Queenstown and Bungy!

This picture does little justice...but what I was trying to convey was that no matter where you look in Queenstown, there are these amazing mountains! Landing at the airport was incredible too. It was quite cloudy when we flew in, and all the sudden bam, we pop out of the clouds at around 7,000 feet or so and we are over this large valley with a lake totally surrounded by mountains (some higher than the plane is at this point). The plane then goes into a downward spiral for its final approach...wild.

Queenstown itself is very, very tourist oriented. There are soooooo many foreigners here, even a lot of the locals are originally from overseas somewhere. I can see why they moved (or just stayed) here though; the town is beautiful and there are tons and tons of things to do. Qtwn is also the thrill seekers capital of NZ, with all your extreme activities like skydiving, bungy jumping, valley swinging, street luging down a mountain, and white water rafting...and that isn't even half of what they offer.

I must say that I like Qtwn the most so far just for its laid back, calming atmosphere and amazing scenery. I was lucky though, the weather was amazing today with clear skies all around. Perfect for my first bungy jump...

The Remarkables: Queenstown's nearest mountain range. The Southern Alps here in New Zealand are so different from the Rockies. They are so much more dense (as in amount of mountains in any given area) and steep and craggy. They are also a lot more intimidating to look at for all of these same reasons. I can't imagine climbing these like I did the peaks of Colorado.

The view across Lake Wakatipu from Qtwn's city center. Sooooooooo beautiful. The lake is pretty cool too. It is really, really deep and super clear.

This was my view of the Remarkables from the airport when I first landed. It is no wonder these were used as some of the Misty Mountains for Lord of the Rings. Once again, the sheer magnitude and majesty of these mountains cannot be captured with a camera.

This afternoon I took a walk through the botanical gardens, seen here across the lake. The Kiwis are very good at many things, two of which being scenic overlooks and beautiful botanical gardens. Most of NZ's towns and cities have both of these things. Queenstown's are particularly stunning though due to the mountainous backdrops.

That little speck in the middle of the canyon (at the end of the bungy of course) is a person. This is where I did my bungy, the Kawarau Bridge site. This is the "Original Bungy Site" and it was AWESOME! The fall is 43 meters which works out to just under 150 feet, and you even get to dip in the river at the bottom of your first bounce. I wasn't nearly as scared as I thought I would be up there, and when it came time for it, I just jumped...easy really. I got the dvd too with the movie of my jump for those of you that would want to see it when I get back!

Taupo and S. Island plans...

Right, so I'm back in Auckland and enjoying the super-cheap internet once again. From Wellington, I caught a bus up to Taupo. Taupo, pronounced Topau thanks to the Maori accents, is a little town on New Zealand's biggest lake, Lake Taupo. The town was pretty nice and the lake...well it was a lake, but these are not at all the reasons why anybody makes the trip there.

Taupo is famous for its extreme sporting possibilities as well as some amazing hikes. First and foremost, Taupo has some of the best, and cheapest, skydiving in the world. I didn't throw myself from a speeding plane at 15,000 feet, but at only NZ$ 150...it was really, really hard to pass up. Plus you get one of the best views in the world... New Zealand laid out underneath you with the lake and Tongariro National Park, which brings me to my next point. Tongariro National Park is home to the very popular and famous Tongariro Crossing hike. The picture above is just some of the scenery you get along this trek (the pic is not my own, however I did see these three massive mountains from the bus going by the park on the way to town as well as across the lake in the distance). And if that volcano in the middle looks familiar, it is because it was used as Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. Speaking of the Lord of the Rings, if that landscape looks at all familiar, it is because it was used for Mordor in the Lord of the Rings.

Now we all know I am a huge fan of LOTR, and this hike was the main reason why I made the journey to Taupo. Unfortunately, the weather decided not to play along with my travel plans, and the weather would not permit any hikers on the peaks in the park (winds exceeding 90 kph and extreme cold temperatures....). So I got to spend two days wandering town in the cloudy and rainy weather. Lovely. So I was pretty bummed out about this, but oh well, I can't change the weather.

