http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/LegallyBlonde/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from LegallyBlonde en-us Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:30:08 +0000 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:30:08 +0000 Leaving AdelaideOur pickup time for our van was at the early hour of 9am. So after packing up the remainder of our stuff we left that dingy hostel and set out across Adelaide in the taxi to our destination the Apollo headquarters. It took a while but we eventually found it and entered the office to pay all our remaining bills. After lots of money issues and several bank cards being used we we http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/South-Australia/blog-405163.html Leaving Coogee finallyAfter the most restless sleep of my life which involved me getting up several times to watch some of the footie Lizz came and woke me at 8am giving ourselves two and a half hours to pack and tidy the house before Neville our landlord would come to inspect. We blitzed our way around the house a much harder task than wersquod anticipated thanks Sian. Neville came roun http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/St-Kilda/blog-397201.html Heading even further down underThe alarm going off at 5.15am was always going to be a nasty surprise but it was even worse after having had only 3 hours sleep. But reluctantly I got out of bed got dressed packed away the last of my belongings and headed out the door to find me a taxi. The trip from here on in went pretty smoothly. It took a while to get through checkin due to some large group http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/blog-375778.html After CairnsThe flight back to Sydney was a strange event being alone but I soon arrived back to my beloved Coogee and met up with Lizz who had kindly offered her room for me to stay in. Straight away we got dressed and headed out for our Tuesday night at the Gaff It felt even stranger when we saw all the OzIntro staff out but we had a good night with our dancing and drinking lots of jagerbombs http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Coogee-Beach/blog-397199.html Arriving in SydneyI was still feeling pretty down about having left my life in Perth when my plane landed in Sydney and it was time for my next adventure. I collected my bag quickly and walked around the domestic arrivals area for several minutes looking for the OzIntro person collecting me. After my disaster in Perth with Travellers forgetting to collect me I was not too optimistic. And sure eno http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Coogee-Beach/blog-397197.html Arriving in Perth My flight to Perth was highly uneventful and we arrived at the unusual hour of 12am though by the time I got out of the airport it was more like 2am. I was sat at the very back of the plane so naturally I was one of the last to leave. As a result I then had to queue to get through immigration which was a lot easier than I had anticipated and I didn't require any of the documen http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Perth/Perth-City/blog-336308.html First stop on Geckos the highlands of DalatThe bus ended up arriving in Dalat pretty late due to the 8 hour bus journey and I was very suprised to step off the bus and feel cold a feeling I have not felt in a while We checked in and got settled into our rooms and I was a bit miffied to find I was one of the few people that did not have a balcony in my room because I was on my own in a single I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Central-Highlands/Da-Lat/blog-312021.html Entering VietnamThe journey into the land of Nam was by far the easiest yet The bus journey went fairly quickly and we soon arrived at the border where we stopped for lunch and I chatted with a friendly South African couple before the bus company we were travelling with pretty much sorted out all our papers for crossing over and thus we were through in a flash. The only bad point about the whole http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-294784.html The journey to Siem Reap After finally convincing Lucy and Dave to come with me we arose one fine morning at the reasonably hour of 9am to grab a taxi to the northern bus terminal in Bangkok where we were able to quickly grab a bus to take us to the border town of Araya Prathet. After briefly and firmly pushing off a Thai guy who was sitting next to me and being too friendly he soon sat elsew http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-294775.html Leaving Bangkok After having spent our final day in Bangkok myself Lucy and Dave headed in a taxi towards the outskirts of Bangkok and to the Southern Bus terminal where upon arrival we were told our bus was leaving in 20 minutes. So we headed down to the departure area and had just enough time to use the toilet before we set off on our 14 hour journey to Phuket. Having made the decision to go http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/blog-289527.html Heading to the islandAnd so early one morning we all descended out of the hotel to the coach that was to take us part way across the country to a port where we could board our boat for Koh Samet. After saying fairwell to those of our group leaving us to head to Koh Tao for diving we piled onto the bus and headed off. Frankly it was a nightmare of a journey as I had woken up feeling not well and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Samet/blog-282842.html The Resort We left Brown House thus never to return again and headed off to a resort in the middle of nowhere to relax for one night before the group was split up to go its seperate ways. We arrive at this beautiful golf resort though about 10x smaller than western golf resorts checked into beautiful airconditioned rooms with televisions and big beds and got ourselves all prepared to enjoy so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Phu-Toei-NP/blog-280695.html Arriving at Brown HouseAfter our two hour drive from Bangkok we eventually arrived at Brown House our home for the next two weeks We had already been split into our rooms so in we moved and to my sheer joy I found out that although the rooms can hold 6 people two people had not turned up for the program so we had two spare beds Naturally one of those has become my storage space It was then http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Singburi/blog-273028.html Flying once moreSo yet again I headed to the airport and was off on another longhaul flight after a tearful goodbye with the parentals. Luckily I chekced in online so didn't have to wander the airport for too long. The flight was also pretty empty so once boarding was complete I moved to an empty row of four much to the annoyance of four guys behind me. Thus once we were up in the air one o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-269829.html The last border crossing Another early morning and a hard pack up due to it being so hot and everything including the tents being covered in sand But we were eventually away and off on a two hour drive towards the border in Ecuador. The border crossing was actually quite an interesting one. We did the whole entering the Peruvian immigration side to hand in our visa slips only Charlotte had lost http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-263069.html Up we go again to Huaraz So onwards we drove from Lima and it was again another trip up to altitude to visit the city of Huaraz. The journey was pretty long and very bendy and unfortuantly it was raining and overcast so we didnt get to appreciate much of the views either. We eventually arrive in Huaraz however to another cute little hotel where we got divided into our rooms and I was with two ot http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Tumbes/Punta-Sal/blog-262995.html Happy Birthday to me My birthday day actually started at 4am in Cusco when mum proceeded to call me to wish me Happy Birthday forgetting that there was a five hour time difference Never mind I had to get up early anways as we had a 10 hour journey to Arequipa ahead of us. So after a quick bacon baguette brekkie to takeaway we left the hotel and headed back to Swampy whod had a paint job a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Arequipa/Arequipa/blog-259740.html Cusco and the Inca Ruins Arriving in Cusco we all knew what was ahead of us the famous four day trek along the Inca Trail to one of the wonders of the world and the infamous ruins of Macchu Picchu. We firstly had our meeting with our trail guide Julio who gave us our duffle bags which we were allowed to fill with 5kg of stuff that the porters would carry for us as well as our food tents etc. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Inca-Trail/blog-257736.html Entering PeruWith our time in Bolivia having come to an end it was another early start to head towards the Peruvian border. The drive was absolutely beautiful as the border between the two countries is surrounded by Lake Titicaca the highest navigable lake in the world and also the largest lake is South America. Thus the drive to the border was along its coast line which made for gorgeous views. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Puno/Lake-Titicaca-/blog-255833.html Higher and higher we goSo we promtly exited Argentina and entered the land of bad roads and altitude sickness Bolivia. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing if fact Bolivia has become one of my favourite countries. But seriously the roads need some major work done to them especially when your driving along them for 8 hours. And when rising from 1187 meters in Salta to the highest city in the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/La-Paz/blog-252406.html