Ayglesia

AHHH! Day 1 - and it's WET!
Bangkok, Thailand
Well i arrived in Bangkok at 3.30 this afternoon, and after some brilliantly talented negotiations managed to get a taxi into the city. The taxi man wouldn't take me all the way in though as he said his car would get dirty from all the water and flour, and that i would have to walk to where i wanted to go! He told me 10mins, which ended up being 30, after which i was completely SOAKED head to toe, and had a weird floury paste all over my face...it's new year here, which is celebrated by a mass water fight throughout the city for a few days. You literally can't walk a metre outside without getting pelted, quite fun really but i don't want to buy my own water pistol cos i'm trying to save!
Thai new year - me after taking a short walk in the city
So i've checked into a 'hotel', it's pretty clean and i have my own bathroom which is nice! It did cost about a tenner though so will be getting a cheaper place tomorrow, after a good nights sleep ha. Plan so far is to get moving down south as quick as poss to the islands. Bangkok is certainly an experience but you don't need long to appreciate it, it's so packed and dfficult to move in the streets. And it smells a bit.
Well i best go, my internet timer is saying 2 mins, i don't like the time pressure! Probably will go to get a bit of a midnight snack then go to bed (it's 12.30am here at the mo)
More news sooooon!xxx
written by  Ayglesia on April 14, 2007 from Bangkok, Thailand
from the travel blog: Alex's round the world adventure

Day 3 - Koh Tao, eventually!
Chumphon, Thailand
Last couple of days have been quite an adventure! Yesterday the new year celebrations came to an end, which was quite a welcome change - was having trouble even getting out my hotel's front door it was so busy. By afternoon most people had put down the water pistols and gunky stuff, and it suddenly became much easier to meet people without all the chaos. Turns out loads of travellers had just opted to stay in their hotel rooms during the water war!
Found a nice little bar late last night with live music, had a beer and met a funny german dude. Certainly felt the 2hrs sleep though when i got up at 4.30am to catch the bus this morning! Bus ride took 6hrs (and we thought CORNWALL was bad, think james bond style driving but in a huge coach of about 50 people...!). So that was terrifying, quite an eye opener though seeing all the huts by the roadside so many thais live in. Then a 3hr boat trip to koh tao (a tiny island down south). I'm at a wicked resort, quite commercial but looking forward to meeting people tonight.
Beach at sunset
Time's about to run out so back soon!xxx
written by  Ayglesia on April 16, 2007 from Chumphon, Thailand
from the travel blog: Alex's round the world adventure

I'm off!
London, United Kingdom
Not really going to write a blog about london am I, I think it's just here so the map route looks right!!
written by  Ayglesia on April 13, 2007 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Alex's round the world adventure

Day 7 - Woo diving! And CRAZY motorbikers...
Chumphon, Thailand
So much to report on! It's quite hard remembering it all, I hadn't filled in my journal for a few days so took ages to do it this morning.
Urgh, I've just realised this keyboard is also home to quite a large family of evil ants...my fingers are getting redder by the second!!
Anyway, I finished my openwater dive course yesterday, ending with an 18m dive at a site called Red Rock. The whole thing lasted 3 days, each day starting with a lesson held on the beach front while we sipped coconut shakes, luxury eh. Then in the afternoon we would go for a couple of dives, gradually getting deeper. We'd take a big boat out to where the reef was best, it was awesome jumping off the boat roof too. Saw all sorts of stuff, but the highlight has to be being attacked by a big triggerfish, as we'd apparently intruded on his territory (they have big teeth). Lots of chaos followed, and our group of 5 got separated for a while until the instructor found us again. All this at 12 metres, how exciting!Ohh and i managed to blow bubble rings, they weren't that brilliant but i was pleased!
It's very easy to meet people here, almost any bar you end up chatting to someone. Met a couple of cool english guys the other night and ended up having a great night at a beach front bar. Stayed up till 3am and got quite pissed! These types of nights are the best, meet all sorts of people, some of them absolutely barmy.
Motorbike seems to be the way to go around here, but I think i'm going to avoid it - the number of peope i've met with bones broken and half their skin missing! The day I arrived my taxi man burst out laughing at 'silly english man' who was riding at 40 with his stand still poking out from his bike...can't imagine what happened on his next corner!Even if you're not riding one you need to be careful, I think it's up to the pedestrian to get out the way, judging by things so far.
Water taxi sign - charter your own boat for a few quid!
The plan is to stay here a bit longer, probably move to a different beach, then maybe Ko Samui before I head back to Bangkok. Think I will take it easy tonight, they have bars that show movies so that sounds like a good option - had a few too many late nights, need to recover a bit.
That's all for now, I'm going to try upload pics so hopefully you can see them!xxx
...GRRR, I tried to upload pics but it says they're too large as I had my camera on a high setting. Oh well I will make sure future pics are smaller, you'll have to wait a while longer i'm afraid!!
written by  Ayglesia on April 20, 2007 from Chumphon, Thailand

