Next Stop...UK

After spending a day at the cricket and getting sunburnt I left Brisbane, a train to the Gold Coast and a night stop over before my flight to Kuala Lumpur. I spent an hour wandering around looking for a bed with the world's heaviest rucksack before finally finding a hostel next to the airport. All other accommodation I'd found was expensive beach side villas, but next time I would pay the money and stay there, the hostel was horrendous, I think my one night's stay in there made me ill. Hoever it was close to the airport (as in you can see the runway through the window) so it was an easy flight out in the morning.

I got to KL, watched Villa draw with Man Utd in a sports bar, found a downtrodden hotel called The Emerald, which compared to the hostel seemed like The Hilton. It turned out that hostel was in a place called Sun Plaza which is around the corner from Times Square, the main shopping centre in the city, it even has an indoor theme park! I went up the Petronas twin towers, which were at one point the tallest buildings on the planet, but after 3 days I'd had enough, it was time to head north to Thailand. All I'd heard about KL was that it was a place to stop over, no more then a couple of days, and that proved right.

I flew to Phuket Thailand from KL (the airport is nowhere near KL by the way! it's a one hour coach, I recommend the air-bus operated by air asia) and spent 5 days chilling out on Patonga beach. Met some cool Aussies from Perth, who I'd like to meet again once I return to Oz. From there I headed up to Ko Samui, where I met my Dad for a night, we're heading out of Bangkok next week so a meet up was inevitable. We spent a night at an Irish bar watching a live band that were pretty sensational. Sensational enough to make me want to get my guitar out of the loft once I get home.

I'm now in Ko phangan, the full moon island again, meeting up with old pals before getting the bus from hell up to BKK on Monday. I fly home on Wednesday, the plane lands a week next sunday or something, and I'll do the x-mas new year thing with my family aaaaahhhhh...

I'm also going to try and get some writing done, and dust of the old guitars whilst getting to as many villa games as possible.

Keep on trucking!

Bauer, Storms and Villa

Well we're now settled in our new house. We go Grocery shopping, play X-Box (yes we bought one) and finally sleep in 2 different rooms. Our housemate Dave is, thankfully, a cool guy. Brad intends to stay here until at least February, I however, will be leaving this Saturday, after just a month. I will be back in Mid January though, if I successfully negotiate putting a hold on my room. My planned trip to Asia, and then England has been brought forward as flights in December are classed as 'high season' and are about twice the price. So I sorted a flight to Kuala Lumpur out of the Brisbane Gold Coast Airport on Saturday 23rd November. I need to make my way to Bangkok for the 11th December, meaning I have just over 2 weeks to negotiate parts of Asia that I haven't done yet, and maybe pop in to see some old friends.

Due to the earlier trip to Asia, I have put off Job seeking until January. There was no point getting trained up just to have to quit after a couple of weeks. With regards recent activities, well the Melbourne Cup was held last week and this was a horse race that pretty much halted the nation. You couldn't walk the street without seeing a temporary betting booth, and not being averse to placing a bet or 2 I found a horse called Bauer who was 10/1. Being a fan of 24 I felt this was a no brainer, however I didn't put it on each way so only a 1st place finish would do.

That's right, my horse is the one at the bottom, he lost by a 'nose'. I would have won 200 dollars had he been a little longer in the face, so to speak.  In other news, We bumped into Paddy, a guy we had a fair few drinks with in Bangkok the other day, it really is a small world. I'm probably heading to the Gabba to watch Australia v New Zealand on Thursday, should be interesting, if it goes ahead that is. Last night there was the worst storm to hit the area for 25 years. People died, a train was derailed, and there was a massive loss of power, one of the loudest storms I've ever heard.

On Saturday I went to the Pig and Whistle in the city centre to watch Villa play Arsenal, we played well, won comfortably and I was able to rub it in the faces of several Arsenal fans who claim that we aren't good enough to finish above them. 

So this time next week I'll be revisiting Asia before heading back to England to catch up with friends and family over Xmas and new year, before starting up in Brisbane again in Jan. 2009 will hopefully involve trips to the Pacific islands, Queenstown, New Zealand, and parts of Australia we haven't seen yet.

I'll end this blog by saying 'stay tuned' like I normally do.

Stay tuned!

