ATTS
Atts Joined: February 14th 2006
Logged in: February 9th 2012
Logged in: February 9th 2012
All my adventures have been planned and where possible arranged by me in the hope of avoiding tours and tourists where and when ever possible. To date I have seen a large expanse of Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East, South Pacific and Africa.
Next will be India or Africa.
Enjoy
Visited Countries Map
Travel Blog Posts
We woke early and I took my girls over to my mums where they will stay for a while before going to the kennel for a few weeks, when I got home I Ruth had a ccoked breakfast ready fore me, we then made the house ready for our absence and then headed down to the bus stop. We tend to catch the bus to the airport and get a cab back but the bus is annoyingly slow and this time was no different even though the connecting bus was waiting when we arrived. Check in was quick and the first stage of the flight to Singapore would have been without incident except they brought me a raw vegetable meal both times which was not good. On arriving in Singapore we collected our bags and took ... read more
Goa Gajah
Today is my 43rd birthday and I begin it with a large breakfast with my wife before she leaves me to go horse riding somewhere near Keroboken. I take the opportunity to chill out before going back to the furniture store to pick up our Komodo Dragon they have done a great job of restoring him, he is actually looking better than before and the breaks are not obvious. I returned to the hotel around 11am to find Ruth waiting for me we spend the next few hours chilling out before we meet our driver who is taking us down to the South Coast today. Traffic jams abound today as the festival revellers have taken to the streets in large groups all carrying large and colourfully painted bamboo statues. Our first stop of the morning is ... read more
Temple at Danau Bratan
Taking the hotel shuttle bus down to Kuta this morning but not before we make a serious dent in the hotels buffet breakfast, it was pleasant to have a huge western style breakfast for the first time since leaving home. We arrived down in Kuta around 10am, the weather was pleasant so we began trawling through the many shops on Jalan Legian before, arriving at the travel agency that organised our Flores flights, they refunded the money we paid for the flight that wasnt, with out a hitch which suprised me as I had been pumping myself up for a fight. We then spent the next couple of ours walking down Legian buying whatever took our fancy, it wasn't long till I had bought my 6th Bintang shirt, a watch for my mum and various other ... read more
The turquoise lake at dawn where young souls reside
Not a good night the hotel backs onto a rice field and there was a strange hammering coming from outside all night. I cant use ear plugs because I have been bleeding from the right ear so I just had to put up with it and I did initially but around 11pm I had had enough so I went out to try and find the source of the noise which was in vain. I then went and banged on the door of the owners residence only to be told it was frogs making the racket, naturally I couldnt do anything about that so we just had to suffer then to top it off the Europeans returned and made way to much noise till about 1am, so much for sleeping. Consequently when we finally got to sleep ... read more
Gunung Inerie
After leaving Ruteng we made a brief stop at Danau Ramanese an attractive aquamarine crater lake surrounded by forrest and the home of Long Tail Macaques before travelling another three hours through some stunning mountain scenery before the rain and fog closed in and visability dropped to only metres, as we dodged trees and vehicles careening out of the fog. It was a slow but interesting end to the days travel. Bajawa is an attractive little mountain town but the weather is so bad we couldnt really get out and explore it, we checked into our hotel and then the driver took us to a favoured restaurant for a good lunch of calamari for me and chicken sate for Ruth, not bad at all for seven dollars all up. The rain petered out around 4pm and ... read more
The face of Flores
I slept well although the call to prayer did wake me at about 4.30am, Ruth went to breakfast while I walked for a few kilometres up the road to a bank with an ATM, by the time I finally got back my breakfast was cold. Augustin arrived a short time later with our new driver they tried to up the price which resulted in an unpleasant exchange, but I managed to push them down a bit and it cost us $259 for a car and driver for four days. By 9am we were on our way, as with many Asian countries the main highways are often lined with villages and businesses and Flores is no different, the landscape is tropical lush and green, with numerous fruit trees growing wild. The roads are narrow and often dangerous ... read more
What a great shot
Started the day with a walk to the closest ATM, at 7am it is already hot and we both perspire all the way there and back again then it was a traditional Mie Goreng for breakfast in the hotel dining area. It is nice to relax and do nothing this morning but enjoy the outdoor shower and watch an old movie. At 12pm we were delivered to the airport domestic terminal where we gorged ourselves on Dunkin Donuts before checking in for our Wings Air flight at 1pm. It was a smallish prop plane and it was quite full, lucky we werent hungry or thirsty because there was nothing available on this flight. At 3pm we descended into Labuanbajo and I swear it was the most scary landing I have ever endured, we slid all over ... read more
A strange creature
A 4.30am start to the day then down to the bus stop for the 5.21 airport bus. I must admit living so close to the bus route has saved us a lot of money over the years. We were through immigration by 6.30am and spent a little bit of time in duty free before boarding our flight, we paid extra for the seats over the wing because there is more leg room and fortunately the third seat was empty so we could spread out a bit. We had a special lesson on how to assist our fellow passengers out the emergency exit, LOL, I think I will be worrying more about my own escape. Virgin Pacific charge for literally everything including water and there is no in flight entertainment unless you pay fortunately the payment system ... read more
My walking Companion
I met my walking partner outside a small country pub in Manoora on the way to old Burra Rd at about 8am on what looked like a nice day. It was decided that I would leave my vehicle on The Old Burra Rd not far from the Morgan Whyalla pipeline and then we would drive from there to the start point on Worlds End Gorge Road. The walk started well, the country side was native bush and was pleasant with signs of native wildlife and birds visible as we followed the Burra Gorge Creek through the Hallelujah Hills. The time went by quickly as my co walker and I swapped our histories and stories about our lives, he seemed suprised at how well travelled I am and we were able to discuss the sights and shopping ... read more
Heysen Trail - Tanunda to Kapunda 034
Ruth and I decided to do the Tanunda to Kapunda walk today so we dove to Kapunda and left the car there before continuing on to Tanunda. We knew were to leave the car as we have walked here before. On leaving the main street at around 8.30 in the morning we walked down a hill and over a creek before following country roads through vinyards and farms. We saw a few lizards sunning themselves and the odd Kangaroo as we walked. We left the roads only briefly as we followed a track down a hill passed a telephone tower before crossing Stonewell Rd before heading back up hill past a winery before passing under a new overpass and making our way into Greenock. Greenock looks like a nice little town unfortunately nothing was open, the ... read more
