Barely Made it to Shanghai!

Wow, yesterday was the most insane travel day ever! Let me briefly lay it out here, before I have to run for breakfast and activities. Well, cheap activities because I just discovered I only have $100 left to my name!

Woke up at 7a. Hobbled into a quick shower on my purple, broken toe and headed downstairs to meet Nic for breakfast. Was too late to actually eat, but off we headed to the metro and to Hong Kong Island to the Chinese Embassy where a line had already formed down the whole block for visa applicants. Got in line, got the form to fill out, took turns racing around to find ATMs and passport photo shops. Got into the visa office and got number 58 when they were helping person #7! Finally got to the window and they said the fastest they could get us a visa was 3p. We explained that our train was at 2.45p and we had tried for 2 days to get visas, but they were closed for Christmas! They said we could check back at noon or again at 2p.

Off we raced back to Kowloon on the mainland to pack our bags and get back to check in with the visa office. It was already 10 something, and we hit traffic on the tunnel back to Hong Kong Island after explaining to the hotel that we may or may not check out a day early, depending on the visa. The visa office gates closed from 12p to 2p for lunch and we slid in at 11.53a to get back in to the sea of people waiting for visa help. A woman came to the closed window we had to wait at around noon and told us it would be until 3p. We begged and she said check back at 12.30p or 1p and then closed the window. Nic read, I watched a film on my laptop and she re-opened at 12.30 to check for us. She was super helpful and I nearly proposed to her when she came back with two passports in hand! We got our visas and we were on our way!

Tunnel traffic was hell but we found a lady with a cab who suggested another tunnel, which was faster, but cost a grip! We ended up at the train station with about 15 minutes before the 1.19p train to Dongguan and Guangzhau we wanted to take. I raced for an ATM and got cash just in time to get our tickets and go, but not with enough time to get breakfast yet. Quickly through customs, which was far less stressful now that I had that final visa and didn't have to beg for them not to stamp that page - my passport is completely full now! Jumped on the train and chilled for a bit. All the webpages I found said Dongguan was 50km to the airport, same as Ghangzhau East station, but an hour closer by train. So we hopped off the train at Dongguan and discovered there was not much English, no ATMs to get local currency, and a lot of shady cab drivers. Nic's got some conversational Chinese under his belt, so we argued a bit, looking for a metered cab to keep it honest.

We found a very helpful girl in a local shop who called an English speaking friend who told us that all the websites were wrong and we were now 150km from our flight. it was 3p and our flight was at 7p. We negotiated with the least annoying shady cab driver and made a deal at about $40 for the 2 hour drive. Loading our bags in the trunk we took off. After about 20 minutes, the cabbie seemed lost and was making u-turns and asking around. Then he found a taxi stand and raced over to it. I assumed he was going to ask a fellow cabbie for directions. I was way off.

He negotiated with the cab drivers to pawn us off on them! There was a lot of shouting and talking in Chinese and we were yelling that we needed to go NOW to the airport! We finally figured out what was going on - he wanted us to pay the $40 to another cab driver and go with him, and then pay him $15 or so for the ride to that cab! We told him we'd pay our $40 whenever we got to the airport and no money any sooner! It took a lot of yelling and fighting - I was so glad I had Nic with me to argue in English and Chinese! We were afraid to get out of the cab, since our bags were in the trunk and he could drive off with them. Nic shouted that he was a theif and got out and angrily popped the trunk. Once the bags were safe, I jumped out too and we hopped in another cab, refusing to pay the first a penny. The other cab guy paid the first out some portion of the $40 we would pay him and we were back on the road. Apparently this whole thing is typical Chinese drama!

Two hours later, we were finally pulling up to the airport, but our cab driver pulled over asking for the money then before we got there. After the last escapade, we agreed only to pay him 1/3 until we were at the airport. Turns out, he was afraid of us paying obviously at the terminal since he was an unlicensed illegal cab, so we slipped him the rest as we pulled up and said goodbye like he was a friend and we were finally there. After checking in and getting some food and boarding our flight, we could finally relax!

The flight was just fine on Air China, and for once I actually got seated next to a cute girl! Of course, she didn't speak English, but I shared my headphones with her as I watched American Dreamz on a Filipino bootleg DVD on my computer, and ended up exchanging emails - new friend in China! :)

Back on the group, we were too late for the busses (it was now about 10p) so we had to cab it again, which a cute and helpful girl at a car rental place guessed would cost $7. Outside the unmetered cabs offered it for $21 and we insisted on a meter. Once we got into a metered cab, we circled the parking lot and he stopped to ask one of the shady cabbies for directions. The cabbie got into the car with us and we figured out where we were going. Then he told us the fare was $21 and not metered. We were pissed and Nic yelled and got out and tried to get our bags back to leave. He finally caved in and turned on his meter, and it cost us $14 to get to our hostel. But we were finally there!

We checked in, Nic checked email, I found Ayaka, and we freshened up and got some noodles form a street vendor. We were exhausted and pissy and generally crap, but the street vendor food brightened the mood immediately! So good -why can't we have that in the states?! Finally we called it a night, after a very very long day.

Now I'm in Shanghai and getting ready to head out for food and some shopping! Hell of a trip, eh?!

I can't believe I'm going home so soon. It's difficult to grasp. But Sounds like some people are coming over for New Years Eve?!

Turn For the Worse...

That looks normal, right?

So, we made it to Hong Kong, fairly exhausted, but in great spirits. Nic and I both agreed that it's an amazing vibrant town we could probably live in. Unfortunately, a series of unexpected events have put a bit of a damper on our day (although we spent most of it napping and holed up in our hotel dealing with things - don't worry, we're going out tonight).

First, my cell phone is officially gone. I'm pretty sure it got snagged out of my bag in the flurry of festivities last night, probably when I joined a huge group of locals parading with signs for some photos. I hadn't used it for many days, but I don't know when I last had it. I've emptied my bags twice and have had no luck. For those of you that remember, I went through hell to get that phone, one of only two Sprint has ever made that works worldwide, although I found it only worked in a few countries. I had to drive to a warehouse in Rocklin after days of calling around hunting it down. But the worst part is, I've lost 400 phone numbers! I'll definitely be needing people's numbers again!

Second, we've discovered that no place dealing with US passports is open today or tomorrow for getting visas to China! So far, we've only found places that can get us a visa by late the 28th, but our flight to Shanghai is at 7.15p and 3 hours away in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. We're checking now about going directly to the embassy, but we may likely have to stay in Hong Kong an extra night and take an afternoon flight to Shanghai the next day. :(

Lastly, and most annoyingly, about 2 minutes off the plane in Hong Kong, a man bowled me over with his roller luggage. It hurt my toe like hell, but I thought it was just a stub. My toenail was broken back and sticking up, and I was definitely limping. But, by the time I was checked into the hotel, my toe had turned bright red, and 2 hours later was dark purple. I'm afraid it might be broken, and it definitely rules out walking tours!

Despite all the problems, we're still in good spirits. At least this happened on week 9 and not week 2, right?!

Anyway, time to get dressed and see the night light show!

Merry Christmas From Saigon!

Hi everyone! I think I may have just had the most surreal Christmas ever! They really celebrate here in Vietnam! I'll work on posting pics and vids soon, but the streets are filled with people and motorcycles and scooters, like every night, except this night, everyone is shouting and laughing and throwing confetti (my beard is still sparkly!) and having a great time. All the kids are dressed in Santa costumes and it's so cute!

I'm now sitting in the airport, it's 6a and I'm flying to Hong Kong in a few minutes. As soon as we land, we'll work on Chinese visas and then nap. I've been crossing my fingers on all the resent customs stops that the agents will see how full my passport is and stamp small on a busy page instead of stamping the one clear page, since I'll need it for the visa! It's a gamble each stop, and I'll need a new passport when I get home!

