One thing Agnes Water has made me realise is the type of traveller I want to be. Sam and I have lived and worked at Cool Banana’s for nearly six weeks now and it was just what we needed. After being on such a strict budget in Asia and New Zealand, then working and living in a hell hole in Bundaberg we just were not ready to get onto the busy tourist trail, spend all our hard earned cash in 3 weeks and have to work again. Living in Agnes has provided us with the chill out time we needed and really given us a home in Australia.
Let me describe the hostel to you. A two story, Balinese themed beach house with ten, eight share, dorms, a spotless well stocked kitchen, huge cosy lounge room, lovely showers and you can reach a four kilometre white sand beach in just five minutes. Need I go on?
Agnes itself only had a population of around two and a half thousand. There is a tiny town centre with a few shops and cafes and several other beaches within ten minutes’ walk. Many people only use this as a one night stop over between Fraser and Whitsundays and that is just such a shame as there is so much to do here. Sam and I had surf lessons (predictably he succeeded at this far better than me!), went for a kayaking trip in 1770 and learnt to surf waves, paddling home in the sunset drinking wine and eating fruit cake! There was also Scooteroo, flamed leather jackets, choppers and bombing around the countryside and free 4wd national park tours from the kindest locals you have ever met. Not to mention Lady Musgrove island where we snorkelled with about eight turtles all day long. We even had a staff trip out to Lowmead – the smallest village I have ever seen. We had a picnic in the meadow behind the pub and went kangaroo spotting at the golf range on the way home. And the above only covers the day activities – we enjoyed getting to know so many other travellers around the nightly campfire, cooking delicious fresh meals in the spotless kitchen, visiting the meat raffles and drinking a lot of red wine while dancing in the kitchen.
We definitely worked hard in Agnes (and sweated hard too with the tropical climate and cyclones) but all the fun activities, laughs with friends made here and countless sunny days at the beach totally outweighed it all. I am so glad we came here and managed to wangle an extra six weeks without working. We even still have one more trip to do before we leave – Castaway where we fly a tiny plane over to an island and fend for ourselves for a night. Shame about the camping but it will be another adventure! Despite how much I hate to leave Agnes it feels time to move on and travel the east coast, and end up in Sydney for some city life and comforts, but Agnes has definitely reminded me of what sort of traveller I want to be. I love all the key attractions and awesome photo opportunities as much as the next person, but to be stuck to a rigid schedule of bus times and tour operators, to always be rushed only ever meet English people does not feel right. I want to be someone who is happy to jump off the beaten track, get to know the locals and discover as much of the ‘real’ country as I can, because the traveling experience I have had so far, tells me those are the stories to write home about.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Fraser Island - written March 7th, Agnes Water
After a very drunken farewell at Cellbock that included raving in the TV room, games of muck muck and shots of something disgusting that was 55% (Thanks Steve) it was time to board the 3:30am bus heading to Rainbow Beach. Our fellow British traveller Kerry, who we met in New Zealand was coming to Fraser with us and met us from the bus stop at 7:30am with hot tea and a hangover very similar to ours.
We checked into Pippie’s beach house and spent the day relaxing, eating Caesar salad and meeting our Fraser group. We shopped for alcohol and food for the trip and spent an hour watching videos about car accidents and dingo attacks. Hmmm maybe not so excited about going now!
We left at 9am the next morning. Our group was sixteen of us; Eight in two cars with the guide Jen driving the lead vehicle and the rest of the drivers taking turns in the second car. Our group was Sam and Emma, two hairdressers from London on a six week campervan adventure on the east coast. One Welsh girl called Hannah traveling alone, who we forced to do countless Gavin and Stacey impressions. Also two other British girls Sam and Leanne who were traveling alone but met on the Oz experience bus. Lastly there was myself, Sam and Kerry. We all got on really well and the first stop was Lake Mckenzie a fresh water lake formed in the middles of the largest sand island in the world. The lakes sand was 97% silica and you could brush your teeth with it. You could also wash your hair and it came out really soft. Unfortunately the weather was grey so we did not get the postcard pictures but still had a great time.
We headed off to camp for a fire, dinner and some beers. Our group took some beers down to the beach and took some photos and had a few drinks. Then back to camp to freak out at the huge spiders around the campsite – literally massive. We asked our tour guide Jen what we should do if we got bit by one. Her serious reply was ‘Have a beer and a cigarette because it will be your last’ Excellent news! We had a sausage barbeque and sat round the campfire roasting marshmallows. It was a really nice evening.
We had been warned many times before we went not to have any item of food (even chewing gum) in the tents as the campsite was unfenced and many dingos patrolled round at night. If they smelt you had food in the tent there was a good chance they would just tear it down. Although we had no food in the tent I woke up at 3am to hear a dingo panting right outside the tent door and pacing up and down sniffing our tent. Bit of a struggle to get back to sleep after that!
We woke up in the morning and tried to go for a long walk on the beach to a shipwreck, but we were stopped by the giant march flies that plagued the beach. Around 5 times the size of a normal fly they just did not leave you alone and there were hundreds of them – we actually had to turn back! We went to Eli creek with the whole group that day, another freshwater creek which you could float down on rubber tubes. The boys also had a big game of beach football until it started to rain and we headed back to camp for lunch.
After lunch we visited the champagne pools, if you are thinking pools of champagne and a beach party it is not the case! The pools are several large rock Jacuzzis and as you sit in them and the wave crash over it bubbles like champagne. The waves are much stronger than they look and nearly knocked Kerry off her feet! After a sea soak we climbed up to the highest point on Fraser to get an ariel view. On a calm nice day we were told you can spot sharks and dolphins down in the water but this day was windy and rainy so no luck there!
Another night round the campfire with goon and marshmallows again and then the next morning we awoke to sunshine! Hurrah! Today we were visiting Lake Wabby and this was definitely a highlight of Fraser. A forty minute treck through the rainforest and out onto a giant sand bar. A really stunning view was waiting for us at the top of sea to the east and rainforest to the west. After trekking along the sand bar for about ten minutes we then hiked down the extremely steep sand hill to a beautiful emerald lake below. The sun was out, the water was lovely and there were dozens of catfish surrounding us in the lake! It was a really great way to finish off Fraser – we drove all the way back to the ferry listening to Queen and joined in a group head bashing to Bohemian Rhapsody. Off back to Rainbow Beach for some cold beers and a proper sleep. I really do hate camping….
