Road Trip Video part I

    Saturday, May 1

    Since getting back i've had the opportunity to do something with the footage Will filmed while we where in the states.The text below is just taken from the video info on vimeo. Hope you like...



    "It was February/March when we took to the road for a month to travel from New york to San Francisco. We filmed bits here and there and this is really just a bunch of that stuff stuck together in what is hopefully a watchable little video. The music is Cage the elephant's - 'Aint No Rest For The Wicked', the Jam's - 'I Can't Explain' the Red Hot Chili Peppers - 'Hump de Bump', Jimi Hendrix's - 'All along the watchtower' and Bruce Springsteen's classic - 'Born to Run' Also there's a tiny bit of Frank Sinatra's Theme from New York, New york and Elvis's - 'Viva Las Vegas' and i think something of 'Emmy the great' is playing in the background of the New york hostel room. Cheers"

    comments (0)

    In the Blue Corner

    Friday, April 30

    From one natural wonder to another. The Grand Canyon is a place i'd always wanted to visit. I mean it's just that place everyone thinks of when you mention the US's national wonders, and as you pull up to the parks entrance you can tell that this place gets the majority of traffic over it's neighboring parks. Here there's multiple information centers, tarmac roads, viewing stations...hell there's even a post office to send off your freshly bought postcards.
    I quite liked the whole "go off and explore" nature of Monument valley but there you go.
    Not like this distracted from what is unquestionably an amazing natural place and what are some amazing views. What did take away from it though was the gradual decline in weather, and the introduction of snow in the desert.


    It all started fine but as we pulled into the last viewing stations the clouds had begun to descend and by the very last post the visibility had dropped to a matter of feet. If i hadn't of gotten a clear view in the morning i'd of been royally pissed. But as we had there was something highly entertaining about having one of the worlds greatest sites completely hidden in cloud :)

    We didn't stick around long after the view had practically disappeared and anyway we'd booked a hostel for the night in Vegas and wanted to get there in decent time.
    On the way we came up to the hoover dam, now I didn't even know we where going to be crossing it until Will mentioned it about a mile away, so it was quite a nice surprise. It's also a shock to how big the thing is. I wasn't expecting it to be as impressive as it was at all! We'd got there pretty quick as well, so we took the time to chill out a bit and stretch our legs, take some photo's and just enjoy the view.


    *It's not long till we reach the dazzle of Vegas now, time to go make my millions...

    comments (0)

    Straight on to Monument Valley.......Literally

    Thursday, April 29

    Wow these roads are straight. There also undeniably beautiful. The landscape has turned so epic over the last few states. After Texas's barren, flat roads we've come into 'New Mexico' and instantly hit these views of huge mountain ranges with massive ups and downs which lead off into the horizon. It really is a stunning country...
    We're on our way to Monument valley at the moment, it's safe to say it's a pretty long way so we'll be sleeping somewhere at some point. But there's plenty of cool stuff to do along the way, so it should be fine.

    First up is Roswell (told you it was 'cool' stuff), this town is way to hung up on the supposed crash landing. Aliens adorn every lamppost, there drawn on every billboard and open space. Even the local attorneys advertisement was some pun on abduction with an accompanying illustration.
    It's awesome in a tacky way, i mean i just wanted a photo with some absurdly cheesy alien model or something equally so.
    We pulled into the visitors center to see if anything was there, and i found my little alien friend to pose with. But then "excuse me, hello, how can i help you". Aww crap the help lady had her claws in us now, i only wanted a quick photo and now here we where getting a run down of the local galleries and sightseeing possibilities!
    She did give us a more interesting route to take to monument valley though, but i do use the word 'interesting' loosely. Also as we where leaving she did say "do you want your picture taking with the alien?" "Hell yeah i do!"


    The interesting road led us to Capitan. The land where Billy the Kid was born, or where he shot alot of people, we don't actually know as the museum was $5 admission and we're too cheap for that. We did check out the grave yard of "Smokey the bear" national treasure, fire fighting extraordinaire. He was (actually he still is) the mascot for forest-fire prevention in the US, and was buried here in his own park.
    But the real star (as the crazy woman said herself) was the scenery itself, it just got more impressive and more vast the further we seemed to go.

    We crashed out at some motel for the night. I think it was Fort Stockton but i'm sure Will will comment and correct me on that. It was a complete dive if i remember right. The sort of place people get shot, like no country for old men. But it was only for a quick sleep then the following day we headed off again with hopes of getting as close to Monument valley as possible, somewhere in Colorado seemed logical enough as we wanted to come through '4 corners' (the only place in the America where 4 states join at one point) before still arriving early enough to explore monument valley for the day.
    We ended up in Durangoo, a skiing resort in Colorado. It really was amazing to look out the window knowing your going to be spending the day in the desert, while outside all you look at is this landscape of snow. Sure enough though the 30 minute drive to Utah/Arizona and it disappears entirely leaving you with nothing but red rock and a whole lot of nothingness.
    4 corners was actually shut when we got there (not sure how that's actually manageable, but hey it was) so we went straight on to Monument valley.