Settling in Brisbane

Well a few things have happened since I last blogged. Since Brad arrived, we sorted out a trip from Brisbane down to Byron Bay. We actually met an American guy called Matt who was heading down with his girlfriend and decided to hitch a ride with him a few days later. We spent a week in Byron, the beach is pretty spectacular but a little windy. Byron was enjoyable but after a week of chilling out we decided that we needed to settle in Brisbane and earn some money.

We're currently staying in a cheap motel in Kangaroo Point (yes it's a real place!), just outside Brisbane. It's right near the Gabba, the famous Ozzy cricket stadium. Finding a house or apartment ends up cheaper per week then even the cheapest Motel, so that's what we did. We saw a place advertised in Maurooka, just 4 miles from the city centre. It's essentially the lower level of a house, with its own front door, bathroom, lounge and kitchen. There are 3 bedrooms though, which means me and Brad will be living with a guy named Dave. What's he like? You'll find out soon! We move in this Sunday.

In addition to a house we have applied to a few agencies for jobs. Brad found an IT job and started this week. I had some formal clothes sent over here (thanks mum!), so couldn't get a job as fast as Brad but something should transpire soon (he says).

I sorted out some flights too. I'll be headed to Thailand in December before heading back to England for christmas then returning to Thailand. By Mid January I should be back in Oz and working again, on and off until my visa ends in June. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends in Thailand as well as my family in England after spending what will have been 6 months in Australia and New Zealand and nearly 9 months on the road altogether.

With regards what me and Brad are getting up to, we are now the masters of public transport here, and know the city very well. We have deviated from playing pool to playing snooker and are actually getting quite good! Saturday nights are spent watching premier league football, and on one occasion ended with a trip to the casino. We haven't yet experienced a night out at China town, where there's a number of night clubs, but that will happen soon.

This last week I've actually met a couple of fairly well known people. In our snooker club we met the ex Villa goalkeeper Mark Bosnich and the rest of the Fox sports team, out for a few (dozen) drinks after covering the Australia v Qatar game which was played in Brisbane, had we known it was played locally we'd have gone, but nevertheless meeting Bozzy was quite cool. I also saw that the author Matthew Reilly was doing a talk and book signing at a local library. In Thailand I picked up one of his books from the second hand book shelf in one of the hotels. Since reading it I've read all 9 of his books, and meeting him was quite a privilege.

That's about all for now, more updates on the apartment and jobs soon!

Recovering from New Zealand

I'm currently sat in Brisbane awaiting the next part of my trip to begin. We're headed south down the coast to Byron Bay to enjoy the sun for a week or so, then we have to find jobs. Working until December should allow us to spend Christmas and new year at some exotic location, though we're not sure where yet. I'll keep you posted what work I end up doing.

Since my post in New Zealand I participated in horse riding (another first) through a forest in the Bay of Islands, north NZ, then did 1 final bungee on my final day, back in Auckland. By now we've become bungee pro's, so we went for something different. Sam went backwards, and I went backwards feet first for what was probably the scariest jump of them all off the Auckland Harbor bridge. Well, maybe not as bad as the 134 metre Nevis, that was just insane.

So after 4 bungees, a canyon swing, a skydive, caving, jetboating, an assault course, a swoop, lugeing, a glacier climb, a ride on a horse and a famous Queenstown Fergburger, I feel like I've done it all. We met some great people along the way. The way the kiwi buses work mean you will be with the same people for large chunks of the trip, and as such get to know them quite well. But part of travelling involves moving on to a new location, no matter how much you enjoyed the last one. If you stay in the same place the whole time, then you aren't actually travelling are you?

The next few months could go 2 ways, I could find a job, be disciplined, save some money and prolong my trip. Or I could be lazy, not get a job and be home before christmas. Lets see how it goes.

New Zealand

What a country! The kiwi experience has probably been the best part of my tour so far. Me and my brother started out in Christchurch before heading across to Westport where we participated in our first activity called jetboating. It basically involved being driven down a river at extremely fast speeds and getting very wet. From there we headed to the Franz Josef Glacier and spent a day climbing up it. The glacier is pictured left. We then did a skydive over the fox glacier which was nearby. 45 seconds of freefall then a 5 minute parachute ride is definitely one of the most amazing things I've done.