So, my Christmas gift for you all will have to be that I've added a new tab to the navigation - "Music" - where I've linked up to all my Mixed From Bed full-length mash-up mix albums, all available for free download! As an added bonus, I've unlocked some hidden goodies, like Mixed From Bed VOLUME 7 and one of my favorite mash-ups I've ever done, Pearl Jam's "Daughter" vs. Radiohead's "Thinking About You". It's been floating around to a few people now for a while, but now it's available for everyone! Hope you enjoy it!

Now, I've got a plane to catch and one final week of travel!

New Video - Malaysian Monkey Attack!

Short video this time, but I think it captures the moment...

Check out this video: Malaysian Monkey Attack!

Spotty Connection

I've made it across the Cambodian border and am now resting for a night on the shores of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam! The internet connection seems to be up and down, so I won't post much now, but I will tell you to head on over to my Photos page on Flickr, 'cuz I've added pics from Singapore and Borneo! Having some iPhoto exporting issues now, but if I figure it out, I'll add Brunei pics too.

Oh, did I mention there's MONKEY PICS from Borneo?!

Saigon tomorrow!

Holiday in Cambodia!

Yup, I'm in Siem Reap, Cambodia! It's soooo hot here, but I've spent 2 days exploring the temples around Angkor Wat - the largest religious building in the world apparently. It is awe-inspiring for sure. It's hard to believe that I only have 2 weeks left before I'm back in the states! And that I'll be going to 4 countries in those 2 weeks!

So much to write and sooooooo many pictures to post, but internet is tough out here. I'm borrowing a laptop behind the counter of the hotel I'm staying in now, pretending I work here! :)

Need to go nap now - woke up at 4am for sunrise over the temples and been touring temples, orphan schools, boat neighborhoods, and old markets all day. Going to a dinner cultural show in a few hours. It just never stops!

Bangkok and Busted Bellies

So, It's 4.45a in Bangkok. I have to wake up in 4 hours. I checked out late from my hotel in Kuala Lumpur this morning because whatever stomach bug I had kept me bedridden until after noon. Feeling a bit better now, but I'm a bit shakey. But this past week has been worth it!

Virtually no email access or internet for days, but hopefully a bit more in Thailand before I head into the jungles of Cambodia!

Man, have I got a video to post for you guys from Kuala Lumpur! And of course, plenty of stories to tell... but, not for right now. For now, 4 hours of sleep sounds great!

Lazy in PI!

Hi everyone,

I just realized I don't think I've blogged for a bit, but for once it's not because I'm busy! It's actually the opposite! I'm finally just chillin' for a while before racing through 6 more countries in 3 weeks!

But now, I'm happy as a clam (or possibly something a bit more jolly) in the Philippines where life is cheap, easy, and lazy. I've been here 3 days and really have done nothing. Today's adventure was searching the town on either side of use for Lambanog (flavored rum) before finally finding the right kind. I stocked up on bubble gum, banana, green apple, and oddest of all, a flavor called "Zombie" which promises to be interesting. Even stranger, our 2-town trek got me a new pair of sunglasses for $1.15 or so, and a prized item - a toilet seat! So glad to have found that!

Bill bought a house right down the street from where I hang out in Baras, so I've been staying there and it's great! They've been working on a few improvements, but it's a lovely place, and I even had a private room for a few days, but now I'll have to cuddle with John after making the long trek tonight to get him at the airport in Manila. But, that, and waking up to heat and noise - children and chickens alike - are small sacrifices for the down time here.

I missed everyone here a ton, and for 2 days there was a friendly reunion around every corner! Little Rezki, whose 1st birthday I flew in right in time for last year, is now 2 and walking and running and causing havoc. All the kids are a bit bigger, and a few adults have changed, had kids, etc. It's such a lucky opportunity for me to have become part of a community here, and to have the chance to visit back several times!

Anyway, I've got to get going, but I'll post soon of the good times here. And I'll work on getting my laptop online to share blogs and photos of Australia, then Singapore, Borneo and Brunei! So many stories, so little time!

Brunei!

Just got here, internet is scarce. Got 1 minute before my time runs out. So I'll be brief:

Holy Crap! The last few days have been wild! I'm writing on my laptop and will post up some stories as soon as I get some access from it.

Ummmm... gotta go! Bye!

Did I Mention Oz Photos?

Cuz I put about 170 of them up the other day. For those of you not obsessively checking out the site (i.e. everyone but my mum! :-> ) you can click on the photos tab to get to my flickr account. I'll have to get cracking on narrating all these, but it's a good collection in the meantime.

I took a crap-ton of photos today of far away monkeys. Hopefully some came out! I'm in Borneo now, outside of Kota Kinibalu at a family resort that seems to be having a few special groups here. The reception is awesome and set up a river speedboat trip today to spot Proboscis monkeys, and tomorrow they are helping me go scuba diving! That means I have to wake up early, which is very very sad. I'm off to bed now then. Wish me luck!

Quick Letter to Singapore

Dear Singapore,

Marry me?

Love,
6Q

(ps. Leaving Singapore now for Malaysia and Borneo. Not sure how much internet access I'll have for the next 4 or 5 days...)

New Zealand's South Island (Finally!)

OK, I'm finally taking a breather to write a bit about the rest of New Zealand before it's all a blur!

DAY 6 - 3 Nov - Part 2
When I arrived in Christchurch, the bus to Cathedral Square was nice and easy, as was finding the Base Backpackers, which was directly to the left of the Cathedral itself. And then the starting point for my Connections tour the next day was right next door to my hostel. Yay! I arrived right after the Kiwi Experience bus, so after everyone else checked in, I finally got my spot in a dorm room and dropped my stuff. I immediately met a guy from Texas and two guys from the UK (I can only remember Jamie from Liverpool's name right now). Texas and one of the Brits had been living and working in Christchurch for a bit, so the Brits and I decided to walk across town and pick up some booze before dinner to have a stash and save on bar tabs.

This idea worked out all too well, and after picking up a bottle of Monkey Bay Chardonnay (thus collecting my New Zealand monkey as well!) we headed to the top floor where there is a big kitchen, dining room and giant balcony where everyone gathers. Once we were sitting and chatting and drinking, I knew dinner wasn't happening. But I met Dave and Jodie from Ireland, and Tslil from Israel and several others and learned that the balcony of Base is the place to be in Christchurch! We left thoroughly hammered and first ran into a guy playing a recorder in front of the Cathedral, which Jodie stole and played a song on. I later found out this recorder player was a known pain in the area, making her playing that much funnier. (I'll try and get that video posted somewhere!) We then headed to the Irish pub Mickey Finn's where there was a cover band playing, tons of pool tables and a huge downstairs smoking area in the back. Dave was too drunk and was turned away; Jamie bowed out after a fight out front, but Jodie, Tslil and I persevered and had a blast. I first witnessed the teapot here - in NZ you can get a teapot full of mixed drinks for $15 or $20 to pour shots from.

After stumbling back from the bar, we stopped at a 24 hour food place where Jodie introduced me to these cheap breaded lasagna squares that you can get at crappy AM/PM sort of places. I had that and a pie (I ate soooo many pies in Oz and New Zealand, they're addicting!) and the lasagna was soooo yummy! Back at Base, we headed to the balcony, where it was just us, one guy, and a French Canadian girl on some pills and up all night. Jodie insisted on giving me a (ramen) noodle packet as payment for her pie I bought, so I carried it for days before tossing it for lack of a bowl and hot water. At the end of the evening it was nearly 4a and I had to get up at 7a to meet my tour in the morning. I went to check email (sorry to those who got drunk-mailed!) and got lost in the halls. This turned out well though, as a beautiful girl stopped me because her watch broke and she had to get up for a tour in the morning. After chatting a bit, we discovered she was on the same tour in the morning and she promised not to let the bus go without me! I walked away with a dumbfounded look, drunk and stoked that this girl would be traveling with me for the next week!

