Osaka & Himeji

After a horrendous day of travel going via Hong Kong and Taipei, I finally arrived in Osaka, in the south of Japan. After nine months of travel with Kate, I was on my own for the first time - which was very strange!

It took me a couple of days to orientate myself with the city and trying to get over my culture shock (especially since on my first day it took me 3 hours to find an ATM that took my card!). On my first night there, my roommate Lynn and I went out for dinner (to a Korean restaurant) and ordered a meal that looked great on the menu but ended up being some vegetables and the meat was just bones - literally!!!

The next day I went to the Osaka Aquarium with James and Anthony - 2 English guys from my hostel. The Aquarium had many levels and lots of the tanks were on split levels so you could see creatures above and below the waterline. The best bit though, was the tank with the Whale Shark and Mantra Rays in! We caught Deep Sea - a 3D film at the IMAX afterwards.

Then I went to Osaka-jo - the castle. It contained a lot of the history of the area and the battles that the castle had been involved in. It also had an observation deck at the top which had great views of the city. I also went to the Museum of History but it was all in Japanese so I didn't learn much!

That night I, Lynn, James, Anthony, and 2 Americans from the hostel, Ben & Pete went out to discover the Japanese nightlife. It was certainly a random night. We had dinner at a small restaurant and got to try out the local cuisine of Okonomiyaki - kind of pancakes with vegetables. Its hard to describe but they taste good! Then we spent time in a Mexican Bar before going to a night club called Sam & Dave's!

The next day I wandered around the southern parts of Osaka and went to a couple of shrines - Shitenno-ji & Isshin-ji but it was raining and I wasn't in the mood for taking my time at them!

On my final day in Osaka, I took a day trip to the nearby town on Himeji to go to Himeji Castle. It is supposed to be the most impressive surviving feudal era fortress and it lived up to expectations.

That afternoon, I went to Liberty Osaka - a museum of human rights that focuses on the taboo subjects in Japan. It was really interesting to look at the exhibitions and I learnt quite a lot about Japanese history.

After being here a week I am still a little shell-shocked by the culture but I'm starting to understand things a little better (like the train systems) and practising my 'hellos' and 'thank-yous' (I doubt that my language skills will get any better!) I'm off to Nara tomorrow to stay with a host family which should be great fun!

Night Safari's and Singapore Slings

Kate & I finally reached Singapore (after our flight was delayed due to 'rain on the plane' - no really, that was the excuse they gave!!!) and met up with Kate's boyfriend Rod, who will be spending the next 3 days with us.

On our first day, we walked along Orchard Drive where all the shops are - and almost every place offered to hand make us the best shirts and dresses (and suits for Rod)! We even found a Marks & Spencer's! We decided to go on the Duck Bus - a sightseeing bus that also goes into the water and takes us round the harbour which gave us a great view of the city!

That night we went to the Singapore Zoo and went to the Night Safari. We walked around some of the trails and got to see so many animals out including Fishing Cats Binturong, Himalayan Tahrs and　the Otters (which are Rod's favourite animal). Then we went to the Creatures of the Night show where they bring out some creatures including owls, raccoons, wolves and hyenas. The best bit though was when they brought out a 15 ft snake that was as wide as my thighs! It had been sleeping in a box under one of the seats in the audience!

The next day we did a walking tour of Little India (the area where we're staying) and got to visit a few of the Buddhist and Islamic temples in the area. The smell of curry was a delight!

We then headed to the harbour and got a tram over to Sentosa Island to see the giant Merlion (the symbol of Singapore). We climbed up to see the views from the mouth as well as from the top of its head.

Since we didn't know much about the history of Singapore, we decided to go to the Images of Singapore show on the island which took us through its history and growth from a little fishing village into the place it is today. Then we did a tour of Fort Siloso that tried to defend Singapore from the Japanese invasion in WW2. It wasn't very effective but it did manage to sink one boat! We finished off the day with a cable car ride across the harbour and back.

On our final day, we did a tour of China Town and went into the Chinese Cultural Centre that tried to portray what life was like for the initial Chinese immigrants here. We also got to see another temple - Sri Mariammon - which is the oldest in Singapore.

We headed over to the harbour to see the mini Merlion and had some fun with the photos! Anyone for a drink??

We headed back to our hostel but not before trying some of the interesting looking ice cream from a street vendor. Instead of using crackers, they used bread. But it wasn't any ordinary bread - it was pink and green bread (no, it wasn't mold!) It tasted a bit strange!

