http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/bigtrip06/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from bigtrip06 en-us Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:52:34 +0000 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:52:34 +0000 We decided to catch a bus to Kuala Lumpar and were up early to make our way to one of the bus depots. The bus was an amazing contrast to the rust buckets we had been rattling around the rest of Asia in and the journey which is relatively short About 5 hours flew by.Just as we hopped off the bus in downtown KL the heavens opened and we had to run for cover These Asian rain storms are not to be m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-143250.html After wandering the huge shopping centre that is Bangkok airport we were on the plane Fire exit seats Oh Yeah and faster than you can watch four episodes of friends we were in Singapore. A quick subway into town and we were in our hostel Goodbye to the pains of Asia. After checking in we were upgraded to a twin room Yes upgrades happen in hostels too. To celebrate we did what we generally http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-143244.html We were up early to make our way out to the airport. However our flight was delayed so Una decided to tell us a few horror stories about Indonesian Airlines to pass the time. The flight itself went grand and we were met by Indra our driver Very posh for the day. Our first stop as seems the way with Una regardless of where you are in the world was a coffee shop. It's run by Una's friends in B http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sumatra/Banda-Aceh/blog-143262.html We were up early in Medan and after saying our sad goodbyes to Una we were back at the craziness that is Medan International Airport. After more negotiations over bag weights Despite a major repack the previous night with Air Asia more excess baggage charges were handed over and we soon arrived back in Kuala Lumpar.From there we made straight for the city centre and after a bite to eat we caug http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cairns/Cairns-City/blog-152465.html We were up nice an early to hop on our little bus to Port Douglas. We had a really scenic drive up the coast on the short trip to Port Douglas with commentary the whole way Something that happens on pretty much every bus in OZ from our driver. We checked into our hostel which had a beautiful pool 7 and a half months and the first hostel we had seen with a pool. After a bite to eat we explored http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Port-Douglas/blog-152485.html We were on the bus at 8am to take us to Cape Tribulation. Cape Tribulation is a large area of rainforest in the Daintree National Park famous for it's mangrove forests which run right down to the beaches in the area. Our talkative bus driver entertained us Some of the time as we drove by endless sugar cane fields before taking a Crocodile Tour on the Daintree River. While we did manage to see http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cape-Tribulation/blog-152493.html Well we had one night in Cairns when we got back. This is perhaps the shortest blog entry of the entire trip so far but we felt the night deserved a mention. After getting back to the hostel we met up witth Pat and the crew at the hostel again and decided what better way to celebrate our homecoming We had been away 4 nights than a night out.Nights out in the hostel generally involve the beer gar http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cairns/Cairns-City/blog-152796.html We decided as our time was limited we would only get one trip south from Cairns before having to fly to Brisbane. As we had heard nothing but good things about Magnetic Island we decided to head there. The jumping off point for Magnetic Island is the Originally named city of Townsville which is about 350km south of Cairns. A half day trip on a greyhound bus got us there but as it was dusk when w http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Magnetic-Island/blog-152797.html After a night celebrating our success in the Magnums table quiz we were back on the ferry to Townsville and shortly after that on a bus back to Cairns. The journey back up was fine and we were soon back in the hostel.Pat and some of the other regulars from our previous visits decided to give us a proper send off. First though we treated ourselves to that very Australian delicacy Kangaroo steaks http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cairns/Cairns-City/blog-153362.html We were up bright and early and not feeling all that great Self inflicted to catch our flight from Cairns to Brisbane. We arrived safely after a short flight. After arriving in the airport we noticed that a lot of the guys in the airport were about 5 foot ten in height and about 5 foot ten across the shoulders. We later learned that this was not some genetic disorder amongst Brisbane men but th http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/blog-153377.html After the briefest of stays in Noosa we headed further north to Rainbow Beach. We were mainly heading to Rainbow Beach as it is a major starting point for trips to Fraser Island. We arrived quite late in the evening at Dingo's hostel. After checking in we headed to find some grub but most of the town had shut up. Having a nose for these types of things we eventually found a pizzeria on the far sid http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Rainbow-Beach/blog-154049.html We were up at the crack of dawn not out of eagerness but as we had been promised free pancakes by Luke the organiser of the Fraser Island trip. On a round the world trip of this length it's hard to say anything for definite but we would have to say that the pancakes have been the single biggest disappointment of the trip. Anyway they got us out of bed. After checking out the 5 teams of eleven asse http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Fraser-Island/blog-154058.html After a two hour drive we arrived in Byron Bay. Byron Bay is a town in New South Wales on the eastern most point of the mainland of Australia and is a tiny place with a population of about 6000. It's also known as a fairly bohemian town with lots of hippie locals and endless tourists and backpackers. We got collected and dropped at our hostel.From there we had a bite to eat in the crazy kitchen o http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Byron-Bay/blog-159326.html We were collected off our bus quite late that night and checked into Barracuda Hostel. We ended up with our own little dorm which was great. Having spent a whole day hanging around the hostel in Byron Bay we headed straight for bed.Coffs Harbour is about half way between Sydney and Brisbane and is a fairly big place. Best known for its Giant Banana and connecting theme park which celebrates Coffs http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Coffs-Harbour/blog-161271.html We were up at a very early hour of the morning after a late night in Kings Cross. First thought on our mind was a coffee and a bacon butty which we tracked down. We were collected shortly after by our bus for the day. The Blue Mountains are about 100 kilometres west of Sydney.As the name suggest the Blue Mountains are actually blue. Its got something to do with the bluish tinge the range takes on http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Katoomba/blog-161866.html We took a tram from Brad's house into Melbourne city centre and then got the bus out to Tullamarine airport. The flight was grand and we transferred from Hobart airport to our hostel in one of the cities main streets. Hobart is the Tasmanian state capital and is Australia's second oldest city and is thus full of beautiful old buildings.It was approaching evening time when we arrived so we made a b http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Tasmania/Hobart/blog-161922.html Getting to Cradle Mountain was trickier than we thought and involved us getting a wee bit creative. We took a Tassie Link bus to Launceston which is the other major city in Tasmania and lies at the other end of the island. We checked into the hostel in Launceston and headed downtown. Unfortunately it was dusk and pretty much everything had closed.Tasmania is a beautiful place but is seriously limi http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Tasmania/Cradle-Mountain/blog-161927.html The bus back to Launceston was about 3 hours and we had to spend another night there to make a connection with our bus back to Hobart. After checking into the hostel we headed into town feeling we had earned a few pints after the previous days trekking. It was an Irish pub we ventured upon that seemed to be showing signs of life It was Saturday night so we stopped there.After a few jars we heade http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Tasmania/Hobart/blog-164131.html After managing to catch the bus second time round we had a long journey ahead of us. We arrived in Wangaratta bleary eyed at 4 am. Brad soon collected us. He was disappointed we were in flip flops and tracksuit bottoms and we were soon digging in our bags for shoes and jeans for a quick roadside change. Brad explained he wanted to give us a Saturday Night What was left of it out in Wang.In disbe http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/blog-161891.html We arrived into Melboune mid afternoon and caught a shuttle into town at just the right time to hit evening traffic. After some slow progress we were dropped at our hostel. Apparently it is the biggest hostel in the world in terms of beds. We got an idea of how they pull this off when we saw the 14 beds in our dorm nicely packed together. After a bite to eat Australian style in Hungry Jacks Burge http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/City-Centre/blog-164134.html