Since Cape Tribulation and the trip to the reef there has been much more sun, plenty of swimming and snorkelling and a stay on a true Paradise island in the Whitsundays!!! There was also the fabulous Fraser Island too and 130 km of sand island in a 4x4!!!

The Whitsunday experience aboard 'reality' was 3 days of ocean cruising surrounded by paradise islands, turtles, coral reef and blue waters!!! However the best bits could also have been the millions of stars visible each night as we drank and drifted out at sea. Or the long island beach resort where the bar was in the pool. Or the wildlife everywhere, huge bats flying between trees, parrots feeding next to your hammock and kangeroos on the beach as the sun set!!!



It will be a fantastic memory and at least on the boat i could not lose much! We also went to Whitehaven Beach (above), it is the most perfect white beach you have ever seen. So perfect when we arrived offshore i jumped ship with a ball and made for its crystal clear shallows. As i ran along the Paradise coast kicking the ball, i decked it face first in view of the whiole boat!!! I literally ate the sand i fell in, all that way and i go and do that, anyway it was funny! You see your feet just sink- its not normal sand!

On the boat i also met Karen who worked in Schuh Birmingham and knows Libbie Jellie a good friend of mine), i must have started working there just after her, we had plenty to talk about as she also studied on the Aston Campus but with UCE. Small world.

The trip was also made better by Ricardo and his bro, both from Milan!!! Imagine being slightly drunk at 4am in Paradise wondering home with these two and bumping into about a dozen kangeroos who were no more than 5 yards away! We sat with them a while and chatted in italian and english! Poor Roos. Two great guys though and we may meet in Thailand.

Speaking of meeting people again...



These are some of the guys from my trip to Fraser Island. Katcha, Alberto, Stefan, Shona and Andres. The chilean guys are heading to Asia as well and after non-stop laughing for 3 days hopefully we will be meeting again. We went to Indian Head, Eli Creek, Lake McKenzie and i will never forget Lake Wabby (because i had no shoes and it was nearly 2km of red hot sand dune!!! With these guys and the accompanying 4x4 of germans (22 people in all)it was an excellent trip to Fraser Island!

Alberto, saw sharks from indian head and they were.... {<<--this----big--->>} and the mantrays.... well they were...

This was a small bit of the view (above) and afterward like the previous night we set up camp and did our best to keep the dingos, snakes and spiders out! Probably the best part of the trip so far though was the wonder onto the beach in the evening! With no light pollution the stars are so visible you see things you never realised existed; planets, stars consillations, satellites and the clearest milky way stretching your entire vision! Sublime!

The days on Fraser were mostly spent driving over the miles and miles of sand beach with stop offs at crystal clear lakes and creeks. On this trip i made some really good friends and had times i just wont forget! thanks.

Christmas Eve we returned to Rainbow Beach and as the Germans celebrated we slowly merged into Christmas Day where the remainder of the group carried the festivities on. It wa snice and we achieved Andres' mission, all the cocktail was gone by 5pm as we relaxed in the pool for a few hours!

And i so nearly forgot, but never will. I woke up on christmas day to find a kitchen towel under a little tree i had. On top lay a note, 'merry xmas from claus' ...i believe again!!! Such a cool thing to happen, the german guy in our trip to fraser who was in my dorm with his girlfriend had left me a beer and some candy. The little things are the best! Also got a wicked card of Bruce my brother via email... awesome bro thanks!!!

So thats it for now. I am currently chilling out in Noosa at a very cool hostel for chilling! Plans are to go kayaking for 3 days with moer camping and then to spend New Year here before Sydney. There was so much to write and so much to tell but i hope this snap shot is enough, my email is always open too!!!

written by  50watts on December 28, 2005 from Noosa Heads, Australia
from the travel blog: Ending 2005 and Starting 2006
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the food has been good but a little expensive at times out here as they definately take advantage of the tourist activity. a stick insect tried to put me offer my burger on the tour but it didnt manage to stop me! travelling soon equals hunger!

today i joined up with the Rum Runner, a catamaran that takes people over to the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef. I went snorkelling in the Mid-reef and it was great, again the animals and colourful coral made it a fantastic experience. It was helped by a few drinks, Eetu and a few others! Then it was backto the beach and some more travelling awaits...

written by  50watts on December 14, 2005 from Cairns, Australia
from the travel blog: Ending 2005 and Starting 2006
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since i arrived very early yesterday you could count on your hands the number of non-japanese people out here and im staying in an international hostel. but heres johnny, we have been helping each other out, this is us taking noodles in the quietest noodle bar we could find, manners, chopsticks and english hunger dont always mix. but heres the nice lady who came outside as we pointed to the food we wanted. not many folk speak english but they do try and if you have a map they usually get you there which is cool.

