Tashx2

Time to unpack the bags.. We arrived in Whistler early October after 3months of traveling and was looking forward to settling down in our new bacholer suite out in Emerald Estates, that we had organised as we were traveling via the internet (we advertised in the Whistler Pique Newspaper for anyone interested). Our landlord picked us up from the bus loop as we got off the Greyhound bus from Vancouver. No sign of snow this early on, but the temperatures sure dropped pretty quickly from then on. Our suite was a cute brand new self contained studio, attached to the home of our landlords above the garage. We paid $950 in rent per month which is a very reasonable for Whistler (where seasonaires are known to pay $1000pp a mth for the use of a couch), ... read more

Europe here we come... After leaving Egypt, we were dying for some kind of luxury, familiarity... anything Western really! Tash A was excited as her first 'real' venture into Europe, and a first for both Tash's to Greece. In short, we had 1 week to see all we could of what Greece has to offer! Firstly 2 nights in Athens, The Hermes hotel was ultimate luxury compared to where we had been the previous 2 weeks in Egypt. All booked through Contiki, it's always hard to know what to expect! New Hotel in the Plaka district, close to all restaurants/ cafes/ shopping/ good coffee etc. And The Acropolis around the corner... just perfect. The temperature in the mid 20's was an unbelievable relief. We found Athens a truely fashionable city, cultural and for the most part ... read more

Here goes.. Us in Vietnam Our three week journey... from Hanoi (in the North) to Ho Chi Minh (in the South) We flew in from Laos to Hanoi and the madness began. We asked a minivan driver that we would like to go to the Old Quarter and pointed to a hotel in the Lonely Planet, he said 'no problem $4 each' we got in, seemed all too easy. He dropped us at the Old Quarter alright but at some random guesthouse that looked horrible (obviously his mates or cousins place). We fell for the typical scam that even the lonely planet warns you about! Great start! So we now had our packs on and lonely planet out which attracts all the touts! It seemed alot hotter in Hanoi (36degrees), so sweating away walking the streets ... read more

Finally the countdown of the trip was over and we actually were going somewhere...2nd July, midday on Singapore Airlines. First stop was Singapore where we stayed for a couple of nights. Nice hotel, warm weather, saw the sights, good food, really felt like we were on holiday! Was great. Singapore is expensive...so we didnt do too much...Singapore flyer and a cheesy hop on hop off bus service through Singapore airlines. All in all it was good. Next stop is Bangkok, Thailand...the real backpacking begins. A real eye opener, our first couple of nights on Khao San Rd. Paid 620 baht per night ($12) and probably at the luxury end of the scale to ease Tash W into Thailand conditions (air con/tv/ensuite/hot shower). Temperature around the mid 30's. She was warm! A spent a day sightseeing ... read more