During the remainder of our time in Sihnoukville we found out we pretty much aren't going to be able to go Thailand, not only is the political situation unpredictable but our insurance would be invalid if we did! (insurance is BULL! lol) So we've changed our plans, we're flying home in THREE WEEKS time, from Hanoi because Laos is not very well connected with airlines and beacuse the travel in Laos is very slow and we may now find ourselves pushed for time! It sucks that we're now not going to Laos but it means that we can not be too rushed through Vietnam and we'll be able to go as far up as Hanoi and perhaps to a cruise on Halong Bay! Pretty sweet end to the trip! lol
After making all these decisions we booked a coach to Ho Chi Minh with Monkey Republic, thinking it would be a reputable travel company and we would get to HCMC with relative ease, this was NOT the case! lol.
We got picked up at 7AM and drove to Phnom Penh where we were supposed to get on another coach which would take us through the border all the way to HCMC. However, when we arrived in Phom Penh we were told there was no bus coming because the bus for HCMC that day was full. The guy at first said we could either have a refund or get a partial refund which would get us to the border! We were lucky enough find ourselves thrown together with 9 lovely people! There were: some other girls travelling (one of which was from Redditch, small world! lol); a couple who teach in a British international school in HCMC; an argentinian guy who is currently living in Kabul; an unusually tall japanese guy; a swedish girl travelling alone and another guy travelling alonwe. We all tried to reason with the guy at the travel company who refused to pay out any money for us to get a minibus so in the end we decided we needed to get a move on because the border crossing would close, so we got refunds and got ourselves a minibus for $9 each. The bags were shoehorned in, we took the back row and had to have our feet on bags wedged under the seats! lol. After an uncomfortable but very sociable 4 hour drive to the border we all got stamped out of Cambodia and filled in arrival card to enter Vietnam. We queued (like good brits!) to get stamped into Vietnam, there were constantly tour co-ordinators and bus drivers bringing piles of passports to the front of the queue and bribing the officer guy to do them before ours! This only stopped when we PHYSICALLY stopped the pushers-in getting through! lol. Eventually we all got through the border (by this point it was dark!) and so we found another minibus that would take us to HCMC for $5 each. This was an easy journey, Emma was chatting to the teacher guy about teaching and we were all larking about, there was a great sense of comradery between us all and we headed to the backpacker district of the city and all found places to stay before meeting at a restaurant run by a friend of the teacher couple. We three all had an amazing Vietnamese Yellow Curry. In the end we made some friends and were only down $1, que cera cera! lol.
We spent yesterday around the city we visted the War Remnants Museum (which used to be called the museum of American War Crimes!) and saw all these amazing photos of the war, amazing! After that we went to Notre Dame Cathedral (not as good as the one in Paris I must admit! lol) before taking refuge from a downpour in the 'Diamond Plaza' where they had port merion stuff! lol. This morning we've been hanging around, we're catching a bus upto Mui Ne at 3.
xxx
Monday, 3 May 2010
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Ahhhh Phnom Penh, Angkor WHHHHAAAaaattt?! and more tales from Cambodia
So we got the night bus upto Bangkok which wasn't too bad until we got of the coach and there were taxi drivers swarmed around the door of the coach asking where we were going. They remained in a swarm around us while we got our bags and even when we were reading in the lonely planet about where we were going to go they were looking over our shoulder. This was pretty traumatic after 12 hours trying to sleep on a coach! In the end we got a taxi across Bangkok to the Airport Hotel we decided to stay in before our flight to Phnom Penh. We had a pretty boring day of reading and a cheap dinner of pot noodles in our room. A highlight was watching Thai MTV, they love Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga! lol.
The following day it was 'Songkran' day, Thai New Year so there was supposed to be water fights all aroudn Bangkok but they had been cancelled because of the political unrest. However, we did see a few people with water guns on the way to the Airport. We arrived in Phnom Penh in the afternoon and got a taxi to our hotel, Top Banana Guesthouse. There were two flights of really steep stairs which were a challenge with our increasingly heavy bags! lol. We then spent a few days in Phnom Penh seeing the sights. First we saw the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, then we went to S-21, this school that the Khmer Rouge converted into a prison. It has pretty much been left as it was, we saw the bedframes they chained prisoners to, the old school PE equipment they used to torture people and a set of old classrooms filled with photographs of the prisoners. They imprisoned Intellectuals and their families, tortured confessions out of them, then sent them to the Killing Fields to be executed and buried in mass graves. We also visited the Killing Fields, you can walk around the edge of the graves they've excavated but all around the outside there are mass graves that haven't been excavated. Also, the stuff that has been found (clothes, skulls and bones) have been displayed in a Stupor, a buddhist grave type thing.
We were in Phnom Penh over Khmer New Year so alot of stuff was shut but we did find an amazing cafe which had an AMAZING range of sandwich filling, which I have been missing! lol. We left Phnom Penh by bus and travelled to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, the 8th wonder of the world! Siem Reap is one of the most touristy places in Cambodia and because of how recent the Khmer Rouge was and how many landmines remain throughout the Cambodia there are loads of beggars with missing limbs. Also, because Cambodia is still so poor parents force their children on to the streets to sell things and to beg. On the plus side, there is initiatives which you can give money to in the knowledge it's going to the right places, for example, in the town we're in at the moment you can but paintings the children do and they get given money without begging or selling things on the streets.
We planned to see Angkor Wat for sunrise 'the done thing' and so woke up at about 4.30 and met our driver for the day. Angkor wat was pretty incredible but my favourite was either Angkor Thom, these ancient ruins of a city, or Ta Prohm, where trees grew through all the ruins. We came back to meet our driver after Ta Prohm and couldn't see him anywhere, eventually we recognised our tuk-tuk and he was asleep in it! All the other drivers were laughing and he woke up pretty sheepish! lol. The last stop of the day was this temple where we were to watch the sun go down (except that it was overcast so there was no sun to watch go down! lol) and we rode an elephant up the hill to the temple, it was AMAZING!
After Siem Reap we decided to take a boat journey from Siem Reap to Battambang where you are supposed to be able to see floating villages and endangered birdlife. We saw all these things in the first hour, which was really cool! However, more and more people got onto the boat each time we went through a village and we were all so cramped! I've never had such a numb bum in all my life! lol Whats more, we were told the journey would take 6/7 hours but it ended up taking ELEVEN because it is just before the rainy season and the river is really low. So low that the boast kept getting stuck and some people got off and walked four about half an hour. We were pretty weary of this because the worst place for landmines is on flood plains! NO THANKS lol. When we finally arrived in Battambang I lugged my bag onto my back and trudged up this hill to the road where we met a tuk-tuk driver called Mr.Tim who took us to our hotel. We were pretty traumatised by the journey and spent a day recovering (our hotel had a pool, YAY! lol) The following day we planned for Mr.Tim to pick us up. He showed us round this temple which had been used as a prison under the Khmer Rouge and described how when they took over everyone was forced to live in the countryside and to farm rice which they weren't allowed to eat. He also told us how girls were made to be nurses and were the only people who could provide any sort of healthcare. The converted temples into hospitals and used pepsi bottles to administer what they were told was medicine through a drip. Mr. Tim then told us that that is how his mother died and that he had lived through the Khmer Rouge, he was an incredible man to have met!
