katiegooner

We arrived in Malaysia excited to be in another country and soon felt at ease in what was certainly a more 'western' and multicultural society than Vietnam. KL's low-cost terminal was pretty easy to navigate and we toasted our arrival with a giant McDonald's meal (yeah baby). Our hostel, the Matahari Lodge, was basic but in a great location for the money round the corner from Petaling Street where the Chinese night market delights every evening. What a market it was with just a little bit of encouragement from vendors selling their wares. We soaked up the atmosphere with a beer and some good street food. I knew I was going to like this place. During our time in KL we explored the delights of Little India and Chinatown, did some shopping (well it was obligatory ... read more

Well here we are in our hotel in Saigon freshening up after our 2-day trip to the Mekong. It seems a long time now since I was sunning myself in Sydney (well almost it was a little colder there than my trip there in January). After a nine-hour flight to Hong Kong I somehow managed to navigate my way on Hong Kong buses and the busy streets of Mongkok to find my bed for the night at the Hong Kong Budget Hostel, which was basically an apartment in a large block but despite the bijou nature of my room and lack of window I would highly recommend it to any traveller on a budget - it was clean, cheap, great location and a very helpful owner. I spent the next day like a child waiting for ... read more

So it has been a mad couple of weeks. Since arriving in Cairns ten days ago I have snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, sailed the Whitsundays and spent far too long on a Greyhound Bus. I arrived in Cairns after a long day on planes and surviving a storm in Brisbane. My hostel seemed nice on first looking and I even got a hug from the rather eccentric owner. Anyone staying in Cairns and is looking for somewhere slightly outside of the party centre would do well at Caravella - it was clean and I was in a four-bed dorm ensuite for only $21 a bit of a change from the West! As I discovered things would get more expensive and colder the further south I got. Cairns was much nicer than I expected - allowing ... read more

Well I have been in Western Australia now for over two weeks and I love it. I have seen and done a lot in the last ten days so I will try to sum it up here for you all. I arrived in Perth to average weather - a little disappointing as Perth had been recording a whopping 34 for the last few months but the locals were a little happier than me to see the rain. Unlike their friends in the East who have seen record amounts of rainfall those living in the West have had more than ample amounts of sun and are gasping for rain. After a tortuous walk to my hostel I began to plot my next moves. The hostel although a walk from the centre was a lovely old building - ... read more

The time: 19.40 The venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground The teams: St Kilda and Richmond. That was where I was on Friday night as the final nail in the coffin of my conversion to AFL took place. The final score was 95:95 - I mean what kind of game can you watch for 2 hours that results in a draw!! It could have been different though as St Kilda (my chosen team for the evening) were just ahead in the final minutes before an amazing kick from Richmond saw them regain the lead. This was when sitting in the Tigers end was pretty deafening. Unlike a footie game back home where fans are segregated generally to prevent fights AFL games are more like rugby where Saints fans and Tigers fans sit alongside. Anyway 2 'marks' by St ... read more