    Will and me actually met while working on a game based in monument valley called MotorStorm. So the place, despite neither of us actually visiting it, felt relatively familiar. I'd been put in charge of the drive, which to be honest i would of fought to the death to of done anyway. It's not often you get the chance to rag a rental car around off-road in that sort of scenery....
    It became a massive highlight for me almost instantly, i'd happily go back and do it all again tomorrow. The sunset was gorgeous and the place just seems to get more amazing around each corner. Will videotaped almost the entire loop while we messed around taking wrong routes and getting attacked (kind of) by overly friendly dogs. I'll try and do something and stick it on Vimeo with the footage when i get back, but for now just check out the pictures and imagine it a thousand times bigger and better than it could ever look on paper.

    comments (0)

    Everything's bigger in Texas

    Wednesday, April 28

    New Orleans to Austin, as it happens is a bit further than we anticipated. We did have a run of unfortunate events as well though. The car needed an oil change so we had to wait around before we could take it away then back at the hostel our German passenger had wandered off to get himself a burger king meal just as we'd pulled up eager to leave (if not for Wills moral high ground i would of left him for sure).
    This all meant we didn't arrive in Austin till sometime close to 11. It also meant that the hostel was then full and we ended up having to book a 3 bed motel with our new 'silent psycho German' friend


    The day after and life had returned to normal, the sun was shining, we'd checked ourselves in a hostel, we'd finally got rid of the 'dead weight' and we where out exploring. We also treated ourselves to a nice big steak, Texas style i.e big. It's worth a mention purely as it was the first meal without processed meat, fries, bacon and cheese (I'm actually back to eating a burger while writing this, that's just how impossible it is to eat healthy in this country).
    We then went for a walk about town, down the main bar street on 4th and all the way up to the university campus and football stadium. We also passed by and went in the capital building which was pretty epic, they even had a high school debate thing going on in the main chamber... either that or Texas' representatives are getting incredibly young.

    Back at the hostel we got served food, drink and desert by the local girl scouts (i still have no idea why) But after the meal we played what's basically an electronic charades game, and for the first time in 8 or so months my competitive side came out in full force. I'm almost embarrassed thinking back, i didn't give them an inch, pulling them up on every rule broke, i can't believe i actually did that "sorry girl scouts", at least i got into it. If we could of turned it into a drinking game i would of left going out and stayed there. But we didn't, so we went!

    On a side note, Austin has by far and wide the most attractive population known to man, it's like walking around in an American sitcom.... there's nothing else i can expand on this it's just a fact that needed to be said.
    We went to a good bunch of bars, had a fair few beers and saw a whole load of bands. The first guitarist in the opening bar being so good it kind of made it hard for anyone else to then compete.
    After an epic walk home with a slice of pizza and a taco or two to break up it up along the way, and that was our night done.

    comments (0)

    Travel Buddy

    Tuesday, April 27

    Only a quick post this one. I'm back home for the time being trying to save some money before going out again... the America blog will carry on retrospectively as i've still got plenty to write up from the book.


    This is just a little video of the book which i think i've mentioned a fair bit of in the blog, i thought i might as well show it. Can't wait to carry on in it in the future.

    Anyway, back to America!

    comments (0)

    Who dat

    Sunday, April 25

    Now we're talking! We may of arrived a day later than initially planned, but as it turns out New Orleans doesn't really stop for anything. They finish Mardi Gras and then start a 364 day long pre-party for the next one.


    We had to drop the enterprise off at Hertz in the morning (we dubbed it that for some reason i now can't remember) then we went off exploring the french quarter. It's a beautiful region of the city, nice bars and cool indie shops, you still get the overwhelming amount of touristy shops but even these seemed a little less vulgar as other towns. Bourbon street may horde the majority of the tourists but the rest of the area is by far nicer.



    Back at the hostel we'd got a pretty good crowd together to go drinking with. A bunch of English and Canadians, a few Americans, and we were all just sat around drinking and chatting until someone deemed it was about the right time to go out.
    I'd got chatting to an Irish girl called Fay who we'd convinced to come out despite having a flight to New york at 3.00 in the morning :)

    The first bar we'd been recommended to go to was actually shut when we got there as they were filming. At first this was very annoying, until then someone mentioned it was the guy who did the 'wire' and they were filming the new Treme series. So sorry Mr Simon you can do what u like.
    We settled for a bar across the road, as long as it had live music i was happy.
    Me and fay decided to take the drinking up a wee bit and started on some of New Orleans special cocktails. I think i had a hurricane, definitely had a hand grenade (that was pretty much lethal) and i may of had a few more.... i'm not entirely sure.
    I do remember getting drunk under the table as when we got back to the hostel, Fay quite easily chucked her rucksack on her back, woke up her friends and then holla'd a taxi to take them to the airport. Consider me impressed as i was more than ready for bed.

