Over the Wire

Dave and Coz

Over the Wire

We've always wanted to go traveling - see the world, understand new cultures and enjoy new experiences. With an economic crisis looming, we've decided to head off on the adventure of a lifetime.

We left the UK on the 4th May 2009, and headed clockwise around the world. We're spending the first 6 months in Asia, followed by 3 months in Oceania and 3 months in South America.

Our Asian adventure includes India, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Then it's off to Australia, New Zealand and Western Samoa. Followed by Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and finally Brazil.

We hope you enjoy following our blog...




São Paulo From Buenos Aires we flew to the huge and grubby metropolis of São Paulo. We had already pre-booked a hotel on-line, not knowing how busy the city would be. Upon our arrival we soon realised that it was in fact a 'sex hotel' - where rooms are rented by the hour!! We were in a pretty dodgy area, and there were no other hotels around, so we had no choice but to stay. It was a clean hotel and fortunately we had ear plugs, which were definitely a must! The following day we took the metro to the centre of São Paulo. We were staying in a very un-touristy area, and needless to say, attracted curiosity from the locals. Everyone walked around with attitude, all confident and fairly unapproachable - probably due to how ... read more
Ilha Pelado, near Paraty
At Glyn's house, Ilha Bela
BBQ at our hostel, Ilha Grande

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires April 4th 2010

From Lima the flight was 4½ hours to Buenos Aires but it was as though we had arrived in Europe. The people looked European, the motorways were good however the driving skills were somewhere between crazy Italian and carefree Portuguese! Our hotel in the San Telmo district (which we booked at the last minute) had terrible reviews but turned out to be one of the best we've stayed in so far. It was clean and spacious with ceilings over 4 metres high. After a day of aeroplane food we headed straight out for dinner. Our friends Fiona & Sharon had recommended a restaurant on the corner of Chile and Peru street called Gran Parrilla Del Plata. Wow.....what a meal!! We had the best steak of our lives!! The Argentinian red wine, service and atmosphere were all ... read more
Dave eating a steak at our favourite restaurant
Colourful houses in La Boca, Buenos Aires
Iguazu Falls

South America » Peru » Cusco March 21st 2010

As our bus left Copacabana in Bolivia behind we were sad to leave, but to our surprise we were barely 10 minutes into our journey and the Peruvian border was already upon us. So there we were in a new country trying to figure out how many Peruvian Soles there were to the Pound! Geographically nothing had changed and we continued by bus along the shores of Lake Titicaca traveling northwestwards towards the ancient Inca capital of Cusco. The city of Cusco is 12,000 ft above sea level, and the oldest continually inhabited city in South America. The nearer we got to Cusco the greener it got, but the people and the general feel didn't change all that much. Central Cusco is very affluent by South American standards. Most tourists land in Lima and transfer by ... read more
Llamas near Cusco
Sitting on an Inca wall admiring the scenery
Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley of the Incas

South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » La Paz March 18th 2010

Getting into Bolivia was an adventure in itself as we decided to cross the border from the Atacama Desert of Chile on a 3 day organised Jeep tour. After parting with $120 US each for the 3 day / 2 night trip we left Chile in a mini bus and cleared customs almost as soon as we left town. We then drove from our base height of 2400m (above sea level) straight up to a height of around 4500m to cross the border into Bolivia. There were no hairpin bends on the drive just a road that climbed gently upwards past strange sandy coloured volcanoes and on to a vast sandy plateau with snow capped mountains in the distance. It's easy to write about altitude but to experience ascending to that height and knowing that you're ... read more
On the salt flats
Cactus Island
Dave next to a mound of salt

South America » Chile » Santiago Region » Santiago March 1st 2010

From Samoa we flew back to Auckland for 3 days, staying with Dave's extended and very friendly Samoan family and awaited our flight to Chile. We arrived in Santiago to a less than warm welcome. We had a couple of apples in our hand luggage, before we managed to eat them, they were discovered by a sniffer dog at baggage reclaim. For some strange reason, this meant that our rights were taken away from us and we no longer had the option of throwing them away at Customs or declaring them. We were taken to the interview room where we faced a $200 USD fine! What a welcome. Fortunately, in our broken Portuguese/Spanish, we managed to talk our way out of it and the sniffer dog handler took pity on us. After an hour of bureaucracy ... read more
Old and new buildings in Santiago
Valparaiso
Mascara Club in Valparaiso

