Leaving on a Jet Plane

All good things come to an end

2009-06-07T20:32:00Z

Well my trip has come to an end and I'm back to life in Ireland again. What a great year with so many experiences. From waiting tables in Perth, to road trips in the outback, the wilderness of tasmania, new years fireworks on Sydney harbour, festivaling it at the Big day out in Auckland, learning Spanish in Santiago, enjoying a futbol game in Buenos Aires, feeling the mist from Iguazu falls, carnivalling it in Oruru, Bolivia, teaching kids in Peru and finaly the 3 day journey to the hidden city Macchu Picchu.

Met some great people along the way, so many went out of their way to make the trip unforgettable. Thanks to Diana and Kahina for getting me through those waitressing shifts, to all at KPMG Perth for making me feel so welcome for my time there, to Brigid for a great christmas Palm Beach, to Tobbes, Rosie & Aoife for a inviting me to stay at their place in lovely Mudgee, to Darren & Pat in Sydney thanks for the nights out on the town in Sydney, to Pat & Margaret McMillan for their kindness and hospitiality in Sydney, to Peter in Auckland thanks for a great week in the north island, to Anna and Elitta for being such fun in Boliva, to Melissa for being such a good sport during the inca trail (despite having no luggage), to Pablo for being my tour guide in Lima.

I'm sure there will be more travel in the future, there still so many places to see but will be enjoying my own country for the next while, theres no place like home.

All good things come to an end remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Peru

2009-05-01T19:21:07Z

Arrived in Peru after 10 hours on a bus from Copacabana. The border is only about 20 mins from Cpoacabana but I was headed for Cusco. Got to Cusco late so headed straight to a hostel. The next day got organised for the inca trail, when at the office to pay the balance of the trip I met Melissa who had gotten her luggage lost at the airport, the poor things. Met up for dinner that evening with Melissa and Peter (who had helped her haggle for underwear!!) in the fab Fallen Angel restaurant. Cusco is very much so geared for tourists, lots of decent places to eat but some are a bit pricey compared with what I'm used to.
Started the trail the following day and had to go to the campsite by the trail entrance the night before as there was a strike planned for the next day. Had only a few hours sleep before starting out on the trek, it was raining and was hard to get into it. Stopped for breakie so that was a nice rest and then more uphill towards lunch.

We were getting into it towards the afternoon and our muscles had broken in. Day 2 turned out to be the toughest with dead womans pass in the morning, climbing up those steps in the rain and not being able to breathe wasn't easy. Had a good bit of downhill walking after that so that was fine for the breathing. Had some rum flavoured tea after dinner and it went down very easy. They view for the campsite in the morning was fantastic

, got to see clearly the snow capped mountains. Day 3 was ore up and down and were pretty used to the altitude walking so it definetly wasn't the worst. The campsite that night had a bar and showers (almost warm!) so we were happy out.
Day 4 was a very early start to get to the sungate for sunrise over Machu Picchu, unfortunately the fog was pretty heavy so couldn't see much. Arrived ar Machu Picchu before 7am and the fog had pretty much cleared by then, was amazing to see it for the first time. Did a tour of the ruins and climbed to the top of Waynu Picchu which was fantastic.

After the inca trail had a night in Aguas Calientes and hung around the thermal baths and got a fe souvenirs and headed back to cusco the following morning. The train took abut 3 hours and then got a taxi bus the rest of the way, had a few close shaves so was on the edge of my seat without a seatbelt for 2 hours.
Met Melissa later that evening and decided to head out for dinner (a feast of guinea pig) and then go to Paddys the Irish pub for a few drinks with John. Dinner was interesting but we both wouldnt be eating again, headed off to Paddys and had a few drinks there. Then our tour guide Paulo arrived and we all headed to Mama Africa club and partied there until late.
Next morning was quite rough as we were up early to do white (or more brown) water rafting which is not the best idea after a late night. We survived it and embraced the hot sauna afterwards and chicken dinner. Had a massage that evening with hot incan stones, Melissa loved hers and I got the tickles majorly
Said goodbye to Melissa the following day and had dinner with Pablo and Daerek in a fancy rooftop bar. Got ready to go to school the next day in Tika Tika. Got a cab to school with the rest of the volunteer group, met some of the children and gave the kids that were moving to public school some supplies like stationary etc. They were totally chuffed and got their photos taken.

