global-blog

Wedded Bliss and the stuff before.

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 18:54:18 +0100

We left you dangling in Hong Kong back in June 2011. Since then, a lot has happened. To give you the shortened run-down...

We ran the Olympic Day Race at Disney Land Hong Kong. We both finished in times better than we expected and were quite happy. We also saw a population of pink dolphins living in the Hong Kong harbor. These guys are endangered and are legitimately pink. Also witnessed two Dragon Boat competitions, spent a lot of money in an arcade playing games with crazy Asian grandmothers and eventually left for mainland China after a month's stay in a luxury hotel.

Phase 2 of China started out in Xi'An seeing the Terracotta Warriors. Much cooler than we expected. We also road a double bike around the city wall, stopped at a drum tower and ate some tasty street food. Ironically, we both got incredibly sick from McDonalds... This resulted in one of the most morally devastating train rides for me (Casey) as we traveled 15 hours to Beijing with the most critical of upset stomachs and fevers. Once in Beijing, I attempted one calligraphy class and found myself the following day in the hospital with horrible food poisoning. That left us with 4 days to do it all- Olympic Stadium, Great Wall, a noodle making class, a trip to Hooters Beijing (only American food around), the Chinese Hutongs and a Chinese Opera.

After sitting in an airport overnight with the rats back in Kunming, we then flew to Kathmandu, Nepal and stayed with some of the most incredible people at a hostel. While in Nepal we visited yet another monkey temple, ate Momos (Water Buffalo), went white water rafting (class 4), visited Pokhara, hiked near Anapurna, ate at a local place, went to a concert, and flew around Mt. Everest. Nepal was amazing and has since been recollected as one of our favorite destinations. We made a promise to Charlena and An'akla (hostel owners) that we'd return and I hope we follow through.

After we left Nepal, we went to India. Very disappointing. Or...perhaps travelers burn-out. At this point, we had already booked our surprise flights back to the USA...more on that later. I got henna on both hands, apparently the good kind because many locals commented. Andrew bought two shisha pipes (which gave us difficulty through customs). We took a private car to the Taj Mahal, which is when we discovered the solution to heavy traffic---drive on the other side of the road against traffic! It's a little more dangerous, but our driver got us there really fast. Taj Mahal is more impressive in books as it was about half the size as we expected. Pretty - yes... but worth a separate trip to Delhi? Not entirely convinced. We left India slightly disgusted by all the poverty, sense of entitlement, and the blatant con artists. A flight through Paris allowed us to pick up some Cuban Cigars and then we arrived back in the states almost exactly one year ago.

Back in the states-we surprised both sets up parents by showing up on their doorstep. We made it back in time for Maebel and Annaliese (Andrew's brother's girls) to be born. We then took off for a mini adventure with friends to Costa Rica, during which time Olivia and Isabelle were born (Casey's brother's twins). Costa Rica was much more laid back after a global trip. We went horseback riding around a volcano (Andrew was almost thrown). We went white water rafting class 4-5 rapids (Casey fell in). We also went zip-lining (not entirely impressed). The last leg of the trip found us relaxing and drinking too much poolside. We had a blast, but are not likely to return to Costa Rica over some of the other places we've visited.

After returning to Florida, we packed up a U-Haul and headed north permanently. Oh...and one slight detail that I missed....

Andrew asked me to marry him in Hong Kong in front of the Mickey Mouse fountain with Aladdin's "I can show you the world" playing in the background. So, once home...we were planning a wedding. All of the preparations took place over a short period of time and we were married just this past June. We had a great time with our family and friends in that short four-day stint to Orlando. It was not the traditional wedding by any means, but it was great to see everyone having a good time. Highlights--- The BierGarten Rehearsal Dinner, the Hoop-Dee-Doo dinner reception and the spot light dance, and of course... the ceremony and cute little Hans with the ring pillow. I also thoroughly enjoyed watching my oldest nieces / flower girls transform from little girls to little princesses at the Bippity Boppity Boutique in Cinderella's castle. Everything was amazing and I think I can speak for Andrew when I say...We are truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!

