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FINAL JOURNAL
Final journal everyone. We arrived in Rio a week ago and now its already Sunday, our last full day. Last sunday we caught an early morning flight to Sau Paulo. Its an absolutely humungous city. We could see it from the air as we landed and it?s just phenomenal. Luckily we didnt have to navigate around the place as we hopped off one plane and managed to get ourselves another flight to Rio de Janeiro. Now this is truely an amazing city, which has very much grown on me over the last week. We are staying at a great hostel in Ipanema, just 5 minutes from the beach. The girls that work at the hostel have become good friends and we have been on some great nights out. On Friday we went to the party place of Lapa for our last big night out. Its basically a typical Brazilian street party, which is pretty cool. Before that we went to a pub and watched the Brazil v England game. Cant believe we conceded in the last minute. We were just 10 seconds away from getting the brazilians to line up the tequillas for us. Oh well, typical England hey. So since our arrival in Rio we have visited the infamous Copocabana and Ipanema beaches. One of the nights we went up sugar loaf mountain and saw a fantastic view of the city all lit up. Its really amazing. Then the day after we went to see the big Jesus. The statue overlooks the whole of Rio and the view is just mindblowing. You can see the whole of the city and we luckily picked the best day to go. On the way back we also got to feed some wild monkeys a few bananas. Definately one of the highlights of Brazil. And so we come to our last day. Tonight we are finishing up with a Brazilian buffet barbeque meal and after we will be smoking our cigars to say farewell to our adventure.
So.... this is the end. We have finished our 6 and a half month round the world trip, which started way back on November 20th. Its been an fantastic journey and a great experience. Im sad its over but happy to come home. I have decided to do a final journey which includes all the hostels and places we have stayed, a summary of each country, some facts and figures and some of my best and worst experiences. I have been writing this journal for a while now because it?s quite long. One of the main reasons is so I can look back and remember everything in the future. Its made me realise just how much we have done and seen since we began. Hope you enjoy
TRAVELING ROUTE
THAILAND - Bangkok - Koh Samui - Haad Yau (Koh Phangan) - Haad Rin (Koh Phangan) - Koh Phi Phi - Haad Yai - MALAYSIA - Cameron Highlands - Kuala Lumpur - SINGAPORE - Singapore - AUSTRALIA - Sydney - Blue Mountains - Forster - Nimbin - Byron Bay - Brisbane - Hervey Bay - Fraser Island - 1770 - Airlie Beach - Whitsundays - Airlie Beach - Magnetic Island - Mission Beach - Cairns - Great Barrier Reef (Prodive) - Cairns - FIJI - Nadi - Waya Lai Lai island - Beachcomber island - Pacific Harbour - Nadi - NEW ZEALAND - Christchurch - Kaikoura - Nelson - Westport - Lake Mahinapua - Franz Josef - Wanaka - Queenstown - Geraldine - Christchurch - Kaikoura - Wellington - Taupo - Rotorua - Auckland - Whangarei - Paihia - Auckland - CHILE - Santiago - La Serena - San Pedro - Iquique - Arica - PERU - Cusco - Andes Mountains (Ina Trail) - Cusco - Puno - BOLIVIA - Copocabana - La Paz - Santa Cruz - ARGENTINA - Buenos Aires - URUGUAY - Montevideo - BRAZIL - Porto Alegre - Passo Fundo - Foz do Iguaca - Campo Grande - Bonito - Pantanal - Bonito - Campo Grande - Rio de Janeiro HOSTELS/HUTS/HOTELS/HOMES STAYEDTHAILAND - Bombers place - New Hut - Haad Yau Bungalows - The Princess - Sea View Point Bungalows - Haad Yai Hotel - MALAYSIA - Cameronia Inn - Wheelers Guesthouse - SINGAPORE - Fragrance - Prince of Wales - AUSTRALIA - Railway Square YHA - Backpackers Inn - Dolphin YHA - Nimbin