Pool of reflection

Today we have purchased our Grey hound ticket for the east coast and our trip for the Whitsundays.  It took a lot of organising, but its done now and I am glad it is!

The girls went on their secret shopping adventure, so I went over to the park with the boys, played cricket for the first time in my life and soaked Grant in the pool of reflection at Hyde Park, which gained me a soaking in return of ice cold water.

Had the best Spaghetti Bologenese cooked for us for dinner by Mike tonight too, it was delish!

Coogee Beach

Had a girls day at the beach today with Jackie and Lauren.  Another new beach that I hadn't been to yet, called Coogee.  Gratnt tagged along too - got himself a little pinked up after falling asleep and is resembling something of a lobster now!

Tonight I am playing my first game of Polka with the boys, so looking forward to that.

Summer bay

We have taken a trip to another beach today called Palm beach but most of you all know it as Summer bay from Home and Away.

We have had a really fun day here today though, I was buried in the sand by Mike and Jay, clothes, money, cards and all...

Then when I went to wash all the sand away I lost most of my bikini in the waves! I am just pretty pleased there is a dip in the sand to the sea is all I can say!

Tonight we are going to the pub to watch the Tottenham, Villa match so looking forward to seeing how much its raining its home on the TV...

Christmas Eve Autopsy

So here goes last night...

• Lauren in bed at 10pm
• Neesha in bed at 11pm
• Jenny in hospital by 12pm
• Jay was knocked out
• and Mike pulled...

So today our hangovers are pretty heavy!  It turns out we had our drinks spiked, so I guess we have learned our lessons from that one and I am pretty lucky that I got to sleep it off pretty early in the evening!

We haven't made it to the beach but we have made it to Pizza Hut which is our version of Christmas lunch!

Christmas Eve

Well we are a little ahead of you here, but its Christmas eve already and we are planning on getting very dressed up tonight and going out!

We are going out shopping for some Christmas lunch first thing this morning thought and then I am off to get my hair done, so that I look slightly less like a hippy traveler for the evening!

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Bondi Beach

Today we took our first trip to Bondi, which I wasn't too impressed with to be completely honest.  It was pretty windy and full of people with nothing much to do if you can't surf... maybe some surfing lessons should come in order!

Although if I had to chose between Southend-on-sea and here... guess where I would pick?  The six packs on show here aren't the kind that you buy in Tesco!

Here's a visual for you:

You can take the boys out of Essex but you can't take the Essex out of the Boy

So last night we went out to the Side Bar like I said and we had an amazing time.  We have made some new friends from the delightful Canvey Island who I apparently had been working right next to in the city before we left for the round the world trip!

Had the best night last night since I left home and was introduced to the Australian alternative to a pint (a schooner) and the drink that went into it: a snakebite!

Who knew it rained in Australia?

Well it does, and last night it rained a lot.  It sounded like it was going to come through the window.  The weather looks much better this morning though, which is the main thing, but there are still lots of clouds.  The weather isn't supposed to be great on Christmas day either - so we will have to see...

source: destination360.com

We are going to try and go to the beach today though, not sure which one but I am sure it will probably be the famous Bondi!  So we are hoping it brightens up, so that once Jay has his 'bomb' (the thing the hospital has on him to monitor his heart) taken off today we can take a trip there to see what all the fuss is about!

Syndey Harbor

Today we have had a wonder around the city and its amazing.  I completely love it.  We have taken a trip to the harbor to see the bridge and the Opera house.

We might have also stopped in a few shops on our way down, but you will be pleased to hear (mum) that I haven't managed to spend any money on clothes just yet!

Tonight we are off out to the Side bar (in the basement of Wake Up) so we have bought two boxes of goon (boxed wine) on the way back, ready for drinking games before happy hour!

Wake Up Sydney Central

Wake up, wake up.. its a beautiful morning out there... (this is the familiar wake up call we get every morning in our new hostel ironically called: Wake Up Sydney Central).

Well we arrived after a 5 hour flight in Syndey where Jay was there to pick us up with his 'girl friend' Magna - which was actually a car, but you kept us all going with that one.

It was really great to see such a familiar face after such a long time and a massive surprise for Neesha. I somehow managed to spot Jay straight away when we landed but it took her a while to gather he was there!

