johnnoble

Last day of work
Thatcham, United Kingdom
My Blog has been born. I fly out to New York on Mon 1st September, for a whole year of exploring the shores beyond the UK...& I cannot wait!
I shall try to keep this Blog as up to date as possible - any comments are welcomed (& I KNOW that there will be comments!)
See you soon
John
:-)
written by  johnnoble on August 21, 2008 from Thatcham, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: John's year off...

NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
New York, United States
I am finally sitting down to try & let you all know what I have been up to since I flew out of Heathrow on Sept 1st.
I want to start by letting you all know that the weather in NY has been amazing - 30oC for about 5 of the days I have been here. These conditions have been perfect for visiting my favourite place in NY City...Central Park.
The only way that you can truly appreciate how amazing the Park is, you have to visit it. Such a vast space in the very middle of the City, with such a relaxed atmosphere.
I went to the US Open & saw Andy Murray beat Del Porto. The facilities at Flushing Meadows are stunning.
Madison Square Garden is worth a visit. There have been many different events on there over the years, & I saw the NY Liberties lose in a WNBA game (basketball).
Amongst the other actvities I have been up to are: going up the Empire State Building. Bus tours of the whole city & waterfront. Visiting Times Square (v.bright both day & night).
Visiting the American Museum of Sport. I also went to Ground Zero on Sept 11th. It is impossible, still, to comprehend what happened there in 2001. It is just a building site. It is amazing the size of this space though, in amongst so many other buildings.
The Pubs & Bars almost never seem to close, & I have seen quite a few of them! ;-) Those of you who have seen the film "Coyote Ugly" will know the theme of the bar below. Apparently the film was based on this bar, & not the other way around
New York is more expensive than I thought, but I am assured that is not applicable to the rest of the country! The only Football that I have seen was Eng v Croatia (THEO! THEO!) - but I did catch a recent Liverpool score :-)
On Sunday I went to the Giants Stadium to see the NY Jets vs New England Patriots. I arrived at 11am for the "tailgate" party. For those who are not aware of this American Custom, this constructs of BBQ's & Beers in the parking lot. You cannot begin to imagine how much preparation the fans put in for these events. As there are only 8 NFL home games each season for these fans, these tailgates turn out to be huge parties.
The game itself wasn't the best. I did get to see two touchdowns, although the NY Jets lost 19-10. All in all it was an incredible day - I would strongly recommend it if you get a chance!
Despite what you all may have heard, NY is not an intimidating city. The majority of people are very helpful & friendly. I have to say that I almost feel safer in NY than in London! The hostels are basic, as one would expect, but I have met SO many people already - from many different countries.
I am now in Philadelphia...but the story shall continue in my next installment ;-)
Missing you all loads - but I get the feeling this year is going to fly by! So, I hope that all is well back in Blighty, & I will see you soon...
written by  johnnoble on September 16, 2008 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: John's year off...

Philadelphia and Washington DC
Philadelphia, United States
My successful (yet expensive) time in New York had come to an end. I had originally planned to travel to Baltimore for a couple of days, although ended up in Philadelphia instead. I met a girl called Arriane, in NY, who had said that I was welcome to her couch for a few days - & that she would happily show me the city! An offer that I couldnt refuse!
On my first night in Phili we went to the bar that Arriane works at... an "Irish" bar. If you have been to the US - you will know that an Irish bar just needs to serve Guiness and have a few green banners about the place! Monday night NFL was on, & the Philadelphia EAGLES were playing the Dallas COWBOYS. There is an intense rivalry between the two - so the atmosphere was electric. It certainly helped that the game was very well balanced, with the possibility of either team winning in the closing stages. Dallas won, just, by 41-37. However, this was one of the most entertaining NFL games I have ever seen. All of the locals at Arriane's Bar were very welcoming, & it wasn't long before the Yagerbombs & Beers were flowing! I seem to remember finally crashing out at about 6am...what a night!
As far as sight seeing goes, I did some of that! Old Town in Phili is lovely. It is very clean & the people there are clearly proud of it. For those of you up on your US history, you will know that Phili was the original US capital - where the constitution was drawn up. There are visitor centres dedicated to this. Phili is also home to the "Liberty" bell - which was rung enthusiastically upon the Red Coat oppressors (us) leaving. Independence was born (...& look what happened, eh?). I took a DUCK tour around the city (a bus that can also go on the water...pretty cool) & went for some drinks on the trendy South Street. For all of you film enthusiasts out there, you will enjoy the following pictures. Needless to say, I ran the steps & I couldnt get the theme tune out of my head for two days!!
My three days in Phili were very enjoyable, & pretty drunken too ;-)
Then I was off to Washington DC. The train service in US is amazing! So much room! & the seats are v.comfy too! I would recommend it as a means of travel here.
Anyway, I arrived in DC late in the evening, so I got a FuddRuggers burger (amazing - not fast food) & walked around the Washington Mall (aka - park). The buildings in Washington are amazing, & the yanks sure do love a good memorial (M)...they are everywhere! Over the following days I went to a posh club called "Ultra Bar", I visited the Lincoln & Vietnam memorials, the White House,
& (film enthusiasts, you will recognise this) the Washington Needle...
I also visited a LOT of museums, the highlights being the Air & Space museum (all of it - I spent 4 hours there!) & the 3D Sea Monsters film at the Museum of Natural History. The Natural History Museum in NY City is the better of the two, in case you couldn't decide on which to visit!
I have arrived in Boston, by plane this time, so just the automobile to go before I can emulate the great John Candy & Steve Martin ;-)
written by  johnnoble on September 23, 2008 from Philadelphia, United States
from the travel blog: John's year off...

Boston baby
Boston, United States
My final stop on the East Coast of the US was Boston. Due to a schoolboy error on my part (booking my flight but no hostel) I ended up staying in Everett - a suburb of Boston city. My hostel was a 20min Bus and Metro ride to the centre of the city, so not bad, especially seeing as a week pass was only $15!!
On my first day in the city I certainly packed it in! I started by visiting Boston Common & the public gardens. It was still sunny at this point, so it was a very pleasant choice!
After my walk in the sunshine I needed some refreshment...so as I was in Boston it would have been very rude not to make a stop off at a very famous Public House...
After that I went onto Faneuil Hall & the associated markets. These are apparently the oldest markets in the US, although it seemed to me to be a glorified food court (every fast food you could imagine was available). A short walk then took me to the Boston Docks, which were long in distance & full of yachts - but nothing special.
It was then time to go & loiter outside Fenway park - in the hope that I could secure a ticket for that evening`s game (which was Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Redskins). You all know that I managed it :-) ...where there`s a will, there`s a way! I paid $45 (face value) for my ticket, which I purchased off of a season ticket holder who had a spare.
Whilst I do understand the rules of Baseball, I fail to understand the spectacle...so I drank lots of beer & soaked up the atmosphere (just like a true Brit). It turns out that I was at an important game, as if the Red Sox could win that night they would secure their place in the "world" (what a joke) series...which they did (just) 5-4. My new Baseball friends & I snuck into the expensive seats by the plate for the last two innings, as lots of people leave very early (I don`t get that either). I left the ground drunk & satisfied that I had a good time, although I won`t be rushing to another game anytime soon!
I decided nurse my hangover at Boston`s Museum of Fine Arts...which was rubbish! When you`ve seen one Egyptian pot, you`ve truly seen them all! That evening I went out for burgers with some new hostel arrivals, Rob & Will, who are both recent UWIC graduates...small world. A "special" mention needs to be attributed to Will`s Welshness...he`s a true Boyo - those Welshies get everywhere!!
For the rest of the week Rob, Will & I discovered more of Boston. We went to Harvard & Cambridge Uni`s (which looked as rich as their reputation suggests) as well as visiting the Boston Aquarium.
We also drank a lot (shock). One of our best discoveries was the deserted Cinema (yet fully functional) on the lower level of our hostel. This was a haven during two heavy days of rain (just like good old blighty), & served as a great hangover cure! We went out to a Bar/Club on the Friday night with one of the hostel employees & her friend. It was the usual drunken night!
I am actually writing this in my adopted homeland of Canada, in Montreal, but that is another chapter folks...
;-)
written by  johnnoble on October 2, 2008 from Boston, United States

French Canada!
Montreal, Canada
That's right buddy - John has made it to Canadialand! The first thing I must point out, to those of you who were unaware, Montreal is in Quebec - the French speaking province of Canada. They speak English too, although I got the feeling that they just didn't like to!
As soon as I was checked into my room I went to check out Montreal's micro brewery, with a French Guy (Mo) that I had met in the hostel minutes after arriving. The ale was surprisingly good! A couple of quiet drinks resulted in waking up on some Canadian girl's couch (called Amy)...the theme for my week had been set :-)
On my first full day I went to Montreal Mountain, which is a national park situated in the North of the city. The climb was worth it as some of the views were amazing (especially at this time of year!).
That evening I went to my first Hockey game, to watch the Montreal Canadiens vs the Detroit Red Wings.
It was a preseason fixture, so less passionate - meaning less fights than a league game (still got a few though!) The match was end to end, although tied 1-1...even after a fourth period. Therefore, we were treated to a shoot out! (can you spot the puck??)
The Canadiens won 3-1. More beers were consumed that night with people I met at the game. There are LOTS of cool bars in Montreal...& I saw quite a few of them during my stay ;-)
My Montreal visit could not have been better timed. I happened to coincide my visit with the city's annual "Pop Festival." This "festival" was from Weds - Sun in venues all across the city. Each night there were over 20 bands to choose from - although most were American/Canadian bands. However, I managed to get a ticket for HOT CHIP (SO good live) on the Weds night
I met some students (above) at the gig & ended up back at their halls of residence - who knows why I booked a hostel at all, eh?? The next day I swam in the Montreal Olympic Pool (for free), which was lovely. I miss swimming!
Saturday was time for the Black Kids (above)! I went with the Montreal students I met at Hot Chip. The Black Kids were excellent & lots of alcohol was consumed (before, during & after). I did make it back to my Hostel that night, eventually.
On my last day in Montreal it was time to check out a random band..."The Brazilian Girls." (above) They were very good, although very difficult to describe (so I won't - just download some of their stuff!). Yet again we hit the bars aftewards & ended up discussing music into the early hours of the morning. I stayed at the student res' again & got very little sleep - meaning the journey to Ottawa the following day was going to be interesting!
Montreal doesn't really have much to offer in terms of sightseeing, but it more than makes up for that with its nightlife offering! I left Montreal a lot poorer & with a battered liver...but you're only young once, right?? ;-)
written by  johnnoble on October 8, 2008 from Montreal, Canada

Ottawa is thatta-way!
Ottawa, Canada
I sincerely hope that this will be my only stay in any Jail! That's right, the hostel that I stayed in in Ottawa was formerly a prison. Built in the early 1800's it was home to some of Canada's most violent criminals. The Jail is 9 stories high, complete with a level of solitary cells & a gallows. The top floor was "death row" - where the are positioned above the courtyard...maximising the audience for those receiving the death penalty. The cells on floor 9 are supposidly the most haunted. I went up there late at night on a number of occasions - in the hope that I would have an encounter with the deceased...but no such luck (what a surprise).
Having pickled my liver in Montreal I decided to make this a predominantly dry week. Therefore there was a lot of sightseeing to do! As the capital of Canada, Ottawa is where the Parliament buildings are situated. They are very grand, but also very reminiscent of some British structures (if you don't know why that is then your history knowledge is severly lacking!)
As the weather was so good all week (clear blue skies & about 15oC) I walked nearly the entire city! There is a very nice Canal & River that runs through the middle of the city, which is only enhanced by the fall colours (seeing is appreciating)...
I visited Rideau Hall, which is situated in a private park (about 15 acres) in the NW of the city. The park is open during the day, so I took full advantage. Located in the centre of the park is Rideau Hall itself, one of the Canadian PM's residences. As I was walking away from the building the PM (Steve Harper) arrived in his black Merc. Exciting, eh? ;-)
On the Thursday I got up at 6am & caught the Greyhound (& survived) to Wakefield - situated about 40km N of Ottawa. Wakefield is a small & quaint town located on the edge of a very large lake. It is very picturesque. I didn't go there just for the sightseeing though...I was on a thrillseeking mission...RIPRIDE!
For about 15/20 seconds I was SUPERMAN! Flying headfirst down 200ft into a water filled quarry. It was a very good buzz & not too expensive. They also offered a Bungee, but this was expensive - & something I have previously done. It did look cool though!
I visited the city's War museum (love that stuff). The highlights were the exhibits on WW1, the Civil wars, & they actually had one of Hitler's cars there...pretty cool
On my last night in the city I had a traditional snack...a "Beavertail Pastry." It is like a deep fried pancake, in the shape of a Beaver's tail, covered in Cinnamon sugar, lemon juice & maple syrup. A little too sweet for my liking!
I then left Ottawa for Kingston...home town of the Slaters. Jeremy's Mum & Dad, Mick & Lynn, took me to their new apartment for dinner (which was lovely) then out to the Brewery downtown for "Dragon's Breath" - a rather nice pale ale! That night I drank too much with the locals in the sports bar next to my Motel...good times :-)
The next day I walked around downtown Kingston (in the 20oC sunshine & blue skies). Kingston is a lovely town, about twice the size of Newbury. I met up with a load of Jez's friends that afternoon & evening - for more beers (disgraceful, eh?). I was treated to another fantastic meal at the Slater's residence (no wonder Jez loves his food - Lyn cooks better than he boasts!)
Having been utterly spoilt rotten by Jeremy's Family & Friends, it was time to move onto Toronto...
written by  johnnoble on October 13, 2008 from Ottawa, Canada

Toronto
Toronto, Canada
I have arrived in Toronto for an elongated stay. I open this entry with that info, as I will probably not update my Blog for another 3 weeks or so (I am just so busy with the city life!)
As per usual, my first few days in a new city involves a lot of walking. I like to navigate & familiarise myself with everything, so that I know the best places to go & the best things to do. Toronto is another clean city, with a very big downtown area. The city's suburbs spread far into the North. There are plenty of bars & shops dotted around downtown, & a LOT of fast food places (the Canadians have more restraint than the Americans, obviously, because I haven't seen many obese Canadians!). Due to the location of Toronto (there are plains all around) it can quite windy. As the temp begins to drop you can really feel that wind chill factor!
My first hostel was a complete nightmare, so I quickly found somewhere else. I will spare you the details, but one of my friends says that he has stayed in cleaner squats than this first place. I am now living very close to Dundas Sq, which is the centre of downtown. It is Toronto's version of Times Sq - although nowhere near as grand. I have been looking for a job, but as I am only here for one month my options are very limited. I wasn't planning on working although C/C fraud has cost me over $2000 - & Egg are taking their sweet time deciding on whether or not I will be refunded. I expect to get it back, although I' rather be safe than sorry! No one wants me home early!
On a more positive note...Niagara Falls = DONE
I took the train down there for the day & checked it out. I went on the "Maid of the Mist" boat which takes you right into the spray of the falls, which was like being in a massive rainstorm. I also went behind/beneath the falls. There are a series of tunnels with viewing sections. Not that exciting, although the noise was impressive! I also walked a few miles up river to the "Whirlpool," which is exactly as it sounds. The whole of the river & the falls are spectacular, especially in fall, although the town of Niagara is purely tourist commercialist. Plenty of fair ground rides, fast food chains, casinos etc etc. It's best to keep you back to this & your eyes focussed on the natural spectacle.
Yesterday I went to Toronto Zoo - which was quality! They have a great diversity of animals & the setting is spectacular, as you walk through the woods to all of the enclosures. We saw one very hungry Elephant...unless, that is, it is normal for them to eat their own shit! :-)
I played Dodgeball in the evening. I have joined my friends' teams for the next month, so I get to slam balls into people's faces every Thursday night. Some people take it really seriously, which is hilarious. It is a lot trickier than you think though, but very satisfying beating the teams that turn up with matching kits...you know the sort!
Over the next month I have a lot of exercise planned, as I have now joined a gym..addict :-) I am going to the Halloween MonsterMash Ball, as that is a BIG deal here (apparently). So my next installment should have some good pics from that! I have also got some tickets to bands I have never heard of, which friends are taking me to, & I intend on getting a ticket to see the Kings of Leon on Nov 7th. It is sold out, but where there's a will, there's a way!! Noble will not fail.
Lastly, I have a Canadian "cell" number now, so should you wish to reach me I am on +1 416 838 3631. I'm just chuffed I can remember the number...I don't expect any calls!
Speak to you all soon Blog fans ;-)
written by  johnnoble on October 24, 2008 from Toronto, Canada

Toronto part II
Toronto, Canada
Since my last entry I have been a busy boy. This posting will mostly comprise of photos...as a picture is worth a thousand words, right?
Almost immediately after my last entry I saw a local band called Yeysayer (above), who were very good! They played at the horseshoe tavern - one of Toronto's best (aka most renound) live music venues. If you want to know what they're like, download some!
I also visited the Toronto Steam Whistler Brewery (shock!), which was interesting. It is a fairly small operation, but the lager is good - & the free samples kept flowing! I somehow managed a gym session after my tour & samples...a fairly lazy one at that!
Halloween. It's a BIG deal here. The costumes that were on show were, in the most part, incredible. Everyone goes to a lot of effort (myself included, of course), as you will see from some of the pics below...
Our group got smaller as the night went on, but Kenny (Waldo/Wally) & I made it through to the end (somewhat the worse off for it though). We went to a total of four parties that night. Plenty of mischief caused throughout too! ;-)
I managed to get some work! General labour & cleaning windows. I found the job online & worked for a couple of weeks for this English guy who runs his own company, so cash in hand. One afternoon, we had finished early, so we went to the pub for a quick pint. That quick pint turned into a 8 hour drinking session that ended up with David (my boss) & I doing Kareoke at midnight in a random sports bar. We chose Wonderwall by Oasis...you can all appreciate how bad it must have been! Funny times.
Check out this muriel! Now that is some impressive street art! There are about 10 of these in the far West of the city. If you are ever in Toronto, check them out!
After one month in Toronto it was time to move on. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in TO & cannot thank everyone enough for making me feel so welcomed! These people know who they are ;-) I got on a train on Tues morning at 9am & arrived in Portage-la-Prairie at 7pm the following day. Canada is BIG. The train was pretty good though, lots of leg room & there was an observation carriage to enable excellent views of the scenery!
I stayed with Linda & Barrie in Portage-la-Prairie, some of my Mum's friends from her time on Canadian soil. Once again, I was truly humbled by the hospitality & warm welcome I received. Linda & Barrie showed me around the small farming town of Portage, & treated me to some lovely home cooking! :-) The town is where many WWII pilots trained, & it is situated at the southern tip of the Manitoba lake - which is over 300miles long! The pics below are of the lake that Linda & Barrie's house backs onto. The Prairies offer some excellent opportunities for some amazing sunset pictures!
I enjoyed my couple of days in Portage, where I got my first real snow (4 inches), but it was time to move on again...Edmonton next stop.
written by  johnnoble on November 17, 2008 from Toronto, Canada

Moving again...
Edmonton, Canada
It feels like ages since I last sat down to do this - possibly because of how busy I have been, & all that I have seen. Many of you will be pleased to know that this entry is going to mostly comprise of photos (it seems that many of you aren't too keen on reading?!). Anyway, here goes...
Next on the tour was Edmonton, or as it has affectionately been referred to as..."Deadmonton." I would have to agree with this statement, as there is very little to do there. The city is very spread out & only seems to cater to shoppers. Whyte Av was okay, as it was the best place to go out drinking!
The West Edmonton Mall has an Ice Rink (full size), a small theme park (inc 3 rollacoasters) & a water park (inc about 5 slides). Other than that there is a multiplex cinema & hundreds of chain stores. Not my idea of heaven! I I much preferred my visit to the Alberta Museum, which whilst small had a lot of good exhibits...especially the live creepy crawlies!
After my four days in Deadmonton it was time to move on; the next stop being Jasper in the National Park by the Rocky Mountains. Jasper is a very small town, only two main streets, but it is perfectly situated to serve up some amazing hiking opportunites - & consequently, some amazing picture opportunities...
I walked on water for the first time! I have done many times since, but it was an exciting experience - I was the only one of us who was brave ( /stupid) enough to try it out! I also enjoyed going down a 100ft icy hill on a sheet of plastic...highly recommended - although the stones & trees can hurt!
After my three days in Jasper it was time to head to Banff. I had managed to arrange for a bus through the National Parks & the Rockies, renound worldwide as one of the most scenic roads. I cannot argue one bit!
I cannot wait to go back to the National Parks in the summer months, armed with a tent, a mountain bike & a kayak! Truly breath taking :-O
written by  johnnoble on December 1, 2008 from Edmonton, Canada

Hiking & drinking
Banff, Canada
After my stunning journey down through the National Parks I arrived in Banff. Banff is larger than Jasper, as there are three Ski resorts very close by. The town only has a population of 8000, as it seems to serve the travellers & holiday makers that visit the area.
The hostel I was staying in was based on the North edge of the town, a 15min walk from downtown. The standard of the hostel was excellent - I even had a double bed! Yet again, the immediate area offered plenty of opportunities for some amazing piccies...
There were plenty of people at the hostel who were looking for work for the season, so I was in the minority as a traveller. I was also in the minority as an Englishman - as the place was overrun with Aussies & Kiwis! As I am sure you can all imagine, I held my own in the drinking stakes - I also won the lion's share of Pool & Darts (including my first ever 180...very proud of that!)
Throughout the week I went on various hiking routes in the immediate area, which offered up some stunning scenery & some opportunities for ice smashing with whatever materials nature had to offer! We even visited the Banff springs, which is basically an outdoor pool heated to about 40oC
Towards the end of the week eight of us took one of the guys' van back up North, into the park, to go to Lake Louise. Pictures say more than I ever could.
After a walk up the mountain next to the lake, & a tour of the 5 star Hotel located on its shore, we ventured further north to Lake Peyto. As we turned the corner to the viewing platforms, we all fell silent - every one of us breathless & spell bound by the view. Please feel free to let me know how jealous you all are ;-)
For scenery, the national parks in the Canadian Rockies cannot be rivaled. As mentioned in my previous entry, I cannot wait to visit the place in the summer - as the potential for Mountain Biking & Kayaking seems limitless. It was very tough to leave Banff, but Calgary & "Cool Runnings" aspirations are next on the agenda...
written by  johnnoble on December 1, 2008 from Banff, Canada

Calgary
Calgary, Canada
Although leaving Banff was difficult, I was looking forward to seeing Canada's Cowboy capital - Calgary. Mum's friends from Portage, Linda & Barrie, picked me up & drove me to their daughter's (Bess') place in Calgary. Bess had kindly offered me accommodation for the week. It was a nice little flat on the outskirts of downtown central.
During the daytime in Calgary I walked the city (the usual routine) in order to get a real feel for the place. Calgary is another clean city, & like Edmonton, is very spread out. Unlike Edmonton, Calgary is not dreary - as they can boast the most hours of sunlight throughout the year across the whole of Canada. It does get very cold though, when the sun drops behind the mountains the temp drops dramatically, -20oC was the coldest it got during my stay. The downtown of Calgary hosts the usual malls & bars, whilst the river running through the city offers some attractive walks.
Midway through the week I went to check out the facilities & the museum at Canada Olympic Park. The site was used for the '88 winter Olympics, & is still used today - mostly for the downhill skiing & snowboarding slope. The most famous incident that occurred here involved four Jamaicans & a bobsled. I made sure that I had my Bobsled run booked in before I had to leave Calgary! If you haven't seen Cool Runnings, then shame on you! We tried to rent it at 3 different video stores - although no where had it. Shocking when you consider that a lot of the movie was shot in Calgary!
On the Wednesday evening we went to Calgary Zoo to check out the Christmas lights. It was the usual sort of stuff, although there was one tunnel of lights I took a shine to...
On the Friday night I went with Bess & her friends to an independent film premiere, as one of Bess' friends had a trailer screening for his upcoming film. The three short films on show were very good, if not a little strange. After the films we visited a couple of downtown bars, before we headed to "Ranchmans" - which is an authentic Cowboy bar. By which I mean that all the "cool" guys were fully kitted out in check shirts, large belt buckles, blue jeans, cowboy boots & hat. The works. There were plenty of hoe-down moves on the dancefloor too...all very surreal when you had a few beers! Incidentally, this is the bar from Cool Runnings - where the boys get into a brawl (I love that movie, in case you hadn't realised).
Saturday finally came...Bobsled day! $170 got me one run on the track, driven by the Canadian Olympic driver, a tshirt & a certificate (woooo!). The ride was incredible. Our top speed was 136kmph with a top G force of 5! Some of the corners were vicious, although we survived the Jamaicans corner I am pleased to say! Our time was 61secs...so John Candy would not have been pleased. I blame our failure to break the 60sec barrier on a seated push start, & the inexperience of the two novice passengers!
If any of you get a chance to Bobsled I would strongly recommend it. This was my second course (Latvia the last one) & the second time it was even more enjoyable than the first. There was time for a quick bite to eat, let the adrenaline pass, before I got on a plane to my next destination...Vancouver.
Btw - I now have a new Canadian cell no. +1-604-906-2361. Due to the size of Canada they have regional cell numbers. I am cynical & believe it's just an opportunity to make more money off of "long distance" calls, but thems the rules!
written by  johnnoble on December 15, 2008 from Calgary, Canada

