ancientfiligree

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:46:39 GMT

Post number 2... 2 more islands.

Koh Lipe:

Koh Lipe is an adorable little island hanging off the south west of thailand. Given that their population is probably under 1000, their immigration point is still hilarious: a bamboo hut on the beach. Anyone wanting to get into Thailand illegally, here's your chance! (But why would you, they give you a free 30 day visa on arrival)

Here's the view from the speed boat as we came in... this is about 1/3rd of the island in shot here... and note that the mountain in the background is actually another huge island behind Koh Lipe.

In brief, Koh Lipe is kinda purdy, but very quiet.

We relaxed here for a coupla days, wandered around to different beaches, and found a bar in the Jungle which was great.

Taunted a dog.

And apparently stayed at the wrong place. We only discovered this AFTER checking in elsewhere :(

One of the beaches is called sunset beach for some reason.

Yes.

Koh Mook:

Alex picked Koh Mook out of the air because it was somewhere he'd never been or heard of. After a nice loud exhaust-belching ferry trip

past the coolest camping spot on earth (yes, those are tents)...

we made it to Koh Mook.

The longtail boat dropped us off on a beach which had a whole TWO resorts on it. Both of them swanky and way overpriced. But, by asking around, we found a path past a rubbish tip with some trash-dogs rummaging around in it, which led to a better priced and friendlier place.

We were welcomed to our bungalow by its owner:

The view:

That evening we hit upon a problem. We were both out of cash. On an island with only 4 resorts, and no ATMs, where were we to get money?

One of the swanky resorts on the beach cashed traveller's cheques, but only for guests. And their rooms were roughly 6 times what we were prepared to pay.

So we decided to venture to the other side of the island to find what we could.

And what we found was:

The village on this side of the island had been absolutely devastated by the 2004 tsunami, and they weren't taking any chances again, it seemed.

But they had rebuilt. A lot of what was there was government housing, built to house the survivors.

and this goat

All we found on this other side of the island was the village, a beautiful view

and one resort which was even more expensive than the previous one.

So we bit the bullet, hiked back, and checked into the "pretty expensive" place. It wasn't bad at all, it had the best bathroom of any so far on the trip, and was right (literally) on the beach.

The dining room.

The next day, having had enough of this opulence, we opted to go on to Koh Lanta.

But not so fast... Unbeknownst to us, it was time for a

SURPRISE SNORKELLING TRIP

More about that, later.

Time for me to head to the airport and to india :D

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:33:17 GMT

So now that i'm in Bangkok with a very annoying amount of time (3/4 of a day) to kill, and roughly no cash... it's time to retrospectively post about some/all of the locations I've hit so far!

Langkawi

After a night's stopover in Bangkok, I flew to Langkawi via KL. Air Asia's KL terminal has to be seen to be believed; they took the budget airline experience and extended it to the terminal. It's a corrugated iron shed with no AC, no order in the checkin process, and one checkin person per flight.

Good stuff.

So I made it to Langkawi, which is a great island off the northwest of malaysia... with fantastic beaches and duty free everything!

Pro-tip: Cats in Malaysia only have half a tail.

This is one of many, but apparently it's due to a superstition that if a cat's tail curls over at the top, it's bad luck. Solution? Cut off the curly bit! It was about 3 days and 20 cats before i found one with a full tail... and that was just a kitten. Watch out kitty.

So I caught a cab to the motel to... meet up with ALEX. For the uninitiated, Alex is an old friend of mine from high school who lives in china, who i hadn't seen for a year. So there was beer to be had.

Not a bad spot for a beer.

The next day we hired a car with a guy from Holland who we'd met (called Mark). Mark had the only international driver's license, so the car went out in his name.

Problem #1: Mark hadn't driven manual in 3 years or so.

Problem #2: Mark had never driven on the left side of the road.

Problem #3: Mark had never driven on asia-crazy roads.

Unfortunately, neither Alex nor I were insured to drive this vehicle, so off we set, all 3 of us screaming as each bike/cab/truck passed us at 150km/h.