Tomorrow I am off to Queenstown and the rest of the South Island, where hopefully the weather will be more agreeable (at least on the days I plan to do more hiking...pleeeease!). I also skipped doing a bungy in Taupo because I will be doing my bungy jumping in Queenstown (IF the weather allows that is). Other plans for the S. Island (weather permitting) are a day trip over to Milford Sound in Fjordland National Park, a night at the Franz Josef Glacier, a day hike along the beaches and through the forests of Abel Tasman National Park, and a day and a half in Kaikoura (and maybe a whale watching trip there as well) before returning to Christchurch and flying out to Australia. Those are the plans, but who knows how things will actually go! Wish me luck (or just good weather)!

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city of NZ and it lies on the very southern tip of the north island. As you can see...it is a really really beautiful city that wraps around the harbour. I shortened my stay there to only a day and a half in order to get to the south island sooner, but that was definately a bit of a sacrifice. Wellington appealed to me so much more than Auckland did. The city is super pedestrian friendly, as you can see from the picture below of one of the pedestrian only streets. The city is loaded with cafes, bars, restaurants, internet cafes, music stores, and second hand book shops! I really enjoyed my day in this city.

When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I did after breakfast was a trip to Te Papa, NZ's national museum. It was a great place that reminded me a lot of Toronto's science center. I particularly liked the Maori section. Afterwards, I followed a fellow travelers advice and made the hike up to Mt. Victoria, one of the many mountains that surrounds the harbour. It was a hell of a hike but well worth it for the view (see pic above).

I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the city streets. In the evening, another Canadian guy and I went to one of the local bars to enjoy a Super 14 rugby game. The Super 14 Union is made up of teams from NZ, Aus and South Africa, and the people love it.

New Plymouth and trip to Wellington

A pleasant garden and view from the cafe we stopped at on the way to New Plymouth. North Island hill country in its prime. Everything is so green; I'm sure the Irish would feel quite at home here. The cafe was awesome too. One of the interesting things here in NZ is that they actually farm deer. Yes, deer. It is really weird seeing a flock of sheep, then a bunch of cows, followed by a large group of deer all in their own respective fenced areas. So that got me thinking, and at the cafe, sure enough, I got to have a deer burger. It was mmm mmm good and farm fresh too.

Once again...the North Island's hill country...aka the Shire.

This pic was taken from the bus on the way to New Plymouth from Auckland. It cannot at all convey how beautiful it was.

So in New Plymouth, I found myself wandering and stumbled upon this amazing park! It is called Pukekura Park and the community is quite proud of it, for good reason too. It was beautiful, with lots of lakes, streams, hills, and paths for walking or running. It also had a slew of native New Zealand flora, which is rare and I will discuss more in detail later. There was also a little zoo and playground for children. It was a really nice surprise, and totally free!

This is a shot of the famous New Zealand silver fern. If any of you have ever wondered why the Kiwis use that white fern on everything (like their Olympic and other national sporting uniforms), it is because of this plant. In this pic, I'm turning one of the ferns over to show its very bright silver/white underside. It really is incredible, and I was shocked to see it all over the park. Anyway, supposedly, if you are tramping (hiking) in NZ and get lost or hurt, simply turn these ferns over along your trail or around you. Those searching for you, both on foot and from the air, can see the overturned ferns very easily and use them to track you down. So there you go; learn something new every day!

After tramping around for the morning in the park, I walked along the ocean walkway that New Plymouth is also famous for. The surf was incredible and I wish I had more time there to find a good surf shop to rent from, although I did see some guys out there and they were wearing wet suits...so maybe it isn't too bad that I missed the cold water.

This pic is sunset at New Plymouth. Notice the sea swells...it was pretty calm in the evening, but they were breaking at even 12 second intervals during the day...its no wonder this is such a popular area for surfing.

And finally, Mt. Taranaki! It is so wild how this one lonely mountain dominates a massive area around it. If you look at a map of the North Island, you can see that the lower left corner is quite rounded. It is almost a perfect semicircle because of this mountain...wild. The locals are very proud of their mountain as well. Most of the tourists that venture to the area are there to climb (or get a chance to climb due to weather) this very lonely volcano.