Day 13 - I swam with SHARKS!!
Chumphon, Thailand
Hehe well they were only small reef sharks, that was just to get your attention, but I did swim with them nonetheless! I went on a snorkel trip yesterday, the boat took us to 5 different sites over the day, ending with a couple of hours to walk around Nangyuan - 3 tiny islands joined by a sand bar running between them.
Me at Nangyuan, this was bloody hard to get up here so ENJOY the picture!
Great day, although despite all my efforts the sun got me! At least it's only on my back from the snorkelling. Met a couple of girls on the trip and we stuck together for most of the day, then met up again in the evening for drinks and pancakes...odd I know!
I'm going to work backwards on this update, it's hard to remember things without my journal to hand!
There's a bar on the beach called Lotus, really popular and can be a real party if the night's right. I was in there the other night just for a few beers and met Victor, a 50 year old Austrian guy I will never forget meeting. We got chatting about why we were both in Thailand, and he told me his story, I was in awe! He was on a beach near Phuket, called Khao Lak, when the tsunami hit in Dec 2004. He and his wife were sat on their balcony when they saw the silver line appear in the distance, and they took pictures as it looked so beautiful. As it got closer they realised, but couldn't do anything - they were already high up ground so it wasn't worth moving. Anyway, the wave hit and their cottage was amongst just 3 to be left standing, with one palm tree, on the whole beach. Victor's wife was washed away by the current, but rescued later. The water came into their cottage and pushed Victor to the ceiling where he escaped through a roof window, and then sat in the 40C sun for hours before being rescued. Pretty scary eh! Now he comes back a couple of times each year, and visits the same place to help as he says it has hardly recovered. Incredible story I had to share, I haven't met anyone quite like that before, he practically devotes his life to those Thai people that suffered. I don't normally take my camera out in the evening but that night I had it so there is one of him here.
Victor!
I spent a couple of nights down the south of the island, very quiet there but still stunning beaches with coral reef everywhere. The first night I stayed in a grim bungalow on a cliff, it did have a great sea view and looked nice from the outside
The scummiest cottage!! - looks nice from the outside though.
, but inside was horrible - loads of insects, half a sink, a shower that dripped at best...rubbish! That night I got quite drunk so I didn't notice it as much, although the entire half-a-sink came away in my hands when i used it. Oops!
Met an english guy called Jon and buddied up the next night - accomodation is much cheaper if there's two of you. Had brilliant food down there too - chicken and cashewnuts is the BEST I have now decided! Still, wanted to get back to Sairee beach, it's more lively and a much better party.
Anyway I'm back here now, there's a full moon party on Koh Pha Ngan 1st May so I will go for that before heading back to Bangkok and catching my flight to see the aussies!!
Hmm I'm not happy with that blog update, I will go fetch my journal for next time and update this I think - I'm sure there's more stories I want to tell you!
Over 'n out xxx
written by  Ayglesia on April 25, 2007 from Chumphon, Thailand

