Nurawa Eliya was FREEZING I couldnrsquot believe it. Maybe for that reason it didnrsquot impress me. It says in the Lonely Planet that Nurawa Eliya can be a bit like Scotland damp and wet. Yes it is.We drove through many tea plantation along the way which are always pretty and did some tea tasting too. Trust me to like the most expensive. I bought just a small amount.The hotel we stayed at
Itinerary
For those of you who haven't seen our itinerary here it is. Going to be busyDay 1 Australia to BeijingFly to Beijing with Qantas Airways via Hong Kong for a 4 night stay.Day 2 BeijingToday we stroll through famous Tiananmen Square past Chairman Maorsquos Mausoleum and visit the Forbidden City. Enjoy a rickshaw ride through the traditional Hutong areas. This evening we enjoy a sample of t
A Quick Trip Downtown
I had to run downtown to pick up some jeans and a pair of khaki Dockers I had altered at tailor's row. I also dropped off two more pair of pants to have altered too. After I go back to my neighborhood I stopped off to drop off a key to my neighbor downstairs and apparently she had a big blow out with her landlord. He was supposed to be my landlord but she got here before I did so the apartment
Pacific Northwest Coast
My dad and I drove out to Cannon Beach yesterday which was beautiful. Took the 101 up to Astoria which wasn't as exciting but I did sleep at my first motel ever. Had some scary Hostel vibes though. Came back to Portland this mornining did some serious shopping at Lloyd's Center bought some Glogg and Pepparkakor at Ikea to give to Nick and Erica and now I'm sitting in the bar at Sheraton. Gonn
Last night in Houston……hello New Orleans
DAY 19 Got up around 8ish and after brekky went and helped out at the ldquocat houserdquo with Shona. The cat house is exactly as it sounds a house run by cats. Shonarsquos neighbour set up the house to try and adopt out strayhomeless cats so she rents out the house and there would be about 25 cats living there. Shona helps out a few times a week for a few hours so i went with her.
Gators and beers………
We woke up to the alarm at 6.30am feeling very hungover. Had a shower and met Colin and Shona downstairs for breakfast. Scott was worse than me he felt very hungover. Had buffet breakfast before getting picked up from the hotel for our swamp tour. The driver gave us a lot of information on the way to the swamp about hurricane Katrina and how it affected the people. We saw a lot of houses t
Welcome to Salta
Welcome to day 22 of our trip day 9 of our tour 1 day of Mischa being 25 and Salta But we left you at Saena Pena so we'll start thereThis day was again an early start as we were heading across the Chaco desert to the 8th biggest city in Argentina. We all boarded the bus at 7am ready for a big day. This was a long day with no aircon except good old fashioned windows and a desert to look
Another Half Marathon
Moab The Other Half Marathon Moab UtahOctober 17 2010Some of the best scenery I have ever run through...hope you enjoy the photos Still not running with a camera but was able to capture most of these pre and post race shots with my cell phone. Not too bad considering I have a POS cell phone.
New Orleans….amazing city
DAY 22Scott woke me up at 11.30am so we could get ready for our City Tour of New Orleans hersquod been up a few hours already as he had a few less drinks than us the night before. We headed down for some lunch downstairs before waiting for our pickup. Bus arrived a little late just after 2pm and after a few more hotel picks we started the tour. We went through the French quarter garden di
Last day in China
Hi all. Just wanted to make one last post from China since today I leave for Laos. Wandered around Kunming yesterday and made it to the Bamboo Temple. This was an odd little place. Initially raised in the Tang dynasty it was rebuilt in the 19th century a sculptor Li Guangxiu and his apprentices who created 500 'noble ones.' Apparently it took eight years to create this attempt to represent h
Goodbye Shona and Colin
DAY 23Got up finished packing put bags in the car and headed down to the lobby to meet Colin and Shona at 8.30 for breakfast. We walked around for a little bit before finding a Cafe at the top of Jackson Square opposite Cafe Du Monte. We all ordered omelettes which are served with Toast and Grits. I have never had grits before but they are somewhat similar to Oatmeal just ldquogrittierrd
Week 2
Week 2 was CRAZY in a good way. Our speaker this week was Andy Byrd. What a fantastic speaker He is so on fire for God it's contagious He talked about having LIBERTY in Jesus. Jesus' goal for us is to become radically embraced by his love and to have zeal for Him. I don't even know where to start I have 4 pages of notes full of amazing quotes. My favorite quote that Andy said was Let Jesus lov
Ready to pack
Today I was out shopping in a few places and was drawn to look at the luggage and travel gadgets. I do not need a suitcase. Dave will probably be using Ole Yellar the enomorous well worn YELLOW suitcase that he seems to love. It is a little too conspicuous for me. I have an understated blue one. There are some cool videos online about How to Pack. I think I will go with the bundle meth
Doors and fireworks and CONSTANT HORNS
It's interesting how much China's roads and cars can look like what I'm used to and yet so little exists of traffic laws noise conservation and road rageI walk down the street I live on and am instantly surrounded by bikes pedestrians and occasionally a taxi all trying to make their way down a road that in the US would be reserved for one way motorists only. Cars with bells motorcycles with
Track suits Slacks and Cake
Friday morning was quite an adventure At 730 in the morning 2402922823 held the annual Sports Day's opening ceremony. Because it was Sports Day 36816211602025065289all classes were cancelled. All students who participated in the opening ceremony got free 2402922823 track suits so obviously my friends and I had to participate. However because there were no classes
Day 11 Gordon River Cruise Strahan
Today we were booked to go out on the Gordon River Cruise. We boarded the vessel at 8.30am and set off towards ldquoHells Gaterdquo. This is a very narrow channel at the mouth of the Macquarie Harbour where the harbour flows into the Great Southern Ocean. It is a very small channel and it is amazing that ships can navigate this opening. Originally this channel was not deep enough for ships
Albany
Sunday 24th October 2010 We have booked to stay at Albany at Middleton Beach for 7 days which suits us all very well. 30 steps to the beach 30 steps to the pool and spa. Best Caravan site in the park. Yesterday was a rest day for us all. I walked into town where Ian met me for a wander around. The town has some very interesting architecture as you see from the photo of the town hall. Lots of hou
San Pedro Prison
Our Very Own Marching PowderOr Lack ThereofBefore leaving Australia both the Boss and I had read ldquoMarching Powderrdquo by Rusty Young. Itrsquos the true story of Thomas McFadden an Englishman who was incarcerated in La Pazrsquos San Pedro Prison in the late 90rsquos for attempting to smuggle a few kilograms of cocaine out of the country. Like no other prison in the world priso
Day 10 Wilderness Railway Strahan
Today we enjoyed the 'Wilderness Railway' Tour. This Tour starts at Regatta Point just outside of Strahan. The first part of the Railway from Queenstown to Teepookana was completed in 1896. The rest of the line linking Queenstown to Strahan was completed in 1900 when the final link to Regatta Point was completed. The railway was built to enable the Queenstown copper mines to send their copp
The Screaming Frog
Photos Photos from the National Day HolidayYou can click the photos in this blog to enlarge them to full screen size.hellip..could this be the week when nothing happens It's good to have a quiet spell after the chaotic timetables of the last month with time off midweek being compensated for by working at weekends. Just having time to clean up my apartment sort out some of the things on my