Randa
Miranda Chalmers Joined: January 16th 2007
Logged in: January 18th 2012
Logged in: January 18th 2012
Travel Blog Posts
The beginning
Even before I peed on the stick, I think I already knew what the result was going to be. I woke up ridiculously early in our hotel room in Coffs Harbour and left a sleeping Adam curled up snuggly in bed. I sat on the edge of the bath in the bathroom, I paced, I danced about in anticipation and waited for the line to appear and decide my fate. The line was faint...so faint I had to keep closing my eyes and checking again to make sure it really was there...but it was. Faint..but definitely there. And so it all began... If only I'd known all those months ago what was ahead! Sharing the news with Adam as the sun rose on that first day was one of the best experiences of my life. Those ... read more
Woo Hoo!!!
Opening Act "Ein Prosit, ein Prosit Der Gemütlichkeit Ein Prosit, ein Prosit Der Gemütlichkeit. After the band plays this song, everyone raises their glass and says, "Oans, zwoa, drei, Gsuffa" and drinks. Oktoberfest, Munich. Days of drunken silliness and endless frivolity. Adam and I joined Alli and Dan for the festivities. We spent many, many hours standing on the seats within the Augustiner, Lowenbrau and Hoftbrauhaus beer halls, dancing and singing along to the Bavarian band and joining in with the hords as this toast was made hundred of times. There was much clinking of steins and several breakages-at one point, an entire stein split in half, such was the vigour with which the toasting was done! Intermission Pork knuckle. Sauerkraut. Roast chicken. Beyond the lure of beer, the rest of our time in Munch seemed ... read more
Us
Being away from your country of birth for an extended period instills a fierce sense of pride and protectiveness toward your native land in ones' psyche. This is something both Adam and I have been aware of for quite some time and in the beginning, the clearest display of this seemed to be during any sporting match between the Aussies and Poms! But with more subtle undertones, this pride comes to the surface whenever we answer the many questions we get about our life style in Australia, and hear people remark on the beauty of our country or the attributes of our people. The tendency toward protectiveness also comes to the fore for me whenever a person or a media form makes a comment or a criticism about my homeland or its people. I find myself ... read more
A fairytale landscape
The fairytale landscape of Cappadocia is impossible to describe in words. It is a place unlike any other. A landscape truly unrivalled. To think that such a place could exist! I could never have imagined such a beautiful sight prior to arriving in this lunar landscape. Driving in, Hayley and Kevin advised that we should squash up onto the beach to check out the view as the first sight of a fairy chimney is something we'd never forget. And surrounded by my Oasis friends, I sat on the beach completely mesmerised by the pointy little structures adorning the hillsides and valleys, as well as the pale, rock formations stretching as far as the eye could see. I'd seen pictures of Cappadocia while I'd been researching our trip and I'd heard wonderful stories from the few people ... read more
Wow
We'd decided to do the Lebanon side trip with a 'Why not?' kind of attitude. Already so close, it seemed like it would be a shame not to. We therefore had little knowledge nor expectation of what we'd make of Lebanon. Setting out at the crack of dawn that morning for the drive to the historical sight of Baalbek, our lack of expectation made to the delight of Baalbek all the more astounding. We knew we'd be seeing 'some ruins' at the sight. But oh my! This sight made so many of the other Roman ruins we've seen pale in comparison to the splendour and magnificence on display. It was THAT good. I'd thought I'd seen a lot to this point but apparently not. Baalbek’s temples were simply awesome. There are no other words to describe ... read more
Approaching the Dead Sea
Hayley and Kevin have been a source of infinite wisdom during our overland travels and on the day of our long drive taking us via the Dead Sea, the instructions before our dip were clear and straight to the point-no heads under water, no drinking the sea (taste it and you'll see why!) and ladies...umm, no breastroke or frog kicks...best to have legs crossed please! Given Hayley and Kevin's words of wisdom, I wasn't quite sure what I was letting myself in for as I took the plunge into the calm and still waters. In retrospect, 'plunge' is actually a terrible verb to describe my action of entering the sea...it's probably one of the only bodies of water in the world when plunge is simply unapplicable as a descriptor due to the near impossibility of dropping ... read more
Camera at the ready
After our wonderful bush camp in Wadi Rum, it was a slow departure the morning after-our experience of the desert made all the richer by the experience of Twiga being 'beached' as we attempted to make our way to Wadi Mousa and the delights of Petra. It's comical to imagine what a sight we must have been. I laugh whenever I look at the photos that were taken documenting the whole event, especially the enthusiasm with which members of our group seized the opportunity that called for legitimate use of shovels and a general digging frenzy. The boys in particular were in their element, especially Adam and Andre. It was heart-warming and hilarious all at once. It didn't take long before sufficient holes were dug and the sand tyre mats were in place and we were ... read more
Us
Wow, wow and more wow. I didn't know much about what Jordan had in store for us and admittedly, I was more than a little sad to leave Dahab after what had been a wonderful few days. In fact, I was sad to leave Egypt altogether. After having long felt unnerved by the very thought of travelling to this part of the world, my love of Egypt was unexpected and took me by surprise. As we set out at 6am to drive to the ferry port 15minutes away for our crossing to Aqaba, I was already making plans to return again to Egyptian soil (and sea!) However at 530pm that evening, after a day spent at the ferry port having not so much as even sniffed a ferry which we could board, I was more than ... read more
Walk like an Egyptian
One of the things that excited Adam and I most in the lead up to our trip was the possibility to learn to dive. Diving has always been something that we've wanted to do but never, ever found the time for. But our trip offered the opportunity to complete a dive course in an area famed for the quality of the diving on offer and so despite feeling a bit nervous about learning to dive in a foreign land, it was an opportunity that seemed too good to miss. Three weeks before we left for our trip, I was having dinner with my friend Janine and we were talking about her diving experiences when all of a sudden, a dizzying panic set in. Suddenly I felt very apprehensive about diving at all, especially as anyone who ... read more
Us
We'd all been excited for quite awhile about our first bush camp. Setting off early from Luxor, we spent a very long day driving north, stopping only to shop at a supermarket for supplies. It was early evening when Kevin first pulled Twiga off road and we made our way to the sight of our first bush camp. Hayley and Kevin didn't disappoint with their choice of venue. The site for our camp was amazing-a huge rocky outcrop bordered the camp site on one side and to the other was a wonderful view across the plain to more desert expanse beyond. Laying out the wadi rugs, having tried to clear the area of as many big stones as possible, it felt amazing to be setting out our sleeping gear under the stars. After the cook group ... read more