    The morning after unfortunately we had to move on again, i think both me and Will had both grown a soft spot for the place, the people and hostel made it all the more gutting to be going but we where on a time constraint so that's life. Add to this the fact we'd agreed to take two hitchers to Austin with us (don't ask it was just one of those things that just happens) and it was shaping up to be a very strange day. I'd gone from having a laugh with a cute Irish girl to now sitting in a car with a homeless, unicycle riding, chainsaw juggling, street performer and a psycho looking German guy. He looked like the bad guy in raiders of the lost ark, same round glasses just much fatter.


    "Hurry up Will, put your foot down mate"

    comments (0)

    "Beads..... I need beads!!"

    Friday, April 16

    You should of seen Will go for them. He was like a kid who'd eaten a bag of blue smarties... i'd never seen him like so happy.



    We arrived to Mobile in good time (1 - 0 to speeding), dumped the bags and pretty much went straight out into the thick of it. It was truly insane the way the town had converted to basically an enormous street party, every balcony had people throwing beads down to the bead loving crowds (Will included), while every bar was packed to bursting point with people so far past the point of drunk i have no words to describe them.
    I went to grab us a few beers as a means to try and catch up with the locals, only to come back and see Will looking something like a very camp Mr T. We had those, had a few more, and then a few more again... then the world became somewhat blurrier, i think i got chatting with a bunch of people in one bar. We definetly went to the night parade as i have pictures to prove it but the rest is undocumented and i awoke in the motel with both my camera and wallet, so all in all. Result.

    [100% going doing the Mardi Gras properly in the coming years]

    comments (0)

    Whoop, Whoop, it's the sound of the Police

    Thursday, April 15

    "Will.... i think the police man wants me to pull over!" "Why whattya do" "well i think i was speeding a little bit" "by how much?" "i don't know, like 90...." "what's the limit!" "70" "f*$k"


    Somehow we managed to wrangle our way out of the situation, but there was definitely a moment in there where i thought...Prison....crap. Everyone had joked how it'd happen to me at some point and now here i was, nearly there.

    The reason for all this though (there was a reason) was as follows; We where heading south for the Mardi gras, it was something we'd planned on doing since the initial concept for the trip was talked about, but at the same time neither of us had the sense to book anywhere to stay. This meant trying to book something literally days before arriving... yeah...err.. that wasn't going to happen. Hostels, hotels, campsites! even every couchsurfing person wasn't able to put up anyone. It was a bit gutting and after ringing and emailing everyone the second time we came to the conclusion that we'd just have to admit defeat and accept we weren't going to be going.
    We also didn't want to stay in Memphis either, and in our booking attempts for new Orleans we came across the close by town of 'Mobile', who had actually celebrated Mardi gras longer than New Orleans itself (don't worry i'm not trying to convince anyone that it would be in any way as good, but it was available). But it also meant a 6 o'clock start and an 8 hour drive to get there in time for the parades.......hence the speeding.

    comments (0)

    Down with the blues!

    Tuesday, April 6

    Will was the designated driver for the stint from Nashville to Memphis, i was a little worse for wear so thought probably best for me to not take control of the car for a while.
    We decided as a minor detour to stop off at the jack Daniel distillery (perfect hangover cure i know) and take the tour.
    One things for sure and that's the tour is the most professionally and awesomely run museum/attraction i've been to. You get your very own tour guide and then a good hour being taken around having everything explained. Our guide, a guy called Billy, who was clearly mental and continuously went off in all kinds of tangents was as cool as anyone i'd met. He clearly had stories to tell from a very eventful life, and it was nice to let him go on and tell them.
    We left there high from the fumes i think, that and the fact we'd had our hands sprayed with undistilled whiskey, this obviously meant that for the next day or so, everytime i scratched my chin or rubbed my eyes it was like pouring pure alcohol on them.

    You're not actually allowed to drink any of the Whiskey as [interesting fact time] in Lynchburgh, it's still a dry state therefore no-one can actually drink the whiskey that's brewed there [interesting fact end]

    Onwards to Memphis!



    If Nashville is the sugar coated, everyone happy, cheque wearing, cowboy boot wearing, music town of choice. Then Memphis is its bitter neighbour, and the music reflects it. This place is just blues through and through. The music here is all about being down and out, struggle and loss. Truthfully it's far more my taste if i had the choice of the two.
    In B.B Kings, our hiding place for when the snow started, a guy came on stage , sat behind this old beaten up piano and started to play the most beautiful heartfelt rendition of Ray Charles "Georgia".

    The problem with Memphis is as soon as you leave the music and walk even just a street away you see the town for real and understand where the music comes from. I've never been asked for money as much in my life, it's just a derelict homes, rough looking housing estates and empty parking lots, a shell of a town. We did make the walk over to the hotel that Martin Luther king had been shot, which by the way has now been converted into the civil rights museum. It was all done very tastefully and with the up most of respect, 'which for America was something of a surprise'.
    Very glad i went anyway..

    comments (0)

    Country Living

    Thursday, April 1

    This is a pretty epic journey really. We set off from D.C in the morning with our goal set at Nashville 700 miles away. It's not a huge distance but the state of the roads in Washington made getting out a real effort.

