http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/days here and there/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from days here and there en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:56:10 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:56:10 BST Decisions Decisions Where are we going to spend our last two weeks in Central America Somewhere weve already visited or a new locationWhy not head back to Costa Rica then make up our minds.A mere 11 hours on a coach from Leon to San Jose cant believe these journeys are starting to feel like a short hop. After needless fuss and bother at the border crossing we entered Costa Rica it feels li http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Limon/Puerto-Viejo-de-Talamanca/blog-297780.html Said our farewells to Rene and Li Nhi at Rivas they departed for the Tica Bus heading south we went in the opposite direction on yet another chicken bus our backpacks ended up on top of a load of dirty vegetables.Read good reviews about two hostels in Granada the Bearded Monkey and Oasis one a bit more lively than the other. We plumped for the quieter Oasis especially when one traveller decl http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Leon/blog-293698.html Up bright and early to catch the 5.45 bus to Liberia the first leg on our journey to San Juan Del Sur in Nicaragua. Joining us at the bus stop were Nigaraguan construction workers on their way home and Kate a lovely young girl from Vancouver who we first met in La Fortuna. We bumped into her again at the beach in Tamarindo she intended travelling to meet friends in Nica so we agreed to leave a http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/San-Juan-Del-Sur/blog-290412.html Nothing surprises us anymore about local bus journeys especially the amount of people that a driver can cram on. With that in mind it probably wasnt our best decision to travel to La Fortuna on a Saturday afternoon. Started off fine on our four and a half hour jaunt from San Jose Bus Station. Front seat on a half full coach not for long Before we left the city limits it was full to the gunne http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Alajuela/La-Fortuna/blog-283368.html Another Mega journey from San Diego by Greyhound to Los Angeles then caught a plane via Miami to Costa Rica. Left Southern California at 2 oclock in the afternoon and arrived at our accommodation in San Jose 29 hours later helped in no small part to a 6 hour delay at Miami Airport. Our landing at San Jose in heavy rain was a bit scary. The plane was bouncing about so much that the guy sitting ne http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/San-Jose/San-Jose/blog-279510.html Crossed both the Equator and the International Dateline on our 9 hour flight from Fiji to Los Angeles. We left Nadi at 2300hrs only to arrive in Southern California at 1300hrs on the same day 10 hours before we left Fiji. Quite weirdUp until now we've always been in front of GMT but now we're 8 hours behind. Our destination in LA was the USA Hostel in the heart of Hollywood. This was practicall http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Los-Angeles/Hollywood/blog-278844.html 3 hours after leaving Auckland we touched down at Nadi Airport on the main island of Fiji in the South Pacific. First thing that hit us when we left the aircraft was the heat 30 degrees or more Our initial accommodation was pre booked by email a few days before at Smugglers Cove on Nadi Bay. Looks like the next 17 days here on these islands could be pretty tough nothing much to do maybe we w http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-268476.html Decisions Decisions Which direction nextDo we retrace our steps back to Wanaka then head across to Franz Josef Glazier and up the longer West Coast or travel across the island towards Dunedin and up the East Coast.If we had thought more about our route at the start we would've planned it differently.Following another night at Te Anau holiday park our decision was to travel towards Balclutha t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Taupo/blog-263126.html Touched down at Christchurch Airport with no plans other than looking at campervan hire availibility and cost. Checked out a campervan at an airport hire companies depot it looked good so we decided to go for it except we didn't realise tomorrow was Good Friday and the start of the Easter Holidays. There were none available until at least Sunday. Headed into Christchurch instead. Found decent ac http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Milford-Sound/blog-261759.html Yet Again Our bus journey wasn't straight forward the scheduled 10 hours overnight journey from Agnes Water to Airlie Beach took over 12 hours. A serious road traffic accident had us waiting more than 2 hours at Rockhampton until the road was cleared. We Limped Knackered into Bush Village Hostel 3 hours later than expected. We've been looking forward to this leg of our adventure for some time http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Whitsundays/blog-258195.html After mulling over the destinations on our Greyhound Bus Timetable we decide on Rainbow Beach sounds nice so this is our next stop. Surprisingly the coloured sands are not the most impressive feature in this tiny place. Prebooked Frasers Backpackers Hostel another good choice. Our room was ensuite with a balcony.On our arrival we clocked a notice announcing a free introductory guided walk by M http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/1770/blog-254153.html They call Queensland the Sunshine State lets see. back on the Greyhound bus we discover that there's one hour time distance between New South Wales and its northern neighbour. Queensland hasn't adopted daylight saving therefore it gets dark earlier in the evening. Whits that aboot betcha the farmers have something to do with it same as wintertime back home it's garbage live stock cannot t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Noosa/blog-250201.html Just corrected a couple of spelling mistakes from my last blog no I haven't got a shoe fetish I wrote that we ate sannies instead of sarnies. I also mentioned that not a sole boarded the ferry should've read soul. Actually that is also a flatfish. I haven't got a fish fetish either.Hoping the weather improves as we travel north. Our Greyhound Bus ticket allows unlimited stops on one way tra http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Byron-Bay/blog-245331.html Scheduled overnight train journey to Sydney takes 11 hours typically it took 12 hours. Arrived at Central Train Station at 8 in the morning with no accommodation booked although we did have a few places in mind. Ended up picking the Ambassador Hostel at Kings Cross 'cos they offered to come and pick us up. True to form had to change accommodation after one night when we were awakened by the dea http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Potts-Point/blog-240949.html Left South East Asia on a 9 hour flight from Bangkok to Melbourne. On arrival it looked like we would never get out the airport almost 2 hours waiting for luggage and getting through customs. Eventually boarded the Skybus to Southern Cross Station for 15 Australian dollars each just under 7 pounds. This also includes a free shuttle to your accommodation so after a short hop on the bus we were http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-237882.html After flying from Hanoi back to Thailand we used the direct bus service from Bangkok Airport to the city. It drops you off close to the Khao San Road and costs 150 Baht each. In this famous some would say infamous road backpackers from around the globe gather amongst a congested mix of bars restaurants cheap guesthouses and stalls selling fake I Ds designer clothes counterfeit DVDs and CD http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South/Ko-Samui/blog-232217.html Ever since watching the French movie Indochine starring Catherine Deneuve I've wanted to visit Halong Bay. Before then I didn't even know it existed. It looked absolutely amazing during the film when they showed a junk sailing in the mist amongst the numerous limestone islands which jut vertically out of the tranquil water. The lead male actor escaped capture by hiding with local fishermen in o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Halong-Bay/blog-229230.html MERRY XMAS EVERYBODYTravelled once more on the sleeper bus for the last leg of our Vietnam Trip. It Takes around 13 hours from Hue to Hanoi. Settled into our comfy reclining seats then DISASTER Eileen left her MP3 in the large rucksack and mine must've accidently been left on so it needed charged. The driver decides to play a crap Vietnam version of Chris De Burgh type of music loudly on th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-228240.html Our next journey north takes 12 hours so we booked a Sleeper Bus which set off at 6 Pm and arrived in Hoi An next morning. The bus is brilliant it has 28 reclining seats complete with pillows and covers. We also have it booked for Hue and Hanoi. Travelling overnight has added bonuses it saves on accomodation and arriving first thing gives you a whole day to explore your new location.The bu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-226744.html Left the cold evenings of Dalat behind as our bus descended through fabulous scenery to the valley below on our way to the beach resort of Nha Trang. The first few days here came as a bit of a bonus the weather was great but only a week before this was not the case. The coast of Vietnam was subject to a Typhoon which had caused flooding and a fair degree of damage.After a 6 hour journey we c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-225869.html