DAY 7 - 4 Nov
Waking up wasn't as painful as I thought, but the excitement started right in. When I got to the counter to check out, a girl was complaining that the Connections bus had left without her. That panicked me a bit, but that's how I met Jemma from Southampton (known to me as a town where I got lost on the highway, learned about map kinase kinase, and ended up at a McDonalds in lipstick - thanks Mal)! I went outside and found Jamie waiting for his Kiwi Experience bus and got his details and then found broken watch girl, who turned out to be Bronwyn and who turned out to be an absolutely amazing person (smart, funny, beautiful, and get this - works in the travel industry AND does crosswords! Talk about the girl of my dreams!) and who had promised not to let the bus go! She told me the bus was circling, I grabbed Jemma, and everything was A-OK!

(Random aside, but on the bus I spotted that, while they don't say it here, they do write "Hella" on the side of their vans for some reason!)


Anyway, off we went across the Canterbury Plains to a cute town called Geraldine for breakkie (pie, woohoo!) and then to Lake Tekapo, a lake that was glacier-fed and therefore had beautiful turquoise water. The town was famous for shepherd dogs apparently (you can see more photos of the lake and a statue of a herding dog in the New Zealand photos on Flickr by clicking the "Photos" link above) and we peeked into the Church of the Good Shepherd, a tiny, old, stone church with an amazing view of the lake. If ever someone was to have a religious epiphany in a church, this would be an ideal one to have it in! Looking to the alter and then past it to the giant windows where the lake expands out to the Southern Alps way off in the distance, the beauty of the nature is overwhelming.

We then headed to Lake Pukaki and Mt. Cook Village for lunch. It was there that I saw the first sign and learned of "Movember." Every november in Australia and New Zealand, people shave clean the first day of November and then grow out their mustaches all month for charity. I didn't know how to participate in the charity, and I didn't realize at the time that it was mustache only and not full beard, but it sounded to me like a good excuse not to shave for the month, so I unofficially joined in. I ran into many crazy mustaches in my travels and had to remember that it wasn't necessarily bad fashion (although for some I'm sure it was), but a charity event!

Lunch was great and we picnicked on tables overlooking the lake. Here I met Louise and Nicola from England and Joanna from the US and we all started socializing on our tour. After lunch we headed into the hills where we took a slightly rainy scenic hike up a mountain, which was beautiful, but I quickly discovered what horrible shape I was in while huffing and puffing to keep up as Bronwyn chatted effortlessly to me. Damn me, an American fatty!

After that hike, we were off to our final stop that day, a beautiful secluded lodge on the shores of Lake Ohau. The view from our hotel was gorgeous and we had a huge dinner and all chatted. I ran into Australia's famous Bundaburg rum here and wanted to try it but didn't want coke, so I had it straight with a splash of lemon and it was delicious! After some chill time, we walked down to the lake shore for an evening stroll and to watch the sunset. I chatted on the walk back with John from Korea, who eventually came out of his shell to be one of the biggest party animals on the trip! I roomed with Shane, a bloke from Manchester who looked and drank like an Irishman, and who informed me that my early night meant I missed some wild group shots and partying with the lodge staff. Oh well, there's always tomorrow!

DAY 8 - 5 Nov
We woke up early (a recurring theme on this trip) and hit the road, driving through valleys and mountain passes. We stopped in a huge grassy meadow of a valley where our bus driver Craig put on The Sound Of Music and ran out of the bus to frolic in the meadow! We all relaxed there - I laid in the grass admiring the panoramic view to the mountains in the background and captured this image of Bronwyn attempting a cartwheel. After a rest, we piled back on the bus and drove through a skinny tunnel (there were 2 bus turnouts, otherwise cars and busses couldn't pass going opposite directions!), stopping at Mirror Lakes where it was unfortunately a bit too windy to get the placid reflecting photos. No worries though, New Zealand is covered with unbelievable scenery, and we were about to discover a treasure trove of it!

We stopped for lunch in Te Anau, where Bronwyn, Jo and I decided to cheap out and stopped at a supermarket where Bronwyn and I split some peanut butter, rolls and bananas for sandwiches (yum). Then we snuck into the lobby of a nicer restaurant and Jo bought some coffee so we could sit by th efire and avoid the freezing cold rain outside! Bronwyn was bummed after we left and she discovered her sunglasses were gone. :(

In the afternoon we boarded the Milford Wanderer to sail and explore Milford Sound and the Tasman Sea for the evening and next morning! It was gorgeous, but a bit chilly, so I passed on kayaking and instead took a small speedboat cruise around the shoreline to learn about to flora and fauna of the area. While waiting, Shane, Nicola and I discovered our love of Little Britain and we quoted it a fair bit the rest of the trip. I also met Tim, a man from Hong Kong who was biking across New Zealand. He informed me that my hotel in Hong Kong is a decent location, but it's famous for being the location of the first reported case of SARS! Awesome! I asked what room, so I could request it, but they never revealed that info I guess. Bummer.

Anyway, we cruised around in the little boat, and then back to our big boat for a delicious huge meal of lamb shanks and several bottles of wine! Once we were decently drunk, I bounced around a bit, noticing the table with all the Koreans on our tour were keeping to themselves (as the language barrier tends to facilitate), so I crashed the table. I met Ryoko at that table, who apparently is the #9 snowboarder in Japan and was in New Zealand training before heading to Canada to continue training for the winter! Eventually they went to bed and the last few standing were me, Toby and Fiona - the cops from Australia - since Fiona was loudly and drunkenly celebrating her birthday, big G from the Netherlands, and Sophie from Brighton. I finally stumbled downstairs and climbed into my bunk looking forward (yeah, right) to another early morning.

DAY 9 - 6 Nov
In the morning we cruised along the Sound and saw about a billion waterfalls. I took it easy and mostly sat around chatting with Ryoko watching the windows for scenery, but avoiding the cold outside.

Once on land again, we set back the way we came, this time stopping at the Chasm, where the water flowing down this river and over a waterfall has slowly eroded through rocks to form eerie holes, dips and divots in the landscape. It was amazing to see, and I took a photo of a sign there with a quote from David Henry Thoreau: "The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time."

We drove more, taking a stop at a place called Monkey Creek, which of course made me wet my pants with excitement! We made a few more pit stops on the way, including a view of a green wooded valley with a river cutting through it where we also saw the super-curious birds (Kias I think) that would land on cars and squawk about and flash the bright orange undersides of their wings. We stopped back for lunch at Te Anau again and Bronwyn miraculously found her sunglasses at the restaurant we had ducked into the day before!

After that, we were on to Queenstown - the adventure capital of New Zealand and probably the world! You could do anything crazy here, as I believe I mentioned in previous posts of pics and videos... Before even getting to our hotel, Bronwyn, Jo, Toby, Fiona, and I were dropped off to sign in and head up the mountain to the Canyon Swing! It's a bit like bungy jumping only with more falling! Instead of jumping off a bridge or ledge with something tied straight down from your feet, there are cables going across a canyon, with rope and tethers on the middle of the gorge that come back to you. That way, we could jump, freefall 60 meters (about 180 feet) an then be swung across the canyon for about another 200 meters for some extra whooshing excitement!

