we made it down to Goa where it's so bloody hot the only options are swimming or drinking beer!!!
we were so sad to leave Oz and our friends in Bondi...we'd really become 'Team Bondi' over the christams and new year...with too much drinking and lots of exciting adventures!! And when we couldn't find a room in Mumbai for the first night in India, we decided to postpone our departure until we had something sorted out.... fortunately at the 11th hour we got an email from 'The Strand Hotel' (the name in NO way reflects the standard of accomodation.... neither did the title 'delux double room' which we paid for!!!)...so at the last minute we were off and away, leaving Oz behind.....
We didn't stay long in Mumbai as it's expensive and really smelly, the pollution is incredible... so we caught a 12 hour 'sleeper' bus to Panjim, the capital of Goa. I really enjoyed the bus, but Nick had a full bladder for about 10 of the 12 hours (and i can enjoy a good nights sleep on a washing line..so a small coffin-like compartment that smelt of moth-balls was easy!!) ...so he didn't have as much fun!!
From Panjim we took a local bus to Margao and then a rick-shaw to a set of beach 'cocco-huts' that some girls we met on Elephanta Island in Mumbai had recommended...
we've spent the last 3 days talking, reading and swimming (and even managed a run along the beach in the morning!) staying in a cocco hut right next to the sea....
Goa is lovely, but full of old Germans!!! and most of them wear small speedo's most of the time!!!
so we've seen the best the beach has to offer and tomorrow we're moving inland to the town, Benulim, for 1 night, then getting a rick-shaw (incidentally, the same name as the 'DJ' that was playing a shack along the beach from us last night!!!..)
to Margao, then the train to Hospet in Karnataka, and from there to the ancient village of Hampi..... where there are hundreds of ruined temples scattered about the country-side...
we plan to go inland down to Bangalore, then to Mysore, then perhaps Ooty (a colonial hill-station) in the mountains, then into Kerela for more beaches and some yoga!!
we're hoping to visit all the states in southern india before we leave... but as it gets hotter the further south we go.... we might not make it !!!
we met a lovely woman in Panjim who recommended Tamil Nadu, and said it was the most likely place we'd actually see tigers, ...so the plan is to stop by on the way back up to Mumbai...aswell as Chenni (Madras) and a couple of other places on the east coast.....
overall i'm loving india... it's everything i'd hoped and more... the cows (which are EVERYWHERE.... on our last night in Panjim we accidentally got drunk and as we stumbled back to the, lovely, hotel Nick found some gorgeous cows to commune with!!! they loved him as much as he loved them!!! very odd....)
The food is amazing!! in mumbai we were really brave and threw ourselves into a local canteen for breakfast...and started getting to grips with some of the different terms.. like 'Idili' which is a semilina cake, and 'puri' which are fried breads, similar to naan, but twice as nice!! the food in goa is excellent too..our local restaurant cooked a whole sea bass for me in their tandoor, on the first night.. it was outstanding!!!
it's quite dirty here...which i'd also expected... and sometimes it's a bit disappointing, but in a country where most people have to concentrate quite hard on just staying alive... they don't have much time for re-cycling.....
the towns are fascinating, everything is really brightly coloured and there are people everywhere... in Mumbai the drive-way along the side of our hotel was rented out to a group of carpenters and a man who sifted dirt to make bags of sand...
the poverty is quite hard to deal with at times.... especially in Mumbai, there were lots of very tiny street children, carrying their baby brother or sister..both of whom were filthy and without an ounce of fat... it really makes me grateful for everything i have.
Nick and I are doing well... sometimes it's tricky not picking an argument (me? no, never!!) when we've got our (HEAVY!!) backpacks on and it's ridiculously hot and we've no idea where we're going ......and standing in the middle of a roundabout with hundreds of buses and cars beeping, and plenty of cows to avoid !! (this happened when we got off the bus at Margao, mid-day, on monday!).... but all in all we do ok, either one of us will come up with a plan ... that usually involves a taxi and a bottle of water!!
(we've discovered that we're not 'backpackers'... there's a new name for people like us, as we're slightly different...we're 'flashpackers'... part of the group who carry rucksacks but stay in mid-range accomodation and have i-pods, mobile phones and cameras !!!...i quite like the title..especially as we found out about it while staying at a really lovely hotel with our own private court-yard!!)