Auckland to New Plymouth

Hey everybody, no pics with this post, but I promise to have them soon

New Zealand is Heaven...for me at least. For anybody that comes here, I highly recommend splurging on a rental car. There were so many places today on the bus ride where I wanted to just stop and sit and enjoy the scenery (or take a picture). Driving NZ's intercity roadways is like driving through a never-ending series of picture perfect postcards. The scenery is indescribably beautiful. On the 7 hour trip I went from seeing the North Island's Hill Country, which is the terrain used for the Shire in the Lord of the Rings: bright green rolling hills sprinkled with trees and lots of farmland , to mountainous rainforested valleys with rivers and streams flowing throughout.

Im in New Plymouth now, which is famous for two things: Mt. Taranaki and surf. I still havent seen Mt. Taranaki yet since it is perpetually shrowded in clouds...but if it peeks through, I will get a pic. It is supposedly a perfect cone volcanic mountain with a snowy peak. I really hope I get a glimpse of it! So I am here for the rest of the day today (Tues) and tomorrow before heading to Wellington, NZ's capital, on Thurs.

More to come!

Auckland City

So have I ever mentioned that I love New Zealand???
Today was an awesome day. I woke up and the sun was shining, which was nice after the rain all day yesterady, and even better considering I had signed up for a free city tour.
So this company called Stray is pretty new and they are trying to get their name around. They are a bus company that takes visitors around NZ and Aus, stopping at the major hot spots. Since they are new, they are trying to get their name out there and they provide a free Auckland city tour...I must say, I am impressed.

Auckland reminds me a lot of Toronto and New York in that it has the feel of the biggest city in the country going for it. Everyone is tres chic and running around at high speeds, but NZ still has passed its pleasant feeling to it in subtler ways. First off, it is possible to cross the main drag, Queen Street at places other than crosswalks. Try to do that on the main streets of TO or NYC...I dont think so. Just little things like that.

The above picture is from the tour when we crossed the harbour bridge. The tour guide loved to chat about the various marine wild life that they get in Auckland harbour...from whales to dolphins to great white sharks...yes they come to the waters here to give birth! Craziness.

First stop on the tour was the Sky City needle (this isnt even one of the reasons it reminds me of TO though). These crazy Kiwis have places to do pretty much any extreme sport you can name, and more. The tiny blip in this picture is a person jumping off of the tower...but no need to fear ladies and gents, they are safely supported and controlled in their 170+ meter descent by a system of cables... I'm saving my money for the bungy jumping personally.

This pic was taken in Albert Park. It wasnt on the tour, I found this one on my own wanderings yesterday. It was really cool with the trees...felt right out of Lord of the Rings.

Garden at the top of the hill in Albert Park.

400,000 Auckalanders sail...thats almost half the cities population and nearly 1/8th of Kiwis total in NZ.

This was one of the Maori lands in and around the city. It was called Whenua Rangitira, and was much more beautiful that the picture can convey. There was also a monument up here for the first Labor Party Prime Minister, who, much to the discomfort of the Kiwis, was an Aussie.

This is the crater of one of the volcanos in and around Auckland (as you can see it is quite dormant). Notice the cows down inside...I thought that was hillarious.

View from the peak of the volcano, Mount Eden.

Another view (looking away from city center) from Mt. Eden. Once again, this tour was awesome!

Hostel Tour

So this post is for those of you that have never stayed in a hostel before and don't really know what they are like. This is your virtual tour. So the hostel you see here is called Base Backpackers, and it is located in Auckland, NZ. Base is a well-known chain through NZ and Aus with seven hostels in various areas. It was a Base that I stayed in in Christchurch as well, where I had the party in a brothel experience.

So this is the outside of the hostel. As you can see it is not a sketchy whole in the wall. It is its own building with 7 stories of cheap and affordable rooms and accomidations. This is one of the nicer hostels for certain, but most of the accomidations are universal to hostels. The price for one night in the dorms usually ranges from US$10 - 20 per night...but that gets you a lot of stuff, as you will soon see.