I was too afraid to stand at the ledge and look down, so I went for some backflips instead! For some reason that seemed much less scary to me, and I managed to get 2 full flips down before the horizontal swinging kicked in. We all did different jumps - they do all these crazy ones like tying you to a chair and pushing you off, hanging you upside down, making you hold a rope until you are too tired and have to let go and fall, or one called the Bin Laden, where they put a trash bin on your head and push you over the cliff! They joke and screw around the whole time, just to freak you out more. Bronwyn did a complex one, despite their sign stating that Canadians weren't allowed, and when she requested it, they got out the brochure to try and figure out the right way to hang her and hook her up! She didn't think it too funny, but I did! :)

After surviving the jump, I even opted to do a second, the Pin Drop, where you are supposed to clasp your hands behind your back and jump sideways off, keeping straight vertical like a pin for maximum velocity. I swear I jumped outward and hadn't even started falling downward yet before my hands were out from behind my back and grasping onto the rope out of instinctual fear! After the second jump, I was definitely done, and we headed back in to town for the evening.

Queenstown itself is absolutely gorgeous, reminding me a bit of Lake Tahoe, and that afternoon and the next, I got a little bit of time to stroll around in and enjoy the quaint but posh restaurants, the boardwalk, and the little town itself. I didn't get the try the legendary giant burgers at Fergburger though. But that evening, we headed into town for a bit of freezing cold excitement!

The Minus 5 bar is an entire bar constructed of ice! It's actually about -8 Celsius in there (about 17 degrees Fahrenheit) and there are ice sculptures everywhere. They suit you up in warm hoodies and you can only stay for about a half hour, but they had some decent drinks, so we started in. They give you cloth gloves which is weird because even your glass is made of ice and my fingers got freeeeezing! But the benches, the bar, the walls... all made of ice! Jemma even stripped down to her bra and instantly became my hero!

After the ice bar, we warmed up at a bar next door and people started getting wild, dancing on the bar and on the tables and stuff. The music out there is funny - mostly the same crowdpleasing standards, probably the same that have been played for the last 15 years, mixed in with a few new hot commercial dance tracks. This is where I started to realize I was going to be hearing a lot of the same songs everywhere I go.

We partied it up there, and then headed to the World Bar, where I heard possibly the worst club DJ I had ever heard, but Jemma and I split a teapot and all was OK. We stumbled out of teh bar and raced up a giant staircase, as she was for some reason convinced that we needed to go up into the hills even though we were heading away from the waterfront and our hotel was on the water. But, we wandered and had fun and eventually made it home after a long long day and night!

DAY 10 - 7 Nov
I completely took advantage of a day without an early morning start and slept way way in to about 12.30p! After showering and lazily getting ready, I decided to go try and find out when my next big adventure was on my way to the net cafe in town. I walked by a sign saying my group was meeting in about 15 minutes! I raced back to my room, grabbed my stuff and off I went down to A.J. Hackett's for the ultimate challenge: The Nevis Bungy Jump! At 14 meters, it is currently the 3rd highest in the world (a 200 meter one in South Africa was apparently just surpassed by a brand new 230 meter one in Macau - maybe I can try that next month!) and is off a suspended pod in the middle of a gorge with a river running through the bottom! Maximum scary!

They did it by weight for some sort of safety reason, and my lazy American butt got my in trouble once again, as, aside from big G who had to be about 6 foot 3 or so, I was the heaviest of our group, making me the second jumper! No time to think, they sat me in a chair where they tied my feet together and hooked me into a bungy cord. They laughed as I penguin-walked as fast as I could to the ledge, knowing that the more I waited, the harder the jump would be! As soon as they said to look up and go, I went! Looking out into nothingness, 440 feet above the ground without even the wires you knew would catch you (like the canyon swing had) visible, it is a true leap of faith! I jumped with my camera taped to my hand, so I'll work on adding some video, but I managed to make it nearly all the way down before letting out some profanity! (The pic here is at the very bottom with the G-force pulling!

On the bounce back up you get another stomach drop and then on the second bounce there's a release you can pul to end in a sitting position so they can pull you back up comfortably. I tried and tried to pull the release, but failed, so I got the undignified fun of being pulled back up by my ankles and laid down to be unhooked. But it was still the scariest, most amazing thing I've ever done!

I hung out as everyone else arrived to do their jumps and acted as photographer for quite a few other people. Shot a great video of Shane's jump and felt bad for Bronwyn who, like me, wanted to get it over with quickly, but unlike me is skinny and light and had to go nearly last! Jun and a Korean girl both had freakouts on the ledge - Jun was shaking like crazy and gave us the least reassuring thumbs up ever as we cheered him on, and the girl nearly rolled off after crouching down on the ledge in fear. It seems funny, but having stood on that ledge, I empathized completely and we all just wanted them to succeed!

Every single one of us managed to jump (eventually at least)! When we got back, we were like an adventure team, bonded by all being stupid enough to jump off a cliff together! The trip back into town was much less tense than the drive there, that's for sure!

Once back, we had an afternoon free, and we took a walk and had a cocktail in the grass by the shore of the lake. We went back in the evening to get our photos of our jump and discovered that the place closed at 7p even though they told us to come back at 8p to get our pictures. Hopefully they're mailing them now...

After another great dinner (the meals were all fantastic!) it was time for another night out and we headed to a place whose name I forgot but it had a huge chest-level firepit to warm up on, which was nice. I got a 2 for 1 drink coupon and smiled just right at the bartender who poured me a round of shots for Team Korea and gave me a spare drink for $15 (like $30 off)! After hanging out and deciding not to get belligerent, my energy started waning, so I walked home relatively early with a French Canadian girl who was also a travel agent and called it a night.

DAY 11 - 8 Nov
We were on to Fox Glacier today, but I was completely worn out and the weather was foggy and cold, so there were no helicopter rides or anything. After hearding the stock market crashed in the US, I decided to save money and huffing by skipping the 4-hour hike and taking a down day. On the way to the glacier though, we stopped at Thunder Creek Falls and the Haast River for scenic breaks.

We ended up back traveling along the coast briefly and I snapped this picture of typical New Zealand coastlines - totally perfect with wooded hills sloping down to sandy beaches and rocky seas out to nothingness! This was the west coast, and the Tasman Sea. The town of Fox Glacier is pretty tiny so we basically checked email and rested. I remixed Scotty Doesn't Know by ripping the audio from the Eurotrip movie, as it had become a running joke on our boat. I blame Toby, as its STILL stuck in my head a month later! We went after a huge fantastic dinner on a short, very dark nature walk, where we saw some trees full of glowworms and Craig tried to scare us by sneaking off and making weird animal noises!

After our walk, a few of us circled up and discussed the legend of the New Zealand Slump bird, with it's pointy beak, thick legs and charging habits. I also teased group newcomers Briony and Louise from Newcastle, UK for being on the tour 2 nights and going to be early both nights! Then we went to the little hotel pub where randomly Ryoko from Milford Sound turned up! The bartender called last call and closed up, and then got friendly and served us another round and even gave us jukebox money! After he closed up for real, we headed across the street to the bar to mingle with locals who were varied in age and type, but were all equally drunk! After watching a drunk girl get shot with water from the bar hose and then try to climb over the bar for squirting revenge, we watched a dude with his head on a mantelpiece knock over a whole bucket of coal or something and make a huge mess. Weird place, and time to call it a night!

DAY 12 - 9 Nov
After a super early start, i wasn't up for the walk to Lake Matheson. I really missed out though, as I saw some beautiful pictures of it's placid waters reflecting the two tallest mountain peaks in New Zealand. But, I had a lovely rest with Jemma, who had gotten sick and wasn't up for the walk either. Toby joined us and we formed our plans to steal a tour bus and be bus pirates, selling people's luggage for food and gas money and then eventually raiding other tour busses when our supplies ran out!

We then headed to a jade factory full of cool stuff I couldn't afford, and then grabbed some lunch and wandered to the beach for a few minutes before heading back down the road.

While driving up some steep hills, our tour bus (Rhonda) finally gave out, and we ended up stranded on the side of the road. But in New Zealand's friendly fashion, while Craig our drive went off to find some help at the town down the road, an empty tour buss passed and stopped to give us all a lift to town! Amazing!