campsite - Arts Factory - Cloud 9 - Beaches - Campsite Cathedral Beach (Fraser Island) - 1770 Backpackers - Airlie Beach YHA - Ragamuffin II sailing boat (Whitsundays) - YHA Bungalow Bay - Mission Beach Retreat - Central YHA Cairns - Scubapro Prodive boat (Great Barrier Reef) - Shennanigans - FIJI - Sky Lodge - Waya Lei Lei Resort - Beachcomber Resort - Tsulu Backpackers - NEW ZEALAND - The Jailhouse - Top Spot - Prince Albert - Basils YHA Westport - The Poo Pub - Rainforest Retreat - Wanaka Hotel - Discovery Lodge - The Geraldine Lodge - The Lazy Shag - Base Wellington - Tiki Lodge - Hot Rocks - Base Auckland - Whangarei Falls Hostel - Pipi Patch - CHILE - Hostal de Sammy - Hostal La Serena - Hostal Corvatsch - Hostal Cathedral - Las Palmas - PERU - Hospedaje Milenuim - Camping (Inca Trail) - Hotel Europa - BOLIVIA - Leyenda - Hostal Dinastia - Santa Ana - ARGENTINA - Hostal Estoril - Hostal Estoril upstairs version - URUGUAY - Red Hostel - BRAZIL - Ray?s place - Salton family home - Hotel Baviera - Hostelling International Campo Grande - Hostelling International Bonito - Hostel Ipanema
SOME TRAVELING FACTS
Number of plane journeys: 15
Number of car/coach journeys: 64
Number of boat journeys: 42
Estimated travelling time: About 500 hours (20 days)
Longest journey: 19 hours on a bus (worst journey of my life)
COUNTRY OVERVIEWS
THAILAND
Overview: Thailand was our first destination so this is where we began getting our traveling bearings. Pretty hard considering our very first place was staying with my uncle in Bangkok who treated us like royalty with our own driver, maid and even roast dinners. Thailand was all about the islands and the beaches and relaxing on them. Brilliant start to the trip
Time spent there:About 3 weeks
Activities:Snorkeling in Haad Yau, Two scuba dives in Koh Tou, Big game fishing in Koh Phi Phi
Sights:Grand Palace and Koh San road in Bangkok, The Beach from the film in Koh Phi Phi
Memorable nights: Nights out in uncle Bombers bars in Bangkok, most notably Country Road, Seafood restaurant meal, Half moon party and Full moon party in Koh Phangan
MALAYSIA
Overview: We only spent time here in the Cameron Highlands and one night in Kuala Lumpur. The Cameron Highlands was a great place where we chilled out, visited some plant farms and drank a lot of tea
Time spent there: 5 days
Activities:Jungle trekking in Cameron Highlands.
Sights: Tea Plantation, Strawberry/Bee/Butterfly/Plant farms and Hot Springs in Cameron Highlands, KL tower and Patronas towers in Kuala Lumpur
SINGAPORE
Overview: We just stayed in Singapore city for a few days. An extremely clean citywhere you feel extremely safe. The highlight was definitely drinking Singapore Slings in raffles and heading to Zouk Club afterwards
Time spent there:4 days
Sights:Southern most point in Asia, Sea world Aquarium and Pink dolphin show on Santosa island
Memorable nights/events:Going to Raffles for Singapore Slings before heading to the Zouk night club in carriages ridden by bicycle, which were playing Stand By Me on the radio
AUSTRALIA
Overview: Well??..We certainly found our feet here. We spent the longest amount of time in Australia, which included 11 nights in Sydney. Here we spent Christmas on the beach and New Years watching the fireworks at Sydney Harbour Bridge. We also had Boxing day at the races, which I consider to be the best day of my trip and probably my life. We then bought a car, named Genie and drove it 3000km up the coast to Cairns, sold it, and made a 100 dollar profit. Aussie was all about great beaches but more than anything it was about the big nights out. Combined with some brilliant activities including learning to surf and scuba dive, Australia took the biggest chunk off our budgets. Was it worth it????? Hell yeah. You can not not have a bad time up the east coast of Australia. Great memories.
