Dipdab

Next blog, whoop whoop! After a fantastic time on Magnetic Island, I was a little reluctant to move on. I'd seen so many animals and had really enjoyed just chilling in a hammock by the pool. BUT, I was heading to Airlie Beach, gateway to the Whitsundays, and from what I'd heard about it, it was well worth leaving Magnetic Island for. So, I hopped on my greyhound bus, and set forth for Airlie Beach. I was picked up by my hostel from the bus station and was taken back to a really clean, pretty little hostel, where I had arrived just in time to watch the nightly movie. What a great way to unwind! Just relaxing in front of the TV after a 5 or so hour bus journey. I spent the next couple of ... read more

My next Australia blog (aka massive essay..... :9 ) is here! This one is just going to be about my time in the Cairns area, as I have so much to write about Queensland that I could never fit it all into one blog. It would cause me to breakdown! I was shattered when I eventually arrived in Cairns, after having my flights screwed around. Rocked up to my hostel at 9.30am, not having slept at all. I was allowed to dump my stuff but couldn't check into my room until 2pm, so had a whole lot of time to waste when all i really wanted to do was sleep. I headed on down to the Lagoon, which was basically this swimming pool with salt water in it, and found a nice tree to sit under. ... read more

Hello all from Indonesia!! Here is my blog about the beautiful islands of Java, Bali, Lombok and Gili Meno. On my first proper day in Indonesia we got on a train at around 9am to take us from Jakarta to Yogyakarta; where a lot of the famous temples are. Unfortunately it was a looooooooong train journey, 8 hours in total! Still, it meant we could sleep some, and get to know each other better (having only met each other the day before), and we made it fun by chatting, reading and mucking around. Got to Yogyakarta in the evening, so we just dumped our stuff and went out for dinner. A few people went out, but i headed back to the room so I'd be well rested for a full day of looking and walking around ... read more

Second and last blog about Tibet :D We went to go visit Tashilumpo Monastery on the morning of the 23rd of May. It was the Monastery I had walked around the day before, so it was nice to go inside and actually see it properly. Founded in 1447 by a nephew and disciple of Tsongkhapa (founder of the yellow hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism); who was retroactively named the first Dalai Lama. The original building was built above a sacred sky-burial site and is one of the four great Geluk monasteries in Tibet and at its peak, housed 4700 monks. It is still the largest functioning monastic community in Tibet today (probably because the Potala isn't allowed to be used). The Tashilumpo monastery is the seat of the Panchen Lama, second only to the Dalai Lama ... read more

Hello all! This is my last blog about China, finally!! Then I can move on to some of the other places I've been to more recently. After arriving in Guilin at the ungodly hour of 5am, it was an hour or so on a bus before we arrived at Yangshuo. Once the rooms were sorted as best as possible at such an early hour, I had a super quick cold shower before meeting back downstairs to go for some breakfast. Yangshuo is very different from just about all the rest of China, in that it had a huge selection of both Chinese and Western food. So I indulged in a banana pancake for breakfast. Heaven!! Then I went back to my room for a nap, before going on an orientation walk of Yangshuo town and having ... read more