So we headed into the town of Arthur's Pass that was to be our rest stop anyway, and spent the next 3 hours or so chilling while a spare bus was sent from Christchurch and Rhonda was repaired. I used the time to organize photos, charge my iPod and burn some other people's photos on CD for them. It was actually a nice little unplanned stop, and we ended up getting some ice cream (I tried banana - yummy!) and basked in the sun for a while as well.

Getting back into Christchurch was surreal - starting to say goodbyes, getting checked back into the Base for the night (my key card took four tried to work!) and running immediately into old friendly faces! I tried to coordinate to be with my Connections group, but to also see my new/old friends from my first time through Christchurch! We started out at the Base bar where I saw Dave and Jodie from before, and then the Connections group headed to the Oxford Strip along the river where the snazzy clubs were. They really weren't my style, but I hung out to be with everyone. Then we headed off to some more clubs in town. I don't know who was leading the charge, but they had awful taste in clubs! We ended up at another fancy place with platform dancing and god-awful music and bro's walking around with mullets, fauxhawks and popped collars left and right!

I could only handle so much of it, so eventually I had to take off. I would've called it a night, but with a 4.30a airport shuttle to my 6.30a flight, sleeping was out of the question! Fortunately, Louise, Madeline and Jemma were bored there too, so we left to go find a proper club and ended up back at Mickey Finn's as it was just what I liked - live music, activities an atmosphere, but quiet corners where you could tuck away and actually hear each other talk! I realized that especially for last night's out, I don't like drunken dance parties, I like something more social, so I can talk to the people I've grown friends with and enjoy our final moments together.

We headed back after a few vodka redbulls and stopped for that breaded lasagna I loved, and I crashed in the girls' room for a bit, transfering Sophie's photos (she's like a pro-photographer!) onto CD for her and hearing that her and Bronwyn left me a note at Base, which I later collected with my luggage just in time for my airport shuttle! It was a strange final night in New Zealand, but the end of a wild ride! I've been trying to keep in touch with everyone I met, and really miss quite a few people from my New Zealand travels. But by 6.30a, I was on another plane, on to another adventure in another country!

But Brisbane and Australia will have to wait for Another time! I've spent an entire morning in Singapore writing this all up and it's time for me to upload and get moving!

Maybe I'll write up Australia whilst lazing on the shore of the South China Sea in Borneo! :)

Singapore Wants You! (And why you should want it back!)

I've just arrived in Singapore a few hours ago. I'm exhausted from teh past 5 days, and the past 3 weeks, and the past month! That's right, today officially marks the start of my second month traveling! I can't believe all this time has past, but then again, I can't believe I've done soooooo much!

Anyway, upon arriving to Singapore there's a tourism campaing everywhere called "Uniquely Singapore." And it's true - I've already encountered amazing hospitality and unique options for my few days here! Immediately out of customs I started my normal foreign airport routine - check currency exchange counter for exchange rate, find ATM for cash, find info desk for transportation options, find way to hostel and set off! After scoring cash, I was almost immediately approached by a woman asking if I needed any help. She must have seen me glancing around reading signs. I told her I was trying to find the address of my hostel and then find a way to get there. She told me how to get the the city train, offered a few pieces of advice and then walked me over to the tourist info booth! The booth was beautifully decorated and full of info and right away a man was helping me with a map, a visitors guide and a few route options for getting to my hostel! It was amazing and inspiring that people were that quick to help.

Ah, but those were tourism employees, you say, not average people on the street! Well, after navigating the easy and clean train system into town I walked a block in the wrong direction before doubling back and getting my bearing correct. While stopped at an intersection, I broke my general rule and peeked publicly at a map to make sure I knew which way I was turning next. As soon as I did, a woman standing next to me asked if I was lost or needed help. I assured her, I knew where I was going, just wanted to be sure I went the right way, but she persisted and asked where I was headed and made sure I was taking the best route. We chatted for a minute or two and then she went on her way and I thanked her profusely for the random helpfulness on the street. I mean, tell me that's not amazing! This place is advertising strongly to bring people to see it, and it seems like the people at large want travelers to enjoy Singapore!

Anyway, there's a little happy rant. I'm staying in a groovy hostel/hotel up a hill, in a residential neighborhood 2 blocks from the busy area (and surprisingly quiet for being so close), and I've got my own room for the first time in a month! I'm going to enjoy it - take a long shower and sleep in my boxers! Maybe I'll try to snore on purpose! I'll figure something out! But for now, I'll sleep, and leave you with this:

Letter to the family tonight:
Hi everyone! I've just gotten to Singapore and even in my sweltering, luggage-hauling, uphill walk, I still instantly loved it here! I can't wait to explore tomorrow. I think I'm hopping to the island to do a gondola ride, some luging, maybe see a monkey, and a few other things, then back for some of the famous food courts, and an evening free tourist tour of the holiday lights and stuff! The people here are very friendly and McDonalds and KFC delivers! I think I could live here! :)

Anyway, I am now full scuba certified and even got an adventure certification to boot by doing a special boat dive, a night dive, and a deep (30 meters) dive! Now I can do all sorts of extra diving! The Great Barrier Reef is absolutely amazing and the company I went with was super-friendly, fun, obviously loving their jobs and the diving, plus they have exclusive dive rights to some key locations on the reef and a fantastic boat and chef with it! So glad I did that - definitely the highlight of Australia!

Never got to try kangaroo meat, but had some crocodile satay. The croc was good, but the Satay was not seasoned that well. Did some other interesting things and met and re-united with some super-great people as well. I can't believe I'm now in the whole new world of Asia for the rest of the year!

Time to call it a night I think! Talk to you all soon! :)

Too Hot, Too Tired...

Man, I'm in Cairns and the A/C is busted and I'm burning up! blah! Been dive training for 2 days and at 6.15a tomorrow morning I'm picked up to board a boat to sail to the Great Barrier Reef for my certification dives! Training has been great, but Cairns itself has been too great! I'm living it up by night and hurting in the pool each morning! I've met some fantastic people, Damian's joined me, and our dormmate is a super-cool British girl called Jules.

We're having lotsa fun in our hostel, and last night a bunch of people (mostly non-Americans) got together and cooked a HUGE Thanksgiving feast! We all ate tons, drank tons, rocked out to some Mixed From Bed (back online in January, by the way...) and partied it up. Jules has some great photos of me, and I think at least one or two other people got some good incriminating ones...

Only a few days left in Australia and it's been a whirlwind and a blast. Very little to complain about, far too much to write about. I'll try and get some pictures sorted on the lazy boat evenings after days full of scuba diving, and upload in 3 days. After that, I'm off to Singapore for Phase 2 of my trip - The Asian Chapter!

Wow, I'm come kinda far! :)

No Time to Post

Can't get my laptop online in Magnetic Island. Whitsundays were great. I'm sunburnt though. Cairns tomorrow as I finish up Australia! More soon, I swear!

Internet Access is Rare Here!

...I haven't been online much, but I have herded some goats, which is shockingly dissimilar!

I'm heading off to the Whitsundays in the morning, but I'm trying to write up more stuff in the next few days. It's been a crazy time!

I have uploaded some new photos to Flickr though - so click the Photos link at the top to see the last set from New Zealand. (I'm just waiting now for them to finish uploading...)

OK, 20 minutes to shower before dinner. Guess it's time to get rolling!

Back from Fraser Island

Yup, I'm way behind yet again. I'm too exhausted to write now, but I've traveled up to Hervey Bay, Australia and just spent 2 days on Fraser Island wandering around in the sun. It's amazing and beautiful and absolutely draining! Heading to the Kroombit Cattle Station tomorrow, then to Arlie Beach to sail the Whitsunday Islands for a few days before heading to Cairns to meet Damian and do some scuba diving!