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
New Year in Sydney
We went down to Rushcutters Bay to watch the fireworks, with an 'esky' (cool-box) filled with gin and champagne to watch the fireworks.
While I'd like to take credit for these but I can't. We didn't even take the camera out, let alone stay sober enough to take half decent pictures! I 'borrowed' these from the internet.
While I'd like to take credit for these but I can't. We didn't even take the camera out, let alone stay sober enough to take half decent pictures! I 'borrowed' these from the internet.
Christmas in Sydney
We started off the day with smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and a glass of champagne!
Our plans for a Christmas picnic on the beach were scuppered by the constant threat of rain. So we all had Christmas lunch at Bee and Jakes house instead.
We'd all enjoyed a couple of glasses of christmas cheer and by the end of the day Paul and Nick were so exhausted that they collapsed on to the airbed.
Our plans for a Christmas picnic on the beach were scuppered by the constant threat of rain. So we all had Christmas lunch at Bee and Jakes house instead.
We'd all enjoyed a couple of glasses of christmas cheer and by the end of the day Paul and Nick were so exhausted that they collapsed on to the airbed.
Matt's birthday 23 Dec
When we got back to Sydney from the Blue Mountains we moved in with our friends from London, Cathy and Matt, just in time to help Matt celebrate his birthday. So the boys decided to go surfing on Bondi!
This is the birthday boy himself preparing to hit the surf.
Matt's friend Dan had driven down from Darwin for the birthday celebrations.
After a hard day on the beach we all went home and got very drunk and played silly games!
This is the birthday boy himself preparing to hit the surf.
Matt's friend Dan had driven down from Darwin for the birthday celebrations.
After a hard day on the beach we all went home and got very drunk and played silly games!
Wentworth Falls, Blue mountains, Sydney 17 - 21 Dec
We rented a car and drove out of town to the Blue Mountains and stayed in a gorgeous little cottage for 4 days.
Scenic World at Katoomba
The 3 sisters. There is an Aboriginal legend that 3 sisters fell in love with men from another tribe, and their father was so angry that he turned them to stone.
Scenic World at Katoomba
The 3 sisters. There is an Aboriginal legend that 3 sisters fell in love with men from another tribe, and their father was so angry that he turned them to stone.
Watershed winery, Margaret River, WA 3oth Nov
We couldn't leave Margaret River without visiting one of the hundreds of wineries that they have. So we chose Watershed, as it has an excellent restaurant which just about catered for our backpackers budget!
The Wedding
Bianca and Jake got married on December 1st at Bee's mum and dads house, which is about 10km outside Margaret River, in 'The Bush'.
The day on Gerards boat, Margaret River, WA
Bee and her dad, Gerard, invited Nick and I to go out on the boat with them. Gerard had been given the task of catching all the sea-food for the wedding, which meant enough crayfish and abalone for 150 people!
The day started off ok until Gerard realised (on the way to collect the boat) that his fishing licence had expired, so we had to go back and re-new it before he could catch anything. We then had a bit of trouble loacting 'Chookie', Gerards dive partner, who we'd arranged to meet at the petrol station. There was some confusion, but finally we left for the boat yard where 'The Selfish Bastard' (Gerards boat) was being repaired.
We collected the boat and got her over to the ramp, where we found Chookie, so things were starting to look up.
Gerard and Chookie disappeared off the back of the boat with all their dive gear on and Nick, Bee and I settled down for some sunbathing and relaxing on board. However it quickly became obvious that the flies had had the same idea. Within 10 minutes hundreds of dirty big blue-bottles were swarming over the boat, desperate to get in our eyes, ears and mouths. So the relaxing never really got off the ground as it was a constant battle to stop the flies from landing on any exposed bit of flesh!
Fortunately for us ( but not the wedding buffet) Gerard and Chookie didn't find a single fish, and came back on to the boat after about 15 minutes. It was decided that we'd head off to a different part of the bay and look for some abalone (and hopefully lose the flies on the way!)
So Gerard threw the boat in to warp-speed and we crashed and bumped our way along the coast, about a kilometer off-shore. We were hanging on for grim death as the boat slammed in to the increasing swell, with Gerard grinning like a maniac and Bee and I screaming like girls, when the engines stopped.
Grateful for the pause, we collected ourselves and our belongings from the bottom of the boat, when Gerard calmly announced that we'd run out of fuel.