We checked into Pippie’s beach house and spent the day relaxing, eating Caesar salad and meeting our Fraser group. We shopped for alcohol and food for the trip and spent an hour watching videos about car accidents and dingo attacks. Hmmm maybe not so excited about going now!
We left at 9am the next morning. Our group was sixteen of us; Eight in two cars with the guide Jen driving the lead vehicle and the rest of the drivers taking turns in the second car. Our group was Sam and Emma, two hairdressers from London on a six week campervan adventure on the east coast. One Welsh girl called Hannah traveling alone, who we forced to do countless Gavin and Stacey impressions. Also two other British girls Sam and Leanne who were traveling alone but met on the Oz experience bus. Lastly there was myself, Sam and Kerry. We all got on really well and the first stop was Lake Mckenzie a fresh water lake formed in the middles of the largest sand island in the world. The lakes sand was 97% silica and you could brush your teeth with it. You could also wash your hair and it came out really soft. Unfortunately the weather was grey so we did not get the postcard pictures but still had a great time.
We headed off to camp for a fire, dinner and some beers. Our group took some beers down to the beach and took some photos and had a few drinks. Then back to camp to freak out at the huge spiders around the campsite – literally massive. We asked our tour guide Jen what we should do if we got bit by one. Her serious reply was ‘Have a beer and a cigarette because it will be your last’ Excellent news! We had a sausage barbeque and sat round the campfire roasting marshmallows. It was a really nice evening.
We had been warned many times before we went not to have any item of food (even chewing gum) in the tents as the campsite was unfenced and many dingos patrolled round at night. If they smelt you had food in the tent there was a good chance they would just tear it down. Although we had no food in the tent I woke up at 3am to hear a dingo panting right outside the tent door and pacing up and down sniffing our tent. Bit of a struggle to get back to sleep after that!
We woke up in the morning and tried to go for a long walk on the beach to a shipwreck, but we were stopped by the giant march flies that plagued the beach. Around 5 times the size of a normal fly they just did not leave you alone and there were hundreds of them – we actually had to turn back! We went to Eli creek with the whole group that day, another freshwater creek which you could float down on rubber tubes. The boys also had a big game of beach football until it started to rain and we headed back to camp for lunch.
After lunch we visited the champagne pools, if you are thinking pools of champagne and a beach party it is not the case! The pools are several large rock Jacuzzis and as you sit in them and the wave crash over it bubbles like champagne. The waves are much stronger than they look and nearly knocked Kerry off her feet! After a sea soak we climbed up to the highest point on Fraser to get an ariel view. On a calm nice day we were told you can spot sharks and dolphins down in the water but this day was windy and rainy so no luck there!
Another night round the campfire with goon and marshmallows again and then the next morning we awoke to sunshine! Hurrah! Today we were visiting Lake Wabby and this was definitely a highlight of Fraser. A forty minute treck through the rainforest and out onto a giant sand bar. A really stunning view was waiting for us at the top of sea to the east and rainforest to the west. After trekking along the sand bar for about ten minutes we then hiked down the extremely steep sand hill to a beautiful emerald lake below. The sun was out, the water was lovely and there were dozens of catfish surrounding us in the lake! It was a really great way to finish off Fraser – we drove all the way back to the ferry listening to Queen and joined in a group head bashing to Bohemian Rhapsody. Off back to Rainbow Beach for some cold beers and a proper sleep. I really do hate camping….
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Bundaberg. Written - Feb 3rd, Agnes Water
Bundaberg…what to say about it?
The aim was to get a second year visa for Australia and earn some money as we had nothing but fluff in our pockets. So in that sense we achieved our aim. We also did meet some great people on the journey. Other than that three months passed in a long haze of rotten tomatoes working with a manager who couldn’t tell his arse from his elbow, fruitlessly cleaning dirty machines, living in a despicable hostel with a rude, arrogant, alcoholic, work manager, and drinking away the pain of being there on days off. Onto better times…..
The aim was to get a second year visa for Australia and earn some money as we had nothing but fluff in our pockets. So in that sense we achieved our aim. We also did meet some great people on the journey. Other than that three months passed in a long haze of rotten tomatoes working with a manager who couldn’t tell his arse from his elbow, fruitlessly cleaning dirty machines, living in a despicable hostel with a rude, arrogant, alcoholic, work manager, and drinking away the pain of being there on days off. Onto better times…..
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Classic book challenge
Through this trip I have set myself the challenge of reading as many classic novels as I can via my Nintendo DS!
So far I have read:
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Alice in Wonderland
Little Women
Around the World in 80 Days
Jane Eyre
The Importance of being Earnest
Sherlock Holmes
Gullivers Travels
The Picture of Dorian Grey
Vanity Fair
Phantom of the Opera
Sons and Lovers
The Three Muskateers
Mansfield Park
Persuasion
Emma
What Katie Did
Got to keep going!
So far I have read:
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Alice in Wonderland
Little Women
Around the World in 80 Days
Jane Eyre
The Importance of being Earnest
Sherlock Holmes
Gullivers Travels
The Picture of Dorian Grey
Vanity Fair
Phantom of the Opera
Sons and Lovers
The Three Muskateers
Mansfield Park
Persuasion
Emma
What Katie Did
Got to keep going!
New Zealand – South Island, written January 30th, Agnes Water, Australia
Cast your minds back as the below took place in mid-September… tomato depression deterred me from writing this until now!! More on that later…
The next morning 40 very hung over people boarded the bus in Wellington at 7am. After several trying incidents such as wallets, cameras and passengers left behind, frantic searches and Swedish shouts of ‘Follow that bus!’ at taxi drivers everyone was aboard and accounted for; and suitably passed out in the ferry bar. It looked like a refugee camp for backpackers with the odd Kiwi alcoholic having a pint and watching the news at 9:30am. Despite this being one of the most scenic ferry journeys in the world and an exciting day trip in itself (MYTH) we could see nothing – the clouds hung low and it rained the whole time. We switched buses on the other side and gained some new travellers, most notably Rob and Brad. : ) We drove pretty much straight through to our nights stop in Nelson. One supposedly short toilet stop provided some laughs as we got 10 minutes down the road before we realised our Israeli comrade was not back on the bus after going for a walk. Flea u-turned the bus and we pulled back into the car park to see…no sign of Amir. No fear because seconds later a Winnebago sped into the car park and screeched to a halt in front of the bus. A confused retired Kiwi couple peered at us. With a grin Amir’s face appears between them. He jumps back on the bus to huge cheers and laughter at his ability to get a 2 hour hitch hike so speedily!