Vancouver
Vancouver, Canada
I arrived in Vancouver, from Calgary, to be greeted with some very English weather...RAIN. I had been warned that Vancouver, being on the coast, had a very similar climate to that of the UK. As I arrived late in the day (Saturday) I simply dropped my things at the hostel, got showered, then hit the pubs. I met up with some friends I had made along my travels & caught up on adventures (mainly me being a world class bobsledder!)
The following day a group of us stood on the mainstreet & watched the Santa Claus parade, which was pretty wierd. So many of the floats seemed to have little, or no, relevance to Xmas! In fact, most of the parade seemed like an opportunity for advertisement from local/national companies (inc McDo's, of course!). We watched the full two hours, just to see Santa really.
I did my usual of walking around the city & checking the place out. I was staying on Granville Street in Downtown Vancouver, which is full of bars & clubs - although it is a pretty grubby place. Due to Vancouver's milder climate a lot of Canada's homeless decend upon it for Xmas...so plenty of bums around begging for change. Once you leave the Downtown island, either North or South, the place is a lot more attractive. Only after visiting these areas could I see why so many people love the city as a whole. I imagine it being amazing during the Summer.
I visited the Maritime Museum, which was surprisingly impressive. After which I went to the space Museum. Inside there are the usual exhibits, but they also have a planetarium & a virtual Mars mission simulator. I suspect both would have thoroughly impressed me if I was a little younger. The building was pretty cool though...
On the sunniest day during my time in Vancouver (well timed) I visited Stanley park. This is a vast area at the NW corner of the Downtown island. It is very impressive. My friend & I hired bikes & covered pretty much all of the park, prior to finishing our visit with a round of pitch & putt. Very Enjoyable, if not a little chilly. It would be an amazing place in the Summer months.
One evening I went to Capilano bridge, with a girl from Maidenhead (small world), as there was a Xmas lights display. The Bridge is located North of the Vancouver Downtown island. The suspension bridge is very "Indiana Jones" like, which was pretty cool, & the lights were quite impressive too.
On one of the wettest days of my travel yet, I visited the Vancouver Aquarium. I got thoroughly soaked walking through Stanley park, so admission was worth the shelter alone! The Aquarium didn't blow me away...it has some excellent quality specimens, although the whole place really isn't that big. I did manage to find Nemo though...
We did experience an awesome Snow storm on my final Saturday in VC. We got about 10cm in under four hours! Most of which was while we were in the pub (or moving between them). On the day I left for Whistler I was less appreciative of the Snow...my bus was delayed & Greyhound were unable to advise if it was going to run that day, However, after a couple of hours in a cold waiting room I was on my way to see Ricky & get my Snowboarding on! Happy Xmas to me!!! ;-)
written by  johnnoble on December 20, 2008 from Vancouver, Canada

Whistler Christmas & New Year
Squamish, Canada
Whistler should be renamed "Christmas Town" - because that what it feels like when you are walking around! The whole village was covered in snow when I arrived, thanks to a couple of days of steady snowing. Whistler is quite a small town & has a uniformed, understated, appearance - which gives the whole place a quaint & friendly vibe. I met Ricky off of the bus & then went to his house - which he had told me very little about.
It turns out that Ricky & his housemates (Arianna, Louise & Emma) are living the life of luxury! (His house is the pic above on the right). They have a large lounge with dangerously comfortable leather sofas, large plasma TV with cable, a powerful HiFi, fully mod-con kitchen, decent sized bedrooms, a fireplace...& a HOT TUB! :-)
The view from Ricky's balcony is the pic below. You can see both Whistler (right) & Blackcomb mountains (left) - with the new Peak2Peak gondola running between them. This gondola has the world's largest unsupported distance...it is a long way between the towers on either side of the valley!
+Christmas Day+
Our Christmas day began at 5:30am with calls to home (interrupting Christmas lunches back home), then we went to the Restaurant at the top of Whistler for a fry up breakfast. After which we hit the slopes! I got the hang of boarding pretty quickly, after I had mastered the toe-heel edge turn. It is a LOT of fun! There were some ice patches that could cause some trouble (aka - wipe outs), although in the most part the conditions were good.
After our snowboarding we hit the hot tub, as always armed with plenty of beer. Ricky & co. then cooked a fantastic Christmas dinner...
...after which we were all thoroughly stuffed! It was then time for the presents!
As a thank you for the hospitality, my friend Chris (who joined us for four days over Christmas) & I purchased the house a sled & Twister. Activities to fill both indoor & out leisure time. Both were used on Christmas day
We were going to be going to a house party in the evening, but the warmth of the fire, the copious amounts of alcohol, & twister, prevented that!
+New Year's Eve+
...I shall remember this as "POW POW" day. Pow Pow is the term used to refer to powder, aka FRESH & plentiful snow on the slopes. That morning we woke to 26cm of it! Ricky & I were up there all day - 8am to 4pm, soaking up the incredible conditions. After which it was the standard hot tub & beer routine, before going to a house party over in Whistler Creek. The party was a good laugh & v.drunken!
(check out the classic "blue steel" pose from me & Arianna!)
I went to bed at about 6am, having made a couple of drunk calls to Allan & Stu back in the UK (which they both thoroughly appreciated of course!). What an awesome way to see out 2008! I would be envious of me too ;-)
My two & half weeks in Whistler were "magical." Ricky & his friends were incredibly accommodating & I cannot thank them enough. I managed a total of 7 days on the slopes, costing me a whopping $80! It really shows that it is not what you know - but WHO you know! ;-) You can see how good a time was had by the amount of beer we got through in Christmas week...
Ricky & I decided to make good use of the empties...a Neil Buchanan "Art Attack" moment that even the artistic legend himself would be proud of...
My next destination is Victoria, via a weekend stay with friends in Vancouver. I have got about 9 places to visit on the West Coast of the US before I fly out to Hawaii & meet with Mr Christopher Small! It is going to be a busy & eventful month - so stay tuned! :-)
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL x
written by  johnnoble on January 7, 2009 from Squamish, Canada

Leaving Canada
Seattle, United States
I returned to Vancouver for the weekend, staying with some friends there & doing the usual drinking! It was good to catch up with everyone after Xmas & New Year, but my adventures had to go on!
I caught the Ferry across to Nanaimo, which is situated about halfway up Vancouver Island. It is a very small town, with very little to see/do, which is why I was glad to only be staying the one night. The hostel I stayed in was nice & I went out for some pool & beers with a Swiss guy I met there.
The next day I caught a bus to Victoria. Victoria is the largest city on VC island, & it is a very nice place too! The only downside to my timing was that it rained for the entire time I was there. From all of the tourism info, it does look like the place is manic in the Summer - as a lot of Canadians/Americans venture to VC Island, to check out the scenery. I kept my activities to indoor amenities; the BC Museum was pretty good - with lots of interesting artifacts from Canada's aboriginal past...
I also visited Minature World...which was excellent! There were lots of varying displays, from Canada's early Railways, WWI & WWII, Fairlytale scenes, world famous castles, etc etc. Well worth a visit!
After Victoria I said goodbye to Canada, got on the Ferry & headed to Port Angeles. I wasn't intending on stopping here, although no ferries went directly to Seattle in January - so I had little choice. I stayed in a "hostel", which actually turned out to be some Woman's house! The town was very unattractive, with nothing to it. I was glad to leave the following morning.
I arrived in Seattle & found my hostel with ease. I was staying right in the centre of Downtown, by the Market place. Seattle is a fairly nondescript place, in that it has nothing amazing nor awful about it! Perhaps I have visited too many N.American cities now?! Anyway, I did the usual of walking the most popular areas of the city, including the Needle (pictured above). I also happened to be by the International Fountain when the annual Winter Fire Festival was being held, to honour the Winter Solstice. This was a bunch of hippies playing with fire to music...pretty lame actually. I went out that night & met a bunch of cadets - meaning I drank so much I don't remember returning to the hostel!
The next day I nursed a thumper of a hangover (I am human afterall), & did very little. On my last day in Seattle I visited the Music Experience Museum. This was very cool! Pictured below, guitar art sculpture & Jimmy Hendrix's guitar from Woodstock.
The museum largely focused on the history of the guitar, & predominantly Jimmy Hendrix. There was the obvious homage to Kurt & Nirvana, along with some other punk/grunge era bands (inc Presidents of USA). Joined to the Music Experience was the Sci-Fi museum. In the most part it was a little too geeky for my liking, although there were some pretty cool exhibits
Star wars fans will appreciate these pictures (the ACTUAL death star used in the original films), whilst anyone who doesn't know who the grey robot below is - you need to watch "The Iron Giant"
Seattle didn't blow me away, although it didn't suck either (N.American slang is rubbing off on me, unfortunately). I packed up & got on a flight to San Francisco...a place I had heard a lot of good things about, & was eager to investigate!
written by  johnnoble on January 13, 2009 from Seattle, United States

California!
San Francisco, United States
WOW. I got off the plane from dreary Seattle to be greeted with clear blue skies & 20oC heat. Immediately, before even getting the tube to downtown, I had a feeling I was going to like this place!
Having checked into my hostel (bit of a dive), I walked along Market Street (the Main St) to the Eastern Piers. From there I walked all the way up the North of Vancouver, as the sun was setting, & then caught the Tram back down to my Hostel. The Tram was a novel experience, although expensive, crowded & a little uncomfortable...I got to where I was going though!
That night I went exploring the local bars, which turned out to be the usual American experience. Why can't they take our brilliant example of bunging all the sodding bars together in one place? It provides a better atmosphere & you don't have to walk 5 blocks to get another beer! Still, that would make too much sense. I tried some lovely local ales, then met some San Fran locals in a Cocktail bar. I had planned an early one, but the company was good - so were the cocktails!
The next day I rose late (thanks to the 3am bedtime), & decided that I would fill my afternoon with a visit to "the Rock" - aka, "Alcatraz."
This place is as cool as I imagined it to be! You are given an audio tour headset, & then allowed to roam freely around the island & jail. The 45min audio tour could be paused at any moment, in order to take a piccy or merely take in your surroundings. I shaln't spoil the (potential) experience by going into too much detail, so I will give you my highlights...
A cell block & a typical cell. There are 3 main cell blocks on Alcatraz, & then the row of "holes" - which were pitch black & completely bare. Unruly prisoners were sent here to think about improving their behaviour!
At one corner of the cell blocks there were two viewing windows, which gave a great view of San Francisco. Many prisoners are known to have commented that the hardest time about doing time in America's hardest prison was that the city was within sight & sometimes sound of the cells! Torture. Alongside is an overview of the Alcatraz history. In 14 escape attempts, no one is known to have survived (3 men are unaccounted for in the most famous attempt - presumed dead from the hazardous swim). All in all I had a brilliant time & took far more pictures there than anyone else would probably be interested in! I would strongly recommend it.
The next day I hired a bike early, & then set off on a mammoth adventure. I cycled across the famous Golden Gate bridge, which was over a mile long in itself. I stopped along the way to take a picture of the emergency phone line, put in place as a last resort for anyone tempted to take the plunge towards the water below. I shouldn't find that funny, but I did (the positioning of the phone & the sign - not suicidal people!)
After I had crossed the bridge I cycled along the shoreline to Sausalito, which is a small costal village. The bay was quaint & the houses all around were lovely, especially those on the hills. I battled my way up what seemed to be a never ending hill, to get to the Muir Woods. The struggle was worth it for the view...
I then had the most exhilarating cycle, at top speed, down the winding roads to the town. Those bends really gave me some additional force - so much so that I was going faster than most of the cars! I then went around the bay further, to Tiburon & Belvedere. Both amazingly attractive little towns, sort of like the fishing villages you might get on the south coast of the UK - although much more attractive & with a LOT more sun! It was then time for me to get the ferry across to San Francisco city, after an exhausting 40 miles of biking. This was when I was treated to the opportunity of some easy, yet amazing, picture opportunities...
I may yet have a career in photography! ;-)
On my last day in San Fran, I walked from the East shore to the West...a LONG way. During my walk I went through various residential districts, past town hall, & briefly through Caestro (the famous Gay district). Incidentally, I would recommend a film out at the moment called "Milk" - it tells the whole story as to why this district is so famous, & how the gay rights movement began & panned out in San Fran.
Next on my tour was the Golden Gate Park, which is HUGE! It is over 3 miles long & about a mile wide. In it there are many flower gardens, baseball fields, football fields, tea rooms, many lakes, a polo stadium, dutch windmills, etc etc. It seemed to take forever to get across it to the beach on the Eastern shore! I did like the park, although it will take a lot to ween me off of my love for Central Park in NY City.
The beach was as stunning as I expected. Sandy & warm, with plenty of space. It was well worth the effort, & a much rewarded chill was enjoyed in the sand. I waited until the sun went down before heading home (via bus, my legs had gone!)
That night I went out for Sushi & drinks with the people I had met earlier in the week, which was a good laugh. There is plenty to do in San Francisco, & I think that the place is very attractive, I could have done a lot more sightseeing - although it's quality over quantity with my time restraints! If any of you get the chance to come to California, make sure that San Fran is on your list!
written by  johnnoble on January 17, 2009 from San Francisco, United States

Santa Cruz...beach time!
Santa Cruz, United States
Whilst I enjoyed my four days in San Fran, I have a tight schedule to fit in all I want to do before Hawaii at the end of January. Therefore I had to tear myself away & head on down the coast, to Santa Cruz.
I arrived a couple of hours before the hostel opened, so I immediately went to the beach...a two minute walk down the hill from my front door.
I was informed on my check in to the hostel that there was no alcohol allowed on the premises, & there is a 11pm curfew! Regardless of code lock doors, the codes will not work after 11pm - an excellent incentive not to miss curfew. With this in mind, I set off to check out the town for a couple of quiet pints. It was exactly this, unless the place gets going after 11pm (I wouldn't know), it is quite quiet. I did find some live music & had a good time of it.
The next day I rose early & hired a bike. I made my way along the coast only to discover that the first Surfing competition of the year was underway. I chilled at the lighthouse point & watched for a while - there were well over 100 surfers in the water at once!
I then pressed on a further couple of miles up the coast to the Natural Bridges State Beach & nature reserve. The attraction here was the rare butterflies. I went on one of the trails to check it out - afterall, it hasn't dropped below 20oC the whole time I have been here, so some shady trees were appealing. After this I headed back down the coast, past my beach (aka - Cowell Beach), & checked out the coastal neighbourhoods & views. Santa Cruz reminds me a lot of Bournemouth, largely due to the seaside location & the overall size of it. Bournemouth is a little more lively, although Bournemouth cannot boast weather of this quality in January!
I cycled back to the hostel & then went out for beers at "99 Bottles of Beer" - a pub dedicated to importing over 100 hundred brews from all over the UK...my kind of place! Had a few & made it back just before curfew.
For my last day I decided to check out the North of the town, which is just shops & residential, but nonetheless very clean & impressive. The atmosphere is very relaxed & friendly, which I suspect is down to the glorious weather & lifestyle?! Who wouldn't want to live in California???
I chilled for the afternoon on the beach & am now about to head back to 99 beers (live music night), before my bedtime (I feel 14 again) of 11pm. I have to get up at 5am to catch a 14hour bus journey to Las Vegas...so it's not all bad, eh? ;-)
written by  johnnoble on January 18, 2009 from Santa Cruz, United States

I am SO money, & I know it...
Las Vegas, United States
I arrived in Las Vegas at around 2am, following a 14 hour bus journey from Santa Cruz, so I checked into my Hotel & then went straight to bed! Hotels in Vegas are cheaper (if you can call it "cheap" - with the current exchange rate) than the hostels I have been staying in. This is due to the Hotels housing Casinos, in which they would like you to part with your cash, so you are enticed by cheap food & accommodation.
On my first day in Vegas I walked the length of the famous strip, on both sides, checking out the huge diversity of themes for Casinos. Vegas is more family orientated than it used to be (as portrayed in many Hollywood movies), as there are plenty of non-gambling attractions; rollercoasters, cinemas, guided tours, & hundreds of various shows. The most notable Casinos were the Bellagio, MGM Grand (pic below left), New York New York (pic below right), & Caesars Palace.
After my walk I decided to buy beers & a pack of cards, before heading back to my room to chill - & get in some much needed practice at Blackjack, with the intention of hitting the Casinos later that night.
Having consumed the beers (chilled by ice in the sink - a classic touch) I headed out to get some cash & go play some cards. It happened again...all of my cards had been blocked. I tried various ATMs before accepting defeat, having a few pints, then retreating to my hotel room to bed. Maybe that was a sign...I have always felt I have no place when it comes to the gambling game!
The next day, having resolved the bank issues, I headed out to play some Blackjack. Having never gambled (or placed a bet in my life) I decided not to make a fool of myself at one of the more renowned Casinos, so I headed off to "Hooters"
Incidentally, this was my first visit to a Hooters too...I had to tick that one off whilst in N.America! I sat down at the $3 Blackjack table and changed up $80. Whilst at the tables you get served free drinks (yet again, they are getting your cash anyway, so they want you to be as comfortable, and intoxicated, as possible!), so I tucked into the Stellas. I started out rather well, hitting a couple of Blackjacks in the first 10mins - for which you win an additional 1/2 dollar coin...woooooooooo! After about 45mins I had nearly doubled my stack of chips - despite not knowing all of the rules! Needless to say, over the next hour or so I managed to go almost bust before getting back to $40. At which point I decided to cash in! It was an enjoyable experience, but not one I am in any hurry to repeat...I really am not a gambler...when in Rome though, eh?
The next day, whilst on the strip, I passed the Bellagio as the water fountains display started. It was very impressive. The fountains sent water dancing in all directions, in time to the music (an old Broadway number). The climax of the song result in all fountains shooting a vast amount of water higher than the Casino/Hotel itself. Definitely worth a watch!
On my last night in Vegas I bought a ticket for the Cirque Du Soleil - for $75! Not cheap, but cheaper than a trip to the Hoover Dam & Grand Canyon (over $350 combined) - that excursion will have to wait for another trip! The show I saw was called "Zumanity," which was described as the sensual side of Cirque Du Soleil. The show was very impressive - the expected amazing acrobatics, just with a lot fewer clothes. There was also a variety of different acts over the two hours, including some slapstick standup comedy interacting with the crowd. I would strongly recommend the show to all (over 18, of course), as it was very enjoyable.
Having finished my brief stay in Vegas it was time to return to California. I had just enough time to make one more stop before LA...San Diego.
written by  johnnoble on January 28, 2009 from Las Vegas, United States

San Diego & Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States
I arrived in San Diego very late at night (2am), thanks to the Greyhound bus company. They had oversold my bus, so I had to wait for a later one. That will be the last Greyhound trip for me, thankfully! I was staying in a hostel on Ocean Beach (imaginatively titled), which was two blocks from the beach...
I spent the day walking around the place & then chilling on the beach - an enjoyable and affordable past time! The weather in California is incredible, although the locals are praying for some rain - otherwise they are going to have a tough & dry summer! In the evening I went out to the bars in Ocean Beach & mixed with the locals, who were very friendly. I also tried some more ales - it turns out that California boasts quite a few decent ones!
The next day I got a lift over to Balboa Park, on the NW side of the city. This is a large park filled with Palm trees, walking trails & lots of museums. I spent the whole afternoon checking the place out. Some of the buildings were very nice...
On the way back to the hostel I stopped off in Downtown San Diego, which really is nothing special. It is the standard array of shopping malls & fast food restaurants, which I have now seen far too many times!
The next day I hired a bike from the hostel & cycled off up the coastline to the harbours & some other nearby beaches, taking it easy & enjoying the sights & weather. San Diego is a nice city, as it is spread out enough for it not to be too cluttered - reducing that "city" feel. I crossed over to the other coastline & cycled all the way down to the Sunset Cliffs to watch the sunset...some stunning views again...
After my brief visit to San Diego it was time to go to my last mainland American destination...LA. I got the train this time, so was able to take in the coastal view the whole way (which was nice). Upon my arrival I got the subway to my Hostel in Hollywood! The hostel is located just off of the Boulevard, so I immediately went to check it out.
Amongst all of the famous actors/musicians/celebrities were the Rugrats (?!?) and the Simpsons. The Boulevard itself isn't that exciting. It is long and full of tourist shops, selling all kinds of tat. The famous Chinese Theatre is plastic fantastic - which is probably pretty appropriate! There isn't much else to Hollywood, apart from a lot of housing. I decided against visiting Universal Studios etc, in order to save ($$$ &) the experience for my next visit. Instead I decided to check out the walking trails on the hills that overlook LA. I timed the excursion perfectly to coincide with the sunset ;-)
The next day I got the bus over to Venice Beach. A word of advice to all planning on visiting LA - hire a CAR! The public transport system is slow, overcrowded & it doesn't go everywhere in the city. As a result of these factors it took me two hours to travel the 10 miles to the beach. Venice Beach is where Baywatch was filmed, so it would have been rude not to check it out!
That evening the hostel had arranged a Limo tour of Beverly Hills & Hollywood, with Champagne & Beer included - so not bad for $25! We stopped off at a couple of bars, before heading back to the hostel bar. It was a good laugh with some great people.
I am now writing this on the eve of my departure to Hawaii, where I meet Mr Christopher Small, as he has been formally invited to join me for the rest of my year's adventure! I have had an amazing five months travelling, & whilst I have been on my own in deciding my next destinations & pace of travel I certainly haven't been on my own - as you meet SO many amazing people whilst travelling. Anyone who is thinking about doing it should stop doing so - and just DO IT!
Lots of people claim to have "found" themselves whilst travelling. I don't ever consider myself lost, although I can conclude the following things that I have learnt in the past five months (in no particular order):
- you can't beat a bit of Sunshine!
- buying a laptop would have been a good idea (internet logon costs pile up)
- everyone should go snowboarding
- Australians get EVERYWHERE
- being a well spoken Englishman has many benefits, internationally
- walking on frozen lakes is a lot of fun
- fast food comes in literally hundreds of varying guises!
- I like the beach more & more everytime I go (I loved it anyway)
- there is no such thing as "spare" change...if only the homeless of this world could grasp this concept!
- I can sleep anywhere, as long as I am horizontal (ear plugs help)
- beer really is an essential source of calories, & North America actually offers some good ones (in amongst all the crappy "light" beers - aka, beerwater)
- I could go the rest of my life not working another day & I would be a very happy man! :-)
Not words of incredible wisdom, but some accurate observations nonetheless!
BRING ON HAWAII! OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW :-)
written by  johnnoble on January 30, 2009 from Los Angeles, United States