We arrived in Sihanoukville the day before yesterday by coach (ten way more comfortable hours! lol) and have been staying in a really cool place called Monkey Republic, they support all the good causes around the town (we have a picture from the above mentioned charity in our room! lol) It is run by four guys from Cambridgeshire and there is 2 free TV rooms where you can borrow and watch DVDs for free. Today we watched Marion and Geoff, it was really funny!
I am fully aware I have not done justice to Cambodia in this blog, its been incredible and there is too much to write in one sitting!
xxxxx
The following day it was 'Songkran' day, Thai New Year so there was supposed to be water fights all aroudn Bangkok but they had been cancelled because of the political unrest. However, we did see a few people with water guns on the way to the Airport. We arrived in Phnom Penh in the afternoon and got a taxi to our hotel, Top Banana Guesthouse. There were two flights of really steep stairs which were a challenge with our increasingly heavy bags! lol. We then spent a few days in Phnom Penh seeing the sights. First we saw the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, then we went to S-21, this school that the Khmer Rouge converted into a prison. It has pretty much been left as it was, we saw the bedframes they chained prisoners to, the old school PE equipment they used to torture people and a set of old classrooms filled with photographs of the prisoners. They imprisoned Intellectuals and their families, tortured confessions out of them, then sent them to the Killing Fields to be executed and buried in mass graves. We also visited the Killing Fields, you can walk around the edge of the graves they've excavated but all around the outside there are mass graves that haven't been excavated. Also, the stuff that has been found (clothes, skulls and bones) have been displayed in a Stupor, a buddhist grave type thing.
We were in Phnom Penh over Khmer New Year so alot of stuff was shut but we did find an amazing cafe which had an AMAZING range of sandwich filling, which I have been missing! lol. We left Phnom Penh by bus and travelled to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, the 8th wonder of the world! Siem Reap is one of the most touristy places in Cambodia and because of how recent the Khmer Rouge was and how many landmines remain throughout the Cambodia there are loads of beggars with missing limbs. Also, because Cambodia is still so poor parents force their children on to the streets to sell things and to beg. On the plus side, there is initiatives which you can give money to in the knowledge it's going to the right places, for example, in the town we're in at the moment you can but paintings the children do and they get given money without begging or selling things on the streets.
We planned to see Angkor Wat for sunrise 'the done thing' and so woke up at about 4.30 and met our driver for the day. Angkor wat was pretty incredible but my favourite was either Angkor Thom, these ancient ruins of a city, or Ta Prohm, where trees grew through all the ruins. We came back to meet our driver after Ta Prohm and couldn't see him anywhere, eventually we recognised our tuk-tuk and he was asleep in it! All the other drivers were laughing and he woke up pretty sheepish! lol. The last stop of the day was this temple where we were to watch the sun go down (except that it was overcast so there was no sun to watch go down! lol) and we rode an elephant up the hill to the temple, it was AMAZING!
After Siem Reap we decided to take a boat journey from Siem Reap to Battambang where you are supposed to be able to see floating villages and endangered birdlife. We saw all these things in the first hour, which was really cool! However, more and more people got onto the boat each time we went through a village and we were all so cramped! I've never had such a numb bum in all my life! lol Whats more, we were told the journey would take 6/7 hours but it ended up taking ELEVEN because it is just before the rainy season and the river is really low. So low that the boast kept getting stuck and some people got off and walked four about half an hour. We were pretty weary of this because the worst place for landmines is on flood plains! NO THANKS lol. When we finally arrived in Battambang I lugged my bag onto my back and trudged up this hill to the road where we met a tuk-tuk driver called Mr.Tim who took us to our hotel. We were pretty traumatised by the journey and spent a day recovering (our hotel had a pool, YAY! lol) The following day we planned for Mr.Tim to pick us up. He showed us round this temple which had been used as a prison under the Khmer Rouge and described how when they took over everyone was forced to live in the countryside and to farm rice which they weren't allowed to eat. He also told us how girls were made to be nurses and were the only people who could provide any sort of healthcare. The converted temples into hospitals and used pepsi bottles to administer what they were told was medicine through a drip. Mr. Tim then told us that that is how his mother died and that he had lived through the Khmer Rouge, he was an incredible man to have met!
We arrived in Sihanoukville the day before yesterday by coach (ten way more comfortable hours! lol) and have been staying in a really cool place called Monkey Republic, they support all the good causes around the town (we have a picture from the above mentioned charity in our room! lol) It is run by four guys from Cambridgeshire and there is 2 free TV rooms where you can borrow and watch DVDs for free. Today we watched Marion and Geoff, it was really funny!
I am fully aware I have not done justice to Cambodia in this blog, its been incredible and there is too much to write in one sitting!
xxxxx
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Malaysian and Thai Islands
We had a nice flight to Langkawi and got a taxi to our hotel, we had a room with a bathroom, nice! lol. Langkawi is a cool place, there were lots of restaurants and little shops. The beach itself was amazing, we spent four nights. One was spent celebrating Emma's Birthday! We had a walk along the street trying to find some sort of nice bar to no avail! We were steadily making our way back to the hotel when we heard music coming from the beach and found that THAT's where all the nightlife is! From Langkawi we booked a ferry and onward transport upto the Thai island of Koh Lanta. This made for a pretty long journey!
We were picked up from the hotel in Langkawi at 7.30 from a ferry at 9, when we arrived in Satun, the first of the Thai Islands and we're ferried on to a pick-up truck with benches, they're called Saammlaws! This took us as far as a bus station where we were told to get on a bus so we waited until 12 when we boarded this bus which was going to take us to Krabi. When we were boarding the bus the ticket lady made us all sit in seats according to where we were going which consequented in moving nearly everyone around, it was LOL-worthy! The journey to Krabi was 2 hours then we were to get a minibus the next 2 hours to Koh Lanta. Between Krabi and Koh Lanta we were sat at the back of this minibus and when we eventually arrived in Koh Lanta we were the last people left on the bus after a while and the driver started making all these drop offs of deliveries and was getting paid every time he stopped to drop something off. By this point we were very exasperated!