    The scenery as well wasn't all to amazing, mainly consisting of whiteness..... so apart from a stop at Woodstock (different one) for burger king it really was just a case of getting as many miles under the hood as possible.


    We'd arrived relatively late to Nashville so didn't really get the chance to get anything done till the following morning. The Hostel; Music city was really cute, it had a nice owner, cheap rooms and free food, they also told us that it was the last day the musicians hall of fame would be open so it was free entry.
    The next hour or so was spent, for the most part with me and Will looking at artists and band memorabilia from bands who i hadn't a clue of who they are. They did have a guitar by Hendrix and a whole bunch of stuff from George Harrison but that really was about it. Still very enjoyable in a so bad it was good type way.


    It's not until you get to the main strip that you actually feel like you're in Nashville; crude neon lights, tacky touristy souvenir shops... but also, along with this, an unparalleled number of music bars, each one with music just blaring out. Each and everyone; country music.
    We stumbled around trying to pick out a bar to settle down in and have a few beers before settling on "the stage". I honestly had a really good time, the music isn't me in anyway, i'd never been intrigued by or enjoyed country, but in this environment with so many people all as happy as can be just singing about trucks and their guitars. It's impossible to resist.
    The night continued in a similar vain, a lad name Stephen somethingorother, who had come to Nashville to try and make it, showed us around the town. He took us to where all the writers hang out and perform and then later back onto the strip. It was a quality night and the following mornings hangover was well worth it.

    comments (0)

    On The Road

    Wednesday, March 31

    That's it, we've officially started the road trip. Will's scaring the crap out of me by insisting on driving in a made up lane somewhere between the slow lane and the hard shoulder, but at least we're moving. We've left Manhattan and New Jersey and going through Baltimore, hopefully with us ending at D.C with enough time to go and explore!
    We'd heard of reports of vast amounts of snow in Washington and the road conditions were supposedly difficult, but it was only to be a quick visit and to just drive onwards and miss it out would of been a shame.


    ...The cold though...we arrived as it was getting dark, and i've never been that cold in my life. I'm a complete sucker for site seeing but this was unbearable. We did manage to see the majority of the mall. We got to the capital building, Washington monument, Lincoln's memorial (which is much cooler than i anticipated, although we weren't allow upstairs due to ice), we also did the white house and well that's about it. Even with the newly acquired hat, gloves and scarf i had to bail and get back to warmth.....and bed.

    comments (0)

    Introducing................Will Maiden everyone!

    Tuesday, March 30

    There i was sat in New york airport (again) waiting for my friend Will to arrive from the UK. We met when we used to work together back at Sony and it was after a drive to Glastonbury that we thought it'd be a good idea to maybe try road tripping something bigger. Something like America say, 'coast to coast'.
    The idea simmered away as i went about organizing my little travel not really knowing whether this thing would definitely go ahead and to be honest it wasn't a certainty for me until i got the mail saying "ok, i've booked my ticket i'll be there on the 7th". I in-turn booked my flight for the day before he arrived and thought nothing more of it until a week or so ago, and now i'm actually here....

    First city New York.

    New york is one of those places you feel you've been to without ever actually stepping a foot there. Annie hall, Taxi driver, American gangster, die hard with a vengeance, just about every romantic comedy... just last night i went and watched 'Kick ass' and the first shot is a big pan of this city.
    Everyone knows the statue of liberty, times square, madison square garden. It is without question the most iconic of all cities.
    The day we arrived was also the coldest day of my existence. I had to go buy a scarf, a pair of gloves, a hat. we checked Will into the hostel and sat in a heated room attempting to restore feeling to our fingers. Will had brought me warm clothes from back home but in typical Will fashion something went wrong and the airline lost his baggage and wouldn't be with him till the following day.
    So there we where in New york absolutely freezing and an entire city to explore. The plan was to go to times square and see it in it's lit up glory and then when we get too cold; find a bar to watch the rangers game in.


    The next day, having rested up and ready to tackle the outside cold, we set off to do the usual touristy thing; Brooklyn Bridge, Wall St, Staten island, Greenwich village, world trade center site, times square...a big day of site seeing whatever way you look at it and it ended with us back at the hostel in time for the Superbowl party.
    We arrived just before the anthem's, so we grabbed a seat and talked about maybe watching the 1st quarter then moving onto a sports bar for the rest.
    "you want a free beer?" "What! Free?" "yeah sure, the rest of the crates on the table! help yourself"
    Seems the hostel was providing free beer! Ok maybe we stay till half time, drink all the beer then go to the bar. "FREE CHICKEN WINGS" this was getting better!! plus the beer stock just kept getting replenished. Once i'd drank my room price in beer and my fair share of chicken winged goodness the game had ended, not only only had i drank my self to a state of happiness (for absolutely nothing) but the Patriots had won as well... doubly happy, and then very sleepy.
    Next day brought a visit to the top of the Empire State building and Grand central and also a good look around the remaining boroughs. We did try to get tickets for the Jon Stewart daily show but nothing but failure with that one. We did get a nice look at the building it's filmed in though.