We have just checked into our new hostel, which I have to say is absolutely fab and are just waiting for our room keys (or card).

Can't wait to get settled in and say hello to Michael too, who is here with Jay and then go back down to see the Bridge again, which we have already driven over (by accident) from the airport.  I cannot wait until I am actually climbing the bridge though now.

Speek to you all soon xxx

Last day in Freo

So we are leaving the first place that's felt like home since we left home today, but I am so excited to go to Sydney that I dont mind too much.  We have seen all that we can here in Perth so its time to go and explore the east coast for a while!

My favourite picture of Perth's Kings Park

I am now well prepared for my 5 hour flight to the opposite side of the country with a new book and sickness tablets (traveling is soooo glam) and soon we will be on the bus to the airport.  In just about 7 hours I will get to see Jay and Michael again - but before we leave Freo for what hopefully wont be for good, we have to go and enjoy 'the best fish and chips in the world' down by the harbour.

See you all on the flip side xoxo

Kings Park in Perth

Today we took the train back into Perth and went to see Kings Park.  It was soo hot we could barely drag ourselves up the hill there!  So we took to sunbathing on the grass for a bit and listening to our iPods.

We had a nice little packed lunch that we had taken with us too, so we had that to enjoy while we were there and then some how ended up on the wrong bus back to Freemantle with a bunch of hill billys.  Two hours later and we were back in Freemantle, just in time for dinner and all in need of a rest again.

Rottnest Island - Perth

So Rottnest Island was amazing, another place that I know I will never be able to forget in a million years.

We got on the ferry two days ago and it took about 30 mins to get there, which isnt too bad at all.  The first thing we did when we got there, was dumped our bags and went to se what the nearest beach was like and well it was stunning.  We thought that the beaches we had seen in Perth so far were amazing, but they havent got anything on this, the beaches are out of this world and more beautiful than anything you would ever see in a magazine.

We were in another YHA here, which was actually a converted army barracks and we even had real matresses there (aka not made of sponge).  The girls we were sharing our room with were from Dartford, so it was a bit like a home from home hearing our own accents for a bit while we were there.

Our hostel

On the second day on the Island, we jumped on the bus that runs all around the outside with a bit of a guided tour.  it took about 2 hours and then we went and enjoyed our own little bit of the beach near the barracks where we were staying.

We found a sports bar on the Island too, so we spent and evening there and made some new friends who are from the north of Australia and are aiming to catch up with when we get to Cairnes later in the trip.  They were there on the Island for their Christmas Party with work - they were all plummers, but its a pretty amazing trip to go on with work for xmas.

Our new friend Ti

One day we even had a little encounter with one of our little qwauker friends.  This little fella managed to get into our room and get his hands on one of the girls loaves of bread.  I was actually brave this time, grabed the bread which he was still dangling off of and brought him outside.

It was the one night that I braved going to the loo outside that was the most amazing, as we went to run across the court yard, I looked up and saw what looked like a million diamonds that had been thrown up into the sky.  I tried to take a photo of it for you guys - but you cant get a photo of something that beautiful unfortunately you have to go see it for yourselves.

Anyway we are back home today in Freemantle (ha calling it home already?!) and we are planning on seeing the last few bits of Freo before we have to move onto Syndey for Christmas and New Year.

Night night all xoxo

Another Laundry day

Today was another day of CHORES.  Done all of my washing in preparation of going to Rottnest tomorrow and considering how small my back pack is, there was a lot.

I then had a little power hour to catch up with the lack of sleep I have been getting in the hostel...

See you all when I get back from Rottnest xoxo

Water park in Perth

We made it to the water park today and it was awesome.  No photos I am afraid, but the odd loss of a bikini bottoms/top was all the rage for poor Jen.

I finally managed to get some colour today without being burned, thank god and the plan is to go to the pub later with Dermot and watch that same guy perform on his didgeridoo again.

See you all in the morning xoxo

A good nights sleep

Had a good nights sleep last night so I am feeling a lot better.  Today is our first cloudy day though, so we havent gone to the beach as planned, but I have cooked us Spag Bol for dinner instead and then watched a film in the common room at the hostel with a few of our new friends.

