GuangzhouMarch 5th and 6th 2011 We are in love with Guangzhou we are on a tiny island warm air and cool breezes coming off the river a welcomed change The hotelthe famous White Swan is a madhouse and kind of odd. It is swarming with adoptive families and then you have the business men and not many are friendly. Our guide for this leg of the journey is Joselyn she is very kind.S
Shopping in Damascus
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Ahhhh Venice
Its my fifth week in Italy and now that Terry is here time is flying by. He arrived on Friday and met us in Venice Bride of the Sea Queen of the Adriatic. It was Carneval so there were tens of thousands of people walking the streets. In fact when I was attempting to lead a group of students to a mask making seminar we were caught in a narrow street in a huge crowd of people and no one
Our Big Fat Gypsie Island
The last time we were in Thailand we met a couple on Koh Samet who had been to Koh Lipe and reckoned that it was the best Thai Island that theyd ever been to so on this recommendation we decided to give it a go. Koh Lipe pronounced Leepayis a tiny speck in the Andaman sea it lies 70KM off the South West of Thailand and has no airport the only way to get in or out is via ferry. The Ferry
Across the Equator
Left off the last blog promising to leave Cameroon soon and after two more weeks a highly entertaining funeral more lessons in African business and a good Valentine's Day party here it was a lot less flowers and chocolate a lot more barhopping 'till 5 a.m. it was finally time to leave the capital equatorbound.Seeing as both my Cameroonian and Gabonese visas were expired my plan was t
Spain "Craving Crap" Nick
Well theres not much to write about Spain. We had an incredible resort thanks to Tom Kathy and Interval time shares A beautiful Marriott Resort that is far more luxurious than any regular resort you can imagine because it cant even really be classified as a resort. Its more like a 2 bedroom 1200 sq ft condo complete with in suite laundry and a full kitchen. It was truly beautiful and th
The beginning of the end….
3511 Barb We left Santiago this morning around 9 am after having our usual breakfast and then taking a pic of our cute waiter. Off we head for Panama City...praying that the car makes this one last trip Uneventful ride except the other side of highway is packed...heading OUT of Panama City...our side..not so bad. We begin to hope the city has emptied and we will have it easy thru the city.
Morocco Last Words
From Conil de la FronteraNow in Spain at the site near Cadiz where we stayed before heading to Morocco. We both felt a sense of relief on reaching Spanish soil and realised that we had been a little tense throughout the stay. Nothing major but rather a state of 'readiness' expecting to deal with unsought attentions.Clearly we stand out as rich outsiders and a source of goodies. Even as we left the
Ahhh … Morocco Nick
Ahh Morocco... still deciding if I like it or dislike it. The people can be coarse rude and even aggressive. But they can also be nice generous and hospitable. The latter being few and far between. The other travellers here can be hoity toity Europeans in short shorts with white legs gleaming in the sun and cameras the size of my backpack draped around there necks. Or they can be a completely
9 weeks to go…
I'm getting a lot of great suggestions and ideas from friends that have been to Ireland before. Three common themes are emerging as truth 1 Don't plan ahead too much enjoy making each day an adventure and rely on the locals to share with you the next best place to go and see 2 No matter what direction we go in we can't go wrong every sight is beautiful north south east and west 3
Death in Chilie…
Finally some sun more sun and too much sun The night bus drive from Lake Titicaca was very beautifull all snow covered but we arrived in Tacna Peru very early in the morning and jumped in one of those taxi to go across the border. This is by far the best way as the taxi driver help you go through all the paper stuff at the border.Arica is the first town we stayed in hoping to grab a quick b
February Where did you go
So between working like crazy and what felt like a whirlwind of a week and half where Brett was back from Hong Kong... the blog has been suffering... Sorry Guess this working full time cuts into the things we had gotten used to in our life of semiretirement. Really makes us think though... what's the better way... Think we know the answer. Just need to figure out how to achieve it...So it was
Ba Na and Hue
Plans for the day are to go to someplace called Ba Na and after that off to Hue.Had breakfast at the hotel buffet...similiar to Nha Trang but not as good. Overall the hotel last night was nice but not as nice as the one in Nha Trang. Guess we were spoiled in Nha Trang. I would say that the hotel last night is in a learning process for guests etc. and the one in NT has more experience due to the v
Day 24
The packing up process doesnt take t long and we head out via the seafood shop on the front to purchase a lobster.The country we travelled was flat and easy to maintain a steady speed of 95100kmh.We stopped at a park at Meningie a nice wayside on the journey through.We set sail again after our cuppa with Milang in our sights this is the Fleurieu Peninsula close to the Victor harbour area a
Day 25
After doing our research as to what is to see on Kangaroo Island we decided to give it a miss but would head to Victor Harbour and take in that area.It was a little cool and overcast but the trip was only 40 minutes and we found a nice German Cafe that had yummy pastries and coffee. Obviously a very popular stop because it was very crowded and a queue for service.After our recharge of morning
The NotEscape from China
IThe girl Id gotten used to seeing her every couple of days. I liked her softspoken calmness. Her English pronunciation was like wafting soap bubbles midair hanging there. It was whole melodic and considered. Id admired her writing too the day shed taught me to write Merry Christmas in Chinese calligraphy. I followed her example as best I could in black ink on red card. She
Jaffna 1st March 2011
Twilight AmberThe days of thunder have long pastWe make haste for measured tasksMay our impulses curtail the wrathSweetness in twilight amber must These lenses will show at a distanceWhat your fingertips should not touchAllow our virgin innocence prosperLet a legacy shine from dawn to duskWe seek this corridor of harmonyLook to a future with hope not dustPaint in seven colours a spring lifeAllowin
Ignorance is bliss part 2
We have finally arrived in Adelaide and are staying at the most amazing caravan park. In fact it could be better described as a resort green spacious by a most beautiful beach jumping pillows playgrounds heated pools even a restaurant if required and glorious weather to boot We arrived here on Thursday and spent the first two days just relaxing at our resort heaven. The boys needed s
Beijing and Snowboarding
As accommodation was so expensive in Shanhaiguan I decided the next day to head on to Beijing where I'd meet up with Pete Hannah her boyfriend and Petes elder brother Simon. Beijing was actually really nice I only spent a day there so didn't get to do all of the cultural shizz that I'm sure will be around forever. I'm sure Ill see it sometime in the future Instead Pete Simon and I
Winning is not everything it is how you play the game
Friday in this case was my most favourite day of the week not only because I am that much closer to the weekend and not because I get to party and not worry about school but because today was my first soccer game with my new Istanbul soccer team. I made sure I got enough sleep the night before and I made sure I ate healthy meals and drank water all day long in preparation to play my first gam