We started this trip in London. Jed had booked a birthday holiday for me and I was not allowed to know where (although I had an inkling!) We had a walk through Regents park, and I cant believe we have managed to avoid it for so long with the amount of times we have been to London. It was gorgeously sunny and the Londoners and tourists alike were enjoying their Sundays with picnics and alcohol. We wandered up Primrose hill enjoying some serious people watching (including a splendid man in a string vest) before heading over to China town where we [View Full Entry]

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WOWZERS, WE ARE MARRIED! So after the wedding of our dreams - well mine anyway - we needed a relaxing break away from the stresses of seating plans, song lists and all that other stuff you have to do to organise a wedding. It was time to enjoy being newlyweds! So we jetted off to a posh all inclusive resort in Cancun, Mexico. Not our usual holiday style I know but what a relaxing week we had! We arrived to welcome drinks and after some trouble with the room key we finally made it in. Our first night at an all [View Full Entry]

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Back in Cairo So, after another flight we found ourselves back in Cairo. We made straight for Ramses station where we purchased tickets for that nights train to Aswan. That done we stood around trying to decide what to do with the spare 14 hours before the train left. Coffee was first on the agenda and after some beautifully decorated cappucinos with "LOVE" and a teddy bear swirled on top (I think the waiters were trying to tell me something!) we decided to head off and have another look at the pyramids of Giza. This time we did it alone without [View Full Entry]

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So after some more exploring of Egypt (blog to follow!)() we made our way up to Nuweiba where we would get a ferry over to Aqaba in Jordan. Nuweiba seems to be the armpit of Egypt as far as we can tell. I'm told that the beaches away from the port are lovely but as we drove in from Taba all we could see for ages were unfinished resorts and muddy looking sand. It felt so depressing and abandoned. We now refer to Nuweiba as the Azkaban of Egypt, as it fills you with a soul destroying emptiness. Here follows Sam's [View Full Entry]

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Arriving in Addis... Addis Ababa was a much different experience to our time in Cairo. The roads were quieter, cars actually stopped to let you cross but the main difference was the huge amount of people living on the streets. As we explored the city we saw people of all ages, from babies to the very elderly, living in places you wouldn't ever imagine. One night, in search of a restaurant we took a wrong turn down a dark and dirty road. There was rubbish and animal poo everywhere and we came across some huge bins. Down on the ground between [View Full Entry]

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Stepping out into the cool night air we headed for the local buses and found ourselves emersed in another culture once again. Despite a few pre-conceptions, the bus full of Egyptian men proved themselves to be freindly, honest and helpful. One gave change without ripping us off and another went out of his way to help us find our hotel in this maze of a city. The conversation inevitably turned to football and which English players they knew. Beckham, Gerrard and surprisingly Peter Crouch came up. Followed, as always, by a mime roughly translated to tall and gangly. Eventually we found [View Full Entry]

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New Year for us was in Los Angeles, a fascinating multi-cultural city. Each part of it's broad canvas has a different feel and flavour. From the classy and affluent to the gritty and urban. Santa Monica beach is a nice place to be. With it's famous pier, reminiscent of Blackpool and people of all ages taking their dogs for a 'walk' LA style - meaning the largely pointless activity of having their dogs in a little bag that they carried whilst strolling along the boardwalk. The beach is huge and sandy and despite the less than warm weather, people were everywhere. [View Full Entry]

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We flew to Raratonga, the main island in the Cook islands where we would spend a week over Christmas. On route crossing the International date line meaning we arrived the day before we left. Effectively giving us another go at the 23rd of December, which was nice if a little confusing. We arrived late on Saturday night and went out to see the town the following day. It was the last Sunday before Christmas and so we were surprised to find everything in town closed. They really take their day of rest very seriously! We decided to explore and find the [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Fiji after dark and were immediately hit by that old familiar feeling of stifling heat and humidity. Lovely. After a couple of short bus journeys we were welcomed into our guesthouse with cries of "Bula" and "Welcome home!" We certainly felt very welcome. We were shown to our very large room with ensuite bathroom accompanied by several cute little geckos and settled in to our relaxing holiday by the beach. Nadi beach is actually not very special and the sea is not the tropical blue we were hoping for but it was hot and that was enough. We [View Full Entry]

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After our homecoming in Christchurch we hopped aboard the tranzscenic train up to Picton at the top of the south island. Picton is a quiet little town in an amazing setting where the ferry to the north island departs. The sun was shining so we took a stroll around the harbour and along the 'snout' leading out towards the sound. It is a very picturesque area which reminded me in many ways of the islands around Thailand and Malaysia. Then it was time to be more creative in the hostel kitchen and Sam cooked up a top draw stir fry with [View Full Entry]

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