That night we headed out to the famous Raffles Hotel to sample one of their Singapore Slings. We went into the Long Bar where you throw the peanut shells onto the floor! It was one of the nicest drinks that I'd had (made up of gin, cherry brandy, cointreau, benedictine, grenadine, pineapple juice, lemon juice and angostura bitters). Its a shame that they were $23 each or I may have had one or two more!

At the end of the evening, we headed over to the Fountain of Wealth - which is the worlds largest fountain.

It was a great way to end my trip with Kate as tomorrow I head off to Japan and she and Rod go to Malaysia. Its been an amazing 9 months - thanks for sharing it with me Kate. I'm missing you already. Can't wait to see and hear all about South East Asia xx

Back to Sydney and Leaving Oz

For anyone who has done the East coast of Australia on a Greyhound Bus and has had to do an overnight trip knows how uncomfortable they are! We arrived in Sydney just gone 5am in the freezing cold and very tired from not having slept!

That night, we met up with Kate's parent's friends Kevin, Julie and Sue and they took us for dinner to our favourite Thai Restaurant - Newton Thai II - for a farewell dinner. Thanks for dinner and for showing us around Sydney.

Our last full day in Australia was spent doing chores - posting boxes of useless stuff home (that has made my bag so much lighter) and spending a morning at the Chinese Embassy getting my visa sorted. We went out for drinks with Kate's old work mates - Phil and Ray and had a great laugh. It was a fun way to spend our last night here.

I can't believe that my time here in Australia is finally over - its been an amazing four and a half months of adventure and I've met some amazing people and been to some of the beautiful places in the world.

Plus I've done the odd crazy and bizarre thing like swim with sharks and manta rays, go to an ice bar, rode a camel and sleep out in swag bags when there are nasty poisonous creatures around. But I've loved every moment of it and its sad to say goodbye but I can't wait for the next installment of my adventure!

Koala Cuddling and Surfing!

We head to Noosa and I have the first of two surf lessons. It begins well, with our coach explaining about the sea and rips and getting us to practise standing up on the board. It sounds pretty straight forward - he even pushes us off when the wave comes but it certainly wasn't easy!

We had a two hour lesson and I'm managed to crouch by the end of it (being shown up by two girls (7 and 9 year old) who are able to stand by the end of the lesson! It was thoroughly enjoyable though!

We head down the coast to Brisbane, where we are staying with Kate's uni friend Lisa and her boyfriend Mick. We head off to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to cuddle a Koala - mine was called Neon and as I moved my hand to stroke him, he got scared and the handler had to take him back. So, take two, and I keep my hands still!

We wandered around the Sanctuary (which has other native Australian animals) and went and fed the Kangaroos (who slobbered all over your hands!)

That night, we went out in The Valley to experience the Brisbane night life - was quite a good night!

The next day we took a ferry down the river and went and saw 'the beach' - a fake beach with its own set of lifeguards (I think the deepest the 'sea' was 2 metres). We also wandered around the craft market before going to the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). That evening, we had dinner at the Bowls Club before going to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

Thanks to Lisa and Mick for your hospitality - had a great time!

We had a brief stop over in Surfers Paradise and strolled along the beach in the morning (before the skyscrapers cast a shadow over it). We wandered around the town and the hundreds of souvenir and surf shops - some of the stuff was a bit tacky!!!

The next day we carried on down the coast to Byron Bay - where I had my second surf lesson. This one was far better as there were only 4 of us and we were given lots of time to practise. Our coach James had the patience of a saint as he watched me to try and figure out where I was going wrong (besides not being able to stand up)!! With a lot of encouragement and guidance from him, I finally managed it! But I was shattered at the end of it - 4 hours trying to jump up on a board is very tiring!

The next day we walked up to the lighthouse and passed the most easterly point in Australia and see some pods of dolphins and a whale!

That evening, we board the Greyhound Bus for our overnight trip back to Sydney. Its a shame that we don't have more time here!

A Big Pineapple and Peanuts

Back in Hervey Bay, Kate & I are met by Janelle (who we met on the Canyons trip in the US). We'll be staying with her for a few days. Tonight, we're at her family's beach house where her parents are staying and we have a nice evening, coupled with a roast for dinner.

The next morning we head off down the Sunshine Coast. We stop at a few little towns on the way (Gympie, Coolum and Maroochydore) before going to the Ginger Factory! Kate had to get a photo or two (due to the fact that her boyfriend has ginger hair!) We also got to try some Ginger Beer (with Kate reciting lines from the Famous Five books about having 'lashings of Ginger Beer'!) We then headed over to see the Big Pineapple - they have lots of 'big' things all over Oz but this was the first one we'd seen!