Nelson was relatively un-eventful, we cooked Scott and Naomi our Vietnamese curry recipe for dinner and chilled out. We left some people in Nelson as it is the gateway to the Abel Tasman national park (think kayaking down rivers with beautiful canyons and forests on either side). The next day began rainy and grey AGAIN and off we went to Westport. We were due to do some jet boating that afternoon but we were told as we arrived that it was cancelled. Determined to do it the group waited to see if the weather would clear and it did! Around 20 of us sped down the river stopping to look at waterfalls along the way. After around 40 mins we turned around and picked up on the pace doing handbrake turns and skidding just avoiding the rocks at the edges all the way back. Despite full body wet weather gear we all got soaked. The rain started up on the way back and with the sped it felt like getting hit in the face repeatedly with a staple gun!
Charlie a.k.a ‘Gunhawk’ (a 67 year old Scottish guy who had never travelled before and did EVERY activity on offer for charity, including skydiving and bungee jumping despite being scared of heights and black water rafting despite not being able to swim. A top guy who just needed to rectify his body odour issues! He seemed to enjoy the jet-boating the least and kept his beanie pulled all the way down over his face with safety goggles over the top!
The next day we were off the ‘Poo Pub’, a single stop in the middle of nowhere where the Kiwi bus stops for a big fancy dress party and a general night of carnage. The theme for our party was: Over the top/Bad Taste/Erotica trying to incorporate all three Sam and I dressed as Joseph Fritzel and his daughter. I even had a balloon saying: ‘world’s no1 dad’ - close to the line I know but believe me I know people who have done worse!! We had a good time but it was tainted by a bout of food poisoning that kept about 15 of us up puking all night long!
The four hour bus journey the next day was a VERY long one. We arrived at Franz Joseph and checked into our own room to recover from illness. Once again it was raining and the glacier hike, the main attraction in Franz was cancelled. Our whole Kiwi bus were moving on heading down to Wanaka but Sam and I were still poorly and also desperate to hike a glacier so we stayed in Franz Joseph an extra few nights to recover and wait until the weather cleared to do the hike. On the day of the hike we went to the tour centre and suited up in full waterproofs, hiking books and crampons to take for once we got on the ice. The guide said we were very lucky as the whole glacier was covered in 2 inches of snow which only happens once or twice a year. We caught a bus to the base of glacier and then climbed the near vertical gravel staircase to get onto the ice. It was seriously hard work all day long, climbing ice staircases, squeezing through tiny gaps between ice walls, crawling through bright blue ice caves, all of which was not made easier by the cheeky guides who pelted you with snowballs or dropped a shovel of snow on your head as you walked past. I loved the alpine parrots, green parrots with multi-coloured wings that live on the glacier. After the major work out Sam and I heading to the natural thermal pools and relaxed in the baths. That night we had some drinks with the people we left behind in Nelson as they had now caught up with us in Franz Joseph.
The next morning we drove onto Wanaka. The drive was stunning, with mountains all around. Wanaka itself was a really cute little ski town surround by resorts with a beautiful lake front looking out over the mountains. We spent the day walking round the lake and climbing trees before an early night. We knew we were meeting out Kiwi bus in Queenstown the next night and it would be a big one!!
That night in Queenstown we checked into a full room of our Kiwi travellers and partied the night away in the coolest town in New Zealand, free shots at Buffalo Bar and drinking cocktails out of teapots in World bar. The next morning, very hung over we headed to one of the star attractions of Queenstown – Fergburger! Fergburger is simply the most amazing burger shop ever! You can get anything ranging from the Ferg with cheese to the Cod Father to the BIG AL. Al lived up to its name. Half a pound of NZ beef, 10 rashers of bacon, 2 fried eggs, onions, beetroot, tomato, lettuce, swiss cheese and sauces! All the boys made it their mission and it was all Sam ate for over 24 hours! Their chips with aioli sauce were intensely good too. I would fly back to NZ just for another one of these burgers!
After a couple of days of Ferg Coma –we all ate there every day! The delayed Franz Joseph crew showed up and we decided to rent a car and go on a road trip south to Dunedin with Scott and Naomi in search of penguins and sea lions. We rented the cheapest car juicy offered, which actually had ‘El Cheapo’ spray painted on the side of it causing all the locals to point and laugh as we drove around in it. We drove four hours south, slowing for games of ‘Hey Cow’ and finally arrived at our chosen hostel: ‘Hogwarts’. An awesome hostel with single beds instead of bunks (a rarity) a gorgeous kitchen and the first hostel I had seen in NZ to own all 3 extended editions of Lord of The Rings in the TV room. Excellent! The four of us made dinner and watched all three over two days. It had to be done while we were in country where it was made and we had seen and walked through all the places it was filmed in the past few weeks.
After weeks of rain we finally got lucky with the weather and although it was still chilly we had some amazing days of sunshine. We drove all the coastal drives in the area (giving the Canadians a chance to drive on the other side of the road!) and on the second day went down to the beach where wild sea lions chill out and you can walk among them. We spotted so many and got really close, it was really amazing. Naomi and I also got chased a little – awesome! We missed out on the penguins due to the tide and not being able to get past the huge amount of giant sea lions on the beach.
Feeling refreshed and happy to have seen at least a little sunshine we drove back to Queenstown and dropped the car off (the boys had a very interesting experience hitch hiking back from the airport!) That night we met up with our favourite scousers; Hannah and Bethan and went out for another night in Queenstown, party cardi in tow.
Onto our final stop in NZ; Christchurch. Having been hit by the earthquake only a couple of weeks before a lot of the city was it disrepair and very quiet. Sam and I were also seriously lacking in funds due to how expensive NZ is and spent our last 3 days walking around and reading. We did however discover Sam likes sushi! He is on a seafood discovery on this trip! Sushi was actually also one of the cheapest take out foods to buy so we ate a lot of it!
So concludes five weeks in New Zealand. Full of extreme adventure, myths, Lord of The Rings themed homoerotic jokes and some amazing new friends from all over the world. We head to the airport to conquer Australia, but with only 100 Aussie dollars between us, it might prove difficult.
NZ crew:
Scott and Naomi - Canada
John and Linus - Sweden
Megan and Janice - Canada
Robyn - Scotland
Deena - Canada
Brad - England
Rob - Scotland
Chelsea and Lindsay - Australia
Charles - Scotland
Dan a.k.a Trevor - England
Alan and Kerry - England
Amir - Israel
Hannah and Bethan - not just England - Liverpool!!