Tomorrow the plan is to go to the water park here, so I am sure that we will have lots of fun there... another bright and early one to get there though.

Night all xoxo

Tired... and emotional

Been very tired after another  rough nights sleep last night and rather tearful.  I think the homesickness is setting in this week and for the first time I am feeling like giving up.

We went to the round house today, which is the smallest and first jail that they ever had in Freemantle and it was literally tiny.

We have also visited the indoor marketes and treated ourselves to a few little bits and bobs.

This is the view of Freemantle from the roundhouse:

Not feeling my best

today, after a terrible nights sleep.  Its one of the 'perks' of sharing a ten bed dorm I guess!  We had a series of lights on, lights off, snoring, ping pong rally's outside the door and then a match of who can slam the door the loudest... so as you can imagine I am feeling a little groggy today.

Never mind, we have still got up and gone to the beach today and have managed to still catch no sun yet... if you are all wondering why I still look lily white in all the photos?  So I am off on the hunt for some lower factor sun cream....

Curry and a night out tonight, so I dont think I will be updating you just as early tomorrow morning peeps! xoxo

Early Risers

Since being here near the sea and catching up with all that jet lag, we have become early risers - so we have to make special care not to wake everyone up when we are getting ready to go out sharing a dorm with 7 other people.

This morning we went to Freemantle Jail, which was rather interesting and we learned that it was the last place that someone was hanged in Australia back in 1991 when they left the jail.

 I even got to have a little trip in the stocks...

Tonight we are going back to the hostel, where Toby an Aussie guy we have met from Sydney is going to cook us a traditional Aussie meal... including Kangaroo.  Jen is giving it a miss, but me and Neesha are excited to tuck in and see what its like, even though I am a little dubious about the Kangaroo myself?!

Later on this evening we are going to go and see the Southern Cross (Stars) which you can only see from here and then to a pub to listen to some very talented young man play the piano, didgeridoo and sing all at the same time!

Speak to you all tomorrow xoxo

Getting Organised In Freo

This morning we have been very organised, we have been out and got our postcards ready to send to you lovely people, with stamps, booked a trip over to Rottnest Island and gone shopping.  We have another mouth watering dinner waiting for us for tonight, chicken salad with new potatoes.

I am extremely tired tonight after such an action packed day of walking around everywhere and seeing what there is to see.

We love this place so much we have booked to stay here until next Thursday, when we will be off to the little Island just half an hour away from here, so named because the qwakers that live on the Island look like rats and when the English discovered it all those millions of years back, they called it Ratsnest island and the name has just evolved...

Night all xoxo

YHA - Freo

We have finally moved along the coast to a little town called Freemantle or Freo as everyone else here calls it.

The reason for the move, was not only because we wanted to, but because the hostel mucked up and we got an unwelcome early morning wake up call in the form of a guy trying to get into our room at about 4am.  After we checked with the staff, they informed us that they had tripple booked the room and would need us to pack asap - RUDE.  So definitely not recommending the Underground Hostel to anyone any time soon.

We have now been introduced to the wonderful world of YHA hostels and this one is lovely along with all the people and the staff.  We have been out and bought enough food to last us for two days and I for one cannot wait to get stuck into some proper grub.

We are staying in a ten bed dorm with a hippie who is the strangest of people (and not because she is a hippie).  We have also been to the beach this evening to watch our first ever sun set.  It was beautiful.

See you all in the morning xoxo

Back to Australia

We have got to Perth safely, must admit though we dont think much of the hostel! Only staying here three nights, before moving accross to Freemantle and Rottnest island!

Been to cottosloe beach today, where we have successfully gone from white to red - finally got some colour (at last)!!

We have tried to upload some photos for you all, but unfortunatly only two have uploaded!! :( so we will try again soon...

Scarborough Beach AUS

Today we got up early saw how sh*t the breakfast was a toodled along to the beach on the train.  The beach on the other hand was beautiful and I am a little tiny bit sun burned... I missed the back of my legs a little bit (wont make that mistake again).

Not much else to report here, speak to you all soon xoxo

First Stop in Australia - Perth

Well there is one way to describe Perth and thats Boho!  Its great, proper surfer dude vibe here and lots of stunning beaches (not that I have got to see them all yet).  Its a lot more different to what I was expecting though in all seriousness, but I love it.

