http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/nmcoulson/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from nmcoulson en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:29:56 +0000 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:29:56 +0000 I was the only person I could see who was white on my flight to Istanbul. I sat next to some seamen who spoke next to no English and yet I managed to help the computer illiterate old men to work their tv screens to the channels they desired and hold a brief conversation mostly based on pointing and acting out words. The flight went by quietly. The movies weren't that good the food not so great s http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/blog-461028.html I met up with Nicole for breakfast the next morning and Sheryl joined us from her conference later that day. We spent the day shopping catching up and then took a nap. We woke up when the fireworks began to go off. We had forgotten to wake up earlier. It was the King of Thailandrsquos birthday We ran outside and stood in front of giant screens watching the ceremony were given yellow candles t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-461023.html The night bus up to chiang Mei was rather uneventful but rather uncomfortable. The AC didn't work on the first bus and I was overheating while trying to sleep because of the humidity. The next bus we switched 12 way through had powerful AC that made everything too cold and I was freezing. It is odd to think you have to dress warm for the bus so you don't get sick. I met a couple cool people on http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-457049.html So very little has happened since my last update. We stayed around in Indonesia another two days then flew to Bangkok. I had to get more tests and then I had to get my medicine then we got the hell out of Indonesia. I really enjoyed most of what I saw but being sick and in that crazy heat wasn't pleasant. I will give it another chance but Bali isn't really a very exciting place since it is expensi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-456237.html Sorry about my tardiness again. Time just gets away on you when you are having a blast. I will keep this a short update for numerous reasons. The first being there is lots to catch up on. The second is that I do not feel well.Nov 3rdHung out at the guest house because everyone was super sore from the massive 9 km trek up the mountain. 2 of our group over exerted themselves and were puking much of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Kuta/blog-453016.html Cherating turned out to be slightly more exciting than I have given it credit for. It was a quaint little surf town that the Lonely Planet described as our first impression was that the town was dieing. We found a nice guest house more of a bungalow than anything and stuffed ourselves with amazing food We enjoyed the beach caught up on some emails wandered around the small town and waited for http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Kota-Kinabalu/blog-450898.html hey everyoneok so I have too much to talk about hahaha Irsquove been out of internet contact for a bit and not had enough time to write so I will keep it short but with it covering a long time it will be a novel.Julia Sheryl Kiwis and I headed back to krabi where Julia was flying home to NZ before hitting Canada. Sheryl is also thinking of coming for the Stampede now so we may have a party http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Pahang/Cherating/blog-446807.html I met a few New Zealand girls at my guesthouse who have taken me on as one of their own and we have been ripping and roaring around Krabi seeing all of the sites.After arriving here in Krabi I wandered around trying to find cheap accommodation with two Canadians until we found a place where rooms were 150 baht per night. That's only 5 It was such a great place with a lady with very good engli http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Krabi/blog-443691.html So I managed to refund my ticket via phone which worked out great. I then spent teh whole day fighting with Tuk Tuk drivers and haggling over prices etc etc. If you have ever been in a Tuk Tuk you will know what I mean. If you never have avoid them like the plague.I am tired of the hustle and bustle already. People just heckling and heckling and heckling you or trying to rip you off cause you're http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-442946.html Hey allSorry but this will likely be a quick update without as much info as I would like to stick in a blog update.I left Wollongong sad to see my friends for the last time in who knows how long. It was a sad departure but at least I got to spend some more time with them and have a mroe personal good bye than most of the people who left in large groups last semester. I jumped on the plane and fle http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-441001.html Hello everyone I apologize for the length between updates. I have been on the road and without much time to jump on the internet to keep you lovely people all updated on my adventures.I will not go into excessive detail as there is two weeks to catch up on and much to talk about so if you are truly interested there will be some magic and some adventures I can go into greater detail so we can actu http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Wollongong/blog-436683.html Well I just hung around Raglan the last few days before heading up to Auckland on THursday to change ownership of the car. I stayed with the German girl I sold my car to and she left to Melbourne but her room mates invited me to stay with them until I left so I saved myself a ouple bucks and obliged. I went to a volcnao in the middle of Auckland there are 50 not 22 like I'd originally thought an http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/blog-432520.html I spent about 5 days in total in Raglan just surfing everyday usually twice a day for about 23 hours a time. It was brilliant because my hostel has a sauna and a hot tub so I just surfed relaxed ate and had some social beers with people the entire time. Raglan is an amazing small town with a great laid back vibe a sleepy town where time doesn't really matter except when the high and ow tides a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/King-Country/Waitomo/blog-430929.html I left early the following morning to go in hunt of The Lord f The Rings scenes and began on Mt. Victoria in the city found the scene where Frodo first encounters the Ring Wraiths and yells Get off the Road I then drove to see some of the Bree locations before ending up at Weta Cave production studios which was just a small building because we aren't allowed to see the studio because of top se http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Raglan/blog-428764.html So that night in my car was probably one of the worst sleeps I have had in a while. I doubt I will do too much more of that unless I have to. It rained all night and the next day making my glacier experience at Franz less than reputable. The glacier was barely visible and the streams were all big to cross and get a closer look so I just packed up and drove north. I stupidly missed the panckae rock http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-426586.html Lets see... In Dunedin I didn't get up to much of note. I found a nice cheap hostel for 16 the cheapest I'd found anywhere and spent 4 nights. Not because there was much going on but because I wanted to relax and recharge my batteries. I walked around the first night and caught up on some emails before an early night. The second day I walked all over town to the free museums doing errands goi http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Franz-Josef/blog-424893.html I left Te Anau and ventured east towards Dunedin. I made it to Invercargil the first night and spent a night in a hostel there. Left this yesterday and drove the scenic route and the historic route checking out the lighthouses numerous waterfalls lakes and tracks. I ventured to the furthest south part of the Stouh Island and opted out of Stewart Island because it was 120 return fair on the ferr http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Dunedin/blog-423318.html I have been having an absolutely amazing time down here in New Zealand I know I said I wasn't that into snowboarding down due to the price but I managed to find cheap gear and grab a day pass. It is funny how fast things change when you stay with friends in a hostel. The snow boarding was aawesome because you could trace the snowline on the adjacent mountains and see a valley green and without a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Te-Anau/blog-423314.html Greetings from Queenstown New Zealand It is a great deal colder here than in Australia. The temperature dips below the zero degree mark which is a nice reminder of how life is at home. I was walking around in shorts and a tshirt when it was about 5 degrees and I was amused by many of the crazed looks I received. I landed at midnight in Christchurch on Tuesday spent two days there mostly just lo http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Queenstown/blog-419882.html Now that life has returned to traveling and I have time aside from the hectic life of residence you will hear from me on a more regular basis. I apologize for those of you who have been attempting to follow my progress but things have died off due to school and exam madness. I will do a very quick recap first for those not wishing to read the full text or who want a quick summary so that they can http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Byron-Bay/blog-417962.html