    For Tuesday night i'd bought myself a Knicks ticket to watch them play the Sacramento Kings, and sorry if this goes off into a rant but the Knicks over the past few years epically suck. They went up as much as 20 points at one time and still ended up losing in 1st overtime. So many classic players through the years before this slump. The main reason for going though was to see madison square garden itself, i had so many amazing memories of watching games taking place here (usually involving the Knicks getting beat) but things like Jordan's facial over Ewing or Kobe's 61 points are ingrained into my head with association to this place.
    Just looking up and seeing those names Like Ewing, Like Frazier on the retired Jerseys and it's just goose bump worthy. I also had a $10 beer which had a similar effect, just far less enjoyably so.
    A really good night, even with the loss.



    Snow. Lots and lots of snow... that's what greeted us the following morning in Central park. We hunted down the action and watched as everyone was sledding and snow ball fighting. It was pretty beautiful to see it in such weather conditions but i couldn't handle the cold for all the long and when i couldn't feel my feet anymore i had to retreat to warmer grounds. At night Will went off to watch the Rangers game while i hung around with a bunch of people in the hostel playing table tennis and having a few beers... My body doesn't cope well in the cold it was much better off in there.

    I absolutely loved New york, so much so i stuck a request on Facebook for an American sham marriage, just for the opportunity to move and work there :) i really do hope i get the chance to live here at some point in my life...... even with the cold the energy is undeniably addictive.

    comments (0)

    New York, New York

    Monday, March 29

    "i hope when i inevitably get stuck at an airport it's as clean and nice as here" That's what i wrote over 6 months ago on the plane leaving Beijing going to Japan.
    It's funny how karma seems to have a way of coming full circle seeing as i've just spent 12 hours sleeping in Beijing airport waiting for my connecting flight to New york.
    The start of the journey from Bangkok was spent still fairly ill on a mini bus to the airport. Traveling unwell is far from the best feeling in the world but i made sure i arrived with plenty of time, i didn't want another hong kong moment when in this state. I got to the check in desk and everything was fine until they asked me for the visa waiver form. Now i had actually filled this in and had the confirmation email on my ipod with reference number and everything .. "no we need it printed" "awwwwww crap!" He told me there was an internet cafe just over there so to come back when i get it printed, ok i thought that's not to bad.
    200 baht for half an hour 10 baht for each print out. [check wallet....10 baht] Now i was getting pissed off again, atm's charge 3 pound to withdraw money and i'd be doing it for just a couple of pounds. So annoyed. Then, like some sort of Internet angel, a girl said she had 3 minutes left if i wanted them. Sweet! I jumped on, logged into gmail (sure this thing was on dial up) clicked on the email, click print.....*error* "WOMAN IT SAYS ERROR WHEN I PRESS PRINT, WHY DOES SAY ERROR????" (i didn't actually refer to her as 'woman', but she was being an arse) "you have to email it to the email address on the wall" I had less than a minite.....gmail...new mail..click,click,click, 23 seconds left. Done. Then very smugly paid my 10 baht for the print out and went and got on the flight.

    The next 12 hours as i said where spent in the airport with me trying to get whatever sleep i could. I was in shorts and flip flops by the way, which everybody found mightily amusing seeing as it was -4 outside. I literally had my legs in my small rucksack which i'd then chained to the seat and was using it as the worlds smallest sleeping bag. As you can imagine i didn't exactly sleep great and i was up, ready and waiting for the next flight when it opened.
    The flight to New york was fine, as expected i still couldn't sleep. If there's one thing i've learnt about myself since setting off is i sleep better in my brothers Clio than i do on any bus, train, plane or even bed in all honesty.
    After arriving 12 hours after departure my initial thoughts on NY were, "i'm cold, i need a shower, and i need food". So a deli meal later, a power shower in the hostel (first hot shower in months), and i was tucked up in bed before the sun decided to set.

    comments (1)

    Highlight Reel

    Tuesday, March 23

    I know it's probably the question i'll get asked more than anything when i get back, "What was the best place" as people ask it to others all the time, god i think i've probably asked it to a fair few knowing that it's the most impossible of questions to answer.


    Everyplace has memorable things and events and even countries though that might not of been the most entertaining overall can hold a stronger single moment than a country i enjoyed from start to finish.

