chazlie
Charlie Jones Joined: July 12th 2005
Logged in: May 18th 2010
Logged in: May 18th 2010
Travel Blog Posts
YeeeeHaaaa!!
One word... ...WoAhhhhhhh! ... ...more words: (as transcribed from my scattered journal, so excuse the writing.) 25th July Well, it's been the most wonderful week of fresh air, pixies, family and awesome hitchhiking! It all started a bit slow after Salt Spring Island, with Steve n I not getting the best of luck with our rides up to Courtenay (but nothing as bad as the previous week!) But eventually our lunatic behaviour got us there and we rolled into Alani's place before dark. Spent a beautiful few days hanging out, gardening, making felt and swimming in rivers and waterfalls and then teamed up with some friends to go to Lasqueti Island- which kinda has the vibe of one of those 'final frontier' hippie outposts still remaining in the world. It was another beautiful ferry ride over ... read more
Hobo-tastic!
Well, it's been an eventful week since the end of the Toby tour. Many more adventures than I expected - but then, what do you ever expect when you're on the road? We took 4 days hitching from Canmore before we got to the island. Two of them spent in the pouring rain (about 7 hours waiting for a ride) and the other two spent in the roasting sun. After a short (but wonderful) stint in Victoria involving swims in the sea, hanging out on a pirate ship, dumpster diving, going on a 60km bike ride to a lake and getting punched in the face we figured it was time to get out of the city and head to somewhere more peaceful. Steve took me out to Salt Spring Island, which has got to be one ... read more
Just another night
Still trekkin around with the band... playing the same ol songs... stayin in the same ol hotels. I've managed to shake my swine flu at last (or whatever fever/headache/cough/dizzy/crappiness I've had for the last week) with lemon & ginger tea and lots of good food. Been driving through some spectacular country, although never seem to get the chance to step outside for more than 5 minutes! Vancouver seemed like a cool city, although I was still pretty out of it with the flu. My cousin Nate came up from Seattle to see the gig and we spent the arvo hanging out and catching up. He's about to have another kid in about a week or less!! I guess I'll get to meet them when I come back in a couple of weeks. I hope it's just ... read more
Midnight in northern BC
Well, the town I'm currently in - Fort St John in Northern BC, isn't even currently listed on Travelblog, which probably sums up a lot right there. Instantly reminding me of something of a cross between Manjimup and Karratha (in West Oz) I'm not quite as distressed as I would otherwise be that I'm holed up in a hotel room with the flu *oink oink* (hahaha! just joking!... or AM i? ;) Getting here was probably the most interesting part. We left Milwaukee at 6am and arrived here at midnight... and the sun shone the entire time! I drove on the wrong (right) side of the road for the first time, ate Poutine at some crappy rural Alberta diner and arrived in a complete daze at some obscure oil and gas outpost on the Alaska Hwy. ... read more
Fire Hydrant
The thing that is so weird about America is how familiar it all is, yet I seem to be experiencing some of the strangest kind of culture shock of my life! It's as if someone has taken all of the over-the-top, in-your-face hyperbole of every bad Hollywood film or American sitcom and plonked it into real life... only the sad thing is that it's the other way around. It is ACTUALLY like that! Everyone is shouting all the time! Everywhere...EVERYWHERE there are advertisements demanding you buy stuff... or ELSE! There is a looming ominous feeling that you are about to be sued, shot or shafted by someone. At this stage, I'm just trying to adjust myself in order to be able to connect with someone on a human level. I'm going to be staying with a ... read more
RECOVERED
After a two hour drive, another 2 hour four-wheel drive (through some VERY hairy bush terrain) and a 2 hour trek up a muddy vine-entangled, fern-covered mountain, Qua, Lee, Ben and myself found ourself well and truly in "Da Jungle"! And it was "Massif!" Thankfully having watched the 5 minute instruction video of the "Gibbon Experience" earlier, we kind of knew what to do when we were given a handful of harnesses, carabeenas and pulleys by our friendly Lao guide, and with a big smile, told to zip off on a series of flying foxes to the treehouse we would be staying in for the next 3 days. To be quite honest, I was a bit uncertain about paying the MaSSiF (almost as massif as de Jungle!) 1.5 million Kip (about $150-odd bucks) fee for ... read more
Well, what a milestone! Two years and no blogs later, I've found my password and can blog once more! :) This is just a quickie, really seeing as there are no thousand-word pictures to put up (YET! i'll have to raid Qua's camera when she gets back) Pai is a beautiful litte town in amongst the mountains of North-Western Thailand. It's got some of the best music I've heard in the whole country (which isn't saying a whole lot, but there is some great live jazz bands as well as just GOOD music playing everywhere!) but is also the most chilled out hub of travellers I've been to. Seeing as this trip is more of a mission for relaxation, it's just the ticket right now and I've spent the last 3 days here crusing through the ... read more
Trees in the neighbors' paddock
Well, to explain the lack of blog for a while- I've been travelling incognito as I went around the (Australian) countryside surprising friends and family who had no idea I was home. Lex at first thought I was a recording of a ukulele, both Struth and Luce didn't seem to register that I was back for a good 5 minutes, Dad looked at me funny then went a bit teary and Mum asked me who I was sitting on her verandah! :) I just arrived at Mum's today, but have spend the last few days at Dad's chilling among the trees dreaming up plans for an earth house I want to build up in the back of his block. It was most peaceful, and I've pretty much been doing the same thing as Alaya did when ... read more
Les Blerots de R.A.V.E.L
Well so end the adventures in France (for now). I'll spare you all the details to avoid provoking jealousy ;) but pretty much it boils down to the fact that I had an absolute ball in Tours- thanks to my wonderful friends and travel guides, Alex and Thierry. I have eaten enough pastry for the next four years, tasted stinky cheese so stinky that is actually illegal in most parts of the world, seen countless acts of brilliant music and wandered aimlessly like I've never wandered aimlessly before! And as if that wasn't good enough, I have photo evidence as well!! :) ...but now on a sadder note, back to Scotland... Bon Courage... read more