However, when we eventually arrived at Bee Bee's bungalows it was like a dream! We asked the guy where a cash machine was because it was our first stop in Thailand and we didn't have and Baht and he said 'slow, slow! Don't worry!' So, for the next 5 nights we stayed in a bungalow by the beach (under 15GBP for all of us! :)) and did alot of reading. I finished Oliver Twist and read both Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass...'Why is a raven like a writing desk?' LOLz. The people at Bee Bee's were really friendly, it was run by this guy called an who every morning spent about half an hour playing with a boomerang on the beach, hitting various trees and bungalows and the occasional near miss of a guest! lol.
Next stop was Ko Phi Phi, where they filmed the beach, the prices were higher and it was FULL of british yobs and all sorts. When we arrived the guy showing us to our hotel carried our bags all the way in the mid-day heat all the way on this trolley thing! By the time we got there we were boiling and he got us some water, NICE. We ate in this bookshop-cafe before checking into our room, after which we spent the afternoon on the beach, even more perfect than Koh Lanta, check facebook for the pics!
The following day we woke up ready to part with some cash in order to sea the secluded spots of Ko Phi Phi Don and it's uninhabited, neighbouring island, Ko Phi Phi Ley. However, when we came out of our room the guy from the hotel (a different guy to bag guy!lol) he said there was going to be a TSUNAMI! But we were safe because our hotel was up from the beach, so we sat waiting, it was very surreal, we had no idea what was going on, then a police announcer came round saying there was no risk of tsunami. So, we had some breakfast and booked a boat trip (we weren't too worried because apparently they've had 3 tsunami warnings in the last week with nothing happening!) The boat tour we got was with two other couples and a family, we all squeezed into this longtail boat and set off out of the main bay. The first stop was Monkey Bay, where there are monkeys on the rocks, people crowded round taking photos and stuff until one big monkey started attacking this little one, it was brutal! Then, one guy tried to touch one of the monkeys and he slapped him and ran after him, grabbing at his leg! Everyone ran pretty swiftly, the monkeys had TURNED! lol. Also, we haven't had a vaccination against Rabies, so were staying well back! We then went to Ko Phi Phi Ley and stopped in one little cove to swim for a while and then another one where we snorkelled. The snorkelling was really cool, there was this massive fish with all different coloured patches on it as well as a big pouty mouth! Also, the boat-man threw crisps in for the fish around the boat and these stripey fish surrounded all of us! Finally, we stopped at Maya Bay, the beach from 'The Beach,' it has got to be the best beach i have ever seen, the sand was like powder and the water was bright turquoise! On the way back we saw the sunset over the horizon, it was an eventful day! lol.
We woke up in the morning and checked out, it was a BOILING hot day and so we were relieved to hear that we could come back the hotel and get our bags taken down to the port in order to get our ferry upto Phuket. We had time to waste so sat in the bookshop-cafe where they served the most amazing sandwich, it had cheese, cream cheese, bacon, ham, onion lettuce and tomato! Then we boarded the ferry and were pretty euphoric when we realised it was air-conditioned! We arrived at our Phuket hotel at about half 4 and immediately did washing so that it would be dry by this morning, there were three washing lines fashioned using chairs bags, windows and a wardrobe door, as well as some strategically placed fans. We turned the room into quite and obstacle course! lol. After this we went out to book a bus the Bangkok and managed to find the bus terminal where we realised we could haggle the price! We got one for about 11GBP which leaves at 6.3o tonight and arrives at 6AM tommorow in Bangkok. Then we went in search of food and wandered around thirsty and hungry for TWO hours, Phuket town seems pretty empty and is lacking in amenities! We ended up in an expensive italian where we just ate some some starters and water and then headed off to bed!
The Next few days, when we get to Bangkok we have one night and then a flight the following afternoon in Cambodia, however, we have accidentally booked a flight on Thai New Year where Bangkok turns into a giant waterfight! Fingers crossed all will go to plan with making it the airport and Phom Penh on the 13th!
xxx
(sorry to all the adults for all the spelling and grammatical mistakes!)
We were picked up from the hotel in Langkawi at 7.30 from a ferry at 9, when we arrived in Satun, the first of the Thai Islands and we're ferried on to a pick-up truck with benches, they're called Saammlaws! This took us as far as a bus station where we were told to get on a bus so we waited until 12 when we boarded this bus which was going to take us to Krabi. When we were boarding the bus the ticket lady made us all sit in seats according to where we were going which consequented in moving nearly everyone around, it was LOL-worthy! The journey to Krabi was 2 hours then we were to get a minibus the next 2 hours to Koh Lanta. Between Krabi and Koh Lanta we were sat at the back of this minibus and when we eventually arrived in Koh Lanta we were the last people left on the bus after a while and the driver started making all these drop offs of deliveries and was getting paid every time he stopped to drop something off. By this point we were very exasperated!
However, when we eventually arrived at Bee Bee's bungalows it was like a dream! We asked the guy where a cash machine was because it was our first stop in Thailand and we didn't have and Baht and he said 'slow, slow! Don't worry!' So, for the next 5 nights we stayed in a bungalow by the beach (under 15GBP for all of us! :)) and did alot of reading. I finished Oliver Twist and read both Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass...'Why is a raven like a writing desk?' LOLz. The people at Bee Bee's were really friendly, it was run by this guy called an who every morning spent about half an hour playing with a boomerang on the beach, hitting various trees and bungalows and the occasional near miss of a guest! lol.
Next stop was Ko Phi Phi, where they filmed the beach, the prices were higher and it was FULL of british yobs and all sorts. When we arrived the guy showing us to our hotel carried our bags all the way in the mid-day heat all the way on this trolley thing! By the time we got there we were boiling and he got us some water, NICE. We ate in this bookshop-cafe before checking into our room, after which we spent the afternoon on the beach, even more perfect than Koh Lanta, check facebook for the pics!
The following day we woke up ready to part with some cash in order to sea the secluded spots of Ko Phi Phi Don and it's uninhabited, neighbouring island, Ko Phi Phi Ley. However, when we came out of our room the guy from the hotel (a different guy to bag guy!lol) he said there was going to be a TSUNAMI! But we were safe because our hotel was up from the beach, so we sat waiting, it was very surreal, we had no idea what was going on, then a police announcer came round saying there was no risk of tsunami. So, we had some breakfast and booked a boat trip (we weren't too worried because apparently they've had 3 tsunami warnings in the last week with nothing happening!) The boat tour we got was with two other couples and a family, we all squeezed into this longtail boat and set off out of the main bay. The first stop was Monkey Bay, where there are monkeys on the rocks, people crowded round taking photos and stuff until one big monkey started attacking this little one, it was brutal! Then, one guy tried to touch one of the monkeys and he slapped him and ran after him, grabbing at his leg! Everyone ran pretty swiftly, the monkeys had TURNED! lol. Also, we haven't had a vaccination against Rabies, so were staying well back! We then went to Ko Phi Phi Ley and stopped in one little cove to swim for a while and then another one where we snorkelled. The snorkelling was really cool, there was this massive fish with all different coloured patches on it as well as a big pouty mouth! Also, the boat-man threw crisps in for the fish around the boat and these stripey fish surrounded all of us! Finally, we stopped at Maya Bay, the beach from 'The Beach,' it has got to be the best beach i have ever seen, the sand was like powder and the water was bright turquoise! On the way back we saw the sunset over the horizon, it was an eventful day! lol.