Two weeks later we went on the Oasis of the Seas through Royal Caribbean. It's the world's biggest ship, which sounds impressive, but we weren't really impressed. Don't get me wrong, we had a blast and really enjoyed ourselves, but it seemed like the extra charm that makes cruises so special just wasn't there. I did try the on board knee boarding and wiped out after a few seconds with a sore left knee...getting old. We stopped over in the Bahamas, St Thomas, and St. Maarten. Our favorite-- St. Thomas. We went snorkeling with Green Turtles (favorite of mine) and were very close to them when the surfaced. We also managed to see an octopus on the move.

We are now officially done with travel...for now. The next few trips will be strictly domestic and include New York and Tampa--- our other two homes. Our new goal--- the Disney World Marathon in January 2013. As for our next adventure--- the Inca Trail seems to be the most recent topic of discussion...but we shall see. Adios for now.

Time for Ketchup...I mean Catch-Up!

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:52:59 +0100

So the last time I wrote anything about our trip, we were holed up in a hotel room in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That was over two months ago. It's hard to think about what's happened in those two months, but since then we've visited 6 countries! That includes Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and now China/Hong Kong. Since we arrived in Thailand from Bali, we've traveled 7,191 miles by airplane, train, bus, sleeper bus, minibus, and even slow boat. We've seen some of the most amazing sites, met some great people, and have done a fair bit of learning about each of ourselves. Since we've withheld quite a bit of our experience for so long, I figured I'd summarize before getting to the most recent events.

note: This will be a multi-post blog, so keep looking back for more updates over the next few weeks!

Thailand - Visit 1

It's not very easy to explain a country like Thailand. We did our best to see it from just about every viewpoint possible. We visited the country in two separate encounters. The first time, we did the southern part, and saw Phuket, Koh Phangan, and Khao Sok National Park. The second time included Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Phuket

Petting a baby tiger at FantaSea

Our visit to Phuket is summarized by a short stay where we visited the FantaSea amusement park, watched a Thai dance show, and got to pet and feed a baby tiger. Other than that, Phuket is overwhelmed with rich white tourists (primarily from Sweden). We were glad to see it, but glad to head out as well.

Koh Phangan

At the Full Moon Party, sober-ish

Before we left for the trip, we were told of the Full Moon Party, a 'must-do' of the backpacker lifestyle in Southeast Asia. An all-night techno/house music/rave on an island in Thailand, where you paint yourself with blacklight paint, people jump over flaming rope, and you drink your alcohol from buckets. Not like the buckets we know back home where they give you five Coors Light bottles and you go on your way. Nooo, these are what I describe as a cocktail of disaster. Each includes a can of soda of your choice, a can of Red Bull, and a 325ml bottle of liquor of your choice. Since I tend to take a liking to whiskey, and was up for trying something new, I went for Song Som, which went for 200 baht ($6.75) for each bucket. Casey went more conservative, and got a mojito bucket for the same price. To make a long story short, Casey stopped at one bucket, I did my best to finish three. Oh yeah, I blacked out, and found out the next morning from Casey that, while on the way back to our bungalow, I projectile vomited on a motorbike from the back of a taxi. Stay classy.

Khao Sok National Park

Casey relaxing on the Sok River

While in Koh Phangan at the Full Moon Party, we found an ad about one of the largest national parks in Thailand, where you can sleep on a houseboat on the giant lake and trek the mountains, among other things. Casey and I found a unique guest house that we couldn't pass up, and got the chance to stay in a 'tree house'! It rained the entire time we were here, so we didn't get to do much. For the two hours of dryness in the day, we did a canoe tour down the Sok River. Other than that, it was quite an uneventful visit.

Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)

When you travel to different countries, each one has different visa regulations, depending on what country you're from. Being from the USA has its advantages in some places, and you don't have to pay for a visa to visit that country. In Thailand, you get a free 30 day tourist visa upon entry. We got there on March 11th in order to make it to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party on the 19th. There was also no way we were going to miss Songkran (water festival) on April 12-16. Do the math--3/11 to 4/16 is 36 days. So how do we solve this conundrum? We decided to leave halfway through, and spend some time in Malaysia!