Louise - England
Jade - England
The next morning 40 very hung over people boarded the bus in Wellington at 7am. After several trying incidents such as wallets, cameras and passengers left behind, frantic searches and Swedish shouts of ‘Follow that bus!’ at taxi drivers everyone was aboard and accounted for; and suitably passed out in the ferry bar. It looked like a refugee camp for backpackers with the odd Kiwi alcoholic having a pint and watching the news at 9:30am. Despite this being one of the most scenic ferry journeys in the world and an exciting day trip in itself (MYTH) we could see nothing – the clouds hung low and it rained the whole time. We switched buses on the other side and gained some new travellers, most notably Rob and Brad. : ) We drove pretty much straight through to our nights stop in Nelson. One supposedly short toilet stop provided some laughs as we got 10 minutes down the road before we realised our Israeli comrade was not back on the bus after going for a walk. Flea u-turned the bus and we pulled back into the car park to see…no sign of Amir. No fear because seconds later a Winnebago sped into the car park and screeched to a halt in front of the bus. A confused retired Kiwi couple peered at us. With a grin Amir’s face appears between them. He jumps back on the bus to huge cheers and laughter at his ability to get a 2 hour hitch hike so speedily!
Nelson was relatively un-eventful, we cooked Scott and Naomi our Vietnamese curry recipe for dinner and chilled out. We left some people in Nelson as it is the gateway to the Abel Tasman national park (think kayaking down rivers with beautiful canyons and forests on either side). The next day began rainy and grey AGAIN and off we went to Westport. We were due to do some jet boating that afternoon but we were told as we arrived that it was cancelled. Determined to do it the group waited to see if the weather would clear and it did! Around 20 of us sped down the river stopping to look at waterfalls along the way. After around 40 mins we turned around and picked up on the pace doing handbrake turns and skidding just avoiding the rocks at the edges all the way back. Despite full body wet weather gear we all got soaked. The rain started up on the way back and with the sped it felt like getting hit in the face repeatedly with a staple gun!
Charlie a.k.a ‘Gunhawk’ (a 67 year old Scottish guy who had never travelled before and did EVERY activity on offer for charity, including skydiving and bungee jumping despite being scared of heights and black water rafting despite not being able to swim. A top guy who just needed to rectify his body odour issues! He seemed to enjoy the jet-boating the least and kept his beanie pulled all the way down over his face with safety goggles over the top!
The next day we were off the ‘Poo Pub’, a single stop in the middle of nowhere where the Kiwi bus stops for a big fancy dress party and a general night of carnage. The theme for our party was: Over the top/Bad Taste/Erotica trying to incorporate all three Sam and I dressed as Joseph Fritzel and his daughter. I even had a balloon saying: ‘world’s no1 dad’ - close to the line I know but believe me I know people who have done worse!! We had a good time but it was tainted by a bout of food poisoning that kept about 15 of us up puking all night long!
The four hour bus journey the next day was a VERY long one. We arrived at Franz Joseph and checked into our own room to recover from illness. Once again it was raining and the glacier hike, the main attraction in Franz was cancelled. Our whole Kiwi bus were moving on heading down to Wanaka but Sam and I were still poorly and also desperate to hike a glacier so we stayed in Franz Joseph an extra few nights to recover and wait until the weather cleared to do the hike. On the day of the hike we went to the tour centre and suited up in full waterproofs, hiking books and crampons to take for once we got on the ice. The guide said we were very lucky as the whole glacier was covered in 2 inches of snow which only happens once or twice a year. We caught a bus to the base of glacier and then climbed the near vertical gravel staircase to get onto the ice. It was seriously hard work all day long, climbing ice staircases, squeezing through tiny gaps between ice walls, crawling through bright blue ice caves, all of which was not made easier by the cheeky guides who pelted you with snowballs or dropped a shovel of snow on your head as you walked past. I loved the alpine parrots, green parrots with multi-coloured wings that live on the glacier. After the major work out Sam and I heading to the natural thermal pools and relaxed in the baths. That night we had some drinks with the people we left behind in Nelson as they had now caught up with us in Franz Joseph.
The next morning we drove onto Wanaka. The drive was stunning, with mountains all around. Wanaka itself was a really cute little ski town surround by resorts with a beautiful lake front looking out over the mountains. We spent the day walking round the lake and climbing trees before an early night. We knew we were meeting out Kiwi bus in Queenstown the next night and it would be a big one!!
That night in Queenstown we checked into a full room of our Kiwi travellers and partied the night away in the coolest town in New Zealand, free shots at Buffalo Bar and drinking cocktails out of teapots in World bar. The next morning, very hung over we headed to one of the star attractions of Queenstown – Fergburger! Fergburger is simply the most amazing burger shop ever! You can get anything ranging from the Ferg with cheese to the Cod Father to the BIG AL. Al lived up to its name. Half a pound of NZ beef, 10 rashers of bacon, 2 fried eggs, onions, beetroot, tomato, lettuce, swiss cheese and sauces! All the boys made it their mission and it was all Sam ate for over 24 hours! Their chips with aioli sauce were intensely good too. I would fly back to NZ just for another one of these burgers!
After a couple of days of Ferg Coma –we all ate there every day! The delayed Franz Joseph crew showed up and we decided to rent a car and go on a road trip south to Dunedin with Scott and Naomi in search of penguins and sea lions. We rented the cheapest car juicy offered, which actually had ‘El Cheapo’ spray painted on the side of it causing all the locals to point and laugh as we drove around in it. We drove four hours south, slowing for games of ‘Hey Cow’ and finally arrived at our chosen hostel: ‘Hogwarts’. An awesome hostel with single beds instead of bunks (a rarity) a gorgeous kitchen and the first hostel I had seen in NZ to own all 3 extended editions of Lord of The Rings in the TV room. Excellent! The four of us made dinner and watched all three over two days. It had to be done while we were in country where it was made and we had seen and walked through all the places it was filmed in the past few weeks.
After weeks of rain we finally got lucky with the weather and although it was still chilly we had some amazing days of sunshine. We drove all the coastal drives in the area (giving the Canadians a chance to drive on the other side of the road!) and on the second day went down to the beach where wild sea lions chill out and you can walk among them. We spotted so many and got really close, it was really amazing. Naomi and I also got chased a little – awesome! We missed out on the penguins due to the tide and not being able to get past the huge amount of giant sea lions on the beach.
