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Melanie and Hiral
Our Round the World Adventure, 2011/2012 Hilly and Melon
We'll never forget that boring day at work when we first talked about going travelling. I printed off a list of world countries, showed them to smelon and went through and highlighted all those we agreed we wanted to visit.
And since then......after a lot of organising, we're going on a trip of a lifetime and backpacking our way around the world!! : Starting in Thailand,moving on to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Borneo. Spending Xmas and New Year in Bali, a few nights in Sydney and moving on to South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Brazil.
We look forward to what awaits in each country and its definitely time for us to see more than the inside of the underground every day. This is a blog written for our friends and family, but everyone’s welcome to read along! We’ll try to post updates as and when we can and hope you enjoy it
Travel Blog Posts
Melon and Michelle say hello to Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore
Published: May 7th 2013Asia » Philippines » Boracay
May 7th 2013
After a 9 hour night bus from Banaue we arrived in Manila at 4am. We jumped in a taxi and headed to the airport where we waited for 11 hours for our flight to Kalibo. Once we arrived in Kalibo we caught a 2 hour coach ride to Caticlan where we caught a boat to the island or Boracay. Finally, at 930pm, we had arrived. We had a drink then went straight to bed, best sleep ever! There isnt much to say about Boracay other than its a paradise beach resort that needs to be seen to be believed. The sand is white, the ocean blue, the sun shines and the food and drink flows. The beach is littered with palm trees and sailing boats and has to be the most beautiful beach I have seen. ... read more
Melon and Michelle say hello to Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore
Published: May 7th 2013Asia » Philippines » Manila » Malate
May 7th 2013
Our next stop from Palawan was Manila. Not my favourite place to say the least. Our hostel was nice, had a rooftop swimming pool with a nice view overlooking Manila. That was the only nice part of the city however. It is extremely poor, under developed, dirty, hot and with not much to offer in terms of sights. We only stayed in Manila a night and used it more as a link to get from one place to another. We did however meet two guys, one brit and one German who travelled with us to Banaue, home of the rice terraces. If you plan to travel to the terraces try and book your bus ticket a day before in peak seasons but you should be able to find a hostel once you arrive in Banaue. We ... read more
Melon and Michelle say hello to Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore
Published: May 7th 2013Asia » Philippines » Palawan » Puerto Princesa
May 7th 2013
Puerto Princessa- we have arrived! We arrived in Palawan excited and looking forward to our trip to the underground river, one of the new 7 natural wonders of the world. We made our way to our hotel (which was very pretty, we even had own our hammocks) only to discover that we needed a permit to visit the underground river and they were all sold out until May :( We decided not to give up so we went to the permit office in the hope to charm our way to a pass. We encountered a miserable cow who eventually told us that if we were to wait in line outside the office from 5am the next day then we may be able to secure a pass for that day. We left feeling deflated but still hopeful ... read more
Melon and Michelle say hello to Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore
Published: May 7th 2013Asia » Philippines » Cebu » Mactan Island
May 7th 2013
From one island- we move to another, Mactan. Once we arrive in Mactan we are instantly ripped off by a taxi driver at the port, typical. Always always insist on a meter and never ask how much as they instantly make up a price and turn the meter off. At times you might have a battle on your hands but always go with the meter if you can. Our taxi driver, although a rip off merchant did get us to our resort. We were greeted by the staff who had no idea we were coming and tried to set us up in a more expensive room. I shouted loud enough that the owner gave us an upgrade (so he says) for the same price I originally booked for. His wife was a real life cruella deville. ... read more
Melon and Michelle say hello to Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore
Published: May 7th 2013Asia » Philippines » Cebu
May 7th 2013
After our break in Hong Kong we head to Cebu, Philippines. The first thing I notice is the poverty in the city. It is under developed and dirty with lots of people loitering on the streets. It is however hot and sunny and the people are happy and friendly. Unfortunately for me the biggest attraction seems to be me! I have never been stared at so much in my life. I'm not quite sure what sparked the overwhelming interest in me but it kept the natives entertained. I was greeted by 'hello mam' at every corner. Michelle was lucky enough to blend in a little better than me. Our first day was spent wondering the city where we visited a temple, a church, a native cross and tried to find some food. One thing that has ... read more
Melon and Michelle say hello to Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore
Published: May 7th 2013Asia » Philippines » Banaue
May 7th 2013
So after almost a year of being back home I felt it was time to take a mini trip back to Asia, only with a new travel buddy this time- Michelle! Our journey begins with a two day stop in Hong King, Michelle's family home. Soon as we arrive I am struck by the ridiculous humidity, it wasnt even sunny- just hot and humid! We make it to our hostel and I get a surprise...Michelle did warn me the rooms were small, she wasnt kidding. I've uploaded a pic of the room that was clearly designed only for ants to live in its so small. Each day we did the polite shuffle past each other, with one person pressed against the wall and the other crouching on the bed. Aside from the lack of space, the ... read more
Iguazu Falls and the END!