In front of the Petronas Towers

We flew into Kuala Lumpur, and stayed there for a week before we flew back to Bangkok. We stayed in the middle of Chinatown, so every time we left our hostel, we walked straight into the markets where you can buy any replica purse/watch etc, as well as any souvenir you could need. It was quite an uneventful visit, because the city ended up being quite a bit more expensive than we expected. The highlights for us were a visit to the Batu Caves and to the Petronas Towers. The Batu Caves are a bunch of caves (duh) inside a hill within KL. It features one of the most popular Hindu temples outside India, but more importantly, a bastardly 272 stairs from the ground to the caves. We saw some interesting people here, and were in awe of the massive golden statue that trumps the exterior of the temple. As for the Petronas Towers, we got to see what was the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004. They are beautiful in picture, but even more amazing up close. We got there at 6:30 am (tickets sell out, and first come first serve) and got tickets to go over the pedestrian bridge, and visit the 88th floor of Tower 2. It was quite an experience to go up, but for me, I loved standing on the ground and looking up at them instead.

Thailand - Visit 2

Bangkok

At Wat Pho in front of the Reclining Buddha

We haven't had the chance to see Hangover 2 yet, but if you have, you know it was filmed in Bangkok. Well, we got to see our fair share of the red light district, but decided against seeing the infamous Ping Pong show. It's quite unique where you have your night clubs, your adult clubs, your massage parlors, you also have your restaurants, as well as a tourist night market! It's like Walmart for a single male tourist...who wants to bring home something nice to Mom. Along with the adult tourism of Bangkok, it is also one of the best cities in Southeast Asia to go temple hopping. We spent a full day doing this by visiting the Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho & the reclining Buddha, Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn), and finally we saw the Golden Buddha at Wat Traimit. It was a rewarding and tiring day, one that filled our need and desire to see temples for quite a while.

Chiang Mai

Our trekking group in Chiang Mai

No matter what else we see or do, this city will be remembered by both of us as a favorite place on our trip. Between the adventures, the celebrations, and the hotel, there was nothing more we could ask for. It started with a 3 day trek through the mountains of Chiang Mai that included elephant riding (not as fun as it sounds-more demoralizing to the elephants than anything), a visit to a hill tribe, swimming at a waterfall, white water rafting, and over 20km of hiking up and down the hills of Chiang Mai. It was Casey's first mountain trek, and I give her huge props for getting to the top without much complaining :).

Casey enjoying Songkran

When we got back to the city, Songkran was in full effect. This is the Thai New Years celebration, where everyone empties to the streets to soak each other with water (sometimes ice-cold water) to symbolize the cleansing of a new year. It was a four day event, where even if you don't want to get involved, you're going to get soaked, so you might as well enjoy it. We bought water guns, but later scrapped them for buckets to fetch water from the canal. For me, it was the best part of our visit to Thailand. I did my best to bring out my inner 6 year old, and can't remember having this much fun with water since puddle hopping after a big rainstorm when I was 6.

To Be Continued! Next time: Laos and Cambodia

A Poem

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 05:01:00 +0100

My parents always like to tell me that when I was a tike, I was smart enough to teach myself to read. I don't know how someone 'teaches themself', but they stand by their story. I always had a hard time believing it, especially when literature and English classes were never my strengths in school. When I was in fourth grade, I was kept after school many days because I had no idea how to read for comprehension. Essentially, I would read a story, understand what I was reading, but not be able to answer questions on it, because they were just words to me.

After this, I never really picked up a book to read, unless it was a do-or-die situation. I even cheated off of the 'dumb kid' on tests because I didn't read the required books in fifth grade. I even faked sickness for weeks on end in sixth grade, to avoid Mr. Gibbons and his reading classes.

With that being said, since we've left, I've had a LOT of time to kill. You can't spend every minute on a tour, exploring another city, shopping in another town. It burns you out. And when theres one computer for two people, with one of those people doing projects (hint: not me!), that leaves me to sit and stare at the wall in our room quite a bit. So, like most travelers, I took to find a new hobby, one that I could never discover back home. Mine has become reading books.

