http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/DASH--dave-and-ash/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from DASH dave and ash en-us Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:39:41 +0000 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:39:41 +0000 David got a GREENCARDDavid was lucky enough to get selected for the lottery system and after a while of gathering paperwork and getting specific photos taken and paying lots of money. . . . HE HAS A GREENCARD I did not know how the whole lottery process worked so I did some research. Every year the US allows a certain number of visas to be given out to different countries as a way to d http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/blog-397679.html Our days are winding down quickly in New Zealand.We drove the long drive from Wellington to Rotorua. It is kind ofdifficult to pronounce the town names because a lot of them are Maori words and we never heard of the words before. Needless to say we butchered a lot of the town names.Rotorua is basically known for smelling like rotten eggs. Kidding they have a lot of thermal pools and they smell li http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-355737.html The first place on this blog was a place called puzzling world in Wanaka. When we first arrived we went into a huge maze and Dave and I raced to see who could get out fastest. you can guess who you think wonthere was a room where a pool ball went up a slanted table and faces followed you when you walked and a lot of Escher pictures.Then we had a bit of a drive to a place called Fox Glacier.It http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Franz-Josef/blog-354059.html So continuing where I left off.Down the road from the amazing boulders was a place where you could watch fur seals.We weren't expecting to see too much but thought we would check it out.There were a lot of lazy seals all over the rocks I guess they are pretty predictable and they sunbathe and sleep on the rocks daily.We got pretty close to them and then decided to back it up a bit as its their t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Queenstown/blog-352200.html The campervan is huge but has everything we need.It has a shower tiolet bed sink...we didnt get the linen with the van...so the first 2 nights we slept with towels covering us and a few layers and FROZEWe eventually found a shop that sold sleeping bags and now there is no problemsAfter picking up the car filling it with fuel and food we drove to Lake Tekapo which is a bit inland.The drive http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Lake-Tekapo/blog-351980.html The flight from australia to NZ was painless with no delays or complications as we seem to be prone to.Dave booked a hostel for our first night as we landed around 930 pm and got into town after 11pm.There was one problem we never wrote down the exact name of the hostel and wound up trying to book into a place we had no reservations for. Dave checked his email and saw we were at the completly wr http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-349243.html Sydney Sydney Sydney.This city is very big and bustlinig with businessmen and women and also lots and lots of tourists like us.So we still had our fabulous campervan as we drove into the city.Imagine this big camper trying to dodge the people jaywalking not having a clue where we are and me navagating.We had to drive the van into the city to fond somewhere to ship our didgeridoos home. After tr http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Opera-House/blog-349232.html So we travelled back into Brisbane and stayed there for a night. We met up with Daves friend from college Don who recently moved here for a bit. We also visited the Gallery of Modern Art while we were here. This was when the rain started and we could have kissed our tans goodbye.Next on the itinerary was Surfers paradise. But it happened to be a wash out because the rain was relentless our 2 ni http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/blog-348916.html Today was the day in our itinary that we decided to go to the Australia Zoo.We turned up there and there were signs saying Today is Steve Irwin Day 2008...YEAHThis was a great surprise. It meant that there were a lot more interactive things to do today to celebrate Steve Irwin.This zoo is by far the best zoo we have ever been to.It is very hands on and the animals seem to be really taken care of http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-348913.html We are continuing our journey down the East Coast of Oz.The good thing about having our own campervan is A we can sleepeat in it for cheap and B we have the freedom to pull over and look at the beautiful sights.During the drive we usually planned a pit stop near a beach and took a walk on the sand and had a sneak peak of the town.We arrived in Airlie Beach...a gas station attendant told us we H http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Airlie-Beach/blog-348114.html Time is flying by here...and i am not keeping up with the blog.We are still up in Cape Tribulation and were told by the man at the campsite that there was a really cool watering hole nearby. We decided to try it out...plus he said he was sure there are no crocs thereAfter a short hike we found the watering hole There were a lot of little fish in there which i was not too happy about. The http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Airlie-Beach/blog-346765.html The beginning of the campervan started out with a bit of a wrinkle. We thought the rental place was a 5 minute walk from our guesthouse...after about 1 hour and 3km later...oh and a body drencehed in sweat...we arrived to get our fabulous campervan.Its one big advertisement but not as bad as the company called Wicked which have paintings on the sides of them such as Kiss Sopranos I DO NOT MA http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cape-Tribulation/Great-Barrier-Reef/blog-343535.html After many many hours and layovers...we landed in AustraliaAt first we were both hesatant about starting this all over again but once we got out of the airport and saw the bustling city there was no second guessing ourselves.We landed around 11 am booked accomadation while at the airport got a shuttle bus to our place and opened up our Lonely Planet books to see what to do here.A walking http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/Central-Business-District/blog-340376.html For starters thank you all for the support and prayers related to my fathers passing.After about a month sitting around my home doing DIY projects...Dave and I decided to continue on our journey that we had planned.Unfortunately we missed Malaysia Singapore and Bali but we are going back to see Australia and New Zealand.We decided to make a pitstop in Arizona where some of my family lives a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Gilbert/blog-339335.html Dave and I got an 11 pm night ferry over to this island.There was almost no where for us to fit on the baot...but we found space eventually.The boat was not rough and we slept almost the entire time.A man approached us on the boat and asked us if we had anywhere to stay once we arrived and if course we didnt as we are taking everything day by day. He had photos of his bungalow and it looked nice s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-323062.html Dave and I got a 4 hr bus from Ban Phe to Bangkok. Then hopped on a flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.Daves cousin Malachy picked us up at the airport with a rental car. His cousin has a motorbike which is way more practical than a car.WE all crashed at his apt for the night and planned on getting up fairly early so we could cross the boarder because his Visa was expired.The next morning we jumpe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-318783.html So...what to say about PattayaDave and i made the journey from Bangkok to Pattaya via luxury bus it was a decent bus it had air con that worked great the only odd thing was we were the only falang aka foreigner on the bus. it was loaded with Thai people and us 2 white folks. the trip was 3 12 hrs and somehow we couldnt get the seats to recline like everyone else so we half slept sitting s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Pattaya/blog-318095.html So we are still here...4 days total.and believe me that is enough time to be here.We got to a place called Khan San which in our guide book calls it a mecca for backpackers.and believe me they are everywhere.Dave had his blue Phillies shirt on and we were walking down a random street and some guy started calpping. They were from Philly and the girl he was with was from the Poconos. So small town http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-314661.html Dave and I are here...in Bangkok.We had a flight out of London supposed to be on Aug 16th however there happened to be mechanical problems and we never left the airpt that day. We got a hotle room for the night and breakfast thanks to Quantas Airlines and tried again the next day.Aug 17th we finally flew out of London but not without with a 2 hours delayI was begining to think that us bein http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-313910.html Hello all.Dave and I just got back from Scotland.We along with Ronan flew crappy Ryan Air over there and met their friend Clodagh in the airport. So we all hopped into a rental car and drove over to a town called Fort William. The scenery was unbelievable huge mountains everywhere tons of sheep and beautiful water. The weather is a bit crappy but we had out rain coats and didnt melt. Our firs http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-311014.html