We limped our way up the road to a beach, where we happened upon the most fantastic pair of pants known to man. The day was suddenly looking up.

We headed on to the "Seven Wells" waterfall and after a long climb (~700 stairs), a swim at the top was our reward.

and monkeys

After climbing 700 steps down to the bottom of the waterfall... hurdle number 2. The car wouldn't start. Mark had, in his panic, accidentally turned on and left on the headlights. After asking around unsuccessfully for a jumpstart ( i think jumper cables must be an australian invention) we called up the car hire place.

Luckily for us, they were in a good mood and sent two kids out promptly. 1.5 hours later, we were on our way again. After checking out another waterfall, suffering a complete freak out, and changing drivers for a bit (illegal but entirely necessary given the state of both the road and our primary driver), we realised we were almost out of petrol, and had no idea where a petrol station was.

Eventually we found one, after the needle had been on E for about half an hour.

And i'm never hiring a car again. The end.

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 05:29:44 GMT

EDIN BRA'!

After immeasurable amounts of fun not being allowed to check my luggage at Heathrow, and then missing a flight, I eventually arrived in Edinbra' to grey skies and missing luggage.

I gave the name of my hostel to the Lost Luggage woman, and headed off on a bus into town to find Nina. As the bus approached the old town, the skies opened up, and it started raining.

Go edinburgh :P

What do you do in Scotland when it's raining? SCOTTISHPUB

All the pubs in scotland have not-very-subtle dirty names. Like the DIRTY ASS. among other things.

God i love Edinburgh. The irreverence of the scots (when you actually find one... it's full of foreigners) is legendary. Everywhere you looked was damp, drizzle, and a huge castle hanging over everything.

What more can you ask for?

NEEPS N TATTIES... and haggis

Escaping from the cold with CHOCOLATE

The amount of dressed-up statues of figures who possibly SHOULD command respect (ie this philosopher) was without equal. Damn you Scots.

On the third day, there was sun!

The view from the cafe where the first Harry Potter book was written. I have no idea where she gained her inspiration :(

DEEP FRIED MARS BAR

Croatia

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 17:26:49 GMT

I fell asleep on a coach from Zagreb to Split (Croatia) and awoke to find myself in the strangest alien landscape.

The western balkans are weird :(

Narodni Trg, the main square in Split. The whole old-town is all beautiful white sandstone

Some Roman emperor used Split as his holiday home (Illyria was just a hop skip and jump from Rome)

now people hawk crappy stuff in markets in the ruins of his holiday house

Hello, please buy my crappy jewellery in the basement of this 2000 year old building!

Definitely the most beautiful mediterranean coast i saw. Kicks the CRAP out of nice. stupid nice.

WHO'S A HAPPY BOLLARD (L)

We frequented the same restaurant 3 days running... super cheap backpacker food... and KITTY

ZAGREB

Single best church in history. Ever.

One day i will own this car. Then you'll all take notice :(

Croatia is just cute

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:50:23 GMT

With so many tree-lined boulevards, Rome is just slightly pretty in Autumn.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiigh

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:56:28 GMT

Sarajevo

A beautiful mountain city, Sarajevo spends most of its time floating in cloud. On three sides, mountains sheathed in alpine forest surround.

They'd be so beautiful to walk through.

In addition, Sarajevo was the host city of the 1984 Winter Olympics, and must be an absolutely beautiful place to ski in winter.

Except... for the problem of landmines.

The Serbs invaded Bosnia in 1992, with the intention of wiping out the Bosnians, and creating a 'Greater Serbia'. The Serbs possessed the remnants of the former Yugoslav army, the Bosnians had nothing except a guerrilla resistance.

Yet this resistance managed to hold the Serbs out of Sarajevo for almost 4 years.

During this time, the city was under siege. The overhanging mountains, so beautiful to the eye, provided a wonderful vantage point for Serb snipers, who picked off Bosnian civilians at will, and shelled day and night.

Most buildings in Sarajevo are still pocked with bullet holes. Many still exhibit shell damage.

But amongst all the damage, the most resilient, yet surprisingly welcoming people still live.