I set off with a pretty rational goal of reading a dozen books before we left. Knowing myself, I expected them to be max-200 page books. As of today, it's March 25th, and we've been gone for 5 full months, and I'm happy to say that I've finished 18 books! I've gotten into John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Dan Brown, Michael Chrichton, J.K. Rowling (3 down, 4 to go!), and am currently reading Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

I didn't set out to write this blog as a means to brag though. It's to bring to light a song from Tolkien's first Lord of the Rings book, The Fellowship of the Ring. It's extremely fitting to our journey, our world adventure. Because when the Hobbits leave the shire, they have questions about why they decided to leave the comforts of home. When Frodo broke out this song, I smiled, and realized that I had to share it with everyone back home. Read it, and it will bring you a little closer to us in our travels!

Upon the hearth the fire is red,

Beneath the roof there is a bed;

But not yet weary are our feet,

Still around the corner we may meet

A sudden standing stone

That none have seen but we alone.

Tree and flower and leaf and grass,

Let them pass! Let them pass!

Hill and water under sky,

Pass them by! Pass them by!

Still around the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate,

And though we pass them by today,

Tomorrow we may come this way

And take the hidden paths that run,

Towards the Moon or to the Sun.

Apple, thorn and nut and sloe

Let them go! Let them go!

Sand and stone and pool and dell,

Fare you well! Fare you well!

Home is behind, the world ahead,

And there are many paths to tread

Through shadows to the edge of night,

Until the stars are all alight.

Then world behind and home ahead,

We'll wander back to home and bed.

Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,

Away shall fade! Away shall fade!

Fire and lamp, and meat and bread,

And to bed! And then to bed!

A little Balinese culture...

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:05:33 +0100

1/ March / 2011

There was a guy riding on the top of a truck. There was another on a motor bike carrying five of the gallon jugs of water. A woman rode by on another motor bike with three children clinging on for dear life. A white guy weaved in and out of the already chaotic traffic with a surfboard somehow rigged to stay on. One man rode a bicycle with straw-hats, dust brushes, and some form of plant piled on his back. There were countless other scenes that we absorbed during our short hour journey from Denpasar airport to our residence at Jati Home Stay in Ubud, but I doubt it would ever get close to the mess and excitement that we witnessed on our arrival to Bali. Welcome to Indonesia!

We’ve only been in Bali for one night and one full day, but already we’ve acclimatized to the lifestyle. We’ve managed to master the art of crossing the street with a constant flow of motor-bikes and honking cars. (We watched the dogs to discover how to overcome the traffic here!). We’ve perfected the response of “no thank, not today” down to a tee as we’ve encountered a taxi stand or a massage spa every ten feet. We’ve begun the arduous task of haggling and we even have “favourites’” we look for on menus! Yes, we like Bali.

Our first day in Bali went like this:

We were up at 8:30 for a delicious breakfast consisting of fresh papaya, banana, pineapple, and a tomato & egg on toast sandwich. Then our little adventure began as we walked down the road to Monkey Forest. Before we even entered the tourist part, a monkey went after Andrew’s water bottle! Once inside, Andrew, with bananas held close to chest, managed to feed several of the alpha males, the mamas, and even the little tykes that were brave enough to approach. One little guy was especially courageous as he jumped onto Andrew’s leg and clung to him as if he was an alternative parent.

After Monkey Forest, we wandered up a steep hill and ate lunch at a little café. There were only two other people there at the time. I know what you’re thinking… “never eat at a place that isn’t crowded…especially in Bali!”, but you’d be so very wrong. The food was delicious, inexpensive ($8 for the entire bill!), and the atmosphere was perfect. After lunch, we then managed to find our way to the rice fields.