We have arrived at a bit of a funny time of day and are staying in a hostel called Underground (from one London to another) and its a bit skanky here.  But I am willing to give the hostel a chance and see what happens...

So far today we have met some crazy 'dude' from NZ called David who Jen seems to have pulled... (lucky her).  Everyone here seems to actually live here, so I kinda feel like an outsider, think they might have a lot of DSS (or the aussie equivalent) type people living here and their none too welcoming.  I dont think that we will be here for much longer than tonight to be completely honest, as its not the cleanest of places either... we can investigate in the morning though.

We are off to Nandos for dinner tonight and then for an early night ready for an early morning tomorrow!

Speak to you all tomorrow,

xoxo

Our Last Day In SIngapore

Today is our last day in Singapore and its my darling little sister Kelly's 16th Birthday.  So just for you Kell:

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Kelly,
Happy Birthday to you!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hope you all get your postcards soon, see you in Australia! xoxo

'Laundry Day'

Ok so we havent actually done any laundry today, but its been a day of doing all the less fun practical parts of traveling (this is where its different from a holiday mum).  So we have been shopping for a few bits and pieces that we need like postcards, stamps, looking for some more practical shoes (mine died in the monsoon yesterday - actually smells like someone died in them), some food - and I even tried some traditional stuff this time, the veggie stuff is actually REALLY NICE :) - no more rice and garlic bread for me...

We are off the the famous Raffles hotel tonight to have a taste of the Singapore sling from the home of its birthplace and if we have enough time, we might even take a trip to the pan pacific hotel too!

Speak to you soon xoxo

UPDATE - Singapore sling... YUM YUM YUM :) same again tomorrow?

One Week In...

Sorry we haven't put any pics up yet but the computers at this hostel don't allow us to upload any, as soon as we get to Perth and find a computer that is in the 21st century we will upload them for you to have a butchers at.

Well we have been to Santosa Island, where we got a cable car around the island, really fast go karts down this well big hill, went in a 4D cinema and chilled out on the rather lovely beach.  Been to Singapore zoo today which is the best zoo that we have all been too.  Its like in a rainforest and most of the animals are not actually in cages but just really big enclosures with water around them.  I got a bit snappy happy and has taken pics of nearly all the animals.  Jenny has been on an elephant ride, how cool is that?

The hostel is lovely, we must admit we were quite surprised, the room mates we have had have all been lovely and easy to get on with. We are close to all the shops so jen is well happy about that.

Oh yeh and we have to tell you all about the 50 thousand million gnat bites that neesha has got, she just seems to sit there and attract them, unfortunately thats all, no men have been near us.

Singapore Zoo

 

So in case you hadn't already guessed, today we all went to Singapore Zoo and saw so many animals, its not even possible to list them all.  My main reasons for not liking Zoo's, is because I dont like to see animals in cages.  However, here it wasnt like any of these animals were in captivity at all.  If you take a look at my favourite picture from the day you can see the Tiger just looks like he would in his natural habitat.  

We even got to see these absolute beauts being fed and swimming in the massive channel that they have around their enclosure (and when I say enclosure, its a massive 20 foot high mud mound - no bars AT ALL).

After our day in the Zoo, which included watching the baby elephants get a bath from their mummy's, a monsoon and our first glimpse of the natives of Australia that we are to be seeing soon in their actual natural habitats, we booked to go to the night safari too.

The night safari was a little scarier than the actual Zoo itself, mainly because all that was separating me and a hippo was a small chain you wouldn't even use to walk you dog, but because it was dark and pretty hard to see anything anyway.

Singapore Zoo is somewhere I would highly recommend EVERYONE to go to and it should be on everyone's 'bucket list'.  Its practically a man made rainforest.

Today has been the best day of my travels so far, a memory I would never want to forget. Neesha even has a couple of souvenirs in the form of massive gnat bites to remember it by... they have had a feast!

Speak to you all soon,

xoxo

The Magic of Santosa Island

Well its been a rather busy day for all of us today, as we have had a bit of a trek to see the man made island here in Singapore.  We have had a massive adventure there today and have done everything from Luging (going down a really steep hill on a go kart), seen 4D pirates, watched the musical fountain and been on the cable cars over from Singapore to Santosa Island.