AND
HUNDREDS OF STRAY CATS!

War damage and kittens. It's my heaven.

This tunnel under Sarajevo airport was the only link between the city under siege and the outside world for 4 years.

Any food, weapons, or people who wanted to go in or out travelled over a kilometre in this 1.5 metre high tunnel... knee deep in water.

This building seems to be sagging...

WATCH OUT FOR MR PRINCIP, FRANZ FERDINAND :(

Sarajevo Roses. The artifacts of shell damage, which have often been filled in with red concrete so that people don't forget...

TWO LITRES OF BEER

iceland and belgium

BEST TRAMS EVER

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:12:04 GMT

Anyone who was left with any doubts as to the dodginess of the area i'm living in...

I discovered this morning I live 3 blocks from Old Kent Road.

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:46:22 GMT

Working at the Walkabout is interesting.

Thursday i found out we're allowed to drink booze if a customer buys it for us.

Saturday i found out it's unofficially free game on pretty much any booze we want :D

Saturday night was absolutely nuts. Everyone behind the bar was as drunk as the people on the outside of it.

And i got pinned to the wall and sprayed with lemonade from that soda-dispenser-hose thing by the manager.

Twice.

I had to explain to customers the reason i was soaking wet.

At least i was delicious!

The house i'm living in is this beautiful 3 story terrace house in Elephant and Castle.
The dodgiest suburb in London.

I'd only been living there 12 hours when i almost got mugged for the first time...

So now we try to be more careful.

And in the words of the old black dude who scared off the two young black guys who were apparently discussing robbing me (he later told me about this)

"Be careful of de black boys. Dey no good."

He then exhaled pot smoke in my face and walked off.

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:48:13 GMT

Yaaay. Congratulations me! Tomorrow is my first day as a bar-guy at Covent Gardens Walkabout. For those of you wanting to place me on your Monopoly board, put a hotel on Coventry.

I'll be living in a boarding-house in Elephant & Castle... so that's my work and accomodation sorted for the rest of my trip!

Now to sort the entertainment.

On the way back, wandered through Leicester Square and witnessed the aftermath of the Borat premiere.

Borat himself had already gone inside, but i still got to see the red-carpet... with three Kazakhstani prostitutes, and a horse-drawn car.

Delightful.

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 12:58:58 GMT

Ooh a firework!

It's guy fawkes day soon, and kids are celebrating early in the estate.

By early, i mean 1am, 2am...

BUT FROM THIS I REALISED YOU CAN BUY FIREWORKS IN SUPERMARKETS HERE.

Nina and i plan to have a fun friday.

Tonight i see 'The Last Kiss'.

I'm having a job interview with a 'Walkabout' pub in about an hour. These things are basically the RE, multiplied, and transplanted transcontinentally.

But i wanna see what i'm missing out on by never having worked in a pub. I bet these 6 weeks will cure me for life :D

And i'll have time off to get to ROME! AND POMPEII.

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 17:48:21 GMT

I'm wandering through Mostar, in the south of Bosnia, with a French Canadian - Elyse. Mostar is a divided city - half Croat (Christian), half Bosnian (Muslim).

When fighting broke out with Serbia, the Croatians and Bosnians in Mostar began to fight. The entire city is still bullet and shell damaged, and while the country is now at 'peace', we counted at least 6 cars driving past, beeping their horns, flying Croatian flags.

An uneasy peace indeed.

Tiring of the tourist area, we head into the centre of the real town and find an overgrown park, overlooked by the burnt-out shell of a skyscraper.

We hang out on the grass for a couple of hours, before heading back to the trainstation. In the corner of the park i notice a strange granite block.

This has me puzzled for about 2 minutes... before slowly, memories start to flood back.

Two years ago i read a news article about a divided Muslim/Christian city, in the former Yugoslavia, unable to settle on a subject for a statue. Any historical figure was either Muslim or Christian, so no consensus could be reached.

Until

they hit upon the idea of Bruce Lee.

Everyone loves Bruce Lee.