At first, we thought we were lost. We passed construction sites, old buildings, and a beaten-up road with shattered cement. Then, after much walking, we landed smack in the middle of Balinese paradise. The rice fields were in all directions. Every way you looked there was a beautiful green that seemed to give off a sweet, but tangy scent. Dewa, a local farmer, was kind enough to stop his work and show us how it’s done. With very little English from him, and no Indonesian from us, we discovered that rice takes about 3 months to “make babies” and then you can cut it when it’s about hip-high. The rest of our walk around dirt tracks, cement walls, and mud steps resulted in us being offered coconuts from eight different individuals! We don’t really know for sure, but it seems offering a coconut is similar to asking someone to come in for a cup of tea or a cold beer.

Towards the end of our walk around the rice fields we stumbled on a restaurant! Yes, in the middle of nowhere, there was this beautiful restaurant with bamboo lounges, a full bar, and several other western tourists reading and relaxing. Andrew and I, sweating like beasts, decided that a drink was in order. We both had cocktails and took in the cool breeze from the storm forming over the distant volcanoes. While saddened to leave this sanctuary, we had to get back to Ubud before dark, which happens around 6:30 here at the moment. After responding to another twenty calls of “transport? How about taxi tomorrow?” we eventually decided to find dinner. We enjoyed a spicy chicken and rice combination dish, a fruity drink, and a “different” tasting coca-cola.

It’s now just after 9:00 PM. We’ve discovered our soap was eaten by a lizard. Our bones and muscles are achy, and the crickets have started their songs. We are headed to bed as yet another great adventure begins tomorrow that involves volcanoes, bicycles, and a lot of coffee…

Our Trip to the Red Center

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 07:54:12 +0100

Uluru. Ayer's Rock. The highlight of our journey to Australia. If you ever get the chance to visit Australia, and choose to visit the Red Center, chances are you are going to visit Uluru. And if you visit, and are not moved by the amazement of this lonely, massive red rock, then you are simply not human.

Our trip to Uluru was a three-day journey sandwiched between two 24-hour train travels on The Ghan, from Adelaide to Alice Springs, and vice versa. The temperature reached 45 deg C (113 deg F) every day, and we were attacked by hundreds of pestering black flies every step of the way. Gas was $1.75/L ($6.75/g), and the car rental was overpriced. But it was worth every minute and every penny, to be able to experience the wonder of Uluru.

The 4.5 hour car journey from Alice Springs to Uluru was highlighted by our first driving adventure of the trip (my first time driving on the wrong side of the road), an immediate wrong turn that took us 20km out of the way (which is REALLY hard to do when there isn't more than 2 roads in the outback), a FULL rendition of '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall', along with unforgettable Karaoke to fill in where we had no radio.

When we first saw Uluru in the distance, we were immediately in awe. The sun was right overhead, which left the color of the rock a light-red. When you see it in person, you kind of chuckle to yourself, because every picture that there is just doesn't do it justice. The size (1200 ft high), the color, the small details and the amazing textures of the rock--its quite obvious why so many people make their way to see it every day.

Before exploring Uluru up close, we visited the other rock formation in the Park, Kata Tjuta (aka The Olgas). If I were to describe these rocks without using a picture, I would make the following comparison: if Uluru is George Clooney, then Kata Tjuta is Sloth from The Goonies. It just didn't weather over time the same way that Uluru did, and was left as several domed rocks instead of one justifiably strong land mass. We did our best to explore them, but my god the BUGS! The instant you leave the car, its just pandemonium. They go kamikaze on your face and have no intentions of letting up. You swat, you duck, but they're unstoppable. Needless to say, we got our photos, but spent no more than 45 minutes with Sloth.

The country that is Australia is just over 100 years old, with Europeans settling the area in 1770. For thousands of years prior, it was inhabited solely by the Aboriginal people. The tribes which lay claim to the land around Uluru are known as the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people. They still settle this land and help to run the park which houses the two landmarks. We spent a while roaming the cultural center, learned of their ways, and why Uluru is sacred to their culture. They tell stories, much like the Native Americans, of how the rock was formed, and where its features came from. It was nice to get a cultural feel of the trip, and we were quite happy to discover our only lifeline to running water while we were out there--we slept in the car overnight on the side of the road!