Wow, I'll need a vacation from my vacation soon! I'm a bit sunburnt, and completely wiped out, and covered in bug bites. Besides that though, life is great!

How's everyone else?

New Zealand - The Rest of the North Island

Now that I'm in Australia, it's time to play some catchup! I'll try to be brief so I can actually keep up!

Journal entry 3Nov07 1.30p
Flight #2 in just a few minutes...
Leaving the North Island after a whirlwind 5 days, it's already clear that my trip will be physically exhausting but mentally refreshing...

Day 2 (30 Oct) started my least favorite way: early. I climbed off my bunk at 6.30a, showered and crept out just in time, as my bus driver was looking for me! By 10a we were in Waitomo where I was dropped at the Info center since I had no clue what I was doing. After confirming I could catch a shuttle to a late bus, I booked onto the Black Water Cave tubing option. With 1.5 hours to kill, I hit a cafe and splurged on the FULL English breakfast, and used the time to organize photos and charge my camera.

Got picked up by a shuttle, checked in and were given wet suits, jackets, booties & boots. Our guide wore some pink panties on top, but I gathered that was optional. After getting tubes & a test jump, we climbed down into some caves and were off...

We waded through the shallow waters with our helmet lamps lighting the way, until it eventually got deep enough to hop on our tubes and float. We had to jump off a small and medium waterfall backwards in the dark, and we ducked under some pretty tight and low spots. We floated through a low cave covered with glow worms, which was amazing! I was so glad I did the more interactive and physical tubing option instead of floating through on a boat ride, because it looked so surreal that, were I to be just on a boat floating through, it would seem like a cheesy Disney ride with fake stars in fake caves!

Underground I met Mio, a girl from Chiba traveling her last few days alone. Once we got back above ground, changed, showered, and dried off, we were fed some yummy soup and a bagel and we all sat around and chatted. I smiled and made faces at Keith from England's super-cute baby daughter and chatted with a girl from Israel. Then I talked with Mio and realized she was heading back to Auckland as well. After some coordinating, I canceled my shuttle and bus ticket and threw my bag into her car for a GPS-guided drive to Auckland! We got back at dusk, so she was off the hook, as I was trying to convince her to jump off the Sky Tower (largest structure in the Southern Hemisphere!) with me. Instead we got her into her hotel, and I checked into the Base Backpackers, which was fantastic, then we wandered to the Viaduct area at the wharf to look for a decent but not too pricey dinner. Found a great Italian place, spent more than we should, and decided to call it a night. Time to get some sleep, since the next morning I joined my Contiki Bay of Island tour!

DAY 3 - 31 Oct
Not much of a Halloween, but a hell of a day anyway! Got up, showered, hit the net cafe, headed to the Mercure around the corner to meet Contiki, and discovered that it was a different Mercure! Fortunately the right one was only one more block away, so I got sorted pretty easily and we were off!

Heading north, we stopped first at a Kauri forest - an ancient and giant tree. I think once again my California upbringing hindered my appreciation of the beauty of the scenery as apparently the Kauri are nearly the biggest trees in the world, second only to the California Sequoias...

When we got to Paihia, I opted for the Jetboat to the Hole in the Rock. It was cold and the wind chill was aweful, but we boarded a giant speed boat and raced across the water. It was a cool adventure, but I thought it was a bit overpriced. I couldn't believe quite how far we had to go to get to this little island, so I guess I'm glad we took the speedboat option though! Our pilot deftly sailed us though the relatively calm waters into the hole and back out again, pointed out the schools of hundreds of fish moving in unision, bobbing to the surface, and then steered our boat into a cave so close to the rock surrounding us, it was amazing that we didn't touch on any side for the few minutes we were in there!

We sailed back and I was ice cold and ready for dinner! Checked into the hotel, and headed down to chat with people and watch the hotel owners bbq up a TON of steaks! We walked into town before dinner and picked up a booze stash (I failed to get mixers, brilliant) and had a cocktail with a few people to get to know each other. I ate myself sick trying to cram in all the steak I could, and we had another drink after dinner before freshening up and heading to the bare at the Base Backpackers. I took a long shower and walked myself out there, enjoying an evening stroll. The club was pretty banging, and I chatted with everyone from our tour group and had quite a few drinks. It was a fun night, and I was in the last small group to leave. For some reason the booze didn't hit me until the walk home, and Benita, Maree-Louise and I ended up on a stumbling adventure, and then sitting outside our hotel room's patio for an hour, giggling and being drunks!

DAY 4 - 1 Nov
The next morning started a continual trend for me: bumbling my way into breakfast, late, jarred, overtired, gravelly-voiced, and bundled in my hoodie and sunglasses. I learned long ago that whether I go to bed at 9p or 3a, I still feel crap waking up at 7a, so I might as well enjoy the night life! Everyone teased me, asking how late I was out, but it's all good fun! Besides, I had a full day trek planned with Awesome Adventures! We were heading to Cape Reigna, the Northernmost tip of New Zealand, with a ton of stops along the way! It turned out to be an exhausting day!

Our guide Kane was fantastic, driving the bus and telling us stories, history, nature facts, and cultural points of interest along the way. One exciting leg of our journey North was a stretch of highway unique in the world - Ninety Mile Beach. During low tide, this 64-mile stretch of beach is a road, and we raced buses down it legally at 100km and hour! We stopped for some scenic views, but kept them all brief, as once the tides came in, we'd be stuck windows-deep in water and unable to journey forward! Could you imagine that in the US?!

Once we finally cruised the entire length of the beach, we cut inland just a little to hit a GIANT sand dune! This one was way bigger than the one I rode in Fiji! I was more nervous about going up than coming down, and I was right - fat, lazy me could barely make it up the trek! They thought I was scared to go sandboarding off the top, but really I was stalling to catch my breath after the massive climb in thick sand! But boarding down it was loads of fun, and I ended up doused in sand for the next 3 days!

When we got to the Cape, it was gorgeous! I was exhausted, but I treked out to the edge, down to a lighthouse, and had a look around. Steep, rocky cliffs, greenery and trees, and a stretch of beautiful sandy beach to the left. We could see the South Pacific Ocean mingling and combining with the Tasman Sea, and an ancient tree the Maori believed was the point at the top of the earth where spirits traveled to the afterlife.

After we hit the tip we, headed back downhill for lunch on the beach. I had a snack and lazed under the shade of a tree. I was beat already, and we still had more to go! On the way back we stopped to hose the salt water and sand off the bus at a huge warehouse/store/museum of carvings from an ancient growth of Kauri trees that had been double-buried by ice ages and land slides tens of thousands of years ago. Of course it was all out of my price range, but the highlight of the store was the spiral staircase to the second floor. It was carved beautifully into a Kauri tree built into the center of the store. Walking through the inside of a tree, up stairs, to the next level - now that was a unique experience!

On the way back, we stopped by a marina-front little restaurant to have some super-fresh fish and chips. Since I don't eat seafood, I only ordered chips and they gave me a pile for cheap! It came wrapped in huge amounts of paper like buying fresh fish from the markets and when I unrolled it all, I found they gave me fish anyway for free! I couldn't be rude, so I ate it, and to my surprise (and to everyone's that knows me) it was fantastic! So I guess I eat fish and chips now! :)

We finally got home and after another good shower we all were pretty exhausted and most of the Contiki group just hung out on our patios, snacking and having cocktails. I had that bottle of vodka from the night before and couldn't take it with me on my flight out of Auckland, so someone gave me a soda and I filled it up as we all joked. Benita and Maree-Louise had become my partners in crime by this point, so they drank Alize and we all ended up drunk! Maree went to bed early though and Benita and I whined that everyone wussed out that night, so I poured my vodka into her Alize and we headed to the beach. We both sat on the beach for hours and tried to walk around but were too drunk to do much. after a lot of falls and sand everywhere, we finally crashed out for 2 or 3 hours of sleep before an early morning start back to Auckland.


