http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Ben-and-Nik/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Ben and Nik en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:37:52 +0000 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:37:52 +0000 2nd of August The Longest Day of our Lives... Quite Literally 43 hoursWe said Isa Lei Fijian Farewell to Fiji at 1000pm on the 2nd August and arrived at 130pm into LA airport the same day effectively travelling 9 hours back in time as a result of passing through the international date line which falls through Fiji. Regardless of the time difference the flight was only 10 hours and that pass http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/blog-430816.html Bula Hello in Fijian.After 1 month in New Zealand Nik and I were ready the warmth of Fiji situated 3 hours North East of NZ in the Pacific Ocean. Although having arrived at Christchurch Airport to find our transfer flight to Auckland and flight operator no longer existed our dream of sunshine and sand seemed far from a reality Our immediate shock and panic was calmed by a proactive instinct http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Yasawa-Islands/blog-426285.html We were ready to leave Wanaka having survived the earthquake reaching 7.2 on the Richter scale. Although Nik had to be evacuated from the hostel and the walls and strobe lighting rocked slowly and eerily for ages in the bar that I was in. So Queenstown awaits and we still had to survive the Nevis Bungy the 4th largest in the world with a 134m freefall Along the journey from Wanaka we visited P http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Queenstown/blog-419592.html We left Wellington on Tuesday morning heading to the South Island using the interislander ferries. The views entering the south island were glorious because you travel through the placid waters of Marlborough Sound which has steep green clad forest situated along either side of the boat and culdesac bays making for a sinuous coastline. Our nice views however were somewhat shadowed by an intense http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Franz-Josef/blog-417362.html We left Rotorua heading westwards to Waitomo a tiny village with an enormous network of underground caves. We stopped for a sheep show along the way which was actually very entertaining regardless of its very unenthusiastic name. I was selected to go up on stage to milk a cow. Only in NZ could they make that into a show The scenery along the bus journey has started to become more amazing the http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Taupo/blog-415665.html Into New Zealand and back to Winter.. Here's what we didBefore joining our Kiwi experience tour bus we spent two days in Auckland. On the first day we wondered up and down the Queens high street in search of Warm clothes for the coming month Temperatures in Auckland alone where half of what we had experienced in the last few months so it was quite a climate change to be in NZ. We also took a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-413190.html Following on from our Whale of a time in Hervey bay we continued our journey north on our final overnight bus trip. In the morning we arrived at Airlie Beach the main harbour town to cruise the Whitsunday Islands Named by Captain Cook as he passed on the religious holiday Although it was actually WhitMonday because of the time difference Airlie was a very nice town and Nik and I found http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Airlie-Beach/blog-410940.html Streuth its been 2 weeks in Oz already Here's what we did on our second weekFirstly we spent two days in Brisbane. On our first day we had a look around the central city then headed across the river for a walk through the beautiful gardens of the South bank. Brisbane is situated inland from the coast and so in true Aussie form they built a beach in the centre of the South bank. Known as Streets http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/blog-406375.html G'day MateTime is moving fast and were in Oustraylya already Unfortunately we'll have to say goodbye to an overly detailed report of our every movements for a more brief overview. The price of the blardy internet is a bit more over here We've had heaps of rain but still managed to enjoy our time here so far. Sydney was pretty nice and we managed to share a hostel room with our friends who w http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Darling-Harbour/blog-404744.html As our flight from Kuching was delayed and Singapore's Changi airport was enormous it took us a while to finally get into Singapore. At 10pm with temperatures still soaring at 30 degrees we took a highly convenient noticeably clean and thankfully air conditioned train from the airport to the City stopping at the Bugis train stop to find digs in the culturally interesting Kampong Glam area of S http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/Bugis-Village/blog-402972.html Hi everyone We decided to make an unplanned trip to Borneo using a cheap air Asia flight.. So here's what we did...A very light sleep kept us both on our toe's for our 230am alarm call We set off bound for Kuching the Capital of the Sarawak region of Malaysian Borneo. We first took a taxi to KL Sentral station where we took the AirAsia bus to KL's new LCCT Low Cost carrier Terminal The rout http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-401662.html Transport to Taman Negara TN took us the best part of a day. We took a more gentle ride by speed boat from the Perinthians back to Kuala Besut on the mainland then made the 8 hour minibus ride to Taman Negara. The journey was such a contrast to the bus journeys we had experienced in Indonesia the previous week We had only 4 in our minibus so enjoyed numerous seats to relax on We spent much of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Pahang/Kuala-Tahan/blog-400524.html Back to the dirty streets of Medan and after a huge breakfast by the lakeside and a long wait for a boat pick up we started our journey across to the Perinthian Islands on the west coast of Malaysia. First of all we crossed the lake back to Parapat and with a better view of the ldquoislandrdquo of Samosir. We spent much of the time figuring out where we had driven to on our epic moped trip 2 d http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Terengganu/Perhentian-Kecil/blog-398376.html Onwards to Berastagi seeking some peaks.. We lugged our bags back downstream to the main part of the village ready to leave the amazing Bukit Lawang and yet again stopping for a photo with the locals We had to take a opolot motorbike and side cart to the local bus station where we then opted for a public minibus to Medan. The minibus was hot cramped and literally falling apart on the bumpy p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sumatra/Berastagi/blog-396783.html The 4am morning sermon at the SM Raja mosque was an unwelcoming wake up call for the day ahead. Nik had also developed a rash and swelling on her hands and feet the night before so were unsure whether we could even make it to Bmukit Lawang What next for Nik Nevertheless we decided to make the 3 hour journey and chose to go in a tourist minibus direct from our hotel rather than trek across the c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sumatra/Bukit-Lawang/blog-396483.html 27th AprilUnfortunately we had to wait another day in Railay Krabi for Nik to recover from her migraine so again we had an uneventful day but she gradually started to feel better later in the day feeling comfortable enough for a swim at our resort.The following day we did manage to make the trip down to Malaysia Although Nik struggled throughout it. We set off early morning from the beach e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Penang/George-Town/blog-394819.html 23rd April Today was fundamentally governed by our afternoon trip to Railey Beach Krabi. After brekkie we managed to spend a short while on the beach to relax and let the day unfold. We then ate at the local market and chilled in a bar for some shade. The trip across to Krabi took 1 and a half hours in which the majority of time Nik and I spent trying to avoid the sea spray in the blustery winds. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Krabi/blog-393930.html We took the early morning and very busy ferry from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi over a choppy Andaman sea in search of paradise. We found it. Our arrival to the larger Phi Phi Don Island was welcomed by towering oceanic cliff faces and remote beaches that Thailand is famed for. We opted to take the short walk into town in search of accommodation rather than use the numerous hotel touts selling from their http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-393912.html Onwards to our second stop in the Gulf of Thailand to Koh Phangan although reluctant to leave the Eden like Koh Tao. We ate breakfast at the main harbor before boarding the cheapest island hopper songserm for the two hour journey South to Koh Phagnan. Once we arrived Nik sorted our accommodation whilst I secured our luggage from the boat. After slight deliberation we opted for a family owned and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-391211.html 11th AprilThe commercial engine of the Khao San road seemed to have been switched off in the early morning with few vendors open for some breakfast as we waited to be picked up for the floating market raring to go. We took a minibus for the 2 hour trip to Damnon Saduak however as the long journeys around indochina was taking its toll I was asleep for much of it. Once we arrived near the market w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-390957.html