Finally, we toured the rock. At this time, it was around 6pm, and the rock was starting to darken. It was stunning. Around every turn, it was a different sculpture. We were both mesmerized by the beauty, and just smiled as we explored it with our eyes. The driving loop around the rock is about 7 km, and as you drive it, you notice why the Aboriginal people see the rock as sacred.

The final stop of the day was to the viewing area for sunset. This is the time when the color change of the rock is most significant, as it glows a deep, dark red. Again, stunning. We took pictures to show everyone at home what we saw, but like I said, no photo does justice to the real experience. We sat there for over an hour, again battling the kamikaze flies, and took in the beautiful sunset, watching the rock and the sky change color.

We left that night knowing that nothing else in Australia would come close to the experience of that day. We slept overnight in the car, sweating with the windows closed to avoid the bats, and woke up to make our way back for the sunrise. The drive back to Alice Springs was much more tranquil, as Casey slept and I drove, constantly zoning out through the never-ending dirt and trees that is the Outback. It was an amazing trip, one that we will both remember, and a can't-miss highlight to our world journey!

It's hostel living.

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 04:06:36 +0100

Since many of you at home have never stayed in a hostel, I thought I'd offer some insight into hostel living...

Some nights you fall asleep happily listening to your MP3 player, knowing that your stuff is safe and you are the only one in the room. Then, a few hours later the sun rises and you hear snoring. Then a toilet flushes. Then a door closes, or rather, is slammed. You’re hesitant to open one eye let alone both and there you have it. Four, sometimes six, and even up to eight other heads tucked beneath sheets. You scan the room briefly and try to guess, male or female? The girls are usually easy to spot as there is some kind of floral toiletry kit or ribbon, or an “in style” hat lying about. Guys tend to be neater, compact, and either sporting a solid black pack or a darker masculine one in shades of blue or green. These are your new roommates.

These situations can really either go one of two ways. The first few seconds of introduction are critical and basically decide what type of lodging situation you will be in. Option one is the friendly hello, where are you from and the where are you going? If the person is genuinely interesting and excited to be travelling, these questions usually open up a longer conversation and a momentary “friendship” to last only as long as your stay in this particular location. The second option usually starts off awkward due to timing. This is when you are fast asleep and new people enter your room. Or, equally so, this could occur when you come back to your room to find new luggage and an invasion of unknown people. In those few critical seconds, you will know which option has been chosen. The exchange for option two goes something like this:

“Hi. How’s it going?”

“Fine.”

And thus, option two is complete. No further conversation is necessary. It is clear that you will never have anything in common with your new bunk-mate, the door for communication is shut, and you are simply another person occupying a shared-space.

Welcome to hostel lodging.

Shall we move on to the kitchen?

Now, some establishments do make a conscious effort to contradict what is about to be said, but we have only encountered one or two at most.

Imagine cooking in your kitchen at home. Now add your mother, grandmother, big sister, your little sister, great auntie, auntie, two or three cousins, the nosy neighbor, and a professional cook. Now imagine all of those people trying to operate using one stove, one microwave, one fridge, and quite often…no oven. This is hostel living at its worst. Meal times have essentially changed for us. Dinner is now before 4:00PM or well after 9:00PM. To venture into the kitchen during "normal" dinner hours is equivalent to committing culinary suicide.

If you are fortunate enough to find access to the food prep area without catastrophe or collision, that brings you to the clean up process. Soap seems to be a rare commodity in this part of the world, or at least, that is how it seems. Hostel after hostel seems to have this stingy control of liquid dish soap. We have seen it in spray bottles over-diluted with water, we have seen it in automatic dispensers that require a certain time-lapse between pumps, and we have seen empty soda bottles with remnants of what can only be (hopefully) soap! Sadly, and horrifyingly, there have been some instances that soap in any form just couldn’t be found.