This is the front desk and ground floor of Base Auckland. The staff is super friendly and can direct you to anything from the nearest thrill or sight to the local grocery store. Also notice the travel agents in the room to the back. They can book you literally anything you want on either island. Very convenient.

This picture turned out kind of dark. This is the mess hall on the first floor. There are tables here for those that decide to dine in house for US$4-6 per meal (lots of food). Also there is a pool table and flat screen tv here as well as an adjoining bar with really cheap drink specials for happy hour. For example, it is NZ$5 (approx US$3.75) for 2.5 pints ( a mini pitcher) of the local draught...nice.

This is the internet/phone lounge with large table for planning upcoming journeys. I dont use the internet in the hostels however since the local places are soooo much cheaper. Hostel: 1hr internet: NZ$5.00; Korean place just down the street: 1hr internet plus pictures and stuff: NZ$2.00.... thank you Koreans.

This is the hostels kitchen. As most backpackers are extremely poor, most hostels have full kitchens. So what you do is, you check in, go to the nearest grocery store and buy cheap local food. Then cook the cheap local food in the kitchen. Easy squeezy, lemon peezy...or however that goes.

This is the outdoor lounge. Here it is a balcony on the 7th floor overlooking the harbour. Nice eh?!? Most hostels also have these for those that like to dine outside or just plain out hang out in the sun.

And last but not least: the dorm. This is a 12 bed dorm (the one I am sleeping in). I have a key card that only lets me into this room...which is really nice for security. There are also lock boxes under the beds...also nice. The other people in the dorm are quite nice. They are co-ed, as are the bathrooms. I didnt get a picture of the bathrooms, but they are just like in college. Co-ed with lots of stalls of showers and toilets and a wall full of sinks and mirrors. They get the job done.

And finally....PICTURES!!!

I promised pics...and here they are! Im in New Zealand now and loving it as always...even their biggest city is friendly and mostly inviting. Kiwis rule.

Pic above: Me at Club Masa...like I said...Surfer's Paradise...

Our shelter from the sun at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes....that is James walking down the beach. Notice the dunes in the distance....they were massive

Natadola Beach...none of my pictures do it any justice....it was beautiful beyond any words or image

The Kavaholics jamming out. The bowl in the middle is the ceremonial kava bowl. Good times

My Fiji crew (minus Barrett). From left to right: Brett from Austin, Texas. Charlie from England. And of course the other three Brits: James, Olivia, and Andy!!!

Sunset from the beach at Horizon Beach Hostel...yea it was that good for only Fiji$10 a night

Looking out at the water from the Horizon beach

Make out a red telephone booth with Big Ben in behind at night...tried to be artistic here...oh well

The modern art center in London...it reminded me of one of the ministries out of Orwell's 1984

British Parliament from across the Thames. The bridge is the Westminster Bridge...Kamila and Jaffa live right on that road...sweet location for sightseeing indeed

The London Eye

Fiji continued...

Hey everybody! Sorry it has been a few days since my last post...I am alive and well and the last few days have been adventurous to say the least!

So Tuesday, Barrett (the dude from SC) and I met 3 travelers from the UK on their gap year (year off between college and university often used to travel the world...I wish the States had an equivalent!). We hit it off immediately, trading stories and recommendations on where to go (they had just come from Aus and NZ and were on their way to the States). We all went into town where I got to learn more abou the people of Fiji.

Fiji is comprised of around 50% native Fijian islanders, who have a pretty interesting canibal history!!! The other 50% is of Indian descent and were brought over by the British as cheap labor, aka slaves. The Indian Fijians now own about 99% of the local business while the natives live in the small villages and either work for Indians in the towns or farm the land. Unfortunately, most Fijians are extremely poor...living on only a few Fijian dollars a day (1 US dollar = 1.9 or so Fiji dollars). The really disgusting part is that the places that make the most money, the resorts, hotels, hostels, and travel companies are almost exclusively owned by Europeans and Americans. So Europeans and Americans are using the beauty and peacefulness of the Fiji Islands to draw other Americans and Europeans for travel and the Fijians see very very little of the money spent...that made me angry and guilty at being one of the many wealthy travelers. I feel such a lack for money at home...but after seeing what it is like here...I feel quite guilty for ever thinking such a thing.