Published: May 1st 2012South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos AiresMay 1st 2012
After a great weekend in Florianopolis we took our last ever bus to iguazu to see the falls. We spent our first day exploring the town and wierdly managed to get a local bus to another country.. Paraguay! It was a crazy place full of market stalls selling all sorts of junk.. unfortunately it rained all day long and we drowned in the process of finding our hostel on the way home..it only took us 3 buses to get back. luckily for us though the weather was on our side the next day, perfect to see the brazilian side of the falls which were amazing! we walked along the trail stopping at different platforms along the way each showing the waterfalls from a different angle. we saw a panoramic view of the falls and as the ... read more
Sao Paulo and Santa Catarina
Published: April 24th 2012South America » Brazil » Santa Catarina » FlorianópolisApril 24th 2012
Leaving Rio was a sad day but we headed to Sau Paulo for a few nights of partying. Dilpa got to experience her first bus with us, luckily for her it was only a 6 hour ride, not too gruelling. When we arrived at our hostel we were surprised to see that not only did we have the dorm to ourselves but the whole hostel!!! Never has that happened before, it was almost like having our own little house, except for the jelly belly hostel owner of course. The hostel is co-owned by two men, one of which is a pale, chubby little thing who never seemed to wear a shirt. He used to make horrible snorting sounds aswel, he was kind of gross. Sao Paulo is a huge city but unfortunately lacks any daytime excitement. ... read more
Brazil!!!
Published: April 22nd 2012South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro » IpanemaApril 22nd 2012
Another new country to explore and sadly the last one of the trip. We finally made it to Brazil, land of big bums and tiny swimsuits. As always the journey to a new place is one to mention. For once it wasnt a case of horrible buses or me being sick but instead a first class flight from Peru to Brazil, oh yeah! Nothing quite like a bit of first class after 5 months of cheap travel. First stop was Rio De Janeiro and Ipanema beach. Its no lie the people in Rio are extremely fit, buffed up and surprisngly gay. I didnt realise just how large the gay community in Ipanema would be. That was my first observation, the second was that Brazilians dont seem to wear any clothes, they really do walk around in ... read more
April 21st 2012
After our gruelling Spanish lessons we flew to the Amazon for a ´rest'! we flew to the Amazon town of Iquitos and upon our arrival at the airport we heard a man shouting Panayi....... it was our jungle guide who gave us a warm welcome upon arrival... we were taken to our hotel and spent the first night exploring Iquitos town. The following morning we met our Amazon jungle guide Wilson who seemed friendly at first but soon started to say comments bordering on inappropriate! we boarded our boat and luck was not on our side as it became terrential downpour getting to our jungle lodge! we ended up getting completely drenched...and Wilson even offered to hold up a cover the entire time to protect us from the rain.. how sweet! we arrived at the lodge ... read more
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