DAY 5 - 2 Nov
After a drive back to Auckland, I was pretty bummed to say goodbye to the Contiki group, and sad that I only got one or two emails of people from the group. I rally had to pee though, so I broke away and checked into the Fat Camel Hostel, which was awesome! The layout is a series of apartments, each with 6 or 7 dorm rooms attached, plus bathroom, shower room, full kitchen and living room. So, I ended up meeting several people and hanging out in the common room a lot. I met John, a teacher on sabbatical from Lake Tahoe, and he was new into town. Having 2 or 3 hours experience in Auckland already, I decided to help him figure out his trip, especially since there were 3 STA Travels on Queen Street, a half block from where our hostel was. He wanted to rent a camper van, so we headed into one of the STAs to chat.

After quizzing an employee on what work life was like out there, I discovered she know one of the managers from New York that I had met in Fiji! Small STA world! She told me the central office for STA NZ was just up the road at the Base Backpacker ACB, so after walking way too far up the road and searching for a guitar for John, I sent him off to book his camper at the STA while I popped in for a chat with the STA head office. Everything sounded pretty fantastic and I'm seriously considering moving back to New Zealand later next year and working for a year or so. Gotta do it soon, cuz once I turn 30, it becomes much harder to get the visa. Whaddya all think?!

Back to the Base Backpacker, I passed on a walk to the pier, as it had started raining and I had been a bit before. Instead I got online and sat around a bit before going down to bum Fat Camel's FREE dinner! Lucky for me I ran into that free fish in the Bay of Islands, because I was now totally cool with eating it again that night! At dinner I met a Canadian couple that I ended up chatting with a bunch that night, and later that evening, I went and met the hostel manager and the travel agent on site who both happened to be working grave shifts that night. I took it easy before my flight to Christchurch the next day. But before my flight, I had one more chore left to do...

DAY 6 - 3 Nov - Part 1.
Sky Tower. 328 metres tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere. Like the Space Needle on crack. And just above the observation deck, there's a little platform, some wire cables, and 2 people to operate adn take photos. 192m (630ft) up, and I needed to jump off it.

I dragged my bag to the bus station at Sky City, at the base of the tower, and put them in a locker. Then I walked to the info desk and asked how quickly I could jump off that tower. It was noon, and I had a 3p flight to catch! I suited up, got harnessed and hopped on the glass elevator racing up the side of the tower! The view was beautiful and the day was perfect!

I wish I had more pictures to show of the jump, but this time I wasn't allowed to bring my camera, for fear that, if dropped, it could hit someone below. And the CD of photos they gave me seems to freeze up my computer and not work at all. I'll work on ripping the DVD though and getting it up. Otherwise, I shot avideo from the observation deck of a women who I urged to take the plunge once I survived mine. At any rate, I'll include here a pic of the last thing I saw before getting tethered in and taking that final step!

I think one of my favorite things was reading the safety precautions where it said any loose articles such as jewelry, scarves, or long hair must be "scured, stored, or removed!" I thought, "I'd really love to jump, but do I really have to cut my hair off?!" At any rate, that gave me some good nervous laughter as I climbed out onto the ledge, counted to 3, and stepped off! The first woosh is freaky, but they stop you 10 meters down (in front of the observation deck, I later learned) for a once in a lifetime photo opportunity. Then as soon as they get a good wave out of you, they drop you and I plummeted down towards a big red target on the ground. The view was amazing and I really enjoyed it. I landed hard and fell to my knees, but got back up right away, got unhooked, and raced into the base to get out of my jumpsuit and on my way! I collected my stuff and got back to the bus stop in time to grab a pie for breakfast and make flirty eyes at the cute girl who worked at the coffee shop before hopping on a bus, heading to the airport, checking in, and taking off to the South Island.

Flight #2, near the end of my first week, and at the finish of the first leg of my adventure!

More Photos and Updating fom NZ

Ok, before I post a big update, I wanted to note that I updated my first big text post to include some pictures.

I also uploaded another piled of photos to my Flickr New Zealand set that I hope to be blogging on soon!

More to come!

Exhausted in Oz

So I've just gotten in to Brisbane after an all-nighter in Christchurch, a 4a shuttle and a 6.30a flight! I'm waiting for a room to be free, only 2 more hours to go! Gotta find some laundry, a bathroom, a shower, some food and a BED! I'm exhausted!

I'll be switching to my laptop in a bit, sorting photos and writing more about all my adventures in New Zealand. It's such an amazing place and I met some awesome people that I sincerely hope to know for a very long time and visit somewhere, some time soon...

That said, my bladder is bursting and my eyes have gone blurry. Time to venture out into the world of Australia! :)

Queenstown Video - Canyon Swinging...

No time to chat again, but here's a video of me yesterday! Today we went bungee jumping off the 2nd biggest in the world! Freaky!

Flips off the Canyon Swing!

Uploading More NZ Pics Now!

Life's been a whirlwind! I still have to write about Waitomo Caves, Auckland, Paihia, Cape Reinga and the Bay of Islands, Christchurch, Lake Ohau, Milford Sound, and now I'm in Queenstown! I'm working on uploading another video, and I'm uploading more pics to Flickr as we speak! I swear I'll write more tomorrow! So much excitement, scenery, adrenaline, cold, sunburn, etc, etc...



More soon!

ps. Here's a photo of what I did today!

New Zealand so far...

So, after 24 hours, I have done sooooooo much! I'm now on my 3rd day as I type this and it's been a non-stop rush! Let me type up what I can now, and I'll likely post this in the evening!

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Journal entry 29Oct07 7a
My trip started in typical 6Q fashion, with the adventure beginning before I even set foot on a plane. I'm on Kiwi Experience's airport shuttle to catch an Intercity Bus to Rotorua. That will be my 7th mode of transportation since I've left home.

(1) CAR - Piled into Cindy's car (a little late of course). Traffic was medium until BAM! The sign 3 miles from the Bay Bridge said 57 minutes to SF! I called my dad for directions and weaved to a BART station at Ashby, where their service to SFO stopped an hour earlier at 6p. So (2) onto the FREMONT BART TRAIN to the (3) DALY CITY TRAIN to (finally) the (4) SFO/MILLBRAE train where I arrive as the plane starts boarding! Somersault through security and to the gate just as my row is called! Onto my (5) Air New Zealand flight! 12 hours, 2 meals, 1 TV show, almost 2 movies, 1 glass of wine and 1 subsequent nap later, I'm seeing the tips of land as we close in on Auckland. Customs, baggage, ATM, very helpful info desk and I'm booked on the 7a (6) AIRBUS to Sky Tower and the 9.30a (7) INTERCITY BUS to Rotorua! So far, so good!

Journal entry 29Oct07 11a
After arriving at Sky Tower 1.5 hours early and failing to talk myself onto the earlier bus, I set off, hauling my heavy bag, to kill an hour in Auckland. Completely clueless as to where I was, I popped into a visitor centre and eyeballed a few maps until I had a vague idea of the neighborhood. Then I set off to find the Base Backpacker where I'll be staying tomorrow and the Fat Camel where I'm hoping to stay on the 2nd of November.

Found both and was out of time, so I raced back to the bus, discovering along the way just how out of shape I am. I also notice the street names seem so industrious compared to the shop names and signs around. We just drove past a rural street called Factory Lane, and there's Commercial and Federal Street in Auckland, where I spotted signs like a church soliciting donations for repair ("Fix our holy roof!") and an anti-smoking ad ("You look a bit like a monkey, standing there sucking on it.")

