lurking in each crevice of the rock face!!! (Andrea and Gareth have perpetuated my fear of all things 8 legged by telling me about spiders that hide under toilet seats - this has resulted in mental turmoil every time I go to the toilet... should I check for a hairy creature under the seat or remain oblivious?!? I think that for someone who is terrified of an average house spider in the UK... I probably picked the wrong trip!!!)

Our last stop on the route back to Perth was the Pinnacles Desert - hundreds of limestone pillars towering over a sandy desert... definitely quite bizarre to look at!!! Then it was back on the road for the final leg of our journey!!!

Emma arrives in Perth tonight from New Zealand, which should be great, and this afternoon i'm heading into Fremantle... I think the only way to really get a feel for a place is to explore a local bar or two (heehee!!!) before heading back to my sister's place to chill in the pool!!!

It's meant to be 38 degrees on Xmas day - so i'm not sure how long we'll be able to tollerate the beach!!! (But apparently it's REALLY cold in the UK - so I guess I shouldn't complain too much!!! Heehee!!!) Anyway... Merry Christmas... have a good one and i'm sure i'll update you on our exploits in Perth over the holiday period!!!

Sharks and Stingrays... A Welcome to Australia!!!

lex — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 08:20:00 GMT

I arrived into Perth on Sunday morning... and frankly, was a little disapointed!!! It was warm, but grey, and even threatening rain!!! Not quite England... but still - not what I anticipated of Xmas in Australia!!! Monday morning (not solely due to the weather!!!) we were early to rise... and on a plane again!!! This time, my flight was slightly more local, taking me 1300km up the west coast to a place called Ningaloo Marine Park.

So Australia is well known for being the most poisonous country in the world... they are home to the most deadly snakes, jellyfish, fish, spiders... and well... pretty much anything else you can think of!!! When we finally arrived at Ningaloo, desperate for some of the promised beautiful deserted white beaches, clear turquoise waters, and a selection of coral and exotic looking fish to (apparently) rival the Great Barrier Reef, we did a pretty good job of finding exactly that... Therefore you can imagine my reaction... stood on a picture-perfect beach (the five of us and no one else in sight for miles), wading knee deep in warm crystal waters... snorkel in hand... about to dive in... when suddenly I start to spot large fish just a few feet away in the water... then the sand starts to smudge and a 'ray' drifts past!!! Now, not being a marine expert... (or really having much of a clue at all!!!), i'm pretty confident that the sharks are just harmless - I'm sure I've heard people talk of 'reef sharks' or something?!? And i'm pretty sure that they are just 'mantra rays'... but then I don't know what a 'mantra ray' or a 'sting ray' looks like - I was however, pretty confident that I didn't want to accidentally stand on either!!!

Needless to say... at this point the dream of a deserted beach is becoming less and less appealing!!! (If there was ANYONE around who looked even slightly confident in the water... you'd have more faith that you weren't about to die a slow and painful death!!! Or even a swift and painful death!!!) However, in the absence of anyone else in the sea or on the beach... I spent the rest of the afternoon observing the dark shapes from the relative safety of the shore!!! And my first stop on the way back to the appartment - to buy some reef shoes (now I can stand anywhere - or at least with slightly less fear!!!)

Tuesday, I headed out on a dive boat to discover the underwater with some safety in numbers!!! Having not scuba dived in a couple of years, I was slightly nervous entering the water - more trying to remember everything i'd been taught before - ermmm... exactly how do you control your buoyancy / clear your ears / avoid swallowing gallons of water?!? Luckily... my memory got a kick start after the first mouthful of salt water... and it all came 'flooding' back!! I did however, have to put up with my divemaster buddying me up with a very handsome blonde guy... you'll be glad to here I survived that without any problem!!! (Although was a tad dissapointed that his hair took on a slight ginger appearance 12m underwater!!!)

Three dives later... I was back in my stride... and even a little gutted (obviously feeling much braver by this point!!!) not to have seen any sharks!!! But the giant turtles, fish of every colour under the rainbow, lively reef... all made up for it!!!

So... then for the first leg of the major road trip back to Perth...