Got the new kids settled in, found out their names and ages, sang some songs and brought them outside for a game of soccer. The week flew by and the kids get to know you a little bit and all call you Professora, its pretty funny.

Picked up a bit of spanish fro them and taught some of them some sums and heads shoulders knees and toes!!! Took in some sweets into school on my last day so they were delighted. Helped out at a couple of fundraiser table quizzes during the week in cusco so learned lot of useless facts!!
Had a power cut in the hostel on the last night, luckily we still had gas so dinner was going to be ok, had to make banoffie pie with a torch though but it turned out ok.

Headed into town for cocktails and lots of dancing until the wee hours. Flew to Lima the following day and met Pablo for lunch and a tour of Larcomar (trendy mall just off the ocean).
Headed back to the airport by taxi and experience Limas crazy roads for a second time that day, then it was on the plane for the big journey home. The 11 months had come to an end, was gutted that the adventure was over but looking forward to seeing everyone in Ireland again

Peru remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Bolivia

2009-03-01T16:32:02Z

Arriving in Bolivia was a bit of a change of scenery to say the least and 20 times more stray dogs. Got the train to Uyuni and headed on a salt flats trip from here. Hostels here are a bit limited and the showers were locked as no hot water so had to do without. Salt flats were pretty cool, it looks like snow its so white.

Had some laugh trying to make funny pictures and trying to acclimatise to the altitude. Had food and drinks at a hostel in the salt flats and had late night guitar playing and singing which was good craic. Next mission was to get to Oruru for Saturday carnival. A storm on Friday gave us little hope of the bus making it so we opted for the train. Queued up to buy tickets for ages and the ticket office was being run by 2 drunks so this slowed down the process a good deal.

Got the tickets for the executive seats (15 euro) and slept through the night on the train. Landed in Oruru bleary eyed and had to take on the scramble to find accommodation for the busiest night of the year. Managed to get a room at mediocre hotel but were happy to have a roof over our heads. Had great fun watching the carnival, drinking beer and dodging water bombs.

Headed to La Paz the following day by bus which didn't take that long at all. The bus couldn't drive down the main street so we got dropped of by yet another festival. Our hostel was right on the street the carnival was going down so had to walk through the carnival with our bags and baggage dodging foam and water bombs. Gringos are the main target here so there is no avoiding it. Luckily we had our plastic ponchos from the day before. Got to the lovely Adventure brew hostel and had a free beer while watching the carnival from their roof bar. Chilled out in La Paz for a few days and took advantage of all the good restaurants and coffee shops. Headed to valley of the moon which was worth a trip. Headed for Cocacabama and got a pretty good hotel here overlooking lake Titicaca. Sampled their finest trout which went down a treat. Headed to Isla del Sol the following day and did the trek from the north to the south of the island, pretty hard going with the altitude here but we managed to get through it. Found a cute hostel looking over the lake again and had more trout in a random family run restaurant.

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Argentina

2009-03-01T16:30:17Z

Arrived in Buenos Aires late in the evening so got shuttle to the hostel. Ended up being a crappy hostel so ended up checking out after 2 days and moved to the lovely Hostel En BsAs, it was so nice there I could stay there forever. Did the city sights ad took in La Boca (stadium), San Telmo for street tango, Palermos parks and museums and Recoletta.

Went to a soccer game on the last day with Lacey and Adam to see River Plate vs Colon, pretty crazy atmosphere with all sorts of chants, songs and drums. At the end of the game they let the Colon side out first so that there would be no trouble but it was all very mild at the end of the game.

Had some great steak after the game in La Cabrera, totally massive portions that our table was full of meat and all sorts of condiments, well fed after that!!
From Buenos Aires headed to Iguazu fall on a 20 hour bus, it was a 'cama' service which means your seat reclines almost completely and you get fed a couple of times , get to watch movies and have a night cap of either champagne or whiskey before you go to sleep! Luxury travel or what! Arrived and checked into El Gembe hostel and met Mark, Chrissie, Niall and Sally and we headed off to the Iquazu park.