We woke up in the morning and checked out, it was a BOILING hot day and so we were relieved to hear that we could come back the hotel and get our bags taken down to the port in order to get our ferry upto Phuket. We had time to waste so sat in the bookshop-cafe where they served the most amazing sandwich, it had cheese, cream cheese, bacon, ham, onion lettuce and tomato! Then we boarded the ferry and were pretty euphoric when we realised it was air-conditioned! We arrived at our Phuket hotel at about half 4 and immediately did washing so that it would be dry by this morning, there were three washing lines fashioned using chairs bags, windows and a wardrobe door, as well as some strategically placed fans. We turned the room into quite and obstacle course! lol. After this we went out to book a bus the Bangkok and managed to find the bus terminal where we realised we could haggle the price! We got one for about 11GBP which leaves at 6.3o tonight and arrives at 6AM tommorow in Bangkok. Then we went in search of food and wandered around thirsty and hungry for TWO hours, Phuket town seems pretty empty and is lacking in amenities! We ended up in an expensive italian where we just ate some some starters and water and then headed off to bed!
The Next few days, when we get to Bangkok we have one night and then a flight the following afternoon in Cambodia, however, we have accidentally booked a flight on Thai New Year where Bangkok turns into a giant waterfight! Fingers crossed all will go to plan with making it the airport and Phom Penh on the 13th!
xxx
(sorry to all the adults for all the spelling and grammatical mistakes!)
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Bag trouble, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur
SO when we arrived in Singapore I was told my bag hadn't 'made it' on the flight and it was coming on the next one so would arrive a few hours after me at my hostel and I was given 100 Singapore Dollars compensation, pretty sweet! However, I woke up in the morning and my bag hadn't arrived, so I phoned the office and they were very vague but basically I was told they didn't know where my bag was or when I would get it! This was a HORRIFIC thing to hear! There were tears!
We got up and went out all the same, with my extra 100SGD burning a hole in my pocket I bought some clothes from this Australian shop called cotton on, nice nice! We walked down Orchard Road, the main shopping area in Singapore until we reached the botanical gardens which were nice, as you'd expect! lol. All the while we kept ringing the office to find out about my bag and didn't get a straight answer until about 11pm (after having been for tapas and wine!) when I was told it was coming on a flight tonight! So the following morning I woke up and had my bag back and it was SWEET, especially since that was the day we needed to take more malaria tablets, all of which were locked in my bag!
We spent the rest of the day at Singapore zoo, which was equally as amazing as the Australia Zoo, the ethos was a little less cool but the massive variety of animals was amazing! We saw orang utans and spider monkeys and another kind of monkey with a MASSIVE nose, and many many more! After the zoo closed, we went to this thing called Night Safari where you ride on a tram through these enclosures and see loads of nocturnal animals there were lions, tigers, a tapir and loads of other stuff including the biggest species of rodent in the world!
The following day we ambled around more of Singapore and went to this place called the Mustafa Centre where you can get EVERYTHING!
Yesterday we got a luxury bus at 8.30 upto Kuala Lumpur, the seats were like business class plane seats and we had TVs and were served a meal! lol. We arrived in Kuala Lumpur and checked into a room, our first private room since Japan! Its about 5.50GBP each per night, not too shabby! However, the shower is just a showerhead in the wall of the bathroom! lol.
Tommorow evening we're on a flight to Langkawi, an island just south of the Thai border!
xxxxx
We got up and went out all the same, with my extra 100SGD burning a hole in my pocket I bought some clothes from this Australian shop called cotton on, nice nice! We walked down Orchard Road, the main shopping area in Singapore until we reached the botanical gardens which were nice, as you'd expect! lol. All the while we kept ringing the office to find out about my bag and didn't get a straight answer until about 11pm (after having been for tapas and wine!) when I was told it was coming on a flight tonight! So the following morning I woke up and had my bag back and it was SWEET, especially since that was the day we needed to take more malaria tablets, all of which were locked in my bag!
We spent the rest of the day at Singapore zoo, which was equally as amazing as the Australia Zoo, the ethos was a little less cool but the massive variety of animals was amazing! We saw orang utans and spider monkeys and another kind of monkey with a MASSIVE nose, and many many more! After the zoo closed, we went to this thing called Night Safari where you ride on a tram through these enclosures and see loads of nocturnal animals there were lions, tigers, a tapir and loads of other stuff including the biggest species of rodent in the world!
The following day we ambled around more of Singapore and went to this place called the Mustafa Centre where you can get EVERYTHING!
Yesterday we got a luxury bus at 8.30 upto Kuala Lumpur, the seats were like business class plane seats and we had TVs and were served a meal! lol. We arrived in Kuala Lumpur and checked into a room, our first private room since Japan! Its about 5.50GBP each per night, not too shabby! However, the shower is just a showerhead in the wall of the bathroom! lol.
Tommorow evening we're on a flight to Langkawi, an island just south of the Thai border!
xxxxx
Monday, 22 March 2010
Brisbeen!
I have seven minutes left of internet to write my blog! So here goes! lol
First evening in Brisbane, we went out!
First full day, we got up late (predictably) and ambled around the city, keeping ourselves hydrated! lol, that evening we planned a trip to the Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin's place!
The day we went to the zoo was amazing! Check out the facebook pictures for details!
We then returned to find our food bags stolen by these nasty lads so resorted to dominoes for dinner! Today we've been to the inland beach and used one of the built in BBQs! Had a salad tonight after buying the ingredients for the second time, now preparing to fly to Singapore tommorow.
This is TOO concise to do Brisbane justice! It's nice! lol
xxx
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Sydney!
We had a polava with being booked into a horrible hostel, and because we booked it through STA we couldn't get a refund because the woman was a BITCH! All I'll say about it is, we were having a reasonable conversation with her about it and she said to me 'End of discussion' - I was so angry!