Day 21 - MONSOON! And Full Moon Party madness.
Ko Phangan, Thailand
Ok sorry for the gigantic delay in keeping you updated, but i'll make this a good'un as some sort of consolation!
Firstly, thanks to those of you who said you enjoyed reading about my meeting with Victor, the Austrian guy who was hit by the Tsunami. I wanted to add that he no longer gives money to charities for this cause. He said that in many cases the money doesn't go where it's needed, for example they'll build a school in the middle of Bangkok instead of where the wave hit. Obviously a RUBBISH idea! Instead, he sends money directly to people's addresses, then visits them when he next comes to Thailand. Sooo...just to let you know in case any of you have been donating!
Righty ho, back to my big adventure. Sitting comfortably?!
Since the last write up, I spent a couple more days in Koh Tao, mostly chilling and going out in the evenings. The Lotus bar that I mentioned before was a great place to hang out, the party would go on quite late and they have a bit of a dancefloor, all be it shaky rotting wood, but it's something! It was raised up with open sides to the beach, quite convenient as the drunk people tended to fall off and pass out on the beach.
Sunset on Sairee beach
I hopped on a ferry on the 28th for Ko Phangan (another small island), a couple hours trip. Got chatting to Natalie, a teacher from Durham and it turned out we were heading for the same resort. After a particularly dodgy journey to the main beach (you know, going up a steep hill with the van gradually getting slower, luckily we reached the top with all the momentum of a snail), we trekked for about 25mins to the resort. I say trekked, it was a brief time but we were pretty soaked from the workout. However it was worth it, my room was nice and big and CLEAN, made a welcome change from the insect zoos I had been getting used to. And the blood on the sheets, and the broken fans...!
By now the monsoon season was well on it's way, it rained everyday almost all day from then until I left Thailand. I wasn't best pleased, especially since I was relying on those days to get a tan before the full moon party! Because of this, I'm ashamed to say I didn't get much done while I was on Ko Phangan, so i'm sorry for the lack of stories and pictures! Mostly ended up staying at resorts and chatting to people, watching the occasional movie, and playing with the resident puppy at my resort (very cute, but well trained - he stole your money belt at any opportunity!). I also met someone from KPMG Manchester (the company I worked for in England), small world! Made me remember all the good times I had before I left.
You may have heard about the legendary full moon parties of Ko Phangan, but if you haven't it's basically a huge beach party (approx. 8000 people) that starts at 7pm, with most DJ's packing up at 11am the following morning. A real rave! Sorry that sounded very old man... Well it was a mental night, I went out at midnight and partied until 5am. There is drink and drugs everywhere. Most people drink Sangsom buckets, which is a Thai whiskey mixed with red bull (extremely strong stuff here, it's just a caffeine loaded syrup) and pepsi. I hardly drank anything, and noticed a lot more because of it. During my walk along the beach at 5am, I saw a guy getting rushed away on a stretcher being carried by 15 others. Then there were girls my age passed out face down in the sand on their own, and people who could hardly walk were swimming in the sea. I spoke to some guys who had seen a drowned man get pulled out earlier on that night. Not meaning to put you off, but if anyone else wants to go then just be careful!! And avoid the drugs, apparently if you buy some there's a high chance you'll get searched by police a few minutes later - they 'somehow' know exactly who and when to check. The going rate for bribery is currently around £20,000 according to most people, otherwise you go to a Thai prison for quite a while!
Left for Bangkok in a rush the next day as I overslept. The mammoth 15hr journey back went surprisingly quickly, arriving in the city at 4am, awoken by the shrieks of our excited bus driver - probably ecstatic he had managed to get us there in one piece despite drinking Sangsom all the way. I found a room and dumped my pack, then went for a beer with someone from the bus ride. Beer never tasted so good, and it was 5am!
Had a few hours sleep then went out, had ALL my clothes washed and ironed for me. Guess how much? Just under a quid!! Mind you, I went to pick it up from the little street hut, and watched 2 rats jump out the washing machine door, lovely. Then went shopping, Bangkok was much more different to when I had been there during Songkram (Thai new year), not as crowded and there were lots more market stalls. Haggling for stuff was fun - the Thais always smile and stay pleasant, it becomes a bit of a game. Bought my nephew a pressie from a guy on the street, he makes mini tuk-tuks (a Thai motorcycle taxi) out of beer cans and coat hangers. Very common to live on the streets like this guy, he sort of snarled at me when I asked to take the picture, so I was quite quick to get going!
Miniature tuk-tuk maker, lived on the street
In the afternoon I found a bar with a stage and piano, had a jam with 2 Thai guys (guitar & drums) - really enjoyed it, have missed playing the last few weeks.
In the evening I met Vicky, another person from the KPMG gap programme - such a coincidence! Was good to catch up, we went out with her friends that night to a bar on the Khao San Road. A couple of ladyboys spent most of the night waving and blowing kisses at me from the bar, urgh! On my way back to the hostel I got drenched by the rain. A good time to be leaving Thailand, I thought! My flight to Perth was at 2.30pm the next day.
written by  Ayglesia on May 7, 2007 from Ko Phangan, Thailand

Day 28 - Home comforts in Oz, PHEW!!
Perth, Australia
G'day to ya Poms!
Well I arrived in Perth at 12.45am on May 5th, very happy to be met by my sis, Simon (her husband), my niece Abbie and nephew Joel.
My sis, niece and nephew
They emmigrated from England about a year ago, so it was high time for a catch up!
My niece Ab, loves cameras...
Slept extremely well that night, lovely house, such luxury compared to the last few weeks.
Went on a deep sea fishing trip with Simon the other day. Quite a shock getting up at 5am to make it to the harbour in time, the boat was crowded and it motored for 1hr45 until we stopped to fish. The sea was rough, I got seasick!!
Deep sea fishing, I swear the sea was rougher than that earlier on!!
The picture you can see was taken while I was sitting on the seats, apparently looking a curious shade of green. That's Simon at the end of the boat. I managed to recover by midday after shovelling some food down me, but the worst part of this $135 trip...didn't catch a thing!
I spent a day wondering around the city looking for some piano playing work, it became quite an art walking into each hotel and trying to sell myself! It's a shame as i'm only here for a short time it's difficult to get employed. Went to a trendy oyster bar the other night on the Swan river to meet an agent/pianist I had met in Perth, had a bit of a play and it went well - I'll have to keep pestering him in case he can find me a gig - watch this space!
I had better mention an injury I had from Thailand. Walking in the sea one day I stepped on a piece of coral and it put a hole in my foot around the heel. It never quite healed up and was still hurting when I arrived in Perth a couple of weeks later. On consulting my sis about this one evening, she suggested we try dig the foreign object out. Cue Simon, who entered carrying (seriously) a TOOLBOX. Obviously distressed at the situation, I tried to protest, and they just laughed at me. Turned out the toolbox held their medical kit - what a way to scare their patients! Anyway it must have come out eventually, it's fine now. Just had to tell you about it, it was a hilarious night, think they quite enjoyed making me scared about the prospect of home surgery with DIY tools! I'm feeling kind so I'll spare you the picture of the injury...
written by  Ayglesia on May 11, 2007 from Perth, Australia