In my experience of road trips... there are two main things I've learnt: A) Road trips of this size should be kept to small numbers - 2 or 3 people max... and under no circumstances should 3 people ever be cramped into a back seat together!!! Primarily because the backseat in such situations is designed for the drying of beach towels, shorts and bikinis - but also because in the heat of failing air conditioning... you become overcome by a desire to regress 20 years... and suddenly you're a small child, desperately wanting to elbow your neighbour and whine 'you've crossed onto my side!!!' B) Regardless of location - Californian Highways or Australian dirt tracks - on any long road trip, you can guarentee a lack of CDs - you just never think of it until you're on the road and... then, damn - no decent tunes!!! The other unfortunate problem is that suddenly every decent radio station disappears into the dust and heat... and you're stuck with a channel that makes you feel like you have slipped back in time half a century... hmmmm....

All this considered, you'd have to wonder how the week has been so much fun!!!

Gallery: Japan 2007

lex — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:42:00 GMT

Tokyo, Kamakura, Kyoto, Hakone and Fuji San... and even more Tokyo!!!

Shinjuku... not your average `night doon the toon`!!!

lex — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 19:45:00 GMT

So the place i`m staying in Tokyo this time round is SOOO random!!! Kind of a cross between a hostel and a capsule hotel (where everyone piles into little cubbyhole type compartments 4footx4footx8foot - all lined up side by side and on top of each other - designed primarily to fit as many drunk japanese business men, who`ve missed the train home, in as possible!!!) Anyway... this place doesn`t have any drunk japanese business men - but there are 9 floors - and 28 cubbyhole style beds in my dorm alone!!! I chose a hostel near Shinjuku this time round (again, an area recommended in the brief notes provided by Sarah Jane`s husband as an area with decent bars and restaurants and a lively vibe!!!) I figured if its close enough for a walk home... it saves the 12 or 5 dilema!!!

I`ve met a nice girl from Argentina who i`m going out drinking with tonight. My initial thought was yea - a chance to practice my Spanish!!! Until I realised that I`d be completely stuck after the first three lines of conversation... my memory is going a little - time to get the Learn Spanish CD I downloaded onto my Ipod going I think!!! (Or Bolivia is going to be seriously hard work!!!) Therefore, I`m conducting all conversations in English tonight!!!

Anyway... spent today out of Tokyo in Hakone national park, close to the base of Mount Fuji... I`d left what to do when I got there to the weather - it was between spending the day relaxing in hot springs, or more sightseeing of the area!!! It was sunny so... the hot springs will have to wait!!!

The Hakone area is a little over done on the tourist front - I suppose because it`s the area of `Fuji San` accessible on a day trip out of Tokyo... there was a very obvious route, consisting of a little train which snakes up into the mountains, a funnicular, a cable car, a boat trip and finally a bus back to the starting point!!! (Not too over organised then!!!) The highlight of the trip, other than the views of Mount Fuji behind the one cloud in the sky(!!), were some geysers based at Owakudani Gorge (Great Boiling Valley). The air full of sulphurous gas, water bubbling through cracks in the rocks, it was great... I was however a little confused by the "tradition of the black egg" - they sold black eggs by the geyser, and apparently eating one adds 7years of longetivity to your life!!! I`ve never been particularly keen on eggs, having only just come round to their role as a hangover cure after years of not eating them, so hard boiled black eggs really didn`t appeal...!!! Never one to be left out though, I consumed the egg along with all the Japanese tourists... all I can say is that it`d better be a good 7 years!!!

Anyways I`m off out but hopefully i`ll find some time to finish this final entry from Japan in the airport lounge tomorrow night... first... a night out in Shinjuku!!!

So... a night out in Shinjuku... wow!!! Was out with Laura, the Argentinian, and Derek an American guy currently working in Bombay!!! Shinjuku is crazy... a mix of huge amusement arcades full of Japanese guys in suits playing on pinball machines (which Derek decided there is absolutely no technique to other than feeding money in... and never seeing it again!!!) next to bars, restaurants, strip clubs, massage parlours, and karaoke bars. We found a little area called the `Golden Gate`... it consisted of a few little narrow streets of ramshackle two storey buildings and had been recommended to Laura by a friend of a friend. There were possibly a hundred or so tiny bars - most only big enough to seat 6 or 7 people, some named, other just closed wooden doors behind which you could hear the faint noise of music and Japanese voices... We decided we had safety in numbers, and ventured into an unnamed place though a slightly adjar door... Although suprised to see tourists, they pulled up an extra chair and welcolmed us in - finding delight in the fact that there was an Argentinian amongst us, the one guy who spoke English had to translate for the others who all wanted to comment on recent performances of `Bocca Juniors`!!!