Really enjoyed seeing the falls, devils throat was fab and the spray goes all over your face. It was really refreshing after 30 plus degrees heat. Saw some monkeys and racoon's around the jungle park so that was pretty cool too. Had dinner that evening at the hostel, Mark and Chrissy cooked up some great steak and fancy potatoes so it was a big treat. Headed for the mega disco with Niall and Sally later on so it ended up being a late on. Got another bus the following day to Tucuman (another 22 hour trip). Stayed at a pretty nice hostel and got to have a quick look around the town and also did some shopping, clothes are really nice and very cheap so I was thrilled to buy some new things and throw away my rags! Then onto Cafayate a really nice friendly town. Took in a trip to the mountains Quebreda and some wine tasting and a bit of cycling where some local kids took a fancy to my bike!

Had a good rest in this place which was definitely needed. Then headed to Salta, did a bit of sightseeing and shopping, had my last Argentinean steak before getting the night bus to the Bolivian border.

Argentina remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Chile

2009-03-01T16:25:51Z

Arrived in Santiago tired after 11 hour flight, with the time difference I got there 5 hours before i left Auckland which was a bit confusing. Got a shuttle to the wonderful La Casa Roja hostel, got a few hours kip and went looking for food in near Bario Brazil, went for an empanada which wasn't a good idea, had some gelato for dessert which was much better. No air conditioning in the dorm made it pretty sticky. Did some city sightseeing the next day to Parque Cera , climbed the big hill to see the holy statue, had a decent lunch in Bellevista. Had 2 days of Spanish lessons and managed to fit in some wine tasting also. Then met the group for the Patagonia trip in Santiago and we headed for Puerto Montt the following day. Did some sightseeing for 2days including a trek up to the top of a volcano and a trip to Chiloe island to sample some seafood and see some penguins.

Then it was 3 days on the Navimag ferry boat along the fjords of Patagonia. Pretty dramatic scenery even if the weather wasn't so good and it was a bit rocky on day two. Had a bingo night on the last night followed by a mega disco. Met lots of people on the boat and then kept bumping into them throughout Patagonia.
Arrived in Puerto Natales and got picked up by Sergio our tour guide for the hiking trip to Torres del Paine.

We set off with all our gear to the Park and started fro Las Torres where we dropped our stuff at the campsite. Did 19ks the first day and took in some valleys and the famous towers (Torres).

A lot of climbing involved getting to the towers but was well worth it. Day 2 involved getting a ferry to Grande Paine campsite and had a quick lunch before heading of on an 18k walk this brought us through french valley, three lakes and a climb up to the plateau for great views. Bumped into Lua a Galway college head which was totally random!
Day 3 was a short 11k walk, it was the clearest day so far so we got great views of the mountains and lakes and towards the end we could see glacier Grey.

Got to the Glacier Grey campsite which was the best campsite by far despite super cold showers but how bad. Did an extra hour walk to get closer to the glacier and saw some of it crumbling away and breaking off into the the lake, pretty loud when it does that. Celebrated our last night by having cheese and pisco sour (a brandy with lemon juice drink). Met some people from the Navimag boat at the campsite so we had a few drinks into the early hours. The last day was really easy, 11k was nothing after all we had walked. Headed back to Peurto Natales and then said goodbye to Sergio before taking our bus to Punta Arenas. Our last day in Chile was spent mostly sleeping and eating and recovering our sour muscles. Had fab seafood in La Luna for the last night with the group.

Chile remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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New Zealand

2009-01-29T20:27:42Z

New Zealand
Spent my last few days in Australia in Melbourne, its was great as the weather was really good and I got to stay with Kienan and Dave in south Melbourne for a few nights. Had seafood for my last meal in Oz with Larissa at south bank. Took an evening flight to Auckland and didn't get to my hostel until after 2am as I had to get my hiking boots inspected. Had a day in Auckland so just had a look around the city and the following day few to Queenstown to do the routeburn trek. Had a pre trek briefing with the group and then set off on the bus the following day to begin the 3 day walk. Managed to buy some waterproofs which was lucky as it rained lot the first day. It did and to the effect of the waterfalls though and getting up close was an experience with the wind blowing water all over you Got as far as lake Mc Kenzie the first day and settled in for the night there. The weather improved for the next 2 days and got fantastic view, did the optional Conical hill climb and it was totally worth the the effort.