If you happen to discover the liquid gold, you are then instructed by sign after sign to wash and dry your dishes. To dry your dishes….that is the humorous bit. In order to dry…anything…most civilized people would use a proper, clean, drying towel. In a hostel with lodging for 50 to 200 people or more, one would think that the supply of drying towels would be enough to get the job done 200 times over. This has not been the case. Usually, there are three to four towels to be found anywhere in the kitchen. If these towels haven’t already been used to wipe down counters, dry off hands, wipe off hands after tearing apart chicken or some other meat, or used to wipe up the floor…then dry away! Admittedly, we have not dried and put away all of our dishes as the signs say. We have, instead, sneakily left them in the drying racks in hopes that some other poor individual won’t get salmonella or some other kind of illness.

The kitchen does have its funny moments too. There are always utensils, cutting boards, towels, plates, and even strainers that prove as evidence to the terrible cooks in the world. We have, in our own experiences, witnessed a blue cutting board go up in flames as the “chef” was washing out a pot, completely oblivious. We have also played the “shuffle the strainer” game where you have to find one that still has its original holes instead of the melted, oversized versions. In some cases, finding a pot with a handle is a chore. And if no handle is available, then the quest for tongs begins so you can maneuver the pot on and off the burner, or stir whatever concoction has been created.

Despite the downsides of hostel kitchens, we have managed to cook some wonderful meals to include chicken with gravy, spaghetti, soups of various kinds, and rice dishes. Hey! We’re on a hostel budget after all!

A good day on the Great Ocean Road.

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 12:06:05 +0100

So far the experiences have been great and the moments that Andrew and I have shared are definitely for the history books. So after seventy-two days of travelling, I found myself reflecting. As I listened to Johnny Cash and scanned the farming scenery for any indication of a kangaroo, I started to think about all that we’ve seen and accomplished so far. The photos show pretty much everything, but if I could turn back time and bring everyone with me to those certain places and moments…what or where would they be?

Today would definitely be up there on the list. We coasted down the Great Ocean Road with fifteen other passengers and one bus driver. It was a twisted, curvy road that could induce nausea, but was well worth the drive. The scents of fresh ocean air and eucalyptus only added to the amazing rock formations we saw during our journey. We saw the Twelve Apostles (now only 7) protruding from the crashing ocean waves, the London Bridge (which fell in the 1990s it turns out), Loch Ard Gorge, and Razorback Rock. In between these visits, we saw some of the largest trees in Australia in the Mait’s Rest Rainforest, which are only second to the California Redwoods. We also did some koala spotting. It was just an all around amazing day for both of us and made the trip to Melbourne well worth it.

Aside from the Great Ocean Road, Andrew and I have been keeping ourselves busy with local markets, river walks, geo-caching, pancake eating, and we even managed to find a casino! Melbourne is a different kind of city from Sydney or Brisbane. There are Porsches and Ferraris driving around, but there are homeless people everywhere. Crowds are abundant, but we can’t quite figure out where everyone is going. Overall, I think we like it here, but are still unsure what this city is all about.

Where have we been??

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 19:38:25 +0100

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! I resolve to write more blogs for the website this year. And make them fun reads. Not today though. We're off to the blue mountains, and won't be back until late. I know that Casey and I have been very light on the blogs since we took off in October, but we're going to do our best to update everyone a bit more often now that we're getting into the flow of backpacker life.

Even without the blogs, we are doing out best to create lifetime memories on this trip. Australia is a difficult country to explain. It's not really friendly to a backpacker budget when things are 20-30% more expensive than back home, and you're trying to spend three months there. We want to do everything, but we also don't want to sacrifice any other parts of our trip because we overspent in Australia. So yes, the budget watch has been on, and has caused some stress as we skipped over things we both want to do. This meant having to say no to Fraser Island, as well as tall ship adventures in Airlie Beach.

As for what we have done in Australia so far, it includes the great barrier reef (twice--Cairns and Whitsundays), Magnetic Island (saw Rock Wallabies and Koalas in their natural habitats), spent time in Brisbane (went to the Nutcracker), learned to surf in Byron Bay, went to Hunter Valley for wine tasting, and the Harbour Bridge Climb in Sydney, where we've been since the Dec 23rd. We've been busy, to say the least, but doing whatever we can to relax and enjoy the moments that make us smile. Like taking the railroad. It's definitely been refreshing to do this country by rail and not a bus like New Zealand. We make our own plans, and come and go from each stopover as we feel.