Day 41 - I CAUGHT...a...SHARK!!
Perth, Australia
Hello hello, had a really cool coupla weeks so thought it time to write a short 'ish' update.
I spent some time with both Aunties, starting with Margy for a few days. Managed to earn a bit of cash helping her with some paperwork - the piggybank needed topping up! We went kayaking one afternoon down a very scenic river. Had paddled for about an hour when auntie spotted a bike in the water, and decided it'd be a good thing to take home! So...after hoisting it onto the end of my kayak we had to paddle all the way back, I was quite shattered when we got back in the dark, bloomin' mozzies everywhere. I'm convinced the bike's nackered, either that or auntie will get arrested for riding a stolen bike when she tries it!
Rescued bike, that's the mist off the water
Me (clutching scary Czech firewater), Auntie Margy & Gerry, Sharon
Had the neighbours over for dinner one night, Thelma and her daughter Sharon, who had been to South America so it was good to hear the stories. The evening gradually got more silly, peaking when Thelma went to fetch her Czech firewater...potent stuff at about 60%, no need to swallow as it just evaporated on the tongue!
Was great to see my Auntie Jean, we went to Freo (Fremantle) and had a gigantic fish n chips. Did some shopping, being a backpacker most of it was the window variety! Although I did get a new surf wallet, from the same shop as the one last time 5 years ago! Also managed to find my way to a barber, as I was looking like a bit of girl. Auntie is currently driving a boy racer car passed on from my cousin Alan, other cars keep revving up for a race from the lights, haha!
Just before catching the man- eater...(not quite a man eater)
I'm back at my sis's place now. Had a day of surfing with Si the other day, it was a bit messy but nice to get out there! We went fishing of the rocks at Mindarie Keys the other day too, which is where I caught the SHARK!...well it was only a small one, and it was a Port Jackson shark so looked weird, but still cool eh! I was in a rush to get it back in the water so didn't get time to take a snap, but Si can back me up, "Alex did actually catch a shark". There.
Hope everybody is doing amazingly back home, more interesting tales of adventure soon!xxx
written by  Ayglesia on May 23, 2007 from Perth, Australia

Day 56 - Catching dinner down South...
Denmark, Australia
Ayeaye everyone.
Jazz Cellar, cool old fogies, me in the background!
Had a couple more days in Perth since the last publication, and went to the Jazz Cellar with my Auntie and co. It's a cool but funny place, bring-your-own everything, some people had saucepans of curry and were eating their dinner! To enter it you walk into a red phone box and then down a set of steps into this tiny basement, pay $12 to the dodgy bloke at the bar and then enjoy your night! It got really busy, and the band was made up of a bunch of nice old codgers. I had a jam with them and had a blast, going back tonight with a whole load of family so can't wait.
Greens Pool
Took a coach down south to Albany on 30th May to see my cousins Miranda & Ritchie, the journey was 6hrs but a doddle compared to the drunken Thai buses! They actually live in a nearby town called Denmark. It's tiny with only a few thousand people, everyone seems to know each other. The house is 110 years old and was one of the first built in Albany. Completely wooden (apart from the chimney!) and on stilts, it's very cosy. Above is their local beach...!
It is stunning down there, probably the best place I've seen so far. What makes it so nice is that it's still quite under the tourist radar, so it's tranquil and clean, unlike a lot of Thailand.
Elephant Rocks
Bunny attack!! My cuz Miranda.
Miranda took the day off work on Friday so she showed me around. We went to Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks, pictures say it all really! Went to a lush lunch at a picturesue winery, and stopped of at and animal farm which was hilarious. It was fun feeding the cute aussie animals, although the massive camel that made a beeline for my food was shit scary!
Out fishing - water just like glass!
Saturday was perfect weather with no wind. Ritch and I took the boat out to the inlet for fishing. Crystal water had a surface like glass, and dolphins popping up all over the place. Caught loadsa stuff, and kept a few for dinner...
Dinnertime!! These are bay snapper
At one point I had hooked onto a fish when something much bigger came and ate that one! I didn't last long fighting it, it snapped the line pretty easily. Exciting times anyway, we reckon it was a small reef shark.
The next couple of days were a bit rainy but I kept busy doing some painting on the house to earn a bit of much needed cash. Back in Perth now, going out in a min so going to finish quickly!
I have a trip up north on Monday for a week, so will have lots to tell when I get back!
xxx
written by  Ayglesia on June 8, 2007 from Denmark, Australia