Played quiz games for the evening with the group which turned out to be great fun and quite competitive. Took a dip in a rock pool before lunch the last day and the current managed to wash away my poor flip flops, the water was absolutely freezing and my legs felt totally numb after 30 seconds!! Made to to the end of the trek and had a celebratory drink at the pub and dinner later that evening in Queenstown. Caught up with Rahmona later that night at Pog Mahones the irish bar. Made my way back to Auckland a few days later and took in some of the nearby attractions, Piha, Karekare, some day walks at Okura, swam at
Muiwei beach that had black sand (as its made from iron). Saw some volcanoes at
one tree hill and mount eden and managed to run down to the crater which apparently isn't allowed anymore but managed to get away with it. Also went to the Big day out music festival, the weather was great, lots of markets and food and saw Neil Young, The Prodigy, The Arctic Monkeys, The Living End and a good Kiwi band called the headless chickens.

Had a few beers at lake Takapuna and ate at burger fuel on my last night before setting off to Santiago.

New Zealand remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Tasmania

2008-12-29T02:53:31Z

Arrived in Hobart to a slightly chilly 16 degree,s still sunny though but its all good. Very green here so it reminds me a bit of Ireland and the people are dead friendly too.
Headed for Port Arthur the next day and did a tour of the prison and learn all about the convict stories and what went on. Its a really nice setting even if it was a prison, lots of nice gardens etc. Next headed to the Freycinet National park stopping along the way at some look outs and short walks. Did the walk to see wine glass bay, its views were really fab.
Spent the night at the YHA and took a trip with some folks from the hostel to see the lighthouse at sunset, then drank some tea on the beach but it was Baltic!!!! Had a lot of rain the following day so mostly just arrived in Scottsdale in the afternoon and check into a pub that had rooms upstairs. There was a Christmas party downstairs that was pumping music out until 2am, so not much shut eye that night. From Scottsdale to Launceston stopped at a few walks along the way but got bitten alive by these worm like leeches so we weren't too impressed.
Spent a night in Devon port at an Irish bar/hostel called Molly Malone's. Headed for Cradle Mountain the next day and did some walking, some really nice hiking here, got to the top of Marion's Lookout which was worth the uphill climb.

That evening headed towards a small wilderness village called Corinna. It only has a population of 5 and the rest are holidaymakers. Got a good deal on a fancy cabin for 35 bucks a night, had some wallabies visiting us looking for dinner. Headed to Queenstown for a quick look but not a whole lot to see, then got to Derwent Bridge near the Lake St Clair national park and got to do some more hiking here. Went to platypus bay but didn't get to see any. Headed south of Hobart to a place called Dover, stayed at really nice hostel called Far South Backpackers, met some travelers who were working in a fish factory. Headed to the southern point of Tas from here to Cockle Creek and did the 3.5 hr trek to see the most southernly point in oz. Headed to Geeveston and got stuck in a Christmas parade, headed back to Hobart for the final few days of looking round museums, shopping and the Mt Wellington bike ride.

Tasmania remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Australia- Sydney

2008-12-29T01:50:37Z

Arrived in Sydney just in time for the Newtown festival which had a spanish band that i had already seen in Byron bay.
Did the usual sightseeing stuff in Sydney, the harbour bridge, opera house, botanical gardens, Darling Harbour and Bondi.

Got there just in time for Mr. Darren Smiths birthday which was a Hawaiian party on a roof top bar looking onto the opera house, very fancy eh?

Went to a few of the November rocks markets which had the Potbellez and lots of free Yellow tail wine tasting.
Got a couple of weeks temping at a company in St Leonards, got to cross over the harbour bridge every day to get to work which was pretty cool.

Australia- Sydney remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Australia- East Coast

2008-12-16T03:42:17Z

East Coast
Arrive in Cairns really early in the morning and got a shuttle straight to Port Douglas. Stayed in a nice YHA and did some sunbathing and swimming there.
Got bitten alive from the mossies though! From there I headed north to cape tribulation where is rained a lot. Did some fruit tasting though which was fun.
Came back to Cairns and met the Cork girls, Frank and Matt and hung around the lagoon, did some shopping and we out a couple of times.
Booked my trip down the coast to Sydney on the Greyhound and stopped at Mission beach first. Did white water rafting here which was pretty scary and everyone got into the water at one stage, free barbeque on the river was cool.
Next stop was magnetic island. Did some cycling up crazy hills, and sat on the beach for a couple of days.
Next onto the Anaconda III sailing trip of the Whitsundays.