Then we headed to Queenstown via lake Wannaka where we did 3 bungee jumps and a canyon swing. The first bungee we did was the world's first commercial bungee, 43 metres off a bridge. Then we did the Nevis, which was 3 times as high. The final one was known as 'the ledge' and involved running and jumping off a high point over Queenstown. This one is pictured below.

The canyon swing is similar to a bungee, except you swing rather then bounce. I chose to go off the edge on a chair. The video is on youtube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThCfFQqfDCoThe guys are famous for making the plunge as scary as possible....

We then left queenstown and headed up to Wellington via Christchurch and a place called Kaikoura. The north island is very different to the south in terms of scenery. In Taupo and Rotorua we experienced natural hot springs, it's like climbing into a hot bath, this is due to all the volcanic activity which occurs on the north island. We did an adult assault course, a 'swoop' which is also like a bungee but involves going front first and swooping like a bird at 100 miles per hour. We then participated in lugeing. This involves driving sleds with wheels down very big hills at high speeds. A couple of nights ago we got to experience Maori culture by spending a night at one of their villages and seeing their famous war dance, the haka, as well as an all you can eat buffet. We also went caving which involves abseiling, a zip line, rafting and getting extremely wet, great fun.

I'm currently in Aukland with the trip nearly over. We head north to the bay of islands and then back down to auckland for our flights to england and oz respectively. I've met some great people on this leg of the tour but in oz I'll link up with my ex-travelling partner Brad where we will hit the east coast. I can't believe how much we've done in the last 3 weeks, and neither can my credit card. Still 3 days of kiwi to experience to go and I'll try to make the most of it.

Bundaberg

A few weeks ago in Tully I had a few Bundaberg and Cokes, Bundy is a very popular rum down in this part of the world. I didn't know then that it was also an Australian Town. A town which I am now currently staying in. After a couple of weeks of not getting work in Tully, I headed down the coast to an area which due to receiving much less rain, was looking for fruit pickers and could get them an instant start.

Although Bundaberg has an aiport, the cheapest way to get down was on the coach, via the city of Townsville, and the town of Mackay. Upon arriving in Bundaberg after 14 hours on a coach spread across 2 days, I realised it was 3am and all the hostels were closed. A few of us fell asleep at a picnic table outside the bus station until the sun rose and I was able to check in. The hostel I'm staying at is currently housing 3 other Aston Villa fans, all eager for the season start and the start of a ritual involving watching our team at the small hours of the morning. We have the Ozzy equivalent to Sky here and Fox sports shows most of the Premier league games.

As for work, the hostel also acts as an agency for its stayees (for want of a better word) and the day after checking in I was picking zucchinis (aka corguettes) at 7 in the morning. The first day I finished at 2.30 and was asleep in front of the TV by 3 o clock. The work here is erratic, you can work 9 hours 1 day and none the next. It can also be quite profitable if there is alot of fruit out there and you're paid in bulk. My room mate has seen a 3000 dollar weekly pay cheque belonging to another guy at the hostel, purely because he worked 7 days and there was alot to be picked. At the moment I'm on hourly as there isn't enough fruit to be picked to justify being paid 'by the bucket'.

There's plenty to be picked down here, strawberries, mangoes, sweet potatoes, corguettes, capsicums amongst them. The work is mindless, gets you fit, gets you a tan and contrubutes towards a visa extension. The main reason most people are working out here is to earn a second year on their visa. This is something I would like to have as an option, but doubt I will require as my current visa takes me to June 2009. At the moment I'm just trying to make some money that'll prolong my trip out here as I'd like to see Ayers Rock, Western Australia as well as Whitsundays, Fraser Island and New Zealand. The latter 2 I will be visiting at the end of the month. I intend to stay here 2 more weeks earning as much as I can before blowing my earnings on a trip to Fraser Island and then embark on the kiwi experience. That then brings me to the end of September, by that point my fellow traveller Brad should be back on the tour after his brief return to the UK and I'll decide what to do next. Office work in Brisbane (just south of Bundaberg) is said to earn good money for a traveller like me, and that could help me see some of the places I mentioned earlier, as well as a possible trip to the pacific islands. There's just too much to see down here, it's a metter of choosing wisely as you'll never see it all.

My next blog will probably be from New Zealand where I'll be joined by my brother Sam, stay tuned!