Anyway, we moved to a much more friendly hostel after one night, and cheered ourselves up on our first evening in Sydney by going to see Alice In Wonderland at the IMAX, the biggest IMAX in the world apparently! Then we walked around Darling Harbour which was pretty happening!
The following day, after checking into our much nicer accommodation we basically ambled around, we walked through the botanical gardens where they had all these flying fox, bat type things nesting in all the trees, there was LOADS! Then we made our way down to the Opera House, I had a maxibon, amazing!
Hmmm, its hard to remember things we did, all the days seem to blend together! lol. One day we went for 'Pancakes at the Rocks' which were AMAZING, Imogen, you would have loved it!
We went out one night to this place called 'The Gaff' which was cool, but the drinks were expensive and pretty nasty! Australians (or Brits in Australia) seem to drink this stuff they refer to as 'Goon' which appears to be cheap cheap wine, it's not even that strong but everyone drinks looads because it's so cheap! I am sure we will have some in Brisbane (but not too much, Mum.) On our last evening in Sydney (before catching a night bus) we made some chilli and had wraps, which was tasty! Then this bunch of guys were so greatful for our leftovers that they washed up! I think it was because a few of them were stooooned! lol
After a nice few days in Sydney we caught a night bus (12 hours!) to Byron Bay, we all took some amazing sleeping pills which made the journey a doddle! lol.
Not alot has happened in Byron Bay, its quite a nice town built for surfers! lol Off to Brisbane tommorow, exciting, we've heard it's really cool!
xxxx
Anyway, we moved to a much more friendly hostel after one night, and cheered ourselves up on our first evening in Sydney by going to see Alice In Wonderland at the IMAX, the biggest IMAX in the world apparently! Then we walked around Darling Harbour which was pretty happening!
The following day, after checking into our much nicer accommodation we basically ambled around, we walked through the botanical gardens where they had all these flying fox, bat type things nesting in all the trees, there was LOADS! Then we made our way down to the Opera House, I had a maxibon, amazing!
Hmmm, its hard to remember things we did, all the days seem to blend together! lol. One day we went for 'Pancakes at the Rocks' which were AMAZING, Imogen, you would have loved it!
We went out one night to this place called 'The Gaff' which was cool, but the drinks were expensive and pretty nasty! Australians (or Brits in Australia) seem to drink this stuff they refer to as 'Goon' which appears to be cheap cheap wine, it's not even that strong but everyone drinks looads because it's so cheap! I am sure we will have some in Brisbane (but not too much, Mum.) On our last evening in Sydney (before catching a night bus) we made some chilli and had wraps, which was tasty! Then this bunch of guys were so greatful for our leftovers that they washed up! I think it was because a few of them were stooooned! lol
After a nice few days in Sydney we caught a night bus (12 hours!) to Byron Bay, we all took some amazing sleeping pills which made the journey a doddle! lol.
Not alot has happened in Byron Bay, its quite a nice town built for surfers! lol Off to Brisbane tommorow, exciting, we've heard it's really cool!
xxxx
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Ohhh,
One last thing, the women that worked there (especially this woman called mere) loved us so much and told us how they liked our towels so we gave them to Mere when we left! She squealed with delight, it was amazing, then she sat with us while we waited for the ferry. Also, she called us first for allll the meals and when we didn't get up for breakfast she saved us a plate and brought it out to us when we went down to buy a drink! it was such a pleasant surprise! lol
xxx
One last thing, the women that worked there (especially this woman called mere) loved us so much and told us how they liked our towels so we gave them to Mere when we left! She squealed with delight, it was amazing, then she sat with us while we waited for the ferry. Also, she called us first for allll the meals and when we didn't get up for breakfast she saved us a plate and brought it out to us when we went down to buy a drink! it was such a pleasant surprise! lol
xxx
Fiji Time!
So we got our flight from Auckland sucessfully, and stayed for a night in a hostel in Nadi, on the mainland. The following morning we got on a ferry which goes to all the 'Yasawa' Island, which are off the west coast of Fiji. Once we arrived our bags and us were ushered onto these tiny speedboats which went to the shore and then we were shown to our dorm! The beach was amazing white sand and the sea was as warm as bathwater! Pretty perfect!
We had mosquito nets on our beds but the bugs were certainly interesting, I saw the biggest moth I have ever seen, the wingspan was about 3 inches!! Also, there was a cockroach in the toilet once, Ahhhh! Apart from that it was awwwwesome! There hammocks all over the place to lie in and sleep, read or sunbathe!
Over the 5 nights we were there we didn't really get upto very much! BUT we did manage to drag ourselves out of bed at 4.30am to walk upto the summit of the island to see the sunrise and stand on the 'wobbling rock' our guide was called Nepote and was knackered himself because they had had loads of Kava the night before! LOLs. The hike was pretty knackering in the heat, even at 5 in the morning it was boiling! It was all pretty worth it for the view at the top though! (see facebook pictures!)
Another day we went snorkelling on the reef, the guide grabbed the head of a reef shark (they're super timid!) and let everyone touch it! There was loads of cool corally stuff! :)
This Blog is in NO sort of order because it was impossible to keep track of time in Fiji! lol.
We're now in Sydney but I can't be bothered to into that this evening, maybe tommorow!
xxxxx
xxxx
We had mosquito nets on our beds but the bugs were certainly interesting, I saw the biggest moth I have ever seen, the wingspan was about 3 inches!! Also, there was a cockroach in the toilet once, Ahhhh! Apart from that it was awwwwesome! There hammocks all over the place to lie in and sleep, read or sunbathe!
Over the 5 nights we were there we didn't really get upto very much! BUT we did manage to drag ourselves out of bed at 4.30am to walk upto the summit of the island to see the sunrise and stand on the 'wobbling rock' our guide was called Nepote and was knackered himself because they had had loads of Kava the night before! LOLs. The hike was pretty knackering in the heat, even at 5 in the morning it was boiling! It was all pretty worth it for the view at the top though! (see facebook pictures!)
Another day we went snorkelling on the reef, the guide grabbed the head of a reef shark (they're super timid!) and let everyone touch it! There was loads of cool corally stuff! :)
This Blog is in NO sort of order because it was impossible to keep track of time in Fiji! lol.
We're now in Sydney but I can't be bothered to into that this evening, maybe tommorow!
xxxxx
xxxx
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Milford Sound, Queenstown, Auckland!
Oh Dear, I've left it so long since my last blog it would be a mountain to climb to go into any sort of detail about what has happened, so here's a few highlights!
