http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Phil--s-Surfin/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Phil s Surfin en-us Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:58:01 +0000 Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:58:01 +0000 OK so this is it the final blog... I now have a passport in desperate need of renewal due to the lack of space for future stamps and enough air miles to get me to the moon and back so maybe it is time to return home.Over the past 6 months I have had a great time and I have been lucky enough to have been able to celebrate 3 New Years which has definitely been an added and unexpected bonus. I ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-8083.html Bangkok. Wow what a place What can I say that hasnrsquot already been written Well for a start I can say that the stories of being scammed and ripped off are truehellip that is if you are a stupid tourist with not an once of common sense or like a couple of people I have met a stupid gap year student who lands in Bangkok on the way to Australia without the first clue about what to expect. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-7904.html From Penang in it was a ferry to the Northern Malaysian mainland then onto a mini bus up to and through the Malay Thai border which was all very painless due to the driver stopping at the last Malay service area where for the princely sum of 15p I got the Thai entry visa professionally and more importantly correctly typed up. I still donrsquot like it when you hand over your passport and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-7385.html From Singapore it was a bus trip into Malaysia and up to Melaka where we stayed in the most chilled out guest house run my Gabi a SwissGerman hippy woman and her Chinese Rastafarian husband who played reggae music for most of the day. This super chilled out vibe was only interrupted when the mosque situated across the street and opposite my bedroom window blasted out the call for prayer at 6am http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Penang/George-Town/blog-7280.html Test blog.... still in Warrington fly out to Costa Rica on Thursday morning still not packed loads to do and buy why do I leave things to the last minute http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/blog-1745.html OK so after 24 hours of traveling I have eventually made it here to Costa Rica. I have booked in with a Spanish school in Playa Jaco and have decided to go the whole way and book in with a family stay as well apparently it is the best way to learn and as my family is made up of Miriam the mother and her 4 daughters of which only 1 speaks English you can appreciate I am catching on pretty fast. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-2035.html Hey People have been asking me what the weather is like here... wel it's hot dam hot until one of the many tropical rainstorms and then it's hot and wet....that's nice when you're with a lady but it aint no good when you're in the jungle man Good Morning Vietnam.This last weekend was Halloween I say weekend as the parties were not restricted to only one night but the Friday through to th http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-2057.html A lot has been happening this week although it has been mostly dominated by one thing Mount Chirripo and to those not in the know I didn8217t know beforehand it is the highest mountain in Costa Rica and the second highest in Central America.... now let me just digress here for a moment... While here I have had time to reflect on things and this was true for this matter... At school I usually http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-2082.html Woah itrsquos been 4 and a half weeks and now time to leave Costa Rica where did the time go The last week has been a bit steady due to an injury I sustained while snorkling at a small cove north of Jaco on Sunday. I managed to hit a sharp rock with my foot which took a chunk of flesh out and sliced into a veinhellip. So watching blood pouring out of my foot out at sea and knowing there w http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-2221.html OK apologies for no update on the blog for a little time the reasons are 1. I8217m lazy 2. Although I have been here a while in Bali I didn8217t feel I had done much to justify a blog update8230.. and that is due to 2 reasons also 1. The Surf. Which has been especially easy and good 34 foot and clean so much so that I have surfed everyday and sometimes twice a day. I am currently http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-2380.html OK so up to press I had been surfing an awful lot combined with eating and drinking copious amounts as well and not really getting too much into the whole traveling vibe which is what I was also here to do. This however was put to rights when I started pushing my very mediocre surfing ability by taking increasingly bigger waves at increasingly later takeoffs the result... one bruised ego on http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-2619.html Yo Ho Ho Merry Christmas to you all. Hope you are all having a good one and although I am missing you and a big Christmas roastie I am making do sunning myself catching clean waves in the warm Indian Ocean and having a big old nasi goring super for Christmas dinner this whole getting away for Christmas might have to become an annual thing I am currently back in Kuta to surf for the last coup http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-2740.html As many of you know Asia does have a lot of hawkers and their ability to extract money from you by either selling or offering services never ceases to amaze and also brass me off. That is until the other day at The Monkey Temple where I witnessed the most awesome piece of Balinese entrepreneurship I have ever seen. The Monkey Temple is situated on the edge of a cliff face on the southern side of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-2741.html Ok firstly apologies for my very delayed blog update but unlike last time when it was due to laziness this time the reason could not be further from my natural lethargic tendencies and is in reality due to the fact that since arriving here in Australia my life has been incredibly hectic.To summarise... I flew into Sydney on New Yearrsquos Eve and thanks to Mark had a ticket to experience the N http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-4069.html The last 2 weeks I have spent in The Northern Territory travelling from Alice Springs in the centre of Australia up to Darwin on the Northern Coast. I have to admit that this part of the trip was a bit of an afterthought as my main priority was to surf along the East Coast but I can now look back and say that I am really pleased I experienced it and it is one heck of an experience. When I arrive http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Northern-Territory/Alice-Springs/blog-4074.html The last 2 weeks in Sydney have been great mostly due to the fact that I havenrsquot had to stay in some flea pit of a backpackerrsquos hostel but have instead been enjoying the palacial luxury of Markrsquos apartment which has a prestigious position overlooking Manly harbour. Nice This was because on returning to Sydney from the Northern Territory I spoke to Mark who informed me that hi http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-5511.html Well I know I have been slacking on my blog updates but this has been due to being just too busy again enjoying myself around New Zealand. As such I will have to give a summary of my time here in NZ so here goes the South Islandhellip From Christchurch which is so much like a quintessential English town it is unreal I went to Queenstown known as the adrenaline capital of the world and yes http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/blog-5512.html Picked up the ferry at Picton on the North of the South Island and sailed through Marlborough Sounds which is another amazingly beautiful area and across the Cook Strait to Wellington the capital of New Zealand on the Southern part of the North Island. Apparently the crossing was quite good which seeing as I had to go lsquoup for airrsquo on several occasions made me realize that Irsquom pro http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-5513.html Well I was supposed to be starting my South East Asia travels again but as I had blown so much moolah in Australia and New Zealand and also suffered from the lack of mellow warm water surf there was only one solutionhellip to head back to Bali for a couple of weeks.So after landing in Singapore I caught the MRT into the city centre yomped to the Malaysian Railway Station which is very unreal a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-5847.html As this is the third and last time I have come through Singapore on my current travels I think it is about time I wrote about it. Singapore is a fantastic place and its pseudonym as the city of tomorrow is very well deserved from the incredibly clean streets to the efficient MRT Mass Rapid Transit subway system to the futuristic Changi international airport. I now understand why the statue of S http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-6698.html