HAWAII
Hawaiian Beaches, United States
I arrived at our Hostel in Waikiki (Honolulu) late on a Saturday night, 12pm locally, to find Smalls almost asleep in his room. That quickly changed, with the pair of us enjoying some beers in some beach side bars & catching up.
The next day we watched the superbowl (which was a very good game), then went for a swim on Waikiki beach, before heading out for more beers with an Aussie & an American (v.funny guys) we had met during the game. We played pool & drank beer, before recruiting people from the hostel for a jam session on the beach. Smalls got his first hit of traveling guitar playing, in a truly fantastic setting, with amazing people.
Above = Waikiki Sunset
Waikiki is the brash beach of Hawaii - meaning that it is the most like LA. Honolulu is the biggest city on the Hawaiian islands, which is both good and bad...the beaches are gorgeous, although the place is busy. Especially during the Pro Bowl party - where they shut the main Beach Blvd for live music & food/merchandise stores. Hawaii has hosted the Pro Bowl (end of NFL season all-star match) for the last 20+ years, and this was its last year on the island = a big party.
Smalls & I decided that it was cost effective to hire a jeep, ensuring that we saw all that Oaho (N.Hawaiian island) had to offer. We decided to call her Betty...
We covered the whole island (following the coast) in one day, about 200miles. We were stopping off occasionally to check out the beaches & views along the way, all of which were greatly varying in terrain & size. Hawaii is an amazing place. We were visiting in the rainy season/winter...although i cant imagine anyone in the UK complaining about 20-25oC heat in the middle of winter? The weather was mixed during our time on Oaho, although we got sun/cloud the majority of the time. We managed to hire bodyboard (aka - boogie boards) & went back to the North Shore to catch some waves. After a couple of poor wave beaches (3-4ft waves), we arrived at Waimea beach - which was home to some 10-15ft waves :-O
It was an incredible rush riding atop a wave of that size, all the way into the beach! I managed this a couple of times, before being mercilessly dumped upon by wall after wall of water. It was well worth the experience - I have never felt the power of the ocean like that before.
After conquering the North Shore's MEGA waves, we found one deserted beach on the North Shore called "Houki Lau",pictured below,(sp??). We decided this was a perfect site for night on the beach - Ray Mears style!
Having collected many BBQ supplies (& beer) from the nearby supermarket, we hit the beach, setup our makeshift camp, & collected fire wood before the sun set. We were then faced with the ordeal of combatting v.strong winds in order to get the BBQ going. Needless to say: where there is a will...there is a way!
During the night the sea level came within 10ft of our sleeping bags, although thankfully no nearer! It wasn't the most comfortable surface, but it was amazing to sleep so close to the ocean in such a natural setting.
The next day we drove up the West coast to Paradise Cove, which is four man made swimming coves - all with backing hotels (nice ones!) These are the postcard Hawaii resorts...very nice, but quite stereotypical & plastic.
Having returned our jeep, we caught the bus to Pearl City - which is where Pearl Harbour is located. We got to see the memorials for all of the submarine crews lost in WWII, S.S.Boudin (below left) submarine & the Missouri (below right).
We also visited the Pacific Aviation Museum, on Ford island, although it wasn't really worth the admission price - the submarines & ships were the thing to see! It was on the Missouri that the WWII peace treaty was signed, indicating the end of the war. Very interesting, in my opinion at least!
Having conquered the best that Oaho has to offer, we set off on a 1 hour flight to Hawaii's "big" island, in order to see some real Hawaii. We landed in Hilo, which is the islands' capital, to be greeted with a run down (practically falling down) & dirty town. Only when we read up that the place had been demolished by a 500mph Tsunami wave, did we understand & give the place a break.
We bought enough food for the week (fruit & pasta mainly = cheap) before waiting for our hostel shuttle to arrive. An old VW arrived, driven by the hostel manager - Mojo. Mojo explained about the hippie culture of "Puna" - the SE area of the island we were located in. The principle of the hostel is in keeping with that of the land...reuse, recycle & no waste. The hostel could not be closer to this philosophy - as all of the huts were made out of whatever materials were available at the time of construction. Our huts walls were made out of the side of a tractor, one large fly net, bamboo sticks & a sheet of old tents sown together! Very unique indeed! (pic left)
The showers & toilet were located outside (pic right), powered by renewable energy, & there was a large recycle centre for all hostel residents too. The only problems with this jungle utopia setting was the damp (jungles in the rainy season get very damp!) & the mosquitoes! You wouldn't believe how tasty us English are to Hawaiian mozzies.
In our four days on the big island we went and checked out the vast lava fields, & a lot of the coastline. It is incredible to see how much of the land has previously been consumed by lava flow, & how life has managed to survive in spite of this. Getting around the island was made a lot easier by hitch hiking - which is the done thing in a hippie district (it takes no more that 10mins of thumb action to get lucky)
We visited some warm pools (pic right), which were heated by the volcano rock beneath them. The pools turned out to be more luke warm - as a result of them being fed by the sea & the fact that it is actually winter in Hawaii at this time.
We spent one whole day dedicated to the Volcano. We caught a ride (1&1/2hrs) to the Volcano's craters & walked across the floor of one of them (the one that wasn't spewing out molten lava!). It was breath taking. I, however, forgot my camera that day - so you will have to wait for those pictures off of Smally. I did remember my camera when we went to the Lava flow viewing point that night - which was spectacular! The amout of steam coming off of the ocean at the entry point was awesome, even from a distance of 2miles (restricted for safety). Hawaii hasn't had a full on explosion for over 25 years, so they are due one any day. Pretty cool.
I would strongly recommend to anyone visiting Hawaii to check out other islands, other than the commerical Oaho & it's capital Honolulu, because only then do you get a real feel for the landscape, the people & the lifestyle. It is clear to see why so many people are content living the simple life in these beautiful surroundings.
Fiji next...
written by  johnnoble on February 11, 2009 from Hawaiian Beaches, United States

BULA! Fiji time (part one)
Lautoka, Fiji
We flew out of Hawaii at 7am on a Friday, arriving in Nadi Airport at midday on Saturday. Initially we assumed that the pilot had got his days mixed up, but we soon realised that we had crossed the date line! So from being 12hours behind the UK, we are now 12hours ahead.
Our hostel for our first night was basically a rented room in a local woman's house, advertised as a "hostel" online. It was basic, but Amelia & her two boys (aged 12 & 14) we very friendly. Smalls & I walked into Nadi to buy some essentials (beer & mosquito repellent). The centre of downtown Nadi reminded us of the images we have seen of downtown Deli; crowded, rundown, very hot & sweaty. Being white we stood out like the tourists we are! The floods that recently devestated the area have subsided, although the place has certainly felt its effects - especially the roads. When we returned to the hostel we booked our boat passes & accommodation for the Yasawa islands, then drank beer & taught the boys card games. We had great fun catching Geckos - which there are plenty of! I am a big fan of Geckos, not just because they are cool animals but because they love to eat mosquitos (which is greatly appreciated!)
The next day we were up early & caught our boat to the most Northern tip of the Yasawa islands - a 4&1/2 hour trip that didn't agree with many of the passengers on board (including Smalls, who got a little sea sick). These islands off of the West coast of Fiji are paradise. Sun, sand, very warm seas & beautiful scenery - to see is to appreciate.
Our first resort, Malbravo (pic above), was set just off of the beach (as all the resorts are). It was a series of small straw huts, which were basic - reflecting the way of life in Fiji. Our hut had its own hammocks, with an amazing view of the beach & ocean. Our meals on the islands comprised of lots of rice, fresh fish & veg, which were usually very nice. Whislt at Malbravo we paid the captain to take us out in his speed boat to the Blue Lagoon, so that we could go snorkelling amongst the coral reefs. We stopped to feed the fish first...
It was an incredible experience swimming amongst literally thousands of tropical fish! I doubt that any aquarium in the world could rival the quantity & diversity of the fish we saw. It was so good that no words that I could use would do the experience justice. After the blue lagoon the captain took us out to sea to some more reefs - this time so that he could go spear fishing. Our captain was very good at it - he could hold his breath for 2minutes whilst diving to a depth of about 20m. He managed to catch a lobster & three red snapper, which we ate for dinner that evening....very nice indeed! :-)
The next day we visited the island's village with one of the resort staff. The village was surprisingly big, home to over 500 Fijians. There were huts/homes made out of straw, brick or steel. All of the people on the islands live off of the land, needing very few supplies from the mainland. Whislt we were there we got to meet the chief, who was pretty spaced out from drinking Kava all day.
Kava is a plant that grows on the island which is harvested by drying out the roots & crushing them powder. This is then sived in water, making it a muddy texture, then drank in large quantities. We brought some back from the village & had it back at the hostel that evening. It's supposed to give you a drunk/stoned/chilled feeling, although after two hours of drinking it was all consumed - having very little effect on us. Luckily a couple staying at the resort had some liquor, so we drank on & taught the locals some card games.
The next day I took a two mile walk along the beach to the other side of the island, in order to do some more snorkelling. The walk & the mile swim was worth it, as amongst all of the fish I spotted two reef sharks & a manta ray! Very cool. The heat & the rocky terrain were a challenge, but well worth it! More fun than lying in a hammock (to me, anyway).
The other two islands provided more of the same - scorching paradise! We got to do some traditional Bula dancing (which is very like the macarena?!) & also got our hands on a guitar - for an impromptu singalong on the beach by a bonfire. There were lots of people on our second island, giving it an international party atmosphere.
By our last island (third & final destination for the week) I was getting increasingly bad at lying around & doing nothing, so I decided to go & do something crazy...climb a mountain in the 30oC heat! The terrain was unstable & very steep in places, but the sweaty & exhausting hour-or-so climb was worth it.
My guide (Sollo) & I enjoyed the view for about 15mins (it was hot hot hot). Up there you could see the whole island & beyond it to the mainland. The climb back down the mountain was a lot easier, if not any less precaurious!
At the bottom of the mountain Sollo climbed a palm tree & cut down a couple of Coconuts...the milk inside is SO refreshing = a well deserved treat after our workout!
I got back to find Smalls asleep in the hammock...he had no problems adjusting to the Fijian culture!
On our last day in the Yasawa islands we went on a short jungle trek to a 20ft waterfall. The water was cool & fresh, which was a welcomed change from the hot & slaty ocean. At times the sea was warmer than you might run a bath...crazy!
We packed in a lot of experiences during our island hopping, taking in the real Fijian culture & way of life. Fiji is a very relaxed place - which I attribute to the soaring temperatures that they experience all year round. We were visiting during their winter = life is tough for Fijians.
I decided to save my favourite pictures of the islands until last...you can never have to many amazing sunset pictures! ;-)
(White Sandy Beaches resort) above
(Malbravo resort) above
written by  johnnoble on February 22, 2009 from Lautoka, Fiji

Fiji finished...then NEW ZEALAND!
Auckland, New Zealand
After our 7 day excursion to the Yasawa islands, we headed back to the mainland & chilled for a couple of days at a Nadi resort hostel - which is basically a dorm bed at a proper resort. Expensive, but very nice! Whislt there we were treated to some traditional Fijian fire dancing displays...
We also met up with a lovely German couple, Graham & Evie, who we had met on one of the Yasawa islands. It was great to catch up with them again
We left Nadi to head north to Lautoka - where we hoped to meet up with one of Smally's work colleagues, whilst also catching some Rugby. We were unlucky on both accounts, Smalls could not get hold of his friend & we were literally days late for the Rugby - as the season had just finished with 7's internationals. We didn't like Lautoka much, as it was pretty desolate. Nothing interesting to do, so we caught the bus back to Nadi the following day & changed our flights for NZ. We decided we had done all we wanted to do in Fiji, so we wanted a few additional days in NZ. We were also getting a bit fed up with "Fiji time" - which is the response/excuse given for lateness or lack of schedule...the country really is that laid back!
We arrived in Auckland & immediately checked into a downtown hostel in Auckland. After which we went on the hunt for a good car rental deal. After a couple of hours we had bartered a bargain rental, & were in the pub enjoying a cold beer (congratulating ourselves on our success!). This was the first of many beers over the next two days, as all we really did in Auckland was drink with other back packers - as the city is heaving with them! Excellent fun
We collected our car (once we had sobered up, of course), & headed off North of Auckland - destined for the Bay of Islands. Along the way we stopped off at many locations to soak up some of the beautiful scenery that NZ has to offer; including Whangerei falls (the most photographed water fall in all of NZ, apparently)
Also along the way we stopped off at "Sheep World" - it is not difficult to see why...I had never seen a luminous pink sheep before! Have you???
We spent one full day in the Bay of Islands on a 65ft yacht, called "Gungha II." The scenery continued to amaze us as we sailed out to see amongst the some 140 odd islands they have off of NZ's NE coastline. Whilst sailing along we were treated to some company from the local bottlenose Dolphins, who loved to swim alongside the yacht.
When we stopped in one of the island bays for lunch there was time for a walk up the mountain, some snorkelling, & some diving off of the front of the yacht...great fun!
Whilst sailing back, I couldn't resist..."I am king of the World!!!" ;-)
We both had a go at some sailing (aka - pulling ropes, winding cranks & folding sails) during the day, & thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. There were some lovely people on board too, which made the day that much better. Our Canadian captain was a character too!
That evening we drove to Whangerei, still stopping occasionally to appreciate the views...
Now THAT is an impressive sunset piccy!!! ;-)
On our way from Whangerei to Hamilton, we stopped off to go hobbit spotting:
It was really interesting to see the site where Hobbiton was created for the films, especially Bag End (in which I am crouched) & the party tree. The whole site has been stripped down, as the film studio would not let the farmers keep the land as it was in the movies. It is a shame, although only a small amount of imagination is required to picture yourself walking around the Shire :-)
After our hobbit experience we drove inland to Hamilton, where we to visit to Zoo. We had heard it was good, & it was cheap, so it had to be done! Unfortunately we were visiting on a very hot day, so most of the animals were shading themselves - leaving little to see (including the Tigers & Cheetahs...gutted). It was still a nice little Zoo
That night we arrived in Rotorua, which is notable not only for it's stunning scenery (as is most of NZ), but also for its large Sulphur works...anyone like the smell of rotten egg? If so, this is the place for you! Apart from the smell, it is another clean & attractive Kiwi city. We are both beginning to wonder if this place has anything bad to offer?!? We had travelled to Rotorua with one activity in mind...White Water Rafting!!
Our rafting included many rapids, plus a 1m, a 2.5m & a 7m waterfall! 7m is the biggest commercially used waterfall in the world. It was a LOT of fun & we would both do it again & again. Luckily ours was the only raft to capsize (after having been fully submerged) when going over the 7m fall - sending Smalls & one Irish girl off down river, whilst I somehow managed to hang on. The pictures tell their own story...
(Smalls is the helmet at the bottom of the picture)
At the end of the rafting we got the opportunity to play about in a eddie on a rapid, which we were all very keen to do! We went back again & again until we were told the fun was up. An excellent morning's fun! :-)
After our morning of Rafting it was time to move on, rapidly again, to our next destination; Taupo. Taupo is based by a very large lake, & beside some incredible mountains (which were also used for Lord of the Rings). We wanted to hike across the mountain pass, as Gandalf & co. did, but the bad weather closed the track & prevented us. Maybe next time.
We did manage find a FREE campsite, located very close to the Huka Falls, which was thanks to a hint from our German friends (Graham & Evie) who were both there too! That evening we had campfire out on the rocks by the river & caught up, it was very enjoyable indeed! What a location to make a campfire, eh? Brilliant.
Our lovely Tent, nicknamed "Davina," with "Annabelle" our hire car, at the Huka Falls free campsite.
The following day Graham & Evie came along with us to watch Smalls & I throw ourselves off a platform, with an elastic band tied to our ankles, located 47m above the Huka river. It was Smalls' first bungee experience, which he thoroughly enjoyed. I thought the setting, & jumping face first, made this time more enjoyable than my last - which was jumping from a crane over the smelly Thames (I also knew what to expect, so was able to take the experience in fully). Graham kindly recorded both of our jumps on my camera, although unfortunately I cannot share that with you via this Blog. There will be a lucky few who get to see them upon our return to the UK. You can appreciate the activity from the fantastic photo below...
After saying our goodbyes to Graham & Evie over Sushi, Smalls & I went to enjoy some mini golf (which the "pro golfer" Smalls won, of course!), then we headed for the lava fields - aka, the "Moon Craters." It is clear to see why this area has such a name, we were only a little surprised at the amount of vegetation that was thriving there! We were lucky enough to see a mini erruption in the Mud pools, & there were plenty of lava craters to enjoy (although we decided not to get too close)
So far New Zealand has blown us both away, & we have only been here a week. Many people have told us that the South Island is even more impressive, if that could be possible I am eagerly anticipating seeing it! We still have many other activities planned before heading south, so there will be more photostacked blogs for all to enjoy...I just wish more of you could appreciate this place first hand! It truly is awesome.
written by  johnnoble on March 5, 2009 from Auckland, New Zealand

New Zealand part II
Wellington, New Zealand
From Taupo we headed West along the "World's Forgotten Highway" - which is aptly named...there really is nothing but rolling hills for miles and miles; it was quite incredible. It made for some very windy driving along roads that were falling apart over cliffs, or had corroded down to one lane in places!
We were heading West to meet up with a friend I had made earlier in my travels (in Canada), Nerissa (pic below). It was great to see her again & to see her home town of New Plymouth. New Plymouth is a small coastal town, but it has a very lively night life. We saw most of the bars along the highstreet, many thanks to our guide Nerissa ;-)
After a couple of nights in New Plymouth it was time to move again, to our final destination on the North island - Wellington. We were staying with Smalls' friend Jo, & her family, just a short drive from the city centre. The city is a beautiful place, as a lot of the houses are spread throughout the hills on the coast, & the centre itself is very clean & tidy. There appears to be a large student population there too. Jo's family were very hospitable & made us feel very welcomed. On our second day there it was my Birthday (26 - I made it!), so I decided the schedule for the day. Being the mature adult that I am, I decided that our only option was the ZOO!
I was very chuffed to actually see a Kiwi bird (the feathered kind!), because they are nocturnal they are very tough to catch at night. I especially liked the view out across Wellington from the Chimp enclosure, pic above. The weather held out for us, so it was very enjoyable. After the Zoo we played on the swings outside (& why not, eh? Only 26!), then we went to a Brewery for lunch (as I say, it was my choice!). That evening Small, Jo & I went out to an Irish bar to see some live music.
After which we went on to some more bars for more celebratory drinks. As it was a Tuesday night the number of open establishments was limited, & they were pretty deserted, but the three of us had a great laugh & stumbled into our beds at 4am. A good day.
The next day we said our goodbyes & caught (just - we were very close to missing it) our Ferry to the South island. There were some 7m swells on the crossing, so very rough, but I am pleased to say that neither Smalls nor I were ill as a result!
Our first stop was the Northern town of Blenheim, which is in Malborough county...WINE country! :-) On our first full day we hired a tandem bike (which is easier to ride than one would expect - even after all the vino) then cycled around 7 vineyards in 5 & 1/2 hrs. The region is renouned for its whites, although there were some lovely reds on offer too! We both had our fill of free samples, & purchased a bottle each of our favourites before heading back to the tent to pass out. A throughly enjoyable day (how jealous is my Dad right now reading/seeing this) ;-)
We went through Nelson on our way to Abel Tasman (Abel Tasman is the national park located on the Northern tip of the south island). Our overnight stay in Nelson was long enough to check out the small town, & enjoy some drinks with the locals. The night ended in everyone being turfed out of the bar during half time of the Liverpool v Man U match, with Liv leading 2-1 at the break...I was not impressed. The result pleased me the next day though ;-)
When we arrived in Marahau, which is the last town before the Abel Tasman national park, we found a campsite & then booked our Kayak adventure. we hired a tandem (again) kayak for 3 days & 2 nights, meaning we would be camping along the coast in the National park. Needless to say, as a Kiwi National park, the place blew us away. I dont think I can beat the pictures for explanation...
The walks into the park from the coast were equally impressive, as you can see...
On our first night we used our disposable BBQ to cook our Beef sausages. Smalls did an excellent job, although we did manage to smoke out the entire campsite...very amusing!
During in our paddles we went out to a seal colony & were lucky enough to catch a few just chilling...
Our time in the national park was excellent, & I would strongly recommend the excursion to anyone heading to NZ. No real Kayaking experience is necessary, especially if you get weather as good as we did! The only real drawback to the whole trip was the number of Sandflies. Those who have been to NZ will fully appreciate their mention, as they are vicious. Not only do they leave you with a mosquito-esque itchy swell, they quite often remove a small amount of skin = drawing blood. Not nice...DEATH to them ALL!
I am not going to sign off with a sunset piccy this time, so you will have to make do with the evening view from the shore of Mosquito bay - the location of our second campsite. I hope that all is well back in the UK, & I would like to give a special thank you to all (you know who you are) for your kind Birthday wishes ;-)
written by  johnnoble on March 19, 2009 from Wellington, New Zealand

