Dyl

We are dropped off at Bangkok airport by the free hotel shuttle bus in plenty of time to check in for our flight. We drop off a bag then saunter through the security search and bag scan to our departure lounge. It is not long before we board a toy plane and settle in for the one hour flight to Trat. We are greeted by three Thai women who bow, hands in pray position as we get off the plane and are driven in a brightly coloured shuttle bus passed topery elephants to the hut that is the airport building. We queue up in the official airport taxi rank. Now in every guidebook I have read I have been advised to get taxis only from the official airport tax rank and every time that I have ... read more

Sadly it was time to say goodbye to Jo and Brett, our kind hosts in Sydney. It was an airport goodbye under the bright flat light and polished floor we hugged and kissed and struggled to find the right words of thanks and farewell. Then they were gone and we walked through to the security check area and a two hour wait for our flight. As I eluded to in earlier posts we have overspent a little on our travels and Japan, being one on the more expensive and later countries visited on our trip had fallen victim to our earlier extravagance, unforseen expenditures and the falling pound against the dollar. Unfortunately the terms and conditions of our One World around the world ticket dictate that a change of time or date can be made to ... read more

I am back in Sydney and have settled into a routine of getting drunk every night and spending my days working on my CV, reading design blogs, starting my own design blog http://dnoise.wordpress.com/ pushing a few pixels around, looking at job sites and generally getting prepared for applying for jobs when we return to the UK. Our travels are nearly over we have a week in Thailand to unwind before flying back to England on the 14th April. It's a little earlier than we planned but we've spent all our money, which will be of no great surprise to anyone who knows Lou or I. Meet up with Emma, who is Matt's sister, her husband Jason and their dog Kyte. Emma cooked us a lovely meal while Jason kept my wine glass full all night. We ... read more

We landed in Melbourne and picked up our hire car. We followed by cousins directions to his house but missed a turning and drove about five kilometres in the wrong direction before calling him and doubling back on ourselves. He was waiting in a parked beat up but much loved old Alpha Romeo and got out when we pulled up behind him. It was 1988 when we last saw each other and there was a moment when we just looked at each other grasping for some kind of recognition which I think I found in his eyes but twenty one years is a long time and I guess we had both changed quite a bit. We shook hands and we followed him back to his house, a task made no easier by his faulty indicators that ... read more

It took us around seven hours to drive from Queenstown to Milford Sounds. For the most part we drove through fairly picturesque farmland, it was only when we reached the Fiordland National Park that the scenery got really beautiful. There is dense woodland through which dappled sunlight shines. The translucent leaves are caressed by the light and shimmer brightly making the forest glow a golden green. There are mirrored lakes reflecting the great mountains on one side and the forest on the other. Fish swim in the crystal clear water and ducks paddle on it's surface occasionally diving through weeds to find food. The road climbs past great silent grey cliffs with waterfalls cascading down from above. We stop before a huge tunnel and take in the view a Kea Parrot joins us looking for food. ... read more

We pack quickly and quietly in a nervous silence that was only briefly broken by a lame comment about fatality and fear that was followed by a nervous laugh. It was early and I had slept surprisingly well forcing the fear to the back of my mind with the help of a few beers and spirits, something that my aching head now regretted. We drove through quiet streets into town passing a few joggers who were oblivious to our fear. I parked in the underground car park and we walked into town in search of breakfast. We both felt unable to sit still at a cafe table and wait for service so with time ticking on relentlessly we settled for a couple on banana energy boost smoothies. The young man behind the counter was obviously hung ... read more

Queenstown is extreme sports town full to the brim with European back packers and thrill seekers. There is a unspoken competition of who can be the most nonchelont, unaffected and cool. Young men with deadlocks juggle in the park. Two men jam on guitar and fiddle buy a jewellery and arts market. People stroll around, shades down in the sun. We sign up for a power boat trip down and white water rafting down the Shotover river and in a moment of bravery a Skydive the following day. We put thoughts of throwing ourselves out of a perfectly good plane to the back of our minds and get on with enjoying the rest of our activities. After a ten minute bus ride out to the Shotover river we are dressed in black waterproof coveralls and orange ... read more

I carry my trainers onto the ferry in a plastic bag. They are still wet and caked in mud from the Whanganui river. They stink and I am sure that I cannot be the only passenger who can smell them. The crossing takes place mainly at night so we do not get to see much and when we arrive in Picton at nine thirty most of the dinning establishments are closed. A few remain open but they are full of drunken backpackers and I am not in the mood to deal with them. We drive out to the hostel that we booked earlier that day. Our room is in what looks like a shed in the back garden. It is about ten by six foot and contains two bunk beds on of which has a double ... read more

The flight from Sydney to Wellington is around three hours long but it seemed longer as I made the mistake of watching the in flight movie 'The Day the World Stood Still'. When we arrived our hire car was ready and waiting for us so there was no lugging around awkward bags, negotiating of taxi fairs or deciphering of bus time tables to be done. We drove to the Tapa Museum which was free and had several exhibits on. We visited the history of New Zealand which started by describing how the first Mauri settelers came here from Asia via south sea islands thousands of years ago the going on to the first Europeans arrival through political struggles for racial equality in the Sixtys and seventies through to present day culture. It used allot of personal ... read more

We spend most of the week relaxing with walks around near by harbours, playing the Wii, and taking turns cooking dinner. All meals are washed down with plentiful quantities of wine. We also enjoy some sporting activities with a visit the beach where we enjoy a dip in the wonderfully cooling turquoise, blue and green sea just up from where the surfers, kite boarders and canoeists weave in and out of each other. I am preoccupied slightly by a nagging concern of shark attack that is somewhat heightened by the three reports of shark attacks in Sydney that week, an unusually high number for the time of year. I take a morning swim in the Dawn Fraser swimming baths. It was actually the afternoon but I had only been up a few hours. They are a ... read more