    Seeing as i'm on the plane and bored of watching the film 'Proposal' which is been ran on repeat at the moment on the single screen at the front, i thought i'd just have a go at listing a few of the Highlights instead.... in no particular order:


    1. Tokyo

    I'll be arriving into JFK in a few hours and into what i imagine to be the only city that could possibly rival Tokyo. Everything about the place had me grinning from ear to ear, the skyline from the government building, the absurdness of Tokyo Bay, the life size gundam, the efficient transport system, Shibuya at night....it'd be impossible to pick one highlight from this city so it'd have to go in as a whole.




    2. Hue to Hoi'an

    Definitely one of the best days of the trip so far. Biking was a new thing for me full stop and with the beauty of the scenery and unspoiled perfection of the roads it just made this the most rememberable of days. Going over the Hai Van pass and seeing the view from where we'd set off from, or going down the coast as the sun was setting or even the finale at the white cliffs and looking over Hoi'an in its entirety. Just special from start to finish this one.


    The next few are a bit obvious but hey there well known for a reason i guess.


    3. The Great Wall of China

    This thing is gigantic, when your on it it just seems unfathomable how this was built, it's not just the construction but the distance up from ground level it is.

    We got to experience it without the biggest of crowds over a fairly long distance and i think that that helped massively to the grandness of it all.


    4. Angkor Wat

    I know, i know, my list isn't exactly original at the moment but whatever, these ruins are just awe-inspiring.. i almost feel sorry for any ruins i see in the future if this is their benchmark.




    5. Diving License

    The only tangible thing i've actually achieved since being away and it's a nice feeling. Underwater life is something that now intrigues me more than it ever has and can't wait for the next opportunity to go back under.


    6. Tubing

    God this place gives me the chills when i think back. By far the most insane thing ever... never have i acted so stupid while so drunk and with so many others doing the exact same thing. 24 hr drinking for 5 days.

    Will barely came out alive and he's a borderline alcoholic!


    7. Full moon party

    I can't think of a better way to bring in the new year. It was epic and so much fun. The fact i got to meet up with a whole bunch of people who we'd met and left along the way and it being the start of a new decade and the first time it had fallen on a new years made it just even more monumentally big.


    8. Getting Stuck in Beijing for National Day

    "Can i book a train to Xi'an?" "no" "ermmm Datong?" "no" "anywhere...." "oh well can i book into here for the next 2 weeks?"

    Getting stuck in Beijing turned out to be brilliant. I got to know everyone coming through, i started doing the hostels barbecues and getting to know the owner Joe really well.

    Just being there for the National day itself was cool enough and not as restrictive as first thought. If not for getting stuck there i may not of met the people i did and the whole traveling experience would of changed.



    It really is impossible to do even this list, i mean i haven't mentioned the Yangshou bike ride, Osaka Aquarium, Sunset at Miyajima, Will, Emma and Lauren, the Terracotta army, Pandas in Chengdu, the skyline in Hong kong or Star ferry... it goes on and on.

    Asia has been amazing, the places, the people... shit i haven't even gone on about the food yet. Even the stupidly long 28 hour train journeys in China have special memories attached to them which I wouldn't swap for anything.

    comments (0)

    Ready, Steady, Cook

    Wednesday, March 3

    I would of loved to of been able to see myself as i arrived in Chinag Mai, i've probably mentioned it elsewhere but i have no luck in sleeping on the buses, so i'd basically been awake since leaving Phi Phi with only a few hours clocked up at best.
    I was meant to be meeting up with Toby and Sam from the rock and when i arrived at their hostel was met with somewhat of a sympathetic laugh and then told we where off to the tiger park, and that i was going with.

    So here i was looking in the face of a tiger with no cage, no wires, just a guy with a little straw whip. My body was still in Bangkok watching Avatar and my brain somewhere in Phi Phi, so to be here doing this was really a strange moment of surrealness.
    That night i slept for close to 16 hours and just wrote the day off as a whole, i did give me the chance to catch up on emails and facebook i guess, plus we'd all signed up to do a cooking course the day after and my cooking skills are questionable at the best of times so i really didn't trust myself doing it half asleep.





    Ok where next? Pai!
    Pai's a crusty little hippy sort of place. I was sporting a rather fetching hobo-esq beard and still felt far over dressed for this crowd, 1 in 2 had dreads and the other half just looked like they'd never seen soap in their life. I don't mean that as an insult or anything as these where just the coolest of people in a very relaxed, laid back town. It also so happened to be slightly busier than usual due to the annual reggae festival. It had people camping, fire shows, a load of food stalls....a proper festival for 2 whole days, and i was simply in my element.


    The day after that we had to take the bus back to Chiang Mai and then that following night a bus to Bangkok.
    The last few days here in Bangkok have been spent ill in bed, i actually thought i'd go the entire time in Asia without being ill once........ dammit, but I'm off to the states shortly and feeling loads better.



    [EDIT] I was probably a bit quick going through Chiang Mai on re-read, i mean have a look at the pictures and stuff because it's a stunning little place. Don Thiep is beautiful, the hostel (spicyThai) which i was staying at is easily one of the best and on top of that i got to spend my time with some of the nicest people i'd met so far.

