Gary Bidwell & Mel Baker

Jigga and Melman

Hi all, welcome to our travel blog.....

This is a journal of our travels, which begin in March 2007, From Asia-Oz. We will keep you fully updated of how our trip is going! All you need to do is Log-on and browse our journal....

Bon Voyage!





Travel Blog Posts


Fab Fiji.....

Published: May 1st 2007Oceania » Fiji » Mamanuca Islands
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Jigga and Melman
May 1st 2007

We arrived in Nadi in the morning & were soon heading to our island of paradise!!! We boarded the Malolo Cat (huge catamaran) which took us too the island, as you can imagine we were very excited by this time! When we arrived at Musket Cove resort we knew straight away that we were in paradise, as there was no Mcdonalds or Hungry Jacks in sight! Ou room was lovely, it was by the far the best we had stayed in so far... We were soon heading to the pool to catch the afternoon rays! There was lots of activities to do at the resort which included Snorkelling, Kayaking & Island hopping tours. In between our hectic schedule of chilling round the pool & supping Cocktails, we found time too tatke the Kayaks out and ... read more



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Jigga and Melman
April 24th 2007

Hi all, it's us again, we promise this wont be long, but thought we should update you on our whole 2 days in Melbourne! After a change of plan we ended up staying in the Radisson Hotel (Thanks Dad (Brian)) which was very nice... & Yeah! we had our own TV again. We are now hooked on the Australian Big Brother, it's such a shame we have to leave for Fiji tonight, how depressing! hee hee The main thing to do in Melbourne, well top of the priority list - was too go and take a walk down Ramsay Street! For all those who don't know what were going on about - this is where they film Neighbour's (But we know you are all secret fan's anyway).... The afternoon was really good & it was ... read more



Super Sydney!!!

Published: April 22nd 2007Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney
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Jigga and Melman
April 22nd 2007

We have been in Sydney for 9 days & have seen and done so many things. First thing on the agenda was to see of course the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.... and they did not disappoint! We have seen it so many times on TV etc but to actually be there was really cool. Once we had taken the usual tourist shots we headed off to see what else the city had to offer! We also visited the supermarket and got our food supplies for the next week & then in the evening headed for a few BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) cocktail's at the Scubar! Most of the time we were out all day so had bought some ham to make sandwiches for our lunch.... But we came down ... read more



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Jigga and Melman
April 14th 2007

From Noosa we caught the train and headed down to Surfer's Paradise. We were lucky that we had arranged to stay with Chris & Gareth, whilst we were in Surfer's. So once we had settled in, it was time to hit the pubs! We managed to all get a free meal & drinks at a local asian restaurant that the boys used to work at... After that we hit some more pubs & then onto a club! A few drinks later the leg guitar was being strum (Just for you Abby) & once again Chris fell asleep & got us all chucked out... After nursing our hangover we thought it was time to take a look around. Just as we got out we got a text from Sarah Buckmaster, saying that she was coming to ... read more



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Jigga and Melman
April 8th 2007

After catching yet another flight, we arrived in Brisbane safe and sound. We asked around for the cheapest way to get to the city and finally ended up getting a cab. We settled into our hostel and we were soon heading out to meet Joe and Russell again for a few beers... we went to a bar called the Mustang Bar, but soon found ourselves back at the hostel as Gary was turned away for wearing flip flops... I suppose we were just so used to all the laid back beachy places that we have been too. Once we finally got in the bar we met Joe and Russ - Chris McCallister was also with them!! Ended up being a funny night with Chris falling asleep and being chucked out for having too many beers. ... read more



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Jigga and Melman
March 31st 2007

Our time in Australia could not of got off too a worst start, having discovered that we had lost our Camera along with our pictures from Bali, it was time to head down to the town to see if we could not purchase a new one!! and Jonesy, would you believe it.... We have bought a baby Nikon!! We spent the rest of the afternoon looking around the place and checked out a few shops (But we were good and managed not too spend anything this time, so we are getting better)... Whilst in Cairn's we were staying at the Fig Tree Lodge, we had our very own appartment/studio with our own kitchen, so in order to save some money, we decided to head out and buy a few bits i.e. Cereal, Bread, Milk & ... read more



Bumming around in Bali....

Published: March 26th 2007Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Kuta
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Jigga and Melman
March 26th 2007

We spent our 5 nights in Bali in a hotel called the Bali Hai Resort & Spa, which was on Kuta Beach! The hotel was really nice and the staff were very friendly - Although the local's who offered a variety of different services did become very annoying by the end of our stay here! From Transport, to massage, tacky jewellery & ice creams, it can be quite disturbing when you are trying to kick back and relax, on the beach or by the pool. Our intentions in Bali were just that, Kick back, relax and soak up the sun-rays! Our first day was spent by the pool in the morning and we headed to the beach in the afternoon - Where Gary learn't to surf! He hired a little man for a couple of hours ... read more



Shopping in Singpore

Published: March 20th 2007Asia » Singapore
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Jigga and Melman
March 20th 2007

We arrived at the airport & found out that the cheapest way to get to our hotel would be to take the MRT, after this it was supposed to be a 4 minute walk - But an hour later, Gary's map reading finally got us there! Our hotel was the worst so far but was a OK for a bed to sleep in.... We soon realised that we would be sleeping in seperate beds, the hot tap did not work, so it was cold showers for the next 4 days. Then we discovered that the TV did not work, but Gary did manage to fix it (move over cliff, there's a new electrician in town)!!! In the evening we went for a meal and then took a walk down the famous Orchard Road where there ... read more



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Jigga and Melman
March 15th 2007

We have really enjoyed Phuket - We arrived to the Royal Paradise hotel, which was lovely, along with the added bonus of a sea view room!!! We spent our first morning relaxing by the pool and took a wander to the beach in the afternoon. Patong beach is very long and packed... To be honest it is very commercial... Slightly Costa Del Sol! In the evening, we went for a romantic meal on the 24th floor of our hotel, where we had view's of the whole of Patong beach and the bustling nightlife.... The next day we had to be up early as we went on a trip to the Phi Phi Island's. First of all our boat took us around 'Phi Phi Lay', where we got too see Maya Bay, where they filmed 'The Beach' ... read more



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Jigga and Melman
March 12th 2007

Flying into Koh Samui we were so excited, all we could see below us was beautiful sandy beaches, it looked amazing! When we landed we were picked up and taken to the airport..if thats what you can call it. It was so small basically a shed with a thatched roof and 1 small baggage carosol!! The first thing to hit us was the heat, so as soon as we arrived at Al's Hut where we had a cute little bungalow we dropped our bags and hit the beach to catch the last few hours of sun!! The next day we went straight to the beach to get our first real tan.... in the sun Melman looked so brown (and she kept bragging about it) but after a full day of tanning when we arrived back at ... read more






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