Time spent there:7 weeks
Activities:Kayaking on the Great Lakes in Forster, Jungle Trek in Nimbin, Learning to surf in Byron Bay, 4 by 4 camping trip on Fraser Island, Plane trip with Bruce and Scooteroo chopper bike ride in 1770, Whitsunday Islands sailing and snorkeling trip, 5 days learning to Scuba Dive with Prodive (2 classroom and pool days, 3 days 2 nights, 9 dives on the Great Barrier Reef)
Sights: Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Bondi/Coogee/Manley beaches in Sydney, Blue mountains, Great Lakes in Forster, Minyon Falls in Nimbin, Lighthouse and most western point in Aussie in Byron Bay, Steve Irwin?s Australia Zoo by Brisbane, Lakes and eely creek on Fraser Island, Plane view of 1770, Whitsunday Islands and Whitehaven beach, Magnetic Island and the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns
Memorable nights/events: So many to choose from here. Christmas eve with Massa. Boxing day and night/Chris birthday with Tim and Ruben as well, New years eve with the fireworks. Buying and selling Genie. Nights out with Hannah, Ella, Justin, Rosie and Carol on Fraser Island. Blowing up our 4 by 4 on Fraser Island. Australia day playing games on Magnetic Island. Woolshed nights out in Cairns including the night out with the Prodive boat crew
FIJI
Overview: I thought Fiji was going to be all about relaxing on the beaches and recovering from the liver battering of Australia. That was until we hit Beachcomber Island. Me and Leeroy spent 3 days on the smallest and best party island in the world. After that I went to the south of the main island by myself to dive with man eating Bull sharks. Hardly relaxing. Fiji was an absolute gem and I could have spent longer hopping between the islands
Time spent there: 9 days
Activities:Sailing trip and snorkeling around the islands, 2 scuba dives with Bull Sharks, Nurse sharks, reef sharks and giant trevally fish
Sights:Wai Yai Lei Lei and Beachcomber islands. On the sailing trip we visited Modriki Island where the film Castaway was filmed. Me and Leeroy managed to find the cave from the Fiji, which was awesome. We also went to a Kava ceremony on one of the islands with the chief
Memorable nights/events: All the Beachcomber nights with Rory, Ian, Matt, Anita, Sophie, Alice and Ellie. Brilliant night out in Pacific Harbour with Matt and Christa. Great slide action
NEW ZEALAND
Overview: Activities, activities, activities. Adventure is the name of the game in New Zealand. Also going on walks and seeing some of the best scenery in the world. Franz Josef glacier and the Milford Sounds are phenomenal on the South Island, which in my opinion is by far the better island. We traveled around the two islands on the legendary Kiwi experience and met some brilliant people on the way.
Time spent there:5 and a half weeks
Activities: Here we go. Cogs are turning. Dolphin swimming in Akaroa with the most endangered Hector species, Whale watching (also saw pod of 500 Dusky dolphins on this trip) and Seal swimming in Kaikoura, Horse riding in Westport, Ice climbing on Franz Josef glacier situated in the middle of a rainforest, Nevis Bungy jump and Mad dog river boarding in Queensland, Whitewater rafting on the Geraldine river, Luge and Zorbing in Rotorua, The Abyss abseiling and black water rafting, Two scuba dives on the Poor Knights islands, Sea fishing in the Bay of Islands. Think that's it
Sights: Centre point of New Zealand, Mount Cook and mirror lakes, Franz Josef glacier, Milford Sounds, Lake Wahtupa, Pancake rocks, Te papa museum in Wellington, Huka falls and hot springs in Taupo, Mud Pools and Mauri village in Rotorua, Bay of Islands.
Memorable nights/events: Kaikoura quiz night in Kaikoura with Hannah and Ella. Two big nights out in Nelson with Oki. Poo pub fancy dress party. Nights out at the World Bar in Queenstown with Lauren, Ida, Katie and others, Oki and the uncle Dominoes crew. Night out in Christchurch with Lauren, Ida, Gavin, Ben and Laurie. Staying at the lodge for the whitewater rafting. Jen and Oki?s birthday nights out inWellington. Cinema night out with Lauren in Wellington. Leeroy?s birthday in Rotorua. Mauri village ceremony with the Haka dance and buffet night. Tom?s birthday meal in Auckland
CHILE
Overview: Chile was our first destination in South America and we got off to a pretty bad start when the taxi driver in Santiago charged us about 5 times the price. I have some fond memories of Chile stayinng in the San Pedro (favourite place) but also some bad ones of places like Iquique. This was also the beginning of the big overnight bus journeys thats would haunt us through South America
Time spent there:About 10 days
Activities: Sand boarding and swimming in Salt lakes in San Pedro
Sights: Laguna Ceja salt lakes, Moon valley and Death valley all in San Pedro
Memorable nights/events: We had a great night out in the town of La Serena where we where we had a big pack of stray dogs following us around all night
PERU
Overview: Our first day in Peru was probably the worst of the whole trip. A 19 hour bus ride on a scummy bus full of smelly Peruvians was without doubt the worst journey of my life. However, the reward was the Inca Trail which was absolutely fantastic and my greatest achievement of my travelling experience. South America definately throws up the bests and the worst parts of travelling.