New Zealand concludes...
Christchurch, New Zealand
Having finished our canoeing exploits in the Abel Tasman National Park, we embarked on a killer drive down the West coast to lake Wanaka. We managed just over 500km before it started to get too much, & too dark, so we stayed in a campsite just outside of Franz Josef. I am very glad that we did, because when we set off the next day we had time to check out the nearby Glacier...which was incredible
Global warming has a lot to answer for, as this Glacier has retreated hundreds of metres in the past three decades! After we had finished staring in awe at this marvel, it was time to move onto Fox Glacier - which was equally spectacular...
The drive to Wanaka was, as usual, amazing. What did truly take our breath away was our first view of lake Wanaka
...and then lake Hawea...
I would strongly recommend this drive, as it was one of the most awe inspiring journeys of my life. It was so incredible that we had to stop at the end of lake Wanaka & refresh with a pint. Beer tastes even better with a view like this...
The next day we decided that we had to see more of this scenery, so we headed off to find a decent walking track that would offer us the views that we craved (I now believe that it is possible to get addicted to scenery!). We managed this in the form of the 6km round trip hiking trail, past lake Diamond (pic below), that reached one of the peaks along the south end of Wanaka.
The climb was incredibly steep in places, but our endeavour was well worth it. Once more I shall just let the pictures tell the story...
If you are going to be visiting New Zealand at any point, you MUST visit Lake Wanaka. It is a big thing to say, but it is the most impressive place in NZ - in my opinion.
After all that scenery & steep walking, we decided to go for some more light hearted entertainment, in the form of PUZZLE WORLD!!! They had the world's biggest outdoor maze, which was a lot harder than expected. Apparently people have spent a whole day in there trying to find the towers in all four corners...we gave up having found three - mainly because we found the exit again, & we had had enough of the walking!
Inside the puzzle world there was plenty of mind bending activities/displays, with many optical illusions. I will try to give you some idea with the following pictures...
The last picture is the "false perspective room." The principles employed here are how film makers achieved many of the hobbit shots in LOTR. Fact.
On our last day in Wanaka it was time to fulfill a dream of mine since I was 16 years old...
Oh YES, people, Smalls & John are sky diving fools!
I wish that there were words that could explain the feeling of sky diving...only, there aren't! My expression (left) should explain how I felt afterwards - I could have gone up again & again all day! The views across the mountain ranges & the two lakes was breath taking too - as if jumping out of a plane wasn't enough! We were incredibly lucky with the weather, as all of the clouds cleared literally minutes before we went up. Had we been an hour earlier we would have seen only clouds, then fields. Lucky boys! Both Smalls & I got our jumps recorded on DVD handycam, so some of you will be lucky enough to see those upon our return to the real world. If you have ever considered doing it, don't put it off any longer - I would be addicted to this if I could afford to be!!!
After our jumps we made the short journey to Queenstown, which is another stunning NZ town...
We met a couple of lovely Scottish girls at our hostel (no tent for us that night!), Kirsteen & Laura, who accompanied us out on the town...we felt we deserved a few (?!?!) drinks to congratulate ourselves on our earlier flights ;-)
We clearly had a good time! I have never seen Smalls so enthusiastic when it comes to lazers?!? Nothing to do with a strong mix of adrenalin & alcohol, of course! :-)
Our stay in Queenstown was brief, as we had been tipped off about Milford Sound as a "must see" in NZ. Milford Sound is one of the Fiordlands on the West coast of NZ, more glacier constructed scenery - although due to the watery nature of it it is only accessible by boat - so we took a cruise. I have to say that we weren't disappointed...
We saw more Dolphins & Seals whilst out on the cruise - something we are both, ashamedly, becoming rather blaze about! The only negative element of the excursion to Milford Sound was the high concentration of dreaded sand flies (pic below)...DEATH to them ALL...
We have been told that they are an essential part of the fagile ecosystem in NZ. I personally believe that they ARE the ecosystem - there as SO many of them in places & they are pure evil.
Our whistle stop tour took us from Milford Sound, on the mid-West coast, down to the national parks on the South West and along the South coast to Invercargill...the most southern city in NZ. It is a beautiful place, incredibly tidy with many amazing parks. We walked around a few, which included an excellent array of NZ birds in the Avery, & a very impressive Rose garden. In fact, all of the gardens were stunning.
Later that day I went for a walk from our campsite to the nearby beach, which was well worth the short 4km round trip...
After Invercargill it was time to move onto Dunedin. At this point I would like to add that Mr Christopher Small was pulled over on the Highway for speeding - 125kmph, when the speed limit is 100kmph! Disgraceful. After much fluttering of eyelids by Mr Small, the nice policeman sent us on our way with words of warning - but thankfully no fine. Tut tut tut.
Dunedin is the biggest of the cities in the south of the island, with a 20% student population. We milled around the place but there wasn't a lot to do there, so we kept our stay to the one night. We did visit the aquarium though, which although small, was actually quite good. Have you ever seen a pig fish before? They are found exclusively off of the South coast of NZ. It's an unfortunate name, but quite fitting...
Our last stop in NZ was Christchurch, which is a very big city (for NZ standards, although not as big as Auckland). Yet again, it is a lovely place. The city sprawls out, & it is very green & tidy. The architecture is the nicest that we have seen throughout the country - which has a heavy British influence. We timed our visit perfectly, as we were finally able to catch a live game of Rugby. We saw the Canterbury Crusaders vs the Western Stormers (who are a South African team), in the Super 14's - which is the professional Union league. The prematch entertainment was enjoyable...
The game was poor, finishing 11-7 to the Crusaders, but we enjoyed keeping hydrated on Tui beer & chatting with the fans around us - which included a large group of graduates who were on a pub golf outing. Not wanting to appear rude, we couldn't help but accept their offer to join them after the game. Needless to say that too many, random, drinks were consumed in a very short amount of time & neither of us made it to bed before 5am...good times ;-)
New Zealand has been incredibly good to us. We have had an amazing time touring the whole of the North & the South islands. No matter what anyone says when comparing the two, all I would advise is that all of it is incredible & needs to be visited. If you had to pin me down, I would have to choose Lake Wanaka as my favourite destination...a truly stunning place. After completing this entry it will be time to return Annabelle (our car), which will be a traumatic ordeal, then board our plane to Oz - where one Mr Andrew Dicks will be joining our adventures! It will be great to see him & no doubt he will add to the mischief/chaos that we will be getting into. I am also looking forward to catching up with some Aussies friends that I have made in my N.American travels.
Thank you New Zealand & bravo!!! :-)
written by  johnnoble on March 26, 2009 from Christchurch, New Zealand

G'day mate...welcome to Oz!
Melbourne, Australia
Having been thoroughly spoilt by New Zealand, Australia has a lot to live up to. Our first destination was Melbourne, on the South East coast, where we were due to meet up with Dixy. Thankfully, after a long & nervy wait in the airport, it turns out he remembered his passport & arrived without incident...let's hope that's a sign of things to come!
That night we checked into a hostel in the south of the city, in a "trendy" area known as St Kilda. It is full of bars & cafes, running along the beach. We arrived on the day of the Aussie GP (which an Englishman won!), too late to watch the race - but early enough to enjoy the parties in the bars!
The next day we walked to the centre of the city, navigating ourselves & soaking the place up.
We went to the Telstra stadium, which is now known as the Etihad (new sponsorship).
It is not the biggest stadium I've ever been to, capacity of about 55,000, but it was very modern & plush all the same. The stadium has a retractable roof - enabling it to be used all year round for Cricket, Soccer (?!?), Rugga & Aussie rules - as well as concerts. We went on the tour, which was cheap & informative. We even got to go down to pitchside...
That night we stayed in the hostel & enjoyed some cheap wine ($12 a bottle), whilst getting involved with the open mic night...at least Smalls did!
After an excellent reception, we decided to head down to the beach after the bar, with some new friends, to continue the drinking & singing. An excellent & cheap night!
After three days of enjoying Melbourne we were very excited to collect our new vessel for the next 7&1/2 weeks. We hired a "spaceship," which Dixy named "Belinda."
As soon as we had collected our beauty, we headed off on one of the world's most attractive coastal roads - known as the "Great Ocean Road." Our first stop was at "Bells Beach" - which is a well known surfer's hangout, & the destination of the Rip Curl surf competition. This is also the location where Johnny Utar chased down Bodie in Point Break..."he's not coming back in" (if you don't get it, watch it).
After watching some of the surfers we headed on further along the coast, stopping occasionally to enjoy some of the amazing sights.
I am expecting all of you eighties children to remember this next reference/point of interest..."have you ever, ever felt like this, when strange things happen, are you going round the twist?"
Split point lighthouse was the central focus of a kids TV show called "Going Round the Twist" - I know my bros & I were big fans. The views from there were beautiful, as they are pretty much all the way along the coast!
We decided to stop off & explore a rainforest along the way, known as Otway Fly. They have a walkway loop, which includes a suspended section through the tops of the trees. It is very impressive, & the diversity of life is also huge - although we only saw the green stationary kind...
After our rainforest adventure we drove on to one of Australia's most photographed landscapes...the Twelve Apostles. There aren't actually twelve of them, if you want to get picky, but these rock formations just off of the coast are nonetheless incredibly impressive. Needless to say there were many many asians, taking many many photos ;-)
Our next stop after the Great Ocean Road was Adelaide. We had been warned that it was a bit on the lame side, as there was nothing to do there. We, on the otherhand, disagree strongly. The city is very clean, & not too big, with plenty of lovely parks, cafes & bars! Our first night out was excellent fun, as everyone was so friendly!
We arrived on the Rugby sevens weekend, so there wasn't even campsite availability. Therefore, we decided to stay in the public parking at the botanic gardens, as it was free & we had Belinda (our campervan). On our second evening we were on our way back to the Botanic gardens, from the campsite where we had snuck in for our free showers, when Dixy screamed about something on the windscreen. It took me a few seconds to realise what the excitement was about, but when I did my jaw dropped open...the BIGGEST spider I have ever seen outside of captivity. A "Huntsman" - not the most venomous, but still not one to be bitten by! After a week in the country, we had the sudden realisation that these creepy crawly killers were for real. Eye opener.
Needless to say, we are all now checking our shoes, the sunvisor, our tent & van religiously. Noneone wants a kiss from these spiders!!!
On the Saturday in Adelaide we bought tickets to the Rugby Sevens event at the Oval, which were a steal at $29 each for the day.
The Rugby went on from 12-6.30pm, with England playing twice. First beating Portugal a convincing 33-0, then drawing to Samoa 24-24 which saw us through to the playoffs stage the following day. As you'd expect the day was excellent, with plenty of beers & punters dressed in all kinds of crazy costumes! The atmosphere was brilliant. We continued the party that night in town, by checking out some more of the bars.
We throroughly enjoyed Adelaide, & would strongly recommend it to anyone coming to Oz. It is a bit of a drive from Melbourne, but anywhere in Oz is a bit of a drive from anywhere else (it really is BIG). Our next stop was the Barossa Valley vineyards, about an hour North of Adelaide. Obviously, we were there to test the locals vineyards out - which are renound for their reds. Smalls & Dixy were especially pleased, as a headcold kept me off of the vino & made me the designated driver for the day. I didn't mind, as it was an excellent day all the same.
We visited the Wolf Brass, Penfolds & Jacob's Creek (pictured above) amongst others. They were all very good, & the boys enjoyed their Merlots & Shiraz's!
The next day, Dixy decided it was time to try out his new clippers by giving his head a trim. He wasn't the only one...
Yes people, senior Smalls has given up on growing a mop - instead going for a look of the slaphead variety!! It is less effort, apparently. Have no fear, I shall not be joining them - my skin head days are long gone!
We are making our way back to Melbourne this weekend to watch some AFL & go to an all day Dance/Trance event, but that is for the next entry. I will leave you with the typical Aussie landscape that we are going to getting a LOT of whilst driving across & up the country...
...monotonous!
written by  johnnoble on April 8, 2009 from Melbourne, Australia

On the way to Sydney...
Sydney, Australia
Well, a lot has happened since my last blog entry so be prepared for a mini marathon!
When we arrived back in Melbourne we checked into a different hostel in St Kilda, & went out on the bars with a group of people we met there. It was a good evening, largely fuelled by "goon" - which is the Aussie term for a box of cheap wine (roughly $10 for 5litres...pretty cheap!)
The next evening we headed out to the MCG to watch an Aussie Rules Football game between Collingwood & Geelong.
Collingwood were the home team (there are many teams from the Melbourne catchment area) & the favourites going into the game. In true British fashion, both Dixy & I backed Geelong, whilst Smalls decided to attempt a stint on the glory wagon with the Collingwood lads. Sadly, for Smalls, Geelong came out winners 125 - 96...which is a bit of a pasting! ;-) The game itself was very entertaining, & the rules aren't that complex...because there aren't many! The game itself lasts two hours, with four quarters of 30mins - so very good value for money at $20 a ticket! It was worth that alone to see the inside of the MCG - which is a very impressive stadium indeed.
The next day was time to dance...
We caught the train & bus to a race circuit on the outskirts of Melbourne, to attend the Trance day event known as "Trance Energy." Dixy was especially psyched up for this, as not only is it his bag a number of his favourite DJs were playing. I myself have been getting to more of these events in recent years, but it is safe to say that it really isn't Smalls' thing - although we all had an excellent day reaching for the lasers!
Marco V on the main stage
...dixy thoroughly enjoying Marco's set
The second stage...
...Judge Jules playing on said stage
The other DJs that we saw were Sander Van Doorn & John Askew, amongst others. I suspect that for a number of readers this is erroneous information, although it will be relevant to a few!
After our second stint in Melbourne, it was time to see some of the South East corner of Oz. We made our way to Phillip island, which is a holiday getaway & nature reserve (in the most part). Whilst we were there we visited the Little Penguin colony, although didn't hang around until sunset to watch them swarming in from the sea. Then we set off for the Koala reserve. Here is an Aussie sight that many people swoon over...
It has to be said that although they look very stupid & lazy (which they are), the Koalas are very cute.
We then made our way up the East coast, heading towards Canberra (Oz's capital), but taking in the National Parks & Reserves along the way. We stopped at a number of small seaside towns along the way, including Eden, Bateman's Bay & Ulladulla. All were very picturesque. You have all been treated to some spectacular piccies of sunsets on this blog, but here is something a little different...a sunRISE picture at Bateman's Bay
The other highlights of these few days included a Kangaroo beach, called Pebbly beach...
As we arrived during the midday heat, unfortunately the Kangas weren't in the mood for showing off on the beach. Nonetheless it was a beautiful place. After the beach we checked into a campsite in Ulladulla, where I left the lads to go on a bit of an exploration to the nearby Mountain ranges (surprise surprise, neither Smalls nor Dixy were intested in seeing a bit of the real Australia!). I went on a 5.5km walk up Pigeon Mountain, which was incredibly steep (a grade 4 track - 5 being the toughest) - but incredibly rewarding. The final few hundred yards of climbing was especially perilous, as you can see from the ladders I had to climb up the wind swept rock face!
The views from the top were fantastic though...
We arrived in Canberra to find out exactly why we had been warned off of it as a destination to visit...there really is nothing there (apart from office blocks & a few memorials) & it has a very sterile feel to it. Hard to explain. However, we were there for the night & made the best of it by checking into a lively hostel & then hitting the town that evening (after the standard bottles of vino). Below you will see the art work on Smalls' guitar, which was the work of many at the hostel, followed by the view of the dancefloor at the club we went to. A good night was had by all!
We were going to check out the Australia museum the next day, before heading to Sydney, although our hangovers prevented that excursion!
We arrived in Sydney late in the day & headed to the East of the city & a place called Kings Cross - which we had been advised was the most lively area of the city to go out in. We felt obliged to check it out for ourselves. We then made the error of checking into the first hostel we saw, as it was located above the Subway station & had more of a prison vibe to it than that of a hostel one (it wasn't very nice).
Thankfully we only had to sleep there, as we spent the evening & night checking out the bars etc. It is a very lively place, but also very sketchy & dirty. You have to visit it to truly appreciate it...it is pretty much Sydney's red light district.
We checked out the next day & headed to Chinatown in the South of the city. This time we got it right with a decent hostel (it was clean!), with an Irish bar literally around the corner - which was showing the FA Cup final between Arsenal & Chelsea. As I have missed nearly all of the action this season, an evening/night of footy & a few pints was very welcomed...even if the Chelski scummers won!
The next day we headed to the Circular Quay, which is where the Sydney Opera house & the Harbour bridge are located.
We went there to meet up with Becky (Smalls' sister) & Adam (Becca's Husband), who had both kindly invited us to stay with them for the week - despite the fact that they had only moved into their flat two days earlier! Their flat was very impressive, with an even more impressive view of Sydney!
We had an excellent week in Sydney with Adam & Becky. We managed to fit in a lot of recouperation, along with plenty of sightseeing & evening excursions. I shall try to summarise as best I can...
We went to the Sydney Aquarium, which was pretty impressive. The best part of it was the walkways through the tanks. There was plenty of marine diversity to keep us entertained, including some sharks of course!
Afterwards we went to a Bavarian restaurant in the Harbour for dinner. Why would we have been drawn there, do you think???
The view of the Opera house at night is quite a sight...
We visited the Taronga Zoo, located on the other side of the Harbour to the city & the Opera house. It was a very pretty Zoo, with many exhibits to keep us entertained - including many animals native to Australia (shock). We got to see Oz's most venomous snake - the "Fierce Snake"
We also saw more of the most popular cute critters...
And some Giraffes with one hell of a view from their enclosure...
I particularly enjoyed seeing the vast numbers of spiders amongst the trees as we walked around the Zoo...I don't think Becky was as keen or as impressed as me though! :-)
As we left the Zoo we were just in time for a sunset opportunity of the city...very nice...
Our sightseeing also included a day excursion to one place in Australia that any true English man would NEED to visit...
Sydney Olympic park, & the ANZ Stadium (formerly the Telstra), was the venue of one particularly enjoyable sporting event of recent years (apart from the Sydney 2000 Olympics, of course)...
That's right. We had to get a piccy in our England shirts, with the flag, with Johnny's posts in the background...happy days! :-)
Whilst at the Olympic park we also had time to play some Mini Golf at the Golf centre, & check out the Aquatic centre. I was especially impressed with these facilities, & it reminded me how much I miss the opportunity to swim regularly, although there will be plenty of time for that at the end of my travels!
I don't miss the sight of a slave driver (aka Coach) at the end of the pool though!
That evening we visited the State Theatre in the centre of the city, to see Mr Steve Coogan - aka, Alan "AHA" Partridge!
The whole show was very funny & I would recommend it to all (maybe not the kiddies perhaps!). Afterwards we met up with Adam & Becky & went for some drinks in the financial district - which was very nice, as one would imagine!
We had an amazing time in Sydney, as it has so much to offer. We could have done a whole lot more, but we don't have endless amounts of cash or time unfortunately. Next time round we will have to visit Manly & Bondi beaches (sadly, we had a good 4/5 days of poor weather which prevented these excursions) & take a tour of the Opera house. We cannot thank Adam & Becky enough for their kind hospitality - they made us feel very welcomed & were excellent fun to be around. I wish them all the best with their upcoming year (or two?!) in Sydney, which they will no doubt enjoy thoroughly - if our week's experience is anything to go by. If any of you are thinking of visiting Australia, Sydney is a must visit...a great city!
written by  johnnoble on April 24, 2009 from Sydney, Australia

Wow...wow...wow...
Katoomba, Australia
Prepare yourself for a photo loaded entry. As many, many more acomplished writers have quoted before me...a picture says a thousand words...
We entered a National Park area, a couple of hours West of Sydney, called the Blue Mountains. The area is known as the blue mountains due to the mist that forms as a result of the vapours evaporating from the eucalyptus trees. The whole place was spectacular, although the drop in temperature (coming from Sydney) was very noticable!
On our first full day in the Mountains, in a town called Katoomba, I was unable to persuade my travelling companions to join me on a 12km hike down into the valleys & the rainforests. I went down the Great Stairway, which was quite precaurious, & through the jungle like rainforest. It was spectacular - so much diversity in such a (relatively) small area...
Echo Point - the "Three Sisters" rock formations
View across the valleys
The Great Stairway down, & some of the obstacles faced
Leura Forest
More trails
Leura Falls
The town itself wasn't much to write home about, as the area is treated as a getaway destination - so very tourist driven. We managed to get by drinking beer & playing pool in the local during the evenings.
The next day I WAS able to persuade Mr Small to join me on my next hiking excursion - although I feel I have a big task ever persuading Mr Dicks to do the same! The destination for the day was down into the Valleys again, to find Wentworth Falls.
The way down & a recent rock fall
The walk was a little challenging in places (aka - steep), although Smalls & I agreed that it was well worth the effort, as the scenery was fantastic! I have finally found a place in Oz that can compete with NZ for natural beauty. I hope there are many more.
I don't know what the caves are like in NZ (sadly we didnt get round to that one), but I can vouch for the jaw-dropping spectacle that is the Jenolan Caves. Dixy took the van & headed off to Sydney (to be there for the Man U champs league game - which wasnt on in the Mountains), so Smalls & I got the coach up to the caves. The entry to the cave visitor centre was a good omen for things to come...
We signed up for the two tour package, giving us a guided tour through two of the more popular (and impressive) caves. First off was the "Lucas" Cave.
These caves were formed between 350-400 million years ago!
Many of the caves remain untouched, because any damage to these natural structures certainly can't be rectified in our life times! It is illegal to remove any rock or crystal from the caves, & rightly so if it means protecting these stunning views for many to enjoy...
Our second tour took us into a smaller, but even more impressive cave - known as the "Orient".
The colour variation is brilliant
These staligtites are the model for the caves' marketing pieces
I especially liked the folds, as I have not seen them as big or as colourful as these
Some of the tour guides have given some of the formations names over the years. The one below is known as the "lone actor."
"Praying man" (they aren't the most poetic or inventive geologists!)
The ceiling of the tallest chamber (35m) was impressive too
I cannot apologise for overdoing it on the piccies front...I would obviously recommend this outing to all!
After our chilly, but exhilarating, three day stint in the Blue Mountains it was time to get back to the coast & the warm weather! Our next destination was a little place called Tumbi Umbi (I love that name), to catch up with an Aussie pal of mine from my time in Canadia land...Nathan
On our first night at his folks house, Alan & Gail's, we got stuck into some of Alan tasty home brew beers & played darts long into the night. I didnt know Nathan owned a dart board until this visit - in all the time I have known him it has never showed! ;-)
The next day we decided to clear our heads with a dip in the sea at Shelly Beach...not a bad place to have within a ten minute drive of home!
Afterwards we dropped Nathan off at Uni & headed for Australia's Reptile Park! AWESOME!
We were lucky enough to see the largest Python in captivity in the Southern Hemisphere - he was over 7m & weighed a lot!
There were plenty of spiders to see there - none that could bother us though
It wasn't just creepy crawlies & reptiles though...
The talks by the staff were very good, & there were some brave kiddies in the audience!
The next day was match day. Nathan plays for his local AFL team, the "Bombers," so we headed down to the club to support for the day. I had hoped to get a game (regardless of not knowing what I am doing) although decided against it - I still have another 3months of travelling & didn't feel like gambling it away! Next time...
Nathan's game was very entertaining, as it was close right up until the last few minutes. Nathan had a solid performance (from what I could tell), although as a full-back he doesn't get much of the glory opportunities.
As with English sports, in Australia it is customary to go out & get throroughly plastered afterwards...so we did. Otherwise it wouldn't have been sport, right? ;-)
We managed to catch up some more friends from Canada & all drank far too much! There aren't a lot of bars in the area, so we stayed at one from 7pm-3am (mainly because it was tipping it down outside).
On our last day with Nathan we got ourselves down to the beach again. I tried to convince Smalls to get out on the board, but her preferred merely to pose with it (one day...). We then set off for a town called The Entrance to get food & watch the Pelicans getting fed
View of "The Entrance" - which is the point the sea feeds the massive salt water lake = hence the name!
We then headed out to Nora's Head to see the lighthouse, & take in the nice views...
On our way back to Nathan's I captured another sunset for all to enjoy...
After a thoroughly enjoyable three days with Nathan & his incredibly hospitable (& very friendly) family, it was time to push on. Time is getting tighter to fit the remainder of the East coast in before we fly out to Asia, so we set off for a little town called Nimbin.
Nimbin is Australia's answer to Amsterdam - it's that simple. Far from being plush, the town is rickety & thrown together out of anything earth friendly, giving the place a very hippy vibe (or is that due to the Marijuana in the air?)
The museum was "interesting"...
The place reminded me a lot of the hippy commune Smalls & I visited in Hawaii - although the hippies appeared to be a lot crustier here!
Next stop for us is Byron Bay & Surfer's Paradise, which are two party towns located on the Beach. Should be good! Hopefully we won't encounter too many more problems on the way...
I am signing off with something a little different from a sunset this time - although a nonetheless enjoyable sight
written by  johnnoble on May 6, 2009 from Katoomba, Australia

