Bells
Isabelle Kosmala Joined: December 25th 2006
Logged in: October 18th 2008
Logged in: October 18th 2008
Travel Blog Posts
Oh, how I love economy class trains!
Here we go, Here’s the next little update about what we’ve been up to lately. We continued our little zig-zagging across Java and made it to Yogyakarta. The best ways of knowing you're back in "bule"-land (white people) are 1, do the locals shout transport, yes? after you) 2, can you buy Oreo cookies? In Yogyakarta both things were true so we decided to stay here for a few days, just to get some rest and use normal toilets. Yogya was a cool place, very arty and full of cool locals and expats. Just outside you can find the biggest Buddhist monument in the world. Everyone told us it was one of the seven wonders (which I can tell you is not true, still well impressive) So yeah, we got up at like 4 AM to ... read more
Did i say paradise?
WOOOW! This is where we've been and what we've done so far: We left Bali and made our way to Gili Trawagan which is a part of a little group of isolated isles by Lombok. People said this was Paradise on Earth and i have to agree. It took about 1 1/2 hours to walk around the whole island and it felt like walking around on the set of The Beach. If we'd got lost and found ourselves standing in the middle of a weed-plantation or something i wud not have been surprised. (but we didnt) In every shop they sold magic mushrooms, which was funny. (it didnt work) and along the beach there were little bars and restaurants with bamboo huts where u laid down to eat or drink Bintang or smoke a strawberry sheisha ... read more
The twin towers
WTF mate? Am i really in Asia right now? Did i just leave my little aussie Fitzroyalty life behind to go meet up with my good old pal Carin and Tinker-Elin in Kuala Lumpur or is this just some very surreal dream? Cuz it feels like it. Just a couple of days ago I was all safe and sound in Melbourne and now I find myself in Bali, of all places, with three swedish girlies (lets not forget Matilda). Just the other day I was standing in the middle of Chinatown in KL with its crazy Chinese New Year celebrations, people determinedly selling fake Gucci-bags and pirate-copied DVDs and colourful food stalls along the streets. And now we're kickin back at some well comfy resort just a minute from the beach in Legian, Bali. What happened ... read more
Warehouse party Bling
Ok, i know, so you havent really heard from me since I lost myself in Asia a few months ago.Well, this is what has happened since.... oh dear, this is gona take forever. Ill just bullet point it and make all teachers in the world happy :)-I came back to Melbourne after id rinsed all my bank accounts staying out way too long. I was such a mess when i got back, i had loads of cuts and infections that just refused to heal and i was just drained and dead in general. But cause i was completely broke i went out and got jobs. loadsa jobs.since then Ive had like 5 of them, all shitty hospitality ones but they were all right! Some cafes and restaurants and coffee shops. - Jordan from Brighton came to ... read more
Captain Rad
Vietnam. Where do I start? First of all, it was not at all what I thought it was guna be. I was expecting rural, genuine stuff, a less rich country than Thailand but with people friendlier than in Laos. Kinda thing. What I got was full on westernised tourist destintations for comfortable people on holiday. And loasa greedy, greedy Vietnamses people to go with it, trying to rip off every white person in sight. But I also got a country with an amazing nature- beautiful beaches, pretty country-side houses and green palm trees. Really tho, to be honest, we did follow the trail of travellers, we couldve left the normal tourist route and gone inlands, but the beaches called for us. The more south you go, the more sell out it gets. We started in ... read more
Happy sweat
Why do I find myself in an internet cafe in the capital of Laos, 9 days after my flight back to OZ was due? Maybe it's the Beer Lao (national beverage of Laos), maybe it's the heat that made me incapable of moving (my ass back to Bangkok and the airport) maybe it's the weight of my backpack on my back that is too appealing. Maybe it's the Icelandic heros we are traveling with? I dont know. But im still here. And i dont really seem to have made any attempts to work out a way to get "home" yet. So im gona keep rocking out. Me, Pat, Luke and Woody (another Brightonian) did the Gibbon experience which was cool assssss. Basically what its all about it living in a tree house like 50 metres ... read more
The kids first day at school + Carol
Ysss.. It's all happening. I've rocked out in the orphanage for about a week now. Am all settled down and cool with everything from the insanely spicy food (including breakfast), the ants & scorpions, the squat "toilets" the dirt, the gear on the scooter, the massive truck to the little kids' mischief and all that jazz. An example of a normal day, lets take yesterday. This is what happened before breakfast. (Nota bene, BEFORE breakfast) We drove the kids to school, first day after their summer holiday. They were all excited in their little uniforms and wanted me to drive them at 6:30, even tho they dont start until 8! The truck is old, ugly, big and the best toy ever. Anyway, drove to all schools and dropped the founder of the org, Carol, who ... read more
Hewooo!
Where do I start? So many different things have happened lately that are complete opposites to both themselves and my "normal" life that im all paralysed when it comes to trying to write it down. The Thailand-trip has so far been absolutely magic. I started in Bangkok with Elin, not a place I wanna go to again, except for the Bangkok Hilton maybe. ANyway, then i caught a night train up to Chiang Mai where Pat the Cat picked me up and took me back to a passed out hungover Luke in their hostel (there was gona be a lot of that i soon realised hehe) and yeah, thats where the fun began. We went on a cool trekk where we played in waterfalls, with elephants, visited hill tribes, thailands highest mountain, slept in the ... read more
Happy days
Evening ladies and gentlemen, Another week has passed. Time really does fly when u're a bum. Weird. Thought everything was gona go in slow motion. Anyway, today Elin left for Sydney and then Bangkok, gona meet her there Sunday!! And that's when the adventure begins in the land of thai :) We're gona spend one day in Bangkok, before she heads south to the beaches and the Full Moon party. It does sound cool and that was my original plan too but im not gona go there. have u seen one backpacker u've seen them all and i'm pretty sure i will get my fair share of loud, drunk and sunburnt beasts as it is, so im not that gutted. instead, the boys is the norf are calling so I'm gonna get on a train ... read more
Art Screamo
"I thought i was done now, I thought I was finished, but I'm back in the gaaaame" like Jamie T says (he's all big and famous here, and last night they played Bton's scene kids The Kooks in some bar as well) Reason for pumpedness: fun. I had some days of feeling emo and boring where I just couldn't think of any proper reasons to rock out (what was I thinking?) But it's all good now. I guess being a professional bum and not really having a proper purpose in life gets to you sooner or later. Been out pretty much every night (nevermind daylight, I'm a nightdog) but it just hasn't clicked. Did go to a pretty cool bar which used to be a mental institution, it was kinda scary.. didn't wanna go to ... read more