Trouble in Tully?

So I left Cairns over a week ago, to try and get onto what is known as the Harvest Trail. Basically, backpackers like myself can earn a fair bit of cash and fill up their days by picking and packaging fruit at the farms throughout the country. With it being winter, there isn't much to be picked apart from Bananas. Luckily, Cairns is just 100 odd miles North of Banana county, Cardwell Shire. The towns that form this county are farming towns, one of them seemed to promise some work so I headed on a 2 hour coach to the town of Tully.

Tully, what is there to say about this place? Well, nothing. Actually that's not entirely fair, there's the boot (see above), and the sugar factory. The Boot is about 2 stories high and you can walk to the top of it. I don't know of it's purpose. The Factory ensures that there is always a rancid, caramel type smell in the air. There's 3 hostels and 1 high street. The town's income is from the banana and sugar cane fields that surround it. I have been here 10 days now and am still waiting to get a spot on a farm. It's the quietest part of the year, and it's so wet that things aren't growing properly. Ah yes, I forgot to mention, Tully is the wettest part of Australia. Something to do with the mountains. Not only that, but this is the wettest year since the records started about 5000 years ago, typical. Still, I'm from England, I'm used to the rain, that's not the main problem.

The problem is, whilst waiting for work (it'll usually take around a week to get placed) there is simply nothing to do. Luckily theres a second hand bookstore which I am making my mission to empty of all it's stock. I think I'm on my 8th book in 10 days, thank God for Stephen King and Dean Koontz.

So not much too report, save an embarrassing incident where I slipped over in the bar and kicked the 'caution wet floor' sign across the room. See that guy on the sign? That was me. I had to pick up the sign with 6-7 people watching me whilst trying to retain my dignity. Impossible. Nobody can look cool whilst picking something up, everyone knows that.

Just recently the Carnival has come into town. It travels up and down the east coast and backpackers use it as a means to earn money, gain free travel and accommodation. I spoke to one guy who's job it was to scare people on the Ghost Train. His job consisted entirely of wearing a mask and screaming at little kids as they came past. Apparently it was fun, for about 2 hours. He quit. It was nice to know he helped put together the biggest ride at the carnival as well, without having a clue what he was doing. Very comforting. I've been told that if I'm still unemployed I could walk into a job at the show, it would also provide me with free travel to my next location, Brisbane. However, I'm not convinced being a carnie is my thing, I'll definitely check out the show though, it opens this weekend. I doubt I'll be going on any of the rides though.

The fact that the Carnival is in town has meant that Tully is quite vibrant at the moment. I came out this afternoon and saw about 5 people on the high street, by the weekend the number may well double.

It's not all that bad though, the hostel is a decent one and playing cards, reading books, listening to music and watching TV are things that don't require a busy town in order to be achieved. When I see people return to the hostel covered in dirt after a day's work, for some reason I envy them. I feel like I'm on the dole and their earning their crust. I want to try the whole fruit picking thing not just for a bit of extra cash, but for the experience, and because in the day time the hostel is mostly empty and there is nothing to do. I'll no doubt make a post next week saying how I survived one day out in the fields, hated it and resumed my unemployment, but at least I'll have tried something new.

By the start of september I need to be in Brisbane for a flight to New Zealand which will provide the next leg of my adventure.

Antibiotics!

Well after 6 weeks, a whole first aid kit used up and several bloodstained sheets, today I was told by a member of staff on the Great Barrier Reef boat trip (more on that later) that I needed to see a Doctor. The salt water made my various mosquito bites gone bad, blisters and drunken injuries (all obtained in Thailand) look like I had been the victim of a Shark attack.

When I found the medical centre, the first sign I saw on the front was 'Pathology'. I hoped it wouldn't come to that. After an hours wait I got prescibed some antibiotics and some cream, to use for the next 12 days. Apparently open wounds and the sea are not a good mix, billions of bacteria live in the sea, see.

Since Singapore I've been to Sydney, and now Cairns. I met my Dad, received my Hawaiian shirt, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, saw the Opera House and went on a tour of the city. We then flew to Cairns where today we went out to the reef on a day trip. I went both snorkelling and scuba diving. The highlight was patting a turtle. A couple of days ago we went on a night waterskiing thing which is in effect waterskiing without a speedboat. You're pulled along by a series of pulleys, I'll link a video once we sort out the video camera. In 5 days time we will go our seperate ways, and I will start to look for employment, probably something outdoors, like fruit picking. It's something I'd like to try but I need to wait for my Australian Bank Card to come through and for my wounds to heal first, so I'll probably be in Cairns another week or so.