More Aussie adventures
Cairns, Australia
I must warn all that this entry is going to make quite a lot of you MORE jealous...& rightly so.
After our brief visit to Nimbin we set off for Byron Bay. For those of you that haven't heard of it, it is a small (but popular) Surfing town South of Brisbane. It is very geared towards tourists, & reminded me a lot of Whistler (just sunny & surfing, not skiing!). We spent a couple of days there on the beach & out on the town. As we were there midweek there wasnt a great deal going on. We also saw the most rain since we have been travelling!
Next stop was Surfer's Paradise, which is a small city that is able to boast to being home to some of Oz's most attractive beaches.
We not only enjoyed the beaches, we tasted the nightlife too - which reminded me of some Spanish/Greek tourist spots that have been over run with young drinkers. The atmosphere around the place was good, including the hostel that we were staying. More goon was consumed (cheap boxed wine) over cards (aka drinking games) with our Norwegian & English room mates.
Whilst we were in Surfers we finally got the opportunity to visit one of Australia's best water parks, called "Wet N Wild." It had some pretty impressive slides & the weather was perfect for it.
After we had pickled our livers (not for the first time) in Surfers it was time to move onto Beerwah - the home of Australia Zoo. Australia Zoo was made famous by the late Steve Irwin, who was admired the world over for his passion for animals (& quite frankly he was a bit of a nutter too!). The Zoo is beautifully kept & they have all of the native Australian animals you could want to see. I am sure you don't need these pictures explaining...
In the centre of the Zoo they have a purpose built stadium (the Crocosium) for live animal shows. There were the usual birds & reptiles, although everyone was clearly waiting for the Croc feeding. It wasn't a disappointment!
Australia Zoo was a definite must do attraction & one we all thoroughly enjoyed.
The next day I drove Smalls & Dixy back to Brisbane & dropped them off, before heading West to the Glass Mountains National Park. I was taking another excursion to explore some more of Australia's more remote & stunning locations, & going on more treks too.
Yet again some of the trails were quite challenging, although always worth it in order to see these landscapes.
One of the things that has really impressed me about the Aussie outback is how evident nature's ability to regenerate is. The picture below is of an area of land that was badly burnt in recent fires, although the seeds from the trees can survive extreme heats & begin to flourish within days of the fires being extinguished. This is evident from the green growing out of burnt wood!
After my day of trekking I drove back to Brisbane, picked up the boys, then we were off again & heading North to Hervey Bay. Hervey isn't a great draw itself, although it is one of the most popular connection points to Fraser Island - which is an entirely sand based island.
We booked a three day/two nights self guided tour, costing a little over $200. There were four groups of nine, each responsible for their own 4x4 vehicle. We were blessed with an amazing group of people...team England!
Right from the moment we were put together we all got on famously. We were clearly the most organised of all the groups, & the envy of the others too (as a result of which we enjoyed many smug moments). Whislt we were travelling in the cars as a nine we would all camp together & socialise as we stopped off at the sightseeing venues throughout the day. This itinerary was planned out for us, so we just had to keep to a schedule (because of the tides) & read a map.
The first stop of the day was lake MacKensie, which was quite simply stunning...
Lots of sunbathing was undertaken by all, so I began to get restless (I am definitely not a lounger type of guy), resulting in me deciding to swim across the width of the lake. The water was the purest I have ever swam in, & the temperature was perfect too - refreshing but not cold. Only when I had reached halfway did I decide that maybe sunbathing could have an appeal, however I manned up & pushed on. There was much of the same beauty on the other side, but I didnt stay for long - cramping up is not an option when you have to swim the whole way back. I was very happy, & exhausted, when I crawled up the beach on the home shore. Well worth it though. Tom (a member of team England) & Dixy then decided to have a race...could Tommy swim to the other side before Dixy could run round the whole lake. Neither man appreciated the size of the task until they were underway, yet they both completed the task in good time - with Tom the champ! Very entertaining for all.
After the lake we drove along the beaches to Eurong Beach, to set up camp for the night. Yet again, in the true spirit of the term teamwork, everyone pitched in & cooked a fantastic meal of Burgers, Sausages & beans...everyone else seemed to be trying to heat up their hot plates whilst we were enjoying post dinner drinks...smug, smug, smug :-)
Smalls donned Sadie's hat (which he was strangely attached to) & began to entertain the campsite with his one man rock show. Lots of beer & goon was consumed & everyone had an excellent night.
The next day we were up early & on our way North to Indian Heads, a rock formation at the most Northernly accessible point of the island. Yet again we were all very impressed by the views on offer.
Before we left there was time for a quick team photo...
Next on the itinerary was Maheno Ship wreck. This vessel sank & washed ashore in the 1930's, which goes to show how resiliant steel is! It was well worth stopping for.
Just as we were about to set off we saw a sight we had been hoping for, but weren't guaranteed...
A more expensive means of travelling around the island. You do have to keep your eyes peeled when driving along, because otherwise you may have a plane land on your vehicle!
Tom & Dixy performing their acrobatics display to the delight of all...
We then set up camp at Eli Creek. The Creek is formed by a natural spring water feed from the hills, & it flows directly into the sea - creating a lazy river (for our enjoyment).
I was able to get a great shot of a Golden Orb spider which was loitering at our campsite. This spider isn't deadly, but nor is it pleasant!
One of the most prominent Australian wildlife on the island were the Dingos. We had been warned to watch out for them as they have attacked humans in the past, although they were nothing but quizical with us (thankfully). There were many of them sniffing around the campsite at night. The authorities seem to take their threat very seriously, as you can see from the information signs...
After our dip & sunbathing it was time for dinner again. Spag Bol. Yet again we put the other groups to shame with our efficiency! ;-) After dinner it was time for more beer, more goon, & more Smally & his Guitar (named "G-Diddy"...it is a 3/4 size).
Somehow, & I mean SOMEHOW, I managed to drag my backside out of bed at 6am in order to catch the sunrise. Hands up all those who think I considered the effort worth the reward?!?
Sleepily we made our way to the parking spot at Lake Wabby, then undertook the mile or so hike to the lake itself. Yet again, more beauty...
After a few hours of messing around on the vast sand dunes & generally chilling out, it was time to head back to the barge. We arrived back at Hervey Bay in awe of the weekend we had spent together, & the strong friendships that we had established amongst a fantastic bunch of people. We were incredibly lucky with the weather, so even a few clouds on the last morning couldnt ruin the experience. We all got back to the hostel & enjoyed one last night together at the bar, before heading our separate ways in the morning.
If any of you every visit Australia, Fraser Island is a must. I can safely say that it was one of the best weekends of my life...I am a lucky boy ;-)
Next (& sadly, last) stop in Australia was Cairns. We drove 1500km in two days to get there, in which I pulled off the longest driving stint of my life - 8hours, then checked into party central...a backpackers called Giligan's. It is like a proper hotel resort, although aimed purely at backpackers. Needless to say the place is absolutely heaving with people looking to socialise (aka - damage their livers), so we had to do our best to fit in...
Those of you familiar with the drinking game "King Beer" will understand why I am stood on the chair, those of you who don't will have to play it with us someday! We played with a group of hilarious Dutch lads, & then hit the club downstairs. Needless to say it was a hazy & late night! Cairns itself is a party place...everyone goes to the Lagoon/Beach during the day, then drinks on their patios in the evening, before hitting the bars/clubs for the night. Whislt it is enjoyable pasttime, I for one am glad that it can't go on forever!
Smalls & I did make some constructive use of our time in Cairns by booking a snorkelling excursion to the Great Barrier Reef. We set sail at 8am & were at Green Island after two smooth hours accross the ocean. Our group was good & our crew were lovely people - so we were lucky again!
The coral immediately surrounding the island isn't too impressive, as it has been bleached/damaged by the number of tourists that frequent it. Therefore I decided to swim out the other side of the boat for a few hundred metres & was rewarded the further I went (until I was called back by our captain). It was clear to see how much healthier the ocean bed was the further from the island I got, as the vibrance & variety of colours of coral got more & more impressive. Sadly though, the area we were in could not have come close to the Blue Lagoon in the Yasawa islands (Fiji) - where we were surrounded by literally thousands of fish. However, I did get the thrill of chasing an Octopus under some rocks, only to let him out (by backing off), then chasing him under again! Great fun! He kept it up longer that me though, as I got bored after ten minutes.
After lunch we got a lift onto the island, which is sand based & home to little other than a 5star resort & a Croc/Turtle sanctuary. What makes this place special is that it is home to the world's largest salt water Croc (in captivity), called Cassius, & measures a whopping 5.5m long the last time he was measured (weighing an incredible 1000kgs!) :-O
We also saw one of his buddies, White (5m), being fed at very close quarters...phenomenal creatures...
Just so that all can appreciate how amazing the weather has been during our stay in Australia, especially the further North we have got, I had to include the final picture. It is hard to believe that we are actually in "Winter" - when temperatures in Cairns over the past four days has averaged 35oC...who's jealous of those Aussies then?!?
As I write this my washing should be about finished, so I am going to go & pack for the final quarter of my year's adventure...three months travelling around Asia, starting with meeting up with one Daniel Clayton Spencer (is a legend) in Singapore tomorrow...bring it on! :-)
written by  johnnoble on May 21, 2009 from Cairns, Australia

Asia begins...
Singapore, Singapore
So, it is true what they say, no one is perfect (I have held off admitting to that for SO long). On the morning of our departure from Oz Smally & I got up at 9.15 & got ready to catch a bus to the airport, at 10am. Dixy had left for Singapore the day before & we were due to meet up with him, & Spencer, that evening. As we were getting ready (with good time to spare - or so we thought), Smalls decided to check out itinerary...only to find out that we had been working to the time of our connecting flight (in Brisbane) - our flight left Cairns at 10:05am!!! We got a taxi to the airport for 10am, although that clearly was too late. Therefore we paid $150 to get on the next flight, via Darwin, to Singapore. A costly error, but a mistake neither of us will be making again in an hurry.
It was excellent to see Dan again; we all caught up over a few pints & a curry in Little India, which was good. After which we played some pool & then watched the last day of the premiership season (chuckling at Newcastle's fate, of course)...it was just like old times - just a few miles off our usual destination.
Singapore is one of the CLEANEST cities I have ever visited. It is illegal to sell chewing gum here, so the pavements are clean, & heavy fines are incurred for anyone brave enough to spit or throw their ciggy butts on the ground. The weather is varied, although always hot. The above picture shows the rains decending, although within 30mins of this all of the streets will be dry, due to how warm the place is - & consequently muggy!
On our one full day as a foursome, we decided to check out all that Santosa island had to offer. It is a small island off the south coast of SIngapore, & therefore was a strategic focal point in defending Asia from attack in all previous military conflicts. We visited the Siloso fort, which was built by the empire back in the 1800s. It is incredible to think how anyone was able to work in the temperatures that we were experiencing, but they did! The place was facinating & informative, & I would recommend it.
It was then time to check out the Siloso beach...
Although largely manmade (as with the majority of the island attractions), it was very nice. Smalls didn't agree with the marine life...Jellyfish 1, Smally 0.
Some of the wildlife inhabitants of the island include the very naughty monkeys who watch the picnic area from the trees opposite &/or above. When they see the opportunity they swoop down, en masse, to see what scraps/full meals they can snatch from tourists...they are very successful most of the time too! Fair play to them - I would if I felt I could get away with it! ;-)
We went on the island's dry luge track, which was a lot of fun, although due to the competitive nature of it all there was no time for photos. Dan will remember this epic clash for years, eh mate?! ;-)
Another activity that we had paid for was the Segway machines (left). There was a specially closed circuit through the trees by the beach, which was great fun. They are a little tricky to get going quickly, although once you have the hang of it they are great fun!
After we had done sweating out litres all day (it was SO hot) we got some refreshments & headed to the Aquarium for the Dolphin show. I have to say that it was more than a little disappointing...definitely not worth 15pounds for the priviledge! Also, you cannot appreciate from the picture below, but the Dolphins appeared to have some form of skin complaint - being covered in red blotches?!?
The next day we had enough time for a visit to Raffles hotel, before splitting up - with Dan going to Thailand & us to Malaysia. Visiting the Raffles "Long Bar" for a "Singapore Slinger" is a must (according to many guide books)...so we did!
The other alternative is afternoon tea. We didn't have the time for that - so we had to make do with the morning cocktails! ;-)
Having said our goodbyes to Dan (for the time being, at least...will there be a return on this adventure for him?!?), we made our way to the bus station. We had a pleasant surprise when we found out that we were on a luxury coach, complete with ondemand TV screens & lazy boy reclining chairs...very nice for next to nothing (about twenty pounds). I wish I could say that the crossing of my first boarder in Asia was dull & uneventful, although then that would make me a liar.
Can you spot the problem with the green departure stamp in my passport? I was blissfully unaware of the Sinaporian error, however the lovely Malaysian immigration officers noticed - much to their delight. They continued to tell me how much of a problem this would be throughout my time in Asia, unless I went back across the bridge to rectify the stamp issue in Singapore (not an option, as my bus was heading North to Kuala Lumpur). The head immigration officer then took me aside & politely informed me that if I was to "help him" he would in turn "help me" (aka - $$$ in return for a stamp & passage into the country). I paid the requested bribe of $50 (about 25pounds), & was on my way. A lesson to anyone travelling anywhere, make sure you evaluate the work of the "trained" border staff, or it could be to your cost!!!
written by  johnnoble on May 27, 2009 from Singapore, Singapore

Malaysia...
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Having made it into the country, our first stop was Kuala Lumpur. I have to be completely honest here & tell all that I was not particularly impressed - although I think that the cleanliness & statue of Singapore may be solely responsible for this. Kuala Lumpur was dirty, expensive, & very very muggy. A dirty muggy that I will no doubt become accustomed to in my time in the larger cities in Asia.
We were staying in Chow Kit, in the North of the city, which is close to China Town (pictured). Chow Kit is renowned for its markets, in which all of the stalls appeared to be selling the same cheapy goods - none of which grasped my interests. The place is very dirty, but as mentioned. in comparison to Singapore. When I mentioned that Malaysia was expensive I was, of course, referring to the price of alcohol. Try six to eight pounds a pint expensive :-O As Malaysia is a Muslim country (in the majority) alcohol is not top of the bill for the general public. Tourists can located watering holes, although they will pay the price. Therefore we decided to keep the drinking to a minimum, & spoil ourselves for the Champions League final. Dixy enjoyed the first 10mins of the match, I enjoyed the result the most ;-)
The most impressive sight in Kuala Lumpur, in my opinion, is the Petronas towers. They clearly dominate the skyline & have a glorious metallic glow to them from all angles. Unfortunately we did not get the opportunity (aka - make the effort) to go up & cross the bridge between the towers. We were far more focussed on visiting an island on the North West coast of Malaysia, recommended to us by a lovely English couple we had met, called Langkawi.
Langkawi is a Malaysian tax haven - meaning cheap beer! :-) We checked into a hostel on the West coast of the island that was located close to the luxury resorts & the white sandy beaches, costing us a whopping four pounds a night!! The beer from the hostel fridge was 55p a (coke sized) can, with a self serve honesty policy. Great start. On our first day we settled into the hostel & beaches, had a wonderful seafood soup feast, & played drinking games with our new buddies Phil (German) & Lucas (Polish).
The next day we all hired scooters (six pounds for the day & less than a pound for a whole tank of petrol), & then proceeded to check out the island. On our thirty minute drive to the island's waterfalls we saw lots of buffalo, monkeys & a salamander lizard...pretty cool.
The waterfall was nice, but the rocks were quite precariously slipperly. We all decided to refresh ourselves by getting in & sliding down into the pools below. All was well & good until we discovered that we were all covered in tiny leeches - after which none of us were too keen to go again!
We scootered around checking out more of the island & its beaches, before we decided it was time to head up the islands biggest peak. The drive up was excellent, as the roads were incredibly windy & we saw only one other car in the 13000m climb.
We decided that it would be rude not to get a piccy of the most notorious "Motorcycle Gang" on Langkawi. The views from the top were incredible. It was nearly possible to see the whole island from up there.
That night we played more drinking games at the hostel, including a lovely couple that we met from Jersey, before heading to the local club & get our groove on!
The next day was spent recovering, before Lucas & I made the effort (later in the PM) to explore the areas of the island we had missed the previous day. I was glad that we did.
We stopped off at a temple of worship & went in to get a better look. I had read the guides & done my homework, so I remembered to take off my shoes before entering (it is very disrespectful not to). I was amazed at the intricate detail of each column & beam in the temple, which was a lot more colourful than any religious relic that you would expect to find in Europe. I am certain that this will be the first of my many visits to such religious temples throughout Asia.
Next stop was the Book Village, located in the centre of the island. Unfortunately we were too late to get into any of the libraries, although we were able to appreciate the peaceful surroundings of the jungle & stream of the location. This is, according to the guide books, the largest collection of English texts in Malaysia. I would like to have had a nosey around & see what they had to offer.
The drive back to the hostel that evening was nothing short of spectacular.
As the sun began to set, I became envious of anyone wearing glasses or a visor - as the bugs begin their suicidal mission of throwing themselves at our headlights. I get the feeling that the majority missed, mostly hitting my eyes or my face. A small price to pay when you are treated to magnificent scenes such as this...
I would strongly recommend Langkawi to all visiting Malaysia, not merely because it is beautiful & cheap, but because the atmosphere there is great. The locals are very friendly & there is no pressure to buy or do anything. Very refreshing.
On our last day on the island we decided to put ourselves through the ordeal of enjoying some of the luxury resort's facilities (for free)...such a tough life!
Upon leaving Langkawi the boys & I went our separate ways - them to Thailand & me to the jungle! I decided that I should check out one of the oldest jungles in the world, Teman Nagara in central Malaysia, which is reportedly 130 million years young. First off I had to take a ferry & then a bus all the way back to Kuala Lumpur, before heading back up to the mid/east of Malaysia, because the bus&train routes are fairly limited. I caught an early morning bus from KL, then a boat up the river from a town about 100kms south of the park.
The boat ride took 3 hours, although there was some stunning scenery to enjoy. I had also met some good people on the bus, a Canadian (Nick) & a couple Aussies (Garth & Kristy), so I was in good company. The town of Kuala Tahan is located on the opposite side of the river from the park, which is where we were staying - providing easy access to the park/jungle. The town is a mix of wooden chalets, old buildings & small shacks. All along the river there are floating restaurants, which in order to access you have to literally "walk the plank" from the shore (a nice touch, I thought). We had dinner at one of the floating restaurants, local cusine costing less than three pounds for a full meal, then set off across the river for a night time jungle walk.
The night time is the best time to see the abundance of wildlife in the jungle, as the majority of its inhabitants are nocturnal (or just sensible enough to stay underground during the crazy daytime heat). On our 2km round trip we saw scorpions, spiders, lots of ants (big ones!), fire flies, a sloth, some deer, centipede, &my personal favourite - a deermouse (it is a large mouse that looks like a deer). It was an enjoyable experience, costing all of two pounds - which is also exactly what a bed in the town's hostel cost for the night...I am liking Asia more & more.
The next day the four of us were up early & in the jungle by 8.30am, with a day of exploration planned. We mapped out a 12km round trip, which would give us a good look at what the park had to offer.
On our way to our canopy walk we came across some massive bamboo plants. I have never seen bamboo this big! As it grows so quickly, & is strong when bound together in construction, it is a very handy product of the jungle for the locals. Not long after we passed this both Garth & I felt some sharp stings. I had heard/seen nothing. Then I looked ahead & saw a hornet/jungle bee nest on the side of the track. Needless to say we ran pretty fast past it!
The jungle canopy walk is the world's longest suspended jungle/forrestry walkway, measuring just under 500m in length. It consists of 13 separate walkways & 12 platforms. The whole walkway is suspended about one hundred feet up into the jungle canopy, giving some excellent views enjoyed by the monkeys on a daily basis.
After our walk in the skies it was time to climb the Teresek Mountain. It is not the tallest peak in the park, but it was certainly steep enough to work up one hell of a sweat in those steamy jungle conditions. The views of the park from the top are nothing short of spectacular...some views no cameras can convey effectively enough.
That's me - not Tarzan (in case anyone is confused). The amazing amount of twisted vines offered up a number of opportunities to immitate the king of the swingers...great fun! We made our way up steam to the lookout point, then went for a swim in the river to cool off. Well deserved. I managed to avoid the leeches this time, although Nick wasn't as lucky!
I will finish with a couple of my favourite images from the park. A true jungle in every imaginable way & a thoroughly worthwhile excursion! Next stop Thailand.
written by  johnnoble on June 4, 2009 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Thai islands....
Bangkok, Thailand
I must begin this entry by making clear to all that travelling isn't always exotic & exciting. I spent the best part of two days getting out of Malaysia & making it to Koh Samui, in order to meet up with the boys again. Asian transport is slow & overcrowded - I spent my night on my overnight train sat in one of the doorways! Not a comfortable way to travel. Worth it though, because after the overnight boat the next day I arrived on the beautiful Thai island of Koh Samui.
As the boys had already been there for three days, they had had enough of the local bars & beaches, the plan was to move onto Koh Phangan the next morning. Therefore, I made the most of my one day there by hiring a scooter (with Smalls) & zipping around the place sightseeing.
Our first stop was some famous rock formations on the south of the island...Grandfather & Grandmother rocks. We weren't that impressed by Grandmother (a crack inbetween two boulders), although our imagination was inspired by Grandfather (a new Facebook profile for Mr Small perhaps???)
As we were making our way to one of the temples, I spotted a sign for the Tiger Sanctuary. So off we went. We didn't have a look around the place (tight for time), so we paid our six pounds to have our photos taken with this beautiful beast. It was a little daunting being so close to such a huge animal (that, given the motivation, could kill us), but we were in the cage long enough to get a few excellent snaps.
Next on the whirlwind tour was the "Mummified Monk".
This fellow has been mummified (aka - embalmed/treated) & preserved in a glass box at one of the bigger temples on the island. The Monk himself decided, in his golden years, that he would like to contribute to the monks' cause after his death - & so the concept of a tourist attraction was born. He is wearing glasses for a very good reason - I don't think that eye balls keep that well! ;-) The accompanying temple, to the crusty monk, is pictured below. All of the temples are very ornate, decorative & sacred affairs. Pretty impressive.
I have now seen more waterfalls in the past ten months than most average people would probably expect to see in a lifetime. However, I like them so they will continue to be on my radar when they are available to see. Unfortunately there wasn't time for a dip, which did look inviting - especially due to the heat & humidity!
Our four hour circuit tour of the whole island finished with a sunset visit to the "Big Buddha." Naming it must have taken many a great mind many a costly hour?!?! It was, as described, BIG.
The next day we caught the boat over to Koh Phangan...
We checked into a resort, situated about four miles from the main port town & beaches. We were meeting up with Tom & Jordan, a couple of lads from Reading that Smalls & DIxy met in Koh Samui. The resort cost us eight pounds a night (each) for a A/C room with TV/DVD, & one excellent view of the ocean & Koh Samui in the distance. Not bad, eh?
We had arrived on the island just in time for Koh Phangan's "Full Moon Party."
This, quite simply, is a HUGE party on the beach - attended by thousands of travellers & party goers. It is quite a sight to behold...
Luminous body paints seem to be high on the agenda for most. Even if you aren't wearing any when you arrive, chances are that won't be the case for long. There are lots of bars & stands that are selling beers etc along the beach, although the unique aspect to the drinks here are the buckets. You literally purchase a small sand castle-esque bucket from the bar & they fill it with liquor & a mixer. I went for red bull, predominantly, which is actually loaded with amphetamins - meaning I was elated drunk for most of the night.
We all enjoyed the atmosphere, as well as one or two of the previously mentioned buckets!
Having gone to bed after sunrise, the next day was a total write off. We chilled by the pool & recharges the batteries. The next evening we went down to the beach & were shocked by how few people were out to party. It appears that the nights leading up to the full moon are busy, then everyone moves on to other destinations.
We did find a busier bar - which was surrounded by people watching drunks attempt to jump over a rope on fire (skipping), or through a ring of fire. Needless to say we weren't going to do anything as stupid as that...that is...until we had had sufficient courage (aka - buckets). I can't pin point exactly when it happened, but I finally fell victim to my own stupidity, as I woke up the next morning in excrutiating pain. My shoulder was agony. I got a taxi to the hospital, got the okay after an x-ray, then got loaded on painkillers. I took my prescription of pills, my sling, & what was left of my pride, & went back to bed. The admittance report from the hospital makes amusing reading though..."John woke up with big pain in right shoulder. He does not know what happened to him last night." Not my proudest moment - but I did make it over 9 months without incident :-)
written by  johnnoble on June 11, 2009 from Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand mainland
Bangkok, Thailand
So, as a result of my stupidity & the injury I incurred, I was unable to take advantage of the notoriously good scuba diving off of the Thai island on Koh Tao. With my arm in a sling for a week I was resigned to sitting around - which is far from my idea of a good time. I am very grateful to the inventors of ipods & books; without which I would have gone insane. Dixy enjoyed a three day scuba course, while Smalls & I lay on the beaches. We all plan to visit the islands again before the end of the trip, so I WILL be doing my scuba then!
We caught an overnight boat from Koh Tao to the mainland, which was an experience. It was incredibly hot, cramped, & the waters were very choppy. As with most transport in Asia I expect the absolute worst & then enjoy the experience as an adventure.
Our next stop was Bangkok (pic above). I was pleasantly surprised at the (relative) cleanliness of the place, although still wasn't the greatest fan of the city. We had to stay a couple of days - in order to check out some of the classic offerings. One being Khoa San Road. This is a long street in the centre of the city that is loaded with market stalls, bars & restaurants. It is a popular backpacker destination, so we met many PLUs (people like us). We did venture out to see a local show at a club, the nature of which I won't disclose - & the less said about it the better (trust me...Asia is a weird place!). We also had to spend a day finding HSBC (so Dixy could pick up a replacement card, having left his wallet in a tuk tuk), & extend our Visas by a week.
Having completed our missions in Bangkok, we caught a bus up to Chang Mai.
Our purpose of this visit was to go Elephant trekking the in the northern Thai jungles. We were yet again incredibly lucky to be in a group of lovely people, so right from the off I had a feeling that this was going to be another memorable excursion!
On our way to the jungle we stopped at a local market, in order to buy local produce & any last supplies we required for the following couple of days. Andy decided that he ought to go fully prepared - hence the inspiration for the Rambo outfit! The lady on the stall was so impressed with his impulse purchases that she tried to sell him everything in the place! We were all impressed by Dixy's commitment to the cause, & felt so much safer having him along (just in case any of you are concerned at this point, the gun in plastic...no one would sell Dixy a REAL one!). The craziest product on offer was a bag of LIVE frogs...the picture doesn't really do it justice, but I am sure you get the point!
The Elephant trek was first on the agenda. We split into groups of two/three & had a group of Elephants take us on an hour circuit of the jungle. Along the way we were able to purchase bananas to feed them, & I can promise you that they can eat a LOT of bananas (we were informed as many as 250 a day - which might explain the regularity of the elephants!!!).
The Elephants were incredibly sturdy & seemed to take the rough terrain with ease. The views were fantastic & we all thoroughly enjoyed the ride from our giant grey friends.
After the Elephants we embarked on a four hour trek into the hills & valleys, which included a stop off for a swim at one of the waterfalls (which was most refreshing). The terrain wasn't the most challenging, although the scenery was fantastic...
We arrived at the top at one of the hills very late in the afternoon & our guide established where we were going to stay. A NEW set of huts that a local family had built for tourist purposes. They were adequate, although not particularly comfortable - but compared to many places I have stayed on my travels they were luxurious!
They were incredibly accomodating & very friendly, we all got on very well & really enjoyed the enthusiasm & comedy stylings of our guide (who had grown up in on the hills in one of the villages). That evening the family cooked us an incredible thai curry, provided us with ice cold beer (an amazing feat in those remote conditions) & a guitar! We all bonded well that evening & had an excellent time...
The following day we went on another hike in the morning, which was more of the same stunning scenery, before getting the our river rafting. Due to the wet nature of this particular activity I was unable to take any picture...so you will have to trust me when I say that this was possibly the most fun we had during the whole tour! Our guides even got involved when we decided that boarding each others' rafts & pushing each other off was the aim of the whole hour. It was a LOT of fun! :-)
Upon our arrival back in Chang Mai, we checked into a hostel & then booked our next move, then made our way out for the evening. We watched the first Lions test in an Irish bar, which we narrowly lost (great game), before heading to the local Thai boxing event - with our two new Aussie travelling companions - Ashlea & Elisha (great girlies!)
The Thai boxing was very entertaining, although we weren't watching the top flight fighters - as they fight in Bangkok. There are a number of fights throughout the night, including a blind round! This is when three thai boxers get into the ring (blind folded) & thrash around wildly at each other. A ref helps out by directing them at each other, although sometimes gets a whack for his efforts...it is very amusing! If all of that wasn't enough, we had Jenga & Connect4 to keep us entertained :-)
After the main event the champion did the rounds of the crowd & posed for photos...you know our ladies couldn't resist that opportunity!
The best event of the evening was yet to come...Mr Andrew Dicks was to enter the ring & battle it out against a fellow tourist, for the lowly sum of ten pounds! Dixy really did look the part in his thai boxing shorts. We are all certain (including Andy) that his decision to enter the ring had a lot to do with his beer intake; although he fought it out for two tough rounds & came out with his pride intact. No clear winner was established, although we filmed the whole fight - which some of you might be lucky enough to see one day!
The next day we all got a coach to the Thai-Laos border, where we were staying for the night - in order for our visas to be processed overnight. At the hotel on the Thai side of the river we enjoyed a few beers & got to know the group that we would be spending the next 48 hours with...as we were about to take the slowest form of transport in Asia = the slow boat.
It is aptly titled, as the journey down the river to Luang Prabang took a total of 17hours on the boat - with an overnight stop halfway. Our first views of Laos were very impressive, as you can see from the view we had from the boat.
The boat is very crowded & incredibly uncomfortable, but the experience was a largely enjoyable one - thanks entirely to the group on board. It would have been a tough two days if we didn't get on as well as we did! On our midway night stop we all went to dinner together at a small restaurant (taking the place over) & had a good time eating, drinking & chatting. The owner of the place came to tell me, at about 11pm, that the major of the town had come down & told him to close up as we were making too much noise! It goes to show how small this town was. When we arrived back at our hotel (which was disgusting, falling apart, but literally a pound each for the night) we found that the generators had been turned off = no lights, no fans. Our room was a sweat box that night!
We spent one night in Luang Prabang, staying in a NICE guest house - to make up for the previous night (none of the girls could imagine repeating that experience). We all went out for a meal together at the Lao Lao gardens restaurant, which has to be my favourite restaurant on my travels so far. It is tables set in a garden, all beautifully lit, with amazing food. I consulted Mr Google for this picture, as none of us took one.
The next day we had to take a 6hour mini bus to Vang Vieng, as we had planned to be there to go tubing on Dixy's birthday & meet up with Allan there too. The journey itself was only 150km, although it was across the mountains...which were stunning.
The roads are surprisingly good throughout, although they can get a little bumpy. All along the way we passed very small & remote villages, which had many strange food stuffs for sale - including dead squirrels, porcupines & many, many odd looking fruits & vegetables.
I am sad to report that the frequency of my blog entries will diminsh as the internet available becomes worse & worse. I WILL continue to report on my travels as thoroughly as I have been previously, although it will be in a feast or famine nature.
Next up - meeting Allan, tubing, exploring caves, hiring scooters, & the Laos jungle...an entry NOT to be missed...watch this space ;-)
written by  johnnoble on June 24, 2009 from Bangkok, Thailand