We had an amazing drive to Milford Sound, loads of amazing scenery, LOADS of rain! We drove through a tunnel that went through a mountain and had no sort of lining, you could just see the rock outside the coach window, it was spoooky! Once we arrived in Milford sound the convenience store in the hostel had NO milk, not very convenient for girls who've brought tea bags! The rain condmened us to staying inside, drinking black tea (which I grew to enjoy!) and playing monopoly, cluedo and scrabble! Abi won Scrabble, Emma won monopoly and we each won a game of scrabble! lol. I was a bit of a soar loser in Monopoly I must admit, Emma was not very sisterly in her finanacial dealings! lol
The day after we went on a cruise around milford sound! Even though the low low rain clouds prevented us from seeing the amazing views that Milford Sound is famous for, the rain had caused literally hundreds of waterfalls to come crashing down the rocks because there was nowhere for it be absorbed into, which was pretttty amazing! Furthermore (reminds me of sixth form essays, bad times!) the water got so choppy that when we went outside to take photos we were all unceremoniously flung from side to side of the deck, holding onto railings chairs for dear life (well, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little bit! lol) Once we were home and dry, literally! There was the making of dinner to be undertaken, so we went to our food bags and found...OUR PASTA WAS GONE, only to find that there were a couples eating dry spirals (our pasta of choice) in the dining room, it was pretty unbelievable! lol.
We made our way back to Queenstown the next day, and have come upto Auckland today. Found beach towels we're going to need for Fiji after quite alot of asking around, got one for $10, it has turtles on! lol. Auckland is nice, tempting shops and a nice waterfront, plus a little bit of sun was much appreciated after constant rain down south!
Looking forward to alot more sun in Fiji, not so much the bugs!
lol
xxxx
We had an amazing drive to Milford Sound, loads of amazing scenery, LOADS of rain! We drove through a tunnel that went through a mountain and had no sort of lining, you could just see the rock outside the coach window, it was spoooky! Once we arrived in Milford sound the convenience store in the hostel had NO milk, not very convenient for girls who've brought tea bags! The rain condmened us to staying inside, drinking black tea (which I grew to enjoy!) and playing monopoly, cluedo and scrabble! Abi won Scrabble, Emma won monopoly and we each won a game of scrabble! lol. I was a bit of a soar loser in Monopoly I must admit, Emma was not very sisterly in her finanacial dealings! lol
The day after we went on a cruise around milford sound! Even though the low low rain clouds prevented us from seeing the amazing views that Milford Sound is famous for, the rain had caused literally hundreds of waterfalls to come crashing down the rocks because there was nowhere for it be absorbed into, which was pretttty amazing! Furthermore (reminds me of sixth form essays, bad times!) the water got so choppy that when we went outside to take photos we were all unceremoniously flung from side to side of the deck, holding onto railings chairs for dear life (well, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little bit! lol) Once we were home and dry, literally! There was the making of dinner to be undertaken, so we went to our food bags and found...OUR PASTA WAS GONE, only to find that there were a couples eating dry spirals (our pasta of choice) in the dining room, it was pretty unbelievable! lol.
We made our way back to Queenstown the next day, and have come upto Auckland today. Found beach towels we're going to need for Fiji after quite alot of asking around, got one for $10, it has turtles on! lol. Auckland is nice, tempting shops and a nice waterfront, plus a little bit of sun was much appreciated after constant rain down south!
Looking forward to alot more sun in Fiji, not so much the bugs!
lol
xxxx
Friday, 26 February 2010
Heading South!
The last few days have involved a WHOLE lot of coach travel! From Wellington - Christchurch we got the ferry to picton and then a coach on to Christchurch. On the way the bus driver stopped to let us take pictures of these massive colonies of seals, very cute! They looked just like otters! On the way I listened to an audiobook of Pride and Prejudice, Niiiiiiice!
In Christchurch we only had the evening so after realising the beauty of cookig food and saving money we headed off to a supermarket! Chicken Fajiiiitas!
The next day were headed to Queenstown and after the horror of missing the plane we arrived an hour early for the 8.30am coach! Once we were on the coach the bus driver talked and talked and talked about everything we saw, including: the population of the towns we drove through; about the nature we could see; the agriculture and a detailed history of New Zealand. It was very hard not to fall asleep even though everything he said interesting! Here are a few highlights. New Zealand's Canterbury plains were named so by the forefathers who made the first christian settlement, and named Christchurch after the Oxford college they attended. Moreover, the canterbury plains are full of agriculture, cattle farming and vinyards! As we drove through Mackenzie district we learnt the story of the shepherd mackenzie which is too long to go into now, google it! :) Finally, we stopped by these really pale blue coloured lakes called Lake Tekapo and Lake Pikaku! They were that way because something or other in the glaciers that melted was ground down and is held in suspension in the water. There was an amazing view of Mount Cook over lake Pikaku.
On arriving in Queenstown I was completely won over! Its like a British seaside town except its by a lake and its warm! Today we got breakfast from a little church fete opposite the hostel. Thennnn we headed up to a bird wildlife park and saw some actual kiwis, funniest bird ever! For the rest of the day we lazed around on the village green which has a stream running through it, there was even ducks! The strangest thing about this place is the amount of british people here, there is ALOT who seem to be living and working here. I can see why, its lovely!
Going to Millford Sound tommorow!
Apologies for the terrible grammar grown-ups!
xxxxx
In Christchurch we only had the evening so after realising the beauty of cookig food and saving money we headed off to a supermarket! Chicken Fajiiiitas!
The next day were headed to Queenstown and after the horror of missing the plane we arrived an hour early for the 8.30am coach! Once we were on the coach the bus driver talked and talked and talked about everything we saw, including: the population of the towns we drove through; about the nature we could see; the agriculture and a detailed history of New Zealand. It was very hard not to fall asleep even though everything he said interesting! Here are a few highlights. New Zealand's Canterbury plains were named so by the forefathers who made the first christian settlement, and named Christchurch after the Oxford college they attended. Moreover, the canterbury plains are full of agriculture, cattle farming and vinyards! As we drove through Mackenzie district we learnt the story of the shepherd mackenzie which is too long to go into now, google it! :) Finally, we stopped by these really pale blue coloured lakes called Lake Tekapo and Lake Pikaku! They were that way because something or other in the glaciers that melted was ground down and is held in suspension in the water. There was an amazing view of Mount Cook over lake Pikaku.
On arriving in Queenstown I was completely won over! Its like a British seaside town except its by a lake and its warm! Today we got breakfast from a little church fete opposite the hostel. Thennnn we headed up to a bird wildlife park and saw some actual kiwis, funniest bird ever! For the rest of the day we lazed around on the village green which has a stream running through it, there was even ducks! The strangest thing about this place is the amount of british people here, there is ALOT who seem to be living and working here. I can see why, its lovely!
Going to Millford Sound tommorow!
