Today would be my last day in this pleasant town of Portland. I had a bus due for 6pm. Before checking out, Judy and I headed out to have breakfast at a cafe called 'Seattle's Best Coffee'. The name speaks for itself; I ordered a vanilla latte and it was quite good. Then we headed back to the hostel, where I checked out and retrieved my stuff. Judy still had another night booked, and she would be going the same way as me tomorrow, although, to Los Angeles first. We decided to hang for a bit and walk around the city, grabbing lunch from a Chinese restaurant along the way. Until 3pm, we walked around, chatted, then parted ways. We should be meeting again in LA in about a week's time. I waited for my bus ... read more

Today I didn’t really do much. I woke up at around 1pm, and after saying goodbye to Aki, who was leaving, I went and grabbed something to eat. Dallas and the boys, Jake and Callum, who didn’t spend the night here, came in and we all met again. They stayed here for a little while, then headed off. I made sure to grab their contact details before they did so. I decided then to go out into the city and do some walking around. Portland is quite a nice looking town; I was happy I took the time to check it out. I grabbed some Subway as well, from the most cheerful American server I had come across. He seemed to really enjoy making my Subway for me; even told me which one was his favourite. ... read more

Portland had quite a bit to offer in terms of experience. We’ll get to that. First of all, I embarked on my first greyhound bus in Seattle. Journey time to Portland was four hours. I grabbed my first burrito on the way too, which was from a gas station. It wasn’t that great. Maybe I should go to Taco Bell next time. Once I got to my hostel in Portland, which was a long walk from the bus station, I became acquainted with two of my roommates, Callum, an Aussie from Adelaide, and Jake from London. We got to know eachother very fast. Soon after, another two roommates came in; Judy from Taiwan and Aki from Japan. With Callum and Jake, I soon after headed out with a new local friend of theirs, literally just met. ... read more

The first thing I decided to do today was take the underground city tour. However, before going there, I first took a quick walk and look around the Pike Markets, just outside my hostel. There was plenty of seafood for sale and I considered buying something later on. By 10am, I was at Pioneer Square where I bought myself the underground tour - we all got together, and our tour guide, yet another comedian, gave us a history briefing and got to know some of us, myself included. I learnt some interesting things today. The old city was built below the shoreline at high-tide, and it was designed so that when high-tide came in, it would bring all the sewage back out with it. However, there were problems; sometimes, the sewage would wash back up into ... read more

Today was an interesting day. I was awake pretty early in the morning, and I prepared myself with a thermal jumper, assuming it would be cold up the mountain, as it wasn't that warm here in the city. I made my way to the pickup point - which was the Sheraton Hotel. The tour bus was out the front. I hopped on bored and the day trip had begun. I was introduced to a group of 22 other people. We set off and were given a brief overview of Seattle before getting onto the freeway and making our way towards Mount Rainier National Park. The tour guide was very funny. An uplifting and happy person - he said he had been doing the job for 14 years. I think we all learnt a lot from him. ... read more

This is day three, and I have not managed that much sleep. The five hour flight between Honolulu and Seattle involved having my eyes closed, but being conscious. Furthermore, my seat was directly in front of the emergency exit, so it could not recline. I wasn't too happy about that. Nonetheless I arrived into Seattle and appreciated the views. It was 6:20 in the morning. I claimed my baggage, and found myself a city map at the terminal. I asked a near bystander if he knew the way into the city, and so he directed me to the Light-Rail station. This rail system was neat and looked well organised. Views of the suburbs washed past as I approached the city - I was pleased. It wasn't too hard to find the hostel I was staying at ... read more

The descent into Christmas Island was beautiful. The island was very pristine, with hardly any development. Paradise for naturalists. Very flat islands, not much higher than sea level. The plane was only to be grounded for an hour, with no one getting off except for those who were staying here. I've had hardly any sleep. It was difficult on board the plane, but I tried to basically keep my eyes closed for the longest time possible. It was better than nothing. It was soon after that we crossed the date line on the way to Hawaii, and thus, crossing back into the previous day; from the 14th to the 13th of September.... read more

So here I am, once again, ready to embark on another journey. It really doesn’t feel like its been a long time since my last trip. Time to take it to the other hemisphere. I had two separate tickets; one to Honolulu, and one from Honolulu to Seattle. My first stopover would be Nadi in Fiji. The boarding attendant accidentally tore my boarding pass, and so I had to wait a little longer before they could get me my seat, but no big deal. I got a seat on the upper deck of the 747. From here it was just sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying the flight. Feelings of euphoria came over me; I was very happy. There was no decent entertainment on the flight, so I put on my iPod, which sufficed. I had fish ... read more

I finally reached Hawaii. The descent into this place was stunning too. I was touching down in the United States of America, and I was happy. Immigration went fine. I had to give fingerprint samples. The Airport and Honolulu itself, quite warm, but I wasn't overly fond of this airport. I called a displayed number to get my luggage stored so that I could go into the city without having to carry anything. The guy never showed up. I felt a little uneasy. Well, that usually happens at first. This was normal for me on my first/second day of travel, and I know things will get better soon. I reminded myself of the friends I was going to meet to help comfort myself. Anyway, I took a bus ride into town, with my luggage, and caught ... read more

Again, I'm nervous the day before I leave for my trip. This is my third solo overseas journey; this time I am visiting the United States of America. I'm sat at home after a visit to my Uncle's, having a cup of chamomile tea to ease the nervousness. I'm reminding myself of the joys of travelling. I know all of this tension is part of the experience, and it's one thing that definitely makes it so special and memorable. I am looking forward to getting out of here, once again. Throughout the year that I've been at home, working and saving up, as well as trying to enjoy my life outside of travelling, I have been preparing myself spiritually and emotionally, and I'm hoping I will learn to look from yet another perspective while on the ... read more