Laos is quality...
Luang Prabang, Laos
We arrived in Vang Vieng & I emailed Allan our hotel details, so that he could find us when he arrived that evening from Vietiene. Whilst we were waiting we decided to hole up in the Irish bar located over the street from our hotel...which was to become a home from home for the next 3nights! Allan arrived & found us successfully, so we all tucked into the beers & rice wine/vodka (a local specialty...& I mean "special") - in preparation of Andy's Birthday the following day (25th June).
The rushed nature of us passing through Luang Prabang was so that we could go "tubing" on Dixy's Bday. For those of you who are unaware of what "tubing" involves, I shall explain & then let the pictures roll...
4kms North of Vang Vieng, which is situated on a wide & deep river, there is roughly a km of bars located on the banks. There are probably about 8 bars in total - each of which has some form of rope swing or zip line. Each of these bars sells lots of beer, & the afore mentioned buckets (which we first encountered in Thailand). In order to get from one bar to the next you either swim down river (aka - stay afloat & the current does the rest) or get into a large rubber ring (aka - "tube"). At each bar there are guys with ropes who pull you in, so that you can spend money at their bar. It is a very simple concept, although also an incredibly stupid one too! Alcohol & swimming don't really go together - & 30/40ft high rope swings, whilst under the influence of alcohol, don't really sound like sensible activities. However, as we all have learned in life, sensible isn't usually much fun...tubing DEFINITELY was!!! The following pictures are a mixture of our first day (Andy's Birthday) & two days later (recouperation day inbetween) when the "slow boat crew" were reunited. The weather was spectacular on Andy's Bday, but the showers didn't dampen anyone's spirits on the second day tubing...as you can see...
First bar
Beerlao...which was consumed in large quantities by many Westerners!
Everybody writes on each other with marker pens...why not?!? Some of the messages are most definitely inappropriate for this blog though :-)
Second bar - busy, busy, busy!
Party time
Doubling up on the zip line with Elisha - after she had chickened out on me the first time!
Dixy does it backwards
Bring on those buckets...
The view of bar one from bar two
Who needs a tube...not us
Third bar & its rope swing
The third bar was "the MUD bar" - because it had a rather large mud pit to enjoy...
and a volleyball court (of sorts)
There was a lot of music throughout the day - appreciated enthusiastically, of course!
Allan & I in the river (on our first day), after dark, making our way to the final bar.
Tuk tuk being mauled by drunken tourists wanting to avoid the 3km stoney walk home. These are designed to carry a maxium of nine people! This shot reminds me of a nature programme I saw, in which a pack of Lions take down an Elephant!
As I mentioned previously, the very principles of tubing (alcohol + water + rope swings, etc) is in itself very dangerous. However, I am pleased to say that no one in our (large) group received anything more than some minor cuts & bruises (from rocks & water impact respectively). We did see a few walking wounded in the town during the evenings, but everyone looks out for each other & an excellent time is had by all. I thoroughly enjoyed the two days tubing, as did we all, but I suspect it will be something I never revisit...who wants to push their luck, eh? ;-)
I am meddling with my usual well ordered blog now, as I am going to report on the sightseeing from our second day (yes, we actually did something other than drink) whilst we were in Vang Vieng. At least, four of us did - Allan, Pete, Yurry & Myself all hired scooters & went exploring.
The roads outside of the town were pretty much stones & dirt, which was bumpy but enjoyable all the same. It also prevented the chance of any horrific accidents, as it is difficult to travel at any great speeds!
We were on our way to find a cave that had been recommended to us by a local. There are many caves in the mountain range that runs along the river, South of the town. In order to get to the caves we had to cross a couple of sketchy bridges. One mistake in steering & you would be in a lot of trouble!
We passed through a number of small settlements/villages, where the locals live off the land. Asia has many rice fields, which supports the endless varieties of rice based meals in the continent. The people here could take advantage of the town's developed ways, although there seems to be a great deal of pride & traditional values in the way they live. It is what they have always known. It felt special to observe.
+++PICTURES OF TOWN FOLK & RICE FARMS ++++
When we arrived at the cave we had a very steep climb (about 100m) to conquer, which was a challenge in that humidity.
Whilst it was not the most spectacular cave I have ever been in, it was still impressive. It was also unique in that there were no developed paths in the cave, once you had gone into the entrance, meaning you literally had to climb, crawl & squeeze your way around.
On our way out of the cave we decided that we had to take full advantage of the lagoon that we had seen on our way in, as we were all very sweaty boys. As ever, the thrill seeking continued. Any opportunity to jump off things...
As we made our way back over the river, towards the town & civilization, we had a great view of the town from the South. The surrounding mountains & terrain are simply spectacular.
Before Allan departed to join us for three weeks of Asia adventures, he had been advised that he should check out "The Gibbon Experience" - located in the North of Laos. Dixy opted out of the adventure & carried on into Vietnam ahead of us, accompanied by the Bournemouth lads we had met on the slow boat. Now, Smally & I had come from Huay Xai (the town on the Laos side of the border with Thailand - where we caught the slow boat from), but we had to go to Vang Vieng for tubing. So, in order to go to the Jungle & see some Gibbons, we had to retrace our steps through Luang Prabang & then onto Huay Xai. This time we decided against the slow boat, opting for a 13hour bus journey instead. The travelling is the least enjoyable aspect of travelling (how ironic). You can't complain about the view out of the window though...
We had booked onto a three day, two night, exploration of the jungles in Northern Laos - in the hope that we would sight some Gibbons. For the full details of the project & the experience, please refer to the link below.
http://www.gibbonx.org/
When we arrived on the first morning we were advised that due to the large quantities of rain in the past few days the 4x4 was unable to cross the river...meaning an additional 5hours hiking to get to the jungle. We decided that we were up for the adventure & pressed on regardless of the poor weather & the sticky, slippery & drenched terrain.
After nearly 6hours of trekking (through some of the deepest & stickiest mud I have ever encountered), we arrived at the Gibbon centre - which is where we would collect our harnesses. What makes this such a unique experience is that the jungle has a network of zipline cabling, which protects the jungle floor, fauna & wildlife, whilst also providing an amazing view of the landscape. Below you can see me zipping off into the mist...
As it began to get dark we arrived at our treehouse, which is elevated 100m & deep, deep, deep into the jungle. Our group of 7 explorers sat down for a rice based meal (which was the theme for every meal over the next 3days) & reflected on a challenging - yet enjoyable day.
The next morning we were up at 5am & getting ready to go looking for some Gibbons.
We had been warned, that due to the vast amounts of rain (it is the rainy season), that our chances of sighting Gibbons was vastly reduced. Nonetheless we had our breakfast at the kitchen, located across the valley from our treehouse (a brief zip away), then set off deeper into the jungle. I am sad to say that we didn't see any Gibbons, although every one of us saw (& personally got to know) enough leeches to last a lifetime. As we weren't on any kind of a trail we were trampling through the damp detritus of the jungle floor - the perfect habitat for leeches! Allan & I were also attacked by a swarm of rather large wasps - I managed to bail down the slope (on my arse) unscathed, although Allan wasn't so fortunate. He was stung four or five times. Despite the constant rain, the biting creepies, &the concern that we might not be able to cross the river to civilization the following day (due to the rainfall & consequent rising water level), we all pressed on exploring the jungle on the zip lines.
That, in itself, was one of the best things about the experience. Not only taking on a real jungle trek & exploration at ground level, but also being able to appreciate a bird's eye view of the sprawling landscape. In our tree house, the best view was out of our bathroom window...not bad eh? (I am most definitely referring to the view, not the facilities!)
On our two full days in the jungle we visited three of the other tree houses, all of which were only accessible via zip lines. We all enjoyed the hot chocolate of another group, whilst utilizing their hammocks, as they no doubt did at our tree house (minus the hammocks).
The most attractive tree house was the last one that we saw before leaving on the last day. This is the newest of the lot, & unlike the others it doesn't leak at all. Very nice. Does it remind anyone else a little bit of the Swiss Family Robinson setup?
I think the most extraordinary creature we saw in the jungle was a beetle that our guide found in the main centre. I assure you it is not a spider - as you would assume on first sight. What a bug though! :-)
I am pleased to say that the rain must have caused the river to burst its banks, as the water level was lower than it was on our way into the jungle. Therefore we did not encounter the difficulties we had been dreading as we experienced hour after hour of rain during our jungle time. I had purchased myself an Indiana Jones hat for the adventure, so it was pretty fitting to find a bridge over the last river that could have easily featured in one of his films. I am clearly very happy to have survived a tough experience, but despite not seeing any gibbons, every piece of our clothing being caked in mud & smelling rotten, being soaked through for three days, being eaten by mosquitos, leeches, & stung by wasps, I wouldn't have changed the experience at all...I had an amazing time :-)
Laos = DONE. Next stop...Vietnam
written by  johnnoble on July 4, 2009 from Luang Prabang, Laos

Vietnam
Hanoi, Vietnam
Before we had arrived in Vietnam we had all agreed that we were going to treat ourselves to a really nice hotel - having spent a considerable amount of time over the past couple of weeks either in the jungle, on buses/planes (LOTS of time spent travelling), in shabby guest houses, & all in the rain (it is the rainy season in Asia during the UK summer). The place we found was very nice & good value at US$10 each a night.
It was good to be in some luxurious surroundings...something that will become the theme of this blog entry! ;-)
Having given the hotel, literally, ALL of our (dirty, smelly, muddy & damp) washing (mainly as a result of our time in the jungle...I do feel sorry for them) we headed out to explore the sights of Hanoi. Allan, inparticular, was especially glad to get an opportunity to perfect his shutter skills with his latest toy (for which he acquired the nickname of "pap" from me & Smalls).
For those of you who have never been to Hanoi, I am going to find it very hard to give an adequate representation of the place. It is mental. There are thousands of scooters everywhere!
When it comes to crossing the street you just have to ensure that you are not walking out infront of a car, keep your pace & direction constant, & hope that the wave of scooter drivers adjust their course to avoid you. There is no waiting for a clear road here - you literally have to go &hope for the best. We have seen many an inventive use of the scooter as a means of transportation...a whole family of five travelling together, a man carrying about 15cases of beer, two guys & a large glass cabinet, but my favourite had to be this guy...
As you would expect with a major city in Asia, the streets are very tight, crowded & quite dirty. There are many, many shops that are selling all kinds of goods. We were staying in the "Old Quarter" of the city, which is where most of the tourists go. The streets/areas have been devised to house stalls for specific products. For example, there is a shoe street - where you can find lots of shoe stalls, or a food district - where many streets over are filled with food stalls (selling many weird & wonderful food stuffs)...
On our first full day in Hanoi we visited the temple on the lake, the market streets, & then walked South to the Hanoi Prison, affectionately referred to as the "Hanoi Hilton" by many of its former inmates.
One wing of the prison remains, after it was closed in the mid 80's. It has housed many different nationalities of guests, as rule has changed over the years in Vietnam. Its most famous guest would be John Cain - who was an American POW here in the Vietnam war, after being shot down just outside of Hanoi. Before the prison was used to house American pilots, who seemed to have a rather comfy stay there (by prison standards), the jail was used for local criminals - the most offensive of those being executed here in spectacular Asian style...
That evening we decided to indulge in some local culture, in the form of the extremely popular water puppet show. We have to entirely honest &say that we didn't really follow the "story line" (as the singing was all in Vietnamese), but the music & the puppetry was pretty impressive. Far more extravagant than your UK beaches performances of Punch & Judy! At only two pounds a ticket I would strongly recommend the hour performance as something to see...we can all say that we enjoyed it a LOT more than Transformers II (which we had painfully endured the night before)
About 150km East of Hanoi is the bay city of Ha Long. We had booked a three day boat cruise, leaving from here. After a three hour coach journey we arrived & were taken on a short speed boat ride to our ship. Immediately, having left the busy bay area, we understood why this is a "must do" excursion when visiting Vietnam. Stunning...
Allan was able to click away to his heart's content - although with subjects as amazing as our surroundings it would have been difficult for anyone to take a bad photo!
Smalls was really getting into the relaxation vibe & taking in all of the beauty around him. I like to call this his "catalogue pose"...
The boat itself was very decadent, with plenty of room for the nine of us guests.
Having sailed out inbetween many, many islands (all visually striking) we arrived at a small floating village. We all disembarked onto small boats that were rowed by some locals, who then took us on a relaxing hour tour of the place. After which there was time for swimming & sunbathing back on board our ship - which was also our accomodation for the night.
The restaurant on board was excellent, & we all thoroughly enjoyed the seven course seafood feast that they served us on the first night. We were all enjoying the meal so much that all of us forget to take any pictures of the feast...although none of us will forget it in a hurry!
On our second day of the cruise we were up early & tranferred onto a smaller boat, which then took us for a short trip towards the islands' national park (Cat Ba). We then swapped our boat for kayaks & paddles and then began to explore inbetween the smaller islands & their lagoons.
It was easy to forget that we were actually at sea whilst we were on our cruise, as the waters were so calm (due to the protection the islands give from the tidal currents & winds), although we were given the occasional reminder...
We stopped for a short break, prior to lunch, on a lovely sandy beach. Whilst everyone else went for a swim & relaxed for a while I regressed to a child like mind & went scouring the shore for shells. I found some beauties! There were many that I had never seen before, so despite the amusement of others, I felt it was time well spent (I am going to make fridge magnets out of all of them - or, at least, those that make it back to the UK in one piece!)
Back on board boat two it was time for lunch...more amazing seafood (lots of it) & a pretty decent view out of the ship's window...
Following lunch everyone had a short rest before embarking on a two hour open water paddle to the floating "city". The distances between the islands were greater here & the wind had picked up with the tide, but it still was far from a challenging paddle.
The floating city was first inhabited back in the mid 80's, since then it has grown to the 1000 strong population that live there today. There are actually more dogs than people in the village, as they are kept as security guards for the residents. The boom here is as a result of the excellent fishing opportunities. The dogs are seen as a necessary measure to protect one's interest, although it does appear very cruel to keep dogs on small floating platforms with very little space to run (there's no RSPCA here though - that's Asia for you!)
Fish farms
Even out here, amongst the beauty of the thousand islands, there are remnants of the Vietnamese-American conflict. This area off of the North East coast of Vietnam is where the US first began their attack on the country & their relentless bombing campaigns.
After another short boat transit we arrived in Cat Ba, which is one of the biggest & most populated islands. A short coach trip from the bay & we arrived at our resort...pictures speak a thousands words...welcome to 5star luxury at 2star UK prices...
Not a bad balcony view...
That evening we chilled out & had another fantastic meal in the resort's restaurant. It wasn't as much seafood, but it was still delicious! How far from our jungle experience could we get? Polar opposite extremes!
On our last day Allan & I, plus three other guests (not included Mr Small), decided to explore the island on scooters - rather than lie in sun loungers by the pool (each to their own!). A ten minute drive from the small, yet relatively hectic, town centre & we were already being treated to more stunning scenery & views.
Located on Cat Ba island is a cave hospital, which was constructed in the early 60's in order to treat wounded Vietnamese & Chinese soldiers. The cave housed a capacity of 200 soldiers, & was complete with a swimming pool, cinema, operations room & kitchens. As it is no longer in use, it now all looks the same.
The hopsital was used at the start of the Vietnam war, from 1963-1965, as the thousand islands was the US' first port of attack. This structure cut into the rock is very impressive. There are many escape routes should the cave itself come under attack, Allan is sat at the rear exit to the facility. As you can see, the doors & tunnels were designed for the smaller Asian structure!
The roads through the island were of good quality & obviously surrounded by fantastic views (I can't say that enough, can I???)
We stopped off at the Cat Ba national park & embarked on the short, yet steep, climb through the jungle to one of the tallest peaks in the islands. It was no more that 230m, but the heat, incline & humidity made it a decent 40min workout. I was just thrilled to be in some real Vietnamese jungle - having seen so much of it in war movies.
When we arrived at the peak we were greeted by the sight of an incredibly rusty watch tower. After the crowds had died down we climbed up the frail structure. There was a sign advising that only five people could go up at a time - possibly reflecting the local's faith in the strength of the structure!
You can see that the effort was worth it when you see the views from top of tower
We returned to Hanoi that evening thoroughly satisfied with our excursion. It was incredible. We felt that this self-indulgent, luxurious, &SUNNY :-) experience was our reward for having survived the mud & rain of the Laos jungle (an experience we thoroughly enjoyed & would highly recommend too).
We went out for an meal that evening to say goodbye to Allan, who was heading back to Bangkok the following morning (in order to fly home to London). It was excellent to have him along for three weeks of our adventures. Due to both mine & Allan's hectic work & social lives (when I am in the UK!) we don't get the opportunity to see each other much, so I was especially glad when he decided to use his holiday to join the tour! It is a holiday I know he enjoyed & he won't forget in a hurry - although perhaps next time he will choose to visit Asia during the drier months!!! Allan may have got a better tan sitting in a park in London ;-)
Smalls &I had a couple of days to kill before our overnight train, down the East coast, to Danang. Therefore we walked around more of the city, relaxed, & visited one of Vietnam's most popular tourist attractions (predominantly amongst the Vietnamese). That is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
Ho Chi Minh's body is preserved & on display in the building pictured above. Ho Chi Minh was Vietnam's Democratic Party Founder & his teachings are still incredibly influential in the lives of the Vietnamese people. You have to dress respectfully (no skirts or trousers) & be very quiet when entering the chamber in which Ho Chi Minh rests. It was a very strange sight - the preserved body in a raised glass coffin, surrounded by very strict looking (armed) guards. Both Smalls & I agreed that he actually looked like a Madam Tussauds special, although neither of us have seen many preserved bodies to compare him too! There is a rumour that when the body was being returned from China, a yearly month excursion for preservation purposes, that the head was stolen & replaced by a fake one. I can believe that, but we will never know either way for sure (& I shaln't be losing any sleep over it!)
Above is the shrine to Ho Chi Minh in the adjacent museum dedicated to his life & works. Most of the exhibits are in Vietnamese, but there was enough English interpretation to make the trip an interesting & worthwhile one.
We are about to embark on a whistle stop tour of Vietnam, down the East coast, in which we hope to meet up with Mr Andrew Dicks once more. His decision to opt out of the jungle trek has put him about four days ahead of us, so only time will tell if we can catch him.
written by  johnnoble on July 10, 2009 from Hanoi, Vietnam

