Had a great time at Byron Bay and actually got one day of sunshine which was amazing!! Walked up to a lighthouse where you could see some beautiful views of the beaches and some groups of dolphins surfing the waves! Met some great people in the hostel and had some great nights out at the infamous Cheeky Monkeys where you dance on these giant metal tables! Next I took a bus to Brisbane just for one night before heading up to Caloundra, a smaller town on the sunshine where I stayed with my dad's cousin Jean and her husband Pete who have retired out here in a beautiful house right overlooking a river! It was absolute luxury to have my own room and ensuite bathroom with an amazing view and Jean and Pete did a great job taking me to look at lots of the local area. Went for a walk in the rainforest where I saw 3 Paddymelons (little kangaroos!) which were v cute! They are spoilt for choice with the beaches in the area and inland there are beautiful mountains too! After spending a few days with them I jumped back on the Greyhound bus to Rainbow beach to start my 3 day tour of Fraser Island!
I was very lucky to have a great group of people in my 4 x 4...6 girls and one boy (bless him!) and we had such a good time. The tour group get split into cars which you take turns driving across the beaches, sand dunes and through the rivers around the island. It was such a beautiful island and I would really recommend to anyone thinking about it to do the self drive tour rather than going in a big tour bus...the driving was part of the whole experience especially our dj skills...so much backstreet boys! While we were there we went to Indian's head with a great view over the sea (we didn't see any sharks though), a ship wreck that's half buried in the sand, the champagne pools where huge waves crash over the rocks to make the bubbles and Lake wabby which is a lake contained by the biggest sand dune I've ever seen!! We stayed for 2 nights in dorm style accomodation on the beach and had parties on the beach the 1st night and a bonfire the 2nd night...fuelled by plenty of goon!
Now I'm back in Rainbow beach waiting to get a bus up to Airlie beach to go to the Whitsundays, then up to Cairns for a trip out on the barrier reef and then New Zealand on thursday! Time is zipping by but really looking forward to everything coming up!!
Big Love
x x x x x x x x
Friday 27 April 2012
Thursday 19 April 2012
Sydney and Coffs Harbour
Arrived in Sydney and it was 13 degrees!! Bit of a shock to the system after 30 degrees and humidity of Singapore. Checked into my hostel and went for a little wander around the city, along to the Botanical Gardens and round the harbour to see the Sydney Opera house and the harbour bridge! Was a bit breezy but in the sunshine it all looked pretty stunning! Walked through town and Hyde Park back to Kings Cross where my hostel was. It’s really odd to see so many English names of places as you wander around! The next day I walked over the Harbour bridge (bit scary but great views) wandered around the rocks and some of the more touristy bits of the city. The following day I got up early to catch the train to the blue mountains which are about 2 hours outside the city. You get off the train in a really quaint town which feels a bit like its still in the 1960’s and get a hop on hop off trolley bus which takes you to the main interesting spots. The blue Mountains are beautiful and although not as high as the grand canyon it, the views were similar and equally stunning. I did a one hour bush walk (turned into 2 hour as I got a bit lost!) along the cliff to a waterfall and then hopped back on the bus. The next stop was Echo point which gives the famous view of the ‘3 sisters’ rock formation and from there you can continue the bushwalking depending on how brave you’re feeling (one takes 2 days!) I just did a ½ hour one! When I got back to the city they were having a bbq night in the hostel which was very tasty. Went out that night in the ‘interesting’ area that is Kings Cross but had a good time despite the sleaze!
The sun was just about shining the following day so took the subway to Bondi beach which was beautiful. Unfortunately, it soon got cloudy again so walked along the coastal path to Bronte beach and back again stopping off at the little beaches along the way whenever the sun came out! Checked out of the hostel the next day and spent some time in the botanical Gardens again (avoiding the giant spiders) and then in the courtyard of the hostel. That night I got the Greyhound bus over night up here to Coffs Harbour where it did rain a lot and it’s the type of seaside place where it’s hard to do things when it’s raining! Did meet some lovely people from the west country there randomly and tried a 2 hour surf lesson. Turns out I’m definitely not a natural surfer (more of a surfing disaster!) but I did manage to stand up for about 2 seconds!! Now I’m in Byron Bay for a few nights and then up to Brisbane at the weekend! The internet is really dodgy in the hostels I've stayed at which is a pain as you have to pay for it!! Hopefully will be able to upload some pics in a minute though....fingers crossed!!
Speak to you all soon!
