http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Scuba-Bruce/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Scuba Bruce en-us Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:54:06 +0000 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:54:06 +0000 Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2008hellip..Love from Mhairi and BrucehelliphelliphelliphellipAfter returning back to Thailand from Malaysia we headed to Phuket to stay with Justin and Jo. Justin kindly met us at the bus station and it dawned on me that we would be taking a motorbike taxi home. Mhairi rode with Justin so for her first trip on the back of a bike she was laden with http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Krabi/blog-231919.html Upon arriving at Klang station we were greeted by Kevin who is my cousin and we did some catching up on the way back to the house where the brood had swelled since my last visit We quickly got acquainted with the new arrivals in the family. It was a little bit of a surprise as I really was only aware that Pat and Kevin had two kids so the extra one was a little shockWe have spent most of our http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Selangor/Klang/blog-229005.html Kanchanaburi province was our next stop as we were meeting our friends there.....little did we realize how far this next adventure was going to take usA couple of days before we met up with the gang we spent some time in the town of Kanchanaburi. On our first night there we went down to The Bridge over the River Kwai made famous by the film in rsquo57. It is in full celebrations at the momen http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/blog-226250.html is the cry that greets you at 630am on the sleeper train to Chiang Mai. For some this is a lovely way to be woken but for myself I could think of nothing worse I try to discuss my annoyance with a Canadian girl but her rebuttal to me when I try and engage her in conversation is that she only speaks English So I just decide to read my book more occasionally trying to wake Mhairi from her s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Sukhothai/blog-222513.html Upon landing in Bangkok we headed out to get a taxi to take us down to Pattaya where Bruce stayed before and where Brucersquos dad was on holiday. Thailand as always did not fail to impress the farang foreigner bargaining for a taxi price which started at 2000 baht then quickly fell to 1300 baht after walking away We were then treated to the usual standard of driving which meant breakneck http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-220261.html We didnrsquot quite get round to writing a blog in Melbourne mostly to do with the fact that we were hardly in However we find ourselves with an afternoon in Pattaya Thailand where the heavens have just opened so a spare minute to update our blog So anyway wersquoll just give you a wee run down of what we got up tohelliphellip. We could not have arrived at a busier time of year. http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/St--Kilda/blog-218959.html Well alas we did not make it to Milford Sound. The weather beat us again It had been raining all night in Queenstown which meant it was snowing near Milford Of course we didn't know that the trip was impossible until after we had got up nice and early and were picked up by our bus at 715am But 20 minutes out of Queenstown the driver was informed the road had been shut because of heavy snow http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-215952.html So since our last blog a lot has happened......we have walked on a glacier survived an earthquake that measured about 6.7 on the Richter Scale been on a really fast jet boat and lots of other stuff tooOn Monday we spent a day on the Fox Glacier one of the biggest in NZ. It was not the best day weather wise but if you wait for a dry day on the west coast of NZ South Island you could be wait http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Queenstown/blog-212447.html The ferry ride over from Wellington was gorgeous and we were so lucky to have a nice clear day. The views were superb once we got into the sound of the South Island. After arriving in Picton we headed straight to Kaikoura where we spent our first night camping in New Zealand. We arrived and as you can see the weather was lovely but that was short lived and at midnight that night the heavens opened http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/blog-210756.html After leaving Taupo we went to Hawke Bay and the surrounding area of Napier Hasting and Havelock North. Susan was expecting us to arrive so we found her hard at work at Cape Physio. Mhairi and Susan were so happy to see each other. We headed up to Susanrsquos house and met her housemates and have dinner. On Friday we walked up to Te Mata peak and had wonderful views of the surrounding area the http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-209328.html Last Tuesday we said a fond farewell to Hawaii and set off for Fiji for a couple of nights to break up the journey down to NZ. It was a good flight as it was a very clear day and we had great views of many wee islands along the way. One of which was Christmas Island where we made a stop. We hadnrsquot ever heard of it but apparently it is very popular with fishermanhelliphellip.sounds ex http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Hawkes-Bay/Hastings/blog-208157.html Just a quick photo tour of our last part of Hawaii we leave on Tuesday for Fiji and then onto New Zealand so will update you all soon. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Oahu/blog-205246.html On Sunday morning we flew to The Big Island of Hawaii for a few days the island is actually called Hawairsquoi but is known as the Big Island because it is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands and avoids confusion between Hawai699i Island and Hawai699i State. It was just a short flight and gave us great views of Maui and the other surrounding islands. We could really see the huge differ http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Big-Island/Hilo/blog-202211.html Aloha everyone We safely arrived in Honolulu on Sunday 2nd September after our long 2 flight journey from NY. We were flying with American Airlines and didnrsquot quite have the luxury we had had on our B.A. flights. No food provided no film choice and one screaming child it was a bit like being on a big bus for 12 hours We were also delayed by 2 and half hours which didnrsquot exactl http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Oahu/blog-200217.html The day after the tennis we went to a large shopping outlet called Woodbury Common and we were there most of the day on Friday hunting for bargains. It is about an hour away from Manhattan so we got the bus there. Being lsquoearly peoplersquo we were at the bus station 45 mins before the bus was due at 8.30 and the queue was already SO long we couldnrsquot believe it It was worth it thou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/blog-198864.html We booked our tickets for the US Open a wee while ago to make sure we would definitely have a day there and it was total fluke that on the day we had chosen to go both Murray brothers were playing. On Thursday morning early of course we took the subway out to Queens to Flushing Meadows. The tennis centre covers a big area and is modern much like the Australian Open and in total contrast to W http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/blog-197937.html We have arrived safely in one piece and much to our relief our baggage arrived as well. We ventured from JFK to Queens first to catch the Subway into Manhattan.The subway was a little busy as we landed just as everyone was headed home after work. We obviously looked a little lost and bemused as people just kept offering us advice and help as to what station to change and the right line to get on http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-197017.html I was going to have just pictures on here this month but decided to paste what I thought was a interesting article alongside my pictures of the recent events of July.The Following was pulled from the BBC website it makes a interesting read.Enjoy your summer holiday while it lasts. One of the unwritten rules of being a fully fledged member of the taxpaying workforce is that the two weeks you've l http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/blog-188388.html Summer has been a washout really hasn't it The longest day of the year is upon us already and life has slipped by another two months since my last post here. I am stuck between my loyal posting to this site and the ease at which I can keep in touch with people on Facebook. Somehow this seems more private to me as I can easily unload how I am feeling and people have to read it to get the real mean http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-171845.html Bruce and MhairiBA0177 Heathrow London to John F Kennedy New York 28 Aug 2007 1340 28 Aug 2007 1610 QF3098 John F Kennedy New York to Los Angeles 2 Sep 2007 1100 2 Sep 2007 1345 QF3252 Los Angeles to Honolulu 2 Sep 2007 1515 2 Sep 2007 1750 QF3840 Honolulu to Nadi 25 Sep 2007 1200 26 Sep 2007 1840 QF3842 Nadi to Auckland 28 Sep 2007 0845 28 Sep 2007 1145 QF0134 Auckland to Melbourn http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-184148.html