Like I said earlier, we're off to the Blue Mountains today, and then head to Victoria to visit Melbourne for a while, and then continue our way westward!

Happy New Year!

Duty Vs. Reality.

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:45:44 +0100

So today was supposed to be a day of "catching up on things". We had no plans. We paid for 24 hours of GOOD internet. We weren't supposed to have any fun. This morning we chatted with both sets of parents and one of two Hocker brothers (Kenny). We did our laundry so we wouldn't smell anymore. We attempted to cook a decent meal, but the kitchen was so gross we (sorry to say) ended up at McDonald's, and we even planned out our train route! So what went wrong/right?

While in the lobby pestering the only staff member here at Nomads in Airlie Beach ....we somehow managed to score two free VIP member tickets to the local bar. During our travels we have encountered several paper promotions that basically meant squat. Expecting to have to pay $20 to get $10 free...we hesitantly went over to the Down Under Bar...."recently- newly opened". To our surprise, Andrew found a free sausage and a free steak meal! We also managed to somehow maneuver our way into two free hours of drinks. Here's the dilemma.....go back to the hostel and write an "appropriate" boring blog of the last few weeks and update photos....or enjoy a night out?

The decision was made for us when they announced a hula-hoop toss competition. Needing to try something new...I was the first to the line and represented us "Yankees" well. One toss and I managed to hoop a giant beer bottle for a free pair of retro 80's sunglasses. Ironically...the chant afterwards was "come on...even a Yank can do it!". Everyone else seemed to be struggling with the simple task. Andrew, on the other hand, also managed to land a free pair of cheap sunglasses by getting it on the first toss.

As if Hula-Hoop ringing wasn't enough, we then proceeded to the sumo-wrestling round. Have I mentioned that this bar was a lot of fun? Anyway, I was the Incredible Hulk. Andrew only agreed to participate after he was told by a bar-tendress that he could be Spider Man. I lost the first round-no mercy from Andrew. He bull-dozed me out of the circle. The 2nd and 3rd round, however, were mine as Andrew was laughing so hard that he couldn't put up a decent fight.

A few more drinks later- mostly FruiTingles, and we were ready to head to bed. It was all of 8:45 by now and we'd had enough. Wow...we must be lame or just getting old.

Anyway, we are now back safe and sound in our 8 bed dorm. In my super chatty stage, I've managed to hold a conversation with a girl (Emily) from Hong Kong and chat with 2 girls from Northern Ireland. Andrew is snoring. I'm suffering from hiccups, and Australia is still partying. As for me...goodnight.

Some Happys to celebrate...

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 08:18:08 +0100

First of all, Happy Birthday to Casey! I know I'm over a week late, but man this New Zealand tour is hectic. We started the celebrations in Curlys Bar in Waitomo, where we had a dress up party in bin bags (trash bags, for all you back home). I went as a monk with a fu manchu and Casey was a pirate (sidetrack--A pirate walks into a bar wearing a paper towel on his head. He sits down at the bar and orders some dirty rum. The bartender asks, "Why are you wearing a paper towel?" "Arrr..." says the pirate. "I've got a bounty on me head!"`). If you check out the New Zealand photos on our photo page, you can witness the debauchery. It was a lot of fun, and she even has the t-shirt to prove it. So, again I say HAPPY BIRTHDAY and heres to an amazing year on the road, and to hopes that we don't kill each other in the process!

Next, Happy Thanksgiving! Today marks our first missed holiday on the road :(. We did our best at cooking a hostel thanksgiving feast tonight, which consisted of chicken with gravy, pasta with peas, and veggies with cheese sauce. It was delicious, but cannot come close to a home-cooked turkey with mashed and apple pie. Next year, I eat twice as much to make up for this year! With that being said, I hope you all enjoy your holiday, and don't go crazy on black friday! We don't want to see any of you on the news in some sort of Walmart story! Miss you all, and talk soon!