Oceania » Samoa » Upolu » Apia February 13th 2010

Coming to Samoa is special. Flying from Auckland you literally go back in time 24 hours as you cross the international date line. The reality is far stranger as you enter a lush tropical paradise where people still hold the family and religious values of the 1800's! Yes they have the kind of beaches that bored office workers around the world can only dream of, but that's not actually the main attraction. It's the ability to experience a place where people exist in small manageable communities that are ruled by the laws of the village chiefs and church ministers, who use the 'fear of God' combined with strict traditional values to keep their flocks in order. Upolu Dave's cousin Peter and his wife, Moana, have been living in the Samoan capital Apia for the last ... read more
In our 'fale' in Savai'i
A fire dancer at Aggie Grey's hotel, Upolu
Dave's cousin, Peter, dancing on a night out!

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Paihia January 26th 2010

North Island - Part 1 We kicked off to a less than perfect start in New Zealand. It's funny how Qantas can say your baggage has been “lost” even though they themselves knowingly left it on the tarmac at Sydney! During the 3 days we had to wait we hired a car and spent some time exploring the city. Auckland itself isn't all that stylish and there isn't an abundance of greenery or parks in the city centre, but it's a practical place, and good for shopping, rather than sight-seeing. The coastal scenery and islands around Auckland are beautiful. Our 6 week camping adventure started east of Auckland in the Coromandel Peninsula. The peninsula has all the best bits of New Zealand rolled into a small area. It's got mountains and forests, surrounded by powder ... read more
Getting ready for Christmas whilst camping
Corinne skydiving
Marlborough Sounds

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Bondi Beach December 22nd 2009

From Ayres Rock we flew to Cairns, to experience one of the natural wonders of the world - the Great Barrier Reef. Upon arriving in Cairns, we were surprised by how Floridian it was, with lots of beautiful wooden beach houses, wide open roads, fish restaurants, bars and parades of shops. Surprisingly, Cairns doesn't have a beach, and the Great Barrier Reef is quite a long boat ride from the shore. However, they've made the most of their coastal area, with a huge free swimming pool on the coast, manicured gardens and parks, picnic and BBQ areas. There's also long boardwalk along the coast to a huge marina. Everyone seems to enjoy being outside, and the climate is tropical. On our first full day we hired a car and headed north to Port Douglas (a pretty ... read more
Tamarama Beach, Sydney
Dave's masterpiece...20 years on and still standing!
Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Perth » Perth City November 25th 2009

Perth and West Coast We flew from Singapore to Perth, where we met Dave's brother Mike - who was in Australia on holiday for a week. Arriving in Perth was a strange feeling; everyone spoke English, drove on the left, and the streets and houses all looked similar to England. Long lines of flat roofed shops set back on the side of the roads felt very American. We'd been in Asia for so long, with street stalls and peddle rickshaws dominating the roads, and weren't used to seeing all of the cars and civilised 'order'. It was a culture shock, yet felt familiar at the same time. Perth itself is a fairly small city, with skyscrapers and pedestrianised shopping areas in the centre. Twenty minutes drive from Perth, along the Swan River, takes you through ... read more
Green Pools, Denmark
'Tree Top Walk', Walpole
Margaret River countryside

Asia November 11th 2009

Our second month in Indonesia was spent in Bali, Lombok and Java. We first flew to Kuala Lumpur to renew our Indonesian visa, and buy a new camera! We then headed to Denpasar in Bali, and decided to go to the popular Kuta Beach in the south west. It's a favourite party beach area for Australians - and is packed full of bars, restaurants, fast food chains, shopping and surfing! After having been fairly isolated for the past month, it was a shock to the system being in Kuta. Suddenly we were surrounded by Westerners and junk food! It felt strange, but familiar at the same time. After a couple of days we made our way to Ubud - a mountain town closer to the centre of Bali. The town itself is old, chic and ... read more
Rice fields near Ubud, Bali
Picture shop in Ubud
Being sold to at the rice fields!




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