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Priya&Tim

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Trips:

Cheeky Round The World Trip

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Week 1 of Australia

Sydney, Australia

So we have arrived and are enjoying the comfort of newly aquired apartment. We are looking to stay and work here in Australia for a while but before we anything as serious sounding as that we were going to do a bit of sightseeing and what is going to Sydney without taking your first walk to the city and the harbour. First off, it was so nice to e back in a Western Environment except for the food part - our jellie bellies weren't so nice now that we are back to processed and junk foods galore. It is amazing how bad we can eat. But anyway enough of that, as Tim and I wander through the city with help of our trusted Sydney Guide picked up from the airport and Tim's handy little AA guide courtesy of Basingstoke collegues we headed in the vague direction of Circular Quay - where we are told is the central hub of transport to Sydney Harbour and all of its delights. Before we knew it, we could see a glimpse of what lay ahead and as you can imagine I was getting very excited!

Next thing we know, we can see the harbour and with the bridge in full view and the opera house; it really is all that but it looked so much smaller than I imagined it to be! The illusion of TV and Posters eh! Nonetheless, here we both were, literally half way around the world and on the start of our long stay in OZ. The whole panoramic view of the harbour is beautiful but we knew we were no longer in Asia because all of a sudden, the price of food, drinks and convenience goods just got a lot higher and the atmosphere is totally different. It was actually quite striking how different the Aussies look compared to Europe, both phyiscally and in aesthetically. Glamour is not quite the word I am looking for, but there is a clear effort towards it.

We took a little walk around the harbour, and took in the views of the opera house and headed back to the city to grab som food and a long awaited Guiness. We also enjoyed the pleasure of going to the supermarket so that we could make full use of our apartment. To be honest we are just glad we can relax and feel so comfortable while we shake off the jetlag and our dodgy stomachs!

PS Mum, Neighbours looks like its starting to get good!

permalink written by  Priya&Tim on September 19, 2006 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: Cheeky Round The World Trip
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Country Number 8!

Sydney, Australia

So we arrive at Denpasar Airport, Bali. We have our Air Asia flight booked to get us into Jakarta well in advance of our departure for Sydney. Sounds like this is going to be straightforward right?

So, we get to airport ready to check in and we are told that the flight will be delayed until around 6pm. This was a four hour delay, but we were assured that we would have plenty of time to get our connecting flight and that getting from arrivals to international departures would be easy. Ok we say, as long as there are no more delays. We didnt really have any other choice but to stay and wait because our only alternative was to get a refund and buy a ticket on the spot from another carrier....like that was going to happen for the price we originally paid, not that they had tickets going anyway. There were so many delays and cancelattions from and to Jakarta that every carrier was operating a waiting list. Anyway, we eventually got our flight after a third delay and finally took off after 7pm. The flight was fine, and we got off fine with our luggage, however this was after waiting half an hour for the luggage that we were originally told would be prioritised to leave the plane first; so by this point we had less than 15mins to get to departures and check in and clear customs and get stamped out of the country before the flight leaves, thats right, not gates closing but plane leaving tarmac!!!

Get this, we had to get a taxi....first the fares were starting at 200,000 rupiah, then a guy came from nowhere and could see we were upset, and took us for 20,000 which is about the right amount to pay for the distance covered. (PS 17,000 rupiah = 1 GBP.) With me almost in tears at the way we had been treated let alone the fact that our flight had been delayed, the taxi man put his foot on it, and got us to departures after a few near misses! Not that I condone reckless driving, I am just thankful he got us there!

This is the best bit though; we explained at the CLOSED check in desk that we were late because of the delayed flight from Bali, and they told us to get in the 'exit country and get your stamp' queue quickly, get stamped out of the country and run with our backpacks to the plane, leave the bags with the security at the plane door and get into our seats. OH MY GOD. I have never been so stressed in all my life and suddenly my backpack got 20 kilios heavier. Tim and I somehow managed to get to the plane and through security even though technically our luggage was now hand luggage! We slumped into our seats and got a rather generous serving of rum and coke and G&T; and promtly passed out after dinner with a huge smile on our faces!!! Life's tough eh!

Arrived in Sydney fine, and got our work visa stamped in. Collected our luggage fine ( Thank you Quantas!!!) Got a taxi to Petersham Guesthouse where we are booked into for a week. The taxi wouldve cost the same as getting the train, we were advised by information desk.....it was nice to have information seeked and correctly given!

