http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/TrevorKim/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from TrevorKim en-us Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:23:34 +0000 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:23:34 +0000 Kim's Post backpacking thoughtsWell they always say home is were the heart is and i must say its true. Being back is good and bad. Must admit that i didn't realise how much i'd missed everyone and it was so good to see everyone again. The suprise went brilliantly I nearly gave my mum a heart attack made my sister bawl her eyes out and well as for Megs I think she thought i was a spirit http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Kent/blog-80637.html Heading back downtown after our trip past the Statue of Liberty we decided time was getting on and we should head towards the Empire State Building where we were to meet Annie and Paul. On the way I was starting to feel a bit grouchy which usually means I am hungry poor old Kim had got used to my hungry grouchy turns by now. We stopped at a vendor and decided to try one of the Giant pretzels on http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-80350.html Alright by now most of you realise that we came home early We cam back for a few reasons1. To surprise everyone2. Save money3. To be back in time for the world cup P4. I was getting annoyed with Kimrsquos relentless smoking and drinking binges PWhile we were away our plan to come home early was pretty hard to keep from everyone so we had to slow down our blog entries and tell a few wh http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-69470.html Boston well what can we say. Arrived in Boston with a strange sense of home mainly due to the fact that it was pissing it down with rain. in fact there had been floods in the state due to the weather over the previous days.Arrived at the hostel to find it being renovated in fact the hostel wasnrsquot even open we didnrsquot realise that there was now a different hostel a few doors down tha http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Massachusetts/Boston/blog-61519.html Sorry for the huge Blog again I know they are turning into essays but bare with me donrsquot worry Irsquove added lots of pictures tooAfter such as good time in Chicago we wanted to have a more relaxing alcohol free visit to Washington a city more famous for its landmarks monuments and museums than its nightlife which was probably a good thing as we were both feeling pretty worn down http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/District-of-Columbia/Washington/blog-60744.html We got to Chicago after a noneventful train journey thank God. We arrived at the hostel a bit out of town but there's 24 hour metro so was great and promptly got chucked out Only for a couple of hours though lock out hostels suck but they do make you get out of bed even with the most serverest hangover poor Trev. We went into the city the next day heading for the Library for free inter http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Illinois/Chicago/blog-60665.html Getting to Austin was a royal pain in the arse and meant we had to take a 3 day train trip back to LA again then through into Texas. By now we are really getting fed up of the trains they are so damn slow and full of wierdo's yes more of them As we have been spending such a long amount of time on the trains we have both been recently thinking alot about home and are starting to really get exc http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/Austin/blog-59117.html Im going to start this entry by giving the run down on the state of New Orleans so i don't have to mention it again. During the train ride into New Orleans we could see all the places made famous on TV like the still damaged superdome. From stepping in the station we could already see the damage broken lockers boarded up windows and signs still hanging off buildings. This is eight months later i http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Louisiana/New-Orleans/blog-59704.html Just wanted to wish my most little bro a happy 1st birthday wish I was there to celebrate it but will see you soon though you probably wont remember who I am. Happy birthday mateLove big big big bro TrevP.S. Just to prove your present has been to the Grand Canyon here is a pic of me holding it http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Louisiana/New-Orleans/blog-57168.html On 27th we left vegas with Gary and Nic in their huge rental SUV heading for Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. The drive was fairly straightforward but held many suprises we did not expect. I was riding shotgun and giving directions from our pretty basic map. However looking closer at the map I realised that the road to flagstaff through Arizona took us directly past the Hoover Dam. I didn't realis http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Grand-Canyon-National-Park/blog-56880.html After almost being blinded by the amount of lights shining from the city at night Trev and I threw our bags into the Sin City Hostel and headed down the strip. It was bout midnight by the time we got to the big casinos and most the shows had finished so we just wandered about taking in all the sights and sounds. We also got to meet the Las Vegas weirdos who seem to love bus stops and have taken a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Nevada/Las-Vegas/blog-56708.html After meeting the Welsh guys previous blog they told us that they were going down to San Diego which is where we headed so we could meet up have a few nights out. After a rather strange train journey in which there was no food on the train and not enough seats we arrived in San Diego with no idea where the hostel was that the guys from wales had recommended called the Banana Bungalow strange na http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Diego/Pacific-Beach/blog-56054.html Back in LA again from our first experiance of the city it was quite a smoggy traffic fumed town filled with lots of strange people and beggars. Sadly we had not yet been to Hollywood so we had to get a train back from San Francisco back to LA and spent a few nights there to make sure we had been to all the tourist sights. We stayed right off of Hollywood Blvd in a cheap but funky hostel where we m http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Los-Angeles/Hollywood/blog-56024.html So last leg of the trip here we goWe touched down at LAX where there was lots of peolple with guns and met Jenn who we met in Thailand there who then took us back to her place. It wasn't exactly in LA just outside up some mountains in the San Bernardino area calle Running Springs. The drive up there was pretty scarey because as we got higher and higher it got foggier and foggier and couldn http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/blog-56043.html Its been a while once again since we have done a blog. Latest news is that we are both doing well and are now in America writing this at a small hostel in China town in San Fransisco which is a great city but enough of America as this blog is about Fiji Just a shout out to Jon here hope Sydney is going ok mate Missing you loads.After working in New Zealand and meeting up with Kim Jon and Ben http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Yasawa-Islands/blog-53157.html On arriving in Taupo we looked for a camp site. Unfortunately theres no DOC's around so we had to pay But it was well worth it when we found out that our campsite had New Zealands largest inflatable pillow. But that was fun for later. We set the tents up at Lusty Flats next to Hukas corner We were starting to wonder what sort of campsite this wasJon and I went off to try and find Trev. I kne http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Taupo/blog-49672.html After leaving Waitomo we headed for Tongariro National Park so we could do the Tongariro Crossing the tramp Trev did. We arrived at our next DOC site having driven through terrential rain and it didn't look like it was going to stop. We sat in the car for a while then decided to head to the little village nearby called Whakapapa. We had a good laugh at how to say it as in New Zealand wh is pr http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Tongariro-National-Park/blog-49652.html We were on the road again heading down to Waitomo to go and see the caves there. On the way down the weather changed for the worst and however much we trusted her we knew that G.I.Jane would not keep us dry if it poured. So on the way through Hamilton we stopped off at another Warehouse yes I might get shares in it and brought some Tarp and a big ball of string. Upon leaving the carpark we http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Waitomo-Caves/blog-49480.html All packed up and in Godfrey ready and raring we started to drive out of Auckland but then we suddenly realised Jon and I didn't actually have a tent and none of us had food We managed to get a tent in a shop here called Warehouse where everyone gets a bargin and what a beauty she is. 15 Bucks and thats exactly what shes worth The camoflage material earnt her the name G.I.Jane we then was http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Coromandel/Coromandel-Town/blog-49465.html Well I am still alive just but thats a long story I know I havn't done a blog for ages but I have been a busy little bee honest As you know from Trev's last blog we split up for a while. After the fruit picking job we had setup fell through I decided that I wanted to go back up to Auckland to find a job which the last time we were there there was loads of. So I headed down to Wellington http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-49461.html