Feeling refreshed and happy to have seen at least a little sunshine we drove back to Queenstown and dropped the car off (the boys had a very interesting experience hitch hiking back from the airport!) That night we met up with our favourite scousers; Hannah and Bethan and went out for another night in Queenstown, party cardi in tow.
Onto our final stop in NZ; Christchurch. Having been hit by the earthquake only a couple of weeks before a lot of the city was it disrepair and very quiet. Sam and I were also seriously lacking in funds due to how expensive NZ is and spent our last 3 days walking around and reading. We did however discover Sam likes sushi! He is on a seafood discovery on this trip! Sushi was actually also one of the cheapest take out foods to buy so we ate a lot of it!
So concludes five weeks in New Zealand. Full of extreme adventure, myths, Lord of The Rings themed homoerotic jokes and some amazing new friends from all over the world. We head to the airport to conquer Australia, but with only 100 Aussie dollars between us, it might prove difficult.
NZ crew:
Scott and Naomi - Canada
John and Linus - Sweden
Megan and Janice - Canada
Robyn - Scotland
Deena - Canada
Brad - England
Rob - Scotland
Chelsea and Lindsay - Australia
Charles - Scotland
Dan a.k.a Trevor - England
Alan and Kerry - England
Amir - Israel
Hannah and Bethan - not just England - Liverpool!!
Louise - England
Jade - England
Monday, 18 October 2010
New Zealand - North Island - written Oct 19th - Bundaberg, Australia
Arriving in New Zealand at 11am on a cold, dreary Tuesday it was hard to concieve only 12 hours before we were sweating buckets on a street corner eating roti in Singapore's cosmopoliton 'Little India' Apart from the accents around us we could have just arrived back at Heathrow everything seemed so normal compared to the diverse culture we had experienced in South East Asia. The only thing that seemed similar to Laos or Vietnam was the difficulty in actually getting into the country, but with new challenges! The grilling we got at customs was unreal, despite showing proof of onward travel to australia in 5 weeks and our tickets for the Kiwi experience - we were spoken to rudely and treated as though we were in the wrong despite having more than enough documents to prove who we were and our purpose. After escaping jobsworth central we caught the bus into town to stay at Nomads. Definitely a party hostel but luckily our room was quiet in the day so we could sleep off the jetlag and try and get through the worst of the horrible colds we had caught due to the change in climate and the recycled air of the plane.
We had four days in Auckland in all, pushing back our kiwi bus by two days in order to get better. Exploring Auckland was fun but a little odd, there seemed to be hardly anyone around! The actual centre of the city is tiny, but the suburbs are sprawling. It's the same all over New Zealand, a lot of houses are quite large, all with gardens and no estates as such, more blocks like the states, every house is an individual shape, size and colour creating an interesting patchwork effect. We visited the art gallery, walked the whole city and the harbour, had tons of birds sitting in our hands while we fed them bread in the park and ate great Chinese food. We also had to do a little shopping for jumpers and thermal socks -chilly! I also went to my first rugby game and met an all black!
On September 6th at 8:30am it was time to jump on the kiwi bus. we were introduced to our driver, Flea who drove around some more sights of the city as we picked others up. She took us to a city look out on top of a dormant volcano which was really windy! Some people on the bus didn't like how scheduled it was, but we had plenty of free time and it was a welcome break from long walks in Asia with heavy rucksacks hunting for a place to stay. or first stop out of Auckland was cathedral cove, a one hour walk down to a deserted beach. The views on the way down were incredible. Then onto our lovely little hostel Turtle Cove and we all had a group meal and got to know the other 35 people on the bus. Sam did awesome at the killer pool competition beating off 15 others twice in the night to win free drinks!
We set off early the next morning for Rotorus, stopping on the way for an hour walk through a disused goldmine and for photos in hobbiton! Rotorus is famously one of the smelliest places on earth (the geothermal activity causes natural hot springs, boiling mud, gizers and a distinct whiff of rotten eggs) It is also the town in New Zealand with the highest percentage of native Maori people -the original settlers of the country in arouond 1350 We visited the Te Paua visitor centre and had a guided tour learning all about the origins of New Zealand. We saw the second largest giza in the world and there was a kiwi house but they were hiding unfortunately. We also saw a giant bubbling mud pool (think the bog of eternal stench in Labirynth). Straight after the museum it was only a fiv eminute drive down the road to the luging. luging is basically like human mariokart down the side of a moountain. You take a cable car to the top and then dry sledge to the bottom. It was really great fun and I only crashed into a pile of mud once! Hurrah! Back to the hostel after for a sunet dip in their natural thermal swimming pool - so nice and toasty it was hard to believe it was not man made! The hostel put on a free bbq that evening and we got to know people better with a free beer and and hot dog.
On the way out of Rotorua the next morning we visited a farm show which explained all the different types of sheep are bred and for what purpose. There are four million people in NZ and 47 million sheep (make what you will of that) The best bit of all was the animal nursery, they had a 4 day old lamb in there called Poppy. sadly her mum rejected her but she was getting a lot of love form everyone else! I got to hold her for about 20 minutes and she bleated and just fell asleep in my arms! Next stop on the bus trip was Waitomo, for caving, glowworm tours, black water rafting. Sam and i skipped this activity to save cash and had a very nice chilled afternoon instead. That night was the first boozy night of the trip, drinking bottles of wine at curley's bar and bonding over games of 'ring of fire'
Waking up the next morning, suitably hungover (and already freaking out about the impending skydive that afternoon) the bus left for Taupo. We stopped on the way for a couple of walks. One to check out some caves around Waitomo and another just outside Taupo to visit Hukka falls, a selection of white water rapids and a waterfall that churns out 7 olympic sized swimming pools per minute. So much pressure and froth is created that it gives the water a stunning aquamarine colour. So beautiful despite the drizzly, grey day we saw it on. as we came into Taupo the rian got heavier and the skydive was cancelled. Next morning the rain cleared and the sky was clear - judgement day had arrvied!!! They took 8 of us in a minibus out to the dive site and it was only 20 minutes from arrival through to suiting up and getting on a very tiny plane. 5 out of 8 of us opted for the 15,000 ft jump, making it a 20 minute flight up, one minute of cheek billowing freefall and another 10 minute parachute ride down over the lake. The scariest part was definitely the plane journey, your instructor shows you a height level gauge once every 5 minutes so you know how high you are. sam was sat at the back (jumping last) with me in front and then 3 other girls from our bus jumping before us. when we reached 10,000 ft we had to sit on our instructors laps to fasten onto them. At 13,000 ft we had to put our oxygen masks on and the fear was building - no way back no though. i think he would have thrown me out no matter what i said! We hit 15,000ft, the plane door opened and the the first, then the second girl just disappeared. As the third sat on the edge of the plane my instructor pushed me forward, i gave Sams hand a squeeze and told him i loved him half convince it was the last time i was ever going to say it! The fear hit crisis point now as my video guy climbed out on top of the plane and i swung my feet over the edge. Ah this isn't so bad i thought as all i could see was cloud, but 2 seconds later the clouds parted and you could see the outline of New Zealand below like a tiny map! I jusrt went numb and the instructor pulled my head back against his shoulder, i felt a sense of falling and air in my face as we somersaulted out of the plane taking 9 seconds to reach maximum velocity. you find yourself in sensory overload. i barfely remember more than ten seconds of the freefall because the adrenalin just takes over. It felt like no time until the parachute opened and everything went quiet. apart form my screaming and whooping about how amazing it was of course! We floated back down to the gorund and i got to watch Sam coming into land too. he landed a lot more gracefully than me - on his feet, whereas my legs were like jelly and i just fell on my bum. after a lot of jumping around we went back to the hostel and had our bus chartered a boat out onto the lake and we had some beers and a bbq and the sun shined for the first time since we had been in NZ!
