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Fawkes - Alexandra Watson

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I have wanted to travel for as long as I can remember; to get out and see the world beyond the safe and relatively happy little bubble of Blightly. I have travelled a little in Europe and with my mother being South African my visits out there have really given me a taste for venturing out of the bubble; just me and my camera.

Nov '07 - Bought my RTW ticket (leaving 3rd of March,thank you very much!) and the plans have changed ever so slightly! Basically I switched round; now starting off in Joburg and ending up in New York, with a whole load of craziness inbetween. Itinery now including the introduction of a month in China and doing Central America solo! Opps! And damn STA said i couldn't go to Adu Dhabi, ah well, next trip!

3rd March - Joburg - Cape Town - Hong Kong - China - Thailand - Laos - Vietnam - Cambodia - Singapore - Australia - New Zealand - LA - Mexico - Guatemala - Honduras - Belize - San Fran - Grand Canyon - Colorado - Canada - New York - Home.

And all pretty much on my tod .... what have I got myself in for?!

p.s. sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes, before you all comment! yes, I know, good education down the drain! but I am a crappy typer and I think it's more fun to write in the way that things come out of my head, so you will just have to get used to it! xxx

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Joined on: October 4th 2007
Last Login: July 14th 2008

Blog Entries: 11
Photos: 388
Recommended by 1, Recommends 9

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Fawkes, order by Date newest first.

By Fawkes
May 24th 2008

"I'm sorry the bridge to immortality is closed"

Asia » China » Shaanxi » Xi'an

Wishes
Big Wild Goose Pagoda

6am is riddiculously early to arrive in any city, especially a new one and when you had no idea where you are going. So when I came out of the train station and saw a guy waving a placard with the logo of the hostel I booked on it, I was surprizingly relieved. I know it's more adventurous to find your way with the buses and you get a sense of achievement when you make it (Blah blah blah), but I was tried and stressed out after Beijing so I was more than happy to accept my free pickup gratefully! I [View Full Entry]

By Fawkes
May 21st 2008

The Great Wall smells of Jasmine

Asia » China » Beijing

Window to China
The Great Wall

I seem to very luckily meet people just as i'm losing others! Judit and Daniel were going back to their flat on the other side of Beijing and just as we were getting a taxi, Dan (I guy that incidently I had seen in Yangshuo! Very random sighting - I remembered commenting to the others on this guy that had really good chopstick skills when we were in a cafe, I was really jealous! Dan said he actually remembered us too and thought he had something on his face coz we all turned round and looked at him!) asked if I [View Full Entry]

By Fawkes
May 13th 2008

Off the beaten track and lowering my standards

Asia » China » Guangxi » Ping An

(still more photo issues, give me a break!) Taking a bus from Guilin to Longshen and then from Longshen to Ping'an seemed like a big pain in the arse, but meeting a Spanish couple who spoke Mandarin on the bus definitely made things easier! The road to Ping'An is interesting to say the least, a zigzag on a mountain edge and nothing but the odd bamboo to keep us on, the driver was however not as much of a nutcase as others and the road was good. Judit sorted us out with a room for 15yuan a night (just over a [View Full Entry]

By Fawkes
May 11th 2008

That Paddy Field Incident

Asia » China » Yangshuo

(more photo issues, give me a time and the will 'im up there!) Arriving in China mainland was like a breath of fresh air - I had finally made it! No probs with the expensive, express train into Guangzhou, apart from the first brush with the infamous squat toilets while going through immigration! (Luckily I wasn't searched as I had the contraband Lonely Plant China on me!) Finding my way in a new country, through their tube system, at 10 o'clock at night, with no Mandrin was interesting but not impossible and finally arriving at Riverside YHA was a huge relief! [View Full Entry]

By Fawkes
May 7th 2008

Ultimate Humilation and the perfection of the Death Stare

Asia » Hong Kong » Kowloon

(problems with memory cards and crappy internet places so photos will be uploaded in Thailand) Arriving in hot and humid Hong Kong with no sleep for however many goddamn hours - not knowing what day of the week was, let alone the time - was a real shock to the system. I was already drenched in sweat and the size and closeness of the skyscrapers seemed to bear down on me from above; but hey! I had a new stamp in my passport and I was ready to see a brand spanking new country! As I struggled uselessly with my bus [View Full Entry]

By Fawkes
April 27th 2008

Curry, snow and one hell of a hangover - just another day in SA

Africa » South Africa » KwaZulu-Natal » Durban

North Beach at Sundown

O.K. so I have one confession to make - even though I was in Durban for almost a week I didn't have a Bunny Chow, in fact I didn't have a curry at all! Awful, I know. For those that don't know Durban has the largest Indian population outside of India and the Bunny Chow is an African/Indian delicacy - 1/4, 1/2 or a whole loaf of bread hollowed out and filled with delicious curry (I actually had one in Joburg so I know they're good!) After all that beach and village life style Amy and I were in need of [View Full Entry]

By Fawkes
April 21st 2008

20 cows for my hand in marriage...well I think that's fair.

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape

From my dorm room - J Bay
Not to shabby for Allie!

Making the decision to leave Cape Town was hard because there was still so much to do but it was in the end an excellent decision. I got on the Baz Bus (which I wasn't too sure about because backpacker buses are known for the amount of 18 yrold piss heads who are just trying to get laid - not really my thing!) but actually it was low season and there weren't that many peopel on the bus so it was a very civilised way to travel (and the safest option for a girl traveling on her own). So I headed [View Full Entry]

By Fawkes
April 9th 2008

From stoners to cocktails and climbing mountains to jumping out of planes

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Cape Town

Trying the parachute thing out

Cape town is an incredibly infectious city. Basically I love it here and am v. glad about the news that it looks like I'll have a pretty good reason to come back!;) Carlyn took me over to Knysna and I started the real 'traveling' part of my trip - a hostel bed with 9 other people in the room, Gahhhhhh! I have been too spoilt! Highfields hostel is actually quite nice but I was pretty freaked out at the thought of having to strike up conversation with strangers; especially considering I have become so accustommed to the company of my family. [View Full Entry]

By Fawkes
March 25th 2008

On being the easter bunny and jumping off bridges

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Plettenberg Bay

In the mist
Carlyn and Johan at Keurbooms

So waking up at 4am is never fun but when you have a 14 hour drive in front of you just have to stuck it up and hope no-one talks to you! Lots of stunning scenery and finally getting out of the fog of joburg later, we find ourselves at the start of a road that says "road closed - flood damage" of course we still go down it following a slight;ly insane afrikaans guy who said it should be fine; and Johan not wanting to go the long way round and wanting to show me the views from the prince [View Full Entry]

By Fawkes
March 18th 2008

Murder City (my home away from home)

Africa » South Africa » Gauteng » Johannesburg

Stormy twilight at Hakahana

OK so Joburg is known as the crime capital but to me it's just a really normal place to go. Feels a bit weird to be honest, I'm meant to be off travelling and here I am being greeted by Carlyn at the airport and staying in my Omi's old house in a double room with ensuite and balcony - I'm not exactly roughing it! From to moment I arrived I have been faced head on with all the crap that is going on here; the whole Zuma thing and I'm slowly trying to understand more of the history and culture [View Full Entry]

OK so I might like Zebras a bit too much!