the hostel is by the river just around the corner from here->
you must also do all the traditional things like take shoes off and that but its nice and the facilities superb.

we went for a tour of electric town which is completely crazy, there is just every imaginable product ever and some of the stores have 7 or 8 floors. there is also an obsession for computer games and this type of pinball game. we walked in this one place and on each floor is a different game but like 40 machines for each game. the players are fixed and seem to have individual techniques for success. i dont think one saw the two foreignres nearby- everywhere else people seem to notice. the area also gave a first glimpse of manga art and the creative ways its used, thats all im saying, but there are many uses, mainly one, here is a snippet of a picture-

today it rained a bit and umbrellas were everywhere, dont think they like to get wet out here. anyway we went to a special temple meiji-jingu which was destroyed to ashes during the war but was rebuilt unlike any other temple, its paths and trees and temples are fantastic peaceful retreat.

After we went to shinjuku which has two of the largest department stores in the world. they are like the size of the main building if not bigger for anyone associated to aston. imagine then that they pasted the outside with neon and that every street surrounding looked like this. this is really is a breathtaking site of its own proportion, even though every street may look the same you still grab the camera and hope for more battery power!!! i cant upload a picture because the file is too big, sorry, just imagine!

The people are all really, really well dressed people and clean, some do the mask thing but we just think they have cold sores as the air here seems better than london. Today our subway train was stopped because of a smell coming from our cabin, it wasnt us but we made some friends as we were kicked off the train and left needing help. anyway it seems it was quite an issue with the well suited inspectors. there are never any phones going off either- anywhere!

christmas is quite big out here too, there are people everywhere wearing crazy outfits too and santas outfits for the women are quite popular with the harajuku girls. finally and i will leave with this, the highlight of last few days, the tiniest bar/cafe in tokyo up a spiral staircase next to one of the busiest districts, no one there not that they could fit with us there, just johnny, me and the barman, oh and his entire and unimaginable jazz vinyl collection. a surreal experience and from what it seems a summary of tokyo so far.

we have been walking some more around the city and luckily were able to take kei with us from the hostel one day. she took us to a temple that is still used by the japanese people today. the smoke you can see in the picture makes you clever apparently and the fortune boxes revealed i will have good fortune, could have been worse!

it was nice to see more of the ornate japan as much of the city is built on numerous floors. everything seems to go off above or below you and is quite futuristic. having said that the people still continue to amze both me and johnny. today on the train we were watched by some tiny and well ordered school children. japan seems to be intent on ensuring the young people follow tradition and order. which personally from what i have seen is a lot better than the uk.

kei as seen here as also told us about some of the strange things that go on here. the masks are for people who have a cold to ensure they do not pass it on. when you finish drinking you must keep your glass full as a mark of respect and there is definately no eating in the streets. oh yeh and ladies there is no such thing as first.

from the extraordinary to the slightly more ordinary, we went to the beer museum too. the entry was free, the musuem two rooms and since it was all in japanese we decided to make the most of the sampling bar, probably the cheapest bar in tokyo and definately worth a visit!

we even met some local ladies who were on the next wall...

the museum is part of the garden palace complex in ebisu, the beer is called yebisu and took its name from the factory and beer. well it kind of grew and now it stands with 39 stories as part of the city which is garden palace. it must be the size of an area of central london and much much higher in places! here is the view from the top.

tokyo has been great. the place clean, the people all have a role in society and there is respect for everything! you are guaranteed to see the crazy, the wonderful and the amazing! tomorrow we will go to the largest fish market in the world and then later in the day its back to the skies...

next stop: CAIRNS AUSTRALIA!!!

ps. all those japanese cars we have- they are hardly seen on the streets here!

sayonara

brian san

written by  50watts on December 3, 2005 from Tokyo, Japan
from the travel blog: Ending 2005 and Starting 2006
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...this is going to be crazy.

see you at the next and first international entry. its the 3D city of tokyo and home of manga art and oriental cuisine, sushi style. they also have road crossings which go diagonally and apparently people look at you like you are a goldfish, in a bowl. i have always wanted to visit so i will don my camera in true japanese tourist style and show you all some pics soon i hope. until then bye and bye also to normal GMT, im going to be 9 hours ahead as of friday at 12pm, i eventually found a use for my nocturnal living habits. me.

written by  50watts on November 30, 2005 from Barnsley, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Ending 2005 and Starting 2006
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