You can view more pics on my Flickr site, linked below, as ever.

Photo Update

A few new pics over at my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25243091@N08/

Stay tuned for a new blog soon!

Solo in Singapore

So my flight here was on the 19th June. The night of the 18th/morning of the 19th was Ko Pha Ngan's infamous full moon party. I knew I had to take it easy, just the 2 buckets of vodka this time. The usual happened, I lost Brad, met a brummy courtesy of my Villa shirt, got mugged by a Thai girl while asleep on the beach (luckily the pocket she picked only had about 200 baht (just over 3 quid) in it) and I woke up hungover on the beach with sand all over my body which now even 3 showers later I still continue to find. I then had to make my way home to the bar where I'd left all my luggage. After saying all my goodbyes (including Brad who will stay on in Thailand another month) I headed to the pier for the midday Ferry to Ko Samui which has the nearest airport.

The ferry was extremely sombre, or should I say, hungover. Everyone had a bottle of water in their hand, paint still on their face and nobody talked. After a transfer to the airport I got to experience Samui aiport. It's quite amazing. Imagine a regular airport, with terminals, check in desks and luggage desks, but all outside. Roofs only covered the desks and terminals themselves, the walks in between were all outdoor. It was like walking through a town, parks, gardens, fountains, benches and courtyards. Aftter meeting another fellow brummy and Villa fan from Erdington courtesy of the Villa shirt I was still wearing, I proceeded to fly to Singapore.

Upon arrival I grabbed my luggage, checked an internet station for cheap hotels and proceeded to get some money out. Before realising I had no idea what the money was worth. I thought 100 dollars would cover me, but that turned out to be around 37 pounds. I've had bad experiences with taxis from airports, the drivers seem to see you as walking cash machines. So I headed to the underground system and asked the lady at the desk which station was closest to my hotel.

The hotel was in Geylang, about halfway between the main shopping centre, The Orchard and the airport, about a 12 minute ride either side. After a good night's sleep I decided to become a tourist again. Too many times in Ko Phangan, after being a resident of 5 weeks, I was the one advising the newcomers where all the hotspots were. Now I was a full on tourist, snapping photos and crossing the road whilst reading a map. After a bit of shopping I went to see the new Incredible Hulk film, then headed to the DHL balloon, a tethered hot air balloon that rises 150 meteres into the sky, I couldn't wait. It was closed for yearly maintenance. Darn. So as it began to get dark I headed to the night safari, which is where you get to view all the nocturnal animals up close and personal, I'll put up some pictures later.

Today I made up for the lack of a hot air balloon by going up the Singapore Flyer, a big wheel exactly the same as the London Eye. I'm now at the airport waiting for my flight to Sydney where I shall encounter my first family member for 3 months. I'm meeting my Dad who has brought along my treasured Hawaiian shirt I had inexplicably forgotten to bring on this trip. Theres alot I hope to achieve in Australia, lets see what happens. First things first, lets see if they let me in on this working visa.

Still in Thailand

Well im here for 5 more days. It seems June's full moon was slightly earlier then I had thought and thus i don't need to get a new visa in order to stay on for it. However i have a flight to catch the day after, which could be problematic. I've spoken to many people at these parties at 8-9 am saying how they've got a ferry to catch in 15 minutes but they can't even remember where their room is. I'm determined not to be that guy, I'll have to take it a bit more easy then say, the last half moon party 3 days ago where I lost my adidas trainers. Easily done I know.

As for other news? Well i was kicked out of my resort (which i had overstayed my welcome by about 3 weeks) because they were overbooked and needed my room. I moved down the road to a decent, cheaper place lacking in air con and neighbouring people who believe a door has to be slammed at 1000 decibels otherwise its just not worth bothering. How is a guy supposed to sleep at 2 in the afternoon? I saw some thai boxing, for free out of the back of Harvey's bar, one of the fights was 2 kids who couldn't have been older then 8, quite brutal. The only thai boxing I'd seen prior to this was a brawl on the street between 2 thai guys involved in a fender bender of which one ended up getting knocked unconcious....then having his head banged against the concrete road. I also saw a guy drive his moped into the curb and fly over the pavement into a ditch. It made me grimace somewhat but its entirely natural on this island. Most people are sporting the renowned 'Ko Pha Ngan Tattoo' which consists of a big graze on their leg or arm, from such a fall. I think i'm the only person i know not to fall off so far (touching wood) even Brad fell off yesterday (he's fine).