    Sorry Chiang Mai :(

    comments (0)

    Avatar

    Sunday, February 28

    I woke the following day, back to the usual 'rock hang-over' after going out for farewell drinks. I had a boat to catch at 2 so sat around drinking water. I'd decided i was going all the way to Chiang Mai as i think i'd done the Island scene by now and still wanted to experience a little more cultural side of Thailand.
    The problem with this is it's quite a way and meant a two hour boat to Krabi (again), a couple of hours there waiting for the night bus to Bangkok (that's a good 10 hours) then a case of hanging around there for a day before taking another night bus to Chiang Mai (another 14 hours)

    phew...
    the highlight of this most horrible of journeys came in the form of an imax screen, a pair of 3-D glasses and James Camerons 'Avatar' which i had the brilliant idea to go and see on my stopover. This was my first time in a cinema since leaving and i don't care how culturally relevant it was but i enjoyed it a whole lot. Even the standing for the national anthem before the film started brought a smile to my face. The film was exactly what i needed to stay awake, it looked stunning, was as loud as hell and zipped along at some crazy speed. Not sure that all the oscar talk is justified though. It's still basically 'Tarzan' in reverse when all said and done just with mechs and guns.
    But anyway i'll shut up now.

    comments (0)

    Going deeper underground

    Tuesday, February 23

    Day 1: Started with me waking from my first decent night sleep at the rock, and on arrival to the diving shop i was introduced to my instructor 'Angus'... i also found out that for next 3 days our group would solely consist of just me, so that was pretty cool to be having one on one tuition.


    Next up were the videos, these things weren't as bad as everyone implied and by the time you know it we where off getting kited up.
    The actual assembly of the kit and gadgety things had the little geek inside me pretty excited. I liked learning something new and it was a relief to find out i hadn't killed everyone of the brain cells.
    With the theory done and the kit sorted we went down to the enclosed shallow water and started with all the basic skills. Respirator recovery, having your air shut off, emergency ascents and weight belt release. Everything was easy and no problem until we started with the mask removal and clearing. This went opposite to perfect, this went horrible. The second the water went up my nose i suddenly lost all train of thought and starting flapping like a dog. Seems the fear of drowning suddenly moved to the top of my list of "least pleasant ways to die"
    So yeah, not the best way of ending the day, after a few go's i was bored of swallowing water and feeling like i was going to drown so we called it a day and went back to the shop. Angus was cool with it, he just said we'd go through it the next day until i was completely comfortable with it.

    Cheers, can't wait :(

    Day 2: I was pretty apprehensive about the start of the second day, the mask removal thing had freaked me out a bit and i wasn't exactly thrilled to be getting back in.
    After checking through all the kit again and jumping on the boat. We arrived at the first dive spot 'Bina Nok'.
    It wasn't until you properly go under water and see what there is to see that the awesomeness of diving becomes totally apparent... i know it's an obvious statement to make but the previous day had almost made me forget why i wanted to do it in the first place. The second a bunch of fish swim past you is utterly unforgettable, every time i saw a clown fish or pipefish, a grubber or crab came in eyesight i'd just forget i was meant to be following Angus and i'd become fixated on them before having to quickly catch up.
    We came across 2 leopard sharks (who are usually quite sleepy, or so i'm told) and they swam directly round us, so close it'd sound like i'm lying.... it might of just been the magnified lenses but it was stunning all the same.


    After my swimming test around the boat 6 times, which gotta say was harder than it looked having not swam for quite a while, we jumped back on the boat and headed to the second spot 'Pilaya' and got back in the water.
    This time apart from seeing another big leopard shark having a snooze, we also came across a family of turtles, 6 of them chilling out together. Again we where able to get so close and again just stunning.
    Every second underwater was just amazing, i absolutely fell in love.


    Day 3: Was very similar to the second day, we did another 2 dives to take me to the 4 required to pass the open water license and again got to see more turtles more sharks, we also got to see a little sea horse which was quite special and had an amazing day feeling really comfortable under the water by this point.

    After the multiple choice question test and the signing off on my license i said my thanks and left... absolutely gutted about not going diving the following day.

    comments (0)

    E.R

    Saturday, February 13

    This was the plan as it was meant to be. I'd arrive in Phi Phi, I'd spend a couple of days on the beach and then go to Koh Lanta to do some diving...!
    A nice relax before doing something more serious. Simple.

    Now this was the plan as it was:

    The boat over was the usual affair, Corrs concert being shown on the TV, Air con on to high inside the boat, the sun so hot that you can't sit out.
    I'd heard of only one dorm hostel in Phi Phi called the rock, and this place is just legendary, literally. It's a hut at the center of the island, it holds close to 20 people and is the cheapest way of spending a night on the island. The problem is it's also one of the dirtiest places you'll ever visit in you life, honestly it's a new high on my list of grimy hostels :) and after one night my ever unreliable body foot got an infection and had swelled to double its usual size.
    The pharmacy gave me tablets which didn't work, although i did continue to drink while on them so that might of had something to do with it. But the next day when it had increased in size again i had to take myself to the hospital (something i'd somehow avoided in doing to this point). Holly came with me as she found it incredibly funny as i walked around with my inflated foot and then grimaced as she watched the nurse take 3 attempts to place a drip for my antibiotics. I was also informed i'd have to return the following 2 days to finish off the treatment.... the short relaxing stay was obviously going to get extended.