Or so they thought

"Vandals so damaged the Mostar Bruce Lee Monument -- his nunchuck was ripped away, body bent forward -- that in March 2006 the city removed it for repairs."

I just can't believe that, after reading about this statue 2 years ago and thinking "Heh cool"... I fly halfway around the world, and stumble upon it by accident.

In an out of the way war-damaged park.

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 16:39:22 GMT

HEY

My liver hurts. Yesterday, Mel and I were amongst 2500ish people to attempt to take the Guinness world record for the worlds largest pub crawl.

2500 people. 8 hours. 10 pubs.

We crammed full so many tube trains, we pissed off so many bus drivers (one accelerating madly and then swerving to a halt in an attempt to stop our singing...)

A game of 'air cricket' managed to bring regent st to a halt. I was first slip... and london buses dont stop for first slips :(

The defining moment for me was being part of a mob running, singing, down a tube platform and hearing one local say to another a single word

"Australians."

I'm not sure if we actually got the record. Apparently it'll take some months for confirmation.

but we definitely did get drunk.

GILLY the french man, mel and myself

Gathering at Trafalgar square before the event. Everyone in this photo is part of the crawl, and this is about 1/3rd of the actual crowd. Note the pirates and knights in the centre.

Cool books. Straight from the fridge.

The tube at 4pm on a sunday afternoon

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 15:31:05 GMT

And, part 2 of the adventure is over.

Sitting on Mel's bed, using her sexy laptop, and it hasn't really sunk in that i'm not backpacking any more. I feel like at any moment a group of loud americans will wander into the room and ask me 'What's up'.

I keep going to look left when crossing the street. I keep looking up when i hear a conversation in English.

I'll need some retraining.

So i went to:
-Madrid
-Segovia*
-Barcelona
-Nice
-Monaco*
-Marseille
-Lyon
-Chamonix
-Paris
-Amsterdam
-Berlin
-Leipzig*
-Prague*
-Vienna
-Pinkafeld*
-Venice*
-Ljubljana
-Bled
-Zagreb*
-Split*
-Sarajevo*
-Mostar*
-Budapest*

The asterisked ones being ones i'm yet to make photo posts about. This is gonna take some time :D

Monday, i have to start the jobsearch. I'd love IT work, but i think bar work will be the easiest alternative when we're only talking 2ish months.

Yep, i'm no longer a backpacker... for 5 days.

Thursday, Nina and I embark on part 3! Drinking with two aussies i know who live in Edinburgh.

The adventure never stops!
NEVER :@

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:36 GMT

One of the brit paratrooper squadrons returned from Afghanistan two days ago

Today they're in bars in Hungary talking loudly about shooting taliban and also looking for "pussy" (hookers).

The important thing is, myself, an aussie and 4 other brits just led a detailed escape operation to ditch these 'squaddies'.

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:53:02 GMT

Wandering past Hungarian parliament earlier today, the protests seem to have died down. There are still people walking around with Hungarian flags with the crest torn out of them... a few banners, and maybe in total about 200 people in a space which could fit 4000.

20 minutes later, walking down another street in Budapest, we hear a siren. A policeman flies past on a motorcycle, followed by 4 more.

Then i look back, and see 3 police cars, sirens blaring, absolutely hooning towards us.

People start to shout. Jeers, screams, emanate from seemingly all around.

A black van with the hungarian flag on it comes into sight... someone is holding a coat over the window. A man on a bicycle beside me starts shouting, repeatedly thrusting his middle finger toward the van.

The crowd's noise rises to an even higher pitch.

And then, the convoy is gone. The people continue walking as normal.

It would seem that people here still do not feel amicably toward the president.

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 10:13:09 GMT

Sarajevo is just beautiful.

It's so ugly, damaged, and unnassuming... but the people are welcoming and lovely. Just don't mention the UN or Serbia...

My tour guide was 13 when the war started in '92. She almost spits when she speaks of the UN; of how they gave 50% of the aid to the Serbian army; of how they stood around being "neutral" while thousands of Bosnians were slaughtered in a UN run refugee camp nearby.