Anyway, we arrived to the guesthouse and this great big Greek guy come out and helps us with the luggage and checks that the taxi man wasnt ripping us off..cool. We thought we had booked into a place with a room big enough for a double bed and desk and wardrobe. We were not expecting much. So when this Greek guy leads us off to another door on the building and has his arms around us saying that the guesthouse is fully booked.... you can imagine our faces!!! I wasnt really feeling like contending with dodgy guesthouse owners right then, and neither was Tim!

But, no he opens the door and leads us inside....

for the same price as the room we expected to be staying in ( 34AUD, here they quote prices per person not room, so this was the cheapest we could find for the both of us)....

we were standing in a room that resembled a lounge with a fitted kitchen and fridge freezer, then moved into the bedroom again fully furnished and with large bathroom. We were standing in a fully furnished apartment!!! Now imagine our faces!!!! We really appreciate how lucky we have been, and so we are truly going to make the most of Sydney and Australia from now on!


permalink written by  Priya&Tim on September 17, 2006 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: Cheeky Round The World Trip
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Bali Finale

Ubud, Indonesia

Time is almost up in Bali, so we headed back from Gili Trawangan to our favourite spot in Ubud, and yes, we did go back to the arak serving resatuarant, this time we also got rice wine....nice with honey and lemon if youve never had it before! We spent a few days here getting ourselves sorted with clean laundry and another book for Tim - we didnt do anything crazy this time round in Ubud, we just wanted to make the most of those banana pancake breakfasts and the great Balinese food, and chill out at our losmen and enjoy its beauty. Bali has been a wonderful place to visit. We got back into the routine of having most people selling you stuff only to rip you off, still, sometimes you cant help yourself but get the pendant that is going for twice the price than in the shop, like I did! If it helps the economy, I dont mind. We eventually got our stuff packed and ready to go, left our favourite restaurant, and said goodbye to our losmen and the family who lived there, and Karma who looked after us, and became my little hero giving me a ride back to the guesthouse when my slippers broke in the streets! Thank you Tim, for putting up with my 'little' tantrum when that happened! Next stop, airport and a plane to Sydney via Jarkarta!



permalink written by  Priya&Tim on September 15, 2006 from Ubud, Indonesia
from the travel blog: Cheeky Round The World Trip
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Gili Trawangan....Paradise on Earth....Really!!!

Lombok, Indonesia

Absolute paradise on a 4 x 2km island off the west coast of Lombok! Stunning beaches and coral, BBQ fish and salads every night, films and bars. We could've been back in Laos in Vang Vieng! We had a bit of nightmare journey getting to the island, first off, we didnt get on the boat to the Gili's by stepping off a pier as usual, instead we had to take off our boots and socks, roll up our jeans, and carry our bags on to a small boat that we had to wade across the shore to get to, before we could get into the big boat to get to the island. It was the same deal getting off the boat to the shore of Gili Trawangan but this time in the pitch black with no lights! And did I mention, I got seasick!!!! Yuk! it was all worth it though!



Anyway after the boat ride we had to find accomodation, easy one might think....but as every traveller in SEA will know, this isn't the case. We got led to a number of guesthouses by a random bloke, the first place we saw had cockroaches and massives spiders in the small room! If you know Tim, you'll know he doesnt like spiders bigger than the size of his fist, so you can imagine his face when I pointed out this tarantula sized beast on the bathroom wall! The second place was the same sort of story but a bigger room. We eventually pissed the man off enough with our fussiness so that he left us alone and we eventually found a nice hut close to beach and behind a small bar that shows movies every night. (Cockroach landed on me and went up my skirt when we were watching a movie there, come to think of the place now!)

We enjoyed a beautiful walk around the island, passed many secluded beaches and found many pieces of dried coral, some with their colour still and many urchin shells! Found a lovely cafe on the part of the island thats best to view the sunset from, and had the tastiest fresh coconut milkshakes we have had since arriving to this part of the world! The rest of our time was spent enjoying a movie at the beach, eating woodfire pizzas, walking on the beach and having a few G&Ts at the Irish bar. Now thats the beach life!


permalink written by  Priya&Tim on September 13, 2006 from Lombok, Indonesia
from the travel blog: Cheeky Round The World Trip
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Loving Ubud!