To have driven a moped for a month and not fallen off is quite a feat, thought i nearly ran over a kitten yesterday. Someone had dumped it in the front basket of my moped and me starting the engine had frightened it, made it jump out and then it seeked the spokes of the wheel for security. It was unscathed but still homeless. But seeing as Brad is staying here for another month or 2 he offered to look after it. Seeing him drive down the road with a kitten in the basket of his moped was a sight to behold.

The next blog will come from Singapore, I'm looking forward to moving on as too many times in this last month or so I've been the one seeing others move on whilst I remained stationary. It can get a bit annoying staying in the same place for too long, watching people pass through. On the 19th, I will leave Thailand....For now.

Been a While....

So the full moon party was great, I came out unscathed just with a bit of a hangover. I lost Brad half way through the night but we met up with the Germans (mentioned previously in this blog) from Bangkok which was quite cool. By about 10 am i found myself asleep on the beach with music still playing and people dancing all around me. A guy called Dave, a fellow villa fan from Gloucester who I've known for a couple of weeks now had woken me up and it began again. More drinking and then we decided it'd be cool if we skimped on a taxi fayre and walked the 5-6 miles home. We got halfway to our credit before jumping in a taxi. After a giant English breakfast I stumbled into the resort around 1pm, and went to sleep on the pool table.

The problem now is that I enjoyed the party so much I want to stay on until June's full moon. However, the party occurs the day after my visa expires. Meaning that in order to stay on until the next one, I'd have to do the famous 'visa run', ie going out of the border into Burma and then turning around and coming right back in again for a month's extra stay. I'm not sure it's worth the hassle so I'll probably head into Australia as planned, more then likely, alone. It seems Brad will probably do the visa run and stay here....check out his blog to find out why, I'll nag him to do one.

So that's my situation, stay tuned for more!

Full Moon time!

I'm sat here just a few hours before the full moon party which promises to be one hell of an event. The build up to the party, the few days prior is just as good, beach parties every night and we went to one a couple of days ago for one of the most mental nights ever. It involved me going in the sea with my phone in my pocket and waking up with some impressive war wounds I can't remember getting. My lesson was learned, STAY OFF THE SANGSOM WHISKY!

A special mention to Harvey's bar. This guy (Harvey) is a legend, his bar has everything, great food, a pool table, puzzles, games, a laptop with films and tv programs on it, good music and a playstation. There's no reason ever to leave, and we don't! We tend to stay there til morning and sleep in the day, sometimes if we're lucky before we go he whips us up a bacon sandwich. When he has to pop out, he leaves us in charge of the bar and if we're short on money we can pay up the next day. He opens the bar when he wakes up, and closes it when we go home. If you want food at 3 am then as long as his missus is awake she'll cook you up something.

We'll be heading there before tonights 2 day long beach rave, apparently of the 10,000 that head there each month a few always go missing, wish us luck!

That's no moon, its a space station!

We're now in Ko Phangan (now spelt correctly) this is the island that houses both the full moon and the half moon parties. We're here for the next 2 weeks having just left Ko Samui. I didn't blog from Ko Samui because there wasn't really much to say, it was a very sleepy island, we spent most ofthe day lying on the beach. We did manage to play a game of golf and visit the tiger zoo though, and we climbed into one of the cages to have our photos taken with a particularly tame tiger who doesn't seem to mind humans too much, you can see the photos on my Flickr page mentioned in my last blog. So after two weeks chilling, its time to party, we've only been here 2 days and already more has happened then in K S. Last night we went to a bar at 5 o clock and didn't leave til 8 in the morning. The night before we decided to skimp a taxi and climbed into the back of a guys Jeep instead, luckily he ended up driving right past our hotel. Later that night I paid a guy 1000 thai baht to eat a live flying beetle thing that was about the size of my thumb, another guy chipped in the same amount, totalling to just over 30 pounds to eat the thing, then I saw a lizard (only a small one) and we tred to grab it to see if he'd eat that too but it was too fast for us.