Anyway...so Tuesday night we (3 Brits: Andy, Olivia, and James, as well as Barrett and myself) all got to take part in a local Fiji custom: a Kava ceremony. Kava is a root that is ground up and mixed with water to make a drink. Kava has a natural depressant in it that gives a feeling of numbness to the mouth (like novicane) and slows the body down. After learning about "Fiji time", how time slows down in Fiji, it makes perfect sense that the drink is so popular here. The ceremony is conducted by a group of native musicians who belt out a ton of songs on guitars and eukalalis with kava drinking inbetween songs. It was a great night spent with the Kavaholics, the bands name, which really added to the feeling of being in Fiji.

The next day, Wednesday, we all decided to make the quest to Natadola Beach, which is reputed as the 2nd most beautiful beach in the world. We caught local busses into town and then to the southern town of Sigatoka. We got a hotel room in Sigatoka and caught another bus on to the junction for Natadola. The only way to get to the beach is to be let off at the junction and catch a cab down the dirt road to get to it. After seeing it, I have no idea of what place can be more beautiful in order to achieve 1st place. The water was brilliant shades of bright turquoise and royal blue. There was a bright lagoon with a boat to cross at the mouth when the tide was in . The tide was out so we just crossed through the shallow water to a rocky outcropping on th e other side. We set up here and enjoyed the beautiful blue water and bright sun. We had to get back across while we could when the tide started coming in fear of getting our cameras soaked.

We then swam some more in the lagoon which was really quite deep. The only bad thing about the beach is that they are in the process of putting up a 5 star resort. The resort is owned by, of course, a group of Europeans. That also pissed me off. Anyway, it was an amazing day, and I will highly recommend the beach to anyone that gets to visit Fiji...resort or not.

We worked our way back to town, where we got a case of the local brew, Fiji Bitter, and grabbed some curry for dinner. I must say the Fiji Bitter beer is really good. I was pleasantly surprised. So the 5 of us shared more stories and aquired knowledge as well as some of the funny quirks about our respective homelands long into the night before passing out from a long day in the sun and a few good beers.

The following day, we ventured out nearer to Sigatoka town to the sand dunes. These dunes are huge. The Sigatoka Sand Dunes are also the only place on the main island of Viti Levu where there is a shore break, perfect for surfing. The beach there is wild and undeveloped...thank goodness but for how long I wonder? I rented a board from a native at a village on the dirt road out to the beach. The surf was choppy and the current was eerily strong. I got up on a few of the breakers off shore, but the current proved too strong for me to get out to where they were breaking regularly. Either way I had fun. There was a small resort there called Club Masa. By resort, I dont mean hotel, I mean paradise. It was a small group of huts inhabited by some interesting travelers and local surfing enthusiasts. The huts were surrounded by tall shady palms and grassy lands. There were a few horses and the dunes to make an amazing backdrop. It was definately the type of place where I could lose mysleft for a few weeks, or months, forgetting the outside world and giving in to pure and simple Fiji time. It was definately a surfer's (or just free spirited person's) paradise.

So that is that...I parted with the Brits in Sigatoka on Thursday. They had much more time here and were going to start hopping to the smaller islands. We lost Barrett at Club Masa. He was obviously drawn in by the peaceful chillness of the place. I truly wonder how long he will linger there.

I have pictures galore, and I am looking forward to getting to an internet cafe in Auckland to post them. I promise, they are amazing and coming soon. I hope all is well with everyone back there and you are enjoying these brief snipits! I will post more either tomorrow or the next day from New Zealand!! Til then!

Fiji: Day 1

Hey everybody! Sorry no pictures yet...but I found out that I will definately be able to hook my camera up in New Zealand...so just a few more days and I will get all those out on here.