The next stop was River Valley lodge. A big house set by itself in a valley 45 minutes from civilisation by a white water rapid river. Unfortunately the rafting trip we were so excited about was cancelled, the rain had been so bad that the river was running to high and fast for it to be safe. Instead i rented a hot tub with 4 other girls down by the river, very relaxing sat there listening to the waterfalls. next stop was Wellington and despite our plans to stay for 3 nights and explore the city we were having so much fin with our bus we decided to only spend one night and move onto the South island at 7am the next morning. This left just enough time for a big party at the hostel and then onto the hostel bar. Jaegerbombs caused much havoc!!! Sam had to stand outside and have a naan bread before he even went into the bar as the pre-drinks him him pretty hard : p Muchos fun had on the North Island. Cannot wait to see what the South will bring!
We had four days in Auckland in all, pushing back our kiwi bus by two days in order to get better. Exploring Auckland was fun but a little odd, there seemed to be hardly anyone around! The actual centre of the city is tiny, but the suburbs are sprawling. It's the same all over New Zealand, a lot of houses are quite large, all with gardens and no estates as such, more blocks like the states, every house is an individual shape, size and colour creating an interesting patchwork effect. We visited the art gallery, walked the whole city and the harbour, had tons of birds sitting in our hands while we fed them bread in the park and ate great Chinese food. We also had to do a little shopping for jumpers and thermal socks -chilly! I also went to my first rugby game and met an all black!
On September 6th at 8:30am it was time to jump on the kiwi bus. we were introduced to our driver, Flea who drove around some more sights of the city as we picked others up. She took us to a city look out on top of a dormant volcano which was really windy! Some people on the bus didn't like how scheduled it was, but we had plenty of free time and it was a welcome break from long walks in Asia with heavy rucksacks hunting for a place to stay. or first stop out of Auckland was cathedral cove, a one hour walk down to a deserted beach. The views on the way down were incredible. Then onto our lovely little hostel Turtle Cove and we all had a group meal and got to know the other 35 people on the bus. Sam did awesome at the killer pool competition beating off 15 others twice in the night to win free drinks!
We set off early the next morning for Rotorus, stopping on the way for an hour walk through a disused goldmine and for photos in hobbiton! Rotorus is famously one of the smelliest places on earth (the geothermal activity causes natural hot springs, boiling mud, gizers and a distinct whiff of rotten eggs) It is also the town in New Zealand with the highest percentage of native Maori people -the original settlers of the country in arouond 1350 We visited the Te Paua visitor centre and had a guided tour learning all about the origins of New Zealand. We saw the second largest giza in the world and there was a kiwi house but they were hiding unfortunately. We also saw a giant bubbling mud pool (think the bog of eternal stench in Labirynth). Straight after the museum it was only a fiv eminute drive down the road to the luging. luging is basically like human mariokart down the side of a moountain. You take a cable car to the top and then dry sledge to the bottom. It was really great fun and I only crashed into a pile of mud once! Hurrah! Back to the hostel after for a sunet dip in their natural thermal swimming pool - so nice and toasty it was hard to believe it was not man made! The hostel put on a free bbq that evening and we got to know people better with a free beer and and hot dog.
On the way out of Rotorua the next morning we visited a farm show which explained all the different types of sheep are bred and for what purpose. There are four million people in NZ and 47 million sheep (make what you will of that) The best bit of all was the animal nursery, they had a 4 day old lamb in there called Poppy. sadly her mum rejected her but she was getting a lot of love form everyone else! I got to hold her for about 20 minutes and she bleated and just fell asleep in my arms! Next stop on the bus trip was Waitomo, for caving, glowworm tours, black water rafting. Sam and i skipped this activity to save cash and had a very nice chilled afternoon instead. That night was the first boozy night of the trip, drinking bottles of wine at curley's bar and bonding over games of 'ring of fire'
Waking up the next morning, suitably hungover (and already freaking out about the impending skydive that afternoon) the bus left for Taupo. We stopped on the way for a couple of walks. One to check out some caves around Waitomo and another just outside Taupo to visit Hukka falls, a selection of white water rapids and a waterfall that churns out 7 olympic sized swimming pools per minute. So much pressure and froth is created that it gives the water a stunning aquamarine colour. So beautiful despite the drizzly, grey day we saw it on. as we came into Taupo the rian got heavier and the skydive was cancelled. Next morning the rain cleared and the sky was clear - judgement day had arrvied!!! They took 8 of us in a minibus out to the dive site and it was only 20 minutes from arrival through to suiting up and getting on a very tiny plane. 5 out of 8 of us opted for the 15,000 ft jump, making it a 20 minute flight up, one minute of cheek billowing freefall and another 10 minute parachute ride down over the lake. The scariest part was definitely the plane journey, your instructor shows you a height level gauge once every 5 minutes so you know how high you are. sam was sat at the back (jumping last) with me in front and then 3 other girls from our bus jumping before us. when we reached 10,000 ft we had to sit on our instructors laps to fasten onto them. At 13,000 ft we had to put our oxygen masks on and the fear was building - no way back no though. i think he would have thrown me out no matter what i said! We hit 15,000ft, the plane door opened and the the first, then the second girl just disappeared. As the third sat on the edge of the plane my instructor pushed me forward, i gave Sams hand a squeeze and told him i loved him half convince it was the last time i was ever going to say it! The fear hit crisis point now as my video guy climbed out on top of the plane and i swung my feet over the edge. Ah this isn't so bad i thought as all i could see was cloud, but 2 seconds later the clouds parted and you could see the outline of New Zealand below like a tiny map! I jusrt went numb and the instructor pulled my head back against his shoulder, i felt a sense of falling and air in my face as we somersaulted out of the plane taking 9 seconds to reach maximum velocity. you find yourself in sensory overload. i barfely remember more than ten seconds of the freefall because the adrenalin just takes over. It felt like no time until the parachute opened and everything went quiet. apart form my screaming and whooping about how amazing it was of course! We floated back down to the gorund and i got to watch Sam coming into land too. he landed a lot more gracefully than me - on his feet, whereas my legs were like jelly and i just fell on my bum. after a lot of jumping around we went back to the hostel and had our bus chartered a boat out onto the lake and we had some beers and a bbq and the sun shined for the first time since we had been in NZ!
