http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/annie-the-nomad/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from annie the nomad en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:53:43 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:53:43 +0000 The last six months has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Here is the run down for anyone who missed itNEW YORK CITY September 27th to 29th 2008. I stayed in Brooklyn and visited with two friends that I had met in Nepal.AUSTRALIA September 30th 2008 to January 10th 2009. I traveled on my own and visited Sydney Brisbane Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo Toowoomba Maleny http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/blog-390357.html My first stop in New York City is the Marrakech Hotel on the corner of Broadway and 103rd street in Manhattan. Dad booked it for me and Mum. It's really late by the time I had flown from Tokyo to Los Angeles and Los Angeles to New York at this point I've literally gone back in time and even though it takes more than 24 hours to travel from point A to point B I've landed the exact same day I http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-389418.html The night bus from Kyoto to Tokyo Station was pretty smooth. Finding my hostel was a little more challenging partly because I was exhausted and partly because the directions written in broken English on the website were not that clear. I tried to book back at first place I stayed at since at least I knew where that was and it wasnrsquot far from the train to Narita International Airport bu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Shinjuku/blog-386291.html Kyoto is supposed to be one of the most beautiful cities in Japan. For that reason I've booked 5 nights at the Kyoto Hostel sister hostel of the one I stayed at in Tokyo. I've been told over and over that if there's any one place that I need to visit in Japan its Kyoto. Its kind of a downer that the sky is crying my first day there I barely leave the hostel all day and wander for just a c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/Gion/blog-386256.html Mum and Dad have been friends with Paolo and Mariko since before I was born from when they lived in Montreal. Mariko is Japanese so they spend some of the year in Japan. I can't remember the last time I've seen them probably at least 15 years ago or so but dad emailed them to see if they would be in Japan at the same time as I was and it turned out that they would be and were kind enough to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Okayama/Okayama/blog-383032.html The night bus from Tokyo to Hiroshima was fantastic probably the best bus I have ever taken. The seats recline and there is lots of leg room they even provide you a blanket So considering it was 11 hours over night I slept pretty well. But then I got lost on the way to the hostel and wandered around town for a while with all my bags until I finally found the right building. I still couldn' http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Hiroshima/Hiroshima/blog-381333.html Flying from Seoul to Tokyo takes roughly 2 hours and 15 minutes. Somehow though my travel time turned my day into a ten hour day. I had to leave Ashleyrsquos house really early to catch the shuttle to Incheon airport. After landing at Narita airport it took me another 2 hours to get to my hostel Tokyo Hostel two stops from Ueno station in the northeast corner of the city. The hostel ca http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Ueno/blog-381056.html Ashley and I went to university together. We were in the same program and had lots of our classes together. We weren't exactly the best of friends but we got along really well and got to be better and better friends over time. When it turned out that she was going to be living in Seoul around the same that I was traveling through Asia I figured I really had no excuse to not go and visit her. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/blog-379367.html I slept the whole way from Siem Reap to Ko Chang. I was exhausted I was lucky dad was in charge of making the travel plans. We had basically heard nothing but horror stories about backpackers trying to cross the border with the bus people getting ripped off busses abandoning travelers buses leaving hours later than scheduled and all kinds of other things. Keeping all that in mind dad de http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Chang/blog-378174.html Flying from Veintiane in Laos to Phnom Pehn in Cambodia was easy. Apart from me exploding my cutlery around the cabin and dropping my entire lunch tray on the floor it went pretty smoothly. We took a tuk tuk to our guest house and by the time we were settled in a room it was just after noon. It's hot. It's hotter than its been at any of the other places we have visited. I'm sweating sitting http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/blog-374394.html Once upon a time when I was planning my trip way back when Laos wasn't even in the equation at all. Then a little later I thought it might be fun to take the train to Vietnam and was going to pass straight through Laos without really paying much attention. But once I got to Australia everyone I met that had visited Laos said it was the most amazing place they had ever been. So clearly I had http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-371216.html Uneventful flights though boring really are the best kind and apart from my inability to properly fill out my customs card I managed to exit the Bangkok airport without incident and met dad at the arrivals gate. Dad and I have 5 weeks together to travel which is nice. Irsquove already been away from home for over three months so its nice and familiar to have some family around. Plus itrs http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-370899.html I arrived in Cairns January 1st. The flight was uneventful and I arrived well after dark but the humidity slapped me in the face as soon as I stepped out through the airport doors. Even in the middle of the night it was shocking. All I wanted to do while I was in Cairns was dive. It had been my big dream in life for as long as I can remember to go diving in the Great Barrier Reef and I deci http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Great-Barrier-Reef/blog-369028.html The night bus to Sydney was worse than most overnight bus rides. But we made it to Sydney in one piece. Nicolersquos friend Ceri met us at the train station because we were going to stay with her. Everything in Sydney has been booked for months so the fact that Ceri has space for us is amazing. Shersquos staying in a hostel style building in a room with 8 beds that shersquos rented out http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-363993.html When I first left home I was a little worried about how I would end up spending my holidays since I would be away from all my family and friends. Turned out though that I had an amazing Christmas. Nicole and I had been thinking about how we would spend Christmas for a long time. We decided we would make a lot of food and watch our favorite Christmas movies and just be relaxed. The plan didn http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-363990.html The Great Ocean Road is one of those sights that people will scold you for not visiting if you come home without that particular experience. Stretching barely 400km it is one of the most beautiful scenic highways in the world and definitely one of the most beautiful parts of Australia. The best way to do it really is to hire a camper van with some friends and drive from Melbourne to Adelaide http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Great-Ocean-Road/blog-357493.html Normally I sit around at the end of a section of traveling and write all about and then post it for all to see. It's been at least 2 weeks since I've posted stories about my travels in Tasmania so even though I'm not finished this section of my traveling I figured it was about time for an update.I arrived back in Melbourne from Tasmania the morning of November 28th and moved straight into my ho http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/Brunswick/blog-354620.html My seat on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry is an Ocean View Recliner which is bigger than an airplane seat and reclines quite far. Considering Irsquom on a ship I sleep pretty well and itrsquos not rocky at all. I arrive in Devonport at 7am but before I deboard I check out the tourism office in the ship to see if I can book things with them. Irsquom wearing my university hoodie because http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Tasmania/Hobart/blog-350168.html The weather never does clear up in Sydney so on the last day we all lounge around and later in the afternoon Nicole and I take a walk to Darling Harbor to just sit in the breeze and relax. Sunday night is our last night and Monday morning wersquore determined to go to Canberra no more extensions no more hanging around Sydney. Everyone tells us that Canberra is boring and that therersquos http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-350165.html We left for the Blue Mountains Monday morning from Sydney. The Blue Mountains are one of the worldrsquos largest national parks and according to Dad it is larger than the entire country of Lebanon. Wersquore all looking forward to getting out of the city for a little while and getting a little fresh air. Irsquom lucky that Irsquove found some girls Lea and Nicole who are just as ready http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Blue-Mountains/blog-345428.html