Apologies for the terrible grammar grown-ups!
xxxxx
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
One final thing, for a more detailed and more grammatically correct commentary, see www.emmahubball.blogspot.com!
xxx
xxx
Bought more time :)
So the next day we got a bus from Rotorua - Wellington, the bus drivers are so nice here! There tell you what you might see out the window, what to do at the next station if your changing and they and generally very churpy! Not at all like National Express drivers! lol.
As we drove South through the North Island the landscape changed massively, it went from hobbity and farmy to massive mountains, some even snow-capped and there was even a desert area! Lovely lovely country.
When we got to the Wellington the bus driver asked where we were going and took us pretty much all the way to our hostel after letting everyone off at the terminus, he then told us the way to our hostel and about the area, amazing guy! :)
We got settled into our room, a 4bed dorm for 3 of us, niiiiice! We then went out for dinner, Quesdillas with spinach and feta with curly fries to share! yummers. Today we went up in a cable car and walked around the botanical gardens which were cool, lots of exotic plants you would never see in botanical gardens at home, as well as a very colourful rose garden and an lovely smelling fragrance garden! Then we got on a bus and went to the WETA workshop where they made alllll the props and scenery minatures for Lord of The Rings! They can't let you see much because of confidentiality but there was loads of the famous swords from it like Frodo's one, sting that glows blue when orcs are near (we were ok, it wasn't blue! lol) and arwen's swoards as well as the broken one that is kept at Rivendell in the film! They also had on display the model of gimli that the guy that did the doubling for him wore, the little model of frodo that arwen carried while she was riding with him on her horse AND Saurons metal crazy glove thing! They had so many cool models you could buy and loads of jewellery like: Arwen's necklace, THE ring and the broochy things the hobbits use to do up their cloaks! Finally, they had a cloak thing like the ones they wore you could buy! Basically, it was AMAZING! We all ended up buying these keyrings made of the actual chainmaile they used in the film, and while we were paying for it the guy told us that Elijah Wood had been there yesterday! I was so shocked, if only we'd been there a day earliar! LOL
We then headed back into town, in awe and jealous of anyone involved in the making of LOTR, and walked along the waterfront. The jealousy was assuaged with some tasty gelato and by watching loads of people doing rowing! All in all a very pleasant afternoon! On the way back to the hostel we bought food in order to do our first bit of cooking!
Mmmmm Pasta, 0lives and salad!
xxxxx
Rotorua - Wellington
Soooo, the Maori night, when we arrived this guy volunteered to be our tribe leader guy and he had to accept this leaf of peace after this maori warrior had done a terrifying dance with a stick where he stuck his tongue out and made his eyes all bulgy! lol. After that we all went into this room and watched them do this really cool dancing and singing and they got the men on stage to do a Haka, that dance the All Blacks do (although I definitely shouldn't be referring to it as a dance, I think thats offensive! lol.) After that we had a meal of maori food, there was stuffed chicked and other meats like they ate as well as roasted vegetables that tasted smoky! Apart from that there was LOADS of seafood which was tasty and different kinds of salads. More importantly, there was some awesome desert and the equipment to make a GOOD cup of English Breakfast tea! :)
For the meal we'd been sat by this australian family who had come to NZ as an engagement present to their daughter and her fiance, after the meal we all walked down to watch a geyser! It is the only geyser left untouched in NZ as the others have been taken by the government and used as alternative energy sources. We got sprayed with sulphury water, which was gross, and saw these rocks which glowed green with the sulphur in them! As we got on the bus to take us back to town the driver who had driven us there asked us where we were from, and recognised Emma, his best friend lived in Redditch and he had seen her walking to work! It was unbelieveable!
I have got upto date, but my internet time is running out!
xxx
For the meal we'd been sat by this australian family who had come to NZ as an engagement present to their daughter and her fiance, after the meal we all walked down to watch a geyser! It is the only geyser left untouched in NZ as the others have been taken by the government and used as alternative energy sources. We got sprayed with sulphury water, which was gross, and saw these rocks which glowed green with the sulphur in them! As we got on the bus to take us back to town the driver who had driven us there asked us where we were from, and recognised Emma, his best friend lived in Redditch and he had seen her walking to work! It was unbelieveable!
I have got upto date, but my internet time is running out!
xxx
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Heyyyyy!
We're now in Rotorua after a pretty harrowing journey from Tokyo!
It all started when we came to check in for our flight to Auckland, the supervisor insisted on asking us for proof of our flight out of New Zealand, our Australian Visas and our accommodation in Fiji (of which we haven't got any planned yet!). Eventually they decided we were allowed to get on and so we went to the gate on a shuttle train thing because the airport is SO big! We saw this tiny toddler with his mum at the check in desk who was the most intelligent child I have ever seen! He was SO aware of his surroundings and pulled his own pink hello kitty case and he stood JUST like a man impatiently waiting with his hands on his hips! lollllers.
Once we got on the plane it was a dream, I can see why Air New Zealand is airline of the year! We got seats at the front of a section so had loads of legroom as well as individual tvs and I had the window seat! Watched films: Bright Star; Where the Wild Things Are and Snow White! Niiiice! Also managed to sleep for basically a whole nights sleep! :)
When we got off at Christchurch where the plane made a stop was where we ran into trouble, the plane stopped for an hour and then was delayed taking off. This meant we missed a bus we were booked onto and had paid for, and after not being able to phone because we left the number on the plane while we waited, we were annoyyyed to loose out on the money.
Anyway, when we landed in Auckland we made our way to an information desk and booked ourselves onto the same coach just 5 hours later, for about 20 gbp! We made it into Rotorua about half ten last night and had to go to a bar to check in and then had a nice nights sleep! :)
This morning we've been to these geothermal baths which are 42 degrees, hard to get into at first when its already pretty warm here, but very very nice! I'm now sat back at the hostel waiting to go at 5.30 for this evening learning about maori culture, should be educational and interesting! lol
On to Wellington Tommorow.
Love to you all! :)
xxxx
We're now in Rotorua after a pretty harrowing journey from Tokyo!
It all started when we came to check in for our flight to Auckland, the supervisor insisted on asking us for proof of our flight out of New Zealand, our Australian Visas and our accommodation in Fiji (of which we haven't got any planned yet!). Eventually they decided we were allowed to get on and so we went to the gate on a shuttle train thing because the airport is SO big! We saw this tiny toddler with his mum at the check in desk who was the most intelligent child I have ever seen! He was SO aware of his surroundings and pulled his own pink hello kitty case and he stood JUST like a man impatiently waiting with his hands on his hips! lollllers.