Time spent there:About 2 weeks
Activities: Inca Trail
Sights: Cusco Cathedral, Coricancha Temple, Saqsaywoman, Quenzo and Tambomachay all in Cusco. Machu Picchu and the Inca ruins in Andes Mountains
Memorable nights: Meeting up with Lauren at Jacks and going out for some drinks at a crazy local Peruvian place
BOLIVIA
Overview: Oh Bolivia. One of the poorest countries in South America and when you go to La Paz you will definately see this. But......Copocabana by Lake Titicaca was a brilliant place to stay and some of the scenery during the road of death bike ride was unbelievable. Some really cool stuff to do in Bolivia
Time spent there: 1 week
Activities: Cycling down the road of death and coming back up by car. 9km walk along the island of Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca
Sights: Lake Titicaca, Isla del Sol and Andes mountain scenery
ARGENTINA
Overview: We only went to Buenos Aires, which is a brilliant city. My main memories of this place are eating lots and lots of steak then going out at 2am and coming back as the sun was rising. They live the life over there
Time spent there: 1 week
Activities: Eating and drinking
Sights: Boca Junior v Racing club football game, Recolleta graveyard with Evita?s grave
Memorable nights/events: Night out at the sunset club. We left here at sunrise. Also one of the best all you can eat meat buffets we have ever had. But El Desnivel had the best steaks by far.
URUGUAY
Overview: We only stayed in the capital of Montevideo. My impressions of Uruguay are that its a very quiet, chilled out place in South America. And thats exactly what we did.
Time spent there:3 days
Activities: Doing nothing
Sights: We did one day get off our arses and we went to the Centenario football stadium and the museum there. This is where the very first world cup final was held in 1930 and won by the host nation.......Uruguay
BRAZIL
Overview: Brazil is awesome and definately my favourite South American country. The first week we spent with Ray and his family and were looked after extremely well. Then we went to the best natural wonder (Foz de Iguaca) I have ever seen and then to the Pantanal, with some of the best wildlife I have seen. Bontio was beautiful and Rio is just the most amazing city there is. Brazil also has the best food of all these countries. A great place to end our trip
Time spent there:About 4 weeks
Activities: Boxing class with Ray in Porto Alegre, Playing football with the Brazilians in Passo Fundo and Fishing for piranhas, Trekking and Horseriding in the Panatanal,
Sights: Museum and University in Porto Alegre, Foz de Iguaca, Pantanal wildlife, Sugar loaf mountain, Big Jesus, Copocabana and Ipanema beaches in Rio de Janeiro
Memorable nights/events: Every night we spent with Ray and his family was memorable. One night we went to the well know Carmens club and another night we watched the spectacle of the Gremio team winning a football game. Siting around the campfire at the Pantanal and eating Capybara in Bonitio. Our first night in Rio we got wasted on Caipirinhas with some of the workers at our hostel and ended up at Shenanigans. Our last night on the beers we started out watching the Brazil v England game and then ended up at the street party of Lapa. I dont really have much memory of this night. Must have been a good one then. Tonight we have our last meal followed by our cigars that Joycee bought us. We have been saving them for the last 6 months. Should be memorable
MY PERSONAL FAVOURITES
FAVOURITE PLACE San Pedro, Chile
FAVOURITE CITY Rio Fe Janeiro, Brazil
FAVOURITE OVERALL DAY Boxing Day in Sydney, Australia
FAVOURITE NIGHT OUT Zouk nightclub, Singapore
FAVOURITE MEAL Seafood restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand
FAVOURITE DRINK Caipirinha, Brazil
FAVOURITE HOSTEL EXPERIENCE Tsulu in Pacific Harbour, Fiji
FAVOURITE PEOPLE Brazilians
MOST ORIGINAL HOSTEL (special award) The Jailhouse in Christchurch, New Zealand
BEST BEACH AWARD Haad Yau Beach in Koh Phangan, Thailand
FAVOURITE MAN MADE STRUCTURE Machu Picchu in the Andes mountains, Peru