Fiji is beautiful as expected; humidity is a bit on the oppressive side though. Reminds me quite a bit of Puerto Rico actually. We went into Nadi town today, which was incredible. The locals/natives are super friendly, and the town is so different from anything you can find in the states or Canada. Everyone had a big smile on their face and said hello or good morning or "bula" (hello in the local tongue) passing by. I felt very welcome. The town is a good island town...but I'll talk about that and how it is different when I post the pictures. For now, just know I am here, staying in a hostel on the beach and pretty much just relaxing and sharing travel stories with the other guests, who are from all over. I have learned a ton about New Zealand too as many of the people here are coming from traveling there...works out well for me! Alright, so more to come, I promise!

So here I am in London. This city is quite simply amazing; I drained the batteries on my camera so fast taking snapshots of all of the various historic buildings and incredible views. It is so strange coming from North America where anything from the 1700's is considered old. Here in London, I saw the remnants of a building built in 1131...now that is old.

When I got here and met up with my friends from my last visit, we started walking in order to take in some sights and catch up on our goings on. I got to see an amazing amount of the city, covering from Parliament (with Big Ben) down the south bank of the Thames to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, where we crossed to make the trek back on the north bank. The history this river has seen is unbelievable. To think that one of the worlds most powerful empires was ruled from this city is wild. We stopped in at the Clink Prison on the south bank to see the museum there. I was intrigued to find out that 22 of the brothels that lined the streets of the south shore were owned and operated by the local Bishop!!! No joke...and most of the prisoners in the Clink were women (prostitutes who didnt follow the Bishop's rules) as well as their clients (who also didnt follow the laws....or just didnt pay up) and the not so odd child that accompanied his or her "working" mother. The instruments of bondage, torture and execution that they had on display went beyond anything that should possibly be conceived by any human being. Disgusting.

So just one of the many, many things that I learned today wandering the streets of this city. I am just blown away by the density of historical buildings and places this city holds all within zone 1 (of 6) of its metropolitan transport services...wild.

Right, so I am here, I am safe, and I am with friends. I am ready to continue on this journey of mine. Tomorrow I hope to hit up at least the Natural History and Imperial War museums, and I might be able to get in the National Gallery as well...who knows. But Saturday it is off to Fiji...but as that will be over 26 hours of travel...it might be some time before I can publish again. I would have more pictures...but the one at the top isnt even mine. As I feared, I couldnt hook my camera up here so I just found that picture online as it was somehting I did indeed see today and the conditions were very similar to how it was when I saw it. It is the Tower Bridge with a British Navy ship by the by... ok, til next post!

So, the time has come; my journey is about to begin. I leave Wednesday (23 March 06) for London, England where I will embark on Saturday (25 March) for the rest of the trip. I figured I would map out my plans for everybody for visualization. I have no idea how many people are actually checking this blog out, but for those of you that are interested in my travels, I hope this helps! The above world map is direct from the site that I found my tickets on: www.youthtravel.com

It shows the worldwide view of it all. As you can see, I leave from London and have a stop in L.A. I have been here before, and since it isn't my most favorite place in the world (California is beautiful though I must say!), I have chosen to have only an hour and a half layover here before moving on to the rest. From there, I fly to Nadi, Fiji, where I will enjoy my quiet little hostel on the beach for a few days. After Fiji, I fly to Auckland, New Zealand. From here on I will go to regional maps for details.

So this is New Zealand. For those of you that have followed my blog from Antarctica, you know that I love New Zealand. The people are friendly, the country is beautiful beyond all description, and the whole feel of the place is pleasant and peaceful. My type of place. So that justifies much time spent here on this trip. So I will spend a few days in Auckland planning and organizing for my bus travels around the islands. I will head south along the coast to New Plymouth. Moving on after a night there, I will get to the capital, Wellington. I plan on at least a full day here to take in the sites (the city is built around a semi-circular harbour) and hopefully get a few good conversations in with the locals. Then I will embark on the ferry crossing of the straight to Picton on the southern island. I will go on from there to Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park, which from all of my planning is one of my most highly anticipated parts of the trip. I will cover all details after I get there though, I promise! So now I have to get back up to Auckland again to catch my flight back to the southern island to the city of Queenstown, but that is fine because I get to go back a different way and see more things like the Maori town of Rotorua and the site of Hobbiton in the filming of Lord of the Rings.