Following a taste or two of Japanese beer... we proceded to find other less touristy places to drink and snack, before at 3am - were forced with the decision - Karaoke or home?!? Laura was keen on the singing, and although noone should ever have to hear my lack of musical tallent, another drink would probably have persuaded me otherwise!!! Luckily for Tokyo, Derek decided karaoke was not a good plan... and we headed home after an awesome night of fun and good conversation... On the route home we got stopped by 5 Japanese policemen who showed displeasure at us `jay walking` a red night (no cars visible for miles!!!)... luckily we resisted the VERY STRONG urge to laugh (otherwise i`d probably be finishing this entry from a police cell!!!) and after a confusing few minutes of us appologising in English, the policemen talking sternly to us in Japanese, mixed with the occasional uttering of `red light` in English... we bowed our heads and backed away... trying to supress the giggles until out of ear shot!!!

So my final day in Tokyo was spent absorbing the atmosphere in Shibuya and Harajuku... trying to avoid blowing any more of my budget by shopping!!! Harajuku is crazy - parts of it upmarket, cool clothes stores, and the other part a `teen fashion hub` with young Japanese punk / rock style shops and shoppers... Its fascinating to see!!!

Anyway, I have a flight to catch, but I`ll be sad to leave Japan - once you work out how the basics work its pretty easy going!!! But more adventures lie ahead... Laura was ammused at the thought of me finding Veggie food in South America (if I thought Japan was hard!!!) but advised me that in Buenos Aires the steaks(!!!) are amazing... but as is apparently all the Italian food (Ahhh... one South American city I`ll be eating in then!!!) And now at least I have someone to show myself and Emma the highlights of the Argentinian night life... oh, and Emma... if you`re reading this - be prepared, apparently the BA club scene doesn`t even get started til 4am!!! Can`t wait....!!!

Kyoto - more than just dodgy back street restaurants!!!

lex — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:45:00 GMT

So, I was a little apprehensive about Kyoto based on two things

a) its the third largest city in Japan and honestly, Tokyo (number 1!!!) terrified me initially!!!

b) when I arrived at the hostel, they handed me a "backpackers map of Kyoto" - there was something to see on every street corner!!! Where to start?!?

I need not have worried - armed with my 500yen `all day rider` bus pass (2pounds - remember those days?!?) I was sent off into the unknown... still terrified!!! Having finally come to terms with trains and subways - I just wasn`t sure I was ready to face buses!!! (I envisaged trying to describe where I wanted to be, the driver having no idea what I was on about, me missing stop after stop...!!!) Luckily, Kyoto and its public transport system has been designed specifically for dumb tourists just like me!!! They hand you a pretty awesome map detailing all of the bus routes, all of the tourist sights, and better still... there`s an automated message in English telling you which the next stop is (and it flashes up on a display at the front of the bus - for those of us not quite sure of the pronounciation of the stop we`re looking for!!!) Pretty much fool proof!!

Next problem - with two days... hundreds of sights... how do I work out which ones to see?!? Ermmm... well, of the 20 or so listed in the guide book I had, it described about 10 of them as the top rated - problem solved, we`d concentrate on those!!!

Kyoto was brilliant... some excellent temples - all really old - often dating back to at least the 16th century (admittedly, as alot were built from wood, they`d burnt down a few times over the years, but apparently have been rebuilt as replicas of the originals...) Another big thing were the `zen gardens` - often REALLY just consisting of a few rocks, raked sand, occasionally a tree or two (one was even made of moss...) but they all have specific meanings if you want to read into them... completely different!!! Again, from the point of the more traditional Japanese gardens, those of the temples, Nijo Castle or the Imperial Palace, I probably am here at the wrong time of year... but even with the impending winter, they are good. The Imperial Palace (where the Emporer has official functions etc) was a really odd one - you have to request permission for entry from the "Imperial Household Agency" - show your passport, fill in an application form... only for the girl behind the desk to barely glance at you or it, stamp your form et voila... entry for the tour!!!