The next stop was River Valley lodge. A big house set by itself in a valley 45 minutes from civilisation by a white water rapid river. Unfortunately the rafting trip we were so excited about was cancelled, the rain had been so bad that the river was running to high and fast for it to be safe. Instead i rented a hot tub with 4 other girls down by the river, very relaxing sat there listening to the waterfalls. next stop was Wellington and despite our plans to stay for 3 nights and explore the city we were having so much fin with our bus we decided to only spend one night and move onto the South island at 7am the next morning. This left just enough time for a big party at the hostel and then onto the hostel bar. Jaegerbombs caused much havoc!!! Sam had to stand outside and have a naan bread before he even went into the bar as the pre-drinks him him pretty hard : p Muchos fun had on the North Island. Cannot wait to see what the South will bring!
Saturday, 4 September 2010
***GUEST BLOG FROM SAM - HOT OFF THE PRESS***
Review of Singapore - Written 4th sept, auckland, New Zealand
Currently listening to: http://hypem.com/track/1014812/MSTRKRFT+-+Heartbreaker+ft+John+Legend+Wolfgang+Gartner+remix+
Sophia has done such a great job of updating the blog for the last 4 months we thought it was finally time i did some work, so here's my little run down of our time in Singapore.
After staying at my cousins house in Kuala Lumpur for around a month it was a bit strange to get up early, with our rucksacks on and actually leave our comfy beds, pool and fun times with family behind. But Singapore was calling before our flight out of Asia and it didn't disappoint.
After so many crappy train and bus journeys we really lucked out and got great seats for the train to Singapore. So much leg room and a table; my cousin clare also packed us a massive lunch - it was basically travelers first class all the way! Customs was ultra smooth and we pulled into Singapore train station at around 5pm. We traveled up to little india intent on staying at this hostel we had read about but as we were walking to it we spotted a hostel called The Prince of Wales, with cheaper dorm rooms and a cool little bar downstairs we didnt need much persuading to stay. It turned out to be a great decision as we met a couple of german girls who had had bed bugs at the other hostel. We've had enough of those already thanks!
We then decided to go check out the legendary malls of Singapore - ok so we don't have much money to go shopping but when theres a whole road with malls lining the way for miles its hard not to go in a couple for a browse. They are the most efficient and clean places i think i've ever seen; and anything you could imagine is for sale. It's a shoppers paradise and with toilets that are better than those at the Ritz (no, seriously) its easy to get lost and sucked in to spending everything you've got. We resisted temptation however and went for another trip to the cinema. With frozen strawberry yoghurt in hand we went to see Grown Ups. I think I can safely say is one of the worst films we have even seen. We felt a bit self conscious as every other person in the cinema was roaring with laughter but I promise you never watch that film, don't even rent it or download it - its time in our lives we'll never get back. The frozen yoghurt was good though!
The next day we decided to walk up to the botanical gardens. On the way it started to rain so we dashed into another mall to wait it out, and upon realising we had a 2 for 1 voucher at Swensens the icecream buffet was just calling to us. With over 50 different types of icecream, waffles, pancakes, 8 different cakes, made to order sundaes, a chocolate fountain and all the toppings you can ever think of it would have been wrong not to! So an hour later and feeling suitable stuffed with a variety of things not helping the waist line we left for the botantical gardens. As with everything in Singapore it was neat, well laid out and every detail was immacuately conceived and implemented. Gardens have never been so interesting. A definite highlight was walking around a massive lake when sophia noticed 2 swans swimming after this large ripple in the water, then without warning a 5 foot monitor lizard jumped out and ran into the bushes about 20feet in front of us. Now thats not something you see every day. We then went to the orchid gardens which had some of the craziest plants you've ever seen. Sophia was in her element taking hundreds of photos and it was only the threat of another storm that sent us back to the hostel.
Later that day we went to Raffles for the almost compulsory Singapore Sling - well sophia had that and i picked the strongest drink they had, a Long Island iced tea. Delicious. With the cocktails costing a fortune we didn't feel guilty working through the complimentary monkey nuts and i think every one else felt the same as every square inch of the floor was covered with spent shells. Our pockets a little lighter we ventured down to the harbour quays to take in the Singapore night life. Wandering down the waterside we didn't fancy paying almost $14 dollars for noodles when a couple of miles across the border they cost no more than a couple of quid but we did find mugs of beer for a pound!! When a pint in a pub can cost $15+ this was a real find and a few cold beers over looking the river was a great way to end a really long day.
The next day we were up early to go to the zoo. We had heard a lot of good things about this place and we definitely weren't disappointed. With monkeys allowed to roam free in the tree tops and all the animals in open air enclosures with either just a fence or moat sepearting you (except some of the wild cats such as jaguars and lepards - they have a tenacy to climb and escape!) you really felt close to the animals. Sophia even managed to feed her favourite animal, giraffes. It was like watching a small child get exactly what they wanted for christmas; and seeing her hand get slobbered by and over zealous giraffe was highly amusing. We wandered around for hours with particular highlights being the monkeys, giraffes and feeding time at the juguars and white tigers. If anyone ever gets to visit Singapore i highly reconmend you go visit the zoo. They also have a night safari, bird park and soon a water safari, think Noahs ark but less fire and brimestone / sin / guys with beards!