Ok, so now I fly to Queenstown, where I will do some more city walking and people meeting and also catch a bus to Fjordland National Park to see some sweet fjords and Milford Sound. Then I fly on to Christchurch where I hope to get up to see either Arthur's Pass or Kaikoura. All done with New Zealand, now on to Australia.

From Christchurch, I arrive in Sydney. I will be spending a good few days here getting used to the place, seeing the sites, visiting a friend named Daniel (a student in Sydney who I met at South Pole), and hopefully avoiding any run-ins with the plethora of deadly creatures that call Australia home. I have purchased a "Great Southern Railway Pass" and will be using this as my primary means of transportation while down under. So from Sydney, I will move westward to the Outback town of Broken Hill and further on to Adelaide. Moving on to Melbourne, I may rent a car and check out some of the coastal scenery and vinyards around the city...supposedly quite worth it. I then travel north to Alice Springs, where I will rent a car to make the several hundred kilometer journey through the desert to Uluru (Ayers Rock). Since Bill Bryson and pretty much every other person that has ever seen the monolith recommends it as the one thing you MUST see in Australia, I figured it might be worth the drive. I then take more train rides to get to Perth, which I am really looking forward to visiting. I can get way too carried away with what I am looking forward to here and everywhere else, so I will just have to make you all wait for more details until I actually go. Perth is now my point of exit for Australia. I fly on to Singapore.

So for those of you not familiar with your southeast Asian geography, this is a really horrible map to show since you probably don't know where this is at all. But no worries! Simply correlate to the world map at the top of the page and hopefully all troubles are solved. Anyway, I will be visiting with a friend from school who now lives in Singapore. He has promised me a "balistic" time so I am really looking forward to it! I just need to avoid chewing gum, jay walking and feeding any wildlife (Singapore has some strict laws). Hopefully they aren't too rough on those having a "balistic" time. But Rakhil lives there so I will trust in him! From Singapore, I move on into Malaysia and Thailand, where I will basically be bussing and ferrying between major cities and tropical islands. This should be a really, really beautiful part of the trip, and I really hope I will get good computer access to keep the pictures (or at least stories) coming to you all! From the pictures I have already seen of some of these islands and cities...this is going to be really good. And for those of you familiar with the region, don't worry; I have been warned many, many times about Thailand (and I know you know what I mean).

So after a mad dash down the eastern side of the peninsula, I fly on from Singapore to Mumbai, India. From here I will travel (mostly by train) to Bhopal to hopefully hit up a national park that is home to lots of tigers and Jungle Book-like terrain. From there I will go on to Agra to, of course, see the Taj Mahal (also one of those must sees, eh?). I will do a little maneuvering around, possibly through the "Pink City" of Jaipur, through Delhi and on to see Amritsar, the Sikh capital with the golden temple. I then want to get up into Kashmir to Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama currently resides. I have a strong interest in both Sikhism and Buddhism, and I am also looking forward to catching a glimpse of the Himalayas. From Dharamsala, I go back to New Delhi to see its sites before going back to London.

So Europe will be the end place of my travels. I fly into London, but I will do my best to get out of the UK as quickly as possible due to the overwhelming price of nearly everything there (with the exception of their amazing museums and galleries that is). I don't care how much money I have left, I will see Ireland. From there, I have one month worth of Eurail pass, and I will go with sleeping on trains and wandering through Europes many cities for as long as I can afford! I am most definately expecting to be running out of my funds in Europe, so it will basically be a crap shoot as to where and when! There you go, maybe someone can start a betting pool on that... :P

So, my realistic goal right now for Europe is: Dublin, Galway, and Wexford in Ireland; hopping a ferry to France for Cherbourg, Paris, and Toulouse. Crossing the Pyranees to see at least Barcelona, and crossing them again to see the French Riviera on my way over to Italy. Here I have hopes for Pisa, Florence, Rome, and Venice. I must also make it here to meet up with two friends from school: Gianluca (a native Italian) and Chris. Gianluca has promised to show me and Chris the real Italy, and I am really looking foward to it! Then hopefully I will book it up through Austria and Germany and into the Netherlands and Belgium before flying home.