We headed to Janelle's farm in Kingaory via the scenic route so that we could see the Glasshouse Mountains. We caught up with Janelle's husband Lionelle and their two boys - Brendan and Hayden.

The next day we had a tour of their farm. They were happy as we'd brought the rain (there has been a very long drought in Australia and its causing havoc with the crops). We also learnt how peanuts grew (as this is peanut country). We then drove up to the Bunya Mountains to see the Wallabies and a Kookaburra and brightly coloured parrots.

We had another great evening and Lionelle brought us home some flavoured peanuts for us to try - including Cajun, Malaysian Curry and Chili & Lime!

Thanks for your hospitality guys - we'll have to return the 'tour guide' role when you come and visit sometime!

Fraser Island

We depart on an overnight bus from Airlie Beach heading for Hervey Bay and our next adventure - 3 days on Fraser Island - an island made completely of sand!

We are put into 3 groups of 10 and will be spending the next few days with Hayley, Sam, Craig, Luis, Meagan, Kirill, Pepe and Yeye (who is a chef - we definitely got the best group!) We'd been given a rough guide of what to eat and our first task was to come up with a shopping list. We then headed over to the shed to pick up our 4x4's and learn how to load them up so that everything fits in (which was quite an effort and mainly involved Luis packing up the gear in the top of the van!)

Then we headed to the supermarket to buy all the food and we bought mostly own brand food (from Woolworths) except we splashed out and bought 'Skippy' Cornflakes!! We then had to pack this into an already tight space at the top of the van!

Yeye began the driving and, with me directing, we arrived at the ferry port and crossed over to Fraser Island. It took ages to drive across the island to arrive at 75 Mile Beach (which is legally a road!)

The other two groups stopped for lunch but we decided to carry on (the thought of having to unpack the van was too much!) and we headed up the beach and arrived at the Maheno Shipwreck. It was used as a hospital ship in WWI was caught in a cyclone as it was heading for Japan and ended up here.

We then decide to find somewhere to camp for the night and make lunch. It took a fair bit of effort to get the tents up - they were so crap and held up by a single pole in the middle. The rain sheets were tarpaulin that didn't fit and there were not enough guy ropes to secure them! At least they stood up for a while!

Once we were sure it was safe to leave the tents, we headed further up the beach to Indian Head where we came across our first dingo (we'd had lots of warnings about avoiding them as they can get very dangerous!) Of course we had to get a photo or two!!

We had a drink before dinner but it began raining quite heavily so we clambered into the back of the van and waited until it stopped. Eventually we decided that it wouldn't and we'd have to go out to make dinner (plus Sam, Craig & Luis had already decided to get wet and have a little swim in the sea!!)

That night, we ended up with 6 people in one of the tents as the other two had flooded and the rest were sleeping in the van. It was very cosy!

The next day we packed up camp and headed to Eli Creek. Hayley, Sam, Craig, Luis & I decided to walk in the water up the creek while the others took the footpath. The current is so strong that you can lie in the water and float all the way to the sea which we did (apart from hitting the shallow areas and having to crawl for a bit!)

We met up with the other 2 groups (who'd camped somewhere else last night) and decided to go and set up camp for tonight. Then we walked to Lake Wabby - its a short stroll along the beach and then through a forest before there is a kilometre walk up and down sand dunes until you reach the lake! Sam, Craig & Luis decided to roll and jump down most of the dunes and the rest of us followed suit - it was so much fun!

Lake Wabby was a green coloured lake at the bottom of a big sand dune. We all decided to go swimming again and headed off to the other side of the lake before turning round and heading back again!

That night the weather held off and Yeye pulled off his best meal yet - a pasta bolognese (complete with basil sprinkles!) The tents also were more stable (since they were attached to nearby trees and bushes!) and they didn't flood!

The final morning it was still raining when we packed up camp so we all donned our swimwear to save our clothes from getting drenched! We then headed to Lake Makenzie which was several shades of blue. The 6 English people in our group (Sam, Craig, Luis, Hayley, Kate & I) braved the rain and went for another swim (whilst everyone else was shivering on the shore!)

After lunch (and a close encounter with a hungry dingo), we headed back to the ferry with the task of removing the sand from our belongings (and having a much longed for shower!!)