The rest of Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
After killing a few days back in Hanoi, & Allan departing, Smalls & I got our overnight sleeper train. We were setting off on our way down the East coast of Vietnam, with our first destination being Danang - a 12hour ride away (Vietnam is bigger than I had expected).
The primary purpose of our visit to Danang was to check out the National Cham Sculpture Museum that is located there. Cham craft are intricate sand sculptures. There are examples of the art form from all over Vietnam, & from varying dates in time. A lot of it is very impressive, including the well preserved state that the majority of the exhibits were in. Below is a selection of photos to give you a taster of what was on show...
We only stayed in Danang for one night, as there wasn't much to it (as far as tourist sights), but as we walked around the city after the Museum we got caught in one MASSIVE thunderstorm. All around us people took cover, although Smalls & I braved the downpour (which we found to be both refreshing & enjoyable) - much to the amusement of the locals! We arrived at our hotel looking like we had literally just climbed out of a swimming pool fully clothed! I wish I had a picture, but sadly my camera isn't waterproof.
The next day we made the relatively short trip to Hoi An, which is a 30km bus ride away (costing all of $2!). We immediately liked what we saw.
Hoi An is a step back in time to a simpler Vietnam. As a 17th century international trading port the town has many foreign influences - predominantly Chinese, Japanese & European. These influences are clearly visable by the ecclectic composition of buildings & shops, all set in narrow streets & lanes. At one end of the city (which is more like a town in size) there is an impressive Japanese bridge.
At the other end of the town is the market, which is very large & sells all sorts of goods - including a vast array of food stuffs, DIY equipment, kids toys, ornaments & figurines, & many, many silk stalls & tailors. All of the people working there see the Western tourist as a walking wallet - so merely brousing the markets is like running a gauntlet of persistant stall owners..."come look in my shop!"
Ön our second day in Hoi An we decided to set off on a tour of some nearby Cham temple ruins. This was at MY SON (pronounced "Mee Sun''), which is located 35km inland - at the base of the "Cat's tooth" Mountain. The night before both Smalls & I had decided to go out for a few drinks, as we hadn't done so since tubing (our livers were given a two & a half week break!), although such a choice was ill advised...at least, reaching for the top shelf liquors was! Needless to say that we paid for our stupidity the next day, as we nursed our hangovers in the swealtering heat of the jungle & ruins!
Thankfully, we had the best guide anyone could wish for. Not only was Xuan's grasp of English excellent (& incredibly amusing at times), but his enthusiasm for the ruins was more than catching. It was him alone that got us through! :-)
This area was another of those heavily bombed by the US forces, during the Vietnam war. It seems that the yanks merely chose to shoot at any landmark or town/city that they came across. There were many craters all over the landscape immediately surrounding the ruins, & some of the ruins themselves had been badly hit. Still, they are nonetheless impressive. The construction of these temples began in the 4th Century & continued until the 13th Century.
These Cham temples were a religious centre for the people. The picture above is of an sacrificial plinth, on which various animals were slaughtered for the peoples' Gods (mainly goats & pigs).
The sight is not one of the biggest in the world, but there are some very impressive structures here.
I took the above photo at the tour centre outside the National Park. I thought I would share it, not only because it's a good photo, but because waterlillies are one of the most common flowers in South East Asia. I can only imagine that this is largely due to the VAST number of flooded fields (intended to grow rice).
After our blistering tour of the ruins, we caught the boat back along the Mekong river to Hoi An. On the way we stopped off at a small village that had one trade - that of wood craft.
There was a massive variety of carvings on show; anything from massive cabinets or statues to tiny trinkets. My particular favourite subject for carving was the chubby cheerful buddha
I would thoroughly recommend Hoi An, as it is a city like no other we have visited in Asia. Although there are many international influences, there is less evidence of the modern westernised world here...there are no flashy stores or fast food takeaways! One of my favourite areas of the city was on the riverfront, where the majority of the bars & restaurants are situated...
Yet again we were off down the coast to our next destination, Nha Trang. This time we took another sleeper bus, which is not advisable to anyone nearing six foot or taller...trust me. My lack of sleep did enable me to see the sun rise over the rice fields, the Ocean & the mountains that were the stunning scenery all around us. Unfortunately I had a flat battery - so no pictures! :-(
Nha Trang is just another Vietnamese city, except for its glorious sandy beaches that stretch for miles up & down the coast from the city. The waters surrounding this area of the East coast is brimming with sealife, so there is a large presence of Diving companies in the city - which is the main reason that people visit. Neither Smalls nor I did any diving, & the weather wasn't all that good for the beach, so we checked out most of the seafront bars. A hazy couple of days, but enjoyable! We met a litter of adorable puppies at a local shop, & met up with other travellers that we had met previously on our tour of Asia.
Whilst Nha Trang is nice, I would say that it is missable - unless you are desperate for beaches & diving.
Another ten hour sleeper train was to take us to our final Vietnamese destination, one I had been very much looking forward to...Saigon, aka, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). It was recently renamed after Vietnam's most popular Communist leader, Ho Chi Minh.
If we had thought that Hanoi was crazy for scooter activity, we were staggered to find that HCMC was even more extreme! No picture can do justice to the hectic nature of rush hour in this city!
Our first tourist sightseeing stop was the Reunification Palace (pictured above). This was the operation head quarters for the South Vietnamese Army from 1966 (who were on the US team), & it was captured by the North Vietnamese in April 1975 - which brought about Saigon's surrender to the Northern Communists. Below is a picture of the tank that broke down the gates at the front of the palace, which is now stationed inside the front grounds.
The inside of the palace is very lavish (for the 1960/70's), & incredibly roomy. The vast hallways & meeting rooms are designed to impress. Above is a picture of the main conference hall on the ground floor. There are many banquet & meeting rooms throughout the palace, but there is also a Casino & Cinema on the fourth floor. Below is a picture of the view of Saigon (HCMC) from the top balcony.
After the palace it was time to visit the War Remnants Museum. The anticipation of this visit was both excitement & dread, as I had heard about the graphic nature of the displays. I also know enough about the US-Vietnam conflict to know that it wasn't going to be easy reading/viewing.
The Apache Helicopter - an iconic symbol of the Vietnam conflict.
It is hard to explain how pointless the whole affair seemed. I appreciate that this particular exhibit is very biased, making ALL US soldiers out to be barbaric, although it is hard to understand the US' foreign policy here. Many would probably say the same thing about their foreign policy today. So many lives were needlessly lost, & many people still suffer today - thanks to the aftermath of destroyed countryside & cities, along with the physical effects of the chemical warfare tactics used by the US. It is worthwhile also noting that US Vietnam vets are still suffering as a result of these tactics today.
I have not included many pictures, as they are not really images you want to keep. However, I would strongly recommend that if given the chance you visit this Museum & learn more about the details of, & the aftermath of, this particular conflict. In order to combat (no pun intended) the mood that the Museum put us in we headed to the cinema to see Disney/Pixar's latest animated film - "UP." It was very good, & just the tonic that was required! :-)
The next day it was time to go on a day tour East of HCMC. Our first stop was at a craft centre on the outskirts of the city. Here they made a variety of ornaments & house hold goods, but their main trade was that of Egg shell & Mother of Pearl pictures.
Each of these pictures is painstakingly made by hand, on a production line of about twenty employees. Some are incredible, & reasonably priced (as far as I could tell). I took a few pictures (which was much cheaper & easier than purchasing), with the one below being my favourite.
The next stop was the Holy Cao Dai Temple, located in the Holy Cao Dai City (not far from the Cambodian border). Cao Dai is a modern religion, with priciples & beliefs constructed from an amalgamation of many religions - including Buddism, Christianity, Hinduism & Confucianism.
The gates to the Holy City
The Cao Dai temple
Ceremony
The Cao Dai followers are largely old people who live in, or nearby, the city. The age of the followers is largely as a result of the religions requirement for ceremonial prayer, at the temple, every six hours...without fail. Each prayer/worship session lasts about half an hour. It was very impressive to watch, even if it was all a little strange to me!
The last stop on our day trip was the Cu Chi Tunnels. These are about 200km of underground tunnels, used by the Communist Vietnamese forces (aka - the Vietcong/VC) during the war. The tunnels are too small for most to fit in, as they measure about 30cm x 60cm. The tunnels proved to be a useful means of avoiding detection by the enemy, whilst also providing an excellent opportunity for surprise ambushes. The picture below is of a watchman's hole. located on the outskirts of the small town the VC stayed in.
In the immediate surrounding area to the town & the tunnels the VC made many vicious traps. These were designed to seriously injure the enemy & to slow down his progress in the jungle. The trap above is one of the nastier ones, although all involved spikes of some form!
The tunnel that we actually crawled through had been expanded by over double its original size, to enable tourists to make it through! Even this 200m stretch was difficult to crawl through & incredibly hot. I could not imagine having to actually live in those tunnels (ones half the size of the ones we used) for days on end. They were a tough lot, those Vietcong!
That day trip concluded our tour of Vietnam. I loved the country! It has a lot of history, both pleasant & bloody, some amazing scenery, incredibly friendly people, & best of all it is the cheapest country we have visited in Asia to date. I would thoroughly recommend it. I would like to come back one day to explore the Central Highlands, & the Mountains & National Parks North of Hanoi. I have heard & seen spectacular reports.
Now we have a new country to explore...Cambodia!
written by  johnnoble on July 24, 2009 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Cambodia...the last Asian country to explore on the tour
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Our bus journey from HCMC to Phnom Penh (the Cambodian capital) was long &, thnakfully, uneventful. It is very hard to describe the border crossing throughout Asia, apart from to say that they are nothing like those in the Western world. Under-staffed, a distinct lack of security, & nobody tells you what is going on. It is not pleasant to cross these borders, but a huge relief when it is done!
Above is a picture of the Phnom Penh Palace. Cambodia has a vast array of temples & palaces, all very intricate in their design & stunning in their scale. This form of arcitechture is something that is ingrained in their history, as we were to learn fully during our time in the country.
Upon arrival in Phenom Penh, Smalls & I immediately checked into a hotel/hostel on the North East side of the city, near to the river. It turns out that we were in the moderately priced area of the expensive tourism area. We had arrived late, so we went for food & a couple of beers nearby. Whilst out we met up with our Australian friend, Dewse, who we had met on the slow boat in Laos. We had a fair few catch up drinks in celebration!
The next day was spent recharging our batteries, & catching up with Mr Andrew Dicks! Dewse had met him near his hostel & brought him over to ours to meet up. It was good to see the norm again after about a month apart. As Andy decided not to do the Laos jungle experience, & he didn't do the Thousand Islands tour in Vietnam, he was a week ahead of us in travel. That evening we celebrated our reunion with a $2 all-you-can-eat curry, & plenty of beer & pool. We met some nice lads from Cameroon & played until the bar shut at 3am.
Dewse & I couldn't resist the temptation to create an Angkor tower with our empties. Quite fitting, as you will see from the Angkor relics later in the blog (this is the modern day beer version...of sorts).
The next day Smalls & I set out on a full days' adventure & exploration. We hired a tuk-tuk for the day, & then set off to visit the local orphanage.
We decided to visit the orphanage instead of shooting big guns at the local shooting range. Mostly because we had done that before (in Latvia) & because we had heard what a good job the orphanage was doing. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the orphanage was spacious, despite being home to 100 kids! The facilities were also very good, with plenty of sports activities (basketball, volleyball etc) & large classrooms. They even had access to the computers to learn how to word process etc.
Whilst we both made small donations to the orphanage, both Smalls & I wanted to give the kids a present...hence the mutlicoloured football. The young lad pictured above seemed to be very happy with our gift, & we had a brief kick about with him before we left.
Next stop was the notorious "Killing Fields" at Choeung Ek. It was at this location, about 15km outside of Phnom Penh, that over 17,000 Cambodians were executed - in accordance with Pol Pot's new regime. These barbaric executions were carried out throughout Pol Pot's rule, from 1976-1979. The picture above is of the tower constructed to house the skulls of many of the deceased.
The above picture is of the glass column inside the tower. It is impossible to imagine how many people died here.
Pol Pot's primary aim was to impose communism in its purest form - as he interpreted it. This meant that everyone worked to the benefit of the state, in the form of rural labour in the rice fields throughout the vast Cambodian landscape. Rice was Cambodia primary export, & the primary focus of international trade for Pol Pot. Anyone who was considered to be educated was detained & questioned in prisons in all the major towns & cities. Almost all of the inmates at these prisons were executed, after being tortured horrendously. The picture on the left displays just how brutal Pol Pot's men were when carrying out their duties.
The killing fields, as they are today, give very little indication of the horrific nature of their history. The many holes in the ground appear to be just that, although each of these were mass graves. There were literally hundreds of these graves throughout the site. It certainly sends a shiver down your spine when you try to visualize how it must have felt to visit a place like this in its operational days - either as a condemed prisoner, a guard, or even an observer.
Next on our tour was the S-21 prison. This was Phenom Penh's number one interrogation centre. Formally a school, the building is located on the outskirts of the city. The grounds look as they did when the place was operational, and they give no indication to the horrors that occured here. As you can see by the rules, there was little room any form of error here...
All of the rooms in the three buildings (each three stories high) now have various exhibits relating to the running of the prison, & Pol Pot's rule in the wider context. It is quite shocking to see how the Cambodian people were treated, & not more than 30 years ago. Below is a picture taken of the skulls that were unearthed from mass graves at the killing fields. Excavations began in the early 1980's, after Pol Pot's rule had been ended.
Here is a typical torture room. Inmates were strapped to these beds & exposed to some brutal treatment - all in aid of gaining information of "the rebellion," which was in the most part fictional & ultimately futile.
I would recommend the killing fields & S21 prison to all visiting Cambodia, although expect to be both moved & horrified by all that you read & see. I read pretty much every exhibit & left feeling pretty numb.
Next stop was a six hour (bumpy) bus ride across the country to Siem Reap. Siem Reap is Cambodia's next largest city, & is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year...due to the nearby temple ruins. These I had heard about many years ago, & had been very high on my list of "must-sees" whilst travelling. So, needless to say, I was very excited at the prospect of a day walking around these ruins.
Our first view of the famous "Anchor Wat" was truly stunning. It is hard to believe that the construction of these gigantic structures began back in the 7th century! The land that the temples cover is vast, & there are many different groupings. Anchor Wat is the biggest, and arguably, the most impressive.
Inside the outer walls of the temple you can walk around the central towers. The attention to detail in their design, & the actual construction that was undertaken to create them, is nothing short of breathtaking.
It is clearly visible how vast these projects were when you observe the engravings in the brickwork. This is the norm, not the exception. You can only appreciate this is you visit the place & everywhere you look the bricks are patterned, or tell a story.
Personally, my favourite view of Anchor Wat is above. I love the reflection of the temples on the lake. If you want to see some even more spectacular images of this "eigth wonder of the world" then google images is your friend ;-)
As the temples are built out in the forrests there is plenty of wildlife nearby. These were just a few of the monkeys that we saw throughout the day. They are very used to people, as one would expect with the number of tourists that must visit each year.
Anchor may be the biggest & most renowned of the temples, but there are many more. There are six main clusters of temples, all varying slightly in their styles and sizes - reflecting the time in which they were built. The faces in the tower above are at the Phnom Bakheng temple, which isn't nearly as big as Wat - although nonetheless impressive; as are all the other temples.
Ta Keo ruins...
Near to the Anchor Thom ruins there is a giant buddha stature. There are four of these throughout the grounds of the temples, and they are used daily as places of worship for local Cambodians.
Whilst it is currently possible to fully explore the ruins, as I am above (my own personal "Indy Indiana" moment!), this may not be the case for too much longer. As tourists are free to roam the grounds as they please they are causing more & more destruction to the site. The high number of visitors increase corrosion of the temples, so there are currently discussion regarding plans to exclude visitors from walking in/around certain temples. Therefore, I would advise on exploring these fascinating structures as soon as possible - whilst the chance to do so freely remains!
The Ta Prohm temples are possibly my favourite of all. These temple ruins are littered with trees literally growing out of & over the temples themselves. Seeing is believing. The picture below is of one of the most photographed, & therefore recognisable, ruins. You may recognise this as inspiration for the "Tomb Raider" computer games, which have also been made into films (partly shot at the ruins in Cambodia).
It is very hard to take a bad photo when your subjects are as visually stunning as these. I must have taken a hundred photos that day, so picking out a select few took a while!!
One of the temples designs was to include a vast lake - about the size of ten football pitches. There used to be a temple where Smalls & I are standing, but it has since fallen down completely. The main focus of this construction was the lake anyway.
The only annoying thing about visiting such a popular tourist attraction is that is attracts many locals looking to make a quick $$$! Every stop that you make you are surrounded by desperate locals looking to sell you anything they can. We dealt with this annoyance in the best means possible...to decline their offers whilst having some fun with them. At one stall Smalls decided to purchase a t-shirt, although his form of bartering was questionable at best (Paper, scissor, stones anyone?!)...
Smalls lost & had to pay the whole $4 asking price :-O
Having walked around six of the major temple sites all day, we stopped for a quick beer, then made our way to the highest temple - in search of a good sunset. Whilst we had been treated to glorious sunshine throughout the day, sadly, as we ascending the hill the clouds began to thicken.
The view from the top of the temple on the hill was spectacular, although our luck had run out & we didn't get the sunset we desired. We weren't the only ones though, many people had made the twenty five minute walk to the top - so it was actually quite crowded at the top of the temple!
I have to admit that I wasn't in the least bit dissapoined by our excursion to the temples. It is largely as I imagined, but not a large as I had imagined. It is worth coming to Cambodia just to see these phenomenal structures, although I would advise that you start making those plans soon as no one can tell how much longer free exploration will be allowed.
After all of the culture & history of Cambodia, it was time to check out its more modern draw for tourists...that is the sandy white beaches of the south. Sihanouk Ville is the most popular beach destination on the South coast, & is currently under a lot of development to construct very western style resorts.
There are about six different beaches around Sihanouk Ville, we chose to stay at the one most popular with locals & budget travellers - giving the place that authentic local vibe, whilst also competitive & cheap.
All along the beach there are many, many restaurants & bars. All of which sell lots of different styles of food, although the seafood is amongst some of the best I have ever tasted! The majority of it is BBQ...delicious :-)
As with many tourist destinations in Cambodia, there are plenty of locals looking to sell you their "tat." Mostly bracelets. However, can anyone think why on earth Mr Small decided not to part with his $3 for this hat?!? The sun had clearly got to his head...a decision I am sure he will rue for the rest of his days :-(
Out on our first night we met up with Andy again, who had been at the beach whilst we were exploring temples in Siem Reap. We hadn't planned to meet up, so a nice surprise. We also met some more of our friends from Laos, Mike & Caz, and the lot of us drank whilst playing giant Jenga & pool into the early hours.
I have to say that the Cambodian girls are VERY good at pool (either that or the girls in the UK are really letting our nation down in this department). I'm not sure that I won a single game! Worth mentioning, as most of you who know me will know that I like the occasional game of pool - but not losing!
Our time in Sihanouk Ville was spent on the beach or in the bars. We didn't go crazy at all, it was just nice to recharge in the sunshine & relax. Afterall, the buses in Asia are tough going!
Whilst on the beach on our second day we ran into a couple of furry little friends. I think that our recent exposure to puppies has had a profound effect on "cat-lover" Smalls, although he would be the last to admit that! Who could refuse faces like these?
I will sign off this Cambodian blog entry with one of my signature sunset shots (it's been a while?!). Cambodia is a very unique country - largely due to its history & man made structures. I thoroughly enjoyed our time here, although there isn't much more that could keep an avid tourist here for more that ten days (at a push). Therefore, we are off back to Thailand & the islands...one more full moon party before the reality of the UK ;-)
written by  johnnoble on July 31, 2009 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Return to Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand
We arrived back in Bangkok, with three & a half weeks remaining. Our whirlwind tour of Asia was due to end with time to revisit some of our favourite places, so everything was on schedule.
The famous Khao San Road...a hive of activity with tourists everywhere - with equal numbers of Thai locals looking to make some easy money.
We asked a tuk-tuk driver on Khao San Rd to take us to a busy bar area. He did not. We were wandering down empty streets in the North of the city when we stumbled upon a tiny bar located above a (then closed for the day) food court. We walked in just as the band were starting up for the night, so we stayed to check them out. We were pleasantly surprised!
The lead singer had many of the mannerisms of the legendary Tom Jones, & he even sounded very like him too! There weren't many other people in the bar, so Smalls & I were free to request to our hearts content - due to the average age of the band we were treated to some golden oldies (Beatles, Eagles, Van Morrison etc). The Sax player was pretty handy too! We stayed for the whole set & then returned to drink in the bustle bright lights of Khao San Road.
Some of you may remember that when we visited the islands off of the East coast of Thailand I managed to injure myself (Red Bull buckets + fire ropes/rings = bad things). That was just before we arrived on the chilled out haven that is Koh Tao, which is primarily visited for its excellent dive sites. Andy did his open water Scuba course while Smalls & I sat on the beach for three days (I coped). Therefore, as I had managed to stay injury free I decided it was time to get back there & do the PADI (Scuba Dive Qualification) myself.
I did my open water course with "Buddha View" dive school, located on a small beach on the southern tip of the island. It was placed away from the main beach & bars, so I was able to resist the temptations of evening activities (you shouldn't drink & dive!). My instructor was very good, the group were all lovely people (6 of us in total) & I thoroughly enjoyed it! As anyone who knows me is aware I was a swimmer for many, many years so it felt totally natural, for me, breathing underwater (with as much sense as that comment can achieve?!?). After my four full dives, the deepest being 22m, I had opened my eyes fully to the wonder of this activity. Some of the coral & its inhabitants are truly breathtaking. It is amazing to be able to be in amongst the fish & being able to truly study their graceful movements & varying behaviours. It is fair to say that after three days of diving I wanted more - although with less fundamental drills (covered in the course) & more wider exploration of the dive sites. More on that later...
After completing my PADI it was time to head back to Koh Phangan for our second full moon party. We were arriving the day before in order to catch up with Dixy & the lads from Bournemouth. We had first met Pete, Rich & Ben on the slow boat missions through Laos, & they had looked after Dixy for about a month (when we were following on behind - due to the Gibbon Experience in Laos). They are top quality lads with a sense of humour very much like our own, so needless to say it was good to meet up with them & share some more antics!
That night we went to the Thai Boxing on the island, before hitting the full moon warm up party on the beach. August is the busiest Full Moon party - due to all of the tourists from Europe on their Summer holidays. Therefore, the warm up party was as big as the Full Moon was that we first attended in June. Needless to say we had a good time.
For the whole of the next day we relaxed in one of the nearby resort's pool, before getting back on the beers & back down to the beach for the real thing. Andy's girlfriend, Rachael, & her friend Becca were on their holidays too, so they got involved. With all the people that we had met in Phangan, along with the established crowd, there was quite a crowd of us that hit the beach together that night. However, with thousands upon thousands of luminous painted party goers we were never going to stay as one group for long!
There were many, many funny/crazy photos taken that night (which some of you have seen...you know who you are), so I have decided to pick just a few...
A glorious group photo (at which point many buckets had been consumed)
The aforementioned "Buckets" - "...that Red Bull ain't right!"
Me (pulling a "fakie"), Dixy & Smalls (meditating perhaps?)
A "fakie" is when you manage to pull a ridiculous face in a photo pose, usually directed at someone, whilst they are unaware of you doing so. It is very immature, but the results are very amusing (if you are immature like us, I suppose!)
Other fakies during our time with the Bournemouth boys...
Busy?
Rach & Becca
With none of us having made it to bed until around 4pm the following afternoon we wrote the following day off as one for recovery. We had all had an awesome night & one we are unlikely to repeat too soon (if at all!). We (Smalls & I, Dixy was to remain with Rach) decided that we would tag along with the Bournemouth crew to the West coast of Thailand & the island of Phi Phi. So we all said our emotional goodbyes to Mr Andrew Dicks, who has been a stella travelling companion to all, before setting off on our 24hour journey - taxi to boat to bus to bus to boat to hotel room. I am not going to miss the "travelling" of travelling (although we always manage to have a laugh still). The hour & a half crossing from the mainland (Krabi) to Phi Phi was particularly amusing/terrifying, depending on your disposition, as the ocean swells & storm were really in full force. While there were many casualties to sea sickness, I am pleased to say that none of us were involved.
Phi Phi's main pier/boat port
Phi Phi is another beautiful island, as you can see. The warm, crystal clear waters & sandy beaches give the place its paradise image. The inner island is very small & cramped with bars & restaurants (thanks to the boom in tourism), but the surrounding beaches & small islands are all protected national parks, meaning it is only a short excursion to find some of Thailand's natural beauty.
Island of Phi Phi
We booked a half day/sunset tour of some of the more popular beaches & island around Phi Phi. We stopped off at monkey bay (where there were monkeys), did some snorkelling, jumped off of the top deck of our boat (a lot), kayaking, & finally stopped at Maya Bay - also known as "The Beach," made famous by the Leonardo Di Caprio film of the same name. The weather was gorgeous - incredibly hot, yet not humid. A quick dip in the cool(er) ocean was incredibly refreshing.
A cove on the other side of the beach
Maya - The "BEACH"
There's always time for a group shot...
& some "fakies"
"The" beach wasn't as stunning as I had anticipated, although I was probably expecting too much. On the film the waters are crystal clear & the sand is spotlessly clean. Thanks to the large number of tourists that frequent this beach that is no longer the case. Whilst Maya Bay is a protected national park, it does not stop the inevitable litter/spoiling that comes with human interference. The surrounding rock formations that make this bay a cove are truly spectacular though, & I think that it will take some determined individuals to ruin those!
Back on the boat we stopped to enjoy the sunset out at sea.
That evening was time for another emotional experience...saying our farewells to the Bournemouth boys. We did this in true traveling fashion & all went out to celebrate with some cocktails...
That night we managed to convince, a slightly inebriated, Pete that Thai boxing could wait for another time/life! Getting in the ring would have been impressive in itself! We all ended up dancing away on the beach late into the night.
We saw some pretty amusing signs on the island...
Ben, Pete & Rich have at least another 6months away together & will continue to have the time of their lives. It will be a happy occasion when we meet up with them again, in our old night out haunt of Bournemouth, for a catch up beer or two.
Due to our late retreat to our beds, coupled with Rich's alarm staying asleep, Smalls & I missed our 9am boat & bus to the Thai-Malaysian border. We managed to catch the afternoon boat & then the bus the following day. We had to go on a Visa run, as ours were due to expire in the next couple of days. It is free to leave the country & come back in (giving you a new 15day visa) but the Thai government charge ten pounds a day for every day you are over your visa allowance = great financial motivation to make the mission journey to the border. It is a crazy system, crossing a border & back again in a half hour whirlwind of forms, but them's the rules!
It was then that Smalls & I went our separate ways. We had agreed to make the most of the last of our time in Asia, so for me that meant going back to Koh Tao to do my Advanced PADI diving course. Smalls went off to Koh Samui to meet some of our female friends we had made back in Laos (ladies' man).
My mini-bus across Thailand was full. When we reached the East coast everyone but myself got a transfer to a Bangkok bound bus, leaving the driver to take me the 200kms down the coast to the port for Koh Tao (Champuon). I was slightly worried when as soon as we pulled away together the driver popped a DVD into the player in the front of the mini bus! Thankfully he kept his eyes on the road, although I had to endure his choice of "Death Race" (an awful Jason Statham movie about convicts racing to the death!). The movie's soundtrack & sound effects may have inspired a faster journey though!
I arrived in Koh Tao (above), after the night boat, at 5am. I wandered the streets & waited for the dive schools to open. This time I was staying up at Sairee Beach, which is the "busier" area on the island. Koh Tao is incredibly chilled out, which is why I liked it so much (certainly in comparison to Phangan & Samui). My dive school this time was "Asia Divers."
The resort itself is a 5min walk from the beach but it is very nice. The pool was especially appreciated as the whole four days I was there it was in the mid 30's oC! On my first evening I met my instructor, Hayley, & we planned my next two days of diving. The basic skills of diving are covered in the open water, so the advanced course is geared towards specific activities/uses for scuba diving. One of the options was Photography (something that I have always had an interest in). Whilst it cost an extra 30pounds to hire the camera & casing for the day (including pics on a DVD) I think all will agree it was well worth it...
Thankfully I didn't have any issues with equalising the pressure in my ears whenever I descended
Catfish
...time for your close up
A Blue Spotted Stingray - they can be found all over the ocean floor after dark. Thankfully we spotted this one under a rock during the day
Yes, those are fish, thousands of them!
My "artistic" streak...
The most annoying fish in the ocean...the Cleaner Wrasse. Although they appear very pretty they nip away at any exposed dead skin, so being a victim of many mosquito bites I was particularly popular with these fish. They don't hurt, they're just simply annoying!
Christmas tree worms are brilliant fun! When ever you get too close they snap away into the their coral base...this never got old for me! They're colourful too
Who likes diving...
The most challenging fish to spot amongst the coral = the Scorpion fish
Q: How many fish want their picture taken with me?
It isn't only the fish that are engaging - some of the coral structures & colours were mesmerizing...
Hayley found evidence of the negative human influence on the ocean
Trigger fish: they are very big & very territorial. If you get too close to them the fin on the top of their body stands up & they attack - usually stealing a diver's fins
I have saved my favourite underwater picture for last - that of the Pink Anemone Fish. I surprised myself with how well some of my pictures came out!
My fifth & final dive of the course (9th in total) was a night dive. We headed out in the early evening, for the third dive of the day, and enjoyed the sunset.
My instructor, Hayley, & I had a good laugh together diving. I was her only student & proficient enough for her to be able to relax & show me some cool underwater inhabitants. This is us kitted up & ready for the night dive...
Whilst Scuba diving gives you that curious weightless feeling, being suspending in the water, doing in the dark is other worldly! There are far more crustaceans out on the coral & sea bed at night, so we saw lots of crabs. It is eerily cool to scope the underwater world with your torch. As you are sweeping you are constantly surprised by what is swimming around you, & how many fish there are so close to you! I have to say that diving was one of my favourite activities from my whole trip & I can clearly see how so many can become addicted to the activity & the lifestyle that goes with it.
My final day in Koh Tao was spent soaking up the beach. I have spent a lot of the last 7/8 months on the beach & I still believe it gets better everytime. I know that some of these pictures are going to spark some intense daydreaming when I am next stuck behind a desk. Beaches everywhere...I am going to miss you terribly so :'-(
Our final Asian stop is Bangkok, for the third & final time, where Smalls & I again reunited.
With three days to spend in Bangkok we decided to make the most of what was left of our Asian adventure. So, I googled local water parks & we were off for a day in the sun & sliding activity. However, when we got to the park we realised that the information I had obtained online was less than accurate - they only had two slides! Both were okay. The park could boast (& did with many signs) to having the world's Guinness book of records largest wave pool...WOW :-O
We made the most of the situation by enjoying some cold beers in the jacuzzi & then lounging around in glorious sunshine. The real world is going to be one massive shock to us!
That evening we were delighted to watch England's cricketers creep ever closer to beating the Aussies in the Ashes. The Aussie's final innings is underway as I type this. Both Smalls & I hope, like all Englishmen, that we win it - especially seeing as we have made so many Australian friends on our travels :-)
The next day we dedicated to making the most of the Thai prices by visiting the Chatachuk Market. This place is HUGE! There are over 10,000 stalls selling all kinds of weird & wondeful stuff. You can buy anything from a pillow case cover to a puppy (due to the poor conditions of their enclosures I decided not to get any pics...they were still cute though!). I managed to get some bargain t-shirts &jeans, amongst other necessity items - such as trainers (it will be very strange to put on socks & shoes after over 3months in flip flops!).
When we returned to the Khao San Road area that evening the skies began to turn. I headed to the hotel while Smalls went off to find some more bargains at the nearby stalls. I think he wishes he hadnt bothered now! The heavens opened, so all the stalls shut up as quickly as possible, then the streets became totally flooded in a matter of minutes! Smalls told me that as soon as it was clear the drains were blocking up all of the rats & cockroaches headed for higher ground by any means - including climbing up people! I am glad to say that I was dry & content in our room :-) We were lucky that we could make it around the corner from our hotel to watch the football in a nearby restaurant...we couldn't miss that because of a little rain!
After our last night out (which finished at 4am after a sheesha session) we got up late, then I made my way to Bangkok's biggest shopping centre. The picture on the left is of a statue located outside the shopping centre...I have no idea what it is in aid of or what message it is trying to portray?!
The shopping centre is massive. It is incredibly similar to any you would find in the Western world, although there is a market at the end of the building. Here you can find most of the goods from the proper shops at a massively reduced price...a very odd setup. I managed to find the majority of what I was looking for, however I can advise that the Thais do not cater for people of my height when it comes to shirts!
I have just checked our flight out of Bangkok to Heathrow & everything is in order, thankfully. We are both looking forward to some relatively comfortable travel (flying BA) after all of the discomfort we have endured on our travels. I have to say that it has all been well worth it though! Asia is a fantastic place & each country that we have visited has had something different to offer. There are a few places that I would like to come back to (Thai islands & Vietnam especially) but I would recommend everywhere I have been (except maybe Kuala Lumpur...I wasn't a fan). There shall be no great reflections in this blog entry, because there will be a "home coming" & Reading Festival entry to finish off the year's adventure. I am incredibly excited by the thought of seeing all of my family & friends - it seems like a lot longer than a year I have been away! Mr Byron Smith & Mr Christopher Oughton will be meeting us at Heathrow tomorrow morning...and I can't wait!!! :-)
written by  johnnoble on August 18, 2009 from Bangkok, Thailand