Ubud, Indonesia

Headed up to Ubud, the central part of Bali and the hub-bub of all things cultural. We booked ourselves into a beautiful losmen where guesthouses are built around the family temple. The place was just serene and full of quiet animal life. We spent many hours just gazing into the bushes and trees, finding as many animals, birds and insects we could, as one of the family members would do their prayers in the morning. Next something a bit more active, we spent sometime looking around the town and passed through the markets. During our stay in Ubud, we rented a moped and ventured to a museum and surrounding villages; and visited a few cultural museums, one of which was dedicated to just female artists in Bali. It was well set out, and a lot information was available regarding particular pieces and all of the exhibited artists. Highlights however was finding the restaurant that served copius amounts of Arak everytime we visited, hence we visited a lot! And going to the Classical Dance perfomance set at Ubud Palace, and how could I forget the hustle and bustle of the market (which Tim by the way, tried to avoid like the plague!)

Following Ubud, we were craving a little of the beach life and decided to move on to the Gili Islands while we had the time to so, thus a quick stopover at Padang Bai which is a small fishing town and port to the Gili's and Lombok. Took the advice of Trish (from our travels before) and chilled out at the Ozone bar....the best food and the biggest mugs of tea ever (on bali anyway)!



permalink written by  Priya&Tim on September 9, 2006 from Ubud, Indonesia
from the travel blog: Cheeky Round The World Trip
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Country Number 7

Ubud, Indonesia

Our first flight with Quantas: a proper wool blanket; nice food and drinks of choice and televisions as usual; and check us out with our electronic reclining seats with controls for the headrests, footrests and angles of the seat and back rest!!! OK so we weren't in economy, we had simply been allocated seats in Business/First class along with most people that were going to Bali and not Sydney! But hey ho, we weren't complaining!

And to top it off, although we were arriving late in th evening to Bali, it was a beautiful sight from above when we were descending to the airport....a dark and vast sea with lights illuminating the boats offshore, and a tiny island awaiting us which looked just as dark except for the few beach resort areas, all lighted and sparkling away to us! We arrived to a small resort in Kuta and chcked into our luxury room overlooking the pool and garden which we had booked for a special price over the internet, (thank god for technology, and those every now and again guilty pleasures!)

So the next day we had a mooch around Kuta, and went to the beach. Nice but overcrowded and not looked after! And to be honest, people trying to sell you stuff and then being rude if you dont oblige is something we were growing tired of now. So dinner, and a few drinks is all good! The next day, we spent it shopping for a few goods we needed and just totally lazed our arses off at the pool! Can you blame us???




permalink written by  Priya&Tim on September 5, 2006 from Ubud, Indonesia
from the travel blog: Cheeky Round The World Trip
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Singapore Part II or is it Part III???

Singapore, Singapore

Two last nights in Sigapore city, and oh how we will miss everything about it... except its costs! Well till next time that is, but with the way we've been travelling, that could be in a couple of weeks time! On our first night, we chilled out after travelling from Melaka, and headed to a nearby Chinese for some good food! We weren't that tired as it turned out, as we tuned in to watch the Emmy's!

On our second day, we got ourselves to Singapore Zoo. You can imagine how excited I was in particular, its been an age since either of us had been to the zoo, so we were both looking forward to it. And what a treat it was....definately one of our highlights of South East Asia. Now here was a zoo that had the right idea, no cages just moats and enclosures, variety, a real rainforest walk, the wildest of animals raoming freely (when you first see the orangutans hanging and playing in the trees above you, words cannot describe how you feel!) and most importantly real recognition for environment conservation.

We had a wonderful day looking at all the displays and watching the animals, from 12ft aligators to 12inch mousedeers, from the otters swiming lengths on its back in the pool, to giant polar bears tearing apart fish for lunch!

The highlights were definately the white tigers with their absolutely stunning coats and such regal postures, and the beastly looking wild dog which looked like it came straight out of the Val Helsing movie! Tim also managed to somehow inspire the sloth to move at lightning speed so that by the time Tim reached the platform where it had been lazily hanging about, it was now in the treetops of its enclosure a good 50-60 meters away from the platform!

We finished off in our favourite coffee house and lived up the Singaporean way of life, before we headed to the airport... Bali or Bust....


permalink written by  Priya&Tim on September 1, 2006 from Singapore, Singapore
from the travel blog: Cheeky Round The World Trip
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Malaysia Part II continued...

