http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Coach-Merrill/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Coach Merrill en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:25:26 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:25:26 +0000 Day 1 Wednesday Par for the course I slept most of the first half of the bus ride. Along the way we got some stunning views of the countryside. Thailand is a beautiful country with rolling prairies sharp hills and dense forest. And what is amazing is how fast they all transition from one setting to the next and then back again. There were breathtaking views but perhaps most breathtaking was http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Northern-Thailand/Chiang-Khong/blog-401077.html Day 1 Tuesday We got to the airport 3 hours early only to find that our flight had been delayed an hour. Given the fact that Nathan Clay who would be meeting us at the airport and I only had 1 night there it wasnrsquot the news I was longing to hear but oh well. I checked my large bag in the airport storage which felt nice to get rid of for a few days and then checked in. After all 3 p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-401074.html Day 1 Sunday I was exhausted and slept most of the way to Koh Mak sitting next to Rich. I woke up just for eating and at the occasional stop along the way. 5 and a half hours later we were at Laem Ngop our first destination. Once there we exited the bus at the place to buy tickets to the boat that would take us to the island of Koh Mak. While there we also bought return tickets for our return http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Mak/blog-401068.html Day 1 Thursday I got into the Bangkok airport around noon. I was out the front door 30 minutes later and headed to the bus station where I had told the guys I was meeting that I would buy the tickets for a trip we were to take a couple of days later. Thailand can be somewhat hard to navigate as English is all written phonetically and there is not 1 generally accepted word. Trying to get the bu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-401062.html Day 1 Wednesday I decided to take the train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur because it seemed more romantic for some reason than the cheaper slightly faster bus trip. It turns out that I am not this generationrsquos Ernest Hemingway. I started off the trip buying a large bottle of water at the Singapore station. As the train was pulling off I realized that the cap on the water was already o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-401061.html Day 1 Friday My bag was the last one to come out of the claim which had me slightly worried. Finally it came out then I was randomly selected to have my bag searched. They found the knife that I had in my large bag since Brazil and never even thought about. Singapore is known for its strict laws so I was shaking a little in my boots even though I researched the night before and found that kni http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/Chinatown/blog-395156.html Day 1 Tuesday The flight to Jakarta would have been pretty unmemorable as I slept most of the first half. But then someone opened the overhead compartment above me and a bottle of gin rolled out and fell breaking on my head and covering me with the alcoholic liquid. I used to be an aisle man but now call me lsquoMr. Windowrsquo. Showing up at the airport I had one thing in mind ldquoI http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Jakarta/blog-395149.html Day 1 Perth Vanessa was waiting for me as I exited the secure area bound for the baggage claim. It was the first time in a long time that I can remember anyone waiting for me like that. It was certainly a first for the trip and quite nice. We walked to the baggage claim and then waited for the bags as we caught up. The bags came and we hopped in her new car. We were going to a dress up costum http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Perth/blog-395136.html Day 1 Tuesday We got off a pretty uneventful 3 hour flight in Alice Springs. Everything was set up from there for the next four days which felt pretty dang good. We were picked up by our hostel inside the airport. The outback is incredibly hot but doesnrsquot feel that hot because of how dry it is. When we got to the hostel we immediately went into town to grab some food and supplies for t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Northern-Territory/blog-395109.html Day 1 Saturday Arrived at the station and was confused by the signs of what to do. They seemed to say the same thing but point in different directions. I asked a local for help who told me that there were city trains and there were suburb trains so I had to go to a city train. I thought it was weird that the station didnrsquot say that but oh well. I found my train with a little bit much mo http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-395108.html I started off the trip to Melbourne with a foreign girl next to me. The bus stopped in Canberra the capitol and my neighbor got off the bus giving me the two seats to myself. Once again the seat belt was a problem but I was more used to it this go round and didnrsquot let it affect me as much. I had trouble falling asleep at first but I finally did in the early morning giving me a little slee http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-395107.html Day 1 Friday We arrived early in the morning and without sleep. Nigel too had had a hard time sleeping. Our hostel was supposed to be right next to the bus station but once again we couldnrsquot find the sign. We did have directions though and asked a local for help. She told us that she had just passed there this morning and it was about 4 blocks on our right. We walked up the street to the http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-395103.html We boarded the bus in the early evening of Thursday amidst the downpour. Nigel and I were in the second row of seats as you enter on the left. When the row of seats in front of me was left open I crept up and took them. This was right behind the driver who told me that if he caught me without my seatbelt on he would stop the bus. That seemed like a fair deal to me as two seats was worth having a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-395102.html Day 1 Monday The bus or van ride to Byron Bay was pretty uneventful. I talked with four Brits for about an hour then it was time to get off. As I was getting off the van I saw Nigel from Fiji. We were meeting back up to travel down the coast a little bit together. I had told him when I would arrive but expected to see him at the hotel not the bus stop. He had a box of noodles he was eati http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Byron-Bay/blog-395098.html Day 1 Friday I arrived in Surferrsquos Paradise and was thankful it was a pretty day. I had heard from other travelers that it had been raining there pretty regularly and I had a task ahead that was going to take some walking. Immediately upon arrival I consulted a travelerrsquos desk to see if they knew of any places where I may find accommodation. Unfortunately that was a big fat lsqu http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Surfers-Paradise/blog-395097.html Day 1 Wednesday I slept from take off to landing on my flight from Christ Church to Brisbane. The hostel I had reserved Bunk had sent me directions on how to get to the hostel from the airport. First off the train station it told me to get off at was named something else so I missed the stop and went far south of town. Second when I got there it said the hostel would be right around the http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/blog-392934.html Day 1 Sunday We arrived in Picton tired and hungry. Fortunately the harbor was adjacent to the train station because we only had an hour or so to walk to the station eat lunch and catch the train. We caught the train down to Christ Church a five hour haul and were privy to some beautiful sights along the way. The train runs along the eastern coast of the South Island. Kirk and I spent most http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/blog-392922.html Day 1 Sunday The flight to Auckland was a very nice one. I was able to move to an empty row of seats and the flight attendant and I had a nice talk about Fiji and New Zealand. As I was leaving the plane he gave me a large bottle of water and several bags of cookies. I wish was able to take more Air Pacific flights. I got into Auckland in the early afternoon. At the airport I bought a cheap c http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/Central/blog-384969.html Day 1 Tuesday I got off the plane about 4 orsquoclock and fortunately getting through customs didnrsquot take too long. I had made arrangements to be picked up at the airport by my hostel which was a relief. However it did not seem so easy after I got off the plane. As I was walking out of the airport a guy greeted me who asked me where I was going. I told him the name of my hostel and h http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Nadi/blog-384685.html The first plane ride I had was at 230 in the morning from Buenos Aires to Auckland NZ. I had one of the two middle seats in the middle area of four which wasnrsquot the best but not a big problem given my previous bus experiences. The flight was about 14 hours and had two movies over the course of it. The movie system was not of the newer design and we all had to watch the same movie though http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Nadi/blog-384676.html