Once we got on the plane it was a dream, I can see why Air New Zealand is airline of the year! We got seats at the front of a section so had loads of legroom as well as individual tvs and I had the window seat! Watched films: Bright Star; Where the Wild Things Are and Snow White! Niiiice! Also managed to sleep for basically a whole nights sleep! :)
When we got off at Christchurch where the plane made a stop was where we ran into trouble, the plane stopped for an hour and then was delayed taking off. This meant we missed a bus we were booked onto and had paid for, and after not being able to phone because we left the number on the plane while we waited, we were annoyyyed to loose out on the money.
Anyway, when we landed in Auckland we made our way to an information desk and booked ourselves onto the same coach just 5 hours later, for about 20 gbp! We made it into Rotorua about half ten last night and had to go to a bar to check in and then had a nice nights sleep! :)
This morning we've been to these geothermal baths which are 42 degrees, hard to get into at first when its already pretty warm here, but very very nice! I'm now sat back at the hostel waiting to go at 5.30 for this evening learning about maori culture, should be educational and interesting! lol
On to Wellington Tommorow.
Love to you all! :)
xxxx
Friday, 19 February 2010
Hopefully the worst thing that will happen to us along the way...
SO, on the day of our departure we had a few hours before we needed to get to the airport, we went around Shibuya, a shopping district of Tokyo and saw some super cool stuff! Then we made our way back to Asakusa, where our hostel was, packed our bags and got on a tube to the airport, we were supposed to change at a station called Aoto and so we did! We crossed the platform, marked as the platform for the airport. Then we did a number of stupid things: we got on the next one that came, not checking it's terminus against a map, we stopped checking the station blissfully innocent that we were heading into the suburbs of Tokyo and we didn't realise until the train was almost at the end of the line. As soon as we realised where we were headed we leapt of the train and swapped sides, made it back to the Keisei Line for the airport and managed to run with our 16-17kg rucksacks onto an express train for the airport! We RAN to the Air New Zealand check-in desk to find no one there, and spoke to the business class attendents who phoned through to see whether we could get on (we'd made it there 30 minutes before the plane took off!) and they couldn't do it. We then asked the assistant what we could do, she half-heartedly said:"phone your travel agents?"
So, we then lugged our bags and our heavy heavy hearts to the payphones and poured out all our coins and started trying to make phonecalls to STA, it was afterall, 9.30 am in Britain! lol. The Payphones refused to work for us and the Air New Zealand Office in Tokyo airport weren't picking up the phone (they didn't have a desk, grrrr!) We eventually got through to Ben at Birmingham STA and had two options, get on a plane today (the following day) or wait until wednesday and only have to pay 35 GBP. However, we have so much accommodation and travel booked in New Zealand we would lose out alot as well having to spend so much staying in Japan, our most expensive destination! So, we've gone with the expensive option of getting to NZ only a day late! We for a minute thought this 'missed departure' would be covered on our insurance since we are supposed to be covered for such things for upto 5oo GBP (oh yea, I can't see a pound sign on this keyboard! lol.) Anyway, when we rang the insurance company we found out we were only covered for our departure from Great Britain, that WAS a low low moment!
In total we have spent about 10,000 yen (70 GBP) on phonecalls from pay phones.
And finally, the Airport closed at 11pm so we had no chance of just sleeping on sofas in the airport, instead we had to shell out for a one star stupidly expensive airport hotel.
So, now we're all sat at an internet station (they're playing michael buble! lol) at the airport, waiting to check in for our flight today. I hope to post something much more cheerful about the sunny weather of NZ and things going much more to plan! :)
Love Rachel xxxx
ps. Emma has just informed me that Stacey killed Archie and Bradley is dead, as if things couldn't get any worse! lol :)
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Its our last night in Japan and its been super cool! When we arrived after a pretty horrible 10 hour flight we went through the most efficient arrival I have ever experienced! They did passport control before baggage claim so all of our bags were there as soon as we got through! Then we had a pretty ardous time navigating our way from the airport to our hostel, in the rain! I definately did not come prepared for such weather, its been just as cold as home if not worse! Once we were settled into the hostel we went in search of the main shopping district, naively thinking it would be by Tokyo station. We ended up having dinner in a little train station cafe, and then watched all the Japanese business people walking by from a coffee shop, they all looked so neat and elegant!
The next morning we got the bullet train (shinkansen) to Kyoto and made our way to our pre-booked fancy hostel! In Kyoto we saw quite a few different shrines! lol One we stumbled upon in the evening was like a sea of lanterns, it was pretty! We also went on a guided tour round Kyoto Imperial Palace because thats thats the only way they let you in and it was free! There were loads of ceremonial gates f0r various different visitors and this amazing Japanese garden where the Emperor held poetry parties where courtiers sat on rocks and had to write a 33 syllable poem before they could grab the sake that floated by in a little boat! lol. Even though we only got back to the hotel at 1.40 we ended up sleeping for about 5 hours! Got up and went for food, but I'd been pretty ill so didnt gave anything. Pretty much got an early night even though we had all all slept a bit in the day and this morning we wandered through this fish and vegetable market with some cerrrazzzzy things about.
We then had a really bouncy bus journey back to the station where we got the Shinkansen back and walked around Tokyo, we made it went to the Sony shop, which I have been excited to see! There was a showroom where they had a 3-D tv and these really cool coloured sony vaio laptops, I bought some funky headphones, the type that go right in your ear so it sounds like the music is just inside your head! I hope they're good for the twelve hour flight south to New Zealand tommorow night! Also looking forward to some warm weather after alot of bitter cold!
Lovee Rachel
xxx
The next morning we got the bullet train (shinkansen) to Kyoto and made our way to our pre-booked fancy hostel! In Kyoto we saw quite a few different shrines! lol One we stumbled upon in the evening was like a sea of lanterns, it was pretty! We also went on a guided tour round Kyoto Imperial Palace because thats thats the only way they let you in and it was free! There were loads of ceremonial gates f0r various different visitors and this amazing Japanese garden where the Emperor held poetry parties where courtiers sat on rocks and had to write a 33 syllable poem before they could grab the sake that floated by in a little boat! lol. Even though we only got back to the hotel at 1.40 we ended up sleeping for about 5 hours! Got up and went for food, but I'd been pretty ill so didnt gave anything. Pretty much got an early night even though we had all all slept a bit in the day and this morning we wandered through this fish and vegetable market with some cerrrazzzzy things about.
We then had a really bouncy bus journey back to the station where we got the Shinkansen back and walked around Tokyo, we made it went to the Sony shop, which I have been excited to see! There was a showroom where they had a 3-D tv and these really cool coloured sony vaio laptops, I bought some funky headphones, the type that go right in your ear so it sounds like the music is just inside your head! I hope they're good for the twelve hour flight south to New Zealand tommorow night! Also looking forward to some warm weather after alot of bitter cold!
Lovee Rachel
xxx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)