Anyway, onto a lovely coach and off I go to Rotorua! This ain't no Greyhound; it's a comfy bs traveling in a relaxed NZ style. We just stopped for 20 minutes at the Tea Room in Ragiriri for a quick bite! Mind you, this is a public bus, not a tour bus!

Though I dozed in and out of consciousness along the way (5a start hurts!), the landscape is GORGEOUS! Everywhere is lush green, spotted with mini lakes and rivers, with rolling hills and small wooded mountains cropping up. (Side note: In the middle of nowhere, we just passed what appeared to be a mosque with a golden onion roof, a pet motel, and a factory all side by side. Weird combo!) Pictures form a moving bus won't do justice! I'm in the Waikato area now, in Hamilton. The towns are interesting. I'm just staring at things...

Journal entry 31Oct07 12p
Wow, so far behind already! I'm about to load up on my Contiki Bay of Islands tour, so let's catch up a bit!

Rotorua - so brief, but action-packed! Checked into the Base Backpackers around 1p and found the girl at the counter super-friendly and knowledgeable. By the time I was checked in, I had 20 minutes to drop my stuff before I was picked up by a shuttle to the Agrodome. Shuttle driver Jay was awesome - we talked music and traded drinking stories and he gave me a free ride home later! Met Haylee, the marketing manager at Zorb who hooked me up! I suited up, rode up the hill and Superman dived into the puddle-filled Zorb! With a push I was off, shooting video while splashing about, tumbling and laughing out loud whilst my Zorb zig-zagged down the hill. [See my flickr photos, tagged Zorbing, and my MySpace video in the previous blog entry.)

I toweled off and realized that my reckoning that going commando in borrowed clothes was a bad idea meant that my boxers were completely soaked! I headed off and hoped that the Sky Swoop wasn't as scary as it looked, cuz I had already wet my (under)pants! Walking along the road, I couldn't find the turnoff to get to the Swoop. It was 4.20p, the last shuttle was coming, the Swoop was closing, and I had a 5.30p appointment already. Shrugging, I climbed down under the road overpass and found a low point on a fence to jump to cut through a field to the Swoop. With one leg over I brushed agains the fence and was shocked to discover it was ELECTRIC! I hopped quickly over, shook it off and hiked to the Swoop! You don't get shocked by an electric fence every day I reckon!

They hooked me up and raced me onto the Swoop, strapped me up, tucked in my feet and hoisted me as I hung facing down and watching the ground slip away fast! Soon I was suspended 40 meters up, all by myself! 3-2-1 and I pulled the rip cord before I had time to freak out! A moment of panic as the ground rushes up, then the cable catches and whooshes me past the ground and swinging back into the air! The dropping sensations hits once or twice more, but I swung gracefully back and forth to a stop. Thrilling!

Climbed out of that and caught the shuttle back to Base to grab some dry boxers and head straight to my Maori dinner!

We were picked up and shuttled to the Mitai family Maori land, where we shuffled into a big tented banquet hall. I made quick friends with Lorna, a girl from Glasgow and we split a bottle of wine. Our host was a very funny man who asked around how many country were represented that night. We had about 18, and he greeted each one with something in their native tongue! I was impressed! He then asked for a volunteer to be tribal leader and the group went silent. What the hell, I figured, and raised my hand. I was introduced to the group and they applauded, so I toasted them, and the leader said, "you might want to drink that wine; here's the bad news..." I downed my glass and he said I have to represent the group, accept a peace offering from the tribal leader and touch noses twice in a traditional ceremony. I shrugged and refilled my wine glass. "Sounds like fun," I said. Then he continued, "Next you will have to give a speech in front of all 150 people here from 18 nations, representing them and thanking the chief for his hospitality..." I emptied my new wine glass. Everyone laughed.

We walked outside to see the traditional ground-cooked meal of chickens, lamb, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. It looked sooooooo yummy, and the guide told us we had 1 hour to go! We walked down a pathway to a stream where the Maori warriors in traditional garb paddled a traditional canoe in while chanting traditional war chants. It was mesmerizing! We then filed into an amphitheater where we were taught about the culture, shown some songs and dances and learned about the history of the Maori people. But first... I had to do my ceremony! I stood at the side of the stage, watching the Maori and the audience. Then the chief came out and did a war dance where we never broke eye contact. He placed a leaf on the ground and I solemnly stepped out to receive it, never breaking eye contact still. I backed away and he acknowledged my acceptance of his peace offering. Then he drew me close and intensely pressed noses twice with me, inhaling deeply each time. He stepped back and I gave my speech, thanking me for inviting us all, our tribe of 18 nations, into their world and their culture, for showing us their customs, dress and tools, and for dinner that looks unbelievably delicious! He accepted my thankfulness and my work was done! It was scary though!

After the presentation we wolfed down the food that was every bit as good as it looked! We ate until we could barely walk, and then we stumbled at night back into the woods by the creek to learn about the local trees and how they were used, and we even saw some glow worms and some cold springs spewing silt at the bottom of the creek. It was cold and we headed back then to our shuttle to our hotel. Lorna and I had a peek at the local pubs, and opted instead for a final glass of wine in the hostel rec room where we found a ping pong table and played (badly). We said our goodnights and I repacked my bag a bit in prep for my 6a wake-up to catch a shuttle to Waitomo!

ALL THAT... WAS DAY ONE !!!!! I'm on Day 5 now I think. I better get writing again to tell you everything that's happened since!

Video - Zorbing: An Insider's Perspective!

Check out this video: Zorbing - an insider’s perspective



I'm trying to write a full blog, but I take off to the Bay of Islands in 20 minutes, so time is short yet again!

Zorbing though... Holy god! It's like if you were a baby in the womb of a gymnast! Check the pics I put on Flickr (Photos tab above) and you can even see the Zorb give birth to me at the end!

New Zealand in a word: "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Photo Update 1

Out of time to blog, internet's been down at all the hostels. Life is beyond good. There are 55 new photos on flickr - click the photos tab to see them!

More soon! :)

Beginnings

So, I've relaunched SixQ.Net. It's now a lean, clean, simple version designed for me to update quickly on the move. Because, see... I'm about to be on the major move! Tomorrow is my last day in the United States for the rest of the year! After that, I'm on the road, the trail, the skies, the trains, the busses, the boats...

This site is pretty fully equipped to document my travels. On it you'll find this blog, a map charting my trip, my travel calendar, my photos (via Flickr), and the contact tools you kids are into these days - MySpace, Facebook, email... Have a look around! And if anything's not working... let me know!

As of now, I'm completely unprepared for this trip! I'm still sorting out the last few flights, hotels, tours, etc. I'm still packing. I'm still backing up my computer and getting it set up for travel. I'm still shopping for those last minute accessories. But even though I've been planning this and talking about this trip (incessantly, I know) for ages, it's finally set in that I'm leaving!

Every activity from last week on is a finality. My last weekend in the US, my last visit to the Bay Area to see my family, my last Taco Tuesday (sniffle!) and Lipstick, my last work day (today)... And since these days, most of the people I see on a somewhat regular basis are the people I sorta run into here and there, each time I see someone, it may be the last. I know I've got that flair for the dramatic, and I'll be back, but it's just a lot of pre-nostalgia kicking in, and it's surreal! Plus, I really feel like this trip is a rejuvenation, a fresh start. And if it's a new beginning, then it must bring an end. I don't know what the change will be, but come the new year, back in the States... there will be a difference. Here's hoping it's for the better.

For now, I'll crawl out of bed, run through some chores, race in to work (late, I suppose), and try to say a few goodbyes this evening. *tear* I guess maybe there will be a few things and a fair few people I'll miss. I hope you guys keep an eye on this site and send me some notes when you can. As much as I whine about the US, I guess a little touch of home wouldn't hurt...

Cheers,
6Q

test1

looks like external works...

Don't mind this post. Just testing a few things and getting this blog all set!