Day 72 - Exploring the great OUTBACK, sleeping under the stars and swimming with MANTA RAYS!
Exmouth, Australia
Tropicacapricorn...
AHH ONLY 1 DAY LEFT WITH HOME COMFORTS!! After that it's the backpack again, don't know how i'll cope without home meals! I'm off to the East coast of Oz on Tues, but truthfully can't wait to get exploring again. I had to put a nappy on my nephew Joel the other day, an experience so traumatic (for both of us), it made me realise I had reached my limit as a child carer!
In the meantime I have LOADS to tell you. Probably best to start with the introduction of this bloke...
TREVOR! The amazing tour guide.
Trevor was the tour guide on my 1300Km journey up north to Exmouth. Born and raised in 'The Bush' with lots of aboriginal influence, he never went to school but learnt more from his surroundings anyway. I couldn't think of anyone better to show us the real Aussie outback.
The tour itself lasted 8 days, the minibus stopping at various points along the West coast until we reached Exmouth on Day 5. The return journey was mostly driving as we made it back to Perth in 2 days.
Sleepy tour group, haha!
To catch the minibus on Day 1, I was up at 5am, urgh! So there I was at the bus stop at 6.30, feebly trying to make small talk with a couple of German guys to take my mind off the fact I could not feel my legs, it was FREEZING. The bus ambled up eventually, and I hopped on. There were 19 passengers, 16 of which were girls! Which was obviously just AWFUL. Ha... There wasn't much chat to start with understandably as the picture shows, we were all nackered. Moreover, our first impression of Trevor was general terror. It was easy to see he was not a happy fella that morning, his face closely resembling the colour of a beetroot. Luckily this was a rare mood for Trev, and all was forgotten as we eventually got going (turned out the minibus was missing lots of things so we had to drive around the city picking things up, spare wheel etc).
The "straightest road in WA". 'Nuff said really, I saw lots of this!
The group were brilliant, initially a bit shy but the 11 Irish girls soon sorted that out! Also met Laura, another gappy traveller from Hull and we got on super duper. The driving wasn't too bad, only a few hours a day at most. First stop was sandboarding at Lancelin, awesome fun, although being my usual competitive self felt the need to try standing up...That was a bit silly, after successfully riding for all of 2 seconds I promptly took a nose dive and found myself chewing sand for the rest of the day, mmm!
Oh yeah watch this baby go.....face planted about a second later.
Baby python, apparently the grownups can eat pigs, mmm.
Day 2 we stopped off at Trevor's mate Rick's wildlife park, basically an Aussie bloke whose back garden doubled as an animal haven, including a saltwater croc and variety of snakes! Rick proudly told us that Australia is home to 9 of the world's 10 most deadliest snakes. I smiled politely.
Horizontal tree, grows like that due to the wind!
After stopping to see some horizontal trees (does exactly what it says on the tin) we were off to Kalbarri, home to some amazing scenery. On the way to our hostel we stopped to sit on a clifftop and watch whales playing in the distance, pretty cool. Overnight was in a typical backpacker dorm, me and 7 girls in the room, which I'm told makes things very inconvenient! I was fine, although quickly found situations like this render the communal shower very much inaccessible for the entire stay...
In the middle of nowhere - Bowling with watermelons in the outback, random?!
This rock reminded me of the Lion King, so here I strike my best pose! Imagine the big roar...
Day 3 was an early start of 5.30am, but was completely worth it to trek the gorges in Kalbarri. Then headed to Shell Beach, which was just as I remembered it from 5 years ago. Amusingly, my t-shirt and shorts that I wore that day were the same as those that I had on last time I visited! (Yes, you should send me money to buy some new clothes, email me and I will be happy to give you my address).
Shell Beach, guess what it's made of.
Saw some dolphins at Monkey Mia on day 4...
Dolphins at Monkey Mia
All around the campfire, beer flowing freely!
And overnight we stayed at an outback sheep station, really rustic with no electricity from 10pm, and hot water supplied by our campfire! Dinner was a feast, then we sat around the fire singing and toasting marshmallows. Then we dragged out beds outside and slept under the stars, cold but stunning!
Sleeping under the stars at a sheep station
Dinner at the sheep station, in the outback. A python lived in our kitchen...!
Friday we arrived at Coral Bay, I took a boat trip and swam with some wicked 2.5m manta rays, turtles, sharks and all sorts! I really regret not buying an underwater camera, so I'm afraid you'll have to imagine it, but the manta rays were definitely the coolest thing i've seen so far.
In the evening we made it to Exmouth, and on Saturday went to a beach to do snorkelling. Lovely beach, except the bloomin' flies are everywhere - about 50 on you at any one time, AH! There was an area of patchy reef to explore, saw sharks, rays, octopus and another turtle! That was amazing as it was a lucky find, and it was only me and Laura following it around for about 30mins, it just didn't care we were there!
Shells on Shell Beach
OK, I'm going to be completely honest here. Right now it's 1:10am in Perth. I'm up at 6 because I'm flying to Cairns in the morning, and although I thought I'd be able to finish this tonight my head keeps dropping forward and I keep jumping when I wake up again (you know the feeling don't you?!). Soooo, I promise to finish the news about the rest of my stay in Perth soon! There are more pictures on here if you click to view all of them.
Kalbarri coast
Hope everyone's doing brilliantly, more news asap!
A.xxx
written by  Ayglesia on June 24, 2007 from Exmouth, Australia