FAVOURITE NATUTAL WONDER Foz de Iguaca waterfalls, Brazil/Argentina
BEST WILDLIFE AREA The Pantanal, Brazil
MY WORSTS
WORST PLACE Iquique, Chile
WORST DAY Travelling day from Arica in Chile to Cusco in Peru
DIRTIEST PLACE La Paz, Bolivia
WORST MEAL Malaysian curry (Gave me the squits)
WORST HOSTEL EXPERIENCE Cloud 9 in Brisbane, Australia
WORST EXPERIENCE Having stomach parasites in Peru onwards
ACTIVITY AWARDS
MY OVERALL FAVOURITE ACTIVITY Learning to scuba Dive in Cairns/Great Barrier reef, Australia
CRAZIEST ACTIVITY Scuba diving with Bull sharks in Shark Reef, Fiji
MOST FUN ACTIVITY Learning to surf in Byron Bay, Australia
HARDEST ACTIVITY 2nd day of the Inca Trail, Peru
MOST INTENSE ACTIVITY Nevis Bungy Jump in Queenstown, New Zealand
MOST SKILLFUL ACTIVITY Ice climbing on Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
MOST DANGEROUS ACTIVITY Cycling down the road of death, Bolivia
MISCELLANEOUS
BIGGESTS ACHIEVEMENT Inca Trail, Peru
CRAZIEST EXPERIENCE Blowing up a 4 by 4 in Fraser Island, Australia
MOST LISTENED TO SONG Badlands, Bruce Springsteen
MEMORABLE TRAVEL SONGS Stand by me, Redemption Song, Street Have no Name, Champagne Supernova, On Call, Window in the skies
MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN Passo Fundo, Brazil
MOST PLAYED GAME s*** head card game
HOLIDAY DRINK AWARDS Caipirinhas in Brazil, Thailand Red Bull buckets, Raffles Singapore Sling, Yega Bombs in Australia
BIGGEST SNORER AWARD Brazilian guy in the Pantanal
LONGEST TIME WITHOUT A WASH 4 Days
LONGEST TIME WITHOUT CHANGING UNDERWEAR 6 days
TOP THREE ELEMENTING MOMENTS
Meaninig of Elemention: A moment when you feel like life just cant get any better than this
1. Looking up at the most amazing stars on the way to the half moon party in Koh Panghan in an open back truck absolutely drunk and on vodka redbulls
2. Winning the last race at the horse races in Sydney on Boxing Day and then dancing around the stage with bottles of champagne in our hands on the most beautiful of summers days. The weather was perfect. Not a cloud in sight
3. Me and Leeroy were on Modriki island, where Castaway was filmed. This was brilliant in itself. We then left the group and went snorkelling in search of the Cave where Tom Hanks lives in the film. Pure elemention when we found it. No one else was there, just me and Lee.
CREDITS (In order of appearance)
(For all those people that made our trip what it was........absolutely amazing)
SOUTH EAST ASIA
Jen, Gun and friends, Mick (Bangkok), Fisherman (Koh Phi Phi), Hostel guide (Cameron Highlands) All those we met in Zouk night club (Singapore)
AUSTRALIA
Tim, Chris, Ruben, Massa, Uncle Dominoes, Adam, German guys, Matt Williams, Chris Alsop, Tom Reece (Railway square buddies), Ian (Weird bar guy), Nicky Atkins, Anthony Jones, Jamies Dutton (Sydney), Paul (Forster), Laura (Byron), Swiss girls (Surfing), Ella and Hannah, Justin and Rosies, Brazilian lads, Carol (Fraser Island), Bruce (plane trip), Tom, Adele, Samantha, Chris the sailor, Ben the skipper (Whitsundays), Danish brothers, Hostel manager (Magnetic island), Jen and vix, Girls who bought our car, Ingam and Kirsty (Cairns), Sammy, Barry, Michelle, Eric, Warren and crew (Prodive)
FIJI
Becky (Nadi), Matt, Rory, Ian, Anita, Sophie and Alice, Ellie (Beachcomber), Christa and the crew (Tsulu)
NEW ZEALAND
Lauren, Oki, Katie, Ida, Gavin and Ben, Jen and Vix, Laurie, Dom, George, Cheese, Andy (Kiwi Bus), Alicia (Taupo), Fisherman guy (Bay of Islands)
SOUTH AMERICA
Laura (San Pedro) Lauren, Irish girls (Cusco), Chris, Dr. Andy, Dan, John and daughter, Puma, Main guide (Inca Trail) Israeli girl (Copacabana), Kaka and Paula, French girls, J Mike and Liam, Condor (Rio)
Special Thanks to:
Uncle Bomber who treated us like kings in Bangkok and Pat who drove us anywhere we wanted. What a great start to the trip
Ray and the Salton family who welcomed us into their home and gave us a week of living like Brazilians. Absolutely fantastic. Was of the best experiences of the trip
Sweet As, Sweet As, Sweet As
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