Kuala Tahan, Malaysia

.....Taman Negara. Yes, we knew we would come here....its just not possible to do Malaysia without a trip to the rainforest and do the famed canaopy walkway, and take in the breathtaking sights of the surrounding area and villages. So it was decided: we got oursleves back from the un-inspiring Georgetown and made our way down to KL; sorted out a next day departure to go to the rainforest, and sorted ourselves a place to stay in the forest village of Kuala Tahan for two nights. We arrived to a beautiful and bright guesthouse, unpacked; had dinner on a floating restaurant; listened to our intro video of the forest (which was made in 1970's for sure!), and got oursleves in the back of a 4x4 to do the night safari! It was so much fun, and we did see some very interesting birdlife and insects. The leopard cat however stole the show, and we headed back to get a good nights rest before the canopy walk ahead of us.


The walkway is something neither of us will ever forget, it was the most unusual way to explore the rainforest but possibly the most effective way to see it in a totally different way. From the canopy you didnt get a good idea of wildlife, but that was to be expected considering there are hundreds of visitors everyday climbing the walkway. However, you did get a good idea of the variety in foilage and how certain trees and plants fit into the whole ecosystem. As interesting as that all sounds I'm sure....the most important thing, was that we had a lot of fun that day, and shaking the bridge is not allowed as I was promptly informed!

Back down the river the next day, and we headed back to Melaka to get a couple nights rest and do laundry before getting to Singapore. Last stop, before we get to official country number 7!


permalink written by  Priya&Tim on August 27, 2006 from Kuala Tahan, Malaysia
from the travel blog: Cheeky Round The World Trip
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Malaysia Part II

Tanah Rata, Malaysia

Singapore and Malaysia were our rescheduled destinations for the next two weeks as we did not nearly enough cover all of what we wanted to see, let alone what the two nations have to offer! Our changes were made due to the unrest in central Indonesia at the time of travelling, but we are still planning to travel through Bali and Lombok, circumstances permitting.

So one night in Singapore knowing that we would soon be back meant that we were on our way up North, we had a stopover in Melaka, Malaysia. Again it was a whirlwind stop here as we made our way to where we wanted to be, and that was to the wonderful Cameron Highands. It was a destination that came to be highly recommended by many people that we have met along the way of our travels, so we couldnt resist. And when we arrived we could see why they had recommended it so much. Unlike the choatic city of KL, or the quiet suburbs of Melaka; Cameron Highlands, is high up, and you are in the middle of nowhere, and all that is around, are one many of the acres of tea tree plantations.

During our retreat in the hideaway town of Tanah Rata, we went on a countryside tour, and saw the famous Boh Tea Plantations, we also visited a Rose Garden, Butterfly Farm, Insects Farm, Strawberry plantations and saw where the rich spent their time in the highlands. The best part of our stay however was the fact that we got to eat some of the best curries and indian breads in the world. The taste of the food from kumar's Restuarant will never leave my mouth!

Next stop Georgetown whilst we deliberate whether to visit the Perhentian Islands or Taman Negara, the worlds oldest rainforest......


permalink written by  Priya&Tim on August 21, 2006 from Tanah Rata, Malaysia
from the travel blog: Cheeky Round The World Trip
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Happy to be Home....

Basingstoke, United Kingdom

After a whirlwind few months we found ourselves back in the UK on the 28th of July. To be honest it was great to see the family again, it felt like we'd only left them the week before even though we'd been away for three months. After a few days Rest and Relaxation Priya and I were back travelling. My brother was due to get married a week after we'd arrived back in the UK, which meant plenty of time to take it easy...not exactly. The wedding was in Angles sur L'anglin which was a two and a half day drive to get to, at a very leisurely pace mind. The wedding itself was absolutely wonderful. Most of the extended families Brown and Bruce were there, with many other familes linked to those two, as well as numerous friends of the bride and groom. It was a fantstic three day affair, with quality food, drink, music, socialising, beautiful scenery and near-perfect weather. Overall, two thumbs definately up.

With the wedding done and dusted we had a week left in Basingstoke. This time was spent amongst family and friends, and getting pre-travel essentials like visa's, insurance, and kit sorted for part two. On the Saturday night before our Departure Tim headed into London to meet up with some friends and have a few birthday drinks. Thank you to anybody that was there, and many thanks for reminding me what it feels like to wake up a year older whilst feeling at least five years older at the same time. The following day we had to bid farewell to families once more and embark upon part two of our journey. Unfortunately due to the heightened security measures at Heathrow we had to arrive at the airport four hours before we were due to take off. We managed this, and we managed to get through security with time to spare, just enough time for a few pints. Nice! We had a great time being back and it was arguably harder to leave this time than the first. Anyhow, Back to Singapore...

permalink written by  Priya&Tim on August 7, 2006 from Basingstoke, United Kingdom
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