http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Dilini/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Dilini en-us Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:50:57 +0000 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:50:57 +0000 There was no way I would go to Munich without visiting the BMW showroom and museum. I apologised to Elsie beforehand as i had a feeling she would be bored she did enjoy it a little I think BMW Bayerische MotorenWerke or Bavarian Motor Works in English. I was in heaven. I will let the pictures do the talking...We were lucky enough to be in Germany during the World Cup soccer that is http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-124749.html The lsquocity gatesrsquo into Muncih which were a part of the original wall that surrounded the city during the time of the war still stand We visited the church whose two huge towers were used as landmarks by the British during the World War when they were attempting to bomb Munich. We walked through the English Gardens visited the Hofbrauhaus one of Munichrsquos famous beer halls and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-124742.html Our first experience in a 6 bed mixed dormhellip hmmm. But we were lucky the guys who did end up staying in our room were quite nice. Foo and I pessimists that we are were imagining all sorts of horrible things about dirty old men 61514 phewMunich is an amazing city. Aptly called the beer capital of the world beer houses are dotted throughout the city with many tourists as well as local http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-124738.html The 3rd smallest country in the world And absolutely beautiful toohellip had to pay 2 euro to get a stamp in our passports to prove wersquove been there What a scam 61514 but we fell for it anyway http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Liechtenstein/blog-124736.html I have to say everywhere in Switzerland is absolutely stunning. We stopped in luzerne on our way to Munich.. we bought more swiss army knives ate some delectable swiss nibblies and soaked in the beauty at our pitstophellip http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/North-West/Lucerne/blog-124732.html Needless to say Lauterbrunnen with all itrsquos stunning mountains and valleys rivers and lakes provides plenty of opportunities for all sorts of extreme sports like paragliding bungee jumping and white water rafting. Foo and I werenrsquot game enough to try any of that but we did go for a hike to see Trummelbachfalle Trummelbach Falls.Trummelbach Falls is a glacial waterfall as the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/South-West/Lauterbrunnen/blog-124724.html Absolutely picturesque And thankfully not as cold as we thought it was going to be. It was our first experience in a multiple bed dormhellip a 6 bed one all girl dorm though. It was also our first experience with shared showers and bathrooms I think we struggled more with the idea of this than the idea of sharing our roomLauterbrunnen is a tiny village in German Switzerland nestled in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/South-West/Lauterbrunnen/blog-124720.html The Basilique du Sacre Coeur Basilica of the Sacred Heart is located at the summit of the Montmartre butte the only hill in Paris and the highest point in the city. Paris is a flat city no hills except this one. From the top you look out over the city and it's amazing.The actual church is amazing too breathtakingly beautiful on the inside again no photos unfortunately. Not being Catholi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-102415.html Well after months of planning and anticipation out Busabout journey finally begins on a Tuesday at 8am. This of course required us to wake up around 5.30 so we could get ourselves and our backpacks which we still weren't used to carrying around with us to Busabout headquarters in time for departure... we made it but only just Foo and I were the last to get on the bus we scraped in with http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Kent/Dover/blog-102359.html Paris is a beautiful city full of old and beautiful architecture. Full of beautiful people too We couldn't get over how good looking and well groomed everyone was Male and female both they were definitely pleasing to the eye good to know that all those rumours have some truth to them And there were designer stores everywhere Certainly not something we see too much of in lovely down to e http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-102412.html So in the spirit of being Australian we decided to support our team in the soccer. Foo and I had heard about the amazing win over Japan and we were looking forward to a repeat performance against Brazil... sigh oh well.Still we got all dressed up in yellow and grabbed our Aussie flag and headed to the Walkabout a chain of Aussie pubs here in London. It was so packed And so full of Aus http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-101336.html There is some amazing history in London it is bizarre coming from a place where what we consider ancient is only 200 years old... there is so much culture in London...Trafalgar Square was amazing. It's a square in Central London not far from The Strand yay for Monopoly that commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar 1805 which was apparently a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars..The http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-101328.html Well here we are... In London. We landed around 6.30 in the morning and my brother and a few of our friends thanks Deb Trav Nil from Perth were at Heathrow to pick us up It was great to see familiar faces after such a long timeSo after a few hours of catching up on sleep we headed out to see some of the London sights. Had our first experience on the infamous London Underground and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-83684.html Back home for a few days. Had enough time to hang out with the dogs Kobe and Spark Hung out with the family my uncle aunt grandma and cousin... It's wonderful to come home .... and even managed to go out on Saturday and catch up with a few friends from Perth too before we headed for Europe... http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Western-Province/Colombo/blog-83678.html That evening we managed to see a cultural dancing show and some fire eating... do not try at home http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Central-Province/Kandy/blog-83673.html Our next feat was to climb Sigiriya Rock Fortress. It was originally built around 477 AD as an impenetrable fortress by King Kasyapa of Sri Lanka and much later 16th and 17th centuries history tells us it was used as a monastery by Buddhist monks. It is the 8th Wonder of the Modern World...The rock stands over 200m tall and there are 1200 steps carved into the rock face some easy and some not http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Central-Province/Kandy/blog-83665.html The next day we headed to Kandy the centre of the island which used to be the capital. It is home to a lot of Sri Lanka's cultural history and also the Temple of the Tooth Dalada Maligawa. On the way to Kandy we stopped at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Elsie absolutely adores elephants so she was loving it. We watched the elephants bathing and playing. This orphanage has about 70 or so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Sabaragamuwa-Province/Pinnawala/blog-83645.html The Dalada Maligawa Temple of the Tooth in English used to be a royal palace and is now a Buddhist temple where a tooth relic of the Lord Buddha is kept. The relic is stored inside a gold casket and kept under lock and key. Every evening the room is opened for the public to view the golden casket thousands of people gather here to get a glimpse...We went to the Temple at night it was the f http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Central-Province/Kandy/blog-83657.html From Brunei we went back to KL airport where we stayed overnight in an airport hotel we just couldn't bring ourselves to sleep on the airport lounges.. and then flew to Colombo Sri Lanka. We stayed with my uncle mom's brother aunty and grandmother in the house my mother grew up in and where we have spent most of our childhood summer holidays in...Sri Lanka is amazing... if I do say so m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Western-Province/Colombo/blog-83643.html another amazing thing i saw in brunei was the water village a whole little city built on stilts in the water. everything is built on water the houses the schools even the mosques everyone gets from one place to another on boats or for visitors water taxis. absolutely fascinating... it's not that the people who live there are poor though the houses donn't look that flash they choose to l http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Brunei/blog-76266.html