Really good trip with great weather and lots of good food. Got to snorkel the great barrier reef and few times and saw lots of fish, coral and even a sea turtle. Stopped off and white haven beach and hook island also to do some sunbathing. Went for few drinks and pizza with the group in Arlie beach after we got off the boat.
Took the night bus the following day to Town of 1770 and got only a few hours of proper sleep. Met cork girls and a few from Sydney and drank some Barry's tea at the hostel. Did some surfing lessons the next day and had a laugh trying to learn.
Next stop was Fraser island where we ended up camping through in a major thunderstorm, also our 4wd broke down and we ended up in a lush hostel the second night!
Headed to Noosa for 5 days or beach time, weather was great so went body boarding and swimming in the sea most days.
Went to Australia zoo and got to see all sort of native and other animals, got to cuddle a koala and saw lots of shows going on there during the day. Onwards towards Brisbane and did some needed shopping and met up with Joannes brother Paul who gave me a tour of the city, first stop Hungry jacks and then the best drinking establishments.
Spent a few days in Surfers paradise at my aunts houses and took in a the movie world theme park with Margaret and Yvonne. Lots of adrenalin rush type rides, we were screaming more than the kids on the kiddie rollarcoaster!!
Headed for Byron bay and stayed at the lovely Belongil hostel. Did the trek to the lighthouse to he most easterly point of Australia.

Did a day trip to Nimbin and saw some weird and wonderful people there. A guy that worked in the hostel was friends with a butcher whose fridge broke down and he donated all the meat to the hostel so there was a free BBQ for 2 nights in a row! Nice one!
After Byron bay made a few quick stops to Coffs Harbour which was a bit of a let down, Port Macquarie and Newcastle.

Australia- East Coast remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Darwin

2008-10-04T12:46:20Z

Met some people though the hostel and from the Ghan train and hung out together for most of the time in Darwin. Mostly sat around the pool in the hostel trying to cool down as it was so warm. Went to the sunset markets and got to eat yummy food and see all sorts including juggling of knives, small snakes, didgereedoos etc. Took a weekend trip to Kakadu and we got to see crocs at feeding time, some aboriginal rock art and cooled down from the heat in a really pretty rock pool.

Also went on the jumping croc tour which was really good, went out on a boat and got up close and personal with massive crocs that they feed over the edge of the boat.

Darwin remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Alice Springs -Uluru -Kings Canyon

2008-10-04T12:50:07Z

Got to Alice in the afternoon, was able to see a lot from the plane, everything was pretty red from what I could see with the odd tree here and there. Just had quick look about the town when I got there and had an early night as it was a 6am start for the tour the next day. Tour started with a 5 hour drive to Uluru. Got to the resort and checked out the visitor centre and had a look at some aboriginal art. Then it was off to see the rock, it has lots of bumps and hollows up close so it was different to what I expected. Decided not to climb but did a lap around it which took nearly 3 hours.

Then we drove to a lookout to watch the sunset and eat our dinner with a nice cold beer. Set up camp back at the resort and sat around the fire for a bit before heading to sleep.
An early start the next day for a drive to see the sunrise over Uluru, pretty cool to see it so it was worth getting out of bed early.

Did another 3 hour walk of Kata Tjuta which was a bit more challenging than the previous day but we did it early in the morning to avoid the heat. Went to another campsite called Kings Creek where we settled down for the evening, was even able to get a decent coffee at the shop. Cooked kangaroo tail on the campfire, got to taste it and it wasn't half bad.
The last day of the trip was a walk about Kings Canyon, once we climbed Heart attack hill the trek got a bit easier and had fab views of the garden of eden and the rock pools. Bumped into my Aunt Brigid on the walk by chance and we both recognised each other after 8 years. After the walk we made our way back to Alice with a quick stop at a Camel farm where a Dublin guy was training the camels and doing camel rides. We got back a few hours before dinner time so had a rest before heading to Toddys for food and watched a didgereedoo band. We then went onto another funky bar called Bo-jangles that had all sorts of crazy stuff on the walls.
Last day in Alice springs was spent catching up with my aunt and her friend before taking the train to Darwin. i was really impressed with the Ghan, pretty comfy seats for economy, hot showers and a restaurant.