The initial plan was that we'd drop anchor and all swim to shore. While I'm quite a strong swimmer the prospect of swimming a kilometer in a big swell that is possibly infested with sharks, didn't go down well. Realising that this could end badly, Gerard decided to ring a friend to come out with some fuel. Luckily the friend agreed and we sat waiting for help to arrive listening to the radio.
About an hour later we were still waiting, and it was clear that there was a problem with the rescue plan. So Gerard rang back, only to discover that his friend had set off ok and was happily coming out to us, when the engine fell off the back of his boat.
There were 2 reasons why this was a bit worrying; not only were we still stuck without any fuel, but he was the man that had just 'repaired' the boat we were in. Great.
Reaslising that there was nothing else we could do, and despite the embarrasment, Gerard rang the coast-guard and asked them to come and rescue us.
The coast-guard, an old friends and drinking buddy of Gerards, came out immediately and before we knew it we were off again.
When we finally made it back to dry land Gerard took us to the pub for a well earned beer!
The day started off ok until Gerard realised (on the way to collect the boat) that his fishing licence had expired, so we had to go back and re-new it before he could catch anything. We then had a bit of trouble loacting 'Chookie', Gerards dive partner, who we'd arranged to meet at the petrol station. There was some confusion, but finally we left for the boat yard where 'The Selfish Bastard' (Gerards boat) was being repaired.
We collected the boat and got her over to the ramp, where we found Chookie, so things were starting to look up.
Gerard and Chookie disappeared off the back of the boat with all their dive gear on and Nick, Bee and I settled down for some sunbathing and relaxing on board. However it quickly became obvious that the flies had had the same idea. Within 10 minutes hundreds of dirty big blue-bottles were swarming over the boat, desperate to get in our eyes, ears and mouths. So the relaxing never really got off the ground as it was a constant battle to stop the flies from landing on any exposed bit of flesh!
Fortunately for us ( but not the wedding buffet) Gerard and Chookie didn't find a single fish, and came back on to the boat after about 15 minutes. It was decided that we'd head off to a different part of the bay and look for some abalone (and hopefully lose the flies on the way!)
So Gerard threw the boat in to warp-speed and we crashed and bumped our way along the coast, about a kilometer off-shore. We were hanging on for grim death as the boat slammed in to the increasing swell, with Gerard grinning like a maniac and Bee and I screaming like girls, when the engines stopped.
Grateful for the pause, we collected ourselves and our belongings from the bottom of the boat, when Gerard calmly announced that we'd run out of fuel.
The initial plan was that we'd drop anchor and all swim to shore. While I'm quite a strong swimmer the prospect of swimming a kilometer in a big swell that is possibly infested with sharks, didn't go down well. Realising that this could end badly, Gerard decided to ring a friend to come out with some fuel. Luckily the friend agreed and we sat waiting for help to arrive listening to the radio.
About an hour later we were still waiting, and it was clear that there was a problem with the rescue plan. So Gerard rang back, only to discover that his friend had set off ok and was happily coming out to us, when the engine fell off the back of his boat.
There were 2 reasons why this was a bit worrying; not only were we still stuck without any fuel, but he was the man that had just 'repaired' the boat we were in. Great.
Reaslising that there was nothing else we could do, and despite the embarrasment, Gerard rang the coast-guard and asked them to come and rescue us.
The coast-guard, an old friends and drinking buddy of Gerards, came out immediately and before we knew it we were off again.
When we finally made it back to dry land Gerard took us to the pub for a well earned beer!
Margaret River 27 Nov - 3 Dec
We flew to Perth (which took four and a half hours!) and then drove ( another four hours!) to Margaret River, Western Australia for Bee and Jakes wedding. As we were there for a week we stayed at Casa Del Mar, in a studio that belongs to Caz and Ben (Sarah's mum and dad). We went out and about before the wedding, and had a look about Margaret River.
Bee took us to a beautiful beach and promised we'd see huge Sting-rays swimming off-shore. Unfortunately, they'd made other plans on the day we went!
Bee took us to a beautiful beach and promised we'd see huge Sting-rays swimming off-shore. Unfortunately, they'd made other plans on the day we went!
Luna Park, North Sydney
The first few weeks we were in Sydney, the weather was really changable. We caught the ferry over to the north side of Sydney harbour but got stuck there when a huge storm blew in. We took shelter in Luna Park and waited for it to blow over.
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