http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Bex-and-Rich/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Bex and Rich en-us Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:44:01 +0000 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:44:01 +0000 After a week in Cuzco it was time to make a decision and with no word from our travel guru's in Bolivia we decided to head over to Nazca and then down to Arequipa the white city before begining our mamouth jorney back to Santiago.The bus to Nazca was reasonably comfortable except that we were thrown from side to side as the bus snaked its way sometimes off road through the Ande's. We arrived http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Ica/Nazca/blog-22301.html We decided to break up our bus ride from Puno to Cusco and opted for a tour bus that stoped at sights of interest along the way. The English speaking tour guide was pretty good but did insist on interupting us every 5 minutes to point out random things like cement factories and passing trains Although some of the stops were dull 10 minutes being pushed around a museum for instance we did apre http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Aguas-Calientes/blog-21668.html After a great time in Chile except for one incident with a vanishing bag we headed to Peru. We had booked a bus ticket from Tacna which is just inside the Peruvian border to Puno a small port on the edge of lake Titicaca. First we had to get to Tacna via a 'colectivo' which is a big old american car which would have looked at home being driven by Huggy Bear on the set of Starsky Hutch. The C http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Puno/blog-21002.html They say that you canrsquot travel around South American and not have something stolen and the're right On an overnight bus from San Pedro Atacama to Arica we had one of our bags stolen in a split second laps of concentration. We had a backpack with Richrsquos new camera in it on the shelf above our heads only because there wasnrsquot enough room by our legs. We had stopped at Calama t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Antofagasta-Region/San-Pedro-de-Atacama/blog-21008.html South America continent number four and the final destination before we fly home next month. We arrived in Santiago with a new found enthusiasm which had been missing since Asia. During our months spent in 'home from home' Australia and New Zealand we found that we had lost some of that feeling of adventure but our time in Easter Island started to awakend those lost feelings and upon landing i http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-20084.html As Rich and I stood up on the edge of the extinct volcanoe Rano Kau and took in the 360 degree view of the island it finally dawned on us how isolated this 117 sq km land mass was from the rest of the world. Nothing but the sparkling blue Pacific Ocean stretching out as far as the eye could see. Its closest populated nieghbour is the tiny island of Pitcairn 1900km to the West and its a massiv http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Easter-Island/blog-19380.html We left New Zealand and headed for Tahiti with all the anticipation and excitement you could imagine. Even the anouncement on the plane before landing that it was raining did little to dampen our spirits excuse the pun and as soon as we got off the plane we felt that tropical temperature we had been longing for. We jumped into a taxi and arrived at our 'BUDGET accomodation US90 where we s http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/French-Polynesia/Moorea/blog-18750.html After picking up our new wheels it was time to set out on our 5 hour drive over to the Able Tasman National Park. After speaking to others about this area of the country we were looking forward to some back to nature peace and quiet. What met us on our arrival at Marahau was something beyond our imagination a sleepy coastal village in the middle of the most beautiful 'nowhere' that we have ev http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/blog-18157.html After eight weeks of work in Auckland it was time to say goodbye to our city appartment home comforts and new friends. The packs were dusted off and recramed with our junk and we hit the road again in a new rental car to see what the rest of our temporary home had to offer.Before heading south we took a brief detour to explore some more of the Northland and take full advantage of the fantastic http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-16778.html Rockhampton is in the heart of Australian cow country. The lonelyplanet has it down as Australia's steak capitol and with that we didn't think there where any further reasons needed to add this town to our list of stopovers. From whichever direction you enter the town you are greated by a grand concrete cow modelled on one of the many famous breeds from around the area. These are generally on http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/blog-12492.html Leaving behind the security and comfort of Warnambool it was finally time to get back on track and head to Cairns the starting point of our final leg in Australia The Cairnes to Sydney road trip.Cairnes sits on a flat plateau nestled between two Australian 'Greats' the Dividing Range to the west and the Barrier Reef to the East. Its also ended up as backpacker central and your typical tourist http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-11433.html Melbourne is not your average city although its central business district could convince you otherwise. It boasts everything a modern day metropolis has to offer but somehow manages to keep the community feel that most cities lose. It probably has a lot to do with the numerous suburbs which make up the majority of the city's mass each one pocessing that individual vibe that makes a visit an adv http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/blog-8753.html Another day another flight. This time we were leaving Asia behind and heading off to Australia. When your travelling moving on is always exciting but this time was even more so as after five months in Asia we were really in need of some western normality.The flight from Singapore only took seven hours but because of the time difference we arrived in Sydney at six am having had no sleep whatsoe http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Tasmania/blog-8089.html Kuala Lumpur is a great place to start a trip around Malaysia. You get to top up your fast food and shopping levels chill out in air conditioned cafes and use the cheapest post rates we have found so far to send home the next lot of accumulated junk. Besides our trip to the Petronas Towers the building used in the film 'Entrapment' our time in the capitol was fairly relaxed and uneventful http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/blog-7012.html Mount Kinabalu stands as the highest peak in Malaysia and more impressively is the tallest mountain between the Himalayas and South America. Being the 'Mountain that anyone can climb' according to the guide book means it attracts around fifty people a day to attempt to climb to its rather impressive 4100m sumit.We had booked our climb date in KK when we first arrived in Sabah but due to the wa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/blog-7654.html We have just had all the family over at mum and Dad's for the final fairwell before we leave on Tuesday. Everyone has been really supportive and not one person has pointed out the obvious fact that we are leaving well paid jobs to bum around for a year to come back in 12 months with nothing but some furniture and clothes in storage When you actually write that sentence it all seems so much mor http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/blog-2053.html We have arrived We may have been delayed for 2 hours but we finaly landed in Kolkata. We found out just before we left the UK that there was a general transport strike in the city and that no buses trains or the metro were operational so our first experience of India was being well and truely fleeced by a dodgy cab driver We then headed to Sudder Street the centre of cheap tourist hostels http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-2100.html From the first moment you get onto the streets on Kolkata you are thrown into a world that is as far away from life at home as you can possibly imagine. The smell fumes and poverty hits you harder than the heat which is pretty hot.I think we maybe hoped that experiencing these things would get easier but unfortunately it wore us down until we broke and bought two flights to NepalThis is not http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-2146.html Our first glimpse of Nepal was out of the plane window. Like any other flight we were flying over a sea of white clouds but about 15 minutes before landing the mountains broke though and sat magnificently on the horizon. Our first real sight of the great Himalaya.Kathmandu although very touristy in Thamel is a great place. The people are lovely and so much less pushy than in Kolkata its a w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/blog-2165.html Yesterday we arived back form a week long trek in the Himalayas and we are both shatteredOnce we had decided that a trek was a definate must we hired a local guide Sauraj. Besides his obvious role of showing us the way he also kept us entertained with his funny stories and neverending local information.We completed what is known as the 'Jomsom' trek. Flying from Pokhara where we are current http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/blog-2312.html