A few of us got together and played cards for a while, we played poker using salt and pepper sachets instead of real money Slept most of the night and then next morning there was a few hours stop over in Katherine. Went for a quick walk but cut it short as it was about 37 degrees and only 9am. Sat in the shade to cool down for a while with some cold drink before getting back on the train again. Got to darwin late in the evening so just took it easy for the night.

Alice Springs -Uluru -Kings Canyon remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Perth - Margaret River

2008-10-04T12:39:42Z

Finished up work and had a farewell lunch in an Irish bar Durty Nellys. They even had irish stew which was pretty good. We all had a few drinks with lunch so not much work was done that afternoon. The next day i headed for Margaret river to check out the beaches and see the winery's. Checked in yha which was 1.5k outside the town. Booked onto a wine tour for the next morning so took it easy that evening. The next day I got picked up by the Wine for dudes bus and we visited 3 winery's, found out how to examine and test wine and we blended some wine ourselves using Cabernet and Merlot. Also got to taste some cheese, chocolate and the tour ended at a brewery where we got to taste some beer.

Went to one of the local bars Stradlers that evening an played some pool. Had a look around one of the beaches and saw some serious surfers on the waves, its meant to be one of the top surfing spots in oz.

Spent the last few days in Perth saying goodbye to people and preparing for off. Had a big dinner at the house on my last night washed down with some white wine.

Perth - Margaret River remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Singapore

2008-07-01T12:40:11Z

Arrived in Singapore early in the morning at the Budget Terminal so had to bus it to the proper terminal to get breakie and a train to the city. Navigated the way to the hostel "The Inncrowd backpackers" where we met a few germans and canadians. We spent an entire day walking threw the markets and sampling some of the food and fruit juices, went to the esplanade, raffles hotel and in the evening took a trip to the zoo where we did the night safari.

Got to see crocodiles, elephants, snakes get to see everything as you sit on a tram and at the end you are walking through the rainforest in the dark so you can take your time and look at everything. They also put on a show and they get some of the animals performing on stages, they let loose a snake into the audience, we were so glad that it didn't go anywhere near us, horrible things!
Got a ferry to one of the islands Pulau Ubin, had some trouble getting the bus driver to understand me but got off at the Changi ferry port in the end. The bumboats don't go at a particular time they just wait until they 12 people to fill the boat. once you get there you can rent out bikes and cycle around the island, it's quite small so you can take your time and stop off at points along the way, there are coconut trees and banana trees growing everywhere.

Got to eat fresh seafood and drink ice cold coconut milk, its really nice on a hot day. Spent the last of singapore shopping before taking a flight back to Perth.

Singapore remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Australia -Perth

2008-07-01T12:26:43Z

Noticed the temperature difference straight away as I got off the plane in Perth, nice and warm at 11pm, delighted!! Booked into the Billabong Backpackers which was full of Irish and Germans.

Did some walking around Kingspark and sunbathing at the swan river the first couple of days.

Ran into a crazy guy that was just out of the mines, an “exploration miner' who never shut up for a good three hours. He had us all convinced to go out bush for a few months working in the mines! Had some good nights at the hostel meeting other travellers.

Poor Louise got the flu so we decided to buy some whiskey and spent an evening making hot whiskeys and Irish coffees to try and cure her I picked up some shifts waiting tables in a restaurant so that kept me busy in the evenings for a while, I learnt how to make good coffee and espressos came in handy when I was after having a late night. One night some customers gave me their details in Sydney and said they I could stay there whenever I get there!!
Found an apartment in the suburbs a few miles from the city and it has TV, broadband, bbq etc so its pretty cool, Went on some day trips on my days off to Rottnest Island, Cottesloe & Scarborough beaches & Fremantle.

I was working with some Irish and other backpackers from Korea & Europe so had good time on nights out after work at the karaoke bar
Got offered some contract work so packed in the waitressing, had a week to spare so took a cheap flight to Singapore with Kahina a girl I was waitressing with and one of her mates.

Australia -Perth remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Australia -Melbourne

2008-07-01T12:21:37Z

Hi all. Its been a while since I updated this. I arrived in Melbourne after a long flight stopping at Cairns, Sydney to get my visa and finally Melbourne. The following day I me up with Louise, Denis and Ruth. We took off on a trip to Philip island to see baby penguins and later that week went to the great ocean road.