I loved Kyoto though, slightly easier than Tokyo in that everything is so much slower (always good!!) and so much to do!!! The hostel was a bit smaller and the communal areas weren`t great which meant it was harder to meet people - but as it was a whirlwind tour I　was pretty much out of spare time anyway!!!

So Bullet train back to Tokyo for me...

CAUTION: Japanese hiking trails - not suitable for grannies with pushchairs...

lex — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:55:00 GMT

So last night ventured into Roppongi (kind of a mad bar / club area - a bit like the bigg market but without the fighting!!!) with a guy from Belgium i`d met earlier in the day... It was quite a good crack, although possibly not traditional Japanese fare - Belgian beer and mussels - though in my defence I did eat the mussels with chop sticks!!! No mean feat!!!

Anyway, saw the sights (and a few bars) but decided to venture home on the last subway (i`d been warned by a few of the people from the hostel that unless you shed out a WHOLE LOT for a taxi, you either had to leave at midnight - or stay out til 5AM when the subway restarts!!! As I had a busy day planned today - I thought i`d better play it safe!!!

So, this morning was pretty early to rise - mainly due to residual jet lag and a very loud snorer in my dorm... Unfortunately with my bag packed, ready to store at Tokyo station, I hit rush hour (AGAIN!!) - and had to just watch train after train pass with no chance in hell of me or my bag getting on!!! The locals are more daring - they just pile in, noses squashed up against the glass, sweat dripping from the ceiling...!!! I actually saw 5 guards pushing 2 girls who were intent on getting on a full train (despite the next one only being 30 seconds behind!!) into the train - as in physically shoving them in, inch by inch!!! They`re all mad!!!

Eventually arrived at my bag drop - found a locker - and yea - freedom!!! (Unfortunately later wished i`d concentrated harder on exactly where the locker was - when I discovered there were lots of locker areas - all pretty similar in appearance - and all in far flung areas dotted around this ABSOLUTELY HUGE station... needless to say it took a good 30 min to find my bag at the end of the day!!! DUH!!!)

And thus, empty handed I embarked on an adventure to Kamakura!!! About and hour out of the city, and thanks to Sarah-Jane`s husbands hand-drawn map and recommendation - I finally found some decent temples, shrines and gardens!!! It was great, well worth the journey!!! Kamakura escaped quite well during the war, so although alot of the old buildings had required structural work after the 1923 earthquake, they were all pretty untouched since. The gardens were unreal - not bad for the middle of winter!!! One of the temples required you to pass through a cave to access it - completely different to the modern ones in Tokyo.

And then to the hiking... as opposed to getting the train a few stops - I decided to take a short-cut across some hiking trail I saw marked on the map! (I should have thought twice based purely on Cath`s `introduction to hiking` weekend in the lakes, but, I honestly thought it`d be a pretty easy stroll!!!) But no, like Conniston, it wasn`t suitable for Grannies with pushchairs or 3-legged dogs (although in fairness I did see a few Grannies - without pushchairs - attempting not to fall down steep tree-root `steps`!!!) In fairness, I`m probably exagerating a little, but dressed (at least with appropriate footwear) in jeans, a jumper, pashmina and ski jacket, with no water, not to mention alone and at times not seeing anyone for a good 15minutes - I did begin to wonder if it was the most sensible idea i`d ever had!!! Ah well, at least i`m starting the preparation for all my South American trekking!!!

Anyway, it was a pretty good day, and this evening I caught the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto - which I`ll hopefully explore tomorrow. The highlight of Kyoto so far has been the dodgy backstreet restaurant (if you could call it that!) where I had dinner... I was actually really suprised by how good the food was - i`d optted for veggie stuff rather than seafood just to avoid ANY chance of food-poisoning!!! However, after a while, I began to recognise the `slightly odd` taste to my rice - and suspect that what i`d thought were mushrooms - were actually little bits of meat!!! AHHH!!! Somehow, I don`t think its the last time that`ll happen this trip - and I made myself feel better about the whole episode by recovering my tastebuds - with chocolate!!! (I felt I deserved it!!!)