I have to say I wasn't overly keen on the cable car, as I felt like we were all about to plunge to our deaths for the entire duration of the ride (which wasn't fast), however, I did absolutely love the luging.  At this point I think it is safe to say that I will be keeping my feet firmly on the ground for the rest of the trip... no sky dives or bungee jumping for me :)

After spending 6 months commuting on the tube in London, I am beginning to wonder why our transport isnt as wonderful as the trains are out here.  They dont even have a driver and you can EVEN YSE YOUR MOBILE UNDERGROUND!!

Tomorrow we are off to the Zoo and its no secret that I am not their biggest fans, but hey ho... I am here to explore and that is exactly what I intend to do.

Speak to you all soon xoxo

Day 2

So day two is here already and we had a massive lay in this morning (or afternoon as we got up at 1pm).

We took a little stroll down to Orchard road today and there were so many places to shop it was unbelievable.  Its pretty cheap here too, you just need to be picky and look around properly.

We bought a Lonely Planet Guide today for Australia and New Zealand, so we can start planning for our trips to there too (some reading for on the plane).

Ngee Ann City (another place we have been to today) was also huge and when I say huge this is no exaggeration, this place was huge on a whole new level.  The shopping mall was mainly full of designer clothes, which meant none of us bought much, but it was interesting to see the massive difference in prices over here in comparison to at home.

Called home today and spoke to mum, as I am missing everyone like crazy already, although at the same time its not really sank in that we are going to be gone for a long time to come yet...

I have already had lots of emails from you all back home, which is really lovely to get and read (keep them coming please) and in return I will send you all lots of beautiful postcards from every destination (if I can find a post box here).  Right... time to move my bum from this chair, as I didnt travel all this way to look at another computer screen, we are off to investigate the town by night....

We have arrived everyone

We arrived and it is morning in Singapore (9.20am), the hostel which is called Hangout is lovely like a hotel room that you share with a few strangers and nice ones so far.

We have (obviously) already found the internet here too and want to thank you all soooooo much for all your good luck messages, it was lovely to sit and read them all and nice to know we have so many friends. Keep sending them we love getting them.

We are absolutely shattered now after our 3hour delay from heathrow but hey we are here and the flight did actually go really fast. Weather is well humid and overcast and apparently they have light rain every afternoon.

We will be out and about on our adventures properly as from tomorrow so will update you all very soon!

Kate (our new and first friend in Singapore) is going to come out to dinner with us tonight, even though Jenny has already managed her first McDonalds!

Dinner was lovely out this evening, we went to Hooters for Burger and chips so you could say that we are getting to grips with the different culinary skills the people in Singapore has.

Everything here is so clean and different compared to home and it feels like I haven't slept in years now, so after a good nights sleep we are going to go and investigate tomorrow and see what Singapore has to offer us.

Night all xoxo

Three hours on...

weWe have been on the flight for about three hours now and I am starting to feel a bit restless...  We have just had some of the food I mentioned earlier.  The ice cream was the strangest flavour though (apple Pie).

 

We have about another hour left on the flight now and I cant wait until we land, get our stuff and get to the hostel.  We booked the hostel when we were in England so that we didnt need to worry when we arrived at the airport - but I am still not sure what to really expect in Singapore from a hostel having never stayed in one before.  

I really cannot wait to go and investigate now and buy my new camera (as they are cheaper here).  This has been the longest flight of my life and the day has seemed even longer, its morning now in Singapore and night in England.

The Airport

So we are already at the airport and have had some very tearful goodbyes to our families.  The flight has already been delayed about a million times already so we arent off to the best of starts.  We should have left Heathrow Airport at 11.00 and its now 1.00 and no sign of moving for a while yet...

 

We are now on the plane (flying Singapore Airways), ready for our flight to take off.  This is the best/biggest plane I have ever been on and we even get free drinks (amazing).  I have chosen to watch Pirates of the Caribbean at the moment and will watch the second in the trilogy next (we are going to be on here for a while).  The food looks good, although I am not sure if we are going to be getting any or not?!

Bye Bye England

So tomorrow is the day which we will be leaving England for Singapore and I have been packing and unpacking my bag all night.