Love Ro
X x x x x x
The sun was just about shining the following day so took the subway to Bondi beach which was beautiful. Unfortunately, it soon got cloudy again so walked along the coastal path to Bronte beach and back again stopping off at the little beaches along the way whenever the sun came out! Checked out of the hostel the next day and spent some time in the botanical Gardens again (avoiding the giant spiders) and then in the courtyard of the hostel. That night I got the Greyhound bus over night up here to Coffs Harbour where it did rain a lot and it’s the type of seaside place where it’s hard to do things when it’s raining! Did meet some lovely people from the west country there randomly and tried a 2 hour surf lesson. Turns out I’m definitely not a natural surfer (more of a surfing disaster!) but I did manage to stand up for about 2 seconds!! Now I’m in Byron Bay for a few nights and then up to Brisbane at the weekend! The internet is really dodgy in the hostels I've stayed at which is a pain as you have to pay for it!! Hopefully will be able to upload some pics in a minute though....fingers crossed!!
Speak to you all soon!
Love Ro
X x x x x x
Kuala Lumpur and Singapore
About 2 weeks ago now I left Thailand on the night bus over to Kuala Lumpur. Stayed in a lovely hostel while I was there with very swish beds with your individual light, plugs, shelves and curtain making your own little private bedroom! The 1st day I was there I did some sight seeing around the Chinatown area and the old colonial buildings. In Chinatown you can buy just about any fake designer goods including tiffany jewellery, Cath Kidson everything and fake dvds in their hundreds! The next day I did a tour organised by the hostel which took us to hindu and muslim temples (for the latter you had to put on a full muslim outfit covering everything including a burka on my head…I was boiling!) and the kings residence. We also went to the Batu caves where you walk up over 200 very steep steps to reach the thousand year old caves hidden in the mountain with its Hindu temples inside, v. cool! That evening I had some drinks on the roof top terrace of the hostel that looks over the whole of the city. The next day I walked over to the Petronas towers to have a look around and take some pics. Then walked over to the Orchid Gardens for a wander before getting very lost on the way back to the hostel!
The next day I flew to Singapore nice and early in the morning. Absolutely loved Singapore though and it was such a nice change from the rest of Asia, everything is so clean and there are shops and malls everywhere!! Did one of the standard hop on hop off bus tours which was really useful in the rain (it rained everyday I was here!). Took me round all the sights including the most ridiculous hotel I’ve ever seen called the Marina Bay…3 skyscrapers with a giant ship shaped building on top of them! The architecture in Singapore as a whole was amazing and I’m not normally interested in that sort of thing. You couldn’t help looking up from the bus in awe! On the 3rd day I was there I went to Singapore Zoo which is just north of the city. It’s an open plan Zoo so a lot of the animals roam free (including the orang-utans!) or are just separated by water rather than metal bars. They have some really rare animals there including white tigers which were beautiful and a little terrifying!
In my last day in Singapore I did a bit of shopping and then made it back to the subway station as the heavens opening and it chucked it down!! Getting back to the hostel and then back to the subway with my backpack was definitely interesting! When I got to the airport there were problems with my plane to Sydney so it was delayed by 3 hours! They decided to change planes to this new 2 floored plane which was half empty so I had 3 seats to myself which was very nice! Said goodbye to Asia with a Singapore Sling cocktail and some fried rice before falling asleep!
The next day I flew to Singapore nice and early in the morning. Absolutely loved Singapore though and it was such a nice change from the rest of Asia, everything is so clean and there are shops and malls everywhere!! Did one of the standard hop on hop off bus tours which was really useful in the rain (it rained everyday I was here!). Took me round all the sights including the most ridiculous hotel I’ve ever seen called the Marina Bay…3 skyscrapers with a giant ship shaped building on top of them! The architecture in Singapore as a whole was amazing and I’m not normally interested in that sort of thing. You couldn’t help looking up from the bus in awe! On the 3rd day I was there I went to Singapore Zoo which is just north of the city. It’s an open plan Zoo so a lot of the animals roam free (including the orang-utans!) or are just separated by water rather than metal bars. They have some really rare animals there including white tigers which were beautiful and a little terrifying!
In my last day in Singapore I did a bit of shopping and then made it back to the subway station as the heavens opening and it chucked it down!! Getting back to the hostel and then back to the subway with my backpack was definitely interesting! When I got to the airport there were problems with my plane to Sydney so it was delayed by 3 hours! They decided to change planes to this new 2 floored plane which was half empty so I had 3 seats to myself which was very nice! Said goodbye to Asia with a Singapore Sling cocktail and some fried rice before falling asleep!