Anyway, it`s getting late and I have a busy day tomorrow - will update soon!!!

Wiser and Braver - the key to navigation and eating!!!

lex — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:55:00 GMT

Haha... im obviously seriously bored if im updating this thing again!!! Or Japanese tv just aint that appealing!!!

(I appologise in advance for the lack of punctuation - this keyboard is absolutely screwed, and having spent forever last night just working out where to find the English characters, I aint spending all of this evening working out where the correct punctuation marks are hidden!!!)

So... (relatively) early to rise this morning - and out to brave the rail and subway system - in rush hour!!! But, despite the blonde hair - I suceeded!!! Yea!!! Although rush hour is crazy!!! So millions of people commute into Tokyo from the suburbs everyday on the rail system - its mad, imagine the tube but much, much worse!!! As youre waiting to board, more and more people pile off, and when you think theyre done... nope -they just keep coming!!! (And still its totally packed when you finally start to board on!!!) I have just given up following maps when im navigating the road system - its easier just to wander and eventually you find a station or something big with which to orientate yourself!!! One of the things that I dont advise using to orientate yourself with in Tokyo though - is the Tokyo Tower - reportedly 3 meters bigger than the Eiffel tower - its completely invisable till youre a block away!!! (Which I find totally odd - mebe i was just much shorter last time i was in Paris - but im sure i remember the Eiffel tower being HUGE.. and visible?!? Like i say... it was a long time ago!!!

So, explored more temples and shrines - a little unimpressive after Vietnam but still interesting - im hoping that out of the city the temples will get better!!! Saw the Japanese Emperors house - again, not quite Buckingham Palace... and lots and lots of crazy skyscapers and shops!!! A few parks... all good...

And most impressive - I managed to find somewhere for lunch, order a vege dish, and eat solo!!! (My little sister who laughed when I said I didnt want to eat alone in the hotel restaurant at Heathrow on friday night, will be proud!!!) I even managed to order noodles, which was what I was craving last night!!! Heehee!!!

So off out tonight - dinner and drinks - and braving the subway home late at night!!!

Tomorrow gonna day trip out... will no doubt bore you with the details at somepoint!!!

Lost in Translation - Tokyo!!!

lex — Sun, 9 Dec 2007 21:20:00 GMT

Well, predictably my flight was delayed (apparently they can`t cope with the weather in London in December - when it rains?!) As my new travelling attitude is carefree (!!!) I didn`t flinch, but spent a decent journey next to a couple intent on having the most thorough journal in the world!! Now, I have to admit that being someone who talks... alot... just in the last 2 days I have found it quite strange not being able to tell someone all the little funny things that inevitably happen - and as a result have wanted to write stuff down more than I ever would have imagined... but this girl... wrote FOUR PAGES about the flight!!! HOW?!?!

So, Tokyo... inital relief stepping off the plane - there were signs - in ENGLISH!!! Yea!!! Unfortunately, that only lasted as far as the station, but I still managed to navigate my way onto the first two trains ok... and only struggled with the third because - I swear - the instructions the hostel had provided were wrong!!! Found it eventually, and am relieved that I`m starting this whole living in squallor thing here - it`s pretty smart!!! So, fear one avoided!!!

Fear two - the guide book lied!!! It firmly stated that restaurants would have English translation next to their menu outside!!! Well... a lot of searching later - and I had found exactly two restaurants with English menus (although in their defence a few had pictures - but all consisting of dodgy chicken looking substances!!!) So... the two restaurants - one a steak house (again not much good for a vegetarian!!!) and the other an Italian!!! Haha... I settled for some corn on the cob from a street vendor!!!

Tokyo does not do street names - apparently even taxi drivers struggle to find their way around!!! Needless to say that after my traumas with the trains this morning... (not to mention major jet lag that left me at risk of falling asleep on any public transport I might risk to venture on!)... I decided on just a quiet afternoon exploring the local area and temples... It didn`t go too badly actually - after an initial dazed wandering I finally found my sense of direction(!!!) and arrived back safe and sound - ready to risk the craziness of `electric city` and other such adventures tomorrow!!!

No doubt will update you soon!!!