Its really hard when you haven't been somewhere before to know what to pack and what not to pack.  So I am trying to pack EVERYTHING.

Anything that I find I dont need when I get there I will just throw away :)

I have packed the bare essentials (for me) but its the clothing that I am finding most hard to cut down on.  I have my favourite top, some shorts, my new jumper and all my toiletries... lets see how this goes when I get there!

Going to buy my kit today

So today we are going to buy my back pack and all the things I need to go with it.... I will hopefully post something later to show you what I have bought! If Im not crying at the loss of half my savings.

Off to Snow and Rock now....

Purchases to be made

I now have a lovely long list of things to be bought ready to go with:

• PASSPORT 
• Back Pack
• Ticket
• Health and travel insurance
• Debit/credit card
• Money
• Prescription medicines
• A spare pair of glasses and contact lenses
• Health and travel insurance documents
• Photocopies of passport
• Student card
• Underwear
• Socks
• Bra
• Bikini
• Short shorts
• Shorts
• Trousers
• Dress
• Skirts
• T-shirts / strappy tops / vest tops
• Longsleeve top
• Fleece
• Hoodie
• Waterproofs
• Flip-flops
• Trainers / hiking shoes / sandals
• Sarong
• Sanitary towels / tampons
• Toothbrush
• Shampoo / conditioner
• Deodoran
• Soap
• Razor
• Sun cream
• Aftersun / moisturiser
• Flannel
• Sink plug
• Make up
• Make up remover
• Lip balm
• Cotton buds
• Nail clippers / nail file
• Tweezers
• Insect repellent (DEET 50%)
• Bite cream / bite zapper
• Comb
• Hair bands
• Plasters
• Bandages
• Safety pins
• A needle
• Antiseptic wipes
• Antiseptic handwash
• Antiseptic cream (Savlon)
• Antidiarrhoeas (Imodium)
• Antacid (for indigestion)
• Ibuprofen / paracetamol
• Antihistamines (hayfever can be a big problem abroad)
• Inhaler (only if you're asthmatic - pointless otherwise)
• Oral rehydration sachets (guarenteed you'll need these at one point)
• Baby wipes
• ipod / MP3 player
• Camera/video camera (+ batteries, 8GB memory card, films, cables, tripod)
• Mobile phone
• Netbook
• Spare batteries (rechargeable are best for long termers)
• Solar chargers (for batteries, phones, etc)
• External HD
• USB stick (8GB)
• Plug adapter (check which type you need beforehand)
• Torch / head torch
• Sunglasses
• Hat (cap / bandanna/beanie)
• Buff (for all situations)
• Travel towel
• Sleeping bag liner (for the occasional dirty bed)
• Eye mask
• Ear plugs
• Travel pillow / squishtie pillow
• Book / magazine
• Playing cards
• Safety pin / sewing kit
• Leatherman / Swiss army knife (a man needs a knife, ok?)
• Duct tape (for minor to major repairs)
• Bin liner (for wet clothes or as an emergency rain cover)
• Pen and paper
• Diary / journal (you never know if you're going to be the next Che Guevara)
• Travel wallet/money belt
• Waterproof cover for bag
• Tea bags
• Marmite

So I have a nice long list of things to find courtosey of gapyear.com

Booked our Tickets

Our tickets are now booked with STA travel and we leave on the 27th November.  We have 7 stops on our tickets. 

Our first stop is Singapore, where we are planning on spending a week, then off to Perth in Australia, an internal flight then takes us to Sydney where we will travel up the East coast and leave Australia in Cairnes to fly to New Zealand.  After New Zealand we will fly to Fiji, then to the Cook Island, LA and back home to London.

The next mission is to book our hostels, find out all of the best places to go to and sort out any excursions that we want to go on.

A few really useful websites that we have found so far are: gapyear.com and STAstravel.co.uk.

Travelling

For the last two years of sixth form I have saved my ass off working for Iceland and Walsham Brothers Insurance and saved every spare penny that I could.  This now means I have a grand total of around £10,000 to spend on a round the world ticket and go traveling for the year.

Tonight me and Neesha are going to book our 7 stop ticket with STA travel with Jenny (Neesha's friend from school) to leave around November time giving me an extra few months of saving after I have received my A level results.