That night we saw an offer at the Mandarin Oriental for halfprice cocktails and free steak sandwiches. When traveling on a tiny budget the words half price and free are like magnets, you just can't resist them, so off we went. I did have to wear jeans and shoes for the first time in 4 months so i was smart enough to be allowed in and it felt all kids of weird but it was definitely worth it. Sophia went for the apple martini while i had a classic vodka martini and it was definitely up there with one of the tastiest cocktails we've ever had. Just after we had gotten over how nice the surroundings were and the quality of the cocktails, fresh steak sandwiches were handed round. After 2 hours, 2 cocktails and about $50 of free steak sandwiches we left feeling very satisfied - who said you can't travel in style on a small budget. It was a great way to mark out last night in Asia, completely different to the time we had cheese sandwiches and water for every meal for 5 days but I wouldnt change a thing.
The next day i ate as many curry puffs and roti (my two favourite foods in Asia) as our remaing dollars would allow and headed to the airport for our flight to Nz. Singapore was a great way to finish off Asia but after all the sites we've seen and the great people we've met, im pretty certain we'll be back touring Asia the next chance we get.
Currently listening to: http://hypem.com/track/1014812/MSTRKRFT+-+Heartbreaker+ft+John+Legend+Wolfgang+Gartner+remix+
Sophia has done such a great job of updating the blog for the last 4 months we thought it was finally time i did some work, so here's my little run down of our time in Singapore.
After staying at my cousins house in Kuala Lumpur for around a month it was a bit strange to get up early, with our rucksacks on and actually leave our comfy beds, pool and fun times with family behind. But Singapore was calling before our flight out of Asia and it didn't disappoint.
After so many crappy train and bus journeys we really lucked out and got great seats for the train to Singapore. So much leg room and a table; my cousin clare also packed us a massive lunch - it was basically travelers first class all the way! Customs was ultra smooth and we pulled into Singapore train station at around 5pm. We traveled up to little india intent on staying at this hostel we had read about but as we were walking to it we spotted a hostel called The Prince of Wales, with cheaper dorm rooms and a cool little bar downstairs we didnt need much persuading to stay. It turned out to be a great decision as we met a couple of german girls who had had bed bugs at the other hostel. We've had enough of those already thanks!
We then decided to go check out the legendary malls of Singapore - ok so we don't have much money to go shopping but when theres a whole road with malls lining the way for miles its hard not to go in a couple for a browse. They are the most efficient and clean places i think i've ever seen; and anything you could imagine is for sale. It's a shoppers paradise and with toilets that are better than those at the Ritz (no, seriously) its easy to get lost and sucked in to spending everything you've got. We resisted temptation however and went for another trip to the cinema. With frozen strawberry yoghurt in hand we went to see Grown Ups. I think I can safely say is one of the worst films we have even seen. We felt a bit self conscious as every other person in the cinema was roaring with laughter but I promise you never watch that film, don't even rent it or download it - its time in our lives we'll never get back. The frozen yoghurt was good though!
The next day we decided to walk up to the botanical gardens. On the way it started to rain so we dashed into another mall to wait it out, and upon realising we had a 2 for 1 voucher at Swensens the icecream buffet was just calling to us. With over 50 different types of icecream, waffles, pancakes, 8 different cakes, made to order sundaes, a chocolate fountain and all the toppings you can ever think of it would have been wrong not to! So an hour later and feeling suitable stuffed with a variety of things not helping the waist line we left for the botantical gardens. As with everything in Singapore it was neat, well laid out and every detail was immacuately conceived and implemented. Gardens have never been so interesting. A definite highlight was walking around a massive lake when sophia noticed 2 swans swimming after this large ripple in the water, then without warning a 5 foot monitor lizard jumped out and ran into the bushes about 20feet in front of us. Now thats not something you see every day. We then went to the orchid gardens which had some of the craziest plants you've ever seen. Sophia was in her element taking hundreds of photos and it was only the threat of another storm that sent us back to the hostel.
Later that day we went to Raffles for the almost compulsory Singapore Sling - well sophia had that and i picked the strongest drink they had, a Long Island iced tea. Delicious. With the cocktails costing a fortune we didn't feel guilty working through the complimentary monkey nuts and i think every one else felt the same as every square inch of the floor was covered with spent shells. Our pockets a little lighter we ventured down to the harbour quays to take in the Singapore night life. Wandering down the waterside we didn't fancy paying almost $14 dollars for noodles when a couple of miles across the border they cost no more than a couple of quid but we did find mugs of beer for a pound!! When a pint in a pub can cost $15+ this was a real find and a few cold beers over looking the river was a great way to end a really long day.
The next day we were up early to go to the zoo. We had heard a lot of good things about this place and we definitely weren't disappointed. With monkeys allowed to roam free in the tree tops and all the animals in open air enclosures with either just a fence or moat sepearting you (except some of the wild cats such as jaguars and lepards - they have a tenacy to climb and escape!) you really felt close to the animals. Sophia even managed to feed her favourite animal, giraffes. It was like watching a small child get exactly what they wanted for christmas; and seeing her hand get slobbered by and over zealous giraffe was highly amusing. We wandered around for hours with particular highlights being the monkeys, giraffes and feeding time at the juguars and white tigers. If anyone ever gets to visit Singapore i highly reconmend you go visit the zoo. They also have a night safari, bird park and soon a water safari, think Noahs ark but less fire and brimestone / sin / guys with beards!
That night we saw an offer at the Mandarin Oriental for halfprice cocktails and free steak sandwiches. When traveling on a tiny budget the words half price and free are like magnets, you just can't resist them, so off we went. I did have to wear jeans and shoes for the first time in 4 months so i was smart enough to be allowed in and it felt all kids of weird but it was definitely worth it. Sophia went for the apple martini while i had a classic vodka martini and it was definitely up there with one of the tastiest cocktails we've ever had. Just after we had gotten over how nice the surroundings were and the quality of the cocktails, fresh steak sandwiches were handed round. After 2 hours, 2 cocktails and about $50 of free steak sandwiches we left feeling very satisfied - who said you can't travel in style on a small budget. It was a great way to mark out last night in Asia, completely different to the time we had cheese sandwiches and water for every meal for 5 days but I wouldnt change a thing.
The next day i ate as many curry puffs and roti (my two favourite foods in Asia) as our remaing dollars would allow and headed to the airport for our flight to Nz. Singapore was a great way to finish off Asia but after all the sites we've seen and the great people we've met, im pretty certain we'll be back touring Asia the next chance we get.
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