I hadn't seen her smile, until a cat came up to us when we were at the lookout. So i decide to start a conversation about cats, figuring she can't be bitter about THEM.

Within 10 seconds the conversations turns to how many cats died of starvation during the war.

I think a lot of people try to move on, by pretending the war didn't happen. It's difficult when you're a war history tour guide.

I arrived in this strange grey city, with overhanging alpine forested mountains, at 11pm at night.

Wandering to my hostel, i noted the bullet holes peppering the walls of many of the buildings... the one in every 8 buildings which is still bombed out and uninhabited... and the number of cats.

There are at least two cats on every street corner in this city. It's wonderful.

In the restaurant i went to last night, the waiter carries a water pistol.

I arrived at my hostel, and finally sorted out my details in broken German with the clerk who spoke no english.

I'm sitting on my bunk, alone.

From behind me I hear "Is that you Tony!?"

in an accent fit to melt trees.

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 12:37:21 GMT

You may have heard talk that, at the culmination of this huge backpacking jaunt i was toying with the idea of coming home early.

But, with a little nudge of help, I've come to my senses.

I'm staying in Europe as long as i can :D

I can either

a) get a job in london... now that i have MULTIPLE FRIENDS there it could be a fun place to hang

b) keep right on backpacking. I haven't seen any of england or wales yet... or poland... or belgium...

I'm going to try for a. And failing that, b sounds a pretty cool consolation prize.

Tomorrow, to sunny, beautiful Sarajevo

Vienna

Hung with Andrew, who did an ERC camp a coupla years ago. Phil and Mel may remember him

Don't touch the monkey!

Our Kosovar friend Odyse learns not to touch the monkey

Magda is the belgian version of Melissa. She spoke too fast, about 8 different topics at once, mostly international politics which she's studying at uni so she can work for the EU...

The one touristy thing i actually did in Vienna (other than drink) was visit the MUSEUM OF MEDICAL HISTORY

In an old insane asylum

Siamese cows

And a pickled baby

I wonder if it hurts

It's illegal to drink on trains

I may have altered this sign (for Austria's Racist party) a little :)

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 14:18:50 GMT

I met the 60 year old man in the town square again yesterday. Same time, same place... we sat for a little longer.

Then two of his friends showed up, and it was lets drink beer and chat loudly in slovenian time. So i said goodbye and left.

Last night, went to a party for all the exchange students about to start their semester at uni. I convinced everyone i was an anthropology student, wrote all over people in marker, and then went back to Metelkova (the squatters complex)

We sat in a treehouse drinking beer.

I really don't wanna leave this place. I could live here in a second, if there was actually a way for me to get a decent job :P

So i'm headed to Croatia tonight, before i get trapped here forever

Ljubljana castle (on a hill in the very centre of the city)

Iceland, Tony, and Ireland

The forest is so close

The main square at sundown

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 13:03:51 GMT

Slovenia is just adorable. Theres not much to do, except just hang out and soak it in.

Yesterday, i was sitting in the main square, just watching the people. Listening to my mp3 player, with my head spinning about this and that... my thought spiral is suddenly interrupted.

A 60ish year old local taps me on the shoulder, talking in Slovenian. I'm stunned for a second, and then ask... Do you speak English?

"English no good. I ask if you can sit me here"

I say that yes, i can sit him there, and he sits down beside me.

"Would you like beer?" he says, rummaging around in a supermarket bag. I would like beer, but not from a strange man, so i thank him and shake my head.

We sit, we talk about zoos, tourism, kangaroos, and unicycles, with no idea what the other one is saying. Eventually, i say goodbye, and take my leave.

Last night, a group of us went and drank in the park for a couple of hours, before visiting a club complex which is in this graffiti'd old army barracks. Amazingly cheap beer, dirty decor and punk music... and food bar serving only baked beans.

Ljubljana is so strange. So pretty. And so friendly.

I'm in love.

We went on a day trip to Bled, which has a castle above a huge mountain lake. On the lake is a tiny island, with a small church.

The excuse "Couldnt make it to mass because there was a hole in my boat" can only be used here.

As the sun sets, the bells begin to toll...