    I started to think maybe i'd just do my diving here and then go straight up north to Chiang mai rather than messing around looping all over the show, especially now as i had to sit around and wait for the foot to sort itself out.
    I signed up with a place and got back to doing what is done best at the rock, and that's drinking. The days after this where just hilarious, i'm not proud of the amount we drank but the people who stay at the rock are just some of the nicest, funniest people i'd ever met and we just got to drinking as a group on a nightly basis. Every day at a certain hour we'd all meet up, buy a family bucket (basically and industrial sized dustbin), fill it with everything from vodka to samson and then add coke and finished it off with a varying amount of red bull bottles and a heap of straws to share from. Only after one or two of these would we then go and hit the rest of the island.

    It was only till the foot had healed 5 days later that i actually had a night where I could use the excuse of having diving in the morning and get to sleep before sunrise.

    comments (0)

    Can you smell what the rock is cooking

    Monday, February 1

    Phuket for me is the sort of place you come to for your 2 week break from work. The beaches are nice, but are littered with sun loungers and umbrellas. The food and drink are cheap, relative to home anyway, and it has a decent enough night life.

    The thing is it`s just not the place you really go to backpack through. It lacked character i guess is what i`m trying to say. It was like going to Kavos or Zante. When you go travelling you want to feel like your actually experiencing the country and not just being given an experience that is catered towards what the general Westerner holiday maker thinks you want.

    On the other hand though the hostel i was staying at in phuket was pretty awesome! For the first time in months i could sit on a couch watching films till the early hours of the morning, and there was a food market to grab take aways from just 2 mins around the corner. So seeing as the beaches were`nt doing it for me i indulged in this life style instead. If anything it was like staying at a mates place for a few days, a good chance to catch up on sleep and get my washing done before getting a boat over to Phi Phi.


    I did`nt know it at the time but those were much needed days of rest before my stint at "The Rock Hostel"

    comments (1)

    Climbers Paradise

    Sunday, January 10

    Happy new year again! I`m still here, sat on a beach in Thailand! Sorry for the long delay since the last post.

    The January detox is going alright, that is if we exclude the night before last when i might of had a few excusable beers. You see i`m back travelling on my own again now. Not since meeting Will in Hanoi had i been free of a travelling companion, so after 4 countries and god knows how may cities later we had a few/many farewell drinks in krabi and said our goodbyes with the hope to maybe meet up again in new Zealand.

    We left Koh phangan on a night boat heading to Suratthani, i had`nt done one of these till this point, and unlike most of the people on this rickety old boat i slept like a absolute baby for the entire duration. After getting off that and onto the bus to krabi i again fell asleep, only to be this time awoken at the destination.......... a quick trip to the toilet and back and i returned to find that we`d booked a hostel and that a taxi was here to take us! It`s easy this travelling malarkey.

    Krabi was nice, it was good to have the Internet again (sad i know) and electricity 24/7, but it was really just somewhere to store our bags while we went over to railay bay for a few days.
    Railays known mainly for it`s rock climbing and on arrival you understand why. The cliffs are spectacular and apart from `Railay east` the place has some of my favourite beaches within asia that i`ve seen so far. It`s really small and felt secluded from most people (kind of like the beach from `the beach`, (which i`ll actually be going to the day after tomorrow)). The best thing about railay though are the climbers themselves. Because the majority of people are here for that reason alone there seems to be far less sun worshipping going on than anywhere else (or at least that`s how it felt to me on the beach we settled on) and on top of this you can`t help but have a good time in the company of climbers. There a strange lot for sure, like a cult really. This one guy had been here for 4 months. That`s 4 months, every day just climbing and just so happy to be doing so. They all love what it is that their doing and have this big kid attitude of just climbing stuff for a laugh.
    I really did enjoy it here, i think i just like it when people are doing stuff with themselves rather than sunbathing. I`ve come to realize i`m not the greatest of sunbathers, (although that is exactly what i`m doing now) but that`s also probably something to do with this special "easy burn" body i was blessed with.


    oh i was also messing about with a 360 panoramic so check that out here. A little gimmicky buy hey i was bored.




    Our last night back in Krabi and we went to the local festival, i had the funniest of nights with Will.
    We cheered on bands as people watched in silence and had a good few drinks while chatting about the months that had passed. I`ve had a quality time travelling together but am really looking forward to meeting up with more people over the next few weeks.

    In less than a month now i`ll be moving on from Asia which has been home for the last 6 months and onto a new continent to explore.

    comments (1)

    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)