East coast Aussie, a journey of awesome places, and some BIG parties...
Sydney, Australia
Okayyy, big apologies I've been ridiculously lazy haven't I...don't know where the time went! I'm well into my South America trip now so I've decided not to write a big blog on my East Coast Oz experience. Not to say I didn't enjoy it - the whole thing was amazing. I guess in summary it was mostly a chatic mix of seeing some great sights, doing loads of activities, and partying. Probably a bit too much!
So, instead, I'll put a selection of the pics here for you to see. There are more in the main photo section of this site, these are just my favourites.
Byron Bay
Zorbing, coooool
Out with my old schoolmates Rob and James, weird coincidence
Hostel room mates, Kevin and Alvaro
Sydney Opera House, taken as a negative.
Big tree frog and little tree frog in a hole in a tree!
Cool gymnastics - Janice
Croc feeding, SO COOL
I AM WEARING SHORTS behind that sign.
Fraser Island camp trip crew
Meheno wreck on Fraser Island
Fisherman on a wicked sand bar in the middle of the ocean!
Indian Point, Fraser Island
Fraser Island camp trip, all aboard the jeep...
Fraser Island camp trip, freshwater lake
Awesome mates! Sophie, Me, Anna, Becky
HAHA, good night out.
Whitsundays
POSSUM, they don't look that evil normally. I think it's the flash on the eyes.
Kayaking off Magnetic Island
Resident puppy at Mission Beach, chillaxing.
Alex the crocodile wrestler
There! Hope that's ok, those photos alone took me 2 hours to upload and title!
written by  Ayglesia on July 28, 2007 from Sydney, Australia

Ummm...
Quito, Ecuador
I promised a few people I would write a big blog on Ecuador today...the thing is I've run out of time and need to pack for my Galapagos trip tomorrow! I've put some more pics of Oz and my pics so far of Ecuador, so feel free to look at those.
I'm back to the mainland in a week so I will do a serious update then!xxx
Can you see the owl? How about the snake (upside down) at each wingtip? Awesome camo gear!
written by  Ayglesia on August 11, 2007 from Quito, Ecuador