So there we go. I am leaving in two days and I can barely believe it. I want to thank everybody who has helped with any advice, money, and motivation. This trip started out as a dream, and I have only been able to make it a reality because of all of you. I hope that you enjoy this blog, and I will look foward to telling even more stories when I get back!

Viva Las Vegas!!!

So this past weekend (26th-28th January 2005) my friend Rob and I went to Las Vegas for his 23rd birthday! We stayed in the Luxor pyramid, which was incredible, and we did the normal Vegas blitz: 2 days of gambling, shows, drinking, clubbing, and of course, sleep deprivation.

This was my second trip to Sin City, and I loved it every bit as much as the last time.

This shot, is a view of the Statue of Liberty in front of New York, New York, with the MGM Grand across the street. It was taken from the walkway between Excalibur and NY, NY.

This is a view down Las Vegas Blvd from the South end of the strip looking North. The Brooklyn Bridge is on the left at NY, NY. The Aladdin and Paris' Eiffel Tower and hotel can be made out down on the right, with the Flamingo in the far distance. The Strip is really, really long. I made the trip from the Luxor down to Caesar's, Treasure Island, and the Imperial Palace several times while we were there (the Imperial Palace is my favorite casino for gambling as my luck there hasn't lost me money yet!), and by the end of the trip, the bottoms of my feet were bruised and the toes very blistered...it was still so worth it though!

This is my artistic shot of the fountain in front of Paris with the Eiffel Tower in behind. I know...its good... :P kidding! Anyway, I just love seeing how all the casino's have spent rediculous amounts of money making the places so detailed, intricate, and unique! You can entertain yourself just wandering the casinos and not spending any money at all! My favorites are definately the Luxor, Caesar's Palace, and the Venetian. Caesar's and the Venetian have massive indoor malls that are themed around a Roman marketplace and a Venice canal, respectively. The Luxor, with its Sphynx, full sized pyramid, and ancient Egyptian decor is just incredible as well. Treasure Island has a free pirates show, which kicks serious booty (yeaaarg!) and Bellagio has a free fountain/light show at their massive outdoor lake. Inside the Mirage, you can find albino tigers, a MASSIVE aquarium with a ton of tropical fish, and a dolphin tank. And for those poker enthusiasts (like myself) it isn't too hard to catch one of your favorite pros at the various high stakes poker rooms...I just highly recommend NOT SITTING DOWN at one of those tables! I just watched...and those people are good...and have deep pockets.

This is one of the only night shots that turned out half decent, which is a shame since the whole city glows at night. This was our hotel, the Luxor. The pyramid has that beacon shining at the top which you can see from anywhere in the city. Very nice for those nights that go a little too crazy, as you always know the way back to your room!

Here is the Luxor again...like I said, full-sized Sphynx and pyramid...amazing! I definately recommend Vegas to anybody and everybody! Its like Disney World for an adult! I also saw one of the shows, Fantasy, at the Luxor. It was quite entertaining (the comic relief was the best part), and yes, it had showgirls, who weren't too bad either (just not up close....definately a case of "nice from afar, but far from nice" for most of them). As for the gambling...I recommend just setting yourself a daily limit on that, and DO NOT GO OVER IT! Expect to lose it and if you do, then you hopefully had fun playing the games in the process. If you end up winning, then its all the more sweet, sweet victory! Oh yea, and I recommend craps...that game is incredible and if you play it right, it has the highest odds in the players favor of any game at a whopping 49.6%...and I think its one of the most fun and exciting games to play too!