I said I'd tell you about the Germans, basically my good deed for the trip is now done. I met a really drunk German guy in the night club next to my guest house back in Bangkok, he was drunker then an Irishman on a Tuesday, actually he was so drunk he said he was from Bolivia.... He passed out on the bar in front of me and due to a falling out with his friend now had no means of getting home. So I let him and his other mate crash at our place, later on their Thai friend came too, which meant there were 5 of us sleeping in a room 2 people can barely fit in. We were so noisy, 2 Americans came to complain but ended up talking to us for an hour or so, which meant there were now 7 of us! The point is that my good deed is done now and I've done my bit to help along Anglo - German relations. I'm going to stop typing now as this keyboard is quite simply awful, having to press each button twice is getting rather tedious and I hope you excuse any typos.

Off to watch the final day of the premiership season now, then its half moon tomorrow, stay tuned!

Photographs

Nothing about Germans yet, just a quick post to show you my photo site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25243091@N08/

Enjoy

The Man in McDonalds

A few days ago, a man in McDonalds changed my life. Not in a dramatic way, just in the sense that the next 6 weeks of our 'planned' backpacking trip are now actually indeed, planned. Because of the man from McDonalds.

You see I'm currently in Bangkok with my friend Bradley (you can read about his experiences at bradleyontour.blogspot.com). Bangkok is the starting place for all backpackers looking to head south to the islands. The problem was, we had no idea which islands we were going to. We had nothing booked, and when people asked us where we were heading next, all we knew was a few names of places referenced in Alex Garlands novel, 'The Beach'. It's because of this novel that we are living on the Khao San road. Its the road where the central character is living when he gets hold of the map which leads him to the beach. Apparently we don't use guide books, just Novels.

We have a love hate relationship with the Khao San road. We go to the same bar day in, day out, meet with the same people, the bar staff know our names and we feel at home here. I say 'at home', after a few days it felt more of a rut. We were stuck in a rut when we were sat in McDonalds. We were nursing yet another hangover, and Bradley had just spent an undisclosed amount of money on a suit he didn't need. So this man leans across and asked us who we were. He was a teacher at a local school, he enquired as to where we were heading. "South....beaches'. He asked us how we were getting there: 'No idea'. Our Australian working visas expire in June 2009, and we were worried that when we finally left Bangkok we'd only have enough time left on them for a day or two's work. He told us about the D R O, I forget what it stands for, but its like a travel agents, set up by Thai people for Thai people, with Thai prices. The many travel agencies on the Khao San road see that we're Western and add a few zeros on the end of their prices. This agency is Government run and therefore quite legit. We found it to be very laid back, and the guys in there knew exactly what they were talking about. They had just returned from the Full and Half moon parties in Kao Pan Nang and showed us their photographs. We knew our destiny lay there.















So an Hour later we've got coach trips booked to 4 locations in the Southern islands. Ko Samui, Ko Pan Nang, Ko Phi Phi and Phuket. It seems today when we leave on our 14 hour coach journey, we may finally get out of our rut. We currently live above a bar / internet cafe / retaurant next door to 2 night clubs opposite 2 or 3 more bars and 2 doors away from a 24 McDonalds. The room costs us $3.00 a night each. We found it on our first night here, the clock had just struck midnight, we were still carrying our extra Nepalese trekking gear (now on a 3 month boat trip back to England) and we were tired, I saw a sign for the Nat guest house. We chose to stay there because it was the first place we saw. We asked the lady if she had a room at the inn (sound familiar?) and she said yes but its noisy....Like we cared, we just wanted a place to put our bags, the bars are our real home. One bar in particular, Gullivers Travel Tavern on the end of the Khao San Road, air conditioned, pool, food, drink, 15 televisions all showing sport, table football and free internet. I'm sat here right now typing this. The place becomes a night club at around 11pm, the pool tables are replaced by podiums, and the music becomes louder and more hardcore. I love this place, but I can't wait to leave. My next post will be made just minutes away from a beach, and I'll tell the tale of when our 2 person room ending up housing 2 drunken Germans, 2 Americans and a Thai guy.