Day 131 - Ecuador! Home to some serious JUNGLE, cloud forests, and the famous Galapagos Islands...
Quito, Ecuador
Yep yep, I now feel my life is in order again and can finally make a comeback to this blog with a bang!
Sunset from a lagoon in the jungle
Bit of a mission getting to Ecuador, the plane going from Sydney-Auckland-Santiago, where I had to find a flight to Quito. Tired and slightly smelly, I eventually arrived at 9pm approximately 28 hours after leaving Sydney, but after the time difference only lost 13 hours to travel! Checked into a cheery hostel called Crossroads, right in the tourist heart of Quito, an area called La Mariscal.
Shoe cleaner boy and cafe owner
I did have my suspicions about staying on the Mariscal Foch, a street affectionately described by my Lonely Planet as "notoriously bad for muggings and the like". However having now spent nearly 2 weeks at this hostel, I can gladly say things have changed since the last Lonely Planet inspector dropped by.
Absolutely loving the cheapness of Ecuador, my first night a great example: hostel room 3.50GBP per night, all you can eat Mongolian bbq 2.50, cocktails from 50p.
Old dudes playing cards in the park, this should happen at home more often!
I was lucky to meet some cool people straight away in my dorm room, and from breakfast the next day mostly ended up spending my Quito days with a couple of Aussies I had come across. My first day was mostly spent wandering around the city, with a good few hours spent people watching at the nearby park.
These two are brothers, we chatted for ages!
Incredibly interesting, young children play for hours with sticks and without parents, old people play cards on the concrete benches, and local men seem to compete to find the most public place to urinate. Up against a tree in the middle of a busy park seems a particularly coveted spot!
Departed Quito for my 6 day jungle adventure to the Cuyabeno on the 31st. The taxi to the bus terminal was probably my scariest yet, with the driver trying to ram another car off the road in a fit of road rage. Then he ripped me off. I wasn't up for arguing, he looked as though he might explode at any point! The bus terminal was the next scary place, talk about being taken out of your comfort zone! Had no idea where I was or what I was meant to do, but thankfully a policeman took pity and helped me on my way.
On board the motorised canoe
My first experience of South American police and it was a good one, WOO! The bus finally left at 9.30pm, taking me on a 12hr journey to the Cuyabeno River, next to the Columbian border. Not much to complain about compared to the return journey, although did experience the "no rush when stationary, no brakes when moving" approach to travel within South America. And a flat tyre (1hr to change). In fact, there was even a token sign in the bus that read "we choose security over velocity". Yeah whatever!
Spikey spider
Snake caught at night time - the torchlight reflects in their eyes.
Goldinger Spider, pretty big!
Arriving with a young Dutch couple, we were met by Romulo, our guide (only 19!) at the river bridge. We reached the river lodge after 15mins on a motorised canoe. Nice place, kept clean and without electricity of course! Because there were only 3 of us at the lodge, we requested to go as far down stream as possible, getting deeper in the jungle and hopefully seeing more. Actually, it turned out to be one of the farthest trips the family had taken - they'd not been that far in a year, so they all came with us! The group therefore included Romulo's father, sister and nephew.
It was a brilliant adventure, travelling about 15hrs downstream gradually. The list of stuff seen is huge, but included pink river dolphins, turtles, anacondas, tarantulas, monkeys and loads of birds & insects. And of course the famous caiman, a reptile similar to the croc, growing up to 6 metres. Coooool!
I couldn't care less about it, honestly....!
We went caiman spotting at night, using a torch as their eyeshine gives them away, just like the Discovery channel! I tried to catch one like you see on the tv, and failed brilliantly. We really roughed it, camping in the middle of nowhere one night, great fun. I felt well prepared with my 4-in-1 super concentrated shower gel/shampoo/dishwashing soap/clothes detergent I had bought!
There's an active volcano to the left, but it erupts around every 6000 years. The locals take their chance.
Came back to Quito for a day then went for a 2 day trip to the cloud forest at Mindo. Went with Anna, one of the Aussies I had met at the hostel, and had our own guide Eddy drive us around, really helpful. The cloud forest was stunning, so i'll have to put pics up.
Food was at Eddy's favourite restaurant in area...we didn't agree! Whole 'trout' (definitely not trout), cow hoof soup (as the name suggests, a hoof floating in bowl of liquid), lovely! Stopped off at a museum on the equator on the way back.
Saw a shrunken human head, pretty standard...and some cool demonstrations. One of the best was using a sink, where they showed us how water goes down the plug different ways just 1 metre either side of the equatorial line! And even stranger, the water just goes straight down when the sink is placed exactly on the line. It's also easier to balance and egg upright on a nail head on the equatorial line, and you aren't as strong there either. Weird!
After a couple more days in the big city of Quito, it was time for my...GALAPAGOS TRIP! One of the main reasons I had chosen Ecuador n the first place, I'd been looking forward to this bit for ages. Well, the whole thing was incredible, so much so that I think I'd have trouble describing it with any justice. Sooo, I'm going to tell most of the story in pictures. All I will say is that everything I had heard about the islands was true, and still I couldn't have been more impressed. The animals literally don't care about human presence, and seem to see us as little more than camera-clutching pests. The boat was way better than I expected, and the crew were top notch. The tour lasted 7 days...
Marine iguana, soooo cool to snorkel with these things.
SHARK! That's him running away from me.
Galapagos Penguin
written by  Ayglesia on August 20, 2007 from Quito, Ecuador

Mingling with the residents at a maximum security prison, and getting stuck in Quito for a bit longer!
Quito, Ecuador
This is just a brief update, but I had to write something just because the last few days have been GREAT.
Party!...Matt & Lee, who were on my Galapagos trip, and Dave
The other day I saw a kiwi guy who I'd already met when I first arrived in Quito. We got chatting and he told me about a prison out of town, where they have visitor days. Obviously these are meant for family, but there are several foreigners in there that are just happy for some company. One of these is an Englishman (I'm not going to name him as he's not been sentenced yet), who was brought in for allegedly setting up a shipment of cocaine to the UK 3 years ago.
My arm showing the 4 stamps I had to get to be allowed into the prison.
Gaining access to the prison was somewhat tricky, entailing two thorough searches, a collage of stamps on my left arm, removal of my belt and watch and handing over my passport. I ended up spending a whole afternoon at this maximum security prison, meeting quite a few people, all of which had some really eye-opening stories to tell. BUT, I'm not going to say too much on the whole event right now, although I will in a few weeks when I'm home.
More recently I've had a bit of luck finding some short term work here in Quito. Yesterday I moved into the Marriott hotel, where I've got a room and breakfast for the next week, and all I have to do is play the piano for a few hours each night! Probably the weirdest feeling I've had in ages, suddenly going from staying in cheap dorm rooms at hostels to a king bed and wearing a tux each night...certainly can't complain though.
Wasn't able to get away with working in my shorts and flip flops...
Rio will be the next stop, probably next week at some point. More stories soon! xxx
written by  Ayglesia on August 25, 2007 from Quito, Ecuador

Wasn't able to get away with working in my shorts and flip flops...