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:10:08 GMT

A couple of times this trip, I've turned up to a city with no idea where my hostel is and ended up entirely and hopelessly lost.

Today i turned up to the wrong city.

In the wrong country.

I then proceeded to get lost in that city.

I certainly one-upped myself.

But tonight, i checked into the best hostel yet. Its a two bedroom apartment, but the bedrooms are dorms.

Its ludicrously cosy and friendly

Ljubljana is gonna ROCK

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 10:34:31 GMT

There's a light rain misting softly over Venice. I wouldn't have it any other way.

This weekend I
-met about 50 different Austrians
-attended a house party and fell down the stairs
-saw 2 soccer matches and a European Handball match
-chatted with a Croatian guy about war and death
-picked apples and plums for a local farmer
-got cheered by locals for riding a bike past the cafe they were at. "Australian! YEAaaah!"

The family i was staying with were the absolute nicest people in history. Upon leaving, they gave me a bag full of food, with 4 sandwiches, chocolate, gummi and ice tea.

"Because Venice so expensive"

AWWW

Bratislava's off the list. Tomorrow night: Slovenia. Ljubljana.

An ugly gray city surrounded by alpine forest.

Yes please.

Prague

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 15:01:56 GMT

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 10:34:02 GMT

WHATS COOKIN

Coupla places i was at... in AUGUST. So long ago now. Old photos. Old news.

Highlight Photos:
CHAMONIX- French Alps

Sometimes

Chamonix

was

pretty

Mont Blanc is the very centre peak, the one that's kind of rounded.
On the very left, you can see the mountain i took the cable car to the top of.

DOG

SWITZERLAND

I caught the train up into Switzerland for the day, and found the cutest little town perched on the side of a mountain.

Whilst being a groin-grabbingly beautiful town, there was absolutely no one there. A population of about 200, and i'm guessing they all leave to go down into the valley to work.

Eventually, i was sitting on the train station by myself, waiting an hour for the next train... when the most beautiful girl approaches and sits down beside me.

She silently sat with me and kept me company for an hour... we parted ways and i never saw her again.

AMSTERDAM

Amsterdam

is

silly

BICYCLES

People break dance

Ieke is a dutch name. We had coffee.

OH SHIT! ZAKKENROLLERS!

Sat, 16 Sep 2006 20:15:39 GMT

Tonight, I picked a direction and simply started walking. I found beautiful tree lined streets; still damaged pre war homes; a free concert with people of all ages dancing without a care to what sounded like gypsy music.

I found the old Soviet TV Tower; a man drinking a beer at a pub and chatting with his 8 year old daughter; a giant meeting hall which was shaped like a toilet, and an old burnt out Russian truck.

I can see what Jeff Martin saw in this town, there´s such beauty in the streets, the people, and the culture.

I just wish i could see it in winter time. This scenery was made for a frost, the cobblestone roads and stone staircases shouldn´t have to know this kind of heat. Prague in summer is a beautiful girl, wearing a men´s sports jacket and suit pants.

Prague and I reached an understanding the moment I ditched my efforts to be a tourist, and just wandered around being myself.

Moreso than even anything in Paris, I felt quite literally sick wandering Prague castle and looking at the tourists.

The tourist attractions here are horrid. The beauty is in the people, and places they actually go.

So, having only finally begun to come to understand her, i bid Prague adieu.

It´s time for Vienna, which i feel is going to be beautiful, even if it doesn´t have canals.

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:36:20 GMT

Yesterday morning, I wanted to buy a tram ticket. I go into the tiny little corner store near my hostel.

Him: "Dobry den"
Me: "Dobry den! Do you sell tram tickets?"
"No, I sorry."
he says in his almost Russian accent.

There's a slight pause.

Him: "But we do have vodka! Cheap Russian vodka! You drink enough vodka, you no need tram ticket! You no need to go anywhere!"
Me: "I might keep that in mind for tonight."

I laugh and back slowly out of the store.

That was just too amazingly close to the stereotype. Even if i am a few countries over from Russia... the Soviets obviously left an impact.