Home coming & Reading Festival
Reading, United Kingdom
We arrived home on Monday 24th August at 7am to be greeted by Oughts & Byron (once they had got the right terminal). It was excellent to see them after so long & especially good of them to collect us. Not only that, but both of the lads had taken the day off - meaning there was plenty of catching up to do immediately. We stopped off at my house on the way to Newbury, so that I could dump my bags (FINALLY) & take a shower. Before I left I couldn't resist reacquainting myself with a sorely missed life companion of mine...
I had been advised that there many places on my route that I would be able to find my favourite condiment (which there were; at least 6 occasions where I could've indulged), but I decided that if I went without for the year I would thoroughly enjoy & appreciate that first slice when I got home. I did.
We headed off to Sainsburys to purchase beer (I went for some British Ales that I have missed too), then headed to Ought's place to watch DVDs & relax. After a brief visit home to say hello to our families, Smalls & I headed back to Newbury that evening to show everyone our photos - & tell some accompanying stories ;-) The living room was full of wide eyed listeners, most of which were being vividly reminded of their own foreign adventures, & the hard core of them managed to stay with it until we called it a night at around 2am (you know who you are). Having not slept properly for over forty hours both Smalls & I gladly accepted the offer of Ought's couches. Whilst we were back at home we still woke up in the same room together the next morning...I guess we can add Newbury to the (somewhat less glamorous) destinations of our travels!
The rest of the week was spent catching up with so many people who we hadn't seen for so long - in my case a full year! Whilst it was so good to see everybody, it was also a little strange at the same time. Being back & seeing everyone indicated that the end of my adventures (or more specifically, this excursion) was very near. However, there was one final location to visit...one that I have frequented often over the past nine years...Reading Festival!!! :-)
READING FESTIVAL 2009
Main stage
Smalls & I had made it!
Group shot on the first day (Friday)
Me & Lee enjoying some refreshments
Dan being introduced to the "fakie"
Later on in the afternoon Debbie & I went back to Davina (our tent) to collect a present I had purchased her from Asia...Red Bull. Knowing what Debbie is like on Vodka & UK Red Bull, I wanted to see what she made of the Thai variety of the mixer.
Deb & davina...that's right, DAVINA! She made it all the way back from Kuala Lumpur - which is where we posted her from. Davina had heard us talk of Reading Festival & we could tell that she was eager to get pegged in at Richmond field. I suspect that no other tent at Reading could firstly boast to being a Kiwi, or being as well travelled as Davina is. Sadly, as a result of her two months of intense use in NZ & Oz - & her postal adventure home, Davina was displaying some war wounds. Reading's campsite was to be her eternal resting place :'-( We shall miss her...
I think it is safe to say that even as we were leaving Debbie was already feeling the effects (so was I). The drinking throughout the day previously may have had an influence!
My final blog entry would not have been complete without the sunset picture! Being shot in the UK I think this picture is probably a rarity!
Debbie & I are still going strong (although my memory of that night is slightly blurry - thanks again to that Red Bull!)
Me, Lee & Deb
Friendly Fires & then Jamie T on the Radio1 stage were very good indeed! Then the group headed towards the main stage to see the Kings of Leon (who weren't as good as they have been when we have seen them previously). Smalls & I were definitely sick & tired of their sex being "on fire" - as we had been overexposed to this particular tune throughout NZ & Oz...it was EVERYWHERE
Reading festival continues to expand year on year. The festival is hardly recognisable from the one I first attended in 2000...so much has changed! This is one of the camp sites, taken on the way home.
SECOND DAY
Whilst I have been keeping a blog going for the full year of adventures I have also managed to complete a diary for a whole year! It is full of bullet points of what I have been up to each day. It also includes some amusing/inappropriate anecdotes that didn't make the blog ;-)
On the second day we were lying around the tent, drinking beer, when I spotted a Gecko walking past us. I said as much, much to the delight of the Gecko - who was sick of being mistaken for a frog! I quote "...we all know that frogs don't have tails!!!"
The second day provided us with some much sought after sunshine...the beer tastes even better in those conditions!
The girls had bought some face paints & glitter etc, which Dan (the "artist") used to create some masterpieces - with our skin being his canvas. I was fortunate enough to receive a beautiful (?!) butterfly. Thanks Dan :-)
Faye was onto my "fakie" antics - which is why I think she is looking a little suspicious of me here!
Sian is one of Debbie's best friends, & one of our hardcore festival goers. It was excellent to have her along for the Sat & Sun.
The highlight of the day schedule was Maximo Park! We all watched them in the sunshine & sang along (somewhat drunkenly) to their brilliant tunes. Happy days :-)
This is the best picture from Dan's disposable camera...can you spot who's missing? (Sadly I don't appear to have a complete team photo?!)
The above picture was taken after we had just been treated to an amazing performance by the Prodigy. We were all together in the front section of the crowd, which was packed & jumping. It was quite a sight to see a field rammed with 60,000+ people all bouncing up & down together. Sadly, I lost both the lenses to my sunglasses & my festival chair during their performance. The chair loss is especially sad, seeing as it attended my first Reading with me & has visited many more festivals since. I hope that it has found a good home.
The Arctic Monkeys closed the second day. They were good, although we had seen them perform better previously. They played some classics that the whole crowd went mad for though!
FINAL DAY
Last day group shot
Dan doing a vodka jelly shot. They are actually quite difficult to get out of the shot glass - we all have our techniques for this Reading Festival delicacy ;-)
After my aviator sunglasses (a "present" from Debs) got destroyed in Prodigy the previous day, Debs was kind enough to let me look after her purple glasses when she wasn't using them...isn't she great?!
Debbie's favourite band of the moment (you have NO idea)...Bloc Party!!! They were amazingly good (as always). When it comes to Bloc Party, they can play any of their tunes & I would be a happy bunny!
...and so it was time for the closing act of the festival (& essentially my year of adventures)...RADIOHEAD :-)
It was 15years since Radiohead last played Reading Festival, so I had a feeling that this was going to be a special performance...and it was. I had been saying, since I found out that my favourite band were closing the festival, that the perfect way to finish my year out would be to hear them play one of their earliest tunes "Creep." This was unlikely, due to their dislike of the song - which was as a result of its massive success (that's what Radiohead are like), and the fact that I have only heard of them playing it at two gigs in about the last ten years.
They OPENED their set with it!!! :-)
The light show was fantastic! The poles above the stage were perspex - meaning that they perfectly reflected the lasers. Some of the displays were very impressive indeed.
The sound was excellent too. We were quite close to the front, as you can tell from the awesome piccies, so we were immersed in the sound. In previous years Reading organisers have been known to reduce the volume for the Sunday evening acts - due to the residential area across the road from the site. Thankfully this didn't appear to be the case this year.
This final shot is actually of me after the opening song, Creep. I had dared to dream of this perfect finish from my favourite band, & that dream came true. I managed to record a couple of the songs on my camera, including Creep, moments I will no doubt enjoy reliving for many years to come...
After Reading Festival I went to visit my Mum & Roy in Looe, Cornwall. Having not seen my Mum in over a year, & it having recently been her Birthday, it was excellent to see her again. That evening she presented me with a beautifully constructed printed version of my blog to date. Mum had set it out in folders brilliantly (three of them - I didn't realise quite how much I had done until I saw this!) and she had added maps & information on every destination that I visited. It was the perfect present & I cannot thank her enough for the kind though & all of the effort she put into it.
At the end of the trip my Mum has asked me twenty questions, which I am including in my reflections of the year...
20 Questions about my trip from my Mum...
1) Where was your favourite place you visited?
A. There are different places for different reasons...
New York = An incredible city. I especially liked Central Park - I would love to live in Manhattan for a year to experience all four seasons in the city.
2) Where was your least favourite place you visited?
A. Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It was smelly, muggy, unattractive & very dirty. Enough said.
3) Where would you most like to return to visit in a different season?
A. The rocky mountains in Canada. I would love to paddle from Jasper down to Banff, camping & hiking excursions included in a week long summer adventure.
4) What was your most memorable journey (not necessarily the most comfortable!)?
A. Hitch hiking to the Hilo Airport in Hawaii with a slightly unhinged individual, Gregory Scott Nottingham. He chatted a lot of nonsense to Smalls in the front (including how he was actually offered the honour of the Duke of Nottingham, as a result of his ancestry, which he declined!?!) while I rode along in the back - watching the bemused faces of the drivers behind as he ambled across the lanes on the highway. Smalls will be able to tell all on this intriguing individual.
5) What was the most extraordinary thing you ate?
Probably Reef Shark in Thailand.
6) Did you enjoy it?
It didn't really have a distinctive taste, therefore I think I prefer them when they are swimming around in the sea for my viewing pleasure. A lot of chilli sauce saved the meal on that occasion!
7) What was the best new food that you tried?
I particularly enjoyed the seafood available in Asia. BBQ Barracuda was a particular favourite of mine, along with lots of Pad Thai (a noodle, veg, seafood/chicken stir fry). I also enjoyed a few Elk burgers during my time in Canada.
8) What was the best new drink that you tried?
I think that I have to say it is Chang beer (nothing particularly exotic - but then again, whoever knows me would have guessed it would've been a beer!). Chang beer is not regulated in regards to its alcoholic volume. Therefore, when you have a tall Chang of 5.7% you could be drinking one that is potentially up to 9% - which leads to varying degrees of inebriation on the same number of bottles of the stuff. Also, it only cost about £1.20 for a large one...happy days :-)
9) Where was the most salubrious place you stayed overnight?
Being on a backpackers budget I was still limited on my accommodation budget, even in Asia where everything is a lot cheaper than in the western world, therefore luxurious accommodation was not the norm. I stayed in a number of nice resorts throughout Asia though, the highlight was probably in Vietnam's Cat Ba 5 star resort.
10) Where was the least salubrious place you stayed overnight?
The first hostel I stayed in in Toronto was truly hideous. It was vermin infested, smelly, dirty & generally run down. Needless to say I only stayed there the one night (sharing my bed with the bed bugs!)
11) What was the strangest creature (not human!) that you encountered?
That bug/spider thing in the jungles of Laos. There is a picture of it in the blog on our Gibbon experience.
12) What was the scariest moment of your trip?
Being held up at a bridge gate, after tubing on the second day, by a bunch of Laos teenagers with machetes. Not a pleasant experience. No one was hurt & we got back to the town okay in the end, thanks to a nice American girl that paid our passage to the hoodlums.
13) What gave you the greatest adrenaline rush?
The sky dive, for sure. If the activity itself wasn't enough of a thrill, seeing the amazing NZ scenery surrounding Wanaka lake made it a truly awe inspiring experience.
14) What was the longest you went without a good wash/shower?.
Probably just under two days. When you are travelling around Asia you find that the buses &boats take a long time, covering great distances. With the cramped conditions & the mostly muggy conditions it made for some dirty travelling conditions.
15) Which person that you met on your travels would you most like to meet again?
This is a very tough one! I met so many truly amazing people, all around the world, and I would love to see any one of them again. I suspect that those I am most likely to see in the near future are Steve (UK - met him in Montreal), Chris (Ire - met him in Ottawa & he was with us for Christmas), Nerissa (NZ - met her in Ottawa as well. Smalls & I also stayed with her for a few days in her hometown of New Plymouth) and Nathan (Oz - met him in Banff, then Smalls, Dixy & I stayed with him & his family in Ulladulla for the weekend).
Those are the friends, as for the girls I got to know a little better...that would be telling! :-P
16) Which person that you met on your travels would you least like to meet again?
When in the travelling community you don't meet many unappealing people. Most people are friendly & open minded. If there ever is someone you don't see eye to eye with you merely don't speak to them & you will both be off on your separate ways shortly. What was far more frequent was getting on so well with so many people that you then travelled together with them.
17) Did you prefer travelling alone or with friends?
There are pluses & minuses to both being alone or with friends. I enjoyed both for different reasons. When you are travelling on your own you are never truly alone, unless you want to be, as it is so easy to meet other travellers & make many new friends.
18) What do you most regret doing on your trip? (Printable answers only!)?
No regrets. I mean that honestly.
19) What do you most regret not doing on your trip? (Likewise!)
No regrets. Had I been able to afford it I would have taken a helicopter trip into the Grand Canyon, although as a result of not doing it I was able to afford many other excellent activities = so no regrets, I shall do it another time! :-)
20) Where will you go to next?
South Africa 2010. I have got tickets to the next World Cup, which England have now qualified for. I now just have to wait to see what fixtures I get when the teams are drawn in December. I have tickets to four different matches - so I am hoping that one of those is an England fixture!
The plan is to spend a week in/around Johannesburg to watch football (& party), before heading off to the Kruger National Park for a three day safari, then finally on to Cape Town to go Great White Shark Diving (& hopefully see Marcus - if he is back from his tour of Africa by then!). There will be at least six of us going, so I am thoroughly looking forward to that one! ;-)
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
It seems longer than a year since the above picture was taken at the top of the Empire State Building. I have been many extraordinary places, met many amazing people, & had many unforgettable experiences throughout my year exploring the world. I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it - even those that didn't seem so enjoyable at the time (mainly cramped travel conditions, sometimes being tall isn't the greatest of attributes).
This blog has been a chore at times, but in the most part it has been a pleasure to write. I shall forever be humbled & surprised by the reception my blog has had from its readers, along with the number of readers it has had! I thank you all for sharing in my adventures, & for the kind comments you have made as avid spectators along the way. I was especially pleased that Allan & Ricky made surprise appearances, it was a shame that a final year of University prevented Stuart from joining me at some point. Next time, maybe!
I now return to the UK in search of employment, hopefully continuing in the career that I had begun to establish before I left, in Video Technologies Account Management. The plan is to reduce the debt whilst working & living in London, then there's the World Cup excursion to South Africa, after that...who knows???
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR EYES :-)
jOhN
written by  johnnoble on September 10, 2009 from Reading, United Kingdom