My arm showing the 4 stamps I had to get to be allowed into the prison.

Party!...Matt & Lee, who were on my Galapagos trip, and Dave

I couldn't care less about it, honestly....!

Snake caught at night time - the torchlight reflects in their eyes.

There's an active volcano to the left, but it erupts around every 6000 years. The locals take their chance.

Me under a waterfall. It was FREEZING.

Can you see the owl? How about the snake (upside down) at each wingtip? Awesome camo gear!

These two are brothers and chatted to us for ages in Spanish, ha!

Old dudes playing cards in the park, this should happen at home more often!

Goldinger Spider, pretty big!

Shoe cleaner boy and cafe owner

Spikey spider

On board the motorised canoe

Sunset from a lagoon in the jungle

Sydney Opera House, taken as a negative.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Hostel room mates, Kevin and Alvaro

Out with my old schoolmates Rob and James, weird coincidence

Zorbing, coooool

This guy is a real hippie!

Byron Bay

Croc farm, this was just weird!

Alex the crocodile wrestler

Resident puppy at Mission Beach, chillaxing.

Shane's jetski, seriously cool and SO FAST!

Kayaking off Magnetic Island

POSSUM, they don't look that evil normally. I think it's the flash on the eyes.

Sophie feeding and stroking a possum, he attacked our loaf of bread later!

Whitsundays

Whitsundays boat group

Mr Happy 'n Little Miss Sunshine!

Me and crazy Jason

HAHA, good night out.

Awesome mates! Sophie, Me, Anna, Becky

Fraser Island camp trip, freshwater lake

Fraser Island camp trip, all aboard the jeep...

Fisherman on a wicked sand bar in the middle of the ocean!

Indian Point, Fraser Island

Meheno wreck on Fraser Island

Fraser Island camp trip crew

I AM WEARING SHORTS behind that sign.

Croc feeding, SO COOL

Cool gymnastics - Janice

Big tree frog and little tree frog in a hole in a tree!

Oh yeah watch this baby go.....face planted about a second later.

Sleeping under the stars at a sheep station

All around the campfire, beer flowing freely!

Me and Auntie Margy

Me and my sis Sa

Cousins Tom and Graham, squeezing each others legs at this moment!

Me 'n Auntie Jean

Joel the croc wrestler, or croc dentist not sure...

Nephew Joel again, just about to jump on me.

My nephew Joel, little comedian.

TREVOR! The amazing tour guide.

Laura and her Ma, Margaret

Tropicacapricorn...

Some of the Irish lot on my tour, great laugh.

Beach in Exmouth somewhere

Sleepy tour group, haha!

Dinner at the sheep station, in the outback. A python lived in our kitchen...!

Shells on Shell Beach

Shell Beach, guess what it's made of.

The "straightest road in WA". 'Nuff said really, I saw lots of this!

Dolphins at Monkey Mia

Pelicans, these things have MASSIVE gobs

Stomatolites again, they emit oxygen, cool eh.

Stromatolites in the ocean (really clear), 30,000+ years old

Gorges in Kalbarri

This rock reminded me of the Lion King, so here I strike my best pose! Imagine the big roar...

Kalbarri coast

Z Bend gorge in Kalbarri

Coast of Kalbarri, pretty as a picture!

In the middle of nowhere - Bowling with watermelons in the outback, random?!

Hutt River Province - the tiny country within Oz!

Horizontal tree, grows like that due to the wind!

Baby python, apparently the grownups can eat pigs, mmm.

Natural Gap

Elephant Rocks

Bunny attack!! My cuz Miranda.

Natural Bridge

Greens Pool

Out fishing - water just like glass!

Seriously lazy animal, permanently stoned on Eucalyptus...

Dreaming pig, it kept sniffing

Dinnertime!! These are bay snapper

Jazz Cellar, cool old fogies, me in the background!

Me (clutching scary Czech firewater), Auntie Margy & Gerry, Sharon

Rescued bike, that's the mist off the water

Just before catching the man- eater...(not quite a man eater)

My niece Ab, loves cameras...

Deep sea fishing, I swear the sea was rougher than that earlier on!!

My sis, niece and nephew

Miniature tuk-tuk maker, lived on the street

Thai new year - me after taking a short walk in the city