Monday 2 April 2012
Ko phi phi, Tonsai beach and Krabi town
So another fun filled week in Thailand has passed! From Phuket town (wouldn't recommend!) got the ferry to Ko Phi Phi island last monday. A really beautiful island and everyone I met there was so friendly! The 1st night got upgraded as the 18 person dorm was full so got the aircon 8 bed dorm for no extra money!! lovely! The next day I had to move though so stayed at Rock backpackers in the 18 person dorm...what an experience!! I'd heard really good things about the Rock from lots of people I'd met along the way and it was a great place to meet people! The walls were covered in writing of people who've stayed there over the years with some interesting anecdotes! Not a lot of sleep to be had (as expected in Phi Phi!) and the bed bugs ate me alive...not so good! But a really fun place overall and I'd recommend it if you want the social phi phi experience. The 3rd day I was there I went on the 1/2 day snorkeling tour over to Maya bay (where they filmed 'The beach'), its now swarming with tourists everyday and no leo in sight but very beautiful all the same. Saw some beautiful fish while snorkeling and even managed to get a few pics with them in!! The next bit of the trip was slightly more traumatic...as a fishing boat crashed into our longtail boat in the middle of the ocean!! Wood flew everywhere but luckily no one was hurt. Our boat then started sinking (not so good!) so we waved down a speedboat with some Japanese tourists who very kindly rescued us and took us back to the pier. We all managed to get our money back for the tour and had lunch to celebrate how lucky we had been to get back safely!
So after a few fun filled nights at Slinky's on the beach and plenty of lethal buckets I left phi phi after 4 nights and went to the much more chilled tonsai beach. You can only get there by longtail boat and there's no electricity until after 6 at night so no wifi or cash machines to be found!! Theres a very hippy feel to the beach, with rasta inspired tiki bars with cushions on the floor and huts in the trees! I shared a bungalow in the woods with a lovely girl I met in Phi Phi in the nicely named 'jungle hut resort'. Very cheap with ice cold showers and only the occasional cockroach!! It was a lovely place to relax for a few days. Had to take an interesting trek over the rocks to Railay beach in search of a cash machine but other than that no hiccups. Yesterday we went on a 9 island tour where you got to snorkel, walk on some beautiful beaches, have dinner and see the sunset over the water and the best bit of all, go night swimming with the plankton which lights up and seems to sparkle when you move! Amazing! It felt like something out of a movie!
Today we left our jungle hut and headed over to Krabi town to stay one night. Staying in Pak up hostel which is pure luxury after the last few places I've stayed! Wifi, hot showers, duvets, lockers under the bed, actually clean...and for £4.50 a night not bad! Getting a few bits done before heading down into Malaysia tomorrow by bus! Still pretty pale thanks to my epic suncream applying! Burnt in a few places on phi phi which I missed so now trying to be better! Still having an amazing time and can't quite believe how quickly its going...flying to Aus in just over a week!
Love to everyone at home and missing you all tons!
x x x x x x
So after a few fun filled nights at Slinky's on the beach and plenty of lethal buckets I left phi phi after 4 nights and went to the much more chilled tonsai beach. You can only get there by longtail boat and there's no electricity until after 6 at night so no wifi or cash machines to be found!! Theres a very hippy feel to the beach, with rasta inspired tiki bars with cushions on the floor and huts in the trees! I shared a bungalow in the woods with a lovely girl I met in Phi Phi in the nicely named 'jungle hut resort'. Very cheap with ice cold showers and only the occasional cockroach!! It was a lovely place to relax for a few days. Had to take an interesting trek over the rocks to Railay beach in search of a cash machine but other than that no hiccups. Yesterday we went on a 9 island tour where you got to snorkel, walk on some beautiful beaches, have dinner and see the sunset over the water and the best bit of all, go night swimming with the plankton which lights up and seems to sparkle when you move! Amazing! It felt like something out of a movie!
Today we left our jungle hut and headed over to Krabi town to stay one night. Staying in Pak up hostel which is pure luxury after the last few places I've stayed! Wifi, hot showers, duvets, lockers under the bed, actually clean...and for £4.50 a night not bad! Getting a few bits done before heading down into Malaysia tomorrow by bus! Still pretty pale thanks to my epic suncream applying! Burnt in a few places on phi phi which I missed so now trying to be better! Still having an amazing time and can't quite believe how quickly its going...flying to Aus in just over a week!
Love to everyone at home and missing you all tons!
x x x x x x
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