Lots of lovely coastal views and we even managed to spot some kanagaroos randomly outside some houses!!

Stayed in Apollo bay for two nights at a really class hostel, lovely couches, open fire, super clean kitchen etc. We went to see the 12 apostles (or the six that are left) and heading towards the Grampians on the last day.

We got back to Melbourne late that night and heading for dinner and a few drinks.
The following day we went to an AFL game in the MCG stadium in Melbourne Hawthowns Vs Collingwood.

The place was jammed, the game is in four parts and goes on for nearly 3 hours, this ave us time to get some beers in.
That evening a went to visit some friends of the family The Kellys in one of the Melbourne suburbs, they gave me a foottie scarf for "The bulldogs" and I'm meant to be supporting them now!

Did some more touristy things in Melbourne after that; went cycling along the beach in St Kilda and visited the Zoo where I got to see a koala for the first time, so furry and cute!!

was really impressed with both the immigration museum and the Melbourne Museum, well worth a visit on a rainy day.Said goodbye to Ruth who was heading back to Ireland. The weather was too cold to stay any longer so got some cheap flights to Perth and took off.

Australia -Melbourne remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Tokyo

2008-07-01T12:12:25Z

Hi all
I arrived in tokyo last Sunday morning and was pretty jet lagged. After catching up on some sleep i decided to get some dinner. I went to a japenese highrise restaurant block and took the lift to a random floor and just walked into this place. The waiter was really good and sat down beside me explaining the menu. I got a cooked sushi dish and salmon egg fried rice, was really good.
i started my tour the next morning saw the main tokyo attraction. First was Tokyo Tower, its slightly taller than the Eiffel tower

Then stopped at a park with lots of bendy trees !!

Then onto Shinjuku that evening, its got Bill boards and advertisments everywhere, its sortof similar to Manhattan

The next day was an early start, I was late for the bus in the morning! The Japanese are realyl serious about punctuality so they were not to happy to say the least. We went to see mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, its was a really clear day ad we could get a great view of it.

We went on a cruise beside the mountain after a Japanese style lunch and then had a cable car ride over the hot springs, there was a really strong smell off sulpher here.
We then made our way to the train station and had noodles with some Mexican ppl from my tour.

We caught the bullet train to kyoto, it was delayed while we were in transit so it took about 5 hours to get there instead of 2! I was sitting beside two Japanese ladies, I tried to converse with them using phrase from my guide book, it was pretty funny!

The next day we toured around Kyoto and Nara. We went to see the Imperial Palace, japanese gardens and some Buddhist temples and Shinto Shrines.

That night my Mexican tour buddies asked me to dinner with them and their Japanese friend Kiko. she was really helpful and helped us order our food, we also had Sake thier traditonal drink made from rice. It has a really high alcohol content and taste like tequila!

Spent the last couple of days in Tokyo in K's hostel which was pretty good.
I used my rail pass and got in to shinjuku and checked out all the crazy bill boards adverts etc, multi story malls and took a walk to the park nearby for lunch.

Went to Ginza on the way back to do some window shopping. Some serious clothes but unfortunately way out of my price range.
On my last day in Tokyo I got up early at 6m to go to the famous tsuski fish market. Got the train to the stop mentioned in the guide book but once I got off wasn't sure what direction to take, I knew I was pretty near with strong fishy smell!!
luckily i bumped into couple of americans who were going to the same place. The fish market was huge with every sort of fish and shell fish and some were being killed in front of you. It was a maze of fish and in the end it was quite difficult to find your way out of it.

The smell got quite overbearing after a while but managed to find my way back.. Markets outside were selling fresh sushi. I couldn't quite stomach it for breakfast so opted of McDonalds instead. Headed back to the hostel to check out, had a look at the markets nearby and got the train to the airport. Randomly met Lesley again so we swapped details so probably catch her on the east coast of oz.

Tokyo remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The Preparations Begin

2008-04-16T20:06:32Z

Hey!!
Only a few days to go!! Have finished up in work, moved out of my house and have started to pack. Its going to be fun fitting everything into my tiny rucksack but it has to be done.
Heading to dublin on Friday and flying out early Saturday morning. So much to do, so little time, yikes!!!

The Preparations Begin remains copyright of the author sarahfraw, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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